The L. L. Owens Blog

Reading Deprivation Week Check-In #2

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:17:00 +0000

Eleven-thirty on a Friday night, and I just finished a little revision session with my picture book WIP. This is the kind of thing a delightfully deprived girl does. The fun part was that it was . . . fun! Not work-like at all. I hadn't looked at this manuscript in about a week, so the experience had that perspective going for it. But I do believe that my mind is less gunked up than usual right now, which sharpens my Revision Vision. Always a pleasure to do business with that!

Before I forget to say so:

The weekend is about to test my commitment. The weekend and my just-home-from-a-three-week-trip husband, that is.

Tonight was easy to handle because the husband couldn't keep his eyes open much past nine. But I will want to spend lots of time with him Saturday and Sunday, and I think that could take me out of my deprivation element and cause vulnerability. Then again, maybe having him home will make it easier to sail on through. We shall see.

Random observations and details from Deprivation's Depths Dailies (a lame riff on my all-time favorite album title):

A big hindsight clue that it was time to redo this exercise was my uncharacteristic impatience with absolute nothings related to normal media consumption. Examples—

An inability to read The Descendants without hearing George Clooney as narrator. (I have not seen the film.)
Annoyance with distinct types of incendiary political/sensationalized entertainment headlines that made me want to tally examples to support a point I wasn't making about articles I wasn't reading.
Slower-by-mere-seconds browser performance on the home wi-fi network versus the router connection.
Newly restricted fast forwarding with On Demand programs.
Not being able to control exactly how a single thumbs-up/-down tap affects a Pandora station's playlist.

This week's experience makes me want to read more than I already do. More of the so-called good stuff. But I know that more of that is not "the" more I really need.
It did not fly, but I spent several minutes attempting to justify watching the movie Young Adult. (It's "work related," people!)
I made a cool cover collage for my writing notebook.
Seemingly out of nowhere today, I caught myself singing along with the car radio. Please note that I had NO memory of turning the thing on.
Instead of the traditional three morning pages, I've been routinely doing five . . . and needing to make myself stop there.
I've been eating less this week. That wasn't a goal — it has just been happening.

And now, as Day 6 begins due to that technicality known as the time of day, I will end my Day 5 report and see how fast I can fall asleep.

Reading Deprivation Week Check-In #1

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 04:00:00 +0000

It is Day 3 of my deprivation, and I was just this minute blown away to notice that it's almost 9:00 in the evening. I haven't even considered supper yet.

I've been up since 5:00 a.m., which is definitely not my norm. (Six-thirty girl here.) But at 3:20, the newspaper carrier hurled the Seattle Times so hard at my front door that I half-expected to find the paper inside. I shut my eyes back down only to get a pointy dog nose to the face 10 minutes later. The pup replied in the affirmative when asked "Do you need to go outside?", so out into the rain we both went and into the swampy yard, she went . . . and went. Safely back in beds after wiping feet, drying faces, and rearranging blankets, we two girls drifted back into dreamland. But then, at 4:55, a shaving mirror spontaneously un-suctioned itself from the shower wall and crashed onto the bathroom floor, effectively ending the night for good.

After that early start I just explained in way too much detail, what blows me away about the nine o'clock hour-ness of the moment is how super fast this day flew past me.

Day 1 of Reading Deprivation Week did no such thing. That was a long one. I experienced a generalized (yet sometimes quite specific) antsy feeling from morning to night. I mean, I could see the new book I'd just started on my nightstand, my stack of magazines on the coffee table, my piles of research on top of/under my desk, my two waiting Netflix mailers on the banister, and the portal to the World Wide Web every time I looked at my computer screen.

I was aware all day that I'd committed to the deprivation process, but all day it seemed like every single idea I had for what to do next involved reading or watching or consuming. Those ideas flowed. Now — in case you were wondering — this week is NOT about not getting work done. It's not about zero reading. It IS, however, about sticking to the necessities. So on that day, especially, I had to constantly ask myself, Do I need to do this to further my work/successfully live my life today, or this week? Because, wow, were my peepers eager to land on some text (familiar shampoo bottles and nutritional information, anyone?). And, boy, was my trigger finger ever clicky. Click on, click off. Click, click, click — click it Off, click a little more.

Day 2 was easier than Day 1 but had its own standout moments of forgetfulness. Such as my suddenly wondering, Hmm, what's a better-for-this-sentence synonym for imploring? — and then soon realizing that I'd just spent several extra, unnecessary, low-quality minutes searching the online thesaurus.

Or here's one: After knocking off a little earlier than usual for the workday (perhaps because I got more done?), I plopped down in front of the TV — without thinking it through — and thought, Ooh, I never watch television at this hour! This would be a great time to watch that On Demand show from last week . . . no, wait a minute — STOP!!

