Shevi's World

I'm jumping back to my old blog

2011-08-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone!

Google kindly informed me that my old blog still exists, so I've moved all my posts from here to there. If you'd like to continue following me, you can check it out at: http://shevi.blogspot.com

I will be posting my thoughts on writing for kids and teens, humor, creativity, publishing, fantasy and science fiction, and geek culture. There will be news about book releases, and there's a contest with prizes in the works.

Hope to see you there!

70 best romantic comedy movies

2011-07-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

The Princess Bride is my all-time favorite movie, but I love romantic comedies in general. Here's a list of 70 romantic comedies I've loved. Are your favorites on the list?
The Princess Bride
French Kiss
Pretty Woman
Benny and Joon
When Harry Met Sally
Moonstruck
Fever Pitch
Pitch Fever
Bridget Jones
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Jerry Maguire
Don Juan DeMarco
The Goodby Girl
Someone Like You
Educating Rita
Green Card
IQ
Sleepless in Seattle
Runaway Bride
For Love or Money
Maid in Manhattan
The Wedding Planner
Notting Hill
He's Just Not That Into You
Keeping the Faith
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Raising Arizona
Dan in REal Life
The Holiday
The Secret of My Success
Victor/Victoria
Addicted to Love
The Addams Family
Arthur
Spanglish
About a Boy
She's Out of My League
The Ugly Truth
The Proposal
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Tootsie
Hairspray
The Truth about Cats and Dogs
Shirley Valentine
Father of the Bride
The Accidental Hero
Local Hero
When in Rome
Leap Year
Fools Rush In
Must Love Dogs
Music and Lyrics
You've Got Mail
Serendipity
Gregory's Girl
Enchanted
Definitely, Maybe
Run, Fat Boy, Run
Roxanne
Mrs. Winterbourne
While You Were Sleeping
A Fish Called Wanda
Splash
Housesitter
Seems Like Old Times
Ghost Town
Morning Glory
I'll Be There
Never Been Kissed
She's the Man

Episode 2--"What's So Funny?"

2011-07-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

What's so funny? In a word: everything! Anything you can think of can be the setup for your humor. The only question is "What do you want humor to do for you?"

The truth about ebook sales

2011-06-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

I've seen several writers quote Bowker's figures on ebook sales, which say they only account for the smallest fraction of books sold and money made. The problem with this is that Bowker can't track Amazon Kindle sales. Only Amazon can, and Amazon is not giving that information to Bowker. While Bowker can track sales based on ISBNs, Amazon ignores ISBNs in favor of it's own Amazon Standard Identification Number.

See this blog post by Steve Weber, author of Plug Your Book, for more information: http://www.weberbooks.com/2009/05/will-kindle-crash-nielsen-bookscan.html

Humor: Does It Have to Hurt?

2011-06-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

I've been studying comedy since I was a little kid, collecting jokes I found on TV so I could tell them later and make my family and friends laugh. I've read many books on creative humor, and I've even taken a couple of courses in college on the subject. The teachers of the courses and most of the books say the same thing, and that is pain is a part of comedy. But is it really?

I was a political cartoonist for seven years, and in that time I came up with my own pain-free formula for creating humor, a formula that helped me write over 1,000 cartoons, and add humor to over 100 articles, 40 picture books, and seven novels. It's also helped me get jobs, make friends, get laughs when I had to speak as a member of a forum on humor, and deal better with stress. This formula is called the House of Funny, and this video is the first in a series I'm creating to explain what the House of Funny is and what it can do for you.

I hope you enjoy it, and if you do I hope you'll subscribe to my YouTube channel, because I have a lot more fun planned.

Read a good book on public speaking

2011-06-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

I bought How to Say It with Your Voice by Jeffrey Jacobi, because someone at a writers workshop said I talked really fast, and I wanted to correct that. I also wanted to make sure I did the best possible job when I sat down to start recording my vlog (which should be very soon).

It's a great book: informative, clear, nonjudgmental, and easy to put into practice. I discovered a few tricks to get over speed talking, and also discovered that one of the things I always thought was a defect in my voice--the way it rises and falls as I speak--is actually a good trait to have. I would recommend this book to anyone who is concerned about the sound of their voice or about public speaking.

There were a few tips I think will be particularly helpful when it comes to recording my vlog:

1. "Underline the important words of your talk with a colored marker to remind you which words need a dramatic pitch change. You can also use italics to signify key words." (You should do this with several words in each sentence. Adjectives and verbs frequently work well for this. You can change pitch by either raising or lowering the pitch, and you can vary is for interest.)

2. "Indicate where you want to take extra time by e-l-o-n-g-a-t-i-n-g key words with dashes. Slowing down can also be indicated with an arrow below the key word."

3. "Write in double slash marks // to signify pauses." Pauses add power to your words.

This book has made me more aware of why I react the way I do to people with different public speaking styles, and I'm looking forward to using what I've learned when I start recording my vlog.

SCBWI NJ Conference 2011

2011-06-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

I've attended several SCBWI NJ Mentoring Workshops, and I feel I've got a lot out of them. This was my first SCBWI NJ Conference, and although I'd heard only wonderful things about it, I did go with some apprehensions. Would I feel overwhelmed by the crowd? How would I work out attending a conference over Shabbat? Would it be worth the cost?

I talked it over with my husband. We could go as a family and spend Shabbat together. A little bit of duct tape over the locks meant we wouldn't have to use the key cards to get into our room, and we could lock all valuables securely in our car. We could bring our own food--that would have been necessary even if I didn't keep kosher because of my anti-yeast diet--and I didn't have to write anything during Shabbat. It was doable, and we agreed it was a good idea. After talking with Kathy Temean, the SCBWI NJ RA, I felt excited about it. We even discussed the possibility that I might give a workshop next year, although it was too late for me to do that this year.

FRIDAY

ARRIVAL

I arrived at the hotel on Friday at noon. Too early to check in, I went straight to the conference center, schlepping my many bags with me. I wanted to hand my portfolio in early, because I couldn’t sign it in on Saturday (for religious reasons), but I couldn’t find the person I was supposed to give it to. (I didn’t bother to bring anything for the juried art show, because I didn’t have the proper equipment.) So I picked up my name tag and information packet, chatted with a few old friends, like Kathy and Laurie, met sweet and helpful Ame--with her happy high voice, her spiky red hair, and her little red bow--and went to my Friday intensive.

I’d had a hard time choosing an intensive, because they all sounded too basic for me. I somehow ended up with “The Craft and Art of Writing” with Stephan Barbara. Too late, I noticed there was one on self-editing. I probably should have gone with that one.

THE CRAFT AND ART OF WRITING

Stephan is a young, amiable, good-looking agent with a Lit degree, who used to work as a book reviewer for the Wall Street Journal. Reviewing books turned out not to be a good job if you were hoping that people would write to tell you how helpful they found your reviews (also not the best if you want to get paid, or at least that’s been my experience). The only time people wrote to him was after he reviewed a book that painted the Boy Scouts in a less than favorable light, and then it was all hate mail.

I didn’t even know the Wall Street Journal reviewed books, but in the week after the conference, a WSJ article on the darkness in YA drew a lot of criticism from YA writers who felt their work was being attacked. Frankly, I think this drew an unnecessary amount of attention to an article that otherwise would have only been read by a handful of people. Hate mail lends more weight to such articles than no attention whatsoever. This isn’t the famous New York Times book review section, after all.

He asked us what the necessary parts of a story were, and he wrote the answers down on a large sheet of paper. Character. Conflict. One of the things he wrote down was an “antagonist.” I said it didn’t belong there. He said, “Name a story that doesn’t have an antagonist.” I said, “When Harry Met Sally.” Silence. (I could have added “Almost every episode of Friends.”) Someone else said that an antagonist didn’t have to be a person. Really? Let me look that up in the dictionary… From Dictionary.com: ”antagonist: noun 1. A person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary. 2. The adversary of the hero or protagonist of a drama or other literary work: Iago is the antagonist of Othello.” Sounds like an antagonist has to be a person to me, but I could be wrong.

He wrote down the parts, and then told us to write the start of a story. I did. Then I waited. And waited. And waited. So he suggested I write the starts of three stories, so I did. And I waited. And waited. And waited. It turns out everyone else was writing the outline for half a story, not the start of a story. We went around the room and read what we had written. Lisa had written a great outline for the start of a story, so we picked hers to work on as a class. We then discussed what would be the best opening scene and the best POV (Point Of View), and we wrote opening scenes. We then discussed what scene would make an interesting confrontation between two characters in the story, and we wrote those. After each writing period, we read what we had written out loud. Mine elicited a laugh at the right spot, so I guess it worked.

The intensive lasted four hours, and I can’t say I really learned anything from it, except that if you write book reviews for the Wall Street Journal and you want people to actually read them, review a book that paints the Boy Scouts in a negative light. As for the less experienced writers in the class, I think the main thing they might have taken away is “Authority: set the stage on page one with confidence.” That’s something I do see as a distinction between some newbie writers and those who have been at it for a long time. Sometimes newbie writers can be too timid, not willing to let the story be all that it can be. You have to believe in yourself and in your story if you want your reader to, but it can take time to gain that confidence.

AGENT CRITIQUE

My agent critique came next. I’ve talked with this agent before, and I think if I do get to the point where I need an agent, there’s a good chance I’ll choose him. I like his attitude, and I like his questions. They let me see things in my manuscript I maybe haven’t considered before. He doesn’t micromanage, which is good, because I really don’t need hand holding, just career guidance and help making the right connections and getting the best deal.

We talked about my plans regarding e-publishing (he said I seem to know what I’m doing) and about Why My Love Life Sucks. He loved Gilbert’s voice and the humor, loved the dialogue. I said that’s because I’ll often write the same scene three times, so I can get it just right. He put on a shocked face and said, “You mean you don’t get it right the FIRST time?” I laughed and said, “In Improv they like to say you shouldn’t worry that it’s going to suck--because it’s DEFINITELY going to suck.” He said, “I have a client I’d like you to talk to.” Then it was my turn to laugh.

THE WYNDHAM HOTEL

I found someone who would take my portfolio for me, which lightened my load a little. Then schlepping what was left of my bags, I returned to the lobby and checked in. I got my room key, and then spent the next half hour getting extremely lost in the hotel. It’s not a huge hotel, but it’s very easy to find yourself going back and forth between floors, or maybe I should say half floors. The same floor can actually exist on two levels, and it turned out my second floor room was half a floor below the second floor where the conference was taking place. Eventually I returned to the desk, asked for directions again, and got the right room.

It was very nice, and the beds were extremely comfortable, possibly the most comfortable of any hotel beds I’ve ever slept in. The view was okay, although it mostly consisted of the branches of one tree that extended all the way to our window. Even in the middle of the day, there wasn’t much danger of bright sunlight getting into the room. (A little bit of sunshine would have been nice.) My husband and kids soon arrived with our luggage and flowers for me. It was our anniversary. That was so sweet for him to bring me flowers.

I enjoyed a quiet Friday night with my family. We ate dinner in our room. It was nice. I didn’t go to the Friday night Mix and Mingle because the charge was mostly for the food, and I couldn’t eat any of it. It was right outside our hotel room door, though, so I couldn’t help but walk through it. I guess it would be great if you’re a social butterfly, but parties aren’t my thing.

SATURDAY

BREAKFAST

Saturday started with breakfast, but again I couldn’t eat anything, so I asked my husband to check it out to see if there was anything he could eat. He got one bottle of orange juice, and found my portfolio had been laid out. He returned to the room, grabbed a bunch of the little wind-up robots I’d brought for promotional purposes, and put them next to my portfolio. We kept adding robots as they disappeared, so I’m glad I managed to give most of them away. (They have the URL to my website on them.)

GRACE LIN’S KEYNOTE SPEECH

After eating breakfast in my room, I went to the amphitheater to hear Grace Lin’s keynote. It was funny, heartfelt and sweet. Grace Lin talked about her childhood, how she grew up in a little town where her family was the only Chinese one. She thought of herself as American as anyone else, until someone read Five Chinese Brothers, and another kid turned to her and said, “Chinese just like you!” She grew up wanting to illustrate classic fairy tales, and she was well on the way. But then during a scholarship that took her to Italy, she realized she wanted to learn more about Chinese art. She discovered the bright colors of Chinese folk art, and she embraced it. After publishing one Chinese-American picture book, she had to decide whether she wanted to be labeled a multicultural writer, and she decided to embrace it. And in the end she discovered that by writing books for kids who were “Chinese just like me,” she ended up being a truly multicultural writer, one who is embraced by all children from all cultures.

AGENT PANEL

The Agent Panel mostly centered on ebooks, because that is, after all, the hot topic everyone wants to know about. I asked two questions. First, if one of your clients came to you wanting to self-publish an ebook, would you support that client? Second, with Nook books and ebooks for the iPad offering so many bells and whistles, how are paper books going to compete? The agent from Andrea Brown Literary said they’ve just published an ebook with one of their writers, and they’re looking to see how that goes. As for interactive picture books, most felt hardcover picture books still had a lot to offer, and that ebooks didn’t provide enough added value to make them replace hardcover picture books altogether.

The Agent Panel was very interesting, which is why I regretted having to leave in the middle for my author critique.

AUTHOR CRITIQUE

I learned a lot from my author critique, namely how NOT to run an author critique. People pay extra to get these critiques. They don’t pay for condescension or attitude. At one point the author assumed I was offended by something she’d said. I replied, “No, I get it. It’s not personal. It’s business.” Her reply was, “Oh, it’s ALWAYS personal.” What the heck does that mean?

