Writing in the Time of Cholera

The lights in my little apartment in the Dominican Republic went off with a click. Black night from the street outside flooded the house and I scrambled for candles and matches like I always do. The power had gone out again, leaving my entire section of the city in darkness -- except for the pale blue light radiating from my tiny laptop screen where I had been working on the second revision of my current YA manuscript.

"Thank God!" I thought, as I lit the candles and set them next to the outline for my manuscript on the darkened table. "Thank God I had the good sense to charge the computer before the power went off! Now I can pump out another chapter here in the candle light before the battery dies. Then I'll charge the computer again when the power comes back on tomorrow. A lack of electricity can't get in my way, not today!"
It's a true tale, and the beginning of my answer to the question many fellow YA writers have been asking me since I let this blog go inexplicably quiet in September of last year. (Sorry about that.) I'm here now, to restart the blog. But here's the story that many of you know and many of you don't know: I took a brief hiaitus from blogging to start a two year stint of humanitarian work on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. That's where I am currently living and writing.

In September, 2010, right after attending the wonderful, annual, 2010 SCBWI Carolinas Fall
Conference, I began a transition from my (day) job in the United States to my current 2 year
committment doing health care work in the countryside of the Dominican Republic.
Realizing that I didn't have time to make this transition, and write my manuscript, and blog all
at the same time, I put the blog on a break. For several months, in Spring 2011, I also had to put my fiction and non-fiction writing on a break, so I could move here in June 2011, learn a new language, get used to a new culture, and orient to a new job. I got a writer-friend to cover my column in the SCBWI Pen and Palette for the summer, (thanks Jenny Murray,) stuck my computer in my suitcase and brought it to theD.R. with me, and put some things in my writing life very temporarily on hold.

But I'm now back with my `butt in the chair,' noveling -- in a different country temporarily, surrounded by a different culture and language - but still attending my critique group meetings in Raleigh via skype, (God bless the Goalies,) writing my SCBWI column and other non-fiction work, and now back to blogging as well. I'm thrilled to be living the good life - doing humanitarian work, which has always been dear to my heart, while working seriously on my writing at the same time!

All of that to say,while I spend my days riding up and down a mountain on a motorcycle,
checking blood pressures, hugging children, and going house to house educating people
on how to stop a minor cholera outbreak that is causing problems here on
the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, I'm also re-awakening writermorphosis.

Stop by here for tips on how to keep your writing career going, no matter where you're living,
as well as various ruminations and tips on YA fiction and nonfiction writing and publishing; details and interviews with fellow SCBWIers who have new agents, new adventures, and new books coming out; and info. on YA events and contests --- all the usual Writermorphosis stuff!

Thanks to all my many writer friends who've kept in touch and kept me on task with
my noveling during this transition. I've missed you guys too! I'm glad to be back on-line with
the blog, and I hope to see many of you at the SCBWI Conference in Charlotte in September!
I'll be here on Writermorphosis, posting at least every 2 weeks -- whenever the electricity is on! : )

SCBWI Carolinas Event a Huge Success!

This past weekend I attended the SCBWI Carolinas Annual Fall Conference, 2010.

It was great to catch up with many old friends and meet some great up-and-coming new children's and YA book authors. Here are a few photos from Friday through Sunday's, action-packed, info-filled event:

Janet and Jo demonstrated the essential items to bring to a conference.

Dial Editor Liz Waniewski signed my old galley copy of Incarceron, a book she brought to the U.S., and a book I highly recommend for those who like steam-punkish YA novels. Thanks Liz! It's brilliantly plotted and written by Catherine Fisher, a multi-published author out of Great Britain.

Liz also taught a great writing intensive on pitching your book to an editor. It was helpful to all and got rave reviews. A job well done!

My friend Alan Gratz (top photo, in suit), author of great books like "Samurai Shortstop," "Something Rotten," "The Brooklyn Nine," and the soon to be released "Fantasy Baseball," gave a great presentation on plotting. I'm sitting at my desk right now Alan, trying to figure out where the "tent pole" is in "Act 2" of my current manuscript. Thanks for all the great tips and examples!

There were great presentations by Nonfiction writer Heather L Montgomery, Agent Chris Richman of Upstart Crow Literary, and many more.

Little Brown Editor Alvina Ling spoke to the Large group about the differences between literary and commercial fiction.

Five members of my critique group, the Goalies, chatted over wine and diet coke at the Gala on Saturday night.

Many Carolina Children's Authors from our region signed their books and chatted at the book tables Sunday morning.

Then, in an effort to make the conference last just one hour longer, a random group of writer friends met up for lunch at Chilis, Sunday afternoon, after the conference ended and it was time to go home. The chips and salsa were great. The company and conversation even better! We even had a few minutes between ordering and eating to check out Maggie's Kindle -- a very educational moment after the waiter took our photo and brought the chips.

