What's Brewing at Kathy's Place

Inspiration or Hard Work? And Conferences!

2010-02-26T16:09:00.000-08:00

Writers often hear that hard work is more important than inspiration. However, when I feel uninspired, no matter how hard I work, my writing is uninspired.

But this last month, I’ve been keeping my butt in the chair, writing ideas for possible stories, reading, doing random writing, reading some more and feeling at loose ends because none of my ideas really clicked.

I tried telling myself to trust the process, half heartedly assuring myself that my unconscious was working on something. I’d been in this in place before, with lots of things just finished and no clear idea of what I wanted to start on next. Trust the process, I’d say. Oh, so hard to do! No matter how many times I uttered my mantra, my mind kept telling me that I’d never have an idea worth writing about again.

A week ago I had time to kill. I was going to Varsha Bajaj’s house for a preconference party for Houston’s SCBWI’s annual conference. (Fabulous, by the way!) Traffic was exceptionally light, so I stopped at a Starbuck’s so I wouldn’t arrive too early. I sat with a soy green tea latte and pulled out my writing journal. I had no idea what I’d write about. In fifteen minutes I had a premise and a character that excited me. The muse had paid me an unexpected visit! Later I realized the seed for my idea had been planted a week before by an article in the Sunday New York Times Magazine.

On Saturday, I attended the conference where I was inspired by our wonderful guest speakers,author Cynthia Leitich Smith; Ruta Rimas, Assistant Editor at Harper Collins; Lisa Ann Sandell, author and Editor at Scholastic Press; Agent Sara Crowe; Patrick Collins, Creative Editor, Henry Holt; Nancy Feresten, Editor-in-Chief, National Geographic; and Alexandra Cooper, Editor, Simon and Schuster. Also inspiring were the many new and old writers friends I talked with that day.

I took a lot of pictures, most of which didn't turn out since I was using my cell phone camera for the first time. Here are the ones I got.

Ruta Rimas, Assistant Editor, Harper Collins

Lisa Ann Sandell, Author and Editor, Scholastic Press

Authors Joy Preble and Janet Fox

Former Houston RA Charles Trevino and Author Sally Lee

Authors Doris Fisher and Mary Wade, founding member of Houston SCBWI

One of my truly inspiring critique partners, Vonna Carter

Author Varsha Bajaj, holding her Mary Wade Award for her service to Houston SCBWI

Author Dotti Enderle

Agent Sara Crowe and author Varian Johnson

Illustator Layne Johnson and Sondra Johnson

Austin SCBWI RA Tim Crow

After my visit from the muse and this terrific conference, all week I’ve felt inspired! I’ve written pages and pages of notes that just might turn into a good story.

So what do you think? Was all that butt-in-chair thing necessary for inspiration to finally appear?

My guess is that my muse really doesn’t need me. She is perfectly happy dreaming away in my unconscious. Perhaps she only pays attention to me if I make a real effort to show her that I’m worth her trouble. If she sees I’m willing to work hard, then she will give me a story worth writing.

And she also loves a great conference!

You always pass failure on the way to success. Mickey Rooney

New baby

2010-02-08T16:33:00.000-08:00

Oh, I’m missing my last WIP! There’s nothing I’d like better than a ninth or tenth draft that I could look through for passive verbs or overused words with my trusty search and find. How happy I’d be sharpening my prose with punchier verbs while drinking a grande chai latte at the bookstore. Having a book that’s almost ready to go out into the world is very satisfying.

What I have instead is my yellow tablet full of barely readable notes for my infant WIP --scrawled bits and pieces of scenes, characters trying to come to life, things that make think, "What in the heck was I thinking here?"

Some writers prefer writing a first draft more than revising. Actually, I like the fun of all the what if’s and ah ha’s, too, just like I love holding a cuddly new baby. I think what’s getting to me is remembering the birthing and rearing of the last one. It’s a bit like what I felt when I realized having a child meant at least 18 years of really hard work. (Actually it’s much longer than that, but that’s another topic.) Now that my two children are adults, I'd find it incredibly daunting to start all over raising another child.

