tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85702463204802988812024-03-14T02:05:19.916-04:00Wordy BirdieChirpings about writing and kidlit, editing and grammar, process and inspiration...with birds.Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-49213862310626617442015-11-16T09:51:00.000-05:002015-11-16T09:51:14.912-05:00New Site, New Blog, & a Special<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hi all,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I invite you to visit:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">my new blog: <a href="http://www.wordybirdstudio.com/blog/">http://www.wordybirdstudio.com/blog</a></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and my new wesbite: <a href="http://www.wordybirdstudio.com/">http://www.wordybirdstudio.com/</a></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also, as I do each year to celebrate NaNoWriMo and PiBoIdMo, I'm offering a special: <b>15% off editing</b> contracted by November 30th, 2015. Includes:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Developmental/substantive editing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Copyediting & proofreading </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Query letter development</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Critiques</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">See you at <a href="http://www.wordybirdstudio.com/">Wordy Bird Studio</a>!</span></div>
</div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-73853273027472976192015-05-14T08:51:00.000-04:002015-05-14T09:50:34.444-04:00So You Want to Write for Kids: The Least You Need to Know<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After
years of editing, teaching writing, working with writers, and learning about
the industry as a writer/illustrator, I have a created a list of things I
believe new children’s book writers need to know. I also asked some published author
and illustrator friends to tell me what they wish they’d known when they began.
Following is a compilation of the very least you need to know when you’re
starting out. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it will give you a
solid foundation as you begin your journey toward publication. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Be prepared<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Always
carry a notebook or another way to record your ideas. Always. That incredible
idea you have at 3 <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">am</span> that you’re
certain you’ll remember in the morning? You won’t. Great ideas and inspiration
can strike at any time: in the car, in line at the supermarket, while cleaning
your bathroom. Be prepared. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Know your audience—know the genre<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
genre “children’s books” is divided into the following basic sub-categories
based on the age range of the readership:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">YA—young adult</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Middle grade—for
eight to twelve-year-olds or so</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Chapter books—divided
into chapters, some black and white illustrations, for elementary-age ranges
six to nine, seven to ten, and eight to twelve-year-olds.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Early readers—for
young children learning to read</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Picture books—fully
illustrated, for four to eight-year-olds (sometimes three to seven)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Board books—for
babies and toddlers, made to be tough so they can withstand everything babies
throw at them, including chewing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Graphic novels are
also increasingly popular and can be for various age groups</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Non-fiction
picture books and other, </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">various</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> ages</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If
you write a 3000-word picture book or a 120,000-word middle grade novel, expect
it to be rejected. Your picture book should be under 1000 words when you submit
it; in fact, the industry is tending toward books about half that length or
less, currently. A middle grade novel over 60,000 words (75,000 words for
fantasy) is going to be treated with serious caution. These word counts aren’t
arbitrary, but have been defined by what sells and what works for young readers
based on their age, comprehension skills, interests, and attention span. If
you’ve written something 3000 words long, consider it may not be a picture book
but perhaps a chapter book for slightly older readers—or it may just need editing,
development, and revision. <a href="http://literaticat.blogspot.com/2011/05/wordcount-dracula.html">Agent Jennifer Laughran has an excellent post about word counts. </a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Time
spent in libraries and bookstores educating yourself about the different
sub-genres of children’s books and reading both classic and recently published
children’s books is not time wasted. Also, the industry has changed since you
were a kid, so don’t rely on the stories you loved as a child for role models.
Look at what is being published now. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Think story, not message<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Remember
when you were a kid and you got a lecture from your parents or a teacher? How
did it make you feel? Did it feel great and make you beg for more? Or did you
just wish you could get it over with? Compare how you felt when watching your
favorite movie or reading your favorite book. Were you immersed and entertained
and a little sorry when it was over? That is your job as the writer: to draw
the reader in and immerse them in the narrative, not to deliver a lecture. The
story should come first, and any message you are trying to convey or teach is
best subtly delivered through the narrative, not by heavy-handed didactic lessons,
which give a publisher or agent an easy reason to reject your manuscript. Kids
should absorb any message or lesson by default, not because they’re having it flapped
in their face. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And
while I’m on the subject of narrative, a weak narrative arc is one of the biggest
reasons manuscripts get rejected. See <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2013/12/whats-wrong-with-my-picture-book-text.html">myblog post on narrative issues</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Learn<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One
of the things that always surprises me is that newer writers think they should automatically
know how to write a publishable story. You wouldn’t expect to win a tennis match
the first time you played or give a great haircut or perform brain surgery
without acquiring the necessary skills. So why do so many newer writers assume
they should already know how to write for kids and feel terrible about negative
feedback? We ALL have to travel the learning curve. If we don’t, forget getting
(traditionally) published. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Take
a course, read books about writing, read blogs about writing, join <a href="http://www.scbwi.org/">SCBWI</a>, work
with an editor or writing mentor, and above all, read, read, read. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Illustrations<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unless
you are an illustrator and hope to have your own illustrations published with
your story, you do not need to (and should not) have your manuscript
illustrated before you submit it to traditional publishers or literary agents.
If your story is acquired by a publisher, the publisher will choose an
illustrator whose work complements your own. You have, in the vast majority of
cases, no power over this decision, but keep in mind that publishers are very
good at knowing what you intend, as well as seeing possibilities for your work
that you might not have considered. Publishers tend to pair new writers with
established illustrators so books can be marketed on the established party’s previous
success in creating books that sell. Publishing is, after all, a business. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also,
you do not need to make suggestions for what should be in the illustrations or
about any matters of style, layout, typography, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of
course, if you self-publish, you are in charge of it all. Keep in mind that illustrators
will not work only for the promise of royalties somewhere down the track. Most
will require a deposit and progress payments along the way. Illustration is a skilled
and time-consuming process, and you wouldn’t expect your hairdresser or brain
surgeon to provide services for free. Also, there is a difference between a graphic
artist and a children’s book illustrator, and children’s book illustration has particular
requirements that are best understood by someone who has studied children’s
book illustration and knows how picture books work. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Revise <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No
work by any writer comes out perfect or publishable the first time. A lack of
adequate revision is one of the biggest mistakes aspiring authors make, in my
opinion. Revise, revise, revise. And then, revise some more. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Join or start a critique group</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You
need multiple sets of eyes on your work as you develop your work, revise, and then
prepare for submission. Family and friends can be a great source of support,
but they’re less likely to give accurate, impartial, or even knowledgeable
critical feedback. A good critique group is also a source of support and
friendships on the up-and-down journey to publication. SCBWI (see next point)
can advise you about critique groups in your area. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Become a SCBWI member<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.scbwi.org/">TheSociety of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators</a> is an
invaluable resource for writers and illustrators alike (whether you seek
traditional publication or plan to self-publish). You do not need to be
published to join. It’s also a warm, friendly, generous, international
community of like-minded people. It’s your tribe. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SCBWI
conferences and events are a great source of information, inspiration, industry
contacts, invitations to submit manuscripts, and enduring friendships. You can also
sign up to have your manuscript or portfolio critiqued by an editor or agent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Get to know people<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“I
wish I’d known that sometimes it isn’t enough to be a great writer,” one author
friend told me. Imagine the following scenario: there are two equally excellent,
highly marketable manuscripts, and an editor is forced to choose between them.
Writer A is a complete unknown. The editor has not heard of him, and he has no
social media presence. Writer B has become well-known by kid-lit industry folks
over the years for her personable, easy-to-get-along with manner, and the
editor has had very pleasant interactions with her several times at conferences
and kid-lit events. When she critiqued Writer B’s work at a recent conference,
Writer B was open to suggestion, easy to work with, and very appreciative of
her advice. Turns out they’re even friends on Facebook and from time to time,
the editor has chuckled at Writer B’s upbeat, amusing, positive, supportive (of
fellow kid-lit folk), book-and-creativity related posts on social media, which
bodes well for how she will interact with the buying public and how she will
work to market her books. Which writer do you think is more likely to get the
deal? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Contests and Awards<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One
illustrator friend said she wished she’d known about writer and illustrator
contests and awards before she’d progressed too far to enter them. SCBWI and
its regional chapters offer various contests, awards, and scholarships, and
there are other similar opportunities out there for writers. Just make sure
that you do a thorough online search for any negative info about scam contests
designed only to separate unwary, hopeful writers from their money. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Submissions<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This
a topic for a blog post of its own, but some basics:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">format your text properly
for submission and make sure it is properly copyedited without word misuse,
spelling mistakes, punctuation and other grammatical errors, or typos.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Write and revise
an excellent query/cover letter. (See </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">m</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2010/05/query-letter-basics.html">yblog post on writing queries</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> for the kid-lit market.)</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Start with </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Children’s Writers & illustrators
Market</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> (Writer’s Digest Books). Always use the latest edition. An excellent
print resource for finding publishers and agents.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Then make a list
of suitable publishers who are accepting unsolicited manuscripts in the genre in
which you are writing and confirm their submission guidelines on their website—then
follow them!</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Avoid the </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">scatter-gun</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> approach to submissions by targeting your submissions to publishers
and agents whose work is a good fit for your own. (I once had a client give me
a list of publishers she’d submitted her sweet, lyrical picture book to, and
one was a publisher who only published material about southwestern architecture
and history…for adults.)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">If you submit to
agents, don’t also submit to publishers. If an agent takes you on and then finds
your manuscript has already been submitted to and rejected by a bunch of publishers
she was going to contact, that’s annoying and self-defeating.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Online resources such
as <a href="http://querytracker.net/">QueryTracker.net</a> and <a href="http://agentquery.com/">AgentQuery.com</a> can help you navigate the process of
finding an agent.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Don’t be arrogant,
gimmicky, or demanding. Be professional, polite, and personable. Don’t be a
jerk. Nobody wants to work with a jerk. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Don’t take
rejections personally. Look at them as a chance to improve your craft. EVERYONE,
no matter how talented, gets them, and manuscripts are rejected for all sorts
of reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the quality of the work. If
you keep writing and submitting, you can expect to get a huge pile just like
every other writer who eventually achieves publication. <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2011/04/rejection-redux.html">Learn to love rejection</a>. </span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Time<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">If
you’re aiming for traditional publication, be aware that it will take time.
