Rutgers One-on-One notes
On Saturday, I spent the day at the Busch Campus Center of Rutgers University, in Piscataway, New Jersey. I started my day in bed with the lovely Angela DeGroot, a local writing friend. Minds out of the gutters, folks-I was sharing a hotel room with Angela and my friend Colleen Rowan Kosinski, and there were three bodies and two beds. And Colleen claims to be a kicker. So.
We got to the conference far too early, and were on hand to welcome the first organizer to arrive. At least we weren't late, like, say, the bus with nearly all the mentors on it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I had breakfast while hobnobbing with some wonderful writers, including (but of course not limited to) Eric Luper (eluper); Leslie Muir, whom I'd already met in LA; Debbi Michiko Florence (d-michiko-f); Sudipta Bardhan Quallen (who had her new picture book, The Mine-o-saur, along. And boy, did I meet a kid who needs that book yesterday! But I digress.); Audrey Vernick; Wendy Lynn Decker (bedazzled2); Brenda Sturgis, who likes to keep her identity a secret (at least on her business cards!), and who keeps a Blogger blog; Ena Jones; Anne Heltzel; Bette Anne Rieth (who has a story posted at Highlights.com); Christine Blacke; Kit Willihnganz; Judith Palermo; and Lynne Marie Pisano, to name a few.
Paul Acampora and me at Moravian College, Sept. 2007
Then I listened to a very rushed speech by Paul Acampora (acampora). His speech had been delayed, you see, until the mentors arrived, but they came late, and so he had to try to make up for lost time. Paul handled it with grace and wit and charm, and shared a few questions he'd had as a mentee, and the answers he'd received:
How does plot work? "Stop worrying about plot. Writers worry about developing great characters that live beyond the borders of the book." [KRF: And really, aren't those the greatest books, the ones that stick with you, because something from the book follows you around (usually a character)?]
How do you write a novel? "Pretend there's a plot and keep on going."
Next up, an official welcome to mentors and mentees alike by Vivian Gray, one of the founders of the Rutgers Conference. I quoted Vivian in yesterday's quoteskimming post.
My one-on-one time was spent with the marvellous Lynne Polvino from Clarion Books. We spent a great deal of time talking about my Jane project, and she gave me some really helpful input, a great deal of encouragement, and she added her name to my list of "editors who want to see the Jane Austen project when it's done." But did Lynne's awesomeness stop there? No, it did not. At her request, I'll be sending her a picture book MS or two. But wait! There's more! Lynne exceeded the bounds of common mentor courtesy by introducing me to an editor from a completely different house who edits easy readers and chapter books, because she knew I had one (okay, two) already written. Said editor can't wait to see my easy reader. Squee!
Stop! Panel time! (And if you think I was doing the Hammer dance just then, you are so right!!)
Every time I see
a panel worth its hype
There's eds. to the left
And writers on the right.
Sometimes they don't always
Give you great tips,
But this one had some tidbits
that just won't quit.
I heard information
From Henkin to Murphay
It's research, go blogging, catch wild monkeys, keep writing,
and the rest can go and play.
Okay, kidding. Sort of. The panel was made up of Jim Murphy, who urged writers to do their market research early on, and perhaps save themselves a bit of heartache later; Betsy Bird, aka librarian goddess/Fuse #8, who said to go a-blogging; Tom Yezerski, who noted that if "we play today, we win today"; Alyssa Eisner Henkin, who used the panel theme "Pearls of Wisdom" extremely effectively. She presented a number of movie quotes to set off her various points. My favorite (and an explanation for part of my bad rap, above): "If you want to catch the wild monkey, you have to climb the tree" from Crossing Delancey; and Nancy Mercado, editor from Dial Books for Young Readers, who directed her advice to some of the younger editors in attendance (key points: trust your instincts; editors are only readers; don't rush a book; "it all matters-all experience matters in the end").
Lunch was followed by a five-on-five panel. I lucked out with four editors plus an agent (who was a former children's editor), and three other aspiring writers. Yes. One of the mentees didn't show up and/or left early; shocking but true. No new info here (sorry, I've been to a lot of conferences!). And then we listened to Ann M. Martin speak. Yes, that Ann Martin. The one who wrote all those Babysitter's Club books, and is currently writing the Main Street series, to say nothing of a number of other individual titles. Ann's advice? "Be an eclectic reader." Seems like a terrific adjunct to the adage that writers should write what they know (or, as Jodi Picoult once put it, "write what you are willing to learn.")
