Footnotes is
a recurring series on the GLA blog where I pick a subject and provide several
interesting articles on said topic. Two of the most popular
writing categories these days are Young Adult and Middle Grade. They encompass many
of the same characteristics but are shelved in different areas. Here are 5 articles
on their differences.
1. Where is it shelved? One
librarian gives her view.
2. Make ‘em real. Children Book insider publisher Laura Backes gives
her tips for creating believable Middle Grade and Young Adult characters.
3. Perspective, Perspective, Perspective. The main difference between MG and
YA lies within the perspective of the main character, writer
Ruthanne Reid explains.
4. Drawing the line. Agent Michael Stearns breaks
down the differences between middle grade and young adult.
5. Get out of the gray area. Agent Mary Kole gives
her advice in determining if your story’s MG or YA.
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"Our greatest weakness lies in
giving
up. The most certain way to succeed is
always to try just one more time."
~ Thomas A. Edison
Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA blog where I pick a subject and
provide several interesting articles on said topic. Today I’m serving up 5 articles
on perseverance.
1. Jennifer Fallon offers her advice on getting published. The most important
tip—keep writing. See the article
here.
2. Even the greats took a long rode. Janet Evanovich wrote
three novels that never got published. She kept writing—so should you.
3. Be ready when opportunity finally knocks. Enjoy some
great advice from agent Janet Reid.
4. Combat rejection. Receiving lots of rejections? Agent Jill Corcoran offers
her sometimes colorful
advice in dealing with it.
5. Stay positive. Nathan Bransford offers up Ten
Commandments for the happy writer. Guess what number ten is?
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"I try to leave out the parts that people skip."
~Elmore Leonard
Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA blog where I pick a subject and
provide several interesting articles on said topic. We’ve
all been there. First, your throat begins to tighten and then your mouth goes dry.
Your heart beats so fast it feels like it could leap from your chest at any moment.
You take a deep breath and begin your pitch, hoping what you say will make some sense.
Today, I’m serving up four articles on surviving the conference pitch.
1. First impressions count. An
article on Suite 101 shows you how to prepare for the pitch like you would a job
interview.
2. Different situations call for different pitches. Nathan
Bransford explains one sentence, the one paragraph and two paragraph pitches.
3. Pitchcraft. Agent
Katharine Sands explains the elements that should be included in the pitch and
ones you should leave out.
4. Some agents hate pitches, too. Agent
Janet Reid explains what not to do.
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"The future is not set. There is
no fate but what we make for ourselves."
~ Kyle Reese
Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA
blog where I pick a subject and provide several interesting articles on said topic. Suzanne's
Collins's Hunger Games series has ignited a craze for dystopian literature. That's
why today I'm serving up six articles on dystopian stories.
1. What does it even mean to be "dystopian"? Start
at the Science Encyclopedia.
2. An agent's current take on the genre. Agent Michelle Andelman at Regal Literary
posted her thoughts on dystopian fiction over on The
Spectacle's website for kids writers.
3. Dystopian writing was once out but is now in. This according to the
official blog of Writing for the Web.
4. Even The New Yorker weighs in. The big-time mag addresses
the rise in dystopian fiction for young adults.
5. Listen in on a panel of writers at BEA. I haven't watched the entire 45-minute
video yet, but here is a panel
of authors discussing dystopian fiction at BookExpo America 2010.
6. Where can we find a list of dystopian books? Right
here! This list by Jen Robinson also includes "straight" sci-fi, but it's an excellent
place to start.
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"Most of us can read the writing
on the wall;
we just assume it's addressed to someone else."
~ Ivern Ball
Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA blog where I pick a subject and
provide several interesting articles on said topic. The
whispering starts whenever two or more writers are together—maybe over drinks or waiting
in line. You’ve heard about them at conferences and workshops. That’s right folks,
this week I’m serving up 4 articles on Publishing Myths.
1. Do editors really edit? Agent Nathan
Bransford discussed this commonly held belief back in 2007.
2. Different avenues exist. Agent Wendy Lawton debunks
the myth that the only way to find an agent is to pitch them.
3. There are lots of myths where self publishing is concerned. This post by
Three Bean Press debunks
many of them.
4. The Big 10. Freelance editor Erin Brown lists the top ten publishing myths
and gives
some thoughtful advice on what to believe.
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"Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock,
perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack
showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will
split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it,
but all that had gone before." ~Jacob A. Riis
Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA blog where I pick a subject and
provide several interesting articles on said topic. Every writer at some point
in their career must face rejection. Today I’m serving up 4 articles to help soften
the blow.
1. You are not alone. 30
famous authors who faced rejection.
2. Words to write by. 5
reasons your manuscript gets rejected, as told by Victoria Mixon.
3. Three levels of rejection. Austrailian writer
Damien Kane shows you how you handle each one may
make the difference in whether or not that manuscript gets published.
