Joyce Shor Johnson's Blog, page 7

The Approaching NESCBWI Conference

As the conference gets closer (only 22 days), my family wonders what I'm actually doing when I say I am working on conference stuff. My daughter has dubbed Kathryn and I, "Thing 1 & Thing 2." I doubt you'll find us wearing red catsuits at the conference with numbers on them.

I do hope anyone with a Cat in the Hat hat, will bring it to the conference this year. If I had my way, we'd be selling them. I've always loved the red and white stripes and the jaunty way that cat strutted around the page.

Anyone out there know where I can get a good deal on 650 Cat in the Hat hats?

 
You can order your  CAT IN THE HAT hat Here! (Disclaimer: I get nothing for promoting this website. If you find it cheaper elsewhere, go for it!)

New Arrival!

I came home to a box with copies of The Casting!

Enter The Casting Give@way Now

Only 4 days left to register to win 1 of 5 copies of my debut middle grade novel, THE CASTING!



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Goodreads Book Giveaway








The Casting


by Joyce Shor Johnson

Giveaway ends March 21, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

SCBWI Crystal Kite - Vote Now

I love them all, so this is going to be a difficult choice!

The first round of voting for the SCBWI Crystal Kite award has been
completed, and we now have 6 finalists for the New England region:
Leslie Bulion for AT THE SEA FLOOR CAFE Lita Judge for RED SLED Jo Knowles for PEARL Beth Krommes for SWIRL BY SWIRL: SPIRALS IN NATURE J. C. Phillipps for WINK: THE NINJA WHO WANTED TO NAP Padma Venkatraman for ISLAND'S END
Congratulations to all of you!!

Let's join together to choose the successor for Brian Lies who won last
year's award. Voting will be open from now until March 16th.

To vote, go to www.scbwi.org
1. Select the yellow "MEMBER LOGIN" button at the top of the page and
log in with your email address and password (If the button says "LOG OUT,"
then you're already logged in.)
2. Click on the "MEMBER HOME" button, and then, from your member
homepage, choose "See what's going on in your region!"
3. Click on the "Crystal Kite" tab at the top of your Regional Chapter's
Homepage.
4. Choose the title you wish to vote for, and click on "VOTE FOR THIS
TITLE" to make your selection!

Good luck to all the finalists!

New & Emerging Author Opportunities

Do you have a young adult historical fiction romance with fantasy elements or other cross genre elements? Pugalicious Press is looking for short stories to include in their first e-book YA anthology, titled Timeless!


 
If your short story is  between 3000 and 7500 words and fits into the genre of YA historical romance they want to read it. They would love if you story included any of the following elements: steampunk, fantasy, magic, or adventure. They ask that you follow the guidelines below:

Submit the whole manuscript to pugaliciouspress (at) gmail (dot) com, as a Word .doc file (no .docx) by March 30, 2012, with the subject heading: submission–YA anthology.
Please include a bio, publishing credits if any, and a synopsis.Since so many of you were asking, They've posted the minimum offering on the payment and royalties for this anthology: $25.00 at time of publication, plus 10% royalty and they are asking for first e-book and printing rights for two years.

Inside info: They are only going to take seven authors and are splitting the royalty 70% authors (hence 10% per author)/30% publisher (to cover costs). This a great opportunity for new authors to get published.

The Cat In The Hat & Springfield, MA

When I was nineteen, I lived in La Jolla, California for two years. During that time, I worked as a floral designer. Richard (who liked to be called Dick) owned the florist and he was an interesting guy. He knew many celebrities and often had me "do up" the floral arrangements for the events he hosted or was attending.
One of his closest and dearest friends was, Ted Geisel. I met Ted several times. He had an opinion about everything! Some of which I just can't divulge. He did think I was talker and called me Voyce instead of Joyce after he got to know me.
I've been thinking about him lately because I have been to Springfield several times in the last few months as I help organize this years NESCBWI "Keeping It Real" conference taking place April 20-22.
He used to joke about Springfield and that is all I going to say about what he would say about Springfield.
Just to keep this post interesting, here are the inscriptions in the two books he signed for me.
This a 1957 printing.