So here I am, starting over with a new WIP still in diapers. Hopefully this one will have a better start because I've learned some things. Maybe this time I'll learn a thing or two more.

Tomorrow I’ll get out that tablet and keep on working, trying to savor every stage of this new story's growth. After all, they do grow up so fast!

A Strategy for Starting

2010-01-20T13:45:00.000-08:00

Lately, I’ve been reading books and blogs that focus on structuring your novel. Today I enjoyed Vonna Carter’s blog and her links dealing with structure. Her comment that Charlotte Rains Dixon believes in writing many “discovery” drafts before considering structure resonated with me.

Last year was all about revising, but now I’m beginning. The tack I’m taking with my new WIP is free writing about my story idea everyday on a thick yellow tablet. I’m one of those writers who finds writing by hand helpful when generating ideas. If I fill the tablet up, I’ll have plenty of ideas when I begin to write a first draft. This is similar to Robert Olen Butler’s suggestion in From Where You Dream to spend several months daydreaming about your story and writing four to five word scene descriptions on index cards. Only after you have several hundred cards, do you organize the scenes and begin to write. Right now, I’m getting to know my character, other people in her life, and what she wants. I’m discovering what she’ll do to get there.

I hope this method will minimize the times I have to rethink my whole plot. And maybe I can know before I actually start if I’m working with an idea that I can love for a year or more.

I’m curious about how other writers begin a new novel.

For the future, I’m collecting ideas on structure to read when I’m ready to start Chapter One. I’ve also got Story by Robert McKee waiting to be read. But for now, I’m simply filling my yellow tablet.

Miracle List

2010-01-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

I’m finally back to work after a wonderful holiday visiting my daughter and son-in-law with his mother, my husband and my mother in Santa Fe.

We stayed in a great place just outside of Santa Fe called Suitable Digs. At night you can hear the coyotes howl, yet it’s just three miles from the Plaza. We saw some amazing houses called Earthships north of Taos that are completely off the grid. Built partially in the ground with windows only on one side, they generate all their power, have indoor vegetable gardens year round, and use rain, snow, and wells to provide water. It was really, really COLD, so as much as I hated leaving, I looked forward to returning to warmer Texas weather. However, it’s been colder than normal since I got back and a record breaking Arctic front is in the process of blasting into Houston.

Sitting at my computer, I remember the resolutions I revealed when my family took turns sharing in a lovely Japanese restaurant on New Year’s eve. A few sips of saki, and I was confident they could be accomplished easily. They seem a bit more daunting now, and I realize hard work is ahead.

Actually, I’ve got two lists. My Resolution List includes things under my control such as writing a new novel, doing yoga everyday, blogging more often. The other is a Miracle List of wishes not completely under my control, including, “The perfect editor loves my new novel." I enjoy thinking about how many of my last year's miracles came true!

I spent last year revising – first a middle grade time travel novel, then a YA fantasy. I managed to revise two picture books and write the first draft of a new picture book, as well. Now I’m preparing to begin a new WIP. This week I’m sifting through my idea file and fishing for new ideas, while looking for the story that needs to be written now. It seems fitting to be at this stage of the process at the beginning of a new decade.

To help the process, I’m beginning my days with free writing, when dreams are still floating in my head. I might find an unusual word and write something with that word in it. Sometimes I find a picture in my art post card collection and write a story for it. I write my dream from the night before as a story, embellishing or changing it as I want.

It’s a miracle how ideas that show up this way.

Agent Appreciation Day

2009-12-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

Last week I found out about Agent Appreciation Day the day after it happened. Then I got a nasty bug which I’m still nursing rather than passing on to the children in the library in Anhuac, Texas, where I thought I’d be reading The Three Bears' Christmas today. So sorry to be missing their Christmas party!

I’m several days late, but I don’t want to let this chance pass to tell why, in the world of agents, my agent Erin Murphy shines. I don’t know whether to begin with what makes her a saavy agent or an all around great person. I’m so fortunate to have an agent who is both. I’ll begin with some of Erin's agent talents.

