Eastern PA SCBWI Festival of Books

CORRECTION! CHANGE OF VENUE!!!


The Book Festival will take place on the same day, at the same time, but will be held at:


Doylestown Bookshop
16 S Main St.
Doylestown, PA 18901


See you there!

The Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Society of Children’s 

Book Writers &  Illustrators

       presents

      A Festival of Children’s Books

       on Thursday, July 28, 2011

      2:30 – 5:30 PM

In the Pearl S. Buck room at the Doylestown Branch of the Bucks County Library

Please come and meet our region’s most wonderful author’s and illustrators.

I'll be there. So will ROCK STAR SANTA. Looking forward to seeing you.

Winner of the Fractured Mother Goose Poetry Contest is Announced

Mother Goose has been giving her spectacles a real work out reading and rereading these “old rhymes in new skins.” She even let Goosey read some. Goosey was not a fan of The Wise Lamb and I could understand why.

I would like to personally thank everyone who participated in the “New Mother Goose Rhyming Competition.”

From a scrambled “Humpty” to a lying “Bo-Peep” to Rhymeland’s own “Sweeney,” the entries were very clever.

The winner may contact me through my website for their rhyming picture book critique. Just click on the link in the upper right hand corner of my blog. That will take you to my website where you will find my email address.

Thanks again, everyone everyone. These contests are always a bunch of fun and they help stimulate your creativity.

And the winner is………..

A KING’S MAN TELLS WHAT HAPPENED TO HUMPTY DUMPTY


By Stephanie Shaw

Congratulations, Stephanie. J

NJSCBWI - A New Take on Silver and Gold

Making New Writer Friends and Reconnecting with Old Ones


Last week I had the best time at the NJSCBWI Conference despite a few family setbacks. (An emergency room visit in the middle of the night) But that's another story.

I was thrilled to meet and chat with some of my POET'S GARAGE members. I had met Stella and Diana before, but this was my first time meeting Laura.

I also ran into my old friend, Patti, who by the way had been my very first roommate at the POCONO SCBWI conference years ago. Since then I have published a picture book and she has obtained an MFA from Vermont.

I spent some time with Nancy, Allison, Kristin, Christina, Mary, Elena, Edward, Ammi, Eileen, and Alvina.

New friends made, included my awesome YA peer critique group, Suzy, Susie, Marcy, Christine and Nicole.

Aside from writer friends I also made new friends with editors and agents. So now I'm busy revising away in hopes that next year I'll be one of the agented authors attending.

Go to a writer's conference. It builds your self-esteem, gets you excited about your work and stimulates your creativity, not to mention your appetite, friendships and life in general. :)

NEW POETRY CONTEST AT THE STORYTELLER’S SCROLL

Don't forget, you rhymers out there. Mother Goose is expecting some "new" takes on her "old" rhymes.

Contest starts today!

Good Luck!

Non-Traditional Mother Goose Poetry Contest at the Storyteller's Scroll

NEW POETRY CONTEST AT THE STORYTELLER’S SCROLL

In winter, The Storyteller’s Scroll ran the second annual

Fractured Fairy Tale Rhyming Contest”

It was a great success. But in both the last contest and the previous one, some participants used beloved Mother Goose characters instead of fairy tale characters. So in honor of their favorite Nursery Rhymes we’re running a rhyming contest, this time using “MOTHER GOOSE CHARACTERS”

Starting June 1, 2011, participants will be able to submit their fractured nursery rhymes for a chance to win a rhyming picture book critique from First Peek Critique Service, valued at $75.00. Winner will be announced on June 14, 2011.

Here is an example:

Rules:

1. Poems must be suitable for children to read.
2. No more than 16 lines.
3. ***Poems must be from the POV of a Mother Goose character, but not the traditional POV.
4. Submit in the comment section below.

ie: Little Miss Muffet from the Spider’s POV

Spider’s Response

 by Gayle C. Krause                                      

Miss Muffet hates me and I don’t know why,

so I’d like to take this time to reply

to her accusation that I scared her away.

I was only spinning my web on that day.

You say she’s innocent. That’s sure a joke.

She’s a drama queen who whines to the nursery rhyme folk.

As for missing her lunch, she eats curds and whey

from sunrise to sunset, everyday.

I don’t know what you all think I did.

She was so busy eating she thought that I hid

under an eave and then dropped down beside her.

Give me break. I’m a web-spinning spider.

Me? Apologize? For what may I ask?

I was minding my business with my spidery task.

If she paid more attention before she sat down

she wouldn’t have tarnished my name around town.

Have fun! Let your imagination fly. See what you can come up with. Make Mother Goose proud! J

Color Critiques for Conferences

Hi folks!

Spring is Conference time. In April I participated in a peer critique group at a PA SCBWI conference and in June I will be meeting the authors of the novels I am currently critiquing. All together, I have critiqued 165 pages. That’s the size of a whole novel.

So what did I observe when critiquing these awesome samples of writing?

1. Creating tension is essential to keep those pages turning. How do we do that?

Here are some examples:

1. Show, don't tell!
2. The fewer blocks of description or passive writing, the better.
3. Avoid "info dumps."
4. Use realistic dialogue. Make sure your characters speak like today’s teens.
5. Impart information through action scenes.