My 4 year-old signature His opinion of my love of his book. Shortly before I returned to the East Coast he gave me this book.
And a warning!

 I often wonder how he was able to sum up my life in these two captions? He was just amazing!
Oh yeah, Springfield is also where my husband and I lived right after we were married. So here's to you, Dr. Suess & Springfield, MA!

Wanted For Blazing to #1 Bestseller

WANTED:A MG historical novel about 12 year-old Robyn who yearns for red-hot crucibles full of molten bronze and the roaring fires of her father's foundry. Robyn's life changes forever the day she accidentally sets fire to the foundry,  burning it to the ground and causes her father to go up in a blaze.

Hapenny Magick by Jennifer Carson

Hapenny Magick by Jennifer Carson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this story! The illustrations are wonderful.

Maewyn may be the smallest of the small, but she has so much heart and determination on her side. When she learns the terrible secret to her brutally mean guardian, and finds out that she has magick she finds two wizards to teach her how to use it to protect the villagers she loves. Through all of her travails, Maewyn learns about friendship and family and sacrifice.

Beautifully written. If you enjoy fairytales, then you'll enjoy Hapenny Magick!


For more about Jennifer, go to her website.



View all my reviews

What to Say?

I always feel as though I don't have anything important to say about writing when it comes time to blog. Today I realized that this isn't true. I say so much to so many people, everyday!

I teach!

And everyday I am asking questions, giving suggestions and talking my high school kids through writing. But I never have a moment to stop and digest what I say, I just know that when they listen and actually try some of the things I suggest, they reap the rewards of better writing.

Just what did I say to my student about writing from the place where they are most passionate?

Just now one of my students peeks into my office.

"What are you writing?" she asks.

"Junk!"

"Not you."

"Yes, me! I'm trying to blog about writing but I don't have anything to say"

"You always have something to say."

I smirk, think she's being cheeky.

"No, you really do."

"Like what? What do I tell you?"

She sighs and comes into my office.

You ask me stuff?"

"Like what? I can't remember."

"Like, how does it make me feel? Why is it uncomfortable? Does it make me angry?"

I think about this a moment.

"Thanks!" I smile. Wish she would go so I can get back to writing this blog post. But she stays a moment longer.

"My favorite question you ask me," she says, "is what's the worst thing that can happen?"

I look up from my laptop, she's grinning, we both both laugh.

"You can always revise!"

Revision Checklist

Revising is often the most dreaded part of the writing process. But having a checklist can help you in the process. Here are 10 things I think about when revising.
1.     What is the real story that I am telling?2.     How will my character change?·      Does my character get to where s/he needs to be?No – How do I make her change?~  Introduce a crisis situation that makes my character  change.Yes – Do the things that happen along the way help get my character where s/he needs to be?
3.     What does it mean to move forward?·      Reveal something about the character.·      Propel the plot.·      Build a relationship that is important later in the book.
4.     Summarize the things that don't move the story forward.·      An example of this is Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy speaking, but the adults always sound like, "Blah, blah, blah." ·      One sentence summary of the scene.
5.     Is my main plot a character development arc?·      Subplots~  Do they fit in?~  When do they resolve?~  How do they resolve?
6.     Characters·      What are my character's quirks and personality traits?·      Do my secondary/minor characters grow with each appearance they make in the book? 
7.     Dialogue·      Do my characters have unique voices?·      Do they reveal everything about their characters?An example of this is sub vs grinder (sandwich) Their socio-economic placement·      Does the dialogue let their relationships evolve?·      How authentic do they sound?
8.     Setting and Description·      Picture it then brushstroke the description. Let the reader envision it, unless it must be specific. ·      For it to be specific, it must be important later in the book. If not, take it out.
9.     Wordsmith·      Search for commonly used, but unnecessary words. ~  Examples are just, so, next, that, but.
10.  Show, don't tell.