This is it! I’m ready to finish this up and move on. Fasten your seat belts and get ready for your final SCBWI LA Conference installment!
This is not John Green. Not a single one.
I wasnt the only Nova fan! Every crowd should have an enthusiastic
Mike Jung in the back LOL! (If you’re lucky)
Some highlights from their discussion…
*Nova-When something really scares you, its probably the right thing to explore. I picked Michael as an agent because he pushed me to grow as a writer.
*Michael-I know that I’ve lost out on clients because I’ve been honest about what my expectations were.
From my own experience, I can’t agree more. A great fit with your agent is the foundation you need and it will increase the chances that you’ll find an editor who is also an amazing match.
Time for the 2011 Golden Kite Awards Luncheon
We had a wonderful slide show, looking back over 40 years. It was amazing. Wish it was posted some place so that I could share it with you
This was dessert. Everything about this made me smile.
Listening to the speeches of the
Golden Kite recipients. They were fantastic–so proud of them.
A special keynote from the impeccable
Richard Peck. I adore this man.
This is when that big lunch and dessert became a problem. Navigating the halls in a chocolate coma, I didn’t get to Bruce Coville’s workshop in time to get a seat or a piece of rug. This picture was taken from the door with my hands up over my head. The good news was that I could hear him just fine.
Bruce Coville-AT THE INTERSECTION OF PLOT AND CHARACTER: THE PLACE WHERE STORIES HAPPEN.
GAHHH!!!! Every word out of this man’s mouth is genius. I’ll try to pick the best ones to share with you…
*Stories happen when a character is forced to make a difficult choice. NEED DRIVES THE ACTION.
*Use yourself, steal from everyone around you. Cast the book as if you are writing a play.
*Characters should have…
-an agenda (theirs, not yours)
-some inconsistencies (do you know anyone who doesn’t?)
*Plot is what happens when desire meets obstacle.
*If there is no chance to crash if you have not jumped.
Because the universe is fair, and wanted to make up for my inability to even cross the threshold of Bruce’s workshop, I was able to snag front row seats for the final keynote of the conference. *squee* While we waited for…drum roll…Laurie Halse Anderson. We decided to take some pictures. Guess who joined us?
Linda Sue Park!!!!!
Jodi, Laura, Edna, Amy N., Linda Sue Park, Kim and Amy S.
Then Linda switched out with our buddy Jeff so he could get in the picture too!
Laurie, means so much to me. I can’t put into words the effect that she has had on my life, the impact she has made. The places I’ve dared to go because I knew I had a friend along for the journey. Yes, because of her I have become someone who dares to disturb the universe. I love that, I love her and I want a T-shirt that says it!
Here is what you just can’t miss…
DO YOU DARE DISTURB THE UNIVERSE?
*Art disturbs the universe. When we create it we make our neighbors nervous and our politicians fret.
*We gather here to collect our courage.
*Revolutions of the soul are a scary thing.
*If you don’t jump, the wings never come.
*To write is to terrorize yourself.
*When things get bad, just remember, BABY…YOU’RE GOING TO DIE. Puts it in perspective. Ha!
*It is your obligation to disturb the universe the best that you can.
*THIS IS OUR WORK.
*In 20 years, you will be more disappointed in the things you didn’t do than the ones you did.
*In children’s literature, we are not competitors, we are co-conspirators.
And here are the best co-conspirators that any of us could possibly have. *sniff*
Lin Oliver and Stephen Mooser taking a bow after 40 years of love, dedication and brilliance. <3
Kim and Dan giving
K.L. Going the thumbs up. (Dan is illustrating her new picture book)
The amazing author/illustrator
Marla Frazee. I adore her picture books. *heart squish*
No one can blame me for sneaking
Jon Scieszka the bunny ears. He’s just mad because he didn’t think of it first. LOL!
No need to get teary about the end of the conference–yet. It’s off to KidLit Night at the
Pink Taco!!!!
What you don’t know is that we’re hungry enough to eat the table! (Can you see me leaning in?)
Apocalypsies!!!! Gretchen, Kim, Emily and Debra. I love these gals!!!!
We ate. We hung out. A few of us even did the Pitch Slam with Mary Kole.
It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone. The conference was amazing, but it was time to go home to the other people we love, to return to our writing, to once again sleep more than 4 consecutive hours and to begin to dream about going again next year. Ummm and to do laundry. *head thunk*
I know that these recaps have been endless. I hope I was able to capture a little bit of the magic of the experience and share it with you. Because honestly, I wish you’d been there too. If you have any recommendations for things you’d like to see in future conference blogs–let me know and I’ll see if I can make it happen. Hope to see you at a conference soon. :o)
Tags: Bruce Coville, Jon Scieszka, K.L Going, Kimberly Sabatini, LA11SCBWI, laurie halse anderson, Linda Sue Park, Mike Jung
It’s Sunday! I’m diving in…
4 AGENTS VIEW THE CURRENT STATE OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Moderator-Brenda Bowen
BG-Barry Goldblatt
TW-Tina Wexler
WM- Marcia Wernick
TA-Tracey Adams
BG-Great voice is different for every agent, but every agent knows it when they see it.
