Another Motivating Shop Talk - and a New Writing Challenge!

I’m glad it’s the end of February already – there’s only a few weeks left until a long-awaited Spring, and on Saturday, Michelle, Lisa and I went to another Shop Talk meeting at B & N.

It was a small but lively group this month, led by Karen Kaufman Orloff. She talked a bit about the June conference, saying that registration would start in a few weeks. She said she’s doing a book signing and reading at the store (Barnes & Noble Poughkeepsie) on Saturday, April 16^th, for her new picture books, “Talk, Oscar – Please!” and “I Wanna New Room.” I’ll probably be working that day, but hopefully I’ll be able to check in on her event during my break. I hope she’ll get a great turn-out, and some new readers for her excellent picture books.

Karen also said that she and fellow picture book author Della Ross Ferreri are offering a new season of their writing class, “The ABCs of Writing for Children,” at Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook. It will be held on Tuesday afternoons, from April 5 – May 17. They cover story ideas; characters and structure; rewriting; and submission to publishers, as well as give writing exercises and manuscript critiques. I don’t write for the very young children’s age group, but if I did, I would definitely take this class. Karen and Della are both talented, knowledgeable and accomplished authors, and I’ve learned a lot from them both in the Shop Talk groups – I think any writer of kids’ books could benefit from this class. More details about the class and their publications can be found at Karen and Della’s websites – www.karenkaufmanorloff.com and www.dellarossferreri.com.

Cara, a new writer to the gathering, had taken Karen and Della’s class, and she said it was good. She’s working on writing picture books. The rest of us in Saturday’s group are working on middle- grade or teen novels.

Karen Shan has finished her manuscript of a middle-grade historical novel and has sent it to two agents. She read us a passage – it’s been awhile since she’s read her work in the group, and I’ve missed hearing her excellent writing. She’s woven details of her meticulous, immersive research of the early 1900s Turkish and Armenian setting into her story of an orphan boy who’s taken in by a desert sheik. It was great to see her manuscript in its mailing box -- I hope she’ll find a good agent who will appreciate her great work and will work hard to sell it to the right publisher.

Kim Sabatini shared her wonderful news with all of us – her book, Touching the Surface, did find a great agent: Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency, who recently sold the book to Anica Risi, an editor at Simon Pulse, the teen imprint of Simon & Schuster!! I’ve had a good feeling about Kim’s story since I first heard her read the beginning chapter in Shop Talk several years ago. I read an early draft of it, and it’s so imaginative, interesting and heartfelt, that I knew it would be published one day. And I can’t wait until its publication, in the Fall of 2012, so I can buy a copy and read it in its book form. I’ll write about Kim in more detail in a following blog post, and her writing journey in her own words can be found in her blog, Jess Free Falcon, at www.kimberlysabatini.blogspot.com. Congratulations, Kim – you and your story deserve the best of success!

Michelle is also awaiting news from an editor – Connie Hsu, of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Connie had read the beginning of an early draft of Michelle’s funny, yet moving middle-grade novel, Blackboard, about a traumatized-to-muteness little boy who finds a new kind of family among the eccentric outcasts of a 1940s small town, at last June’s local SCBWI conference. Michelle said that Connie had liked it, suggested some changes for the re-write, and encouraged Michelle to send her the whole book as soon as revisions were done, so Michelle sent it out before the holidays. I’ve had a really good feeling about Blackboard, too, ever since I heard Michelle read the first scene, where the wildly whimsical schoolgirl Pinky defends small, silent Damon from the playground bullies, in our Wildwood Writers group. Michelle has a great way of combining unique characters, unfortunate situations and playful humor with inspirational themes like forgiveness and benevolence. I hope the editor will get back to Michelle with the good news that she deserves, soon.

It was good to see Janine, a writing friend of Kim’s who’s also attended the local SCBWI conference and previous Shop Talk meetings, there on Saturday. She said that she’s had several book projects going at once, including a couple of teen novels and a novel for adults, but she finds it hard to stick with just one thing. I told her that’s exactly how I feel – I never have problems coming up with story ideas, but it’s hard to commit to just one when they all interest me and demand my limited time and attention. I said I think I have writing ADD! Kim wondered if that’s what happened with my tween novel, What Luck, and I said yes – I like the story but after awhile, I put it aside because it didn’t seem like it authentically represented my vision or voice as a writer. I feel more personally and creatively involved with my current teen novel, disAPPEAR, that I’d started a few years back and recently took off the back burner to work on. Now I’ve just got to find the time and perseverance to finish it!

Lisa said that she’s mainly written adult speculative fiction stories and novels, but recently got into writing a novel for teens because she won an online Mediabistro course, as a prize for winning the Family Circle Short Story contest last year. She picked out the teen novel class from the many course offerings because it seemed the most advanced, and it was taught by an editor, Kendra Levin of Viking Children’s Books, rather than an author. She enjoyed the course so much and got so much out of it that she’s taking an advanced course this year.