But like I said, Day 3 has gone fast for me, and that's because a sense of freedom finally set in. I've stayed busy and productive and experienced the added bonuses of constantly bursting into song (I think I did that just once on Day 1 and only a couple of times yesterday), coming up with yummy thrown-together meals, busting out my happy walker's grin even in the ridiculously wet rain, and jotting down and starting to implement the steady stream of ideas shooting out of my brain and onto the pages of my WIP (yippee!) . . .

Four more days to go. That I will continue being tested (and may occasionally slip up) is a given. But now that I'm practically halfway through the week, all I want to do is slow down time to make sure I don't miss a tickety-tockety minute of it.

It's Reading Deprivation Week at My House

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:59:00 +0000

Tonight, I'm starting my second-annual participation in a self-imposed Reading Deprivation Week — a practice originally described/prescribed in Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. To better reflect humankind's current state of distractability, Cameron now calls the exercise Media Deprivation Week, and that makes perfect sense. But I am attached to the original title, so . . . there.

What this means for me this week:

No reading or other media consumption beyond what I truly need to do for work and/or to survive. For example, I will read STOP signs while driving. But. No TV, no movies. No talk radio. No podcasts or YouTube videos or audiobooks. No web surfing. No listening to music with lyrics or spending time on nonessential emails. No social media.

Yikes!!!! What's the big idea here, anyway?

Well, the idea is to limit your exposure to the very external influences that clog your brain, take up your valuable time, and get between you and your creative output. Yes, reading is good. But the truth is that sometimes the habitual act of reading the daily news or even great LITrachoor can cause enough of a disconnect between you and your creative self to effectively break down your creative process, leaving you less creatively productive than you could be (at a minimum) or — gasp! — completely creatively BLOCKED (at the maximum)!

Cameron says, "For most blocked creatives, reading is an addiction. We gobble the words of others rather than digest our own thoughts and feelings, rather than cook up something of our own."

Reading Deprivation Week helps dampen the excess noise so you can hear yourself think and get back to doing what YOU do.

I know from last year's experience that this exercise is difficult at first but then quickly becomes comfortable. Enjoyable, even. The rewards far outweigh any perceived sacrifices. I've actually been wanting to do Round 2 of this for a few months, but one thing or another has made me save it ("save it," I said, not "put it off"!) for the right time.

Turns out, this coming week is perfect for me, and it. I look forward to embracing Deprivation and seeing exactly how it fills me up.

Please do check this space for check-ins throughout the week. I don't know how many times I'll squawk, but I will be sure to post any blog updates to Twitter and Facebook using simple shares that do not involve my engagement. (In other words, I will post and run!) Please feel free to discuss any of it among yourselves in the comments this week. And I'll answer any questions you ask me next week.

And now, without further ado . . .

Let Reading Deprivation Week begin!

Happy New, New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 06:54:00 +0000

Hey, You(s?) — I finally made it to 2012!

Yes, yes, I certainly existed and definitely even functioned during January and February of this very year. But March is the first month in which I've been able to exist (and even function) in the 2012 space I set my sights on inhabiting late last fall.

Translation:

I reprioritized my professional life so that I'm actually available to pursue the goals at the top of my list. These include

Finishing and submitting my YA historical novel WIP (3/4 of a first draft complete)
Ditto that for my humorous picture book WIP (full first draft in hand)
Repurposing the three previously sold full manuscripts whose rights reverted to me after a few publication schedules were canceled in the Downturn

Turns out that making significant changes to your day-to-day work life takes a wee bit o' time. Old projects to finish, new goals-friendly projects to pursue/secure, other activities to step away from . . . and all that.

But. Here I am. Right where I want to be and ready to get it all DONE.

A Dickens of a Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:59:00 +0000

I just spent about 20 minutes rifling through my bookshelves, book stacks, book bags, and other potential book-hiding spots/receptacles. I wanted to share an excerpt from the book at left — my 2005 title Tales of Charles Dickens — in honor of today, the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens's birth.

But, alas, I cannot find my copy.

I do remember knowing at some point that I had just one copy in my possession, but I don't recall ever knowing that number had dwindled to just none. I'm thinking I left it behind during a school visit at which I displayed a number of my titles. So, darn that all.

The tales in this book are my retellings of favorite Dickens stories: "The Signalman," "Births: To Mrs. Meek, a Son," "Please, Sir, I Want Some More," "Hunted Down," and "To Be Read at Dusk." I wrote them specifically for reluctant readers (RL 3.2 / IL 4–9), and I enjoyed every minute of making the stories more accessible for younger kids. What writer or editor wouldn't love to work with a master storyteller's original tales?

Do you love that cover illustration as much as I do? The talented Sue Cornelison created it.

While I can't share a snippet from my book honoring Mr. Dickens, I can now stop beating around the bush (or maybe I've been beating a dead horse, given the anticlimactic nature of the extended mention of my own book I do not own) and share this delightful Washington Post piece giving props to Dickens's expert command of the verbose.