I only paid for an author critique because it was the only way to get an additional editor or agent critique. I had three critique sessions, one pitch session, and one consultation at this conference, and the only one who seemed to go out of her way to be mean was this writer, who is actually less experienced and less qualified than any of the other critiquers I had. Heck, she’s less experienced than I am! She said it was a good “rough draft” (I have edited it many, many times). And after telling me all the things she felt needed to be changed, she wrote, “While it may seem overkill, I have the satisfaction of hearing agents & eds tell me that my mss are polished. That’s a level you want to achieve to capture your publishing dream.” It’s a wonder she can get her shirt on with a head that big.

I have one word for a writer who thinks that much of herself and that little of everyone else, but it’s not a very nice word, so I won’t use it. Still, if I’m ever in a position to give author critiques at a conference, I will definitely go out of my way to be nice. It doesn’t cost anything, and it’s only fair to the person who has paid for the critique. A little respect goes a long way, and you get back what you give.

FIRST PAGES SESSION

After this, I had my first pages session, which didn’t go well. The reader had a monotone voice and the editor and agent missed the humor in my manuscript. They also ripped apart someone else’s first page, even though it was hilarious. I told the author after the session that I loved her work. I hope that story gets published. It sounds fun, funny and cool.

MINDING YOUR OWN BUSINESS

I went to my room to join my family for lunch, and returned for one of the best workshops: “Minding Your Own Business” with Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen. Sudipta has published many picture books, but she makes only about a third of her money from advances and royalties. The other two-thirds mostly come from school visits, work-for-hire, and professional development (like speaking at teachers conferences). She talked about how to get these jobs and what to do when you give an author visit so it’s all about giving your listeners something, not talking about your books. If you write picture books or Middle Grade novels, I’d say this workshop is a must.

QUERY LETTERS

The next workshop I had was Query Letters with agent Mary Kole, but unfortunately my Agent Pitch session pulled me out for the first 10 minutes, and my editor critique pulled me out for the last 20 minutes, which means I only sat in the class for 15 minutes. I’m sure it was great, but I didn’t really get to hear any of it. There might have been a handout, but I didn’t even get to find out about it.

AGENT PITCH SESSION

I was very nervous about my Agent Pitch, but it still went surprisingly well. She laughed at the right place, and pointed out two things I needed to fix (I didn’t know a pitch needed the word count, but I did know it needed the main character’s age, and I can’t believe I left that out). She also said she’d like me to submit Why My Love Life Sucks to her. Yes!

EDITOR’S CRITIQUE

The critique with the editor went very well too. Among the things she wrote: “This is really hilarious! Great writing and great work! You’ve done a great job at character development with Gilbert! He feels real and totally believable. I love his mom as well. Great, authentic teen language—great work! The voice in this piece is one of your biggest assets. It’s fresh and believable. I think this has a lot of [marketing] potential. I love that it’s a funny twist on the vampire story! I think you’re ready to look for representation.” She gave me some line edits to work on, and she asked to see the entire manuscript! Yahoo!

RELAXING AT THE POOL

I then had a break for an hour and 20 minutes, so I used them to go swimming in the hotel’s pool. I know these conferences tend to revolve around food and eating, but what I wouldn’t give to go to a writing conference that revolved around swimming, going for walks, playing games, and just having fun instead. The swim was great. It helped me unwind, and I really needed it. I can’t be the only one who would have enjoyed a swim.

YA’S LITTLE SISTER: UPPER MIDDLE GRADE

My next workshop was YA’s Little Sister: Upper Middle Grade, with Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and Audrey Vernick. It was a lot of fun, and not just because when we heard another workshop cheering, we opened the door to our room, clapped, and let out the loudest cheer we could. (That’s right, we messed with their minds, and it was hilarious.) There was a helpful handout, so we didn’t need to take notes, and we could just relax and chat. We talked about what distinguishes upper Middle Grade from YA and regular Middle Grade. Novels for younger readers usually have neat endings, but kids in seventh and eighth grades are in transition, and the endings of novels for them reflect that. Upper Middle Grade can deal with more serious issues, just not sex, and it’s best to avoid any PG language so that Scholastic doesn’t ask for edits if your book is selected as a book-club option. If you’ve written a clean YA, you might want to consider making your main character 13 or younger. Editors are looking for upper Middle Grades, written by writers who know how to capture a 6^th-8^th grade kid’s voice. We chatted. We laughed. We had a great time. And it was nice meeting Olugbemisola, who until then I’d only met online. She had the cutest yellow smiley ring.

SHUFFLEBOARD, SORT OF

I had dinner with my family, and at some point I played shuffleboard with a writer named Sonia. Okay, technically it wasn’t shuffleboard, because neither of us knew how to play, so we just made up a game as we went along. The shuffleboard table was in the same place the Mix and Mingle had been on Friday night, and so were a couple of pool tables, a foosball table, and a ping pong table. We had no idea what we were doing, but we laughed a lot and had a ball. The other people at the conference had no idea what they were missing.

MARKETING CONSULTATION

I then had a consultation with Harold Underdown. It was great to finally meet him. I’ve chatted with Harold many times online, and I worked with him on the SCBWI Illustrator’s Market Guide a few years ago. Harold critiqued Why My Love Life Sucks, and he had a few ideas about submitting it, namely that I haven’t done that enough. It’s true. I have a fear of submitting my work. It’s so bad that there have been times I felt unable to breathe. I get palpitations. But if I do want to traditionally publish, I need to just do it. Thing is, I haven’t quite made up my mind yet. Indie publishing ebooks is looking better all the time.

THE ART SHOW ON THE BRIDGE

My family had another quiet night. We considering going out for a walk around the hotel, but it was dark, and I have poor night vision. The hotel is located in a lovely wooded area with a lake and a waterfall. There’s a map to tell you were to go if you’d like to jog around the lake. There’s a bridge that connects the hotel to the conference center, and it passes over the water. This is where they set up the artwork for the juried art show, and the pieces illustrators had brought in were wonderful. I particularly liked Penny Weber’s giraffe, with the two boys painting spots on it. The framing and flow of the piece were perfect. I also loved Doris Ettlinger’s piece—how you could feel the heat coming off the sun in the painting—and Leeza Hernandez’s funny “Bad Hair Day,” with an angry girl pulling her huge mass of hair along in a little red wagon. The bridge was the perfect place to exhibit the work. The views from that bridge are gorgeous, particularly when there’s a rowboat or two on the lake. My husband enjoyed taking our son out for a walk during the day when I was busy at the conference, and I wish I could have joined them.

SUNDAY

Another breakfast with my family on Sunday morning, and then it was off to David Caruba’s agents and editors survey.

DAVID CARUBA’S AGENTS AND EDITORS SURVEY

This was definitely the most informative speech that was given in the amphitheater. David Caruba surveyed close to 30 agents and editors, including a few that weren't at the conference. Although the agents and editors reported that 60% of their sales are in YA, and only 40% of their sales are in Middle Grade, they are acquiring almost 80% Middle Grade, and only 20% YA. Agents and editors are predicting that Middle Grade will be a hot age group in a couple of years, and while they are inundated with YA manuscripts, they don't get nearly enough Middle Grade novels.

The good news about the picture books is that they're holding ground, and agents are still acquiring them (although less than 5% of what their acquiring is from picture books). While it wasn't so long ago that the preferred length of picture books had dropped down to 1000 words and then down to 500 words, the preferred length now is under 300 words. Picture books also have to be character driven, because publishers want to know that they will be able to market a series with the character.

Middle Grade does more school and library business than YA, but YA sells better. They are actively looking for Middle Grade --- but not actively buying it! Magical realism in Middle Grade is HOT. They don't want "quiet." Quiet means literary, and when an editor says your manuscript quiet, what she means is "It's great, but it's literary, and I can't sell literary." What they can sell our books like the Percy Jackson and the Wimpy Kid series. Genre fiction sells, and that's what they want.

YA is in transition. "It's the machine and then knows no end. It is the Energizer Bunny." But there is too much of it out there. The competition is tough. And publishers want to see a big success right away. In this market you're better off if you haven't published before, because previous weak or middling sales can really hurt your chances. It's harder than ever to get published without an agent --- but getting known on the Net (and at networking opportunities like this conference) can help you get an agent.

FANTASY is HOT. How hot? 85%. That's pretty hot. But there's too much dystopian. "If you call it dystopian, editors won't take it."

In regard to vampire novels, ironic vampire novels are HOT -- YES! (I half suspect that the agents and editors I talked to at the conference skewed the results here, and if so I thank them!) Fat Vampire and Jane Jones: Worst Vampire Ever are two examples of ironic vampire novels.

The fact that Borders is closing is weighing heavily on their minds. They're hoping the money will transition into e-books sales. David said he believes that bookstores will it evolve to become more about coffee and board games and less about books, but he does think they will continue to exist.

Agents say that editors are offering lower advances.

Science fiction is the next big thing, but that six months from now, and agents and editors need to look two years into the future.

Humor in Middle Grade is good. E-books for YA are good. One major agent said, "People want series, not one-offs. I think it's a drag."

Only genre books are selling. That's all the agents and editors want right now. They're looking for all kinds of genres. While fantasy and science fiction are the hottest, they're also looking for good thrillers and the like. Both agents and editors lament that publishers want a hit out of the gate, and they don't want to build an author anymore. The biggest question right now is Amazon, particularly now that they’ll be publishing. Everyone wants to know what Amazon is going to do next.

So in short: YA is strong, Middle Grade is doing well, Picture Books are holding their own, Amazon is up, Borders is down, and the field is healthy.

OVERVIEW OF BOOK CONTRACTS

My first workshop on Sunday morning was Overview of Book Contracts with Edward Necarsulmer, and it was great, because it allowed us to ask him questions about what an agent does. We learned a lot about foreign rights, movie and TV rights, and more. We learned about the parts of the contract that can be negotiated and the parts that can’t. Very informative.

BANGING YOUR HEAD—15 THINGS I LEARNED THE HARD WAY

The workshop after that was Banging Your Head—15 Things I Learned the Hard Way. Some of the things she learned the hard way I’m rather surprised anyone didn’t find obvious, but what was worse, I felt there were also a few pieces of misinformation. There was a handout, so I can give specific examples. Number one: “No cutesy pictures.” (Apparently, it didn’t occur to her that there might be a few illustrators at a writers AND illustrators conference.) Number five: “Also, substitute other words in place of said; [the semi-colons are hers, not mine] yell, cried, whispered, and the like because they are more descriptive…. Careful about adverbs, though, they are currently out of favor, but sometimes one is necessary; cried softly or cried loudly.” The problem with this is that you shouldn’t use an adjective when you can simply use a more specific verb. You shouldn’t write “cried softly” when you can write “whimpered.” You shouldn’t write “cried loudly” when you can write “wailed.” And very often writers—in trying to substitute words instead of “said”—use words that aren’t verbs of speech, which can produce some silly results. For example, “she breathed” or “she laughed.” You can’t breathe or laugh words.

I could add a 16^th item to her list of things I learned the hard way, namely do not sign up for workshops with names like “Banging Your Head.”

CO-AUTHORING A BOOK

Next came Co-Authoring a Book with Natalie Zaman and Charlotte Bennardo. I met Nat at a Mentoring Workshop in the fall, and it was nice to see her again. I’ve been thinking about contacting someone who writes thrillers so we could work on an idea I have for one, and I was hoping to get some information I might be able to apply. I didn’t. Instead we heard how these two writers met and ended up writing Sirenz together. Before they started writing, they decided that they would drop the manuscript if it ended up coming between them. They each wrote one of the two first-person characters. When one was finished writing a chapter in her character’s voice, she passed the manuscript to the other to write the next chapter in the other character’s voice. Charlotte likes to write the first draft, while Natalie likes to edit, so their talents complemented each other. It worked, and the book is coming out now.

LUNCH

At lunch I sat next to a children’s songwriter from a town outside of Philadelphia, although I ate my own sandwich (cold cuts in a brown-rice tortilla). Rob teaches kindergarten, and we talked about ebooks. He’s working with an app developer, and we both agreed that ebooks are the way of the future and the future is coming much sooner than the agents at the conference seemed to imply. Someone at the table suggested we each talk about our work and swap business cards. I got into an argument with someone about The Sun Also Rises. It was one of his favorites, but I hate it, because it ends exactly the way it starts. What’s the point of reading a book if it doesn’t go anywhere? Seriously, would anyone publish that today? And if they did, would anyone want to read it? Yes, it’s very well written. In a way, that makes the utter lack of change in the story all the more frustrating.

HOLLY McGHEE’S KEYNOTE SPEECH

Lunch was followed by agent Holly McGhee’s keynote speech, which I mostly missed because I thought I’d lost my Flip video camera, and I was in a panic. All I remember is that it involved a writer who got cancer, and I think he got better.

RAFFLE

I ran around the hotel looking for the camera, but couldn’t find it. (It later turned up in a compartment in one of my bags, thank goodness!) Then came the raffle, and I was glad when Laurie won the prize I had donated: a custom-designed book trailer, blog, or cover with stock artwork. I won a basket of paper products donated by Connie, which was nice. What writer doesn’t always need more paper? She said it should be lucky paper, and everything I submit on it should be bought. That was very sweet.

AND THAT’S IT, UNTIL NEXT YEAR

I picked up my portfolio and my big basket of paper, said goodbye to everyone, and headed off to the pool. My husband had already taken the kids home, and we’d arranged to meet at the pool. He made it just in time to get one more swim in, and then we went home.

We had a good time, and I’m looking forward to doing it again, although next year I think I’d prefer to give a workshop. It will probably be about the House of Funny method for creating humor, which can be adapted to create an infinite number of story plots too.

Until then, I need to get started on my vlog on that topic. Should be fun!

