Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 130
September 6, 2011
Woohoo - my illustrated short story's been accepted for the TOMO anthology!
I'm delighted to announce that my short story, KODAMA, has been accepted for publication in TOMO, a YA anthology coming out from Stone Bridge Press. Proceeds from the sales of the Tomo anthology will go to organizations that assist teens in the quake and tsunami hit areas. Tomo, which means friend in Japanese, will link writers of young adult fiction with readers worldwide and the teens in Tohoku in need of their support. Editor: Holly Thompson.
I'm especially excited because I've been experimenting with a new illustrated story-telling style for teen readers, and Kodama will be the first time this new format will appear in print. Eventually I'd like to do an entire YA novel this way (I've started up an ideas folder for this project).
Anyway, you can find out more about TOMO as well as the other contributors at: http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/
Daily motivation: #amwriting
Writers on Twitter are probably already familiar with Johanna Harness and #amwriting but if you're not, you should be!
#Amwriting is an ongoing chat. You're not expected to stay tuned-in constantly. The chat happens in the background of your writing day. It is a virtual watercooler for writers, a place you can hang out and talk to your colleagues about your current writing projects (and theirs) and then you get back to work. You are expected to pop in and out of chat as you write, so no one thinks anything of it if you disappear into your writing.
#Amwriting is a community. The writers here care about one another. We have member biographies, a store, discussion groups, help-a-writer classifieds, and a site full of resources. Both readers and writers are encouraged to join us: http://www.amwriting.org.
If you're not sure how to use hashtags or attend chats on Twitter, please see my Twitter Chat Guide For Writers.
My only warning: Just be careful not to let yourself get so pulled into online socializing that you forget about your real purpose: to get more writing done!
September 3, 2011
My sister's book trailer PLUS soundtrack composed by my niece
My sister, Ruth Ohi, just posted a book trailer for her newest picture book, Chicken, Pig, Cow and the Class Pet. She created it using iMovie, and the soundtrack was composed by my niece. And yes, I am fairly exploding with pride here. :-)
Ruth has illustrated over 53 books (12 of which she also wrote).
My sister's site: http://www.ruthohi.com
August 29, 2011
Creativity & Productivity: Rethinking my social media and blogging habits
Apologies for the hiatus; I've been away most of this month at a writer's conference and then on my 20th wedding anniversary vacation.
It's been a hectic month, and I'm REALLY looking forward to getting back to work.
And what is that work, exactly? My main short-term goal:
To rethink my social media and blogging habits.
I'm a social media addict. I've been a huge fan of online communities before the term "online community" even existed. These days, however, I'm feeling spread too thin over too many social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Second Life, various writing and illustration communities, plus all the blogs I either manage or in which I participate as a collaborator.
No, I'm not going to quit cold turkey. Nor do I think social media is inherently a time vampire. It CAN be a time vampire, but in my own experience, it can also be a huge boon to authors and illustrators if properly managed. Most of the publishing opportunities that have come my way have done so because of contacts I've made through social media, or posting and reading blogs.
Recent opportunities, however, have convinced me that I need to better manage my time. There are SO MANY BOOKS I want to write, or illustrate, or write and illustrate. The awards I won at last year's SCBWI Illustration Portfolio Showcase (which resulted in a book contract and heightened interest from publishers) and the Sue Alexander Award nomination I just received for my YA novel in progress have been a much needed kick in the pants.
My long-term goal:
TO GET MORE BOOKS PUBLISHED.
My semi-long-term goals:
To finish writing my YA novel. Whether or not it wins the Sue Alexander Award, the nomination has convinced me that this novel-in-progress has much more potential than my previous attempts. I've been working on my craft as well as benefiting from the critiques and advice of my MiG Writer group and some of my Torkidlit pals. I'm a much better writer now than I was when I first started out.
To finish my own picture book projects. Now that I'M BORED (Simon & Schuster, 2012) is nearly finished, I need to have more projects ready to send out -- projects that I've written AND illustrated. I've been working hard at improving my craft over the past year, learning as much as I can about the craft and business of kidlit illustration, drawing a ton. I'm going to continue to work on my craft, of course, but it's time to get some new projects out there.
I also have several nonfiction book proposals I need to revamp and send out, such as the compilation of my writer comics.
So....
In order to achieve my long-term goal, I'm going to be taking a hard look at how I spend my time online.
And yes, I do see the irony of blogging about spending too much time online. But I figure I'm not the online one who has this challenge. Some of you have likely found your own solutions.
I'll be posting on my progress (feel free to share yours!)...but not as often as I'd like to. If that makes any sense. :-)
August 11, 2011
Sue Alexander Award Nomination!
I know I've been scarce on Inkygirl recently, but it's been craaaazybusy around here with travel, work and prep for the SCBWI Summer Conference.
I attended as both a writer and illustrator, and have been posting my kidlit illustration info and reports over on the Where The Sidewalk Begins blog for children's illustrators (SCBWI Illustration Portfolio Mentees blog). I'll be posting writing-related reports here on Inkygirl when I have a chance, but first I need to announce that...
My new YA manuscript has been nominated for the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award!
Selected from manuscripts submitted for individual critique at the SCBWI Annual Conference in Los Angeles, the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award is given to the manuscript deemed most promising for publication.
