Invest in Yourself

Speaking of investing in yourself as a writer (were we? Indeed.), here is a conference that is well worth your investment. It’s called Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers and it’s held in the Salt Lake City area each June.

The conference is a week long, so it is definitely an investment, but the cost is really reasonable for a full week of instruction.

The basic structure is an intensive class in the mornings and then breakout sessions in the afternoons.

Evenings are free, and you will want to use them to work on assignments for the next day’s sessions.

The faculty is first rate, including Carol Lynch Williams, Ann Dee Ellis, Ann Cannon, Matthew Kirby, Mette Ivie Harrison, and more. You can take an intensive in picture book writing, science fiction, young adult novels, etc.

I have been to this conference twice, at different points in my writing career. The first time, I learned valuable lessons about imbuing my writing with emotional tension. The last time, with such fabulous authors as Kathleen Duey, Holly Black, and Ally Condie, I learned not to rush through scenes, but to fully explore details; to leave out the mundane and boring; and to further develop my playfulness as a writer.

As with any conference, I made connections to others who will probably help my career move forward, and even if they don’t or can’t, then I have great new friends who share my passion. I bolstered my skills and my confidence, and I spent concentrated time writing.

In addition to the authors, faculty includes agents, editors, illustrators, and other industry professionals.

You will benefit whether you’re a beginner or a published pro. Never stop growing.

 

2012 Resolutions, Part 3

My resolutions for 2012

1. Work on improving my health.
2. Spend more time with my husband.
3. Spend more time with my children.
4. Spend more time with my friends and extended family.
5. Spend more time taking joy from each and every day.

In my previous blogs, I’ve written about my number one, two, and four resolutions.  This week, I’m writing about my third 2012 resolution.

 

Soar

You are you, yet still a part of me

I watch you with a sense of wonder

Your twinkling eyes look down upon me

remembering the times you looked up in awe

a man-child at the threshold

Your eyes look out at the world

with an eager yearning

a fight is waged

with me both victor and vanquished

You must be allowed to take

the path you seek

The baby once cradled is still within

but your needs have grown and changed

as the years slipped past

You have been nurtured and cherished

scolded and sorely disciplined

to lead you to this passage

Take my gifts in the spirit intended

Soar to great heights

as I watch with pride

 

Can you tell I had a teenager in my home when I wrote Soar?  I believe the teen years are a challenge for both the teenager and the parent.  One of the hardest parts of parenting is letting them go.  It feels like you are in a battle.  The beauty of letting them go, is getting them back.  The new relationship takes some adjustments.  That child is now an adult.

I love my sons.  I also really like them, and enjoy spending time in their company.  They are kind, intelligent, handsome, and just plain fun to be with.  In the grind of daily living it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of the parent/child relationship.  I plan to continue to make my children starring players in my life and take joy in the moments we are able to share.

 

 

Chihuahua Trapped In Bathtub!

Certain words and phrases tend to catch our attention. In the mornings, as I’m starting my day, I often scroll through the news on the internet to see what is going on in the world. Journalists and editors have a knack for creating attention grabbing headlines or clips. How many times do you stop in the middle of setting groceries on the check-out counter to read about the “Three Headed Baby Kidnapped by Wolves!”?  I have to admit I have been known to pass over “The Rising Price of Gas” to read about that baby.

It’s that scene of the accident mentality. The one where you’ve been in a long line of traffic for the past twenty minutes and the flashing lights finally come into view and another ten minutes later you drive by the  truck and Volvo with the bent fender and you think that’s it? Then you notice that you’ve slowed down too. Why? Because it’s something different, something that could be life changing, something that you don’t see every day. Oh, sure. Accidents happen every minute. You just don’t happen to see them all.

It’s the same thing for book titles. As we walk through bookstores or peruse amazon.com, certain titles stand up and grab our attention. Right now on my TBR pile I have: The Pig Did It, Swamplandia!, Second Grave On The Left, X-Rated Bloodsuckers, The Bone Garden, Confessions Of A Slacker Wife and Crash Into You. That’s just the first stack.

I love those titles. I can’t wait to read those books.

I, myself, am not so great at the attention grabbing title creation thing. To put it bluntly: I suck at it. But that’s what my friends and critique partners are there for. Because after you write that book, you want to make sure it’s going to grab someone’s attention.

As for the Chihuahua Trapped in Bathtub? That falls both under the category of attention grabbing headline and what a six year old will do after they’ve taken their bath.

Have you ever stopped to pick up a book based on the title alone? Maybe then gone on to read the back blurb or the first page and decided to buy it? What titles have caught your eye?

 

Age Matters

The statistics are in. Demographers and human resource specialists predict a ‘looming crisis’ (Carroll and Moss 2002; Johnston and Packer 1987; Green 2000).  The workforce is projected to grow only 8.2% between 2008 and 2018 compared to more than 12% in the previous decade and workers that remain will be older and more diverse (Employment Projections 2009).

And why, you might ask, is this relevant to writers?

