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For years I mistakenly thought that writing was just about words. About particularly poignant sentences. Flourishes of the language. Creating a passage so magnificent, it makes the reader stop and ponder the meaning of life.
Of course, it isn’t just about words. It’s about all the words, together. It’s about the story.
So in pursuit of the best story this week, I had to kill darlings. We’ve all heard the phrase before, but what does it actually mean? What are we bludgeoning to death?
In short, “darlings” are pieces of writing that do not further your story. They are superfluous lines only there because you want to admire their shine and glow. Ooh, sparkly!
The reader should not be jolted out of the story by the beauty of your words. The point is to draw the reader further in, not shove them out.
So what do these little darlings look like?
Sorry, not Kristy McNichol.
These darlings may drag a scene on too long. The point has already been made, but you stick it to the reader one last time in such a witty way. Sorry, kill it.
Sometimes we get so caught up in fun devices like alliteration, internal rhyme and onomatopoeia that we end up with gobbledygook rather than glory. Sorry, kill it.
On occasion, we write jokes that fall flat. Sure, we laugh hysterically but to everyone else they go SPLAT, right in the kisser. Sorry, kill it.
You know that character who magically appears, says one important thing and then leaves? Why? Where’d she go? Is she ever coming back? No? Well then, murder must be committed.
And if we’re writing a story based upon real events, we can feel inclined to include things that actually happened, even if they don’t necessarily add anything but word count. Kill, kill, kill.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “Single Effect” theory suggests that everything in a short story should contribute to an overall emotional theme. Everything you put into the story, he said, should be carefully selected to elicit the desired effect.
And since we’re writing what can be considered super-short stories, we need to be even more diligent about leading the reader down a specific path. Veering off means higher word count—which can kill the story’s publication potential. Sacrifice some darlings and save the whole village!
Super-short shorts may have killed WHAM!
Finally, don’t be sad about killing your darlings. When you have to kill one or two, just refer to these gifs. They’ll make you feel better. (I know they helped me.)
We have a winner for Catherine Bailey and Sarita Rich’s giveaway. Sarita’s daughter Stella did the honors:
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Congratulations, MELISSA STOLLER! I will be contacting you via email to arrange the prize.
Watching that sweet video makes me want to write a story to make Stella giggle! Consider her cuteness your motivation for the week!
by author Catherine Bailey & illustrator Sarita Rich
Thank you for hosting us today, Miss Tara. We are excited to be here, and we are excited to celebrate the release of HYPNOSIS HARRY, and we are excited to talk about each other and, well, we are just really excited. So without further ado, here is us interviewing us.
1. Okay, Sarita, Harry’s expressions are some of my favorite moments in the book. Was he, or any of the characters or images, based on your family or home life?
As much fun as Harry was to draw, I really liked having a sister. In an earlier draft, she was older, but I decided maybe a baby/toddler would be funnier, especially on the last page. And I had a (sometimes) cooperative model at home, so that was helpful. I also liked having a cat in the story. I’ve had my share of overweight cats that could squish themselves into tiny cardboard boxes and fall asleep.
2. I love that background info – especially the bits about the sister and the cat. (I have both.) So what was the most challenging aspect of illustrating Harry, and how did you overcome it?
Timing. I received the manuscript late September 2014 and had to submit a sample spread before October 10. I was pregnant with an October 23 due date and thought I had plenty of time to finish the spread. At my 38-week appointment, my doctor said I could go into labor any day, possibly that very night. “But I can’t! I haven’t finished the spread!” I thought. I sent the file on October 9, and Stella was born October 12. Sky Pony offered the contract shortly afterward, and I had to figure out how to be a mom and an illustrator at the same time. I was a little sleep deprived until June, but when an opportunity to work with editors from like Sky Pony, and an author like Catherine comes along, you say YES and sleep later.
3. I had NO CLUE you were birthing babies during all this. You win the amazing illustrator ward of the year for sure! And you have been equally amazing with the promotional / post-publication support. What unique skills/opportunities do you think an illustrator can provide to/for the marketing of a picture book?
