OH, THE PEOPLE YOU’LL MEET... at an SCBWI conference. (And a scholarship opportunity!)

Registration is now open for the 17th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City. Have you dreamed of going? What's holding you back? Time, travel, money, fear? Charlie Barshaw is here to share his experience attending a national SCBWI conference, and we'll tell you how you might qualify for a scholarship to cover the cost of the NY conference registration AND airfare.

http://www.scbwi.org/17th-annual-scbwi-winter-conference-in-new-york-2016/

OH, THE PEOPLE YOU'LL MEET by Charlie Barshaw

In the past I’ve emphasized the talent present at the SCBWI national conferences.(http://scbwimithemitten.blogspot.com/2015/02/one-liners-abound-at-new-york-conference.html) The 2015 SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles was no different. From Mem Fox to Kwame Alexander, with agents and editors by the bushel, it was a spectacularly star-studded affair. 

But, keynotes and breakout sessions are only one reason to attend a national conference. Another great reason is the creative community, the people, your peers, who you meet.

Lin Oliver announced that a record 1,173 attendees paid for the conference. Of those, 736 were, as we like to say in the biz, pre-published.

So, more than half of the writers and illustrators at the conference were figuratively in the same boat, and literally in the same ballroom for the opening speech.

Silly me, I forgot the business cards that Ruth had printed and cut for me. (I am, the card proclaims, a writer and literary agency intern.) Almost everyone else I met had one, and I came away, even the introvert I was, with contact information from at least a dozen new creative friends and acquaintances.

It started on Friday morning when I recognized Owen in the registration crowd. He’d been at my a.m. NY round table in February. I’d admired his work, gotten his contact information and promptly lost it. And my brain, usually a rusty trap, gave me his correct name right away. Owen and I would meet several more times over the weekend, and we’ll likely be trading YA manuscripts.

One fortunate encounter happened on Friday night when I participated in a peer group critique. Our mid-grade novel group had me and four other writers, and every single set of pages was uniformly excellent. I met Naz, Tiffany, Eric and Kathryn. Three of them live within driving distance in California and scheduled a date to meet again. Tiffany and I planned to join in electronically, and suddenly I have a new crit group.

Afterwards, outgoing Naz persuaded me to visit the hotel bar, where I paid $13 (!) for a glass of wine and gathered more cards. I met Lori, a YA fiction writer who had written a manuscript about a transgender teen. The story, she said, was semi-autobiographical. That same evening I met writer Jeanette just long enough to snag a card from her, too.

The next day, I sat next to Rhonda, who has a published MG out but was disappointed that her publisher passed on the sequel. However, she had another story in the pipeline and was encouraged at its prospects.

I stood in a long line waiting for Adam Rex to sign my copy of THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY. I talked with Marshalla, in line ahead of me, about schools and plays; she was a NY educator. I asked if I could use her lovely name for one of my MG characters, and she agreed.

At the “Sparkle Party” that night I ran into former SCBWI-MI member Betty Raum, who’s now RA for North Dakota. I also met Virginia, who is the Illustrator Coordinator for the Louisiana/Mississippi region. Virginia also draws the LSU tiger mascot for the school.

I met Stephen on Sunday when we found the last open table for a luncheon. He’s a balloon illustrator and children’s author. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to explore the balloon thing with him.

Molly, who I met in fast-talking editor Jordan Brown’s breakout, might be able to share notes so we can piece together all the great advice he loosed.

I met Carolyn Flores in New York and was thrilled to meet her mother in LA, a children’s writer in her own right. I declined taking Carolyn’s card early on, but accepted her evocative postcard at the signing party on Sunday because she still had a few left.

I met Owen again on Monday before the Intensives when Stephanie appeared. She’s writing YA and opened one of her WIPs with a suicide note.

These are connections. Some will go nowhere, but some will last a lifetime. Owen met up with author Paul Fleicshman after a 30 year absence, and they reconnected in a heartbeat.

There are many good reasons to attend an SCBWI conference, on the national and local level. Perhaps the best reason, though, is for the people you will meet, the networks that may form, the friendships and creative support that will almost certainly result.