Please enjoy.

And, thank you for the stories, CD!

KidLit Quote of the Week #6

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:05:00 +0000

This quote, a lyric from the song "Your Life Is Now," has been running through my mind:

"This is your time here . . .
to do what you will do."

—John Mellencamp

The former John Cougar Mellencamp makes a good point. It's that kind of so-obvious-we-often-miss-it fact we all "get" with a sharp gasp of deep understanding from time to time.

I'm in the midst of acting on my own most recent gasp, and because "what I will do" involves writing for children, it hit me that the very heart of any good story is characters doing what they will do, understanding (or coming to the understanding) that life is happening — and acting on the "Now what?"

Breaking news this is not. But it's good to remember that life is art and art is life and now is IT.

Poetry Friday: Q & A with Author Carol Saller

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:00:00 +0000

My Q & A guest today is Chicago-based author Carol Saller, whose affecting middle-grade novel Eddie's War (namelos, August 2011) debuted last summer. The book's many impressive reviews praise not just the story, but also its unique and effective format: a collection of spare yet evocative vignettes that trace a young Midwestern boy's experiences before and during World War II.

Carol tells me she did not set out to write "poetry," but the novel's structure essentially established itself during the writing. (I don't know about you, but I am a sucker for writer-as-conduit experiences!) Having recently read this gem, I can tell you that — for me — describing the work as a historical novel feels equally as natural as characterizing it as poetry. Once you get caught up in the story, and that happens very quickly, the format disappears. You can call that good storytelling, precise technique, or the catch-all craft if you like — but I call it the very definition of poetry.

I am delighted to share this interview today as part of KidLitosphere Central's Poetry Friday roundup. (Thanks to Teaching Authors for hosting!) I hope you will enjoy peeking at Carol's writing process as much as I have — and that you'll be inspired to add Eddie's War to your reading list.

Welcome to my blog, Carol, and congratulations on the new book! How does it feel to have such esteemed sources as (not to name-drop or anything, but) Kirkus, The Horn Book, and Nikki Grimes praising this beautiful “baby”?

Thank you, Lisa — it’s wonderful to be here! And I’ll admit that it feels wonderful when people say good things about Eddie. This book in particular is very close to my heart.

That the book holds a special place for you really comes through in the writing. As a writer, I love hearing how individual story ideas take shape. How quickly after reading your father’s boyhood diaries did the inspiration to write something hit? And how did you decide to present the story as a collection of free-verse vignettes?

I was given the diary in 1994, and I didn’t start writing until 2003, but I suppose it was in the back of my mind all that time. The first vignette I wrote (“The Church Social”) wasn’t inspired by anything in the diary, in fact, but was based on something funny that happened to my grandmother and me when I was young. When I decided to expand that story into a novel, it occurred to me to use the diary for material.

The form was something I fought. I never thought of it as poetry; it just seemed that my paragraphs wanted to be chopped into lines. Most of it is very prose-like, except for the form. At least twice I rewrote it into paragraphs, but it just wasn’t the same, so I gave up trying.

Eddie’s War reads like a labor of love — the voice is so distinct and language so beautifully crafted. Did having that family connection to the work make your job easier? Do you think it changed your process at all?

Ha! I have to laugh, because my “process” was just a big mess. I wrote the scenes in random order as they came to mind. Sometimes I’d browse the diary for inspiration. I didn’t have a main character or a plot—when it was half written, I had a pile of unconnected vignettes. My editor Stephen Roxburgh encouraged me to stop worrying and keep “compiling,” and sure enough some threads eventually began to emerge and I was able to put things in order and develop some plot lines.

The family connection definitely made a difference, but I like to emphasize that the characters are all purely fictional. No one in my family makes an appearance.

You did a marvelous job of weaving very specific historical details into the story: Eddie’s realistic trip to the movies here, his telling observations of Army posters there. The reader can easily visualize the book’s world but doesn’t feel like “Oh, here’s another fact.” What were your most valuable resources for researching the rural setting and storyline-framing events? Did you do most of the research before writing . . . or as you wrote?

I love the Internet! I did huge amounts of research there. But I live just blocks from the University of Chicago’s Regenstein Library, so I also borrowed books there: timelines of World War II, books on Polish Roma culture. I bought an “audio history” of World War II that has some 35 hours of radio broadcasts: Edward R. Morrow reporting live from London in the middle of the Blitz; Churchill’s speeches; a fascinating treasure of information. And photos! Propaganda posters, aircraft, uniforms. That sleazy crime magazine Eddie sees in the store window, Official Detective? I found it at an antique shop; there’s a photo of it at my website. Now that I think of it, sometimes the huge amount of available material sometimes made it hard to sort and focus and select.

I researched in fits and starts. I’d stop writing because of something I needed to learn, and then my reading would inspire new scenes. I think the most valuable resource, however, was the family farm where the book is set. I’m not good at imagining places or picturing things in my mind. So using the farm as the setting — a place I’ve been visiting all my life — allowed me to create an authentic place that I couldn’t have otherwise. The diary, too: Being able to look up a Saturday in June 1944 and read “Today Gene and I dug dock and mullen,” I could slam that right into a scene and not even worry what the heck mullen is and why someone would cut it. (Don’t tell anyone!)

How long did the writing take — let’s say, from idea to first draft and then from draft to final manuscript?

Well, you know by now there was never anything as organized as a draft. I wrote about the church social in April 2003 and namelos sent the book to a copyeditor at the end of 2010. I did take at least two years off to write The Subversive Copy Editor. But I’m really slow. It’s a short book. I once estimated that I averaged eleven and a half words a day.

Where can readers and reviewers find Eddie’s War — and you?

My website is www.carolsaller.com. At the bottom of every page are two links: Contact me and Buy Eddie’s War.

What’s next for you as a writer? Any new children’s books in the works?

I hope so! I envy writers who have stacks of ideas waiting. For me, it’s not that easy. My last two books were hugely meaningful to me: The Subversive Copy Editor contains everything I’ve learned from a whole adulthood spent editing, and Eddie has a million little hidden references to my family and my father’s past. It’s hard for me now to imagine writing a book just for the heck of it. I’m waiting for something to move me.

Carol, thank you so much for talking with me today. I certainly hope something moves you to write the Next Thing soon!

I'm Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:40:00 +0000

Checking in to say, as the title implies I might, "I'm writing."

I always am, of course; always with the writing. But I've recently (why, just this week, if you must know) re-prioritized my various writing projects, and I'm working on a scheme that I dearly and deeply hope will allow me to put my YA novel WIP first, for the first time ever, in the very near future.

I mean, come on: It has to happen sometime.

KidLit Quote of the Week #5: Halloween Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:21:00 +0000

I thought about quoting the full tale (it's in the public domain, after all) because the entire thing is such a gorgeous example of the art of atmospheric writing — but time- and space-saving heads prevailed. So now I give you the final paragraph in Washington Irving's supernatural masterpiece The Legend of Sleepy Hollow:

"The old country wives, however, who are the best judges of these matters, maintain to this day that Ichabod was spirited away by supernatural means; and it is a favorite story often told about the neighborhood round the winter evening fire. The bridge became more than ever an object of superstitious awe; and that may be the reason why the road has been altered of late years, so as to approach the church by the border of the millpond. The schoolhouse being deserted soon fell to decay, and was reported to be haunted by the ghost of the unfortunate pedagogue — and the plowboy, loitering homeward of a still summer evening, has often fancied his voice at a distance, chanting a melancholy psalm tune among the tranquil solitudes of Sleepy Hollow."

PiBoIdMo 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:36:00 +0000

Look sharp, notepads, Post-its, napkins, keyboards, and recording devices. November is right around the corner. 

Picture Book Idea Month 2011 starts this Tuesday!

Go Purple! Or, "Go, Purple!" — Honoring Spirit Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:31:00 +0000

You may be aware that October is National Bullying Prevention Month — and today marks the second annual Spirit Day, for which supporters are asked to wear purple (social-network avatar-tinting works, too!) to honor the memory of any child who felt they had to take his/her own life in order to end the pain and suffering s/he experienced as a victim of bullying. Acknowledging the young lives lost is a pretty powerful reason to "go purple" and just stop and think about what you can do to help the situation.

Of course the most powerful tool we have to fight bullying is education. Teaching children and adults about the problem, how to handle the problem, and — when possible — how to prevent the problem is essential to making a dent in it. There are many fine organizations dedicated to addressing the issue (I am partial to this one) and many educators and parents out there doing their part. But the issue is so pervasive that it can seem too big to tackle.

One no-brainer thing you can do to help educate a child, or even yourself, about the effects of bullying? Give or read — or give AND read! — a book written for kids that highlights the topic! Children can learn so much from both novels featuring realistic bullying situations and nonfiction books that offer strategies for dealing with the issue. Positive books about friendship also help kids internalize what to look for and accept (or not) in peer-to-peer relationships.

Some titles I recommend to read, share, and discuss:

Blubber by Judy Blume

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories, edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones

Frenemies: Dealing with Friend Drama by L. L. Owens (Yes, this is mine; and, no, this is not why I blogged today. I added it to the list because I realized it truly is relevant to it — and the cover is purple-purple-purple.)

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord

Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope by Olivia Gardner, Emily Buder, and Sarah Buder

The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake

Speak by Laura Halse Anderson

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Why Is Everybody Always Picking on Me? A Guide to Handling Bullies by Terrence Webster-Doyle

Now. Let's hear it for the kids Spirit Day helps us remember. Let's resolve to help the kids still with us.

