Mad About Children's Publishing - And More on Conferences

Echoing Julie's excellent post of earlier this week, well presented conferences provide us writers with up-to-date information and much needed optimism. Also ditto in Florida as in New York for the good future for children's books, with hard copies co-existing with digital.

Last month I crossed Alligator Alley (Rte 75) from southwest Florida to Miami to attend the 2012 Florida SCBWI Conference. The theme was "Mad About Children's Publishing" with this theme carrying through the Saturday evening dinner with editors and writers costumed in Alice in Wonderland character garb. There was a lot of fun as well as many great and interactive presentations and workshops from such inspiring guests as Lin Oliver of National SCBWI and award winning author Donna Jo Napoli.

Of all the terrific sessions, the one I focused on driving back on Sunday across the Everglades was the fascinating workshop on The Art of Friendship in Children's Picture Books by Tamar Brazis of Abrams Books. We discussed the nature of friendship, especially among very young friends. Tamar asked us to consider what makes a friendship close and how to show this, including showing affection for a friend, sharing fun, interests and problems, understanding a friend's concerns and worries, all without telling and particularly by using dialogue.

I started composing on the drive home! Such inspiration! The most important item to consider, besides the plot and story arc, is the development of character and affection between these characters in that most limited space of the picture book. I love my new characters that were born at the conference and when crossing back over Alligator Alley, and after much revision I hope some editors and children will love them too!

What inspirations or new guiding principles have you gleaned from a writing conference or published articles recently?

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Formations

I'm writing this new post while traveling in the magnificent southwest. We have been hiking in the red rock city of Sedona this week. Once you leave the bustle of downtown Sedona and find your trail head and swing off down the path, you forget the business of town and enter the quiet and solitude of this inspiring land.

Since some of my books are non-fiction, the natural beauty here starts my literary juices flowing. Many believe that positive energy emmanates from special vortexes here. The unique splendor of the land does inspire me to write as I gaze at these incredible rock formations and start to figure how to explain these wonders to children in a way that will interest and entertain them and convey to them the sense of beauty and the science of the sites.

We also visited the Grand Canyon, just a few hours north of Sedona. This is such an awe inspiring place in its vastness and beauty. So again jolted, I jot down new ideas for manuscripts on rivers, erosion and canyons that must differ from my book, CANYON, but which will tell another story of this fabulous world.

And now I need to sit down when we return home and form these ideas into text. Forming ideas - like nature forming canyons and rock formations - hopefully my ideas take form faster than in geological time!

That's what we writers need - time - a difficult commodity - and sometimes it seems like it does take eons to complete a manuscript, bring it to the critique group, revise and refine it, and hopefully bring it to a firm formation, and not to have to abandon it, as we have been talking about here this month.

Inspiration - Time - Formation

Better get started!

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Digitized !

Articles, surveys, studies, publishing facts, individual preferences and anecdotal tales come fast and furiously in news print, TV and Internet news cycles on the Future of the Book and the Death of the PB - "Picture Books, Long a Staple, Lose Out..." (NYT), (thepaperwait -October 13, 2010). The decline of the hard copy and printed page, increase in e-books and e-reading devices, "The ABC's of E-Reading," (WSJ), as well as one of the most pertinent articles for writers from the WSJ, "Authors Feel Pinch as E-Books Upend Publishing," bring an unknown future to authors.

In the midst of the many articles cited here and many others published over the last several months, I received a letter for a contract change from Sleeping Bear Press, publisher of my book, G IS FOR THE GARDEN STATE, one of SBP's 50 state alphabet series.

We are being digitized!

SBP was recently approached by an e-retailer to convert their books to digital form to be used with school smart boards. The smart boards are great interactive tools, with students often using handheld responders to write or give answers. SBP will monitor the publishing and financial success of the venture.

This development is exciting. I can sense what interesting information can be presented in this form, how intrigued the children could be at using information in this new manner, and how many children can be reached with this technology.

The report in the NYT on 9-29-10, titled "In Study, Children Cite Appeal of Digital Reading," describes a study by Scholastic Publishing. About 57% of the children between 9-17 said that they are interested in reading an e-book, while 25% said that they had already done so. A Scholastic officer said that "this was a call to action."

