Books That Make You Go "Oh!"

I completely forgot to link to my latest Book Look column in the Prairie Wind, so here it is! For the summer issue, I wrote about how National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr used secrets to help create tension in her powerful young adult novel, Sweethearts. Check it out, and try to put a few secrets into your work-in-progress.

I've already found my next book for my column. In fact, I have a total author crush/book envy thing going on. (More on that later.) But if you've read a book that made you go, "Oh!" please let me know about it in the comments.

Thanks!

The Psychology of First Drafts

I have always wanted to be one of those authors who can whip out a first draft in no time. Every time I start a new novel, I say I'm going to do just that. Write without stopping. Get the story down. Don't look back. But my inner critic never lets me speed through this process. I'm slow and careful and analytical. You would think all that slow and careful writing would result in amazing first drafts. But nope! It doesn't work that way. I still end up revising like crazy. I change just about everything. I write many drafts over a couple of years before I even get close to the story I envisioned when I started.

So when I told my sister and husband that I was going to make the most of these last eight days I have with no kids home by writing as fast as possible, maybe even ten pages a day, they were supportive but doubtful. They've heard it all before.

Yesterday, though, I was able to do it! Here's how it worked. Instead of telling myself I have to write something good, something worthwhile, something I'll love and something my critique group won't shred to pieces, I told myself I have to write the worst ten pages ever! Not mediocre... Terrible! No stopping. No showing it to anyone. No feeling good about it. Just 10 pages of story unfolding.

Let me tell you... It was seriously bad. Some pages were only dialogue. Some pages were only thoughts. And I'm sure some pages were plain gobbly gook. But aha! The story unfolded. And that's the whole point!

Do you play tricks with your mind to help you with the writing process? If so, I'd love to hear about them.

Writing/Love

Libba Bray wrote the funniest post ever about how writing a novel is like falling in love. I'm so glad I'm not alone in my craziness.

Check it out: http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/36896.html

Meanwhile, I've got to get back to my first draft... I'm supposed to be madly in love with the story at this point. Hmm....

Five Things I Love

A random sample of things I'm loving lately...

1. My MacBook. This computer is so amazing!!! I watched a video tutorial for iMovie, and within minutes I was making movies. Seriously! It is so easy. I am having a blast. (I am also totally procrastinating. I only wrote three pages of my w-i-p today, which is not a lot considering I have no kids at home.)

2. The Horn Book Magazine. I just read the July/August issue, my favorite each year because it contains the Newbery and Caldecott acceptance speeches. When I read the speech by Laura Amy Schlitz, I was in tears. No, not because I wish it were my speech! But because she is such a fabulous writer! I loved A Drowned Maiden's Hair, but I haven't had a chance yet to read Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Must add to my to-be-read list (which keeps growing thanks to the enticing reviews in The Horn Book).

3. My critique group. We meet tomorrow, and I'm so looking forward to it. I love my writing sisters!

4. Weeds. Did you see it last night? Nancy is crazy! They are all crazy. I love them.

5. Swingtown. Have you started watching? This is my favorite new show. Great characters. Great tension. Fun.

What about you? What are you loving this summer?

Urgh!!!!!

I bought a camcorder.
I drove seven hours to Camp Birch Knoll.
I shot tons of footage and interviewed a whole bunch of campers so I can make some fun book trailers and other videos for Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire.
I drove seven hours home.
I uploaded the video onto my computer.
I watched the video.
I saw feet.
I saw grass.
I saw sky.
I realized I should pay more attention to that stupid little button, you know the one. You press it once and it starts recording. You press it again, and it stops. And if you're like me, you reverse it and record when you think you're stopped, and you stop when you think you're recording. And you miss about half of your interviews!

Ack!

My "Process"

The truth about my writing process is that it is constantly changing. What worked for Julia's Kitchen (detailed outlining) didn't work for Jemma Hartman. And what worked for Jemma Hartman (starting with a setting and a climax) isn't working for my current work-in-progress.

Someone wise once told me that each book has something new to teach you. Just because you've written one novel doesn't mean you know what you're doing. And I am pretty sure I don't know what I'm doing.