What can we do? Give them a book. Start a conversation. Let them know we're here if they want to talk. Step in and help them when they need us to. Lead by example. Don't be a bully. Step up and say something when we see bullying. Go purple if we feel like it. And remember to shout (or just think really hard), "Go, Purple!"

KidLit Quote of the Week #4

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:02:00 +0000

"Who's big fat bright idea was it to do a weekly quote feature on this blog?"

—Lisa L. Owens

That's funny, right?

I'm around. Handling some pressing workaday deadlines and spending spare moments prepping for a writers retreat I'm attending in a few short weeks.

Also: The holidays seem to be here already. I know because I just ordered some Christmas lights and have urgently realized I need to book my holiday travel plans A-sap.

And: Work on the big site-blog merger continues!

KidLit Quote of the Week #3

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 20:39:00 +0000

As I continue working on my YA historical novel, this quote speaks to me:

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

—Scott Adams

I've been in full-on flow several times with this book, writing down a path I didn't mean to take — a luxury I don't normally indulge in during write-for-hire work. (NO time in that process for anything but 1-2-3 get it done.) And often I worry as I go that I will have to completely scrap whatever detour passage I've written.

This is not in the outline, I tell myself. It doesn't fit in and I shouldn't be writing this knowing I'll delete it later. Or worse, I realize, Aackk, this is better than what I'd planned and now I'll have to reshape everything else (deleting other baby passages) to accommodate it.

It's so tempting to think of text swaths you change or cut as mistakes. But one of the most important thing I've tried to internalize in surrendering to the "vomit draft" process this year is that whatever you're writing — good crap, bad crap, ugly crap, crap-crap — the THING is *that* you are writing. The rest will take care of itself if you let it (aka doing more writing + careful revising).

It can be hard to look at a first draft and especially to show parts of it even to the most supportive of readers without wanting to shake everyone (read in this case: wanting to shake myself) until you know they know this is your early writing, that you intend to get it all "right" during revisions. But once you do it, the looking at it turns into one of the most satisfying steps — with the fixing-it part probably more more fun than anything else.

So, while I see and agree with Adams's POV, I do take issue with calling anything (or any part of anything) you create a mistake. There are no creative mistakes, people!

Is it a mistake to add too many stems to the vase? No. You can't tell exactly how many flowers fit just so until you throw some into the arrangement and step back for a look-see. You can't determine the perfect way to display the ready-made art you bought until you slap a few configurations onto the wall and take a few distanced ganders. You can't make a satisfying pot of soup without tasting and reseasoning . . .

And you can't really craft your story until you write what wants to come out and let all the pieces show you — by being on point, off track, or seamlessly fitted — what to pitch and what to keep.

Now, off I go to write some stuff I might just end up trashing later. (And, reminder note to self: You will trash it, and you will like it.)

Streamlining

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:19:00 +0000

Last week I cruised over to my author site to do a little maintenance work. The only problem was that mere maintenance wasn't going to cut it. Fact is, my site has been in "overhaul" mode for well over a year (okay, two years this month!), and I just couldn't get excited about completing the work I'd started.

That was not the first time this had happened.

But. It was to be the last.

I finally fully realized that I wasn't motivated to implement the changes I'd put in motion because deep down I knew they wouldn't solve the main problem — that maintaining both a stand-alone author site and a separate blog doesn't work for me anymore.

So in the weeks to come I'll merge the separate entities to create one Blogger-hosted site found at my typical (redirected) author site's URL.

It can be done, it shall be done, and it will be grand.

KidLit Quote of the Week #2

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Time again for a KidLit Quote of the Week! Last week's entry was on the practical side (the funny one, too), while this week's is all about inspiration — and motivation.

"Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."

—Louisa May Alcott

I consider raising the bar for yourself one of the most important guiding principles a person can embrace, and because I am a writer with ever-expanding writerly aspirations, I feel Alcott's articulation of it directly applies to my work. And, yes, to my sense of self, too.

It can be hard to walk that talk some days (and, no need to pretend — it's difficult some several years at a time), but I know that when I do "look up," the beauty is right there for the seeing and helps light the path I need to travel.

EFA's Fall Lineup!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:27:00 +0000

I still serve as education chair on the Editorial Freelancers Association's Board of Governors, and I am happy to share that the Fall 2011 Education Program is all set — with registrations streaming in at a nice clip!

None of this season's classes are directly related to children's writing, but I know many children's authors also freelance in other areas, and I thought readers might like to at least check out the offerings. They include

Proofreading: Online class starting 9/29
Basics of Editing and Proofreading: NYC workshop on 10/21
Getting Started in Editorial Freelancing: NYC workshop on 10/22
Basics of Websites for Freelancers: NYC workshop on 10/22 (Note that those registering for all 3 NYC workshops via the combo option receive a 20 percent discount!)
Tips & Tricks: Editing with Adobe Acrobat: Webinar on 10/26
Rev Up Your Marketing Machine for 2012: Webinar on 12/7

Let me know if I can answer any questions about the lineup!

