Tag: conference

Children’s Writing 101 with MWPA: Blog and Retreat Links

Last Saturday I presented the workshop “The Business of Children’s Writing 101” with the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. We had a cozy class which allowed the participants to get some great one on one attention as they crafted their elevator pitches and queries in advance of the New England SCBWI spring conference. We discussed the journey of a book from manuscript to publication, defined Midlist, and learned not to defend our work in a critique. We even got to have a mini-workshop for those who had brought picture book manuscripts.

The afternoon brought a web hunt of great kidlit blogs, social media, and kidlit community events that I’ve listed below.

Most important—we discussed that craft comes first and that if you have trouble with your pitch or query it often means that your manuscript is not quite ready for prime time.

If you missed this class and would like MWPA offer this or other kidlit workshops again, please contact Josh Bodwell, Director of MWPA. Happy writing!

A Few Great Blogs:

Through the Tollbooth: VCFA students who do in depth pieces on craft.

Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Be Someone’s Hero, No Cape Required: Specific connections with literacy, student success, and educators.

Cynthia Leitich Smith, Cynsations: Clearing house of amazing info from the industry including guest bloggers.

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast: In depth illustrations and illustrators, process, production, and more.

Jama Rattigan, Alphabet Soup: Reviews of food-based books, poetry.

Ingrid Sundberg: Great posts about story structure, screenwriting, and plot.

Pub(lishing) Crawl: Group of authors and industry professionals posting about craft and business.

A Few Great Kidlit Retreats/Resources:

Highlights Founders Workshops

The Writing Barn

Vermont College of Fine Arts

Falling Leaves/Green Leaves from SCBWI Eastern NY

Rutgers One on One

Picture Book Boot Camp with Jane Yolen

SCBWI

 

Three Links to Great Web Content: August 4-10, 2013

When I was about eight years old, I used to sit on the landing and listen to the adult conversations that went on at dinner parties my parents would hold. I’m sure my parents thought I was asleep, and sometimes I would indeed fall asleep on the landing and they’d have to carry me to bed. The point is, that I didn’t want to miss anything. Sometimes Twitter and social media reminds me of this. With the incessant stream of tweets and updates I’m bound to miss out on something crucial.

The fact is, there is so much information out on the web that you can’t, and shouldn’t, try to keep up with it. I thought I’d post a few great links from my week and would love to see your favorite links, and a few sentences about them, in the comments.

First off, Ingrid Sundberg. Ingrid Sundberg is a fellow VCFA alum. She recently posted a fabulous series taken from her thesis on story architecture. If you only saw bits, or missed the whole thing, bookmark this page which includes the links for the entire series. Organic Architecture: Links to the Whole Series

If you are a parent or an educator, and haven’t found PragmaticMom.com, you should take a look. In addition to crafts, education, and parenting tips, she is an avid children’s lit reader with wonderful book lists. Her Multicultural Books for Children: 40+ Book Lists are an amazing collection of books broken into various helpful categories.

Lee Wind and the amazing SCBWI blog team were super busy last weekend at the LA Conference. Sadly, I wasn’t able to attend this year (I’m planning to go in 2014), but I was able to get the juicy tidbits on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog. If you are searching for an agent, you may want to read the many agent profiles. Illustrators will want to check out the winning portfolio images, and writers will be inspired by the encapsulated keynote speeches.

Again, I’d love to see your favorite links of the week– interesting industry news, and craft discussions that you retweeted, reblogged, tumbled or pinned that my readers might have missed. I’ll be watching the comments. 

Member Monday: Quick Links Version

Good morning friends!

I’m on a final push with my WIP so I’m keeping today short, and informative with links to other important stuff.

1. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the upcoming call for proposals for the 2013 NESCBWI Annual Conference and gave some tips here. The actual CFP document is now released and can be found here.

2. If you are a PAL member and have a book launch or release coming up, take a look at the SCBWI Book Launch Award Winners. With the award, fellow SCBWI members Hilary Graham and Sherry Shahan were free to explore creative marketing ideas to help their new books succeed. Need money to help with your launch, take a look at the requirements here.

