This weekend I attended the SCBWI Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference and came away with lots of great writing advice.
Guest speaker, Steve Watkins, author of Down Sand Mountain and forthcoming, Goat Girl, spoke about character development and provided us with the following:
10 Things to Remember About Death In Young Adult Fiction
Every writer has their own methods for getting stories on the page. Some authors write outlines or mind-map before actually writing the first sentence, some writers need to create a playlist soundtrack for their story before they can write a single word.
My own approach is varied, sometimes I can't get anywhere until I have that opening line and I will keep experimenting with a first sentence until I feel like I've nailed it, and then the rest of the story starts unfolding. Sometimes I just start writing one scene after another until I find the one that feels like the beginning, then I use the other scenes to rough out a direction.
Alexandra Alter of the Wall Street Journal interviewed 11 novelists for her article "How to Write a Great Novel" revealing the sometimes quirky writing habits of today's top novelists. Reading it just might change the way you approach your own work.
The next time you are heading out (or coming back) from someplace exciting, be sure to take along a travel journal to record your activities and random musings.
If you're like me you'll also need a place to save all of your collected travel booty: ticket stubs, business cards, photos, etc. Using a 9 X 12 inch clasp envelope, you can create a travel journal that will keep your memories safely stored for years to come.
When the spooks aren't knocking at my front door, I'll be at my computer playing my favorite online game, Witchcraft. It's a wicked good time.
Saw the following opinion piece in yesterday's Washington Post. Though the advice is ancient, it still holds true, for letters to the editor and blog posts, too.
Letters to the Editor Free for All
October 29, 2009
19th-century writing tips that still serve in 2009
As an amateur writer of local history, I recently came across an April 5, 1896, piece in The Post, "The Post's Amateur Writers." Its advice for letters to the editor is as good now as it was then.
First, "Do not make your articles so long." An overlong piece gets tedious to read and crowds out space that other writers could appear in.
Next, "Go over them carefully, eliminate all unnecessary words, keep a careful eye upon spelling, and be sure your sentences are coherent and sensible." In particular, "you will find in all probability that misspelled words lower your chances for acceptances."
Also, "It will not be inadvisable for the majority of you to keep strict account of your paragraphs." Don't turn off the reader with "a solid page of cramped, illegible writing." Note: The "not be inadvisable" is too wordy. Also, it's a double negative, something a writer should seldom, if ever, use.
Finally, "Don't strain after subjects. Write about what interests you, and what happens to you, and all will lend an attractive and friendly ear." Perhaps the writer meant "attentive" rather than "attractive." Here is some related advice all my own: Don't try to copy or make up a writing style. Just write on your own, and you will find you have a style all your own.
I have said all I need to say on this subject, so I will keep this short and stop here.
John Lockwood, Washington
John Silverwood, author of "Black Wave," a harrowing account of his family's shipwreck in the South Pacific (and did I mention that he's my brother-in-law) sent his congratulations on my recently published children's short story, "The Star That Fell and Became a Tree."
He writes:
"Your story is rippin' good. It gripped me right away to the point I realized the thought that this was a 'children's story' never occured to me. It's got the narrative power coming from the associative powers of dialogue between brother and sister, mother and father in a history that sounds contemporary even though grounded in such earthy mesmerizing and timeless tones.
"It has the gravity of tragedy underfoot without any trace of a heavy hand in foreboding the future of the Chicasaw because you keep reference to other horrors like the Cherokee "Trail of Tears" light enough to keep your coming message unobscured, which I'm sure is going to give it more punch as the story contiunes."
My goodness! I will have to use that glowing review on the back cover when I get the full chapter book written.
