Augusta Scattergood's Blog, page 49
March 21, 2013
BOOK TRAILERS, by kids.
I adore this project created and shared with me by Holly Mueller, teacher extraordinaire.
Her brilliant 4th graders made trailers for their civil rights project.
GLORY BE was part of the project.
To see her blogpost about the project, and the trailers, click here.
THANKS, KIDS!
Her brilliant 4th graders made trailers for their civil rights project.
GLORY BE was part of the project.
To see her blogpost about the project, and the trailers, click here.
THANKS, KIDS!
March 16, 2013
Amaryllis, revisted
Checking in on my amazingly beautiful flower this year.
We replanted it a month ago, from a pot right into the earth.
Here it is!
Tons of blooms- And more to come.
If you missed my blog about Superhero karate-chopping the blooms for me,
CLICK HERE to revisit last year's flower story.
We replanted it a month ago, from a pot right into the earth.
Here it is!
Tons of blooms- And more to come.
If you missed my blog about Superhero karate-chopping the blooms for me,
CLICK HERE to revisit last year's flower story.
March 14, 2013
Giveaway Time! YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME
Not only do I have a writer I've known her entire life to interview today, I'm giving away her brand new book.
Moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunties and uncles, this is your lucky day. Bayne Gibby's first board book for young children has just been published by Scholastic. Yes, you can order your own copy, of course--I've already given three as baby gifts-- but I'm giving the book to a lucky commenter.
(Thank you, Scholastic!)
An actor and comedian, BAYNE GIBBY grew up in Chatham, NJ, a few streets from where our family lived. She graduated from Kent Place School, where I worked as a librarian. Imagine my surprise and delight when I heard her first picture book, YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME, was coming soon.
Now she's agreed to a chat. Thanks for stopping by, Bayne.
Tell us how you moved from a famous HBO actress to writing this sweet story for little children.
I've always wanted to be an actress, and have been very focused on that ever since I can remember. I began writing children's books and short stories when I was in college and briefly dabbled in getting published while living in New York City. I had one short story published in a collection called Regeneration: Telling Stories from our Twenties, but I didn't have much luck with my children's books. The process was so daunting and difficult, my aspirations were put on the back burner for a while.
When my two older brothers began having children, I started making small books for my nieces and nephews for their birthdays and Christmas, getting them laminated and bound at Kinko's. That reignited my excitement for the whole world of Children's Books. My sister-in-law nudged me by claiming my books were better than some of the ones bought in stores. That got me moving! I started seriously trying to get published about five years ago. About two years ago, Scholastic looked at a whole packet of my material and chose You Mean the World to Me. It was originally written for my niece, Samantha, about being an aunt. I did a rewrite where it then became about being a mother. Samantha recently found the original version.
I love this! And I love that you still have it.
Your young fans may not know you as Connie on the HBO show Enlightened, but the rest of us do!
Are you an actor who writes or a writer who acts?
I think I'm an actor who writes, but I hope to soon be a hyphenate: Actor/Writer.
What's been the most fun thing about having your first book published?
It's very exciting. I had gotten used to a constant stream of no's or we really really like it, but don't love it type of responses to this book and many others. I have a whole file full of the submission emails and letters and the rejections, and it's pretty astounding what goes into getting one thing published. Acting is full of constant no's also, which I'm used to, and it always feels wonderful to get a yes! Seeing the book on shelves is amazing and receiving pictures of friends who are reading it with their young children is really incredible. I'm saving all the pictures to make a big montage.
So send Bayne your pictures. Find her on Facebook, and her own website: http://www.baynegibby.com
What's next up in your career? Anything you haven't tried that speaks to you now? More books? Music? Theater?
Yes, all of the above! More books, for sure. More tv, film, and theatre. I better get going!
Those of us who've known you since you starred in musicals as a seven-year-old have no doubt you can do it all!
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Bayne.
If you'd like to own a copy of YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME, leave me a comment here or on the original Facebook post and I'll add your name to the drawing. Please enter by next Thursday, March 22.
Moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunties and uncles, this is your lucky day. Bayne Gibby's first board book for young children has just been published by Scholastic. Yes, you can order your own copy, of course--I've already given three as baby gifts-- but I'm giving the book to a lucky commenter.
(Thank you, Scholastic!)