Parents and teachers, concerned that children are so immersed in computer games, testing and the speed of technology that they may not have the interest or time for reading, can take heart. If e-books entice them to read, it would be positive.

The future and technology is moving fast (one tech article suggests that the laptop is dying, being replaced by much smaller and faster equipment). Many publishers, librarians, teachers and writers can't see through the cloud in the crystal ball. One of the major parts of this new mix for writers is the declining revenue produced by e-books. One article mentions that authors of e-books receive about 50% of the return they were paid for hard back books.

A question for children's writers - - will you continue to write, or be able to afford the time to write for children, with such declining profits? We are children's writers because we love it, but people also need to support their families. How will the economies of digitization affect your writing life?

I am pre-posting this article by two weeks, so when the post is first up, I'll be visiting the great site of Machu Picchu in Peru. Perhaps in the intervening two weeks more news flashes on the health of writing and books will be published, making this post outdated - like print books and laptops?

Several bright spots in the ball - the Scholastic study says that even though the children surveyed want to read e-books, they also don't want to give up their real, hand held, print books. One of the librarians I interviewed about this said, "Well, PB and print books are still popular and comforting...and they don't have to be plugged in or need batteries!"

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Books Alive !

We, as writers, slog away at the keyboard, writing and researching our books for children in a somewhat solitary way, so what a wonder it is to see your own book come alive with an audience of several hundred children.

Early this month, at the end of the first week of school, I visited the Milltown School in Bridgewater, NJ to see the unveiling of a huge mural depicting a page, the "J is for Jersey" page of my book, G IS FOR THE GARDEN STATE (Sleeping Bear Press). The dedicated staff at the school had transformed their large lunch room into an internet cafe with computer stations in several of the corners and decorated the room with the grand new mural.

When we arrived for the unveiling of the 12 x 10 foot mural, a depiction of the map of the state of New Jersey complete with pictures painted on it of some of the important people, places (T - Trenton, the capital), parks, historical events (W-General Washington in Morristown in the Revolution), inventions (E -Edison, light bulb), industries and farms, resorts (Atlantic City), outdoor sports, environmental aspects and foods (T -Jersey Tomatoes!) and more, the mural was covered by a large panel. I was anxious to see the mural since the talented illustrator of my book, Doris Ettlinger, (www.dorisettlinger.com), and two muralists had worked in the heat of the summer to produce this great work of art so the unveiling could kick off the year for the children in the new internet cafe.

Well, the children poured into the room with the babble of high energy and curiosity. The principal held up his hand for quiet and silence descended. The curtain panel was pulled off the mural with ceremony and there was great applause. The children will see this bigger than life map of their state every day as they munch their lunch and work on the computers.They were excited to see the size and story of New Jersey before them in detailed living color.

What a reward for me as the writer, and I'm sure even more so for Doris as illustrator after such back breaking work, to see the reaction of the students and to know that this work will remain here for quite a while. Often a book that took a year to write is read once but here we are thrilled to see that this page will be open for a long time to come.

So, I came home pumped to get back to the keyboard to write again. It was such inspiration to see all these wired and excited kids using my work, so now I'm hard at work on several projects. What have your experiences been with school or library visits with children and how have they reacted to and used your work? How has that helped you in your writing?

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Flattery

Imitation and learning from the experience of others is, as the old proverb says, the most sincere form of flattery. Learning from experienced writers and studying their habits is good training, and, complementary. Hopefully what we work away on and produce will be well-received so that important writers are pleased and flattered.

Recently I was viewing writers' websites and was fascinated with Jane Yolen's. As an author of over 300 books and noted as one of the best children's authors of our time, Jane noted on her journal/blog that she was currently working on at least six WIPs, at the same time. Wow - busy, prolific and hard working. What an example.

Jane's writing is also an inspiration for me - her style and mastery of poetry and sense of imagination of children. Look at the wonder of Owl Moon. With her smooth ease and expertise of language coupled with her love of nature and the environment, Jane brings adventure to the life for children. Her work day is committed, too - committing to and controlling five to seven WIPs with different manuscript lives at the same time.

Who are your favorite children's authors - past or present - and how do they inspire you to imitate them? Reading about Jane has re-inspired me to really commit the time as she does and to get to concentrated work - on a number of my WIPs. Maybe someday some one will be flattering us through imitation.

