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KidLitTakeaways

Bite-size bits of wisdom & inspiration for writers on the go!

Writing Lessons from the Boss!

10/17/2017

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By Donna Cangelosi


​I recently had the opportunity to see Springsteen on Broadway, a one-man show and intimate look at the experiences that shaped Bruce's life and fueled his artistic expression. A perfect mix of heart-felt stories, humor, and musical genius. I laughed. I cried. I was so inspired!
Most of the experiences Bruce shared during the performance appear in his beautiful memoir, BORN TO RUN, a story about growing up, hardship, dreams, friendship, rock-n-roll, letting go, and heart, heart, heart. Bruce also shares wonderful tips about the creative process that relate to the craft of writing picture books.

Find What You do Best
"I needed to travel light and be able to blow somebody away with just my voice, my guitar and my song. Voice...guitar...song...three tools. My voice was never going to win any prizes. My guitar accompanied on acoustic was rudimentary, so that left the songs. The songs would have to be fireworks. I decided the world was filled with plenty of good guitar players, many of them my match or better, but how many good songwriters were there? Songwriters with their own voice, their own story to tell, who could draw you into a world they created and sustain your interest in the things that obsessed them. Not many, a handful at best."
The Takeaway: Find your own unique style and create the story only you can write.

Write with Purpose
"These were issues that had previously been relegated to the margins of American life. Dread--the sense that things might not work out, that the moral high ground had been swept out from underneath us, that the dream we had of ourselves had somehow been tainted and the future would forever be uninsured--was in the air. This was the new lay of the land, and if I was going to put my characters out on that highway, I was going to have to put all these things in the car with them."
The Takeaway: Write stories with universal, relevant and relatable themes.

Know your Process
"I started with the guitar riff. Get yourself a great riff and you're on your way. Then I'd chug along chording randomly while I'd mumble, mumble, mumble...then, tramps like us, baby we were born to run...That was all I had..."
It wasn't an easy piece to write. I started my title song that afternoon but I didn't finish it until six months of trial and tribulations, images, the road, the car, the girl...what else is there?"
The Takeaway: It takes a long time to create a masterpiece, even for a rock star!

Get to Know your Characters
"When you get the music and lyrics right, your voice disappears into the voices you've chosen to write about. Basically, with these songs, I find the characters and listen to them. That always leads to a series of questions about their behavior. What would they do? What would they never do? You need to locate the rhythm of their speech and the nature of their expression. By pulling these elements together as well as you can, you shed light on their lives and honor their experiences."
The Takeaway: Imagine what t's like to be your characters and write from their perspective

Write with Meaning
"Most of my writing is emotionally autobiographical. I've learned you've got to pull up the things that mean something to you in order for them to mean anything to your audience. That's where the proof is. That's how they know you're not kidding."
The Takeaway: Write about subjects that have personal meaning to you. The best stories are the ones that come from the heart.

Work at It...Over and Over and Over
"Some of our mixes remained on the board for three, four days, a week, as we fussed, mussed and murdered one another in a vain attempt to capture all worlds. We had mixes with three-digit take numbers. We were violently frustrated and puzzled."
The Takeaway; Collaborate and revise, revise, revise.

Write for the Sake of Creating
"I'm glad I've been handsomely paid for my efforts but I truly would've done it for free. Because I had to. It was the only way I found momentary release and the purpose I was looking for. So for me, there weren't going to be any shortcuts."
The Takeaway: Enjoy the process. Write because you love to write, not for fame or fortune.

Find your Tribe
"If we didn't play together, The E Street Band would probably not know one another. We wouldn't be in a room together. But we do...we do play together and every night at eight we walk out onstage together, and that, my friends, is a place where miracles occur...old and new miracles. And those you are with in the presence of miracles, you never forget."
The Takeaway: Don't go it alone. Join a critique group, go to conferences, and build friendships. Magic will happen!



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5 Writing Lessons I Learned from an Ironwoman

10/8/2017

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By Chana Stiefel
Sunni Herman, a dear friend of mine, recently completed the Atlantic City Half Ironman IM70.3 triathlon. She swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles, and then ran a half marathon. After this monumental achievement, she wrote an inspiring article about her “aha” moments and lessons learned. While Sunni’s article added a pep to my step and a fews laps to my swim, it also brought tears to my eyes. Sunni is a mom of three terrific kids and is Executive Vice President of a nursing home. She is power personified. I asked if I could adapt her lessons to our writing community. And in her sunny way, Sunni said, “Of course!”

