Wednesday on Writing - A Great YA Author Event at Oblong Books

March 14, 2012 – I haven’t posted a blog in

over a week because there’s been a lot of trouble with my boyfriend Ian’s computer – it keeps crashing when it’s been running for longer than a brief amount of time. He’s been working on it, and it seems to be stabilized for now, so I'm trying to catch up.

I’ve been to two great writing events since the beginning of March. On March 2, Oblong Books hosted authors Lauren Oliver and Kate Ellison – the first Hudson Valley YA Society event of this year. And Saturday, March 10 was SCBWI’s First Pages event, with editors Molly O’Neill and Lynne Polvino and agent John Rudolph, who critiqued the first page manuscripts of all who attended.

So I’m writing about the Oblong event today, and I’ll try to post about the First Pages event as soon as I can after. I want to give each one its own post, because there’s a lot to say about each event!

I went to Oblong Books & Music in Rhinebeck, NYwith Kimberly Sabatini – it’s been a few years since I’ve shopped there, but I’ve always thought that it’s a great independent bookstore. Kim introduced me to co-owner Suzanna Hermans, who organized the event along with Jennifer Laughran, a bookseller at Oblong as well as an agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. They founded the Hudson Valley YA Society in 2010, and have hosted many notable authors of young adult books at the store.

There was a great turnout, with every seat in the event area filled with a mix of aspiring and published YA writers, and teen readers – all eager to meet Lauren Oliver and Kate Ellison, and hear them read from their books and discuss their writing careers.

(Jennifer Laughran introducing Kate Ellison and Lauren Oliver)

Lauren began by talking about her start as a writer. She grew up in Westchester, New York, with a great love of reading – her parents are both literature professors, and her father is a true crime author. As a kid, she’d write sequels to the books she loved, like the Redwall series. She said that she was a “fan fiction” writer, before the concept really existed! And in middle school, she wrote little fanzines for her friends, as well as her own stories. She studied literature and philosophy at University of Chicago, but started writing seriously while pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at NYU. She said she wrote an 800-page literary novel during that time, “in which nothing happened!”

She was also working at Razorbill, the young adult imprint of Penguin Books, where she learned about YA writing and was inspired to start her first book for teens, Before I Fall.

It’s the story of Samantha, who gets the opportunity to re-live the last day of her life over and over again, in order to discover the mystery of her death, as well as the meaning of her life. It was published by HarperTeen in March 2010, and has become a best-seller that’s also received several awards.

Her second book was Delerium (published in January2011) – the first in a dystopian trilogy about a world where love is considered a disease, and everyone over the age of 18 is given a treatment to cure it. Lauren said that she was inspired by a quote she’d heard about writing, “All great books are written about love or death,” and wanted to write a book with love at its heart. Then she heard some media stories about the possibility of a bird flu epidemic (that didn’t happen) and likened the “symptoms” of love to a sickness. She was also interested in writing about a society with rigid rules imposed on its people. Delerium’s main character, Lena, is due to be cured when she meets a boy who changes her mind. Lauren read a compelling passage from the beginning of Pandemonium, the recently-published second book in the series. And the last in the trilogy, Requiem, is due to be published next March. Lauren said she had intended the book to be a tragedy, but she fell in love and got engaged while writing it and the story turned out differently. “Maybe some kind of joy seeped through my fingers,” she said.

HarperCollins also published Liesel and Po, Lauren’s book for middle-grade readers, last October – it’s about a girl who befriends a ghost, and Lauren said it means a lot to her. She said all of her books share a common theme – transformation.

Kate Ellison, the debut author of The Butterfly Clues (published in February by EdgmontUSA) had a creative childhood, too, in Baltimore. She said she would write to get her family’s attention, and also wrote her version of “fan fiction” – stories about the characters of Sweet Valley High! Both Lauren and Kate agreed that fan fiction,with established series and characters, can be away to learn how to write .

Kate got her degree in acting at DePaul University in Chicago, and is an accomplished artist as well as writer. She talked about the origin of The Butterfly Clues – she grew up with a cousin who had OCD and also had a tragic loss in her life. Kate said she didn’t understand about OCD until she read about the condition when she was older. It inspired the book’s character, Lo, who is a compulsive collector of strange and interesting objects. Lo’s obsession is a way of dealing with constantly having to move from place to place with her family, and is also a way of coping with the grief of her brother’s death. When she finds an antique butterfly necklace at a flea market and realizes that it belonged to a girl who was recently murdered, she becomes obsessed with trying to solve the murder mystery. Kate read a passage from the book, where Lo meets Flynt, an intriguing street artist.

