Getting Ready for SCBWI 2015!

It is less than one week until a thousand children's' book writers, published and aspiring, descend on NYC. Here are some of the things I am looking forward to this year:

1. Hanging with my tribe
Children's book writers are some of the most amazing people in the world, and I've been very fortunate to meet a wonderful group at the NY conference. If you are coming for the first time, make sure to put yourself out there. You may end up meeting some great friends.

2. Match making critique groups
On Saturday night SCBWI invites attendees to a Gala organized by region. This is a great time to meet local writers and find out about critique group opportunities. If you are a New Englander, I help you make those connections, directing you to our online blog or to others in the room. I love hearing later that these groups are still going strong after this first meeting. Make sure to bring your business cards, your smart phone, or a piece of paper and a pen to keep track of these connections.

3. Getting inspired
Something about being among writers always gets me motivated to write. And often it's not the keynote authors or the workshop presenters, but the people that I meet that move my work forward. It's not a bad idea to bring a laptop. There have been times I've found myself sitting in the hallway writing because I just had to get the words out of my head.

Are you going? What are you looking forward to?

My Year in Books

Here's my reads for 2014 in the order that they were finished. What did you read?

1. Heven is Paved with Oreos by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

2. Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles

3. Odessa Again by Dana Reinhardt

4. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

5. Crown of Midnight by Sarah j. Maas

6. In the After by Demitria Lunetta

7. The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

8. Jinx by Sage Blackwood

9. Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

10. The Bully Book by Eric Kahn Gale

11. Teardrop by Lauren Kate

12. The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

13. City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

14. Prophecy by Ellen Oh

15. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

16. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

17. Lady Thief by Kay Hooper

18. Infinite by Jodi Meadows

19. Dangerous by Shannon Hale

20. Reboot by Amy Tintera

21. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

22. Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

23. Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

24. Altered by Jennifer Rush

25. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

26. Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau

27. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

28. Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

29. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

30. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

31. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

32. Frostbite by Richelle Mead

33. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

34. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

35. Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

36. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

37. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

38. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

39. The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

40. The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

41. Pivot Point by Kasie West

42. The One by Kiera Cass

43. Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

44. White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

45. Breathe by Sarah Crossen

46. Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

47. The Finisher by David Baldacci

48. Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

49. A Million Suns by Beth Revis

50. Numbers by Rachel Ward

51. The Chaos by Rachel Ward

52. Infinity by Rachel Ward

53. Made for You by Melissa Marr

54. Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

55. Unfriended by Rachel Vail

56. The Young Elites by Marie Lu

57. Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre

58. The Iron Trial by Holly Black

59. This is Your Afterlife by Vanessa Barneveld

60. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

61. Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

62. Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

63. Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

64. The Jewel by Amy Ewing

SCBWI Summer Conference Day 2

Keynote: Justin Chanda - The State of the State of the Industry

I have been to a number of state of the industry talks but it was worth hearing one given by Justin Chanda. He made us chuckle and out right laugh as he drove home the idea that it is impossible to write to trends because the trends that you need to write for have not become trends yet. Favorite quotes: "The industry follows the readership as they get older, but they also get born." "We are in a cyclical business and trends and undeniable and unpredictable." "Our job is to create great books. Let the trends take care of themselves."

Agents Panel - What Hooks Me

There was a lot of great information shared by the agents on this panel. I wrote down one quote from each agent that explains what they need their first thought to be when reading a manuscript or query in order to request that manuscript.

Sarah Davis - "I'm hooked by ambitious writers."

Steven Malk - "Classic."

Erin Murphy - "Authenticity." 

Alexandra Penfold - "I want to feel."

Rubin Pfeffer - "Potential."

Linda Pratt - "I need somebody on a page."

Laura Rennert - "Character driven page turner."

Keynote: Aaron Becker - Some Adjustments Were Made Along The Way: One Artists Journey

Aaron Becker shared his journey in creating Journey. He talked about the importance of taking risks, recognizing what you need to be happy, and finding SCBWI.

Breakout: Bruce Coville - Plot, Character, and the Emotional Life of a Story

Bruce Coville

Bruce Coville's breakout focused on the intersection between plot and character. "How can you care about what happens if you don't care about who it happens to." Bruce Coville made his point by telling us a story and even jumping up on a care to share some of that story's storytelling energy. According to him, there are two storytelling energies. The male energy is is action, adventure, instant. The female is relationship, reaction, and language. The best book puts their two energies together to make "A good story, well told."

Meeting Regional Attendees
In order to take a conference home with you, it is important to try to find members of your local tribe. On Saturday, the three New England RT members at the conference; Kathy Quimby Johnson, RA Northern Region, Denise Ortakales, Regional IC (Illustrator Coordinator) and me, ARA Critique Group Coordinator, grabbed a spot by the pool to meet some of ours.

Stacy Mozer, Kathy Quimby Johnson, and Denise Ortakeles

We met some members from around New England and also attracted some former New Englanders who are now living other places in the world but who still think of themselves as New Englanders at heart.

Kathy Quimby Johnson talking to New England Members.

We hope we will see them again at local events.

Keynote: Maggie Stiefvater - A Thief & Artist: Stealing Stories from Life
Maggie Stiefvater talked about how to make fantasy what you know by stealing the soul of your character from real people. If she steals the soul well, and adds new details, she creates a new noise. She calls this "Solving for x." The character then becomes better than real, it becomes hers.

Keynote: Megan McDonald - Writer, Wrestler, Stutterer, Spy: Finding Your Voice As A Writer
Megan McDonald's keynote was about finding your splinter. Favorite quotes: "Write the truth of the story and see where it takes you." "Start with the common place and ordinary." "If you listen to your own voice, unknown friends will come and find you."

With all these amazing information under my skin, I left the conference to go and upstairs and write but the activities weren't over yet.

2014 Poolside Gala Tomie DePaola's 80th Birthday Bash - A Night in Old Italy.
Before attend the LA conference, I had no idea how much writers like to party! The theme was A Night in Old Italy and costumes were encouraged.