Don’t expect that your first manuscript will be on the bookstore shelves in time
for Christmas. It just doesn’t work that way. You first have to learn to write
for kids—think of it as doing your apprenticeship. Learning takes time. Revising
takes time. The submissions process takes time. (I don’t know anyone who’s
achieved </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">traditional</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">publication</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> in less than five years, and I know many who have taken longer.) And
even if your book is acquired by a publisher, expect two years to pass before
you hold your published book in your hands.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Money<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don’t
be quick to quit your day job, and don’t expect to make buckets of money when
you are finally published. Kid-lit authors almost always supplement their book
income by doing school visits, speaking engagements, teaching writing, and
editing/mentoring. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Adobe Hebrew"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
best reason to write for kids and create books is because you love writing for
kids and creating books. This path is definitely a journey, not a destination—and
a most wonderful journey it is. Remember the 3 P’s: passion, patience, and
perseverance. Good luck!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-55995174661948947622015-01-01T15:24:00.000-05:002015-01-01T15:51:53.700-05:00Of Resolutions & Rituals, Purges, Goals, & Owls<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I truly love this time of year. New Year is my absolute favorite
holiday, and I have various rituals associated with it. I thought I’d share
them with you; I really believe in their power and efficacy—and my wish for all
of you for 2015 is empowerment and effectiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the end of the post, I’ll be sharing my usual special offer
to celebrate New Year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy New Year! I hope 2015 is a year of creative growth and
forward motion for us all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #76a5af;">Wordy Bird’s New Year’s
Rituals (live and uncut)</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. The Great Office-Studio
Purge<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is a must. I do have a lovely room in which to work and
create, but it does get rather out of hand, especially toward Christmas, and especially
when I have a major creative project underway. Ok, it’s shocking and I'm (sort of) embarrassed, but I'm determined to keep it real here and I <i>have </i>promised a few people some before and after shots. Nobody's perfect, and life can get in the way of good intentions, but this is why you should look forward to and embrace the Purge. (But then, I have read that many creative people tend to do better work in chaotic spaces...)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cg8VoD9dT4I/VKWe8ujNL1I/AAAAAAAABAQ/dDeZzhtN-lo/s1600/2014-12-30%2B10.14.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cg8VoD9dT4I/VKWe8ujNL1I/AAAAAAAABAQ/dDeZzhtN-lo/s1600/2014-12-30%2B10.14.48.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Exquisite chaos, extreme shame.</div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oWmBXEtwgXs/VKWfFmY3quI/AAAAAAAABAY/T4nGn-HmqMA/s1600/2014-12-30%2B10.12.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oWmBXEtwgXs/VKWfFmY3quI/AAAAAAAABAY/T4nGn-HmqMA/s1600/2014-12-30%2B10.12.19.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RNcJDCctEiA/VKWfKjkPinI/AAAAAAAABAw/pfbZfdpUoDc/s1600/2014-12-30%2B10.14.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RNcJDCctEiA/VKWfKjkPinI/AAAAAAAABAw/pfbZfdpUoDc/s1600/2014-12-30%2B10.14.36.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Phoebe can't believe it either.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0e7g87gVYk/VKWfalpPiwI/AAAAAAAABCA/EE8QJ_Dpghw/s1600/2014-12-30%2B10.43.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0e7g87gVYk/VKWfalpPiwI/AAAAAAAABCA/EE8QJ_Dpghw/s1600/2014-12-30%2B10.43.27.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Nine-year-old me, who kept her books </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">categorized and neat, would be incensed!</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You never know what you'll find...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tX3K4pdEzLU/VKWffw0CfpI/AAAAAAAABCg/R_O9heehbVs/s1600/2014-12-30%2B12.06.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tX3K4pdEzLU/VKWffw0CfpI/AAAAAAAABCg/R_O9heehbVs/s1600/2014-12-30%2B12.06.21.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The palette I've been looking for for ages. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-62nFvtUdbsQ/VKWfgJMXKcI/AAAAAAAABCk/JXVMk4BpJBQ/s1600/2014-12-30%2B12.06.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-62nFvtUdbsQ/VKWfgJMXKcI/AAAAAAAABCk/JXVMk4BpJBQ/s1600/2014-12-30%2B12.06.57.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A terribly important magnetic Z.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q-CcltB8vak/VKWfjzqeSwI/AAAAAAAABC4/APGygqBwXNQ/s1600/2014-12-30%2B12.28.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q-CcltB8vak/VKWfjzqeSwI/AAAAAAAABC4/APGygqBwXNQ/s1600/2014-12-30%2B12.28.28.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">These. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Expect the chaos to get exponentially worse before it gets better.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mhYVNn5SIkE/VKWflQn9WbI/AAAAAAAABDA/-4pJ3bRKBt8/s1600/2014-12-30%2B12.32.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mhYVNn5SIkE/VKWflQn9WbI/AAAAAAAABDA/-4pJ3bRKBt8/s1600/2014-12-30%2B12.32.38.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There’s <i>nothing</i>
like purging and starting the year with a tidy, clutter free, clean space. It feels
fantastic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mL3FmAxudx0/VKWmVlx5nHI/AAAAAAAABEI/b_TqMvuxG7A/s1600/2015-01-01%2B12.57.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mL3FmAxudx0/VKWmVlx5nHI/AAAAAAAABEI/b_TqMvuxG7A/s1600/2015-01-01%2B12.57.26.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GNQVVaSdXjM/VKWnD5ExllI/AAAAAAAABEY/Y-Px_xUGnSw/s1600/2015-01-01%2B14.32.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GNQVVaSdXjM/VKWnD5ExllI/AAAAAAAABEY/Y-Px_xUGnSw/s1600/2015-01-01%2B14.32.46.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Organized by favorites, non-fiction, books <br />by friends, books I use for teaching, and "other."<br />Nine-year-old me would be proud. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fs8Vr8Ehw2c/VKWm83VDaUI/AAAAAAAABEQ/3la1Y9wHYxg/s1600/2015-01-01%2B14.57.50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fs8Vr8Ehw2c/VKWm83VDaUI/AAAAAAAABEQ/3la1Y9wHYxg/s1600/2015-01-01%2B14.57.50.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Phoebe is speechless.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: start;">I must have done a good job because my daughter</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: start;"> just walked in and frowned. "It's too clean in here," she said. "Where's your real office?" Don't worry, sweetheart, it'll be back before you know it. </span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WD5f4n9CBTw/VKWnHAX2QRI/AAAAAAAABEg/TmxYywZy_Sc/s1600/2015-01-01%2B12.57.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WD5f4n9CBTw/VKWnHAX2QRI/AAAAAAAABEg/TmxYywZy_Sc/s1600/2015-01-01%2B12.57.29.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shame above me! I couldn't reach. Or face up to<br />getting rid of any books, if truth be told.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. The Sublime Setting
of the Goals<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We all know that resolutions beg to be broken and can be
rather self-defeating. I’m a HUGE advocate, however, of concrete goal-setting.
I believe in writing goals down and keeping them close at hand. In my opinion, it’s the best kick starter to define
what you want to achieve, hold yourself accountable, and actually get stuff
done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I usually reassess my goals around midyear. There’s nothing
wrong with reassessment and a shift in priorities; in fact, to not reassess
your goals is folly. Situations change, unexpected opportunities arise, and so
sometimes you need to shift course before you crash and burn. And note I said “reassess”
and “shift,” not lower. <i>Never lower you expectations.</i>
Big goals, even if they seem outside the realm of the possible, will keep you focused
and take you further than lower expectations. Big goals must, of course, be
broken into smaller discrete goals, stepping stones to the big one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When making my annual goals, I find the following categories
helpful as a launching point: health/fitness, relationships, financial, career,
spiritual/philosophical/personal growth, creative. Again, I highly recommend avoiding
resolutions in favor of making concrete goals with deadlines. That gets the subconscious
working out possible steps to achieving them on time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Compare:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I
resolve to make a lot more new art this year.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">to</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
will complete my new portfolio by April 15<sup>th</sup>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And, yes, this is an actual one from my list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another goal I have is to see a snowy owl, up close, this
year. I took this a few days ago with my phone... through a telescope. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P0zTETEfEdM/VKWjiXlA89I/AAAAAAAABDc/kr7t2ZNVtc8/s1600/2014-12-28%2B09.30.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P0zTETEfEdM/VKWjiXlA89I/AAAAAAAABDc/kr7t2ZNVtc8/s1600/2014-12-28%2B09.30.57.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So close to
success, but so far...Again. The snowy owl is my feathered white whale. O</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">k, so some goals are somewhat dependent on factors outside
your control. But I <i>can </i>control how often I go birding and just how hard I’m
willing to work to see the snowy. And you can do the same for your goals. No
excuses!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. The Fresh Fancy Journal<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I use this each day to list my tasks and goals for the day,
and it’s satisfying to tick them off one by one, have a record of what I’ve achieved,
and get a lot done. So before New Year, I buy a high quality, beautiful
journal. It takes me ages to choose usually, but my lovely daughter gave me
this perfect one for Christmas. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I write my year’s goals in the first few pages, so they are
always at hand.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E_gvVF_ZOVU/VKWj0IyV9xI/AAAAAAAABDk/RQ95o7BF7kc/s1600/2015-01-01%2B13.18.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E_gvVF_ZOVU/VKWj0IyV9xI/AAAAAAAABDk/RQ95o7BF7kc/s1600/2015-01-01%2B13.18.20.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. First Dawn<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No matter how I celebrate New Year’s Eve itself, I always get
up to watch the year’s first sunrise. (This morning it was well below freezing
and I’d only had three hours sleep, but First Dawn was <i>absolutely</i> worth the numb nose and head-swimming fatigue.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LMHv1zQhgRU/VKWkJOebSiI/AAAAAAAABDs/Cx-z1V6rdWM/s1600/2015-01-01%2B07.13.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LMHv1zQhgRU/VKWkJOebSiI/AAAAAAAABDs/Cx-z1V6rdWM/s1600/2015-01-01%2B07.13.31.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LuNg5hEHJ_A/VKWkKyhgZLI/AAAAAAAABD0/bi1dzVWH4zU/s1600/2015-01-01%2B07.17.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LuNg5hEHJ_A/VKWkKyhgZLI/AAAAAAAABD0/bi1dzVWH4zU/s1600/2015-01-01%2B07.17.32.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tLCuntK1aBs/VKWkO4BugGI/AAAAAAAABD8/V1b5EEDRD48/s1600/2015-01-01%2B07.23.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tLCuntK1aBs/VKWkO4BugGI/AAAAAAAABD8/V1b5EEDRD48/s1600/2015-01-01%2B07.23.49.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you have special New Year rituals? I’d love to hear what
they are and how you feel about goals and resolutions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b>As I always do at this time of year, and in the spirit of making goals and keeping deadlines, I’m offering 20% off
editing services contracted and deposit paid by January 31st, 2015.</b> Editing services include: developmental editing, copyediting and proofreading, critiques, and writing instruction. Contract start can be on a future date, as long as it is by September 1<sup>st</sup>, 2015.