(Kate Ellison listens as Lauren Oliver discusses her books)

Then, both authors answered questions from the audience, about reading, and the writing process. Both are avid readers – Lauren said she reads four books at any given point in time! Kate said she’s wary of reading in the genre that she writes in, so she doesn’t read a lot of YA titles. She’s been reading a lot of neuro-science books lately. Lauren agreed that reading dystopian teen books “can be paralyzing,” so she has only read the first Hunger Games book. She read Agatha Christie while working on the Delerium trilogy, and she also loves historical novels, like those of Philippa Gregory.

When asked to tell about when she first heard she’d be published, Lauren said she felt like it wasn’t really happening. One of the proudest moments of her life was when she called her father with the news – but he hung up on her twice; he thought he was hallucinating! Kate said she had a dog-walking job with a troublesome dog, on the day she got the call – “it was thrilling!”

They shared their writing habits – both tend to write in the morning. Lauren aims to write a certain amount of words every day – sometimes it takes a half-hour and sometimes it takes four hours, but “I just get it done.” She said she wrote Before I Fall on her Blackberry while commuting between two jobs. She must have coffee, but she can’t listen to music while writing – instead, she picks songs as a way to inform her characters. Kate likes to listen to instrumental music, and usually reads a few pages of something she loves for inspiration, before writing.

They both gave some helpful tips and advice about writing. Lauren believes that writer’s block is a myth. Writing every day is important – it doesn’t have to be good, but it cultivates discipline. She does worry between books that she’ll never write another. So she just writes “bad novels” in between! Kate said you need to take the pressure off yourself – just write anything down. She suggested taking walks, or traveling for inspiration – “even if it’s just to a crappy motel; you can write about that, too!” Both stressed the importance of doing what you love.

Lauren said that working in the publishing field did help her meet people – she pitched her first book to her agent at a cocktail party. But she said that querying is the best way to get an agent, and it’s important to work on the query letter until it’s perfect. She read a lot of queries at Penguin, and many were bad: “It’s Twilight meets Harry Potter”!

In addition to writing, Lauren co-owns Paper Lantern Lit – a literary development company that helps up-and-coming authors with editing and preparing their books for publication. She said that five Paper Lantern authors have books coming out this year. Kate is an author with Paper Lantern – Lauren helped her with The Butterfly Clues, and Kate’s agent is the same as Lauren’s.

The audience wanted to know about their future writing plans. Kate is working on another teen mystery, and she’s thinking of writing poetry or adding art to her writing, “to keep myself challenged.” And Lauren’s second middle-grade book, The Spindlers, is coming out this Fall, with Requiem to follow in 2013.

After, Lauren and Kate both graciously signed copies of their books. I bought every one of their books, and said I’d be glad to recommend them as possible titles for the teen book group that I moderate at the bookstore where I work. Kim got several books signed, too, and shared with them the good news of her upcoming debut, Touching the Surface, that’s being released on October 30. We were also lucky to get pictures with Lauren and Kate.

(Kim with Lauren Oliver and Kate Ellison)

(me, with Lauren Oliver and Kate Ellison)

It was a fun and inspiring evening, and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to meet Lauren Oliver and Kate Ellison – their book readings and writing discussion will surely help to enrich my own writing. Thanks to Suzanna Hermans and Jennifer Laughran for hosting this event – I look forward to many others of the Hudson Valley YA Society!

Wednesday On Writing - SCBWI's February Shop Talk

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 10^th 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 2^nd – 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)

Wednesday On Writing - Writing: Anytime, Anywhere

It's been about three weeks since I posted a blog. Somehow, my writing time seems to have gotten away from me. I've been so busy at work, and haven't had much free time to myself, and also haven't had optimal conditions to be able to feel creative and to get much writing done.

I have been thinking about my writing projects though, and have still been making notes for each of them. I've been doing some online research about Boston (of present day as well as twenty years’ past) for my time switch novel, and I've been adding to my character sketches and general plot notes for that project. That's the book that's been in the forefront of my mind lately – I've been thinking about it every day. I think that I'm ready to really get into writing it now.

I've also been working a bit on my tween novel, What Luck. I registered for the SCBWI First Pages event that will be on March 10, and sent in the first page of my manuscript for critique. I'm looking forward to that event, and to what kind of feedback I may receive from the two editors and the agent who will be participating. I know that a first page is not much of a representation of an entire work, but at least I may learn whether my opening is strong enough or whether I need to rewrite it. I hope to also get a better sense of direction for my story, so I'll be able to see it through to the end of its first draft.

But I know my biggest challenge is to try to be able to write as often as possible, no matter what amount of time I may have, or what circumstances I may be in at the given time. Unfortunately, I tend to wait for a lengthy amount of uninterrupted time at the computer in the study to be my time for writing. And that's something I'm not able to get very often.

