So many books...

Recently, I was on a reading frenzy. And there were so many great middle-grade novels that needed reading!

Some were reviewed for a Christian Science Monitor spring round-up.

HERE'S THE LINK.  
(Click if you'd like to know more!)

And here are the books. Loved them all. Can't wait to catch sight of young readers under a tree, by the pool, on a bus or a plane, sitting on the front porch, at the public library- reading all summer long!

 




It's Monday. (Is it summer yet?) What's everybody out there reading?

 

Outlining or Not

UPDATE!

Here's the link to the WENDY MASS technique of semi-outlining!
Since a couple of writer friends have asked me about this, and the original link seems to be broken, I'll repost:

http://wendymass.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/outlineessay-wmass.pdf

I still like this method and think it works on many levels. 
Getting unstuck.
Figuring out important scenes.
Adding details.

Here's my original, almost five-years-ago post:

Being a relatively organized person, the kind who loved to outline (and to diagram sentences, but that's a different story, for another blog post), I've struggled with the concept of writing fiction without outlining first. On the one hand, I'd like to know where I'm going with a story. On the other, well, I often don't.

This post by Neil Cross says all I wished I could have said! And it pretty much sums up the technique of kids' writer Wendy Mass. Check that link to her website for a similar way of brainstorming that ends up as a neat little outline. I adore her books. If that process works for her, it must be good.

From Neil Cross, I loved this especially:
Currently I’m about halfway up the mountain. If I crane my neck to look up, I get vertigo. If I look down, I feel quietly satisfied with the progress made.

Progress! Now back to that outline.

Related post: Every Soul a Star

Book Party in Pictures

Last night we had a party!

Any excuse to celebrate books, right?

Thank you to all the great people who came. I especially loved seeing the teachers and media specialist on the front row who trekked in from Plant City and made a Girls Night Out of the evening. And bought my books to take back to their school. And to Joan, my friend from last year's school visit to her library.

For those of you who don't know this store,  
INKWOOD BOOKS has been transformed by the amazing owner, Stephanie.

I missed her last night because she was at Winter Institute (a pretty good excuse, right?).
Her daughter, a voracious reader and member of their kids' Book Club, came and told me she loved my book.
Sigh.

Amanda and her helpers ran the show, made the introductions, sold a lot of books.
Thanks, guys!

Somehow I missed a photo of the card catalog display but I did capture the typewriter!














I was surrounded by critique group members, past and present. And fun food and drink.

There were a lot of writerly questions.
After everyone left, I thought of some better answers.
Of course.
Doesn't that always happen?

One question still rattles around in my head.

"Was it harder writing a boy narrating this than having a girl narrate GLORY BE?"

I gave what I thought was an adequate answer.
But here's another thing. I did have to pay attention to what Theo actually sees and notes in both dialog and interior monolog, which is the same thing, kind of, when you're writing in first person. And when I stepped over the line into girlie talk that didn't fit Theo's personality, my writer friends pulled me back.

A boy like Theo might not notice Miss Sister's hair or dress or tap shoes the same way a girl would. He might describe things a bit differently from Glory. But I don't think I can only narrate stories told by girls like me. That's when research and careful reading and writing kick in. So there's a longer answer to that question.

To the person who asked about outlining in advance v. jumping right in, so to speak.

Here are the links I mentioned.

PRE-WRITING WORKOUT by Wendy Mass.
Both my friend Shannon and I can attest to this helpful kickstarter for your plot.
Here's a post I wrote about it. I still love the quote, by the way.

NANOWRIMO= National Novel Writing Month.
November. For all ages. It's fun. But prepare to re-write.   😄

My kind of tongue-in-cheek (but not really) post on TEN THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM KIDS ABOUT WRITING lists #1 as Put a Dog in Your Book. 

I forgot to say that last night.
I didn't know about that research--really, I heard it on the news-- when I wrote THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY, but I did include a bit part for a dog named Ginger Rogers, owned by Miss Sister, the dance teacher.