Contact me: wordybirdie AT gmail.com </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wishing you a wonderful 2015.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-63156830393593599432014-12-16T16:04:00.002-05:002014-12-16T16:04:22.997-05:00The Perils of Editing<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Today, edited</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">A short memoir in haiku.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">My mind is quite fried:</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
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<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">It thinks, 5, 7, 5—</span></div>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">My thoughts now in seventeen</span><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Syllables—thought Tweets.</span></div>
</span>Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-74523076877986487322014-05-06T23:04:00.001-04:002014-05-06T23:04:30.689-04:00#NESCBWI14<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Usually, the moment I get back from a conference, I set to writing
about it, trying to encapsulate the experience, how amazing it was, gushing.
But not this year. I have waited a whole 48 hours because I’ve been busy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Busy? I was busy <i>before</i>
the conference, making the final tweaks on my portfolio, working with my critique
partner, getting reprinting done when the first batch was a disaster, running
errands, as well as my usual hectic work and life stuff. I was busy for a long
time in preparation, and yesterday was my first full day off in about 4 months.
So perhaps “busy” is not the right word. Since I got back, I have been flowing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am <i>deep</i> in
creative flow, in fact. My mind has not stopped firing. I have not stopped
working, researching, learning to use Scrivener, brainstorming, planning, writing,
and I have progressed both in knowledge and inspiration. I feel as if I have
been catapulted forward: by what I learned in workshops, by a nice little bit
of success...</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MDVmRO8Xezw/U2mhtmTyceI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/J-LKr2tmy80/s1600/PMF+for+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MDVmRO8Xezw/U2mhtmTyceI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/J-LKr2tmy80/s1600/PMF+for+web.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Runner-up R.Michelson Galleries Award 2014</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> ...but, without any doubt, above all by the energy and warmth I experienced this weekend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The evening before I left for the conference, I sat waiting
for pick-up pizza and writing in my journal. I was so excited to be going. I
was SO excited to be in that environment again, and to take the step of presenting my
portfolio for the first time (gulp!), and to see all of my friends, most of all.
And I wrote, “Tomorrow, I am going home.” And then I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And now I have to wait another year to do it again. I don’t
really have the words right now—it’s a quiet, happy, very replete feeling I
have—so I’ll direct you to <a href="http://smilingotis.blogspot.com/2014/05/comfortable-in-ones-own-skin.html">the blog of my kid-lit buddy, Ross Cox</a>. He’s already
said what I feel most of all, and he's said it far better than I feel capable of right now… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And besides, I’m itching to go back to my manuscript. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-57096108618364415712014-03-17T20:03:00.000-04:002014-03-17T20:03:11.070-04:00March 17th<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't know about you, but I'm really a bit over winter. It's funny how you can be doing fine with winter, and it can be treating you fairly well on the whole, and then within the space of a few short days, numerous things go awry. And you haven't got light warm breezes and yellow flowers and the feel of grass beneath your feet to support you as sweep things into shape. (Well, you might be lucky enough to have a few crocuses, but they keep getting covered up with snow.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And then, goodness gracious, it's St. Patrick's day, and that leprechaun pops in for morning tea, messing with wires and data as these geeky hispter-doofus leprechauns of the twenty-first century tend do. And as the leprechaun skips away and the emails-that-need-answering pour into your inbox at last, and drivers and folks around and even yourself all start to get snarlish, you realize you're at that point. Spring <i>really </i>needs to get here. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But guess what? It's coming! And </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">even if it might seem impossible that spring will soon be here, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'd like to share some proof. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I hope it gives you as much of a lift as it gave me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, following, a few things I saw on my walk. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n7IG6yNCwFw/UyeHacD6KlI/AAAAAAAAArc/tVLoBmDkqg0/s1600/2014-03-15+16.05.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n7IG6yNCwFw/UyeHacD6KlI/AAAAAAAAArc/tVLoBmDkqg0/s1600/2014-03-15+16.05.36.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">skunk cabbage shoots in non-frozen water</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zmMFvw0-KrQ/UyeHcOrKCpI/AAAAAAAAArs/66ydv2L2Z1w/s1600/2014-03-15+16.09.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zmMFvw0-KrQ/UyeHcOrKCpI/AAAAAAAAArs/66ydv2L2Z1w/s1600/2014-03-15+16.09.07.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">milky ice with withered edges</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1llEO5SMORg/UyeHbEVkNaI/AAAAAAAAArg/tcGxp4Emw8s/s1600/2014-03-15+16.12.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1llEO5SMORg/UyeHbEVkNaI/AAAAAAAAArg/tcGxp4Emw8s/s1600/2014-03-15+16.12.00.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">sporing moss, spring moss green</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8hVw5LyAjac/UyeHdWvslbI/AAAAAAAAAr0/Tyb_eQpr2RU/s1600/2014-03-15+16.13.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8hVw5LyAjac/UyeHdWvslbI/AAAAAAAAAr0/Tyb_eQpr2RU/s1600/2014-03-15+16.13.51.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">numerous red-winged blackbirds, buzz-trilling in the trees</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-50837269936832890802014-03-12T17:22:00.001-04:002014-03-12T17:36:22.316-04:00It's about time I said something...<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's March 12th! And I haven't posted since the very start of the year. Where did that time go? And why did it go so swiftly? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, I have been editing up a storm (and we're all storm weary, right?), working with both previous and new clients on projects as diverse as non-fiction for adults, historical biography, fantasy (adult), chick-lit, and my usual fare of YA, middle grade, chapter books, and picture books. I'm also working on interior illustrations for a chapter book due to be published shortly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm also deep into preparation for the New England SCBWI 2014 conference, working on a few new portfolio pieces, which I'm excited to share with you soon. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yfBoHomkOOk/UyDPuuZE81I/AAAAAAAAArM/KVsHIO_qcHY/s1600/happy+marmot+for+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yfBoHomkOOk/UyDPuuZE81I/AAAAAAAAArM/KVsHIO_qcHY/s1600/happy+marmot+for+blog.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright © Marlo Garnsworthy 2104<br />
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Character sketch for one of my new pieces.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Plus, I'm back at the <a href="http://ce.risd.edu/course/16785">Rhode Island School of Design (RISD CE)</a>, teaching "Writing for Children's Books" for the spring semester. (And I have absolutely awesome students.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So I suppose I can be forgiven for not being a very Wordy Birdie here on the blog. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BUT, I have been blogging over on Editing-Writing-Proofreading, and you can read my latest post on <b>Narrative Structure--The Parts of the Narrative</b> <a href="http://www.editing-writing.com/narrative-structure-childrens-books-parts-narrative/">HERE</a> and <b>What's Wrong With My Picture Book?</b> <a href="http://www.editing-writing.com/picture-book-writing-p1/">HERE</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And SCBWI members, I hope you'll read author and editor Chris Eboch's article in the March/April edition of <i>The Bulletin</i>, in which she talks about the design process for the cover of her latest book <i>The Genie's Gift</i>. You can read more about my process for illustrating the cover <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-cover-illustration-my-process-for.html">HERE</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And spring is coming! Cause for celebration. </span><br />
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Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-87119655551503944472014-01-02T11:02:00.003-05:002015-01-01T16:04:22.735-05:00A Happy New Year Offer<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To celebrate New Year, 2014, I am offering a 20% discount on any editing and critique services contracted during the month of January. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgUTOMb66i4/Up9mf3W-r4I/AAAAAAAAAmA/r5C1b4XRPZQ/s1600/elecard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgUTOMb66i4/Up9mf3W-r4I/AAAAAAAAAmA/r5C1b4XRPZQ/s1600/elecard.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Copyright © Marlo Garnsworthy 2013</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Applies to services for:</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Picture books</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chapter books</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Middle grade novels</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">YA</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rhyming verse</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other manuscripts, including fiction for adults and non-fiction, will be considered, based on suitability. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Services may include:</b></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Developmental/substantive editing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Copyediting</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Proofreading</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Formatting for submission</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Critique</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Editing of query/cover letters</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Conditions:</b></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">25% will be discounted after calculation regular rate, according to <a href="http://www.the-efa.org/res/rates.php">Editorial Freelancers Association rate guidelines</a>, and based on <b>total word count</b> of material to be edited AND a <b>sample</b> from the work to be edited.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Must be contracted (including deposit paid) to begin before or on January 31st, 2014*.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*Note: w</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">hen my January schedule fills (and it will fill quickly), work contracted by January 31st, may be scheduled for a later date, providing I have received a signed contract and deposit by January 31st. </span><br />
<ul>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Click here to <a href="http://www.wordybirdstudio.com/#!contact/c175r">contact me</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wishing you a very Happy New Year from Marlo and Wordy Bird Studio!</span><br />
