Project Run Away

What do you do when a character creeps into your writing room, a character who isn't part of the WIP you're required to send to your advisor/agent/editor? Do you trust the Muse and write whatever this character whispers in your ear? Do you run away from her and focus on your deadline? Or, do you work on both? Do you ignore your hygiene and your dog and career, and life, in general (sorry for the melodrama) and write what the Muse provides because that fire burning in your soul, the one that's smoldering in your fingertips, won't extinguish any other way? You're the story's agent. You must give her a voice, yet the other WIP, and its revisions and its deadline aren't as appealing, not as fun, and is due real soon.

Any advice? Do y'all work on both WIPs? Run away from one? Or, in the words of the great Tim Gunn: "Do you make it work?"

Just curious...

Where's Waldo? Ralph Waldo Emerson, That Is

I love this quote from RWE:

" . . . days come and go like muffled and vague figures sent from a distant, friendly party, but they say nothing and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them away silently."

It's such a sweet reminder to me (and to you) to write every day. The body craves exercise because it wants to be used. The mind likes to be tickled by big, difficult books and used until its synapses smoke. A piano plays better when it doesn't just stand in the corner. Thoroughbreds don't want to just stare out of their stalls; they want to run.

Write a haiku while you're stuck in traffic or waiting outside the grade school. Edit a single page. The days don't care how well you write, where you write or how you're dressed. They just want to be used.

Walt Whitman said, "What is called good is perfect and what is called bad is also perfect." And Walt didn't waste any time, either.

Cheers to our Alums: Books and Agents, Oh, My

What a delight it's been in the last ten days to collect news from our Hamline alums about their writing successes with agents, book contracts and new books. We salute you all. I am sure that some news has been missed, so please add to comments. I listed in order of pub date, so keep reading. So much good news, that I had to keep it short. Congrats to all. You inspire us.

Susan Latta is now represented by agent Karen Grencik of the Red Fox Literary Agency. She also published an article “When the Sun Set” in the September issue of Appleseeds Magazine and signed a work for hire contract with Heinemann.

Diane C. Mullen signed with agent Ammi-Joan Paquette at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Tracy Maurer has signed with Kendra Marcus at BookStop Literary Agency and has published numerous books in three different series at Rourke Publishing, Inc. with many more in the works.

Ann Matzke is represented by agent Michelle Andelman at Regal Literary in New York and in September had three books released by Rourke Publishing, Inc. in their Little Math series and is writing three more for Social Studies series.

Molly Beth Griffin’s picture book Loon Baby came out this past spring (2011) with Houghton Mifflin. Her first YA novel Silhouette of a Sparrow comes out next April (2012) with Milkweed Editions. Molly is also critiquing and teaching at the Loft in Minneapolis. Check out her new web site: www.mollybethgriffin.com.

Loretta Ellsworth’s new YA novel Unforgettable recently received a Kirkus starred review and a Kirkus Critic's Pick for September. Her previous novel In A Heartbeat was picked up by Scholastic Book Club and translated into Japanese and Korean.

Naomi Kinsman's Shades of Truth and Flickering Hope, the first two books in the From Sadie’s Sketchbook series (Zondervan) will be released November 18, 2011. The final two books in the series, Waves of Light and Brilliant Hues, will come out in 2012.

Debra McArthur: A Voice for Kanzas, middle grade historical novel, January 2012, with Kane Miller. Her new website/blog: www.debramcarthur.com.

Christine Hepperman’s nonfiction book City Chickens with Houghton Mifflin (which she worked on while a grad student at Hamline) will be published in May 2012- web site - www.citychickensbook.com. She also has an author site www.christineheppermann.com, where she has published some of her poems, recently published a few poems in literary journals for grownups and completed a work-for-hire book about the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case.

