First Drafts And Dandelions

I love dandelions. They dot the grass like yellow smiley faces stamped by a five-year-old. My girls pick the puffs and blow wishes and seeds across the backyard. I know the dandelions will have to be tamed, but to me, they are lovely.

I also love rough drafts. They spring up, wild and free. I try to fence out my inner editor until they have bloomed. Adverbs, passive verbs, and exclamation points can be weeded out later. The important thing for me, is to let the ideas land and grow.

May 1-7 is National Picture Book Writing Week. Paula Yoo challenges anyone who wants to participate to write seven picture books in seven days. Let your inner editor have a week off. Blow your wishes and ideas into the universe. Don't worry about what the neighbors will think. There's a big privacy fence surrounding your work and plenty of time to revise and edit before the submission party.

Who will be joining me for a walk on the wild side? Leave a comment and let me know. For more information on National Picture Book Writer's Week, check out http://www.paulayoo.com/ and follow #NaPiBoWriWee on twitter.

The Books We Hide

Confession time: I've been known to hide certain books from my kids when it's time for bedtime stories.

I know. It's awful. I should be delighted to have girls that love all sorts of books. But there are books a mama can only take reading aloud so many times. What children's books do you hide when it's read aloud time?

As a writer, I want my book to be read, loved, and reread. It's important to look at why some books are sweet repeats while others are not agains. So let's share. Comment and tell me what makes you not want to reread a book to your kid. I'm all about keeping things positive and being kind to other writers, so DO NOT TELL THE TITLE OR AUTHOR of the books you discuss. Let's keep things general so we can all learn from them.

Book hiders of the world, come clean. Tell us what to avoid when writing for children.

When Plot Bunnies Play: Writing for Different Audiences

Overheard on twitter this morning from fantasy and paranormal romance writer Ruth F. Long (@RFLong):

“Wait, I don’t write picture books. So why do I now have an idea for one? Out, d*#* plot bunnies, out I say!”

Has this happened to you?

Last summer, I was driving home from the library when an awesome idea for a thriller seeped into my head. With many experts advising writers to stick to one target audience, I decided someone else’s muse must have gotten confused and whispered in my ear. So I ignored her. Sort of. But the story is still there, spinning around and occasionally bumping my brain when I should be focusing on a draft of a picture book.

What do you do when you get a fabulous idea for a book that is not in your marketing category? Do you write the story, share it, or walk away quickly and quietly? Please leave a comment to let us know what you do when the plot bunnies play.

No Phone Zone Winner

The winner of the No Phone Zone McDonalds Gift Card Giveaway is Stephanie Jenkins! Congratulations, Stephanie. I am proud of everyone who promised to make their drivers' seats no phone zones. The roads will be a little safer because of you.

Blog Contest: Take Oprah's No Phone Zone Pledge

Yesterday, Oprah’s show was on driving while distracted. According to University of Utah researcher David Strayer, our brains can’t multitask the way we would like to believe they can. Drivers who are on their cell phones talking or texting experience a sort of tunnel vision that is equal to or worse than driving while intoxicated. One of the points raised was, even if you are able to stay between the lines while distracted, you are not as alert to the people around you who are weaving, and your reaction time is worse. I don’t text, but admit to checking in with my husband while driving. The idea that my flippant phone call could cause anyone’s (especially a child’s) death is horrible.

This morning I signed Oprah’s No Phone Zone Pledge, and I want to challenge all of you to do the same. I’m providing the link to Oprah’s challenge. Sign it, commit to it, and leave me a comment on my blog telling me you took the pledge. On Monday, January 25, one commenter who took the challenge will win a $10 McDonalds gift card. After all, you deserve a Happy Meal for committing to something that will make the world a safer place for kids.

Remember, I must be able to contact you to send you a prize, so make sure you leave me your twitter name or email address if I can’t find it through your blog account. I will only mail the prize to a U.S. address. Good luck, and thanks for taking the challenge.

http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html?id=4

Less Whine. More Win. (A Writer's Pep Talk)

It’s easy to whine about how tough it is to break into the publishing industry. It’s easy to whine about form rejection letters and “if you haven’t heard from us in 6 months, we are not interested” policies. It’s easy to whine about how hard it is to get any writing done with “Mom, Mom, Mom,” in the background.


You know what’s not easy?


Writing. Perseverance. Taking negative feedback on your work and transforming it into positive changes. Finding the courage to send the manuscript you’ve nurtured to someone who may or may not even acknowledge it arrived. Having faith that the right publisher is out there and will love your work as much as you do.


So why do it? Do it because this is your story. Because the writing, the revising, the rejection, and the perseverance are all part of your grand adventure. If you want a shot at a happy ending, you’ve got to keep turning the page. Don’t let yourself get stuck on the negatives. Keep going. Work harder. Less whine. More win. Happy New Year.

Advice for Writers from Carrie Ryan

Carrie Ryan’s THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH grabbed me from the first line and didn’t let go until the end. Her workshop at the SCBWI-Carolinas Fall Conference was equally engaging.

Don’t let her bubbly personality fool you. Ms. Ryan does bad things to her characters and challenges others to do the same. Her advice? Take readers to the point where they believe the situation can’t possibly get worse, then, make it worse. Keep raising the stakes. Pull away your main character’s support system. Don’t shy away from situations where reaching the external goal would mean not reaching the internal goal. And by the way, there doesn’t have to be a happy ending.

Carrie Ryan also discussed her theory of credibility points. She believes readers give writers about 100 credibility points. If a writer asks the reader to believe something big (like in the existence of zombies), that will take lots of points. This means the writer should add details to make the smaller leaps of faith more believable.

So, how about you? Do you let your main character struggle or are you too quick to race to the rescue? Please leave a comment and share.