  2. Make your "danger" believable.

             a.  Don’t throw in a scene that sounds scary or exciting just because every writing book suggests you do. The danger your character exoeriences must relate to his/her story.

   3. Throw a monkey wrench in the middle of the drama. Include something unexpected to make the reader want to keep going.

    4. Pay attention to pacing.

            a. too fast? Slow it down with some basic description, not flowery over the top double adjective description.

                   1. use longer sentences

            b. too slow? Add dialogue.

                   1. incorporate short, staccato sentences to make scenes more suspenseful.

                    2. Make scenes take place in a shorter rather than longer time frame.

5. Use hooks at the end of each chapter to keep reader turning the pages.

Activity: Since agents and editors want to be sucked into your story immediately go back to your first scene in your first chapter and:

1.    Highlight tension in RED.

2.    Highlight character’s feelings in PINK.

3.    Highlight actions in BLUE.

4.    Highlight dialogue in PURPLE.

5.    Highlight character’s inner thoughts in GREEN.

                  Well, I’m off to splatter my critique partners’ pages with color. Together we can create a masterpiece. Try using this color critique method with your next critique group.

Interview with Picture Book Author - Lynne Marie

Today, I’d like to introduce my blog readers to Lynne Marie. She’s a new Scholastic author, and we share the same editor. Her debut picture book is featured in this interview.

Enjoy!

1.Can you tell us your latest news?

    I am very pleased to announce that my first

    children’s picture book, “Hedgehog Goes to 

    Kindergarten,” is being featured in May issue of 

    Scholastic Firefly book club. You can find it on 

    the front page of the flyer. It can be ordered 

    through the book club from classroom teachers, 

    or anyone my contact me at 

     WriteLynneMarie@aim.com

2.   If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I have been fortunate to have many writers mentor me during the many, many years I devoted to learning my craft, including Erica Silverman, Anna Grossnickle Hines, Gail Carson Levine, Pam Munoz Ryan, Patricia Lee Gauch, Joy Cowley and several other greats, but I honestly would have to credit my long-standing critique group, Linda Ravin Lodding and Lori Mortensen, for their tireless and continued mentorship over the years.

3.   What is/was your first published title?

Although I have had many near-misses and several other manuscripts under consideration, “Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten” is my first published title, to date.

4.   What inspired you to write your first book?


This book, originally titled “School Bus Buddies,” was inspired by a few things. The problem was based upon something I observed when my son attended school. I think going off on a bus is such a big step and I wanted to write a story to give a child (especially a child who is different) hope “at the end of the road,” even when the ride is bumpy.  I felt I needed a main character who had a flaw that was part of the problem and I right away thought of my first pet hedgehog, Apollo Nike ( nicknamed “Spike”) who always turned into a pin-cushion when he got scared.

5.   How did your find your editor/publisher?

She had been one of the Mentors at a Rutgers University One on One Plus Conference that I had made it into several years ago, although she was not my Mentor. She seemed very nice and I thought that my book would be perfect for the book club market, so I sent it.

6.   What are your current projects?


I do have two sequels to “Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten,” in

which Spike actually does get to school: “Hedgehog’s 100^th Day of School,” and “Hedgehog and Croc’s Picture Day Countdown.” I think they are lots of fun – and so does my editor, so hopefully my first book will sell well enough that Scholastic will offer contracts on those too.

      7. Describe a typical day in your writing life. Are you a morning 

      writer? An afternoon writer? A late night writer?

     I am an after 9:00 A.M. writer. Mornings are focused upon having fun

     breakfasts with my six-year old daughter and dressing her up in

     fancy clothes for school. I’m glad we have this time because next 

     year we will be living in Florida and she will wear a school uniform 

     and go to school even earlier!

7.   Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I would love them to visit my websites at:

www.mywordplayground.blogspot.com

www.hedgehoggoestokindergarten.blogspot.com

I have been remiss in updating them just lately because we are in the process of selling our home and purchasing a home in Florida and I have been flying back and forth, but I will be giving them attention soon, and I would love to feature children’s artwork and letters, which can be sent to: WriteSpike@gmail.com

8.   Are there any writing books you recommend? Workshops? Conferences?

I love Ann Whitford Paul’s book, “Writing Picture Books,” for starters.  I’m also a huge fan  of the Highlights Foundation Writer’s Workshop at Chautauqua (www.highlightsfoundation.org) and any and all SCBWI (www.scbwi.org) conferences on the local, state, national or international level – I’ve been to several local, many states, many national conferences and even one in Spain!

9.   And for fun, something that not a lot of people know about you:

I’m sharing this one because it has to do with kid’s movies and that is always a FUN topic (I can’t wait to see RIO!).  Cathy Moriarty who was Carrington in the movie Casper (as well as several other big name movies) and was also in Casper Meets Wendy was in my wedding party when I was married in 2003.

Just makes me want to go watch Casper!

Something else for those who like pets: I’ve had fish, a gerbil, hamsters, mice, cats, five pygmy hedgehogs, rabbits, a feral cat, and a Belgian Schipperke.

Thanks for sharing your success with us Lynne. We’ll keep our eye out for your next book!

Thanks for having me here, Gayle! It’s been fun!