<br /></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-13505084355894361472014-01-01T09:47:00.002-05:002014-01-01T12:24:35.436-05:002014, The Year of [insert intention here]<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Do you love New Year as much as I do? It’s my favorite holiday of all. One of my rituals is getting up before dawn and going out to greet the first sunrise of the year. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ty2eqiclCzI/UsQoG8rfEUI/AAAAAAAAAnM/m645D9tVeAI/s1600/2014-01-01+07.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ty2eqiclCzI/UsQoG8rfEUI/AAAAAAAAAnM/m645D9tVeAI/s1600/2014-01-01+07.09.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">6:50 this morning.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ever since I first
understood New Year’s resolutions existed, I have taken this time of year very
seriously. My family and friends seem to find it a bit amusing, but accept this little quirk as my Very Important Ritual. It goes like this:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Purge and deep clean
creative/work space</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Take some quiet, reflective alone time</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Buy new journal (chosen
by me, and only me!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">Write The List</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you make The List? I'm betting many of you do, too. My List’s structure
has evolved over the years, and I no longer make resolutions, which tend to set
even a very determined person up for certain failure. After all, a single
transgression, one slipup, and you’ve already failed. These years, I make a series
of goals for each area of my life: Health & Fitness, Professional,
Creative, and so on, depending on what I most hope to grow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">The thing about goals is this: it's </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">incredibly</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> easy to fall short of meeting them. And so, I tend to make BIG goals for the next year, knowing it is somewhat unlikely I will be able to fully
complete them in the 12 months I’ve set myself, but feeling I would rather make
it partway through a really big goal, than fall short on one that was smaller and
possibly less worthy. Do you, like me, </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;">allow yourself to start
the year dreaming big with a huge sense of hope and possibility? I believe it can carry me through my inevitable slumps in energy, inspiration, and motivation (and also through moment
or three when I kick myself for making such big goals that seem so far away. Hah.).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpAj_XtN7rQ/UsQpZKUJZcI/AAAAAAAAAnY/lKJNKiMto_c/s1600/2014-01-01+07.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xpAj_XtN7rQ/UsQpZKUJZcI/AAAAAAAAAnY/lKJNKiMto_c/s1600/2014-01-01+07.10.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">7:05 </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since I was fourteen
and read <i>The Year of Living Dangerously</i>
by Christopher J. Koch, I have also named each year. I’ve had <i>The Year of Going
Forth</i>, <i>The Year of Simply Living</i>, and <i>The Year of Achieving Greatness!</i> I have a
good chuckle as I add this dash of melodrama, but I’m careful to always choose
a name that has real meaning. It’s the banner I hope to march under for the
next twelve months. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What would be
written on your banner for 2014, if you had one? What do you most want
to achieve or learn or heal or feel? Have you thought about how to get there,
and determined the steps it might realistically take? Do you make resolutions
or goals, and if so, do you prefer smaller goals or larger ones? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2013, I feel I’ve
finally achieved one of my big goals for the last few years—to let go of some fears
that were holding me back creatively. And so, 2014, I dub thee... </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The Year of Creating
Fearlessly!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Arise 2014 and my
writer and illustrator friends, and go forth. May you strive for something close
to your heart and work toward your goals boldly, bravely, and fearlessly!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ixgZljYqkE4/UsQpe6kCYtI/AAAAAAAAAnk/OscBZ7JJMO4/s1600/2014-01-01+07.36.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ixgZljYqkE4/UsQpe6kCYtI/AAAAAAAAAnk/OscBZ7JJMO4/s1600/2014-01-01+07.36.52.jpg" height="320" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sunrise! </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-80793537840019994182013-12-21T18:36:00.000-05:002013-12-30T21:48:29.494-05:00Musical Interlude, for the Winter Solstice<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A pretty little something I've been enjoying on this dark first night of winter. This is <i>Grizzly Man</i> by Rockettothesky. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Later, I will be reading <i>The Longest Night</i>, written by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by Ted Lewin (Holiday House, 2009). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rp275zjYOkQ/UrYksGwlv2I/AAAAAAAAAm4/AtP_jrMLWyI/s1600/ln.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rp275zjYOkQ/UrYksGwlv2I/AAAAAAAAAm4/AtP_jrMLWyI/s1600/ln.JPG" height="320" width="282" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Possibly, my ten-year-old may think she's too old to listen, but she'll be wrong, and when it gets to the part with the chickadee, we'll sing together,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> "And dee and dee and dee," she sings.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> "And dee and dee, again."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You're never too old for a great picture book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy Solstice, to you and yours!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/VeeQSJ_xDg4/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/VeeQSJ_xDg4&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/VeeQSJ_xDg4&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-84692050254241099642013-12-09T15:46:00.004-05:002013-12-10T22:00:16.955-05:00What’s wrong with my picture book text?!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">You just can’t quite put your finger on it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You’ve written and rewritten and revised and tweaked and
proofed. You’ve fabulous, well-rounded characters, the language sings, and the hilarious
gags only underline the importance and depth of your theme. You had some POV
issues, but you’ve fixed those now. It might be something about the pacing, but
the story seems to move along all right. It must be something about the
beginning… or perhaps it's about the end… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">This is common in the picture book manuscripts of less
experienced writers, but I’ve seen it many times in unpublished manuscripts by published
authors, too: a fundamental weakness in narrative and character arc, an </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">essential</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> flaw of logic that affects pacing and much else. (And you can apply this to stories for older readers, too.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you can't put your finger on what’s wrong, it’s quite
likely you simply have a problem with your skeleton. The basic narrative/character
arc <u>is</u> your story’s skeleton. It is the structure upon which all else
sits. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mcgregor.sbs.auckland.ac.nz/category/historic-charts/zoology-charts/chordata/page/2/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rjUVG3niM0g/UqYrzxkJ8cI/AAAAAAAAAmM/gMOB1tLjw_w/s1600/Capture.JPG" title="" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">McGregor Museum. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Click image to visit original site.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let’s stretch this analogy to its limit: characters are vital
organs, their details and the setting are muscles, and the events within the
story are like the tendons to push and pull them. The language and style are the
skin, dialogue like clothing. Correct grammar and spelling are like fine jewelry.
(Proper formatting is a waft of intoxicating perfume. If it stinks, an
editor/agent will want to get away. If it’s pleasing, we may want to get closer.)
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But it doesn't matter how fancy the clothes, or how exquisite
the jewelry—if the skeleton isn’t strong and symmetrical, the story won’t stand
up straight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Start by asking yourself the following questions:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">What promise do I make to the reader in the beginning?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Does the ending deliver upon that promise?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Does the beginning set up the conditions for what I
deliver in the end?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Do I steadily escalate the problem I set up at the
beginning all the way to the climax?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Does the resolution come </span><i style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">immediately</i><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> after the climax?</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Strong story skeletons have symmetry. The beginning and end
are in balance, the bookends to the middle. One asks a question, and the other answers
that question honestly. Other things may well come to light in the quest for
the answer, but the beginning tells us what must be answered. The end must
comply. But the middle is far from symmetrical; it is a steadily steepening slope
toward the climax.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The most common narrative mistakes I see include:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Stories that start in one place with one problem, then
continue and/or end in a completely different place with quite a different
problem solved. A story about a quest for a friend suddenly becomes a story
about dealing with a bully.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The protagonist changes halfway through. A story
starts with a mother cat worried for her kittens, and segues into the story of a
young cat who just needs a good friend.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The parts of the narrative are not in the right places
or of the right duration:</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 107%;">The
manuscript has a lengthy, introduction-style beginning, rather than just diving
straight into the story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 107%;">The climax
comes too early, making the resolution far too long and often off-track, or even
well into a second story.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The problem doesn’t escalate enough; the tension
remains the same or even decreases over time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The correct problem is solved, but not by the
protagonist.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Your story’s beginning should convey who your protagonist is,
their desire, and why they want it. If the problem isn’t introduced by about two
thirds of the way—or less—down the first page of your properly formatted manuscript,
it’s </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">probably</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> running late. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once you know how your story begins, you’ll have cues to how the
story must end. The protagonist must—through their own action—either achieve
their desire or have grown beyond it. How that achievement and growth comes
about is all the rest of your story—the middle, ever escalating toward the inevitable
climax. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">And be thoughtful when defining your protagonist's real desire.
