All You Need is Pain

    With all respect to the Beatles, I have found that more than love, writers really need PAIN in their lives.

     As an instructor in the continuing education department at Central Piedmont Community College, this week I participated in their annual Sensoria event. I was joined by two other writing instructors, Jodi Helmer and Edward McKeown, and together we quickly overviewed the writing and publishing industry.

Ed, Jodi, and I greeted students after the Author's Panel

     Besides sharing the author who has influenced me the most (CynthiaVoigt) and my writing mentors (Joyce Hostetter and Rebecca Petruck) I also told the student audience they needed to consider the P.A.I.N necessary to get published. 
     Let me explain.

     P is for the passion a writer must have in order to bring a piece to publication. Writers must love translating their ideas into words, sentences, and paragraphs. More than seeing their name in print or getting paid gobs of money (which may or may not happen!) writers write because it’s something they can’t NOT do.  They enjoy the process of discovering a new and creative way of telling a story. But passion isn't enough. Writers need skills. Which brings me to,

     A stands for the ability writers need to use all the rules learned in elementary school in order to create a coherent piece of writing.  All those boring things like correct grammar, appropriate punctuation, when to indent a paragraph, how to distinguish homonyms, choosing active vs. passive verbs, avoiding adverbs---all of these must be in a writer's toolbox. And if they're not, would-be writers can read books, take a class, or go on-line to gain instruction and acquire writing skills. 
      Although the writer's craft encompasses more than just stringing words together to form complete sentences; writers can also learn how to choose the best words, and how to use the imagery of poetic language to communicate their ideas. Which leads me to,

     I is for idea. Every article, story, poem, or play began with a seed of an idea. Half-Truths began because I observed many Caucasians and African Americans with the same surname in Charlotte, NC. The many articles I wrote about glass came out of my fascination with a material that is incredibly strong, yet fragile; as old as dirt and as modern as fiber optics. And although my book on glass was rejected by more publishers than I can count, I learned that,

     N is for never giving up. Writers must persevere in spite of critiquers recommending that a piece be re-written for the 15th time; family members mocking their work; editors or agents rejecting the manuscript; and even their own desire to-do-anything-else-in-the-world-besides-sit-in-this-chair-and-write. 

    Take an inventory of yourself:

• Are you passionate about the creative writing process?
• Do you have the ability to write or are you committed to learning and practicing?
• Do you have ideas that grab you and demand to be written about?
• Are you willing to put in the time, effort, and energy that is necessary to bring a piece to completion?

     In a recent webinar, Emma Dryden said, "Pay attention to the journey, not just your goals."
     And realize that PAIN is part of that process. 

Zane's Trace

When Allan Wolf was thirteen, he lost a penny behind the baseboard in his bedroom. He grabbed a pencil and wrote, "Penny lost down here on the night of April 12, 1976 at 2 til 9 PM and 5 seconds by Allan Dean Wolf."

In some ways, that was the genesis of Zane's Trace, a poetic coming of age novel that combines elements of historical fiction, free verse, and fantasy. 

Using a combination of powerful images, prose, real places, events and people, this book documents Zane Guesswind's journey as he wrestles with his painful past which includes his mother's suicide, an abusive grandfather, and his father's desertion. If that wasn't enough baggage for any teenager to carry around, Zane also has epilepsy. 

Up until the story's opening Zane has dealt with his pain by writing on any non-conventional surface imaginable including his bedroom walls and ceiling. Translating his thoughts and feelings this way sometimes has a therapeutic effect on Zane:

Whatever it was, the simple act of writing
on my wall had strengthened me somehow. (p.9)
.............
A red Sharpie made the men bleed. 
And I wrote and I wrote and I wrote.
The worse Mom got, the more I wrote.
The more the old man nagged her,
the more I wrote.
And the more empty spaces I filled,
the better I felt. (p. 12)

But, as a not untypical adolescent, it also gives him more power than he truly has. So, when his grandfather dies in his sleep, Zane thinks,

I did not kill him directly, yet I
was certainly the cause.
                       Last night--
the Zane-atopia scene on my ceiling,
the flash of light at the top of Mount Guesswind
the heaven holding Mom, Stanley, Zach, me
and Grandpa?
                     I smudged the old man out
with a fat, black marker--king size.
Last night I erased the old man from the light. (p. 30)


This book is a quick read, but not a simple one. It is full of powerful metaphors and layers of images--even as the writing on Zane's walls and his thoughts are layered with meaning. The line, "One straight shot" is repeated over and over again with various meanings and nuances. 