Yet I persist. It's the journey that I love anyway, so here I am, learning again how to write a novel.

This novel started with a character and a voice. The pages flew out of me. I wrote in vignettes, not thinking about plot or structure or anything. I wrote because I had to understand this character. I wrote thinking I would never be brave enough to try to publish this novel. It was too edgy. Too hard to believe. Too close to reality. So I wrote with utter freedom.

Then I started to show some of the pages to my critique group. And they loved it. Still, I didn't think I would ever really finish this story or attempt to publish it. I was just playing around. I went to a workshop where more people told me they loved my main character's voice. And Richard Peck himself told me I would finish this book and that it would open new doors for me.

So that's when I got serious. I decided I needed more than a character and a situation. I needed an actual plot. So I wrote a one-page synopsis. And I froze up. For months I procrastinated and found other projects to work on.

But I'm feeling braver now. And I've been back at work on this novel for the last week or so. I started over. Kind of. I've got about 40 pages written, and the story is surprising me. I'm determined to finish a first draft before I show any more pages to my critique group. In my dream writing life, I whip out a first draft in a couple of weeks. But I know myself. I'm slow. I will write a few pages every day. I can't give myself a deadline. I've got to just keep taking baby steps until I get to the end.

So what am I learning about this process? That I need to be free. I need to let the voice shine through. I need to write as if I am only writing for myself.

Here I go.

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction - Or... What You Won't Find in Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire

Dear Mom and Dad,
A cabinmate ate my sock that I wore for three straight days.
Love, Jacob

Vacation All I Ever Wanted

You know that overwhelming feeling you get when you arrive home from a vacation and you think about all the stuff you have to catch up on? Well, joy of joys! I don't have that feeling at all. Alan and I just got back from a fantastic week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and here's the fun part... our kids are away at summer camp for the next five weeks, so the "vacation" continues!

Wondering what there is to do in Jackson Hole?

Well, you can meet a moose:



You can hike up into the Grand Tetons and play in the snow:



You can drive to Yellowstone and see Old Faithful and other cool geysers:





You can be take in gorgeous sites like this one of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone Park:



And this one of the Grand Tetons:



You can even pretend to be a cowgirl and buy the right hat:



You can't really get away with wearing a cowboy hat in Deerfield, Illinois. But one of my critique partners, Carol Grannick, is writing a fabulous novel called Cowgirl. And when she sells it and has a launch party, I'll have just the thing to wear!

Off to write!

Fake Book Trailer

What do you think about book trailers? They seem to be the next big thing in promotion, and I'm considering doing one for Jemma Hartman, Camper Extraordinaire. So I talked to my 12-year-old son, Sammy about it. He thought it would be fun to do, and today he made up a fake book trailer to sort of practice. It's awesome. Check it out here:

Reader's Shock

I know I swore in a prior post not to read any more books until I finished the first draft of my work-in-progress, but I have never been good at diets, and that kind of silly rule was bound to be broken. So, just like when I used to cheat on my diets in high school, I have been reading on the sly. 

Tonight I read Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell. And I gotta say, it's a masterpiece. Seriously. Everyone should read this beautiful book. As for me, I am now in Reader's Shock -- wrapped up in the emotions of the book and feeling that I might as well give up being an author anyway because I can't possibly write something as lovely and meaningful and perfect as Ms. Dowell did. 

Cover Art!!!

I have a cover!! And not just any cover, but a beautiful cover that I love, love, love! My hat is off to the amazing artist, Greg Swearingen, and to all the folks at FSG who helped create such an inviting package. (There is even a map of Camp Star Lake at the beginning of the book!)

Authors have just about no say in their cover art, so when you end up with the cover of your dreams, it is really exciting!!! 

Some people have asked me who that girl is, but it's not a photograph of a real girl. I guess the best way to answer that question is to say, "It's Jemma."

I am now officially a Greg Swearingen fan. He captured Jemma's heart and soul in this illustration, and the setting is exactly right, too. 

Yippee! 

Now I only have to wait until spring 2009 to see this beautiful baby in book stores!