An actor and comedian, BAYNE GIBBY grew up in Chatham, NJ, a few streets from where our family lived. She graduated from Kent Place School, where I worked as a librarian. Imagine my surprise and delight when I heard her first picture book, YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME, was coming soon.
Now she's agreed to a chat. Thanks for stopping by, Bayne.
Tell us how you moved from a famous HBO actress to writing this sweet story for little children.
I've always wanted to be an actress, and have been very focused on that ever since I can remember. I began writing children's books and short stories when I was in college and briefly dabbled in getting published while living in New York City. I had one short story published in a collection called Regeneration: Telling Stories from our Twenties, but I didn't have much luck with my children's books. The process was so daunting and difficult, my aspirations were put on the back burner for a while.
When my two older brothers began having children, I started making small books for my nieces and nephews for their birthdays and Christmas, getting them laminated and bound at Kinko's. That reignited my excitement for the whole world of Children's Books. My sister-in-law nudged me by claiming my books were better than some of the ones bought in stores. That got me moving! I started seriously trying to get published about five years ago. About two years ago, Scholastic looked at a whole packet of my material and chose You Mean the World to Me. It was originally written for my niece, Samantha, about being an aunt. I did a rewrite where it then became about being a mother. Samantha recently found the original version.
I love this! And I love that you still have it.
Your young fans may not know you as Connie on the HBO show Enlightened, but the rest of us do!
Are you an actor who writes or a writer who acts?
I think I'm an actor who writes, but I hope to soon be a hyphenate: Actor/Writer.
What's been the most fun thing about having your first book published?
It's very exciting. I had gotten used to a constant stream of no's or we really really like it, but don't love it type of responses to this book and many others. I have a whole file full of the submission emails and letters and the rejections, and it's pretty astounding what goes into getting one thing published. Acting is full of constant no's also, which I'm used to, and it always feels wonderful to get a yes! Seeing the book on shelves is amazing and receiving pictures of friends who are reading it with their young children is really incredible. I'm saving all the pictures to make a big montage.
So send Bayne your pictures. Find her on Facebook, and her own website: http://www.baynegibby.com
What's next up in your career? Anything you haven't tried that speaks to you now? More books? Music? Theater?
Yes, all of the above! More books, for sure. More tv, film, and theatre. I better get going!
Those of us who've known you since you starred in musicals as a seven-year-old have no doubt you can do it all!
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Bayne.
If you'd like to own a copy of YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME, leave me a comment here or on the original Facebook post and I'll add your name to the drawing. Please enter by next Thursday, March 22.
March 9, 2013
Author Turf
Check out my interview on Author Turf.
Other than fifth graders, whose questions are mostly fantabulous, nobody's asked me about Pep Squad lately. And yes, I still remember the moves.
You can find tons of author interviews here.
I'm sharing because the questions Brittney asked truly tickled me.
What would you answer to the question about your most fun chapter to write?
Other than fifth graders, whose questions are mostly fantabulous, nobody's asked me about Pep Squad lately. And yes, I still remember the moves.
You can find tons of author interviews here.
I'm sharing because the questions Brittney asked truly tickled me.
What would you answer to the question about your most fun chapter to write?
March 6, 2013
The Very End
Remember my advice from the other day?
Be Brisk. Be Brief. Be Gone.
I love endings. I love READING the final lines. Don't even mind writing them, if I hit the nail on the head so to speak.
No cliches, no over-sentimentalizing. :)
I want an ending that makes me sigh.
Brisk, brief, and gone.
For fun (?) today while re-writing an ending, I reached behind me and grabbed the closest stack of books for inspiration.
A sampling from some of my middle-grade novel collection. No titles, thus no spoilers.
(but if you'd like to know a title, leave me a comment and I'll share via the comment section."
"Daddy says it's his trademark, but it's not. It's our only salvation."
"I'm Mattie Breen," she says. Her voice is quiet, but no one says Speak up. Everyone can hear.
"I write stories."
My hands on the wheel, my heart near to bursting, I aim the Tess Libby's bow at the horizon.
And gun it.
He'll grin and say, "Best seats in the house."
And they were.
Then maybe they'd figure out what love and courage were all about, and life would spring open like a lock that found its key.
Other places to look at last lines:
http://flavorwire.com/167171/famous-last-words-our-20-favorite-final-lines-in-literature
Be Brisk. Be Brief. Be Gone.