I feel deeply honoured to be nominated for an award named after such an amazing woman. Here's info about Sue Alexander from the SCBWI site:
Sue Alexander was the first member to join SCBWI and was vitally involved with the organization from its inception to her death in 2008. Her responsibilities for SCBWI included, among others, serving as Chairperson of the Board of Advisors (33 years), managing the office (20 years), coordinating -- with Lin Oliver -- the August conference in California (25 years), and coordinating the Golden Kite Awards (25 years). She was the author of more than twenty-five books for young people, including World Famous Muriel; Small Plays for Special Days; Witch, Goblin and Sometimes Ghost; Sara's City and award-winners Lila on the Landing; Nadia the Willful; and Behold the Trees. In addition to her books, she wrote stories for magazines and for the Los Angeles Times "Kids' Reading Room" several times a year. Sue passed away suddenly on July 3 at her home in West Hills, California. She was 74. For more about Sue, visit www.sue-alexander.com.
(Photo, ©1998 Marilyn Sanders.)
Many thanks to the MiG Writers Critique group, Torkidlit, Jeff and Sara for helping me get my submission into shape before the conference.
July 28, 2011
Directory of Literary People (Writers, Librarians, Kidlit/YA, Comics/Webcomics, Teachers, Digital Publishing & EBooks, Children's Book Illustrators etc.) on Google+
I've been compiling an "add yourself" list of literary/publishing people on Google+. Short URL: http://bit.ly/GP-LIT
To add yourself to any of these lists, just go to the appropriate list and make a post. Feel free to include a URL. You an always edit/update your listing later on. Do spread the word to others on Google+, thanks!
Note: Please don't ask me to add you to the lists -- I purposely made this an "add yourself" directory for easier admin. :-)
July 20, 2011
July 13, 2011
KafkaGirl.com: YA Author Andrew Tolson, Blogging, and Enticing Editors
With Andrew Tolson's agent submitting his YA manuscript ,The Girl Who Saved Kafka, to prospective publishers, he wanted to entice editors with something extra, a taste of the novel before they had read the first page. He decided to launch a blog that was in the voice of the main character:
An explanation from Andrew:
In my daily work as a photographer, I use big expensive cameras. For personal work, I've been using my iPhone and the Hipstamatic app. I'm fascinated by the lo-fi approach to many digital applications and Hipstamatic gives you all the beautiful and unpredictable results you'd get from a crappy film camera. The kind of low budget camera you might find in the Linfield Thrift Store. It's a perfect tool for someone like Zoe Burns to express herself. She's the fifteen-year-old heroine of my novel, who shops at the thrift store and uses a typewriter because it makes the letters sound loud. She's desperate to break out of her outcast's existence. But she must also come to terms with her crazy mother, her best friend's growing allegiance to the popular girls and the pending appearance of teen pop star Tyler Sharp. Then there's the school talent show which Zoe is being forced to enter. Can she combine her growing obsession with Franz Kafka's existential masterpiece, The Metamorphosis, and her talent show performance? She's certain she has the potential for extraordinariness but–
Wait a minute. This is starting to sound like a synopsis.
Just look at the blogopsis: http://kafkagirl.com
What gave you the idea for starting your Kafka Girl blog?
The idea was two-fold. First, I really enjoyed writing in Zoe's voice and wondered what it would sound like if I transferred that voice to another medium and then added visuals. Since I'm also a photographer, I wondered what kind of things Zoe would take pictures of. How would she document her environment and her life? But also, I wanted to give prospective editors who are considering the manuscript a unique way of marketing the book to readers.
How often do you update?
At the moment I don't update it all and that's intentional. I've set up the blog so it has a narrative arc as Zoe introduces herself and her world. If the book sells, and the publisher is interested, I'd love to expand into regular updates with photos and video. Zoe already has a Facebook profile, but I've not done anything with it yet. It was a lot of fun putting together the stock images and shooting elements from the story, like Zoe's Mom's postcards. I hope the blog will intrigue readers enough to want to check out the book.
What has the response been so far?
The response has been great. I've even had a few people get to the end of the blog and not realize it's fiction. I just hope no one will feel duped.
Who's the man in the picture? (beside "I'm Zoe Burns...") I thought Zoe was a girl?
The man in the photo is Franz Kafka, he of the book's title. Nowhere in the blog is there a clear photo of Zoe. I want the reader to leave it up to their imagination as to what she looks like.
What's your "elevator pitch" for your book?
Fifteen-year-old Zoe Burns is desperate to break out of her ordinary existence, so she mounts a one-girl show, performing her version of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis at her high school talent contest. Meanwhile, she must come to terms with her crazy mother, a burgeoning relationship with a fellow outcast and the imminent arrival of the insanely popular teenaged heart throb Tyler Sharp, who will be judging the talent show. It sounds like it could be dark and depressing, but it's really quite funny.....
What other projects are you working on now?
I'm hard at work on a new book, a MG fantasy called 'The Knife Of Lost Souls'. Very different from the Kafka story, but hopefully just as much fun. It's really important, I've found, to start work on a new project when your ms is making the rounds of editors. Otherwise you'll go crazy with anticipation!
More info:
