Merry Christmas!

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home! - Charles Dickens

A November To Remember

I did it! I did it! I did it! Now I'm taking a little break from writing for Christmas time activities with my much neglected kids and husband. Also, I can finally read a book...ahhhhh! I'm enjoying Jennifer Donnelly's A Northern Light. How are you rewarding yourself for writing goals achieved? Reading a good book? Please share!

It's A Boy!

Baby's World by Rabindranath Tagore

I wish I could take a quiet corner in the heart of my baby's very
own world.
I know it has stars that talk to him, and a sky that stoops
down to his face to amuse him with its silly clouds and rainbows.
Those who make believe to be dumb, and look as if they never
could move, come creeping to his window with their stories and with
trays crowded with bright toys.
I wish I could travel by the road that crosses baby's mind,
and out beyond all bounds;
Where messengers run errands for no cause between the kingdoms
of kings of no history;
Where Reason makes kites of her laws and flies them, the Truth
sets Fact free from its fetters.

Whatever Gets You Through

Some of the days during NaNoWriMo have been a real struggle to get through. There have been times I've been sure I could not write one more sentence of utter nonsense. Yet here I am 10,000 words away from reaching the finish line. How have I made it this far? How can I keep myself going? With two things:
1) Caffeine
2) Chocolate
These two things have been good friends to me over the years, but now I find myself relying on them more than ever. However, there is one problem with the chocolate. I've been eating Reece's Cups to get my chocolate fix, and with all the sitting I've been doing, let's just say the Reece's have added some extra padding to my posterior. It's noticeable enough for my six-year-old daughter to ask, "Why does when your belly get bigger from the baby, your butt gets bigger too?" My answer to her, "Hormones honey... hormones."

At Least I'm Not On Facebook

What have I been going with my time? Writing, writing, and more writing. NaNo is keeping me very busy, and as difficult as it is for me to write as much as I am every day, I have to say I am really enjoying it! When working on picture books my challenge is to stay under 1000 words. Now my challenge is to write over 1600 a day! BIG difference.
So, what have I learned so far? Well, one thing I already knew about myself- I have to have a deadline in order to complete my work in a timely manner. Also, it's good to have a regular writing routine. I've been writing in the morning while my little man is in preschool. AND--- I FINALLY (I'm in to all caps today) broke down an bought a digital voice recorder. I've been meaning to do it for years, literally for years people! It's so helpful to have something to record my thoughts and ideas when I'm away for the computer, or that time right before I fall asleep where my mind goes into idea hyper-drive. So I want to know, what have you learned so far from NaNoWriMo? What has it taught you about yourself? If you're not doing NaNo, share some of your favorite writing tips!

Learning To Outline

Between severe headaches, a minor bathroom re-do, PTA duties, getting ready for Halloween and an Usborne book party, I've been working on outlining my novel for NaNoWriMo. I've never attempted to write a novel before. The longest thing I've worked on is a chapter book that was meant to be a picture book. My last experience with outlines was for my college course in public speaking. So, I did what any semi-intelligent person with working fingers does- I Googled "how to outline a novel." I was surprised that I didn't have to sort through a bunch of gobbly-gook to find something useful. I came across Randy Ingermanson's "Snowflake Method" on his website www.advancedfictionwriting.com. I've been using the method to outline my novel, and I have to say it has been super helpful. I'm learning a lot and having fun, so I'm already finding that signing up for NaNoWriMo is paying off. Now if only the rest of my life could be outlined into order....(sigh). How great would it be if I could write a scene of my own life where I binge on chocolate and my headache disappears? Then, Tom Silva from TOH shows up at my door to remodel my bathroom while Colin Cowie throws together a lavish Halloween soiree, and also offers to work his magic for my book party. Overactive imagination? Absolutely- that's why I write!

The Profound Affect Of A Picture Book

* My little wild thing.

Ten sentences long, 19 million copies sold, and a story so sublime a movie is made of it 40+ years after it was first published: Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are." I just wanted to address that over the weekend it was the top-grossing movie. According to news articles, adults made up a large chunk of the audience. I think it goes to show that a great book, whether it's ten sentences or ten thousand sentences long, can stay with you your whole life.

Crazy Like A Fox Or Just Plain Crazy?

"Dear RebeccaAnn,
Well, you did it. You've gone and pledged your November to the pursuit of the month-long novel. Whether this is your first or eleventh NaNoWriMo, we're thrilled to have you writing with us."

What have I gotten myself into? Well, this was my thinking....

What if I were to write something without constantly editing myself? What if the goal was quantity not quality? What if I ignored all my responsibilities- husband, house, children- and just wrote my little heart out? What if instead of writing a picture book, I wrote a 50,00 word YA novel that I could later edit and cut down to a reasonable length?

Are hormones making me crazy? You betcha! But does this actually make sense for me to do? Yes, it does. If I'm going to grow as a writer I have to challenge myself. What better way to do that than a 50,000 word, one-month writing marathon? National Novel Writing Month- take up your pen and join me!

Notes From A Conference Part 2

I am stuck again on my story involving the toy rocket. I've turned to going through my notes from the conference for help. One of my breakout sessions is proving to be very helpful! "Picture Books: Start to Finish" was a session led by author of the Boomer series, Constance McGeorge. Here is her advice that I'm trying to apply to my current predicament...

- Wrap a story around your idea

- Economy of language- Don't Be Redundant!!

- Find an emotion or theme when stuck

- Illustrators like a variety of venues to create

Will this wisdom get me through my writer's block? I sure hope so. Tomorrow is writers' group, and those ladies always deliver the goods. They are a great group of writers, and a great group of honest, thoughtful critics . I don't think I can show up with a crumbled piece of paper and watery eyes.

Notes From A Conference Part 1

I'm back from the 1st Annual Scarlet and Gray Writers and Illustrators Conference. I'm happy to report it was enjoyable and worthwhile. One of my breakout sessions was "Surviving the Slush Pile." The speaker was Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, author of The Floating Circus, 42 Miles, Reaching for the Sun, Sketches from a Spy Tree, and Steady Hands: Poems about work. I haven't yet read her work, but I thought she was an engaging and witty speaker. Here are some golden nuggets of wisdom from Tracie:

- Whenever the slush pile starts to tip over is when the editorial staff starts to deal with it.

- Your ms has 20 seconds to impress an editor.

- It cost about $30,000 to bring a book to market; most books don’t make that money back.

- You are going to be rejected! Even award winners still have manuscripts rejected.

- Focus on your craft and the rest will follow.

- Only 2% of the slush pile is worth looking at.

- Focus on character. Let your character get in to trouble, don’t spare them pain and suffering. Your main character has to change- or why would the reader care?

- Your main character must want something! Their situation needs to get worse before it gets better. Put a fire under the feet of your main character!

- Keep moving the story forward.

- Make the reader laugh, make them cry- make them WAIT! Pull your reader along; don’t give it all away too soon.

- Chapters for novels: if one starts out positive, end it negative and vice versa.

- Don’t have more than three characters in the first chapter, you’ll lose the reader.

- Read like a chef eats, taste for the ingredients and how it was put together.

- Revision is like a quilt, rip it apart at the seams and redesign it.

- Read. Write. Repeat.

- KEEP THE FAITH!

* A picture of an actual slush pile that Tracie used in her power point. It scared me when I saw it!