© Loree Griffin Burns

Wishing all my blog readers a healthy and happy December, and more of the same in 2010. Be well!

The Creature With Fangs Elfed yesterday.



My Beloved Husband Elfed yesterday.



Queen Louise Elfed yesterday.



And I did, too.



A most merry time, indeed!

Revision Tip #23

I rarely have the image systems of my books in mind when I start writing. But by the end of the first or second draft, some image (symbol for Eng lit majors) has cropped up and I realize that I can riff on that symbol throughout the book to tell the larger story. In a subtle way, I hope.

In SPEAK, it was the image of the tree. There was only one mention of it in the early drafts. When I realized the power of it, I wrote in all the art class scenes, and made the tree into a year-long project for her.

WINTERGIRLS was interesting. The first paragraph of the first draft of the book was this:

"The crows stalk me, wings folded neatly behind them, hungry yellow weighing my soft spots. They circle around me once, twice, three times, claws scarring the stone floor of the church.

I curl up on the frozen altar. They flutter close, black feathers filling my mouth and eyes and ears."

I really don't know where that came from; I just wrote it down, plus a bunch of other stuff. The reference to the "frozen altar" is what got me thinking about ancient religions and mythology, which in turn led me to ponder if there was a mythological story within Lia's story. Of course there was: the story of Persephone. That became a central image system for the book, with references to pomegranate seeds and the death that is winter, along with mother/goddess figure at her wits end, trying to pull her daughter back from the grasp of hell.

(For the record - that opening paragraph wound up migrating to page 264. It fits much better there.)

Is there a small detail in your draft that could be expanded into a central image system?

Teen had two friends over last night. At 6 a.m. I realized they were still awake. I had to insist they go to sleep. They were teaching themselves how to count cards. Yes, Teen has a future in Vegas.

Meanwhile, I am on day five of being sick. The days are tolerable, but at night I can't sleep. First it was my throat hurting, now it's a non-stop tickle cough. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open. Last night I tried sleeping with a cough drop in my mouth, frequent drinks of water, tenting the blankets over my head, and sometime in the middle of the night, a stiff gin and tonic.

I got maybe a total of two hours of sleep, in increments of five or ten minutes.

When my sister, Jeannie, and I were young, people often asked if we were twins. We were close in age and size but she was prettier and didn't talk as much as I did. And she could actually sing!

Eventually, we grew up and I moved away. We stayed in touch via long "gossipy" letters. I lived for those fat envelopes in my mailbox.

Then, at Christmas we'd swap our letters back again so she'd have the ones she'd written and I'd have mine. Which means that we now have a pretty amazing record of a certain period of our lives, including cute things our toddlers said, arguments with husbands, and major emotional setbacks.

I've been grieving the loss of those letters lately.

No, I didn't toss them. They didn't burn in a house fire or fall off the back of a truck. I have them in a plastic tub in my attic.

It's just that now, when we write, our letters fly through cyberspace.They zoom into my Inbox along with FaceBook comments, Twitter messages, and inquiries for author visits. Only the username marks them as special sister stuff. And I can't find Jeannie's beloved handwriting in there anywhere!

But what worries me most is how quickly I read them and click on to another message. And how they scroll out of sight so I can almost forget they existed. It's easy to miss important details like the particulars of a medical procedure, the name of her friend who died unexpectedly, or the emotional tone behind her words.

And of course, we can't indulge in the old easy "gossip" of the handwritten letters. If hubby and I just had an argument I am so not putting that in an email!

At the moment, I have over 4,000 letters in my Inbox. They're not all from Jeannie (or my other sisters) and I do use a folder system (sort of). But still...

I tend to keep emails because I might need to refer to a phone number, recipe, or some sentiment. They aren't nearly as desirable as my sister's handwritten letters but they're all I've got and I'm hanging on.

Tomorrow Jeannie and hubby are coming to spend Christmas with us. I'd give anything to have a cardboard box of letters to swap. But, at least, I won't have to settle for a cyber hug!

Jeannie enjoying her 4 wheeler. Don't you know, she's a fun grandma!

I have been laying low in the blog world lately, but trying to drop in when I can to hear what is going on with friends--and strangers. If any of you have had any news, feel free to shout it out here again in the comments. I know I have missed a lot. 