Zane's physical journey back to his mother's grave is also his emotional journey as he deals with his own deep grief. In the end, Wolff brings together the disparate elements of this poignant story as Zane reconciles the branches of his family tree. After his grandfather's funeral Zane says:

And all of us there--living or dead, crazy or sane, 
friend or foe, black or white, family or stranger--
we all crowd around and add our own names
to the twisted, crazy-beautiful family branches. (p.177)

******************

I would recommend this book for teens, particularly those who are wrestling with suicidal thoughts or have experienced mental illness and suicide in their families. Wolf includes a number of good resources at the end of the book, as well as information on what is historically and geographically accurate. 

These are A Few of my Favorite Blogs

With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein and the strains of "These are a Few of my Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music playing in my head, I thought I'd share some of my favorite writing blogs with you. 

But first, a disclaimer. This list does not include every blog I read. The ones listed here demonstrate excellent writing; they  are consistently great sources of writing instruction and advice; and are ones I point my writing students to.  For the most part, the authors of these blogs don't promote themselves, their books, or their services. They generously provide their expertise to the writing community- both for those who write for children and young adults, and for those who write for adults. 

So, in no particular order and without further fanfare here are my top picks:

Janice Hardy writes fantasy and science fiction for teens, is a former Writer's Digest writing instructor, and offers tremendous writing advice on The Other Side of The Story. My favorite posts are her Real Life Diagnostics;  "a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues." Readers send in their work with questions and Janice diagnoses them on the blog. Thus it is part critique and part example.  As we all know, one of the best ways of learning to write is figuring out what works, what doesn't, and how to change it. Janice generously offers solution to writer's problems. I am looking forward to finishing this draft of Half-Truths and submitting a snippet myself!


Kathy Temean's blog, Writing and Illustrating, was one of the first blogs I started following dedicated to writing and illustrating for children and young adults. Kathy's posts include interviews with agents, authors, and illustrators; publishing news, industry trends, contests, book reviews, and more. Each Saturday she features a different illustrator who shows the process he/she took to create a picture book. These inevitably knock my socks off. I can't draw a decent stick figure and it is a privilege to view the behind-the-scenes work these illustrators put into each drawing.  By the way, Kathy is an author, award winning artist/illustrator, and the Regional Advisor for the NJ SCBWI. I wonder how she has time to breathe. 

I met Lorin Orberweger last year at the Free Expressions Your Best Book Workshop in Charlotte which she coordinated. She is an author, independent book editor, ghost writer, writing instructor, and one of the most encouraging yet "this-is-what-your-manuscript-needs-nail-it-on-the-head-person" I have met in my writing journey. Her Write Line blog includes book reviews, a First Page feedback column, insightful articles about the writing craft, industry information, as well as writing challenges and prompts. 

Janet Reid, the literary agent better known as the Query Shark, is to queries what Janice Hardy is to book snippets. Janet invites writers to submit their queries which she critiques. Once again, writers can learn from her as to what works and what doesn't. I'm not at the query stage yet, but when I get there, I'll be hunting through her blog to glean from her generous instruction. And after I've spit-polished my query, it'll be in her submission queue. 

Emma Darwin is the novelist and short story writer behind This Itch of Writing. Each of her blogs are like mini-writing courses. They are meaty, thought-provoking, and include much of what novelists need to know. In this particular post, Emma lists 13 posts that will help writers get published. I go back and re-read her posts when I am stumped with such tricky questions like psychic distance-which I didn't even know existed until I read her blog!

