Podcast Picks for Writers - September 2015 (including podcasts with Laura Backes, Katherine Applegate, and some great info on pacing)

Since I missed posting my podcast picks for August, I’m including a couple of extra ones today.

How Do I Control the Speed of the Story? – Writing Excuses 10.32

How Do I Control the Reader’s Sense of Progress? – Writing Excuses Episode 10.24

Description:

The Writings Excuses crew divided the concept of pacing into two parts, “sense of progress” and passage of time. “We discuss the tools we use, some of which are very mechanical (scene breaks, chapter breaks) and some of which are quite intricate, and require finesse to get right.”

My thoughts:

Such useful discussions on a hard-to-get right aspect of fiction writing. I will be listening to these more than once.

What’s So Great About the 500 Word Picture Book? An Interview with Laura Backes – Brain Burps About Books Episode #241

Description:

Katie and Laura discuss The Picture Book Summit, how Laura became an editor, what it’s like to write a rejection letter, why age is an advantage in your writing, and how picture book readers are more sophisticated today than in the past, among other things.

My thoughts:

I’ve heard a lot about Laura Backes and I was happy to learn more about her and her career. I was especially interested in her insights as to why editors prefer shorter picture books at present and what children experience when reading shorter picture books.

Laura Backes: “…shorter texts lend themselves to more sophisticated stories.”

John Corey Whaley– This Creative Life Episode 45

Description:

Charlie Kaufman and Sufjan Stevens, inspiration vs. discipline, being “Corey” vs. being “author John Corey Whaley”, the upside of being a process-hacker, the difference between normal jobs and writing, imposter syndrome, movies, identity crises, and why we write and the fear of losing it. Yes, John Corey Whaley and I covered it all in this episode of This Creative Life! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did – I think you will.

My thoughts:

I found this conversation really interesting, especially the discussion about how his “follow up book” didn’t turn out to be the right one for publication.

John Corey Whaley: “Sometimes a writer needs to write something for him or herself.”

Katherine Applegate – Let’s Get Busy Episode 190

Description:

Katherine Applegate (@kaaauthor), author most recently of Crenshaw, published by Feiwell and Friends (@FeiwelFriends), and recipient of the Newbery Award in 2013 for The One and Only Ivan, stops by to talk about considering sound more than plot, a sophisticated and charming way to deal with things, and finding just the right word.

My thoughts:

I'm a big fan of Katherine Applegate's books, so I enjoyed hearing her talk about writing and especially her recent middle grade novel, Crenshaw. I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to doing that soon.

Katherine Applegate: “I loved…just finding the right word.”

Podcasts for Writers: On Writer's Block and On Revision

1) A quote from a useful discussion about the myth of writer's block:

 

“When your fingers are moving, your brain is working.”

Shirley Bahlmann, The Myth of Writer’sBlock with Shirley Bahlmann and Heather Ostler, Author’s Think Tank, Episode #11

The idea behind this quote is brilliant.  Even if you start out writing junk, your brain is working and is going to kick in and start producing something useful (and then you can go back and delete the gibberish). So to get past a place where you’re stuck, you just start writing anything, even something unrelated to what you want to work on.

Author’s Think Tank describes themselves as:  A think tank of authors helping each other reach their potential. Their site has a blog with writing tips and information, as well as a series of podcasts. I only discovered this site recently and have been enjoying catching up on their podcasts.

2) Here's a podcast about revision that has given me a lot to think about, especially in terms of my goals for my story and characters.

“It’s often useful to write out what you want the reader to feel about the character…that doesn’t always come through on the page.”

Cheryl Klein, Revision Techniques I by Cheryl Klein and James Monohan, The Narrative Breakdown.

Cheryl and James discuss some of Cheryl's strategies for helping writers revise, including writing "intention" letter about the story, making a book map and using character charts. I've heard about some of these techniques before and they are also in Cheryl's book, Second Sight, but it was great to think about how they apply to what I'm currently writing. This is a podcast episode I'd probably listen to again from time to time.

 

 

New Agent for MG and YA...Plus Writing This Week

In case you missed it, Tara Gonzales, a new agent at the Larsen Pomada Literary Agency, accepts submissions for picture books, middle grade and young adult works. For more details, check out Introducing Agent Tara Gonzalez over at Kris Asselin's blog.  

How was your writing this week? Sometimes when I’m working on my own writing, it's like I'm a magnet for new strategies and ideas that I don't really have time to try out. This week I ended up with lots of ideas and fuel for my own writing. Here are a few of the things that caught my interest:

1) James Scott Bell at the KillZone on How to Work on More Than One Book At A Time.

I'm always on the lookout for ways to get more writing finished. After reading this, now I’m determined not only to make sure I finish at least one scene of my work-in-progress every day (my latest middle grade novel) but also to spend a little time working on a different project (even if it’s only doodling in my notebook while I watch TV).