The protagonist's true desire is usually not something material or concrete,
though it may manifest itself that way. The protagonist’s desire for the material
is a projection of a much deeper desire or emotional need. The emotional need
is the “why” of the desire—why the protagonist </span><i style="line-height: 107%;">really</i><span style="line-height: 107%;"> wants whatever they want. It’s the emotional need that must
be satisfied in the end, whether or not the material desire is acquired. This
is where character growth truly lies. And a strong, </span><span style="line-height: 17px;">symmetrical</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> story skeleton requires growth and change. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-57235076957245809892013-12-04T12:30:00.001-05:002013-12-04T12:30:12.337-05:00Wordy Bird Studio on Facebook<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To accompany the launch of my new website, I have a new Facebook page, where I'll be posting links about publishing, kidlit, writing, and illustration. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can find it here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WordyBirdStudio">Wordy Bird Studio on Facebook</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgUTOMb66i4/Up9mf3W-r4I/AAAAAAAAAl8/8UEldwXfNtE/s1600/elecard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgUTOMb66i4/Up9mf3W-r4I/AAAAAAAAAl8/8UEldwXfNtE/s1600/elecard.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Copyright © Marlo Garnsworthy 2013<o:p></o:p></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-39740758668896350582013-12-02T19:57:00.002-05:002013-12-02T19:57:59.417-05:00Another Musical Interlude: Breathe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And another gift from Scandinavia, this time from Norway. This is <i>Breathe </i>by The White Birch. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes, it's another melancholy one, but it's quite pretty and atmospheric, lovely triggers for writing hard in my experience. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/E1-r0kacawg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shall we write hard on this dark December night, my fine feathered friends?</span><br />
<br />Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-3880580494028548722013-11-30T19:46:00.000-05:002013-11-30T19:46:25.001-05:00Musical Interlude: Olafur Arnalds<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've got to tell you, I <i>love </i>Spotify. It just keeps giving me good stuff. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I often (not always) tend to like moody, melancholy stuff when I write, because it usually gets me into the zone very fast. Cello and piano really do it for me; those of you who read my blog already know what music I tend to put forth as good music for writing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is what I'm listening to right now. It's working like a charm. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And I like this video, too.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dj7zWQYEw7U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Does music work for you? And if so, what kind</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">?</span><br />
<br />Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-48520407956164008862013-11-27T09:54:00.000-05:002013-11-27T09:59:38.457-05:00Website and Interview<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's a happy day! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have been interviewed over on author Joanna Marple's </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://joannamarple.com/2013/11/illustrator-interview-marlo-garnsworthy/">Miss Marple's Musings blog</a>, which I was quite thrilled to do. Joanna regularly blogs about illustrators, her traveling adventures</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, and kidlit in general, and I suspect she might love kayaking <i>almost </i>as much as me. It's worth following, so check it out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If that weren't cause enough for thankfulness, I've also just launched my new website, which you can view by clicking on the Wordy Bird Studio tab above, or by clicking <a href="http://www.wordybirdstudio.com/">here</a>. It is still a work in progress, and I look forward to completing its evolution with a page just for kids, and the Wordy Bird Studio store, where you'll be able to purchase giclee </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">prints of my work and other items. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">AND... I also have a new <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WordyBirdStudio">Wordy Bird Studio Facebook page</a>, where I'll be posting links about writing, publishing, illustrating, and all sorts of kidlit goodies. You can find and follow it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WordyBirdStudio">here</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for dropping by the birdhouse. </span>Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-59097122387575963452013-11-23T17:18:00.000-05:002013-11-23T17:18:37.992-05:00Coming this week...<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...my new website!</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stay tuned...</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the meantime, enjoy a little song. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/6_6jMG7hGHY/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/6_6jMG7hGHY&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/6_6jMG7hGHY&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From the Mouth of an Injured Head, by Radical Face.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-13028155517482454372013-11-13T09:53:00.002-05:002013-11-13T12:28:21.718-05:00Illustratorganza<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am still glowing from an illustrators’
retreat and kids’ book illustration extravaganza weekend, staying in the Berkshires
with my fellow illustrators <a href="http://hazelmitchell.com/">Hazel Mitchell</a>, <a href="http://www.smilingotis.com/">Russ Cox</a>, <a href="http://www.carlynbeccia.com/">Carlyn Beccia</a>, <a href="http://matusic.com/">Greg Matusic</a>, <a href="http://seanbixby.com/">Sean Bixby</a>, <a href="http://madeoflines.com/">Kevin M. Barry</a>, and <a href="http://www.teriweidner.com/">Teri Weidner</a>. It’s hard to explain
just how good it was, but I’ll give it a shot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On Friday afternoon, I drove down a steep gravel road
through woodland as early wintery darkness set in... </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYt9U17h3P0/UoOKvXfl49I/AAAAAAAAAkY/ce7boSSllH8/s1600/2013-11-08+16.28.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYt9U17h3P0/UoOKvXfl49I/AAAAAAAAAkY/ce7boSSllH8/s320/2013-11-08+16.28.16.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...and finally found my way to
an old barn converted into a warmly lit and inviting home, mere footsteps from
a lake surrounded by soaring wooded hills. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ozQaZyD5OQk/UoLi6SFPr7I/AAAAAAAAAic/jAXZomgv1hg/s1600/2013-11-08+16.57.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ozQaZyD5OQk/UoLi6SFPr7I/AAAAAAAAAic/jAXZomgv1hg/s320/2013-11-08+16.57.28.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The company was inviting, too, and although
I knew everyone but Teri, I didn’t know them well. But we were soon sipping
cocktails and laughing, enjoying a gourmet dinner cooked by Russ, poring over the
many picture books we had brought to share, and sketching when we felt like it.
The boys may have flattened Teri and me at the Foosball table (sorry Teri!). Carlyn
read my fortunes in the crinkles on my palms. She knows why 52 is my lucky
number, but will never tell. I fell asleep to a jaunty
banjo and laughter upstairs, which continued well into the wee smalls. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Poj7c2oro-E/UoOE3voxGOI/AAAAAAAAAjI/pvBgZ-jLWpk/s1600/2013-11-08+19.58.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Poj7c2oro-E/UoOE3voxGOI/AAAAAAAAAjI/pvBgZ-jLWpk/s320/2013-11-08+19.58.16.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg and Russ </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The next day, after a veritable feast a la Hazel, I enjoyed
a solitary woodland walk. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2RBLT_iUJdg/UoOGEt-iz3I/AAAAAAAAAjU/ougD3mCcpgY/s1600/2013-11-09+11.13.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2RBLT_iUJdg/UoOGEt-iz3I/AAAAAAAAAjU/ougD3mCcpgY/s320/2013-11-09+11.13.15.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nR8uyRlTaLA/UoOGkj8yQ0I/AAAAAAAAAjc/jpS1ePpCxVs/s1600/2013-11-09+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nR8uyRlTaLA/UoOGkj8yQ0I/AAAAAAAAAjc/jpS1ePpCxVs/s320/2013-11-09+15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Carlyn, digital painting master, gave us a Corel Painter demo, convincing the skeptical that it is, indeed, awesome.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ujdiny8Y_Zw/UoOHc3jNqxI/AAAAAAAAAjo/5jHzMDhldRY/s1600/2013-11-09+12.27.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ujdiny8Y_Zw/UoOHc3jNqxI/AAAAAAAAAjo/5jHzMDhldRY/s320/2013-11-09+12.27.34.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There might have been second breakfast, followed by elevenses, and a hearty lunch.
And then a low key afternoon of sitting around drawing, with music, occasional
chatting, and an afternoon tea or two. If you’ve ever quietly enjoyed
making art among a group of like-minded others happily doing the same, you’ll understand the wonderfulness. And to top it off, Hazel's haunting rendition of the Skye Boat Song on some kinda wind instrument took my breath away. Perfection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On Saturday evening, we put on our glad rags...</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OuyT3MzdhbM/UoOMfgnBuaI/AAAAAAAAAkk/d-MuGz7KcCI/s1600/2013-11-09+18.15.01-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OuyT3MzdhbM/UoOMfgnBuaI/AAAAAAAAAkk/d-MuGz7KcCI/s320/2013-11-09+18.15.01-1.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">...piled into two
cars, and went to New York State…for all of 30 seconds (I was excited), and
then we turned around, returned to Mass, and the opening of the Wendell Minor
Retrospective* at the </span><a href="http://www.nrm.org/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Norman Rockwell Museum</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> in Stockbridge. I did plenty of drooling over Rockwell’s paintings. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gmKuv38mpSg/UoOIgWBORCI/AAAAAAAAAj4/i7D7iqgdQAQ/s1600/2013-11-09+19.32.40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gmKuv38mpSg/UoOIgWBORCI/AAAAAAAAAj4/i7D7iqgdQAQ/s320/2013-11-09+19.32.40.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...and Russ did some hard pondering.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nKu3dPbui_g/UoOMsELJq0I/AAAAAAAAAks/UiRaf-NWEqI/s1600/2013-11-09+18.22.00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nKu3dPbui_g/UoOMsELJq0I/AAAAAAAAAks/UiRaf-NWEqI/s320/2013-11-09+18.22.00.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Carlyn and
I did manage to slip in some sneaky, creepy author stalking. She was
