Your Baby’s Ugly

I belong to two online critique groups, one for prose, and one for poetry. Both of these groups are invaluable to me.

Writing is a lonely business because most of the time, you’re working in a vacuum. Sometimes, it’s hard to see any potential flaws in my own work because I’m just too close to it. Stepping away from a project for a little while is helpful most of the time. It allows me to view my work with fresh eyes and maybe I’ll spot something I didn’t see before. But the best way to spot any flaws in my work is to have a trusted group of critique partners take a look at it. They don’t have any emotional investment in my project, so they will be able to look at it more objectively then I can.

Now putting your work up for critiques is not a natural process. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a certain emotional investment in your work. It’s like your baby. After all, there was nothing there before you made the effort to bring it into this world. Getting a critique is a little like presenting your baby to the world, only to have people say, “Your baby’s ugly.” And the thing is...maybe they're right.

Of course, a critique partner will be more tactful than that, maybe… But the point is, constructive criticism is vital to the writing process. Having someone else take a look at the story arc, character, pacing, grammar, etc., has definitely improved the quality of my work, and has made me a better writer. Over the years, I have gotten feedback that helped to make my stories shine, and some that I’ve disregarded because it didn’t fit with my vision of the story. But all of the feedback I’ve gotten, made me look at my story from another angle. That helped me craft a stronger story. Because whether I used the feedback or not, every thing in my story was there because of a conscious decision.

Now all critique groups are not the same. Some writers like to get together in person. However, that is something that wouldn’t work for me. I wouldn’t be able to commit to a critique group that met regularly and read over manuscripts. I just don’t have the time. The nice part about an online critique group is that you can critique when you have the time. If I get an hour here or there, I’ll be able to get a critique done. The other nice thing is that being online has put me in touch with people from the other side of the country, and the other side of the world for that matter. You get great feedback from dealing with such a diverse group of people. In the process, I’ve made some friends there that I wouldn't have met otherwise too. It's been a win-win situation.

A Very Nice Way to Start the New Year

Whoo Hoo!!! Guardian Angel Publishing has accepted another picture book of mine titled, “If I Could Be Anything”. This will be my sixth picture book being published by them. It’s a rhyming picture book with an animal theme and has a nice, soft tone to it. It should make for some beautiful illustrations. I’m excited to see it in print although I don’t have an estimated release date yet.

It’s a sweet start to the new year and I’m itching to write some new material. I was going through a creative dry spell recently, but the good news has shaken me out of the doldrums. It’s time to open up my writer’s notebook (I always carry a small spiral notebook with me in case a good idea strikes, or any idea for that matter) to see if any of my random brain droppings could possibly bear fruit.

Happy Writing!

Kevin

Easy As Juggling Chainsaws

I told someone I know that I write children’s books and that I’m being published, only to hear the offhand comment, “Hey, I should do that.” Now this comment came from someone who has never written anything more difficult than a shopping list.

I’d encourage anyone who was seriously considering writing for children and was willing to learn the craft. But what annoys me is the misperception some people have that writing for children is easy.

I just finished a rhyming picture book that weighs in at about 510 words and is currently in the process of being critiqued. I had to create characters; create a plot; squeeze all the elements of a story into 510 words; make sure everything makes sense, oh yeah, and make it rhyme. So now you throw rhyme and meter into the mix.

Then, after all the work you put in writing and rewriting the story; going through the critique process; rewriting again; researching the different markets and submitting the story, there’s no way to really tell the effort finally be rewarded. I was seriously writing and submitting my work for four years before I sold my first story. It was four and a half years before I received my first book contract. That’s a long time to be receiving rejection letters and to wonder if you’re just wasting time.

So writing for children is easy… about as easy as juggling chain saws. However, if you want to learn to do it well, and you don’t lose any major limbs in the process, it can be very fun and rewarding.

Thanks for letting me rant.

2008, a Year in Review

I have to say that 2008 was a very good year for me writing-wise.

One year ago, I had just received my first book contract. Before that, all I had was a flash fiction piece published in Beyond Centauri to my credit and that came after four years of actively pursuing publication.

Now, I have five picture books under contract and I might be included in a poetry anthology that will come out in 2010. I don’t know the details yet. I could wind up being edited out of the anthology. So, I’ll have to see how that plays out.

All I can say is, “What a difference a year makes.”

