Big Sur Writing Workshop

I spent this past weekend at the Big Sur Writing workshop, sponsored by the Henry Miller library and the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. We met at Big Sur Lodge in Big Sur, Calif.

After three years spent retrenching and concentrating on craft, I'd hoped this workshop - with its emphasis on small critique groups headed up by an editor, agent or author - would be worth the effort. Before registering, I spent some time online trying to find reviews online and found a few. But they were all several years old so I'm writing this post as a review for those of you considering signing up in the future.

The short answer: if you have a completed MS and write any form of kid lit, go for it.

Here's why:

My goals were simple: to get feedback on the latest draft of my MS and to connect with new beta readers. The workshop's schedule included two critique groups that met twice. There were four of us in my first group - led by ABLA agent Jennifer Laughran - and five of us in the second, led by ABLA executive agent, Laura Rennert.  (There were more than a dozen staff, and a total of 72 writers. Each group had 4-5 writers which guaranteed 20-30 minutes per writer for feedback. Writers were grouped by what they wrote - PB, MG, YA - and the writing sample submitted at registration.)

Both were very helpful. The calibre of writing in each group was great. This wasn't a workshop made up of newbie writers - most were capable and knew the fundamentals of craft. Everyone in my group got precise feedback and suggestion on how to make their story better. At the second meeting, several chose to present their revised chapter. There were all YA writers in both my groups, although I heard that MG and PB made up some mixed groups.

In between group meetings, there was time to revise, as well as agent and editor panels, and a presentation on structure by one of the coaches. Big Sur Lodge provided amazing meals, and the setting - in the redwoods just beyond gorgeous Big Sur coastal stretches - was gorgeous. I took a hike Saturday afternoon to the beach to digest feedback and plan my next revision. We stayed in cabins - my roomie was a talented illustrator from Brazil - and got to know other attendees during cocktail hours and meals.

As an introvert, it was so fun to go to a gathering and know everyone there wants to talk about the same things I did. There was such variety in what people were writing, and we totally steamed up the dining room windows at the lodge each evening with all our talking. We were each other's "people" and it definitely showed.

I came away from the workshop with the names of several people who want to swap pages, several revision goals, as well as an idea of whom I'd like to submit to at ABLA when the time comes. All the agents there were accessible, friendly and very willing to dive into critiques. And it was enjoyable to get to know them - beyond their work personas - at meals.

Happy to be here

Lately, I've been house hunting.

This is our tenth year living here and we're thinking we'd like a bit more privacy. We live in a subdivision now, with great views, lots of neighborhood kids, big yards, and a good location. ZERO privacy, tho. And with some gigantic houses being built on the bluff above us, we anticipate even more people staring at our backyard.

So I've been trolling the Internet, hoping for the perfect place, location and price. Needless to say, I haven't found it.  Let me clarify. *clears throat*  I haven't found a place I'm willing to afford. The houses are too expensive, too far away, too small, too big, too ugly, etc., etc., etc. The more I look, the more I realize how fortunate I am.

And this brings me to my writerly point (which you knew was coming). Full disclosure here: I've been on submission a total of five times. FIVE. This last time came really close, but still...I didn't sign. When it became clear my beloved sub was getting trunked, I wondered whether it was worth continuing this frustrating little hobby of mine. Pretty much everyone I started out blogging with over the past 3-4 years has sold or self-pubbed - either way, their work is out there and they're building their brand, engaging readers and going on with the business of being an Author.

Yet here I sat, typing away like a demented hermit who talks to herself continually and laughs at her own jokes while crickets chirp in the background. My wheels are spinning, spinning, but I'm going nowhere.

And then I read this awesome post by Robin LaFevers. It changed my perspective entirely. And I started looking around at all those Authors - who have as many, if not more, challenges than I have in this writing life - and realized how fortunate I am.

Don't get me wrong. One of my goals is to sign a pub contract but it's just ONE of my goals. As the years have passed, that goal has gotten farther and farther down the list. Every time I walk into the library, I see all those shelves of books written so hopefully years or decades ago and I realize that even if I get a deal, my book will sit there, too. Gathering dust. No amount of angst I feel now will change its ultimate fate.

Stories come from life - they are not life. There's no plateau of "success" in Author-Land, partly because success is defined so many ways.

Any day that I make a positive difference in my students' lives, or create a memory with my kids, or complete a difficult task or share a quiet moment with my husband, or take a nice long hike in the mountains, is a success. Any day I manage to type more than 100 words that are somewhat cohesive..and then get edited out later...is still a success because I got to do what I (still, hopelessly) love.

I'm in the valley of my writing journey. The view isn't that great and the hiking is sometimes lonely. Which means there's nobody around to please but me.  The narcissist in me delights in the fact I am the most important person in this valley (unlike every other part of my life.)

 So I'm dawdling along the path, throwing off my pack and napping in the sun... in no hurry, just happy to be here, in this house I've made mine.

Happy 2014 and WIP news

Happy New Year! It's the year I've been counting down to since 1996 - and one I never thought would really arrive - and here we are. The year my oldest graduates from high school. *blinks rapidly* How did I get so old?



