How to use this Page

As your luck and mine would have it, I met up with three members of SCBWI’s 11th Annual Winter New York Conference Team Blog - Jolie Stekly, Jaime Temairik and Lee Wind, at the Friday night Faculty/Industry Cocktail Party.  Over a glass of Chardonnay, I shared my angst concerning the writing of my blog posts.
“I’m the Slowest Writer East of the Mississippi!” I lamented. “I’m a wordsmith, not a blogger. How do you three do it?”
All three smiled their knowing smiles.
“Act like you’re talking to a friend,” CuppaJolie blogger Jolie told me. “It’s not about writing a perfect sentence. It’s about sharing.”
CocoaStomp blogger Jaime seconded Jolie’s advice.
“Quality is awfully good but so is quantity. If the blog is good, I don’t care if it appears once a day or once a month.
Jaime’s Final Words? “Whatever floats your boat!”
Then Lee Wind (I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?) kindly photographed the smiling Jolie, (on the left), me (in the middle) and Jaime (on the right) to share with you, my post-Conference readers.


Jolie, Jaime and Lee joined Alice Pope, Suzanne Young and Paula Yoo to tweet and blog the weekend away.
Speaking of which, it’s not too late for you to vicariously attend the conference through their tweets and posts. I promise you a semester’s worth of Writing and Illustrating for Children.

So, just between you and me?

This was the 11th Annual SCBWI Winter New York Conference I’ve attended.
I’d been lucky enough to have heard each main stage speaker numerous times, with the exception of agent Tina Wexler and author-illustrator Jim Benton.
Yet like a good children’s book which invites revisiting, so did each of the conference speakers.

Display Comments Add a Comment

Since early September

Add a Comment

     I began a new Young Writer's workshop this past weekend with some middle schoolers who are pretty sophisticated writers. Excited? You bet I was! These kids were ready for some serious writing work. I passed out composition books and pencils.
     "We are going to keep writer's journals," I announced.
     Silence. Expressionless faces.
     Oops. I recognized my error. In our local school system, journals are used to strengthen writing skills, and focus the student's attention to the subject at hand. Every single day.  By middle school, they are journaling five or six times a day, as they move from classroom to classroom.
      I know that teachers have specific testing goals to meet in spelling, grammar and punctuation. Creative writing?
      Not so much.
      I don't know how our school district fares on standardized writing tests, but I do know one side effect of daily classroom journaling; fear and loathing of "journaling."
     Back to my polite little writers, whose enthusiasm I squashed in the first five minutes by using the "j" word. I backpeddled rapidly.
     "OK, not really journaling," I said. "More like um...um..."
     Great. I'm the writer, and I  can't think of the right word for what I wanted them to do with those composition books.
     "Blogging?" my teenage assistant suggested.
     "Um...no." For one thing, there are no computers available for the workshop.
      I wanted to say "diary," but that's not right either.  Diaries show you just how boring your life is. A day-by-day chronicle of my life reads like the old Cheech and Chong comedy routine about "What I Did on My Summer Vacation." To paraphrase, "The first day, I got up, I got dressed, I ate breakfast. Then I went downtown to look for a job. Day two, I got up, I got dressed, I ate breakfast...."
     In my childhood diaries, I wrote whatever I was thinking or feeling at the moment. Writing them comforted me. I might also add that I was an only child and didn't have to worry about a sibling digging through my inner musings.
     But I digress.  My Young Writers were still waiting for me to say the magic word.
     "Let's notebook," I said.
     Nobody flinched at my use of a noun as a verb. Encouraged, I made up some more "writerspeak." I knew I couldn't use the "p" word, either. (That would be "prompt.") Prompts leave me staring at an empty screen or page, feeling frustrated at my inability to cough up creativity on demand. But I am good at finishing sentences...both my own and those of other people.
     "Finish this sentence," I said.  "Just write the first that you think of.  No hard thinking allowed. Sometimes I wonder...'"
    Scribble scribble scribble.  The writers finished, and looked at me for further wisdom.
    "Now keep writing about that until I tell you to stop. If you can't think of anything, just keep writing 'I can't think of anything to write'.  Sooner or later you will come up with something."
     Yes, this is just another way of re-packaging a "free write." Say "free write" to me and watch me do a Wile E. Coyote, freezing in mid-air, just before i plummet off the creative cliff. Free writes are just a little
too "free" for me, and for most students that I encounter. There should be boundaries. That's boundaries...not walls. Less is more.
     Since I do the exercises along with my students, I wrote the first thing that came to mind....I wonder what it would be like to vacation in space? From there I rambled on about a cruise ship-like space vehicle, with room service and a gift shop that sold t-shirts that said "My parents went to Saturn and all I got was this crummy t-shirt."
     My workshoppers were considerably more serious. Their "wonderings" were about Big Life Issues. Just as I hoped, by the end of the allotted five minutes, they had moved from personal "wondering", to conjecture, which is the step before diving into fiction.
    "Let's do another one," the group chorused. OK, maybe they didn't chorus, but they were certainly having fun. While I never insist that anyone "share with the group" (or even with me, privately) if they don't want to, this group wanted to.  So we shared, and did more open ended prom...um...sentences.
     I've never had so much fun with a writing workshop. At least not one I was leading!
     By the end of the afternoon, each writer had several pages of raw writing, compost for future projects, and the bare bones of a short story.
     And I will never have to use the "j" word again.
     We are "notebooking."

