Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Cheers and Other Bits, like What Makes Your Character Special?

Summer has been on its crazy roll. I've been out and about with the family through three different states the past few weeks, so that explains why it's been a while since my last post. Our first stop was in Cedar City for the Utah Summer Games where my daughter competed in a soccer tournament. Her team did well with a win, a tie, and a close loss, but the highlight was seeing Jo on the front page of the Daily News on day 2 of our trip.




Here's the photo that was published with her (in orange) running down the ball (and winning it from the opposing team).




She plays sweeper and forward, and does a great job getting the plays done in both positions. (That's me -- the proud mom!)


While tracking down this photo for my post, I also found another shot of her on The Spectrum website, which was taken during the same game.
















After we returned from Cedar City, my husband announced we should plan a trip to Yellowstone. The fact that he wanted to take this trip the following week didn't seem like an insurmountable problem to him. Then again, he wasn't the one who would take the task of planning it. I was. So, I spent the next couple days figuring out the wheres, whats, and hows of making a few days with the whole family a reality.


As it turned out, planning a trip on short notice wasn't such a big deal, especially since we would be camping. We spent a couple days in Teton National Park, then a few days in Yellowstone, and had a blast horseback riding, hiking, boating, and yes, camping. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for mountain camping. The days were warm and the nights cool, but not unbearably cold.



Speaking of "unbearably" -- we did see a bear. Two, in fact. Little black bears, about 2 years old. One in the Tetons and one in Yellowstone. They looked so cute and cuddly, they seemed practically pettable, as in, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could pet them?" No. Not. I'm not that silly. We kept our distance for the most part, and kept our food properly stored at night, far away from our tents to keep wandering bears from getting any sort of ideas that our tents held a smorgasbord of flavorful offerings.


En route to our camping site, my ten year old tried to convince me that letting him "mark his territory" around the tent was a good idea. ...... Marking as in . . . ? Let's not go there. ..... Needless to say, I thought NOT, and nixed that idea in the bud, and told him that Wandering Bear might turn into Snarling, Growling Bear if he started sniffing around and found that there was a territory worth fighting for. Boys. They never cease to make me smile.



All in all, I'm happy to say we are pretty much home-bound for the next month, so I'll be able to work on my novel, and get a few other things done like, mowing the lawn and tending to the vegetable patch, which is looking a little worse for the wear in some parts. Usually I spend a Handful of Saturdays at the Cache Valley Gardeners Market selling my bounty of produce.


One customer from Arizona who spends his summer here actually called while I was driving from Cedar City and asked when I'd be back at the market with my gooseberries. Since I'm one of the few that grow and sell them here in the valley, and since they are worth their weight in gold as far as taste in Gooseberry Pie and jam goes (Snow White really did know what she was doing when she won over those dwarves), I assured him that from one gooseberry-lover to another that I'd be back in July. That's right around the corner!











Oh, and I wanted to share the good news! Have you heard about the book, Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys by Janet Kay Jensen? Janet was my co-author for The Book Lover's Cookbook, and her novel has been snagging all sorts of awards and recognition. The latest award was given at the Book Expo in LA for best new religious fiction. I couldn't be happier for her. Hooray! Check out more for yourself at her blog, where you'll find lots of good posts, and other news and tidbits, like her cool new book trailer.




As for the rest of what I've been meaning to post, I wanted to write about characters. All my driving/traveling of the weeks past gave me lots of time to think and mull, and basically I decided that when it comes to writing, one of the most important questions you need to ask and answer before you start writing is, "What makes your character special?"



While it's true that characters can be anyone or anything, the truly captivating ones are those that have something special about them. When we first meet Harry Potter we see that not only is he an orphan, but he's an orphan with a mysterious scar and strengths/powers yet to be discovered. Primrose Squarp from Polly Horvath's Everything on a Waffle is also an apparent orphan, who believes to her core that her parents are still alive--despite the fact that everyone else believes they are dead. She also has a penchant for interesting recipes. And Joey Pigza, a likeable boy with a sense of humor, in Jack Gantos's Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, cannot, cannot sit still no matter how hard he tries. The list goes on and on, but I'll stop there. I mention it here because this was something I struggled with in beginning my latest novel--trying to figure out what was missing--and with my latest drive-time/down-time, I think I've worked it out.






