Admiration Abounds

For starters, I admire my fellow blogmates. I believe they all have the dedication, the creativity, and the talent to succeed.

I admire contemporary author Cynthea Liu. Don't laugh, but I haven't yet read her book, Paris Pan Takes the Dare. It's on my list. But, I've heard Cynthea speak and read her blog. She is an energetic, and seemingly tireless person, who knows a lot about promotion and appears willing to share.

Truth be told, it was Stephanie Meyer's success that finally convinced me to sit down and start writing after many years of dreaming about it. If she, in her mid-thirties with small children, could find the time to bang out a manuscript, than why couldn't I? I know that there are plenty of writing moms out there, but I guess it was simply the right time for me to be motivated.

I set out expecting to hate Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games due to its premise, but the plot is so deep, the characters so engaging, and the writing so terrific that I ended up loving it. I admire anyone who can wrap readers up so completely in a story that it is ridiculously easy to suspend disbelief.

I think that Sherman Alexie did a great job of crossing over from adult to young adult fiction with The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. By finely weaving grace and wit, humor and tragedy he conveyed not only what it is like to live on a reservation, but also why it's so difficult to break away even in today's society. And he did this through the voice of a pimply-faced adolescent with girl trouble.

While not comparing the subject matter or the styles of writing, I think Alexie's work will stick with me, much the same way Cry the Beloved Country and the Power of One have since I read them 20 years ago.

I guess you could say that I admire writers who use history or current events as a backdrop for an amazing story. Slaughterhouse Five is another that comes to mind. When I went backpacking in Europe, I dragged my friend to see the bombed out buildings in Dresden, not because of history class, but because of Vonnegut's book.

OK. I'll stop now because it seems I've created a tall order. Write a book with terrific characters that somehow brings history alive, suspends disbelief, is written to stand the test of time, and then figure out how to self-promote. Oh, and do it all after the kids go to bed.

Too Many Authors, Too Little Time

I'm having a difficult time trying to think of an author that I aspire to in the Young Adult genre. I like different things about each book I feel is memorable. My favorite authors know how to use tension, weather through action or mystery to keep you wanting more. Usually I enjoy reading stories that have something supernatural or fantastical about the characters or location. I guess I've always been interested in things out of the ordinary. Also, I hate to admit it, but if a book doesn't capture me in the first few pages, I'll put it down. I'm a reader with an attention span of zero.

Lois Lowry is wonderful at telling you just enough to keep you reading right from the start, while using wonderfully vivid language. The Giver and Gossamer are two of my favorites, she really knows how to put you in the different worlds she creates.

I have to mention Stephenie Meyer, although I didn't totally connect with Bella. I didn't really believe some of her choices, but there sure was plenty of tension thanks to the love triangle and the action sequences. Meyer is a master at developing all of her characters and making the vampires/werewolves believable.

Another favorite author because of his use of tension and action in the Maximum Ride series is James Patterson. I admire authors who can keep track and fully develop all of those characters. I find it hard to concentrate on any beyond two. I guess I'll write my story first then add depth to the minor characters later.

I really need to be reading more, and I will aspire to find new favorites. I'd like to read some of the classics again, like Wuthering Heights; it's been way too long. Too many good authors to explore and too little time!

Write...oh right!

I don't know if I have one particular author in my genre that I can nail down and label as my author to aspire to. I have read everything from comic books to detailed histories. I remember reading the Hardy Boys as a kid and loving it. Always excited when the Scholastic order form would be delivered to my grammar school so I can go home and beg Mom to order me a new book. I loved the covers and the one sentence descriptions and would often buy a book based on its cover. I am not going to lie. I have judged books on their cover.

In short, I have read a lot of books. I don't know exactly how many I just know that with each one I have taken something valuable from each experience that I firmly believe helps me as a writer. I also feel that stories can be told in so many different ways today and that good writers can be found in so many different places and not exclusively in books. So I can name names of authors/screenwriters/playwrights but the list would be long. So I will say that I have found inspiration in various artistic mediums but one thing is for certain the written word fuels all of the mediums I draw from. Perhaps the most powerful force on the planet, the written word can be wielded by many but mastered by few. I don't know where I fit in on this vast spectrum but I hope to move people in some way through my written words and can only hope to empower others and be inspired as so many writers have inspired me.

Words as Pictures

Each day at work in the Children’s Room at the library I am surrounded by the most beautiful pictures books. Glorious full color, shiny new covers, flap book, pop-ups, award winners. How can I choose an author I admire most in my field to talk about this week?

Some I can rule out right away as I select books to share at story time. “How did THAT get published?” I find plenty of bad rhymes, too much text for each picture, stupid character names, morals that whack you on the head. (Luckily The Write 6 preserve me from every making any of those mistakes!)