     Writing Workout

     The point of "composting" is not just to give the writer material for future use; it helps to engage the hand and brain simultaneously. That's trickier than it sounds, since most of us are so used to writing on a computer, mindlessly adding, deleting and Spell-checking. As my students complain "My mind works faster than I can move a pencil." Ah ha! That means you have to slow down, and think while you are writing. (Thinking--that undervalued writing skill!)

 Here are some of the open ended prompts I used. The second part of the part of the prompt is always "now keep writing." (Usually for five minutes, depending on the group.)

My favorite food is....   Describe without using the sense of sight.

If I could invite one person to supper, famous or not, living or dead, I would invite.....(I know; this is just a variation of the "who do you admire most?' prompt, but this seems to work better, creatively speaking.)

When I was five, my favorite toy was....

I really wish that...

What really makes me laugh is....

The one thing I could really live without is....
(or)
The one thing I can't live without is...

If could be someone else for a day it would be...


I'd love to hear your open-end prompts. (Sorry, no prize involved here. I'm just interested in hearing from
you.)


What I'm Reading.
Adult Non-fiction: Anne Frank:  The Diary, the Life, the Afterlife by Francine Prose.
YA Fiction:  Purple Heart by Patricia McCormack, Comfort by Joyce Moyer Hostetter,


Mary Ann

Add a Comment

Hooray--it’s Poetry Friday! Today’s poem and lesson plan are at the end of this post.

I’ve always felt that that if nothing else, I’m good at being a portal. A conduit between what someone wants and how they can get it. That's what has given me the to courage to teach Writing Picture Books for Children through UCLA Extension’s Writer’s Program for over a decade. This class is for newbie children’s book writers--not for those who have read a lot, taken classes, submitted stories, or joined organizations.

To these toe-in-the-water beginners I assign two books. The first is

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books—3^rd Edition by Harold Underdown.

This is a comprehensive, down-to-earth guide—worth reading cover-to-cover and easy to dip into as a reference. It presents a broad overview of the field but also gives specifics. As with all Idiot Guides, it's easy to browse and packed with extras like "Vocabulary Lists," which explain terms in the children's publishing industry; "Class Rules," which detail warnings and cautions; "Can You Keep a Secret?" which include tips and resources to help a children's writer or illustrator present him or herself as a pro; and my favorite, "Playground Stories," which are anecdotes from and profiles of children's authors and publishers, giving an insiders view of the children's publishing world.

The other required book is Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott.

Teaching Authors Jeanne Marie and Mary Ann have both talked about Bird by Bird...and I’m going to talk about again. Because yes, it’s that good.

My favorite chapter is the one on jealousy, which changed my life. I read it at least once a year to quell my burning heart.

Though I happily celebrate most friends' successes, some colleagues' successes cause me great agony and confusion. Several years ago, someone gently suggested that perhaps I shouldn't read the book review section right before I went to sleep. She was right. When I'd see certain names, I'd toss and turn all night, feeling like I'd lost a race I didn't even know I was in.

This is really embarrassing to admit.

I've been more loving to myself about this in the last few years, and Anne Lamott's BIrd by Bird is a big reason why. She writes:
“But if you continue to write, you are probably going to have to deal with [jealousy], because some wonderful dazzling successes are going to happen for some of the most awful, angry undeserving writers you know—people who are, in other words, not you."

and later,

"It can wreak just the tiniest bit of havoc with your self-esteem to find that you are hoping for small bad things to happen to this friend--for, say, her head to blow up."

Who, me?

She writes about seeing a documentary on AIDS:

"You could see the amazing fortitude of people going through horror with grace...seeing that this is what you've got, this disease, or maybe even this jealousy. So you do as well as you can with it. And this ravaged body or wounded psyche...should...be cared for as softly and tenderly as possble."

Lamott has shown me that yes, I have this tendency to be jealous, yes, I have this green spot on my heart…and though I try each year to make it smaller, I may have to live with that little green spot, be amused by that part of me and love myself anyway.

I’m human. What a surprise.