BG-Nothing more satisfying to an agent then to sell a debut author’s work.
ALL-Publishers Marketplace can be deceptive and cause more heartache. Not a complete snap shot.
If you had a magic wand and could fix one thing about publishing what would it be?
TA-Publishing by committee, trust your editor.
TW-Higher royalties for ebooks.
BG-The end of semi-annual royalties.
Gary Paulsen-A WRITER’S UPSIDE-DOWN LIFE
I found this clip, which comes pretty close to giving you a taste of the best of Gary Paulsen. He’s a true story teller. Hearing him talk about his life is better than my retelling could ever be.
I was fascinated by him, both times I heard him speak. Here were a couple things that stood out for me…
*I think you should be able to hunt lawyers. Ha!
*I tried to quit writing, but I couldn’t. I love to write.
*If I had gone to Harvard, it never would have happened.
*Kill the television–read, read, read!!!
*TV is intellectual carbon monoxide, you think you’re breathing when you’re not.
*Read like a wolf eats. Read what they tell you not to.
*It’s useless to write for adults. Write for the children.
*Don’t write down, there’s no time.
I’d like to close this post by reminding everyone about the importance of reaching out and creating ripples. And I would like to thank librarians everywhere. Despite being under the appreciated, they change and save lives every single day. Thank you.
Tags: Gary Paulsen, Kimberly Sabatini, LA11SCBWI, Librarians
I don’t mean to scare you, but we are now HALFWAY through the conference. And that’s only because I didn’t attend the Intensive Sessions on Monday. I’ve never been to anything like this before. It’s amazing and exhausting. At this point, I’m sucking down ice tea, caffeine riddle soda and full-on regular coffee as needed. ( Read as–with an IV drip) I’m breaking off glacier size hunks of dark chocolate from the stash in my bag. So far, I haven’t missed a single keynote or workshop, but I’m openly weeping at the drop of a hat and running to the SCBWI store every break to hoard more books. I may have even high-fived Jay Asher in the lobby. He was totally cool with it though. Ah…so where were we?
Norton Juster-AN ACCIDENTAL AUTHOR TELLS ALL
Legen…wait for it…dary!
Here are your nuggets…
*The great puzzle for kids is what their parents are made of.
*Boredom is an undervalued commodity. It is a mistake to banish boredom.
*My books were motivated by “trying to avoid doing other things.” Ha!
*The hardest thing to make kids understand is how to listen to their own voices.
*Being out of context is the one great, liberating thing in our lives. Spend a lot of time out of context and help kids stay out of it as long as possible.
*Playing with words is my great disease.
I always like to watch for the little messages that the universe sends to me. *heart squish*
Next up, I had a workshop session with Gary Paulsen. I am going to save my notes for his keynote since there was a bit of overlap. I’ll combine the best of the two for you later.
And then there was shame. My shame. *sticks out hand to be slapped* I have no excuse, except the hideous crash of all that unfamiliar caffeine in my system. Oh, Mary Pope Osborne of MAGIC TREE HOUSE fame…I have done you wrong. *sobs*
Mary Pope Osbourne-A BRIDGE OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS
My brain has turned to mush. I could see Mary up at the podium…talking…but it sounded like the teacher from the Charlie Brown specials. The words would not go in. I took no notes. I fiddled with my camera…
Cute, huh?
I climbed over a row of people and went to the SCBWI store and fed the book habit–again. Came back and ate some more chocolate. It wasn’t her. It was me. *hangs head in shame*
How will I ever feel good about myself again?
I GOT TO HOLD PEEPY!!!!! And meet
Lisa Yee. *heart squish*
(My boys laughed so hard, when I squealed about holding Peepy. *snicker*)
She signed my copy of
IDENTICAL…”A banned author to be!”
I hope I don’t let her down. She is such a hero of mine.
Cynthea is a major resource and support to the Children’s Book Writing community.
I’ve learned sooo much from her. Thank you!!!!
She’s the best and loves this book!!!!!
Eastern NY SCBWI in the house!
Brought my own copy of HARRIS AND ME, a personal favorite, for Gary Paulsen to sign.
The wonderful Mary Pope Osbourne who DOES NOT sound like the teacher from Charlie Brown and is super sweet.
What time is it? It’s almost time for the 40 Winks Anniversary Poolside Gala!!!!!
Everyone hanging out and getting on line for some food.
(Kim and Jodi) Got my bunny slippers!!!!
Surprisingly is was pretty cool out.
Jodi, Kim and Laura
Can you see my PJ’s? Fiction that Rocks–The Class of 2k12
Captain Stupendous aka Mike Jung in his cape blanket with sleeves. :o)
Jeff, rocking the dance floor in his night gown night shirt. *grin* Not my fault guys are so easy to tease.
