admin Uncategorized

What I Learned from My First NaNoWriMo Experience

It was quite a trip, literally and figuratively.  I did “win” my first NaNoWriMo experience, with better-than-expected results.  Allow me to share what I learned.

1.There will usually be something more appealing to do, especially after the first week.

Once I hit that 15,000-word mark, I kept finding more important things to do.  Did I mention I had a 10-day work-ation planned in the middle of November?!  I packed and cleaned.  Traveling, I typed in cars and plotting on airplanes.  I always made time to keep writing.

2.There will sometimes be something more compelling to write.

Let me count the different ideas, tasks, and writing deadlines which surfaced in November.  I had to work on my first children’s publication deadline:  a magazine article for Skipping Stones Magazine.  After receiving a great suggestion for an agent seeking monster MCs from a writing critique buddy, I sent in the appropriate PB query.  I had to write up a (nine-page!) summary from a conference I attended on behalf of a professional organization I’m a part of (think: day job).  And, as Denise Jaden promised, around week three, I thought up a stellar idea for a new YA novel that sounded way more appealing to work on than my current NaNoWriMo novel.  I resisted. (And I persisted)

5.If you don’t feel like writing, giving yourself permission usually works.

When I really didn’t feel like typing, I would tell myself that I could type for 200 words, and if I wanted to stop after that, it was okay.  I would also tell myself that I could type total baloney.  The result of giving myself these two indulgences was that I usually typed at least 500 words, even on a bad day, and the “baloney” usually turned out better than I imagined.

4.Preparation goes a long way.

I read FAST FICTION, by Denise Jaden, before NaNoWriMo began. Inside, there were exercises for determining character names and traits, structuring the three acts of my story, brainstorming theme, and many, many more extremely helpful practices.  The result was that by day one of NaNoWriMo, I was ready to type, nearly nonstop, 2000 words a day, for at least the first 15,000 words of my novel.  After that, I used a practice shared on Facebook:  I loosely planned every 10,000 words, and then inserted the main characters into situations and saw how they reacted.  The result?  I didn’t hit a real, double-bricked wall until about 35,000 words.

3.The last part of the novel will feel like it drags on and takes twice as long to type.

When I hit that double-bricked wall at 35,000 words, I hit it hard.  I feel like I began to cheat on my characters, inventing bizarre situations and taking certain traits and actions to the extreme.  I even killed-off a character.  What was my lesson learned?  Perseverance.  I figuratively grit my teeth and set my jaw and sat down and made myself type to the end. And now I have a 50,000-word novel to go back to and revise.

Will I participate in the NaNoWriMo madness next year?  I don’t know.  Right now, I’m still ready to figuratively hurl my 50,000 MS across the room and out the window… but we’ll see, it might boomerang back, and I might – just maybe – write that fabulous YA idea (see #2 above)!

Thanks for reading.  Please share your writing experiences!  I welcome any advice, especially a good book to help me edit my NaNoWriMo novel.

Sarah A. Hetu-Radny

admin Uncategorized

Around the World with Vivian Kirkfield, PLUS GIVEAWAY

For someone who only started her writing career in 2011, Vivian sure is going places fast!  She began by blogging to connect with parents and teachers for a parenting book she wrote, but wound up connecting with the writing world in general.  She made one friend in particular who shared her belief that picture books are important for kids because a picture can say 1000 words.  This friend happened to be an author in Singapore and was on the planning committee for an upcoming conference.  She invited Vivian to speak at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in 2013, a year in which the Festival was also an SCBWI event.

Sneak peek at characters from OTTERS, courtesy of the talented Mirka Hokannen.

Having never left the country before, Vivian was more than a bit hesitant, but all of her new writer friends encouraged her to go. One of them even wrote and illustrated a little picture book story called MISS V’S BIG ADVENTURE. Vivian had never created a PowerPoint before either, so she reached out to her daughter-in-law for help. And then Vivian flew to Singapore with a suitcase of clothing and her presentation on a jump drive clutched in her hand.  She spoke on the importance of using picture books to connect parents with children, which parents sometimes forget, both here and on the other side of the world, in their hurry to have their children advance to reading ‘real’ books.  But because the conference was so chock full of events, Vivian barely had time to see anything in Singapore except the hotel and the conference venue.

