Category: Anecdote (Page 4 of 31)

Conference Panels Writing and Publishing Advice #LA18SCBWI (Bonus Jane Austen and Salt-N-Pepa)

September 10, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

Last #LA18SCBWI post was devoted to the amazing (and many!) keynotes, so this post is devoted to the panels. Where the keynotes are largely inspirational, the panels tend to get more into the nitty-gritty of publishing and the craft of writing. These are snippets from each panel, which are done in a Q&A style and often turn into conversations, so these are simple highlights I’ve pulled out and tried to keep in context as much as possible. (And make sure you get all the way to the end to see me dressed as Jane Austen!)

Editor Panel with Laura Godwin, Elizabeth Law, Amanda Maciel, Krista Marino, Francesco Sedita, and Namrata Tripathi:

Question: What makes you keep reading on when considering a manuscript?

A pulsing heartbeat throughout the story. – Francesco Sedita (president and publisher of Penguin Workshop at Penguin Young Readers)
You can tell when a writer has a deep investment and curiosity about a topic. She takes notice when she doesn’t care about a thing and she is transformed to care about that thing by the writing. – Namrata Tripathi (VP & publisher of Kokila, a newly-formed imprint of Penguin Young Readers dedicated to centering stories from the margins)

Question: What do you see too much or or can’t see enough of?

It’s super exciting to see something that’s been done a million times and it’s done in a new way. – Krista Marino (senior executive editor at Delacorte Press, part of Random House Children’s Books)

Question: What is the most important skill a writer for children can possess?

Persistence. Have passion and stay in the game. – Elizabeth Law (editor at Holiday House)
An endless curiosity about the world and yourself. You need a great idea and to keep asking questions and developing that idea. – Amanda Maciel (executive editor at Scholastic)
A curiosity and drive to satisfy it in an endless loop. – Laura Godwin (vice president and publisher of Godwin Books, an imprint of Macmillan publishers)

Panel “Truth vs. Innocence in Children’s Books” with Elana K. Arnold, Brandy Colbert, Erin Entrada Kelly, Carolyn Mackler, and moderated by Linda Sue Park:

Question: How go you define dark in literature?

It’s what I have. When the well has filled us and whatever we’re filled with we have to work with. – Elana K. Arnold
Dark is part of life. Leaning into the sadness of life, as I also lean into the the light and find humor in sadness. – Carolyn Mackler
The further away from hope, the more interesting the road to coming back. – Erin Entrada Kelly

Question: Tell us the initial spark or kernel for one of your books.

After my first two books, I had emptied the well of shame. New water had filled the well, and it was rage. I’m not holding back and saving anything for the next book. – Elana K. Arnold (on her upcoming book DAMSEL)
It’s wish fulfillment in an alternate universe. – Brandy Colbert (on her book LITTLE & LION)

Question: How do you respond to critics who say your books are too dark?

One of the greatest disservices we do to young people is to underestimate them. – Erin Entrada Kelly
I pull out the letters from young readers to show me how important my books are to them. – Carolyn Mackler
Children are whole people. Book are a wonderful way to practice saying no. It’s good practice to recognize when they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. – Elana K. Arnold
I get really angry because I think of the kids going through those things. It’s telling those kids their lives or experiences are too dark. – Brandy Colbert

Panel “Culture, Identity, and Writing: Where do they intersect?” with Malinda Lo, Dashka Slater, Aida Salazar, Ibi Zoboi, and moderated by Arthur Levine:

Question: Was there a time during the writing that you felt the joyful intersection of culture, identity, and the work at hand?

I was writing about my own identity but not my own experiences. When I was telling a complete truth, my own truth, about my culture. – Ibi Zoboi
I was proud and joyful to rescue my story from obscurity. It’s a revolutionary act. – Aida Salazar

Question: What are the talismans of power in your writing?

I use my writing as a tool for social change. My characters have emotions in spite of white narrative and hostility. – Aida Salazar
Having to think of yourself and having to think about how you are being perceived by others in a white space. I always feel like I’m on the outside looking in. I can’t help but having a worldwide perspective. – Ibi Zoboi
Using gender and race and performance. The point is to center the Chinese-ness of the character and the point isn’t to be concerned about making sure others get it. – Malinda Lo

Question: As part of a minority culture, do you ask “Is there part of me that I shouldn’t show because it will be too scary?” Do you feel that way in your writing, that you’re censoring a part of yourself?

