Holy cow there are a lot of writing blogs and publishing advice out there. A few months ago I dove into them and slurped all the hints and tips I could find. I'm feeling pretty full right now and took a break. I just checked my Google Reader and there are weeks of advice that I have not read, and really, can't process right now.
Thankfully I just read Stephen King's On Writing and believe IT IS OK not to read them! He said conferences and workshops are a wonderful, delightful break, but not really what you need to do if you want to write (that is -you need to write!).
I love the information I got from the blogs and hope to return to devour them later, and maybe one day go to a conference so I don't feel so alone. Right now, I'll be on the fringe, and maybe do some writing!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Mini-Publishing Company
Ideas on how to motivate and inspire kids to do things we want fly like kite tails around our house. They are bold, beautiful, a bit daring and . . . often fleeting. We're all in need of improving attention, aren't we?
Well, I could go on a soapbox for hours (days, weeks my close friends will say) about the woes of organized education, with public education being the worst offender. But, I'll spare you and just point out that American kids are not WRITING like they used to. Handwriting and writing skills are minor considerations in the world of No Child Left Behind, where reading and math reign supreme.
I decided to get my kids to write more this Summer to make up for this atrocious change to schools (if you don't believe me, here's a snippet: my fifth grade son's class tossed out a monthly book project requirement to work on blogging skills and etiquette . . .). My brainstorm (here goes one of those kite tails): I started my own publishing company! I open for business every Saturday and will buy only stories that I feel like republishing (usually sending to grandma and grandpa). If they are super duper excellent, I will publish them to a wider audience and pay more. Any real profits go to the kids (a zero commission publisher!). Each kid got a notebook and are off and running.
Now the funny thing for me as a wanna-be published author is to be on the "other side." Granted there are no real pressures (like an agent or editor having to pay a mortgage), but I am looking at the stories wondering if I can find an audience. It is a very interesting perspective. I'm telling my 8 year old what I would find boring, when usually I would take his work and scream, "Print!"
If my quarter or dollar is going to his piece, I want it at least to connect with me (don't worry, I have a very generous acceptance policy once you get past the "must be related to me" requirement). Maybe one will be good enough for this blog!
Well, I could go on a soapbox for hours (days, weeks my close friends will say) about the woes of organized education, with public education being the worst offender. But, I'll spare you and just point out that American kids are not WRITING like they used to. Handwriting and writing skills are minor considerations in the world of No Child Left Behind, where reading and math reign supreme.
I decided to get my kids to write more this Summer to make up for this atrocious change to schools (if you don't believe me, here's a snippet: my fifth grade son's class tossed out a monthly book project requirement to work on blogging skills and etiquette . . .). My brainstorm (here goes one of those kite tails): I started my own publishing company! I open for business every Saturday and will buy only stories that I feel like republishing (usually sending to grandma and grandpa). If they are super duper excellent, I will publish them to a wider audience and pay more. Any real profits go to the kids (a zero commission publisher!). Each kid got a notebook and are off and running.
Now the funny thing for me as a wanna-be published author is to be on the "other side." Granted there are no real pressures (like an agent or editor having to pay a mortgage), but I am looking at the stories wondering if I can find an audience. It is a very interesting perspective. I'm telling my 8 year old what I would find boring, when usually I would take his work and scream, "Print!"
If my quarter or dollar is going to his piece, I want it at least to connect with me (don't worry, I have a very generous acceptance policy once you get past the "must be related to me" requirement). Maybe one will be good enough for this blog!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The dark and failure
Darkness, kids, books - hot topics recently. I just read an article about how the latest Harry Potter movie got the darkness "right." The article stated the filmmakers were not afraid to delve into the creepy side of the books, and claimed Rowling never achieved that level of darkness herself. It says her strength was as a world builder, and not a plot builder. Hmm - something to think about.
I have not seen many of the movies, but have read all the books. I loved them (and am not alone), and did find the last book the darkest, most difficult to read on an emotional level. It was compelling for an adult and enough to make me pause about whether my ten year old should read it (he did, pulled out the spells he wanted and didn't register the dark). So personally I say she did achieve it, but was not in competition with Hollywood and visual effects, and was WRITING FOR CHILDREN. For a ten year old, the book is dark enough.
Recently YA books have come under fire for their stark portrayal of life. But have the movies that YA audiences see? I'm not a fan of dark lit, but come on, if the movies these children are shown are over the top in violence, evil and pain why should their books be held to a different standard? Are we kidding ourselves about what is OK to put in our children's heads?
My point is that there is a weird situation now where movies can push whatever envelope they would like (and lots of tickets are sold, and the images long lasting), while books are chastised for doing so. In my ideal world, it would all be reined in and children's literature and films could stay children's (not cross market for adults); but I advocate more strongly a fairness to writers about what is acceptable and what is not. Rowling did not "fail" because she didn't do a full on Hollywood book.
If movies can push the limit, so can books. If books are not doing that in a gargantuan way, perhaps we need to understand it is because they are working for their audience (CHILDREN) and not adults.
I have not seen many of the movies, but have read all the books. I loved them (and am not alone), and did find the last book the darkest, most difficult to read on an emotional level. It was compelling for an adult and enough to make me pause about whether my ten year old should read it (he did, pulled out the spells he wanted and didn't register the dark). So personally I say she did achieve it, but was not in competition with Hollywood and visual effects, and was WRITING FOR CHILDREN. For a ten year old, the book is dark enough.
Recently YA books have come under fire for their stark portrayal of life. But have the movies that YA audiences see? I'm not a fan of dark lit, but come on, if the movies these children are shown are over the top in violence, evil and pain why should their books be held to a different standard? Are we kidding ourselves about what is OK to put in our children's heads?
My point is that there is a weird situation now where movies can push whatever envelope they would like (and lots of tickets are sold, and the images long lasting), while books are chastised for doing so. In my ideal world, it would all be reined in and children's literature and films could stay children's (not cross market for adults); but I advocate more strongly a fairness to writers about what is acceptable and what is not. Rowling did not "fail" because she didn't do a full on Hollywood book.
If movies can push the limit, so can books. If books are not doing that in a gargantuan way, perhaps we need to understand it is because they are working for their audience (CHILDREN) and not adults.
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