Christmas - Then and Now

Christmas brings such mixed feelings anymore. I miss the days when I was young and with my family at my parent's house with few concerns beyond what's in that big present. Since my parents died, my two brothers and my sister and I have gone different directions and it's hard to get us all together. This year, my eldest brother's family were all in town, and I had them over for dinner which was wonderful. He has two lovely daughters, both married, one with a darling daughter of her own. The spirit of Christmas shone bright in the eyes of this little 2-1/2 year old. I gave her some froggy pajamas, and as soon as she pulled them out of the box, she stripped off her cute Christmas dress and wore the pajamas the rest of the night. I think we all wished we could do the same. I loved being with my brother and wished with all my heart that my other brother and my sister had been there, too. If only I'd known as a child to cherish those days when being together was the norm. But I guess you have to grow up to appreciate what you once had. Still, there's a lesson here that I realize I need to pay attention to: I need to cherish parts of my adult life now that may be lost to me sometime in the future.

A toast to success and critique groups

I attended my second meeting with my new critique group yesterday. This one was extra special because we celebrated a good friend's first book offer! Pam Mingle's beautifully written YA time travel book titled KISSING SHAKESPEARE will be published by Delacorte in 2012. In it, a young girl suddenly finds herself living in the past with a daunting mission: she must seduce William Shakespeare. Otherwise, all of his plays will go unwritten. The book weaves an intriguing romance with mystery, and is filled with wonderful descriptions of the period. I highly recommend it when it comes out.


After we toasted Pam, we reviewed a beautiful short story by Laura Deal. The overwhelming recommendation was that it was so well written and the story so captivating, we all wished it was a full-length novel. Amid the praise were thought-provoking recommendations for changes that must have left Laura a bit dazed which is often the case when you're the one in the "hot seat." Again, I was struck by the talent of these writers, while at the same time a bit intimidated knowing that I will soon be the one in the "hot seat." I came away wondering how anyone writes a truly great novel without input from fellow writers. So...here's to Pam and to my new critique group.

Worthwhile Endeavors Take Time

I spent this past weekend at a girlfriends getaway in a lovely mountain cabin. We all used to work together and have been friends for many years. There's nothing quite like close friends with whom you've shared many ups and downs of your life and of theirs, and who can gather around the fire and pick up on any conversation because you know each other so well. Years of experience has its advantages, both in friendships and in writing. I cringe sometimes when I go back and read some of my very early work. They're two dimensional, like factual accounts of a kid's story rather than the subtlety it takes to make the reader feel like they're actually living the story along with the protagonist. Furthermore, they lack the emotional depth needed to make the reader care about what happens to the characters in the story. To achieve these essential elements takes hours upon hours of reading and writing for children. That's not really surprising. Anything worth doing well requires that kind of stick-to-it-ness, that kind of dedication. You have to love it, and I do. I'm on my fifth year of writing and revising my tween novel, SEASHELL SECRETS. I'm almost finished with what will hopefully be my last revision, which was quite extensive despite the fact that it won first place in the children's category at last years Pikes Peak Writers Paul Gillette Contest. Even after all these years and all this work, I still love the story, in fact, even more now. It remains to be seen whether a publisher will love it, too.

New Critique Group

I attended my first meeting with my new critique group yesterday. What an incredible group of writers! I've known some of them through workshops and conferences, and already knew the talent in this group was extraordinary. We meet once a month for four hours. The members take turns hosting the meeting, and it's a lovely atmosphere with snacks provided. Yesterday we reviewed a short chapter (possibly middle grade) book. The comments and suggestions offered were direct and insightful, not just to the author of the work, but to me, and I suspect to everyone in attendance. New members must wait three months before submitting their own work for review. The review itself can be grueling, but what an incredible opportunity to learn and improve my work. I was in a critique group prior to this, also wonderful writers, but the group began to dwindle and I was delighted to be invited to join my new group. About half of them are published. All of them are incredibly talented. They'll definitely keep me on my toes!

Using the Five Senses

At the prompting of my fabulous mentor, I'm focusing on making more use of the five senses to make my scenes come alive. It's always such a delight to find books written by authors who excel in this. One of my favorites is The Secret Life of Bees. So the other day, I paid close attention to an outing with my niece and my 2-1/2 year old grand niece as we met for a picnic in the park. What a lovely day that was. The sounds: happy squeals as kids rush to the swings, parents cautioning to be careful. The smells: freshly watered grass, occasional whiffs of dust as little feet patter across the playground. The visual: Little bodies wriggling across the monkey bars, colorful fall leaves drifting to the ground, wide eyes trying to decide what activity to do next. Taste: ham and turkey sandwich dabbed with red wine vinegrette, lightly salted chips, juicy grapes, and chocolaty brownies. The feel: the gentle autumn sun on my skin, the warmth inside as little hands reach for the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I made especially for her. We couldn't experience life without all of these sensory inputs. How can we expect our readers to feel the life in our books if we leave them out?

RMC-SCBWI Fall Conference

No matter how many times I attend a Rocky Mountain Chapter's SCBWI conference, I leave feeling rejuvenated and excited about writing for children. Bruce Coville's keynote address was both inspirational and humorous as he adapted the seven deadly sins for writers. The audience, in laughter much of the time, was also moved to tears. His talk reminded us that sometimes, as we spend many hours alone writing, we need to be reminded of the many lives our novels can touch. The conference offered participants an opportunity to submit the first page of their novels to be read aloud and reviewed by an editor. I read the submissions and Kate Harrison, senior editor for Dial Books for Young Readers, commented on each of them. I was proud of the quality of these submissions, and awed by Kate's thoughtful review of them on the spot. Author Traci Jones did a marvelous session on Tips for Writing a Multicultural Novel. Her words were particularly relevant to me as I work on revisions to my tween novel, SEASHELL SECRETS, which takes place in the early 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement. Author Denise Vega reviewed ways to ratchet up the tension, and evaluate and improve scenes in your novel. I walked away with ideas for improving my own work. Later that afternoon, I listened to a panel of agents and editors respond to questions from participants. It was a lively session with all of them responding to great questions about the publishing industry. Elizabeth Law, Editor of Egmont Publishing, was delightfully fun and funny. Of course, one of the best perks of these conferences is the opportunity to mingle with so many talented writers and illustrators. I'm so impressed with the professionalism displayed throughout, and all the hard work of so many volunteers to make the entire conference run smoothly. I can hardly wait until the next one!

Real life experiences

My brother writes beautiful poetry. I write children's books. We've exchanged work and it's so fun to talk writing with him. As a good brother should, he pays my work high compliments. And I am in awe at how he can say so much with so few words. (He was kind enough not to remark that I could say so little with so many words.) In recent works, we both honored our father, a kind, gentle man who battled macular degeneration before his death. My brother's lyrical description brought tears to my eyes. In my middle grade novel, DON'T LOOK BACK, I relied on memories of Dad's experiences to create my grandpa character. Even my own words at times brought tears to my eyes, but that's when I knew I'd accurately captured pieces of my father's life. Real life is multifaceted, good and bad, pain and laughter, sorrow and joy. The trick in any artistic endeavor is to feel it deeply enough to recreate it, to relive it as you reproduce it, whether it's in a painting, a poem or a character.