Posted by: Katie B | October 3, 2010

Plot Whisperer – Solutions Abound

My new addiction – The Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers.  It’s not just about plot.  Issues with depicting character emotion?  Backstory?  Dangling plot line?  She covers it all.  You have an issue?  She has a solution.  Or a suggestion.  Or a method to free you from your prison.

For example, when my main character took a vacation without me, the Plot Whisperer helped me get her back.  For me, it was the Overarching Tension post.  Just scan down the list.  I’m sure you’ll find something, some clue, some tip, that will be your ah-ha moment. 

Giving props where they’re due, a member of the Westfield Critique Group turned me on to this website.  Thanks for that!

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Posted in Information, On Writing, Research

Posted by: Katie B | October 1, 2010

I didn’t win, but Laurie did!

OK – so I didn’t win the SCBWI 2010 Work-in-Progress grant.  Not even an honorable mention.  It’s all right…I’ll keep going.  One more rejection in the pile…oh, but wait!  I know someone who did win!  Phew – that makes it all better!

Laurie Wallmark received a runner-up prize of $500 for the non-fiction category.   If you’ve been to any of the NJ SCBWI events, you’ve probably met Laurie.  She works tirelessly on the regional events and is very dedicated to the craft of writing.  Congrats Laurie – you deserve it!

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Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by: Katie B | September 30, 2010

My girl went for a ride on page 137, and she never came back.

So what happens when you reach page 137 of your 325 page novel, and you find that your main character has left the building?  She has left, and you don’t see her returning in time for the dramatic climax / resolution.  Where did she go?  How did you lose her after so much time together?  How do you get her back?

What a huge flaw.  But not uncommon.  I have heard it from others.  You spend so much time focused on all the details, the plot, the geography, the eloquent phrases to snare you that Pulitzer, that you forget all about characterization.  What would my heroine do in this instance?  How would she react?  Honestly, I don’t know, but the sunset I’ve described is enough to bring a parole violator to tears.  Isn’t that enough?

Um, well, no.  You need her if you want a book that has a story that people will want to read.  Rats. 

So, what now?  The answer:  courtship.  Court your girl.  Get to know her again.  Find out her likes and dislikes, her flaws and her charms.  Practice question and answer sessions with her.  What would she say to this or to that.  Entice her to return with promises of committment.  You won’t abandon her again.  Once you have her back, reintroduce her to the story.  Review each encounter to make sure it rings true.  It’s a painful process, but you won’t succeed without it.  You need to rediscover one another.  What a wonderful opportunity to fall in love again!  (Just keep telling yourself that.)

So that’s what I’m off to do today.  Date my main character.  Nice rainy day – it should go well.  Here’s to hoping!

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Posted in On Writing

Posted by: Katie B | September 25, 2010

RUCCL 2010: Be Prepared!

One of the most awkward moments I have ever witnessed involved a conference participant getting angry at an agent because she thought he was an editor.  Does that make any sense to you?  It went something like this.  “You’re not an editor?  (Big annoyed sigh.)  What are you? (Answer)  An agent?  (Snotty sneer to voice.)  Well, what’s an agent do?  I thought you were supposed to be an editor!”

Needless to say, the rest of the table sat in shocked silence. 

The agent in question represents one of the top-selling picture book author/ illustrators of all time. 

She recognized her rudeness because she felt compelled to defend herself.  “I came in late.  I didn’t hear you introduce yourself.” 

As if that would have helped.  The mentor list had been posted online for months and was included on the conference application.  There was only one male mentor.  The rest was  female.  The bio of the sole male mentor clearly stated who he worked for, and what he did (agency, agent). 

Do you think he will be taking her as a client anytime soon? 

Moral:  Be prepared.  Treat each encounter with a professional in the writing field as an onsite interview.  Do your research.  Know your mentors.  Know what they work on, what they like, what they ate for lunch. Between websites, blogs, twitter, and the library, you have no excuse.   

If you don’t take your “job” of writing seriously, neither will anybody else.  Don’t ever forget that the book business is just that – a business – no matter how creative.  And the people working in it are professionals with bottom lines and budgets and quotas.  If you want to get published, you have to play the game.  Not to the extend that Gordon Gekko did.  But you have to treat the others you encounter with some respect.  Doesn’t matter if you are the next Truman Capote.  If you piss of the gate keepers, they will throw away the key.

So do your research my friends!  Even if you can’t find the time to read about all 70 of the 2010 RUCCL mentors, you should have a few under your belt.   Find someone that you really want to speak with.   Have some understanding of what you’re getting into.  If not, you are just wasting time!

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Posted in Classes, Seminars and Critique Groups, Information

Posted by: Katie B | September 20, 2010

Town Book Store Upcoming Events

I spoke about the The Town Bookstore in my last post and thought the upcoming events they have scheduled deserved repeating.  Take a look at the list of upcoming author meet and greets.  If you are a children’s author like me, it’s pretty exciting.  There are two young adult authors and one picture book author.  If the crowds aren’t ten thick (and they usually aren’t), I’m sure you could have a chance to chat with the author.   As for me, I will ask my standard, very original, probing question:  So…how did you get published? 

Shari Maurer 

Saturday, September 25, 2010
2:00PM 

The Town Book Store in Westfield will host a Meet & Greet with Shari Maurer, author of the young adult book, Change of Heart on Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 2-4 PM. Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, popular varsity soccer star Emmi comes down with an ordinary virus. But when she doesn’t bounce back as always, she gets the worst possible news–she’s had myocarditis that’s destroyed her heart, putting her into congestive heart failure. And the prognosis is bleak: without a heart transplant, she’ll die in a matter of months. Will she get a heart in time? Will she even survive the surgery? What if her body rejects the heart? When tragedy strikes close to home, Emmi must rely even more on her inner strength in order to carry on. 