Found a new Twitter chat for writers

2011-06-06T03:51:00.000-07:00

It's called #storyappchat, and they're discussing everything about picture book apps. There's a lot of wisdom to be learned from those with experience in this area.

So what do you think?

2011-06-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

My new cover for Mira Levy. I wasn't happy with the one I threw together in a hurry, so I made this today. I know I should be getting ready for the conference, but I put a copy of this into my portfolio, so it counts. Now to get it up on my website...

Trailer

2011-05-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

I've donated a custom-designed book cover, blog, or book trailer to the SCBWI NJ conference raffle to benefit SCBWI members who need financial support. Here's my trailer for Why My Love Life Sucks to give an idea of what I can do. This was created on my Mac using iMovie. The donation includes music, fonts, transitions, and stock photography or illustrations from iStockPhoto.com, BigStockPhoto.com or similar services.

I look forward to working with the winner!

Shevi

The Kindle with ads isn't that great, but not for the reasons you might think

2011-05-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

I've had an Amazon Kindle with ads for about a week now, and I'm still on the fence about it. So far I only see a few pros to owning this ebook reader, and quite a few cons. Oddly, the ads are not among the cons. So here's my pros and cons list:

Pros

The liquid paper--Compared to the back-lit iPad,iPhone or iPod Touch, the liquid paper is easier on the eyes and it means you can go a long time between charges. But do you know what's even easier on the eyes and doesn't need to be charged at all? An actual book.
The price--At $114, this is one of the cheapest ebook readers.
The Amazon Kindle store's selection and pricing for ebooks--Amazon has the greatest selection of ebooks at the lowest prices.
The ads--The ads appear when the Kindle is shut off. When you turn the Kindle back on, a small strip at the bottom of the menu lets you click on a link to learn more about the product or offer. The ads don't bother me in the least, and when they offer something good (who wouldn't want a $10 Amazon gift certificate for buying a $5 ebook from the bestseller list?) I kind of wish there were more of them. Right now my only complaint about the ads is that they're repetitive and I can't tell the Kindle to stop showing me ads for some car and some beauty product. My guess is that in the future, the ads might be better tailored to the actual user. This would benefit both the Kindle owner and the advertiser.
Get any book you want within seconds--It's literally like holding a bookstore in your hand, but unfortunately this isn't a bookstore you can check out easily, no bargain bin or covers to look at or anything. (See below.)

Cons

The user interface--the placement of the buttons can be quite frustrating. There are buttons on each side of the screen to move you forward and backward. Press the top button, and you move back. Press the bottom button, and you move forward. This only applies to navigating books. To move back a page anywhere else, you need to press a tiny back button on the keyboard. Why? Why not have the same buttons take you back and forward a page no matter where you are? And why not just put one back button to the left of the screen, and one forward button to the right of the screen, which would be more intuitive? The main button you use on the keyboard (the one that lets you move up, down, left and right within a page) is tiny and difficult to manipulate. This is true of all the buttons on the keyboard, but because this one button is so important, its tiny size and the way it's situated so close to the Menu, Back, Delete, and Enter keys can be quite frustrating, making the simplest tasks take unnecessarily longer.
The on-board Kindle store--Unless you're interested in the bestseller list only and you don't care about price, the Kindle store as you can access it from your device is pretty much useless. You can't look up books by rating or price, and very often when you look something up by topic, the first things on the list are rubbish created by writers who have created lots and lots of ebooks in order to boost their ratings in the Kindle store. Sometimes they'll add something to a public-domain work (like drawings), so they can charge for an ebook you can get for free elsewhere online. This effectively makes the on-board Kindle store a joke, and the laugh is on the person trying to use it to find a book he or she might want to buy.
The price of some ebooks when compared to used books--If you want to read books on your Amazon Kindle, you're stuck with whatever the price is on Amazon. Sometimes that's a good thing. Many indie publishers charge $0.99-$2.99 for an ebook. However, most of the larger publishers charge $9.99, and sometimes more. So unless you have money to burn or really need to get that bestseller as soon as it comes out and you're willing to pay retail for it, you're probably better off getting a used (sometimes even new) paperback for a much lower price.
Everything the Kindle offers beside books--While some of the apps are nice (Mahjong, for example, looks lovely), the interface makes them unbearably frustrating to use. The worst is trying to access the Kindle store through Amazon's website. Sure, it's great that the device can access the Internet, but does it have to do such a terrible job of it? Frankly, I think Amazon needs to get rid of that feature until they find a way to make using it frustration-free.

In the end, the pros win out over the cons, but the cons show that Amazon still has a long way to go if it wants to get a Kindle into every reader's hands.

"Where do illustrations come from?"

2011-05-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

It might seem like magic, but it's not. Illustrating is a process, very much like writing. There are many ways to do it. Here's one of them:

1. Find a scene in the text to illustrate. I decided to add one illustration to every chapter in Dan Quixote, so I went through the book and copied and pasted scenes I thought would make good illustrations into a single file. Sometimes I picked more than one scene in a chapter, so I could change my mind later.

2. Draw character sketches. This helps make it easier to be consistent when you're drawing more than one illustration with the same character. It's even better if you can draw the same character in different poses. Find places in the text where the character is described, so the drawing fits the words. With Dan Quixote, I drew the cover first. This showed me what all the main characters looked like.

3. Start sketching thumbnails of the scene. Make these the simplest of outlines, with stick figures and so on Try to look at it from different angles. Work out the vanishing point or points. Don't settle for the first thumbnail, because the next one or the one after that could be even better. Here are two thumbnail sketches for one of the illustrations in this book.

I chose to use the angle at the top left, because it seemed more playful and open. The characters' world seems to go on forever, which is what I want for this scene, that sense of endless possibility.

4. Make an enlarged copy of your chosen thumbnail sketch, either by hand or with a copier. I used my multifunction printer.

I then used an improvised "lightbox" (in this case, placing the copy on a window in daylight and placing a piece of drawing paper over it) to trace the outline of that enlarged copy.

5. Start to sketch in the details. You'll note it says "night sky" where the sky is meant to go. I often mark large spaces that will be colored in black with an X. Draw in guidelines (for example, where the edge of the picnic table is hidden by the characters' legs), skeletal lines and so on.

6. Ask yourself if you're happy with it. If not, why not, and what can you do to fix it? I soon realized the important elements in this drawing were still too small, so I enlarged this drawing too.

7. Add the finishing touches, Play around with texture. This is all in pencil, so nothing is final until it's inked. Even then there are ways to fix mistakes, but it's easier at this stage. When you're satisfied, ink the lines you want to use while ignoring the ones you don't. Erase the pencil outline. Now scan your drawing, and unless you see something that still needs changing, you're done! Here's the finished drawing.

You might notice there are some significant differences between the preliminary sketches and the final one. I relocated the trees on the right, and Sandy's feet are closer to her body. You notice things at each stage you want to fix. (Actually, I just noticed the arm Dan is leaning on should be longer. Oh, well, too late to change that now.)

8. Make last minute corrections. Computers can make this a lot easier provided you have the right software and hardware. I use Corel PhotoPaint (which is a part of CorelDraw), and I like it, but I haven't got used to using a tablet, and working with a mouse is even worse. That's why I'd rather do my sketches by hand and scan them in. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford a Cintiq tablet or a touch-screen computer, so I can see what I'm doing while I'm doing it.

And that's it. The most important thing to remember is to have fun.

Hope you like these illustrations I made for Dan Quixote

2011-05-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

Why less description might be a good thing

2011-05-04T04:16:00.000-07:00

“Psychologists have shown that over describing a character is a bad thing, because it doesn’t let readers fill in the blanks, which is necessary because it helps readers see themselves in the character’s shoes.” This is what an editor told me at an odd sort of writer’s conference . . . in a dream. Apparently I’m getting reassured at writers conferences in my dreams now, and this particular conference looked a lot like summer camp, except with adults wearing suits. The editor wore a funny hat, and she had the bunk bed under mine.Oddly, the advice still seems to make sense.

What you always knew about high school but wished you didn't.

2011-05-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

According to The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins, bullying in American high schools is worse than ever. What's even more troubling is that teachers and the educational system itself--which places athletes and cheerleaders above scientists and artists--is partially to blame.

The only good news is that bullying generally ends when high school does, which gives geeks and other outsiders the chance to finally shine. But if our educational system is meant to turn children into successful adults--and not not meant to be a something most kids have to suffer through before they're allowed to be all that they can be--shouldn't this book be a wake up call? http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/05/01/high_school_interview

I've written about this topic extensively in Dan Quixote: Boy of Nuevo Jersey and briefly in Why My Love Life Sucks: The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer. I do think we need to take apart and rebuild our education system from the ground up. Our schools should teach our kids to be better, not bullies and victims.

Response to a Traditionally Published Writer Regarding eBooks

2011-04-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Of course it differs from one writer to the next, and you certainly shouldn’t move to ePublishing only if you’re already traditionally published and earning a living from your traditionally published work. However, I have noticed there’s a reason why your ebooks aren’t selling as well as they could be, a reason that you’ve apparently overlooked and that can be easily remedied.

EPublishing is a great option for writers who haven’t been able to find a traditional publisher yet, as well as traditionally published writers whose books are out-of-print. For most of those who choose to epublish, the choice isn’t between self-publishing and traditionally publishing a particular book: it’s between self-publishing and not publishing that book at all.

It goes without saying that a game that allows anyone to play would have many players who don’t know what they’re doing, so of course the average self-published writer would earn less money than the average traditionally published writer. Traditional publishing has a vetting process that self-publishing doesn’t.

However, if you’ve been in this game as long as I have, you know the vetting process isn’t perfect. Christopher Moore—my favorite writer—supposedly sent out a hundred query letters to agents and received nothing but rejections. He only got an agent through a connection in show business. The writer of the Pulitzer Prize winning A Confederacy of Dunces committed suicide because he couldn’t get that book published while he was still alive. Great writers are looked over by agents and traditional publishers all the time. In fact, it’s the norm. And we’ve all seen terrible writers who have somehow managed to get their books traditionally published. (Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have your own reality TV show, like Snooki on Jersey Shore.) Luck plays a huge part in the traditional publishing game—more than talent, hard work, or anything else. In Self-publishing, however, luck only plays the smallest role. Success is determined by talent, writing the kind of book people want to read, marketing it well, and learning from those who have successfully epubbed their own books, like Amanda Hocking, J.A. Konrath, and John Locke.

As for why you personally would have a 66% drop in earnings if you decided to only epublish your books, I checked out your books on Kindle and discovered that you’ve priced them out of the market. A book you sell on Kindle for $7.99 can also be bought on Amazon used in hardcover for $.01 plus $3.99 for shipping for a total of $4.00. It doesn’t take a genius to realize people aren’t going to pay twice as much for the Kindle edition as the hardcover. If you reprice your books on Kindle so that they’re less than $4.00 ($2.99 is the price recommended by both J.A. Konrath and Amazon), you should see a significant rise in your sale of books on Kindle. Keep in mind that you don’t earn a dime on the used copies of your physical books that Amazon is selling, but you could be making $2 for every Kindle edition priced at $2.99 that you've epublished yourself.

Google search of book bloggers who review fantasy

2011-04-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ebook bestseller Amanda Hocking credits reviews from book bloggers for her successs. To find them, use the Google book-bloggers search engine. Type in the genre, and you'll get a list of people who review books in that genre.
http://www.google.com/cse?cx=017997935591651423304%3A5fpbgt6-tou&ie=UTF-8&q=fantasy&hl=en

Once you have your list, email the reviewers with Smashwords coupons for free copies of your book: http://www.smashwords.com/press/release/4

Link to great article on how authors can best utilize Twitter

2011-03-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

Alan Rinzler wrote a great article on how authors can best utilize Twitter.

He suggests that writers should use their real names (the one they write under) because your name is your brand.

Know your audience, and build a following by finding and following people who are interested in your topic through Google's book blogger search and with http://www.twellow.com which is like a yellow pages for Twitter. Also, @GalleyCat on Twitter has compiled lists of useful people to follow, including book reviewers.

Putting people into lists on Twitter lets you see the most recent posts by people on that list. Follow them, and they might follow you. Start Tweeting, and make sure your posts are original, funny, timely, or informative: the kind of stuff others may retweet. Retweet things you find interesting. Provide content about your topic, area of expertise, or if you write fiction, "a character, scene or situation you're working on." I would also add that you should ask questions. It's a good way to meet people in real life, so why wouldn't it work online too?

Link back to your blog, Tumblr page, website, Facebook, and include your Twitter name in your email signature, on your websites and blogs and so on. Put it in the back of your book. And after a while, mention that your book is available and link to where people can read chapters or buy it. Don't try to sell your book. Instead, simply try to provide useful content to others.

Great article! http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2011/03/20/strategic-tweeting-for-authors/

2011-03-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

This sums up how I'm feeling about my decision to epublish my first novel. I'll be starting with Toren: The Teller's Tale.

