S.Q. Eries's Blog, page 65

Write On Con, a free online writer’s conference!

I feel like I’m caught in the rush of back to back writer’s conferences because, well, I am. In the madness of getting ready for LA SCBWI, I completely forgot about Write On Con until I saw the posts announcing it at the AQC forum.

So if you’ve wanted to go to a conference and connect with kidlit writers, editors, and agents, but you don’t have the money or the time to travel to distant locations, Write On Con is for you! It takes place Tuesday–Wednesday, August 14–15, 2012, and the forums are already buzzing with peer reviews of queries, synopses, and manuscript openers. And there are contests and NINJA AGENTS, too! So check it out!

SCBWI Summer Conference, Part 2: Karen Cushman and “Court Surprise”

There were some excellent speakers at the conference, but my favorite was Karen Cushman, author of several historical novels for children including The Midwife’s Apprentice and Catherine, Called Birdy. I’ve enjoyed her work, and I liked her even more after she shared this anecdote in her keynote speech:

She was speaking to a reader (presumably an adult), about The Midwife’s Apprentice . At some point, this person began to rave about the numerous birth motifs in the story – the main character coming out of the dung heap, the cat coming out the bag, etc., etc., etc.

To which Cushman responded, “What birth motif?”

I loved that.

Joking aside, her keynote speech, entitled “Court Surprise” was wonderful. In it, she mentioned that when she reads rough drafts, she’ll do one of three things:

Simply read
Edit
Look for surprises

That gave me food for thought. When I read, I either do #1 or #2. Actually, when I start out doing #1, I often end up doing #2. That’s just my tendency, I guess. But I’ve never tried #3 (at least intentionally). According to Cushman, looking for the surprises is not so much about work or entertainment but about being playful with your drafts. To look for the connections and implications you’ve left yourself and move them to the surface. To not just write creatively but to read creatively.

When it comes to creative writing, I am an outliner, not a pantster. I like to know exactly what’s going to happen to my characters from beginning to end before I go about hammering out the text. It’s probably that control-freak part of me, the part that doesn’t want my characters getting stuck and screaming to me about what’s next. But Cushman’s suggestion intrigued me, that there’s the possibility of discovering something precious I’ve unwittingly left in my own writing just by changing the way I read.

I think I’ll give it a try.

SCBWI Summer Conference, Part 1

This weekend, while female runners competed in the 2012 Olympic marathon, I, along with 1200 other attendees, underwent my own endurance event at the Century City Hyatt: The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ (SCBWI) Annual Summer Conference.

Others had warned that, though awesome, the event is overwhelming, and I found that absolutely true. Actually, the conference’s Monday intensives are still going on, and I’m glad I didn’t sign up. Not that they didn’t look amazing, but my mind feels overstuffed as it is, not to mention I’m physically exhausted. (Yes, sitting in chairs and taking notes is quite draining).

So in the following days, I’ll be decompressing. And as I process what I learned and experienced, I’ll share some of the insights I got. But for now I’ll leave you with a little commentary on the helpfulness of the advice I received prior to the conference.

Dress in layers

Not so helpful. To me, “dress in layers” implies temperature swings from high to low. Except for the newbie orientation, I never came close to being comfortably warm, even with a polar fleece jacket. So unless your optimum temperature runs around 60°F, wear pants and long sleeves, and if you get cold easily like me, bring a jacket because the Hyatt apparently likes to crank up the air-conditioning.

Bring a notebook

Good advice. You learn and hear so much in such a compressed period of time there’s no way you can remember it all. The hotel did have some notepads and pens on hand for those who forgot to bring one along though.

You can also take notes on a laptop, but though the conference area does have some electrical outlets, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll find an open one when your charge runs low.

Bring business cards

Also good advice. Even if you don’t have a book, blog, or whatever, business cards save you the trouble of having to write your name and contact info over and over to all the new people you meet.

It’s also a good idea to immediately jot a few words on cards from others, like when/where you met or what you talked about. I traded cards with more people than I expected and spent part of this morning sorting and organizing my stack. If not for the notes I wrote, I’d have no idea which person was which because names and faces start to blur over the course of the weekend.

Don’t worry if you don’t know anyone at the conference because SCBWI people are approachable and friendly

Definitely true. I don’t know what it’s like at other writer conferences, but just about everyone I met was willing to let me join in on their conversation or sit at their table at lunch. A couple of YA writers from Nevada even offered to share their breakout session notes within three minutes of us introducing ourselves.

Not to say there isn’t the occasional awkward personality. One of my friends was weirded out when this one lady kept talking at her and wouldn’t leave her alone. But that is definitely the exception. For the most part, the conference is a grand opportunity for writers of juvenile literature to connect with other people who share that passion.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll be sharing more about things I learned at the keynotes and breakout sessions in later posts.