Jeannie Campbell's blog, The Character Therapist, brings a unique twist to the writing blogosphere. She is a a licensed marriage and family therapist as well as a freelance writer, author, editor, and book reviewer. Her posts provide writers with psychological insights into characters which they might not have considered. Since writing is all about delving into and showing the complexities of people and relationships, Jeannie's blog is a unique source of information. She recently began a series on character archetypes. Don't miss it. 

So, here's a thankful round of applause to all of these bloggers who generously feed the rest of the writing world. 

Now it's your turn. What is your favorite writing blog? 

Chasing Your Dream--With a Little Help from Your Writing Buddies and Ice Cream

Ten minutes after Viviane Lwin, a member of my SCBWI writing group, sent out a picture book manuscript she sent a SOS email to several of us:

"I finally started submitting my picture book.  I'm so stressed!

"Do you get stressed when submitting stuff?  I guess now I just have to wait 6 weeks to 6 months for responses.... if they send any."

Two members of our critique group responded with honest and helpful answers. I thought their encouragement might help other writers who feel similar anxiety, so here is their advice:

First, from Carolyn Abiad: 

Having once lived in Turkey, Carolyn loves writing about eastern culture and myth. While her last name translates to “Snow White,” she has not yet written a memoir featuring an evil stepmother.

"Submission is a raw topic for me right now, but I understand exactly what you’re feeling. This horrible waiting period is when I go into deep cleaning mode to organize the only thing I can, which is my house. There is no other way I know to deal with the stress. You might have another method, but the idea is to keep busy.

"Your path might be different than mine because you write picture books, but I don’t think any of us are untouched by rejection. Some thoughts:

"I remember the response to my first queries - form replies, no responses at all. That lack of feedback was frustrating, but it was a nut I wanted to crack. I rewrote the query (multiple times) and kept at it. You’ll keep at it.

"The other day a friend of mine got her first partial request. She was jumping up and down, and I remembered my first partial. I’ve had other requests since, but that first one is special. Your first request will be special too.

"Rejections on full requests were (are) THE worst thing. I got comments like “this is better than x”, but never “I’ll call you”. I was tired of hearing “not right for us, but someone else might feel differently.”

"I put my manuscript in the drawer for a while, attended some workshops, threw myself into a different story. Then I rewrote the djinn manuscript and sent out five more queries. You’ll keep sending more queries.

"My first Revise & Resubmit request gave me some hope. I rewrote and sent out five more queries. I submitted to contests too. The manuscript made it into the second round of Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2013, but didn’t get to the quarter-finals. My manuscript didn’t earn me any scholarships, but I’m not sure commercial fiction ever does. (Still trying!)

"Right now I’m in the waiting game on my tenth full request.

The story has been revised or edited each of those ten times, and probably four more before I even submitted my first query. I barely recognize my first draft, but I keep it to remind myself of where I started because when the rejections come in… Let’s just say I understand Hemingway's demons.

"I haven’t even started to query the second story, and I still have no idea if the djinn story will ever go anywhere.

I do know two things:

1) I’m happy when I’m writing, even with painful rejection close at my heels.

2) If I want to share my stories, I have to keep trying.

"So. STAY CALM and QUERY ON!"

And from Dorothy Price:

Dorothy is a mompreneur, editor, former high school English teacher and aspiring children's author. One of her YA short stories won the June 2012 Mommy Authors short story contest. 

"You actually sent this at the perfect time. I've gotten two rejections in the past week, and one no response, which means, that one too, was a rejection. The fact that I'm getting personal repsonses though lets me know I have come a long way. 

"Like Carolyn, the fact that EVERY writer gets rejected is what keeps me going. I read about famous authors and people I admire in general to keep me sane because they all traveled down the same rejected road(s) as me. 

"Since I do have so many PB ideas/unfinished stories, I move on to the next one(s) while I wait to hear back about the one on submission. 

"It's rough and very, very stressful, but if we're doing everything we can do, that's all we can do!

"Oh yeah, and when all else fails...Cold Stone ice cream sure takes the stress away, too :-) 

************

So, Viviane, what's the moral of the story? Use your critique group to hone your story, send out your best work possible, and then go eat ice cream!

By the way, Carolyn has an awesome giveaway going on her blog this week. Hurry over to win a copy of  the ARC of Corneila Funke's new book, Fearless. 

A Lesson Before Dying

Ernest Gaines paints a compelling portrait of life in the late 1940's in a small Louisiana town. A young black teacher, Grant Wiggins, is caught in the middle of a number of struggles. A graduate of the local university, he is respected and the recipient of high expectations from the black community as well as feared and humiliated by less educated white authorities. 

Since Grant is considered to be learned, members of the black community turn to him for help. When a young black man, Jefferson, is falsely accused of murder and robbery and sentenced to death, Jefferson's godmother (who he calls Nannan) expects Grant to come alongside of her godson and befriend him. Jefferson's lawyer compares Jefferson to a hog: his "defense" consists of arguing that Jefferson isn't a man capable of planning the robbery or executing the murder. Ernest's task is to lift the sentence pronounced on this heretofore stranger: to make him feel like a man when his rights, dignity, and freedom have been stripped away. 

As the story enfolds it is clear that both men are prisoners. Just as Jefferson is locked behind bars, Grant feels helpless to leave his community, job, or social status. Although Grant initially rejects the task thrust upon him, gradually it becomes important to him to lure Jefferson out of his brokenness, anger, and overwhelming despair. In a pivotal scene, Grant convinces Jefferson that his response to the false imprisonment will matter to the entire community:

"Do you know what a hero is, Jefferson? A hero is someone who does something for other people. He does something that other men don't and can't do. He is different from other men. He is above other men. No matter who those other men are, the hero, no matter who he is, is above them.... I could never be a hero. I teach, but I don't like teaching. I teach because it is the only thing that an educated black man can do in the South today. I don't like it; I hate it. I don't even like living here. I want to run away. I want to live for myself and for my woman and for nobody else.

"That is not a hero. A hero does for others. He would do anything for people he loves, because he knows it would make their lives better. I am not that kind of person, but I want you to be. You could give something to her [Jefferson's godmother], to me, to those children in the quarter. You could give them something that I never could. They expect it from me, but not from you. The white people out there are saying that you don't have it--that you're a hog, not a man. But I know they are wrong. You have the potential. We all have, no matter who we are." 
.........

"White people believe that they're better than anyone else on earth--and that's a myth. The last thing they ever want is to see a black man stand, and think, and show that common humanity that is in us all. It would destroy their myth....

"I want you to chip away at that myth by standing. I want you--yes, you--to call them liars. I want you to show them that you are such a man--more a man than they can ever be."
(p. 191-2)


In a final scene Paul, a sympathetic prison guard, recounts the execution to Grant:

"He was the strongest man in that crowded room, Grant Wiggins," Paul said, staring at me and speaking louder than was necessary. "He was, he was. I'm not saying this to ease your pain...He was the strongest man there... We all had each other to lean on. When Vincent asked him if he had any last words, he looked at the preacher and said, 'Tell Nannan I walked.'" (p. 253-4)

This is not only a powerful story that will make you wonder who is the teacher and who is the student, but it is also beautifully written. I particularly appreciated how the author portrayed his characters' feelings and thoughts in minute, compelling detail. 

In this passage, Jefferson's godmother and Grant visit him in prison. She tries to get him to eat some of his favorite food she  prepared for him. Jefferson has been quiet while she has tried first one food, than another, without any response. Finally Jefferson says,
    "When they go'n do it? Tomorrow?"

     "Do what, Jefferson?"

      He was quiet looking up at the ceiling but not seeing it.

     "What, Jefferson?"