KidLit Quote of the Week #1

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:36:00 +0000

I've decided to do a weekly post in which I share one of the countless quotes I've collected about writing and books. I'll focus on quotes by children's authors, quotes by others about writing/creativity that I think can apply to writing for kids, and passages from children's books.

Why start this now? How about "Because it's Tuesday." It'll be fun!

This inaugural KLQOTW is by an author I admire for his versatility and inspirational personal story. I saw him speak at either an IRA or NCTE conference in the 1990s (ah, the books* he signed for me say the year was 1997), and his advice on finding success as a children's writer is timeless:

"Stay out of the refrigerator, read good books, steal good ideas, develop good writing habits, and marry wealthy."

—Jack Gantos

Good one, huh. And in a Universe-is-funny COMPLETE coincidence, I saw after I wrote this post that Mr. Gantos's latest book, Dead End in Norvelt, releases in hardcover today.** I will be buying that soon!

*Jack's New Power and Desire Lines
**A little synchronicity report for Artist's Way lovers.

Book a Virtual Visit with Skype Authors and Help Fund Education Charities!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:23:00 +0000

Just in time to celebrate "back to school," I am thrilled to help spread the word about Skype Authors!

This newly launched author group offers virtual visits to schools, book clubs, and, really, any organization looking for an easy and inexpensive way to host an author talk. (And, yes, I'm one of the authors — and I am so pleased to be in such excellent company.)

Suzanne Williams formed the network to benefit schools right here in the U.S. — while adding the goal of raising money to help support education efforts worldwide. To that end, each of us at Skype Authors has pledged to donate 25 percent of our virtual-visit fees booked through our site to a select charity each school year.

For the 2011–2012 season, we've chosen to contribute to Camfed, an organization that supports girls' education initiatives in Africa. Watch this brief introductory video about Camfed's mission to see why, as narrator Morgan Freeman says, "When you educate a young rural girl, you give her a voice."

Would your school or organization like to book a Skype Authors virtual talk for HALF OFF the regular fee? You can if you win our Half and Half Contest running through October 1! All you have to do is surf over to our site and comment on this September 6 blog entry. Two lucky commenters chosen at random will receive a half-off Skype visit — and the entire half-priced fee you pay will be donated to Camfed!

I'm excited to be part of this new venture, and I hope to see you on the online video phone soon.

Every Day. Every Day. Every Day.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 22:24:00 +0000

Can you tell that I'm starting to reconnect with this blog? I can feel that connection reforming, and that makes me smile. I wasn't sure it would come back, to be honest — but I thought it could, hoped it would. My affinity for blogging seems to be creeping back in naturally, which I view as a positive.

I do know why this is happening, and the reason is pretty straightforward: because I've been writing. You know, I almost added just there "writing with a capital W," but that's not what this is. It's writing in lowercase. writingwritingwriting.

Writing with the Cap on is something I've done, and like mad, for the past several+ years now. But that writing has been my WorkWriting. Which, on so many fronts, is the same dang thing as writingwritingwriting while also managing to be completely different. The need to writewritewrite on my own — for my own satisfaction, life processing, and growth — is part of my makeup. WorkWriting is part of my (enjoyable) writer-editor Job. If I had to, I could pick another job type and be just fine. But I couldn't do any other job or actually be myself without writingwritingwriting — not for the long haul, anyway.

So, now, after, oh, let's say a three-and-a-half-year pregnant pause, I feel like a part of me has come back to life. I did P-L-A-N in early 2009 to force such a return to Me and my writing-for-life ways, but apparently that sort of scheme does not work, no matter how serious you are about it (and I was deadly so). Good to know.

Proof that my real writer's self is re-emerging? Right now I'm in the middle — yes, the honest-to-goodness smack-dab MIDDLE — of writing a YA historical novel that's been wanting me to write it for a very long time. It's loosely based on an 1890s family that first captured my interest in the 1990s. After writing an article about them, I filed away the research thinking I'd someday take a deeper look with a proper book-length work. Adult nonfiction, I assumed. (I wasn't yet writing for children, nor had I even considered that I might.)

In the later 90s there was a day (literally) where the possibility of my writing a chapter book on the family was real. I had a contract to write several titles of my choosing, and I considered lobbying for this subject matter. Ultimately, though, I decided to save it for later to write something-I-didn't-know-what that would feel special enough to do the idea justice. For a time in the early aughts I thought maybe a screenplay was the way to go (ha! that went nowhere). Then, in 2009, I had my a-ha moment (please don't tell Oprah I said that w/o asking), during which I realized that this baby had to be a YA novel, both for its own sake and mine.

Since figuring out what the project should be, I've started the writing a few times: Tentatively in 2009 (my nonwriting life derailed it with one swift kick); enthusiastically but misguidedly in 2010 (wrong POV, too many characters competing for main, my heart and mind still focused elsewhere); and then again this spring-into-summer of 2011, when I restarted from near scratch and promptly — and gratefully — managed to hit my stride.