Places to get cover art, book trailers and more

2011-03-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

1. http://hubpages.com/hub/Using_Photos_On_Your_Website

2. Rob Siders, for ebook formatting: http://www.52novels.com/

3. Great illustrator who does covers: http://www.partzero.com/

4. Derek Mah's website for covers: http://www.attoboy.com/

5. Carl Graves (cover designer, reasonable rates) website: http://extendedimagery.blogspot.com/

6. Sharon Pavón: "My cousins make independent films and are open to doing book trailers. This is their website" http://www.roaringcreekfilms.com/

7. Premade ebook covers at great prices: http://mycoverart.wordpress.com/clearance/

8. Mia Castile says, http://www.sherylclarkproductions.net/ did my amazing cover :) (She does book trailers too.)

9. Huge collection of images, reasonable prices: http://www.bigstockphoto.com/search/category/abstract/

10. Another huge collection of images, as well as video and audio, at reasonable prices: http://www.istockphoto.com/

11. From Arthur Slade "This is the company that did a few of my book trailers": http://www.audioartcafe.com/

Useful blogs, articles and other info on epublishing

2011-03-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

1.Blog of an ebook bestseller: http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/

2. Great advice on ebook publishing: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

3. Interview with Amanda Hocking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qWOy4p4MvM

4. Books for Kindle outselling all other formats--including paperbacks--sold by Amazon:
http://www.suite101.com/content/how-do-kindle-book-sales-compare-to-paperback-and-hardback-books-a339041#ixzz1FqvBzHWv

5. Published authors, like Arthur Slade, are self-publishing their out of print books as ebooks: http://catherinestine.blogspot.com/2011/03/gone-are-days-where-publishing-ones-own.html

6. E Is for Book is "a coalition of respected children’s trade book authors developing their books for electronic media." http://www.eisforbook.com/p/indie-links_02.html

7. Arthur Slade's blog where he writes about his ebook adventures: http://arthurslade.livejournal.com/61038.html

8. Up-to-the-minute information on ebooks: http://write2publish.blogspot.com/

9. Successful ebook self-publisher Terri Reid's blog: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4192570.Terri_Reid/blog

10. Bestselling author L.A. Bank's reasons for choosing to epub her own books and how she did it: http://liarsclubphilly.com/?p=1784

11. A How-To article from CNet on self-publishing ebooks: http://reviews.cnet.com/how-to-self-publish-an-e-book

12. How to make full-bleed (allowing pictures to reach the edges) picture books for the iPad: http://www.pigsgourdsandwikis.com/2011/02/fixed-layout-epubs-for-ipad-and-iphone.html

13. A couple of useful Yahoo! Groups, one for self-publishers and the other for self-publishers of children's books: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Self-Publishing/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBPublishing/

Links for writers interested in publishing their own ebooks

2011-03-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

Getting started with Kindle: http://forums.kindledirectpublishing.com/kdpforums/index.jspa

Getting started with CreateSpace (for paper books sold through Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/mm-product-page.html?topic=200354160&ld=AZOnDemandMakeM

PubIt! for Barnes & Noble's Nook: http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home

SmashWords: ebook publisher and distributor (takes 10%): http://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_on_smashwords

Book Baby: ebook publisher and distributor (costs $99): http://www.bookbaby.com/

Ebook conversion starting at $99.95: http://www.freeebookconversion.com/

I had no idea you could do that with a Blogger/BlogSpot page

2011-03-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

I was frustrated with the look of my BlogSpot blog. It didn't seem there were many options when it came to design. But then I discovered that if you pick the "travel" theme, there's a drop-down menu of really cool backgrounds you can access. I picked one that looks like Earth from space, which fits the whole "Shevi's World" concept. What do you think?

What is the worst advice you've been given that set you back?

2011-03-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

Someone posted this question recently in Amazon's Gold Box forum, and here is my answer.

I'm a writer. I've been banging my head on the wall trying to get my books traditionally published, which is what every agent, editor, and writer's organization tells you to do. I have an English degree, a Theater degree, and I've worked 12 years as a journalist. I was an arts-and-entertainment writer for a couple of years, reviewing comedy and children's entertainment, so I know what audiences like. I've even won third prize in a national novel-writing contest. And yet no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get an agent. Last year, I got seven requests out of ten to see the full manuscript of one of my novels, and, except for one agent I never heard back from, all seven turned it down. The most common reason given as to why? "I enjoyed it very much, but I didn't feel passionately enough about it." There's nothing I can do with that.

People keep telling me to just keep writing, editing and submitting my work, and it'll happen. Right now that sounds as silly to me as, "Just click your heels, and all your wishes will come true." I've been writing, editing and submitting for nine years with seven different novels for kids and teens, and I'm getting nowhere.

So I'm starting to think that maybe what everyone is telling me isn't the best advice. Maybe I need to give up on going the traditional route and epublish my books instead.

Is this bad advice I've received, and has it set me back? It's not bad advice. It works for some writers. But for some it doesn't. It's like playing cards at a casino. Knowing the game and how to play it helps, but it's still no guaranty you'll win. I've been sitting at this table way too long. I've done nothing but lose. It's time for me to walk away.

I don't really know if this advice has set me back. I have to see how well my ebooks do. But at least that advice has pushed me to hone my craft, which might not have happened if I had never tried to publish traditionally. And maybe I had to go through all that so technology and the world could get to the point where I could epublish my own books successfully.

The tide in the publishing industry is just starting to turn. Will it carry me on this new adventure? I haven't charted the safest course, but before today the safest course has been so hard, and it's led me nowhere. It's time for me to see what else is out there. If I can't get an agent to believe in me and my work, at least I can believe in me.

And I'm not giving up on getting traditionally published. I'm going to epublish my first novel first, and I have six more to go through. Maybe all my wishes will come true in the end.

Art for Japan

2011-03-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

Like most of the world, I've been watching the news in shock and disbelief. The power of nature that struck Japan boggles the mind. Houses turned into splinters. Cars carried by the tsunami like toy boats in a bathtub. Thousands of lives lost. Mothers losing children. Husbands losing wives. Daughters losing mothers. A country in mourning, struggling to find the missing. It's heartbreaking. And the world weeps for Japan.

Like most geeks, I love Japan. I love its food, particularly sushi, but also miso soup and ramen. I love its magnificent gardens. I love its manga. I love its video games for the Nintendo DS and the Wii, like my favorite, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. I love its anime, particularly Miyazaki's movies. Kiki's Delivery Service is one of my favorites. The wave reminded me of scenes from Ponyo and Spirited Away. Now I think I might never see those movies the same way again. I also admire the quiet stoicism and strength of the Japanese people.

Like most of the world, I felt helpless, and I still do. But I found a small way I can help. I created a piece of artwork for an auction: Art for Japan. http://showandtell.meghunt.com/post/3823882215/artforjapan It was inspired by Japan's beloved Hello Kitty. I just want to give that little kitty a hug and tell her everything is going to be okay. I hope she conveys my love of Japan and the Japanese people.

If you're an artist and would also like to donate a piece of your artwork to a good cause, check out the website and contact Meg Hunt. And if you're not an artist but would still like to help, I hope you'll consider buying one of the pieces.I'm sure every little bit helps.

All the best,

Shevi

How I'd fix America

2011-03-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

I'm not a politician or an economist. I was a political cartoonist for seven years, so if what I'm about to say offends you, take it as being humorously intended. I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm just one person, and this is just one person's opinion.

I see two main problems with our economy: first, we buy too much stuff from overseas and not enough American-made stuff. Not only does this ship our money overseas, it ships our jobs there too. If companies can make more money producing goods in China with lower paid workers, they won't hire workers here. This doesn't just apply to manufacturing but customer support, some health services, and pretty much everything else.

The answer I see is to tax American companies that sell products here for every employee overseas. This should be a fixed amount, say $1,000-$2,000. Non-American companies should also have a tax added to the products they sell here, say 10%. This should also apply to parts produced overseas and shipped here to be put into products that are only assembled in the USA. This money should then go directly to American businesses to pay for American workers. For every employee who earns, say, between $20,000 and $50,000 a year in America, the company would get $1,000-$2,000. Basically, a fraction of the taxes those employees pay would help finance their own employment. The price of goods from overseas would go up, but so would employment in the USA and our ability to buy things. This would be a good thing for the rest of the world, too, because our biggest asset to the global economy is as consumers. Americans buy products from companies that employ the world. The more buying power we have, the better it is for everyone.

The second problem I see is that 60% of our government budget is made up of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security--and that number is only growing as Baby Boomers retire and Americans in general become unhealthier. What most people don't realize is that the purpose of so-called "universal health-care" isn't to finance everyone's medical insurance but rather to force the middle class to finance minimal health-care: in other words, Medicaid. Everyone who can't afford good health care will get Medicaid, and the middle class will foot the bill. The rich, meanwhile, will continue to pay for the quality health-care they're already getting. This doesn't really seem like a good solution to me.

Instead, when it comes to health care, I would look to our current legal system. Today if you get sick because you once had a job that exposed you to asbestos, you can sue your former employee for your health costs, pain and suffering. That only seems fair. The person responsible for you getting sick should foot the bill.

But what if you're responsible for your own illness? Should the rest of us have to pay for your cancer treatments if you smoke a pack a day? Should the rest of us have to pay for your diabetes treatments if you ate yourself into obesity and never exercised? I don't think we should. If the only people who received Medicaid were those who became sick through no fault of their own, not only would we cut the cost of Medicaid by more than half, the quality of health care to those who deserve it would rise, others would be more motivated to quit smoking, eat right and exercise, and the new health care program would--gasp!--actually lead to people being healthier.

Because, you see, what we have now isn't a health-care system, but an illness care system. Go ahead, smoke a pack a day, spend all your free time in your car or in front of the TV, and eat nothing but fat and sugar. You might send yourself into a diabetic coma, but you won't have to pay for the tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, so what do you care? This doesn't make sense.

The only thing I can say about Medicare is that it shouldn't be given to those who can afford to pay their own health care. If you have over $1,000,000 in cash and property, you shouldn't get it. That just goes without saying. Otherwise, I wouldn't touch that program.

I would, however, eliminate the forced retirement age and make retirement optional after the age of 65. People live longer and are healthier when they're active and productive, so why should we deny them that? I'd also restrict Social Security to those who are retired, don't earn more than $40,000 a year, or don't own more than $1,000,000 in property. Again, I think this is just common sense. We could even give a higher Social Security rate to retired people who work as volunteers. Retired teachers could continue to work in the classroom as volunteers, and that would improve their quality of life. It would be a win-win for everyone.

Speaking of teachers, the teacher strike in Wisconsin has placed a lot of focus on the cost of public education. This is ridiculous, not only because education is only a small part of the budget, but because there is no greater investment in our future. A well-educated student can get a better job, earn more money, and put more money into the economy. A poorly educated student will have a hard time getting a job, is more likely to turn to crime, and will cost society as a whole over time.

Still, I do have an idea of how we could save money on public education: I would simply eliminate all competitive sports. Too much is spent of football, basketball and baseball, and not enough on actual education. Lately we've seen high-school athletes dying, in part because of the stress such sports put on young hearts. We've also seen a professional football player kill himself because he couldn't deal with the adverse health affects the sport had on his brain.

Just like people should be responsible for the illnesses they get stemming from their own actions, I believe we shouldn't finance activities that harm our kids both in the short run and in the long run. Sports take a huge part of a school's budget, but if that were put into something else--like math, science, and computer education--it would better serve our kids today and in the future, and that would better serve our community as a whole. Imagine an America where instead of dreaming of becoming the next movie, pop or basketball star, kids dreamed of becoming the next Steve Jobs or Jonas Salk? Not only would the next generation fix America, it would fix the world.

Lastly, one of the reasons state and local politicians give for wanting to fire or pay government workers--including teachers, police, and firefighters-- less is that the alternative is to raise property taxes, and people don't want that. I think property taxes should be raised, but only on houses valued at over $100,000 per resident. You're married and you have two kids? Your family of four can continue to pay the same property tax on your house valued at under $400,000. You're a single guy, and you live in a $200,000 house? Either pay the higher property tax, get someone to live with you (like your aging parent), move into a cheaper house, or sell your house and rent a place. If we did this, there might even be a little money left over to reduce the property taxes for people who are living within their means or simply can't afford to pay those taxes, like the unemployed.

Like I said, I'm not an economist or a politician. I don't know if these ideas will work. But I do wish someone in government would stop asking, "How can we cut the budget without raising taxes?" and start asking "What's fair, and what makes sense?"

How You Can Fix the World

2011-02-24T06:01:00.000-08:00

How are you going to fix the world?

Each of us can. Like the child in the story about the emperor’s new clothes, sometimes all we have to do is speak up.

Here’s an example:

In 1995 I wanted to buy a certain book, but I couldn’t find it in any bookstore in Jerusalem, which is where I was living. Someone told me about a new American company that was selling books online (not dropping any names here: *cough* Amazon *cough*), and I thought I would give it a try.

I had a computer, and I was comfortable in cyberspace. In fact, I had studied computer graphics and basic HTML and had put together a fairly nice website on Geocities, with my own photos, graphics, links and so on. The visual web was just starting to take off, and I was excited to be a part of it. I loved buying books, and I found the idea of doing that online intriguing.

This new website was cool, but surprisingly unsophisticated. After ordering my book, I wrote a letter to the company and offered suggestions on how they might improve things.

Books, I said, are judged by their covers. Why not scan the covers of all the books they sell so people can see them? And why not arrange the site’s homepage to feature recommended books, sort of like a bookstore window showing off their most enticing titles? And how about dividing the books into categories, much like the shelves in a bookstore are divided by subject and genre? And what about a “bargain bin” section, where readers can find books on sale? And what about being able to look up books by price, not just title? I wrote that I had put together my own site, included the link, and told them I would be happy to help them implement these changes, which I was sure would improve their sales. I saw a problem that needed to be fixed, and I wanted to help them fix it, both for the company’s sake and mine as a customer.

I received a quick response. The person from the online bookstore informed me they knew their customers, and their customers were more interested in quickly loading pages than in being able to see covers and all the rest. It was “Thanks, but no thanks.”

While they might have known their customers, there were millions of other potential customers they might have been missing out on. But I shrugged and figured you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. I had done my part. I had spoken up. The rest wasn’t in my hands.

About a year later, I received another email from that online bookstore. They were very excited to announce some changes to their website. Customers could now see book covers. The homepage now looked more like a bookstore window. Books were divided into categories, much like the shelves in a bookstore. And it was now possible to find books that were on sale.