Charlie has recovered fully from a stroke which left him unbalanced. He can now walk a straight line and still twist a sentence into knots. He's currently working on his YA and revising his MG, "Nuts" with his new-found LA crit group. 

  

Thanks to Charlie for sharing his experience. Are you intrigued? Feeling more comfortable about attending one of the big SCBWI national conferences? If the expense is holding you back, SCBWI-MI member Shutta Crum has the solution:

http://michigan.scbwi.org/2015/10/12/shuttas-scholarship-solution-to-the-winter-doldrums-is-here-again/

Shutta will pay the full early-bird registration fee for a Michigan SCBWI member to attend. ($425.00) The qualifying rules are listed on the application form posted here and on Shutta’s site. (Deadline to apply for the scholarship is by midnight, Dec. 5, 2015.) SCBWI-MI will reimburse the scholarship winner for the cost of airfare.

We're so fortunate to have such a supportive chapter!

Coming up on the Mitten blog: A Kidlit Welcome, Adding Mystery to Your Writing, Planning a Critique Group Retreat, more Kiddie Litter cartoons, and another Member Spotlight. See you next Friday!

Tips, Pics, and Congrats from the 2015 Homegrown Talent Conference

Conference co-coordinator Jennifer Rumberger is here to share her conference take-aways, but first we want to say congratulations to SCBWI-MI members Dan Burns and Ann Dalman! Dan won the 2016 Michigan Mentorship Award that featured diversity, and Ann was the first runner-up. This award considered picture books, novels or nonfiction manuscripts that were either written by a person of diverse origins or included elements of a multicultural perspective.

Patricia Hruby Powell

The grand prize is a one-year mentorship with Patricia Hruby Powell, a storyteller, author and former dancer. Her most recent picture book, JOSEPHINE, won The Coretta Scott King Book Award, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Parent’s Choice Award, Wall Street Journal’s 10 Best Children’s Books of the Year List, and the Bologna Ragazzi Nonfiction Honor.

We'll catch up with Dan and Ann in another post to learn more about them and their work. 

Here's Jennifer's conference recap:

This past weekend SCBWI-Michigan hosted a Homegrown Talent Conference at Thomson-Shore publishers in Dexter, Michigan. The amazing speakers: Ruth McNally Barshaw, Deborah Diesen, Kelly DiPucchio, Lynne Rae Perkins, Katherine Jacobs, Kathleen Merz, Mary Bigler and portfolio reviewer Wong Herbert Yee (all from Michigan or currently living in Michigan) shared much to keep those in attendance inspired. To help those of you who missed the conference find inspiration as well, below are five tips as you continue to write.

1. Dig deep and figure out why you’re writing for kids.
2. Fall in love with your main character. It’s the best way to make your reader feel something for them as well.
3. Make sure you are committed to your story before going too far with it. If you can’t totally commit, your reader will know.
4. Round characters are a necessity in every good story.
5. The influence our writing can have on today’s children is a power not to be taken lightly.

As you sit down to type that next story or pick up your pen and paper, remember that a community of writers is cheering you on from their own computer or notepad. 

Jennifer Rumberger is a wife and mom of two very active boys. She is an administrative assistant during the day and a children's writer in her free time, which can be at home or at one of her boys' many sports practices (never during games!). She has been published in a handful of children's magazines and her picture book, DUCKLINGS ON THE MOVE, is available from MeeGenius.

Thanks to Pat Trattles who coordinated the fall conference with Jennifer and the many volunteers who helped - what a great event! Here are some photos from the fun, informative, jam-packed day. Thanks to Kirbi Fagan for taking the time to capture these moments.

Co-Regional Advisors Leslie Helakoski and Carrie Pearson kick-started the day with an audience dance.

SCBWI-MI webmistress Deb Gonzales with editors, Katherine Jacobs and Kathleen Merz.

Ready to start the day.

Kelly DiPucchio during her funny, inspirational speech. Bulldogs, Babies, and Bacon: Everyone Has a Story

Perusing the portfolio display

Thank you illustrators for sharing your work.

SCBWI-MI Illustrator Coordinator, Ruth McNally Barshaw led a session for illustrators: Packing the Perfect Portfolio

Nick Atkins, creator of the Homegrown Talent Conference logo, with his wife Ashley.