Jamie Swenson has sold three picture books since signing on with Sean McCarthy at the Sheldon Fogelman Agency. Jamie met Sean at the July 2010 Hamline residency.
BIG RIG - Disney-Hyperion fall 2013, illustrated by Ned Young
BOOM BOOM BOOM - FS&G - spring 2013 illustrated by David Walker
IF YOU WERE A DOG - FS&G – pub date TBA, illustrated by Chris Raschka

Tamera Will Wissinger's GOING FISHING (tentative title) is a middle grade novel in verse that tells the story of a boy’s fishing day through a variety of poetic forms and patterns. It’s scheduled for publication with Houghton Mifflin in Spring 2013. The manuscript has already gone to copyediting and the editor is searching for an illustrator.

Cheryl Bardoe (our blogger) recently sold her fourth book to Charlesbridge - Behold the Beauty of Dung Beetles, Fall 2013. Her second book Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age was named a 2011 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Honor book.

Literary Festivals: Don't Forget Kids and Teen Lit

Literary festivals abound across our country, a boon for readers and writers. I committed this week to blog in honor of Alaska Book Week, started by a dear writer friend Deb Vanasse. Deb also launched 49 Writers, a blog that links writers around that state. What is terrific about both the festival and the blog is that it exists for all readers and writers, not just the adult market. Here in Spokane every April Get Lit! takes place. A wonderful array of presentations and workshops that also includes children's/YA writers. It takes ongoing support of writers and teachers to make sure children's literature isn't left out, but well worth the effort. How about in your community? Does your community have a festival or conference for book lovers of all ages? Let us know.

I have received agent and book news from several alums and will post tomorrow on exciting developments.

Plot Discussion: Okay for Now

So I’m studying some book plots in hopes of gaining insight into my own WIP. And I’m taking a workshop that encourages writers to use this model for the main plot:

Protagonist has a specific goal, with high stakes, and takes continuous actions to pursue that goal. An antagonist takes intentional, continuous steps to block the protagonist from reaching his/her goal.

Sounds good, right? Two equal forces, pitted against each other, maximizing conflict and tension throughout the story. Readers learn about and presumably root for characters by witnessing the lengths to which they will go to achieve their goals. Subplots occur that may round out, strengthen, or weaken either the protagonist or the antagonist.

With this in mind, how would you articulate the plot of Gary Schmidt’s Okay for Now, which Jackie mentioned is on the NBA short list. What is Doug Swieteck’s main goal? Who intentionally wants to block him from that goal? What actions does Doug take to achieve his goal?

Seems to me that Doug has two main goals: to fit into his new town and for his Dad not to be such a jerk. The story doesn't end until he's accomplished both of these, but already I’ve broken the mold outlined above. Plus, Doug encounters a series of opposing forces, rather than just one antagonist.

What models would you use to parse this plot? Which goal carries more weight in the story? Or do you see a different main goal? What would you say is the main plot? Vs. the subplots?

No wrong answers. Just looking for ideas…

Well there was a little glitch

Every now and then there's a glitch, no matter what the endeavor. Franny Billingsley's Chime was also on the NBA short list. So now we know.

And if you happen to be at the AWP meeting in February in Chicago you can see Franny on the panel about poetry and picture books with Phyllis Root, Christine Hepperman, and me. Come if you can. I know you'll like her.

Breaking News!!!

And speaking of public recognition...

Ok for Now has been named to the short list for the National Book Award! Just announced. Congratulations Gary Schmidt!

Other books chosen (out of the 278 submittted) on the Young People's Literature list are:

My Name Is Not Easy, by Debbie Dahl Edwardson
Inside Out and Back Again for Thanhha Lai
Flesh and Blood So Cheap by Albert Marrin
Shine by Lauren Myracle

Judges for the Young Peoples Literature were Marc Aronson (chair), Matt de la Pena, Nikki Grimes, Ann Brashares, and Will Weaver.

Again, congratulations, Gary. I'm happily remembering hearing Gary read from this novel last winter.

