Highlights of Highlights!

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By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder

I have very strong childhood memories of getting the Highlights for Children magazine in the mail. First of all, it was mail – for me! (And my brothers, but mostly for me.)  I’d spot it on the kitchen counter, whisk it off to my bedroom, and immediately turn to the hidden pictures page. Then I’d search and search until I found every last rake, spoon, ice cream cone, and whatever else was listed at the bottom of the page! Today, Highlights publishes entire workbooks of these puzzles. They even have an app.

The first issue of Highlights magazine came out in 1946 and was published by the Pennsylvanian husband-and-wife team – Garry Cleveland Meyers and Caroline Clark. These days, the company’s corporate headquarters is  based in Columbus, Ohio, and includes Zaner-Bloser, Stenhouse Publishers, and Staff Development for Educators. But there’s another arm of the organization you may not know about – The Highlights Foundation. This is a 501 c-3 non-profit, established in 1984, that offers “workshops, retreats, and other support to writers, illustrators, and all creators of kid-friendly content.” (For a quick history of the company, go to: https://www.highlights.com/about-us/history.) The Foundation was established in 1984  in Chautauqua NY, but is now located in an idyllic rural setting in Honesdale, PA. George Brown, a descendant of Garry and Caroline, is its dynamic Executive Director.

During the pandemic, I took two of the Foundation’s classes online: “Filling the Writer’s Toolbox” with Emma Dryden, and “DIY Revision for your Novel or Non-Fiction” with Susan Campbell Bartoletti. But in August, after being prodded by my writing coach and award-winning author Sarah Aronson, and fellow Story Spinner and RMC-SCBWI Regional Advisor, Susan Wroble, I attended my first in-person event. And even though I am not a fan of mosquitos, ticks, humidity, or frizzy hair, this truly was the “highlight” of my summer.

“The Whole Novel Workshop,” was a six-day intensive for writers of MG and YA fiction. It differed from my other two classes in that it required an application. That meant submitting the first fifteen pages of my MG manuscript, a synopsis, and a cover letter. When my acceptance arrived, I literally whooped and hollered to the dog! Only that’s when the real work began. Not only would I be working on my revision during the workshop, I would also be receiving an in-depth critique of my full manuscript (from the brilliant, hilarious, and award-winning author, Crystal Allen) before I even arrived on campus. There were also three Zoom meetings with our  group (twenty participants and ten faculty), two books to read (one YA novel, one on craft), and partial manuscripts, synopses, and cover letters to read from the members of our assigned “Brain Trust” group (7-8 people). We used the Canvas platform to introduce ourselves (and our pets) and to explore writing prompts, articles, and podcasts. Needless to say, “The Whole Novel Workshop” could have been called “The Whole Summer Workshop!”

Finally, on August 21, the big day arrived. I pulled up to my home for the week, “#16,” the Jane Yolen cabin! (OMG – how did they know???) and basked in the beauty of my surroundings. There was a lovely front porch, with windows overlooking a wooded glen, a bookshelf filled with Jane’s books, posters on the wall, and an owl perched on the rafters. (I love OWL MOON!)

                .                                 

That evening, we all gathered for the start of what can only be described as a week of serious work, tremendous growth, and pure joy. There were craft workshops, thought-provoking morning prompts, critiques, time to write (alone or in community), Brain Trust groups (45-minute discussions about your manuscript led by YOU), one-on-one discussions, interviews with your main character (conducted by the dramatic Crystal!), pristine walks, and time to think about and work through your revision ideas. And the food! Ask anyone who has attended a Highlights workshop and they will definitely talk about the food. The chefs and servers prepare gourmet works of art three times a day, with snacks available twenty-four seven!

I could talk about this magical week for hours. (And believe me, I have.) Instead, here’s a  stream-of-consciousness recap:

Know who your audience is and what your character really wants. (So true, Rob.) Emotion drives action. Look for the fractals. (Jennifer) Journal until you’ve figured things out and do the swirlies. (Sarah) Discuss ideas with fellow novelists. (We love talking about these things, right Nora?!) Go for long walks. (Thanks for being our guide, George.) Play with tense and POV and balance dialogue, narrative, and description by using colored pens. (Nancy) Get rid of unnecessary characters. (Find your orderly, get rid of the priest- Crystal) Try new plotting tools. (Can’t wait to use yours, Erin.) Writing prompts open your mind to new possibilities! (Yes, Melissa!) No writing is wasted time. (More Melissa) Don’t be afraid of marketing. (I will be in touch, Mia.) And other assorted other words of wisdom: Pay attention to your secondary characters. It’s all about voice. Play and think in the rock garden. Be open about making changes. Make writer friends and support their work. (Miss you all!)

And of course… Keep going!

Our incredible faculty rocked it EVERY DAY and worked alongside us. (There was an open mike night on our last evening… WOW!) Endless thanks to: Crystal Allen, Sarah Aronson, Nora Shalaway Carpenter, Rob Costello, Erin Dionne, Mia Garcia, Jennifer Jacobsen, Erin Entrada Kelly, Alex Villasante, Nancy Werlin, Melissa Wyatt . Can you believe this line-up? I am still in awe of each and every one of them.

You must go to Highlights. (Even with the mosquitoes, ticks, and frizzy hair.) Put it on your to-do list. Right now. highlightsfoundation.org/upcoming/workshops.

I can’t wait to go back.

WRITING IS A STICKY BUSINESS!

