Book sonograms

As I listened recently to author Lois Szymanski talk to writers  about different ways to get published, I was reminded of an old Frank Sinatra song, “My Way.”

Like Frank, she did it her way.

As an author of 27 books, she was well qualified to discuss publishing, marketing your work without an agent and viable ways to sell your work other than inside the pages of a book.

Perhaps because of the approaching birth of my first grandchild, Lois’ mention of a sonogram of her book caught my attention.

She explained that while she was writing, she told her children that she was pregnant with a book. So when the cover came in the mail her daughter ran in and said “Mom You’ve got a sonogram of your book.” The term was repeated with future book covers.

Book signing at Constellation Books

Lois combined her love of family, horses and writing to form a successful career. She helped build her writing credits with publication in at least 50 magazines, such as Highlights for Children and Weekly Reader.

“I wrote a lot of rebus,” she said. A rebus is a story of 100 words or less with characters, conflict and a resolution.

She started her career by selling nine novels for young readers to Avon Books, a large publishing house. After her editor left the publishing industry, she began self-marketing manuscripts and selling to small presses.

When her first nine books went out of print she resold the rights to those books to HarperFestival - a division of HarperCollins for a series called Charming Ponies. This also led her to sign a contract to do ghostwriting for the HarperCollins group.

Since then she has written picture books and fiction for young and middle grade readers, as well as numerous fiction and nonfiction books for adults.

Her love of horses is reflected in her writing. Her favorite book as a child was Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. Lois’ first published book was Patches by Avon.

The idea for the book Little Icicle, came from a story told by an old man she met at Chincoteaque. A Kindle edition of Little Icicle is now available on Kindle. Westminster artist and author Lona Queen provided the cover art.

“You should build a body of work,” Lois said. “Think about everything in your life and write about it.”

She recommended going to writing conferences and paying extra for a critique, participating in pitch wars, entering publisher contests, and considering small presses. Self-publishing also is fine, she said, but hire an editor.

Catherine Donaldson reading a
Gettysburg Ghost Gang book

After you are published you can promote your books by writing articles, building an author page, or using Twitter, Facebook and other social media. You need to promote yourself and your book.

Lois encouraged writers to think outside the box.  She uses non-book items such as horse note cards, jigsaw puzzles and identification cards.

“Persevere, follow all avenues, do not let your work stay out of print, she said. “Always ask for a reversion of rights in your contract.”

The True Story of Seafeather was edited and published again in 2011. The book tells how she and her husband were able to purchase a pony for their children and about the creation of The Feather Fund, which helps children purchase Chincoteaque pony foals. (www.featherfund.net or visit them on Facebook).

I’ve known Lois for about 10 years and have been impressed by her enthusiasm, optimism and easy way of communicating. I look forward to buying more Gettysburg Ghost Gang books co-authored by Lois and Shelly Sykes and many of her other books for my grandson as he grows and learns.

I will always remember his sonograms in connection with Lois' books.

Check out her columns and articles in the Carroll County Times and visit her on the web at www.loisszymanski.com If you want to write for children, look into her writing classes at Carroll Community College.

Lois also is a former Regional Advisor and supporter of the MD/DE/WV Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator.

Reviewing My Observations

A new blog,

A new year,

A new opportunity to write, to learn and hopefully to make a difference.

I originally chose the title josobservations because I envisioned this blog to be about a wide variety of issues, not just about reading and writing (although those are my favorite subjects).

There are so many things I want to write about and so little time. I get frustrated. However, when trying to decide what to write about for this blog, I decided to review my past blogging history and see if I accomplished this. Some topics explored were:

Books: Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Tina Sankovitch

The Extreme Novelist by Kathryn Johnson

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande

The Great Detective by Zack Dundas

Last One Home by Debbie Macomber

Why We Write, edited by Meredith Maran

Unthink, rediscover your creative genius by erik wahl

Write Small, Stylize: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style by Mark Garvey

Spunk & Bite: A writer’s guide to punchier, more engaging language & style by Arthur Plotnik

Perfect Bound by Katherine Pickett

What Price Eden by Dean Minnich

Christmas Carroll by Carroll County Writers

Author Tom Glenn

Writers have featured prominently in my blogs: John Steinbeck, Jeanne Adams, Tom Glenn, Dani Pettrey, Lucia St Clair Robson, Loree Lough, Doug Norton, D L Wilson, Julie Castillo, Lois Szymanski, Laura Bowers, Michele “Wojo” Wojciechowski, Mona Kirby, Fernando Quijano, B. Morrison, Jack Downs, Kerry Peresta, P J Wetzel, Betsy Riley, Alix Moore, Ally Machate and others.