Now that Fall 2011 is knocking, I have zero qualms about saying . . .

This thing is happening.

I think it couldn't happen before because (a) I wasn't ready to risk it, and (b) it actually WAS happening all along. Oh, I know. Sorry. Bear with me, if you can.

What I mean about that "b" is that this book is part of me. Its inspiration has been keeping me company for nearly 20 years. It was with me before I knew for sure what I was going to be in this life. Perhaps some part of me wanted to keep it safe until I found that out — so that I'd know for sure what it should be. Whatever else was going on, I never didn't want to write the book. So the way I see it, Somehow, something was always brewing to further the project.

This book is like every other book I've written, except that I've been writing this one every day. Every day. Every day. And no matter what happens with it when I'm done — will it sink? or possibly stink? — I know that the constant companionship it has given me makes the whole experience valuable enough that I'll feel happy with the result, whatever it is or isn't, and wherever it takes me or doesn't.

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

Dearest readers: Whether you read that whole post or simply skipped ahead to see if I did indeed embed the video of every writer-of-a-certain-age's favorite writing-struggles song reference, I salute you.

Please now enjoy — with my compliments — Elvis Costello and the Attractions singing "Everyday I Write the Book" from Punch the Clock.

Stay Tuned

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:45:00 +0000

That's right, this is just a teaser.

Two minutes ago I started a separate post to share what's been going on in my little corner of the writing world. I really thought I'd keep that one pithy enough to publish posthaste, but that is not how things went down. A different idea for how to approach it sprang to mind, and I wanna do that!

So, instead of a "Hey, guess what I've been up to?" type blog, I will come back sometime next week with a post that will be all "This is what I think what I've been up to means to me."

Change Happens, Yes It Does

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:24:00 +0000

I've decided I'd better BLOG something before a squatter takes over this empty space. In other words: (Have Been) Gone But (Have) Not Forgotten.

Still a writer. Still writing. Still interested in the topics of writing, children's literature, publishing, freelancing, and so on and so forth. Still interested in blogging about all of it.

But, see, I've been going through a growth spurt (creative! professional! personal!) for a while now, and that spurt has made me step back and often feel unable to quite "get to" topics that fit within my blog's themes without also talking about the attendant growing pains I've been feeling. I think that's because so much of my energy has been focused on processing the growth and accepting that change happens — like, at all. Apparently I can do that processing and work (for food) at the same time, but I really can't do it all while blogging (for my entertainment) with any regularity or sense of purpose.

The good news is that I've re-emerged (same me, really, just different) and planted my feet back on the ground. I suppose I could have said "planted my hands back on the keyboard," but they never actually left it. I can feel them there again, though, and that's the kind of change I can get behind and keep pushing up my own little hill.

See you back here, and soon!

You're Invited to SCBWI WWA's Spring Inside Story!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:48:00 +0000

It's time for SCBWI Western Washington's always-lively Spring Inside Story salon!

Tomorrow night at 6:30, 15 Seattle-area children's authors and illustrators will present and sign their latest books at University Bookstore in Bellevue. I'll be there to introduce The Sun, a book from my 10-title Space Neighbors series.

SCBWI sends invitations to about 300 librarians, booksellers, teachers, and media types — but, naturally, everyone is welcome. If you love and/or create kids' books, you'll enjoy the evening. Attendees get to hear "the story behind the story" associated with each featured book, shop for their favorites, meet local authors/illustrators, and support independent bookstores. Oh, and by the way, the party includes both SNACKS and PRIZES. What's not to love?

Hope to see you there — it's gonna be fun!

Nonfiction Monday Roundup — April 4, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:01:00 +0000

It's Nonfiction Monday in the KidLitosphere (don't act like you didn't know!), and I'm hosting this week's roundup of themed blog posts right here on my blog.

So, if you have reviewed or otherwise written about a nonfiction book for children, blogged about your own nonfiction writing for kids, or blogged about anything else related to kids' nonfiction, please comment today! Be sure to include a link to your post, and I will add your information to the roundup below.

I'll periodically update the list throughout the day, starting early-ish this morning (Pacific Time) — soon after I've plopped myself in front of my computer for the workday. Looking forward to seeing some great blogs!