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Treasures

What literary and illustrated treasures abound in our museums and libraries, and what inspiration they give us, the viewers! As I wandered through the Morgan Library this week with its new entrance and wonderful, expanded galleries, I was once again stunned by the variety and scale of the collections - early Assyrian and Sumerian seals, illuminated manuscripts from medieval and Renaissance eras, a copy of the Magna Carta (this precious document had been in the US for a special event and could not get home because of the ash cloud and so is on special loan), Gutenberg bibles, manuscripts of famous modern authors, and, of course, manuscripts and illustrations of early children's books, including Babar.

At the same time, the BEA, the giant BookExpo America, was taking place down at the Javitts Center. Many in the American publishing world attended this conference, listened to presentations of what's new in the publishing field and met and greeted authors, editors, marketing experts and publishers.

Most of us would be thrilled to be asked to present our book at the BEA conference. I know I could never aspire to the heights of the great writers who penned the masterpieces at the Morgan, but knowing such a high level conference on books is being held in New York and seeing such luminaries of the written word in one beautiful space like the Morgan does inspire me to try again to write a new piece, research and outline like crazy, get it down and as right as possible, and revise and revise. Most probably our books won't be labeled treasures of an era but if children read them, like them, hold them close and read them again, and maybe get some inspiration from them, then they do become treasures.

Seeing some of the important and fascinating manuscripts at the Morgan did give me some ideas for new stories for children. What experiences have given you inspiration and ideas lately for new treasures? I was excited just to get home and to start to jot down and outline my new story lines. Now I'm trying to get them right....and then revise.

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Work Stations

Usually my work station is my desk at home, at my computer, comfortably located by bookshelves piled high with research books, hard copies of manuscripts covered with comments and a cold diet coke.

At the end of the week we are heading north from Florida to New Jersey in a car packed to the gills with clothes, business papers and my computer and manuscripts. Lugging all the stuff into the motel at night isn't pretty.

So my work station for the next week will be the front seat of the car with my laptop and my paper copies of stories. Actually as you get moving down the highway it's great to break the tedium with work - it's actually easy to work - as long as the driver watches the road.

Most importantly, I want to guard my manuscripts, so I carry my laptop, forward manuscripts to my email to download back in NJ, and also store them on my flash stick. And then I guard the flash stick.

When I start to move with all my writing gear I'm reminded of a friend's aunt. She wrote novels long before there were copy machines, computers and flash sticks to store work. The aunt would arrive at family parties carrying a large metal roasting pan, in which she had protected her latest manuscript! She was afraid her house would burn in her absence. What a relief that we have flash sticks.

So now we're off on a long drive but I know I can improvise and work at my movable work station. Where are your best spots to work and how do you improvise?

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New Light

A Light exists in Spring
not present on the year
at any other period --
when March is scarcely here.
--Emily Dickinson

As Emily Dickinson suggests, a new light starts to appear near winter's end, at first imperceptible, but a little brighter, longer and fuller as March proceeds. It has the feel of a different light, something newly born, not reborn.

Ms. Dickinson continues...

A color stands abroad
on solitary fields
that science cannot overtake
but human nature feels.

We feel the light and its restorative qualities and we almost don't realize that we are gradually feeling good - the darkness is passing and light and color are seeping into our consciousness. New plants start to emerge and green lightly tints the world.

With the new light and color, I'm feeling the spring of Spring's step and becoming reinvigorated--reviewing my projects, tackling my WIP--and while new growth is pushing forth in the garden, I am going to cultivate new ideas and dig up new stories.

I've just taken out a retelling of a legend that's been sitting in a drawer for a couple of years and I'm working on an idea from my light bulb list of bright thoughts for a new PB.

What does the new light of spring bring to you?

I'm hoping to use it to craft a new work with the lyricism of a spring morning and that my work will blossom with the fruit of spring's promise.

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Actively!

Always go for the active voice and don't be passive when writing. Always good advice and frequently given by editors, agents, writing teachers and critique group colleagues.

This critique group is very active in the writing life. This year alone several members have signed with agents and book and magazine publishers. We spend a lot of time working on our own manuscripts, much time reviewing each others' manuscripts, attending writing conferences and checking out writing blogs and web sites. Even though we spend hours sitting at the computer and reading, we are certainly active!