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BY  | MAY 15, 2021 · 1:35 PM | EDIT

WRITING IS A STICKY BUSINESS!

By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder

In the “About” section of a blog I write for called In the Writer’s Web (www.inthewritersweb.com), we end our mission statement with the following sentence: “We want to provide insight, information, and inspiration to writers everywhere. Because… writing is a sticky business.” I love that last line. But what exactly does sticky mean? The Merriam-Webster online dictionary provides these synonyms: gluey, gummy, tacky, difficult, problematic, sensitive, tough, tricky, complex, complicated, hard, intricate, involved, serious, demanding, exacting, exhausting, stressful, and problematic. Yikes! On the other hand, here are some antonyms from the same site: easy, effortless, manageable, painless, simple, straightforward. So, if writing is a such a tricky-sticky business, why do we do it? Because we love it!

Most of you will agree that the past fourteen months have been extremely “sticky.” It was the epitome of so many of those adjectives I listed above. But the writer in me actually got a lot done. I became unstuck in many ways. I used my new stay-at-home lifestyle to develop a more serious writing practice. I hunkered down in my studio each morning to write and read. I revised a novel, got feedback from trusted critique partners, and revised again. I also dusted off another novel that had been sitting in a virtual drawer and began making some important changes. I attended online classes, webinars, conferences, and book launches. My critique group, The Story Spinners, began meeting on Zoom, twice a month, rather than once, in-person. And my Tuesday writing group, The Nanos, got together for Zoom writing sessions and lunch every week! I can honestly say that my writing, and my writing community, became my biggest comfort during this time of isolation.

But don’t get me wrong. I had many sticky writing moments during the pandemic. At one point, I had to put my novel aside. The events happening in our world today were too similar to what was going on in my historical MG novel. I was disheartened to see how much hatred and bigotry still raged in our communities. On the flip side, I’m even more motivated to get my book out there, not matter how sticky the process might be.

When YOUR writing life becomes sticky, try some of these strategies:

  1. Write something new. A first draft written with abandon, or an early morning writing prompt might just be what you need to get those juices flowing. Journal, draw, make lists!
  2. Try writing in a different genre. If you’re writing picture books, take a stab at a middle grade or a novel in verse.
  3. Interview your characters, both primary and secondary, at various times. They may have changed during the course of your revision. (http://www.rondibooks.com/getting-to-know-my-characters-again/)
  4. Make a map – seriously – draw out where your story takes place with colored pencils or markers. It will help you navigate the details as your characters move through your setting.
  5. Chart out how many times each character appears in your book. Are they all necessary? If the answer is yes, you may need to have them do more so the reader will remember them.
  6. Color-code dialogue, narrative, and description, and see if you have a balance. You can print the pages out and use markers, or highlight with different colors on your computer.
  7. Take classes! I particularly enjoyed workshops with Emma Dryden, Kate Messner, Linda Sue Park, Julie Berry, and Grace Burrowes. I also worked one-on-one with Sarah Aronson and am looking forward to my next class with Susan Campbell Bartoletti. The pandemic has isolated us, but also brought us together. These classes were all available on Zoom along with handouts and recordings.
  8. Have others read your work and take time to digest the feedback. Emma Dryden says that 80% of the feedback will not resonate, 15% will make you think, and 5% will be so on point, you’ll go running to your computer to put in the changes!
  9. Make a list of strong verbs and inspirational metaphors from mentor texts. Then find ways to strengthen your own writing.
  10. Get rid of unnecessary words. I totally overuse: just, that, I think, begin. Also, trim tag lines.
  11. When you’re in the thick of revision, Sarah Aronson suggests writing down what your main character is like at the beginning and end of your book. Have they changed? How? Julie Berry had us write a love letter to our novel. So great! I go back and read this from time to time. It reminds me why I am working so hard to make this book the best it can be.
  12. Have the computer read your manuscript out loud to you. In Word, go to Review and click on Read Aloud. It’s a computery voice, but it still helps you pick up on repetitive sentences and awkward dialogue.
  13. Read books on craft. Even just a chapter or two. And do the exercises suggested.
  14. Read inspirational books about being a writer/illustrator. Here’s one of my favorites:
  15. Read  a wide variety of books, but be current on what’s being published in your genre. With picture books, you can also find read-alouds on Pinterest.
  16. Subscribe to writing blogs (like this one!), join groups on Facebook (especially SCBWI, Sub It Club, and Kidlit411) and connect with other writers/illustrators on Twitter and Instagram.
  17. Take classes and attend workshops. Places to look online: SCBWI regional and national webinars and conferences, local SCBWI regional Connects, Free Expressions, Highlights, Writers Barn, Lighthouse Writers, Writer’s Digest, StoryStorm, ReFoReMo, NANOWRIMO, etc.
  18. THINK about your book. Go for walks, ride your bike, or hang out in the shower. When an idea occurs to you, send yourself a text (or you may forget this little inspirational nugget) and transfer it to your notebook or actual ms when you get a chance.

No matter what – Stick with it, stick to it, and stick it out, because although writing is a sticky business, it is also very, very sweet!

Note: This was the blog I wrote in January before I left my laptop toooooo close to a humidifier. It got… misplaced for a while.

SAVE YOUR DOCUMENTS!

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By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder

I started working on this blog a few weeks ago. I picked a topic, made a list of what I wanted to say, did some research, and pounded out a first draft. Then, last Tuesday, I fleshed it out, cut it here and there, and added new content. At the end of my writing session, I saved it to my Desktop and put it in a file in Word. I planned on giving it another read-through on Thursday and posting it on Friday. Everything was right on schedule. Or so I thought.

