Orcas Island Writers Festival

The Orcas Island Writers Festival will be held this year from September 17-20.

Deb Lund will be teaching a picture book writing workshop on September 17th.

Ellen Lesser, a MFA instructor from Vermont College, will be teaching a fiction
workshop (suitable for YA) on Sept 18-20th.

There will be other workshops, events, and performances as well.

Information can be found at
www.orcasislandwritersfestival.com<http://www.orcasislandwritersfestival.com/>

Please note: workshop submissions must be received by Aug. 25, 2009

Calendar: Upcoming Events

For additional information regarding the following events, please see the event descriptions in our calendar to the left.

Ann Haywood Leal: ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER
Thu, Aug 13
7:00pm-9:00pm
Village Books in Bellingham

Ann Haywood Leal: ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER
Fri, Aug 14
1:00pm-3:00pm
University Book Store, U district Seattle

Hena Khan and Julie Paschkis: NIGHT OF THE MOON: A MUSLIM HOLIDAY STORY
Sat, Aug 15
2:00pm-4:00pm
Ballard Public Library, 5614 22nd Ave. NW, Seattle, WA 98107

Sy Montgomery: SAVING THE GHOST OF THE MOUNTAIN
Sun, Aug 16
2:00pm-4:00pm
Secret Garden Books, Ballard

Revision Tips Galore from the Summer Revision Smackdown

If you missed the Summer Revision Smackdown at the blogs of Holly Cupala and Jolie Stekly, don't fret - here is the lowdown on the fabulous array of revision tips they gathered from the cream of the author and illustrator crop (plus a few publishing experts!):

• Jill S. Alexander, YA Historical Author, on revising to immerse your reader in the mosh of your story
• Molly Blaisdell*, Picture Book, Middle Grade, NF, and YA Author, on analyzing your manuscript for revision
• Nathan Bransford, Curtis Brown Agent, on his Revision Checklist
• Janet Lee Carey*, Fantasy & Middle Grade Author, on the Dream Mind and the Day Mind
• Bruce Coville, Middle Grade and YA Author, on pruning out overused words and phrases for a tighter manuscript
• Sarah Beth Durst, YA Fantasy Author, on powering through first drafts and revising one aspect at a time
• Tina Ferraro, YA Author, on organizing the revision strategy
• Liz Gallagher*, YA Author, on becoming a stranger to your work
• Stacey Goldblatt, YA Author, on revision must-haves (hint: bulletin board, playlist, time to read)
• Lorie Ann Grover*, YA Verse Novel and Board Book Author, on giving your book the gift of one day
• Brent Hartinger*, YA Author, on setting your work aside and letting the subconsious take a crack at revision problems
• Kjersten Anna Hayes*, Illustrator, on brainstorming, parachuting, and embracing the spirit of play
• Justina Chen Headley*, YA Author, on being gentle with yourself but hard on your work
• Kelly Holmes, Author and YAnnabe blogger, on creating a plot board
• Carrie Jones, YA & YA Fantasy Author, on steps to revise your Stupid Novel Masterpiece
• Beth Kephart, YA & Adult Author, on reading and rewriting for authenticity
• Kirby Larson*, YA Historical Author, on taking walks and letting your mind make unexpected connections
• Realm Lovejoy*, Graphic Novel Author/Illustrator, on writing, surfing, and "just do it" mode
• Vivian Mahoney, Writer and HipWriterMama blogger, on breaking your project down into manageable chunks
• Robin Mellom, Writer and Disco Mermaid, on notes for the second draft
• Edward Necarsulmer IV, Children's Director at McIntosh & Otis Literary Agency, on how to "wow" him with a submission
• Catherine Onder, Editor at HarperCollins, on keeping your prose immediate and direct
• Darcy Pattison, Picture Book, Middle Grade, and Novel Metamorphosis Author, on making opening pages immediate and active
• Mitali Perkins, YA Author & between-cultures blogger, on BIC and other strageties to get through the very hard first draft to revision
• Paul Schmidt*, Illustrator, on striking the balance between perfection and sponteneity
• Joni Sensel*, YA and Middle Grade Fantasy Author, on creating tension by adding interruptions and diversions
• Emily Wing Smith, YA Author, on staring down self-doubt
• Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, Middle Grade Author, on using Darcy Pattison's shrunken manuscript technique
• Melissa Walker, YA Author, on just saying "no" to too much revision
• Paula Yoo, YA Author, on cutting the final paragraph for a crisper manuscript
  

Other cool stuff:

The original SRS winner: Martha Brockenbrough*
CocoaStomp by Jaime Temairik*
Inspiration from around the kidlitosphere
Jolie's Monday Moments writing prompts*
Revision Conversations We Can't Afford to Miss

Hopefully these tips will tide you over until next year's Summer Revision Smackdown (begins June 1st). We hope to see you!