Save the date! The SCBWI Wild Wild Midwest Conference will be held in Chicago, April 29- May 1, 2016. Five regions are hosting —Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. More info soon!

Our New Featured Illustrator!

MEET DEB PILUTTI

This questionnaire goes back to a popular parlor game in the early 1900s. Marcel Proust filled it out twice. Some of our questions were altered from the original to gain more insight into the hearts and minds of our illustrators. We hope you enjoy this way of getting to know everybody.

1. Your present state of mind?

Pensive

2. What do you do best?

Procrastinate

3. Where would you like to live?

I didn’t grow up in Michigan, but I love it here. I’m also a big fan of Colorado.

4. Your favorite color?

Blue-greens

5. Three of your own illustrations:

6. Your music?

When I’m painting, I like to listen to music with a lot of energy. It can be bluegrass, motown or pop, as long as it makes me feel like moving.

7. Your biggest achievement?

Writing and illustrating a book was a dream of mine for quite awhile, so it felt pretty darn good when it happened.

8. Your biggest mistake?

As George Saunders puts it, “failures of kindness.”

9. Your favorite children's book when you were a child?

Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni

10. Your main character trait?

I’m a good listener.

11. What do you appreciate most in a friend?

Humor.

12. What mistakes are you most willing to forgive?

Unmalicious ones.

13. Your favorite children's book hero?

Piglet.

14. What moves you forward?

Excitement. A deadline.

15. What holds you back?

Fear.

16. Your dream of happiness? 

 

Simple things, like going on a hike or watching a sunset with people I

love being around. Without anxiety.

17. The painter/illustrator you admire most?

Maira Kalman

18. What super power would you like to have?

Telekinesis

19. Your motto?

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” - Pablo Picasso

20. Your social media?

web site: http://www.debpilutti.com

twitter: @dpilutti

instagram: dpilutti

Write What THEY Know: Using Your Character's Passions to Develop Voice (Part 3) by Katie Van Ark

In the first two parts of this series, I wrote about my personal struggles with developing voice and how using my character's passions and backgrounds helped me develop a new voice for one of my own works in progress. Today I'll focus on advice and exercises for your own writing.

First, unless you already have a great deal of personal experience or background in the sport, hobby, or culture, please do your research before attempting to use it as a lens. Like all passionate people, your characters must know their passion inside and out for their voices to be believable. I easily wrote about figure skaters because I was one. When I tried to write from a hockey player's perspective? Toe pick trip. I could write games scenes well enough from the random games I'd glimpsed at the rink. But the only time I'd “breathed” hockey was while pinching my nose on my way to the figure skater's locker room. I didn't know hockey well enough to write that character, so I ditched my toe picks for a few weeks to play in a local women's spring league. I followed the Blackhawks in  the Chicago Tribune sports pages, watched game tape, and studied hockey play books like my own personal championships depended on it. Immersing myself in hockey gave me a greater appreciation for the sport and an understanding about what my character loved about it that not only improved his voice but helped shape the entire novel.

Beware of outside influences that may be spoiling your voice attempts. When I was writing Jonah's voice, my script-obsessed character from part two of this series, Dawson's Creek reruns were great. When I was trying to write my hockey character, I now had a jock who sounded like Dawson. I switched to Friday Night Lights and had a much easier time in my writing sessions. Your reading material can have the same effect.

A great exercise to try is one that author M.T. Anderson calls “emblandishment.” This means taking a section of writing that you love and breaking it down into its barest bones. Consider this paragraph from my novel, The Boy Next Door:

It's not a move he needs more practice with but I let my body arch into his touch all the same. I know how to handle myself on ice, but this isn't ice. This is fire. And soon it's going to be out of control. Gabe doesn't push for anything more than my bra but it's enough for me to realize that I'm not thinking about if this is special and that right now I don't give even a single Axel about forever. When his hands are on me, I feel the same sense of exhilaration I feel just before the top of a split triple twist. I'm soaring and weightless.

What this basically says is this: “I enjoy Gabe touching me enough to stop thinking about if it's a good idea. His touch exhilarates me.” Flavoring it with Maddy's passion for skating, though, brings it to life. Try this out on your own favorite passages that I asked you to find in part one, then look for bare bone places in your own work (as I did in part two) and see what you can do.