Illustrators have a chance to bring a book to life in many different ways. When you invited me to collaborate on launch party ideas, I learned an illustrator can extend the life of the book way beyond the reading. For HYPNOSIS HARRY, I helped create fun extras like coloring pages, drawing activities, and a craft demonstration. Since we both love giveaways, I suggested that since we couldn’t attend the other’s launch party, that we each donate an item to give away at our respective parties. And one thing I love most about illustrators is seeing a preview of process—a drawing demo, for example–because usually all we get to see is the finished product. When I find a book I admire, one of the first things I wonder is, “How did the illustrator do this?!” Seeing what goes into the creation of a book makes you appreciate the work so much more.
4. I do love giveaways. And your genius craft ideas. And Nutella. But I digress. What part of marketing HYPNOSIS HARRY are you most looking forward to doing?
I have some school visits lined up on April 8th, which happens to be during reading week at this particular school. I’m looking forward to reading to kids and drawing with them and giving them free stuff (bookmarks!).
5. Okay one last deep and insightful question. What was one NO from your parents that you wish had been a YES?
I’m from a treeless part of northern Alaska, and therefore my sister and I could never have a tree house. We had to settle for a ground level clubhouse. One summer we devised the perfect set up of old pallets and scrap plywood, complete with a clandestine hole in the ground in which I deposited empty candy wrappers. At one point, I tried to build a fire inside the clubhouse to destroy evidence of said candy consumption. I made sure to put the fire out completely, etc. but Dad found out and said NO to unsupervised backyard fires. He was especially furious because I had overlooked the fact that our clubhouse was built right next to the 50-gallon oil tank that contained our winter fuel…
That’s hilarious. And also dangerous. I am very glad you did not blow yourself up Sarita. And I am very, VERY glad you are my illustrator. Thank you! Okay, my turn in the hot seat.
1. In hindsight, I’m also grateful for parents who tempered the pyromaniac within so that I could live to meet Harry. What made you want to tell his story?
I read some little online blurb somewhere about a hypnosis demonstration gone wrong – the performer couldn’t snap his audience out of their trance. So I added hypnosis to my list of picture book ideas and forgot about it. A few weeks later I was trying to explain to my three-year-old why she couldn’t wear my wedding dress to school and it hit me – what if she were in charge? What if she hypnotized me and her dad? What would she do?! It would be terrifying, but also funny. Also, when I was a kid, I had a book called something like How To Get Your Parents To Give You Everything You Ever Wanted. That book was definitely a big inspiration too.
2. I love this insight into the inspiration behind the book. Speaking of others being in charge, how do you strike the balance between including too many illo notes and trusting the illustrator?
How do I strike the balance? Um, I don’t. I’m awful. LOL! My early drafts include dozens of art notes. I guess it is just part of my writing process to visualize every image and page turn. Fortunately I have great critique partners, and a wonderagent, who save me from myself. They help me to cut most of the art notes, which is a good thing. It is critical to trust the illustrator, art director, and publisher. They know so much more and do a much better job at that side of things. Let’s just say that if you and I both drew a stick figure, your stick figure would be way prettier.
3. I can see my stick figure getting carried away with clothes and eyelashes but the important point is that YOU are a marketing genius whose marketing plans should be SCBWI conference presentations. So what are the 3 most important things you keep in mind when developing a marketing plan for your picture books?
Audience, Budget, and Feasibility.
Defining your Audience makes you focus your efforts, which makes everything you do – calls, emails, school visits, signings, tweets, etc. – more effective. For example, I know my audience likes books, so bookmarks are a good giveaway (thank you Sarita for those!). Hairy poisonous spiders on the other hand, are not.
I hate to say Budget – but books are a business, like it or not, and I can’t spend a lot of money on items that don’t have a healthy return (even if I really, really want to!).
Feasibility means “Will Catherine actually do this thing or will she wimp out because she’s tired / doesn’t understand it / ran out of time?” For example, I would love to drive to every library within 200 miles and show them HYPNOSIS HARRY and convince them to add it to their collection. But unless I win some sort of babysitting and gas lottery, I can’t. So I’ll tone it down and just drive to every one within 30 miles 🙂 And I will do a lot of outreach online.
