You Saved Books in 2014

circle_of_nine_beltanyAn interesting article cites you, Internet-savvy buyer, as saving young adult literature, especially if you bought an ebook this year for the teens in your life despite their apparent preference for physical books. Interesting juxtaposition, no? HERE’S the article.

Part of the strong showing for young adult lit is obvious. Teens still love stories, those motivated to read them will still find the time, and the quickly maturing young adults in our lives still relish the chance to safely explore new situations and emotions through books.

The part that isn’t so obvious is why such a plugged-in generation prefers physical books. But I suppose we all have to unplug sometimes, don’t we?

Whether it’s the physical or ebook you prefer, rejoice for 2014. Healthy book sales are good for authors, illustrators, and really, adults everywhere. We all want an educated and empathetic populace. If you bought a book for yourself or, really, anyone else this year, congratulate yourself. You made the publishing — and real life — worlds a better place.

Fear and Presence in Fiction

Author Kelly DiPucchio, Editor Stacey Barney, Editor Adah Megged Nuchi, Editor Julie Ham, Illustrator Judith Byron Schachner, and Author Kathleen Duey

Sometimes — often times — writing fiction takes courage, and I’m not just talking about opening yourself up to critics. I’m talking about feeling and facing the fears and problems of your characters. I just got back from an intense writing conference put on by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators in which the presenters forced us to look hard at our characters’ points of view, challenges, fears, and inner selves. Our characters need to be so vivid and present in their actions that we readers feel ourselves to be there.

Above are a few of the presenters at the convention, including authors, illustrators, and editors. With their help and that of other talented creators in attendance, we hope to enrich our writing, enhance industry connections, and make new friends. One great icebreaker: Dr. Seuss shoes! 🙂

 

Another way: open mic. Does it take a certain amount of bravery to read a smattering of your work to a roomful of (better) writers? You betcha. But so what? I did it anyway. So did others. We’re all there for love of word.

 

And we even got entertainment! At what other writing conference could you find a good belly dance?

What I’m Reading – A Certain Slant of Light

     Okay, I know I’m a late to the party on this one, but somehow this 2005 release escaped my notice. No problem, though, because A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb is so well written and timeless that anyone could step into that light now and be glad they did.

     A Certain Slant of Light is a supernatural young adult story about a coping yet fundamentally lonely spirit caught on Earth. Her 100-plus years of helpful hauntings are one day interrupted by a human boy who can see her. The two desperately want to learn more about each other and quickly fall in love. Their challenge to come together leads to them learning more about their own nearly forgotten lives and those of the teens whose bodies they’ve possessed.

     Film rights have been optioned by Summit Entertainment, the same studio which created the Twilight films. I’m glad for that because films bring so much attention to the original works, and this book deserves attention.

     Parents, yes, there are obvious sex scenes. Kids running off to be alone. They’re not kids, really. They’re very aged spirits but physically teens. The details are more implied than explicit, but there’s passion. Try to remember what it was like as a teenager and you may not view the topic quite as unkindly.

     Possibly more concerning for parents would be the disobedience of one of the teens — but not for the disobedience itself. It’ll be disconcerting in that parents might see some of their own highhandedness and hypocrisy reflected in the teen’s parents. “Protective” parenting entails real struggle against smothering young souls.

     This book haunted me for days. I can’t wait to get to the sequel, Under the Light.

Synopses That Are a Breeze

     I just finished my latest manuscript and synopsis, and I have to say that, if you have a good method of taking notes, writing your synopsis should be a breeze.

     There are many great websites out there detailing what is a synopsis (It’s a summary of the story, including key characters, events, and, yes, even the ending.), how to write one that’s compelling, how to organize it, format it, its preferred length, etc, and I’ll link to a few below, but here’s what I learned from writing my latest one: If you keep a separate document throughout your writing process with detailed notes of chapter events, you’ll end with what is essentially a rough outline for your synopsis. That’s not to say that you have to write your synopsis chronologically and with every event listed as a blow-by-blow, but you’ll have a ready template that lays out the storyline.

     My document has the working title, date started, chapter titles (with pages listed for easy finding later), and a brief recap of what happened therein. You might think, well, if you wrote the story yourself, you shouldn’t have any trouble remembering what’s in every chapter, but, let me tell you, if it takes you a year to write a story, it’s very easy to forget every detail in a chapter — or forget to tie up that loose end you wrote in as a red herring at the start of the piece. My document helps me regain my thread if I must take time off of writing AND, once I’m finished, to see my path from beginning to end.

     Here are links with tips on writing great synopses, realizing that some writers might contradict others. That’s just the way of life, I suppose. Still, these sites are worth checking out:
     http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue%2015/workshop.htm
     http://www.writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml
     http://www.agentquery.com/format_tips.aspx

     Happy writing!

Ten Commandments for Editing Someone’s Work

     Really love this list of dos and don’ts when editing someone’s work. It’s put out by author, blogger, and former literary agent Nathan Bransford. Point number eight, Don’t Overdo It, especially speaks to me because we’ve all been asked to critique something that needed a lot more work than comma correction. If a whole section needs a rewrite, line editing is hardly worth the effort.