3. Nominations are now being accepted for the SCBWI/ Jane Yolen Mid-list Author Awards. Any current SCBWI member can nominate another current member who has published at least two PAL books but has not sold anything for at least two years.

4. Are you going to SCBWI LA this year? (I’m not because I’ll be in Florence, Italy researching a book  seeing my husband!) I LOVED when I went in the past though. It is laid back in a California way that New York is not. It is warm. There is a pool. There is dancing. And there are great and helpful workshops. FMI here.

Member Monday: 5 + 1 Tips on Conference Proposals (the inside scoop)

I spent most of yesterday either driving to, being in, or driving from an NESCBWI RA/Advisory Board meeting. The driving I really hate, but the people I get to work with on the Advisory Board are wonderful.

We spent a great deal of time processing the evaluations from the most recent annual spring NESCBWI conference. Yes, we really do look at all of the comments so thanks to everyone who filled out an evaluation. Your workshop feedback helps us choose the Encore! schedule. You comments on how to improve the conference are implemented by the next conference director. This year, that person is Joyce Johnson. All conference communication should go to nescbwi13 at gmail dot com.

As an RA, the first question that I start to field about next year’s conference is, “When will you put out a call for proposals?” I can tell you that the announcement will be out sometime this week, and I’ll certainly post the info link that Joyce publishes.  If you are interested in presenting, now is a good time to get your ducks in a row. Below I’ve listed some tips to help you hone your workshop proposal idea.

  1. NESCBWI caters to many different constituents: writers, illustrators, industry professionals, beginners, intermediates, and PAL published. You will not be able to meet everyone’s needs. Don’t try. Be specific about your audience. If you say your workshop is for the most advanced members, be sure to be sophisticated, dig deep, and expect a high level of prior knowledge. We are eager to involve PAL members and would love some expert workshop presenters for this crowd.
  2. Also consider the time you will need. Too much time and you’ll be fumbling for enough info to fill the slot, praying that someone has a question for you. Not enough time and you’ll deliver your information so fast that no one will glean the benefits of your knowledge.
  3. Your MFA is awesome, and your graduation lecture/critical thesis was great but that doesn’t make it an SCBWI lecture. People want workshops that give craft-based how-to’s that inspire them to go home and get to work. MFA work is often very theoretical. See if there is a way that you can make your expertise more practical. If not, come up with another idea.
  4. If NESCBWI is going to pay you to come to teach at the conference, they want to get their money’s worth. If you have more than one AMAZING idea, or if you have an idea for something so popular that the conference committee would want to run it twice, that’s a benefit. In this same vein, panels are expensive. If you can do it yourself, and do it well, submit alone.
  5. Consider craft issues that you and your fellow writers/illustrators have faced and surmounted. (Humor in picture books, the omniscient narrator, multiple narrators, ripped from the headlines plots, diverse characters, showing emotion, rhythm in prose) How did you do it? How did others do it? Gather that info, analyze it, and present it in a direct and succinct way with clear examples, humor, time for questions, work time and …
  6. Never forget chocolate for the attendees.

Member Monday: Post Conference Reminders and WHAT?! an event for illustrators!

It was an amazing weekend at the New England SCBWI Annual Conference jam packed with workshops, academies, portfolios, posters, speeches, networking, and fun! If you were there, and you blogged about the event, post a link in the comments below! Two big reminders for conference attendees:

1) Fill out your evaluation. The organizers and regional advisors look at all the data and really use it to make next year’s event even better. You can find the online eval here.

2) If you •attended the conference AND •live in Maine, NH, or VT you can write to me at NorthernNERA at nescbwi dog org to receive Submission Guidelines for the editors and agents who were there too. Please note: I do check your name against the conference roster as this is a conference benefit. I am a writer first and need to protect my work time, therefore I will respond to about 20 a day until I’m done so be patient. (If you live outside of Northern NE, write to your RA. If you are outside the region, write to Marilyn Salerno. Contact info here.)

