Monthly archive for January 2013

Conferences

By on January 25, 2013   /   Book Lists  

Hi Mixed-Up Filers!!

It’s good to be back! Welcome to my semi-annual post with Mixed-Up Files!!  Okay, before I incur the wrath of the all-mighty Elissa Cruz, I am joking! It’s only been fourteen months. Wait, is that more or less than semi-annual? I’m sorry, math has never been my best subject. But, it’s okay. That’s what happens when you write for a popular site like Mixed-Up Files and its eighty-seven members! Still, I appreciate the massive letter-writing campaign that has been undertaken on my behalf, in order to get me more time on this site! Elissa Cruz told me that it literally took her like three to five minutes to go through the two letters she received, clamoring for more of me! I thank both of you for writing!

But, I digress. Back to my post! I was originally going to entitle this Our Firsts, but then I realized that I titled my last post that, and I also believe it makes me sound like some lovesick teenage girl writing an entry in my diary. But, that’s not it at all.

I’m talking about conferences!

This past weekend, the area I live in (south Florida), had its winter SCBWI writing conference. And in another week is the SCBWI winter conference in New York. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the Florida one this year. And the New York conference is strange for me, because while I am originally from New York, I have never attended a conference there. But, thinking about it, reminded me of the first time I went to any writing conference.

I am not sure exactly what year my first one was without putting a lot of thought into it, and as many of you know, whenever I do that, it never turns out well. But in any event, it was quite a few years ago. And what I remember most, was that I was sooooo nervous going. I didn’t know anybody, but was still excited to see real-life authors speak on the topic of writing. I wanted to get better, but I also remember thinking that I was already pretty good. I guess, that is a requirement of anybody that has a creative spark, you better believe in yourself to an extent, no matter what, right?

So, I went down to the conference, pretty much stayed to myself, and just soaked everything in. Not that I was anti-social, it’s just overwhelming when you really don’t know anybody and you are attending an event where it seemed like everybody knows everybody else except for you. After you go for a while, you begin to see that these writing folk are really just regular people. Perhaps, a bit odder and more eccentric than everybody else, but still just people…okay, a lot odder and more eccentric, but still, they are a tight-knit bunch and very welcoming to new writers. I felt amazed at seeing all these people whose books I’d loved, standing alongside of me.  It takes a few moments to get over being star-struck, and remember why you are there.

One of the funny things I do remember, is being extremely confident. Sure, I admired these writers, but I was also ready to dazzle everybody with my own writing. They would hear my work and shower me with praise and adulation, perhaps be carried off on their shoulders , with the well-deserved shouts of “Way to write!” echoing through the halls.

Well, that didn’t happen. What did in fact happen, was the embarrassment of hearing my work ripped apart. Why? Because I wasn’t ready. Plain and simple. So, what did I do? I basically, slunk back home, with tail between my legs and kept trying.  It was either that or give up, and almost every speaker I’ve heard since that initial conference, said that those that persevered, were the ones who made it. If you doubt, then you give up, and of course you won’t succeed.

You have to keep working at it and get better. I mean now, I’m almost ready to use two syllable words on a semi-regular basis. Almost. Since that first time, I’ve gone to many conferences and met many wonderful people and heard some great people in the writing industry speak. I have been getting positive critiques and feel much more polished. And even more important than any of that, is that I’ve made some incredible friends. And if you are a writer, you know that writing friends are necessary and also different than non-writing friends, because they just get what you’re doing. Your other friends just can’t understand. They are the ones issuing questions such as “Why aren’t you published yet?” or “Are you going to be rich doing this?”. You need those other writing friends. Now, when I go to conferences in this area, I feel like I know the majority and it’s certainly a lot more fun when a lot of people know you as well. A much better experience hanging with like-minded people, instead of standing off to the side and observing.

So, if you are in the SCBWI New York conference next weekend, and you see a lost soul hailing from Coral Springs, Florida, go on over and say hi!! And then of course have the common decency to introduce him to Julie Andrews!!

And remember, if I receive over 100 comments, Elissa Cruz has promised to cover herself with honey and run through a bear cave. Honestly, you just can’t beat that for your entertainment dollar!

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Authors for Earth Day

By on January 23, 2013   /   For Librarians, For Teachers  

Brooke Bessen is one of the many inspiring people I met at SCBWI-LA (yes, I’m still talking about it!  If you’re interested, you can read more about my conference experience here.)  On top of being an author-illustrator, naturalist, and warm and engaging person, Brooke is the founder of Authors for Earth Day.

Authors for Earth Day (A4ED) started with Brooke’s visit to an elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona on April 22, 2008. “I was looking for a meaningful way to observe Earth Day with young readers,” says Brooke, “so I planned to donate my speaking fee to a conservation organization. Then I got thinking… what if the students voted to determine the donation recipient? I was excited to empower kids to find their ‘voice’ as writers and as voters, and to use that voice to help care for our blue planet.”

