Our local SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators) chapter had its second “Shop Talk” meeting of the year on Saturday, and, after a hectic few days, I’m finally getting to post my write-up of it.
We had quite a large turn-out of 15, with a good balance of longtime members and newcomers in attendance. This was the first meeting that new coordinator Kimberly Sabatini led (with me assisting) and I think she did a great job. She was equal parts teacher and cheerleader – passing along a wealth of information that she’s learned during her four-year journey from aspiring writer and SCBWI novice to published author of the YA book, Touching the Surface, that’s due to be released in Fall 2012 by Simon Pulse; and generously giving advice and encouragement, so that others in the group may be able to follow her path to success.
Kim truly believes that anyone can attain publication, if they are dedicated to writing; put in time, energy and hard work into their project; and seek out advice and feedback from fellow writers, along with information and resources that SCBWI can provide. I think she’s got a point, and I hope that this group will help all of our local children’s and young adults’ writers and illustrators to reach the goals they’ve set for themselves.
After everyone introduced themselves and talked a bit about the type of work they’re pursuing and projects they’ve been working on, Kim distributed information sheets about SCBWI, and we discussed the agenda for each month’s Shop Talk. We meet for roughly 2 – 2 ½ hours, and the first hour will be devoted to discussing a particular topic of writing and publishing. We passed out a “wish list,” so anyone could suggest a topic they’d like us to cover. The list included topics such as querying agents and editors; narrative point of view; and commercial publishing versus self-publishing. Thanks to everyone for their input, and for some great topics that we’ll discuss in the coming months.
Kim also presented regional advisor Nancy Castaldo’s idea to have a writer’s book club, where each month we can read the same picture book and middle-grade or teen book – not just for entertainment, but as another tool that can teach us about the craft of writing – and then have a brief discussion about the books and what makes them successful and interesting good reads. I agree with Kim and Nancy that writers must also be readers, especially in their chosen genre; and that much can be learned from published writers’ works.
The second hour will be for critiques – everyone is encouraged, if they’d like, to share their writing; and everyone is also urged to give their thoughts and concerns as feedback. We can all learn from such critiques, even if it’s not our own writing that’s discussed. And we can all learn to become skilled and effective evaluators, to help our peers become the best writers they can be.
That led into the topic for the month – the importance of critique groups, and how to give useful criticism. A good critique can come from a fellow writer or a reader – after all, readers are the audience for all books. Kim talked about the significance of finding “beta readers” for a manuscript once a draft is finished. These are the first readers of a written work, and can provide invaluable feedback to keep in mind when revising.
Criticism should always be constructive, and balanced between saying something positive – what we liked about the piece – and voicing concerns: any problems or questions we had about the writing. We should never just want to “blow smoke up someone’s butt,” (as Kim so eloquently put it!) but we also should never rip someone’s writing to shreds. A critique must be honest, but also kind and helpful.
As writers, we should be open to considering whatever may need to be changed. We should also try to become thick-skinned, so we don’t feel hurt or defensive by the criticism. And we should learn not to take the feedback personally – critique groups are evaluating our writing projects, not us personally. We should try to see what parts of the feedback we can use to make our writing and our stories stronger.
Kim introduced the idea of the “Concept Critique,” as explained by author, editor and speaker Kristen Lamb in her blog. The link to the full article is http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/a-new-approach-to-a-traditional-group-the-concept-critique/. Because Shop Talk only meets once a month for a couple of hours, there are limitations to the traditional critiques of a picture book, short story or chapter of a book. The helpful feedback usually emphasizes a writer’s voice or style of the given piece, but often not the story as a whole.
So a concept critique can be an effective option for a group like ours. A writer can bring in a 5 – 10 page synopsis of a book, and the group can comment on the entire storyline, and what they think of the characters and the overall plot arc. A well-written synopsis can lay the groundwork for the scene-by-scene and chapter-by-chapter development of a book. And once a manuscript is completed, we should already have a strong synopsis to present to agents and editors if requested.
Kim said that any other short pieces are always welcome – short stories, picture book manuscripts, and query letters are some traditional options to bring for critique, but we always want as many people to be able to share as possible.