Today I found a great piece of advice, while I was reading the recent (March 2012) issue of The Writer magazine. In an essay titled “The Portable Writer,” short story writer, poet and Georgetown University and George Washington University writing instructor David Harris Ebenbach says that it's fine if writers have a routine or a special place to write, but they should also be open to changing their writing habits if or when their circumstances may change.

Sure, it's great to be in an ideal writing condition such as the opportunity to write in an artists’ colony – it's easy to be productive in such a creative atmosphere that's free from day-to-day responsibilities, but he emphasizes that “these opportunities are usually short-term… and the conditions they provide do not mirror those of most people’s year-round writing life.”

But often, people try to mimic the perfect writing circumstances each time they write – they can only write in a certain quiet space; or at a certain time when they’re alone or when everyone in their house is asleep; or if they have a certain kind of inspiring music on; or when they’re in the right mood to reflect their story. But what happens if they don’t have the optimal situation for writing?

Ebenbach tells his students “there’s only one secret to being a writer: You just have to write.” And “it’s possible to write under all kinds of conditions.”

He suggests finding ways to bring some familiarity and routine into any environment, such as hunting for a new quiet place; or writing during a different time of day or night; or bringing inspiring music along on a music player with earbuds; or using a different mood to inform a story. He says, “The point is that if you’re thoughtful about what it is that helps you to write, you might be able to bring at least some of that to your new or just less-than-ideal situation.”

He also advises that a change of place, time or mood can be good – it can “usefully inform the content and form of a person’s writing, whereas a static routine can make your work static, too. … New situations… can bring new imagery, settings, ideas and more. … Anything that’s new or unusual has the chance to show up productively in the work.”

He sums up by stating, “If we refuse to write under anything but perfect or familiar conditions, we probably won’t spend much time writing.” And “ … we don’t have to be slaves to what we consider ideal circumstances. Instead, we can… strive… to be writers who can get their work done when the situation is new, unfamiliar or awkward. In other words, we should strive to be portable writers, writers you can take just about anywhere.”

I’ve heard that kind of writing advice before, but it’s good to be reminded of it, especially when I’ve been struggling to find the “right” time, situation and mood for my writing. I know that instead of waiting for the right writing circumstances to come along, I need to train myself to be able to write in nearly any time, place or mood that I find myself in.

I have several writing friends who are very creative and productive, no matter when or where they write. When my friend Michelle was working at the book store, she would write during her lunch/dinner breaks, and even during her taxi rides to and from work. I see my friend Usman nearly every night, writing in the store’s cafe, and usually after he’s spent the day working as a teacher. And my friend Kim Sabatini, a mom of three lively little boys, found the time and energy to write an amazing book, Touching The Surface, that Simon Pulse is publishing in September. So I know I can definitely learn something about writing flexibility from them.

And more famously, nearly everyone knows that J. K. Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter book in her local cafés in Scotland, while her baby napped in her pram. Stephen King wrote his earliest short stories and novels on his wife’s manual typewriter in the laundry room of their trailer, while he was also working as an English teacher in Maine. And Scott Turow wrote his first bestseller, Presumed Innocent, by hand while commuting on the train to and from his day job as a lawyer in Chicago. Just some examples of how writing adaptability can lead to great success!

So what can I do to be more flexible and prolific with my writing? I know I should think outside the box – or in my case, outside of my apartment study. First, I want to be able to become more adept at using the Dragon Naturally Speaking program, so I can dictate my writing more often and not be restricted to typing or writing by hand. I wrote most of this post using the Dragon program, and then went back to typing for the editing process. I want to be able to write more often in different areas of the apartment, as well as outside on the terrace when warm weather returns, so I need to get back to using my laptop more often again. And I plan to upgrade my Nook Color to a Nook Tablet – it’s got a faster processer, more memory space and longer battery life, so it should be more efficient to use for writing. I want to become more proficient at using the Quickoffice Pro app – it turns the tablet or e-reader into a word processor, so I could use it on my breaks at work to write and save the files and then transfer them to the computer later. I’ve also ordered a flash drive, to store all of my writing files so I can share them on all of my devices.

Hopefully, all of this technology will help me to be able to write anytime and anywhere. Now I just have to keep my book projects in my mind and stay mentally and emotionally connected with them, so I’ll be able to get into them whenever I have the chance. I also want to keep up with my blog post more regularly. So, I’ll keep in mind the advice of David Harris Ebenbach’s writing article, and also keep in mind the flexible writing habits of my friends as well as famous writers, and try to follow their examples. And hopefully, I’ll become better at reaching my writing goals.