I definitely did. I imagined the characters in ASH as Asian. The gay thing was enough of a problem, so I did not include any Asian-ness in the book. You don’t see these stories that represent you. You have to imagine they exist in the first place. The message is everywhere, no one has to outright tell you. – Malinda Lo
Self-censoring comes in telling the truth. It comes when we’re afraid of telling these truths and thinking about who will be mad. – Ibi Zoboi
Authenticity is marginalizing. It centers the mythological one story line. – Malinda Lo

Agent Panel with Jenny Bent, Tina Dubois, Kirsten Hall, Kevin Lewis, Ammi-Joan Paquette, and Tanusri Prasanna, and moderated by Alexandra Penfold

Question: What’s strong in the marketplace right now?

Books addressing complicated and ugliness of our world. – Kirsten Hall
Fiction that digs deep into the personal experience, the heart coming through in a deep way. – Ammi-Joan Paquette

Question: Should you write a book outside your own identity?

If you want to write a book outside your culture, if it’s in your heart, then do it. But realize you have to take what comes with that. Actions have consequences. – Kevin Lewis
Look internally. Ask yourself why you want to write this book. If you’re writing it just to be diverse, then don’t do it. If you feel it in your loins, then do it. – Tanusri Prasanna

Question: What is your best advice for writers?

Be you and do you. Spend a lot of time on your work. – Kirsten Hall
Take risks and do something different. – Ammi-Joan Paquette
Celebrate any victory. Celebrate yourself. – Jenny Bent

Panel “The Secret of Crafting Engaging Non-fiction” with Jason Chin, Candace Fleming, Deborah Heiligman, and Barbara Kerly, and moderated by Melissa Stewart

I believe people’s lives have themes. Look for things in people’s lives that has those themes. – Barbara Kerley
A life is a story. It has a beginning, middle, and end. This is why narrative non-fiction works for biographies. – Deborah Heiligman
The difference between fiction and non-fiction is like cake. In fiction, I get to buy the ingredients for the cake, bake it up, and gobble it down. In non-fiction, I don’t do the shopping. The ingredients are all crazy, but I still have to make delicious cake. – Candace Fleming

No L.A. conference would be complete without the Saturday night gala. This year’s theme was a tribute to writers and artists. There were tacos and dessert food trucks and dancing. I chose to go as the incomparable Jane Austen. This may or may not have been a tweet about me that night (I’m pretty sure I saw at least one other Jane Austen, but I’m not sure I saw any others dancing to this particular song), “You haven’t lived ‘till you’ve seen Jane Austen dance to Salt-N-Pepa.” @jennymontyinSD

Defining My Author Theme Courtesy of #LA18SCBWI and Libba Bray

August 14, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

I purposefully didn’t title this piece with the words “author brand” because there are important distinctions between a brand and what I’m talking about here (and calling my “author theme”), and also because I don’t want to anger Libba Bray! But let me back up for a second and give you the all-important context.

I recently attended the SCBWI conference in L.A. where there were some amazing keynotes (and there were a whole lot of keynotes at this conference). The brilliant YA novelist Libba Bray gave her keynote on Saturday afternoon. As a conference attendee, I was buzzing with inspiration from the previous day and a half but not overloaded and exhausted like I was pretty much all of Sunday.

Libba discussed something that is on the mind of any writer who is tuned into the business and marketing side of publishing: author branding! I’ve been trying to come up with a snappy definition of an author brand, but it’s kind of making me woozy thinking about it, so I Googled it instead. Here are the links to the first couple of articles that pop up “How To Build Your Author Brand From Scratch (And Why You Need To)” and “7 Best Ways To Build An Authentic Author Brand.”

The bottom line is that most authors feel the pressure to have a brand, but it feels icky to figure out what that is and how to create one that is effective in selling ourselves. And selling yourself is all so counterintuitive to the creative process and to being authentic to an artistic goal rather than a monetary one. Blech!

Libba articulated this phenomenon so well when she framed it as a question vs. an answer. She said that writing is about wanting to know something. This question is what makes your story come alive. The question leads us from somewhere we know to something new. The question leads to change. On the other hand, branding is advertising, and it’s all about answers. Brands are static by nature, and it puts us in a position to view kids as consumers instead of as growing, learning young humans. (No direct quotes because I tend to not worry about getting direct quotes while taking notes during conferences. Check out the SCBWI Conference Blog for a great overview of not only Libba’s keynote but the whole conference.)