Using the active voice in the writing process doesn't always seem as easy, however, as the advice indicates. If we aren't as conscious of our voice writing the first draft when we are getting the story down, we realize the need to watch for the active voice when we revise the work.

Several weeks ago I googled some writing information and came across a memorial article on a much loved professor of writing from Notre Dame who had just passed away. Elizabeth Christman worked as a literary agent in New York with such luminaries as J. D. Salinger and Agatha Christie. Later she decided to teach and returned to college for a doctorate. Her students remember her directives on writing well, especially on the use of the active voice.

"The passive voice is the enemy."

So, I am going to be watchful of the intruder - the passive voice - who does creep up on me. When writing my WIP I'm trying to constantly check the text so my writing has the energy and directness the active voice provides. I hope to be a fully active writer. If I'm not successful my active critique group will guide me and make me move actively.

How do you approach achieving use of the active voice?

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Listening to Other Voices

In the NEW YORK TIMES' Saturday Art Section there was a fascinating article about Colum McCann, author of LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN, who just won the National Book Award. McCann spoke about delving into other peoples' lives for a glimpse of significant but small events that were large influences in their lives. He listened to many voices as he traveled around the country, seeing each story, whether it spoke of generosity, terror, sadness, nastiness or love, as part of a larger story or novel.

McCann talked about "listening to other voices," part of the research a writer does in developing the story - children's authors and adult novelists.

So yesterday as I was reading the article I was sitting on a plane, confined for several hours. There were a lot of small children on board and I started to listen again to other young voices. Some didn't want to sit still, others wanted FOOD, and others settled in to read their books or watch a video. There were many voices and as things quieted down, I listened.

What do we notice when listening? When there are many voices? What do you concentrate on?

It was a shining and clear day and I listened to the four-year-old two seats away by the window. As the plane lifted off from Newark Airport we looked down at the Port of Newark/Elizabeth and at the ships at the loading docks next to the giant cranes filling up their cargo holes in preparation for setting out to sea. We watched small pleasure boats on New York Bay leaving white wakes in their paths, and as we headed inland a bit, she exclaimed at how green it was! Yes, I said, that's our Garden State!

She had many interesting insights and I listened for all I was worth. Someday a fragment of the voice will make it into a children's story. I'm going to keep listening - and writing.

What are the voices that you notice, concentrate on or collect?

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Memories

We've just returned from a glorious trip to Turkey where we were enthralled with the vibrancy of modern Istanbul and the richness of their ancient cultures. We saw wondrous Hellenistic and Roman sites, amphitheaters and temples. Overlaying all was the deep sense of history and the memory of the story of those who had walked there before.

As I prepared for the trip, I read Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk's book, Istanbul, Memories of a City. The book is memory - autobiographical, looking at Pamuk's childhood and family life with the backdrop of his Istanbul as he saw it, with the soul of a city saddened by the decline of their former empire symbolized by signs of decay of the once proud mansions lining the Bosporus, sinking under their peeling paint and sagging frames.

Pamuk weaves memories as he draws in the reader into the middle of his family's living room and dinner discussions. What an incredible job he does in setting the scenes and recalling the personalities present, whiffs of fragrant foods served and swirls of conversations.

The details - can we do the details as he does?

What details he slides so smoothly into the story that set the readers in the immediacy of the place. What a great example for writers to see his art. I have been mulling over his techniques, trying to conjure up such depth of memories from childhood - lunch meals, picnics, chores, interactions of family and friends, the color and sound of the time and place.

I found Pamuk's example fascinating. Digging for details of memory. When writing for children how do you dig for details of your childhood? Details that are common to children now as well as back in your time? Perhaps- excitement in the house, happy or tense, fear of being left at home, out of things, of really being left and having to stay with other relatives, as almost cast off, as Pamuk, times of great fun with a circus coming to town or being taken sledding in the winter with frost bitten toes or to a big game in the summer or hide and seek on a hot evening when you would have liked to have hidden from the mosquitoes.

How do you dig for memories and with what do you dig?

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Back to School

Those lazy, hazy days of summer are winding down and soon the yellow bus will take the children back to school. And that unique, mind-expanding, dreamy time with less structure, just playing in the back yard, taking trips to the beach, mountains and natural wonders like canyons, no homework and more freedom, will be over for another year and children will go back to their work of schooling.