(*local WWA folks - our own treasure-trove of experts!)

Headed to SCBWI in LA!

I won't be posting too much in the next few days--the SCBWI national conference in L.A. will eat all my time.

Meanwhile, head on over to CocoaStomp for Jaime Temairik's gut-busting interview with illustrator Dan Yaccarino.

Jolie Stekly offers a Cuppa Chat with Karen Cushman, and she also wants to know your questions about the L.A. conference--so do ask them!

For the rest of the SCBWI conference blogging team, visit:
Alice Pope (she has a great interview with Kathleen Duey)
Lee Wind
Suzanne Young
Paula Yoo

You can follow conference chatter on Twitter, too.

SCBWI in LA: Jealousy!

Alas, I'm not going to the SCBWI Conference in LA this year, but last year's was one of the best I've attended...!

So if you're not going, either - or even if you are - keep up with the goodies at the brand new SCBWI Conference Blog. Some highlights: an interview with Ellen Hopkins, Keynote Speaker interviews, and pics from the NY Conference.

Plus, you can follow the SCBWI team twittering:

To follow Alice Pope on Twitter, click here.

To follow Jaime Temairik on Twitter, click here.

To follow Jolie Stekly on Twitter, click here.

To follow Paula Yoo on Twitter, click here.

To follow Suzanne Young on Twitter, click here.

To follow Lee Wind, click here.

Follow SCBWI by clicking here, where you'll find links to all SCBWI Conference Blog posts.

We hope to hear about your experiences, too!

Time to sign up for another year of regional programming

SCBWI WWA’s 2009-2010 season will begin in September as usual, but we’re getting a 24-hour jump on the fun: This year, our Professional Series Meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of each month, instead of Wednesdays as has been our habit.

We will continue to meet on the Seattle Pacific University campus at Demaray 150, but we’re moving our meetings to Tuesdays to accommodate the university’s schedule. Mark your calendars now.

Registration is open now--don't forget to sign up for programming!

Apply for the Inside Story

SCBWI Western Washington would love to celebrate your new book at The Inside Story, a twice-yearly salon to celebrate the new books of local authors and illustrators.

If you have a book coming out on a Fall 2009 list, you might be eligible to apply for the Fall Inside Story, which will be on Wednesday, Oct 28, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Third Place Books (17171 Bothell Way NE in Lake Forest Park).

The application is now available and will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis (with priority given to SCBWI members or anyone who has signed up for 2009-2010 SCBWI Western Washington regional programming.)

The DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS AUGUST 20, 2009. Please see the website for eligibility details and additional information.

Application instructions: The application is a PDF form, and you’ll need Acrobat Reader to open, complete, and submit it by e-mail. Open the file, fill out the form, and click Submit in the upper right. You’ll be asked to enter your name and e-mail address. That’s it!

(Dana Sullivan did our illustration.)

New Barbara Jean Hicks book

Barbara Jean Hicks has a new book out on August 11:

She's getting nice reviews, and here's a link to a podcast on Just One More Book.

Helpful plot tips

Daily Writing Tips has a collection of tips for plotting:

1. Read one of the many books about plot, for example 20 Master Plots and how to build them by Ronald B. Tobias.

2. Describe the story you plan to write in one sentence. If you can’t say what your book is about in one sentence, you don’t have a clear enough idea of what you’re trying to do.

3. Decide what the main character wants more than anything else in life. The plot will grow out of this desire.

For the rest, visit the site.

New Yorker blog post on worst children's books debate

The debate got nasty, so I didn't link to this. But the New Yorker pulled out an interesting comment from LeVar Burton, Reading Rainbow host (and Star Trek: The Next Generation fave).

He doesn't like The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, and he has an interesting reason why. Click here to read it.

Writing challenges: 500/1,000 words a day

Debbie Ridpath Ohi, who offers daily diversions for writers, has two challenges. If you want to write 500 words a day, click here. For the 1,000-word-a-day challenge, click here.

Fantastic Mr. Fox trailer

This one's for the adaptation of the Roald Dahl book.

@ Yahoo! Video