Then the “classics” jump into my hands. It is a thrill to introduce a new to Marjorie Flack, Tomi DePaolo, and Pat Hutchins. Even over-video-ed kids respond to Marsha Brown and Sandra Boynton. But those authors all have something in common I can never emulate: there is only one name on the cover of each book. They are the author/illustrators.

If I draw a stick cow, I have to label it.

So my most admired author is Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny and pages-of-titles on www.amazon.com. Her words have been translated and adapted for board books and beginning readers. And she never drew a single picture!

How did she sell such wonderful simple texts to editors who in turn found illustrators to love and interpret the text in pictures worthy of them? There are a few clues on her web site www.margaretwisebrown.com. The first answer may be that she wrote in a different time in the history of publishing. She worked with the illustrators directly and fought the publishing houses to get better royalties for them. The second answer may be “location, location, location.” She lived in the heart of New York where the editors were only a short walk away. She worked with six publishers at once!

As I read her personal story it seemed daunting until I found one tiny factoid. She once used a royalty check to buy a coat. Back when I first published Christian children’s books (via stone and chisel), I received an advance on a book. And bought a coat. The coat wore out long ago, but it will not leave the closet. Now it will remind me of Margaret Wise Brown and that words – the best words, each one thoughtfully chosen and rewritten until there is no more perfect one available – are the heart of the story. And words are what I do. I am an author.

The Peabodies, A.K.A The Write 6

Formally, my husband was my critiquer. I would ask him to read my stories, and he would give me the customary "This is good." I thought with his experience of reading hundreds of Picture Books, and children's literature to my children, he'd be able to give me some valuable insight to my writing. I was wrong.

My husband was a cheerleader "My wife is the best, writer in the land, If she can't write it, nobody can." Okay--okay, maybe he didn't say that, but hopefully I've made my point.
While it was important to have someone cheering me on, I needed someone that would look at my writing with a critical eye and provide me with criticisms. I'm not saying that I wanted someone to just negatively criticize my work, but I wanted someone to constructively analyze the merits and pitfalls of my writing. I needed to know what I was doing right, and how I could improve and strengthen the areas that needed revision.

To me, joining a critique group means that I can now see my work through other people's eyes. Sometimes, a writer becomes tone to deaf his or her own writing. It's great to have someone say "What did you mean by this?" or "What about doing it this way instead?" Sometimes, my group members are just confirming that nagging feeling in the back of my head that is saying something isn't right. Other times, they are telling me when they enjoy a sentence or passage that I've written. Then there are the times, they are pointing something out that I hadn't even considered when I was committing my ideas to paper. They are even apt to tell me when parts of my novel sound "cheesy" (Hehe, Monta's words not mine).

I count myself lucky to have found a group of hard dedicated writers to help keep me on track. Originally, it was difficult for me to open myself up to other people's judgements. This was probably the case for all of us. But when you know that the people who are evaluating your work have your best interest at heart (and want to see you succeed), that makes it easier to take their comments in stride; and learn from them.

A good critique group grows together, and I think our group has done some growing. Robin's writing has evolved until she has found her niche in writing educational-type picture books. Jim is hammering away at his third installment of TT. Monta has written her first chapter over fifty-two times and has finally settled on a awesome beginning (I think). Ellen has found her grove with the flow of her writing; and Michelle is chilling with a pen and paper in her hand furiously revising her stories while making the most of her bed rest. Okay I'm not sure about that last one. Anyway, my point is, that we know what each person in our group is capable of and we encourage each other to do our best.

I think that is the formula for a good critique group.

I am extremely lucky to be apart of The Peabodies A.K.A The Write 6. I always leave our meetings with a smile on my face (Well, they are a hilarious bunch), and a renewed sense of purpose. I agree wholeheartedly with Ellen that our group is therapeutic. Together, we are kind of like Chicken Soup To The Writer's Soul. I look forward to the day when we are a group of published writers, meeting at the Panera (maybe we will ditch this place when we get money), talking about the latest trends in publishing, and pouring laboriously over each other's newest hit manuscripts. I think that will be a really great day (regardless of whether we change our meeting place or not).

When I started writing my novel, I was on my own. I'd sit down at the computer after the kids went to bed, turn on some music, and just let the ideas flow. If my husband came in, I'd click to another screen. I was afraid if I shared and it was bad, my spirit would be squashed and it would cease being fun.

Then one day on the way out of music class with my sons, I saw an advertisement for a facilitated critique group, led by Carmela Martino. I picked up the flier and ultimately decided that if I was serious about not only writing fiction, but also getting published, I'd eventually have to let someone else read my work. I mean, that's kind of the point, no?