That same Tuesday night, I took the laptop into our bedroom. Normally, I leave it in the kitchen to charge for the next day. But since I would be skiing on Wednesday with my older son and his friends, I wanted to clear out a few emails before going to bed. It seemed like a good idea. Except for one false move. I put the computer on the nightstand. 

The next morning at breakfast, I opened it up. It was Inauguration Day and I wanted to watch the early morning festivities. Only when I clicked on the start button, nothing happened. The screen was black. Had I really used up a full charge the night before? I didn’t think so. But we needed to get going so I plugged in the computer for another charge and headed to the slopes.

It was a perfect morning – blue sky, fluffy snow, and NO LIFT LINES! Skiing with my son  (who was visiting from New York) was a total delight. After a few hours of enjoying the fresh powder, I went back to the house for lunch. I couldn’t wait to see the swearing in of President Biden and Vice-President Harris. I made a salad, sat down at the kitchen counter, and flipped open the laptop. The screen was still dark. What???? I pressed the “On” button. Nothing. No flashing lights, no chiming boot-up sounds, no sign of life. I picked up my phone and googled “What do I do when my MacBook Air won’t start?” 

I clicked on a video and did everything the guy said: “Press Control/Option/Shift for 7 seconds, press the start button, plug in the charger for 10 more seconds, repeat.” No change. I was beginning to panic so I googled more articles. One stopped me in my tracks. “We’ve bought a baby humidifier for our daughter who lives in our room. And I have my desk with my MacBook nearby. Can this damage my computer?” The answer was a resounding YES!!!!! Alarms began going off in my head. The humidifier in our bedroom was extremely close to the nightstand. Colorado air can be dry, especially in  winter, and I love having hot steam waft around me while I sleep. Unfortunately, this has the opposite effect on a computer.

After blasting the MacBook with a hairdryer and leaving it overnight in an air-tight plastic bag with rice, the possibility of water damage was becoming a serious reality. The next morning, (Thursday) I called Apple Care. “Oh yes,” said Ariana, the cheerful tech-support person. “A humidifier could do that. But don’t worry, I pulled up your account and you have insurance. Would you like to bring it in today? I have an appointment near your zip code at 5:15.” Except the zip code she was referring to was attached to my Denver address. I was in the mountains. “Sure,” I said. “I’ll drive down.” That’s when I remembered the blog. I always back up my longer projects on the Cloud and save them to a flash drive. But this was a shorter piece and it was going to be posted and saved on the Internet in only a few days. I had NOT backed it up. It was most likely gone. 

I drove down to Denver for my appointment at the Park Meadows Mall. Whoa, talk about culture shock. I hadn’t been inside a mall in close to a year. And the Apple Store I remembered no longer existed. After waiting on a socially distanced circle in the hall, I was ushered into a narrow room of white counters with plexiglass coverings and assigned to counter #4. The guy behind the plexiglass had a microphone wrapped around his neck and spoke to me through the speaker on my side of the partition. He scanned the appointment barcode on my phone. “Water damage, right?”  I nodded, feeling like I was in a hospital emergency room. “Well, as you can see, this isn’t a typical store right now. I’ll need to send the laptop out to the diagnosticians. They’ll call you with their findings within 24 hours. Is that alright?” I nodded again, signed something, and left feeling like I had just dropped my child off at preschool for the first time.

The tech assigned to my case called the next morning. “There’s a lot of damage, but we can fix it. Should be ready in four or five days.” Five days? I took a deep breath. “Okay,” I said. “By the way, do you think any of my files can be saved?” There was  a brief silence on the other end. “Hmm, probably not. You could pay extra for a data retrieval, but that will take longer.” “Oh,” I said. “Never mind.”

Part of me was relieved. My beloved MacBook Air could be fixed. And I had insurance, although there is a somewhat substantial deductible with this amount of damage. Still, I could carry on for a week with my old computer, even if it only holds a charge for two hours and heats up like a stovetop. But it wasn’t as bad as I had originally thought. Still, I was unnerved. Finally, the truth dawned on me. I was, like most of us, emotionally and physically attached to my electronic devices. And the main source of this affection was that gorgeous rose-gold MacBook Air.

My younger son would call this a “first world problem.” He would also tell me that I should be using GoogleDocs (which I am using right now) for all my writing. It automatically saves everything. Granted, my three novels and assorted picture book manuscripts are saved on flash drives, the Cloud, Scrivener, and PRINTED OUT and stored in binders. They have also been emailed to critique partners. But I was still upset about the lost blog and began moaning to my always supportive husband. He smiled and said, “Why don’t you write something about not putting a computer near a humidifier?” I laughed. But after speaking with a fellow writer who said, “That’s a really important topic. I don’t back up everything.” I decided to go for it. So here’s my advice if you haven’t gotten it already … BACK EVERYTHING UP ALL THE TIME. Seriously, even your smallest documents. And although I know it goes without saying-   KEEP YOUR COMPUTER AWAY FROM A HUMIDIFIER! 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to the Books of 2020!

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By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder

On Saturday, November 7, 2020, Denver’s Second Star to the Right bookstore, in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, will host an all-day QUARANTINE BOOK-A-PALOOZA! This virtual birthday party will celebrate the large number of books born in 2020 and feature the local authors and illustrators who created them. There will be five, 45-minute panel discussions organized by genre, including picture books, middle grade fiction, young adult novels, and non-fiction. So mark your calendars, grab a slice of cake or a bowl of ice cream, and join us for this informative birthday party!