My point isn’t that I’m responsible for this online bookstore’s success (although, you’re welcome, Jeff Bezos). My point is that you can’t fix the world if you don’t speak up.

Maybe it wasn’t my email that led these changes. Maybe I was just one of ten or fifty or even a hundred people who wrote to that bookstore to make the same suggestions. Maybe someone higher up in the company had already wanted to make these changes, the person who wrote to me was misinformed, and my email didn’t change a thing. You never know. But one thing that’s certain is your voice will never be heard if you don’t use it.

Don’t think no one is listening or no one wants to hear you. If you’re polite, and you’re genuinely interested in helping others, it’s never a mistake to try. The answer could be no, but at least you will have done your part. The emperor won’t know he’s naked, unless you speak up.

You can fix the world, but you have to speak up to do it.

How are you going to fix the world?

To outline or not to outline, that is the question

2010-09-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

My stories always start out in my head, but I do need to outline before I write. It's the map to my story. Without it, I don't really know where I'm going, and I find that not knowing wastes too much time. My outlines are flexible, not written in stone. If I see where something can be made better, I'll, adjust the outline accordingly. That, in the end, is what it's all about, right? Doing everything you can to make the story the best that it can be?

You don't need a physical outline--many writers don't use them--but there are several advantages all writers might want to consider:

1. With an outline, you know where you're going and why. This makes writer's block pretty much impossible. If you have a map and a destination, you know what roads will get you there. No map and no direction leads to indecision, and that leads to writer's block.

2. The outline can be your sh**** first draft, which means you can feel free to write whatever you want in it, no matter how ridiculous. Think of it as backstage on a Broadway show. The audience doesn't know what's going on back there, so actors and crew members can goof around as much as they like. If it helps make a better show, great. If not, no problem. The only one who's going to see it is you, so the pressure is off.

3. Having an outline means you can start with dessert, as in start with whatever scene you feel most inspired to write at any given time. Usually, I'll start with the beginning, the climax, and the ending. I might also work in some scenes that particularly capture my fancy, maybe because they're funny or dramatic. How fun is that?

3. Starting with dessert means I can connect the dots later, and usually this means I don't waste too much time on boring, connecting scenes. I mean, if they bore me, they're going to bore the reader. Writers who don't outline usually can't start with dessert, and they don't always know what the boring connecting scenes are, so they tend to waste too much time on them. I think this was less of a problem in the past, but writing tends to be a lot tighter nowadays. TV and the Internet has led to shorter attention spans. We're used to storytelling that moves along quickly. Outlining can help your writing keep pace with the times.

4. In the same vein, write-as-you-go writers are more likely to go off on a tangent, which can be fun, but it can also mean scenes that will later have to be cut, cut, cut. Not only have you wasted time on these scenes, but you might have poured your heart and soul into them. You might think, "But that scene with the falling cherry blossoms was so beautiful, and I described it so perfectly!" Sure, but does it advance your story in any way? If not, cut it! As the writing advice goes, "kill your darlings." Outlining means fewer darlings you'll feel pained to cut. And it's not just scenes. Knowing exactly what your story needs in advance means knowing what it doesn't need in all areas. No wasting time on anything that will need to be cut later, whether it's a scene, a description, or a character. This lets you write and edit faster and with less effort.

5. You know that feeling you get at the start of a writing day? That feeling of excitement filled with a bit of dread, because you don't know what you're going to write? Well, here's the way I like to end each writing day: I start the beginning of the next scene I'm going to work on, and I outline the rest of that scene. Yes, I outline individual scenes. This way I know exactly where I'm going the next time I sit down to write. At the start of every writing session, I have in front of me the beginning of that scene, and a kind of "to-do" list for that scene. For example, "X and Y are walking along Broadway at night. It's cold. Y is pensive. X is suspicious. They enter a pizza place. X eats a slice, but Y just sits there at the counter, the slice in her hands. Finally Y confesses to X about Z. X seems to take it well at first, but then he walks off in a huff, leaving Y scared and alone, wondering if she was wrong to tell X the truth." It's not much, but now all I have to do is follow that check list to get that chapter written. I might also have a more detailed outline, with snippets of dialogue or some point I want to get across. It might say, for example, "Remember, this scene is all about X breaking up with Y, forcing Y go to back to Z, which will eventually lead to X having to rescue Y from Z." Now I know exactly where I was planning on going today, and how to get there.

6. Outlining means you know in advance what your story is ABOUT. This helps you focus. After all, you're story isn't about this character and that character and how this and that happens to them. It's about SOMETHING much bigger, like undying love, or sacrifice, or sibling rivalry. You can't really connect with the reader unless you know what your story is about. A well outlined story will usually be focused and mostly be about one thing, which makes it easier for the reader to follow. If you're focused, your story will be focused, and so will the reader. If you're not, the end result is a reader who isn't focused, who might just put your book down and move onto something else, maybe another book that's clearly ABOUT something.

7. And finally, sooner or later, you're going to need an outline to sell your story. You're going to need to be able to communicate to an agent or editor what your story is about. If you created the story based on an outline, that job is going to be a lot easier.It'll make it easier to sell your story at every stage, from the agent and editor, to the bookstore and the reader.What's a book blurb, after all, if not the hook of a really good, tight, focused outline?

Again, outlining isn't for every writer. Give it a try. If you find that it makes thing easier, faster, more focused and more fun, do it! But if you discover you just don't like that sense of knowing where you're going--if you write because you love that feeling you get when your characters surprise you, and you just can't get that with an outline--don't do it. In the end, each writer has to do what works best for him or her. What works for me, might not be right for you.

SPOILERS: Explaining the movie "Inception"

2010-08-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN INCEPTION

People have been asking questions about the movie Inception. What's real in the movie and what's a dream? Who is manipulating whom? Was the top at the end going to fall or wasn't it? What's it all about? Here is my interpretation.

Inception is a brilliant movie about a dream manipulator, who ends up manipulating himself. How do I know this?

1. Inception works like a virus, so in Incepting Mal with the idea that the dream world is the real world, Cobb Incepted himself with the same idea, and that idea became a part of who he was.

2. Cobb has the power to create exactly the dream world he needs to convince himself of his own Inception, so that everything that happens that seems to be real is that way because Cobb’s mind needs to be convinced that it’s real, whether or not it is.

3. There are several hints that show that the Inception has successfully deluded Cobb into thinking the dream world is real, and that he is in denial about this:

A. Cobb has replaced his real totem (his wedding ring) with Mal’s totem (the spinning top), which means he’s deliberately chosen not to know the difference between the real and dream worlds.The scene where he loses his wedding ring in the bathroom is probably his subconscious trying to remind him that he lost it, but the Inception wins out, and he can't even remember that it was his totem. The Inception has created a replica of his ring to convince Cobb's subconscious that he is or isn't dreaming, according to what best suits the Inception's purpose of getting him to believe the dream world is the real one.

B. Fisher and Saito’s characters are sometimes projections of Mal (saying and doing things that reflect Mal’s point of view, most notably Saito’s words about growing old together and Fisher’s discussion with his father about how his father was disappointed with him for trying to follow in his footsteps, which reflect Mal's relationship with her father, Michael Caine's character). Whether they come from Cobb or what Cobb has internalized of Mal is irrelevant: the Inception is still deluding him into believing these projections are real.

C. At the end of the movie--when the Inception is complete and Cobb is fully convinced the dream world is the real world--he walks away from the spinning top, choosing not to know if it will fall down. Whether or not it does is irrelevant. First, it's not his totem (it's Mal's), so it doesn't really show him if he's in the dream world or not. Second, it's not about whether it's real or a dream (although it is a dream, because the Inception wouldn't be complete unless Cobb is completely convinced the dream world is the real world, and vice versa). It's about Cobb's CHOICE not to know.

So you see, Inception is a brilliant movie about a dream manipulator, who ends up manipulating himself. What's real and what's a dream isn't relevant; only what Cobb chooses to believe is or isn't real. The Inception Cobb created is manipulating the entire thing. And the movie deliberately cuts where it cuts to make it clear to the audience that Cobb has chosen not to know that he's been manipulated by his own Inception into believing that the dream world is real.

One last thing, some have asked what's the audience's totem. A totem is whatever tells you you're in the dream world. For you it can be just reaching down into your bag of popcorn, or (in our case, because it is a very long movie) a trip during the movie to go to the bathroom. While you're watching the movie, you accept that the dream world--the one created by the dream (movie) architects--is real. And like Cobb, that's you're choice. And, like Cobb, that's your choice because you want, for those two plus hours, to believe in the dream.

The Wish List

2010-06-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I started compiling wish lists. I don't mean the Amazon.com kind of wish list. I mean writing down everything I want: from big things, like a publishing contract, to little things, like a sunset walk on the beach. Some of the things that go on my wish list are concrete things that can be purchased, but most aren't.

I created my first wish list because my husband is terrible at buying presents. One year he bought me a basketball hoop. I don't play basketball, but he does. Another year he gave me a Nintendo DS with a copy of Brain Age. This, of course, sends the message that he thinks I'm going senile. Or that I might like to play any of the games that were available for the DS at the time, which I did not. (The first DS game I actually liked was Professor Layton.) The Nintendo DS went the same way at the basketball hoop, meaning my husband played with it and eventually gave it to our son. And then there was the year we vacationed in Boston on my birthday . . . with his mother. When we wanted to take a water taxi, she insisted on taking the train. She ordered food she didn't like just so she could refuse to eat and then complained for hours about it. Who wouldn't want that for their birthday?

So I wrote my first wish list and stuck it up on the fridge with magnets. My husband liked the idea. He says I never tell him what I want, but the truth is I tell him all the time--I just about hammer him with what I want--but he doesn't listen. He tried to give me a few of the things on that list, the best one being some time alone to write, go shopping, take baths, and so on without being disturbed by the kids. It was a few weeks after my birthday, but it was the best birthday present he ever gave me. I stood in Kohl's and started to panic. Didn't I have to be at home to meet the kids when they got off their school buses? Then I realized I didn't. I could actually buy myself some clothes without someone telling me, "I'm so bored. This is torture. Can we go now?" I could spend as much time as I wanted picking outfits, trying them on, and buying only the ones I liked that fit. Wow!

When you wish upon a wish list, your dreams really do come true. Well, maybe not all of them. I'm still wishing for that ever-elusive book contract. It keeps going from wish list to wish list, but hopefully someday soon that wish will also be answered.

So at the beginning of this summer, we sat down as a family and wrote a wish list together: "Our Summer of Wishes, 2010." Every wish we could think of was put down on it, from the mundane (4. Get passports renewed) to the altruistic (28. Teach a class at the library--Shevi) to the highly unlikely (3. Win lottery) to the downright impossible (48. Get super powers). There were 88 things on the original list we made that day, but my husband has since added 89 (Driving license--Shevi) and 90 (Become an American--Gidon). We've already made a few of our wishes come true, and we're crossing them off the list with a highlighter marker. This way we'll have something to aim for every day, and at the end of the summer we'll be able to look back at all the great wishes we made come true.

Psychologists once conducted a study that showed you're more likely to accomplish a goal if you write it down. That's the power of the wish list. Go ahead, and use it! Put "Wish list" at the top of a page and then write down all your wishes, from the most mundane to the impossible. Then put that wish list somewhere you'll see it every day. Then start making your dreams come true.

What would be the first three things on your wish list?

Neil Simon on writer's block

2010-06-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

"Some people misinterpret what writer's block is. They assume you can't think of a single thing. Not true. You can think of hundreds of things. You just don't like any of them. And what you like, you don't trust."

~from Rewrites by Neil Simon.

What's in a Name?

2010-05-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here is something about writing titles that I posted on the SCBWI boards a few years back. This helped Jennifer J. Stewart find the title of her book, Close Encounters of a Third-World Kind, which is why it has specific examples. The general "rules," though, should help you come up with a title for any book.

I hope this helps you too.

Shevi
______________________________________________________

Eye grabbing titles tend to follow these rules (although there are many exceptions):
1. Brief (five words and under)
2. Clear (title tells the reader what the book is about)
3. Mood (title makes the mood of the book clear -- humorous or otherwise)
4. Paints a picture in the reader's mind
5. Appeals to the reader's interests

One good way to come up with a title is to sum up a scene, the theme, the conflict, or the main character of your book.

Is there a scene you can describe in very few words? ELEPHANT ATE MY PEANUT BUTTER? HERSHEY KISSES BEAT GOAT KISSES, ANY DAY?

Another thing you can do is free associate. Take some of the elements of your story, and ask yourself what they sound like or make you think of. Nepal, for example, sounds like apple to me, which makes me think of these titles:
THE NEPAL OF MY EYE
AS AMERICAN AS NEPAL PIE
AS DIFFERENT AS NEPAL AND ORANGES

Third world country makes me think of:
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF A THIRD-WORLD KID

So that's my two cents on titles. I hope it helps you, and if I'm too late, I hope I've helped someone else.