Anyway, in between teaching, hockey, volleyball, Battle of the Books, more hockey, house cleaning, shopping, and general life stuff, I managed to finish a draft of a WIP that's totally out of my comfort zone. It's a fantasy with dystopian elements...and a lot of fun. One thing I've noticed about YA lately is there's very little sense of humor involved. Everyone takes themselves so seriously.





Which I get is a teen thing but c'mon. If there's one time in life when you need a sense of humor, it's when you're a teenager.



Anyway, I'm almost to the point where I need a reader. I realize probably nobody is left reading these posts out there but if there is someone who has some time to be a first reader, please message me. The blurb is under 'WIPs in my life' if you're interested.

 I'm open to swapping pages and I do hereby swear to be less like this:




And more like this:



when I'm critiquing. (This is actually my one-and-only New Years' resolution, in response to the many critters who never speak to me again after receiving my crits.)

Have a great winter/spring!

Vanished

I am the donkey.



Have a great 2013-14 school year!

What I Did This Summer

Tomorrow I go back to the classroom. I can't believe summer is over but here in Alaska, August is generally when the clouds roll in and the temperature drops. We haven't had termination dust yet but it's only a matter of time.

My summer highlights:

Got a new wood floor in our house

Turned a nice shade of brown and peeled a few times

Grew a bodalicious garden that is keeping me hopping picking, preserving, weeding and freezing

Watched my youngest child grow two inches

Replaced our deck 

Visited several colleges with oldest child and began to feel panic over Last Year At Home

Found an agent for my YA mystery

Read this awesome ARC: Red Rising by Pierce Brown, which comes out in Feb. and is MIND BLOWINGLY AMAZING

Wrote a semester's worth of curriculum for this fall

Began a revision for my YA sports contemporary

Visited six states in the Lower 48, plus a Canadian province, and nearly melted in Washington DC

Lolled on the beach

Lolled on the couch reading everything I could get my hands on. (I won't reveal how many books I read...it is embarrassing.)

And now, it's back into the fray!! I can't wait to meet my students, to invest in their lives and watch them grow, and meet all the challenges this next school year holds.

What are your summer highlights? Have you read anything great lately? 

Friday funnies - Aug. 2

It's August already!! Where did this summer go? I have to go back to school in less than a week. *sob*

Found this one captioned: Authors awaiting replies from
the publishing industry (actually, it said agents but I think it applies across the board.)

Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/279293614364460552/

When Chuck Norris is your teacher:




Last words...

Source: http://bizarrocomics.com/2013/07/28/last-words-2/

Simon's Cat has reached 2 million subscribers. And this was the one that started it all: 

Have a great week!

Friday funnies - July 26

Filed under cutest thing this week:


source: Penkdix Palme/Newstream/SWNS

Cats v. dogs


source: lolcats; http://icanhas.cheezburger.com/

And this, because one of my kids is addicted to Angry Birds:



Source: fanpop.com


And finally, Kay & Peele's take on those reality chef programs:

Have a great weekend!

Friday funnies - July 19

And another from Simon's cat - do check out their site: www.simonscat.com

And the always hilarious: Convos with my 2 year-old daughter.

Have a great weekend!

Summer update and the new non-schedule

We have returned! Sun-burned, slightly fatter and a bit morose at facing the last few weeks of summer. I'm back in the classroom on August 8 but planning for next year begins much earlier...in fact, I'm already obsessing about schedules, curriculum, field trips, etc.

But FIRST: an announcement. Last month I signed with agent Marcy Posner of FolioLiterary Management for my YA mystery set in Alaska. She's incredibly experienced and has a lot of enthusiasm for this story. I can't wait to benefit from her awesomeness.

You're probably thinking: wait. What? You have TWO agents? Si. Deux. One-two.

Well, how will this work? you may ask.  Who will get what?

To which I say: I have no idea. We'll take it one story at a time.

Speaking of the business-of-writing, signs point to next year being a particularly challenging one for me, both professionally and personally. Between work, family and my writing goals, it's clear I'm not going to have time to juggle this blog as well. I will attempt to keep up with Friday funnies but there will be weeks when I cannot. I LOVE visiting all your blogs and keeping up with everyone's news, but I'm resuming lurker mode...with TWO exceptions.

One: I will eventually need beta readers for my newest WIP, a YA sports contemp about an elite diver attempting to qualify for the Olympic trials. It's waiting on a revision but it'll be ready for eyes eventually. I'm happy to swap as long as you 1. have a thick skin because this isn't your first MS and 2. it isn't more than 90K and 3. you aren't in a big hurry. 4. it isn't paranormal. I especially love mysteries, thrillers, adventures and anything set in a foreign land so if that sounds like your MS, send me an email at rewrighter (at) gmail (dot) com.

Two: if your book birthday is nearing, drop me a line. I'm happy to promote as best I can! We need to stick together! I'll continue to promote books I love on GoodReads - if you use that site, be sure to friend me, okay?


Happy summer,

Going away...

We're flying away today for several weeks in the Lower 48, where I plan to be pretty much unplugged.
Enjoy summer!

See you in July or so,

Friday funnies - June 7

Have a great weekend!

