Top 10 Nuggets of Knowledge

inkygirl.com

Peace, love, and children’s books.

That was the motto for this year’s SCBWI conference in L.A. and really isn’t that what children's book writers  should be all about? Well, at least while we’re writing.

Always looking to share what I learn in my quest to become a better writer, I have put together a list of what I deem The Top 10 Nuggets of Knowledge. I realize that the conference ended 11 days ago but deciphering my hand-scribble takes a lot of time, a magnifying glass, and a sip or six of chardonnay. I also recognize that there were so many pearls of wisdom shared with us, the title would be better named The Top 1,000 Nuggets of Knowledge, but that would no longer constitute a blog, but full on plagiarism. Never good.

draftswithdots.blogspot.com

As an ode to David Letterman, I intended to compile my list is in reverse order, from least to most important nugget. But, then I remember being told at the conference to “think outside the box,” so I decided to start at number five and flip backwards, then forwards again, but all that flipping around whipped up my vertigo, and I had to take a break and start fresh.

So, here are my nuggets, in no particular order of magnitude, credited to their source.

• Write a timeless book. – Arthur A. Levine, Editor

            - a story that stands the test of time, like; Where the Wild 

           Things Are, The Golden Compass, or any of the Harry Potter books.

         Seems a simple enough task. If I could just find my HB2 pencil, I’d        write the next classic.

• Ask yourself, “What would my 10 year old self want to read?” - Tony Diterlizzi, The Spiderwick Chronicles

•  Conduct the first line test.  – Lissa Price, Starters

             - Is it a zinger, compelling the reader to want to read the rest of your book?

• When outlining your book, flesh out the details, but still leave a bit to chance. - Sara Shepard, Pretty Little Liars

•  Do not sign up for a Gulag simulation, no matter how into research you may be. - Ruta Sepetys, Between Shades of Gray

             (I’m sure you don’t need to be told this twice.)

• Never give the reader a good place to stop reading. – Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

             -Make your book so suspenseful, that the reader will stay up all night reading.

             (Possibly under the covers, by flashlight.)

• Ignore all writing advice – Dan Gutman, My Weird School

writingforward.com

 - Which he quickly followed with, “try everything and if that doesn’t work, try something else.”

• Drop the romantic notion of what being an artist means – get a real job. - Bryan Collier, Uptown

   *Ouch.* Sometimes the truth hurts.

• Marketing is Key – when dealing with eBooks and apps, otherwise no one will be able to find you. – Chintu Parikh, Kite Readers

•   Write with passion from your heart - do it your way, dream big. - Karen Cushman, Will Sparrow's Road

So, why are you still sitting there?

Grab your pencil, follow your heart and a detailed outline, (with a first line hook) and write that timeless suspenseful classic that your 10 year old self would read, all while working as an accountant, saving your pennies for the digital launch.

What!? You’re not going to take this advice? Fine.

Please remember one thing. 

Just say no to Gulag simulations, no matter how tempting. 

           

writingtipsonline.com

 *I know I said you didn't need to be told twice about the whole Gulag thing, but it sounded horrifying, and I worry...

Back to School

I never thought I'd brag about revisiting middle school, but I am proud to say, "I returned!" I did my first school presentation to help celebrate International Women’s Day at my daughter’s middle school.

This is the institution I attended. The same school where I flunked out of French class, was cut from the 7th grade volleyball team, and slow danced with a boy for the first time.

The song - Open Arms by Journey. My age - 12. The boy - shall remain nameless.

But I digress. This past Monday I wasn't there for a Sadie Hawkins Dance. I was there to discuss writing. My topic? Top 10 Writing Tips. There are possibly hundreds of tips I could’ve shared, so it was hard to narrow them down. I decided to share pointers that I hoped a classroom full of 10-13 year old wanna’ be writers, would find helpful.

It was exhilarating looking into those faces. Some were familiar; 5^th grade friends of my daughter, students I’ve seen while lunch monitoring, and a few kids I recognized from the neighbourhood. Others were complete strangers. But all of them were eager to learn about the craft of writing.

As many of you know by now, normally I have the cursed luck of the eternally damned. If something can go wrong, it typically does. But at Ecole Viscount Alexander, on a blustery day in March, everything went smoothly. Well, most everything. I did run out of time and had to fly through the last three slides. But still, the gist, the real heart of my presentation had been delivered by then.

