New Year’s Plan, Revisited

The end of January looms nearer and across the nation, New Year’s Resolutions (or goals or plans or whatever you like to call them) are dropping like flies. How are yours going? Are you still in the race, or did you trip coming out of the starting gate and never quite find your feet again?

I shared my New Year’s Plan at the beginning of the month: to cultivate the habit of rising early to write by getting up 15 minutes earlier each week. By this week, I’m supposed to be getting up at 6:15. This is a very achievable goal, especially since ideally, I’d be getting up at 6:00 am already. And yet…it’s not happening.

What do you do when your ambitious plans for change don’t seem to be working? Experts claim that fewer than half of‘people who make New Year Resolutions stick with them longer than six months, and it’s oh-so-easy for one stumble to lead to another and another, until you’re ready to call it quits.

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Rocky Mountain Chapter SCBWI Fall Conference: Bruce Coville Wows and Inspires

I have a special place in my heart for Bruce Coville’s books. It’s not just that they’re lots of fun—which they are—or that they’re great examples of craft, plotting, and storytelling—which they are. His book Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher saved my life.

This happened a few years ago, when I made one of my overly optimistic cross-country drives from Colorado to Pennsylvania with two kids in tow. Just before Christmas. In horrendous weather.*

After three days of driving and too many hairy moments to recount, we made it to PA late at night, in the middle of a snow storm. We were supposed to spend the night at my sister’s house with her husband and kids because my parents were at the hospital, where my dad had just had surgery. I’ve been to my sister’s house. It’s a large white farmhouse with a red barn only just off the road and, theoretically, it’s not that hard to find. At least, it’s not that hard to find in the daylight. At night, in a snowstorm, in one of the darkest counties in PA, when one’s brain is theoretically addled from WAAAY too many hours on the road, it’s another story. I drove up and down that road without seeing it.

Meanwhile, the snow is getting heavier, my eyelids are dragging, and both kids are awake and pathetic in the back seat.

What does this have to do with Bruce Coville, you ask? Well, it was his story, performed by his audio book company Full Cast Audio, that kept me awake and kept the kids and I sane for much of the cross-country drive and for ALL of that stressful night. We listened to it as we searched for my sister’s house. We listened when I finally gave up and headed to my parent’s house, even though I knew it was empty. We listened to it as we slipped and slid our way down their very long, very snowy driveway and I left it on for the kids while I stomped through snow drifts trying to find an open door and, when there wasn’t one, breaking into the house. We listened to it over the next week every time we drove from one house to another, because this was rural PA, where the minimum driving time between any two locations is 25 minutes. We listened to it when the cousins joined us in the car and we needed entertainment (so that I didn’t go crazy in my stressed-out, overtired state.)

So: it was with great interest that I sat down Saturday morning for Coville’s Keynote address. I came to the conference seeking inspiration and encouragement—and he didn’t disappoint. But more on that in a few days…

:) Cheryl

*Yes, I know. The weather is BOUND to be horrendous somewhere along a cross-country drive at that time of year. See overly optimistic, above…

Gift Ideas: Books, Books, Books!

This year, as last, Moonratty over at Editorial Ass has compiled her list of books for a variety of different gift-ees. Looking for a book that will appeal to your 10-year-old niece? Your dad? Your English teacher? Yourself? Visit the Mischief Book List 2009 and enjoy!

Warning: Take care with book lists!

In an effort to do my part to help the publishing industry, almost everyone on my Christmas list is getting a book this year. I took advantage of the many bloggers' book lists to pick both familiar and unfamiliar titles for friends and family. Check out:

• Moonrat's Best-Ever Suggestions for Books as Gifts


• Mother Reader (for multiple lists, such as the Holidays Around the World list and several lists of creative book gift ideas here, here, here, and here.
  
• Chicken Spaghetti's The Best of the Best: Kids' Books '08 (a list of booklists)

Great idea, right?

Mostly. Somewhere along the way, I ended up on a list that recommended Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S. Sounds funny, a nonfiction book full of oddball facts perfect for one of the middle-school age readers on my list--so I ordered it. And had it sent to my in-laws.

Somehow, I missed reading the book reviews before I bought it from Amazon. Let's just say it's not really kid-appropo.

So check out those lists--buy books for your friends, neighbors, teachers, milkman. But make sure you read more than one review before purchasing books on another's recommendation!