I trust and respect her ability to know how to improve a manuscript. She also knows the right editors for particular projects. She answers my emails promptly. She keeps me informed about feedback from editors. She guides me to work toward my strengths and is honest about what I need to work on to improve my craft, as well as guiding my writing career in the best direction.

All that, and she’s also a really lovely person. She establishes a personal connection with her clients, and helps them connect to each other. We have a Yahoo group and a retreat once a year. Last summer in Portland, we each read from our WIP and I was humbled to be in the company of such talented writers (who are also nice people!) I love the friends I have made at the retreats!

Here’s the agency’s new website, where you can see the works of Erin’s clients and connect to their websites and blogs.

Thank you Erin for being the perfect agent for me!

Adam McCauley

2009-11-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today I’ve been catching up on reading blogs. When I checked my Google reader, there were over a hundred unread blogs waiting for me. Luckily I’m always attracted to the illustrator interviews on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and carefully looked over all the ones I’d missed before marking them as read. Happily, I found a great interview with Adam McCauley whose newest picture book is Vivian Walsh’s June and August. One of his next projects is my book, I Think I See A UFO and he gives it a mention in his interview. Adam’s work is amazing, and I can’t wait wait to see what our little green men will look like.

Vote!

2009-10-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Maybe you’ve seen Liz Scanlon’s beautiful new picture book ALL THE WORLD, illustrated by the amazing Marla Frazee.

Now you can vote for it (or one of the other entries) to be in Cheerio’s boxes at http://bit.ly/zbmOQ.

Here’s how Liz describes her book at her website.

Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky.

What better message can a child get in a box of cereal? Go Liz!

Also, congratulations to the National Book Award finalists in Young People’s Literature:

David Small, Stitches, (Norton,2009)
Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith (Holt, 2008)
Phillip Hoose, Claudette and Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Farrar, Straus, 2009)
Laini Taylor, Lips Touch: Three Times (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2009)
Rita Williams-Garcia, Jumped (HarperTeen, 2009)

Celebrate all the good reading ahead!

And vote!

Toughening Up

2009-10-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

Many beginning writers start out thinking that writing is easier than people say and that their writing is exceptionally brilliant.

Take me for example.

When I took my first writing course, I believed I was seconds away from publication - my proof being memories of teacher’s scribbled notes on school papers proclaiming my writing was very good, and stories I’d written that I judged to be very clever. Mary Blount Christian, the instructor of the course, gave me help and encouragement and not so much criticism that I’d give up. After all, you don’t tell a baby beginning to babble to speak more clearly.

After I completed the course, I joined the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators. In the first meeting, I felt confident that with the help of this group, my work would be accepted for publication within one year, two at the most. Our leader, Mary Wade, asked each of us introduce ourselves and share news about our writing. One woman was thrilled because after three years of submitting, her form rejection letters were being personally signed by an editor. I thought, Give me a break! If she hasn’t gotten any further along than that in three years, she should give up!

Whoa! Talk about being full of myself!

Looking back, I think my early bravado was necessary to get started. By the time I’d been writing for three years, I knew that getting published was tougher than I’d realized.

I, too, began treasuring those form rejection letters that were signed. An editor had actually read my work! Then later the personal rejections, sometimes offering to take another look if I revised, were like bits of cheese that lure mice through a maze. I got poetry published in magazines – big chunks of cheese. Then I got a whole round of creamy brie, my incredible agent Erin Murphy. Finally, after writing for nine years, my first book was accepted for publication. If I had known how long that would take, I might have given up at that first SCBWI meeting.

In SCBWI I see hopeful writers come and go. Many do give up, way too early to know their true potential. Writers who publish are the ones who persist. Let me amend that – the ones who persist and work hard. For me it would’ve been impossible to maintain my level of commitment without my writing buddies.

Every other Tuesday, I go to my critique group hoping to receive praise for my brilliant writing. Instead, thankfully my critique partners give me the feedback I need to grow as a writer. Sometimes this doesn't feel good at the moment, but I've gotten to the place where I see their criticism as a gift, even if it takes a while.

