Work Vs. Play

Writing absolutely requires hard work. Persistence. BIC. Being at the desk.

But…  I’ve heard that scientists studying brain waves found that the brain waves of children playing were the exact same brain waves shown in writers in the heat of writing. In that hot moment of creating, writing can feel like play.

And it seems to me that writers for children have way more fun than other writers.

For example, check out the Exquisite Corpse Adventure.

What it is:

An Exquisite Corpse is an old game in which people write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold it over to conceal part of it and pass it on to the next player to do the same. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud.

Our “Exquisite Corpse Adventure” works this way: Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, has written the first episode, which is “pieced together out of so many parts that it is not possible to describe them all here, so go ahead and just start reading!” He has passed it on to a cast of celebrated writers and illustrators, who must eventually bring the story to an end.

Every two weeks, there will be a new episode and a new illustration. The story will conclude a year from now.

It’s well on its way, but you can catch up and see what these All-star authors come up with:

M.T. Anderson, Natalie Babbitt, Calef Brown, Susan Cooper, Kate DiCamillo, Timothy Basil Ering, Nikki Grimes, Shannon Hale, Lemony Snicket, Steven Kellogg, Megan McDonald, Gregory Maguire, Patricia & Fredrick McKissack, Linda Sue Park, Katherine Paterson, James Ransome, Jon Scieszka, Chris VanDusen.

Looks like play to me.

Sarah Wones Tomp

WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK

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Got Drama?

Links to this Memo from David Mamet, the executive producer of a CBS drama, The Unit have been circulating… it’s a good read for book-writers as well as screen-writers.

Some particularly meaningful suggestions (Caps are his):

WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.

1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?

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EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW UP IN THE SCENE.

THIS NEED IS WHY THEY CAME. IT IS WHAT THE SCENE IS ABOUT. THEIR ATTEMPT TO GET THIS NEED MET WILL LEAD, AT THE END OF THE SCENE,TO FAILURE – THIS IS HOW THE SCENE IS OVER. IT, THIS FAILURE, WILL, THEN, OF NECESSITY, PROPEL US INTO THE NEXT SCENE.

ALL THESE ATTEMPTS, TAKEN TOGETHER, WILL, OVER THE COURSE OF THE EPISODE, CONSTITUTE THE PLOT.

ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE (THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN.

**************

START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.

**************

I CLOSE WITH THE ONE THOUGHT: LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF “IS IT DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.

****************

Sarah Wones Tomp

WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK

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Looking for Hope?

Today is my first day of a three-week spring break. Yay! More time for writing.

Which at this point means major destruction/reconstruction in the spirit of revision and re-visioning.

Exciting to have some time… But I need hope to keep me going.

Check out Kathy McCullough’s blog: this week she and 14 other bloggers are interviewing debut authors each day. She has links to all the other bloggers.

15 bloggers times 5 authors each equals a lot of hope and inspiration.

Sarah Wones Tomp

WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK

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Parenting Isn’t for Sissies

The other day I received the call that every parent of a driving teenager dreads. My husband was out of town, so Son #1 was using Dad’s car to drive himself to and from school. I was in the middle of making dinner when Son#1 called to tell me the six words we don’t want to hear:

“Mom, I’ve been in an accident.”

Okay, trying to stay the ultracool, calm in a crisis mom I attempt to be, I took a deep breath and realized that he must be okay because he was able to call and tell me about the accident. That was until he uttered eight words a parent of a driving teen really doesn’t want to hear:

“The ambulance driver wants to talk to you.”

The airbags had deployed, Son#1 was experiencing some neck pain and because he was a minor and the car was not drivable (due to the airbag deployment) they were going to transport him to the hospital to be checked out. After a brief discussion about logistics, it was decided that they would allow me to take him to the hospital myself, thus saving me a $1000 dollar ambulance bill and a whole to of aggravation. I turned off the stove burners, grabbed Son #2 and headed out the door.

Son#2 became my secretary, calling dad and relaying messages while I drove through traffic to the accident sight. We picked up Son #1 and headed to the hospital. It was a slow night in the emergency room so it wasn’t very crowded. It only took 5 hours for a cornea scan, neck x-rays, and a prescription for three medications strong enough to get Son #1 expelled from school.

