Deborah Wiles on Understanding Revision #scbwiwwa

Reported by Brenda Winter Hansen

After Deborah Wiles fantastic keynote Saturday morning, her breakout session, Understanding Revision, was packed to standing room only. Deborah began by crowd sourcing with the question, What is revision? She encouraged us to re-examine our process every time and to pay particular attention to reading like a writer to aid in revision. Ask yourself, HOW did that work?

Deborah then took apart three "perfect" picture books (Car Wash, The Paperboy, and Owl Babies) to show how every story should work (from picture book to novel). What they showed:

-Don't be afraid to use fragments of speech
-Ignore any prohibitive things, but know what you can't ignore
-Pay attention to language; make sure it's appropriate to your age, genre, etc
-Use foreshadowing judiciously
-Let your writing infer, DON'T spell everything out
-Bring the story full circle for a satisfactory ending

Other tips:
-Before starting a project, it helps to focus on "one clear moment in time." Writing a focus sentence about that helps keep your story in check.
-Make sure every scene, chapter, and story has a beginning, middle, and end.
-Remember that every emotion has an action.
-Make dialogue work for you. Its three jobs are: characterization, providing information, and pushing the story forward. If it's not doing this, then cut it.

Deborah Wiles Keynote #scbwiwwa

Reported by Allyson Valentine Schrier:

In her opening remarks at the SCBWI WWA Book to the Future Conference, Deborah Wiles shared with her listeners that story comes from three places: What you know, What you feel and What you can imagine.

Deborah, who is never without a notebook to record everything from grocery lists to the unfolding of daily life, encouraged the audience of rapt writers to Ask Questions and Be Curious. Ask questions and produce lists that will allow you to dig deeper into your own personal history. Deborah commented that this capture of the narrative of one’s life should be the backbone of one’s fiction.

Alont with photographic images from her past, Deborah flashed on the screen a list of Maslow’s  Five Basic Human Needs:

• To love and be loved
• To be safe
• To belong
• To do, have purpose/matter
• To understand

She made the point that the best books she has ever read deals with all five of these needs, and in her own writing she strives to address these.

Finally, Deborah asked the question: If you could only tell one question, what would it be? She shared her own long and twisting path to publication, finishing with a description of her latest work, a totally cool fiction/documentary book about the 1960s.

2011 Conference Series- Faculty Q & A with Deborah Wiles

Happy Friday All! The pre-conference fun starts today! To add to the fun here's the last Faculty Q & A from our 20th Annual Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference Faculty! Enjoy these answers from Keynote Speaker Deborah Wiles. Deborah will be our first keynote speaker on Saturday, and you can read her Conference Bio here.

What is the best and worst advice you were given when you started in children's literature?
Best advice: "Ignore any prohibitive thing and just write."
Worst: "That won't sell." (whatever "that" is)

What advice would you give now to others?
Ignore any prohibitive thing and just write.

What was your favorite book as a child? And now?
MR. DOG by Margaret Wise Brown. I wanted to belong to myself, like Crispins Crispian did. I'm still working on it.

Which authors/illustrators do you feel are most influencing current trends in children's literature?
I am so not qualified to answer this! In addition to ignoring any prohibitive thing, I'm keeping my head down in my own work.

As you know, those who are in children's literature tend to have lengthy discussions on the important topic of snacks (usually a baked good). What's your favorite snack?
Ha! I love clementines.

Attendees are often nervous to meet you at a conference. What, if anything, makes you nervous about being part of the faculty?
I want to do a good job and offer something meaningful that others can take away with them and put to good use in their own work.

What do you like most about your job? What do you like least?
I like the freedom I have to create my life and work. That can also work against me, if I'm not careful.

What do you most want our attendees to know about you?
I'm shy by nature. Speaking scares me but I love it and do well, once I begin. Hugs help afterward when I'm standing there, dazed.

I can't wait to hear what Deborah has to share on Saturday! Hope to see you all tonight at the Pre-Conference Kid Lit Drink Night (you're invited whether you're attending the conference or not!).

2011 Conference Series: Keynote Speaker Deborah Wiles

It's time for another 2011 Conference Series post! I'd like to introduce one of our four fabulous keynote speakers Deborah Wiles. Deborah is the author of four MG novels, and two picture books; including her newest novel COUNTDOWN, book one of The Sixties Trilogy for Young Readers.

Deborah has taught writing workshops to thousands of children and teachers all over the country (check out this interview with the Frederick News Post). Here's another interview from Harcourt Trade Publishers, where she talks about creating her characters. Deborah says she learned to write by reading, and also holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College. Visit Deborah's blog, and website to find more about her! Her website has a very interesting Life Notice, which gives some insight into Deborah's life, and work. A fun fact about Deborah is that she lives in Atlanta, where she grows the world's most beautiful zinnias.