Braeside School Visit

I had a terrific afternoon at Braeside School in Highland Park. I was the keynote speaker at their wonderful annual Writer's Conference. This program is outstanding! Librarian Anne Shimojima runs the whole thing. All the fourth and fifth graders wrote and revised stories in their classes. Anne read every story and divided the kids up into groups of eight. Then she sent those manuscripts to professional writers who volunteered to read and critique the stories ahead of time. There was a Newsweek reporter, Chicago Tribune sportswriter, fiction writers, non-fiction writers, etc. 

Today, we all had lunch together, I did a little presentation, and then we broke off into our critique groups. Lucky me... I got the best of the best manuscripts. I honestly was blown away by how talented the kids were. It was such a privilege to read their stories. I am 100% sure we will be seeing some of these kids in print someday. And besides all that, these were the nicest bunch of kids I think I've ever met. I had each child comment on the first page of everyone else's story. I didn't have to give them any kind of guidance. They simply heaped on the praise (commenting astutely on all the things I felt deserved complimenting!), and when they had something constructive to say, they worded their comments as gentle questions. I think the kids gained so much from the experience! And so did I!

Meanwhile... I'm guilty of no progress at all on my first draft of Novel #3. Today I was busy with karate and the school visit. Yesterday was just crazy. But tomorrow I have critique group. Hopefully that will help me get back on track.

Dream Job

I often tell people how lucky and blessed I am to be a children's book author. It is definitely a dream job. But I have a secret. I'm dreaming of a different job. I'm dreaming of becoming a professional reader. 

Can you imagine if that job really existed? If someone paid you to read?? How fun and easy would that be?! 

I just finished reading through the May/June issue of The Horn Book Magazine, and I circled all the books I want to read: 6 picture books and 15 novels. 

I would love to take the summer off and just read! But alas, I have a novel to write. And the truth is, I want to finish a first draft this summer. I hate first drafts!!! I am the world's slowest writer. And I can't read while I'm writing a first draft. I need to totally focus on my characters and their stories, even in my down time. Also, I am the Queen of Procrastination when it comes to first drafts. There's no better time to clean out your closets, rearrange your office, or surf the net than when you have a huge, scary first draft to write. Right?

So here's the plan: I will make a list of all the books I want to read. And as soon as I finish that draft, I will gorge myself on every single one of those books! And to keep me honest, I will post my writing progress here. Wish me luck!

Countdown to Summer

Some people think of Memorial Day as the beginning of summer. I think it's more complicated than that.

There are eight more mornings to get my kids off to school.

There are twelve days (counting weekends) until school is officially over.

There are eighteen days until Jacob and Faith leave for overnight camp.

There are twenty-four days until Sammy leaves for camp.

But today I happen to have a day with just about nothing on my calendar. The kids are at school. I have a few errands to run. But mostly, I plan to write all day. 

Deep sigh of gratitude!

I've been tagged.

I've been tagged by Jill Esbaum!

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Best guess... changing a diaper.

What are 5 things you need to do today?

1. Go to karate.

2. Babysit niece.

3. Get estimate to fence backyard for future dog.

4. Take son to doctor for check-up.

5. Write? Oh yes... write!

What are some snacks you enjoy?

Anything chocolate

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Spend a year sitting on a beach reading. Then I'd figure out how to make the world a better place with all that cash!

What are 3 bad habits?

1. I hardly ever make my bed.

2. I check my e-mail way too often.

3. I constantly play with the edges of the pages of whatever I'm reading.

Name 5 places you have lived:

1. Highland Park, Illinois

2. Ann Arbor, Michigan

3. Chicago, Illinois

4. Austin, Texas

5. Deerfield, Illinois

What are 5 jobs you've had?

1. French-fry maker at Boardwalk Fries (best fries ever)

2. Ice cream scooper at Stucchi's (best ice cream ever)

3. Script typist and proofreader at Leo Burnett (first job out of college)

4. Production assistant (my job was to pick up dog poop for the dog in the commercial)

5. Children's book author (by far the best job ever, not counting being a mom!)

Who do you want to tag?

