Road Trip!

Heading to Chicago for ALA with some writing buddies! BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!!! Next week it will be writing, painting, writing, painting... At least, that's the plan. Then it's off to co-teach a picture book writing workshop. BUSY!

Crazy Cat!

Our cat Captain Jack went berserk with the bottom shelf of my bookcase. Turns out he wanted to have a nap with a few books!

WIP poster!

Five Things on a Friday

1. I am lousy at keeping up with my blog so I've decided to stop in on Fridays. One post a week seems doable. No pressure!

2. I have a pub date for TUTUS AREN'T MY STYLE -- February 18, 2010! I love the illustrations (thank you Anne Wilsdorf!)and can't wait to hold the "real" book in my hands. I hope a lot of "non-ballarina" girls out there identify with Emma...

3. I completed my Toastmasters manual and I'm now considered to be a "competent communicator." Stop laughing. I mean it. I can still hear you. I will get a certificate to prove it (which I may have to carry with me like a driver's license for proof!) To everyone out there with a fear that's holding you back -- you CAN conquer a fear! Take that first step, then another... I never thought I'd LIKE talking to groups but after 4 years in TM (I know, slow learner) I can honestly say I look FORWARD to speaking!

4. Just finished the YA book SPROUT by Dale Peck. LOVED the voice! Wow.

5. I have 3 manuscripts "out there." I've started working on a mg novel which I'm getting more excited about! I'm also doing a collage for this project -- which I learned from my writing buddy Jill Esbaum. A word of warning: google images is ADDICTING! But so much fun to search for "my" characters.

Is It Spring Yet?

I've been cooped up inside because of the wintry weather but although I long for a warm, sunny, spring day, I have been getting things done! Filled 3 boxes of papers to be recycled yesterday -- and that's only a dent. Revised my new pb manuscript and I'm cautiously optimistic about it. Too many times you get a great idea and then somehow it disintegrates when it hits the paper and turns into a lifeless blob of a story. This one? I still really like it! And I"m moving forward on the novel revisions. January was a good writing month which really surprised me -- usually it's just the opposite.

Switching topics... I love the new season of American Idol. Except for "bikini girl." Can't sing and has an attitude the size of Texas. I hope she gets cut during the group audition. I can't imagine her "playing well with others."

Also got sucked into the show Nip/Tuck. We don't have cable so I watched season 1 on dvds from the library and have reserved the next few seasons!

DON'T play nice

After a lot of thumping my head against the desk and moaning about writer's block, I've figured out why the revisions came to a crashing halt! I looked back over my editor's comments and something struck a chord. She said to go ahead and pile on more conflict -- let the kids really get into it at school! Don't hold back... But that's what I've been doing. I really LIKE my MC and I guess I didn't want anyone to pick on him! He's already got problems but she's right -- he's a tough kid, he can handle even more problems. As soon as I realized that, ideas started popping into my head. Sorry, kid, but you are in for a rough time in the next few chapters. It's easier to do this in a picture book because once you introduce the conflict, the MC starts working on resolving it -- and does fairly quickly. But in a longer book, the problems and conflicts keep piling up! Which is exactly what should happen -- it's that tension that keeps you reading. So, the gloves are coming off and I'm not stepping in to protect my kid anymore. He can do that on his own. Eventually.

I'm really hoping with this new insight that I can finish the revision and have it sent back to my editor by the middle of February. I took a break from it over the holidays to write 2 new picture book manuscripts. One, I'm happy with, the other is undergoing some major revising but I still like the overall story. Don't know what happened, I almost never write complete new drafts so close together! But I hope it keeps happening...