Monday Moment #44: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too. )

I'm so very late getting to this post. I know. *hangs head feeling so very bad*

But with good reason (pretty much!).

I had a lovely weekend. *Jolie sighs, thinking back to only yesterday*

I have a super, SUPER advisory committee position as part of the SCBWI WWA. I now wear the retreat director hat, and this past weekend was the big event: Weekend on the Water!

Approximately 50 writers gathered at the gorgeous Alderbrook Resort to work with Cheryl Klein (Arthur A. Levine Books) and Ruta Rimas (Balzer + Bray). It was a jam-packed weekend filled with writing, camaraderie, learning, laughter, and, dare I say, a touch of relaxation. (I do know many of us were moms away for the weekend and food was put on the table and dishes taken away to be washed. And none of US did it. Ahh!)

Plus, I provided lots of little candy bits (as any good retreat director should). Even Nuts, our retreat mascot, dug into the candy. You can see he held on tight because it was going quick.

Anyway, it really was such a nice weekend. The kind you wish would occur more often that it does, or just last that much longer. I mean, look at this view...

Where does your main character find escape or wish they could go to get away?

Playing Dress Up

Last week I mentioned my dilemma as I tried to figure out what to be for Halloween. It really came down to two choices (and I almost did both).

Alas, Richard Simmons will have to be saved for another Boo Day.

This year (I say that like I dress up for Halloween all the time) I was...

A lady of the 40's.

"Why, honey, can I get you a something to drink before a I pull a hot meal from the oven?"

I was at a family's for a Halloween get-together. They live in an older home and recently got these great retro appliances. How perfect to pair them with my dress. Sort of fun to (briefly) play the role of The Happy Housewife; all dolled up, in heels, pulling a hot dinner out of the oven. Ha! But man, ladies of the 40's, that do is not so easy to do.

Derek shaved a little pencil mustache to go with his 40's look. It totally worked for the "costume" but not so much for me. It's amazing how a strip of facial hair can change a person's face. Let's just say the mustache didn't last past Halloween night. But he certainly looked the part. That second pic is my whole fam. How 'bout those zombie children? So beautiful. And that cowboy couple? Too funny. My dad's 'stache totally crippled him. He couldn't eat or drink and was constantly pulling hair out of his mouth (it didn't stay on long).

I have to say, I live in the greatest town when it comes to Halloween. (Yes, I am saying my town is better than your town! But I do think yours is quite lovely.) Downtown completely shuts down at 4:00 pm every year and the kids (plus their parents) parade down the street and then they trick-or-treat all the stores. And the stores are great, not giving gross little hard candy's like peppermints. They give the good stuff. Gotta love it!

And, how about these cool family creations? The first is the haunted gingerbread house my entire family made for a school project with the girls (it took about three weeks). And the feather hair clip I wore was made by my sister-in-law. She makes the cutest stuff for kids and adults called HairCandy. You can find her on Etsy HERE.

Monday Moment #43: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.

(I promise I will tell you all about Halloween soon. Pictures included.)

Firsts can often be really, really hard, challenging, scary, yet exciting.

Think of all the firsts there are in life: kiss, taste, flight, child...the list goes on and on.

And, it's funny how we can put off firsts, sometimes too long, because we fear an outcome or we're just not sure about whatever the first may be.

My family struggled with a first this past week: our puppy's first fur cut. It sort of felt like a parent needing to cut their child's hair for the first time. It can be so hard, like it will change something about them, like it's something you have to protect.



I can still recall when I was around ten years old and on vacation with my aunt and uncle. My cousin was just a little over the age of one and they'd yet to cut his hair. But as we travelled about, people continually commented on cute "she" was. Well, that tipped them over the edge. His first haircut happened during that vacation.

We've hesitated clipping Luna's fur because it's so pretty and soft and lovely (I know she looks a bit straggly above, but she's really beautiful). However, her fur had become impossible and started matting in an instant. And as much as the entire family moaned and groaned, it had to be done.

And done it was.

Then what happened?




Well, pretty much what happens with most firsts. Hey, that wasn't so bad. Actually, I kind of like it. Or, man...that was worth it.

How about your character? What is a first they experience? And what is it that pushes them to their first?

2010 SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC: Registration Is Open

Registration for the upcoming SCBWI winter conference is now OPEN!

Go check it out!

And please let me know if I'll see you there.

Hazards of the Writing Life

Isolation.

Rejection.

Distraction.

Frustration.

That's a lot of 'shuns, huh? Well, it's none of those hazards I'm talking about. I'm talking about...

...tight pecs.

*slams on brakes*

Seriously? Seriously!

Let me explain.

Between sitting at my computer for hours and hours, and the time I put in in the gym, I end up with screaming sore shoulders; so sore and tight they give me tension headaches. As much as I think about getting a massage, I rarely do it.

