I don’t know if I mentioned that my friend Linda Hanlon and I have taken over as co-conspirators co-coordinators for The Hudson Valley Shop Talk. This is my local writer’s group for the SCBWI Eastern New York. We had our second meeting of the year yesterday (I missed the first get together due to attending the New York SCBWI Conference) so for me, it felt like the first. I’ll admit it–I was a little nervous but I think it went well. We are still in a kind of transitional phase, trying to see what works best for the group. But I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you and see what you guys like out of your writer’s groups.
First of all, this group is a very mixed bag. Not everyone will be able to attend all the time, there will be a mixture of illustrators and writers from picture book to novel and there will also be a range of members from newbie to published.
This is a tough group to work with. Because of the diversity it can be very hard to meet everyone’s individual needs IF you think of Shop Talk as primarily a place to get a critique done on your work. But you guessed it–I don’t think of it that way. I know you’ve heard me mention this before, but I think of these Shop Talk meetings as a tribe gathering place–almost like a family reunion. All good families have a mixture of people at varies ages and stages of life and for Shop Talk to be an effective tool for all of us, I think we need to treat it as our tribal reunion for the month.
Here is what I see happening at a successful Shop Talk…
*Information and resources are readily available-Anyone new, walking in for the first time, should have a plethora of information about the SCBWI at their finger tips. Every month we will be adding more resources to our reference documents.
*A monthly book club where we all read one PB and one MG/YA book and briefly discuss it as WRITERS. It’s an optional exercise but it helps us all to learn to read with an eye towards craft.
*A monthly topic. On Saturday we talked about critique groups. We touched upon the traditional skills that are needed to give feedback. We also addressed a common occurrence–negating our own worth when it comes to giving feedback. We need to acknowledge that our critique skills will grow with time and practice, but that we are all capable of giving a thoughtful response as a reader. Then we discussed a blog post by Kristen Lamb, which suggest that we would benefit from being a Non-Tradtional Critique group. I have to agree. It is my personal belief that there is a limited amount a large, mixed, rotating group of people can truly do for each person’s individual manuscript. Instead we need to focus on learning general critique skills, working with big picture plot/synopsis critiques, creating relationships that will result in successful critique partners/groups and beta readers. We also need to utilize the diversity in our tribe to foster mentorship within the group. I began attending Shop Talk meetings with no real knowledge or skills about writing or publishing–I learned everything I know from the SCBWI and other children’s writers. I feel that there is no better way to say thank you for what I was given than to pay it forward. I’m inspired by the idea that the Hudson Valley Shop Talk will be a community where we all share and learn from each other.
*We need to take it to the streets–or the book stores or the restaurants or online. For this group to harness the power of it’s members we need to be in contact more than just for 2+ hours a month. Friday some of us will be heading to one of our local independent bookstores for a YA author event. We’ve got an online group on Facebook to help stay in touch and we’ll be putting together an email list so we can stay connected. Additionally,there are SCBWI conference events, book festivals and more coming down the pike. I’m excited to get to know everyone a little bit more.
I’ll be honest–I’m sure some of our best laid plans–well you know how that goes LOL! But I’m hopeful and really, isn’t that the best way to be? So, now it’s time for you to step up dear reader–whether you’re in my local Shop Talk or not. You don’t even have to be in a writer’s group to have an opinion of what you’d like out of a group. Spill. Tell me your wishes. Share your best tips.
Tags: critique, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Linda Hanlon, SCBWI, SCBWI Eastern NY, Shop Talk, Touching the Surface
I’m sending you off to get educated and entertained by the lovely Jackson Pearce, but before you go, tell me what’s your Friday Read. I’m devouring DEAD TO ME by Lisa McMann!!!!! I seriously think it’s her best book yet.
*****Jackson Pearce-6 Misconceptions About Authors*****
Have a fantastic weekend!
Tags: Authors, Jackson Pearce, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Misconceptions, Publishing, Touching the Surface
My fellow Apocalypsie, lovely friend and debut author of POSSESS–Gretchen McNeil–has her second book in the pipeline and asked me to be a part of the TEN Cover Reveal and Scavenger Hunt! Of course I said YES!!!!
Have you met Gretchen?
Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown. Her YA horror/paranormal POSSESS debuted with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins in 2011. Her second novel, TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – will be released September 18, 2012. Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4’s “Code Monkeys” and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen is also a founding member of the vlog group YARebelswhere she can be seen as “Monday.”
Now that you know Gretchen, let’s get busy because we have a lot to cover. First things first–let me tell you a little bit about TEN.
TEN by Gretchen McNeil
And their doom comes swiftly.
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives – three days on Henry Island at an exclusive house party. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for wanting to be there, both of which involve Kamiak High’s most eligible bachelor, T.J. Fletcher. But what starts out as a fun-filled weekend turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.
Suddenly, people are dying and the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?
Jeepers Crepers!
NOW…ON TO THE CONTEST!!!
Q: What is the prize???
A: You are entering to win a signed and annotated copy of the unbound galley of TEN. A one of a kind prize, out before the ARCs. How awesome is that?
Q: How do I enter the contest???
A: You must start the hunt from the beginning and you can do this on Gretchen’s blog – http://gretchenmcneil.blogspot.com/ – From there, you’ll need to collect all ten clues for a chance to enter the contest on the day of the cover reveal (which is Friday, February 24.)
Q: What is my clue and where do I go next on the scavenger hunt???