Writing Workout / Lesson Plan—
Metaphor—Getting a Handle on a Really Uncomfortable Feeling

For ages 7 through adult (or younger, with individual help.)

Objective: This lesson reminds us how writing can help us when we feel awful. (And if the feeling doesn’t go away, at least we’ve got a poem out of it!)

Instructions:

1. Think of someone or something that fills you with envy (or another awful feeling).

2. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath.

3. Feel this feeling in your stomach, in your bloodstream, filling every bone in your body.

4. Or instead, think about what helps drive this emotion from your body. Feel the relief as it leaves through the top of your head, through your finger tips, through the bottoms of your feet.

5. Brainstorm at least five metaphors for jealousy or for what makes jealousy go away. Are you a leaf and is your jealousy a worm chewing on you? Is your jealousy a ring in the bathtub being scrubbed clean with Ajax cleanser?

6. Write a poem using one of your metaphors.

7. Write honestly—even if it embarrasses you.

ANYTHING I CAN DO YOU CAN DO BETTER

or

CAN OF WORMS

by April Halprin Wayland

Varda once told us

that we were all cans on a shelf.

Cans of chili, kidney beans, split pea soup.

I decided that I was a can of apricot halves.

She said that the shelf was only one can deep

but that it stretched out forever

so there’s always room

for one more.

“You don’t have to be afraid that adding another can
means there isn’t enough room for you,”she said.

“You can even help a new can

onto the shelf next to you.”

And she never talked

about jealousy again.

© April Halprin Wayland

Out and About

I’m giving a short program and book signing at the fabulous

Children’s Book World in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 26^th at 10:30 am.

If you can’t come, call 310-559-2665 (310-559-book) and they’ll send you your very own autographed copy of New Year at the Pier!

All drawings by April Halprin Wayland

Display Comments Add a Comment

This is the second in our series of six posts featuring back-to-school Writing Workouts especially for teachers and homeschoolers. But all you writers out there, don't touch that dial--today's Writing Workout is for you, too.On Monday, Mary Ann shared an alternative to the all-too-familiar "What I did over my summer vacation" assignment. Today, I'd like to suggest a writing activity that will not

Display Comments Add a Comment

Good news! My nonfiction picture book Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move received the Growing Good Kids - Excellence in Children’s Literature Award from the American Horticultural Society and the National Junior Master Gardener Program.Two weeks ago, I traveled to Cleveland to receive the award at the 2009 National Children & Youth Garden Symposium in Cleveland, Ohio. During the award ceremony

Display Comments Add a Comment

Out and AboutI’m off and flyin’ to the 38th Annual SCBWI Conference - 4 days (count ’em!) of non-stop meeting, greeting, learning and laughing - oh, and dancing, too, beneath LA’s Blue Moon, all in the service of creating children’s books.My (too-big-to-fit-in-the-overhead-compartment?) suitcase bulges with the manuscripts I’ll be critiquing, transparencies for my Saturday “Keeping The Writer’s

Display Comments Add a Comment

I am writing this from beautiful Ocean Isle, North Carolina, but I don't think that was what we had in mind when we set up the "out-and-about" category of blogs. But since I haven't been to any writing-related events lately, I will tell you about two "techie" related projects I am currently working on. Or maybe struggling with would be a better way of describing it. Anything that involves the

Add a Comment

Happy Father's Day to my husband and to all the great dads of the world!


Cruising around the Kidlitosphere recently, I found the following posts and articles. I hope you find some interesting reading and book suggestions.

• From BookDads: 20th Edition Book Review Blog Carnival, which includes a section called Father’s Day Finds
• Pam Coughlan has reviews of three picture books about dads just in time for Father’s Day at Booklights.
• Pam also has a post about summer reading at Booklights. Check out Summer Reading, Having a Blast
• There’s a new “Monthly Special” list of recommended book at The Horn Book site: Folklore Around the World.
• What Makes a Good Science Book?, an article by Janet Hamilton (The Horn Book Magazine, May/June 2009)
• From Jen Robinson's Book Page: Thursday Afternoon Visits: June 18. Jen always has a great roundup of links for us.

Add a Comment

posted by Carmela MartinoI have a busy week! This Wednesday and Thursday, I have the honor of being a visiting author in the Joliet, Illinois School District, as part of their "Reading Week" Celebration. I'll be speaking to groups of students in grades K-2 and 3-5 at four different schools. Should be fun!Then on Saturday, May 16, I'll be teaching "Turning Life into Fiction," a new all-day

Add a Comment

Posted by JoAnn Early MackenI’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember. Most of the many jobs I’ve held included some writing component—or else I invented one. I didn’t find my true calling as a writer for children until my husband and I had our own kids. Inspired by wonderful books we read together, I remembered a poem I’d written in a college creative writing course, dug it out of the

Display Comments Add a Comment

From Read Write Think (IRA & NCTE): Read Across America Day Celebrates Dr. Seuss (March 2, 2009)—This site includes links to lesson plans and other websites.