Yin & Yang: Public & Private Writing Lives

I’ve been noodling on Claire’s post about the public/private sides of the writing life. We talk a lot in the Hamline community about focusing on the writing craft and writing our stories as best we can, about finding our fulfillment in the process rather than publication. That’s all good to emphasize the internal aspects of writing—the joy and satisfaction from personal growth in our own craft, hearts and minds. But writing also has an external component. It is, after all, a form of communication, which inherently implies that it is shared between a writer and an audience. For writers who want to publish their work, finding a productive intersection between the private and public writing lives is key.

Internal resources give us the stick-to-it factor needed to do the actual work of writing. But encouragement from the outside world sure can fortify us. When I’m working for months on something that I don’t know if anyone else will ever read, it feels good to get a magazine in the mail with my byline. When the plot of my current work is loosey-goosey-going-who-knows-where, it’s heartening to read at a bookstore and see children enjoy a book that has finished its journey. Good vibes don’t come just from publication—they can come from getting accepted to a workshop, or encouraging feedback from a trusted reader, or standing up and sharing at an open mic like Ron described.

We can’t all be Thoreau at Walden Pond. It’s human nature to want recognition from others, and to draw on that positive energy to fuel our work. Knowing what you need as a writer, and how to get it, is where cultivating the public life of the writer becomes important.

Public and private. Yin and yang. Everything in balance.

On Voice, Authenticity, and Goosebumps

Whether singing competitions are your cup of latte' (or proof that yet another artist will sell her soul for a record deal and maybe a future, not-so-G-rated scandal), writers have a lot to learn from these shows and its contestants.

The X Factor is in the U.S. now. The show originated in the U.K. and has discovered talents like Alexandra Burke (her version of Cohen's, Hallelujah is breathtaking), Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle, etc.

Tryouts and boot camp ended last week. The contestants' experiences are similar to ours. They brave the scrutiny. They wonder if their voices are authentic enough. A five-million dollar recording contract is at stake for the winner (okay, so that part is nothing like our experiences). The judges look for a contestant with the "X Factor." That thing that no one can articulate, but we and they all know it when we hear it, and more importantly, when we feel it.

So, Jackie's post about the senses made me think about how artists in other genres can no better explain the artistic process and all its mysteries. We all do our best. And we can all learn from each other.

Take a look at this audition by Melanie Amar0: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3vmajqZIWY

In the first few seconds, we know her voice is authentic. The audience and judges know it, too. How? She sings in key, her voice is authoritative, she moves seamlessly and effortlessly from her upper register and into her lower register, while using all the tools in her singer's toolbox to "assault" the audience's senses. She sings from her soul. Even if her song choice isn't your cup of latte', I dare your goosebumps to stay asleep, especially during the falsetto. I dare them.

The point is an artist (I know; that's a big word and all) must assault the senses from the first word, that first line, through the middle, until she belts the climax from the rooftops, then follows her character towards a satisfying ending, a powerful one that leaves the reader smothered in goosebumps, breathless and wanting more.

Trust your goosebumps.

Sitting Around the Fire

I'm part of a lot of poetry readings in the L.A. area. Sometimes I perform, sometimes I just listen. I was at one the other night where I read with some old friends. It was an unlikely setting: a restaurant/bar with a large glass semi-wall separating our space from the bar with its color TV and play-off games. And rather than get up and read on a stage, the mic was passed around from poet to poet. When it was my turn, I just stood up.

But here's the point. I was reminded of how primitive it is to tell a bunch of people a story. Charles and Laurel Ann and I write a loose-lined, easy-going poem, anyway. So we essentially took turns telling stories.

How far back does this go? All the way to the caves, wouldn't you think? Some mighty hunter or huntress comes in, drops forty pounds of meat and brags. Somebody has a dream and wants everybody to feel as scared or as excited as he was. Somebody at the bottom of the pecking order discovers he can lie beautifully and people will see him differently.

Can't you see the tribe around the fire, glad to be safe for another night. Maybe it's raining. A child whimpers. There's an ominous sound from outside but it turns out to be nothing. Then someone says, "The most amazing thing happened to me today." And everybody stops chewing and listens.