Not so for her upcoming round the world trip that starts at the end of February 2019: Vivian will fly into Sydney two days before the Australian SCBWI conference.  She will meet up with a fellow American friend, as well as an Aussie friend, whom she first met in Singapore and who is the RA for the Australia SCBWI.  After a bit of sightseeing around Sydney, she will attend the conference, as well as present a program entitled: How to Succeed in Publishing: From Story Idea to Book Deal. And Vivian is doubly excited because her agent is the keynote speaker for the event. What fun!

Time to recuperate from jet lag?  Not for Vivian!  Next, she’ll be off to Auckland, where she will spend three weeks with another writing friend, traveling all over New Zealand (I’m envious!).  And the day before she leaves, she’ll present another program at a regional SCBWI conference in Auckland.

Finally, Vivian will conclude her writing conference tour with the Bologna Book Fair.  But this does not conclude her travels!  After the book fair, Vivian and one of her stateside critique buddies will do day trips to Florence, Milan, and other points of interest in Italy.  And finally, seven weeks after beginning her trip, she will head home to New Hampshire.  When all is said and done, Vivian will have literally traveled around the globe!

Vivian Kirkfield

How does one keep track of such expansive travel plans?  For Vivian, the answer is:  in a notebook and on a calendar.  Vivian loves notebooks.  As she shared travel plans with me, flipping from page to page during our interview, she also came across pages of general reminders, shopping lists, and, of course, countless writing samples.  She wishes she was more organized. In fact, she told me she starts each new manuscript in a ruled notebook, but somehow other items of interest find their way onto the pages.

She showed me her rough draft for her tentative sequel to PIPPA’S PASSOVER PLATE (Holiday House). I know we are all excited to see the launch of this first Vivian book which hits the shelves in early February…to be immediately followed by FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN: AN ANIMAL COUNTING BOOK (Pomegranate) on March 1. And then on May 1, the long-awaited SWEET DREAMS, SARAH arrives.

The cover of one of Vivian’s soon-to-be-out picture books

For of you who are fans of the #50PreciousWords Writing Challenge, never fear.  Even though Vivian will be traveling, she still plans to host the challenge which runs from March 1-8…she’ll be reading all of our stories from her friend’s home in New Zealand.

One can’t talk to Vivian without discussing the topic of writing.  I asked Vivian where she wrote, how she wrote, and from where she received story ideas.  Well, she sits facing North at her dining room table, with the beauty of NH to the left as seen through a big picture window that looks out to the woods that surround her home.  Her fireplace and the front door are to her right.  She inscribes the first lines of each new story in longhand in a notebook and takes copious notes, especially if she is researching a nonfiction subject.  If it is a rhyming story, she loves using Rhyme Zone and for all of her stories, the Thesaurus. She says you can never have enough words!  Frequently, she receives ideas for stories from television shows, magazine articles, and online while researching other ideas.  And I’m sure she’ll also get plenty of ideas for potential stories from her upcoming trip around the world!

Concluding advice from Vivian:  Have the desire to share your story and life with the world in order to benefit children (and adults).  Everybody can make their dreams real if they have passion, patience and persistence.  Embrace feedback.  Always be open to what others tell you, but stand firm for what you believe.  Check out Vivian’s website and blog https://viviankirkfield.com/ for more inspiration!

The cover of another of Vivian’s soon-to-be-out picture books.

How have you traveled in your writing career, both literally and figuratively?  Leave a comment below in order to enter a contest to win a Surprise Writer’s Package from Vivian, containing picture books and more (and maybe, just maybe, something chocolatey, too!).

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah A. Hetu-Radny

Vivian reading to her grandson, Jeremy
admin Uncategorized

Writing for Magazines

If you have any desire to write for magazines, then I hope this article will serve as a good summary of what you need to do.  An excellent book on the subject matter, where I found most of these notes, is the WRITER’S DIGEST GUIDE TO MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING by Kerrie Flanagan.  Essentially, the steps in writing for magazines include:  good writing, good querying, and understanding contracts.

FIRST, GOOD WRITING:

Let’s first start with a basic vocabulary regarding magazine writing.  A BYLINE is a line in an article that identifies the writer and how to contact him or her.  A CLIP is the electronic or print copy of a published article.  LEAD TIME is the number of months ahead of which a magazine is working.  The LEDE is the introduction to an article (usually followed by 3-4 examples, called a “nut-graph”).  Finally, SLANT is the specific angle to a magazine article.