Monday's Muse - Supernatural's "Time After Time"

Though I’m writing about it today, my muse has actually been inspired by last Friday’s episode of my favorite current TV show, Supernatural – it featured one of my favorite story tropes, time travel. There wasn’t a new episode this week, so I watched “Time After Time” this weekend, too.

Created by Eric Kripke and now in its seventh season, Supernatural usually takes place in its own version of the present day U.S., with supernatural creatures like ghosts, vampires and werewolves; and evil entities like demons and leviathans. The show’s heroes, Dean and Sam Winchester (played by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki) drive cross-country in their 1967 Chevy Impala, hunting these monsters every week and (usually) destroying them. “Saving people; hunting things,” as Dean describes it, is the only life they’ve known – they were raised to be hunters by their father, after their mother was killed by a demon when they were very young.

Armed with their father’s journal, detailing everything he learned about supernatural creatures over the years, as well as a trunk full of weapons like wooden stakes, iron blades, flasks of holy water and salt-filled shotguns, the brothers have gotten by on their wits and instincts; sometimes with the help of family friend Bobby, the hunter who became a father figure to them after their father died; sometimes allied with a small group of other hunters; but many times on their own, with just each other to rely on.

But, starting in the fourth season, the writing team expanded the Winchesters’ world to include angels (some were allies and some were adversaries) – and these beings had the power to control time and place.

And so, as the storyline developed each season, Dean and Sam have been sent through time. Once, Dean went back to his hometown of Lawrence, Kansas in 1973, where he unexpectedly met the younger versions of his parents; and in a later episode, he and Sam both encountered their parents in 1978. In both episodes, they learned that the past can’t be changed, even though they tried their best to influence the outcome. And Dean was sent to the post-apocalyptic future of the year 2014 – this time to learn the possible cost of a decision that he had to make. Last season, Dean and Sam even traveled back to the Wild West of 1861, in an attempt to find and bring back a weapon that could kill a powerful evil creature. These episodes have been some of my favorites of the series.

So, since angels have pretty much been written out of this current season, I thought there wouldn’t be a plausible way for any more travels through time to occur in the series. But I guess I underestimated the writers and their creative ideas, so I was surprised and pleased when I first read, on TVline.com in October, that there were plans for an episode to take place in the 1940s, featuring the character of Eliot Ness, the leader of the law enforcement agents known as the Untouchables. I had no idea how the writers would accomplish this time traveling, but I trusted that they would make it interesting, and I looked forward to seeing it, especially when I read in November that Nicholas Lea (who’d played Krycek on The X-Files) had been cast as Ness.

And I wasn’t disappointed when I saw the episode last Friday – I liked it as much as all the other time travel episodes, and thought it was very well-done. Written by Robbie Thompson and directed by Philip Sgriccia, it works as a great stand-alone episode, outside of the show’s sometimes weighty mythology. A newcomer to Supernatural could easily watch and enjoy it, and get a sense of the show’s themes of tenacity (Dean and Sam will do whatever it takes to hunt and thwart the creature who is committing the crime or causing the trouble) and loyalty (Dean and Sam will do anything to help, protect and save each other).

The “monster of the week” this time is Chronos, the God of Time – he has the power to move through time, but has to kill people and take their energy in order to use it. Chronos is responsible for the deaths of two people in Canton, Ohio, and Dean and Sam are on the hunt for the killer, after getting a tip about the case, that the bodies were mummified, from one of their allies, Sheriff Jody Mills (played by Kim Rhodes).

After they find an empty house to squat in, they interview the stoner neighbor of the last victim. The guy says that he saw a man, who was dressed like his grandfather (in a suit and a fedora), grab his neighbor by the throat, and a red energy passed from the victim to the man in the hat, and then the neighbor suddenly aged, as the witness' watch stopped.

Doing research, Sam finds out that Canton has a history of strange deaths over the years – always three people at a time. He shows Dean a headline from 1954, with a picture of a small crowd surrounding a body, including the little girl who’d discovered it. And Dean hacks into the town’s security cameras and finds footage of the man in the fedora. Sam realizes it’s the same exact man that’s in the 1954 news picture.

They interview the now-adult girl from the picture, and she remembers the man as Mr. Snyder, her parents’ old neighbor. So Dean and Sam go on a stake-out at Snyder’s house, sure that he'll soon kill again. They see him leave, and follow him on foot through town, eventually splitting up, with Sam taking the street and Dean taking the alley.

Dean finds Snyder attacking someone, and a red current of energy emanating from the victim. Dean rushes at them, and Sam arrives just in time to see Dean and the man in the fedora disappear.