 Other Topics included art featuring Jeffrey Kent, funny Christmas songs, and poetry in a blog about flying and my chapbook blog.

My writer friends and I enjoy sharing information about writing and promoting other writers. So, many of my blogs are about communication, such as writing prompts, how to get ideas, publicity and promotion, local, state and national writing groups, writing conferences, book festivals and challenges such as Nanowrimo.

Joelle Jarvis and Kerry Peresta at an
author event

Looking back, there is plenty of variety and there will be more in the future. I plan to discuss more books. Since I love to read and there are so many good books, this gives me an excuse to read even more. I think my blogs have improved and hopefully that trend will continue.

I want to write more about social issues, education, and interesting people and want to add more humor to my writing.

One of the main reasons I loved being a reporter was because of the variety. Now, this blog gives me the opportunity to write about books, events and interesting people. I find, hope you will find these interesting and enjoyable.

I welcome questions, comments and suggestions for future blogs. 

Nanowrimo 2015

November is Nanowrimo

The goal of Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

No Plot? No Problem!, A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing A Novel in 30 Days was written by Chris Baty, founder of Nanowrimo. He started the program in 1999 with 21 people. By 2004 it was up to 25,000 participants and in 2014 it increased to 325,142 participants.

“Writing for quantity rather than quality, I discovered, had the strange effect of bringing about both,” Baty wrote. “The roar of adrenaline drowned out the self-critical voices.”

What you need is a deadline, he said. Writing 50,000 words in 30 days means you write an average of 1,667 words a day. This gives you permission to make mistakes. First drafts are always rough.

Through Nanowrimo, he found four revelations:

     1. Enlightenment is overrated. Write sooner rather than later. You don’t have to wait until you are          older.

     2. Being busy is good for your writing.

     3. Plot happens. “Plot is simply the movement of your characters through time and over the course          of your book.”

     4. Writing for its own sake has surprising rewards.

He recommends keeping setting simple in the beginning. You can add more detail later. Also, don’t judge while you are writing, nor self-edit. Write all you can while you are excited. Don’t worry about getting it right…” he said. “That will come in the revisions…your goal is just to get it written.”

Another book that may help determined writers is Book in a Month, the fool-proof system for writing a novel in 30 days, by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D.

Besides giving tips, he also provides worksheets for you to use as you, such as story tracker, Writing Time Tracker, At a Glance Outline Sheet and Character Story Sketch.

Like Baty, she stresses that “You cannot write and rewrite at the same time if you want to finish a book in 30 days.”

Participating in Nanowrimo is a great incentive to write that novel you’ve been dreaming about. It gives you a goal, a deadline and at the end of the month, you will have a rough draft of a novel. That is a huge accomplishment.

Even if you don’t write 50,000 words, you have the start of a book, plus you have practiced your writing skills which will help you in the future. After the 30 days, take a break. Let life get back to normal before you start editing.

For those who feel they need a little more time, but are serious about writing a novel, I recommend The Extreme Novelist: The No-Time-to-Write Method for Drafting Your Novel in 8 Weeks  By Kathryn Johnson. Check out my blog about this book under January 2015.

Besides becoming part of the Nanowrimo community, you can receive writing tips, a format to keep track of your accomplishments and encouragement from published writers. How much you want to participate is up to you.

For more information check out the website, www.nanowrimo.org.

Prepare for Publication

Bethany House author Dani Pettrey spoke recently at the Carroll County Chapter,  Maryland Writer’s Association on “I Finished my Manuscript. What Now?”

Pettrey is the author of the Alaskan Courage series, which so far includes: Submerged, Shattered, Stranded, Silenced, and Submerged. She described her novels as inspirational, romantic suspense. They are about strong, determined women willing to face danger to right what is wrong.

Her books have been awarded the Daphne du Maurier award, two HOLT Medallions, a Christy Award nomination, two National Readers’ Choice Awards, the Gail Wilson Award of Excellence, and Christian Retailing’s Best Award.