From the National Education Association: NEA’s Read Across America—You can download free digital read-along versions of Dr. Seuss books, resources, and other materials at this site.


NCTE’s National Day on Writing—Interested in taking part in NCTE’s National Day of Writing on October 20, 2009? Then check out this site that has the information you need—as well as links to writing resources. (You can also read more about this day at this Wild Rose Reader post: NCTE's National Day on Writing.)


From Jen Robisnon’s Book Page: Announcing the Share a Story - Shape a Future Literacy Blog Tour


At Under the Covers: The January 2009 Carnival of Children’s Literature

Add a Comment

Interrupting the interregnum to report:

(a) you can vote for the best literature blog in the Weblog Awards for 2008, but be warned - the field is very limited, and one person has a ridiculous number of fans voting. (Gee, I wonder who that could be...)

(b) some terrific blogging over at the State Library's Summer Read, from Ann Blainey (from a boat, no less), Greg de Moore and Dennis McIntosh, whose posts on his memoir of life as a shearer, Beaten By A Blow, are quite affecting.

(c) the flowers at Cloudehill gardens in the Dandenongs are looking amazing.

As we were.

Add a Comment

I didn't get there - but Alison, as always, brings it on home. What a session. After her scintillating readings and discussion at MWF of Akhmatova, though, she was a natural choice for conversing with Patti Smith.
(Now I can't quite believe I've introduced myself to someone who has interviewed Patti Smith, can I.) Be sure to cross to Alison's link to read Chris Boyd's interview too.

Moving right along, from First Monday, the information management online journal, comes this article about Google and the Open Content Alliance digitisation initiatives.
Author Kalev Leetaru is interested in why no comparisons of both have been made to date, and claims that:

While the academic community has lauded OCA’s “open” model and condemned the proprietary Google, all is not always as it seems. Upon delving deeper into the underpinnings of both projects, we find Google achieves greater transparency in many regards, while OCA’s operational reality is more proprietary than often thought.

(Link via Creative Economy Online.)

Comics on a DVD? OH NOES. On the other hand, perhaps I would be able to obtain that Disney comic with Donald as Jason trying to win the Golden Fleece, that I remember from my earliest years. Yes, that was my earliest exposure to the tale of the dragon's teeth, I'm afraid. (From the Journal of Electronic Publishing).

Add a Comment

Poetry Friday has been around the kidlitosphere for quite some time. In late January, Anastasia Suen instituted Nonfiction Monday, which she hosts at her blog Picture Book of the Day. Thanks, Anastasia! I recommend stopping by her blog on Mondays to check out all the great children’s nonfiction books bloggers are writing about.

Note: I don’t participate in Nonfiction Monday every week—but I have twice to date. Here are links to my Nonfiction Monday posts:

Nonfiction Monday: George Washington’s Teeth. This humorous book written in verse about the problems our first president had with his teeth is a great one to read aloud to young children. The book includes an extensive and informative timeline of George Washington’s life and his tooth troubles.

Book Review: What To Do About Alice? This is a picture book biography about Alice Roosevelt Longworth written by Barbara Kerley. The book’s subtitle will give you a flavor of this informational book that would be lots of fun to read aloud to young children: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!

Add a Comment

The February 2008 The Edge of the Forest has been posted. Here’s what you’ll find in this issue:

• An interview with Eric Rohmann, by Julie M. Prince
• A hearty defense of YA Literature, by Little Willow
• Graphic Novels: A Gateway to a New World, by Kelly Fineman
• A profile of illustrator Sylvia Long, by Kris Bordessa
• A fantastic new column called A Backward Glance, by writer Candice Ransom
• P.J. Hoover is this month's Blogging Writer, interviewed by Christine Marciniak
• Reviews in all categories—from Picture book to Young Adult.

The February Carnival of Children’s Literature is at Anastasia Suen’s Blog, Picture Book of the Day.

It’s The Year of the Frog. Check out the Leaping into Books about Frogs (And Other Amphibians) for some excellent book recommendations.

Hot Off the Press at the Children’s Book Council: A Sneak Peek at Publishers’ Newest and Hottest Titles

Check out Pam Coughlan’s I Am a Mother Reader article at ForeWord Magazine.

Check out the new list of recommended concept books at The Horn Book website.

The March/April issue of The Horn Book is out. Check out the online articles.

Add a Comment

Apologies in advance, but I just had to share this....

As of today the Jesus Storybook Bible, that I illustrated for most of last year, has just hit #26 on the MOVERS AND SHAKERS on amazon.com! It's also currently at a sales rank of 433....

Display Comments Add a Comment