Moving along

I have gotten Postcards back from Andrea. Needs revising. Also Mallory at Scholastic has commented and helped me a bit, we'll see where I can take it from here. Still love my Delia character and trying to be true to her. I will spend some more time tomorrow writing. Writing time has become precious time since I've begun teaching.

I am getting ready to do a bit of traveling. I don't really want to. Would much prefer to stay in cave like house and write. Next week I get to drive Dan Yaccarino to and from his engagements as I am his liaison. Very excited about that!

I have finished Postcards and it is with Andrea! Yay!

Just want to say, Texas Teachers Rock Hard! I am taking a certification course and I never knew how difficult teaching was until now. I am so impressed at the level of competency and of course the level of caring in the schools today:) I am also proud to be a Texas Teacher!

Okay, about writing...I have been working on my doll story and it's going very well...so well in fact it's scary... Delia the character has taken on a life of her own and is a fun and witty almost- seven- year old child. It wasn't easy to add so much humor to the book but I am finding ways that are organic and help the pacing of the book, such as postcard writing, short paragraphs and chapters, and of course poetry. I think of all the techniques, poetry is the strongest and I haven't added nearly enough. I'm trying to come up with a fantastic ending. I think the story will need to come full circle though, and in the end, Delia who has been longing for Maddie Doll will finally be happy that her family is all together in one family car. Maybe I can make the car scenes funnier...hmmmm...I wonder what kind of car the parents drive? A jeep...VW bug, nooo been done...what kind of car would a family of four own who live in Dallas on Mockingbird lane? They could be driving the mom's pet grooming van...that might be funny...or something reptiley, There could be a lizard cage in the van. Delia has taken along her pet lizard without permission? I'll think some more on it later.

I am a pathetic blogger. I just don't have much to say. Today, however, I will attempt something. I am working on the Kringles story. My lovely Kindles are now the Kringles, thanks to Melissa! I love the name change. I am almost finished and then it's on to Andrea. I have been taking an unusually long time to finish my stories. I think it's a good thing. I am examining them closely. I think I was sending them in fast before because of lack of confidence. I didn't have the confidence to think that I could fix whatever was wrong. So, I was hoping no one would notice that there was anything wrong!

Went to Coffee Haus and worked on Bone Song today. I like the direction it's taking but it is still unwieldy. I need to pare it down and keep it flowing. Possibly I need to try a different structure. Rhythmic free verse maybe? No...but more white space.

I am very pleased with the direction the doll story is taking. Having tons of fun with it.

The Houston Conference was very helpful by way of giving writing direction. Lisa Ann Sandell recommended checking each and every word, every sentence and then each and every chapter to be sure it reads to the best advantage. That may be why I like to write in short snippets. It is easier to be sure the language is working right. It's more difficult to create a scene that works because it is working backwards, from paragraph, to page, and finally to chapter, but I think it is effective for me because everything I have to say can be said in a sentence. Everything of value anyway. The rest is expanding on that one sentence. She also said that if there is more than one logic hole in a manuscript they won't acquire it. I usually have at least three or four logic holes. Something to think about in the future.

All the editors agreed that YA is hot right now! Picture books are in a slump.

Nancy Feresten of National Geographic was so helpful. Enjoyed meeting her and they are looking for work for hire writers.

All in a Days Work

It's unanimous! Everyone agrees that what my Christmas story needs is depth. I am going tomorrow to add "depth" at the local coffee haus. I think what I'm going to add is "what family means" especially at Christmas. But how will I do that in a 900 word picture book? I'll keep you posted, follower:)

Worked on "Postcards" today. I like the direction it's taking. I'm not making too many changes, which is good. Found the book, Sister Magic, which should prove helpful. When I write the "raffle" scene I'd like it to be mostly funny. I need to figure out how Delia can express her love for the doll. May need to use her thoughts and dialogue. Yes, I need to get more of her thoughts in there. It's unusual for me not to have internal thoughts in a book. However, most 8 year olds don't have many. But when reading Ramona, Cleary gets lots of Ramona's thoughts in a chapter. Ramona is a thoughtful child. Delia can be thoughtful, also. If I find I have too many and it's too revealing I can take some out. Better to have too many in the beginning. I think once I get started back with "butt in chair" I can finish the book in two weeks. That is my goal. End of December.