For those of you who want to run an Ironman, read Sunni’s article here. For the rest of us, here are five takeaways for authors from an Ironwoman:

  1. Enjoy the journey: When my husband and I drove the beautiful Road to Hana last summer on Maui, we absorbed the lesson of “The journey is the destination.” Sunni’s years of training taught her that lesson as well. For authors, every blog your read, workshop you attend, webinar you watch, writers’ group you join, & draft you write is all part of the journey. There are no short cuts. Might as well enjoy the ride and accept that there will be plenty of bumps, twists & turns, and detours along the way. Keep going!
  2. Break things into achievable pieces: At first, Sunni couldn’t swim 72 pool lengths to make a mile. (She confided that she could barely breathe after the first lap!) So she broke down her laps into manageable pieces. She swam one length, then two, then seven. “I did 1/10th!” she exclaimed. By breaking down the process, her training became more manageable. The same works for writing. If writing or editing a complete manuscript feels too overwhelming or you simply don’t have time, work on one line or one paragraph or one page a day. Some days will flow and others won’t. But keep writing and you’ll get there!
  3. Scars are really tiger stripes: Sunni’s training was physically brutal. She developed allergies to bathing caps, goggles, salt water, and finally to the sun! Her skin bears the scars of her training. But an experienced runner told her, “Those aren’t scars. You earned those stripes.” Let’s face it: Writing can be emotionally brutal. It is filled with rejection. And every rejection, no matter how experienced a writer you may be, still hurts. So let’s take on Sunni’s sunny attitude: Every rejection is a means toward a goal. Those painful letters are a cue that you are in the race and you are in it to win it. So stay the course!
  4. Kill it with a smile. Along the Ironman route, Sunni had a “Sherpa” friend who told her that no matter how much pain she was in, keep smiling! So she cheered for the police officers along the bike route and danced with the volunteers on the boardwalk. As children’s writers, we are part of a great, big, generous community. When you’re having a bad day, cheer on your friends and others who support you. Celebrate their accomplishments. Keep smiling. Your turn will come soon too!
  5. Play a bar like a stadium and a stadium like a bar. Before the race, Sunni went to a Lady Gaga concert. On stage, Lady Gaga spoke about her days playing to near-empty bars and imagining that she was at a stadium. Sunni heard Gaga playing to a full stadium in the pouring rain, and she sang like she was playing in an intimate bar. Sunni’s takeaway was that the big competition would be manageable if she pretended it was a walk in the park. No easy task! Being an author is hard work too. Once you’re published (or even before), you have the job of marketing your book. Sometimes you’ll be playing to near-empty bars (picture empty seats at a reading) and sometimes you’ll hit the big time. Take in each experience with a positive attitude & remember that it’s all part of a long, rewarding journey. As my daughter’s coach once told her, “If you believe, you will achieve. You will succeed!”

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I Have a Balloon!

10/2/2017

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Q & A with debut author, Ariel Bernstein, plus a giveaway!
​By Donna Cangelosi

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Happy Takeaway Tuesday! We're so excited to welcome Ariel Bernstein! Ariel's debut picture book, I HAVE A BALLOON, illustrated by Scott Magoon, (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books) hit the shelves September 27th and has received starred reviews! Ariel shares her backstory here--plus a chance to win a signed copy of her book! Details below!

In I HAVE A BALLOON, Owl has a shiny, red balloon. Monkey does not. As the jacket copy warns, "This is NOT a book about sharing." But is IS one hilarious book about wanting what other's have.

What was your writing and revision process like?
I had a few notes about the story when I first thought of the idea. I sat down at the computer with them and started writing. I rewrote a number of times after reading the manuscript aloud and trying to figure out if it sounded okay.

Did your illustrator notes suggest Owl and Monkey?
Yes, I called the characters Owl and Monkey in the manuscript when noting who was speaking.

How quickly did it sell?
It took about four months after it went on submission.
​
How did you find your agent?
I actually queried my agent, Mary Cummings, with this story! I followed the instructions on her agency's website and emailed the query.

Were you involved in the illustration process?
I wasn't. It was up to the illustrator, Scott Magoon, the art director and our editor, Sylvie Frank. But I would have been nervous to give any input since I don't usually have a visual image of how my books should look. I'm thrilled with how the illustrations turned out!

What is your favorite spread? Why?
After Monkey offered Owl a teddy bear in exchange for the balloon, there's a spread where Owl says "No" and Monkey falls off the tree. It's so funny! The pictures are obviously static, but Scott Magoon's illustrations convey so much energy and humor that you can practically feel the action jump off the page. It makes me smile every time I see it!

How did the sequel, WHERE IS MY BALLOON? (to be published September, 2019) come about?
It was around the time of our cover reveal on the All The Wonders site when I started to think about Owl and Monkey characters again. I imagined what might happen after the end of I HAVE A BALLOON, and had a suspicion that somehow, Monkey would end up accidentally popping the balloon. The idea of how Monkey would handle the situation led to the actual story.

What's you takeaway for other authors?
​
I'm at my local library about once a week. I first head straight for the newly returned picture books section to see what books people have recently read. I often find a title I hadn't thought to check out and end up taking it home. It's a great way to find new books to read and see what other people are interested in!

Thank you so much, Ariel!
​
Ariel is generously giving away a free signed copy of I HAVE A BALLOON to one lucky reader! Enter the Rafflecopter 
below!

Ariel Bernstein is a children's book author. Her debut picture book, I HAVE A BALLOON illustrated by Scott Magoon (Simon and Schuster/ Paula Wiseman Books) is available now. Her upcoming chapter book series, WARREN AND DRAGON, illustrated by Mike Malbrough (Viking Children's) will be released Summer 2018. You can find more about Ariel at http://www.arielbernsteinbooks.com, and on Twitter and Instagram at @ArielBBooks.


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a Rafflecopter giveaway
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    Authors

    Donna Cangelosi and Chana Stiefel are picture book critique partners & friends who are passionate about kids' books & are eager to share tidbits from their writing journey with other aspiring writers. 

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