Huge thanks to Teresa, Jo, and the entire Conference Committee for planning an amazing event again this year! I thought the presenters were even better than usual. And now... it's back to our manuscripts. Keep in touch, ya'll!

A 12-Year Old's Wisdom for Writers

The other week I took a road trip from Raleigh to D.C. with a bunch of teens and middle schoolers. I'll share more about the trip over the next few weeks here on Writermorphosis. It was a long-planned-for trip, and one of the reasons why this blog has been idle for a month or more. I apologize! But I'm back now, and I've learned some wisdom for writers from my teen and pre-teen friends.

The first thing I learned was from my 12 year old friend David who sat behind my driver's seat reading the 5th book in the Percy Jackson series, while his 11 year old friend Sam sat beside him immersed in Eldest, the second book in the Eragon Trilogy. They passed the time reading as the tree-lined miles of I-95 rolled by outside our car. Impressed by how interested in the stories they were, I asked David if he'd seen the recent Percy Jackson and the Olympians movie, and whether he thought it was better or worse than the book. He marked his page with his finger and glanced up thoughtfully, meeting my eyes in the rear-view mirror. "Um...the movie wasn't bad," he said. "I don't think either one was better or worse than the other. The book is really good. But the movie was good too. They were just really different from each other, but they were both good."

And there you have it, folks. David has noticed something I've noticed too. There are many brilliantly-written books, and many brilliantly written movie scripts that tell the same story in a slightly different way. One is not necessarily more well-plotted or put together than the other. They're just different; different ways of telling the same story.

Movies about books we love can teach us writers many things. But most importantly they teach us about revision.

You see, your book -- the one you love and have slaved over -- and you're world and characters that you have created...they may not have to be just exactly the way that they are right now for your story to be a success.

WHAT?

Yes, it's true. We get attached to our creations. So, when an editor, agent, or writing colleague says "hey, you know, I'm just not sure that such and such particular aspect of your story is working as well as it could be..." we get frustrated. We want to stand our ground and say "you don't understand. If she doesn't wear the gingham shorts to camp, then when the boys later steal her shorts and fly them from the flagpole, it won't make any sense that I've titled the book `Gingham! It's integral to the plot!"

But really, ladies and gents, sometimes changing your character's ethnicity, or hair color, or hobbies, or choices can strengthen your story. Sometimes `gingham' maybe shouldn't even be the name of your book. Change isn't always bad. And our first instinct isn't always right. The beauty of fiction -- whether in screenwriting or novel writing, is that we authors control it, we build it -- and we can change it. Because changing our stories is painful, but it's also powerful. One story can be tweaked to go in various directions, like a chameleon that remains always the same animal, but that fits beautifully into different places depending on the color it chooses to be at that time. So don't be afraid to re-write that chapter or character or scene several different ways to see which one you like the best. Don't be afraid to change your chameleon.

As 12 year old David might say, none of your plot twists, character sketches, or theme ideas are necessarily better or worse than the others. It could be that "they're all good. They're just different."

Let's not be afraid to look at all of our options. Even it that means turning our stories a bit sideways.

The Writer's Tree (A place for us in the writing profession)

The other day a critique buddy of mine shared her excitement about her plans to attend her first SCBWI Summer Conference in LA this year. She's got a completed novel manuscript that's caught positive attention from editors at regional conferences. She has an active blog that's frequented by writers from across the nation. And she's known and loved by many people in her local SCBWI region. But after saying how glad she is to be going to the big conference filled with "actual, really famous authors," she added, "my plan is to just listen and learn and try to look like I fit in."



Why is it that it is so hard for us writers to ever feel that we've done enough and achieved enough, to "belong" in this profession?



Is it the fact that you can go into any coffee shop, in any town, in almost any country, and find at least 3 or 4 people who purport to be `writers,' there?


Is it because there's not necessarily a degree that's required for this profession? (Although we know that more and more writers are getting MFA's -- still many are not).


Is it because most everyone in the world has toyed with the idea of writing their own autobiography, or perhaps a few stories for their grandchildren, and therefore people don't belive you're "a real writer" until you've published at leaste a couple of books and been able to quit your day job and move away from civilization into a log cabin in the woods to write. (An unlikely scenario for most of us).




Probably it's partly the fault of all of these things. But perhaps it's also caused by our own lack of believing.



At any SCBWI event we attend we find experienced authors who have published multiple books, but who still stand there welcoming the newer ones of us with open arms. It is not that we "can't" belong, but rather that we think we're not qualified YET....



But, I think, that writing is like any other profession. We start out on the bottom rung of the ladder, or the bottom branch of the tree, and we work our way up, one educational achievement, or "failure," or "success" at a time."