! Cheryl

Thought for the day: CREEP

I finally discovered the writer’s worst enemy: Creep. Cheryl’s unofficial definition? Life’s insidious encroachment onto the writer’s zone.

Heather Sellers introduced me to the concept in her book Chapter after Chapter. (Great writing inspiration book, BTW. If you haven’t read it—do!) In it, she writes:

…most people, especially on their first book, struggle with a terrible insidious mental weed called Creep. If you don’t surround yourself with your book, you risk it creeping away from you—or you unintentionally creeping away from it. Creep is bad, and it’s as common as the common cold.

Keeping up writing momentum can be tough, especially for those who have other jobs (you know, raising kids, making sure the house passes minimum health standards; plus whatever you do to bring in cash.) Somehow, the rest of life tends to…well…creep into writing time and energy. Since writing time can be somewhat flexible, I find that it gets pushed aside too often for things like doctor appointments, editing jobs, even (horror) laundry.

So what’s a writer to do? Must we succumb to the inevitability of entropy as applied to the writing life? ;) Nah. My point is—be aware of Creep. Identify it when it begins, nip it ASAP, and set some ground rules to counter its effects. Learn to keep writing a priority. Practice saying “no” to inessentials. And most important, when life creeps into writing time, pay yourself back the lost hours.

Let’s root out Creep!

~Cheryl

Staying Motivated: Writing Books

As a writer with a full life (and schedule) one of my favorite ways to fill my motivational tank is to read a particularly inspiring writing book. Here are a few inspirational favorites:

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott: This is one of those books I read over and over. I love Anne Lamott. She's real. She talks about good writing days and bad writing days and about writing piles of exceptionally mediocre melodrama in a way that makes me feel like I'm doing okay. Her thoughts on the writing life encourage and inspire and leave me feeling warm and thankful for the gift of writing.

Take Joy! by Jane Yolen: Jane Yolen is an inspiration in her own right. I mean, look at the breadth of styles and stories she's crafted over the years! This collection of essays gives us a glimpse into her creative life. Some tackle writing craft; most tackle the hows and whys of writing. It's a fun read, and so encouraging that it's another I read and re-read.

On Writing, by Stephen King: This book is a combination writing memoir/writing craft book. I love hearing the story of Stephen King's pursuit of the writing life--it makes my obstacles seem like mere roadbumps. This book left me inspired to write, but also inspired to write whatever the heck I feel like writing. I probably won't edge into the horror genre, though. I'd get nightmares from my own stories....

Gotta go--I've developed a sudden, urgent need to reread some books!

~Cheryl

Book Recommendations

Have you read any great books lately? Send me your favorite titles, either for children's and YA books or writing-craft related, and I'll add them to my rotating list.

:) Cheryl

Colorado Book Awards, Revisited

Remember how I was going to the Colorado Book Awards banquet day before last? Well, the bad news it that my friend, Hilari Bell, didn't win. (Although she's still a winner even to reach the banquet--she was one of the top 3 YA authors in the state this year.) The good news is that the woman who did win, Laura Resau, read a passage from her winning book What the Moon Saw and I have a new have-to-read book. I'm not sure how the judges choose between such excellent entries. Laura's writing was beautiful, evocative of another world and culture. Hilari's book, Forging the Sword, is the culmination of a fantasy trilogy in which the world, culture, and story are exquisitely drawn.

Personally, I bet I would have chosen Forging the Sword--but I'm a sucker for fantasy, and Hilari is one of my favorite fantasy authors.

If you're looking for a fun read, check out The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell (Fall of a Kingdom, Rise of a Hero, and Forging the Sword.) The books are filled with surprising plot twists--the kind that you think about later and laugh aloud--and a believable clash between cultures. The three main characters come from different worlds of existence: one is the haughty daughter of the ruling class, one is common peddlar wounded in body and spirit, one is a noble's bastard son and trusted man-at-arms. When their country is invaded by a the mightiest military nation in the world, each of the three is challenged to do their best for their people. When they disagree about what, exactly, "best" means, things get interesting! Their stories intertwine as the story progresses, bringing together three very different people for a common purpose. Sort of.

Okies, I'm off to polish some pages!

~Cheryl

Thursday's thing to love about being a writer (a bit late!)

Sorry for delay--but I have a new thought on what's to love as you start your week. This week's thing to love: dreams, especially dreams that relate to story.