     He turned toward her. His body didn't turn, just his head turned a little. His eyes did most of the turning. He looked at her as though he did not know who she was, or what she was doing there. Then he looked at me. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? his eyes said. They were big brown eyes, the whites too reddish. You know, don't you? his eyes said again. I looked back at him. My eyes would not dare answer him. But his eyes knew that my eyes knew." (p. 73)

I recommend this book for adults and mature teens; it is historically accurate and Gaines has not held back on language or explicit scenes. If you choose to read it, you, like Grant, will ask questions that won't be easy to answer:

"Twelve white men say a black man must die, and another white man sets the date and time without consulting one black person. Justice?" 
p. 157, A Lesson Before Dying.

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Joan Edwards who won a copy of Tameka's picture book, My Cold Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood!

Joan is a prolific blogger and her posts are full of writing advice and giveaways. I'm glad she had the opportunity to win this catchy, colorful book. 

***********

Speaking of giveaways, this week I was happy to receive a copy of Miriam Glassman's book, Call Me Oklahoma which I won off the ReaderKidZ blog.

You can be sure that I'll be giving it away on a future blog!

Guest Blog with Tameka Brown and a Giveaway!

It is my honor to host Tameka Brown, a local Charlotte, NC picture book author. Her latest book,  My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood was just released last week. Here she talks about the inspiration for the book and the impact she hopes it will have on readers. At the end you'll see how you can win a copy of this kid-pleasing and wonderfully illustrated book that belongs in every family and school library! 

Carol: I love your title. What is the story behind My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood? Did the title just come to you? Any events in your own life prompt the story?

Tameka: Actually, the title was a major group effort. Along with myself there was my editor, my agent, the art director, and several sales and marketing folks involved in coming up with it. I love it, too.

For this story, I happened to be thinking to myself one day, “Boy, am I in a mood.” My writer’s ear zoned in on the “in a mood” part; it sounded like a great first line or title for a picture book. That was the spark that resulted in the story of a boy and his emotion-filled day...complete with two, pushy older brothers. Personally, I’m a lover of bright colors because they make me feel so alive; I suppose I intuitively married the concepts of color and emotion together.

Carol: If you could wave a magic wand and create the takeaway from this book, what would it be? In other words, what are you hoping readers (both little and big!) will gain from reading it?

Tameka: I hope to encourage readers to own ALL of their feelings, the good and the not-so-good. I want them to recognize that they have a right to feel each and every one of their emotions, to express them verbally or in writing, in a constructive (maybe even a creative) way.  At the very least, I hope they will focus on identifying and acknowledging their true feelings to themselves. That’s a necessary life skill that precedes effective problem-solving.

Carol: What was your path to publication? How long did it take to go from the idea to the book? Did Jennifer Rofe' make editing suggestions?

Tameka: My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood is my second picture book. I secured an agent (Jennifer Rofé of Andrea Brown Literary Agency) with my first book, Around Our Way On Neighbor’s Day.  Jen is what is known as an “editorial” agent, which means that she critiques all of my manuscripts before submitting them to editors to ensure that they are as strong as they can be. Not all agents are editorial and when seeking representation, a writer should consider which they would prefer. Although it may add an extra stage to the submissions process, I have learned to truly value Jennifer’s astute feedback. Even if an editor feels a manuscript of mine isn’t a good fit for their current list, they almost always request to see more of my work. Jen’s focus on making sure I put my best foot forward plays a significant part in that.

Here was my path to publication:

·         I wrote a story called In a Mood and worked with my critique group to get it in the best shape possible.

·         I sent it to Jen. She didn’t have any revision suggestions (a rarity!), so we sent it out on submission.

·         The amazing Joy Peskin, expressed interest on behalf of Viking Children’s early in the process.

·         Joy bought my manuscript and worked with me on minor revisions.

·         An illustrator (Shane W. Evans) was secured.

·         Joy left Viking.

·         My project was reassigned to Joanna Cardenas—who took great, loving care of both me and my book.

·         Sales & Marketing suggested that we change the title because buyers might assume the plot was something it’s not.

·         After a great team effort, a new, dynamic title was developed.

·         On March 7, 2013 My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood was officially born into the world!

Congratulations, Tameka, on birthing your second picture book and for a great review in Publisher's Weekly!