Lisa also said that she’s written eight different novels – each for the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) challenge that’s during November of every year. She said that’s the way she’s used to writing now, and she recommended the challenge to us. She said she thinks it would be good for anyone who faces writer’s block or has trouble sticking with a project, because with a deadline in 30 days, there’s no time to second-guess a project or go back to rewrite it – you just have to keep writing, and focus on finishing. At the end of the month, you can have a finished first draft – even if it’s very rough – that you can use as the basis or framework for your improvements and revisions. She said that even though there are a couple of manuscripts that she’d never continue writing, because she thinks they’re so awful, there are also some that she thinks have potential and she’s worked on revising them. I said I’d tried NaNoWriMo once, but it was impossible to stick with the writing schedule because November is the start of the retail holiday season, and the only thing I could focus on was getting through work each day until the holidays were over. So November isn’t a good time for me to try the challenge, as long as I work in retail. Lisa said that sometimes people start their own NaNoWriMo groups at different times of the year.

That idea must have stayed on our minds, because after we’d had lunch in the B & N café (Kim had to leave early to get back to her kids), Lisa, Michelle, Janine and I kept talking about NaNoWriMo. I said that could be a good thing for me – especially since it could help me break the cycle of starting a new project; going back to rewrite every few pages before writing further; and then getting a new idea that grabs my attention before I’ve gotten far on the current project. We all agreed that it would be a good writing challenge to take on, and then we just decided to try it ourselves during the month of March.

So Janine has set up a Facebook group for us, named “March Madness – Writer’s Style,” and the challenge starts tomorrow! I have to admit I’m feeling a little intimidated – I’m still not too sure I can keep up with the fast pace of writing on the fly that’s needed to see it through until the end. But I’m glad there are four of us involved, and that we can all understand and encourage each other through the ups and downs and twists and turns of this upcoming challenge.

For me, it could end up being the craziest thing or best thing I’ve done in a long time! I’ll post when I can, to tell how it’s going. Good luck to all of us – I hope that by April 1^st, we’ll all have finished first drafts, with the potential to become viable, publishable books, to share with each other!

The Inspiration of Writing Groups

Ask most anyone who is involved with writing or publishing to give their best advice to writers, and among their tips, they’ll usually say two things:

*Write something every day or as often as possible – writing improves with practice and discipline.

* Join a writing group – sharing works-in-progress with peers, and getting their feedback and criticism helps to give insight and direction in writing projects and helps to make the overall writing better.

And over the many years of my writing avocation, I’ve found it to be true – my writing seems to thrive when I try to write as often as possible, and especially when shared with and critiqued by other writer friends and peers.

Several years ago, I took a long-term private, small group writing class, led by Laura Jan Shore, author of the historical YA novel, The Sacred Moon Tree (Bradbury Press, 1986) and also a longtime writing teacher. She guided her group of aspiring writers with wise and gentle critiques, born of many years of experience. She also stressed the importance of feedback from the other members of the classes. She led afternoon workshops on enhancing creativity, and encouraged us participants to be fearless in our self-expression, whether in writing poetry, molding clay figures, or dancing around her living room to vibrant tribal music. This was the first time I’d read my work aloud, and despite my discomfort with it, I learned the value of sharing my writing and always appreciated the constructive comments and encouragement. And although I’ve put the book I’d worked on while taking those classes on the back burner, the lessons I learned there have been invaluable.

I also took two years of writing and media classes at New York University, where weekly assignments were work-shopped among the other classmates, under the direction of instructors, who were all professionals in their fields. And although those classes were all in journalism instead of fiction, my writing improved greatly, especially in the short article forms that were the focus of the program. I learned to write strong leads, copyedit the articles, give them interesting headlines, and especially to write under the pressure of a weekly deadline. It was daunting having to read my pieces aloud to classrooms full of (mostly) seemingly more sophisticated New Yorkers; and instructors who were long-time professionals at newspapers and magazines such as The New York Daily News, The New York Times Magazine, and Time Out NY. But I learned to push through my anxieties, and the instructive comments I got from my teachers and classmates helped me to improve my work. And despite having two jobs at the time, I worked hard for the positive criticism and A grades I received, and I consider that one of my best writing accomplishments.

Currently, I’m a member of SCBWI – the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, whose local chapter meets at Barnes & Noble on the last Saturday morning of every month. I’ve been attending these Shop Talks for several years now, since I’ve been focusing my writing on teen novel projects.