It’s the generational communication gap, baby! And it’s not only here to stay, but has implications for every aspect of a writer’s world from the characters we create to the marketplace in which we offer our work.

Age matters as much as culture, gender and other demographic characteristics because generations share historical and social life experiences. These, according to the experts, offer broad profiles of an individual’s likely motivation, work style, relationship preferences, and attitudes toward authority and personal responsibility.

Now, I know what you’re thinking . . . ‘but I’m special, unique . . .me’. Well, yeah, but beyond individual quirks, we all have a great deal in common. The nuance of what’s common, what’s different, and the why of it make our characters and their choices resonate with the reader

In the workplace, managers deal with conflict arising from generational diversity. The same generational diversity exists in the fiction marketplace ~ in writers, agents, editors, and the buying public. The same generational diversity (and characteristics) should show up in some way ~ even if it is to smash a stereotype ~ in our characters.

The experts disagree on the specific years (I’m either a boomer or Gen X depending upon whom I read), but the profiles are fascinating.

Traditionalists (born before 1942-45): loyal to organizations, respect authority, responsive to dedication and sacrifice as motivations, duty-driven (and bound)

Baby Boomers (born between 1943-46 and 1960-64): this group comprises 2/3 of the U.S. population, consider big picture and systems, disapprove of absolutes and structure, somewhat distrustful of authority, generally optimistic, self-indulgent

Gen X (between 1961-65 and 1980): impatient, multi-tasking, flexible, informal, self-reliant, question authority, cynical, short attention span

Gen Y (1981 to 2000): confident, tenacious, tech-savvy, lack conflict management skills, need flexibility, these folks come from the empowerment years where all the kids won and everyone earned a medal, they crave independence but prefer collective action

Gen Z (after 2000): the millennium babies

What can we do with this?

First, let’s consider our characters. I like the idea of a character who defies the profile. What if I have a Gen Y woman who is a traditionalist through and through, but is thrown in the path of a typical Gen Y man? Would the ‘bad guy’ behave differently in terms of horrible and heinous actions if s/he were a baby boomer versus a Gen X, Gen Y, or Traditionalist? My son, who is a millennium baby, asked me if Gen Z would have to save everyone because the BB, Gen X and Gen Y screwed everything up (out of the mouths of babes). He raises the appeal of the child who sees more clearly than the surrounding adults, and ends up saving the lot of them (Harry Potter anyone?).

Where are you in the generational continuum? What does this mean for your writing? And, for those of you with far more experience than me in the fiction marketplace, what might generational diversity mean for our profession?

NOTE: I’ll be working out of town on a project when this posts and may not be able to respond to comments until late in the day. Thanks – Liz

Carroll, James B., and David A. Moss. 2002. State employee worker shortage:  The impending crisis. In Trends alert:  Critical information for state decision-makers. Lexington, KY: The Council of State Governments.

Employment Projections – September 2008-18. 2009. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Washington, DC: United States Department of Labor.

Green, Marnie E. 2000. Beware and Prepare;  The government workforce of the future. Public Personnel Management 29:435-443.

Johnston, William B., and Arnold C. Packer. 1987. Workforce 2000:  Work and workers for the twenty-first century. Washington, DC: Hudson Institute.

 

In Search of the Great American Historical

Happy President’s Day to our American readers. For most, this celebration of our great historic leaders is nothing more than a three day weekend, a chance to shop the sales and spend more time with the family.

As a writer of historical fiction, I naturally see it as a time to reflect on our country’s past. I would love to spend the day curled up with a great story of mystery, intrigue, and romance set in the time of our American Revolution.

Unfortunately, I’m having a hard time finding such a book. The romance world is ruled by tales of Brits and Scots. Only inspirationals are allowed to have American settings. For those of us with more secular tastes, that leaves a gaping void.

If you’ve read my previous blogs, you know how hard it is for me to find historical books for my tween daughter. Her search for historical fiction largely mirrors my own. At the bookstore and in the library, the children’s shelves are filled with reissues of old titles she’s already read. A search of the Boise library catalog for “American Revolution-fiction” revealed only one recent release, a story about runaway slaves with “superhuman powers.” Uh, no thanks.  We were looking for a historical, not a paranormal.

I’ve heard this discussed at both RWA and SCBWI conferences. Usually, my questions are answered with references to some long-  established author like Anne Rinaldi, Elizabeth Speare, or Linda Lael Miller. The general consensus is that publishers don’t publish fresh voices in American historical settings because they simply don’t sell.

It’s hard to buy something that isn’t on the shelves.

So here’s your chance to introduce me to some of your favorite American authors.

Please post your recommendations for American-set historicals, historical romances, or children’s fiction in the comment section.

I will read one of the recommended books and post a positive review for that author on Amazon and promote it on my twitter, facebook, and Google + .

The only requirements are:

1) It must be fiction set in the U.S. prior to 1900.

2) It must have been first published after 2010. I

I’m looking forward to reading your recommendations.