It's a cold windy day here in California which is kind of nice. We had Santa Ana winds just a few days ago and this feels more like Christmas. Nearly all the leaves have been blown from our liquid ambers and our backyard has a golden carpet of leaves.  I love that, though it does make finding doggy treasures a bit of a challenge.  All the prickly balls (those tiny round spots on the trees you can barely see) have been shaking seeds loose like crazy and the mourning doves are grazing in the yard, while keeping a watchful eye out for Hunter.  He rarely chases after them anymore though, since he's never caught one.  Thank goodness
 

 

While I was picking up the above mentioned treasures I saw that my camellia bush had bloomed.  My first!  It was a nice surprise. 
 

I just got this bush this last summer.  I have never had luck with camellias before but thought I would give it one more try.  I guess, as with writing, persistence is key in the camellia world as well.  Anyway, the bloom left me smiling and feeling better, because, well,  I am not feeling so great.  Yeah, I know a lot of viruses are going around but I think it might be from a shock of my own making. . . 

About a week ago I bought a new bathroom scale.  I was at Costco and they had these shiny, blinking, do-everything scales and I knew our bathroom scale was a "little" off and getting rusty around the edges so I got one.  Holycanoli.  When I got it home it had the nerve to say I was a full FIFTEEN pounds heavier than my old scale.  All these years my doctor's scale has been right?  Ignorance really is bliss sometimes.  I am tempted to go dig my old scale out of the recycling bin.

But just in case it is not Scale Sickness that is making me cough and my throat raspy, (and I was finally unable to dodge the virus bullets that have been flying around me) I am drinking OJ and sucking on coldeze.  Luckily, yesterday I finished my Christmas shopping (thank you very much.)  While I was out shopping and beginning to drag I passed a woman who was skipping and swaying and waving her arms to a tune that only she could hear.  Though I am sure some of the shoppers gave her wide birth, her joyful body language made me smile and made my feet a little less tired.  You never know what momentary joy you might bring to a total stranger.  

So that is what I wish for all of you--small moments of unexpected joy.  The little stuff.  Which really is, in the great scheme of things, the big stuff.  Here is a smile for you all--a toilet paper roll angel made with small hopeful hands. 



So give me a smile back.  Some good news, or something that made you smile or laugh.  If a skipping lady can make my feel less tired, maybe a few more smiles will counteract my Scale (cough) Sickness.
 

A couple of years back, all the kids I knew used Myspace. Now they live on Facebook and would never go on Myspace.

I'm curious - what are teens doing where you live?
Poll #1502163 Myspace Vs. Facebook
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 19

What do teens where you live use: Myspace or Facebook?

All work in the Forest today will grind to a halt as we enjoy the ceremonial viewing of Elf. And we might even make spaghetti with maple syrup.






I got to thinking about my family's tradition of setting out rice pudding for the julenisse. Nisse have been around long before Christmas celebrations. English words that describe them as elves, or gnomes; I've seen "pixie," too. If properly cared for, nisse will watch out for your farm animals, your house, and your barn. If you don't take care of them, they will cause all kinds of mischief on your property.

Nisse are low-maintenance creatures. All they require is a bowl of rice pudding (risengrød) set outside your door or in your barn on Christmas Eve. We've always done this faithfully and I think our nisse appreciate it.

But as the sun was setting yesterday and I was lighting candles in honor of the solstice I realized that the nisse have been around a lot longer than Christmas celebrations. Ack! Have I been disrespecting the nisse all these years? They are ancient creatures... do they wait, forlorn, on the night of the winter solstice, their tummies grumbling, while the Big People go about their ignorant business? And when the pudding FINALLY shows up on Christmas Eve, do they call up the other nisse and complain?

So last night I put out rice pudding for them. And I will again on Christmas Eve. You can't be too careful with nisse.


Revision Tip #22

Are you sure that you've chosen the right point of view for your novel?

Take your favorite chapter and rewrite from a different POV; shift from third to first, or first to third, or if you are bold and way smarter than me, experiment with the second person POV.

Or.... (and.....) fool around with the tense structure. If your story is told in present tense, rewrite that favorite chapter in past tense. If you've written the whole thing in past tense, try out that chapter in present tense.

What's the point of all this mucking around? It helps you see your characters and the Story from a slightly altered perspective.