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 31

Hope all of you have been having fun with the London 2012 Games so far. I am! Though I personally thought Beijing’s opening ceremony was a slightly better show than London’s, I was very impressed by the creativity that went into London’s flame “cauldron.” (I was wondering during the entrance of the athletes what the point of those metal pieces were). I was  also delighted by Rowan Atkinson’s Chariots of Fire bit. I used to watch Atkinson’s Black Adder series (yes, as a teen, I was into historical comedies), so seeing him as part of London’s opening ceremony was an unexpected treat.

Anyway, this will be my final Olympic fun fact as the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators have their LA conference this weekend, and I’ll likely be too scattered to do a post next week. I will try to do a conference write-up though. So here’s our final factoid:

Spartans did not participate in boxing or pankration.

Both these events ended when a competitor got knocked out or admitted defeat, and to lose in either manner would’ve been dishonorable to a Spartan.

The ironic thing is that the Spartans probably invented boxing to toughen their faces. (!!!)

Enjoy the rest of the Games!

Writing Contest Alert: Teen Eyes Editorial

For those of you who are writing YA, new adult, or middle grade, Teen Eyes Editorial is hosting a contest on July 31! Miss Snark’s First Victim,  who is one of the contest hosts, has the details posted on her blog. And the very cool thing is that all the contest judges are teenagers. So get your queries, pitches, and first 250 words polished and ready!

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 30

I saw my cousin this weekend, the one who’s going to the 2012 London Games. Looks like the events that he and his wife are attending are men’s soccer and volleyball. I didn’t realize this, but tickets for the Olympics are done by lottery. You put in a request for twelve events, and then you get what you get. And apparently, the lottery can choose to completely deny you tickets as well.

So, Cousin N, congrats on being able to witness what most of us can only dream of, and cheer the athletes for the rest of us! Oh, and here’s this week’s fun fact:

An official set of shields was used for the race in armor.

For the race in armor event, participants ran two lengths of the stadium wearing greaves and a helmet and carrying a round shield. Because this was before the time of standardized equipment, officials maintained a set of shields specifically for this race. When not in use, they stayed in the Temple of Zeus.

By the way, this particular event was a noisy affair (think about all that clanging metal), and amusing mishaps, collisions, and shield drops often occurred.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Manga Review: Oresama Teacher Vol. #09

Mafuyu is a high school delinquent who wants to turn over a new leaf. So when she transfers schools, she thinks she’ll finally be able to live the life of a normal girl. There’s just one problem: her teacher  Mr. Saeki is a bigger delinquent than she is and is out to take advantage of her fighting skills!

Oresama Teacher is a shojo manga that offers humor of the silly variety. Volume 9 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (For those who are interested, you can click here for my reviews of earlier volumes).

Back Cover Blurb

The yearly culture festival is coming up fast, and it’s a great chance for Midorigaoka Academy to shine. But disappearing students and rising tensions between the academy and nearby Kiyama High could turn the festival into a full-on disaster! Can a pack of delinquents save the day and the school?

The RevieW

Volume 8 left readers hanging with bits of intrigue: the mysterious circumstances surrounding the last school festival, the restless rumblings of Midorigaoka’s delinquents, the evening disappearances at school. In Volume 9, Tsubaki-sensei connects the seemingly unrelated events, bringing to light the Student Council’s plot to destroy the school. Interestingly enough, even though Takaomi is the one to initiate the return of the school festival, he doesn’t play much of a role in Volume 9. The male character with the lion’s share of action in this installment is Okegawa bancho.

The former bancho displays a wide range of emotion in this arc. He’s sort of shy/sensitive with Mafuyu; exhibits cool leadership skills when Kiyama thugs infiltrate the festival; goes wild taking down his former henchmen; and proves he’s not completely brainless when he explains his reasons for helping the Public Morals Club. If you consider Oresama Teacher a reverse harem manga, then Okegawa’s definitely this volume’s featured male as he plays the unlikely hero, bailing Mafuyu out of trouble, not once but twice.

Mafuyu, for her part, definitely recognizes her shortcomings as Okegawa takes the lead on crushing the Midorigaoka crisis. Still, she’s not a complete damsel in distress and devises a clever way of eliminating Kiyama troublemakers without driving festival-goers into a panic. In the end, Okegawa retakes his bancho position, but even though Mafuyu is clearly no longer “just another girl” to him, it appears his feelings will remain at that frustrating position of attracted-but-not-going-to-act-on-it.

While this arc is rife with conniving, brawling, and backstabbing, Tsubaki-sensei does keep things light with festival-related humor, mostly in the form of the manly maid café. When Class 1 and 2 had their café theme argument in Volume 8, I thought it was just a one-shot laugh. As it turns out, it figures largely in the “evening disappearances” resolution and plays a key role on festival day. Class 2′s guys-who-want-to-wear-skirts come across as more weird than funny, but their ridiculousness does fit the overall feel of this series.

By the way, the final chapter is a kind of lighthearted postscript to the festival, which also reveals the connection between Kosaka and Hanabusa. It’s hardly serious, just a lot of elementary school level humor with a Student Council member who takes things far too seriously.