Shevi
(Who really ought to put these things on her own site so they're easier to find.)
___________________________________________________

And now I have. :-)

Passing along info on weekend workshop for YA writers (Santa Cruz, CA)

2010-05-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

I've been asked to pass along this information, so here it is:

Eighth annual event, held August 20-22, 2010 at Pajaro Dunes’ private beachfront facility near Santa Cruz, CA. Intensive, team-taught seminar for 30 savvy and/or published writers of character-driven youth novels, "active observers," and teen readers and writers.
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FACULTY: KATE HARRISON (senior editor, Dial Books/Penguin); TED MALAWER (agent, Upstart Crow Literary); and author-consultant LAURA BACKES, publisher of Children’s Book Insider. Teen enrollees led by LIZ GALLAGHER (educator; author of Wendy Lamb/Random House YA novel, The Opposite of Invisible). WEEKEND THEME is "A Novelist’s Toolkit: Architecture, Archetypes, and Arcs." Focus on craft as a marketing tool; 90 percent hands-on. Open critique clinics, aka master classes, are enhanced by interactive pre-workshop assignments. .
DEADLINES: For the most critique options and lowest fees, apply ASAP! (Preferably by May 15, though limited adult and teen enrollment may be open through July.) For details, or to contact Director Nancy Sondel, visit www.childrenswritersworkshop.com.
(Teen pages: www.childrenswritersworkshop.com/pages/program/teenportal/perks.html)

Why I am grateful for Twilight

2010-04-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Stephenie Meyer,

Thank you. As a writer of novels for teens, I owe you a debt of gratitude. Thank you for showing the world that adults can enjoy books written for teens. Thank you for showing that YA literature can make it to the top of the bestseller lists. Thank you for showing publishers it's a good investment. Thank you for opening the doors of literary agencies to writers like me. So many agencies before Twilight didn't represent children's books at all, and now they are looking for YA novels, because they all want to represent the next Stephenie Meyer. Thanks to you, I and many other YA writers have a better chance of finding representation and getting our books published. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Shevi

2010-04-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

Lia Keyes compiled a list of agents' blogs. Here's the link:
http://www.liakeyes.com/?p=1102

When is a writer ready to start submitting a manuscript?

2010-04-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

A friend asked me how a writer knows when he or she is ready to start submitting a manuscript. The following is my response:

There's no magic formula that will tell you when your manuscript is ready to send. The only thing you need to know is if you're ready to send it. That won't be until you're ready to accept rejection, which is inevitable. Your chance of success is only something like .01%. Stephen King could wallpaper his office with rejection letters before he sold his first novel, and it wasn't the first novel he wrote. Even Jane Yolen still gets rejection letters. When you know down deep inside that rejection happens to the best and isn't a reflection on you as a writer or on your manuscript, you'll be ready to start submitting.

According to a survey conducted by F/SF writer Jim C. Hines, it takes a writer on average 10-11 years of hard work to get his first novel published--and it's most often the author's 3rd or 4th manuscript. If it takes one year to write the first and two years between the time a book is purchased and published, that means 7-8 years of rejection letters.
http://www.jimchines.com/2010/03/survey-results/

If you're ready to start the ball rolling, then you're definitely ready to start submitting. You might luck out with your first try, but if not, you'll be on your way. I've been submitting for about 7 years now, and I think my 5th manuscript will finally get me in the door. My first is my magnum opus, but I think my 6th will be my bestselling. I have a hunch it's my most marketable work yet.

I hope this helps and isn't too depressing. Do check out that survey. There are definitely things you can do to help. Go to conferences and workshops. Join a critique group or two. Read a lot in your chosen genre and really study it, analyze what it is you like and don't like in a particular book and why. Read books on writing and editing. Write and edit, write and edit, and write and edit some more. Don't settle for writing just one book. Write another and another. Submit to agents, publishers and contests. And always remember that slow and steady wins the race.

All the best,

Shevi

Living without a Net

2010-03-21T04:21:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go off my usual topics of writing and humor to talk about something a little different. I hope you will bear with me, and if you do, I hope you'll find it worth your while.

Today I would like to talk to you about life-altering decisions. Many of us go through life without ever truly making one. We let others choose the schools we go to, let fate decide our professions, marry people when it seems like we should, live where we've always lived or where our jobs or schools or other obligations send us, and so on. Many of us take, as Robert Frost might have put it, the well-trodden path, never once considering the road less traveled.

For the first 30-some years of my life, I was one of those people. It wasn't that I did things that everyone was doing, but I was mostly letting fate do with me as it wanted and without question. I didn't have a choice when it came to the schools I went to. My parents chose my university, too, but I was allowed to choose my majors. I wanted to study film, but the university I went didn't offer a degree in that. The closest to it was an MA in communications, so I decided to take English Literature and Theater Studies. By the time I completed my BAs, I had learned that the communications department was mostly theoretical, which I didn't want, so I earned a teacher's certificate instead. It was the easy way, the expected way, the well-trodden path. What else could you do with a BA in English? But then I tried teaching for a while, and I discovered something rather surprising: the well-trodden path was clearly meant for me. Teaching might have been what was expected of me, but it was scary. I couldn't control a classroom, and trying to made me feel like I was about to have a nervous breakdown. So I stopped, stepped back and said, "Okay, that's not working. What else would I like to do?" I took some courses in fine art and graphic art, and got a job in a newspaper. From there I worked my way up to political cartoonist, and I continued on to various jobs in various magazines and newspaper. To some it might seem like I was taking the road less traveled, but I wasn't. I'd already shown talent in art, and my family had already been in the newspaper business for four generations. It couldn't have been less of a leap into the unknown.

No, the first time I decided to live without a net didn't come until my husband and I reached an impasse when it came to our autistic son's eduction. We were living in Jerusalem, and we had tried every option we found there, even trying to put together a new school with other parents of autistic kids in the Jerusalem area. Everything fell through. We were told that there was only one school for autistic kids, and that our son could only go there. He would be placed in a building with children ranging from age 6 to 18, most of them with severe autism and much worse off than he was. We knew that meant he was likely to get less attention than the kids whose needs were greater. We felt trapped.

There is an expression in Israel: they call it an "Eretz Ein Brerah," "A Land of No Choice." But did we really have no choice? We did if we stayed in Jerusalem--the city where we met, and married, and owned an apartment, the city we loved--but did we need to stay in Jerusalem? We asked ourselves what our primary goal was, and it wasn't to stay in Jerusalem. It was to give our son the best education he could get. So I got on the Internet and asked other mothers of autistic kids where that was. They told us New Jersey, so we packed up our things, quit our jobs, and rented out our apartment. We decided to live without a net.

Other people might look at our decision and think it very brave or very stupid or both. They could be right. But sometimes you have to decide whether you're willing to give in to what fate seems to be telling you is the only path or forge a new one, whether you're willing to take, as Robert Frost said, the road less traveled. Sometimes you have to decide what it is you truly want, and to get it you have to be willing to live without a net.

I've been thinking about this lately, because once again I've come to a point where fate seems to be telling me I have no choice. We've been living in this same town for almost ten years, and my daughter is ready for high school. We want to send her to a good Jewish school. There's one nearby. But the principal of the school misunderstood something my daughter said, and although my daughter has explained herself, apologized, and has told the principal how much she wants to go to that school, the school has decided she cannot go there. My daughter was crushed, but it seemed there was another option. There's another school, which isn't as close by, but it seems nicer and better in every way. The only way my daughter can do there is if at least two kids from our town goes there to justify the transportation costs. My daughter hoped that her best friend might go to the other school with her, but the school that rejected my daughter has persuaded her best friends parents to send her there. So now not only can't the school willing to accept my daughter provide the necessary transportation, my daughter will be separated from her best friend next year.

It hurts to see your child trapped and know there isn't anything you can do about it. This isn't fair. My daughter deserves to go to go to the same school as her best friend. It isn't fair that the first school won't accept her because of a misunderstanding and a refusal on their part to accept an apology (something that, in my opinion, contradicts Jewish ethics and reflects poorly on the school). It's also unfair that my daughter's ability to attend the second school is dependent on her friend going there, when that isn't something within our control. So what do we do?

Do we take the road the world seems to have chosen for us, or do we once again leave everything behind and forge a new path? Do we once again choose to live without a net? Sure, if we live in this town we're stuck, but do we need to live in this town? We're very pleased with what our town has arranged for our autistic son's education. We don't want to lose that, and that's what might happen if we leave. But what if we keep one apartment here and get an additional one next to that better school? It would be a huge additional expense, and right now my husband is getting very little work, and I've yet to earn anything on the books I've written. But that's the wonderful thing about living without a net: everything becomes an option. The possibilities are endless.

Look at J.K. Rowling. Before she found a publisher for Harry Potter, she was a divorced woman with no real job, a young daughter to take care of, and a dream to become a published author. She didn't ask how she would support herself and her daughter while she wrote. She just wrote. She decided what she wanted, and if she had to live without a net for a while to get it, she would. And she did. And by living without a net, she made that dream come true.

We should all be a little more like J.K. Rowling. We should ask ourselves what we want, what's holding us back, and if we're willing to let it go. Living without a net can be scary, but sometimes living with a net isn't living at all.

All the best,

Shevi

Made it through to second round of Amazon's ABNA contest!

2010-02-26T11:40:00.000-08:00

The header says it all: I made it through!

I'm psyched, but I also don't hold much hope for making it to the third round. The first round was based on story pitches, but the second is based on the first 5,000 words of the manuscript, and I submitted a rough second draft of a NaNoWriMo manuscript I wrote just this November. I thought there would be time to edit the manuscript before it was judged, but it turns out everything is locked in even before the pitch round begins, even the finished manuscript that won't be judged until the third or fourth round. This is the first time the contest has had a YA category, so this is my first year submitting, and I didn't know.

Oh, well, I'm happy I made it this far. And next year, if I haven't published yet, I'll know the way the contest works a little better.

Why My Love Life Sucks preview

2010-02-23T03:14:00.000-08:00

I've uploaded the first 25,000 characters of Why My Love Life Sucks to Amazon where you can download and read them on your computer or your Kindle. You can find them here:
https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1066301

Twitter chats for writers & illustrators

2010-02-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

Debbie Ohi, otherwise known as InkyGirl, has put together a list of Twitter chats for writers and illustrators:
http://www.inkygirl.com/twitter-chats-for-writers/
There's a schedule at the end of the blog post.

#writechat: Sundays

Topic or topics are usually announced at the beginning of the chat.
Moderated by @WritingSpirit
EST: 3-6 PM

#scriptchat: Sundays
For seasoned and aspiring screenwriters as well as anyone who is curious about screenwriting. The goal: learning and sharing.
Moderator: @jeannevb
EST: 8 PM

#journchat: Mondays
EST: 8-11 PM

#writersroad Mondays
formerly #ScribeChat, mostly for writers of MG/YA fiction
EST: 9-10 PM

#kidlitchat: Tuesdays
Craft & business of writing for young people, board books up through YA. Topic or topics announced at the beginning of the chat.
Moderators: @gregpincus, @bonnieadamson
EST: 9 PM

#poettues: Tuesdays
Discussion of poetry with @robertleebrewer
EST: 10AM

#FaithLitChat: Tuesdays
A weekly faith-based discussion of Christian books, writing & CBA market. Follow @FaithLitChat for more info.

EST: 9-10PM
#litchat: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Mission is to connect readers with books and authors.
Moderator: @litchat.
Transcripts on blog.
EST: 4-5 PM

#WNW: Wednesdays
Wednesday Night Writer. Fantasy/Fiction discussion group on Twitter.
Moderator: @_decode_ .
EST: 8-11 pm

#YALitChat: Wednesdays
Young Adult (teen) books
Moderator: @Georgia_McBride.
EST: 9 PM

#memoirchat: Wednesdays
Moderator: @alexisgrant
Writers of memoir
EST: 8 PM
#poetry: Thursdays
We talk poetry. Readers, writers, and all others encouraged to join. Moderator: @gregpincus.
EST: 9-10 PM

#kidlitart: Thursdays
Weekly chat for illustrators, pb authors & author/illustrators. Topics announced in advance via @kidlitart. Hosted by Bonnie Adamson and ( @BonnieAdamson) Wendy Martin (@lyonmartin).
EST: 9-10 PM

#dnchat: Thursdays
For those who write fiction for online publication. “DN stands for DigitalNovelists.com, which is the platform most of us in the group publish on, but all web fiction writers and fans of web novelists are welcome.”
EST: 11 pm-12 PM

#fridayflash: Every Friday.
Writers write/post flash fiction. Readers comment and RT.
Time?

#scifichat: Fridays
Moderated by: @DavidRozansky. Follow @scifichat for schedule changes and announcements.
EST: 2-4 pm

#platformchat: Fridays.
Moderator: @thewritermama
EST: 2-3 pm

#scifichat: Fridays
Hosted by: @WritersDigest. Collab fun.
Time?

#StoryFriday: Fridays
Moderated by: @DavidRozansky
EST: 2-4 pm

#followreader: Fridays

#FollowReader is a weekly discussion on Twitter for the bookish community, lightly moderated by @KatMeyer and @CharAbbott, who provide a new topic each week. Kat and Charlotte alternate moderating duties on Fridays from 4 – 5pm EDT, Kat is moderating from 4 – 5 pm on Fridays, but the #FollowReader hashtag is used all week long to bring excellent ideas and discussions to the table.
EST: 4-5 pm

#ThrillerChat: Saturdays. #thrillerchat is a Twitter chat for anyone interested in writing Thrillers, although you don’t have to be a writer to join in. 1-2 hours. Moderated by: @Selorian. More info here.
EST: 8 pm

#ScreenwritingSaturday: Saturdays
Moderator: @UncompletedWork.
Time: all day

The following are more motivational groups rather than scheduled Twitterchats, but are still a great way of meeting other writers on Twitter. They're open any day, any time:

#amwriting: @johannaharness
#amwritingparty: @saramcclung.
#mommyswriting: @quirkywriter: It’s official. If you’re trying to balance raising kids and writing for them, meet us on #mommyswriting for support.
#writegoal: @annadestefano.