Here’s the schedule, a sneak peek at the birthday books, and a link to the Eventbrite site where you can sign up to attend:

PANEL TIMES ARE IN MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME!

10:30 am – Picture Books

Dow Phumiruk – ONE GIRL

Jolene Gutierrez – MAC AND CHEESE AND THE PERSONAL SPACE INVADER

Carmela LaVigna Coyle –CAN PRINCESSES BECOME ASTRONAUTS?

AJ Irving – DANCE LIKE A LEAF

11:45 am – Middle Grade Fiction

Lija Fisher – THE CRYPTID KEEPER

Nanci Turner Stevenson – LIZZIE FLYING SOLO

Claudia Mills – LUCY LOPEZ: CODING STAR

Fleur Bradley – MIDNIGHT AT THE BARCLAY HOTEL

1:00 pm – More Picture Books

Lauren Kerstein – ROSIE THE DRAGON AND CHARLIE SAY GOODNIGHT

Nancy Bo Flood – I WILL DANCE

Beth Anderson – SMELLY KELLY AND HIS SUPER SENSES, LIZZIE DEMANDS A SEAT

Gregory Barrington – COW BOY IS NOT A COWBOY

Natasha Wing & Stan Yan – SALTWATER SILLIES, THE NIGHT BEFORE ELECTION DAY

2:15 pm – Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels

Jeannie Mobley – THE JEWEL THIEF

Darby Karchut – ON A GOOD HORSE

Jim & Steph Kroepfl – MERGED

Sonja Solter – WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT I KNOW

Linda Osmundson – BONNIE IN-BETWEEN

Samantha Cohoe – A GOLDEN FURY 

3:30 pm – Picture Books and Non-fiction Combo

Casey Rislov – LOVE, ROWDY RANDY

Laura Perdew – THE FORT, ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS SERIES

Lydia Rueger – VICTOR AND THE VROOM

Bianca Schulze – DON’T WAKE THE DRAGON

Susan Quinlan – ONE SINGLE SPECIES:Why the Connections in Nature Matter

To learn more about this event, check for last-minute schedule changes, and to SIGN UP, please go to:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/scwbi-quarantine-book-a-palooza-tickets-120538950245

Leaving a Paper Trail

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By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States in mid-March, our lives changed dramatically. For me, it meant hunkering down with my husband and visiting son, Noah, who had come to Colorado to ski and attend his cousin’s wedding. But after only three days, the ski resorts closed and our niece’s wedding was postponed. Noah, who normally lives in Montreal, was now here for the duration. Canada had closed its borders.

One night, during our second week of family dinners, I suggested digging out the old family videos. Noah was particularly interested in viewing the recording of his 2005 Bar Mitzvah. We all headed into the family room and began hauling out boxes of DVDs, CDs, and VHS tapes from an overstuffed cabinet. What a treasure trove of memories! Our boys’ first steps and birthday parties, family camping trips, even our wedding. Only for some reason, Noah’s DVD, and the outdated VHS tape from his older brother’s Bar Mitzvah in 2002, were nowhere to be found. Were they were behind the photo albums on the  bookshelf in the living room? I went to check. Nope. As a last resort, I went downstairs to my office/writing studio to look in my drawers, bookshelves, and cabinets. Nothing. But the reality of an even bigger problem was suddenly apparent to me. I knew it was there, lurking behind-the-scenes, but I  had ignored it for years. My work space – the creative sanctuary where I write, read, and tutor elementary school students, was a paper disaster!

Let me explain. If you walked into this lovely room (my favorite room in the entire world), you would find shelves of alphabetized books on one wall and an expansive desk on another, complete with an array of pencils, pens, and notebooks alongside my computer. Framed photographs line the windowsill and colorful artwork (many of my own pieces) dot the walls. There are some boxes filled with papers and folders on the floor, but they’re mostly in the corners and out of the way. The  problem, the one that hit me like a brick on this particular night, was hidden inside the drawers and cabinets. Crammed into these closed-up storage areas were notebooks from college and graduate school, years of lesson-plan books, thank-you letters from my former students and their parents, and an overflowing file of homemade cards from my husband and sons. I also had plastic tubs of teaching materials and lots of art supplies.

But the main source of my over-accumulation of paper had nothing to do with my collection of memorabilia, or my life as a teacher. It was my writing!  I had multiple drafts of ALL MY manuscripts, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, plays, songs, poems, blogs, and articles. Many had notes attached to them from editors, agents, authors, and critique partners. I had stacks of notebooks filled with revision ideas. There were conference and class handouts, bins of research, hard copies of rejection letters from agents and editors dating back to 2005, and piles of handouts from the SCBWI workshops I’ve organized.

I know what you’re thinking. “How did this get so out-of-control? And haven’t you gone digital?” All I can say is that for me, “out of sight is out of mind.” After I put something in a drawer, it turns into “storage.” I’ve gone digital, but I also print out hard copies of my work when I revise.

I knew my “paper-saving” was out of control. I just never seemed to have the time or energy to deal with it. But life had changed. I was in the middle of a pandemic. What if I died of the corona-virus in the not-so-distant future? Would my loved-ones be willing to sort through the piles in my office or the files on my computer? No way! In fact, they’d probably throw it all out. If I wanted them to keep any of it (so future generations would know how I spent my working life), I needed to leave  a more organized paper trail. And, since I had just given my writing group four weeks to read the latest version of my MG novel, I had a month to do it.