Dean struggles with the man on the ground, and notices his ring with a strange emblem on it, just as Snyder jumps up and runs off. Dean pulls his gun and chases him, but loses him on a crowded street – full of people in vintage clothes and old-time cars – one is a police car, and he’s arrested and taken to a police station. A cop questions him, and examines his cell phone, wondering if Dean is some kind of spy. And he tells Dean that his fake FBI badge is from 68 years from now. Counting on his fingers, Dean realizes he’s stuck in the year 1944.

Another enforcement officer comes in to question Dean, and actually believes Dean’s story about the man and the weird red light. Dean figures out that he’s a hunter, and Dean is even more impressed when the man introduces himself as Eliot Ness – of the famed Untouchables. Dean is a total fan boy of the movie The Untouchables, and soon, his anxiety over being stranded in 1944 is replaced by excitement to be working in a real-life version of the movie.

He and Ness compare notes, and team up to hunt the killer. Ness brings Dean to his associate Ezra, and tells her that Dean’s from the future and needs appropriate clothes. She fits Dean out in a dapper suit – Jensen Ackles looks so great in period clothes, and does a great job in conveying Dean’s ability to adapt to his new surroundings. Ezra helps them research Snyder's ring – it belongs to Chronos, the God of Time (played by Jason Dohring) and he can be killed by a stake through the heart.

Meanwhile, Sherriff Jody helps Sam with research, using the recently-deceased Bobby’s old metaphysical books and papers, and bonding over the shared loss of their friend. They too, figure out that Snyder, the man in the fedora, is actually Chronos. They find a spell they can use to summon the god, but Sam realizes that they need to summon Chronos when Dean is right there with him, so they can bring both of them back together, or else Dean will be stranded in 1944.

Back in 1944, Dean and Ness track Snyder/Chronos to a local bar, so they set up a stake-out, and talk about hunting while they’re waiting for him to appear. Ness got into hunting while on a case where vampires were turning people – he straightforwardly says that hunting sets him free. Dean says he’s lost so many people that he doesn’t even know why he does it anymore. But Ness sets him straight – he says that everybody dies, but with hunting you can make a difference in this life.

I really liked Dean and Ness’ interaction with each other – Dean’s thrill at working with one of his movie heroes turns into respect for the real-life counterpart. And Ness gives Dean a sense of perspective and purpose that he hasn’t felt in awhile. Dean also learns that the real-life 1944 isn’t like the movies, in some humorous scenes.

Dean’s love of the movies helps him figure out a way to communicate with Sam through time, though, when he gets an idea from Back to the Future III. I loved this sequence of scenes, and the way they show that the brothers’ connection surpasses time and place. And I loved the writers’ clever way of bringing Dean, Sam and their allies together in the same place across the decades, for the final confrontation with Chronos.

Chronos is an interesting and complex villain, with a fatal flaw in his god-powers, and an undercurrent of human emotion that proves to be his undoing. Chronos has the last word, though, giving Dean and Sam an unsettling prophecy of a future filled with doom.

All in all, I thought that "Time After Time" was "awesome," as Dean says throughout the episode. It made great use of the device of time travel to tell an engrossing supernatural story, while raising the stakes of Dean and Sam’s possible permanent separation from each other. Of course, they’re the stars of Supernatural, so that could never happen, at least not at this point in the series. But their worry that it might actually happen was believable. And I liked the idea that even though they’ve time-travelled before, it’s not so commonplace that they take it lightly. Even though it’s clear that Dean gets some enjoyment from his excursions into different periods of time.

I also loved the idea that hunters have always existed throughout time – from the gunsmith Samuel Colt in the wild-west episode, to the Untouchables’ Elliot Ness in the ‘40s. By mixing its own version of history with its supernatural hunter mythology, Supernatural does a great job of grounding its fantasy in reality, making the show believable and relatable to its viewers and fans, like me.

I can only hope that my own time travel stories will be as entertaining, believable and relatable to the readers that I hope to have, one day in time.

What Luck Revisited

January 14, 2012 –

I haven’t posted a blog all this week – I hate to get off to a bad start so soon into the new year, but I’ve been really tired and haven’t felt very well all week. I haven’t done much besides work and rest. And I haven’t worked much on any of my writing projects since the new year started.

But this morning, I got a jolt of motivation. I saw an online SCBWI announcement about a local writing event in March that I’ve been looking forward to – a “first page” conference, where writers will have a chance to get the opening page of their book project read and critiqued by an editor or an agent. And registration has begun.

I printed out the information and registration form, so I can mail it in the next couple of days. And all day at work, I thought about what first page to include. My writing has been pretty much on hold since the beginning of the busy retail holiday season in November. But I made a writing goal on New Year’s Day – to commit to at least one writing project and to finish at least a first draft of it this year.

