Fiction Friday: POEMS & GOOD NEWS & A THEME FOR AUGUST

As previously mentioned, I'm doing a lot of writing, not reading, this week.  That said, one of my sons picked up a beautiful book that might interest you poetry fans: Garrison Keillor's elegant collection of GOOD POEMS.

And a quick thanks to Kathy Chung, the amazing new coordinator of the Surrey International Writing Conference for sharing my good news about AUDITION with the SIWC community. SIWC is a great conference, this year being held October 22-24, near Vancouver, BC. Unlike SCBWI, it's not just for children's writers but they've got tons of great agents and editors, an amazing writing community, and some terrific classes on craft. I still use the notes I took during Hallie Ephron's 2008 lecture on plotting. And she'll be back at the conference this fall. Check it out!

I can't believe we're here on the verge of August, my first "theme month" for the blog.  Look out for all kinds of thoughts about WRITING IN TANDEM.

WORDY WEDNESDAY: CONNECTING

When I write, it is critical that I feel a powerful connection to (even a sense of becoming) my main character.  Yesterday, as I was finishing up a reading & activiting guide for the last book in a super-fun middle-grade sci-fi (and kind of fantasy--okay, there are zombies involved) series, I realized the same is true when I write ABOUT a book.

To produce a strong guide, it's essential to connect with the main character and also think about how the book's reader's are going to do so.  For example, in the story mentioned above, the mc has to make a very difficult choice. So, I ask myself, how do I feel about the character's decision?  If I were a kid, watching this plot unfold as a movie, would I be cheering, crying, gripping the arms of my seat?  If I were standing beside the main character, what would I do?  Really trying to get under the skin of the situation (this, by the way, would be hilarious if you knew the plot of the novel) is a great way to discover how to encourage readers to engage in the story.

When I write my own fiction, the connection process begins very physically, almost like an acting exercise. When I wrote AUDITION, I always spent about 10 minutes dancing before sitting down at the computer. My new protagonist plays a sport and so, before hitting the keyboard, I head for the backyard and smack a ball around. Then, I rush to the keyboard, hands burning, and type as fast as I possibly can before the sweat dries!

How do you connect to your characters?  Music, action, free writing?  Does reading or writing about other novels teach you anything about your own writing-connection process?

BACK-TO-BUSINESS MONDAY: Upcoming Conferences and a Celebration

The 39th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference is just days away. But, alas, I cannot go (sniff). I am buried under deadlines and family commitments. If you're lucky enough to be heading to LA this week and BLOG ABOUT IT, please let me know so I can link back to you and we can all have some vicarious SCBWI fun.

And, for those of you sweltering (or freezing, I suppose) alone at computers around the globe, you can still make it to WRITE ON CON, the free, online conference coming up August 10-12. I'll be attending--and presenting. In fact, today I am putting the finishing touches on my vlog lecture. My topic is DON'T WAIT FOR PUBLICATION TO REACH OUT TO SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES: Tips for pre-published (and already published) authors to get the most from school and library appearances. And, look right! I've officially added the countdown widget to the blog.

On a lighter note, I had the pleasure of attending Holly Cupala's launch for TELL ME A SECRET last night. All I can say is, that girl sure knows how to throw a party! Here's a snap of me and some writer friends with our copies of Holly's book.

FICTION FRIDAY: Is there such a thing as too much reading? And upcoming blog events.

Okay, I've got a ridiculous number of freelance projects to finish up before the big EDITORIAL LETTER arrives from Viking (I've been warned it's coming soon). Plus, I'm closing in on the 1.5th draft (okay, so I've got a weird numbering system) of my new ms which I know I'll have to abandon for a bit when I start revising AUDITION, so I'd like to get it to something of a neat and tidy place.

Don't know about you, but I just can't handle reading much YA while I'm head-down writing. Sure, the occasional grow-up mystery is nice for sitting in the sun (I like modern broads-who-write-Brits like Martha Grimes and Elizabeth George, or classics like Josephine Tey and Dorothy Sayers), but that's about it besides stuff I have to read for work. Otherwise, my head gets into a funny place and it takes me too much time to ease into my own writing. So, for the next few weeks, Fiction Fridays will be a bit of a smorgasbord.

As I begin the revision journey with my editor, I've been thinking a lot about the many relationships and dialogues involved in book publishing. So, I've decided that August here at the blog will feature the theme "Writing in Tandem" and include interviews with some (awesome!) author teams and fun give-aways.

In October, I'm trying something new. This will be a contest for published or soon-to-be published authors (anything from picture book to YA--published or upcoming 2010 or 2011 titles). The prize will be a reading guide (10 discussion questions; 10 writing and related activities). I've written many of these for Simon & Schuster, Random House, Penguin, Tor Books, and other publishers for a fee, but this one will be on me.

So, back to work now. Hectic but fascinating times. Oh, and still waiting to hear from Missy--otherwise I'll draw an alternate prize winner for the Summer Spectacular swag.