Writers often catch a little summer down time too if they're lucky - watching waves wash endlessly on the shore, kayaking quietly on deep green lakes or watching fire flies flit through the dusk of evening, until they too return to the desk and screen.

But in the last days of this wonderful season...

...the writer, even with summer work hours, and the child, with structured learning pursuits of sports, science, art and music camps, have the luxury to see new things or old ideas anew, imagine different possibilities, and to dream.

I just returned from a short vacation to Cape Cod where I did watch waves lapping and gulls wheeling and let my thoughts wander. I watched children look through telescopes far out to sea to catch an adventure on the deep and saw them examine sea life up close at the Woods Hole Aquarium. What wondrous life there is on land and sea -- I just let the thoughts flow -- and then grabbed a pen and started jotting them down. And then began organizing new ideas and story lines. After all, we writers start back to our school of discipline too.

I want to be ready. Are you?

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Summer Vacations ~ Seeds of Inspiration

Just as we bring books on summer vacations, vacations also bring books to us - novel ideas popping up for plots, characters and settings. As we record notes in our journals while on vacation we find new detail and color from our new settings and from the characters we meet - including the thunder storm that drives you off the beach, the wind that forces you off the mountain or the interesting individual taking the desk clerk to task at the hotel.

So suddenly you have a new scene in your novel - your main character struggles though a physical or emotional storm only to be confronted with a raging opponent as irrational as the hotel guest. Or your new poem holds the beauty of an unexpected pleasure that you accidentally discovered when you took the side lane past the cliffs or the trail off the main path.

Often the writer is not conscious of the experience that prompts the inclusion of some wisp of memory into a conversation or character's thoughts into her novel. At times, it's a conscious design.

Many of our group's manuscripts or published books seem to leap from vacation and travel jaunts. Gale's wonderful picture book, PAJAMA LIGHT, set on the coast of Maine, where her family has summered, is all about summer, memories of families and the sea, and a lullaby about watching for the lighthouse's lamp to turn on, the signal for children to go to bed. Robin's YA novel whose main character learns and grows during a summer at the Jersey shore, where Robin spent summers, is about accepting yourself and your families with their warts and all, growing up, and summer at the beach with the boardwalk, popcorn and cotton candy. Judy's MG novel for boys centers on summer and the baseball stadium as Carson strives to win the big prize and help his family too.

The inspiration for my book, CANYON, grew each time we toured and hiked a different and glorious canyon in the American southwest. Meg's fascinating historical novel of late medieval England was sparked by her time living in London and the long history that permeates that city. And Janice's intriguing sci fi MG novel is set on a distant planet - a magical place. Perhaps we should include it in our travel plans?

How do you capture the seeds you might glean from travel and vacation and how do you nurture these seedlings of new material into your writing?

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Sound Soaring

As I watched W.S. Merwin, American poet and the recipient of this year's Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, be interviewed on television this week, I was fascinated to hear this great poet speak of language, sound, and the expression of emotions and ideas through sound.

It was enlightening to hear him explain the use of vowels in emotional contexts and the joy or grief they can express, and how consonants are used to form these sounds into words and expressions of the emotion or thought.

When writing for children, either in prose or poetry, the apt use of sound is critical. Often, I think, we might forget the sound of our language when we wrestle with character development, plot and setting.

Sound is one of the underlying elements that a reader might not recognize as a power in the story, verse or novel, but it's a strength that adds some of the depth and emotional charge to the tension or feel of the text.

The onomatopoeia of the language, where the word imitates the natural sound of the object or action, enhances the reading experience, especially for children. In a simple line such as "the eagle soars," the child can feel the swish of upward movement and speed and perhaps even thrill of the great bird flying high.

How do you use sound in your writing?

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8 Highlights from the NJ-SCBWI Conference

Eileen and I are back from the 2009 NJ-SCBWI Conference, held Friday and Saturday, June 5th and 6th, in Princeton. Apparently, the word is out about this terrific conference—-it’s getting bigger by the year. Kathy Temean, the R.A. who organizes the conference, announced there were around 240 attendees this year, up 30 or so from last year. Many of them crossed state lines to attend too. With this year’s faculty of over 20 top agents, editors, and art directors, even famous authors like Richard Peck (pictured), who can blame them?

