2014 MN SCBWI Conference Highlights II

KellyLightNPeepy

Kelly Light and Peepy

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Peepy with Lisa Yee and me.

StephenShaskanNPeepy

Stephen Shaskan and Peepy

Trisha Speed Shaskan and Peepy

Trisha Speed Shaskan and Peepy

The 2014 MN SCBWI Conference brimmed with colorful characters. In her keynote “Schlemiel, Schlimazel, Give Us Any Chance, We’ll Take It,” KellyLight, creator of the Louise Loves Art series and illustrator of Elvis and the Underdogs and The Quirks, invited participants on her Laverne and Shirley-inspired  journey toward children’s book superstardom, encouraging us to take chances and push forward.
“I hope my story shows other SCBWI members that believing in yourself, along with a little goofy use of absolutely anything that helps to keep you going . . . can get you down that road to publication . . . maybe a bit bumped around and nauseous . . . But well on your way to realizing your dream.”  

See more at kellylight.com.

CandiceGrace

Candice Keimig and Grace Hansen, ABDO Publishing

After an  ABDO Publishing  workshop by Candice Keimig, Art Director, and Grace Hansen, Editorial Marketing Coordinator, Lisa Yee, author of the Millicent Min and Bobby middle grade series presented her keynote, “From Slush Pile to Best-Seller: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”

The realism in Lisa Yee’s work stems from her inspirations, real live people. Yee’s son Benny inspired Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) and Bobby the Brave (Sometimes). Marley Sandelski first drew notice as a supporting character in Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time. But, when he became an inadvertent stop-bullying ambassador for real kids, Marley earned his own book as the protagonist in Warp Speed. The Kidney Hypothetical–How to Ruin Your Life in Seven Days came about when Yee’s daughter took a dangerous dare. Learn more about Lisa Yee, the 2014 Sid Fleischman Humor Award-winning author, at lisayee.com

2014 MN SCBWI Conference Intensives

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SCBWI Friend Shannon Berg

CharactersBruceNQ

Bruce Hale and Quinette Cook, SCBWI Regional Advisor

Sunday intensives by Bruce Hale, Carter Hasegawa, Lisa Yee, and Kelly Light proved to be a bittersweet opportunity–like being told you can only have one Lays Potato Chip.

I’d registered for Bruce Hale’s intensive, “Funny Business: The 7 1/2 Secrets of Writing Humor.”

Then I waffled, thinking, “Really, isn’t a sense of humor a natural gift either you have or you don’t? Maybe I made a mistake.”

Turns out I could have used another hour/week/year of Hale’s instruction. Funny can be dissected and analyzed.

Three Funny Business Don’ts:

  • Don’t use topical humor
  • Don’t try to get too cutesy.
  • Don’t telegraph your jokes

Three Funny Business Do’s:HumorComesFromCharacter600

  • Do respect your audience.
  • Do give them the humor they like.
  • Do let them finish the punchline.
  • Do work in threes. (Oops.)

For more writing tips, see BruceHaleWritingTips.com.IfWeAreNotFunny

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.
~ Mark Twain

My conference highlight was being selected for the 2014-2015 Writer Mentorship. Mentor  Trisha Speed Shaskan, I won't take this blessing lightly. (No pun intended, Kelly Light.) Congratulations, Illustrator Mentorship winner Joanna Ward! You'll love working with Illustrator Mentor Nina Crittenden.

My conference highlight was being selected for the 2014-2015 Writer Mentorship.  Mentor Trisha Speed Shaskan, I won’t take this blessing lightly. (No pun intended, Kelly Light.) Congratulations, Illustrator Mentorship winner Joanna Hunt! You’ll love working with Illustrator Mentor Nina Crittenden.

 

 

 

2014-2015 MN SCBWI Conference Highlights I

2014-2015MNSCBWIConference

L to R: Jessica Freeburg, Celia Waldock, Quinette Freeburg, and Alicia Schwab

L to R: Jessica Freeburg, Celia Waldock, Quinette Cook, and Alicia Schwab

Thanks to the leadership and volunteers of the Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators (SCBWI) for coordinating a fabulous 2014-2015 conference.
Event organizers usually hear more from participants about technology glitches and rest room malfunctions than when the life-bettering experiences they orchestrate. I hope that wasn’t the case this October.

Jessica and Quinette pictured with SCBWI member, Cynthia Weishapple

Jessica and Quinette pictured with SCBWI member, Cynthia Weishapple

These are the unsung leaders:

  • Quinette Cook – Regional Advisor
  • Jessica Freeburg – Assistant Regional Advisor
  • Alicia Schwab – Regional Illustrator Coordinator
  • Nina Crittendon – Registration Coordinator
  • Celia Waldock – Mentorship Coordinator
Alicia, Nina, and conference volunteer and MN SCBWI Banner Contest winner Sara Weingartner

Alicia, Nina, and conference volunteer and MN SCBWI Banner Contest winner Sara Weingartner

I don’t think any toilets overflowed, but our cups sure did, with professional guidance,  reinvigorated vision, and fellowship with other writers and illustrators.

