Sprinkler Saga & Chalk Talk

School started today. And I'm tired. Not from arriving earlier than normal or standing for several hours while talking to kids about schedules and planners and their favorite pets. I'm tired because of sprinklers. I woke at three AM to the din of backyard sprinklers at full tilt. A valve busted in the middle of the night and ignited them. No matter what button I pushed or lever I pulled, they wouldn't turn off. So I ran around the house (at three AM) to shut off the water supply.

Then, of course, came the ensuing nightmare of what lies ahead in the home maintenance department. The sprinkler valve that I'll spend too much time putting together and then will find a way to leak. It'll laugh at me while spraying water in my eyes. Besides this being annoying, the Sprinkler Saga cuts into time for other things. Like playing 'Disneyland' with Blondie, reading Mockingjay, writing Bird Nerd, and making gourmet dinners out of leftovers.

Homeownership is not what it's cracked up to be. Anyone have a rental available?

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In other news, I've given Chalk Talk a facelift. You can access the forums on the right-hand sidebar or click on Forums at the top. Slimmer appearance, fewer categories, and blue. Need I say more?

I realize most of you have been away on vacations, some soaking in the Michigan sun while throwing water at oversized kids (Murph). Most of you are probably getting back on schedules, where you waste more of your writing time reading blogs and posting on forums. If that's the case, or if you need a well-deserved break, pop over to Chalk Talk. It's free. And there's not much left in life that costs zilch.

Write on.

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P.S. Blondie's 'Disneyland' has no Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Guess she didn't like that one.

P.P.S. Did I mention school started today?  (head spinning)

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Reading: Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
On Deck: Paper Towns, by John Green
In the Hole: Story of a Girl, by Sara Zarr

Twelve Blues till Midnight

Carolina
Electric
Cyan
Denim

Sky
Steel
Sapphire
Royal

Powder
Yale
Cobalt
Iceberg

(clock strikes)

Midnight

Middle Grade Morph

At the SCBWI-LA Conference a few weeks ago, several agents and editors discussed middle grade boy books fueling the fire in publishing houses. After the explosion of Young Adult fiction, thanks to a few werewolves, vampires, and a book called Twilight, it's clear that some publishers have refocused on the golden years. Eight to twelve year-olds. Girls have always read. And they will always outread boys. But the discussion goes on. How do we get boys to read more?

Today's post at Kidlit does not delve too far into answering that question. Nor should it. But it does bring up several key points about current middle grade boys and their reading habits. Action. Adventure. Quick scenes. Snappy dialogue. End-of-the-world scenarios. These elements pull boys into stories.

Or do they?

For the most part, boys have shorter attention spans and are more immature than their counterparts. And now that we (writers) have video games, iPods, iPads, and texting to compete with, maybe we're only left with writing twelve year-old James Bond characters who save the world one school year at a time.

But I disagree.

Boys are humans. Arguably. And humans have been telling stories for generations. Through symbols, drawings, oral tradition, and finally, words. I was once a boy reader. And I was riveted when it came to finding out if Johnny Twelve Year-Old hit a homerun to win the big game, or if he survived Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, or outsmarted the bratty girl to prove his sleuth skills. But as I grew into teenagedom, those things didn't matter as much.

Consider today's twelve year-old boys. For various reasons, they're growing up faster than ever. Really, they're teenagers. But those previously mentioned stories, the ones I used to read, are still relevant to boy readers. But the age range has changed. Think 8-10 ten year-olds, and some 11 year-olds. Of course there's the boy who reads every Harry Potter book before third grade, because Mom thinks he's a genius and he comprehends six years above his grade level. There will always be that boy.

But for the rest of the eight, nine, and ten year-olds (and eleven year-olds) quieter stories still have a place on their bookshelves. Stories with voice and character. Stories that end with hope for a better understanding of life and not save-the-world scenarios. Stories that dive into character and not the Grand Canyon. Stories set in boys' everyday worlds and not militaristic camps where recruits are brainwashed and given jobs to assassinate foreign spies (I admit, that sounds cool).

My point is that character and voice are still relevant to boy readers. But the age range for that category has changed. The boy who reads that book still kisses his mom good-bye before opening the car door and venturing into his classroom.
   

Caffeinated Mice

So the other night I had this weird dream.  Imagine that.  A dream being weird?  Yeah, it happens.  And lately I've been eye-ball deep in a manuscript, like Inception-bottom-level-dreaming deep, and that's when things like Caffeinated Mice tend to strike. Yes, you heard right.  A character in my dream said, "Look out for the caffeinated mice!" I don't remember the context of this exclamation or why the character warned me of my Artificially Sweetened, Rodent-Laden Dooms Day.  But really.  Caffeinated Mice?  What's going on in there?  Coffee with your cheese?

Here are a few scenarios in which the aforementioned exclamation works. Well, kind of.

• Mice have invaded your pantry and ripped open a bag of breakfast blend.
• Coca-cola has taken over the world and has streamed soft drinks to sewer systems.
• Rat poison out. Milk chocolate in. 
• Red Bull has changed its name to Red Rat.
• New best-selling children's book: If you Give a Mouse a Sip of Espresso...

 

SCBWI Days 3 & 4

Highlights from the last two days:

• Why Narrative Nonfiction is Hotter than Ever: Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Deborah Heiligman, Elizabeth Partridge, and Tanya Stone. Ken Wright headed up the panel. This was informative and interesting. These authors discussed the lengths they must go to and the depths they must reach to uncover the most insightful information about their subjects. And research is only half the battle. You have to write the manuscript and make it be so riveting that a twelve year-old won't put down a book about Hitler's Youth.

• Keynote by Carolyn Mackler. She was funny and shared stories from her most difficult times with over a thousand people. She discussed how after her most successful novel to date, the words dried up. She couldn't write anything when her audience was expecting greatness. She giggles a lot, probably like her main characters. 

•  Golden Kite Luncheon. This included awards and a special tribute to Sid Fleischman.  I saw Sid speak at UCLA a few years ago and he signed The Whipping Boy for me. His son Paul presented the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. It was awesome.

• Keynote by Rachel Vail.  Finding the Humor and Heart in Middle Grade Novels. Rachel spoke from the heart, or more like from the character's heart. She wrote a first draft of Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters and then scrapped it because the main character wasn't writing the book, she was. She opened herself up to us all, coming to tears on a few occasions, while talking about digging deep for your character's heart and letting he/she tell the story. Listen to your character's whispers. Let them guide the way. Her speech was as admirable as it gets. 

• Closing Keynote by Ashley Bryan. Okay, so he's pretty much crazy, and at 87 years-old it's a relief to see. This guy has more energy than everyone-in-the-room times ten. He had the audience recite poems from Langston Hughes among others. It was an inspiring way to end four days of sitting on my butt till it was numb and learning more than you could imagine.    

• Linda Sue Park's Master Class. On the last day Linda closed with these words. What if in 15 years you're still not published? Will you still be writing? Or will you have given up by then? Her point is that you must enjoy writing for what it is. If someone plays an instrument, you don't ask them when are you going to play Carnegie Hall? You ask them what instrument they play, how long have they been playing, what's their favorite music to play? But society has labeled writers as unsuccessful if they're not published. You CAN be a writer and never be published. Writing is something people do for pleasure, enjoyment, because they have stories to tell, they have something to say. But writers should enjoy every moment of that process, like musicians plays music for the way it makes them feel, for the pleasure it brings them. Writers should focus on the same outlook. It's about appreciating the process, and until you can do that your work probably won't be publishable anyway.