Nonfiction Monday Blog Roundup

Check out Jeff Barger's review of Hail! Ancient Greeks by Jen Green.
Shelf-employed has reviewed the audiobook Meat-Eating Plants and Other Extreme Plant Life.
Madigan Reads reviews Jo S. Kittinger's picture book Rosa's Bus.
A Nation's Hope: The Story of Joe Louis by Matt de la Pena (illustrated by Kadir Nelson) is reviewed at Abby the Librarian.
Scrub-a-Dub Tub reviews Steve Spangler's Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes: Unforgettable Experiments That Make Science Fun.
Visit Wild About Nature for a review — and giveaway! — of At the Sea Floor Cafe: Odd Ocean Critter Poems by Leslie Bulion.
Books, Dogs, and Frogs discusses fun food books today.
Read Lawral the Librarian's review of Scribbling Women at Lucy Was Robbed.
Lori Calabrese reviews Where Do Recyclable Materials Go? by Sabbithry Persad.
Jeanne Harvey's Astro the Stellar Sea Lion is reviewed at Jean Little Library.
Pink Me reviews Can I See Your I.D.? True Stories of False Identities by Chris Barton.
Anastasia Suen introduces the chapter book You Can't Wear These Genes and the picture book Play Ball, Jackie!
Wrapped in Foil reviews Kathryn O. Galbraith's Planting the Wild Garden.
Lori Mortensen's Come See the Earth Turn: The Story of Leon Foucault is highlighted at True Tales & A Cherry on Top.
Books 4 Learning reviews Ocean Seasons by Ron Hirschi.
Author Shirley Duke discusses her new book You Can't Wear These Genes at Nonfiction Book Blast.
Head over to Apples with Many Seeds for a look at Genghis Khan: 13th Century Mongolian Tyrant by Enid A. Goldberg.
Janet Squires reviews Peggy Caravantes's Best of Times: The Story of Charles Dickens.
Read about the book Written in Bone at Amy O'Quinn's blog.
BookMoot reviews Ultimate Guide to Basketball: Facts, Stats, Stars, and Stuff by James Buckley, Jr.
Featured over at Writing and Ruminations is Kelly Fineman's review of the Poetry Basics four-book series by Valerie Bodden.

Introducing Space Neighbors — My New Picture Book Series!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:00:00 +0000

It is Nonfiction Monday in the KidLitosphere, and I am thrilled to announce that my latest picture book series has officially launched! It's called Space Neighbors, and its 10 nonfiction titles about the solar system were a joy to work on.

The 10 books are Earth, The Sun, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Pluto and Other Dwarf Planets, Saturn, Uranus, and Venus.

This project marked my first time writing for Child's World. The work involved some fast-and-furious research — and even faster/furiouser writing. I signed my contract in July 2010 and by September 2010, all 10 manuscripts had been written, revised, approved, and shipped off to design.

I'm not sure I can even tell you what else went on in my life during the initial writing phase of the project, but let me think on that for a minute. Hmm . . . well . . . oh wait, yes, I do know exactly what else I did: Not a thing. Or, if you like, no other things. Which is, as you know, aka NOTHING.

I was a writing fool. And anyone who talked to me then probably remembers me as a plain-old fool-fool, too. My brain was so focused on the writing that forming intelligible sentences with my mouth was frequently challenging.

In all seriousness, keeping up with the surprising-to-me influx of late-breaking solar system news was a full-time job in itself. I do a ton of nonfiction work, but typically I write about historical figures (dead), landmark events (over) and already-well-understood concepts (long fully processed). The pressure to get it right reminded me of my stint as a reporter back in the early 1990s. With this work, as happened then, my burning desire to provide the most current and the most accurate information possible really made me sweat. And lose sleep. Despite my overall satisfaction with the project — now that the work is but a memory — I can't say that I would ever again consent to working on so many titles in such a short window of time. But I can say that I am quite pleased with how my Space Neighbors babies turned out.

This series is presented in a photo-illustrated format, and each book is just stunning. I've added all 10 covers here, and you can explore the books' innards at the publisher's site. The series page lists the full set — just click on the "Read excerpt" text from any given title's page to scroll through several spreads. It looks to me like a few excerpts actually feature the entire book, so that's a great way to really see what you're getting before you buy.

Space Neighbors titles are currently available individually and in set form from the publisher (*cough, cough* better prices *cough, cough*) and online through Amazon.

Hoping the books make it into eager young readers' hands — and many thousands of libraries — soon!

Good Grammar, Bad Grammar — Both Work for Me

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa L. Owens) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 01:00:00 +0000

It occurs to me today that I owe my career to the simple process of creating a well-constructed sentence. It has taken me from reporter to proofreader to copyeditor to editor to writer to author. How lucky am I?

The nitty-gritty details of truly working with words aren't of particular interest to most outside the field. But give me a blank page to fill or someone else's manuscript to hone, and I am happy to do what I do best: shape and polish, write and revise — in other words, use the guiding principles of English grammar to craft language that effectively communicates the intended message to its audience.

Yes, there's quite a bit more going on than "just" grammar in any piece of writing or editing. But if you take grammar out of either one, well . . . you can't do that.

I am grateful for my work. And that is reason enough for me to celebrate National Grammar Day.

If all goes well, Good Grammar, Bad Grammar, and I will continue finding satisfying ways to collaborate until one of us expires.

I sincerely hope, of course, that I am the first of our happy trio to go.