Here's what I do when I want to hear clunky passages, take note of missing words, and in general make my writing better. I add my ears to my eyes. To try this at home, you can:
- Read your work aloud
- If you have a kid you can get to sit still or even a cat or a dog, read to them
- Tape record yourself reading your work and then listen.
- Have someone else read your work aloud and listen (you can also tape record)
- If you have a newer computer, have it read to you. My new Mac can read to me! (full disclosure: okay, it sounds like a robot, but still)

Good Solstice, everyone!

I feel like calling your main character Rudolph today. (Humor me.)


Revision Tip #20


Don’t make it too easy on Rudolph.

Your story should not be a tale of the desires of Rudolph. It should be the thwarted desires of Rudolph up until the very end, when finally, FINALLY, things go right, tho' not in the way he originally thought they would.

For every desire, there should be an obstacle. Every step on the path leads to another detour.

Review your manuscript and make sure that poor Rudolph runs into obstacles over and over again. You fiend.


Revision Tip #21

1. Record yourself reading your manuscript aloud. The whole thing.

2. Listen to it with your manuscript in front of you (I am most comfortable with the printed-out version at this point.)

3. Pause whenever necessary to make notes on what needs fixing. This is when I find repeated words, awkward phrases and dropped plot points.

4. After a marathon listening session, go back in and finish all the repair work.

Yesterday I ran the fastest five miles I have run all year. By the time I went to bed last night, I was starting to wonder if I was getting sick.

I have spent 13 of the last 15 hours in bed. I would have spent all of them in bed, but Teen was afraid I had died.

I'm thinking it's just a cold. I hope so. I have a history of pneumonia, but I'm not running fever. Just weak and foggy, and a little bit of a sore throat.

Beware of echoes and doppelgängers!

Maybe I am the only writer in the world who suffers from this bad habit. It makes me crazy. I do it in every blasted book, no matter how hard I try to be aware of it early in the process and avoid it.

I always create characters that are identical, both in their core characteristics and the purpose they serve in the book.

(I may have mentioned this earlier this month, but it is such a big pain in my writing butt, I must rant about it again.)

I spent all day yesterday and the wee hours of this morning extracting one of those characters from my book, and turning over many of his scenes to a different fellow who – I can now see with the blazing clarity of humiliating hindsight – should have been driving those scenes in the first place.

It was a bloodbath, I tell you.

How can you perform this radical surgery in your manuscript?

1. List all the characters.

2. Define – using only a few words – that character’s relationship to the main character.

Examples: comic foil, trusted friend, villain, complication, love interest.

3. If (like me) you have two or more characters that serve the same purpose, get out a magnifying glass and sharpen your scythe. Is it possible to have one of the characters take over scenes from the others?

Example: in the early draft of SPEAK, the character who is now called Heather was two separate girls. Each girl was a “sort of” friend of Melinda for a few months. Each friendship died. Their personalities were a bit different, but not in a strong enough way to affect Melinda’s interactions with them. By melding them together, the story was cleaner.

I am crossing my fingers that the work I am doing this weekend will have the same effect.

Or at least I am legion. When I typed my name into peekyou.com, I found dozens of April Henrys. I had thought there were about 15 or 20, but there seem to be far more.

I liked it better when I thought I was more unique.

So yesterday I discussed the green-eyed monster of the children's literature world. Me. And jealousy.

Today, I'm going to call attention to some of my fellow writers who I hope have much success. (Although if they do, I'm going to be really GREEN!)

These are writers of solid books I've read in the last few years. None have won the Newbery or the National Book Award. (Yet) But some have gotten starred reviews, been named to ALA lists, and are the favorites of readers around the country. Each has succeeded in one way or another. But success in one area does not mean bringing home the bacon. In the writing world, only a few books at the top earn a living for their authors.

In the midlist of books are some gems more people should be buying.

