Books for Babies = Fun to Write

Guess what I got in the mail this week? My author copies of the books for babies I wrote last year for Woonjin Think Big Company in Korea. It's so exciting to see the final versions with the illustrations!

 

It was a lot of fun to remember back to the experiences I had with my children when they were little and try to put a twist on them. Or to use my memories to create something entirely different and new.

One of the challenges in writing books for children learning English is to include simple phrases and words but also to create an entertaining story.

Have you ever written any stories for very young children?

Cool Blog Quote: Sometimes It's Not You

Today's quote is from a post one of my writing buddies made at MiG Writers on disappointment:
 

"But there are politics, bad timing and subjective judges and sometimes things simply don’t go in our favor. It’s not a reflection of us..."

 Carmella Van Vleet, Grace in the Face of Disappointment, MiGWriters, Monday August 13, 2012.

It's so important to remember that in the writing business, there are a lot of things beyond your control. If you haven't yet gotten where you want to be, it's not necessarily because you've written a bad story or a bad query letter or because you're a terrible writer. It might just be bad timing. So what I can I do to not get dragged down by disappointment?

I can't just have faith that someone will "discover" my talent. I'm going to do everything in my power to reach my goals.

• I'm going to keep writing new stories and sending them out on submission.
• I'm going to keep reading good books and learning from other writers.
• And I'm going to keep learning about how to be a better writer and how to promote myself and my writing in this crazy changing business.

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.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: The Midnight Tunnel

Today’s pick: The Midnight Tunnel by Angie Frazier

Scholastic, 2011

Publisher’s Description:

It is 1905 and young Suzanna works at her family’s inn in Loch Harbor, New Brunswick, where she is trained to be a well-mannered hostess and a charming lady. Suzanna has other ideas for her future, however—she wants to be a detective like her famous uncle, Bruce Snow from Boston, who regularly makes headlines in the newspapers for solving hard-to-crack cases. This summer seems typical enough for Suzanna until a young guest goes missing on a stormy summer night. When no clues turn up, Bruce Snow arrives to solve the case. But Suzanna learns that not everything is as it seems. With a little help from her friends, can she solve the mystery of the missing girl before her uncle gives up?

Fast-paced, absorbing, and wonderfully rich, The Midnight Tunnel: A Suzanna Snow Mystery is sure to keep readers following the clues until the case has been solved.

My take:

It can be hard to find a good middle grade mystery so I was happy to find this one. Even though it takes place in the early 1900’s, I could relate to the main character and girl detective Suzanna Snow. Her determination to solve the mystery kept me reading. The novel moves along at a good pace, and I liked the tension between Suzanna and her friends Lucy and Isaac, and her cousin detective-in-training Will. There are a few quirky hotel guests and lobster fishermen too, and a big change in Suzanna’s thinking about her idol and uncle, a famous detective.

I loved the way the setting was so integral to the plot and I could picture myself visiting the dewy field of wildflowers, the secret tunnel to the servant’s house, the musty attic storage room or the land bridge to the island that is only exposed during low tide. As a writer, I’d look to this novel to remind me how to bring the setting alive for my readers.  

 Favourite quote:

“I wanted to write down everything that had unraveled so that I would never forget each detail…”

Other info:

Angie Frazier lives in New Hampshire. The Midnight Mystery was inspired by a visit to the historic Fairmount Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, Canada.

According to the author’s blog, Suzanna is “the me I wanted to be when I was 11 or 12. Writing her character and stories is such a treat.”

Angie Frazier gives a honest perspective on self-promotion in The Importance of Making Hope Happen over at Adventures in YA & Children’s Publishing, December 14, 2011.

Other books by this author include:

The Mastermind Plot (A Suzanna Snow Mystery), 2012
The Eternal Sea, 2011  (YA)

Everlasting, 2010 (YA)

For more, visit Angie Frazier’s website.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was dreamed up by the amazing Shannon Messenger. Visit her blog for an up-to-date list of all the bloggers who are participating and posting about middle grade books today!

Cover Reveal: An Infidel In Paradise

There's big news this week for one of my crit buddies! There's a cover!

Susan Laidlaw's novel, An Infidel in Paradise, is being published by Tundra Books and comes out in February 2013. Here's her exotic-looking cover:

And her blurb from Amazon:

Set in Pakistan, this is the story of a teen girl living with her mother and siblings in a diplomatic compound. As if getting used to another new country and set of customs and friends isn't enough, she must cope with an increasingly tense political situation that becomes dangerous with alarming speed. Her life and those of her sister and brother depend on her resourcefulness and the unexpected help of an enigmatic Muslim classmate.

Susan is an awesome writer and I'm so-o-o excited for her! Congratulations, Susan!!

Learning from WriteOnCon 2012 - Part 2

After Day 2 of WriteOnCon, I feel as though I've learned as much as I would at an in person conference.

There was lots of great info for writers of middle grade books in the Industry Pro Panel with Agents Katie Grimm & Sarah LaPolla, & Editors Sara Sargent & Allison Weiss. A couple of tidbits:

From Sarah Sargent, Editor: Writing Girl MG is harder than writing boy MG.

From Katie Grimm, Literary Agent: There's a huge difference between elementary school (ages 9-11) and middle school (ages 12-14).

And from all the panelists: They see a lot of stories about dogs, baking and kids sent to live with oddball aunts.

Another great presentation for writers of middle grade was Differences Between YA and MG (for the Writer Who Does Both) by author Claire Legrand. Here's a sampling:

From Claire Legrand: Make sure middle grade characters aren’t too perceptive or aware of what they’re feeling, because it makes them seem too mature for their age.

There's lots more, but the transcripts are all there, so when you have a chance, you should check it out!

For my take on Day 1 of WriteOnCon 2012, see Learning From WriteOnCon 2012 - Part 1.

Learning from WriteOnCon 2012 - Part 1

I've been hanging out at WriteOnCon and it's amazing! This is the first time I've had a chance to browse the forums and attend live events while the conference is actually running (though one of the great things about WriteOnCon is that all the transcripts remain up so you can visit them anytime).

My writing notebook is bursting with great tips that I can hardly wait to try out in my own writing. Here are a few things I've picked up from Tuesday's session:

It's great to have a blog because it can be a hub for all your social media. From Meredith Barnes in How to Get Started With Social Media: DON’T Do All The Things! by Publicist Meredith Barnes.

Characters are what makes a novel stand out. From Daniel Lazar in Literary Agent Daniel Lazar Talks All Things Publishing.

Strong friendships are important in middle grade fiction and it might be a good idea to make it clear that your main character has an ally in your query letter. From Peter Knapp in a Live Pitching Event with Literary Agent Peter Knapp.

For more tidbits from WriteOnCon, see Learning from WriteOnCon 2012 - Part 2.