Deborah Halverson's Blog, page 4

Feeling Inspired Today

Today, some inspiration for fellow writers, and some insight for readers. In the spirit of “don’t just tell it, SHOW it”, here’s a quote from talented storyteller Neil Gaiman, which he said in his MasterClass:

“I would much rather not tell you how to feel about something. I would rather you just felt it. . . . I’m not going to tel you how sad the death of the unicorn was, I’m going to kill that unicorn and I’m going to break your heart.”

Fireworks, Hot Dogs, and My Novel BIG MOUTH

It’s the Fourth of July. That means fireworks to celebrate U.S. independence, and the Mustard Belt to celebrate the winner of the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. And what a winner it was today: Joey Chestnut, now 12-time winner, just ate 71 hot dogs & buns in 10 minutes! 

My middle grade novel BIG MOUTH is about a boy aspiring to win that contest. Chestnut has the Mustard Belt — BIG MOUTH has mustard graffiti, a school district sponsored by a ketchup company, and commercial breaks. It was so much fun to write — and to research!

I took this photo of me at the Nathan’s Famous contest in 2007. Yummy hot dogs… but I stuck with two.

Happy Fourth of July!

Always Working to Improve

Is it time yet?? This weekend, May 11, I get to gather with an amazing faculty and the fabulous authors and illustrators of children’s books. Our reason for convening? SCBWI-San Diego’s MayFest.

Each year, the San Diego chapter of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators hosts a full day of workshops for those writers and illustrators. Some attendees will take the extra step of getting a critique from one of the gathered faculty, aiming to raise their craft on a specific manuscript—the ultimate goal being, of course, getting a book contract offer from an editor through the process of submission to publishers. Some would like to secure a literary agent, so that is also a goal for many attendees.

My role is to use my expertise from twenty-five years in publishing, both in-house and as a freelance editor, to help authors strengthen their projects with those those goals in mind…and of course with young readers’ enjoyment and enlightenment. I’ve included a photo of my fab stack is manuscripts to critique (identifying details hidden, of course).

It’s a great day each year, and I’m pleased to have been invited to participate once again.

The other faculty:

Edith Hope Fine, author

Michael Mahin, author

Sarah Baker, Associate Executive Director SCBWI

Jennifer Azantian, Agent/founder Azantian Literary Agency

Steve Breen, author, syndicated cartoonist for The San Diego Union Tribune, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Steve Mooser, author, co-founder SCBWI

Nephele Tempest, agent, The Knight Agency

Kayla Vernon Clark, Editor, Kane Miller Books

Andrea Welch, Executive Editor, Beach Lane Books

A Good Day with Paper and Pen

Outlining is a great writers tool. It has never worked for me, however. In fact, outlining was counterproductive for me. I’d outline my entire story… but then when that story insisted on changing as I wrote it, I’d fall into a frustrating cycle of re-outlining, writing, re-outlining, etc., making very little progress toward manuscript completion. I figured I was a panster, through and through.

But today I tried outlining in a new way. I was struggling with the tricky task of revising a single narrator’s thread through a 3-narrator story. Watching my writing pal Barrie Summy sit across the table from me outlining her novel on a pad of paper, I came up with an idea. “Can I have a piece of paper, Barrie?” Riiip. She tore out a piece, handed it to me, and then I was off.

My trick? I outlined only as far as the current chapter I was revising. And wow, did it work. I was able to lay this single narrator’s thread alongside the other narrators and spot the problems and ways to adjust everything. That’s the point of an outline, of course. But by only outlining up to the chapter I was working, I felt less boxed-in and more willing to go with needed changes as they revealed themselves. I wasn’t constantly aware that everything beyond what I could see on paper would upheave. So liberating!

Today was a very good writing session.

I’m Going to Walk in the Woods! (And Pitch Be Part of an Fab Writing Retreat)

I’ve been looking at photos of Mahoney State Park and getting quite excited. In September, I’ll be there, nestled inside a writing cabin, among other writing cabins, critiquing manuscripts and meeting with attendees for a wonderful weekend of writing and industry talk. We’ll fit in some social events, too. What a beautiful place to create. I’m really looking forward to this retreat.

I’m Going to Disney World! (and a Big, Excellent Writer’s Workshop)

I’m honored to be a part of SCBWI Florida’s wonderful Mid-Year Workshop in Orlando. It’s so fun to be with creative writers and illustrators, talking books, young reader, and craft. I’ll be a part of the YA track, covering teen novels. Picture book writers, illustrators, and MG/YA authors will all will find events for their interests and needs. (Registration is now OPEN at SCBWI Florida’s site http://bit.ly/2OdsWTW).

