MY FAVORITE BOOKS FOR WRITERS

Okay, folks, here it is. My very first video. It's called MY FAVORITE BOOKS FOR WRITERS and I highlight my top five picks for that category. There is no sound (yet) for this, so bear with me while I figure out how to add sound. In the meantime, I would appreciate your comments and feedback on this first effort. Who knows? If I get LOTS of positive feedback I might have to make LOTS of videos!!!

THE SCRAP BOOK - a book review

Do you like to write? Do you love children’s books? Do you love the artwork in children’s books? Do you ever wonder how some of it is created?

I just read a book that I love, Love, LOVE! Can you tell I'm excited about it? Well-known children’s book illustrator and children’s author, Lois Ehlert, has added another book to her wonderful collection. This one, called THE SCRAP BOOK, is like a mini biography written and put together like a scrapbook (hence the name).

It’s filled with very colorful pages and minimal text that explains how she came up with some of the ideas for her book. For instance, when a squirrel slipped inside her house, it gave her an idea for a book. She called it NUTS TO YOU. The inspiration for FEATHERS FOR LUNCH came when her sister's cat escaped out the door. You just never know when an idea might sneak up on you.

She also talks about her art, sharing ideas and techniques she uses to create the artwork for her books. If you're an artist, but not a writer, you might still be find some inspiration for crafts and techniques just by flipping through the pages of this book.

Whether you write children’s books, or illustrate them, or do both like she does, you should read Lois' book. I think you'll find the subject matter interesting, fascinating and inspiring.

 

The Value of Picture Books

If you've ever wondered what all the fuss is about in terms of the value of or need for picture books, you should read this article, The Value of a Picture Book: 5 Life-Lessons Your Child Gets From Stories. Pam Allyn, Executive Director and founder of LitWorld, "a global organization advocating for children's rights as readers, writers and learners," wrote an excellent article that was published in Psychology Today.

The article was posted on January 13, 2010, making the article dated in terms of today's fast-paced media offerings but the info in the story is timeless.

Here's another article on the same topic. This one is titled, How Picture Books Play a Role in a Child's Development. Lori Calabrese lists 10 ways picture books work in shaping a child's development. Two of them are: The repetition in a picture book "help children learn skill like phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension and fluency"; and the illustrations in the books "help children understand what they are reading and allow young readers to analyze the story." This article also dates back to 2010, but the information is still relevant in today's world.

If you're interested in the topic of children's picture books, both of these articles are well worth reading.

No, I Haven't Completely Abandoned My Blog!!

To all of you who might have thought I had completely abandoned my blog, you can rest assured that such is not the case. I'm going to use an old excuse, but it's a true one: I've been busy. In addition to trying to keep up with normal (whatever normal is) household events, I've also been busy with writing endeavors. I just haven't posted anything on my blog lately. Here's what I have been doing:


* A few days ago I entered the Sweetheart of a Deal Picture Book Contest sponsored by AKA Literary Agency. They were taking a total of 51 entries. Ten winners get a half-hour phone consult with Terrie Wolf about their entries. Wish me luck.

* I also sent in the first page (23 lines) of a picture book for a chance to have it critiqued by Katie Temean. She will select only one winner, so wish me luck there, as well.

* As mentioned in a previous post from early in 2013, I was a member of Julie Hedlund's 12 x 12 group. I got a lot out of my membership and decided to sign up again for this year, 2014. As a member, I am entitled to submit stories to select group of agents during the year. I'm getting ready to make by February submission.

* I'm also a member of WOW. The site's founder, Kristen Fulton, hosted a month-long event in 2013, where the objective was to come up with a new non-fiction story idea every day for an entire month. That event was very popular, so a Mini WOW was held February 14-16, 2014. I participated in that, too.

* And, as mentioned in a previous post from 2013, I participated in Meg Miller's ReviMo, which stands for Revive Month. I worked on several manuscripts during that time and I think I improved each one of them. The event was also so popular, a shortened version, called Mini ReviMo, took place February 15-16, 2014. Again, I worked on some manuscripts that needed a bit of tweaking.

* And, I write lots and lots and lots of book reviews. I might have been remiss about posting reviews on this blog, but I have been busy writing them. You can read my reviews by going to these sites: CCBR, BookReporter, KidsReads and TeenReads.

So, you see, I have not been slacking off on my writing; I've just been a bit lazy keeping up with my blog. I will try to do a better job of posting on my blog in the future.

 

Review of THRICE TOLD TALES

Everyone’s heard the nursery rhyme, The Three Blind Mice. It’s a short and simple rhyming verse about three blind mice who get their tails chopped off by a farmer’s wife. But, did you ever wonder what might have happened to the mice that caused them to be blind in the first place, or what might have happened to them after that bloody incident?

Well, wonder no more. Catherine Lewis answers these, and many other questions, in a whimsical, imaginative and very informative way, all the while teaching readers about literary concepts. She takes the story of The Three Blind Mice to a whole new level by creating an abundance of story matter about these three little rodents and their plight to explain such concepts as allegory, structure and red herring. She also includes some terms and concepts I had never heard of, like leitmotif and bildungsroman. Do you know what those terms mean? I do now, thanks to this delightful and informative book.

For instance, to explain the concept of “story”, Lewis writes simply: “Three blind mice ran after the farmer’s wife. She cut off their tales with a carving knife.” At the bottom of the page, in a section called “Snip of the Tale,” she adds: “On the most basic level, a sequence of events.” Of course, many of the terms and concepts in the book require much longer explanations than this, but regardless, all are very entertaining. She even writes her own “fairy tale” and “parable” to illustrate each of those concepts.