I love endings. I love READING the final lines. Don't even mind writing them, if I hit the nail on the head so to speak.
No cliches, no over-sentimentalizing. :)
I want an ending that makes me sigh.
Brisk, brief, and gone.
For fun (?) today while re-writing an ending, I reached behind me and grabbed the closest stack of books for inspiration.
A sampling from some of my middle-grade novel collection. No titles, thus no spoilers.
(but if you'd like to know a title, leave me a comment and I'll share via the comment section."
"Daddy says it's his trademark, but it's not. It's our only salvation."
"I'm Mattie Breen," she says. Her voice is quiet, but no one says Speak up. Everyone can hear.
"I write stories."
My hands on the wheel, my heart near to bursting, I aim the Tess Libby's bow at the horizon.
And gun it.
He'll grin and say, "Best seats in the house."
And they were.
Then maybe they'd figure out what love and courage were all about, and life would spring open like a lock that found its key.
Other places to look at last lines:
http://flavorwire.com/167171/famous-last-words-our-20-favorite-final-lines-in-literature
March 5, 2013
Obeying the God of Storytelling
Always a good idea.
Rita Williams-Garcia, as quoted by her colleague, Elizabeth Partridge, on the Vermont College faculty blog:
Two favorite tidbits: She ran into a problem with a real life event she decided to put in her book at a different time than actually happened. She puzzled out how to explain her choice to us, then said,
“You have to obey the God of Storytelling before Father Time.”
And another from Rita Williams-Garcia, via Cynthia Leitich Smith's website, on her very wonderful novel ONE CRAZY SUMMER:
The challenge was to write a novel with historical content but to not allow the Black Panthers to hijack the story from the central characters. There was so much research. So many historical comments to make, but I constantly cut away to stay within the heart and perceptions of character. Either I did it myself or my editor would ask me to do it later.
(My mantra for today. Stay within the heart of the character. Or my editor will ask me to do it.)
Anybody out there with tips for staying within the heart of the story and your characters while struggling with real history?
Rita Williams-Garcia, as quoted by her colleague, Elizabeth Partridge, on the Vermont College faculty blog:
Two favorite tidbits: She ran into a problem with a real life event she decided to put in her book at a different time than actually happened. She puzzled out how to explain her choice to us, then said,
“You have to obey the God of Storytelling before Father Time.”
And another from Rita Williams-Garcia, via Cynthia Leitich Smith's website, on her very wonderful novel ONE CRAZY SUMMER:
The challenge was to write a novel with historical content but to not allow the Black Panthers to hijack the story from the central characters. There was so much research. So many historical comments to make, but I constantly cut away to stay within the heart and perceptions of character. Either I did it myself or my editor would ask me to do it later.
(My mantra for today. Stay within the heart of the character. Or my editor will ask me to do it.)
Anybody out there with tips for staying within the heart of the story and your characters while struggling with real history?
February 26, 2013
Skype 101 from the other side of the computer
What I've learned from a year's worth of Skype chats.
The best Skyping, like the best Author Visits, happens when the kids know something about the book. The very best ones happen when they've actually read the book.
It's easier to hear the questions when students approach the computer, one at a time, and give you their names, then ask. Or at least when they have a microphone. (I learned this from a wise Skyper I know. Thanks, Barbara!)
Having just Skyped with a great class in the faraway northeast, here's a quick video run-down of our 20-minute session. This is my second year with these fabulous teachers, and I'll come back any time they ask.
This is what they see behind me...
Looks fairly organized, no?
This is what they don't see under my desk. (Shorts and old flipflops usually.)
They also don't see the other side of my desk. Not always like this.
Messy today because I was working on revisions until about five minutes before the call.
Note the glass of water, the tissues, the book. Ready for anything they bring!
I tidied up the other side of my office/ guest room. I couldn't put it all away. This is my To Do stack.
Another tip- You need light, lots of light. But I usually make sure the computer is turned away from this window. Especially if the class is "calling" from a cold, snowy place.
Today the kids and their teachers had on sweaters. I'm not telling what I was wearing.
(See picture 2, above.)
I especially loved today's questions, showing how deeply they understood my book. Now I'm off to think more about Liam's inquiry. "Besides the Beatles and Elvis, what other culture from the Sixties did you put in GLORY BE?"
Teachers, Book Clubs, Readers- Click for Kate Messner's list of AUTHORS WHO SKYPE FOR FREE. Please note: These free visits have restrictions.