Dani Pettrey

She shared her experience along the road to publication, saying it was easier for her than for many writers. However, she wrote well, edited, studied her craft and was prepared when an opportunity was presented.

There is so much advice for writers out there, she said, recommending that you only take advice that resonates with you. There is so much variety and so many voices.

After fine-tuning their manuscript, most writers should start looking for an agent. You can research agents online, through writing organizations and by reading the front of books. Look for agents who are interested in your genre. Do not send a book of erotica or adult horror.to an agent who specializes in children’s books.

Also, writers should not send samples of their writing to editors and agents at the same time. Most agents have access to publishers they think may be interested in your book. However, if you already sent it to an editor and it was rejected, they cannot go back to that editor.

She agrees with the advice that attending writing conferences is helpful, not only for learning, but for meeting agents and editors. She always took to conferences a “one sheet” with a synopsis of her story and a short bio. Also, be prepared to give an elevator pitch if asked. This is a very condensed version of you book, like a movie description.

You submission package should Include a query letter, synopsis, two links and sample chapters. It helps to have your polished book (not rough copy) read by critique partners or by a freelance editor or paid critiquer.

Membership in writing organizations can be helpful. Most organizations have a newsletter or blog, provide content that can be helpful in your genre, include contact industry details and provide other benefits.

Writing can be a lonely business. Learn to enjoy the process. It helps to keep an encouragement file and reward yourself periodically.

While waiting for replies from agents or editors, begin to write your next book.

Check her out at www.danipettrey.com or on Facebook.com/danipettrey.

Pitching, Querying and Proposing

Award-winning editor Ally E. Machate recommended attending writing conferences and online events to make contacts in the publishing world, as well as for learning and meeting other writers, as she spoke on Pitching, Querying and Proposing.

Ally E. Machate

As well as attending conferences to learn and meet other writers, they offer a great way to make connections, she said, especially those with one-on- one meetings. This is a chance to sit down with an agent or editor. Later you can mention this meeting in a query letter, such as “I met you at…and you said…Here is...”

Ally worked with ex-Navy Commander Mark Divine, A SEAL for 20 years, to write The Way of the SEAL, a practical guide to defining and focusing on your goals and how to think like a SEAL.

Having worked in the publishing business for years, Ally was able to explain what your book goes through if it gets past the slush pile or gatekeepers, the decision makers.

For medium to large publishers, you need an agent, someone who knows the houses that publish your type of book. Search for agents who may be interested in your type of writing. Then find out what publishers they’ve sold to and what connections they have.

Lists of agents and editors are helpful, but they often use a generic email address. You may find a better source through networking with others. Find people who may be interested in your type of writing, with sources such as LinkedIn. Research magazines, literary journals and other online sites.

Try to learn a little about the agents or publications you are considering. Then you can write “I read your interview in …” or “I learned you were looking for a….”

Be sure to follow submission guidelines and make sure you get their name and gender correct. Propose one project at a time, although can mention if you have others.

She recommended giving the agent ammunition with a good synopsis. They can use it to sell your book and if they are successful, the publishing house can use it in audio pitches for their salespeople.

Do not send out queries if you are not quite finished your book. If they are interested and ask you to send a copy right away and you still need to finish writing and editing the story, you may lose this opportunity.

Ally and writer Mike Crowl

Ally explained that platform is industry language for anything that can be used to sell your book. This may include awards, publishing credits, a blog or social media column, credentials, ties to large organizations, or connections.  Planks are what you stand on to stand above the crowd.

Agents and editors will search your name, so it helps if you have a footprint online: a website, blog, Facebook or Twitter account. 

For fiction, authors should send a query letter and a synopsis. Fiction and memoir are treated the same. For non-fiction, a detailed book proposal is necessary. A proposal may be more than 20 pages of detail.

Start your query letter with some kind of hook, a personal connection or catchy plot line, she said. Next you want a description of the project. Think of this like writing marketing strategy or cover copy. Then tell who are you and why you are you proposing this book. Give them your credentials. By the end of your query, you want them to ask to see your complete work.

A synopsis is usually three to five pages double-spaced, a complete recap of your entire story – start to finish. Focus on main stuff. Give them a flavor of the book.

Novels are generally 60,000  to 80,000 words.  Non-fiction usually runs 50,000 to 70,000 words.