So here in no special order except what my image browser finds first, I give you: I spent a few hours driving to a writer conference with award winning Author, Lisa Williams Kline. (And another hour or so getting lost at the very end.) Lisa spoke eloquently at the conference about realistic books that have one magic element. Fascinating topic! Then I came home and read WRITE BEFORE YOUR EYES to see how Lisa incorporated this concept into her writng. This is a fun, contemporary read that tackles some weighty questions. Highly readable fiction! I met Kathy Erskine in 2003 when we carpooled to a writing workshop. At the time, Kathy was a twinkle in Philomel's eye. But at our workshop with Patti Gauch, she found her dream editor who later published QUAKING. Continuing on the theme of jealousy here, there is a paragraph in this book, that I totally wish I'd written. And the rest of the book? Well, I wouldn't mind if my name were on the cover too. Or of the forthcoming Mockingbird which is already getting terrific reviews. But back to that great book another time. The NIGHT OF THE BURNING won the Sydney Taylor manuscript award. I quote from this book often when I speak on writing historical fiction. Author, Linda Press Wolf took the snippet of info she had about her mother-in-law's childhood experience and turned it into a novel. I love this book as I do so many eastern European stories. But it's the storytelling that makes it work. HUGGING THE ROCK by Susan Taylor Brown is a quiet little verse novel that struggles with the loss of one parent and celebrates an unexpected connection with the other. It is profoundly spare in the telling. The page I am most jealous of in this book, has no text other than a title - Mother's Day. Would I be brilliant enough to let a blank page speak for itself? Probably not. I've never met Susan Taylor Brown but she's one the best virtual friends any writer could have because she 's so internet savvy and consistently shares her info and encouragement with the rest of us. DRIVE by Nathan Clement surprises us with unexpected perspectives - both in the art but also in the characterization of a truck-driving dad - a man who peeks in on his sleeping son before going to work, who works hard and well all day long, and who comes home at the end of the day to play with his kid. If you know a preschooler with a dad who drives truck (or works at any job) this is such a great gift! I met Nathan at a writer event and since then, he designed my webpage! (And bookmarks. And postcards of my books.) Nathan totally lives up to the sensitivity and work ethic exemplified in DRIVE. So, if you need some design work, hire him! CAMPING WITH THE PRESIDENT is history in a picture book. A slice of Theodore Roosevelt's life. A look at a National Park in the making. Lively language. A lot of info told in an engaging style with lovely pics. I've never met author Ginger Wadsworth but we swapped some emails, shared some LOLs, and really connected. I adore this book. I also never met Jeannine Atkins but we're LiveJournal friends AND, get this; she noticed from my blog posts that I am working on a story that takes place in a mental hospital. Turns out she had a book on her shelf she thought I might need. So she packaged it up, sent it to me and told me to keep it for awhile. Very risky move! That was back in the summer and I still have it. (But I prrrromise to return it!) ANNE HUTCHINSON'S WAY tells the story of a puritan woman who was imprisoned because she insisting on teaching a compassionate view of God. I love that Jeannine reminded me of this great historical character and I've even used the book in my junior youth Sunday School class. I haven't read UP CLOSE; HARPER LEE by Kerry Madden but it's gotten great reviews and I've read much about Kerry's sensitive research in her blog posts. And I will eventually read it. I did read Kerry's Maggie Valley Trilogy which takes place in North Carolina's mountains. I met Kerry a few years ago when she spoke to NC teachers. She's lovely and has many friends in the writing world who would agree with me. Her website and the feeling you get when you visit it, tell you a lot about Kerry! And these great southern books do, too. Last September I was lucky enough to sign books beside Emily Smith Pearce at an event that connects North Carolina authors with teachers and librarians. So, I bought ISABEL AND THE MIRACLE BABY, a small story that gets right into the head of a child who feels crowded out by her mother's illness and a new baby. Great voice going on in this book! And finally, there's WILD THINGS. Author Clay Carmichael and I connected frequently via Twitter and email this year. She was so good to inform me of award lists we'd both been nominated for and she introduced me to others. Wild Things is getting great reviews - from Kirkus to Fuse 8 and is showing up on Best of the Year lists, mock newbery discussions, and ALA lists! So watch out - things could get wild for this author! To all of these writer friends, Congratulations and Good Luck! Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of books or authors I love and cheer for. More to come on another day.

What would you do if you were kidnapped by your ex-boyfriend, bound with zip ties? And if confessed to you that he had committed several robberies and had been experimenting with bomb making?

One Oregon woman persuaded the guy that if he didn’t kill her, they would be like Bonnie and Clyde, on the lam together. He actually believed her, and she managed to escape.

You can read and hear more of her story here.

