Cynthia Chapman Willis's Blog, page 16

Glitz & Glamour?

Why don't the award ceremonies within the world of children's books have a big, glitzy, over-the-top, award affair something like the movie industry just put on? I've been mulling this over for a few days now, ever since The Academy of Awards (Oscar) gala this past Sunday.

I'm thinking that teachers, librarians, authors, illustrators, editors, designers, publishers, agents etc. deserve a blow out bonanza where everyone gets to show up in stretch limos wearing millions of dollars in gems and...

One Recipe for A Story

Necessary ingredients may include:

love of language and good writing

curiosity

passion

patience

determination

vision.

Steps (not necessarily in order):

Mix together ingredients for characters until they appear more real than people, one character to a bowl. Don't worry if the batter appears curdled or muddy. This is to be expected.

Fold each character in, carefully and one at a time, to a profound fictional world. Do not beat the characters at this point. Maybe later. The batter is likely to...

More on Names

One week ago, I blogged about the meanings behind names. Since then, more insights and techniques on finding names have come my way. So, I thought that I'd share some of these.

I'll begin with a technique from one of my writer friends. She gathers "fun and interesting" names from old books, newspapers, and movies (she admits to always being the last person out of the theater because she insists on checking out the rolling credits for cool names). Believe it or not, she also scans menus for...

Lies? All Lies?

Let's be honest: Writer fib. Or, at the very least, they stretch and mangle the truth as if it was a blob of Silly Putty. Frankly, it's part of the fun of being a writer.

For example, before writing Dog Gone and Buck Fever, I wrote a novel that twisted truths that I couldn't otherwise share. I was working for the CIA at the time, before the years I spent writing and editing elementary school textbooks. My CIA job was not particularly thrilling, but it gave me access to employee...

What's In A Name?

Is there anyone out there who has never had to name a child, a pet, or some thing (hey, I know someone who names her computers, so…)?

For me, finding the right name for a character can be a challenge something like finding a wayward comma in a ten-thousand page manuscript. A name has to sound right, feel appropriate, work (whatever that means) for the character that I am sculpting. Sometimes a name works because of the meaning that it holds. That's why I'll often search out the meaning...

Stranger Than Fiction?

Sometimes life really is stranger than fiction, which makes me wonder if anyone would believe:

That the barista at a Starbucks I visited the other day laughed exactly like Pee-wee Herman. Even now I'm not sure if she was kidding around or if she really does laugh like Pee-wee. Enough said.

. Seriously. He kept shampoo in his desk drawer. This, I suppose...

A Bad Day…

A bad day might begin with a coffee maker that gurgles and sputters and then spews boiling water all over the counter and floor, while brewing nothing. On a rotten day, this happens only minutes before an author needs to hit the road to drive to an early morning presentation.

A bad day might also include a cat throwing up on an author's presentation, as well as on a batch of shiny, new bookmarks for both BUCK FEVER and DOG GONE. At least kitty doesn't read novels, so the hurl couldn't...

Cabin Fever

It's mid-winter. Are you stuck inside too much? Is this starting to get really old? Are you experiencing one or more of the following symptoms? If so, you may be suffering from Cabin Fever.

Symptom number one: Your pets start to give you editorial advice and you're pretty sure that they are speaking English. Even worse, though: Their suggestions are not half bad.

You take time out of your very busy writing day to dig through the snow in the back yard to see if the grass...

How to Make the Most of a Big Snow (or use it as a big excuse)

A few thoughts on how to make the most of a big, fat snowstorm—meaning how to use it to score yourself some free time.

To begin with, always remember that lots of snow gives you a reason to skip errands. Hey, if you can't get out of the driveway, you can't get to the store, right? Heh, heh.

After that: Why not put off some of the household cleaning? I mean, what's the point of breaking out that vacuum and mop if everyone (including the dog) keeps tracking in dirty snow, salt, and that...

What to Read Next...

Okay all you readers out there: How do you decide which book to read when you are ready to dive into a new novel? If you are like me (and I suspect that you are, by the way), you probably have at least one shelf, pile, or list of "to read" books. And if you are like me, you probably have a hard time deciding which book to grab next.

I usually go for a book that is highly recommended first. Especially if the person recommending the novel gets wide-eyed and blathers something along the lines...