Other hashtags of interest to writers: #AgentPeeves, #allaboutagents, #askagent (at least every 2 wks, around 11 am EST Mondays or Tuesdays?), #authors, #cdnkidlit, #editing,#fictionfriday, #nanowrimo (during November), #pubtip, #RomChat (see info), #storystarters, #tuesbooktalk, #wip, #wordcount, #writetip, #novelists, #wordathon, #WriteRomance (see info), #writers, #writing, #writingparty, #agentsday #agentinternday. (I'm not sure of the times for most of these, but if someone can give me that information I would be happy to update it.)

The best way to follow a TwitterChat is with http://tweetchat.com/

I give you permission to...

2010-02-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

So many times I've heard writers say, "You can't..."

You can't write a novel that crosses genres. For example, you can't write a fantasy novel that later turns out to be a science fiction novel. Gene Wolfe could do it in his Book of the New Sun because he's Gene Wolfe, but you aren't Gene Wolf.

You can't write in more than one genre. For example, you can't write realistic poetry and prose fantasy. Maybe Jane Yolen can write in more than one genre, but you aren't Jane Yolen.

You can't write for different age groups. For example, you can't write picture books and novels for teens. Neil Gaiman can do it because he's Neil Gaiman, but you aren't Neil Gaiman.

You can't have a novel with different points of view. Stephen King did it in The Stand, but you aren't Stephen King.

You can't. You can't. You can't.

But you can.

Gene Wolfe was a writer just like you before he wrote the Book of the New Sun. Jane Yolen had to start out in one genre before she tried another. Neil Gaiman used to write comic books for adults--and won awards for them--before he started winning awards for his children's books. Stephen King apparently never got the "You can't" memo. Either that, or he didn't listen. None of them did, and neither should you.

Don't listen to "You can't."

I give you permission to write a novel that goes across genres. I give you permission to write in more than one genre. I give you permission to write for different age groups. I give you permission to write stories with different points of view. I give you permission to use repetition. And incomplete sentences. I give you permission to break all the rules, to draw outside all the lines.

What I don't give you permission to do is to tell yourself, "You can't."

You'll never know what you can do until you try, so try. You have everything to gain, and nothing to lose.

Tone versus Voice: But what’s “voice” and whose voice?

2010-02-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

These are my comments in a discussion on the SCBWI boards on tone versus voice. I’m of the position that the voice of a story is the narrator or POV character’s, while someone else said it is the unique voice of the author. What do you think?

Tone is simple. Tone can be humorous, melodramatic, etc.. It's mood. It's style. Books by different writers with different characters can still have the same tone.

Voice, however, is complex. It's a world view. It's a unique way of seeing and expressing everything in the story. It can be of a certain tone--humorous, for example--but it goes beyond that. How is the humorous tone created? How does the MC or narrator see the world?

For example, in the Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison, the tone is humorous. And yet Georgia's voice isn't intentionally funny. She sees herself "on the rack of love," suffering because of her crazy family and her dither spaz best friend, and all tragic. The humorous tone is created in only the way Georgia's unique voice can create it, her unique way of seeing and describing her world.

I guess one way to put it is the style might tell you it's abstract, but the way it's done tells you it's a Kandinsky.

Yes, to me the tone of a piece of writing is the mood. I think others were saying something similar when comparing it to the tone of voice you use when you say something. You can have an angry tone or a humorous one. Those are moods.

Also, I'd like to point out that in many works of fiction today, the voice is the character's, not the writer's. I know that's the case in my writing. Although some things pop up in different stories of mine, I like to think that is more a matter of my style, that it doesn't prevent the character's voice from shining through.

I think it's important for voice to remain consistent in a story--at least when the POV character is the same--but I don't like it when writers are incapable of changing the voice from story to story. It makes all their stories and all their characters sound the same, and that's boring. Some of us aspire to be Woody Allen; some of us aspire to be Meryl Streep. I'd much rather be Meryl Streep. I know I'm not there yet, but that is the dream.

I would take lack of authorial voice as a huge compliment! To me that would mean the ability to get out of the way and let the story just be itself. That ability would be an amazing thing--if I could achieve it. But, alas, I can't. That would take the rarest talent indeed.

I read stories because they immerse me, not in the writer's skin and world, but in the character's skin and world. When I read Lord of the Rings, I'm a hobbit on a desperate mission to save Middle Earth. I'm not Tolkien. Indeed, I'd find that boring. I'm sure even Tolkien found that boring. If he didn't, he probably wouldn't have written the darn thing!

You say it's the writer's voice that makes one story different from another. I say it's the voice of the narrator or POV character that makes one story different from another. How could anyone else's story sound like mine with different characters' unique voices? I created my characters, and another writer will create his characters, and those characters will give each of our stories a unique voice. Not only will my characters' voices make my work completely different from another writer's, but they'll make each of my stories completely different from one another, or at least they will if I've done my job properly.

Although I love being a hobbit in Middle Earth, I don't want to just be a hobbit. Not when there are an infinite number of stories out there, an infinite number of worlds I can visit and see through a unique set of eyes belonging to a character with a unique voice with every book I pick up. And this is the way I want to write.

You say there would be no reason for anyone to prefer my stories over that of an equally skilled writer. On the contrary! The question isn't about which writer you would prefer to read but whose characters you would prefer to spend time with, which world you'd like to visit for a while.

If you want to hear Meryl Streep in her own voice, watch an interview with her. But if you want to enter the world of Julia Child and hear Julia in her unique voice wax poetic about French cuisine, watch her in "Julie & Julia." And if all you hear is Meryl's New Jersey accent when you're watching the movie, I'm sure even Ms. Streep would admit she'd failed miserably in what she was trying to accomplish. When the audience can't separate the actor from the role, it's a sign of a less than stellar performance.

This is how I see my voice versus the voices of my characters. If the reader can't tell the difference, then I've failed to truly bring my characters to life, which means I've failed the reader. Because how can the reader truly immerse himself in the character's world if the only voice the reader hears—and the only POV the reader can experience that world through--is mine?

Shevi

Query done? Check. List of agents to submit to? Check...

2010-01-27T18:02:00.000-08:00

I've accomplished the next three things on my "How to Get a Literary Agent" checklist:

1. Used AgentQuery.com to research agents and put together a list of agents who are interested in YA and open to submissions.

2. Further researched the agents who seem like they might be a good fit for what I do and selected my top twelve (couldn't narrow it down to less than that).

3. Wrote a dynamite query letter and had my critique group, SCBWI friends, and Facebook friends help me polish it until it shines!

Here's the finished query:
____________________________________________________

Dear (agent’s name goes here),

Seventeen-year-old Tracy Miller found the love of her life . . . thirty years after her own death.

Thirty years ago, Tracy was working in the House of Horrors at the Amazing Lands Theme Park when a fire broke out and quickly spread through the building. While others fled, Tracy lost her life trying in vain to save eleven-year-old Mack. Now the House of Horrors is gone, the six other ghosts who died there are gone, and only Tracy and Mack remain.

As ghosts in the park, Tracy and Mack can ride all the rides, see all the shows, smell and even taste all the food. For Mack every day is a new adventure. Tracy, however, hates the park, but unlike the other people who died in the fire with her and Mack, she can’t bring herself to go to the Light. She claims she’s sticking around for his sake, but deep down she knows it’s not true.

Then everything changes when seventeen-year-old Josh also dies in the park. At first Tracy wonders why Josh chooses to stay with them, but she soon discovers that he is in love with her. And despite her apprehensions, she finds herself falling for him too. Is their love strong enough to help Tracy overcome something that happened when she was alive, the one thing that still haunts her and stops her from going to the Light?

RIDE OF YOUR LIFE (78,000 words) won third-place in SmartWriters W.I.N. (Write It Now) Competition in 2006, which was judged by author Alex Flinn. It is a YA ghost story, similar in tone to Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones.

Editorial cartoonist, comic-strip magazine editor, arts-and-entertainment writer, and consumer columnist: I’ve been writing professionally in one form or another since 1987. My last full-time job was as the consumer columnist for The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com). Most recently I wrote and edited the SCBWI Illustrator’s Market Guide. You can read more about me on my website: www.sheviarnold.com.

As per your submission requirements, I’ve included (whatever is required for this agent and my reason for choosing this particular agent). I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Shevi Arnold
___________________________________________________

I have now started to print up the things I need to send, which will be personalized to explain why I've chosen to submit my novel to these agents.

Wish me luck!

Shevi

PS: Someone suggested that I post my query letter on the YA Lit Chat Ning group to get help editing it. I did that, and my query received only one reply. It told me the writer would reject my query outright (without any explanation as to why), the agents on the site might be interested in it (again without any explanation as to why), and that if I wanted real advice, I should ask to be put on the "Query Kick-Around" schedule, the nearest opening for which is about a month off. In other words, the whole thing was a waste of time and an exercise in futility. I wrote a well-thought out and fair post there about my experience with the YA Lit Chat Ning group, and the moderator deleted it because they "try to keep things positive." It reminds me of that poster of the Mafia boss saying, "When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you." It's sad, really, when you consider some writers might not have the resources or the confidence I have to seek advice elsewhere. At least the YALitChats on Twitter are often interesting and informative. All this is to say, thank goodness for critique groups, the SCBWI, and Facebook friends! You've been a tremendous help. You rock!

Steps to getting a literary agent

2010-01-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

Here's where I am on my search for a literary agent.

Steps already accomplished:
1. Wrote a dynamite outline and first few chapters of a novel
2. Got chapters critiqued by my critique group and revised accordingly
3. Took outline and chapters to conferences and got positive feedback from editors and agents
4. Submitted to a contest and won third place in the YA category--Yes!
5. Got one-on-one feedback and encouragement from an agent at a SCBWI NJ Mentoring Workshop (Those workshops are awesome!)
6. Finished writing the novel
7. Put it in the drawer for a month so I could edit it with fresh eyes one more time before sending it off (Also wrote the first draft of another dynamite book during NaNoWriMo!)
8. Gave it one last edit and made sure it's now ready to go out

Steps to accomplish now:
1. On AgentQuery.com, go through list of agents who are open to submissions and are interested in YA. Rate agents from 6-10 based on the following: how close a match their interests are to this manuscript, how open they are to other manuscripts I have, whether they've had good sales to good publishers recently (Add points to agents I like who I've met at conferences and elsewhere, as well as agents who work with writers I know.)
2. Select top 5-10 agents from my list (That's tricky with so many great agents to choose from.)
3. Write a dynamite query letter and get my critique group to help me polish it until it shines!
4. Adapt query letter for each agent on my list
5. Print up query letters, cover letters, synopses, chapters, full manuscripts--whatever each agent requests
6. Mail or email (according to each agent's guidelines) a personalized query letter or submission to each one
7. Pray!
8. Work on something else so I don't drive myself bonkers while waiting for replies
9. With each rejection letter (everyone gets rejection letters), submit to the next agent on my list and try not to sweat it
10. Don't jump on the first offer of representation. Make sure this is really the person I want to work with first
11. Read contract carefully and make sure I understand it
12. Sign contract
13. Give agent what he/she needs to get the right deal at the right house with the right editor

I'll get there one step at a time.

Wish me luck!

2010-01-02T20:52:00.000-08:00

Agent Mary Kole is running a contest. Send the first 500 words of your MG or YA, and you could win a critique! Here's the link: http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest/

Things I learned from NaNoWriMo

2009-12-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

This was the first year I participated in National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo, and I learned a great deal from this experience.

The first step, taken in October, was to sign up on the NaNoWriMo website and commit myself to writing a 50,000-word novel in November. Was I that crazy? Could I do it? Why not? Other writers--thousands of them--have become NaNoWriMo winners. I once wrote a 100-page children's book in less than three weeks to submit it to a contest. So why couldn't I write a 50,000-word novel in one month? The only way to find out was to try it and see.

My reasons for taking the plunge were different from most writers'. I've already written about a half-dozen novels. These usually take me between six months and a year. I have a habit of editing while I work, a process I like to call "back stitching," and it generally works for me. But I wanted to test what it might be like to work free of my internal editor, to just write forward without looking back. I wanted to see if I could do it--and if I could, I wanted to see if I liked working that way.

I was in the middle of one manuscript when October ended, so I decided to check the NaNoWriMo rules to see if it was okay to work on more than one novel. The answer turned out to be yes: the guidelines make it clear that as long as the words are part of a novel or novels (not random gibberish), they count toward the 50,000 words.

I decided that I would begin with the novel already in progress, counting only the words written after November first. I also decided to have two other story ideas as backups in case I got stuck. In addition, I decided to fully outline those two story ideas the week before NaNoWriMo began. With three stories to work on and outlines to show me the way, I was ready to begin on November first.

For about the first week I worked on the manuscript already in progress. I wrote forward, barely looking back at all, just as I had promised myself. But then I hit a trouble spot. I tried to make a go of it, but things clearly weren't working. The whole process was slowing down, and it wasn't fun. Instead I felt bored and frustrated. Well, this was the reason I had written two additional outlines before NaNoWriMo, wasn't it? So I moved on to story number two.

I had my outline ready, so where was I to start? "Start with dessert" one lecturer had said at a writers' conference. It sounded like fun and something that would work quite well with NaNoWriMo.

I wrote out the scenes that most inspired me as they inspired me and outlined the rest. And it worked! I was enjoying dessert so much I couldn't get enough of it. I fell in love with my characters, who kept saying and doing the funniest, most outrageous things. I loved spending time with them.

When I didn't know what would happen in this scene or that, I just wrote a loose outline for it. When I came back, I'd fill those scenes out, and it almost felt like they were writing themselves. Sometimes I would just write a note, like "Describe this room through Gilbert's eyes" or "How does Uncle Ian react here?" and when I came back a short while later, I'd know what the room looked like or what exactly Uncle Ian would do or say.

Sometimes I had to push myself to write 2,000 words a day, the goal I had set for myself to allow for non-writing days over the weekends. But most often it only took a little push to get things started. Once they started, I was raring to go and I never wanted to stop.