A truly lovely moment came when Gay, a grandmother who clearly supports her granddaughter's love of reading, came with a large photograph of me and Isabella from my event at the Dunedin library. She asked me to sign it. I was so touched.

At dinner after, my fortune cookie said it all:

Thanks to Jay, for driving us over the bridge to Tampa, and to my friend Kay for manning the refreshments. Here we are at the end of the evening.

Thankfully, Kay made sure we came home with 3 delicious Chocolate Guinness cupcakes.

Who knew beer and chocolate could taste so good together...

Words of Wisdom From Books of Wonder

 BOOKS OF WONDER.    (the link)

Yesterday's Middle Grade event was The Best!
Check out the fabulous authors.
Christ Grabenstein
Dan Krokos
M.E. Castle
Lee Bacon




True confessions. I was there to hear two in particular.

Wendy Mass and Richard Peck.
(I stole Wendy's Facebook post for the picture. She won't mind, I'm sure.) 


Both have new books hot off the press.
I'm reviewing Peck's THE MOUSE WITH THE QUESTION MARK TAIL right now. I absolutely love it. Ages 10 and up, according to Dial Books (thank you for the ARC, publicists!). But really, I think good readers as young as 8 will totally get it.

Wendy's newest, PI IN THE SKY, is waiting. I've known Wendy since she popped into the Chatham Library where I worked a few years ago. She's smart, funny and full of great ideas.   
One of my very favorite books by Wendy is Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life. Oh, wait, I also adore Every Soul a Star.

I could go on and on.

Both Wendy and Richard answered the terrific questions with such humor. But I didn't dig out my notebook to scribble down quotes until the end so I won't quote the other authors, though much of their wisdom was worth remembering.

Richard Peck was the last to speak...

"Our readers don't read reviews."

"When I get a page exactly the way I want it, I take out 20 words."

"Focus on your first scene. Because if the reader doesn't like that, he won't read the rest."

"When you get your first line, the whole thing unfolds for you."
(on the perfect First Line, which his new book totally has!)

"Your characters must sound like real people. Not like the author."
(on why he reads everything aloud)

All of the above are pretty much verbatim from Mr. Peck.
Glad I found that notebook.



Authors in the audience     ☞

Michael Northrop. Love his new book, ROTTEN.


Florida Friends!  New and old.

Sue Laneve was one of my very first Florida writer connections.
I just met Leslie Zampetti, former Tampa resident, now in NYC. 

You just never know who you'll run into at BOOKS OF WONDER, do you?

A way to write

You'll notice I didn't say THE way to write. Everybody has a different take on how to begin a novel. And maybe, perhaps, I think possibly some writers might use a different technique for each book.

I've heard tell about books that seem to fall onto the page. Others that take years to develop.
(Ahem. Let's not get too personal now...)

But if you're new at the game and looking for a way to jumpstart your novel, may I present fellow Jersey girl, writer Wendy Mass. Okay, she's born and bred, I'm a relative newcomer, only having lived in New Jersey 30 years. But she's a generous, fabulous writer, full of ideas.

I blogged about writing, about outlining, and about Wendy here.







If you don't know her books, look here.
My two personal favorites? Jeremy Fink and  
Every Soul a Star. 







And for her technique, check this link and click on the PDF of the essay she wrote about how she writes.

You are in for a real treat. My gift to you this Labor Day weekend.

Enjoy!

Learn From the Best

Wendy Mass writes books kids love to read. I've followed her progress since she first stepped into the library where I worked with a reference question (she's a fellow Jersey Girl). I've have seen her books grow in popularity--Jeremy Fink= Major Motion Picture?--and I've been a fan since the very beginning.

While writing this blog, I clicked over to her blog and discovered the most fun thing! Wendy from A to Z. 
One of these days I may have to do this myself. I love her L thought, in particular.


Here's a bit of advice she gives to beginning writers, via the always interesting and helpful Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog:

Besides the usual advice to read, take classes, keep a notebook for story ideas, go to conferences, network with other writers, I'd say to tell the story you want to tell, the story that only you can tell. Don't give up unless it's not fun anymore.