4. Those tips are sure to help us maintain sanity. Moving on: what major differences do you see in your marketing strategies for this book vs. MIND YOUR MONSTERS?
The biggest difference is that I can market HYPNOSIS HARRY towards schools because it came out during the school year. Also I now have dozens of school visits under my belt from my first book, MIND YOUR MONSTERS, so I can go back to those contacts. Overall marketing the second book is easier because I have at least some clue as to what I’m doing. But there’s always more to learn!
5. And finally, because I have to know, what was one NO from your parents that you wish had been a YES?
My grandparents had a farm, and on that farm was Molly. Molly was a horse and she belonged to my older sister Sarah Helen. Eventually I wanted a horse too (they really should have seen that coming), but my parents responded with a firm No. Instead my sister was instructed to share Molly with me. You can just imagine how that went. I spent a lot of time trying to ride the barn cats.
Thank you for reading. And there’s more! A giveaway (wheee)! Just leave a note in the comments below and you will be entered to win a Skype consult with author Catherine Bailey and illustrator Sarita Rich. Consider it a tag team critique where we will take a look at your picture book manuscript, and then chat about it with you in person. Well, in “digital-person.” You know what we mean.
Every year the NJ-SCBWI conference holds a Juried Art Show for illustrators. Back in 2013, the theme was “Down the Rabbit Hole”. I strolled the exhibit and stopped in my tracks at this image:
How marvelous is this? It immediately reminded me of Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge series, with field mice living in homes carved into the trees.
These bunnies were so busy in every room of their carrot cave, so much motion and expression and general giggly cuteness. Just delightful. The illustration made me smile. I took note of the illustrator’s name, Jason Kirschner, and vowed to seek him out that weekend.
I’m always looking for talented new illustrators. After all, an illustrator makes my words and characters come alive. They make me look good. I want the best artists to break into the business so that one day I might be able to work with them.
I’d like to think that Jason and I hit it off. We became friends. (Note: I did fall at his feet. Literally. But quite by accident.) He won the Juried Art Show in the unpublished category and became noted as an up-and-comer. He soon landed an agent. And I am so pleased that his debut picture book, MR. PARTICULAR, will be published next month…and that he’s chosen to premiere the trailer right here, right now!
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Picky kids everywhere, rejoice! Your choosy champion is swinging into action–as long as there’s nothing sticky or gooey in sight. In Jason’s hilarious debut, this discriminating daredevil wants to save the day, but he’s got a few rules and restrictions to work around first. Any kid who pushes peas around his plate is gonna relate.
The story is funny and soaked to the core with truths about particular kids. We all know them and their demands. Why it took so long to recognize them in a picture book, I’ll never know. But, luckily, MR. PARTICULAR was a 2013 PiBoIdMo idea!
Here’s the proof:
The other interesting thing about Jason, besides being a former Art Director for Late Night with David Letterman, is that he has twins. And those twins provided the voice-overs for the trailer. I decided to ask the talent a few questions…
Mr. Particular is one persnickety person. How did you prepare for this challenging role?
[Abe]: I am already persnickety, so I didn’t have to do any preparing.
Your fans will want to know, as twins, are you anything alike? Who is the more particular of the pair?
[Syd]: Abraham is more particular and some similarities are that we both like to go swimming and we both love pizza and ice cream cake and finally we both LOVE Harry Potter.
Why do you recommend kids and parents read Mr. Particular?
[Syd]: Parents might want to relate Mr. Particular to their kids and kids might want to read Mr. Particular because there are some funny parts and some exciting parts which makes it more fun to read.
[Abe]: The parents might want to read Mr. Particular to their kids so that they can teach them that it is okay to be particular.
Congratulations on MR. PARTICULAR, Jason, and on having such smart and funny kiddos.
Everyone, be on the lookout for this particular picture book on May 10th from Sterling!