I continued with my established writing schedule – Get up, walk the dog, eat breakfast, and head to the studio. But instead of writing, I gathered my supplies: 3-ring binders in various widths and colors, plastic bins, new file folders, post-it notes, sticky white labels, and a pile of large garbage bags for the mountains of paper I was about to recycle.

Here’s what I learned:

  1. Man, oh man, did I like to write! I had a huge body of work. While some of it was really, really bad, much of it was good. And doing all this writing had made me a better writer. But I did not need multiple copies of every draft of every manuscript.
  2. Many editors, agents, and published authors had responded positively to my work and had encouraged me to revise and keep going. I needed to put these tidbits of light and hope in a binder and read through them now and again.
  3. I had attended A LOT of writing conferences and taken A TON of classes. I needed to look through my notes, save the worthwhile strategies, and get rid of the rest.
  4. I did not need to keep all those conference folders. I put the lists of agents and editors in a binder for future submissions and tossed everything else.
  5. Many of my early picture books had potential. And since I am now a better writer, I could rework them.
  6. My plays, songs, and poems needed to be in 3-ring binders for easier access. Especially my fifteen years of original Passover haggadahs and my fifty-plus songs!
  7. It was time to get rid of the lesson-plan books. One per grade level was enough to represent what I had done in my thirty years of being a teacher and tutor. And the student writing and scholarship contests I’ve judged, along with multiple copies of handouts from the teaching workshops I’ve led – gone. Same with the college and grad school notebooks. I saved two, from classes I loved the most.
  8. Although this started out as a paper trail to showcase my life, having my work organized in an accessible way has made me feel way more professional and extremely productive. Yay, me!

And if you’re wondering about those Bar Mitzvah videos, my husband found them three weeks later. They were in a box in a cabinet in our basement on top of some old sheets and blankets. Go figure.

 

 

 

 

Be A Word Nerd!

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By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder

You’ve heard it all before. Show don’t tell. Limit your use of adverbs. Create gorgeous metaphors. And the most important writing rule of all – Use strong verbs!!! But this is often difficult to do when you are working on an early draft. However, when you are further along in the revision process and ready to edit your work for “word choice,” try using some of the following strategies:

Mentor texts

Study outstanding books in your genre. Then, along with paying attention to the development of the main character’s arc and the twists and turns of plot, take note of the author’s exceptional use of language. This might mean underlining or highlighting words as you read. I keep a list of “words I love” on the Notes App on my phone, especially when I am listening to an audio book. I later transfer this list to my manuscript file in Scrivener and keep a second list in Word. Some of these words seep into my subconscious and suddenly appear in my writing. Others do not. That’s when I go back and read through the list again until I find a word that perfectly captures my character’s mood and motive.

Here are verbs from my latest list, taken from Gillian McDunn’s CATERPILLAR SUMMER and Melanie Crowder’s LIGHTHOUSE BETWEEN WORLDS: bristled, buzzed, carved, coasted, hooted, jabbed, jostled, looped, lumbered, lurched, quirked, rasped, rummaged, scowled, scuffled, shuddered, skittered, sloshed, snarled, stumbled, thrashed, threaded, throbbed, thrumbed, trudged, twinkled, whooshed, and withered.

Thesaurus and Websites

A thesaurus can give you a wide variety of words to use in place of your usual fare. But there’s also a website that puts your run-of-the-mill thesaurus to shame. It’s an extraordinary tool recommended by Jessica Brody, author of SAVE THE CAT WRITES A NOVEL, called OneLook.com. When I first discovered this site, and put the verb “jumped” into the search box and checked related words, 338 synonyms came up! My favorites were: plunged, soared, bounded, leapfrogged, lunged, rocketed, and zoomed. Another website to check out is https://7esl.com/verbs/#Types_of_Verbs_Verb_Examples. It’s slightly more difficult to navigate, but is a valuable resource for writers in any genre.

If you would like some craft books on this topic, try the seven book thesaurus collection by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi (including The Emotional Thesaurus and The Urban Setting Thesaurus) and Strong Verbs Strong Voice: A quick reference to improve your writing and impress readers by Ann Everett.

Be Creative!

I am a sucker for exquisite descriptions. In the MG novel, CATERPILLAR SUMMER, the main character, Cat, spends the summer at her grandparents’ beach house on Gingerbread Island off the coast of North Carolina. Take a look at these gems that connect us with Cat’s personality as well as the setting of the book: A rainbow of candy, an ocean of worries, freckles polka-dotting his skin, a sky puffed with clouds, a breath of strings, a blizzard of birds, a whisper of voices, fingers of fog, a look that was all sunbeams, a wave of people crushed onto the sidewalk, the world swirled green and gray as tears popped in her eyes. Now come up with your own descriptions, relating them to the characters, themes, and settings in your story. 

Don’t Rush!

Revising a book is hard work. After you’ve made your unique characters flounder and grow in an interesting setting with an action-packed plot that keeps your reader turning the page, it’s time to polish your writing until it sparkles and shines. The first thing to do is a search for words you overuse. For me, those are often: that, just, really, I think, and very. The technique here is simple: slash or replace. Another strategy is to edit the pages of your manuscript out of order. Create a number grid and randomly choose a page to edit for word choice only. Then color in that number in and move on to another, jumping around on the grid.

