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| Mexican Pottery |
Are you sometimes confused about the difference between chapter books and middle-grade books? I must admit many of us often wonder. Here is an interesting article written by Marty Banks on the Chapter Book Chatblog that addresses this topic. In it, Banks quotes Emma D. Dryden, founder of drydenbks, a children’s book editorial and publishing consultancy firm, who says: “Even though many books for middle grade readership have chapters, they’re not normally referred to as ‘chapter books’ by publishers; they are, however, often referred to as ‘chapter books’ by booksellers and librarians, and others, which is why I believe there’s confusion about this.” There’s more.
If you’re thinking of writing in this genre, read the entire post to get a better understanding of chapter books vs middle-grade ones.
And if you’ve polished up your manuscript and are ready to submit, Albert Whiteman & Companyis accepting unsolicited submissions right now. So take that leap of faith and send your story out. Best of luck! "Most new writers think it's easy to write for children, but it's not. You have to get in a beginning, middle and end, tell a great story, write well, not be condescending--all in a few pages." -- Andrea Brown
If you are writing a picture book manuscript, here are a few tips from Deborah Underwood of The Christmas Quiet Bookas she guest posts on The Write Routine blog. She writes: Leaving room for the illustrator is one of the most important lessons for picture book writers. And I’m sorry to say it took me about six years to learn it. SIX YEARS. I think that was because I didn’t really understand why we need to leave room, why we shouldn’t write a lot of description. Now--finally!--I do.
Me: When I’m in the middle of writing a story for a picture book, I visualize in my head the colors, the clothes, the setting, etc. Once the illustrator reads the manuscript and sketches and comes up with the final art, I am stunned. The end result is always so much more beautiful than I envisioned. It’s best to leave out some details and give the illustrator the space to create. Illustrators are the artists who bring our story to life. Let’s leave them room to do their thing. It is a collaboration between author and illustrator to make the book the best that it can be.
Underwood goes on to write: Every descriptive word in a picture book limits your illustrator. Read her post on how she resisted, at first, to make changes, but in the end was happy to have acquiesced.
Dummy – A loose mock-up of a book showing placement of text and artwork. – Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market. Here’s a linkto creating a picture book dummy.
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| High School teachers with author and illustrator. |
Just got back from three days down in the Rio Grande Valley. It was such fun! My illustrator daughter, Carolyn Dee Flores, and I did a joint presentation at Sharyland High School in Mission, Texas. She presented the creative book process from an illustrator’s perspective while I presented mine from the writer’s perspective. We had two sessions of about 150 high school students each. We felt privileged to be presenting to such talented art students.
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| Librarians Janie Flores and Nicole Cruz with author and illustrator |
A really neat surprise that left me speechless happened when one of the art students, Eric Hinojosa, presented me with the portrait below. I shall frame it and put it up in my home. Thank you, Eric.
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| Author with portrait. |
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| Artist Eric Hinojosa with author and illustrator Carolyn Dee Flores. |
The next day, my daughter and I again did a joint presentation, but this time we presented to librarians from the ESC Region One area in Edinburg. We also had the pleasure of being on the same schedule as award-winning author (2014 Pura Belpre Honor for The Living), Matt de la Peña, who wowed everyone with his keynote speech.
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| Author Matt de la Pena and me |
I first met Matt at the 2013 summer SCBWI conference in Los Angeles. I attended one of his workshop sessions. We had a bit more time to talk at the Edinburg event. He is a remarkable writer. Imagine my surprise when he came up to my table so that I could autograph one of my books for him. Yikes!!
At our Saturday meeting yesterday, our local SCBWI chapter discussed the three 2014 award-winning picture books: Locomotive by Brian Floca (Caldecott), Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales (Pura Belpre), and Knock, Knock: My Dad’s Dream For Me (Coretta King Illustrator Award) by Daniel Beaty and illustrated by Bryan Collier. All three books were awesome.
Hasta luego! Until next time.
“Art is really the language of feeling.” – Steven Kellogg
Libraries! Love ‘em. Love to roam in the aisles where shelves and shelves of books beckon. But today, libraries are not just for books anymore. They offer a lot more. Take a peek at what one library in Florida offers their visitors.