I got zapped with the flu two weeks ago. Really walloped me, like being endlessly pummeled with pillows at a sleepover party. Just when I thought I was getting better—PHHHHHHUMPT! Down I went. Cold compresses, hot tea, lukewarm toast. Sleepless nights, endless days. What a funk!
Now I’m happy to be back in the land of the living. Did you know there’s a sun out there? And trees budding? Birds singing?
There’s also winners waiting to be announced!
Natalie Lynn Tanner, c’mon down! You won a copy of Pat Zietlow Miller’s THE QUICKEST KID IN CLARKSVILLE!
Hey, Pat! PJHollow, that is! You won a Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard!
And Rimna! PEEP & EGG is yours!
I will be emailing the winners shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered.
Didn’t win? Here’s another chance!
In celebration of being well again, and in celebration of my first-born’s 13th birthday TODAY (OMG, I’m the mother of a teenager!!!), and in celebration of my fourth book, NORMAL NORMAN, I’m giving away an extended classroom Skype session. I’ll teach a writing lesson that fits in with your current curriculum. Yes, a custom half-hour lesson just for your class or your child’s class…or your homeschool group. All you have to do is leave a comment below. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.
And now I shall get back to writing. I took an extra-long break while I was sick, although I think I missed an opportunity to capture hilarity that only 103-degree-fever hallucinations can create!
In Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Mike Damone counsels Rat on how to pick up girls with his fool-proof 5-point plan. Part of the plan is to be relaxed and cool at all times. “Wherever you are, that’s the place to be.” Damone leans back casually and shrugs. “Isn’t this GREAT?”
That’s exactly how I feel about NORMAL NORMAN‘s blog tour. Every stop has been the place to be!
This is my first real blog tour. I say “real” because I never organized an official one before–I just asked blogs I knew if I could do a guest post. I didn’t schedule them, I just did it when I could. Yeah, I’m not much of a planner.
My publisher organized this tour, and I’ve discovered many great new blogs that you might want to check out, too.
My heart was warmed by Inspired by Savannah when Savannah’s mom realized that Normal Norman would help her daughter feel okay about her shyness.- Librarian Margie Myers-Culver astounded me with astute observations of the book and its illustrations. Things I didn’t even realize! And ya gotta love that “Quintessential Quirkiness” title!
- The Normal Norman tissue paper craft from This Picture Book Life & Homemade City is so colorful and fun!
- I can’t wait to visit A Foodie Bibliophile because I AM A FOODIE BIBLIOPHILE!
- Then this cool Activity Kit was made especially for the tour. Click below to download it in PDF! There’s a crossword, word search, maze, spot the differences challenge and a coloring page.
There’s so much more that just tickles me purple. I’m extremely thankful to those who are participating in the #NormalNormanBlogTour and to Sterling for putting it all together. Many giveaways are still going on now, so check the blog schedule above and go win a copy of Norman!
If you’re doing a blog tour, I recommend keeping all due dates and posting dates in a spreadsheet, even though I feel dizzy at the sight of all those columns and rows! Think Spicoli in Mr. Hand’s class. Time to order a pizza! (I’m sure Norman will want pepperoni.)
Phew! What a whirlwind this week has been! The weather flip-flopped between winter and summer, the Bat Mitzvah RSVPs flooded in and my fourth book released to critical and commercial acclaim. It was also the week that I got a swift kick in the gut.
The jolt came in the form of an Amazon 1-star review that felt like a personal attack because of its mean-spirited content and because two more 1-star reviews followed for my other books. My first thought—someone out there really hates me. (And really idolizes her cat.)
But then I corrected myself. Someone out there really hates my success. The success that’s come from eight years of hard work, learning about the business of children’s literature, building a respected blog, and writing (and rewriting) picture books. Someone out there is envious and thinks that the best way to feel better is to put me down. And it’s the most impossible thing for me to understand.
I want to say to this person—please, don’t feel threatened—feel buoyed. Why? Because the children’s book market is doing so well. Think about it, picture books could be dead right now. The portent of their demise came…but has now passed, unwarranted. The Newbery Medal was awarded to a picture book! Ebooks didn’t replace a physical book in a parent’s lap. Apps and video games didn’t rob us of story time. Children’s books remain a bright spot in the publishing industry. So be happy for those people who have worked hard to achieve and work hard to achieve, too.