A: Your clue is LORI and your next stop on the hunt is… Kimberly Derting – http://kimberlyderting.blogspot.com/ (and she’ll be posting on Thursday, February 23)
There you go! You have everything you need to take you to the next leg of the race. Good luck! If you have the time leave a comment, I’d love to hear about the scariest book you’ve ever read. I’m going to say Silence of the Lambs. *shiver* But I’m thinking that Gretchen is planning on giving me nightmares too!
Tags: Apocalypsies, Cirque Berzerk, cover reveal, Gretchen McNeil, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Derting, Kimberly Sabatini, Possess, Ten, TEN Scavenger Hunt, Touching the Surface, YA Rebels
CONGRATULATIONS to…*drum roll*…
Erica from The Book Cellar!!!!!
Erica will be receiving an ARC of STARTERS by Lissa Price, my very first signed bookmark for TOUCHING THE SURFACE, some additional Surface swag and some very tasty chocolate from my local chocolatier!!!! Yummy!!!!
But…
I decided to give away a few extra TOUCHING THE SURFACE swag packages. Here are my winners…
*Jasmine Rose from A Room With Books
*Sara from The Book Life (Sarah has a beautiful bog-but didn’t have a button I could grab so be sure to stop over and check it out.)
*Celine from Forget-Me-Not
Thank you to everyone who participated and gave me wonderful suggestions about the best swag to have. Congrats to all the winners and feel free to click on their buttons to find out more about their wonderful blogs!!!
Stay tuned for Wednesday’s blog…I have something exciting coming your way. *rubs hands in anticipation*
So, before you go…Have you ever won anything in an online blog contest? What’s the best prize that’s come your way? What book would you absolutely kill to get an early copy of? Let’s go…spill the beans.
Tags: A Room With Books, Book Bloggers, Contest, Forget-Me-Not, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Lissa Price, Starters, The Book Cellar, The Book Life, Touching the Surface
In general I’ve been writing up a storm lately. Of course I’ve had a day or two–here and there–where that thing called “life” has gotten in the way. But in general, I’m very excited to have the creative juices flowing. In fact, I’m in that stage where I’m a little bit obsessed with the book. I only want to listen to music off of THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY PLAYLIST, I fall asleep thinking about the book and I wake up with the story running around inside my head. My activity of choice right now, if I could completely put life on hold, would be to just sit down some place cozy and get the thoughts out of my head and on the paper.
It wasn’t so long ago where this was the exact opposite. I spent most of my WIP writing time–well–not writing. I wrote other things like blogs, did revisions and edits etc… But, when it came to book two, I could only get small amounts onto the paper at a time. Some days it felt like swimming in mud. Technically, I guess I could have slowly and methodically kept writing and erasing all my dead ends, but that doesn’t work for me. I’ve learned that I need to know my story and my characters really well to make the writing happen. Besides, the act of day dreaming on paper seems like such a slow way to work. My mind functions so much faster than my fingers.
I used to feel a little crappy about this. Pretty sure the judgement police were going to give me a BIC (butt in chair) Citation, but I’ve learned that perhaps I do better trusting my instincts and being me. I’ve even started to think of this period of my story building, as my “astral projection phase.” I imagine it must feel glorious to travel without the weight of your body holding you down, but the closest I can say I’ve come to this experience is a couple really great flying dreams–I love those. Or maybe it’s the time spent in the in-between of a day dream–plotting a story. I know how other people work the best. And I’ve always compared my methods to theirs, but I’ve been wondering…
Option #1
Heavy and cumbersome–forcing thoughts out onto the page…
OR
Option #2
Light and dreamy–where I let my mind go wherever it wants to take me.
Yes, I like the second choice much better.
***Insert public service announcement–AURACLE by Gina Rosati ROCKS!***
Here’s the thing, I wasn’t completely sure that this was true until the last couple weeks, when all my brain cells decided to get together and have a party. Finally, I know with certainty that there is a complete book here–not just tendrils of thought that I am trying to weave together. I know that the first book was not just a fluke. So, here’s what I want to tell you. Be educated. Know what “writers” need to do to make it in this business. Once you know that, you are loaded for bear. Then…look at what YOU need to do to be a writer. Pick the tools that make your magic happen. Don’t think of yourself as a screw-up. Think of yourself as innovative, gifted and trend setting. Trust yourself as much as you can and then give yourself a little more credit–even if you have to fake it. And of course–be sure to write the book. You can’t be unique and take the world by storm without the book!
So, what do I think about THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY now that it’s starting to live and breath on it’s own? Here are the questions I ask myself…
Will it be any good?
I sure hope so, but who the hell knows.
Was it what I should have written?
The truth–it’s the only thing I could have written–let the chips fall where they may.
Is it anywhere near done?
Not really–but that’s because I’m a weaver and I won’t be happy with it until those original tendrils of thought have come together to make a whole that is bigger than its parts.
And thinking ahead…
Now that I’ve gained all this enlightenment, will the 3rd book be any easier?
Not a chance–but that’s why we feel so proud and accomplished when we’ve finished.
Happy writing! Don’t forget to tell me what makes you unique as a writer? Or tell me what you would actually do if the judgement police weren’t watching. I promise not to tell a soul–maybe.
Tags: Astral Projection, Auracle, Gina Rosati, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, The Opposite of Gravity, Touching the Surface, writing, writing style, YA Author, YA Book, YA Novel, YA Writer