Have a great day!

Monday, May 19, 2008

A Good Day

So, I spent Saturday at the SCBWI spring workshop in Salt Lake City where I got the chance to meet Molly O'Neill, who is the assistant editor with The Bowen Press, a new imprint at HarperCollins Children's Books. And guess what? She loved the new middle grade novel I'm working on! Based on the premise and first ten pages, she wants to see it when it's done, which absolutely tickled my toes. I'm so thrilled. That's just the sort of revived up energy I need to carry me through the home stretch. Thank you, Molly!

Not only that, she gave a fantastic presentation titled "How to Catch (& Keep) an Editor's Attention," which focused on the beginnings of stories -- basically, what draws a reader (and editor) in. If you're wondering what sort of books Molly likes, I'd have to say, she likes a lot. (She talked about 21 different books, and that was her short list.) But here are a few she mentioned.

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell & Neal Layton.
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D Schmidt
Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie
Dovey Coe by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Orville: A Dog Story by Haven Kimmel

Happy writing, everyone! Time to get busy........

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

SCBWI Conference in LA 2008 (and other things)


OKAY! I've done it!

The tickets are bought. The registration is completed. And wha-la . . . I'm in for the SCBWI conference in LA.

Can you tell I'm excited?

Good. Because I am!!!!!!!! (And no, I'm not one to shy away from using exclamation points. In fact, I love exclamation points, especially when they are needed.)

This year's conference is going to be great with FOUR full days of children's book stuff from children's book authors, like Margaret Peterson Haddix (my daughter loves her) and Lisa Yee (who has been on my must-read list with her book, Millicent Min, Girl Genius) and Bruce Coville, whose books are beginning to line my son's shelves. Plus, there'll be loads and loads of children's book editors--more than I dare count. (Well, I could count them, but why put a cap on the excitement level?)

Anyway, I can't wait to meet other writers, maybe talk with some editors, see what's up and coming in the children's book market for next decade, AND if I'm lucky, find a way to become a part of it.

As for my last post, I thought I'd try and find some great 14th lines from some favorite books that I know. Let me tell you, this was no easy feat, because from some truly wonderful books that we know kids are enjoying, we have fourteeners like this:

She got pretty good. (Olivia by Ian Falconer)

They wait. (A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban)

My name is Percy Jackson. (The Lightning Theif by Rick Riordan)

"I'm hungry," Seth said. (Fablehaven by Brandon Mull)

So, I could have just ended it there by saying that what I wrote before about 14th lines is all a bunch of Phooey. But I didn't, and I won't. Because I still believe that everything that comes after that awesome first line of a fantastic story is linked to what came before, as well as what is going to come next. (I got that bit of insight from Dean Koontz (Odd Thomas) when I was working on The Book Lover's Cookbook. And I also won't say it, because I did find fourteeners (zingers at the fourteenth line) like this:

I knew if something wasn't done quickly, the sanitation department would have to pick up a dead dog.
(Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls)

But things can come together in strange ways.
(Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt)

He skidded to a stop and smiled right at me.
(Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo)

Not the tiniest sound could be heard anywhere.
(The BFG by Roald Dahl)

They were selfish and lazy and cruel, and right from the beginning they started beating poor James for almost no reason at all.
(James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl)

Just don't ask me to be nice.
(The Book Thief by Markus Zusak)

Did they not want me after all?
(Jinx by Meg Cabot)

So, there you have it. Intrigue, suspense, interesting images . . . they all can be found at the 14th line, or anywhere in a good book--although they don't have to be derivitives of 14, of course. But I'd be willing to bet, that in our favorite stories, good sentences like these can be found in abundance, and perhaps when we least expect it...

Write on, everyone!