2) People Who Are Not Like You by author Patricia C. Wrede, on how to write characters that are not like yourself.

It’s much easier to assume a character has some of your own background and experiences. I realize I need to examine my characters even more closely to make sure the non-me parts are believable.

“The greater the differences between the writer and the character, the more aware the writer has to be of how the differences affect everything else in the character’s life.”  

3) Since my new not-yet-started project has some fairytale elements, I found the latest Writing Excuses podcast on Retellings and Adaptations so useful I listened to it twice. I especially liked the idea of playing around with a plot that already works to create a new story.

 

Did you come across anything that gave you a new perspective this week?

 

Three Favourite Writing Podcasts

Continuing with the theme of favourites this week, I'm highlighting some great writing podcasts that have given me a lot to think about while cleaning my house, walking my dog or being a Mom taxi.

Writing Excuses - Since I discovered this podcast earlier this year, I've been hooked. This team of writers discusses different aspects of writing in a short podcast with minimal self-promotion or advertising. This is my top pick for writing podcasts.

The Creative Penn - Joanna Penn's podcasts come from her own interests and desire to learn more about the writing and publishing process. It's been interesting to follow her progress with her own books and to be reminded that writers need to take charge of their own careers.

Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors - K.M. Weiland gives lots of great writing tips and resources, which often give me an idea I can use in my own writing.


Other interesting writing podcasts:

Narrative Breakdown from editor Cheryl Klein and video editor and director James Monohan

Brain Burps About Books from children's author Katie Davis

And one I've heard about but haven't tried out yet:  Dead Robot's Society

Agent and Podcast News for Kidlit Writers and Illustrators

As I clean my house today, I'm listening to fellow MiG Writer Debbie Ridpath Ohi, illustrator of I'm Bored, being interviewed by Katie Davis on  her podcast, Brain Burps About Books. Debbie and Katie give some great advice for picture book illustrators as well as general advice for writers in How Do You Win an Award, Find a Literary Agent, and Get a Book Published? Get Rejected First!


I also heard about a new agent, Fiona Kenshole, specializing in children's books. According to recent blog posts, some of her interests include:

• middle grade adventure stories 
• animal stories (talking or real)
• real children in an unreal world
• funny novels
• realistic, younger YA

Podcasts and Pinterests for Writers

I've mentioned before that I enjoy listening to podcasts about writing while I'm cleaning or being a Mom chauffeur.  So recently I was happy to discover another writing-related podcast (not sure how I missed it - I really do have to get on Twitter one day):

The Narrative Breakdown is by editor Cheryl Klein and video editor and director James Monohan. They discuss storytelling tips and techniques. It was interesting hearing them discuss scene construction using examples from movies and books.

If you want to learn more about the podcast and how it came about, check out Narrative Breakdowns, Muggles Editing, Getting a Job, Overseas Travel, and Lovely Links over at Brooklyn Arden.



Also this week I came across author Kate Messner's Pinterest board What Revision Looks Like. I haven't had time to do much poking around here, but there are author interviews on revision, revision tips and even examples of marked up manuscripts. I haven't read her book, Real Revision, but I'd like to one day. I hear it's useful to writers as well as teachers.

The Importance of Story

If you're looking for a good writing-related podcast, I recommend checking out Joanna Penn's interview with Lisa Cron, author of Wired for Story, over at the The Creative Penn.

Lisa is so enthusiastic and passionate about her views, it's inspiring! I love thinking about how our brains interpret the world in terms of story.

It puts a picture in my mind of how my kindergarten students calm down and are instantly attentive when I pull out a good book and start reading. I've ordered Lisa's book and I'm going to be thinking about how to apply some of her ideas to my writing and to my teaching.

I especially liked her thoughts on "show don't tell" and how showing isn't effective if the reader hasn't been shown WHY the character is reacting. For me, that means showing the right events to explain a character's frame of mind and reasons for acting a certain way, not just using actions to show an emotion.

Staying Fit While Writing

This week I read several blogs that got me thinking about my approach to exercise (I don't) and how to incorporate more fitness into my already packed day. If it comes to a choice between using my time for writing or taking a walk, writing usually wins. But since it's September and I'm working on my new fall goals, I've included getting more exercise.

My philosophy is that ANY amount of exercise is better than none. I don't plan on running marathons or anything. Although even I have to admit that playing Wii Fit is pretty feeble. (Hey, there are fitness benefits. I read a study.)  And much as I'd like to point out that climbing stairs while carrying a full load of laundry is working my muscles, it's more part of ordinary activity than fitness.

What I have figured out is that I can connect exercise to writing. When I go for a walk (all the sane members of my family are watching TV), I bring along my ipod and listen to a favourite writerly podcast. I like Wordplay podcasts (James Dashner, Nathan Bransford and J Scott Savage) and The Creative Penn with Joanna Penn.

What do you do to stay fit? Any good podcast recommendations?