And I did overhear two girls, who looked to be 7^th or 8^th graders, comment that they could, “totally use these handouts.” I decided to take that as a good sign. And not, as my dear husband pointed out, because one of them is fishing for babysitting gigs. (Rumour has it we pay our sitters above market.)

So here, according to me, are my Top 10 Writing Tips. Have any you’d like to add? Please make your suggestions in the comments tab below.

Keep on Writing!

1. Just write

• Write every day. Write a lot of garbage and edit brilliantly. (Thank you Anita Daher, middle grade and young adult writer and editor extraordinaire, for this nugget.)  
• Idea purge – get it out and tell that story. Finessing the details will come with your edits.

2. Keep a writing journal with you  

• In your backpack, car, cottage, bedroom, locker, or purse. They don’t have to be big. I carry my notebook wherever I go and jot down random thoughts, feelings, or observations.

3. Think like a writer

• Become an active observer and write down your thoughts/observations/sounds/smells/textures. If you hear interesting phrases or an odd way someone speaks – write them down.
• Become a people watcher. There are great characters all around you – at the mall, at the doctor’s office, standing in line at the movies, on the bus.
• Take pictures to help you describe subtle details – those details make your writing more believable and real.
• This is the research that makes readers think, “Hey, did this really happen?” or “This sounds so familiar – I feel like I’ve been there or done that.” Or “This could’ve totally happened to me or my friend.”
• Keep yourself wondering about people – your friends, family, teachers, everyone around you. Why do they do the things they do, or say the things they say and imagine the answer. 

4. Keep a great ideas file

• On your computer. A central storage place.
• Newspaper articles that seem interesting, funny observations.
• You can transfer all your thoughts from your writers’ notebooks here.

5. Hone your craft

• Take writing courses and workshops. Read books on the craft of writing. Ask for detailed feedback from your teachers. Perfect your writing by improving grammar and style.
• Winnipeg Public Library (in March a writing class for 9-12 year olds), Manitoba Writers’ Guild, McNally’s Community Classroom, Aqua books offers workshops. Creative Manitoba runs a youth mentorship program for kids 16-19 years old. 
• Websites: Wpg Public Library Booked; Teen Ink – teen writing, all authors are teens; ink pop (Fignet) by HarperCollins – writing contest

6. Do character sketches and plot outlines

• The character sketch will help you tell a more believable story. The more you flesh out the details of your protagonist, antagonist and supporting characters the more real your story becomes.
• The plot outline will help you determine what the heck is going to happen in your story to your main character. I like to do a loose chapter by chapter outline. Helps you determine what really bad thing is going to happen and what your character do to resolve the problem. You need to build to this point, the climax, in a steady believable way, laying the groundwork so when your character makes the final decision, the reader says, “Of course he/she did that.” If your plot is not developed the reader will pop their head out of the book and say, “What the…where did that come from?”

7. Tighten your writing

• Remove adjectives and adverbs where possible. Modifiers are not your friends. Instead use strong nouns and active verbs. Use fewer, better words to say the same thing.
• Those stronger, active verbs will add concise detail and add to the texture of your description.

8. Show don’t Tell – this is HUGE!

• Good writing is active writing that shows something to the reader rather than merely telling them about it.
• Descriptive details illustrate statements and bring them to life.
• Specific words express exactly what you want to say. 
• Avoid labels that categorize but don’t describe: Awful, delightful, scary, pleasant, nasty, delicious, handsome, pretty, beautiful, ugly, mean, funny.
• Labels flatten your writing. Too general and don’t create your intended image in your reader’s mind. The reader creates their own image, not necessarily the one you wanted them to visualize.

9. Read, read, read

• Immerse yourself in language. You will find your writing, including grammar, will naturally improve as your innate sense of what “sounds right” will grow as you read more.
• Join or establish a book club where you can talk books with others.
• Stephen King suggests you should read a minimum of 75 books a year. Better get started!

10. Build your writing community

• Establish a writing group. This helps build your writing community, filled with others who share your same dreams.
• Get together with fellow writers to share your work, share ideas, and to get feedback. Your writing is so close to you that often you can’t see what others can. Sometimes a scene is so clear in your mind that when you write it out, you miss important details.
• Go to public readings and book launches. Find websites for the authors you enjoy reading. They will often have great writing tips and insights.