Related post: Outlining or Not?

What Did We Do Without Blogs?

Scouring my resources for blog info this anniversary week, I've been thinking about my Pre-Blog world. Or, more precisely, the Writing World Before Blogs.

The first writer I hosted at a school book fair, very early in my career (S. Byran Jennings Elementary School, Orange Park, FL, in case you're wondering) was Elaine Konigsburg. She signed books, talked to kids, breezed in and out and was absolutely terrific. She also lived nearby. Even in a public school where a large portion of our students didn't have a lot of pocket money to buy books, the Book Fair was very successful, an exciting day for kids and teachers alike.

Back then, computers were unheard of, except where they filled an entire room on a college campus, so there was no internet. No Blog Tour. No websites for authors. Still, success in terms of books sold.

Later, in other schools, other authors visited. Katherine Paterson (I lived in Maryland, and so did she), Cynthia Voigt, Gail Carson Levine-- my list could go on and on. I moved again; my library was a train ride from New York. Our resources were plentiful.

But that's not the case with all school libraries. And thankfully, blog tours have emerged, right up there with Skyped author visits. Schools now have the ability to know writers via cyberspace. How exciting that must be for kids!

But somewhere, deep down inside, I wonder if it's the same for kids. Is sitting on the edge of their desk, peering up at a manuscript stack as tall as the author (granted, Cynthia Voigt isn't terribly tall!), listening to her explain how many times she revised Homecoming, the same as seeing her on a computer screen? Will students miss the sparkle in Wendy Mass's eyes as she rolls out a zillion rejection letters, now laminated and turned into a long stretch of "Nice but not for us" letters, to show young writers how hard she worked? Can anything match being in the very same room with Katherine Paterson as she apologizes for missing the annual 5th Grade Newbery Lunch the previous week-- because she had to fly on the scheduled day- to the real Newbery announcements. Now that's excitement!

Still, I suspect blog tours are a close second to those real live visits. A great way to get to know a book. Terrific publicity, especially for a new writer. Would I like to move back to the pre-blog world? No! Would I trade sitting next to a real-live author, in a classroom, with kids lining up to have actual books signed? Never!

Every Soul a Star

Is that a great book cover or what?!

I've been a fan of Wendy Mass's books for a while and I recently, really loved Jeremy Fink.

She writes the kind of books kids actually read, more than once, ask for by name, recommend to their friends. So I couldn't wait to get her latest, Every Soul A Star. How she comes up with these absolutely fascinating topics to write about amazes me. Synesthesia? The Meaning of Life (now that's no topic for slouches)? In her new book, a solar eclipse is about to take place and I think I learned as much about the sky reading Every Soul a Star as I remember from my college astronomy course (but that's another story...)

Click here to read my review in today's Christian Science Monitor.

My Meme

I've been tagged by Barbara O'Connor, for the following meme:


1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.

4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing ten years ago?
Hard at work at my library at the Kent Place School.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
1. Finish the review I'mwriting for the Christian Science Monitor on a wonderful book: HUNGRY FOR PARIS.

2. Take a walk.

3. Go to my Writers' Group.

4. Fly to Tampa.

5. Pack for my friend Patty's daughter's wedding.

What are some snacks you enjoy?
Pita sea salt crackers
Nuts
Greek yogurt

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Wow. Give me a minute.

What are three of your bad habits?
Bossing people around (Hey, I'm a Leo.)
No tolerance for people who are habitually late.
Reading in bed with a bag of pita chips.

What are five places where you have lived?
Cleveland, Mississippi
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Newport, R.I.
Baltimore, MD
Chatham, NJ
St. Petersburg, FL

(whoops, that was six. And I had to leave out a few.)

What are five jobs you have had?
Lifeguard/ swimming instructor
Camp Counselor
Library assistant at the Harvard Medical School library
School librarian
Writer

What people do you want to tag?
Wendy Mass, Greg Neri, Janet McLaughlin