Here are just a few of Eileen’s and my conference highlights.

1. The conference was extremely well-organized: Participants received personal folders containing their daily schedules for pitch sessions, one-on-one critiques, and lunch table assignments as well as detailed information on events and panels. Volunteers, who were identified by name tags, gave directions and monitored pitch sessions. All were courteous and cheerful and guided the buzz of conference excitement. (Eileen)

2. A house that bucks a frustrating submission trend got a round of applause: Saturday morning kicked off with a faculty panel consisting of agents, editors, and art directors, each of whom gave a short pitch about their houses or agencies, including what types of manuscripts they're looking for, how to query them, and their response policies. As per the trend, most editors and agents said they only respond to queries if they're interested. So when one panelist stood up and announced that her house responds to all queries, whether or not they're interested, attendees applauded. (J.L.)

3. Pitch sessions were longer this year: In prior years, an attendee had one or two minutes to give his or her pitch to not one but three editors in quick succession. This year, pitch sessions were five minutes long with only one editor. The new setup provided breathing space and afforded time for a little dialog. Thanks to roving monitors, my pitch session was controlled and the experience went off well. (Eileen)

4. Richard Peck’s master class: Not only is Richard Peck a wonderful writer, he’s an electric speaker who gave so many great writing tips, I don’t know where to start. Among them: “Let the change of seasons help shape your story.” “When I get a page exactly the way I want it, I take out 20 words.” “Take your first chapter and throw it away.” (Because the story really begins with the second chapter. The first chapter is usually just warm-up.) “Always write your dialog standing up, it improves the pace.” (J.L.)

5. Kathy Temean’s marketing workshop: She gave the latest and greatest tips on creating web sites, blogging, and twittering. Kathy’s bottom line: Keep your name out there! (Eileen)

6. Steve Meltzer’s workshop on novel rewrites: Lest you think your manuscript is “done” once you land the sale, Dutton’s associate publisher/executive editor showed us some revision letters he sent his writers, which ranged from a few paragraphs to 15 pages long. Said Meltzer: “It’s not about writing the first draft, it’s about whether you can rewrite.” (J.L.)

7. Carolyn Yoder's historical writing workshop: She gave helpful suggestions on how to write historical fiction and nonfiction for contemporary children and present the past to them in an exciting way. She also talked about doing the necessary research and reference record-keeping that good history storytelling demands. (Eileen)

8. Miscellaneous faculty comments: Margery Cuyler, publisher, Marshall Cavendish, said a whopping 10 percent of her list is published from the slush pile and that her house is interested in launching new talent. And agent Scott Treimel, when asked what he’s seeing a lot of manuscript-wise, said that lots of paranormal stories, zombies and werewolves were hitting his desk. “And stay away from pirates,” he added. (J.L.)

In all, it was a first-rate conference, with far too many highlights to fit in one post.

So tell us, what are your highlights from this or prior years’ conferences?

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The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

Recently, when reading up on writing advice and how to improve one's work, I happened on a quote from Mark Twain.

"Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very,' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."

Today editors might not delete "damn" in children's manuscripts except in books for smaller children, but the message on the lesson from Twain stays the same. To improve my writing I need to continually prune unnecessary words. Any words that I think "actually" make the point more emphatically and importantly but actually get in the way of clear action and movement of plot are only window dressing. I need to cut and clear so the story itself is emphatic.

In clearing I also need to follow Twain's reasoning a little further and keep it simple. In revisions, I need to remember to cut the scenes, dialogue and plot points that are clogging up the flow of the story.

Some methods of attacking these problems are putting aside the manuscript for a time and working on another book so I'm refreshed when I come back to this manuscript and I can edit with new eyes, or taking it to my critique group where the writers will ably point out where the problems lurk.

How do you focus on keeping it concise - the extra words that clutter, and the scenes that bog down the manuscript?

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Definitions

Writer or Author, which comes first?
Is it the cow before the horse?
Author, writer, writer, author,
both create, of course!

Are we writers because we sit and write, or are we authors because we slave across the page? I always wondered which is accurate. How often do people ask you, "What do you do?" "I'm a writer" you respond. "So, are you an author?" they say.

Does a person who writes need to be published before she/he becomes an author or are we authors and when we become published do we ascend to writer status?

