Sara Grant at the Sweet Shoppe

Yesterday, Saturday the 19th, I got to meet Sara Grant, editor and author of children's books. I feel triply lucky because:

1. Grant is funny, warm, and inspiring. (I love to be around people who love what they do, so it was a wonderful afternoon.)
2. Grant read the first few pages of my novel and said, "Lots of action and adventure!!!" (She had some more comments, too, specific points about lack of clarity and confusing orientation, the usual suspects when creating a fantasy story world. But overall, I feel like I've gotten a green light on my space adventure from someone who really has her fingers on the pulse of the marketplace.)
3. Grant gave a talk on the revision process and the energy of her ideas has left me refreshed. (Since I'm knee deep in alligators in a couple of revisions, it's great to hear some new angles on the same old problems. I really need perspective right now.)

Some of her tips on the revision process are fairly basic, but bear repeating. Do the macro edit before going into the micro edit. It's silly to spend time on word choices when a work still needs attention with respect to structure, charcter progression, or voice (both dialog and narrative).

Some of her notes are specific to how to tackle those macro edits. I'll get into some of those in my next post. I want to test drive one of the techniques first. Hint: It includes lots of colored markers. And if a technique feels more like play than a dreaded rewrite, I might actually get some traction here. Let's see, pink for emotional arc, green for setting, blue for action . . .

Credits:
Sara Grant: Collaborative Creativity-- a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) event, hosted by Trish Batey, Regional Adviser of the Indiana SCBWI Chapter, held at the Simply Sweet Shoppe in Carmel, Indiana.

Sara Grant is here from London, representing her interests in children's fiction. And her interersts are both broad and deep. She's a successful author in her own right (currently revising a near future dystopian YA novel) and a commissioning editor with Working Partners, a company that packages several successful children's book series.

Recharged and Ready

Last night I went to a rollicking BLIZZARD of super short plays at the Bloomington Playwrights Project. There were so many titles performed by a company of artists that I lost track of names and numbers. Some made me laugh, some made me think, some left me bewildered (as in, what was that supposed to be about?). In short, I got a solid dose of variety. At least twenty different authors put out a little bit of themselves and shared their creative vibe with me. 

And I feel nourished! Ready to tackle the next outline. Ready to write the next scene filled with dreaded feelings of betrayal.

Thank you for your generosity, B.P.P. and the Blizzardites. I extend that thanks to every artist who has ever given something of his or herself to the world.

Skipping through a Perfection Quagmire

I'm finally half-way into my novel Green Tara. In previous posts I've confessed how much more slowly this rewrite--I hope final draft-- is going than I had hoped. It always takes longer than I hope but, shucky darn, I thought my good planning had created useful shortcuts in the l-o-n-g rewriting process. And I know better than to get stuck in a perfection quagmire. Apparently that was wishful thinking on both counts. So, in an effort to coach myself here are --

SEASONAL TIPS for skipping through a perfectionist's quagmire:

• Read the first paragraph of A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens. Treat yourself to the second paragraph.
• Kick some snow. Treat yourself to hot cocoa.
• Watch a classic film like CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT and learn how a professional woman's public persona can be most effective when it's a well-crafted piece of fiction. (Hey. It worked for Barbara Stanwyck. She got a raise and the love of her life!)
• Make paper snowflakes with someone under 12. Treat everyone in the house to hot cocoa.
• Meditate on the difference between a baby and a world-class leader. Notice which one gets the star. Now go celebrate that work in progress and know when it comes of age it just may turn the world upside down.

Newton Said

He got his original ideas by standing "on the shoulders of giants." Let's follow his lead.

Or even better: Snatch raw truths fresh from eternity.

View from my Hammock

Two days ago I knew I had a last of season opportunity for a swing in my hammock, courtesy of this glorious maple tree above my head and a sister hickory holding up my feet. I took the better part of an hour to snap shots while the light was good. The characters in my novel celebrate the life of the natural world. I felt it would be disingenuous for me to do less.

Philosophy aside, the benefits were clear. The fresh air filled me with so much energy I was able to easily tackle a tricky part of my Green Tara rewrite. I cut three scenes, reordered the ten scenes before and after the cut scenes, and revised one significantly to fit the new content. Yes, I still have to string them all together and revise for flow, but the outlining work is done. I have a plan.

Today the temperature dropped 20 degrees and most of these leaves are on the ground. And I have a solid plan to take me through Act I.

Color Intoxication

In my last couple of posts I made excuses for why I've posted so infrequently in the last month. Yes, I did have a big writing deadline, and after that I was busy evaluating mid-term assignments. Yes, I really did injure my collarbone, or rather all the muscles around it and up into my neck. But the real reason I can't concentrate in my den staring at a computer screen is a miraculos process called photosynthesis.

It's affected me with a serious case of "color intoxication" and I can't resist filling my eyes with the brilliance that mother nature's been storing up all spring and summer. I'm looking out my back door for as long as the leaves hang high on the trees.

Break Time

Two weeks ago I turned in a 143 page manuscript. The following weekend I watched my short play in a "world-premier" four-night run, making changes after every performance.

Last weekend I celebrated with a grand party our city puts on every year: The Lotus Festival -- world class music from all over the world, brought to our backyard. And I still need more playtime.

Back when I've refueled.