It had been a really long time since I’d seen Holly Black, so it was great to see her again at the SCBWI-WI fall retreat this weekend. You all know of her, through her Spiderwick and Faerie Tales series or her other works. She’s hilarious and very friendly and was a big hit at the event.
Holly presented her ten rules of writing fantasy. I won’t give them all here (let her reveal them to the world as she wishes), but I will point out one rule which really spoke to me: Fantasy needs to be rooted in a sense of place. To further explain, she continues, your world has to be real enough so as to allow a person to “walk” into it. She recommends knowing your world so thoroughly that you can detail a great deal more of it than what you necessarily include in your story. For example, what is the primary form of communication, transportation, business, etc, in your imaginary world? Furthermore, she emphasizes that both the fantastical and the real must be described equally to distribute their weight throughout the book.
Holly also gave some funny anecdotes about her childhood. Apparently, her mother was quite convinced of the supernatural. Her mother’s childhood stories of playing in the attic with ghosts naturally made Holly a wee bit tense, especially living in the “creepy” house that they inhabited. The dangling branches of a large tree regularly scraped against her bedroom window, so, whenever forced to pass said tree, Holly would flat-out sprint past them. She confessed to her mother her fear that the trees would reach down and snatch her. “Don’t worry,” her mother replied. “That probably won’t happen.” Nice.
Pictured here are my husband Jeff, Holly, and me. It was a good time.
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.png00Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2008-10-21 15:38:442008-10-25 11:29:34Rules of Writing Fantasy
Remember that novel you read awhile back — the one with three, four, five (seemingly endless) pages describing a room/field/plaza/whatever? Guh. Yeah, you remember. That may have been the point where you put the thing down. Maybe you never picked it back up.
That is exactly what can’t happen for the writer, and it was a danger mentioned several times at the retreat I spoke of in my last post. We’re talking about children’s books here. You know, shorter attention spans. Yes, adults too.
So the warning was put out by people in the know; people like Newbery Award winner Linda Sue Park, who spoke so well about story structure and style that she will merit her own post. That’s coming, but for descriptions and internal monologues, she says she tends to limit herself to a few paragraphs because any more kills the action (progress) in the scene.
Author and editor Ann Angel compared description to an actor on stage suspending the scene to address the audience directly, pulling their attention right out of the story.
No doubt description has its place. How else would a reader understand the author’s world? The description’s got to have relevance, though, and can’t drag on forever. As I don’t wish this post to drag forever, I’ll end here. More on the retreat soon.
Soooo good is time spent learning and laughing with other authors and illustrators! My husband and I are back from a fun and informative weekend in Racine at the Fall Retreat for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Wisconsin Chapter.
The retreat is a chance to network, share, and critique. It’s an opportunity to learn of the business, changes, and trends. It’s an extended moment to laugh, meet colleagues, and make new friends. And there’s just too much to say it all here.
Over the course of the next few days, I’ll post more about the SCBWI-WI event; who spoke, useful tips, and great moments.
Notice the image above right? It’s the 2008 retreat pin designed by Michael Kress-Russick. Well done.
And perhaps you’re wondering about the “brownie” part of this post’s title? Well, there was a fantastically well-stocked snack table, groaning under the weight of the many offerings provided by members. It was a happy place to hover — around a great group of people.
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.png00Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2008-10-19 19:43:242009-01-02 22:42:18Retreat Business, Banter, and Brownies
We all have so many hats we wear on a daily basis: Parent (home manager, teacher, chauffeur), daughter/son, friend, along with the title associated with whatever work we do in or out of the home.
Today I add the title of commentator to my repetoire. WTMJ-TV asked me to return to the airwaves to comment on a news topic of the day. I joined Anchors Courtny Gerrish and George Mallet and WTMJ-AM Host Jeff Wagner for two short segments. The first was about Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin’s comment on Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. Check it out:
The second segment was about Harbor 550’s imminent closing and TGI Friday’s dismissal of a musician who sang the Chicago Cub’s theme song. See that here:
It was an interesting change for me, and it was superb to see my former colleagues at the station. Many thanks to those who watched and commented.
By the way, how many commentators does it take to screw in a light bulb? The world will never know — commentators never shut up long enough to do it.
I was shocked to find out that I’d passed — unnoticed — the one-year anniversary of my blog; August 20, 2008. A milestone that slipped by uncelebrated.
Until now. So I’m pleased to give myself a little pat on the back for a fun year of writing stories and blog entries and making strides in my writing career.
And I’d like to thank you readers for riding along. It’s been fun, and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.
As many of you know know by now, Stephenie Meyer’s next manuscript in the Twilight Saga has been leaked and distributed over the internet. Midnight Sun was incomplete, but planned to tell Twilight through Edward’s perspective. Meyer has chosen to post a version of the partial manuscript on her own website so that fans don’t “have to make a sacrifice to stay honest,” ie, they won’t have to choose to engage in copyright infringement to read their beloved stories.
I won’t hide my disappointment in this whole affair. I wish the leak had never occurred, both so that Ms. Meyer’s creation could have followed its natural evolution and so that the rest of us could have enjoyed its fruition. I will encourage everyone, however, to just take a moment to think about what they’re doing before distributing items that they would have to pay for in a store. Not paying for items means the creators lose out on the joy of developing their artistic babies to the full and it means creators lose out on the money their creations would have drawn. Their works are their livelihood and their lifelong passions. True fans of creators would never want to deny them that. And before I sound like I’m on a high horse, I promise to examine my own behavior to ensure that I’m not inadvertently hurting creators, too.