TODAY, I’ve invited Renee Kurilla (@reneekurilla) to Creative Chaos to discuss an exciting event for NESCBWI illustrators at FableVision Studios in Boston, MA:

“Creative Juices Freshly Squeezed: A Visionary Art Show”
Friday, June 1st, 6-10 pm
308 Congress Street, Boston, MA

Casey Girard, our NESCBWI Illustrator Coordinator, and Renee worked together to create this meet up and they’d love you all to show up. Put the date on your calendar now. I’ll wait. No really, I know illustrators. If you’re an illustrator near Boston put it on your calendar now and add a couple of ringy-dingy vibrating reminders too.

Welcome, Renee! Tell us about FableVision and your position there.

FableVision was founded in 1996 with a mission of taking on projects that are not only meaningful and fun…but educational. My role at the company is Lead Artist, which means that I create characters, storyboard animations, design websites, books, etc. I often develop the “look and feel” for a project and work with a team to make sure my initial vision is carried through the project end. It’s fun…and challenging.

How are the Reynolds family involved in Fable Vision and how do they set the tone for the company?

Twin brothers, Peter H. Reynolds and Paul Reynolds are the pulse of the company. They make sure the work we do continues to be meaningful and full of impact. They maintain the morale of the studio, always adding life to any room they walk into. Personally, whenever I have hit a creative wall or need a critical eye, I can go to either of them for help and walk away feeling inspired.

We often create animated films from Peter’s books. Last year, our team animated The North Star and this year we will be working on a new film for his upcoming book, Sky Color. You can watch some of our films and game demos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/fablevision/featured

Little known fact: Paul Reynolds is our CEO and a very smart businessman, but he is also a very talented artist. That artistic ability and creative thinking runs in the Reynolds family through and through. 🙂

What is Creative Juices. A gallery? A blog? Both? How does it help employees and staff of the company? Tell us more.

Creative Juices started as a blog that was a place for anyone on our staff to contribute what they found inspirational. For a long time we shared articles about animations or new technology and wrote short essays about things that interested us.

Then, the art team decided a great way to keep our creative juices flowing was to initiate a drawing/creation challenge. Every two weeks, we would pick a new word and “illustrate” that word however we interpreted it. We called it “What the Doodle!?” (WTD for short)

You’ll see if you scroll through previous posts that not all of the entries were illustrations. Everyone at FableVision (Artists, Developers, Producers, and Writers) contributed something, and that is why we had a vision of a gallery show.

In 2010, we had our first Creative Juices Art Show and it was a huge success. In 2011, we also had a successful event! What makes it different from a regular gallery show is that we transform our working studio into a gallery space. We clean the walls, rearrange everything, hang track lighting and showcase the art that our staff makes in their free time. You won’t see any project work hanging, but we’d be happy to show you what we’re working on if you ask!

The current show is called “Freshly Squeezed” to pay homage to our very first blog post, by our Director of Art and Animation, Bob Flynn.

One year, our Technical Director, Brian Grossman created the most amazing software for making waffle art. I highly recommend checking out his blog post about it here: http://funfoodfight.blogspot.com/2010/04/art-of-waffle.html

We just recently brought back our “What the Doodle!?” Challenge after a brief hiatus and opened it up to the public. Check out our studio twitter for frequent updates: @FVStudioBoston The next due date is Friday April 27th and the chosen word is: OBSTRUCT (Just tweet at us to participate!)

We very much look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

What is the purpose of the NESCBWI partnership with FableVision?

It seems a very likely partnership to me! The idea for an event came from the NE Illustrator coordinator and good friend of mine, Casey Girard. Genius! We’re all storytellers and worlds are merging a little bit more than they used to – we definitely embrace that at FableVision. I think illustrators and writers should be more aware of the vast realm of possibilities in the industry. And even if you already are aware, it’s a great excuse to open our doors and let lots of talented people mingle! Sometimes all it takes is a conversation to inspire your next big project!

We also have three members of SCBWI in our midsts, myself, Peter H. Reynolds, and John Lechner. The three of us definitely know how amazingly awesome it is to be a part of the undying support system that is SCBWI.

How is FableVision on the cusp of publishing?

We have a very talented team with big ideas. We pay close attention to what’s current and also pay homage to what makes us nostalgic. Every single person on our staff is passionate about something whether it’s games, stories, children’s books, animation, or comics and we are always thinking of new ways to deliver a really fun experience. We also love projects that help us learn, whether it’s about american history or how to code an interactive app – with magic, of course!