Another thing I learned is that I can't do NaNoWriMo alone. I need the support of my family, which basically means I need them to get out of my way, take care of the housework and other things they're fully capable of taking care of, and let me write. A few times I growled, "Not now, I'm writing." That isn't an easy thing for a wife and mother to do, but my family understood. They want me to succeed. I had to make time for them, too, of course; but when I needed writing time, they gave me writing time. And for that I am grateful.

I also Twittered my daily word counts to all my followers, and I posted Facebook statuses for my friends. The support I got there was tremendous. I don't know if I could have succeeded without it.

So in the end, I wrote 50,000 words between November first and November 25th. Yes, I won NaNoWriMo with five days to spare! Most of my writing was done at night, when things are quiet in the house, and the only one demanding my attention is the cat. And these are the things I learned:

I can write a 50,000-word novel in one month.
An outline is indispensable, even if I do change it as I go along.
Having a backup plan (i.e. manuscript) is a great idea.
Starting with dessert works--and there's always more dessert and more dessert and more...
I can write in a forward direction and leave editing for later. However, if I see a real problem as I'm writing, I can go back to fix it. Fixing problems and filling out weak scenes are a part of moving forward too.
If I don't know the answer, write the question. The answer will come to me soon enough.
I need to keep my writing time as my writing time. Everything else can be handled later, and I can trust my family to handle a lot of things on their own.
Set incremental goals, like 2,000 words a day. When I do that, I usually end up writing more.
Twittering and writing about my daily word counts on Facebook helps, and I need to give my fellow writers the same kind of support they gave me. We're all in this together!
Don't write it if I don't love it. Switch to another manuscript, one I feel passionate about now. When I return to the manuscript that troubled me, hopefully I'll be able to see more clearly where things went wrong. Writing should always be fun.
When I'm excited about a scene or a character--even if it's something I don't intend to use in the story I'm currently working on--I need to write it down. I need to use that excitement before it slips away.
And finally one thing I didn't do during NaNoWriMo that I really should have: take care of myself. Half an hour of exercise a day would have done me a world of good. I'm not being a good writer, if I'm not taking care of myself.

Also, one thing I already knew but now know with greater certainty: super-geeks turned into vampires totally rock! I love you, Gilbert Garfinkle, but in a completely platonic way. (I know how much girls scare you, so I hope this doesn't freak you out.) I love spending time with you. You make me laugh, and you make me care. I only hope readers love you at least half as much as I do. NaNoWriMo was great, and I couldn't have done it without you.

In response to a question about passive voice and "-ing" verb phrases

2009-09-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

I think the "rules" can be useful in that they help you notice things you wouldn't otherwise notice.

Yes, passive verbs can reduce the power of actions. Yes, too many "-ing" verb phrases can become boring and repetitive. But I think eventually you'll get to a point in your writing when you instinctively know when using the passive or using an "-ing" verb phrase feels right.

I like to use repetition in my writing. I find it creates a rhythm, and that rhythm can be a poetic and powerful thing. But then I get critiques from less experienced writers who think I've made a mistake. Repetition as a style choice? That's not something they learned in the writing classes they took. Surely, repetition is redundant and should be avoided at all cost.

But I know better.

I know it works for what I'm trying to achieve, and so I know how to break the "rule."

So in the end, don't get rid of telling just because it's telling and the "rules" say you show. Don't get rid of passive words because the rules say they're bad. And don't get rid of "-ing" or "to be" phrases because someone told you should avoid them at all cost. Look at your story. Do these things work in your story? Do they help you achieve what you want to achieve? If they do, let the so-called "rules" be damned.

Shevi

The Top-Secret Guide to Creating Winning Titles!

2009-09-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

If you're a writer, you might have heard that the title you give your work in progress doesn't matter. "Whatever title you come up with," people say, "the publishing house will choose something different."

While that may often be true, the title you put on your manuscript does matter.

I've heard editors say they sometimes throw out the first two chapters of a manuscript they're editing, because the story doesn't really start until chapter three. Does that mean it's okay to start your manuscript with two boring chapters? No. Chances are that--outside of a one-on-one critique with an editor at a writers' conference or workshop--the editor will never get to chapter three if the editor is bored by chapter one. In fact, most editors won't read past a boring first page. Sure this is something the editor can fix, but isn't it easier for the editor to just slip it into that SASE with a rejection slip?

Your job as a writer is to make it easier for the editor to accept your manuscript, rather than reject it. So start with a compelling first chapter--and a compelling first page! Polish that manuscript until it shines! And, for goodness sakes, give it a title that makes a person can't wait to start reading it!

We live in an age of soundbites and Twitter tweets. We're used to having our attention grabbed in just a few well chosen words. And that is what your title should be: a few well chosen words that grab the reader's attention, like someone grabbing you by the collar and staring you in the face.

So what are the secrets to writing a great title? Here are a few.

Choose a familiar phrase. Playwright Neil Simon said that using familiar phrases, like All American Girl and The Odd Couple as the titles of his plays made people say, "I've heard of that. Must be a play people are talking about." One of my most successful manuscripts so far has the title Ride of Your Life, and I know the title has played a big part in its success. (Of course, these should be familiar phrases, and not familiar titles. You don't want the editor to say, "I've read that before.") You can also use a play on words based on a familiar phrase for the same result, for example, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Starfish or Apple of His Sigh.

Keep it short. Brevity is the soul of wit.

Use words that excite. (Shh . . . I've got a secret. We all know what exciting words are. Secret. Passion. Escape. Wonder. Sin. Exciting words make us want to read further. Now you know. And, by the way, one of my works-in-progress is titled The Secret Life of Mira Levy. Please don't tell anyone. It's a secret.)

Promise the reader something the reader wants. How to Write a Novel in 30 Days. Writing the Breakout Novel. If you want to do these things, what choice do you have but to read these books?

Create sensory images in the reader's mind. The Golden Compass. The Sorcerer's Stone. Can you see them in your mind's eye? Can you feel them in your hand? Do you want to? If your title creates an image of something the reader will want to reach into your story and pull out, you've got a good title.

Use a pleasureable action word. Scientists have discovered that action words touch the same parts of our brains as preforming these actions. When we read Dances with Wolves a part of our brains is actually dancing. Pretty cool, huh? Imagine the things your title could be making a part of the reader's brain do, things the reader would enjoy doing so much that he or she would feel compelled to read your story. Make pleasureable action words work for you.

Make the reader wonder. Up the Down Staircase. What is a down staircase? Who is going up it and why? The reader will have to open the book to find the answers to these questions.

Use these tips individually or combined to help you create irresistable titles that will hook the reader and compel him or her to start reading your manuscript. After that, your story is on its own.

Shevi

JPG Twitter template

2009-08-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

This is a template I created in JPG format for making Twitter backgrounds. Just use this in the background to place your guidelines, delete the template itself, and everything else should work out fine.
If you have a problem opening it to the right size, the height of this image is 1556 pixels.

Just My Imogen and the Library Books

2009-08-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

Imogen has got me in trouble again.

I don't know if you know Imogen. She's a fairy, and she lives with me in her little fairy house, which looks something like an ivy covered lantern. She's adorable, with her tiny little wings and big blue eyes, but she's always getting into trouble and dragging me along with her.

Well, today Imogen pulled a library book out of her house and informed me it was overdue. I didn't even know she had a library card. So I opened the book, and (I don't know why this should surprise me) I discovered it was over two years overdue.

"Imogen," I said with a sigh, "why didn't you return this two years ago?"

"How could I?" she replied. "I only finished reading it yesterday."

"Do you have any other books from the library?"

"No."

So of course I looked in her little fairy house, and of course I found six other books in there. I told her we had to return all of them.

"Can't," she said. "I haven't read those yet."

But I took the books back to the library, with Imogen darting in and out of my backpack trying to pull books out the entire way. I didn't know how I was going to explain this to the librarian. I hoped that she had a troublesome fairy, and that maybe she would understand.

So I got to the library and put the book in the book return slot. Then I tried to sneak out before the librarian noticed me, but no luck there.

"These are over two years overdue," she told me.

"I know." I sighed.

"Don't worry," she said. "You won't have to pay two years worth of fines for seven books. We never charge more than the price of the books."

"Oh, good."

So she looked the books up on her computer, and, surprise, surprise, turns out they were each rare collector fairy books, so I was better off paying the fines instead.

"That will be $532.80," the librarian said.

"Imogen!" I shouted, forgetting for a moment that I was in a library.

"You heard the woman," Imogen said. "Pay up."

So I wrote a check and, grumbling, gave it the librarian. To my surprise, the librarian squealed with delight and hugged me.

"Thank you," she shouted, "for keeping these books for so long!"

All the other librarians rushed over to see what was going on. The first librarian showed them the check, and the rest of them hugged me with tears in their eyes. One of them said, "Thank you so much! With all the government cutbacks, we rely on overdue books to pay our bills. You've saved our library! Thank you!"

Then they all thanked me over and over, and then two of them started to arrange a party in my honor. Apparently next week they'll be renaming the library after me.

Imogen of course is annoyed, because she thinks she should get the credit. After all, I wouldn't have written that check if she hadn't kept those books for over two years. And she's also upset with me because I took some of those books back before she had a chance to read them. In addition, I made her give me her library card, so this doesn't happen again.

Before we left the library, I used my own card to take out a book. It's How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. I don't really plan to ditch Imogen, but I wanted to teach her a lesson. She was really cross when she saw me reading it, but now it's gone and disappeared. I was right in the middle of a really good part, too. I've looked everywhere for that book.

I wonder what could have . . .

Imogen!

Random Funny Thoughts #1

2009-07-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

Some people think the British aren't romantic. It isn't true. My English husband still knows how to make my heart race after over fifteen years of marriage. He does it by driving on the left-hand side of the road.

TWO JEWISH MOTHERS (a comedy skit by Shevi Arnold)

2009-07-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

Two Jewish Mothers

a comedy skit

Shevi Arnold

SCENE: TWO JEWISH OLD LADIES, FLO AND MIRIAM, SIT BY A SMALL, ROUND KITCHEN TABLE. THE TABLE HAS A LACY TABLECLOTH AND FLOWERS ON IT. THEY ARE SIPPING TEA AND EATING CAKE.

FLO: So did I tell you want happened last night?

MIRIAM: Something happened?

FLO: I heard a sound it middle of the night. Woke me up. It was a burglar.

MIRIAM: No, really? You don't say.

FLO: I swear, there was a burglar in my living room.

MIRIAM: What did you do?

FLO: Well, I didn't want to be rude.

MIRIAM: No, of course not.

FLO: So I offered him a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.

MIRIAM: (Nodding) Of course, you have a guest, you have to give him something.

FLO: So we sat down and had a nice chat.

MIRIAM: What did you talk about?

FLO: I asked him, "What do you want my silverware for?"

MIRIAM: What did he say?

FLO: He said he was going to sell it. I told him he could have the candlesticks that used to sit over there on the mantel instead. You know, the big ones my mother-in-law gave me at my wedding. I always hated those things.

MIRIAM: (Looks around) I noticed that chair your husband usually sits in is missing.

FLO: (Nodding) I told him to take that too. And you know how I'm always complaining about the stuff my son left here when he went way to college?

MIRIAM: Like all those old comic books and baseball stuff?

FLO: The burglar was nice enough to take those too.

MIRIAM: Imagine that.

(Long pause as the women sip their tea.)

MIRIAM: So then he left?

FLO: Well, I couldn't let him go without giving him something to eat on the way home, now could I? You should have seen him! Nothing but skin and bones. So I gave him some potato kugal and

roast beef. And some chocolate rugelah.

MIRIAM: Oh, I love your rugelah.

FLO: I'll give you some to take home. I made plenty.

MIRIAM: And that was that? He left?

FLO: Not quite. I asked him if he was married.

MIRIAM: Was he?

FLO: No, so I'm setting him up with my daughter. They're going out Thursday night.

MIRIAM: (There's a long pause. Miriam blinks and looks concerned.) Are you sure that's a good idea?

FLO: I know, I know. She's going to find something wrong with him. She always does. That girl is so picky, she'll never get married.

MIRIAM: (Frowns at Flo in silence for a long time) Well, if things don't work out...

FLO: Yes?

MIRIAM: Could you send him to my place?

(FLO nods and sips her tea, while MIRIAM smiles)

Why I Hate Secrets in Stories

2009-07-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

Some writers use secrets in an attempt to keep the reader hooked. The main character has this big secret, and you need to stick around to find out what that secret is. Some readers like that.

I'm not one of them.

I actually hate it when the main character has a secret. Hate it.

This is the way I see it. When the main character has a secret, it feels like I'm playing a game with someone who is playing by a different set of rules than I am. The deck is stacked in the writer and the main character's favor. They're hiding their cards. They both know what cards they have, and they're showing them to each other and laughing at me because they know something I don't know. And I don't know it, because they're the ones making the rules, and their rules say I can't know this "big secret," which is apparently a secret only to me.

I find this particularly annoying when the book seems to be about nothing other than the secret. It's the sort of thing that can get me to close a book within the first few pages. The writer has to show me all of his or her cards. If not, I'm going to find another writer who will.

I'm okay if the main character's secret is one the main character doesn't know, for example, if the main character is in denial. That's okay. I get to see all the cards the main character can see, and that means the rules of the game are fair.

The best thing to keep me hooked, though, isn't a secret at all: it's the need to find out how the main character will resolve his or her conflict.

Make me invested in the main character. Make me want what the main character wants as much as the main character wants it, and make me need to find out how the main character does or doesn't get it. That's all a writer needs to keep me hooked.

2009-07-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

I've just started a blog on Blogger.com. Cool.