The group is open to anyone with an interest in writing for children and/or teens, and it covers all formats – novels; chapter books; picture books; poetry; short stories; and magazine articles. And although my concentration is on teen novels, I’ve learned a lot about all aspects of writing for every age group. Each month, newcomers are welcomed to join in with several regulars, and many also become frequent attendees. The 2-hour sessions are led by one or a couple of moderators, who are long-term members of the organization, and help to organize the local conference each year. There’s a discussion of conferences, and publishing news; and people are encouraged to talk about and share their works-in-progress. Anyone can read a piece of their current project, for some constructive comments from the group and the moderators.

I went to the most recent meeting, a couple of weeks ago at the end of January, with my friends and fellow writers Michelle M. and Lisa K. This time, Barbara Wells, the former regional advisor; picture book author and newspaper columnist Karen Kaufman Orloff; and picture book author Della Ross Fererri led the small group through several topics.

They gave an update on the June 11 Eastern NY Regional conference, that will be at the Ramada Conference Center in Fishkill this year. Susan Campbell Bartoletti will be the keynote speaker – she’s the author of several historical non-fiction books and novels for young readers, and has won a Newbery Honor as well as several other awards. I know of her work, but haven’t read any of her books – I’ll have to catch up on them before the conference. They’ve also booked an editor, an agent, and an art director so far, to give presentations.

Karen (www.karenkaufmanorloff.com) shared with us her new picture book, “Talk, Oscar – Please!” – to be released on March 1^st by Sterling Publishing. It’s a sweet story about a little boy who wishes the family dog could talk, and imagines all the fun they would have. And also, her book, “I Wanna New Room” (GP Putnam) that was released in December – it’s a companion book to her humorous, persuasive-kid story, “I Wanna Iguana.” She also read her latest picture book manuscript for us to critique.

Della (www.dellarossfererri.com) is the author of several picture books, including “How Will I Ever Sleep in This Bed?” (2005, Sterling Publishing) – about a child’s first night sleeping in a big-kids’ bed; and “Star of the Show,” (2009, Shenanigan Books) – about a little boy having to share the spotlight with his sister when they put on a circus show. She read her new picture book manuscript and the group critiqued it, too. She has been submitting it, but wanted some feedback so she could polish it more.

Being part of this group has shown me that peer critiques can be valuable, no matter what level of writing and publishing you are at. Karen and Della both appreciated our feedback, and their experience and knowledge have been very helpful for those of us who haven’t been published yet.

I’ve only read part of the book I’d been working on a couple of times in the past. I appreciated the feedback I got from my peers each time, and I’m considering bringing in the beginning of my current novel-in-progress, to hopefully get some helpful comments and advice. Then I should be able to rewrite and prepare my manuscript for an editorial critique at the local conference this summer.

Afterwards, Michelle, Lisa and I had lunch in Barnes & Noble’s café (actually a nice, relaxing place on a day off from work!) and talked about our current book projects. Michelle read the beginning of her newest book, about a young girl whose father owns a boarding house in the 1930s. She already has a good grasp of the many colorful characters who live there, and she always has a good feel for the early-20^th century time frames that many of her books are set in. We had such a good time that we said we should try to get together again, for an informal writing talk.

Up until a couple of years ago, I was part of the “Wildwood Writers” group, with Michelle, Lisa, and our friend Rich. We met every couple of weeks at Michelle’s place, and shared our works-in-progress. I’ve missed our meetings – it was always inspiring and encouraging for me to share my work with such supportive and creative friends; and it was great to hear them read their interesting and imaginative works-in-progress, as they developed and refined over time.

So I was glad when Michelle, Lisa and I were able to get together the other day, for an afternoon of lunch and writing talk. This time, as we met in the Barnes & Noble café, we all brought something to read. Michelle read more pages of her middle-grade historical novel; Lisa read the beginning of her novel about a young woman who unwittingly becomes involved with a cult; and I shared (actually, Michelle read it for me – I just don’t feel comfortable reading my work in public; I have to get over that someday!) the prologue of a teen novel I’d started a few years back and then shelved, until I decided to get back to it recently. We had a great time, and to me, it felt almost like old times with our Wildwood group – but we all missed Rich. Maybe he can make it down from Albany, where he now lives, to join us sometime.

Because my current novel is in the very beginning phase, I’m uncertain about the direction of it, and so I talked about my concerns with Michelle and Lisa, and they gave me some good advice. They both liked my prologue, and encouraged me to keep going with it. And so I’m continuing it, especially since I’m clearer on some aspects of it, like some characters and the story arc. But without their honest, thoughtful and helpful feedback, I’d probably still be spinning my writing wheels.

And that’s one of the best things about being part of a writing group – everyone has the same hopes and goals for their writing, even if they’re working in different genres or formats; everyone hopes one day to be published and to have an audience for their work. And in the writing groups I’ve been in, everyone genuinely hopes for the success of their fellow writers, as well as for their own. Everyone strives together, everyone supports each other, and hopefully, one day, everyone will be able to share in each other’s writing achievements.

And that kind of inspiration is one of the things that keep me going, through all the ups and downs of this writing life.