Libba ended with the thought that if anyone asks about your brand, say that it’s a commitment to craft and a deep respect for my audience. This thought–and the whole keynote really–sparked an idea of what I’m all about as an author of books for young people. I’m not calling it a brand because yuck, hence the term I use in the title of this post “author theme.” Where a brand would be about selling myself or my books, my author theme is about what I think I bring to the table as a creator, writer, teacher, and human being.

I know authors who essentially say all their writings–no matter what form, genre, or intended audience–come back to some central theme or idea. I’ve always struggled to come up with any one thing that ties all my work together, never mind one thing that ties together who I am with my work. The spark that came to me during this keynote pulled together my writing, my talks about writing and the creative process, and my philosophy on life in a way that I had never been able to do.

Now that I’ve thought of it, it seems painfully obvious that this is what I’ve been writing about and thinking about. It ties in the ubiquitousness of my sister’s death with my career. It’s the thing I’ve been inscribing in ELIXIR BOUND when I sign copies for readers. (Are you screaming at the screen yet for me to just tell you already?!) Alright, alright…here it is in all it’s simple glory:

Find Your Magic.

That’s it. It’s as simple as that. My sister’s death helped me see the thing I was supposed to be doing in this world, the magic of writing for kids and teens. It’s the thing I try to bring to kids when I talk to them at book events and school visits. I know they won’t all grow up aspiring to be writers (though I always emphasize the importance of having the skills of being an effective reader and writer), but I want them all to pursue, in some way, the thing that feels like magic to them. It’s the thing my characters are always trying to find as well, their magic. And it’s kind of been there all along, staring me in the face. I was finally able to see it and grasp on to it.

Find Your Magic.

As simple as it seems, it’s not always simple to do it, to live it. You have to first figure out what your magic is, which is no easy feat. It took me 20+ years of life and a major life event to figure it out myself. Then once you do know what your magic is, you have to figure out how to pursue it while also, ya know, feeding, clothing, housing yourself and any independents.

But when you can figure out a way to actually do it (even if it’s not the way you make your living), when you actually find your magic and live your magic. Wow, that’s some pretty amazing stuff.

Last Minute Trip to Boston in Pictures

July 24, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

The story of my traveling life is often one of mishaps when plans go awry, usually because of circumstances I have no control over. (For a taste of this, see my posts “Tahiti Tsumani experience: Part 1” and “Part 2” or my guest post on Meradeth Houston’s blog about trying to get to Alaska to run a marathon “Katie Carroll and Sary in the Real World.”) So when our plans to visit a family member’s farm in upstate NY didn’t work out because of issues with their well, the hubby and I scrambled to come up with a new plan.

And that plan ended up being a trip to Boston! We stayed just one night, but we packed it full of fun, and fun for the boy always includes visiting firehouses. We also went to the Boston Museum of Science where we got to see what it would be like to be on the International Space Station (The Prince’s favorite part of the museum) and see the dinosaur bones (The Boy’s favorite part).

Here are some pics from our trip and one from The Gentleman’s birthday because a first birthday is a big deal!

How have your summer plans been going?

The Real Pirate Lore That Inspired PIRATE ISLAND

April 3, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

As I think about what I’m going to talk about at the PIRATE ISLAND book launch party coming up in a couple of weeks, I realized I haven’t ever discussed here on the blog the inspiration behind the book.

It goes all way back to my childhood really. If you grew up in Milford, CT (like I did), you’d know of Charles Island and likely have even gone out to it. It’s a little island (14 acres small!) in Long Island Sound about a half mile off the coast of Milford. It’s pretty unassuming to look at, mostly covered by trees and some old ruins that you can’t see from the coastline. But it does add a distinctive feature to the view (the teaser image uses an actual picture I took of Charles Island).

Knowing only those few facts about the island, you’re probably wondering how it could possibly inspire anyone to write about it. But what if I told you that you can walk out to the island? “What?” you might say. “How could you possibly walk out to an island?” Twice a day at low tide, the waters of Long Island Sound recede enough to reveal a tombolo, locally referred to as a sandbar, that goes all the way from the Silver Sands Beach in Milford to Charles Island. Okay, so things are getting a little more interesting…but still, not necessarily interesting enough to be inspiration worthy.