Look, LADY PANCAKE AND SIR FRENCH TOAST released on the same day as EVERYONE LOVES BACON. Did Josh Funk and Kelly DiPucchio go at each other’s throats…or breakfasts? No. Those books help one another sell even better because they are both delicious titles. Right now there are a ton of YETI books being published and it’s making YETIS become all the rage. People are now seeking out abominable snowmen books because they see they’re becoming popular. Our books HELP one another.
Now, this is not to say I’ve never been jealous. Of course I have! It’s a natural human emotion. But I’ve never sought to strike down someone who has enjoyed success. Whether or not I personally like a book, that artist deserves the sales and the accolades. Hopefully, one of my books will reach the same level of success some day. That’s what I keep working toward.
I think this attitude comes down to the fact that I’ve been kicked in the gut before, but by a disease. Being diagnosed with MS was the worst thing to ever happen to me, and after being in a funk for a year, I realized that if this was the worst thing then I had it pretty darn good. Great husband, two beautiful daughters, a comfortable home—that’s all I really need to be happy. Maybe it sounds cliché, but it’s true.
I was warned that speaking out about this review might cause a backlash. After all, maybe the review was legitimate and I’m just a sour puss. Sure, I could be overreacting. But the timing of the review (just minutes after I posed about NORMAL NORMAN’s #1 New Release status on social media) and having two more appear on different books suggests to me otherwise. However, yes, that person had the right to leave those reviews and I accept that.
Thankfully I’ve moved past that initial sting. I have, more than ever, realized that authors and illustrators are in this together—if we’re to keep selling books, we’re to celebrate each other’s successes. Be happy for those who get on the best-seller lists or receive starred reviews from the journals. They are bringing attention to our format and keeping it strong and desired. They have worked hard for the limelight and they should shine. My hope is that we can all shine just as brightly…and yes, even Marie Poppy’s cat.
The creators of PEEP & EGG, author Laura Gehl and illustrator Joyce Wan, are letting us hear a peep from their recent conversation about making this seriously cute new book…which is just in time for Easter! It’s all it’s cracked up to be! (Man, I’m really pushing the puns lately.)
Joyce Asks Laura….
Joyce: How did you first come up with the idea for this book?
Laura: With four kids of my own, I spent many years hearing I’M NOT every day. And by every day, I really mean every minute. But on the rare occasion that I got a full night’s sleep, or a full bar of chocolate, I could recognize that my kids and their peers weren’t actually trying to drive adults crazy (most of the time). A lot of the hesitation and I’M NOT came from nervousness, rather than stubbornness. I hope Peep and Egg will help parents start conversations with their kids about fears—however ridiculous those fears may seem. And I hope Peep and Egg will remind toddlers and preschoolers that they can overcome their fears.
Joyce: You left a lot of room in the text for illustrations, which was great for me! Is that a challenging thing to do as a writer?
Laura: YES!!!!!!!!! It is extremely hard to do! As an author, you have to resist the temptation to write a zillion detailed illustration notes and instead trust the illustrator to make magic happen. I always need to remind myself that if I am doing my job correctly, then my words—without the pictures—should only tell part of the story. If a child could hear only the words and get the full experience of my story, then I’ve totally failed.
Joyce: When you were writing this book, how did you imagine the illustrations?
Laura: I imagined the illustrations like Richard Scarry’s illustrations in I Am A Bunny. Just as you can see every hair on his bunny, I imagined seeing every feather on Peep. It’s hilarious to think about that now, since your style is totally different and yet I LOVE LOVE LOVE your interpretation of my words, and the magic we made together. That’s what I mean about trusting the illustrator—and also trusting the editor to make the perfect partnership between words and pictures. I know Janine, our wonderful editor, had you in mind from the beginning. It was her wisdom that made Peep and Egg the adorable book it is today!
Joyce: Peep and Egg is also written entirely in dialogue. Was that something that evolved as you were writing the story or was that something you decided from the start?