Webster is unclear but indicates that the terms are synonymous.

Author - "One that originates or creates; the writer of a literary work."

Writer - "Author; one who writes."

So....Webster doesn't mentioned being published as a requirement to be either an author or writer. "He" does mention "literary" works. So, works not literary ...are written by............

Webster also mentions:

Writer's bloc - the psychological inhibition preventing an author from proceeding with a piece

Writer's cramp - a painful spasmodic contraction of muscles of hand or fingers brought on by excessive writing

So, whether writer or author, let's try to avoid,
the stumbling blocs and the cramps so tight,
and apply fingers to keyboards,
and create as we write.

Writer....Or ....Author?

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Revisions - Again!

I spent the last week revising two WIPs that I have had at our critique group in the past year. As Meg has been saying, we have a great group. The members isolate the elements of the manuscript that need work, and once the writer digests the reviews, she can see that they are right on - that this character needs more or different motivation or more realistic dialogue, or that you might need a different angle on the plot.

I often wait a bit after the group critique and then can go back and read and assimilate the comments in the context of time and the whole story. Most of us couldn't do without an involved critique group. Our group knows each other's story characters almost as well as our own and looks forward to seeing them again in successive chapters and critiques.

I was revising my picture book about beaches and a story about New York Island and harbor over the last few weeks, and as I was going over the manuscripts, I could hear again the various members of the critique group suggesting their solutions for specific problems in the stories. As you struggle to make the right fixes you hear their voices and explanations, and as you work by yourself, you feel you are discussing the pros and cons of each choice with mentors, and coming up with good solutions.

Revising is sometimes fun, and always work, but with the suggestions of a good critique group to consider, it produces a good story.

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Living History

How does an author make history come alive for young readers? To make stories, set back in times that may seem remote and disconnected to today, exciting reads?

I recently attended a literary seminar where the topic was historical fiction. Well-known writers debated the definitions of books of historical fiction, novels and straight history. There were various opinions as to how free authors can or should be in historical fiction with the lives, words and actions of real historical figures, people who have lived and acted on the world stage. To make the story work as a novel, to enhance plot or to make the characters more believable, does the author have a little leeway with actual known facts or is it acceptable for the writer to expand on the actual facts to make a more exciting or gripping story?

There was great discussion and difference of opinion.

As a writer of historical fiction for children I found the discussions fascinating as well-known authors discussed their craft. Frequently there aren't enough letters, diaries, audio tapes, etc. to reconstruct sufficient dialogue to make a story work, so the writer has to improvise. But the conscientious author will try to make the story ring with an improvised story line and dialogue that is as close as possible to the historical figures' personalities, the truth of their characters and the events in which they were involved.

It was fun to see this interplay at the seminar and exciting to attempt to write captivating and accurate stories of history for young people.

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Scents and Flavors of Holidays

The warmth of holiday books that trigger children's interest and memories often waft delicious scents and flavors throughout the story. Simple plots become memorable to children when they can imagine a gingerbread man baking in the oven throwing out fragrances of ginger and cinnamon.

One story our family refers often to was of an old Granny Glikkens who always made mittens, but one year could only find white wool so she was forced to dye the wool by using peppermint for red, wintergreen for green, and chocolate for brown. And so the children, after wearing her mittens, could enjoy nibbling on the edges. Seems silly to adults but provides fun for small children. Of course the scratch books for Christmas hold wonderful odors of fir trees and favorite foods like the peppermint canes and apple pie.

One of the best Thanksgiving books written for children and by New Jersey's own Harry and Wende Devlin, CRANBERRY THANKSGIVING, offers up a feast of fragrances from the New England setting of salt marshes to the tart flavor of cranberries and an exuberant description of the entire feast including the turkey, "What a great full dinner that was - with everything cooked with crisp edges and tender centers."

A Christmas book for all readers young and old regales us with the glory of the goose. " ...as Mrs. Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving knife, prepared to plunge it in the breast, but when she did, and when the long expected gush of stuffing issued forth, one murmur of delight arose all around the board... There was never such a goose. Bob said he didn't believe there was ever such a goose cooked. Its tenderness and flavor, size and cheapness, were themes of universal admiration."

What are some of your favorite holiday stories that evoke childhood memories or that you consider are the new current books that will create the memories of the future?

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