It was at this point that I ran up to the room and dumped my sweat shirt and everything that did not fit into my name tag holder. Take my word for it, dancing in bunny slippers just gives you really hot feet and a desire to throw your hands in the air and wave them all around! What a great night!!
Phew, we made it through Saturday. Now we’re almost done with the LA Conference blogs. Are you clapping? Seriously, that’s not nice. *gives you the stink-eye* I’ll be back to my regularly scheduled blather soon enough–then you’ll be sorry.
Friday’s post will kick off (Sunday at the conference) with an Agent Panel and Gary Paulsen.
Tags: Cynthea Liu, Ellen Hopkins, Gary Paulsen, Jay Asher, Kimberly Sabatini, LA11SCBWI, Lisa Yee, Mike Jung, Norton Juster
OMG!!!IT’SJUDYBLUME!!!DIDYOUHEARME????IT’SJUDYFREAKINGBLUMEFOLKS!!!!
That’s pretty much all you heard in the ballroom at this point. We were all a little bit a whopping load of excited.
Lin Oliver and Judy Blume
I vacillated between trying to jot down every syllable she uttered and just wanting to just sit there and take in the moment. It was remarkable to hear Judy Blume speak. This is a tough one to convey properly, it was once in a lifetime experience. I’ll try to give you a little pice of the wonderful…
*We start the book on the day that something different happens.
*We write children’s books because it is what comes naturally to us. Right now EVERYBODY wants to write for children–we are so hot. We went from…”Judy, when are you going to write a REAL book?” To being the moneymakers for the publishers.
*In her 20’s (the early 60’s) she had two kids and a traditional husband who wanted her to be home and perfect. “The expectations for my life were very disappointing to me.”
*Her life made her physically sick and when she changed it, all her illnesses disappeared.
*Writing not only changed my life, it saved my life.
*Don’t listed to anyone else, don’t worry about who your audience is, because if it’s good–your book will find one.
*(In response to a question) I don’t think about my legacy. If I thought about all of you when I write, I would be too scared to write anything. When I die, I’d like a little stone that says…Are you there God? It’s me, Judy.
*heart squish*
Next up, a workshop. How can anyone in the world interesting after listening to Judy Blume? You find some wonderful folks to make you laugh.
Libba Bray-HELLO, MY NAME IS…GETTING PAST THE FIRST DATE WITH YOUR CHARACTERS
Libba gave excellent advice and I’ll give you a few awesome tidbits, but as I’m reading over my notes, I can’t help but be disappointed because I couldn’t capture her wit on paper. So be warned, Libba in person is unlike anyone you’ve ever met before and I mean that in the very best of ways.
*Read as far and wide as you possibly can.
*Feel free to read the mediocre and the bad–it will make you feel better and it’s instructive.
*Writing should cost you something.
*Question the assumptions, stereotypes and pop-culture.
*Revision is my only extreme sport. :o)
Now we must follow funny with more funny…
Jon Scieszka-THE MYRAID POSSIBILITES OF FORM, STYLE AND GENRE
Oh, I have not laughed this hard in a very long time. Seriously. And once again, I can not support the high level of hilarity with my notes. As I look over my scribbles, I’ve realized that after the first comment, they are practically illegible. Just funny, little tidbits that relate to a well, crafted humorous stories. I’ll prove it to you…
*I got a masters in fiction writing, which qualified my to paint apartments. Ha! (Swear, this is the only one that will make sense.)
*Writing skinny books with cool covers.
*Tipping hat to Frog and Toad. Cowboy and Octopus–two weirdest best friends ever.
*Slaughter Ball. Boys-“Yeah!” Girls-“Why would you do that?”
*Oh, sorry mom–I think we broke Greg.
*3yo-Alzheimers patients on acid. Everything is a little freaky and then it starts all over again.
*This stuff is not rocket science folks!
Trust me–just laugh. I know what I’m talking about.
If you’re back on Wednesday…Norton Juster. You don’t want to miss it. Just sayin’.
Tags: Jon Scieszka, Judy Blume, Kimberly Sabatini, LA11SCBWI, Libba Bray
I wasn’t prepared for David Small. I hadn’t known I was going to find a hero.
David Small-THE VOICE OF THE EYE
This is the only way I could possibly explain…
David wrote and drew to save his life.
Then he spoke about it…
*Your biography becomes your biology.
*Through this intense experience of introspection, I always expected myself to come out of it.
*My story is a story about voicelessness. My story is a story about having your voice taken away.
*A kid with a mother that doesn’t love him or her, lives life with a hole in their heart.
*Life is a shit storm and whit is starts to rain, the only umbrella we have is art.
And then we laughed. And we sang. I even told him how I found my own voice. Then, I fell in the very best kind of love, with David Small.
Monday…Judy Blume.
Tags: David Small, Kimberly Sabatini, LA11SCBWI