The hand of the artist, a little stained with paint around the fingernails, must be seen. The voice of the writer, passionate and idiosyncratic, must be heard. And whether it is through adventure or humor or pathos, the story and pictures must always touch the heart. -- Rosemary Wells
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| Mission San Jose |
Are you having trouble deciding where to start your story? As writers, we are told to have a good hook to entice our reader to want to pick up our book. We are told to start at the point where something happens. The blog Ingrid’s Notes, has a post dedicated to this topic – where to start. “Inciting incident” is mentioned. Ingrid writes in step 1 of 4 steps: Why is an inciting incident so important? It’s the kick off the game! It creates the initial energy of your project and starts the plot. Everyone is always waiting for that exciting moment when the game begins. If you wait too long, people might leave before the story even starts. This post is worth looking into if you’re in doubt about where to start your story.
And here’s something cool on the thisiscolossalblog – visuals of paper books. You’ve got to take a look at these. Amazing! Anthology - A collection of selected writings by various authors or gatherings of works by one author. -- Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market.
I have more writing tips for you. These are from a Publishers Weekly post by Pulitzer Prize winner author Paul Harding (2010 Pulitzer for his novel Tinkers). He writes: “…But a huge part of being a writer is discovering your own intellectual and aesthetic autonomy, and how you best get the best words onto the page. …Outside of writing workshops and seminars, no one cares if you sit facing the blank page for six hours every day beginning at sunrise, or if you loaf around frittering away most days like a bum, or if you write your book one line at a time on the sly in between typing your boss’s business letters at the office. What’s important is that your reader holds a thrilling, amazing work of art in her hands.” Read the entire article here.
And great news for our SCBWI-SWTX chapter here in San Antonio, Texas. One of our members, Illustrator Akiko White,just won the prestigious first prize in the Tomie dePaola 2014 Award. There were over 200 entries and Akiko White took the top prize. Congratulations, Akiko! We are proud of you.
Roughs: Prelimiary sketches or drawings. -- Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market
Whew! The holidays are over. Hope you enjoyed your family as much as I did mine. Now back to writing and all the possibilities that 2014 will bring. And to get you started, here is a post by Brian Klems on the Writer’s Digestblog listing “62 of the top writing articles from 2013 (that can help you in 2014).” Listed are articles on grammar, writing better fiction, writing better characters, query letters, freelance writing, inspiration for writers, publishing, and many, many more. Be sure to take a look at some of these.
Already my schedule is filling up with school visits, author panels, and presentations. Plus SCBWI writers’ conferences and workshops in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas, are just around the corner. But the most important thing is to focus and make time for writing.
I went through some of my notes from the 2013 summer SCBWI conference in Los Angeles. Here are some reminders. I wish you the best in 2014! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Write every single day. Kill the committee (boogy man). Writing is rewriting.Less is more.Short is good. (5-8 pages on first chapter)Be vulnerable – willing to go there. Go to PAIN.Don’t think about your writing – JUST WRITE!Have fun!“Good writing is clear thinking made visible.” – Bill Wheeler
Do you like to write biographies? In one of my critique groups, one of our writers writes biographies. The rest of us in the group are amazed at the amount of research she does for each book. Of course she doesn’t use the entire volume of research notes, but what she does use makes for a fascinating story.
Here is a very brief discussion on writing biographies by Dr. Alma Bond, author and guest blogger on the Writer’s Digestblog. On her article, “How to Write a Biography: Writing from the Heart,” she writes: “As you do your research, select details to write about that you find particularly interesting. It is far more important to write in an engaging manner than to dwell upon historical dates and facts. Your readers will remember the former, and not the latter. That is not to say that research is not important.”
And here’s another interesting post on the Concord Monitor blog. The article, “Like Strega Nona, Tomie dePaola’s stories endure,” children’s author and illustrator Tomie dePaola is interviewed in his studio amid the tools of his trade. You'll enjoy the photos.
I’m taking a short break from my blog during the upcoming holidays. But here’s wishing you blessings during this holiday season. Happy Holidays!
“Nothing one ever experiences or feels is wasted.” – Lynne Reid Banks  |
| HI THERE!! |
Latin@s in Kid Lit is a website listing multicultural books and much more. Their Mission/Vision:
· engage with works about, for, and/or by Latin@s;
· offer a broad forum on Latin@ children’s, MG, and YA books;
· promote literacy and the love of books within the Latin@ community;
· examine the historical and contemporary state of Latin@ characters;
· encourage interest in Latin@ children’s, MG, and YA literature among non-Latin@ readers;
· share perspectives and resources that can be of use to writers, authors, illustrators, librarians, parents, teachers, scholars, and other stakeholders in literacy and publishing.