4. It happens to everyone. Agent Nathan Bransford
explains why
every writer will face rejection.
>
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"The human voice is the organ of the soul."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Footnotes is a recurring series on the GLA blog
where I pick a subject and provide several interesting articles on said topic. Today
I’m serving up 5 articles to help you develop your writing voice.
1. In your own words. Missy Frye discusses how
to find your writing voice.
2. Your voice is your fingerprint. Finding
your voice as a children’s writer.
3. Put yourself on the page. Holly Lisle lists 10
steps to finding your voice.
4. Make your characters come alive. The Writer’s
toolkit: A
voice journal for character development.
5. Get into the groove. Jesaka Long presents
tips to developing your writing voice.
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On the heals of Jan Greenberg’s post contrasting fabricated memoirs with the tireless research she’s putting into her book on artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, comes the news, in yesterday’s New York Times, that Esquire plans to run a fictitious first-person diary titled, “The Last Days of Heath Ledger” in its April issue. The “diary,” written in fact by Lisa Taddeo, follows the late actor from London to New York, imagining his thoughts and actions during the days leading to his death from an accidental overdose of prescription medicine on January 22. In today’s world of information overload, it’s not so surprising that somebody came up with yet another way to exploit the tragic death of a talented actor. What is surprising is that in the Times article, several publishing professionals, including one who teaches magazine writing at NYU, endorse and even applaud the move.
I was trained to believe the line between truth and fiction should not be blurred. I’m not saying people shouldn’t write historical novels or produce movies and TV shows that are “inspired” by real events. The public usually knows what it’s getting into with those creations. But including a fictionalized piece in an environment where people expect truth and accuracy undermines a publication’s credibility. Years ago, when I was a contributor to Scholastic Search, a fantastic American history magazine for middle school students, the editor proposed a series of “interviews” between notables from different eras. Ben Franklin might sit down with Theodore Roosevelt, for example, or Rosa Parks might speak with Pocahontas. It’s an intriguing idea, and a good writer who did a lot of research might pull it off. But it made me uneasy to think of a fictional piece running in a kids’ non-fiction magazine.
Similarly, it drives me nuts when I see bookstores shelving installments from the Dear America series and its descendants and imitators in the non-fiction section. If store personnel can’t distinguish those fictionalized diaries from the real thing, how can kids? I vastly prefer the original American Girl books, where the historical fiction is followed by an engaging essay exploring the true events that inspired the novel. Those books give you the best of both worlds: compelling fiction and historical context under one cover.
In recent years, the trend in kids’ nonfiction has been toward more attribution and accountability. When my editors first told me they would require footnotes for quotations and statistics, I balked, flashing back to those long ago days of writing college papers. But now I embrace the chance to hold the veracity of my work up to public scrutiny by including footnotes and inviting readers to e-mail me with questions about sources. And when those sources conflict with no clear consensus, as in the spelling of Annie Oakley’s real last name (Moses or Mozee), I do my best to report the disagreement and explain why I chose the option I did. In kids’ nonfiction, honesty is the best policy and accuracy always matters.
Two new booklists have just come out, practically at the same precise moment. The first, thanks to Educating Alice, is the 2007 Notable Books in the English Language Arts. It's a short but worthwhile list. I was particularly pleased to see the inclusion of The Braid by Helen Frost, A True and Faithful Narrative by Katherine Sturtevant, The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin, Rules by Cynthia Lord, To Dance by Sienna Segal, Oh Rats! by Albert Marrin, Team Moon by Catherin Thimmesh, Once Upon a Banana by Jennifer Armstrong, and The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon by Mini Grey.
Still. No Fly By Night and no A Drowned Maiden's Hair. To my mind, every list should have at least one of these two.
Also, there was the announcement of the E.B. White Read Aloud Award winners:
The winner of the 2007 E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books is Houndsley and Catina by James Howe, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay (Candlewick).
The winner of the 2007 E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers is: Alabama Moon by Watt Key (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).
Yay,
Alabama Moon! Alongside...
Houndsley and Catina, huh? Okay, fess up. Who's read this one?
Me, me, I've read Houndsley and Catina and adore it. And, as you can see, it is also not on the Notable Language Arts list. What can I say? You were on a committee; you know how things can play out. What is one person's dear love may be no one else's. So it goes.
Really, though, Houdsley and Catina is wonderful. Quiet, unassuming and wonderful.
Good. That's what I wanted to hear. Now to go find myself a copy...
I enjoyed it, as did the first and second graders I read it aloud to. I think even older kids could get some of the deeper messages about acknowledging what we're good (or not so good) at, and doing things for the wrong reasons, but the younger ones appreciate and identify with the characters and knowing that good friends are there even when you're not at your best.
Quite possibly my favorite blog subject line ever. Well done and kudos, Ms. Fuse...