But what if I told you that this little, unassuming island has a very conspicuous history? It was originally called Poquehaug and was used as a summer resident for Sachem Ansantawae of the local Paugussett tribe. The island and Milford (before it was called that) were purchased by English settlers from the Paugussett Tribe in the 1639 for six coats, ten blankets, one kettle, twelve hatchets, twelve hoes, two dozen knifes, and a dozen mirrors. (For a comprehensive history of Charles Island, check out An Historical Account of Charles Island: Milford, Connecticut by Michael C. Dooling.)

Over the years, Charles Island has been a tobacco farm, a summer resort, a fish fertilizer plant, and a religious retreat site. The tobacco farm failed, the abandoned hotel ended up burning, and people have lost their lives trying to get to and from the island. All interesting, but still not the whole story.

This is where history gets fuzzy and turns to legend. Sachem Ansantawae’s daughter may have been kidnapped, causing him to curse the island. Infamous pirate Captain William Kidd (Billy, the main character of PIRATE ISLAND, tells the pirate’s history in my #CaptainKiddHistory blog series) may have buried his lost treasure there, and also maybe cursed the island. Sixteenth-century Mexican emperor Guatmozin’s Aztec treasure may have found its way to the island, a treasure that was cursed and thereby cursing the island. So there’s a chance that this tiny island in Long Island Sound has actually been cursed three times (or “thrice-cursed” as Eleanor Birch from PIRATE ISLAND would tell you).

So now do you think Charles Island is worthy of a story? Well, I certainly did. And it was the history and legends of Captain Kidd (and, at the risk of being a teeny bit spoilery, maybe one of the the others), that caught my imagination. As you can probably tell, I’ve done a lot of research about the island. I never thought Charles Island was an apt name for it, so I decided to name the island of Billy’s obsession Pirate Island.

I’ve included a lot of these historical tidbits both about the island and Kidd in the actual PIRATE ISLAND story, but I also made up some things. It was fun to play around with the legends and mix them with my own imaginings.

The PIRATE ISLAND book launch party will be held at the Milford, CT Public Library on April 17 from 2-4 pm. You can learn more about how the local lore inspired the story, play a fun fishing game and win a prize, grab a pirate cookie or a signed book, and take a picture at the photo booth!

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

For centuries, the whereabouts of Captain William Kidd’s lost pirate treasure has remained a mystery. When Billy’s best friend, Andy, proposes they look for it on nearby Pirate Island, Billy thinks it’s just another one of their crazy adventures. It’s usually Billy who ends up in trouble as a result, but he goes along for the ride…like always. The more he delves into the life and death of Kidd, the more he thinks the treasure is real and that it might be buried on the small island in Long Island Sound. Billy–nope, call him William–becomes obsessed with the captain of the same first name. He even believes he’s possessed by Kidd’s restless soul. Now he and the spirit of a long-dead pirate are leading the crazy adventure on Pirate Island. And what they find is far bigger than the treasure they imagined.

Find PIRATE ISLAND at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, and other book retailers.

Young Kids, Short Attention Span, Short Writing Time

February 20, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

Babies and young children have short attention spans, but the title of this post doesn’t refer to my kids’ attention spans; it refers to mine. I once read a quote about a mother’s attention span is only as long as that of her youngest child (I tried looking it up to cite it but couldn’t find it and, honestly, didn’t look that long 😉 ). My youngest is 7 months old, so that tells you about how long I can concentrate on any one thing. The shiny hot mess that is social media doesn’t help either!

via GIPHY

Hence why I’ve been focusing a lot of my writing time on picture books. Not easier to write than novels, but easier to feel like I’m actually making some progress on it in the shorter work sessions that fit into my current life. I’ve also been reading a ton of picture books with the kids, so I’m naturally inspired by that form.

Yet that old perpetual WIP (work-in-progress) Elixir Saved is weighing on me. I’m at the point where not working on it is always in the back of my mind. It’s different than when I’ve consciously taken a break from it because I needed to. This time I kind of feel like I’m just avoiding it. I’m in the meaty middle of the draft. I know where the story needs to go and I have a solid idea of how to get it there, but it’s gonna take a lot of work. So, yeah, I should probably make it a priority to work on it, instead of finding new things to work on.

Not that I’m going to stop working on my picture books. I just think I need a better balance. Isn’t is that what it always comes down to in pretty much everything in life: finding the right balance.

One last thing. I’m also in the market for a picture book critique partner. I’ve got plenty of writing buddies to exchange novels with, but not so much when it comes to picture books. I’d like someone with a little bit of experience in the area, but you you certainly don’t have to be an expert. Send me a message if you’re interested in seeing if we’re a good match!