successful...</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ox04f0N_Phk/UoLjTsRBpaI/AAAAAAAAAik/t61aoBTYDSI/s1600/2013-11-09+20.11.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ox04f0N_Phk/UoLjTsRBpaI/AAAAAAAAAik/t61aoBTYDSI/s320/2013-11-09+20.11.38.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Carlyn pokes David McCullough </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...but I never did find the elusive Buzz Aldrin. If I had, no doubt I would have poked him, too. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And Hazel? Well she's a networker extraordinaire!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--DqfKDdwFyc/UoONJ368HqI/AAAAAAAAAk0/qvX2RFcgwt4/s1600/2013-11-09+20.14.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--DqfKDdwFyc/UoONJ368HqI/AAAAAAAAAk0/qvX2RFcgwt4/s320/2013-11-09+20.14.20.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Hazel, David McCullough, and somebody else. <span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> </span></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On Sunday, after another Hazelian feast, we cleaned our home-away-from-home and trundled off to the <a href="http://www.carlemuseum.org/Home">Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art</a> in
Amherst, where we perused the Mo Willems* exhibit...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gIppanVV8y0/UoLjd6Ca1KI/AAAAAAAAAis/gufbPGkDqUs/s1600/2013-11-10+12.51.08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gIppanVV8y0/UoLjd6Ca1KI/AAAAAAAAAis/gufbPGkDqUs/s320/2013-11-10+12.51.08.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MyJB7nYGYU4/UoOJie_cgPI/AAAAAAAAAkE/3RzQ2CRBwfM/s1600/2013-11-10+14.04.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MyJB7nYGYU4/UoOJie_cgPI/AAAAAAAAAkE/3RzQ2CRBwfM/s320/2013-11-10+14.04.12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mo Willems's progress charts. Works of art in themselves. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">heard <a href="http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/flash.html">Chris Van Allsburg</a>
speak... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AY4qzBjvI28/UoOJ4PnI2ZI/AAAAAAAAAkM/tixm32EBEDo/s1600/2013-11-10+12.58.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AY4qzBjvI28/UoOJ4PnI2ZI/AAAAAAAAAkM/tixm32EBEDo/s320/2013-11-10+12.58.05.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we (sans Greg) are waiting to hear C.VanA. speak. From left to right: Kevin, Hazel, Sean, Sleepy Carlyn, Somnambulant Russ, Teri, and me. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...and as we had the night before, stood in a very “popular” line to have
our books signed. For quite a while… Simply an occasion for more chats and
bonding, and that long wait is actually one of my nicest memories from the
weekend. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lvwLaRJEE44/UoONv_tYLOI/AAAAAAAAAk8/IlI2vgylV5U/s1600/2013-11-10+15.27.50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lvwLaRJEE44/UoONv_tYLOI/AAAAAAAAAk8/IlI2vgylV5U/s320/2013-11-10+15.27.50.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean and Chris (VAN ALLSBURG!), just, you know, two dudes hangin'. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And from there it was onto the <a href="http://www.rmichelson.com/">R. Michelson Galleries</a> in Northampton
for the 24<sup>th</sup> Annual Children’s Book Illustration Exhibit*, where we
hobnobbed...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DuR4Ii0anMA/UoOOMo7U87I/AAAAAAAAAlE/XXY7RAXB2vI/s1600/2013-11-10+17.11.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DuR4Ii0anMA/UoOOMo7U87I/AAAAAAAAAlE/XXY7RAXB2vI/s320/2013-11-10+17.11.02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">...with such esteemed book creators as Caldecott winners/honorees <a href="http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/flash.html">ChrisVan Allsburg</a>, <a href="http://www.mordicaigerstein.com/">Mordicai Gerstein</a>, and <a href="http://diterlizzi.com/home/">Tony DiTerlizzi</a>, and where my critique
partner, <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2013/05/nescbwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.html">Dave Bird</a>, was honored for winning the <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2013/05/nescbwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.html">R. Michelson Galleries EmergingArtist Award in the NESCBWI 2013 Poster Competition</a>. I also caught up with some
kid-lit friends I haven’t seen in a while. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f6eVPLgNk-c/UoLkhHYhLzI/AAAAAAAAAi4/xwJ2naNzU_M/s1600/2013-11-11+16.53.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f6eVPLgNk-c/UoLkhHYhLzI/AAAAAAAAAi4/xwJ2naNzU_M/s640/2013-11-11+16.53.14.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Published authors & illustrators at the show. Image courtesy of R. Michelson Galler<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">ies, <span class="userContent" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Seth Kaye photography.</span><span class="userContentSecondary fcg" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was such a fabulous weekend, and I can’t wait to do it
again. It just underlines to me how important it is to find and spend time with
your peoples, the peoples who are on the same journey, who “get it,” and who are
in it for the long haul. It’s an effortless and frequently hilarious way to
make new friends, not to mention get a lot of art done,</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> eat, and make much merry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ics6uMZZUw8/UoOOzAUt93I/AAAAAAAAAlU/VQz1RyJt0Dw/s1600/2013-11-09+08.26.05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ics6uMZZUw8/UoOOzAUt93I/AAAAAAAAAlU/VQz1RyJt0Dw/s320/2013-11-09+08.26.05.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tablecloth evolves... (I think this is Russ Cox's section)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XWu67MLcIIA/UoOPEGMVj8I/AAAAAAAAAlc/kF-TXn986uE/s1600/2013-11-09+21.50.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XWu67MLcIIA/UoOPEGMVj8I/AAAAAAAAAlc/kF-TXn986uE/s320/2013-11-09+21.50.30.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And evolves... (Sean Bixby's section)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bzwMEVJdQ5c/UoOPUlyll5I/AAAAAAAAAls/rmTyG6gNuj0/s1600/2013-11-10+08.40.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bzwMEVJdQ5c/UoOPUlyll5I/AAAAAAAAAls/rmTyG6gNuj0/s320/2013-11-10+08.40.17.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and ends up like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thanks so much, Hazel, and to all of you. When are we doing it again?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Each of these exhibits are running, and are within an
hour and twenty minutes of each other in Massachusetts. Well worth the trip</span>.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-89559248089689397892013-11-01T14:29:00.000-04:002014-03-12T16:54:51.720-04:00Book Cover Illustration: My Process for "The Genie's Gift" by Chris Eboch<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have just completed a most
enjoyable project: illustrating the cover for author <a href="http://www.chriseboch.com/bio.htm">Chris Eboch</a>'s new middle
grade book, <i>The Genie's Gift</i>, soon to
be released, and I thought I'd share my process with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chris provided text
from the scene she wanted illustrated and some notes about the characters. In
order to get a feel for her taste, get a fuller sense of her vision, and to see
if we were on the same page in terms of what we liked (we were), we looked at a
variety of middle grade book covers. Pinterest is a wonderful tool for sharing
ideas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSQAGg-JcTs/UnPmWV4AEAI/AAAAAAAAAg4/yGTw2NAa2h8/s400/mgcovers.JPG" height="182" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I immediately formed an image in my mind, and used Pinterest again (I like to use a “secret” board while I’m actively working on a project), compiling reference images and images whose tone spoke to me in some way.</span></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9VJmqw2cTk4/UnPmXdmZONI/AAAAAAAAAg8/1GmLmwHnAPY/s1600/pinboard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9VJmqw2cTk4/UnPmXdmZONI/AAAAAAAAAg8/1GmLmwHnAPY/s400/pinboard.JPG" height="166" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wanted to give the genie an imposing
air, to have him hanging in the air above the protagonist, and inspiring awe in
both her and the viewer. Concurrently, I did some very rough sketches and
thumbnails, which I then refined until I’d come up with six possible designs:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Q_MTYDf5qM/UnPneK8FABI/AAAAAAAAAhU/P0o6XeW-yQk/s1600/2013-11-01+12.53.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Q_MTYDf5qM/UnPneK8FABI/AAAAAAAAAhU/P0o6XeW-yQk/s400/2013-11-01+12.53.42.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once a design was chosen, I did the line drawing, scanned it in, and threw in some color to further convey my vision to Chris.</span></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNu6ZFx4MJQ/UnPoVDkswaI/AAAAAAAAAh0/63vdoTZtYm8/s1600/Buffy+Right+Trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNu6ZFx4MJQ/UnPoVDkswaI/AAAAAAAAAh0/63vdoTZtYm8/s320/Buffy+Right+Trial.jpg" height="320" width="197" /></span></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNu6ZFx4MJQ/UnPoVDkswaI/AAAAAAAAAh0/63vdoTZtYm8/s1600/Buffy+Right+Trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGtGVmgeogs/UnPneyZ90DI/AAAAAAAAAhY/gvZwwJ3Fd7w/s1600/2013-11-01+12.54.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGtGVmgeogs/UnPneyZ90DI/AAAAAAAAAhY/gvZwwJ3Fd7w/s320/2013-11-01+12.54.17.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></span></a></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGtGVmgeogs/UnPneyZ90DI/AAAAAAAAAhY/gvZwwJ3Fd7w/s1600/2013-11-01+12.54.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a><br />
<br />
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</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNu6ZFx4MJQ/UnPoVDkswaI/AAAAAAAAAh0/63vdoTZtYm8/s1600/Buffy+Right+Trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Chris had stipulated that the genie not be demonic or scary, and so we
settled on this kind of face and expression:</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RXZs0d1h_JI/UnPng3iuvXI/AAAAAAAAAho/-3i5C339L14/s1600/2013-11-01+12.55.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RXZs0d1h_JI/UnPng3iuvXI/AAAAAAAAAho/-3i5C339L14/s320/2013-11-01+12.55.24.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R4SkhKc6TiY/UnPndMKg2wI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/DrdWbp6_-Tk/s1600/2013-11-01+12.54.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R4SkhKc6TiY/UnPndMKg2wI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/DrdWbp6_-Tk/s320/2013-11-01+12.54.32.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I redrew the line drawing,
scanned it in, and then the painting began. I use Corel Painter, which is an extraordinary
program. One of
many great things about Painter is that you can combine mediums such as pencil,
water color, and pastel with oil paints, which you’d have a difficult to impossible
time doing with traditional media.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By this stage, Chris had decided
she wanted a wraparound cover, so I extended the drawing to the left. The book
designer was, of course, involved at various stages along the way as we took
various aspects such as title and byline placement into consideration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since gold was going to be a predominant
color in the painting and would provide warmth, I laid down a gold gradient on
the lowest layer (which you’ll note in the image below), with the highlight behind
where the genie would sit. On top of this (but under the pencil layer), I began
an underpainting, throwing in the basic tones and colors. (I have found <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Painting-Complete-Beginner-Carlyn/dp/0823099369">Digital Painting for the Complete Beginner</a></i>
by author/illustrator <a href="http://www.carlynbeccia.com/">Carlyn Beccia</a> invaluable as I have learned to use this program.