Laura: Over the various versions of Peep and Egg, certain aspects of the story changed—the ending most of all. But the story started in dialogue and stayed that way through every revision.
Joyce: Would you say you are more like Peep or more like Egg? (I’m more like Peep and tend to jump head first into everything!)
Laura: Now I know why we make a great team. I am definitely an Egg. I worry about everything and most days would love to stay inside my safe, cozy shell (as long as I could have chocolate inside, and a good book to read!).
Laura Asks Joyce…
Laura: When you began developing the characters, who was more difficult to draw–Peep or Egg? (In this case, I mean Egg as an egg. I still can’t believe how much personality you bring out for Egg without the benefit of facial expressions!)
Joyce: The voice in the manuscript was so strong I could see the characters in my head right away. They were a joy to draw because they are such opposites personality-wise, and so expressive in their dialogue. Yes, Egg as an egg was hardest as I was unable to show facial expressions or body movements, but it was a fun challenge.
Laura: How did you decide on the color palate that you used? Did you experiment with other colors before narrowing in?
Joyce: I tend to gravitate to a particular color palette in a lot of my work and they’re usually colors that are a little off from the traditional rainbow colors. So instead of straight red, green and blue, I love colors like blush pink, olive, teal, lime, and aqua, which you will see a lot of in Peep and Egg.
Laura: Can you tell us a little about the process of designing the ridiculously adorable cover?
Joyce: What initially started as a two-book project became a four-book project over the course of working on the first two books [side note from Laura: WOO-HOO!] so I felt like this first book cover needed to be branded in a way so that recognizable design elements could be carried over a few books. I even sought feedback from my design-savvy agent on a number of design ideas, which helped me tremendously throughout the cover design process. That is one of the nice things about having an agent who worked on the design side of publishing before becoming an agent. It took a few rounds of different ideas before I reached a final design that the editor loved.
Laura: Which illustration from the book is your favorite? Mine is Egg wearing the football helmet.
Joyce: I like the front endpaper, as I hid a little surprise for readers to discover.
I suppose you’ll have to pick up PEEP AND EGG to find out!
Thanks, ladies. I can see this adorable series easily growing into a dozen books! A DOZEN! GET IT? (Groan, Tara.)
Macmillan is giving away a copy of PEEP & EGG: I’M NOT HATCHING to one lucky blog commenter. U.S. addresses only, please. Just leave a comment below to enter. Giveaway closes March 14th!
Laura Gehl is the author of ONE BIG PAIR OF UNDERWEAR, a Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, International Literacy Association Honor Book, and Booklist Books for Youth Editors’ Choice for 2014; HARE AND TORTOISE RACE ACROSS ISRAEL and AND THEN ANOTHER SHEEP TURNED UP (both PJ library selections for 2015 and 2016); and the PEEP AND EGG series. A former science and reading teacher, she also writes about science for children and adults. Laura lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her husband and four children. Visit her online at lauragehl.com.
Joyce Wan is an award-winning author and illustrator of many best-selling books for children, including YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE, WE BELONG TOGETHER, and THE WHALE IN MY SWIMMING POOL, which was a Junior Library Guild Spring 2015 selection. When she’s not working on books, she teaches courses at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. Joyce is originally from Boston, Massachusetts and currently lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Through all her work, she hopes to inspire people to embrace the spirit of childhood and follow their dreams. Visit Joyce online at wanart.com.
Stuffed Norman by dollsforfriends.com!
A four-foot-tall stuffed NORMAL NORMAN sits in my house and my 12-year-old forgets he’s here, so she jumps upon spotting him, not unlike Gloria’s reaction to dog-butler Barkley on Modern Family. OH DIOS MIO!
It’s exciting and shocking to see your character come to life. Although, truth be told, Norman is not really MY character. If you were participating in PiBoIdMo this past November, you discovered that I didn’t know what kind of animal Norman was. I left the art note blank in my manuscript. Editor Meredith Mundy asked me what Norman was but I refused to name his species—I thought an illustrator would do a much better job. So Norman, he really belongs to S.britt. Only Stephan could have created a purple orangutan with handsome-nerd glasses and such emotional expressions. But it did take a while to find the real Norman. The first few attempts didn’t feel quite right. But we all knew it when the true Normal Norman revealed himself. On a unicycle.