Here are the giveaway rules:

• Post a link to this blog on your favorite social media site OR become a follower of my blog.
• Leave me a comment as to which you did. If you are a new follower PLEASE leave your email address. If you don't, I'll have no way to contact you if you win!
• Enter by midnight on March 15th. Winner will be drawn on March 16th.  

If you live in or around Charlotte, Tameka will be autographing books at Park Road Books on March 23 at 2 PM. Hope to see you there!

You Heard it Here First!

Two years ago I was pleased to share my friend Linda Phillips' news of signing with an agent. Today, I am even more excited to share her announcement of signing with a publisher! And you know that I'll be the first to offer an ARC or off-the-presses copy of her debut young adult novel when it is released.

Carol: Tell us about CRAZY. What were your significant milestones along your path to publication? How did you mine your own life experiences to write it?

Linda: CRAZY (my working title) actually began as a collection of 20 poems that were loosely centered on the theme of my mother’s bipolar disorder and took about 15 years to write. It was largely a cathartic exercise on my part to work through years of angst and unanswered questions of my teen years.

If you remember, you read it and said,  “This needs to be a book.” (Carol grins.)

I teach full time, I am the mother of teenage twin boys, and I fully participate in my husband’s parish ministry.  I’ll get right on it……from 4:00 to 6:00 a.m. weekdays or all that spare time on Saturday after groceries, cleaning, lesson plans and school activities with my boys. 

But the idea felt right, and I was hooked. 

By the summer of 2009 I had a much-edited manuscript I took to the Highlights Foundation Writer’s Workshop in Chautauqua, NY. Patti Gauch, former senior editor of Philomel, was my designated mentor, and she graciously went the extra mile with me.  The biggest thing she did was point out that my YA book had an adult voice, and a mother that dominated the scene.   

My comfort zone collapsed. 

I spent the next year (still teaching) writing a revision based on Patti’s invaluable critiquing.  In addition to her input, I began to step out of the protagonist position, to put necessary distance between the story and myself.

The following summer vacation was a marathon agent query and in October, 2010 I signed with Julia Kenny at Markson Thoma Agency in New York.  She has the patience of Job, both in dealing with all my “nervous Nelly” emails, and the two years it took to land a deal with William B. Eerdmans. 

At this point, we have a tentative release date of August, 2014.  As my pals, the Beatles said, “It’s been a long and winding road” and I can’t wait to see what lies around the bend. 

Carol: Why did you use free verse to write your story?

Linda: My father passed along his love of poetry to me, and I’ve dabbled in it since high school. I have used it to think things through, both the good and the bad.  It has been like a best friend to me all these years, and the most effective way I knew of understanding life experiences.

Carol: What do you hope that your readers will gain from reading your book?

Linda: When the book opens, Laura is a nervous, frightened, and depressed teenager. She is obsessed with hating her artist mother who appears to be mentally disintegrating before her eyes. She worries everyone in her small mill town is aware that her mother is crazy. When her mother has a nervous breakdown, Laura becomes frightened that she will suffer the same consequence if she pursues her own passion for art. 

She sets out to find where she fits in the art world, and ultimately, to get to the bottom of what has caused her mother’s illness.  In the process, she discovers an inner strength that enables her to ask her mother for forgiveness and to begin a new relationship with her. 

This is a story of hope, born out of Laura’s determination to find the truth and to understand and accept it.  According to the National Institute of Mental Health, bipolar disorder affects 5.7 million adults 18 and older in the U.S. population annually. Millions of adults with the disorder are in the process of raising children.  I hope that my book may serve as a support, a conversation starter, or perhaps a catalyst leading to medical help for teenage or adult readers affected by this disorder. 

Thank you, Linda, for this insider's look into your book and your path to publication!

When she’s not writing, Linda can be found walking or bicycling the greenways near her home in Charlotte, trying out a new vegan recipe, or settling in for a stretch with her Nook.  In between, she might be found walking, praying, or exchanging writing ideas with her appreciative writing buddy, me.