The visit was a success.  Such a success, in fact, that Brooke decided it was something she wanted to do every year.  And she wanted to invite other children’s authors and illustrators to join her.  She developed A4ED infrastructure with resources for a team and went to the 2009 SCBWI conference in LA with a badge that said, “Ask me about Authors for Earth Day.”  With the help of authors like Linda Sue Park, Dan Gutman, Lin Oliver, and Eileen and Jerry Spinelli (who no longer do school visits but have contributed financially to the cause) A4ED grew from there.

At the 2012 conference, Brooke’s badge had been replaced by am A4ED sign up table, prominently displayed in front of the main ballroom.  A4ED is now a coalition of 64 authors and illustrators who have collectively contributed more than $15, 750 in donated fees from school visits.  And thousands of students from New York to California to Australia have been involved in choosing, from a short list of organizations striving for a more sustainable future, who gets the money.

It’s turned into a lot of work for Brooke, who organizes everything from maintenance of the A4ED blog to recruitment of new participants.  When asked why she does it, Brooke says “I started Authors for Earth Day to tie together those precious elements… children and voice and courage. And an author’s power to shape the world through their writing.  I think many people write, or want to write, or imagine writing books that will infuse courage into their characters… and thus perhaps infuse courage into the young readers who love them.”

Want to get involved?  If you are an author, all you have to do is contribute the fees from one school visit in April.  You can sign up by emailing Brooke at info@AuthorsforEarthDay.org.   If you are a librarian, media specialist, teacher or principal, check out schools page of the A4ED website for more details and consider scheduling one of the talented professionals on the growing list of Available Authors & Illustrators.

Yolanda Ridge, author of Trouble in the Trees (Orca Book Publishers, 2011) and Road Block (Orca Book Publishers, 2012), is signed up for A4ED and looking forward to her first Earth Day School visit in 2013.  For more information, please read her contribution to the A4ED blog or visit her website.

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The Longhand Writing Challenge

By on January 18, 2013   /   Book Lists  

Back when I spent a lot of time on the (wonderful) Absolute Write forums, I loved it when someone would mention a writing program like Scrivener or StoryMill. Because comments like these would inevitably follow:

Writing Longhand

Credit: Abizern

“Pshh…Hemingway didn’t have Scrivener. He got along just fine.”

“All those extra features are so overwhelming! Give me good old Microsoft Word any day.”

“Word processor? Please. I write by hand.”

At which point I’d come in with something like:

“Pen and paper? Ha. I “penned” my first novel with stone and chisel.”

My passive aggressive point being that every writer has his or her own method, so let’s not judge someone for wanting to use a high-tech option. And yes, it was a bit defensive of me, because my love for Scrivener knows no bounds.

But I have a confession: I never write by hand. In fact, I think I can count on one hand the number of times I wrote by hand last year (and of course I mean wrote creatively, not signed documents and filled out forms).

And I want to try longhand.  Maybe not an entire novel, but just a little something every week. I think writing this way engages the brain a little differently – I’ve even heard some writers claim that their prose is more natural when they write by hand because they use smaller and/or simpler words (or maybe they’re just not constantly clicking open the thesaurus).

Of course, then you have writers like me, with handwriting so godawful it’s practically undecipherable. But what’s really stopping me from writing longhand? The following are the embarrassing but true reasons why:

  1. It physically hurts. That’s how out of practice I am. When I write solidly for longer than five minutes, my hand actually begins to cramp up. (And I’m a percussionist – you’d think some of those developed muscles would help me out a little bit.)
  2. I’m so lazy it’s ridiculous. Every time I glance at a notebook, my brain is all “come on, you’re just going to have to type it all into your laptop eventually anyway…just skip this step.”
  3. Seriously – if my handwriting were a font, it would be called “drunk chicken stepped in paint and did the conga.”

The funny thing is that if I could just get over number 2, I could probably fix numbers 1 and 3 with time and practice. So that’s what I’m going to do.

My personal challenge for 2013 is to write longhand. An entire book? Probably not – but I’m aiming for a scene per week or two. By the end of this year, I don’t want to glance over at the bottom of the bookshelf and see that sad little notebook I bought months ago with so many blank pages. I want notebooks – plural – filled with scribbles and scrawls and drunk chicken scratch. I want to find out for myself whether or not writing longhand changes my prose, or anything about the stories I tell. Heck – I just want to spend less time on my laptop in general.

None of this is to say I’ll give up Scrivener – never! It makes keeping track of separate drafts so ridiculously simple, and it’s very practical for keeping my books organized.

What about you – do you write by hand often? Do you want to? And for the love, if anyone has any tips on how I can improve my first grade teacher nightmare handwriting, I’m all ears.

 

Michelle Schusterman is an author, musician, screenwriter, and Vogon poet living in Queens. Her middle grade series, I HEART BAND, will be launching in January 2014 with Penguin/Grosset. You can find her on KidLit Network, Twitter, and Tumblr.

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