Ally is a bestselling book collaborator and expert publishing consultant. Since 1999, she has assisted, guided, and supported would-be authors on their publishing journey and takes pride in serving as their books' best ally. You can learn more about Ally at www.thewritersally.com and www.allymachate.com.

Remember:

If you don’t get that first book published it doesn’t mean you are not good, it just means you might not be good enough right now. Keep writing. Also, it is important to get to know your craft. This is a business.

CCMWA President Kerry Peresta
and Ally Machate

Take your business seriously.

This event was sponsored by the Carroll County Chapter of the Maryland Writers Association. For more information, check out www.marylandwriters.org or www.carrollcountymwa.org.

writing prompts

The purpose of writing prompts - to encourage you to write.

They give you a chance to practice your writing skills.
They can get the creative juices flowing.
They offer a challenge.
They are fun.

Can you write something passable in a short amount of time on a specific subject? Let your imagination run free. No one else has to read it unless that is what you want.

Some dictionary definitions for prompt include: To move to action, to incite, to bring forth, and to be ready and quick to act as occasion demands.

A prompt is just a topic. It can be one word, a sentence or even a picture. You jot down ideas and then try to quickly write something from it.

What if your topic was “night writers.” Would you write a memoir about how you do most of your creative writing at night, after everyone else is in bed? Maybe you could create a story where the revolutionaries met at night to write and print information to distribute the next day. Could what they write lead to the overthrow of a dictator or just land them in prison? Is the pen really mightier than the sword? It is your story and it can go where you want it to go.

Prompts can help a writer get past writer’s block by trying different approaches. Instead of just staring at a blank page, a prompt can get you writing.

It is beneficial to write just for fun, to experiment, to see things from a different viewpoint, before returning to your main project. This is less stressful writing.

Many writing magazines provide prompts for their readers. There are entire books written about the value of prompts to ignite the creative process. You also can find sites that offer prompts online.

Writers are pushed to practice, practice, practice. Prompts give you a chance to do just that.

In our writing group, we can share our prompts and receive feedback on what we have written and also see what others wrote. It is interesting to see the different writing topics and styles that come from people using the same prompt.

You might even take the same idea and rewrite it with different characters or set it in a different time period. Sometimes you might expand your short prompt piece into something longer.

I save most of my prompts and sometimes review them for possible story ideas for future writing.

Whether you use prompts to spur creativity, kick-start a writing project, win a contest, or just to have fun, prompts are a writer’s friend.

So here we go. The following prompt was suggested for one of our recent critique group meetings.

The prompt: 

You wake up one morning to find that you are your five-year-old self, with your parents again, with all of the memories and experiences of your current life. Write this scene and express the emotion and frustration your character undergoes as you internally try to sort this out. 

My story using that prompt: 

It was Christmas morning. I was five years old. My brothers were pulling me out of bed, wanting to go downstairs and see what Santa had brought us. I threw on my slippers and raced down the steps with them.

“Mom and Dad get up. It’s Christmas. Santa’s been here.”

We reached for our stockings, which were hung on the banister. We could go through them while we waited for our parents. Jacks and yoyos, candy and fruit, a new comb and a sock? You never knew what Santa would put in your stocking. It was a fun way to wait until Dad came out to turn on the tree.

We could open one present while Mom fixed coffee, then she and Dad watched us open the rest, one at a time. Torn wrapping paper began to pile up around us. I didn’t take time to play with one thing before I was opening another. Finally, the gifts were open and I looked around to decide where to start.

Suddenly I realized everything seemed so immature. I’d feel silly playing with silly putty and did I really want to be a cowboy, with a red felt hat and plastic gun? Something  didn’t feel right. I looked at Mom and Dad, my brothers and then looked at myself in the hall mirror. Yes, I was five, but something was wrong.

I didn’t feel like five. I felt at least five times older than that. Wasn’t I just thinking last night of going to work today to finish the Bromberg contract?  Thinking that Christmas just wasn’t fun anymore. The magic was gone.

Now it was here again, at least for the rest of the family, and for me at least for a little while. But now I was thinking like an adult again, even if I didn’t look it. How was I going to get out of this mess?