Disclaimer: We don’t really use magic 🙂

What kinds of opportunities are available for NESCBWI illustrators with FableVision?

Most of our art team is made up of illustrators! You too could be an artist at FableVision!

How will the event for illustrators in Boston be structured?

We haven’t yet finalized all the details of the evening, but the primary goal is to create an informal space where members of SCBWI can mingle with FableVision staff. We’ll probably do a quick introduction of ourselves, but then mostly just have snacks, drinks, and conversations. It should be a really, really fun time.

What haven’t I asked you that you’d love to tell our members about?

Please check out our studio website, facebook page, blogs, and twitter page for updates on the event!
Here’s a list of all the places we’ll be posting:

fablevisionstudios.com/blog
fablefolk.blogspot.com
twitter.com/fvstudioboston
http://www.facebook.com/FableVisionStudios

Thanks so much for reading and to Anna for asking! We hope to see you on June 1st!

On the road to the NESCBWI conference: Part 3: Friendships

If you’ve been following my April break journey here, and here you’ll know that I was in New Jersey yesterday. I had a lovely time visiting Meg Wiviott, talking writing with my VCFA friends, and lunching with a friend from my DC days.

The drive to Springfield from NJ was bearable because he gave me CD’s from hilarious comedians. I listened for as long as they lasted– sadly not the entire three hour drive but they got me through a traffic jam when everyone was rubber necking at a non-accident.

The rest of the way, I was able to contemplate friendship and aging and other existential concepts. My friends are far flung. I’ve met them in summer camp and college, through volunteering and in Vermont. Some I’ve kept from the old DC neighborhood. My book club and writing friends have been in my life the longest.

Social networking sites have certainly helped me reconnect with many and  stay in touch with most but I often close out a session on Facebook feeling more lonely then I when I started checking everyone’s status. In my current situation, with hubby deployed, it is difficult to make the time to see people in person. This week I took the time to refuel with friends face to face. I laughed and hugged, and sipped tea with people who stimulate my mind, reflect my emotions, and give me the kick in the butt I need to keep going.

Today, I’ll be swamped with hugs and handshakes. There will be over 500 attendees at the Annual Spring NESCBWI Conference. To each, I extend the following challenge– meet five new people each day. You never know, that person sitting next to you at the keynote speech, may just be a new friend.

Hello, Springfield, Mass. We’ll be here all weekend!

The road to the NESCBWI Conference: Part 2: Moving on

If you are a parent, you may remember the exhaustion that accompanied those first months with a new born. However, as with the pain of childbirth, dirty diapers, and ear infections, you may have forcibly siphoned those excess memories (ala Harry Potter and the Pensieve) to make room for other more important thoughts. I had. Or thought I had.

For the last two days I watched my sister-in-law exist in the zombie state that is the milk machine, sleep deprived way of a woman with a child under two and a new born. She is my hero. Despite her situation, she was grace and kindness and patience in a way that I don’t remember ever exhibiting.

She is willing to embrace toddler time in a way I never could. You remember toddler time right? We will eventually get to that-there playground 20 yards away but only after we pick each dandelion along the way. No, I  hoisted the kiddo and off we went. This doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate toddler time, the magic of discovery, or the pleasure of the teachable moment– I’m just not practiced in its workings at present. That is, in some ways, what this vacation is about. Trying to slow down long enough to pick the dandelions along the way.

Nevertheless, it was time to move on and leave the Cutie Cutes and their wonderful mother and father behind. Time to get behind the wheel and drive to the next stop.

Meg Wiviott is the author of Benno and the Night of Broken Glass (SLJ best picture books 2010, Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Gold Medal for Multicultural Books, CCBC 2011 Best Choice List , and the Gelette Burgess Children’s Book Award for Multicultural Picture Book) AND lucky for me she is a dear friend. Today and tomorrow we get to catch up a bit in her home state of New Jersey. We will talk about books and writing and friends. I will nap. I will read. I may even go for a run. All in my own good time.