If you are a writer, you MUST BE a word nerd. There’s just no avoiding it! Are there techniques and resources you’ve found helpful in your writing practice?

 

 

Writing While Traveling

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By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder

Did you know there’s a direct flight from Denver to Tokyo? Okay, so it’s twelve hours. But rather than imagining this experience as an unending nightmare of neck cramps and bad food, I reframed it in my mind as a mini-writing retreat.

In preparation for my trip, I splurged for the extra leg room and filled my backpack with healthy snacks, compelling books, and my lightweight laptop. I knew I’d have plenty of time for reading and writing since I was flying solo and meeting my family in Japan. When I boarded the plane, I was delighted to discover that there was an empty seat between me (by the window) and the person on the aisle. We introduced ourselves, chatted , then pulled down our tray tables and got to work.

I wrote for two hours. Then I took a break, ate my salad, and headed to the bathroom. But when I settled back into the cozy nook of my seat, the lights on the plane suddenly dimmed. The plane now had a nighttime vibe, even though it was only 5:00 pm Denver-time. My eyelids drooped. My mind was fuzzy. I put the laptop back in my pack and clipped the tray table into place. Then I snuggled under the soft airplane blanket, my squishy pillow wedged against the window, and fell asleep. When I woke up a few hours later, I did not feel at all like writing. Instead, I watched a movie… or two… or three! I never even attempted to take the laptop out of my pack. So much for the writing retreat idea.

When I arrived in Tokyo at 4:30 p.m. the following day, I met up with my family, went to the hotel, and crawled into bed at a somewhat normal hour. But at 5:00 a.m., bazinga, I was wide awake. Jet lag! It wasn’t the best way to adjust to my new time zone, but it was a wonderful time to get some writing done. I tiptoed out of bed, unpacked my laptop, and began working on a new chapter. Again, I wrote for two hours.

But as the days went on, the jet lag began to fade. The 5:00 a.m. wake-up time turned into 7:00 or 7:30. I barely had enough time to shower and eat breakfast before starting the day. On other trips, I’ve often taken some time off to write in a chic café or a charming apartment. But on this trip, it was hard to rationalize hanging out in a coffee shop when everyone else was eating noodles, visiting Shinto shrines, and strolling through tranquil Japanese gardens. Plus, this was a family trip. Our two sons do not live in Denver and I treasure the time I can spend with them.

You may be thinking, “Give it up, sister. Take a break from writing and just enjoy yourself. Geez, you’re in Japan. It’s a once in a lifetime trip.” And on some level, I’d agree with you. But I had finally developed a daily writing habit and was not eager to give it up. Plus, this was a three-week trip. That’s a long time for any dedicated writer to go without writing.

Here’s what I decided to do:

 

  1. I forced myself to get up early on most days. That gave me an hour of writing time, which was enough to give me a sense of accomplishment and keep the novel moving forward.
  2. I jotted ideas down throughout the day on the “Notes” app on my phone. I also took tons of inspirational photos.
  3. In the evenings, when I was too bleary-eyed to write, I spent thirty minutes reading books, blogs, and articles related to my writing.
  4. I wrote on the train as we traveled the country. In Japan, the supersonic bullet trains are quiet and smooth. And most have tray tables!
  5. I spent a lot of time thinking about my book, especially at museums, memorials, and gardens. Sometimes, the smallest detail would occur to me while I was watching a fish swim in a pond or a child run in a park.
  6. I gathered information. This often meant asking questions or taking extra time in a museum. The book I am currently working on takes place in 1942. And although the events of WWII in my story mostly occur in Europe and America, Japan’s involvement is also relevant. After visiting the memorial park in Hiroshima and viewing the statue of Sadako Sasaki and the immense display of origami paper cranes, I realized that Sadako was the Japanese counterpart of Anne Frank. This inspired me more than I could have imagined and made me think hard about my main character. She would have been about the same age as both these girls.
  7. I got new ideas for future stories: A child is lost and living in a bamboo forest; a carp spends its days swimming around a town full of mountain spring water canals; toilets open, flush, and close on their own; vanilla ice cream is best with hot sweet potatoes; umbrella boutiques are so colorful; and all those cute little animal socks. Who knows what tidbit will show up in my next story?!

.

In researching this topic, I found Sarah Rhea Werner’s podcast and blogpost “Tips for Writing While Traveling” very helpful.

 https://www.sarahwerner.com/tips-for-writing-while-traveling-wn-063/

I love her last comment.

“You don’t have to spend every second of free time taking notes or committing everything to paper. Simply experiencing the world and looking at your surroundings through a different lens will benefit your writing. I am a firm believer that even the most mundane travel has the potential to broaden a writer’s mind. With a little forward thinking, I’m confident you can find inspiration in any situation!”

 

Getting Rid of an Attention-Grabbing Secondary Character

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By Rondi Sokoloff Frieder

Over the years, my MG historical novel has been critiqued, revised, submitted, requested, and rejected. It is a grueling process. In fact, there is only one reason why I have not abandoned this project all together – I love this story. I really do.

I decided to take some drastic action. Try something “out-of-the-box.” After thinking about it for weeks, I decided to hire a well-respected private editor to do an in-depth critique. I had recently attended her workshop and felt she would be a good fit for the story.