            
Finally, don't get discouraged if your search takes awhile. The journey for voice is a new journey with each novel and it has to be. Authors need to get to know their characters, too, and nobody lays everything out on the first date, right? Think about how you bond with another person. We are all unique individuals with vastly different life experiences and interests yet we are drawn together by our shared passions.

I now like to think about my work as cups of tea. I am the canister of loose leaves and I seep a little of my own passions, either existing or new, into each of my novels. And in doing so, I not only give my characters stronger voices but I become more passionate about my writing as well, having infused it with something I love. Brew your own characters' voices by playing up their passions.

Katie Van Ark lives in Michigan with two little girls who love mud, a cat that thinks it's a dog, and a very patient husband. The Boy Next Door, a YA figure skating love story, is her first novel. Visit her online at katievanark.com or on Twitter @kvanark.

Thanks to Katie for kicking off the school year with this three-part series on developing voice. We've had a studious month, and now it's time for some fun. We'll wrap up the month with another round of Hugs and Hurrahs (send your good news to Patti Richards at pgwrites5@gmail.com by Sept. 22nd). In October, Nina Goebel will reveal our new blog banner created by our new Featured Illustrator! I'll miss our delightful summer banner created by Jennifer Scott, but I'm looking forward to a new season.

Would you like to contribute a guest post for the Mitten blog? Read the submission guidelines here.
Have a great weekend!

Kristin Lenz

Write What THEY Know: Using Your Character's Passions to Develop Voice (Part 2) by Katie Van Ark

In the first part of this series, I wrote about my own struggles trying to develop unique voices for characters in first person POV novels and how a friend's comment about how artists see the world a different way made me think about if I could use my character's passions as lenses to help bring out their voices. When I began writing this article, I found an old YA novel I'd started and set aside during my period of writing “laryngitis.” It began like this:

Jonah’s eyes scanned the room for any and all possible exits. How was he going to get out of here? Running away might make him look like an idiot, but maybe that’s what he was. Skip the maybe part.  He was so stupid for letting people set him up on dates. After this many disasters, he should have learned his lesson.

There may be nothing horribly wrong here at first glance, but there isn't anything great either. Jonah could be anybody; all we know about him at this point is that he's having a bad date.

In a later version, I'd tried to find voice by switching to first person and immersing myself in the action:

So school will be no problem, with the uniforms, but outside? I have a lot of blue in my wardrobe, how about you?” Kimmi's voice squeals like markers on a white board. She can't be Kim or Kimmy, either, those names aren't original enough. Go figure that someone obsessed with being different would want us to wear matching outfits all the time so everyone will know we're a couple.

            

“Excuse me, I'll be right back.” I stand so quickly I almost trip myself on the legs of the restaurant table.

I now had less internal thought and more dialogue and action, but I still lacked a fully developed character. Even in first person, I was still using my “authorial” voice. Frustrated, I'd put the work aside.

Now I wondered: would considering Jonah's passions help me find his voice? Jonah had appeared in my first novel, The Boy Next Door, as a bit part so I knew his family was French and he was in the running for valedictorian. I added French phrases and upped his vocabulary choices. But what else was there to this character? Working through my overall story arc, I realized that a mutual enthusiasm for film would bring Jonah and his love interest closer and also let me use a tendency to think through his life scenes as film scenes to help with his voice. The result:

"Espèce de merde. Species of shit. All species of shit. I examine the bathroom window. My six foot frame means I could reach it but it also means that I'll fit through it the day that chickens grow teeth. I slump back against the cool tile of the men's room wall. At least it's quiet in here. The urinals reek of piss but stink way less than what I've just escaped on the other side of that six-paneled door. I pull out my phone and start dictating my latest first date fiasco:

CROWDED RESTAURANT – EVENING

Upbeat music, tables of couples and groups laughing and chatting. Jonah and Kimmi sit at a table in the center.

KIMMI

So we should like totally wear matching outfits so everyone knows we're a couple?

JONAH

???

KIMMI

With the uniforms at school that'll be, like, way easy? But after? Do you like blue?