I cultivate story-inspired dreams. I'm not the first to do so--Nancy Lamb espouses "creativity naps" in her book The Writers Guide to Crafting Stories for Children. When I'm stuck on a plot point; when my writing becomes stiff; when my characters stop sounding real--I'll find a cozy spot in the sun and lie down with pen and notebook in hand. (Well, okay, sometimes I hug the notebook like a teddy bear. To each their own....) The I close my eyes and daydream. I "play the movie" of the story I'm writing, backing up the scene a little and watching events unfold.

It's a wonderful tool. As I reach that magical place between sleeping and waking, I start to hear the characters take off on real conversations. That's when inspiration always hits, too: I'll be just about to drift off and I'll realize that, of course, Chirp shouldn't return to the stable but should wander the streets all night. Or--of course, Alex has tell Tad that the bear is real, which opens up that new subplot I needed.

Even if I don't get some grand plot revelation, I usually glean details about the scene's setting, its flow, and the the characters' movements and voices.

Of course, the best ones come just as I'm most relaxed, ready to melt into the sunny patch on my carpet--but writing is worth waking up. Usually!

~Cheryl

More on Interviews from Liz Rusch

Elizabeth Rusch, nonfiction writer extraordinaire (http://www.elizabethrusch.com/), spoke at my SCBWI 2007 Fall Conference a few weeks ago. Two of her most recent books, Will It Blow? (Sasquatch Books, May 2007) and The Planet Hunter (Rising Moon Books, Fall 2007) draw extensively from interviews with scientists. She uses the first-hand information from the individuals who do the science to draw readers into the world of science. Liz gave a wonderful talk on the benefits and how-to's of using interviews to round out your writing at our conference. Here are a few of the tips she shared:

1. For ANY subject, there is at least one expert. Her example? Ketchup. There is an expert in the field of ketchup. I kid you not. She read the article to us--from The New Yorker or Harpers Magazine.




2. Why is this important? Because the expert will keep current in the subject. The expert can provide information that you can't find in books. The expert can answer questions, helping you learn about a topic more quickly and thoroughly than you could through book research. And (my favorite) the expert can give you unexpected information, bonus material that you can't find anywhere else.




3. How do you find an expert? Google is an obvious starting point. Other sources include authors of recent books on the topic; authors of recent articles on the topic; university professors; and sources cited by other references you might find.




4. Do your research first. The more you know about the subject, the better research questions you can ask.




5. Include "The Most" questions in your interview. These are the questions that give you good stories for your book or article. What was most important? most surprising? most difficult? most fun? I used her advice in my most recent interview and asked for "the funniest" things that had happened during the research--with some wonderful results. And no, I'm not going to share the answers here: they're for the article :).

Interviews are a great way to add life to a book or article. They can provide quotes, anecdotes, new perspective, greater understanding, personal insight. They connect the writer to other people, other lives. Give it a try!

:) Cheryl

PS--No, that's not Liz Rusch. Since the emus inspired this thread on interviews, I thought they rated another picture....

Books I Wish I'd Written

I'm re-reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Talk about a book I wish I'd written! It captures perfectly the romance I daydreamed of when I was a somewhat-lonely junior in high school. Not that I daydreamed of vampires--but I daydreamed about someone like Edward Cullen, someone strong, mysterious, handsome, and a little bit dangerous. Someone fascinating who was, in turn, fascinated by me.

One thing that strikes me as I re-read it is that Edward and Bella's relationship is somewhat politically incorrect. He's always rescuing her! It's one of those unwritten rules that writers follow: female characters should be strong, independent, and do their fair share of the rescuing. And yet...there's something incredibly alluring about the idea of being rescued by someone strong and kind, even if he is a bit dangerous. (Maybe especially if he's a bit dangerous.) Obviously, Stephanie does it well: the rescue scenes release floods of memories and emotions for me.

How's she pull it off? Well, her main character is physically clumsy and a trouble-magnet, so she needs a bit of rescuing--but she's smart, introspective, and interesting, not at all weak. Maybe the key is that she might need the occasional physical rescue, but she can rescue Edward on a deeper, non-physical level. Bella is so darn likable, the reader doesn't mind that she keeps requiring rescue.

However Stephanie does her magic, she made me remember to explore those depths of childhood and adolescent emotion in my writing. Even if my youthful fantasies weren't all PC, they were true--and Stephanie Meyer's shown that truth sells.

:) Cheryl