Because we covered a lot of ground, we only had time for a couple of critiques. I had suggested that those of us who had signed up for the March 10th SCBWI First Pages event could bring in our first page, to get feedback from the peers in our group. Then at next month’s meeting, after the two editors and agent have given their first page impressions at the event, we can compare the peer critiques to the professional critiques – hopefully we can learn to critique in a more professional way.
I was first (the first time I’ve shared my writing in a Shop Talk in a few years), with Kim reading the first page of my ‘tween novel, What Luck for me. Kim said we shouldn’t read our own work – we could get nervous and possibly stumble over the words; or we could get so comfortable with our story that we end up reading it as a type of performance, and that could get in the way of the writing itself. And it does help to hear a story in someone else’s voice – it can give a different perspective. Then, everyone in the group had a chance to comment on it.
I was pleased with the critique, and appreciate everyone’s feedback on my brief opening passage of a thirteen-year-old girl complaining about her mean great-grandmother coming to stay with her and her family. Several commented about the generation-gap conflict and the importance of family as the story’s theme. Others said it was well-paced, and the voice was true to that of a thirteen-year-old girl. And several wanted to read more, so that’s good!
There were a few problems – some phrases were too wordy; and a couple of details about the great-grandmother were confusing instead of clear. Those comments were really instructive – I’d written and read several drafts of that opening page, and had overlooked some things that new readers had caught. I’ll remember to aim for more clarity in my next rewrite.
And now I’m really looking forward to the First Pages event, and hearing what the professionals have to say about my page. I wonder if they’ll have some of the same opinions?
Kim also read the opening page of “Michael’s Bridge,” a short story by Liz O., who is fairly new to the group. It’s about a fourteen-year-old boy who’s been disabled in a car accident, and feels left out of his friends’ summer activities – instead, he enjoys the calming respite of the Hudson River. Liz received many favorable comments – about the realistic depiction of a disability, and the dilemma that the character must face; and the strong sense of place; and the well-balanced emotion. I liked the timeless tone of the story, and Liz said that it involves time-travel – that her character crosses the railroad bridge and goes back in time, where he meets a disabled boy from the past. That suddenly sounded familiar to me, so I paged through the story, and recognized hearing it at a Shop Talk meeting several years ago. I told Liz that I remember her reading it then, and what a great, imaginative story it was, and I’ve always thought of it as one of my favorites, of the many, many pieces that have been shared over the years – it’s that memorable, and that good. Liz was a bit surprised, but I think she was glad to hear that.
As the meeting wrapped up, we picked out books to read for the next meeting, on March 31st, from among the current Caldecott and Newbery or Michael Printz award winners. The picture book will be the Caldecott-winning A Ball For Daisy – a wordless book by Chris Raschka. And the older-readers’ novel will be Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos – it won the Newbery award, and I’m sure it’s well-deserved.
The topic for next month will be conferences. Several of us will be at the First Pages event, so I’m sure we’ll have a lot to share about it. And Kim went to the NYC conference last month, and will be attending the Pocono Mountains Retreat in April, so she’ll have much to report.
Kim also encouraged us to keep in touch throughout the month, and to feel free to buddy up in small groups or as critique partners – anywhere outside of Shop Talk, and even online – so we can have the opportunity to communicate with each other and share our writing for feedback more than just once a month. She mentioned an upcoming event at Oblong Books and Music in Red Hook on Friday, March 2nd – a reading by YA authors Lauren Oliver (her current book is Pandemonium) and Kate Ellison (her first novel is The Butterfly Clues). Several of us are interested in going – it should be a good night. And Kim invited everyone to the post-ShopTalk lunch in the café – seven of us stayed and had a great talk, about the pros and cons of prologues, and teen novels written in verse, among other things.
And Kim mentioned our Facebook group, and encouraged the newcomers to join, if they have a Facebook account. I think our group is working out well so far, and I hope to see it grow.
I'm really looking forward to all the great writing events in March, and all the inspiration and motivation that I'll get from them. And I'm ready to get immersed in continuing What Luck - thanks to Kim and the Shop Talk group for helping to renew my enthusiasm for the book and my commitment to finishing it!
(written on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - posted on March 1)
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