Related post: Skyping: What a treat!
The best Skyping, like the best Author Visits, happens when the kids know something about the book. The very best ones happen when they've actually read the book.
It's easier to hear the questions when students approach the computer, one at a time, and give you their names, then ask. Or at least when they have a microphone. (I learned this from a wise Skyper I know. Thanks, Barbara!)
Having just Skyped with a great class in the faraway northeast, here's a quick video run-down of our 20-minute session. This is my second year with these fabulous teachers, and I'll come back any time they ask.
This is what they see behind me...
Looks fairly organized, no?
This is what they don't see under my desk. (Shorts and old flipflops usually.)
They also don't see the other side of my desk. Not always like this.
Messy today because I was working on revisions until about five minutes before the call.
Note the glass of water, the tissues, the book. Ready for anything they bring!
I tidied up the other side of my office/ guest room. I couldn't put it all away. This is my To Do stack.
Another tip- You need light, lots of light. But I usually make sure the computer is turned away from this window. Especially if the class is "calling" from a cold, snowy place.
Today the kids and their teachers had on sweaters. I'm not telling what I was wearing.
(See picture 2, above.)
I especially loved today's questions, showing how deeply they understood my book. Now I'm off to think more about Liam's inquiry. "Besides the Beatles and Elvis, what other culture from the Sixties did you put in GLORY BE?"
Teachers, Book Clubs, Readers- Click for Kate Messner's list of AUTHORS WHO SKYPE FOR FREE. Please note: These free visits have restrictions.
Related post: Skyping: What a treat!
February 23, 2013
A Cautionary Tale and A Writing Tip
This morning, up early and working hard, I tipped over a glass near a stack of
writing notebooks.
The good news? It was water.
The bad news? Although they were mostly salvageable, some are unreadable.
I had been meaning to go through these notebooks forever because I was convinced they contained very valuable information. Maybe not!
But I always tell students the importance of keeping notes.
Next time I will mention the value of keeping notebooks in safe places. Away from liquids.
But the other good news relates to a single page discovered inside the oldest, wettest notebook. Notes from a book I bought after reading it from the library. It may have been the very first book on writing craft I added to my newly created library.
Lee Wyndham's Writing for Children and Teenagers.
An oldie, yes, but good information and a few used copies are still floating around for sale out there. Also in libraries.
My book is not readily available so I'm glad I found this note inside a waterlogged notebook:
And right now I need to know everything there is to know about making ENDINGS better.
In case you can't read my notes:
1. Can't just think things out
2. Something must happen to the Main Character, a powerful personal experience that shocks, rocks or floors her. Terrific impact.
3. Then have a quiet scene to show the Main Character has changed. The Main Character thinks over her actions.
4. Then a scene where she PROVES she's changed.
5. CONCLUSION: The original character has changed considerably so
Be Brisk. Be Brief. Be Gone.
I'm off to re-create my ending! Thanks, Lee Wyndham.
writing notebooks.
The good news? It was water.The bad news? Although they were mostly salvageable, some are unreadable.
I had been meaning to go through these notebooks forever because I was convinced they contained very valuable information. Maybe not!
But I always tell students the importance of keeping notes.
Next time I will mention the value of keeping notebooks in safe places. Away from liquids.
But the other good news relates to a single page discovered inside the oldest, wettest notebook. Notes from a book I bought after reading it from the library. It may have been the very first book on writing craft I added to my newly created library.
Lee Wyndham's Writing for Children and Teenagers.
An oldie, yes, but good information and a few used copies are still floating around for sale out there. Also in libraries.
My book is not readily available so I'm glad I found this note inside a waterlogged notebook:
And right now I need to know everything there is to know about making ENDINGS better.
In case you can't read my notes:
1. Can't just think things out
2. Something must happen to the Main Character, a powerful personal experience that shocks, rocks or floors her. Terrific impact.
3. Then have a quiet scene to show the Main Character has changed. The Main Character thinks over her actions.
4. Then a scene where she PROVES she's changed.
5. CONCLUSION: The original character has changed considerably so
Be Brisk. Be Brief. Be Gone.
I'm off to re-create my ending! Thanks, Lee Wyndham.
February 19, 2013
Said -- Still Not Dead?
Today I'm minding my own business, pulling my hair over revisions, using my beloved Scrivener, concentrating madly.