They wouldn’t let a five year old into the office. How would I get there? Would Dad take me? He probably didn’t even know how to get to New York, much less where Clark and Patrick, Inc. was located.  He probably would think I was just playing being an adult.

Suddenly I began to perspire and sat back horrified. How long would I be stuck here? True, no one was waiting for this 25-year-old workaholic, but how long could I pretend to be five?

“Are you okay Billy?” Dad asked, moving over to ruffle my hair. I looked up at him and smiled.

“I’ll fix some pancakes for breakfast,” Mom said, giving each of us a hug before going into the 

kitchen. “Just play with your toys until I call you.”

“I guess Santa thought you were all good,” Dad joked. “He must not have been paying much attention.”

“Can we go sledding after breakfast?” Danny asked. “There’s plenty of snow. We’ll show Billy how to steer his new sled.”

“Sure,” he said, but I was no longer listening. I had forgotten how good it felt to do things with my brothers. I still received letters from them, sometimes with pictures of young nieces and nephews, but I hadn’t been home since graduating college and had never invited any of them to my apartment.

I had forgotten what love and security meant  since leaving my family in the cold mountains of West Virginia for the excitement of New York City. I had moved on and up, no longer embarrassed by my coal mining father nor store clerk mother. But I hadn’t realized how lonely life could be, even surrounded by millions of people.

Just last week I was wishing I could turn back the clock to when life seemed full of possibilities. Had that happened? Was this just a dream or part of a Christmas miracle?

“Pancakes are on the table. Come and get them,” Mom called.

 Rushing to the kitchen with my brothers, I decided to forget the Bromberg contract and just enjoy some of Mom’s hotcakes and homemade jam. 

More Steinbeck

John Steinbeck was a prolific letter writer, expressing his activities, thoughts and writing process.

If you read my September 20^th post about Steinbeck, you will know how much I enjoyed learning about his life from Steinbeck, A Life in Letters, which was compiled by his wife Elaine Steinbeck and good friend Robert Wallsten.

After a week’s break, I continued reading the 800-plus page book and I found so much more I wanted to share. I had trouble finding time to read all his letters, often containing minor information to friends, but I kept finding gems among Steinbeck’s letters, and just couldn’t stop reading.

He was a complex man, as most people are, but few people can reveal their feelings as well as he did. 

He loved writing and penned:

“I must say I do have fun with my profession…”

“I’m starting a new book and it is fun. They are all painful fun while I am doing them.”

“I approach the table every morning with a sense of Joy.”  “The yellow pages are beginning to be populated with people and with ideas.”

 “To be a writer implies a kind of promise that one will do the best he can without reference to external pressures of any kind.”

One winter he wrote, “The air has muscle.” What a great way to describe it.

“It takes just as long to write a short piece as a long one.”

About plays – “Dialogue carry the whole burden not only of movement but of character.”

“…it never gets any easier. The process of writing a book is the process of outgrowing it. I am just as scared now as I was 25 years ago.”

He wrote to Peter Benchley in 1956, “”A writer lives in awe of words for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you. They pick up flavors and odors like butter in a refrigerator.”

“Of course a writer rearranges life, shortens time intervals, sharpens events, and devises beginnings, middles and ends and this is arbitrary because there are no beginnings nor any ends.”

As a former journalist, I was pleased that he was not completely against journalism, as so many people are today.

To John P. McKnight of the U S Information Service in Rome he wrote, “What can I say about journalism? It has the greatest virtue and the greatest evil. It is the first thing the dictator controls. It is the mother of literature and the perpetrator of crap. In many cases it is the only history we have and yet it is the tool of the worst men. But over a long period of time and because it is the product of so many men, it is perhaps the purest thing we have. Honesty has a way of creeping in even when it was not intended.”

He included some basic hints about writing in a letter to Robert Wallsten, 1962. I am just using excerpts from the letter.

“I know that no one really wants the benefit of anyone’s experience which is probably why it is so freely offered. But the following are some of the things I have had to do to keep from going nuts.”

1. “Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish.” He advises Wallsten to write just one page for each day. “Then when it is finished you are always surprised.”
2. “Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down….” Good advice if you are planning to participate in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo).
3. “Forget your generalized audience…..In writing, your audience is one single reader….”
4. “If a scene or a section gets the better of you and you still think you want it – bypass it and go on. When you have finished the whole you can come back to it and then you may find that the reason it gave trouble is because it didn’t belong there.”
5. “Beware of a scene that becomes too dear to you.”
6. “If you are using dialogue – say it aloud as you write it.”