To explain the term “leitmotif” she writes: “Matilda Bethoon chop/chop/chops/ slender parsnips. She wields her Ginsu knife with precision, a steal at $19.95. It’s razor sharp, but neither it nor other kitchen toys – bamboo steamer, Teflon spoons – can assuage her agitation. She clenches a bunch of carrots and whacks of their green tops. Chop. Chopchop. Chopchopchop. An orange chip slaps the floor. Matilda stoops to pick it up. Yikes! Three mice charge her, trailing their dirty wigglers. ‘Hiyah’ //”/ She explains in the Snip of the Tale: “Something that reoccurs in a work (an image, object, action, word, phrase, etc.) that tends to unify the work and establish a theme.” NOTE: She has named the farmer’s wife Matilda Bethoon and the mice are named Pee Wee, Oscar and Mary.

Lewis also includes an Appendix at the end with each term explained in greater detail.

This is one of the most entertaining, imaginative, and yet very informative books about writing that I have ever read. I loved it! The writing is lively, and the chapters are short, so I was able to finish it at one sitting. However, I intend to keep a copy of it handy in my office to refer to when I have a question about a particular literary term.

If you're a writer, run to your nearest library and pick up a copy of this wonderful book. After you read it, you will probably want your own copy, like I do. 

Start the Year off Write 2014 Writing Challenge

I'm proud to say I will be participating in Shannon Abercrombie's Start the Year Off Write 2014 writing challenge, which will run from January 5 through January 26, 2014. The idea is for those of us who have stories to revise, to spend 21 days in January working on, and revising, those stories and ideas. There will be a writing exercise to do each day. Hopefully, by the end of the challenge, some of our stories will be ready to find "new homes" in the publishing world.

Sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? Yes, it is! Even though you will be working by yourself in the comfort of your own home, you can share the experience with all the other writers who will be participating in the challenge.

How much does it cost? Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nada. It's FREE!!!!

Who can join? Anyone can!!

Why should you join in? Well, in addition to the fact that you will be part of a community of writers who will be doing the same thing as you, and in addition to the hope that you will end up with some marketable manuscripts, ALL participants who follow the rules (and yes, there are some rules to follow) are eligible for PRIZES!!

What are the rules? Glad you asked. Here they are:

• You should Tweet, Facebook, blog or if you’re not tech-savvy, sing from the mountaintops that you are participating in the challenge. There is no registration required. You just have to follow!
• Display the "Start The Year Off Write" badge on your, which I have at the top of this blog.
• You MUST either join the Start the Year Off Write Facebook Group OR sign up to receive updates via email (in sidebar).
  
• You MUST comment on each exercise you complete in order to earn an entry towards the grand prizes. 
  
• If you complete EVERY exercise during the challenge, you will be eligible for the SUPER SECRET GRAND PRIZE.

Sound too good to be true? Trust me, it's true. I participated in Shannon's 100 Days of Summer Writing Challenge. Yep, that's right. She sponsored a writing challenge that lasted for 100 days. Participants were encouraged to follow daily writing prompts. Everyone who completed a prompt was eligible for weekly prizes. It was fun and it kept me writing during the summer.

Now I can hardly wait to Start the Year Off Write!

Are ya ready to join in??? I hope so....

Roger the Reindeer - Contest Entry

I'm posting this Christmas story, ROGER THE REINDEER, as my entry into Susanna Hill's latest Holiday Mishap contest (click the link to read more contest entries). The challenge was to write a story of 350 words or less that had something to do with a holiday mishap, mix-up, miscommunication, mistake or potential story. I think this fits the bill.

Here's my story:

ROGER THE REINDEER – word count 306

 

“Are you ready, Rudolph?” Santa asked.

“Ready, Santa,” Roger said.

Roger pranced proudly beside Santa. The fake, glowing nose Roger had rigged up must be working if Santa didn’t suspect anything

Roger was tired of Rudolph getting all the attention. First, everyone made fun of his nose. Then, everyone thought it was wonderful he could make his nose glow. Roger had been working his way up the ranks to be on Santa’s team, and then Santa chose that upstart Rudolph.

Roger had put Rudolph out of commission by lacing his oats with sleeping potion. Rudolph wouldn’t sleep all night, but by the time he woke up, it would be too late. Roger would be flying high through the skies, pulling Santa’s sleigh.

“I need you to line up with the rest of the reindeer.” Santa led Roger in front of Dasher and Dancer. As he was about to snap the lead in place, he said, “Rudolph, what’s wrong with your nose?”

“I don’t know, Santa. What’s it doing?”

“Your nose is blinking. Shouldn’t it just be glowing ?”

“Um…” Roger stammered. He scrunched up his face “Is that better?”

“No,” Santa said, as with a spit and a sputter, the light in Roger’s nose went out.

“What’s wrong Santa?”

“Your nose. It’s not glowing anymore.” Santa leaned over Roger. “It looks like there’s something on the end of it.” Santa touched it. “What’s going on?” When the fake nose slipped off, Santa asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m...I'm...um... Roger.”

“Where’s Rudolph?”

“He’s asleep in the barn.”

Pointing at some elves, Santa said, “Go get Rudolph.” To Roger he said, “I’ll deal with you later.”

When Santa took off with Rudolph in the lead, Roger hung his head, ashamed at what he’d done. “It sounded like a good idea at the time,” he said to himself.