What am I working
on/writing?
My focus is Picture Books.
At any given time I have about three stories that are at the forefront
of my mind. The Primary is a non-fiction
about working animals. The story
balances the goal of the animal, from their point of view, along with the facts
about the animal’s job and training. My goal is to keep it under 800 words
My fiction works are funny, silly, and sparse. My secondary
focus is a story of a child who refuses to have a pet, even though his parents
want one. Keeping it under 300 words. I love Picture Books for their ability to
weave an amazing story without any wasted words.
How does my
work/writing differ from others of its genre?
I am an eclectic person and my writing style is the
same. I like to look at things from
other angles. I want to know both sides
of the story. I like to try different techniques. I am comfortable looking into
darker issues, like loss, and equally comfortable acting like a clown. My
characters are willing to do the same.
Why do I write what I
do?
I’ve always been a dreamer.
Long car rides could give me the time to build entire worlds in my head.
As a child, books were my safe haven, they were constant. No matter where you moved, there is a
library. No matter what you are curious about, there is a book written on the
subject. Books can help you escape.
Books can help you find yourself.
I write for children because I want to inspire a child to
love books. I want to create stories
that are fun, entertaining, engaging, and if the child learns something, they
don’t even notice that they were learning. Non-fiction can be entertaining too!
I write to, hopefully, make children happy.
How does my writing
process work?
My process is simple. I dream. My best ideas come on quiet
Saturday mornings. I listen to birds, watch my dogs play, and just let my mind wander
before my family is up and about. Then
an idea starts to form… sometimes.
Other times ideas just pop up like stray animals. You
weren’t expecting to find them, but now that it followed you home, you have to
keep it, clean it up, and show it off.
After the idea hits, I like to hand write rough drafts. My mind works a little slower when writing on
paper and this helps a scatterbrain like me focus.
Sometimes there are web diagrams or lists to help get my
ideas in order. Other times the words flow like candy from a piñata.
Next, I enter it onto my computer and
edit/change/add/whatever as I go.
Then rewrite…cut… revise… wait….wait some more… look at it
again, while trying to be objective… hit head against desk a few times…love
it/hate it… edit again.
Read to my family, for only the most obvious corrections and
the needed pats on the back that family gives you even when you suck
aren’t quite there yet.
Finally, to the critique groups! This step is so
important. They will find the missing
commas, the ‘there’ that was supposed to be ‘their’ and the apple pie desert
that spell check didn’t tell you was there (Unless you wanted a barren apple
pie). But more importantly they will help you with pacing, character
development, letting you know if the words you paint with created the picture
you were going for. Critique partners are vital to getting your work
agent/editor ready.
Want to know more?
Odd Facts:
I don’t do everything in the same order. Sometimes, I like to revise backwards so that
I truly look at each paragraph separate from the story (I doubt I could do this
for a novel, but for Picture Books it works).
I am involved in more than one critique group and not afraid
to hand my work to anyone willing to read and literally say, “Tell me what you
hate about this, so I know what to fix.”
I get so lost in books that I walk into things while
reading. If you aren't reading, then you
probably aren’t really writing either. They go hand in hand.
I frequently write in a Snuggy. Yes- a Snuggy. It is warm and I'm always cold. Don't Judge. :-)
My debut Picture Book DONNA IS EVIL will be out next month with MeeGenius. Check it out.
That's it for my fun game. Now I tag Eugenia Sozzi. You're it!
.jpg)