We’ve heard most of this before, but it never hurts to be reminded.

In 1960s, he wrote, “I find I love words very much. And gradually I am getting the a series of dictionaries of modern languages. The crazy thing about all this is that I don’t use a great variety of words in my work at all. I just love them for themselves.”

Steinbeck wrote newspaper and magazine articles, plays, short stories and even some poetry, besides his famous novels. He was often controversial. But he wrote with feeling and clarity. It was not surprising that he was awarded the Novel Prize for Literature 1962 and received Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.

“…a writer like a knight – must aim at perfection, and failing, not fall back on the cushion that there is no perfection. He must believe himself capable of perfection even when he fails. And that is probably why it is the loneliest profession in the world and the most lost,” he wrote. “I come toward the ending of my life with the same ache for perfection I had as a child.”

SCBWI Conference Review

Two weeks ago, T. A. Barron, opened the 20^th Anniversary  Conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, MD/DE/WV speaking on “the Magic of Words.” With the power of words, authors create new worlds and offer inspiration, he said. Authors must believe in their art and try to find just the right word. Writing can be like weaving, finding different colors and textures. The threads have to fit.  He also gave comparisons to making music and planting a seed.  Barron is the author of the Merlin Saga, which includes 12 books, the Great Tree of Avalon trilogy The Hero’s Trail and many other books. More information and his documentary film about young people, Dream Big, can be found at www.tabarron.com.

Jill Santapolo spoke next on creating realistic, relatable characters. Characters should be interesting, imperfect, vulnerable and kind. She stressed that characters must have goals and motivations: both a plot goal and a heartline or emotional goal. Santapolo is a PenquinGroup Executive Editor and author of several books. She also teaches fiction writing through McDaniel College and is an MFA thesis adviser at The New School.

An agent with Erin Murphy Literary Agency, Ammi-Joan Paquette focused on writing the beginning of a novel. The first sentence should hook the reader and set the tone. The first page is no place for backstory or a lot of scenic description, but should introduce the main character, create story tension and give hints about where the story is going. It is a chance to entice the reader (or editor) to continue reading the first chapter and more. She also stressed preparing a pitch - talking about your book aloud - what is fresh and why it stands out. For more information check out ajpaquette.com. 

Steve Mooser is author of more than 60 books and current president of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, which he co-founded 40 years ago with Lyn Oliver. He spoke about a different level of literacy and stressed taking creative control of your work. Smart, interactive content is important to compete in the world of websites, blogs and digital books. His Class Clown Academy is a middle grade book and interactive website www.classclownacademy.com.

Illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky gave a guided tour through some of his book projects. Even writers can apply some of the same principles, such as analyzing the values at play, drawing upon your experiences and working with publishers. Illustrators face many of the same challenges as writers and since you may be working on this project for some time, it is important to love your work. His illustrations won many awards including the Caldecott Medal for a retelling of Rapunzel and three Caldecott Honors for Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin and Swamp Angel. He shared his ideas and artwork from His Z is for Moose, one of only two 2012 children’s books to receive six starred reviews from the six major review journals

Making sure a picture book isn’t too quiet (one of the main reasons an editor may reject a book) was the subject of Sylvie Frank, an associate editor at Paula Wiseman Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. She stressed structure: beginning, complications, climax, falling action and resolution.  Something new must happen on every spread.

Focusing on the Dos and Don’ts for crafting natural dialogue that flows and keeps readers’ interest was the subject covered by Evelyn M. Fazio, an award-winning publisher who has three decades of book publishing, authored several books herself and now focuses  on YA and middle grade fiction through her agency, EMF Books LLC.  The little details that can make or break a book include balancing sentence length, sounding natural, making it clear who is speaking, making the dialogue match the character’s personality and balancing dialogue and narration.

I tried offering just some information from each of the main speakers. Believe me, lots more detail was provided, with interaction between the speakers and conference attendees.  I also met new writers and connected with friends. Besides being enjoyable, conferences like this, also motivate us to write more and help us write better.

The SCBWI local organization scheduled their annual conference for September 21 and 22 this year. More information is available at www.mddewvscbwi.org/. Check out regional events.