The editor agreed to do the work and asked me to email the book. I was elated, thrilled, and proud of myself for taking this step. Unfortunately, months went by without a word from her. I began to worry. I became convinced  the manuscript was beyond repair which was why it was taking her so long  to get it back to me.  Finally, her response  arrived. I opened the attachment and braced myself for the  news. And there it was,  twenty-four, single-spaced, pages of notes.

I took a deep breath and began scrolling. There was good news and bad news. The good news was that the writing was strong. Yay! I had done a wonderful job of building my world. The setting was  authentic and believable. Double yay! She also loved my lively cast of characters. Jumping up and down!

But there was bad news. Well, let’s not call it that. After all, I had hired this editor to find out what wasn’t working. Bottom line – My main character’s story-worthy problem was not story-worthy. The stakes were too low. The outcome was unsatisfying. I needed to amp it up – make my protagonist’s dilemma more urgent and emotional. I read on, hoping  the editor had provided ideas on how to fix this. She had. She identified two meaty subplots that could  be “mined” and turned into story-worthy problems. Great! I could do that. I loved those subplots.

Except for one more problem. My main character  was being overshadowed by some of the more interesting secondary characters. Ugh!  I had done that on purpose. This particular protagonist was supposed to start out naïve and meek and evolve into a dynamic, action-taking person as the story unfolded. Only it wasn’t happening fast enough. This girl was a wishy-washy pushover who was being too influenced by those around her. Especially her rebellious older sister and her spunky best friend.

The editor assured me that this was a common mistake. Main characters needed to grow and change over the course of the novel. They had to stretch themselves and become risk-takers as they jumped over hurdles and surmounted obstacles. But this girl needed more pizazz, more flaws.  Readers were not going to care enough about her to follow her to the end of the journey.  She had to drive the action more, make larger mistakes, recover, flounder, and keep going until her new story-worthy problem was solved.

My head began to spin as I read through those twenty-four pages. This was going to be a ton of work. A total rewrite! Then, suddenly, a plot-twisting possibility popped into my brain. It was like an annoying mosquito buzzing in my ear.

“Get rid of the rebellious sister,” it hissed.

“What?” I said, swatting at the invisible bug. “I can’t. I love that sister. And she’s critical to the plot.”

The buzzing continued. “She needs to gooooo.”

“No,” I said, more emphatically. “She’s too important.”

“She’s not,” the insect hummed, flying around to the other ear. “She’s stealing the thunder. Grabbing the attention away from your main character. Delete her! NOW!”

I didn’t want to admit it, but the editing mosquito was right.

I opened my computer and took a deep breath. It was time to re-plot. I began by eliminating the snarky older sister. Then I focused on transplanting her “attention-getting” traits into my main character. I made a new plot-map and merged it with a SAVE THE CAT – Beat Sheet. It was only a preliminary plan, but I could already see my protagonist morphing into someone who was more impulsive and action-oriented. She would have good intentions, but would make a lot of mistakes as she went along. Readers would root for this girl. They would cheer her on as she ran amok before solving her brand new story-worthy problem.

I miss the sister. But deep down, I know my story will be stronger without her.

Have you ever had to get rid of a lovable secondary character? Let me know how it turned out.

Ski Accidents and Read Alouds

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I was off in the wilds of Park City, Utah, making epic turns in piles of powder, when the unexpected happened. I was halfway down a groomed, intermediate run, when I realized the slope had turned icy. I immediately made a snap decision to move over to what I thought was softer powder on the side. But this snow had melted in the previous day’s sun and had turned crusty overnight. Unfortunately, I was in the thick of it, turning at a high speed. My right ski got caught in the crud, while the rest of me kept going. Down I went, landing hard on my right shoulder. This was no routine spill. When I tried to get up, I was hit with an unusually sharp pain. I lay there in disbelief, gazing up at the pale blue sky.

Suddenly, a friendly skier appeared at my side. “Are you okay?” he quipped.

“Hmm,” I said. “I don’t think so.”

“Need help getting up?” He reached out his hand.

“Maybe I’ll just lie here for a while,” I answered, still peering at the sky.

“I think we should call Ski Patrol,” he said, more seriously.

“Ski Patrol?” I said, suddenly looking his way. “I’ve never had to call Ski Patrol. And I’ve been skiing for over fifty years!”

This kind angel in goggles smiled, but proceeded to take out his phone. I said okay, and before I knew it, the first Ski Patroller had arrived. After a routine exam, he calmly announced that he was pretty sure my collarbone was broken. Then, he called for a sled, and after a surprisingly smooth and enjoyable ride down to the medical clinic, it was confirmed. I had a distal fracture to my right clavicle and would be wearing a sling for the next 6-8 weeks.

Back at our condo, my concerned cousins gathered around me. One suggested I put on lavender oil. Another said I should sit by the fire and prop myself up with pillows. But a third offered something completely different. “You should listen to an audio book,” she said. “It’s the best way to relax.” Hmm, I thought. I hadn’t listened to a book in years. Not since my own children were young and we were on a family car trip. I prefer holding a book, rereading pages as I go, and marking interesting passages with post-it notes. But with limited movement in my right arm, and an impending flight home the next day, I decided to try it. I downloaded the Audible app and began listening to Michelle Obama read her best-selling memoir, BECOMING.