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| SCHMOOZE |
Yesterday the Southwest SCBWI chapter held its annual Holiday Schmooze. We all had a fun time, snacking and talking about books, what else? One of our members was kind enough to host the party at her lovely home. If you are a writer or an illustrator and haven’t yet joined the SCBWI in your area, you should. There are so many benefits to being part of this great organization. Find out what SCBWI can do for you.
Reprint rights: Permission to print an already published work whose first rights have been sold to another magazine or book publisher. -- Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market
Does your story have enough conflict to keep the tension up and the reader interested?
“Try stuff. See what happens. Let the justification come later. Just continue to think trouble, trouble, trouble. Make it worse. Turn up the heat. That’s conflict, your best friend as a writer.” That is what Brian Klems’ post on the Writer’s Digest blog, “5 Tools for Building Conflict in Your Novel,”addresses.
He assigns five tools to help the writer who is struggling with conflict in the story. They are: “The |
| New Mexico |
Novel Journal, Questions to be Answered, Dreams, Ongoing Mystery, and Guy with a Gun.” You might want to read this article if your story is lacking conflict.
And here’s some awesome stuff. Reading nooks. Do you have a favorite reading nook? I do. A very comfortable armchair by the fireplace. What’s yours? Take a look at these creative reading nooks on the Book Riot blog. Like I said – awesome! “Good writing is clear thinking made visible.” – Bill Wheeler
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day. I just returned from a trip to San Jose, California. Spent the Thanksgiving holiday there. Beautiful weather, lovely place.
Before the month of November is over, I’d like to share this post on the Picture Book Month blog. It’s about interviews with famous authors on the subject of why picture books are important. Make sure you read it if you’re into writing picture books or even if you’re not. The discussion is super interesting.
One of the interviewees, author April Pulley Sayer, writes: “A picture book is a delicious form. There’s just enough time for a journey, a concept, a bit of push and pull of language. A picture book can refresh you, teach you, comfort you, and help you set sail into real life with inspiration…” Visit the blog above for more. Never try to chase trends. Write what you love, and write the best book you can, and worry about publication later. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner
A writer friend of mine is moving out of state and decided to give away some of her books on writing before she moves. She has hundreds of them. I was giddy with excitement as she handed me several boxes filled with books. The first one I read was Gates of Excellence: On Reading and Writing Books for Children by the awesome author Katherine Paterson of Bridge to Terabithia and many other books. Although Gates was published in 1981, everything she wrote still applies. Not only was the book inspirational, but she had so many quotes in there. One of my favorites on the topic of revisions: “I love revisions. Where else in life can spilled milk be transformed into ice cream?”
And speaking of revisions, here is an excellent interview on the Cynsationsblog with author Caroline Carlson, The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates: Magic Marks the Spot. She details her pre-and-pro contract revision process.
Here’s an interesting bit of information. Author Alice Munro, who just won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, got her share of rejection letters. Talk about perseverance! Gives the rest of us hope.
Take a peek. This is simply unbelievable! A gown made out of Golden Books. Contract: A written agreement stating the rights to be purchased by an editor, art director or producer and the amount of payment the writer, illustrator or photographer will receive for that sale. – Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market
I’ve attended many book festivals since becoming an author. Book festivals are not only fun but a great way to promote your books. When I first started I didn’t know what to expect. But the more an author participates in such events, the smoother the ride. Author Chuck Sambuchino’s post on the Writer’s Digest blog, “How to Maximize a Book Festival Appearance: 9 Tips,” offers excellent advice if you’re ready to participate in one.
Here’s a wonderful piece about a librarian who opened a rural-one-room library in the Ozarks. Heartwarming story. Bless librarians who are book lovers and our friends!
And if you like biographies, you must read Daughters of Two Nations, which just came out. Published by Mountain Press and written by Peggy Caravantes and illustrated by Carolyn Dee Flores (my daughter), it is a must read.
SCBWI: The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (www.scbwi.org)