Shari Maurer grew up in New City, New York. Before becoming an author, she worked for six years at the Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) working on international versions of Sesame Street and other children’s programs. She is also the author of the book, The Parent’s Guide to Children’s Congenital Heart Defects. Shari and her family are devoted to raising awareness of the crucial need for new organ donors. 

Matt Myklusch

Saturday, October 9, 2010
2:00PM
 
The Town Book Store in Westfield will host a Meet & Greet with Matt Myklusch, author of the young adult book, Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation on Saturday, October 9, 2010 from 2-4 PM. For fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, meet Jack Blank. He doesn’t know who he is or where he comes from. He doesn’t even know his real last name. All of that changes when he travels to the Imagine Nation, a place where all the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world originate including him. Jack soon discovers that he has an amazing ability… one that could make him the savior of the Imagine Nation and the world beyond, or the greatest threat they have ever faced. Publisher’s Weekly says “Myklusch’s debut is an ambitious, no-holds-barred adventure.”

 

Matt Myklusch works for MTV Networks, where he has produced celebrity interviews, managed MTV Spring Break in Cancun and Acapulco, and helped launch MTVs college network, mtvU. A lifelong love for comic books inspired Matt to spend his nights and weekends writing Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation. He lives in Westfield, New Jersey with his wife and family where he is busy finishing up the second book in the Jack Blank trilogy.

Jason Elias 

Saturday, October 16, 2010
2:00PM

 
The Town Book Store in Westfield will host a Meet & Greet with Jason Elias, author of the children’s book, And Sometimes Y on Saturday, October 16, 2010 from 2-4 PM. The question of whether Y is a consonant or a vowel has always baffled young minds. In And Sometimes Y, the vowels and consonants battle over the rights to this prestigious letter. In doing so, they forget about the love and friendship that made Alphabet Village the envy of other towns. In the end, the mayor of a neighboring town, Roman Numeral I reminds them of the happiness they once possessed. After being reminded of their former bliss, they sing their famous alphabet song, and Y rejoices by telling us, ““Every Y has two paths. We can always be a consonant, but when vowels need us, the rule can be ‘A, E, I, O, U, AND SOMETIMES Y!!!’”

 

Jason Elias is an English teacher by trade. And Sometimes Y is his first children’s book. He loves teaching and coaching, but most of all he loves spending time with his family: his sons Colin and Aidan, and his wife Danielle. Jason graduated from Binghamton University ’91, and received graduate degrees from Hofstra University and Queens College. 

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Posted in Authors, Classes, Seminars and Critique Groups

Posted by: Katie B | September 17, 2010

The Town Bookstore – A Rare Gem

Westfield, NJ has a hidden gem tucked along the edge of its main street.  It’s called The Town Bookstore.  Have you been recently?  It’s what a bookstore, and a book buying experience, should be.  It smells like books.  It has tight, maze-like spaces teetering with crisp, shiny covers.  It teases you with the possibility of an afternoon spent in another place, another world, another life.  You can feel it. 

And the owner knows her books.  She will recommend, discuss, and hunt for any topic or title you need.  If she doesn’t have it in her store, she’ll order it for you.  When it arrives a few days later, she’ll give you a personal call to let you know it’s in.  You feel spoiled being treated to such courteous customer service. 

If that isn’t reason enough, stop in for the author events.  There are signings scheduled monthly for all different types of genres.  Picture book, young adult, and adult authors all pass through.  You can meet the authors, which is always a thrill, and in that intimate environment you are allowed the time to speak with them.  Or, more appropriately, they welcome the opportunity to share with you.  Or both. 

There is no coffee bar.  Alas, your sole reason for visiting will have to be for the books.  (Although, that’s not quite true because there is a nice “gift” section.)  You will have to content yourself with the reading nook, crammed with comfy winged-back chairs, its big windows overlooking downtown, shelves spanning from floor to ceiling, surrounding you.  It’s a hard to be without my white chocolate mocha with the extra shot and whipped cream, but I manage.  I sacrifice myself for the books. 

If you are in the area, be sure to stop by.  The Town Bookstore is the only independent bookstore left in Union County.  The only one.  In the whole county.  All the others have been driven out of business.  It’s a sad reality of today’s marketplace, and it will become even more complicated with the advent of the e-book.  For the meantime, take advantage of this slice of yester-year while it lasts. 

Another Rare Gem - Ochre Cliffs of Roussillon

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Posted in On Reading

Posted by: Katie B | September 16, 2010

Verla Kay’s Message Board Delivers

There is an overwhelming amount of information out there for aspiring authors.  The hardest part, to me, is finding information that is current, relevant, and accurate in a timely fashion.  I could search for hours on Google, slogging though endless websites of experts (mine own included???), to not find an answer to my question. 

Divinity from Stone

 

Or, I could just visit Verla Kay’s message board for Children’s Writers & Illustrators.  Her categories are well laid out.  The information is fresh.  Posts are typically responded to with multiple, appropriate responses.  And the agents and editors themselves participate. 

If you can’t find what you are looking for, post a question.  Take time to peruse what others are doing.  Get your finger on the pulse of the marketplace.  Any time you spend on this message board is time well spent. 

My username is ktbart (same as my Twitter username).  Let me know if you run into me!

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Posted in Research

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