Once home, a friend called to see how I was doing. I said I was on the couch, listening to a book. She told me she loved audio books. She found them comforting and they reminded her of being read to as a child. I thought about my own childhood experiences with books. My earliest recollection was of my mother reading to us from a thick volume of poetry and fairy tales. I still have that book on my shelf and each time I open it, memories of listening to her read LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD or Over in the Meadow, come flooding back. My mother also took us to the library each week for Story Time, and read us books from the Dr. Seuss Book-of-the-Month club. Additionally, my brother and I watched and listened to Captain Kangaroo read picture book classics like MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, CURIOUS GEORGE, and MADELEINE on our black and white Zenith.

But my strongest memories of being read to were from elementary school. Our teachers read to us after lunch or at the end of the day. I can vividly remember being whisked off to Wilbur’s farm in CHARLOTTE’S WEB or out to the ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS where Karana foraged for crabs and hid from wild dogs. I traveled back to the Revolutionary War with JOHNNY TREMAIN and onto the high seas in CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS. And nothing compared to the magic of Middle Earth in THE HOBBIT or the fantastical world of A WRINKLE IN TIME. These books pushed my imagination to places it had never been before. And the cadence of my teachers’ voices, appropriately calm and dramatic, allowed me the luxury of conjuring up these adventures in a strikingly visual way. It was different than reading the books myself. It was soothing and transporting.

As writers of books for children, we must always consider how our books sound when read aloud. Stories that allow our voices to be compelling, humorous, or lyrical draw the listener in. And when children are read to, it motivates them to improve their reading skills, so they can someday read these books on their own.

When I’m working on a challenging passage in my own work, I often record myself, then listen back to check on the authenticity of a character’s voice or the pacing of a scene. I’ve even recorded chapters of mentor texts so I can hear why the writing works so well. It’s also beneficial to have critique partners read your work aloud so you will know how others might interpret your words.

And although I still prefer reading a hard copy of a book – holding it in my hands and going through it at my own pace –I now have headphones nearby. Michelle is waiting to read to me. And I can’t wait to snuggle under a blanket and listen to her.

Do you prefer hard copies of books, reading on an e-reader, or listening to audio books?

FROM NANO TO SAVE THE CAT

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Today is November 1, and if you are a writer, you might be sitting at your computer right this very second wondering if you should start pounding out a new novel. Because November is “National Novel Writing Month” or “NaNoWriMo.” For those of you don’t know what I’m talking about, NANO is an international phenomenon that challenges writers around the world to write a 50,000-word novel in one month. That’s right, 30 days (not 31) with Thanksgiving and all its trimmings- traveling, shopping and cooking – thrown in at the end along with your deadline. And despite this daunting description, hundreds of thousands of people do it every year. They gather in coffee shops, hole up in libraries, and sit together at dining room tables (mine) and get that novel written. Personally, I’ve done it twice. And I have to say – the excitement of creating a new work of fiction in 30 short days has its appeal.

To start with, there’s the adrenaline rush of sitting down every morning (or night), not knowing what will happen. There are characters to flesh out, new worlds to build, plot twists to create. And the folks at NANO headquarters have created graphs to plot your progress. You build your word count, read inspirational Pep Talks, and attend Write-Ins in your neighborhood. It’s an amped up world of writing that has a beginning, a middle, and an end – something writers often find elusive in their weeks, months, and years of revising. So if this is something you want to try, go for it. All you have to do is log on to the Nanowrimo.org website and sign up. It’s definitely worth doing at least once.

Only this year, I’m opting out. As much as I’d love to dive in and create something completely new, I have three middle grade novels in various stages of revision. Two of these manuscripts were actually created during previous NaNoWriMos. And I love these stories. Seriously love them and the casts of characters that inhabit their unique worlds. But recently, a dear writing friend (fellow Story Spinner Coral Jenrette) told me about Jessica Brody’s book (and online class) – SAVE THE CAT WRITES A NOVEL – https://www.jessicabrody.com/for-writers/online-writing-courses/. It is a companion book to Blake Snyder’s super popular SAVE THE CAT book for screen writing. And although this method is designed to help you create a compelling plot, something you may want to do before attempting NaNoWriMo, I also think it is the perfect post-NANO tool.

SAVE THE CAT WRITES A NOVEL analyzes the plots of many highly successful books and movies by breaking down the elements of the story into a 15-step Beat Sheet or Novel Road Map. The beats take you from the (1.) Opening Image all the way to the (15.) Final Image. Not only are the various components explained, you are also given the approximate amount of time you should spend on each beat (percentages), and exercises to help you work on your own story.

Even though I wish I had done this type of outline before I attempted NaNoWriMo, it is not too late. The Beat Sheet is also the perfect tool for revising a first draft. And in fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m pulling out my contemporary middle grade novel that I Nano’d in 2014 and digging in. This book began with a loose outline that changed as I wrote. (All first drafts do this, right?) The good news is, I really got to know my cast of characters during NANO. But now, as I craft my Beat Sheet, I realize that many of them have to go. There are way too many people in this story! And my protagonist (hero) has too many problems. She needs one major “flaw” and a focused need. When reading over my first draft, I also realized that the arc of the story is draggy in the middle and rushed at the end. But with the Beat Sheet, I’m ready to begin draft #2 with a much tighter story. My characters (the ones that survive) are more interesting and directed, my obstacles are more devastating, and my ending is more satisfying. I still have A LOT OF WORK TO DO, but I’m pumped and raring to go. I’ll still devote November to writing a draft, but I’ll be doing it at my own pace.

Now if only I could master Scrivener. Coral sent me a webinar on that, too. I’ve had it on my computer for years and keep planning to learn how to use it. Maybe in December…

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