The book is equally weighted toward those who prefer to paint using Photoshop.)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XsUNKQHAzY4/UnPhPJaxoYI/AAAAAAAAAgc/N_IpNldAGWE/s1600/crop3_bak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XsUNKQHAzY4/UnPhPJaxoYI/AAAAAAAAAgc/N_IpNldAGWE/s400/crop3_bak.jpg" height="320" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And from there, it was a process
of layering paint, over many hours, until I achieved the look I wanted. I was
very excited about painting his shimmering pants:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ScvbQdz6hh8/UnPoRAY9UFI/AAAAAAAAAhs/qw8QLSzVnCw/s1600/Mr+Shimmerpants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ScvbQdz6hh8/UnPoRAY9UFI/AAAAAAAAAhs/qw8QLSzVnCw/s400/Mr+Shimmerpants.jpg" height="400" width="230" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Shimmerpants</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Here’s the very blue-green genie before I did warmer glazes on top. Using cool tones allowed me to
give him form without losing light:</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zT1K_JP9D4o/UnPoZQvjaXI/AAAAAAAAAh8/zd-miR_AVJo/s320/genieman.JPG" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="302" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Copyright © Marlo Garnsworthy
2013</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zT1K_JP9D4o/UnPoZQvjaXI/AAAAAAAAAh8/zd-miR_AVJo/s1600/genieman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At
multiple stages of the process, I sought feedback from my critique partner and
my artist mother, who both provided invaluable input. If you’re
serious about illustration or writing, get yourself <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2011/07/community.html">a good, trustworthycritique partner(s) or group</a> who won’t just say “It’s great” but will lay
it on you as it is. So even when you think you might be done…</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLaqtoypOR8/UnPuKfZ5efI/AAAAAAAAAiM/IxTK6ZgMxjk/s400/10.24.13+jpeg.jpg" height="321" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Copyright © Marlo Garnsworthy 2013</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p><span style="line-height: 107%;">…you’re probably not, as some trusted other eyes </span><span style="line-height: 13px;">should</span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> tell you. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13px;">Here is the image ready for cropping and text. YAY!</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TQ8Iach_AhU/UnPha0FXH_I/AAAAAAAAAgo/o4mSaJC75Y0/s1600/Genie+FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TQ8Iach_AhU/UnPha0FXH_I/AAAAAAAAAgo/o4mSaJC75Y0/s640/Genie+FINAL.jpg" height="513" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Final cover illustration for <i>The Genie's Gift</i> by Chris Eboch<br />Image Copyright © Marlo Garnsworthy
2013</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Update:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And here's the cover with text in place:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4qPFdf5EDLg/UyDGbd_w9TI/AAAAAAAAAqw/rdBlT4z1i4A/s1600/final+cover+text.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4qPFdf5EDLg/UyDGbd_w9TI/AAAAAAAAAqw/rdBlT4z1i4A/s1600/final+cover+text.JPG" height="494" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Learn more about Chris's side of the cover design process in the March/April edition of the SCBWI Bulletin. <i>The Genie's Gift</i> is available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Genies-Gift-Chris-Eboch-ebook/dp/B00GLGCZR8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394657521&sr=8-1&keywords=the+genie%27s+gift+eboch">HERE</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And be sure to visit <a href="http://www.chriseboch.com/works.htm">Chris's website</a> and check out some of her other books. I'd also highly recommend <a href="http://www.chriseboch.com/advanced_plotting_109133.htm">Advanced Plotting</a>, which I have found an excellent resource for working out narrative kinks and strengthening story-line.</span><br />
<br />Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-42832666076365144852013-10-29T21:16:00.001-04:002014-12-17T08:47:36.968-05:00The Liberation of the “Shitty First Draft” (or Don’t Get Stuck in the Bog)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in 0.0001pt; page-break-after: avoid;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IkMI2pP3q1E/UnBdcnzZz7I/AAAAAAAAAgI/58tLYEz-L_M/s1600/pelicant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IkMI2pP3q1E/UnBdcnzZz7I/AAAAAAAAAgI/58tLYEz-L_M/s640/pelicant.jpg" height="640" width="409" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
© Marlo Garnsworthy 2013<o:p></o:p></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Years of editing have taught me a great deal about writing, and I’m very grateful for it. But an editor’s path can be a tricky one when it comes to writing her own book. As so many of you who are inclined toward self-editing will know, it’s so easy to get mired in the morass of perfecting each paragraph in chapters one to three, when you really know you should be leaping with abandon though the narrative.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.salon.com/writer/anne_lamott/">Anne Lamott</a>, in <i>Bird By Bird, Some Instructions on Writing and Life</i> (what’s not to love with a title like that?), speaks of the importance of allowing yourself to write “shitty first drafts”:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></i><br />
<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.</i> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Possibly you, like me, have more than one manuscript that has been well and truly stymied before the halfway mark by agonizing over individual scenes (or, more often, sentences) before you have the basic plot down. If one is lucky enough to feel <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2013/10/out-on-limb.html">the rush of love that comes with a new project</a>, one should keep going and not fuss it to death a few steps in. There will be time enough for revision and the subtleties of each phrase later on. Plenty of time to fill in the richer details. Loads of time, in fact, as revision should be at least nine tenths of writing a book. (If you love revision and editing, as I do, that’s great news. But if you’re past the honeymoon phase with your project, or if you never really fell in love in the first place, you’d still be well advised to forge ahead and not edit. You’re already on the edge of a soul-sucking quagmire.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm finding it's very freeing to allow yourself to write stuff that sounds awful (rather like this sentence). I’m taking my own advice on this project I started a few weeks ago, and I’m writing mad wonderful garbage. At least, if I were to read it as an editor, I’d think, “Oh dear, we do have quite a bit of work to do here, possibly starting with the basics of sentence construction, but there’s something special about the story.” But I’m not editing; I’m just getting scraps of scenes down. I’m letting characters say what <u>they</u> want to say even if it’s repetitive or nonsensical right now. I’m catching incomplete impressions, jotting unfinished and ridiculous sentences, and I’m ignoring my spellchecker until the end of each writing session. I’m letting the story reveal itself as I forge about it without stopping<o:p></o:p><span style="line-height: 17px;">—and lo and behold, it is. </span><span style="line-height: 17px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The only time I’m returning to a paragraph is when something additional or better occurs to me <u>in a flash of inspiration</u> as I pass by it. I must admit there have been a few sentences that I have tweaked, but only—and <i>this</i> is the kicker—ONLY when a better way to say something comes to me as part of this naturally energized process, that is, only within the pure flow of inspiration. If I catch myself starting to fuss, I stop and move away from the paragraph or scene. Among <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2011/08/making-traverse-dont-look-down.html">other strategies</a> and <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2011/05/permission.html">even more strategies</a> I’ve discussed before, try simply scrolling through the manuscript or through your notes until something else catches your attention. Turn your focus to another scene altogether, whichever tugs you hardest, and then start writing forward afresh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Your draft might sound like muck, but you’ll be finding your way across the narrative terrain, though possibly chaotically. Sure, you might arrive muddy, disheveled, feathers askew, but you’ll be creating a map, almost by default, which you can later refine and revise. You’ll know the basic way, relatively quickly, and with MUCH more FUN. It doesn't mean you won’t write some dead-ends on your map along the way, because there will be some, of course. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Move on through that mucky, messy, probably non-linear first draft, before the energy and the will to make the journey flee. Before you lose sight of what you really wanted to write about. Before the maps for possible plot-lines are so thick around you, you cannot see your way past them. Before you're <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2013/04/beyond-wall-of-terror.html">afraid to even try</a>. Don’t get bogged down planning the trip and what you might need along the way, or whether you even know where your story is going. Start somewhere (wherever you are is just fine), and just get on your way.</span> <o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Because it’s extraordinary how you tend to get where you want to go, if you keep your gaze fixed on the horizon, stare less at the stuff by the wayside... and just start writing.</span></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-66032742086335827582013-10-22T16:57:00.002-04:002013-10-23T16:42:02.914-04:00Out On a Limb<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BRhlwuTsQyU/UmcOqpB2J-I/AAAAAAAAAf4/PDBMUGTfzOI/s1600/BLOWNAWAYBIRD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BRhlwuTsQyU/UmcOqpB2J-I/AAAAAAAAAf4/PDBMUGTfzOI/s320/BLOWNAWAYBIRD.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b>© Marlo Garnsworthy
2013<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Beginning
another new project has been the very last thing on my to-do list. But phrases
have been whispering in my mind, repeating and growing in number, as I go about
doing other things. While I scramble some eggs or dump out the compost, phrases
have been turning into sentences and racing by me, soon sucking along in their
wake characters and flashes of scenes. I’ve found myself clutching my notebook
at all times (especially between 1 and 4 <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">AM</span>),
pencil to page in sudden, unstoppable bursts in order to capture them before
they slip away. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This
story is the type that comes out all at once, all scattered little pieces
blowing about, beginning, middle, and end all right there just waiting to be
caught and shuffled into place. It’s a powerful feeling, when a story comes at
you in an unbidden <i>whoosh</i> like this.
It makes me chuckle out loud as I write, even though it often comes when I’ve
been thinking about things that are hard. When I’m in it, I wish writing were
always like that; probably, it would be exhausting if it went on too long. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But
it is magical, rare, and powerful, and feels somewhat like falling in love. But
as in any passionate relationship, one comes to the end of that first rush; the
flashes of pure inspiration are starting to hint that they might be slowing
just a <i>little</i>. I haven’t hit the wall
yet, but experience tells me it’s coming. What seemed pure and beautiful has
some warts, and sometimes it’s grumpy or uncooperative in the morning. My mother
talks about the “13-Week Rule” in relationships—the thirteenth week being make
or break time. I’m closer to thirteen days into this story, and I’m pondering:
How do we know whether to commit to further exploring and developing a
manuscript? How do we know when to let go?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes
you have to break up with a project, I’m convinced. Over time, some projects
become, like some relationships, pedestrian, uninspiring, unsurprising,
detrimental to your psyche, and ultimately unworthy of continuing. And
sometimes you just grow out of them. I’m sure most of us have a few manuscripts
like that in the drawer. But sometimes you’re so connected to a project that
your belief in its worth doesn’t alter much over time, even though the project
itself may have its ups and downs, even though you must step away from it now
and then to get some breathing space. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have
you ever broken up with a project? Did you say goodbye amicably, simply lose
interest, or was it a tumultuous separation that left you weeping and gasping?