Well, I promised myself that after finishing bodystep training, and because it was my birthday, I'd get myself to the massage therapist at my gym (I get a discount for sore-ness sake!). Although a couple weeks late, I got my rear in to Martin yesterday. Or I should say I got my torso in to see Martin because once he started working on me, he said, "Yeah, we'll be spending the whole hour on your torso."

Yeah, trouble in the torso. That's me.

So, I can't fully explain the science of the body (like Martin did for me), but all that writerly slouching in we do sitting at our computers with our head pushing forward creates tightness in our chest (it's like an opposite pull thing). And that tightness just rolls our shoulders forward more and more, making us all rounded in our back. Sexy, huh? Who knew.

Moral to the story, make sure you stretch those chest muscles.

Oh, and get thee to a massage therapist now and again. You deserve it.

Because, really, we don't want to end up looking Coraline's dad.

Right?

Monday Moment #42: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.

A big weekend ahead, friends! Are you all set? Made all your plans? Do you have your costume(s) in place?


Is it just me or does Halloween on a Saturday change the whole holiday? It has for me. It seems there are more parties (lots more parties) which increases the pressure to dress the part. The focus is usually on the girlies, but this year it's on the whole fam.


Our Halloween costume experience has been ALL OVER THE PLACE.


First, we thought we were set. We were inspired by another family who was going as a family of vampires. Great. Let's be a family theme. Even my parents were game. We had a plan. Alice in Wonderland. We thought it would be fab, and it would have been if it was easier to pull all those costumes together. The worst was trying to find an Alice costume for my seven-year old. I mean, really! Have you seen the costumes for little girls lately. Horrible. And inappropriate.


As Alice in Wonderland fell right down the rabbit hole, my 9 year-old girlie went back to her plan A: be a zombie! Which meant my 7 year-old girlie went back to her plan A: be what big sister is planning on being.


That left hubby and I with NO plan at all.


But then I had several thoughts, all for different reasons.

Since plan A...

...is toast, that means I could go with:

B.
Yes! I'm serious.

C.

(I found this cute little number HERE!)

or

D.(You can find the cute cowgirl coloring page HERE.)

There's a different motivation for each choice.

A. Family unity.

B. Funny! (really funny).

C. Pretty, and it helps me for reasons I won't yet disclose.

D. I have a cute new hat (but K-rap...I don't have boots

You'll have to wait until next week to find out, because I too have to wait to find out my decision since it's yet to be made.

That said, getting to our writing, character motivation is so important.

I know that a Halloween costume is not critically important, but it brings me to pose the question:

What's your character's motivation when making a critical decision?

2010 SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC

If you want all the deets about the upcoming SCBWI winter conference, now's the time to check it out and to start making your plans. The schedule, and all other pertinent info, is posted right HERE for you perusal (a perfect pairing with your morning cuppa!).

Brochures will hit your mailboxes soon, but take note of the registration date above (October 28th at 10 AM PST). I hope you'll put it on your calendar, and set your alarm, so that you can have your fingers positioned above the keyboard to get the registration done in time to not miss a thing! Do it now if you like, I'll wait...

I'm your friend, yes? And I wouldn't steer you wrong. The main conference (Saturday and Sunday) is preceded by a day of intensives that are NOT to be missed. I can tell you, from experience, that the intensive are so worth it BUT the spots get gobbled up. * So, if you plan to be part of the writer or illustrator intensives, then be ready to jump on registration (which will mean I'll see YOU there!).

What's more?

SCBWI Team Blog, that's what! We'll be hard at work, once again, and we can't wait to bring the SCBWI community live blog posts and tweets from the conference floor (plus provide you special insider goodies). *happy cuppa*

Back with great-blogger strength are: Alice Pope, Jaime Temarik, Lee Wind, Suzanne Young, and ME. Go, Team Blog.

Follow their blogs and then follow them on twitter... @alicepope, @jaimetem, @leewind, @suzanne_young, and you can find me at @cuppajolie, so you don't miss a thing.

So, did you check it out already? I hope so, 'cause if not, I'm going to spill some beans. Like the fact that Libby Bray (Libby Freakin' Bray, friends!) is keynoting! You've got to go just for that reason alone! It will be both great and terrible, right? Great if your there, terrible if you miss it. (sorry, couldn't help myself) Who else? My agent, that's who. The super fab Rosemary Stimola. Yay! Plus, so MANY more: much more than you will see on the faculty list, because so many editors, publishers, art directors, etc. are there since we'll be on their turf. That's part of the specialness of a conference in NYC. Love it!

*A note about the intensive: They really are a great opportunity. You may have the same reaction I did two years ago when I attended. Whoa! An extra $175-$225. That's a lot of moola. But when I said those words to my hubby, he said, "Hey, you're going to be there. You should do it. Don't pass up the opportunity." And even though the $dollars$ were a tight, I did. That particular intensive kicked off my journey, no doubt. But I will say, especially for writers, the key is to have a submission-ready piece to share.