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Wow. (deep breath)I've been home for a few days now and I'm still absorbing all of the fantastic writing nuggets from the Children's Book Conference last week in Portland.
I went not having any expectations. Unsure, actually, of what manuscripts to even take for the critiques. Did I really want to rework my first chapter of Greenwood Girls, again?
Of course, the answer is yes, but this time, I think I got it.

If there was a theme to the critiques, I'd have to say that all of the editors and authors zeroed in on the old stand-by, show, don't tell. Isn't this the first thing we learn as a writer? And isn't it the hardest thing to do as a writer? But they expanded on it by explaining that everything on the page must be from the viewpoint of the character, not the author. (There are exceptions, of course, but I'm not there yet.)
For my manuscript pages, I was CONVINCED that I was showing. It's the one thing I've been focusing a great deal of attention on lately. But still, little telling, author-intrusive sentences continued to sneak into my pages. Arghh!!!
But of course, I'm a positive person and consider the ability to spot these spoilers a HUGE advancement in my writing ability.
Author Linda Urban was a fantastic mentor as she led us through simple, yet effective ways to search for our characters authenticity by delving into the scary world of meaningful and powerful dialog. She also critiqued my first 15 pages and as a result, I've begun to see my manuscript in a whole new light. Meaning, I can see how much improvement is necessary. But I know I'm capable of it. See, that's the good thing!

Author Bonnie Becker delivered the most comprehensive, light-bulb moment talk on plotting. I told her that I'd been to a few plot workshops before, but hers was one that reduced the sometimes complicated components of plot into something, well, easy to understand. It felt like a victory just being able to nod in agreement instead of muddling my characters internal/external/inner desire/external desire/conflict/motivations in my head. I mean, seriously? Why does this stuff have to be hard? Bonnie made it easy. I feel empowered!


All of the attendees were impressed with the nurturing environment, the one-on-one time, and the relaxed nature of the sessions. It was a restful and insightful week. This is my wonderful critique group. We met three times under the superb tutelage of Bonnie (2009 Golden Kite Winner!) Becker

So now, I have my homework outlined. I'm looking for specific things now in my manuscript. I need to delve deeper into a couple of secondary character's plotlines and then do a final "scrub" as my critique group partner, Kimball says. The thing, however, that stuck with me through all the encouragement, praise, comments, nail-biting first page moments was this....

First week of summer vacation. Not so busy anymore. Kids are sleeping. The humming Tivo and computer are the only sounds I hear. It's way too early to be up and I can't help but think that if I don't make a plan--a really good plan--I could end up coffee-breaking my way through summer vacation.

I shouldn't be worried. I'm a productive person. Give me a task and it's done (except paying bills). But there is something strangely unnerving about going cold turkey.

The frenetic pace I was on (I'll admit it) was invigorating. The art shows boosted my confidence as an art teacher. The schools were alive with color, imagination and cheer. I was proud.

I've managed to write while my kids chaotic schedule breached our home's normal tranquility. But seeing my kids grow into teens is a story I don't want to miss.

• I'm taking my kids to San Francisco next week. Three days of playing tourist. No itinerary, just winging it. And I plan to take lots of pictures with my fabulous new Sony Cybershot which is the best little camera in the world.

• I'm attending The Pacific Northwest Children's Writers Conference in July and hope that I get Arthur Levine for my one-on-one critique. But wouldn't it be great to have Linda Urban critique your work?

• I'm adding to my list of agents and editors and plan to query Greenwood Girls again. After a year of revisions and touch ups (based on editorial feedback plus critiques from my amazing FarFlung writers group), I'm ready to see what happens.

• I plan to take a hiatus from blogging, writing and critiquing when I travel to Prince Edward Island this summer. We'll only spend three weeks there this year (Hey, anyone want to rent a sweet little cottage on the Northumberland Straight for a really good price???). Due to my kid's expanding social and athletic needs, we're required to stay put in Santa Barbara. But how bad could that be?

(This is our little beach. Warm waters, clam digging at low tide...ahhhh...)