I’ve read the partial manuscript Meyer poster on her website and enjoyed it thoroughly. If you’re reading this, Ms. Meyer, I sincerely hope you’ll go back and finish it someday. I’d actually love to read the whole series from Edward’s perspective, but I recognize that’s probably asking a lot. In the meantime, I hope you don’t ever have to experience this sort of thing again.
Rules of Writing Fantasy
/0 Comments/in A Writer Writes, In The News /by SilviaHolly presented her ten rules of writing fantasy. I won’t give them all here (let her reveal them to the world as she wishes), but I will point out one rule which really spoke to me: Fantasy needs to be rooted in a sense of place. To further explain, she continues, your world has to be real enough so as to allow a person to “walk” into it. She recommends knowing your world so thoroughly that you can detail a great deal more of it than what you necessarily include in your story. For example, what is the primary form of communication, transportation, business, etc, in your imaginary world? Furthermore, she emphasizes that both the fantastical and the real must be described equally to distribute their weight throughout the book.
Holly also gave some funny anecdotes about her childhood. Apparently, her mother was quite convinced of the supernatural. Her mother’s childhood stories of playing in the attic with ghosts naturally made Holly a wee bit tense, especially living in the “creepy” house that they inhabited. The dangling branches of a large tree regularly scraped against her bedroom window, so, whenever forced to pass said tree, Holly would flat-out sprint past them. She confessed to her mother her fear that the trees would reach down and snatch her. “Don’t worry,” her mother replied. “That probably won’t happen.” Nice.
Pictured here are my husband Jeff, Holly, and me. It was a good time.
Brevity
/0 Comments/in A Writer Writes, In The News /by SilviaRemember that novel you read awhile back — the one with three, four, five (seemingly endless) pages describing a room/field/plaza/whatever? Guh. Yeah, you remember. That may have been the point where you put the thing down. Maybe you never picked it back up.
That is exactly what can’t happen for the writer, and it was a danger mentioned several times at the retreat I spoke of in my last post. We’re talking about children’s books here. You know, shorter attention spans. Yes, adults too.
So the warning was put out by people in the know; people like Newbery Award winner Linda Sue Park, who spoke so well about story structure and style that she will merit her own post. That’s coming, but for descriptions and internal monologues, she says she tends to limit herself to a few paragraphs because any more kills the action (progress) in the scene.
Author and editor Ann Angel compared description to an actor on stage suspending the scene to address the audience directly, pulling their attention right out of the story.
No doubt description has its place. How else would a reader understand the author’s world? The description’s got to have relevance, though, and can’t drag on forever. As I don’t wish this post to drag forever, I’ll end here. More on the retreat soon.
Retreat Business, Banter, and Brownies
/0 Comments/in In The News /by SilviaThe retreat is a chance to network, share, and critique. It’s an opportunity to learn of the business, changes, and trends. It’s an extended moment to laugh, meet colleagues, and make new friends. And there’s just too much to say it all here.
Over the course of the next few days, I’ll post more about the SCBWI-WI event; who spoke, useful tips, and great moments.
Notice the image above right? It’s the 2008 retreat pin designed by Michael Kress-Russick. Well done.
And perhaps you’re wondering about the “brownie” part of this post’s title? Well, there was a fantastically well-stocked snack table, groaning under the weight of the many offerings provided by members. It was a happy place to hover — around a great group of people.
Commentating
/0 Comments/in In The News, Media / TV / Radio /by SilviaWe all have so many hats we wear on a daily basis: Parent (home manager, teacher, chauffeur), daughter/son, friend, along with the title associated with whatever work we do in or out of the home.
Today I add the title of commentator to my repetoire. WTMJ-TV asked me to return to the airwaves to comment on a news topic of the day. I joined Anchors Courtny Gerrish and George Mallet and WTMJ-AM Host Jeff Wagner for two short segments. The first was about Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin’s comment on Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. Check it out:
The second segment was about Harbor 550’s imminent closing and TGI Friday’s dismissal of a musician who sang the Chicago Cub’s theme song. See that here:
It was an interesting change for me, and it was superb to see my former colleagues at the station. Many thanks to those who watched and commented.
By the way, how many commentators does it take to screw in a light bulb? The world will never know — commentators never shut up long enough to do it.
Yay, Me!
/0 Comments/in In The News /by SilviaI was shocked to find out that I’d passed — unnoticed — the one-year anniversary of my blog; August 20, 2008. A milestone that slipped by uncelebrated.
Until now. So I’m pleased to give myself a little pat on the back for a fun year of writing stories and blog entries and making strides in my writing career.
And I’d like to thank you readers for riding along. It’s been fun, and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.
Partial Manuscript Leaked
/0 Comments/in In The News /by SilviaI won’t hide my disappointment in this whole affair. I wish the leak had never occurred, both so that Ms. Meyer’s creation could have followed its natural evolution and so that the rest of us could have enjoyed its fruition. I will encourage everyone, however, to just take a moment to think about what they’re doing before distributing items that they would have to pay for in a store. Not paying for items means the creators lose out on the joy of developing their artistic babies to the full and it means creators lose out on the money their creations would have drawn. Their works are their livelihood and their lifelong passions. True fans of creators would never want to deny them that. And before I sound like I’m on a high horse, I promise to examine my own behavior to ensure that I’m not inadvertently hurting creators, too.
I’ve read the partial manuscript Meyer poster on her website and enjoyed it thoroughly. If you’re reading this, Ms. Meyer, I sincerely hope you’ll go back and finish it someday. I’d actually love to read the whole series from Edward’s perspective, but I recognize that’s probably asking a lot. In the meantime, I hope you don’t ever have to experience this sort of thing again.
It will only hurt us readers again if she does.