Plus, my kids are going to tag along to have fun at Disney World while I work, and then I’ll join the family after the workshop for time at Universal Studio’s Harry Potter park. Love that place!

How lucky that I get to be amongst this talented faculty, by the way?

author/illustrator Brian Floca Abrams editor Emma Ledbetter,   @brdnjamforemma Little, Brown editor Hannah MiltonHoliday House editor Elizabeth Lawauthor Joyce Sweeney author Alma Fullerton author Bonnie Bader author Alex Flinn author Greg Pincus author Margaret Mincks author agent & author Eric Smith author, illustrator, and art director Laurent Linn

Read Your WIP, Mrs. Halverson!

Last Saturday was Read Across America Day. The Friday before, I read to two classes of fourth graders. What a treat! Because I’m always in teaching mode, I started with a quick bit about how a book goes from a writer’s pencil to the paper, then gets feedback from an expert so the author can revise it before sending it off to a publisher.  That covered, on to the Big Event: I read aloud from my work-in-progress. 

Yep, my WIP. That hadn’t been the plan. I’d brought several published books for them to choose from. But the teacher, who’d been my sons’ teacher, knew I had a WIP and she’d heard parts of it already, so she and the kids encouraged me to read that. Thanks to smartphone technology, I was able to open up the Word doc on the spot and tuck in. The kids laughed when I’d hoped they would. They gasped when I hoped they would. And they begged me not to stop when my time was up, which I really really hoped they would.

I dare say, I got as much out of Read Across America as they did. Reading rocks!

A Doubter Decides to Cheer On

I tend to be skeptical of discovered manuscripts, wondering if the author just didn’t finish them or consciously deemed them not right for publication. Maybe the manuscript was tucked away for good reason, and the publication of it wasn’t what the author wanted, for her/himself or for their readers. But I am curious to read this this new Dr. Seuss book. The story and sketches were found in Theodor Geisel’s home 21 years after his passing, and have been taken to final art by illustrator Andrew Joyner. The book, Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum, is said to be full of old favs, with cameos by the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch, and Horton the Elephant, among other classics. And I do like the sound of pairing Dr. Seuss’s art with “full-color photographic reproductions of horse-themed artwork by Rosa Bonheur, Deborah Butterfield, Alexander Calder, Jacob Lawrence, Franz Marc, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, George Stubbs, and more.”

Interestingly, Geisel’s former art director has been overseeing the publication of this book. “Poring over the manuscript and Ted’s original sketches for Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum brought me right back to those days,” she says. I’ll bet it did. That’s what I’m hoping it’ll do for all those grown-ups who consider Dr. Seuss a beloved part of their youth. And I want his youngest readers to have a new treat.

When it all comes down to it, wouldn’t we all love another Dr. Seuss story that shines?

Deborah on Faculty of 2019 Spring Writer’s Retreat

I’m pleased to be on the faculty of SCBWI-Southern California’s “2019 Spring Writer’s Retreat” for Middle Grade & Young Adult fiction at Tahquitz Pines in Idyllwild on April 12 – 14, 2019. My esteemed fellow faculty are

Pam Gruber, Senior Editor Little, Brown Books for Young ReadersErika Turner, Editor- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt TradeKari Sutherland, Agent at Bradford Literary AgencyJennifer Azantian, Agent at Azantian Literary

The three-day, two-night retreat is full now, but they do have a cancellations list in case that sounds like something you’re interested in. 

Get Ready to Read Across America!

On March 1, 2019, schools, libraries, and communities across America will celebrate literacy with the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day. Of course, reading isn’t a one-day thing. Read every day, everywhere–with books in cozy nooks, with phone apps while standing in lines, with audiobooks while driving, exercising, or doing chores. Parents, read to your children as part of your bedtime ritual. I’ve been doing that with my triplets for 14 years and we all love it. In fact, last month when I was at my book club meeting, I got a call from one of my sons asking if I could come home in time to read to them before bed.

No kids around to tuck in? Then read aloud with friends, partners, and spouses for amazing benefits! I’ve just bought The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon and can’t wait to learn more about the benefits of reading aloud. I used to be an adult literacy tutor and we read aloud as part of our tutoring sessions. It’s fabulous time together.