Friday funnies - May 31

Have a great weekend!

Literary fiction must-reads...Alaska style

SO excited to be joining you all for this post on literary fiction reads. I'm late to the party - at education training all this week- but I had to share some of my favorite lit-fiction authors because they're awesome people AND wonderful writers.

First up is Eowyn Ivey and The Snow Child. She combines beautiful language with a fairy-tale retelling in 1920s Alaska. This book has won numerous awards (the U.K. Guardian's best debut novel award, the Indie Bookseller's Pacific Northwest award AND was short-listed for a Pulitzer) and sits on my shelf as mute testimony that a good story well-told will always get attenion. Plus Eowyn is an acquaintance of mine; we live in the same small town and she consented to be interviewed on my blog before she was famous.





Next, there's Heather Lende's If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name. This is the first book of two in Heather's distinctive narrative nonfiction style about her life in Haines, Alaska. Heather is an obituary writer for her town's weekly newspaper, which is an unusual way to build readership but her stories are so unique (think Garrison Keillor only in Alaska) they're addictive. She has a blog at the same address as the link to her name and she posts gorgeous photos of her hometown, plus amusing/poignant vignettes of her life with family, grandkids, dogs and neighbors.

Her second book, Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs continues her story, which is a blend of personal and narrative essays on, among other things, the meaning of life. I HIGHLY recommend both!

Next up is Dana Stabenow who *cough* is technically a mystery writer but her stuff is so Alaskan, I have to include her in this list. I try to grab both her Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell series whenever they're first published because they're so hard to get at our local library. Dana combines crime sleuthing (Kate is a PI; Liam is an Alaska state trooper) with quirky, Alaskan characters that are almost too good to be fiction....and I have a sneaking suspicion after living here for a while that her best stuff is solidly based on fact.   I just finished Bad Blood last week; go here to find a cool map and a video by Dana about this latest tale. Dana lives part of the year in Anchorage and recently donated land to create a writer's retreat for women. Check it out on her site - it would be an awesome place to write!!

Blogger is acting weird today (sorry for the odd spacing!) so I'm signing off now. Look forward to reading your recommends!!

Friday funnies - May 24

Which one are you?





Conversations with a two year-old

Happy Friday!



Have a great weekend,

Friday funnies - May 17

I need this as a poster in my classroom...





Very cool garden sign:






I've seen this one tagged as "cereal killer" which is a bit funnier:





And my favorite this week:


Men have a simulated labor. It kicks their butts.



Have a great weekend!

Knowing when to rewrite

There comes a time when a rewrite -  a complete tossing-away of the original MS - is necessary. In fact, it's been my experience that most successful authors do this at some point. The first draft is the draft you write to get into the world. The first draft is for YOU. Yes, you can revise. Yes, sometimes it's successful.

But more often, it requires multiple revisions to shape a story. I did six revisions before a rewrite of my latest MS. SIX.  Believe me, the idea of a rewrite after all that time and hard work did not make me jump for joy.

So, how do you know when to start over? Here are the four biggies:

1. There's a major plot hole. It could be the villain's motivations (or lack of). It could be the premise is too impossible for readers to swallow. It could be a major character isn't strong enough to carry the action.  Fixing this plot hole will cause your entire MS to shift as if the earth has moved. A revision won't cut it.

2. Readers don't connect with the voice OR the main character is unlikable. Perhaps it's too snarky or removed from the action, or there's not enough deep POV to keep a reader engaged. Perhaps the main character has a flaky personality that doesn't lend itself to overcoming the tension in the story. Either way, this problem is a draft-killer.

3. You have a serious structural problem (aka your pacing is too slow). This is where pantsers realize that outlining isn't optional in certain genres. Pacing is key in any story. Each chapter should build to a peak while still leaving a reader hanging. This is a delicate dance that is akin to brain surgery on a MS. If your draft's brains are screwy, it might be time to jettison your Frankenstein and start fresh.

4. An agent has given you an R&R with instructions that go far beyond a revision. 'Nough said.

If your MS has one or more of the first three, is it worth a rewrite?? That's the million-dollar question, right?
Well if you...

love, love LOVE this story, go for it.

If there's nothing else on the market, or that you've seen queried in contests similar to yours, go for it. 

BUT if you haven't ever:

gotten a request, had anything more than a form reject for a full submission, and if the market is saturated with your premise, it might be time to shelve. Seriously, don't beat a dead horse. Moving on may be the smartest career move you'll ever make.

Hope this helps!

Where I've been...

I've been gone all week so no Friday Funnies - sorry! Instead, here are a few pictures of my trip with the seventh grade class to Seldovia. It's an Alaskan village off the grid - meaning no roads, only ferry and plane service. Although I usually don't share much of my alter-ego teaching life in this blog, not many outsiders get to this part of the state. Enjoy!

My daughter, clamming

Two sea otters. They were playing really loudly in the water.

Leathery sea star

Some of our 7th graders....

A pair of very noisy eagles, staking their claim. It's the start of the breeding season and eagles
were everywhere, fighting over territory.

My daugher and I, getting covered in mud while clamming. We got 62!

Have a great weekend!