So, it's not so much that "we're in," or "we're out," but rather that we're all on different branches of the tree -- we're all at different spots in the journey. And just because we haven't reached the big nest of best selling authors at the top of the tree, it doesnt' mean we're not in the tree. We're climbing upwards, towards the nest, bit by bit.



So look at those wonderful multi-published authors waving down at you from the top of that tree. And then look below you at the branches you've already passed in your climb.



Check out the branches. Some you've climbed past already. Some are the ones you're reaching for now. But if you're serious about your writing, wherever you are in the tree, you belong here. Happy climbing! Don't let the sap and the tree ants get in your way.



Branches:

Can you say I have...

• become an active member of a critique group
• been writing, revising, and submitting my work to agents and/or editors
• gotten at least 5 rejections, and I'm still climbing, dude...
• attended one or more children's writing conferences
• placed high in a writing or illustrating contest.
• gotten published in magazines with short fiction, non-fiction, or illustrations
• gotten positive feedback from editors/agents/or more experienced authors at conferences
• gotten a positive rejection from an editor or agent
• had an editor or agent request my full manuscript -- whether they decided to buy it or not.
• started a writing blog or website and maintained it
• established a regular schedule for my writing time
• "got" an agent or an editor
• sold a book!!!
• did a public reading or book signing
• spoke at a conference or taught classes for newer writers
• published more books!!!
• tried writing in a new genre and found success there.
• Add your own other branches here.... There are many.

Did you find you've climbed more branches in your journey than you thought you had?

Wherever you and I are on this journey, we do belong here. We doubt ourselves and we have questions. That's normal, they say. But don't lose track of the branch above you.

Let's you and I enjoy the view as we keep climing rung to rung up the Writer's Tree.

2010 Raleigh Schmooze a Huge Success

The 5th Annual Raleigh SCBWI Schmooze (hosted, as usual, by my critique group, the Goalies,) was a huge success again this year!

Speaker John Claude Bemis shared his creative process and helped us think seriously about our own.

John's Clockwork Dark Steam Punk middle grade series began with the book "The Nine Pound Hammer," and the second book of three "The Wolf Tree" will be released in summer 2010, followed by the 3rd book, "The White City," coming out in 2011. Another book of his, not from the Clockwork Dark Series, called "The Prince who fell from the sky," will be released in 2012. Go John!

We mingled and munched and made plans for the future.

Writers shared tips with each other after John's presentation.

Networking and signing up for critique groups.

We spent time brainstorming titles and ideas, chatting over cheese and wine, and checking out the books of several published SCBWI members who were present. It was a great time of networking and learning -- and John even got us out of our seats to get our creative juices flowing with a little bit of theatre. Check it out!

Who says writers can't act? They didn't even practice ahead of time!

It was a great Schmooze! Thanks to all who came to join us. Kudos to those who came all the way from Fayetteville, Durham, Goldsboro -- and the Raleighites. And huge thanks to John Claude Bemis for sharing his creative process with us, and leading us in great activities to stimulate our own creative brains!

Come Schmooze With Us!

Come join us for the Annual Raleigh SCBWI Schmooze hosted by the Goalies (my wonderful critique group). It's a wine and cheese, networking, learning, all around fun event.

Our guest speaker this year is Middle Grade Author John Claude Bemis, a prior elementary school teacher who now writes middle grade novels for a living, and who also plays a mean guitar! His debut novel, The Nine Pound Hammer, is the first in the Clockwork Dark series, published by Random House. His next book in the series, The Prince Who Fell from the Sky, will come out in 2012.

Come fellowship with other children's/YA writers, learn some new tricks of the trade, brainstorm about your current or future book through the activities John Claude will be presenting... and if you're new to children's/teen writing, come on in and get to know us.

FREE.

April 18th, 3-6pm.

Quail Ridge Books and Music, Raleigh, NC.

* For anyone coming from a distance, or for those coming directly after the Carolina Spring Retreat in Chapel Hill, there are two restaurants in the Quail Ridge parking lot for lunch and fellowship before the event.

See you there!

A Great NEW Resource for Writers

There is so much great info. for YA writers out there on various blogs.

• Some agents and editors share what types of submissions they're looking for.
• Some folks interview other professionals about their individual writing techniques, and tips.
• Some people give away fun stuff or hold writing contests!

But honestly -- how many of us have the time to sort through them all for the good stuff? We've got to really focus on putting most of our time into our own writing.

Luckily, my friend, YA writer Beverley BevenFlorez, has come to our rescue! In her weekly Friday post called "The Writer's Well," Beverly compiles a short summary of some of the most helpful blog posts out there in YA/Kid Lit Blog Land for that week. All the rest of us have to do is skim down, find the ones that look the most interesting to us, and click on the links, and EUREKA! -- the info. is at our finger tips. And it only took half a second!

Check it out a Beverley's blog today!

Thanks Beverley. Great idea!