Toughening up is a huge part of the process.

The delete key is my friend

2009-09-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

This morning I enjoyed reading Randy Powell's post "Happy Cutting," on the Crowe's Nest.

He talks about finding the 'hot spots' in your writing where the prose energy is high, then cutting the rest. Sounds pretty drastic, huh?

However, in my recently revised YA rewrite I took a 84,000 word draft, cut it down to 72,000, and then cut it to 51,000. That final count includes the new chapters I added. Amazingly, the whole story is still there. Well, minus a few characters, plot twists, a magical kingdom.

This slashing wasn't easy. Before I was able to proceed (with gentle pressure from a fellow critique member) I agonized over the best friend character who would have to go, the place across the sea that was to be no more. As I proceeded, I found the heart of my story and fell in love with it again.

So I can vouch for the wisdom of cutting when needed... and more often than not it's needed... and sometimes not just gentle snipping, but cleaning the house from top to bottom and filling the dumpster cutting.

Here's what I've learned. When I'm revising, my delete key is my friend. Or sometimes my copy and save keys. Who knows? Those deletions may turn into gems, at some other time and in some other place.

Beginning

2009-08-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

As September nears, I feel the way I did when I was in school and a new year was ready to start. I’ve completed (unless I hear otherwise from my agent!) a rewrite of my YA novel, and have not yet started in earnest on a new project. Ideas are flowing into various files, some for picture books, others for novels, all in the beginning stages. It’s been a while since I've been starting, rather than being in the middle of a project. Like the first day of school, the beginning feels exciting and scary at the same time.

While I’m incubating new ideas, I’m busy with marketing tasks, dreaming up ideas for a new website, cleaning up my writing room. While cleaning I came across correspondence from a class in North Carolina I received after they voted The Three Bears’ Halloween their favorite book.

They wanted to know what my next book will be.

I'm not sure right now which of those ideas brewing will turn out to be the next book. However, this letter from Mrs. Donnelly's class inspires me to make it my very best!

Dreamwork and Character Development

2009-05-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article a member of my dream group shared with me today. It discusses well known actors who use dream work as a tool to help them develop their characters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/fashion/07dreams.html?_r=1&ref=fashion

Actors using this method believe that dreamwork allows them to explore unconscious aspects of themselves which helps them better understand the psychology, feelings and experiences of the characters they are creating. Sounds like a great way for writers to deepen their characters as well.

I've met with a dream group for years. Sometimes we act out our dreams. Our purpose is for greater self understanding, but my work with dreams is also a creative workout. I love the way tidbits of waking life recombine into stories that surprise and mystify.

Spring Cleaning

2009-04-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today I'm battling pollen and it's winning. It's a perfect day to sit with hot tea in front of my computer and ferret out passivity. Using my trusty Search and Find, I'll examine every is, are, was, were, have, has, and had in my current revision project. Then I'll search out each just, even, because, and suddenly - oh, those suddenlys are hard to part with! - but I can do it.

I'll probably need to leave a sprinkling of these words. My grandmother character Hazel won't give them all up... she just won't.

Last night I dreamed I found two adorable children standing in my sink. Good symbolism for the value of cleaning up.

Upside down and dreaming

2009-02-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

I’ve been standing on my head more. I'm sure it helps my writing. I don’t know if it’s the extra blood in my brain, or just seeing the world from a different perspective.

I’m also reading a writing book called From Where You Dream by Robert Olen Butler. Butler says that great writing comes from being in the zone he calls “dreamstorming” where you write images from moment to moment sensory experience, the way you experience them in dreams. I write in my dream journal this way, as I'm replaying the dream in my mind, paying attention to colors, smells, textures, sounds, feelings. All this without analyzing or commenting on content. I always suspected this was good practice for fiction writing, just like practicing scales on the piano is good preparation for playing music.

I had a dream of a spirit doll. A lively sprite that kept escaping from a shelf where it was supposed to stay. She inspired me to paint, so I bought some gouache.

Starting the New Year right

2009-01-21T10:13:00.000-08:00

So what is brewing here at my place right now?