Saturday, October 11, keynotes, workshops, and manuscript reviews were topped off by book signings, a reception, and a portfolio showcase.

BruceHale

Bruce Hale

Bruce Hale, author of over 30 books for young readers, including the award-winning Chet Gecko Mysteries, School for S.P.I.E.S, and the Clark the Shark picture books, led the charge with Writer’s Mind, Warrior’s Mind: Winning the War of Art.

Hale instructed us with humor and inspiration, quoting the likes of  E. L. Doctorow: “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” And Steven Pressfield: “Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. This second, we can sit down and do our work.”

Bruce Hale’s checklist for victory:

  1. Start good habits.
  2. Write like your hair is on fire.
  3. Think it through, take the big view.
  4. Teamwork makes the dream work.
  5. Face the iron tiger.
  6. Beat resistance with persistence.

See more at BruceHaleWritingTips.com

Carter Hasegawa

Carter Hasegawa

EmilyClement

Emily Clement

Saturday workshops included Carter Hasegawa, Assistant Editor, Candlewick Press, presenting Researching the Fantastic; and Emily Clement, Associate Editor, Arthur A. Levine Books presenting Love at First Sight: The Great First Page.

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MN SCBWI Conference Volunteer, Mark Ceilley, introducing Emily Clement

Since the workshops occurred simultaneously, I only have notes on Emily Clement’s workshop.

When Clement  receives a manuscript she asks herself these questions: Does it evoke emotion? Does it have that little something extra? Does it make her feel something? Does it exude authority and confidence, a language and style that intrigues, and expectations, hints, or promises?

Some of her examples of great first pages:

  • Lisa Yee’s Millicent Min, Girl Genius
  • Bobbie Pyron’s Lucky Strike
  • Kate Milford’s Greenglass House
  • Nikki Loftin’s Nightingale Nest

Look for more conference highlights about Lisa Yee, Kelly Light, and ABDO Publishing in upcoming posts. In the meantime, check out my 2014 MN SCBWI Conference Photo Album where you’ll see the photos from this story and more.

Ann Page, me, Bruce Hale, and Louise Aamodt

Ann Page, me, Bruce Hale, and Louise Aamodt

2013 MN SCBWI Conference Tidbits

Quinette Cook, Regional Advisor, and Jessica Freeburg, Assistant Regional Advisor, of MN SCBWI

Thanks to the conference organizers: MN SCBWI Regional Advisor Quinette Cook and Assistant Regional Advisor Jessica Freeburg.

It’s been 16 days since the 2013 Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)  conference and my tiny brain is still smoking from over-stimulation.

 

Tidbits of wisdom:

  • William Alexander, keynote speaker and author of Goblin Secrets, reminded,”It’s not about you … It’s the story … How well do you serve the story?” Alexander  immersed himself in storytelling as an actor before he became an author. He started out romantically letting the story unfold,  but he discovered that method to be “wildly inefficient” because he would often have to change his beginning to match his new ending. Now he uses outlines, thinking of them as loose travel itineraries with a beginning and an end–and a few crazy side trips.
  • Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary, showered us with snippets of reality.
    Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary "Art is a terrible way to make a living."

    Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary “Art is a terrible way to make a living.”

    “Art is a terrible way to make a living … Name your favorite book and your best friend will hate that book. Art is subjective. People are going to hate what you do.” He advised us to reach into our souls and slap it on the page. For him to represent a book, it needs to scream, “This is a must have.”
    “Research to find the right agent,” he implored,  comparing the relationship to a marriage, because the agent will 1. mess with your babies; 2. control the purse strings; and 3. get into your legal matters.

     

  • Dan Yaccarino, keynote speaker and author/illustrator of Doug Unplugged, Oswald, The Backyardigans, and Willa’s Wild Life, first ripped marketing labels off of packaging to study and draw. Because of his astounding achievement rate, it was tempting to discount Mr. Yaccarino as a freak of nature who wouldn’t understand the plight of the struggling artist. But he won our approval when he disclosed that for every one success there are 12 failures. He says he owes his victories to organization, determination, and persistence. He urged artists to give themselves permission to do the work that makes them happy. “Be brave!
  • Nathan Gassman, art director for Capstone Press, advised illustrators to “think professionally … Seek consistency in your art, branding yourselves so that we (art directors) know we can go to you with a certain style. He recommended Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman and Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya Angelo as examples where art and word mesh well. He warns that bunnies are cliché unless you turn the character upside down. Gassman’s non-cliché bunny reference: one haunted by mutant carrots (Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown ).
  • I wasn’t able to attend Minnesota illustrator Jennifer Bell‘s presentation, but we can learn more about her on her official website. She has Illustrated over a dozen children’s books, including, My Pen Pal, Santa and Little Dog, Lost.
  • Annie Stone, Assistant Editor, Harlequin Teen, has a special place in her heart for the Chronicles of Narnia. Stone said the appeal of a great story is power in humanity and protagonists who possess humility, innocence, faith, and flaws. “It’s hard to get behind someone who’s too perfect. It’s their failures– their overcoming of weaknesses that’ll make them heroes.” Clichés: female protagonists who aren’t pretty but everyone falls in love with them and the big reveal where the parents are of magical descent.
  • Marsha Qualey, a Hamline University MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults  program professor and author of several young adult novels, including Thin Ice, gave an intensive entitled Angles, Facets, and POV. It was my favorite part of the conference because she led us in hands-on group and individual writing exercises. “Editors can’t work with you like they used to,” Qualey commiserated. Lucky for us, we can take a class.
  • Marsha Wilson Chall also teaches for the Hamline MFA program and has authored eleven children’s books, including Pick a Pup. I wasn’t able to attend her presentation, but I intend to look into the Hamline program. Even an old dog like me can learn new tricks (like not writing clichés).