In Summary

Fans of Okegawa bancho will get their fill, both in lovey-doveyish moments and more serious scenes. There are also back-to-back gang conflicts in this installment for those who enjoy delinquent brawls. But even with all the hard-nosed action going on, Tsubaki-sensei keeps up the humor — though most of it comes in the form of the manly maid café.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 29

The 2012 London Games are starting in two weeks, can you believe it?! And I just found out my cousin and his wife are going (I’m jealous), plus they’re staying with my other cousin who’s currently on assignment in London so they don’t have to pay through the nose for lodging (double jealous).

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Here’s this week’s fun fact about the ancient Greek Olympics:

Hand weights were used in the long jump.

The long jump looked very different compared to the modern version. Instead of a running start, jumpers began from a standing position holding weights called halteres. They’d swing these back and forth and then simultaneously jump and throw the weights, coordinating the motion such that it propelled them forward. Often pipers played an accompaniment, possibly to help with the timing of the jump/weight throwing.

Stone halter

Early halteres were flat and made of stone or metal. Over time, the design changed, and jumpers used cylindrical stone weights with finger grooves.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Book Review: Voltron Force: Shelter From the Storm Vol. #01

In the last few years, several franchises from the 1980s have made a comeback, including Transformers, My Little Pony, and Thundercats. One of the more recent additions to the list is Voltron, now revamped as the Nicktoons Voltron Force series, and Viz Media has recently released the first of a series of companion comics based on the new cartoon.

Back Cover Blurb

Years ago, Voltron mysteriously disappeared, and the five lions were scattered throughout the universe. Over time, the lions were recovered by the original Voltron Force: Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Princess Allura, and Commander Keith. Now, with the help of three new recruits, Voltron rises again to defend the universe once more!

The Review

This full-color book uses glossy stock, and the binding feels pretty durable. The print job’s well done with the luminescence of the cadet’s weapons and the robeast’s electrical charges showing up nicely. Character designs are similar though not an exact match to the cartoon (for instance, Allura’s eyes aren’t quite so pointy). The story assumes you’re already familiar with the Voltron universe, but if you’re not, it includes a four-page introduction with enough information for you to get the gist of it.

This title is rated for ages seven and up, and it’s definitely geared toward younger readers. Although all the adults get lines, the focus is really on Daniel, Larmina, and Vince, the characters whom kids are most likely to identify with. In addition, the way Chabot portrays the three Voltron Force cadets makes them seem somewhat younger and shorter than the way they look in the cartoon.

For those that remember the original series, the typical plot formula consisted of the evil Drule making a robeast, the lions attacking it separately before forming Voltron, and Voltron taking down the enemy with the blazing sword. This story contains all those elements (including the iconic, “AND I’LL FORM THE HEAD!”) but deviates slightly in that the featured robeast isn’t part of a Drule Army onslaught. It’s actually just an experiment reject, albeit a destructive one. At any rate, it conveniently wafts over from Maahox’s space lab to the corner of the universe where the cadets are training with the lions and winds up wreaking as much havoc as an intentional strike. As mentioned earlier, this story highlights the cadets, and when the robeast unleashes its particular brand of psychological attack, you get a glimpse into Daniel’s, Larmina’s, and Vince’s greatest fears and also watch them find their own unique ways to conquer them.

While Vince’s ultimate strategy for defeating the robeast is a stretch of scientific principles (space IS a vacuum, after all), it’s a good story for kids. The plot premise isn’t too complicated or scary, plus the dialogue contains several one-liners of the type you’d find in the cartoon. And though it all wraps up neatly with laughs for the Voltron Force, Maahox’s final scene leaves the door wide open for a continuation.

In Summary

Fans of the Nicktoons cartoon will enjoy this series released by Viz Media. Though it is a standalone series, the characters’ banter and action maintain the feel of the TV show. The focus of this first volume is the three Voltron Force cadets as they struggle to work as a team and ultimately pull together to show the adults a thing or two. If you’re more interested in the original five Voltron pilots, you may be disappointed; Keith, Allura, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk stay mostly in the background, but the conclusion of the robeast battle is very reminiscent of the old series down to the “FORM BLAZING SWORD!” at the end.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 28

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I’ve been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I’ll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here’s this week’s fun fact:

A two-day procession preceded the Olympic competition.

Just like the modern Games have their spectacular opening ceremonies, the ancient athletes also entered Olympia in style. The procession began in Elis, where the athletes would have just completed their compulsory training, and after an exhortation by the Judges, the contestants who’d made the cut proceeded to Olympia accompanied by officials and the hundred oxen designated for the festival sacrifice.

The route they used was called the Sacred Way. The procession took two days partly because it was 58 km long. The other reason it took so long was they had to perform rites, including sacrificing a pig, at points along the way. By the time the athletes hit the road, spectators would already be at or en route to Olympia, and their parade almost certainly drew a crowd.

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!