I’m managing to keep some of my resolutions. I’m walking 10,000 steps a day so that my sedentary writing life won’t lead to premature death. Writing exercises the mind, but not so much the body. Also doing some yoga, standing on my head to get the blood flowing to that important organ of writing, the brain. I heard a segment of the Writer’s Almanac about an author who believed writers need to keep their bodies physically fit to write well. I was driving, so I didn't write down his name. I get ideas, some great and some not so great, when I’m walking, so I carry a pocket notebook with me. Often it’s walk, write, walk write as I get in my steps. I’m usually not much of a multi-tasker, but this seems to work. If I wait until I get home to write down those ideas, I forget them (just like I forgot that author's name who believed in exercise.)

I've gotten back into my writing routine after the flurry of the holidays. My middle grade time travel novel is off to my agent. The last revision! I’ve said this before, but I really think it might finally be finished. Now I'll go back to another revision that got interrupted midway by this one.

A couple of weekends ago I went to Austin with Dottie Enderle and Vicki Sansum to hear Jennifer Ziegler give a talk at the Book People, one of my favorite bookstores. It was wonderful being in Austin, seeing Chris Barton and eating at Whole Foods with Cynthia Levinson.

I’m trying not to pay too much attention to depressing publishing news. But I am paying attention to everything Obama. He says he can’t fix all that needs fixing right away, but I can hope.

So there it is in a nutshell.
Now back to work (after a walk).

The Gift of Reading: A Solid Investment

2008-12-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

I just got home from doing a story time at The Twig and Red Balloon, a wonderful independent bookstore in San Antonio. The booksellers there really know how to have a good time.

It was great fun reading The Three Bears’ Christmas, watching the children make chic and creative bear ears, and passing out gingerbread bears just like Mama Bear. Dinah Price, one of the Red Balloon's terrific booksellers, helped make the event a great success.

Here are glimpses of some of the fun.

This Christmas I’d like to urge everyone to give the gift of reading to every child on your list. We all have treasured memories of books that transported us to new worlds and opened our minds and imaginations as children. With economic times tough, giving those kinds of experience to the children in your life is a solid investment that will last a lifetime.

If you are lucky enough to have a local independent bookstore, support it. These stores provide a wider diversity of titles and you get personal service from knowledgeable booksellers.

To find an independent bookstore near you, go to http://www.indiebound.org/

Happy reading this holiday season!

A hair-raising UFO tale

2008-11-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

I was happy to read that ufo’s were sighted again in Stephenville, Texas last month. My upcoming book “I Think I See A UFO” has a special relationship with that part of the country. I wrote the story last year, but for some reason never sent it to my agent. In January, I was cleaning my computer files and came across it. It made me chuckle, so I worked on it some more and sent it along. Several weeks later I read about UFO sightings in Stephenville on CNN online (and later watched a Larry King Live show devoted to it). I love this sort of stuff, so I watched all the Utube clips of persons describing their sightings. One was a farmer telling how the craft had hovered over his field, upsetting his animals. I thought, “Wow! That sounds like my story!” After finding out that the sightings occurred on January 8, I checked my computer files. The day I’d worked on my UFO story was…. you guessed it! January 8.

Is your hair standing on end yet?

IKE: The Big One

2008-09-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today I had to think what day it was. It’s six days after Hurricane Ike hit here in Houston. Days don't feel like Mondays, Tuesdays, etc. Everyday is just more cleaning up, watching life trying to get back to normal.

Here's a picture from a construction site two doors down from me. My huge upstairs window in the background escaped damage.

Maybe you've seen pictures of Reliant Stadium with huge strips of the retractible roof missing. That's only about two miles from my house. My unprotected window escapes and the roof of a sports stadium blows away. How can you explain that? I saw a picture today of Gilchrist, Texas, where all the houses were totally flattened. Right in the middle of an empty beach where houses used to be stands a yellow house, totally unscathed, with not even one broken window.

Generally things aren’t too bad on my street, just a lot of debris. A tree fell on a neighbor's carport and crumpled around her cars. It was cleaned up before I thought to take a picture. It was the most dramatic scene on our end of the block..

My side of the street has power, the other side does not. I’m suffering from what the Houston Chronicle calls “power guilt.” My Whole Foods Store is open, fully stocked. Amazing!

In the background I hear the steady hum of chainsaws all day. Lots of trees and limbs being cut up and put on the side of streets for pickup.

My parents are at my home since they don’t have power. My tiny home feels quite full with people who actually eat meals during the day. My usual routine is protein shake in the morning, then random snacking when I’m hungry. One days when I’m not at my part time job, most of the time I’m focused on writing or writing related activities. Now I'm involved in food preparation and caring for the needs of others. Even if I was alone right now, I’m sure I’d feel too scattered to write. I’m hoping I can get back to my routine soon.

I’m fortunate. All of my family is well. The only damage we suffered is water through the roof of our living room. I feel so sad about the people who lost their lives and homes. The devastation of lovely Galveston is a tragedy.

My husband and I and my son-in-law’s mother rode out the storm at my parent’s home. They don’t have large windows, so we thought we’d all be safer there. In the middle of the night a huge tree fell in their yard, parallel to the house instead of into it, thank goodness. It was so noisy outside we didn’t even hear it fall and were shocked to see it shattered in the yard. We were also shocked to realize it was 7:00 in the morning when we looked. The sky was black and sheets of horizontal rain blasted down the street. For a while, rain poured straight down like a waterfall so that I couldn’t see outside.

When I was young, I watched large trees fly down the street during Hurricane Carla. Then twenty five years ago I was in the eye of Hurricane Alicia. Ike is the new “big one” for me. It will be interesting to see how the emotions and events of this experience work their way into my writing.

Honoring work and self

2008-09-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended a picture book workshop by Kathi Appelt. Part of it dealt with revision. Recently I discussed my search for an efficient revision process, and discussed some systems used by other authors. Kathi’s talk helped me think intuitively about the process. I felt inspired hearing her talk about revising as a way to honor our stories.

I’ve started reading Kathi’s new book, The Underneath, and am blown away by her beautiful prose.

So as I continue to revise, I’ve been thinking about how writing for long periods effects health.

Once I read that writers have a lower than average life expectancy. Some fellow writers on a list serve speculated it might be related to the psychological effect on writers of digging deep into their psyches. I think it’s because we sit way too long.

I googled sedentary lifestyle and found pages of articles about the various diseases one can get from sitting too long. I even found An Essay on Diseases Incidental to Literary and Sedentary Persons written in 1913 by Dr. S. A. Tissot. It’s a very cumbersome read, so I didn’t get very far, but the title says it all.

While I'm honoring my story, I’m going to also honor my body by setting a timer to ring so I can take walking breaks.

The Three Bears and Kisses in Tanzania

2008-08-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

A writing friend, Linda Jackson, recently traveled to Tanzania with her family. They visited a school and among the things they donated were my friend Varsha Bajaj's book, How Many Kisses Do You Want Tonight? and my book, The Three Bears' Christmas. She emailed these photos of her visit to me. It's exciting to see our books in such a far away place, and very enjoyable to see the children who will be reading them.

Revising - again

2008-08-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

I’m revising a young adult novel. This is not the first revision or second… but who’s counting?

When I started writing, my revision system involved reading a manuscript over and over, making changes each time. Once I heard an author say she always did fourteen drafts before her books were complete. Why fourteen? How could she predict? I didn’t have any idea how many times I’d have to comb through my manuscript to get it in shape.

It finally dawned on me that maybe there was an easier method than my “hit and miss” technique. I realized revising would be simpler if I focused on one element at a time, such as character or plot, in each draft. I also realized that the author who did fourteen revisions must have a list of fourteen things she systematically worked through to get to her final draft.

Once I heard someone talk about using markers to highlight each element in a different color. I bought a set of highlighters – eight lovely colors! – I haven’t used them yet.

In her talk at our Houston SCBWI conference this year, Kimberly Willis Holt discussed what she tries to accomplish in each of her drafts. She recently summarized this information on her blog. (Scroll down to "Whittle, Whittle, Whittle.")

Someone recently gave me an article by Anita L. Nolan, "THE END" is only the Beginning: A Step-by-Step Guide to Refining Your Manuscript. (linked under "Sample Articles." It presents a detailed system of rewriting, revising, and editing that covers all the bases.

On first glance, it looks daunting, but I’m trying it and so far, I like how the revision is progressing. I’m sure it will be more effective than the good old hit and miss method.

Each writer has to develop a system that works for them. I’m always interested in how other writers tackle this task to get new ideas for my ever-evolving system.

I Think I See A UFO

2008-08-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce the sale of my picture book, I THINK I SEE A UFO to Tamson Weston of Disney Hyperion Books.

My agent’s announcement describes it as “ a bouncy, irreverent account of an alien landing in rural Texas, in which the little green men are infatuated with barbecue and hoedowns.”

Wa-hoo! Go green!

Here's my illustration.

Thank goodness someone else will illustrate the book!

There’s a story behind the writing of this story. More later.

Writing - Dreaming?

2008-08-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

This week I met with my dream group. I’m the only writer. The others include an origami artist, a yoga teacher and artist, and a woman who works on environmental projects. We all keep dream journals and talk about one dream each time we meet. Here’s a picture of my dream journals that I show kids when I visit schools and talk about how writers get ideas.

Vonna, a member of my critique group, told me recently that her latest story idea came from a dream. I’ve never dreamed up a story like that, but I’ve dreamed up elements of stories. I discovered this when I looked back at the pictures I’d drawn in some my old journals while working on that school presentation. I was amazed to find drawings of characters and places that eventually did end up in stories.

Here’s an old witch sitting at a table filled with baby bottles that wound up in a novel I’m working on.

Freud said that dreaming is the royal road to the unconscious. As a writer, I’m always searching for ways to go deeper. When I write, I close my eyes and visualize the action of my story and the feelings of my characters. I’m dreaming while awake. Then I write what I see and experience.

Sometimes I ask my dreams for help with a writing problem as I drift off to sleep. In the morning, I start writing about the problem before I get out of bed and a solution presents itself. Always. It might not be the ultimate solution but it’s the one I need right then.

The Dream Maker is mysterious. I love her quirky stories. She’s very industrious, working away in the back of my mind twenty-four seven. I’m delighted when she interrupts when I’m busy cooking dinner or some other non-writing activity, and I have to grab a piece of paper to catch an image flitting through my mind.

Refueling the tank

2008-07-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first installment of my news page. Thanks for visiting! I plan to use this space to post writing news, thoughts on writing, and whatever else seems important to share.

We are all aware of the high cost of gasoline these days, but what can we do? Our cars still need to be refilled on a regular basis. The same is true of a writer's tank. For me, the best way to refuel is to attend a writer's retreat.

Last weekend I spent two days at a retreat at Rolling Ridge in Andover, MA with my literary agent and a group of her clients. I had a wonderful time sharing ideas, learning from others, and laughing. I especially loved the laughing.

Here are the retreat attendees. Quite a stunning group!

Front row: Zu Vincent, Ruth McNally Barshaw, Vicki Coe, Erin Murphy, Audrey Vernick, me Back row: Jeannie Mobley-Tanaka, Robert Kinerk, Chris Barton, Olugbemisola Amusashonubi-Perkovich, Anne Broyles

The retreat center, originally built by architect Fletcher Steele in the early twentieth century provided the perfect setting for reflection. Some of my writing involved walking around the lake and taking in the beautiful grounds. I was excited to see chipmunks, which we don't have in Houston. Chris Barton saw a groundhog, which sadly, I didn't. And while some people say that everything is bigger in Texas, those Massachusetts mosquitos put our poor Texas skeeters to shame.

All in all the weekend was truly inspirational and left me relaxed as well as energized and ready to get back to work. For me, nothing beats spending time with people who love to do what I love to do. And then there's the laughing, which I'm positive makes me a better writer.

"Take time to laugh - it is the music of the soul." From an old English Prayer