Did you dive straight into another to replace it? Have you gotten back together
with a project you thought you’d left behind? Do you juggle several at once? Have
you plodded through a literary relationship you dreaded was going nowhere but
had invested too much in to drop? Would you rather take the safe route and
stick with a project you’re sure to handle easily, or would you dare go out on
a limb for the challenge that truly inspires you? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It
can be all too easy to retreat when you find yourself in the weeds. Because if
you don’t really love the project deeply in some way, you’re making an enormous
and somewhat dubious commitment if you decide to marry it despite your
ambivalence. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">So doesn’t making the decision to fully commit to a project come
down to how it makes you feel deep down?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
think creating a truly strong manuscript worthy of submission is like having a
deep, true love: worth sticking with when things go from pure inspiration to
tangled complexity; something you can’t seem to let go of no matter how much
easier it would be to do something less challenging; always worth exploring
just a little bit longer. And it’s something that won’t let you go in return.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">So
if you’re brave, you commit to it (as I’ve decided to commit to this story),
even though you know it will be pure hard work at times, even when you might
not have expected to be writing it, even when you’re not sure how it ends, or
even quite what it is. Because, like falling in love, who knows? </span>How often do you experience something mind-blowing? And isn’t that why we’re
really doing this? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-6263428677160400562013-10-15T22:19:00.002-04:002013-10-15T22:19:34.165-04:00The Sendakify Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="BassSendak 300x231 BassSendak" src="http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/files/2013/10/BassSendak-300x231.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By <a href="http://www.jimaverbeckbooks.com/">Jim Averback</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.slj.com/">School Library Journal</a> posted the fun and interesting results of the <a href="http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2013/10/15/re-sendakify-sendak-project-the-results/">Sendakify Project </a>today, in which illustrators were invited to depict a scene from a Maurice Sendak book in the style of another illustrator. </span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can see the results <a href="http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2013/10/15/re-sendakify-sendak-project-the-results/">here.</a> </span><div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-27376461168310020762013-10-14T10:45:00.000-04:002013-10-14T10:46:47.757-04:00Musical Interlude: Running Through Woodland<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pe0jfZ-Vqlk/UlwCqoQ-VzI/AAAAAAAAAfg/Ar_g8PRQgPc/s1600/1382222_10151587248980771_610738061_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pe0jfZ-Vqlk/UlwCqoQ-VzI/AAAAAAAAAfg/Ar_g8PRQgPc/s400/1382222_10151587248980771_610738061_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by me, in the woods near my home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am heavily into a new story this long weekend, the kind of story that began whispering phrases at me over a week ago, whispers that grew louder and became sentences wailing at me to write them down. A character and a story appearing almost out of the ether. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Writing is most enjoyable, and often more powerful, when it comes like that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, today, a little writing music. Enjoy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/syTZ3N_rggo/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/syTZ3N_rggo&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/syTZ3N_rggo&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-85752195881399393572013-09-30T21:11:00.000-04:002013-10-01T13:37:40.828-04:00He Deflected, She Retorted (aka “He Said, She Said” or "Basic Tips for Writing Dialogue")<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img height="365" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LOzHmfE2ypg/TI-EYCkWnhI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/dVxoKVwFf4k/s400/FAB+Penguin+tintbylf.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Image from <a href="http://ffffound.com/">FFFOUND!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> “Hey
there,” whispered Wordy Bird. “I think it’s time we had a little chat.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Who? Me?”
asked Mr. Flippinflapper. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Yes,
you.” She frowned. “Who else?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He
gulped. “Do you think that’s wise?” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I think
it’s necessary,” said Wordy Bird, leaning in conspiratorially, “even though we’d
both love to avoid it. After all, it’s tricky to talk about—” She snapped her
head away and gazed at the steam wheezing out of the Fluff Factory. It was particularly
pink and puffy this evening. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“You don’t
mean…” His beak slowly dropped open. He grabbed a plate of pickled herrings and
thrust it hard toward her. “Here, wouldn’t you like some? They’re scrumptious,”
he squeaked.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wordy
Bird took a deep breath and swept aside the suspicious looking fish. She slowly
nodded her featherbrained head. “Yes, my dear friend, it’s high time we talked about
dialogue.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dialogue. We all know it’s important. It
connects characters to each other, and gives the interactions between them
life. It makes a scene interesting. And of course, it helps show—not tell—who
each character really is, what they think, and what they feel. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is not intended to be an exhaustive treatise
on what makes great dialogue. It is simply a discussion of some of the very basic
dialogue issues I very frequently encounter while I’m editing and teaching.
What your characters say is up to you. But here are some things to avoid when
you’re writing it, some things that will help you self-edit as you revise and
develop your manuscript.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #76a5af; line-height: 107%;">Identify the speaker
early</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;">, especially in dialogue for young people, not at the
end of multiple sentences of speech. This is especially pertinent when you have
multiple characters in a scene, each of whom might conceivably be speaking. Sometimes,
when there are multiple sentences of dialogue without a dialogue tag, if there’s
any ambiguity about who <i>might</i> be speaking,
I often I assume it is one character and then get an odd little shock to find it
was someone else. It makes me stop and backtrack and readjust. It’s jarring.
You don’t want anything in your manuscript that catapults the reader out of the
story, even for a moment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #76a5af; line-height: 107%;">Avoid verbose dialogue
tags</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"> such as <i>responded,
interjected, inquired, questioned, and queried</i>. Use <i>said</i> most of the time. <i>Said</i>
will disappear into the dialogue, not stick out like the awkward guy at the
party, poking the reader in the brain and saying too loudly, “Hey, did you
know—I am a dialogue tag. No, really, I am. I <i>mean</i> the same thing as <i>said</i>,
but I’m a different word for it! How about that? The laaaaadies <i>love</i> it.” That’s what they always shout
to me, and a lot of editors will agree. The dialogue tag’s primary function is
to just show us who is speaking. Let them mostly sink away into the background.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Avoid superfluous dialogue
tags.</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“But I like pickled herrings,” said Mr.
Flippinflapper. “Especially red ones. You’ll like them, too,” he continued, stuffing
several in Wordy Birdy’s beak. “Won’t you try some?” he asked. “Here,” he said.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second or third or fourth dialogue tags when the same
speaker is still speaking are usually superfluous. You almost always only need
one to identify the speaker near the beginning of his/her speech. The exception
is when the speaker’s manner of speaking suddenly changes dramatically, for
example:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“But I like pickled herrings,” mumbled Mr.
Flippinflapper. “Especially red ones. You’ll like them, too.” He stuffed
several in Wordy Birdy’s beak. “Won’t you try some?” he squealed.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes, you won’t need a dialogue tag at all.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wordy Birdie chewed thoughtfully on the herrings, but something
didn’t taste right. She very discretely disposed of them by coughing daintily
into her handkerchief. “So, as I was saying about dialogue… shall we discuss grounding
it?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #76a5af; line-height: 107%;">Ground Your Dialogue</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #76a5af;">.</span> Let us see what the
characters are doing, with what they are doing it, and where they are as they
speak. Nonverbal communication, such as body language, as well as the
character’s general behavior, and how they interact with their setting and
other characters can give the reader strong cues about their emotional state,
what is important to them, and even what they might be trying to avoid.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 107%; margin-bottom: 8.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is rarely necessary to tell us that Character A
looks at Character B while A is speaking to B. That is implied. It’s only worth
noting if there’s something interesting or remarkable about the <i>way</i> A is looking B while they’re speaking
to them, otherwise just leave the “turning and looking” out. What can be interesting
and important is if a character doesn’t look at the person they’re speaking to.
That can say a lot about what’s <i>really</i>
going on between them, and/or draw attention to whatever is happening around them.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Isn’t this wonderful?” said Wordy Bird,
twirling around in the sunshine. “Aren’t you glad we had this chat?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I am.” Mr. Flippinflapper said, staring long
and hard at the herring. He tossed it over his shoulder. It plopped into the
pond, scattering the floating autumn leaves. “I suddenly feel much better. That
wasn’t so hard after all.”</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wordy Bird watched the bubbles rise to the surface
of the murky water and smiled. “I’m glad you agree,” she said. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-47423445430496565192013-05-15T22:34:00.001-04:002013-05-15T22:34:27.820-04:00Musical Interlude: The Lion's Roar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Al little writing music, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">a little life music.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/h1DBszT2ZqI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8570246320480298881.post-69735745038355143292013-05-06T10:16:00.000-04:002013-05-06T10:18:04.563-04:00NESCBWIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DEqAO6WdHf8/UYe3ojMOonI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/t3FYFXMoxOI/s1600/Phinal+for+upload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DEqAO6WdHf8/UYe3ojMOonI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/t3FYFXMoxOI/s400/Phinal+for+upload.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">My submission for the poster contest.<br />
Poem "Infirm Pachyderm" by Jane Yolen.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"> NESCBWIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you’ve been, you know why I’m squealing with delight. If
you haven’t, then what I say here can’t possibly fully convey how wonderful it
is to spend three days with kid-lit folk, see old friends, meet new ones, and
soak up wisdom, energy, and knowledge from so many esteemed writers, illustrators,
editors, and agents. I return feeling warmed to my core and full to the brim:
with knowledge, with inspiration, and with love for these folk and what we’ve all dedicated our lives to. Full and gushy and overflowing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m also shocked and delighted to be able to say that I won
1<sup>st</sup> prize in the “published” category of the NESCBWI poster
illustration contest. <a href="http://cleverbirdy.blogspot.com/2013/04/beyond-wall-of-terror.html">I’m still shaking my head in wonder</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm also thrilled and excited to say that my wonderful, extremely talented crit partners and dear friends, Dave Bird and Mary Davison, took out 1st and 3rd in in the "unpublished" category, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">including Dave winning the major prize of the R.Michelson Galleries Award. Congrats, guys, I'm so, so proud of you. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lyavAseGTyw/UYe6feLr2VI/AAAAAAAAAdg/igk1xQIDolw/s1600/389038_10151325504940771_20118354_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lyavAseGTyw/UYe6feLr2VI/AAAAAAAAAdg/igk1xQIDolw/s320/389038_10151325504940771_20118354_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z8UWTiFJ2bU/UYe6g80tCpI/AAAAAAAAAdo/l7WYYcs328k/s1600/163515_10151325531220771_657281006_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z8UWTiFJ2bU/UYe6g80tCpI/AAAAAAAAAdo/l7WYYcs328k/s320/163515_10151325531220771_657281006_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thank you, thank you to the incredibly hard-working and dedicated organizers, faculty, and volunteers who make these conferences possible. You are full to the brim
with AWESOME. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Wordy Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02001740030701690611noreply@blogger.com5