Till I decided to use the Scrivener dictionary/ thesaurus tab. I guess I must have been searching SAY, though for the life of me, five long hours later, I can't think why.
But this appeared:
word notes!
say, said
While most writing can be improved by choosing strong and precise nouns, adjectives, and verbs, this isn't always so. When reading a novel's dialogue, we should be paying attention to what the characters say, and learn about their feelings through their words. But too many young authors overstress the verbal markers of back-and-forth speech. So we read Frank replied or Frank riposted or even Losing his temper, Frank violently expostulated. Much of the time a careful writer can set up the rhythm of a conversation so that it's always clear who's speaking and with what degree of passion. If more precise identification is needed, a simple Frank said will usually suffice, the weak and common verb scarcely intruding on the give-and-take on the page.
— MD
Conversational, opinionated, and idiomatic, these Word Notes are an opportunity to see a working writer's perspective on a particular word or usage.
Just for fun, I posted the above in my status on Facebook.
Hey, I needed a little diversion from all the very hard work I'd been doing all day.
And boy-howdie! I got some reaction from my writer friends.
Almost two years ago, I'd blogged on the subject, here:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2011/04/he-said-she-said.html
You really should read what some extremely talented writers had to say in the comments.
Much of this controversy stems from writing lessons for students advocating the use of synonyms for said.
Two years later, the topic still excites and infuriates.
What say/ announce/ yell/ explain endlessly/ blab/ question/ sigh/ hiss/ SAY you?
Till I decided to use the Scrivener dictionary/ thesaurus tab. I guess I must have been searching SAY, though for the life of me, five long hours later, I can't think why.
But this appeared:
word notes!
say, said
While most writing can be improved by choosing strong and precise nouns, adjectives, and verbs, this isn't always so. When reading a novel's dialogue, we should be paying attention to what the characters say, and learn about their feelings through their words. But too many young authors overstress the verbal markers of back-and-forth speech. So we read Frank replied or Frank riposted or even Losing his temper, Frank violently expostulated. Much of the time a careful writer can set up the rhythm of a conversation so that it's always clear who's speaking and with what degree of passion. If more precise identification is needed, a simple Frank said will usually suffice, the weak and common verb scarcely intruding on the give-and-take on the page.
— MD
Conversational, opinionated, and idiomatic, these Word Notes are an opportunity to see a working writer's perspective on a particular word or usage.
Just for fun, I posted the above in my status on Facebook.
Hey, I needed a little diversion from all the very hard work I'd been doing all day.
And boy-howdie! I got some reaction from my writer friends.
Almost two years ago, I'd blogged on the subject, here:
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2011/04/he-said-she-said.html
You really should read what some extremely talented writers had to say in the comments.
Much of this controversy stems from writing lessons for students advocating the use of synonyms for said.
Two years later, the topic still excites and infuriates.
What say/ announce/ yell/ explain endlessly/ blab/ question/ sigh/ hiss/ SAY you?
February 15, 2013
Going home again, a quick visual tour
Is there anything better than hearing what kids, enthusiastic teachers, and super librarians have to say about your book? I can't think of a single thing!
I arrived at Pelahatchie Elementary School, Rankin County, Mississippi, in a rainstorm, with the radio blasting alerts every ten minutes. Flooding! Hail!
Inside, all was calm and bright.
The halls were decorated with quotes and pictures.
Magnetic letters on the circulation desk!
Pelahatchie librarian Mrs. Black and me. 
Highland Bluff Elementary School librarian, Mrs. McWhorter.
A very impressive reader.
WOW! Lunch in the library for a select group. The kids had brought their treasure boxes from home. Some made their own, from all the fun things Mrs. Black supplied. Beads, cracker jack prizes, candy--the old-fashioned kind!
Pimento cheese and root beer, in bottles. Emma's Lemon Cookies for dessert. Yum.
Lunch with the librarian, a few special kids, and ELVIS!
(Yes, that's a Juke Box, made by Mr. Black. Impressive, no? He also made the pimento cheese and the lemon cookies!)
The kids at Pelahatchie Elementary love the car! What a cozy place to read.
Great questions, yummy food, books to sign--Such enthusiasm for Glory Be. The fourth graders at each school were reading the book for their literature circles. We could have talked all day! Thank you, Mississippi friends and family. I hope I'll be back soon.