My husband served as the guinea pig. I felt I needed a buffer between me and strangers. So I let him read the first chapter. He was pretty terrified, knowing that he had to have the right reaction--not blasé, but not too overly enthusiastic either. God love him, he did a good initial job and had me convinced my efforts weren't awful. Then I saw what he had done to my first page. It had red all over it. After a minor freak out, I accepted that his suggested changes made sense, but asked him about 500 times before class if he had been truthful about the rest being OK.

Much like with my husband's loving (and brave) critique, during my first class review I had trouble focusing on the positive and zeroed in too much on the negative. One woman in particular didn't like my main character, and her harsh comments threw me for a loop. It caused me to completely change the tone of my first chapter, which I resubmitted during the course of the class.

Thankfully, my other classmates, most of whom are now beloved members of my critique group, set me straight and let me know that the personality of my main character had been one of the best things about my first draft. They made me listen to and really hear all the good things they'd said about her and about my writing.

The second round of the class was even better than the first because, for one, I knew and trusted my fellow classmates and I'd come to believe that they really had my best interest at heart. Criticism from them isn't an attempt to tear down, but to build up and improve.

I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of people to continue with in a critique group. Everyone is so knowledgeable about writing and so invested in each other's work. It is a pleasure to read all of the novels in progress and the new stories that my fellow members submit. I am humbled by their creativity. It is a joy to spend a couple hours a month meeting with people who love writing and are anxious to talk about it. And, they are funny! We laugh a lot. Like Ellen, I always leave energized.

I guess the point of this whole post is to say that while it can be difficult to let others into the imaginary worlds we create, it is invaluable to have friends who respect your work and you as a person. (And, who are willing to read your manuscript about a thousand times before you submit it for professional review.) I am so thrilled to be a part of the Write 6. (My husband is happy too, that he is not my sole reviewer.)

Evolution of a Critique Group

I think the way a critique group evolves is important. When we first started our group, it was as a course. We had a great instructor. Carmela always brought suggestions--what to read on the craft of writing, helpful blogs to follow, conferences and writers’ societies, other workshops that met regularly, writing exercises for us to try. She is so knowledgeable (as I guess is the job of a “teaching author”). I also liked that she had us bring in recent books in the same genre of what we were writing ourselves. We had to explain what we learned from these other books. This was helpful for me but also quite interesting to hear what my classmates were doing. Finally, Carmela’s format was designed to produce as little as anxiety as possible when presenting our work--first people would say what they liked about it, then ask questions about it.

When the next session of that class met, again under Carmela, it was five of us from the first class and one “new” person who put up with us and fit in right away. I think we kept the culture of respect that Carmela had established, but felt a little more free to argue with each other--one person might have liked something the presenter did while another person didn’t. It was really good to hear the discussion of your work (though difficult to sit there quietly as the presenter) and then get your manuscripts back with everyone’s comments. I was always impressed by the resources and information my classmates brought about seminars and goings-on in the writing world, so grateful that they shared these. It was really fun to be able to continue to read the works in progress or revisions from classmates, and with a smaller class, we had more opportunities to share work.

Now we meet on our own or even just email if someone needs some quick feedback before a deadline. People in your group are familiar with your work if you are hammering away on a continuous story or bringing in a revision. It’s people who genuinely respect the effort made and are truly trying to help each other achieve better stories. It’s very constructive, so I feel that we got lucky that we can trust what others have to say when they make suggestions or ask if you could try something a different way. Instead of this massive anxiety-producing event, it becomes much more an opportunity--looking forward to bringing something to the group because you really value the input as you struggle through it. Even if it’s a really rough first draft, to not be scared to ask “what do you guys think? is it worth pursuing? what direction would you like to see it take?” I have heard some horror stories about people in critique groups where the goal seems to be to show off your own knowledge of writing while being as critical as possible. I have also heard that these tend to be more adult writers’ groups than children’s writers? Like Ellen said, it helps to have a “deadline” of when the group is scheduled to meet so it pushes you to get some work done (although much less work done by me than everyone else lately!!). And it helps get you over your fear of sharing your work with others--perhaps a professional critique at a conference or even submitting for publication--maybe not family/friends quite yet. It gives you confidence that yes, you do actually have some business writing (who do you think you are? what’s so special about you?) and that you have already put a lot of work into it.

To echo Ellen again, it is like getting a little present to open when you receive another 2000 words and are asked to critique. I feel so honored that others would trust me to read their work and hope that my feedback is valuable. Critique groups are interesting, too, because the people in them are likely at different stages of life and may be writing in different genres, but somehow everyone has this “writing thing” in common and it all clicks. So if I did end up in some snooty snotty critique group situation, hopefully it wouldn’t paralyze me or crush my spirit because I have been fortunate enough to know that truly good experiences with critique are possible!! I admit that i do think there is some luck involved, so if at first it doesn’t work for you, try again and find one that evolves!