     Check it out for yourself and let me know if you agree with the commandments or might add/delete a few. Happy writing!

Throw the Confetti

and let’s celebrate because I’ve finished my latest manuscript! It’s a 68,200-word young adult fantasy. Can’t say what it’s about yet as that’s under wraps, but it’s off with my agent, and I’m really pleased with it.

Ten Trends in Children’s Books

     Today Scholastic, the leading publisher and distributor of children’s books, released its list of top ten trends in children’s books for 2010, put together by its editors and literature experts.

     So what was hot this year? According to Judy Newman, President of Scholastic Book Clubs, the answer is a great story told differently. “We’ve seen some exciting innovation in children’s publishing in 2010, including new formats and platforms for storytelling that are helping more and more kids become book lovers. At the same time, we’re seeing a rejuvenation of some classic genres, which I think is evidence of the timeless power that stories and characters have on the lives of children.”

     Here’s Scholastic’s list:

     1 ) The expanding Young Adult (YA) audience: More and more adults are reading YA books, as the audience for these stories expands.

     2 ) The year of dystopian fiction: With best-selling series like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, readers can’t seem to get enough of fiction that suggests the future may be worse than the present.

     3 ) Mythology-based fantasy: Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series set the trend – and now series like The Kane Chronicles, Lost Heroes of Olympus and Goddess Girls are capitalizing.

     4 ) Multimedia series: The 39 Clues, Skeleton Creek and The Search for WondLa are hooking readers with stories that go beyond the printed page and meet kids where they are online or via video.

     5 ) A focus on popular characters – from all media: Kids love to read books about characters they know and recognize from books, movies and television shows. Titles centered around those popular characters (like Fancy Nancy, David Shannon’s “David,” or Toy Story characters) are top sellers.

     6 ) The shift in picture books: Publishers are publishing about 25 to 30 percent fewer picture book titles than they used to as some parents want their kids to read more challenging books at younger ages. The new trend is leading to popular picture book characters such as Pinkalicious, Splat Cat and Brown Bear, Brown Bear showing up in Beginning Reader books.

     7 ) The return to humor: Given the effects of the recession on families, it is nice to see a rise in the humor category, fueled by the success of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Dav Pilkey’s The Adventures of Ook & Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future, and popular media characters like SpongeBob, and Phineas & Ferb.

     8 ) The rise of the diary and journal format: The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is the most well-know example of this trend, but the success of Wimpy Kid is leading to popular titles such as Dear Dumb Diary, Dork Diaries, The Popularity Papers, and Big Nate.

     9 ) Special-needs protagonists: There is a growing body of literary fiction with main characters who have special needs, particularly Aspergers Syndrome and Autism. Examples: My Brother Charlie, Marcelo in the Real World, Mockingbird, and Rules.

     10 ) Paranormal romance beyond vampires: The success of titles like Linger and Linger, Beautiful Creatures, Immortal, and Prophesy of the Sisters shows this genre is still uber-popular and continues to expand.

Defining Your Genre

     The writers of the Wisconsin Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators are a great group and often pass along helpful writing tips. Here’s the latest, a genre glossary written by Agent Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Click here to learn exactly what it is you’re writing!

A Mummy Couldn’t be Prouder

 

     When you get your first award for writing or illustrating, it’s a big deal. A very big deal. A mega big deal. So you can imagine how proud I am that my daughter won her first book award!

     Antonia took second place in the 2010 Wisconsin Association of School Boards’ Write and Illustrate Your Own Picture Book Contest! Her awesome creation, The Mummy Comes Moaning, was judged one of the best among 342 entries state-wide. She competed in the 4th & 5th grade division. Along with a certificate of commendation and a cash award, her book will travel the state to be displayed at the WASB Fall Regional Meetings and the State Education Convention held in Milwaukee in January of 2011.

     Toni put so much thought and time into her project. She had to meet strict requirements and deadlines. She created her book from scratch, hand-binding it herself. She wrote and rewrote her story. She sketched and painted and added various media to creatively illustrate each scene. She devoted many evening and weekend hours to turn in the best book she could. In the end, it was a masterpiece, and she’s incredibly proud to see that work rewarded.

     My husband, Jeff, and I couldn’t be happier for her. Congrats to you, Toni! Well done!

Meeting a Goal

     Wow, it feels great to reach a goal. I’d hoped to finish a revision on a work in progress by the end of 2009, and I did it! I feel the piece is much stronger now than before and I’m really very pleased with it.

     Now to move on to a Young Adult project that I’ve put on hold for half a year (It’s amazing how time flies!). It’s fun rereading what I’d put down so far; I’m liking the direction. I’ve got a long way to go before that manuscript’s finished, but the fun is in the journey.

     Here’s hoping your goals for 2010 are met and exceeded! A new year, a new decade, a new chance to show ’em how it’s done!