JONAH

???

Of course, other aspects of this scene have been altered as well. I'm now starting the scene in the bathroom (where Jonah eventually fled in the previous drafts) and this may not be the final draft, either, but as far as voice goes? That's a wrap.

Check back for some practical tips and exercises in Part 3!

Katie Van Ark lives in Michigan with two little girls who love mud, a cat that thinks it's a dog, and a very patient husband. The Boy Next Door, a YA figure skating love story, is her first novel. Visit her online at katievanark.com or on Twitter @kvanark.

Write What THEY Know: Using Your Character's Passions to Develop Voice (Part 1) by Katie Van Ark

My first time at critique group, I soaked up my fellow writers' compliments on my “voice” in my figure skating romance. Though I was new to writing, I'd already heard the art-versus-science debates over this elusive aspect of craft. Well, I thought, I didn't need to worry about if voice could be taught or if it required natural talent. I already had it. Then came novel number two, and my critique partners said: “These characters sound... just like your first characters.”

As I looked back over my draft, I had to agree they were right. I didn't have voice. I'd only given my voice to that first set of characters. Unable to skate competitively myself while pregnant with my first daughter, I'd followed the old advice to “write what you know” and poured out my longing for the ice into The Boy Next Door. Expressions like “see you later, figure skater” and “smooth as ice, that move” had glided onto the page. Now they were back to haunt me like instant replays of a bad fall.

As a reader, I've always been drawn to stories with strong voice and the realization that maybe I didn't have voice after all hit hard. But as a skater, I was used to getting back up. I brushed myself off, deciding that if I didn't have voice, then I was going to learn it. However, I seemed stuck in an ice rut. My MFA program advisor was telling me my newest hero's voice sounded like a girl and the voice muse was ditching practice. (Case in point in these last two sentences, right?)

Then an illustrator friend and fellow SCBWI member, Kathryn Dilley, surprised me at dinner one night with a confession. As a child, she had never thought she could draw until a classmate explained that the skill was all about looking at the world a different way. Kathryn went on, trying to explain how artists see negative space, but her words had sidetracked me: looking at the world a different way. Developing voice was about seeing the world my character's way. My skating lens had given my first characters their voices. Could different lenses help me develop different voices?

Think about meeting people at a party, the way they come to life when you bring up one of their favorite subjects. Miranda Kenneally scored a touchdown using her heroine's passion for football to develop her voice in her young adult romance, CATCHING JORDAN. Jordan confesses her feelings for football in the very first paragraph: “I once read that football was invented so people wouldn't notice summer ending. But I couldn't wait for summer to end. I couldn't wait for football. Football, dominator of fall – football, love of my life.” However, Kenneally also weaves football completely into Jordan's words. How would someone who loves football think about time? Not as after dinner but as “before Monday night football.” Jordan's grass isn't green, it's like “lying on Astroturf, only without the rug burns” and her feeling of emptiness is “a playbook without plays.”

In I'LL MEET YOU THERE, Heather Demetrios used Josh's military experience as a lens for the brief sections told through his perspective while flavoring Skylar's world with her passion for art and specifically collage. And of course passions aren't limited to sports or other hobbies. People are often passionate about their families and cultural backgrounds, and both of these can influence their word choices and tone as well.

In the next part of this series, I'll give you an example of how I applied a new lens to improve the voice in my own work in progress, but in the meantime I'd love to hear about some of the books that have voices you love. Please share!

Katie Van Ark lives in Michigan with two little girls who love mud, a cat that thinks it's a dog, and a very patient husband. The Boy Next Door, a YA figure skating love story, is her first novel. Visit her online at katievanark.com or on Twitter @kvanark.

Thank you, Katie! This article was first published in the Romance Writers Report (RWR) by Romance Writers of America (RWA), and Katie revised it for this blog series.

Wishing everyone a fun holiday weekend and a smooth start to school. We'll see you back here next Friday for Part 2 of Katie's series on developing voice. 

Another round of Hugs and Hurrahs are right around the corner. Remember to send your good news to Patti Richards at pgwrites5@gmail.com.

Cheers!