Son #2 who wasn’t allowed to be in the room, had to sit in the waiting room watching a constant loop of Anderson Cooper talk to Chaz Bono and what it felt like to be a man inside a womans body, and Larry King discussing abuse and drug addiction with Hollywood stars. I had some major explaining to do the next day on that one. Thanks CNN.

We finally returned home close to midnight to a half finished dinner sitting on the stove and 15 messages from my husband on the phone machine.

So here’s the tally:

• Son #1 is fine
• The 10 year old car is totalled (due to the airbag deployment)
• Son #2 knows way more about gender reassignment and Hollywood druggies than I ever wanted him to.
• Our family became a statistic with a teenage driver who was involved in an accident.

But at the end of the day we were all home safe and sound and that’s just the way I wanted it to be.

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk

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Tips From Author Alexis O’Neil

This week we have a special guest blogger. Denise Harbison is a fellow writer-mama and San Diego SCBWI member. She is the author of “Solving the Violin Mystery” (Highlights Magazine) and is currently enrolled in the MFA program at Hamline University. Thanks Denise.

We began with a song—an Irish song—because that’s the way it’s done at a big family gathering, according to author Alexis O’Neill. It seemed a fitting opening for the San Diego SCBWI meeting held closest to St. Patrick’s Day.

Singing with Alexis made me feel like part of a big family of children’s writers. Everyone in the room wanted to learn to be a better writer, or at least increase their chances of publication. But is it safe to assume we were also all there to connect with other writers? After all, why bother to get together at all when information can be found in books and on the internet? We get together to associate.

“Associate”—verb.

• To connect in thought, feeling, or memory.
• To unite; combine.
• To join together as partners, companions, or colleagues.

[Random House Webster’s Dictionary]

Sounds a bit like extended family to me. And Alexis was more than generous in offering some good family-like advice on manuscript submissions, such as:

• Hone your skills for finding an agent because that’s the future.
• Look at the Library of Congress’s one-line descriptions as a guide for learning to succinctly summarize your manuscript in one line.
• Give editors tools to work with in their presentation of your manuscript at acquisitions meetings, such as a compelling one-line synopsis.
• A one-page synopsis should demonstrate your ability to develop plot and character, told in a way that reflects tone and voice.

And here’s where our writing family comes in:

**Bring your synopsis and query letter to your critique group!**

Critique group, support group, professional association, family . . .

One message I walked away with from Alexis’s talk —spoken between the lines of helpful advice—was the benefit of supporting each other.  Her story of being a sixth grader who had to write a report on Ireland ends with her teacher making her read it aloud. “My classmates laughed in all the right spots.” Writing became fun. We can help each other that way—listen, respond, encourage.

A wee bit more of O’Neill advice, if you want to be a writer, “Read, write, paint, perform, and sing every chance you get—and spend lots of time with others who love to do these things, too!”

Thanks, Alexis, for starting things off on a good note.

At the end, I wanted to dance a jig.

Denise Harbinson

Writing on the Sidewalk

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The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleishman

On Wednesday  we received word that author Sid Fleishman had died. He was the author of over 50 children’s books.

When son #1 was in fourth grade his teacher read  “The Whipping Boy” to the class. The story of an orphan Jemmy, who must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat. Jemmy plans to flee this arrangement until Prince Brat beats him to it, and takes Jemmy along. Jemmy then hears he’s charged with the Prince’s abduction as this Newbery Medal winning book turns toward a surprise ending.

Son #1 was so excited about the book he ran home to tell us about it. He decided enhance his presentation by trying to find some information on the internet to show us as well. Now it won’t take too much of an imagination to figure out what my son found when he began searching for “Whipping Boy” on the internet. I am just thankful we caught him before he saw anything that we had to explain.

So Rest in Peace Mr. Fleishman and for all of you budding authors out there think carefully before you pick a title for your book.

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk.

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Just Whose Side Are You On?

Q:What do the following books have in common?

A: Each of these stories has a multiple narrator.

An author will use multiple narrators, in stories in which it is important to get different characters’ views on a single matter. The use of multiple narrators also helps describe separate events that occur at the same time in different locations.

In Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

Two main characters debate whether the creature at the center of this clever book is a duck or a rabbit. This book is clever and funny and gives you an opportunity to look at things from a different perspective. Rabbit? or Duck? I’ll let you decide.

In Flipped author Wendilin Van Draanen brings a new twist to  ”he said/she said”.

This touching story  is told from each main characters perspective in alternating chapters. We are able to see inside the minds of the two main characters and learn that we can’t always know what the other person is thinking.

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech is yet another take on the multiple narrator story.

The author uses dual diaries, written by Sophie and her cousin Cody, to give the reader two revealing perspectives on the past and the present.

The use of a multiple narrator in each of these stories helps enrich and bring depth to the story that otherwise couldn’t be done with one character. My super blogging buddy Sarah mentioned that the book Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes is another book with multiple narrators. I will be checking that one out soon.

Enjoy!

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk

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Where Writers Write to Get it Right

The writing business is a tricky business. You spend your time plotting, planning and writing your manuscripts then you send it out into the world and wait for a response. Sometimes it  is “NO”, sometimes the response isn’t nearly so clear cut.

What’s an author to do?

How can we cut through the ambiguous responses to better our writing?

Help is on the way.

Author Deborah Halverson has just recently launched www.dear-editor.com, a writer’s advice website, where writers (published or not) can ask questions about writing and publishing, and get direct answers and suggestions. Deborah really knows her stuff, She is the awarding-winning author of two teen novels, Honk If You Hate Me and Big Mouth (Delacorte/ Random House). With two novels and a decade of experience as an editor with Harcourt Children’s Books, she is now a freelance editor, author, and writing instructor.

While she may not have a golden lasso and ride in an invisible plane. Her insight and advice for writers makes her a super hero any day.

Suzanne Santillan

Writing on the Sidewalk

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Baseball and Writing

The biggest kid in the house pitched three innings yesterday! Hallelujah!

The team ended up with a heart-breaking loss in extra innings, but I have to celebrate anyway.

A senior in high school, this was his first appearance after being cleared to play on Tuesday. He broke his foot in December and has been living for this moment ever since. He hopped around for month with a cast and crutches, slogged along for another month with a walking boot, and spent the last few weeks trying to remember not to run, jump, dance, etc.

Baseball is why he gets up in the morning, so yay!

He has dreams about baseball the way I have dreams about writing.

In the spirit of this post…

WAYS THAT WRITING IS LIKE PLAYING BASEBALL:

• Failure is expected and inevitable.
• It requires endurance and patience.
• Thinking is more than half of the work.
• It’s a mixture of work and play
• Each new game – or story – stands on its own.
• The audience cares almost as much as the players.
• There are different levels of “play”… but everyone longs to reach the next level; to get THE CALL.
• You can have fun hanging out in the dug out (i.e. writer’s conferences) but if you want to play the game you have to step up to the plate.
• Snacks are part of the experience

Sarah Wones Tomp

WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK

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Travel Through Time and Space

Fellow Snail Society critique-mate, Carolyn Marsden will have her art on display at the OA Creates Studio in San Diego! The kick-off celebration is this weekend, March 20, 2010 and will showcase the work of Carolyn and other students from the La Jolla Atheneum School of the Arts.

One of the (many) things I love and admire about Carolyn is the way she is always willing to explore, discover, and try new things. Being a prolific award-winning author is not enough! She has been working on her fine art as well.

This Booklist  starred review of TAKE ME WITH YOU (Candlewick 2010) puts it this way: “Marsden often puts crafts like sewing or crocheting into her stories, and in many respects she is like a master craftsman, using words instead of stitches for her deceptively simple design.”

Shhh…  I happen to know one of her new projects combines her writing AND her art. Exciting stuff!

Through her books Carolyn travels through time and space, exploring different cultures and countries. She has written books about immigrants, Native Americans, and people living and working on the border of the US and Mexico. Her stories have taken place in Thailand, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and Italy. She knows how to cross borders and find commonalities between all people.

Carolyn is absolutely one of the hardest working writers I know. Through all her travels and explorations I suspect she has somehow managed to tackle time travel – she just seems to have more time in a day than I do! And she has a magic notebook!

Congratulations on your latest endeavor, Carolyn!

Sarah Wones Tomp

WRITING ON THE SIDEWALK

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