So if I didn’t imagine Norman, how did he come to life?
I began with his name, the title: Normal Norman. That’s all I had. But I knew there was no way Norman could actually BE normal. No siree. He had to revolt at all I threw at him. By making my character act in unexpected ways, I conveyed a message to readers that I didn’t necessarily intend, but which worked out perfectly: there’s really no such thing as “normal.” We are all different in our own special—sometimes zany—ways. And that’s something that should be celebrated.
I’ll be celebrating the release of Normal Norman in just a few days, on March 1st! Sterling Children’s Books is giving away five copies via GoodReads—please click below to enter and add Norman to your want-to-read list!
If you’d like to pre-order a signed copy, please call my good friends at The Bookworm in Bernardsville, NJ at 908-766-4599. I’ll dash over there to personalize and sign it.
A couple of places I’m not dashing are London and Bologna for the international book fairs. But guess who is? Yep, you’ve guessed it: Norman. He’s on a world tour! I hope they don’t serve bananas in first class.
Meanwhile, the author will be on a virtual tour. Be sure to stop by these entertaining blogs for all kinds of uncommon fun and giveaways. But sorry, we’re not giving away stuffed Norman. After all, he’s got a jet-set schedule. Lucky dude!
“How did you get your start writing?”
“Just like Roald Dahl.” (Yes, I take advantage of any opportunity to compare myself to my favorite writer.)
But, I’m not kidding. When I began this whole crazy ride, I did so by writing short stories for adults, just like Dahl. Except my stories weren’t short stories. They were short, short, extra short stories—flash fiction.
I had found an online magazine called “Six Sentences” that published one flash fiction piece per day. The name of the site said it all—every story was only six sentences long (or six sentences short, chortle chuckle).
To some writers, this presents an enormous challenge, to examine character and emotion and conflict between six periods. Sure, you could exploit the semi-colon and em-dash and maybe stretch it to resemble eight-and-a-half sentences, but still. That’s not much space.
The uber-short format, however, is like prose-poetry. And it’s most definitely like a picture book because some things must be left unsaid, yet the silence remains part of the story’s experience.
Paper Cuts
by Tara Lazar
Her daughter was achingly beautiful, a delicate loveliness like a paper lantern, illuminated from within. The girl’s long hair separated into fine ringlets, cascading like curled Christmas ribbon down her back. She was the kind of child who made strangers smile and take pause—the kind of child who made other mothers envious. The mother was not so much shunned as politely excluded; excuses were made, apologies provided, but invitations were never extended. She exaggerated her own ordinary features—forgoing makeup, leaving her hair unwashed for days, wearing mismatched clothing—but none of her efforts to elicit pity served to lessen the jealousy; her daughter’s radiance only shone brighter, her extraordinary hair the source of more disdain. The mother closed her eyes, grasped the scissors, and cut.
I’ve long held the belief that aspiring picture book writers would benefit from writing flash fiction, as it’s good writing practice in another format. No pictures are necessary, but a mind for visuals is. Can you imagine the scene above?
Writing these stories is fun as well as a challenge, so I was mighty intrigued when I saw Logitech announce their Very Short Story contest on Twitter.
So here’s your chance to strut your storytelling skills outside the usual medium. Logitech is giving away their new K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard and a Blurb giftcard for the best short story written in 8 tweets or less. Just use #LogiVSS to tell your tiny tale. Get all the details here—http://blog.logitech.com/2016/02/18/k380veryshortstorychallenge—but hurry! The contest ends at the close of this week.
And guess what? Logitech is also giving away one of their new keyboards to one of my blog readers! If you hate typing on a phone or tablet’s screen, worry no longer. This keyboard is happy to help you out.
Just leave a comment below about short story writing and you’re entered to win. One lucky commenter will be picked randomly in two weeks!
So go ahead and write on! (But don’t write on and on and on!)
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 