Simple Saturday

Saturday highly accomplished author Chris Eboch came to town to cast a literary spell on our incredible Austin  SCBWI group. Chris led us in a series of writing exercises ranging from character and conflict, plot tricks, fast starts, chapter ending cliff-hangers, developing setting, and enhancing plot. In short, she kept us busy!

Of late I have really been struggling with understanding the protagonist in my latest work in progress. I just have not been able to see this kid. It is suiting that an author who writes ghost stories could lead me to discover the nature of my phantom character. And, not only did Chris help me, I chatted with several folks who said that they had either come up with new story ideas or had epiphanies similar to mine.

Thanks, Chris, for haunting Austin this weekend. You left plenty of good spirits behind.

Chris Barton, author of newly released and sensational The Day-Glo Brothers, gave a dynamite presentation at the latest Austin SCBWI meeting about writing for the non-fiction market. He began by demonstrating the distain for this genre by encouraging the audience to make a Mr. Yuk face. After we all had a good laugh, Chris proceeded to demonstrate how to breathe life, humor, creativity, and fascination into writing picture book biographies. I left the meeting completely inspired!

Non-fiction writers struggle with questions such as what part of an individual's life will a kid connect with? How does a writer tell a non-fictional story in such a way that a child will become intrigued enough to want to know more? In his dry-witted, clever way, Chris explained how to start such a daunting project. He demonstrated how to narrow the broad scope of a life down to a focused, resonating theme. All the while, Chris kept the crowd fully engaged, fluidly fielding suggestions and comments with ease.

It is no wonder Chris is finding such great success with his newest book. He's a natural public speaker and an extremely likeable guy. 

Chris is no Mr. Yuk.

Not at all.

  Author/educator Cynthia Levinson masterfully presented everything a person would want to or need to know for writing writing for the children's magazine market. Her twelve page 'keys-to-the-kingdom' handout was rich with contacts, sample queries, research tips, senior editor publishing advice as well as her own. Cynthia was completely candid regarding the ups and downs of writing for this market. In short, Cynthia was brilliant and really knows her stuff.

Yes, her information was incredible, for sure. However, the most fascinating aspect of her presentation was observing the enthusiasm she has for her topics. Many times she bubbled over with fascinating sidebar snippets such as telling us about a caterpillar that buries himself in the ground. When that squiggler dies a plant grows out if its head! How cool is that? And then...even more fascinating, there are those who harvest the roots of that caterpillar plant, with the squiggler corpse attached, and make tattoo ink from it! Wow! No wonder Cynthia's so successful as a writer. She knows just what appeals to kids. Things like plant-growing, tattoo-ink-making caterpillars!

Cool.

Toni Morrison said, "Solitude, competitiveness and grief are the unavoidable lot of a writer only when there is no organization or network to which he can turn" (Keyes 165). Yep, Toni's right. Without the support of like-minded writer friends, the literary journey can be a lonesome road. During last  weekend's critique-fest, I found the perfect kind of challenging support from Don Tate, Shana Burg, Donna Bratton, and Brian Yansky, a group affectionately known as "The Outsiders." No loneliness, competition, or sadness there. Toni, too bad you couldn't make it.

Artwork by clever Don Tate. Check out his great blog.You see, I am at the starting line of a brand new project, one that will undoubtedly tax the very essence of my being. I'm not exactly sure where this tale is taking me, yet I'm excited to get underway. I needed some expert advice regarding character traits, plot plausibility, and general appeal. The Outsiders took care of my every need. Mind you, there was no wimpy, sappy hand-holding going on. Just down-right good professional feedback. Let me tell you a little bit about the members of my group. Be prepared to be wowed.

First of all Brian Yansky, master writing professor at Austin Community College and author of two great YA novels, connected with my protagonist. We chatted long after the session, exploring the inner workings of my boy's emotional quest. Award winning author Shana Burg enjoyed my way with scene and detail. Highly accomplished illustrator and writer Don Tate liked the voice in the piece. And brilliant non-fiction writer Donna Bratton applauded the research required to craft a historically sound story. Oh sure, I have p-l-e-n-t-y to work on, let me tell you. But after getting the inside scoop from The Outsiders, I'm ready to face the inevitable solitude needed to complete the first draft. As for competitiveness and grief? No thanks. I get by with a little help from my network of friends.

Reference: Keyes, Ralph. The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1995.