The story that’s been in the forefront of my mind since then is my time-travel novel, in which the main character meets up with her twenty-years-younger self and then inadvertently changes places with her. But its themes are of missed opportunities, regret, and second chances – it’s not for young readers.

I do have a couple of teen time-travel novel ideas, but I’m in the early, note-taking and character-building stages of them – I haven’t really thought much of how to start those stories yet.

But I also have a story that’s already been started – I actually got about halfway through the first draft of it before back-burnering it a couple of years ago. It’s What Luck, a novel I wrote for tweens (pre-teen and early teen readers) about a girl whose superstitious great-grandmother influences her to become obsessed with following rituals in an attempt to have some control over her increasingly overwhelming life. I’ve had the first fifteen pages of the manuscript critiqued over the past few years, by an editor, an author, and an agent, to mixed reviews. (The editor and author gave it favorable feedback; the agent wasn’t as helpful.) I even outlined the ending, with help from my author friend Kim Sabatini, when we were at the SCBWI conference in New York City two winters ago.

And last week, when I had lunch with Kim, I mentioned that I was thinking of revisiting What Luck. She thought it was a good idea – she said that I’ve already put a lot of work into it, and if I can get back into writing it and commit to the story, I could probably finish a first draft in less than a year. I told her I’m considering it.

So, tonight I went into my desktop What Luck file, and read through the first chapter. It’s actually not too bad – I think that if I have enough incentive, and give it the attention it deserves, I might be able to make it into a viable manuscript.

I tweaked the first page a bit, and, even though I think that just one page can’t really do justice to the overall plot of the book, I do think the opening is pretty good and hopefully will be interesting enough for a reader to want to know more about the story and what happens next.

So I’m going to send in the first page of What Luck along with my registration for the conference. And then I’ll get all of my notes and files and written pages together, and read through it all. And once I’ve revisited my story, hopefully I’ll have a better idea of how to further develop its characters and plot, and move it along to its end. At the least, it will be a project that should keep me busy through the upcoming long months until spring!

And, hopefully, when it’s finished, I’ll have some good luck with What Luck.

(wrote blog post on Saturday, January 14; posted on Sunday, January 15)

Friday's Flashback - Winter Student

Instead of following the traditional start of college in the Fall semester, I was a Winter student when I went away to school at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, at the beginning of January, '81.

I hadn’t planned it that way. Growing up, it was always assumed that I would graduate from high school – Franklin D. Roosevelt High in Hyde Park, NY – and then attend Dutchess, the local community college, for two years. I would major in English and get an Associate’s Degree, and then transfer to the nearest state college, in New Paltz, to finish my Bachelor’s Degree in English and Journalism.

But I abruptly changed my plans during my senior year. I was feeling overwhelmed by some family problems and wanted to get away and out on my own. And then Scott, my boyfriend during that time, had been accepted to Northeastern, as a journalism major, and he told me about their co-operative education program – a unique curriculum where the academic courses of study are interspersed with paid internships that give students hands-on work experiences and also helps to offset their tuition expenses. I was interested, and as I learned more about NU, I saw that this was an opportunity to go away to a private university in a city atmosphere.

There wasn’t enough time to apply for the Fall, so I applied for the Winter instead. I remember getting the acceptance letter, and feeling like the path of possibilities was wide open. I would study journalism and communications, and hoped that I could get a co-op job at the Boston Globe.

During the Fall and the holiday season, while most everyone I knew who went to college was involved with adjusting to classes and campus life, I was busy working at a retail catalog center, so I could earn some money for school. NU would be expensive, even with a grant and student loan. Scott came home from time to time, and told me about his classes, the campus, and his new friends. But it seemed so remote to me, and I couldn’t wait until the new year, so I could start my new life as a student.

Because of its co-op program, NU operated on an academic quarter calendar, rather than the traditional semesters. So, I was college-bound on the first weekend of January – a couple of weeks earlier than most students. I remember that it was a cold but clear Sunday, and my parents drove both Scott and I and all of my clothes and dorm furnishings, on a 4-hour trip straight across the Mass Pike, until we got to Boston.

My family and I had only been to Massachusetts once, on a camping trip to Plymouth and Cape Cod, but had never been to Boston. I had applied to Northeastern sight-unseen. In hindsight, it was kind of risky, to decide to go to the college without even having a campus trip. But as we got closer to the city, and Scott pointed out some of Boston’s landmarks, like Fenway Park; the “T” trolley trains moving alongside the thruway; the Prudential Tower, known as the “Pru;” and the John Hancock skyscraper, the tallest building in the city, I felt a rising sense of excitement rather than apprehension of moving to a strange place.