Linda Urban

Jenny Meyerhoff

Cynthia Lord

Kym Brunner

Kristina Springer

Bucket List

Eve, over at the Disco Mermaids, posted about her "Bucket List," or the things she wants to do before she "kicks the bucket." She's quite an adventurous gal! I'm not so much. 

Here's mine:

Get married X

Have children X (times three!)

Write a novel X

Get it published X

Visit Europe

Go on an African safari

Visit Australia

Meet Judy Blume X (she's amazing!)

Earn my black belt in karate (I got my purple today!)

River raft through the Grand Canyon

Go rock climbing X

Train a puppy (coming soon!)

Own a second home on a beach somewhere

Have drinks with Brad Pitt and George Clooney

Celebrate my 60th wedding anniversary (coming in 2050!)

And here are some things that are on lots of people's Bucket Lists that don't interest me in the slightest:

Go skydiving (Jacob and Faith are planning to do this when they turn 18 and I can no longer say no.)

Run a marathon (The most I ever ran at one time was two miles. That was plenty.)

Bungee jump (Does this need an explanation?)

Learn to fly a plane (There seems to be a theme here... I guess I'm not a fan of heights+motion)

What about you?

Doggie Decisions

I'm going to get a mini whoodle!! We've chosen a breeder, and now we just have to wait. This feels like I'm going through infertility again... but without the stress and anxiety. I should know in the next month whether or not Jordan (the mommy dog - I don't think I can say the b-word on my blog!) is pregnant. 

Here's a picture of Jordan:

Doesn't she kind of look like a small polar bear?

And here's Oliver, the dad:

Not so manly, but super cute! Barbara, the breeder, says he has the best disposition.

And here's what one of their puppies looks like at around 3 months old:

Have you ever seen anything cuter in your life?

Doggie Developments

(standard whoodle)

So now I think we're going to get a standard whoodle instead of the mini. But it all still depends on me meeting a whoodle and falling for her. That won't happen until June when we can get to the breeder. Then we may have to wait a long time for an available puppy. For now, I'm reading tons of books about dogs. I feel like I'm pregnant again. Today the kids and I started thinking about names. Jacob wants to name the dog Slagathor. Any Scrubs fans out there? You would get the reference. Sammy, Faith, and I are thinking about Lola. Or maybe Angel. Or Honey. Or Sugar. But today Lola is the front runner. I suppose we won't really be able to pick a name until we pick a puppy! Any suggestions for a shaggy cutie pie?

I've Gone Dog Crazy

I think I want a dog. I mean, I really think I want a dog! I'm trying so hard to convince myself I don't want a dog. But I do. I want a dog! I've never had a dog, and for some reason, it seems like I should have one. The dog I'm thinking about is a Mini Whoodle. Have any of you heard of that? It's a cross between a mini poodle and a soft coated wheaten terrier. It's so cute! It doesn't shed. And it's supposed to have a great temperament and be good with kids. I'd love to meet one in real life. If anyone knows of a mini whoodle in the Chicago area, please let me know.

So what do you think? Have I gone crazy, or should I get a dog? Can anyone talk me out of this?

A Tribute to My Grandmother

My wonderful grandmother, "Mommy Flo," passed away on Saturday. This beautiful picture is of Mommy Flo at my book launch party for Julia's Kitchen two years ago. Can't you just tell by those eyes and that smile that she was something special? Mommy Flo was 93 years young, and she taught me so much about how to live life right. For example...

1. Always tell the people you love that you love them.
2. Never speak badly about someone else.
3. Always give the benefit of the doubt.
4. If something is free, take it.
5. If something is on sale, buy two and give one away.
6. After you have children, don't forget to keep loving your husband.
7. Remember birthdays and anniversaries.
8. Don't complain about your aches and pains.
9. Get on a plane and be there to celebrate your family's milestones.
10. Be generous.
11. Make someone laugh.
12. Listen to beautiful music.
13. Sing and dance.
14. Be yourself.

15. Don't judge others.

16. Believe in love.

17. Create something beautiful

18. No matter how old you get, you can always learn something new.

19. Teach what you know.

20. Smile.

I am so lucky to have had Mommy Flo in my life for so long, and although her memory will live in my heart forevermore, I will truly miss her.