Don't forget to check out the auction of snowflakes over at the Robert's Snow site, and please check the daily links over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
We got to the conference far too early, and were on hand to welcome the first organizer to arrive. At least we weren't late, like, say, the bus with nearly all the mentors on it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I had breakfast while hobnobbing with some wonderful writers, including (but of course not limited to) Eric Luper (eluper); Leslie Muir, whom I'd already met in LA; Debbi Michiko Florence (d-michiko-f); Sudipta Bardhan Quallen (who had her new picture book, The Mine-o-saur, along. And boy, did I meet a kid who needs that book yesterday! But I digress.); Audrey Vernick; Wendy Lynn Decker (bedazzled2); Brenda Sturgis, who likes to keep her identity a secret (at least on her business cards!), and who keeps a Blogger blog; Ena Jones; Anne Heltzel; Bette Anne Rieth (who has a story posted at Highlights.com); Christine Blacke; Kit Willihnganz; Judith Palermo; and Lynne Marie Pisano, to name a few.
Paul Acampora and me at Moravian College, Sept. 2007
Then I listened to a very rushed speech by Paul Acampora (acampora). His speech had been delayed, you see, until the mentors arrived, but they came late, and so he had to try to make up for lost time. Paul handled it with grace and wit and charm, and shared a few questions he'd had as a mentee, and the answers he'd received:
How does plot work? "Stop worrying about plot. Writers worry about developing great characters that live beyond the borders of the book." [KRF: And really, aren't those the greatest books, the ones that stick with you, because something from the book follows you around (usually a character)?]
How do you write a novel? "Pretend there's a plot and keep on going."
Next up, an official welcome to mentors and mentees alike by Vivian Gray, one of the founders of the Rutgers Conference. I quoted Vivian in yesterday's quoteskimming post.
My one-on-one time was spent with the marvellous Lynne Polvino from Clarion Books. We spent a great deal of time talking about my Jane project, and she gave me some really helpful input, a great deal of encouragement, and she added her name to my list of "editors who want to see the Jane Austen project when it's done." But did Lynne's awesomeness stop there? No, it did not. At her request, I'll be sending her a picture book MS or two. But wait! There's more! Lynne exceeded the bounds of common mentor courtesy by introducing me to an editor from a completely different house who edits easy readers and chapter books, because she knew I had one (okay, two) already written. Said editor can't wait to see my easy reader. Squee!
Stop! Panel time! (And if you think I was doing the Hammer dance just then, you are so right!!)
Every time I see
a panel worth its hype
There's eds. to the left
And writers on the right.
Sometimes they don't always
Give you great tips,
But this one had some tidbits
that just won't quit.
I heard information
From Henkin to Murphay
It's research, go blogging, catch wild monkeys, keep writing,
and the rest can go and play.
Okay, kidding. Sort of. The panel was made up of Jim Murphy, who urged writers to do their market research early on, and perhaps save themselves a bit of heartache later; Betsy Bird, aka librarian goddess/Fuse #8, who said to go a-blogging; Tom Yezerski, who noted that if "we play today, we win today"; Alyssa Eisner Henkin, who used the panel theme "Pearls of Wisdom" extremely effectively. She presented a number of movie quotes to set off her various points. My favorite (and an explanation for part of my bad rap, above): "If you want to catch the wild monkey, you have to climb the tree" from Crossing Delancey; and Nancy Mercado, editor from Dial Books for Young Readers, who directed her advice to some of the younger editors in attendance (key points: trust your instincts; editors are only readers; don't rush a book; "it all matters-all experience matters in the end").
Lunch was followed by a five-on-five panel. I lucked out with four editors plus an agent (who was a former children's editor), and three other aspiring writers. Yes. One of the mentees didn't show up and/or left early; shocking but true. No new info here (sorry, I've been to a lot of conferences!). And then we listened to Ann M. Martin speak. Yes, that Ann Martin. The one who wrote all those Babysitter's Club books, and is currently writing the Main Street series, to say nothing of a number of other individual titles. Ann's advice? "Be an eclectic reader." Seems like a terrific adjunct to the adage that writers should write what they know (or, as Jodi Picoult once put it, "write what you are willing to learn.")
Don't forget to check out the auction of snowflakes over at the Robert's Snow site, and please check the daily links over at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.