On the road to the NESCBWI Conference: Part 1: Toddler’s Eye View

Yesterday, I put my children on an airplane to visit my in-laws in Florida. I hugged them, kissed them and bid them farewell. Then I watched the plane leave and cried. I’m not a good flyer myself so transferring my phobias to this situation was par for the course. Also, (with my husband deployed) the three of us have gotten to be quite the team. The separation was a little like ripping a couple of bananas from the bunch. Nevertheless, I wiped my tears and got on with the business of being on my own and enjoying a week’s vacation. First stop without children? My sister-in-law’s home where she just had a new baby. She also has a cutie, cute toddler. I know– crazy.

But in a way it isn’t crazy at all. As soon as I walked in their house, I was transported back to a time of sitting on the floor, and bubbles, stones, squirrels, and sidewalk chalk, and putting things in, and taking things out, and bath time, and “what does the cow say?” It was a toddler’s point of view and it reminded me of why I got into the business of writing and illustrating in the first place.

Inspiration! It’s grand.

(PS: It also means short blog posts because someone always needs something– NOW!)

Member Monday: 15 Minutes to a Great Critique

Usually blog posts take a while for me to construct but at the suggestion of Julie Kingsley today’s post is going to be done in 15 minutes or less– perfect for our subject the conference critique. Just like at the conference, I’ve set a 15 minute timer (I actually have eggs boiling at the same time) and at the end of the 15 minutes, a bell will ring. At the conference, the timer is a wonderful volunteer who has nothing to do with finding the crit faculty or matching you up so if you are not pleased, they are not the person to whom you should bring grievances. You’ll start the crit by signing in with the timer 5 minutes earlier than your scheduled time, but your crit actually should start way before that.

In a quiet moment before the conference begins, perhaps when you are in your hotel room, pull up the 10 pages that you sent in to be critiqued. Hopefully you haven’t seen these ten pages in a while. Pull out a notebook, Pretend that you are the editor or agent, or put on the hat you’d wear if a close writing friend gave you their work and said, “Really. I want you to be honest. I want to be a better writer.” Read through the ten pages and jot down the challenges in voice, character development, pacing, and setting. Is the beginning engaging? Is the problem clear? Is the main character’s desire clear? Has the conflict been introduced? Even it it is a picture book, you can still ask these questions. Now consider the strengths in the same areas. Also look at the rhythm of your word choice and  language. On the page in your notebook, write Dear Author: and jot down your thoughts in the notebook.

Turn the page. Be the author again. What questions do you have for your critiquer. These could be industry questions but really these 15 minutes are all about you and your manuscript. Questions that will help you solve the problems you noticed in your own writing sample such as: Did you find my main character likeable and realistic? Should I introduce the conflict sooner? Does my antagonist seem cliché? Any issues that have been niggling at you that you’d really like answered by an editor or agent. If it is an agent you may think about asking some of these questions.

You are reacquainted with your manuscript, you have questions to ask, you are ready for the crit. Sign in with the timer and when she says it is time, go straight to the table where you’ll be critiqued. Make eye contact, smile, shake hands (firm). Now… OPEN YOUR MIND! LISTEN!

The critiquer should pull out your writing sample and a letter she’s written that is probably pretty similar to the one you wrote to yourself. Have your notebook ready and a clean page to take notes. Chances are, your heart is beating and you won’t remember a lot of this. Write down good things with a + next to it and challenges she noticed with a -. This should all be in the letter too but it is nice to have a record of the discussion.

If there is still time, she’ll ask you for your questions. Choose the most pressing ones and ask those first. Take notes on the answers. Just as the bell dings, say, “I’m excited to work on this with the revisions you’ve suggested. Would you like to see this again?”

If they say yes, HOORAY! This is a big deal. Ask about timing– is 6 months okay? a year? Shake hands and go away. Write a thank you card immediately and send it to them at their office.

Notice that there is not one moment– NOT ONE– where you should defend the choices you made in your writing. You should not stand up for your characters. You should not tell the industry professional that someone else told you it was fine or liked it. You take their opinion (you paid for it), you keep an open mind, and later you look at your notes and decide if you- as the author- will choose to make those changes.

Most of all, give yourself a pat on the back for putting your work out there, for coming to the conference, and for moving forward on you journey as a writer.

BTW- this took me longer than 15 minutes to write- AGAIN!