Finally, we arrived on campus – gray concrete buildings lining each side of Huntington Avenue; with academic buildings on one side and dormitories on the other side – and my assigned dorm, Stetson West, one of a cluster of 4-story student housing buildings.

My parents and Scott helped me bring all of my stuff inside and up to my dorm room – a basic double, with built-in dresser, twin bed, and desk lined up along each wall and a large picture window facing the grass and concrete courtyard below. My roommate hadn’t arrived yet – she didn’t show up until the next day because she lived nearby – so I just picked a side and got everything settled.

I remember that we walked back down to the parking lot, and I hugged my parents goodbye. My mom was a bit teary-eyed, but I told her not to worry – I’d be just fine. Scott and I hung out for a little while, but then he went to his dorm to catch up with his friends and to get to bed early, because classes started the next day.

I was tired, but too excited to get any rest. I had brought some of my favorite books, and I remember organizing them on the built-in shelves above the desk. I could hear the sounds of students talking as they filled up the hallway outside – of course, they’d started together in the Fall and already knew each other. Then there was a knock on my door.

It was the floor’s resident advisor, a blonde upper-classman – I can’t recall her name right now, but she was nice and welcoming. She said there were a few other girls who were new Winter students on the floor, and beckoned me to follow her down to a dorm room down the hall. She knocked on the open door, and introduced me to the dark-haired girl inside.

Her name was Tracey, and she was a business major from Maryland. Her roommate hadn’t arrived yet, either, so we just hung out together and talked, until it was late. Our backgrounds were different, but we shared similar tastes in books and music, and of course, our Winter student status. I remember turning in for the night, feeling that I’d made the right choice to go to NU.

Classes started the next day, but first I had to get a student ID. I remember exactly what I wore – a cream and burgundy pinstriped shirt; high-waisted baggy jeans with off-white suspenders; and brown high-heeled Candies clogs. I tamed my frizzy hair with a curling iron into the winged style that was still so prevalent then. The picture isn’t very good – the harsh flash made me look really pale, I think – but my smile shows that I was glad to be there.

Right from the start, it wasn’t easy to be away at school in Boston. Classes were a challenge compared to high school – I remember one history class assigning ten books to read and ten papers to write during the 10-week quarter. And the remedial math class that I was required to take was still above my numerically-challenged head. The stresses of over-caffeinated all-night study sessions made me an always-tired insomniac, and didn’t help my ulcer. I didn’t have much spending money, so I couldn’t go out to enjoy Boston as often as other students did. Within the first few weeks, Scott and I broke up, although we did stay friends for awhile. And a couple of weeks after that, my mom called to tell me that my dad was in the hospital after having a heart attack. That was the one thing that made me question what I was doing so far away from my family and home. But when my mom said that he’d be OK; he’d just have to have several months off from work to recover, I decided to stick it out, as long as I could. I felt that it was worth it, and it was.

I really liked my English and communications classes, and did well in them. I read some great modern and classic literature and wrote papers that got good grades. I had some interesting professors – one of my English lit profs was an Ireland buff, and one day, he tossed aside the syllabus to lecture us about the Irish Republican political prisoner Bobby Sands, who’s just died on a hunger strike. Then the professor sang “Danny Boy” as a tribute to the fallen rebel, as us students just sat there, dumbstruck.

I got to see the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Science, with reduced student admission. I saw a couple of hockey games (the Northeastern Huskies were on a winning streak that year); basketball games, and a football game. I wrote for the campus newspaper, and contributed to a student literary journal. And there were always dorm parties, nearby frat parties, and a lot of ongoing campus drama, so my friends and I were never bored.

I ended up staying through the Spring, Summer and Fall quarters, until the financial aid requirements changed the following year, and I didn’t have enough money to stay. I did remain in Boston for two more years, before I moved back home. At the time, it felt like a setback, but I slowly grew to appreciate living in the Hudson Valley. It's good to live near my family and to be able to see them whenever I want to. And I've met a lot of great people, and have some good longtime friends.

Ironically, I ended up taking some English and communications classes at Dutchess Community College, as I’d originally planned. And about ten years ago, I completed a two-year journalism program at NYU. And I’ve taken an ongoing small-group writing class and several writing workshops over the years.

I sometimes wish things had turned out differently, and I sometimes think about moving back, especially whenever I visit Boston and realize how much I miss it. But looking back, I’m glad I had that year of school, and that time in Boston. As brief as it was, I learned a lot, both in and out of the classroom. And that’s an education I’ll always appreciate.

(finished writing on Friday January 6)

Kim Sabatini's book Touching The Surface Surfaces as an Advance Readers Copy

This afternoon, I had lunch with my newly-published author friend Kim Sabatini. We planned to meet at Sugar and Spice, a cafe in the same plaza that my boyfriend Ian works in.