Thanks to organizers, Quinette Cook, Jessica Freeburg, Alicia Schwab, and Nina Crittenberg, and all volunteers for putting on a fabulous 2013 conference. Your devotion to the success of regional book writers and illustrators reaches far beyond the competitive marketing arena and into the minds of children everywhere. That’s profound, when you think about it.

2012 SCBWI-MN Conference-David Small & Sarah Stewart

Could there be a cuter couple?

The 2012 Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Conference proved to be an ah-ha event.  The high”lights”, endearing keynote speakers, David Small and Sarah Stewart,  captivated us with their devotion to one another and their genuine interest in the dreams of novices, like me, who looked to them for encouragement.

To launch the conference David bared his soul with a gut-wrenching presentation about his graphic novel,  National Book Award finalist, Stitches. The  bestselling memoir confronts his nightmarish childhood under the care of unstable caretakers unwilling — or perhaps unequipped — to express parental love for him, his brother, or each other. Small called his family a “long conga line of generational dysfunction.”

Why publish such a disturbing piece after a lifetime of success writing and illustrating conventional, light-hearted children’s books?  David’s answer: For his own well-being.  As a middle aged adult he still suffered.  The reoccurring by-product of his youth: Post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer of the thyroid.  To cope, he reflected on his past as his own psychoanalyst and used his art to fill the gaping  hole of neglect in his heart.  He called this process “narrative” or “cartoon medicine”.

See and read Small’s jarring, line-drawn account in his NEW YORK TIMES bestselling novel, STITCHES.

 

 

Favorite David Small 2012 MN SCBWI conference quotes:

  • “Drawing, for me, is like breathing.”
  • “It seemed right, since my life was wordless to make my book as wordless as possible.”
  • “My trash can is a good friend.”
  • “Having a contract is like having a flamethrower on your butt.”
  • “Keep the author and artist as far apart as possible.”
  • “A good book calls up good pictures in everybody’s mind.”

Sarah Stewart wrapped up the eventful day describing the co-creation of The Quiet Place — Sarah, as author, and David, illustrator.  Sarah confessed that she writes to save her life as she knows it — and to keep the demons away.  She recommended that we unplug ourselves and go to that slow, quiet place to meet ourselves.

  • “The writing is a muscle and you have to keep it taut and firm.  Get it very tight — every word a world.”
  • “You know we can change the world one reader — one word at a time.”
  • “I hope you have a partner or a friend who doesn’t think you’re crazy.”
  • “Good criticism is what you already told yourself, but you thought you were going to get away with.”

    Sarah’s beloved Richard Bear

  • “Do you still have something from your childhood? It’s important for you to have something from your youth.”

As a gift to Sarah, David incorporated her beloved childhood companion, Richard Bear, throughout her children’s books.

Hidden in The Quiet Place, you’ll find another loving bonus from David to Sarah: an exquisite fold-out  illustration — an elaborate quiet place for Sarah’s protagonist Isabella —  a colorful contrast from the black and white drawings depicting the starkness of David’s youth.

Can you find Richard Bear?
Sarah Stewart beamed as David opened her book THE QUIET PLACE to reveal his elaborate love note. “David Small gave me a gift of a gatefold,” she said. “Gives me goosebumps, Darling.”

More than one audience member wiped away tears as Sarah expressed her heartfelt thankfulness for having David Small for a spouse.  “I’m still in awe,” Sarah said. “It’s like making magic explode.”

The blessings go both ways.  Sarah seems a seven/seventy-fold gift to David as well — a warm, loving, and sweet recompense for the cold, loveless, bitter life he once lived.

Thanks, David and Sarah, for your candid mentorship and kindness. And, thanks to the MNSCBWI Conference organizers: Quinette Cook, Jessica FreeburgAlicia Schwab, Celia WaldockCatherine Glancy, Kristi Herro and all volunteers for once again producing a positive, memorable  event!

My next post: Wisdom from conference speaker, Agent Linda Pratt of Wernick & Pratt Agency.