I thought about doing Four Hundred Things on Friday and sharing a lot more photos, but that would just be cruel. So I edited myself. Below are a great white heron, a pair of alligators, an insanely huge grasshopper (if I had thought to put my pinky finger in for scale, the grasshopper would have been longer and twice as fat!), a lizard/anole type creature that was also quite big, and a wild honey bee hive.


© Loree Griffin Burns



© Gerry Burns



© Loree Griffin Burns



© Samuel Griffin Burns



© Loree Griffin Burns


It was nice to take this trip while my mind was between projects. I have a new book brewing, but the major research for that particular project won't begin until February. And so I had the luxury of time to think and read and watch and wonder about anything at all while traveling. I wondered about all the creatures pictured above, each native to the Florida Everglades, but I found myself especially drawn to stories of non-native species: Burmese pythons and Brazilian pepper plants and the like. Now, back home, I find myself pulling books and articles that I've collected over the years and realizing that this is a topic that has interested me for quite a while ... and not for the reasons one might think. And so I am reading and wrapping and researching and decorating all in equal measure. I love this part of my work, thinking and exploring without obligation, without deadlines, purely because a topic interests me.

Happy Friday!

Sometimes people forget that I wrote PROM because it is not exactly a depressing book. In fact, it's pretty funny, if I do say so myself. (If I had dread, depression and death in all of my books, I would not be a healthy person!)

So it is with great joy that I announce that PROM has been nominated to the 2010 Popular Paperbacks List, in the "Change Your World or Live to Regret It" category!!

School Library Journal has posted their annual collection of Christmas Memories written by children's authors and illustrators. This year's essays were written by me, my buddy Deb Heiligman, Barbara McClintock, Lauren Myracle, and our National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jon Scieszka. Enjoy!

Revision Tip #18

Are you stuck?

Have you tried all my plotting tips and dialog wisdom and adverb scorn and still you are stuck?

Try this.

1. Make yourself some comfort food.

2. Put on music that relaxes you.

3. Snuggle up in a warm, cozy place with a pen and a pad of paper.

4. Write a letter to your main character. Tell her everything that is worrying you about the story in general.

5. Pause to eat a bit. Make some tea or hot chocolate.

6. Pick up pen and paper again. Tell your character why you are specifically worried about her. Ask her what is going on in her life, in her relationships that you don't understand. Ask her advice about how to help her move forward.

7. Write down what she tells you.

8. If you can't hear her voice, then it is time to put that manuscript away for a while and work on a different story. But I am pretty sure you will hear the voice, so be chill and write.

The Class of 2K10 is proud to congratulate the Class of 2K9 as they approach the end of their launch year. Please help us celebrate the wonderful success they have had with their debut novels. Enter here to win these books:

Each morning I wake up to emails from two writing listserves. I also tweet, facebook, and hang out with writer friends on several blog sites. The word "CONGRATULATIONS!" shows up often as writer friends find an agent, sell a manuscript, or get a great review.

Warm fuzzies abound and not just at Christmas.

Throughout the year, writers suggest each other's books for awards and swap info about grant opportunities etc. We critique each other's manuscripts and promote each other's books. We share writing and research tips.

Sounds like one big happy community. Right?

Well, of course, right. But I think it's fair to say that just underneath all that goodwill lies an evergreen layer. Because ultimately we're competitors. There are only a few coveted awards and we all dream of winning them. Readers have a limited number of book buying dollars and we need them to be spent on our books!

No matter how well our books are received, most of us can usually find someone whose title is getting way more attention! It's hard not to be jealous.

Recently I was even envious of my friend Carol Baldwin's work-in-progress. She's unearthing such a fabulous story that I almost wanted to be doing her research and writing her book!

That's pretty, sick, isn't it?

Not sure where I'm going with this. It's just something I've been thinking about - the irony of good friends being fierce competitors. I don't think there's a thing we can do about it - except keep encouraging each other, be genuinely happy when the other person succeeds, and do our very best work at all times.

After all, goodwill is in season all year-round!



And while I'm on the subject of promoting friends' books - check out Carol Baldwin's book on writing. It's full of great writing experiences for the classroom but it's great for writers too. One of her character building exercises hugely influenced my work-in-progress.

One hundred tools to turn to when you have writer’s block - including music to listen to, title generators, story prompts, and more.