I was waiting on a bench outside the café, when Kim came rushing breathlessly down the mall hallway, clutching a large mailing envelope in her hand. She said she was so glad that she received it this morning, in time for lunch so she could share the news with me, as she pulled out a paperback Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of her book, Touching The Surface!

Then we were squealing and hugging, and I was congratulating her over and over again – I was so happy to see this new major milestone in her journey to her book’s publication – truly as excited as if it was happening to me.

It was awesome to actually touch a printed and bound copy of Touching The Surface!

I can’t wait to read it in its finished form – I almost wanted to skip lunch and just start reading!

After a couple of hours of good food and eager chatter, we visited Ian at the photo lab that he manages, showed him the ARC, and asked him to take a picture of us with it, to mark this special day.

Kim is one of the best people I know, and a wonderful writer too – she and her book are so deserving of publication. When her father passed away several years ago, she was inspired to create a story about a teen girl’s experiences in the afterlife, and soon after, joined our local chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, for its local ShopTalk meetings.

With her optimistic outlook and exuberant energy, Kim has added so much to our SCBWI group. From the start, she’s been eager to learn everything about writing, and the children's and teens book markets, and she has hopefully shared her promising book with everyone in the group, as she wrote it from its earliest stages to its in-shape-for-submission manuscript. And she’s appreciated every opinion, bit of feedback, and piece of advice that she received. I could tell right away that her story was special – heartfelt and well-written – and had no doubts that one day it would be a success.

She has also given positive and encouraging critiques of my writings and those of the other writers in the group. She’s been an ardent admirer of the publishing successes of Karen Kaufman Orloff (author of the picture books I Wanna Iguana; I Wanna New Room and If Mom Had Three Arms); Della Ross Ferreri (author of the picture books Star of the Show; Picnic on the Sidewalk and How Will I Ever Sleep in This Bed?) and Roxanne Werner, whose children’s story, “Snowday in Space” was Highlight Magazine’s 2008 Fiction Contest winner. And she’s been a vibrant presence at every local SCBWI writing conference, since the first one she attended in 2007.

As her book manuscript progressed, Kim has shared each step, big and small – from her spiritual writing epiphanies to her revision challenges to her 33 queries in the search for an agent. Almost exactly a year ago, she signed with agent Michelle Wolfson, who sold Touching The Surface to editor Anica Rissi at Simon Pulse, the teen imprint of Simon & Schuster, in mid-February. As Kim has shared her wonderful news with those of us in the Shop Talk group, as well as with her family and other friends, she’s always made sure to let everyone know how instrumental they were in contributing to her writing success. She’s written over four pages of Acknowledgments for her book, and she was so excited to show me my name in her thank-yous. This meant so much to me – I told her it was such an honor to see my name printed there, and to be able to share in her writing success!

And Kim has helped me so much with my writing, as a reader and editor of my works-in-progress; an understanding support system when I’ve felt directionless; a cheerful cheerleader when I’ve overcome some of my (mostly self-imposed) writing hurdles and have made some progress; and a great companion at two of the SCBWI conferences in NYC. She’s confident that I can see a book project through to the end, and sure that I’ll have my own writing success in time.

(Kim and I at the 2010 SCBWI NYC conference - all photos courtesy of Kim Sabatini.)

And that gives me even more incentive to keep writing, through all the ups and downs of my creative journey and book-project excursions. Because I want to give Kim a reason to be as proud of me as I am of her and her amazing writing.

So here it is – the beautiful cover of Touching the Surface.

And the appealing, intriguing back-jacket copy:

“Life-altering mistakes are meant to alter lives…

When Elliot dies for the third time, she knows this is her last shot. There are no fourth-timers in this afterlife, so one more chance is all she has to get things right. But before she can move on to her next life, Elliot will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed… and people she’s killed.

As she pieces together the pieces of her past, Elliot must earn the forgiveness of her best friend and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves… even if it means losing them both forever.”

(Book cover and jacket copy courtesy of Kim Sabatini and Simon Pulse.)

I can’t wait until this coming September, to be able to buy a copy of Touching The Surface (and asking Kim to sign it, of course!) and to be able to read every page of what I know is an excellent and very special work of art and heart.

Kim has a far-reaching online presence, including her soon-to-be active website; her blog at http://kimberlysabatini.blogspot.com; her author page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kimberly-Sabatini/159269477461554; her Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/KimSabatini; and her Tumblr at http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/kim-sabatini. Her positive personality sparkles as much online as it does in person.

Congratulations, Kim, on your latest writing milestone, and thanks again for sharing it with me! ♥