I’m hoping for more good things to happen in 2009. I several stories under consideration at various publishing houses, and I’m hoping for some good news about them. I’m also waiting for my first book to be released. Kit Grady, one of the talented illustrators associated with Guardian Angel Publishing, is currently illustrating “The Sister Exchange.” I’m excited to see what the finished book will look like.

I’m really looking forward to the New Year. I don’t know if I’ll be able to top the success I had in 2008, but I’m certainly going to try. :-)

May you and yours have a happy and healthy new year.

Peace,

Kevin

Happy Holidays

To everyone out there, no matter what you celebrate, may you have peace, joy and love this holiday season.

Kevin :-)

Writing Assignment from my Wife

My daughter Jennifer recently celebrated her 4th birthday. We had a party for her at our local Pizza and Brew and took over an entire back room. We had it there because we couldn't get the date and time we wanted anywhere else. But it was a pretty good place. The food was good, the price reasonable, and the service was great. But I digress...I'm good at that.

One of the games we played was the Left and Right Game. This game is played at the table and consists of passing an object to the person next to you. Someone reads a story and when you hear the word "Left", you pass the item to the person on the left. When you hear the word "Right", you pass it to the person on the right. Whoever is holding the object when the story is finished wins a prize. Being that I'm the writer in the family, it fell upon me to come up with a customized version of this game. This is what I came up with.

Left and Right Game

When Jennifer was born, right away we were left with a feeling that she must have been left here by angels. Pretty soon we knew we were right. Right from the start, she was an adorable baby. Even though she had jaundice and had to be left under lights in the hospital nursery, she took things right in stride. She was left laying on her back, but she put her left hand under her head, and crossed her left leg and left laying there like that, she looked like she was sunning herself.

Right after we left the hospital, Jennifer continued to work her way right into our hearts. We were always left wondering how we managed to be left with such a bright, personable child. She always said things that left us laughing. She was always able to understand new things right away and when she contradicted us about something, she was usually right.

Right now, Jennifer is four years old and every Saturday morning she heads right for dance school. One of the first things that they taught her is her right from her left. Many of the other children in her class know their left foot from their right foot. But sometimes they make a mistake and confuse their left with their right and their right with their left, not realizing that their left is their left and their left is not their right, but that their right is their right and their left is their left. But then they figure out the right moves and use their right as their right and their left as their left and not their right as their left or their left as their right. You’re left feeling happy for these children because of the smiles left on their faces because they’ve figured out their left from their right and are finally using their left as their left and not their left as their right.

But right when you think there is nothing left to learn, the instructors right at the dance school will use whatever time is left to move the older children right in front to lead the other children left behind in marching in straight line. This is a little more complicated because in addition to using their left and right feet, they are also using their right and left hands, often holding them out right in front of them as they march. Sometimes an older child will be placed right in the back of the line to make sure that the younger kids aren’t left out of the formation and that no child is left behind. But sometimes the additional use of their left and right hands as well as their right and left feet will confuse the younger children left behind and they will start using their left as their right again instead of their left as their left. But in the time they have left, they will figure out that their left is their left again.

But as cute as all of these children might be as they learn their left from their right and their right from their left, I think there is one child left standing out as the cutest one of them all. If you think her name is Jennifer, you would be right.

Actually it worked out fairly well. The adults liked it as well as the children. My father-in-law wound up winning the prize (a $10 gift card). Of course, this puts pressure on me to come up with something better next year. :-)

Whoo Hoo!

Guardian Angel Publishing has accepted a picture book I’ve written called Papa’s Suns. It’s about a boy who’s grandfather had a stroke and how he copes with it. I’m glad that this story found a home. Because of the subject matter, I thought that I would have a tough time placing this story. There’s not a tremendous market for stroke-related stories. But I attended the Muse Conference Online where Guardian Angel had a forum and I saw that they wanted to expand their Health and Hygiene imprint. Guardian Angel has published my other picture books, so I sent it to them.

This story wound up needing more revision than I originally thought. The main change I made to the story was changing it from first person to third person point of view. I also needed to add some more senses (sounds, touch, etc) to try to draw kids into the story.

But it was well worth the effort. I received a contract, and dropped it in the mail yesterday. I have to say that 2008 has been a very good year for my writing. So far, this makes five picture books that I have under contract. I can’t wait until they are finally released. I feel like holding my books in my hands.

I’ve been spending a lot of my time dealing with the promotional aspects of the writing business and I think that my knowledge has grown exponentially. But I feel my muse calling me again. I think it’s time to get back to basics. I need to start working on some new material.