Kristin Lenz

Things I Learned While Writing a Trilogy by Melanie Hooyenga

I recently published the third book in my YA trilogy, The Flicker Effect, and this release was far more stressful than the previous two. Writing a novel—not to mention publishing it—is a huge accomplishment, and I could have used this advice to avoid unexpected bumps along the way.

Planning to write a trilogy, or already in the middle? I hope this helps!

It’s very very important to keep a character bible.

When I wrote the first book, FLICKER, I hadn’t planned to write a trilogy. It was only after I finished that I realized it had series potential, and I’d neglected to take some very important notes while during the writing process. Case in point: Mid-way through the first draft of the second book, FRACTURE, I couldn’t remember my main character’s last name. I didn’t remember even GIVING her a last name. But since I never kept track of that HUGE detail, I had to skim through ALL OF FLICKER to make sure. Nope, I never called her anything beyond Biz, and her BFF Amelia refers to Biz’s dad as Mr. Biz.

I started a loose guide at that point, but with FADED, the third book, I ran into the same problem. I don’t spend a lot of time naming secondary characters—I often write the first name that pops into my head—so when a new character from chapter three resurfaces ten chapters later, there’s very little to help me recall that person’s name.

It’s difficult to promote books 2 and 3 without giving away THE BIG THING from books 1 and 2.

While working on the back cover copy for FADED, I was faced with this challenge: how do I refer to the BIG HUGE LIFE-CHANGING EVENT that was the climax of the previous book without giving away the ending to those who haven’t read it? You need to hook readers so they’ll want to read it, but for someone who’s never read any of my books, I don’t want them to skim through the descriptions of each one and be disappointed.

My solution? I stuck with vague details that focus on a big event that opens the book, with a few hints of trouble to come:

Biz didn’t think life could get worse after after the tragic events that surrounded her last flicker, but when she accidentally flickers on her eighteenth birthday after doing shots of vodka—she’s forced to face the consequences of her actions in a way she never imagined.

When an anonymous email threatens to reveal her secret, Biz must decide if flickering is all it’s cracked up to be, or if she needs to stop. Forever.

Generic adjectives like “tragic” and phrases like “forced to face the consequences” may not be the most elegant solution, but they allow a glimpse of what’s coming without giving away the ending of book two.

Ending a trilogy is much bigger than ending a stand-alone book.

Concluding a book has always been a challenge for me. I don’t want the ending to be trite or clichéd, or worse, leave readers feeling unsatisfied (well, except for the end of FRACTURE which was definitely a cliffhanger), and I often struggle with finding the perfect way to end a story.

Well, multiply that times a hundred for ending a series. Based on my outline, I was still several chapters from The End when I realized, “Hey, I’m already in the end.” Story lines that started in FLICKER were wrapping up without me realizing it (this is the stuff we writers say that annoys non-writers) so I had to back-track and make sure ALL the loose ends were tucked neatly away. The character arcs from books one and two had to close as well. As my husband teases me: ALL THE THINGS. There was a lot more than I expected, but I’m happy with how it came together.

You’ll both dread and look forward to saying goodbye to your characters.

FADED was published in June and I’ve said goodbye to Biz, Cameron, Amelia, and my new favorite character Quinn. They’ve been with me since 2010 and while it makes me sad to let them go, I’m excited to get to know the characters in my next book. I still need to do character development projects to learn what makes them tick (I know Cally loves to ski, but what’s her favorite subject in school, or her least-favorite food?) and I’m a little nervous I won’t love them the same.

Then again, they say there’s always a special place in your heart for your first love.

Melanie Hooyenga first started writing as a teenager and finds she still relates best to that age group. She has lived in Washington DC, Chicago, and Mexico, but has finally settled down in her home state of Michigan with her husband Jeremy. When not at her day job as a graphic designer, you can find Melanie attempting to wrangle her Miniature Schnauzer Owen and playing every sport imaginable with Jeremy.

Learn more at http://www.melaniehoo.com/ 

Coming up on the Mitten blog: We're heading back to school with a 3-part craft series on Voice, and Patti Richards is collecting your good news for another round of Hugs and Hurrahs. Email Patti at pgwrites5@gmail.com.

Cheers!
Kristin Lenz