Regarding writing the article, there are several things to keep in mind.  Use strong verbs, tight writing, and specific language.  Smaller paragraphs are more visually appealing.  Avoid empty words.  Similarly, avoid helping verbs, including was, am, is, are, were, being, been, and be, because they signify the passive voice.  The best writing provokes an emotional reaction, such as laughter, sadness, joy, or indignation.  Above all, always think of your audience.

In Windy Lynn Harris’ book, called WRITING AND SELLING SHORT STORIES AND PERSONAL ESSAYS, she dubs personal essays as a great way to break into the world of magazine writing.  Personal essays do not require a query; a Cover Letter will suffice.  Good essays share a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.  There must be a lesson learned or a revelation.  The most effective essays take a smaller moment and let it become a microcosm of a larger truth.

SECOND, GOOD QUERYING:

When querying magazine editors, much is the same as when querying editors of other genres.  Study the magazine which you are querying by reading their online presence and back copies.  Address each query to a particular person.  Find this editor by reading the masthead (the column of editorial information, usually at the beginning of the magazine).  Check the editorial calendar to see if your topic fits the magazine’s agenda, or if it’s been already been published.  Learn about the typical readers by scanning the advertisements, because through ads you can identify what is important to the reader.

Query, query, query; it’s a numbers game.  It is especially important to query the same editor after completing an assignment with him or her, rather than letting that good relationship go to waste.

Start the query with a good hook.  Note whether the article will inform, educate, inspire, or entertain.  Tell the editor why your topic is important and why it is important now, as well as why you are qualified to write about it.  Also identify how long the article is and into what section of the magazine it fits (i.e.:  FOB, listicle, feature, etc.).  Highlight your previous clips with links to your website.  Follow up with the editor in about two weeks.

THIRD, UNDERSTANDING CONTRACTS:

As far as contracts are concerned, payment and rights are two of the most commonly negotiated areas.  Many magazines do “one-time rights,” which means they can publish the piece one time and the writer retains the rights.  If there’s no contract, create an email which includes the deadline, word count, payment and rights and make sure the editor replies and agrees.

I hope you learned some helpful tips from this article on how to write for magazines.  For more information, I highly recommend reading Kerrie Flanagan’s WRITER’S DIGEST GUIDE TO MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING.

Have you written any articles for magazines?  If so, please share your experiences in the comments section below!  Thank you!

Here is the link to one of the magazine articles I’ve written:  https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/what-has-your-residency-taught-you

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah A. Hetu-Radny

admin Uncategorized

Meet Vivian Kirkfield, Part I: Friendship, Justice and Determination (Plus Free PB Critique!)

Vivian Kirkfield is an amazing individual, who also happens to have not one, not two, but THREE picture books scheduled to come out in 2019.  This short blog series will highlight a “behind the scenes” look at this energetic author.

I first met Vivian on March 29, 2018.  Seeing what a fabulous online platform she had, and knowing she was already published, I reached out to her, looking for direction and advice.  She was more than willing to assist and extremely helpful.  (Thank you, Vivian!)

Vivian grew up on the seventh floor of one of the buildings in the NYC Jacob Riis housing projects.  Jane, her best friend of seventy years (SEVENTY years!) lived on the fifth floor of the same building.  In contrast to Jane’s tall, blonde appearance, Vivian was petite and had curly light brown hair.

The two girls loved to play “Superman” together.  Jane was Lois Lane, and Vivian was both Lex Luther and Superman.  Vivian-as-Lex would tie her friend to a chair with their jump rope and leave the room.  Then Vivian-as-Superman would burst through the door and courageously rescue the fair Lois Lane.

Vivian and Jane also enjoyed playing in the park across the highway from their home.  There was a man who pedaled an ice cream cart through the park each day, shouting, “Ice cream, get your ice cream!”  The girls used to carry a nickel or dime in order to enjoy this sweet treat at their daily picnic.

EPSON MFP image

(Vivian and Jane)

One day, a group of fourteen-year-old boys approached these two seven-year-olds and demanded that they turn over their money.  Jane handed over her coin.  Vivian, on the other hand, thought to herself, “No way am I going to let these boys have my dime!”  She hid it under the picnic blanket and then claimed she had no money.

One month later, Jane’s family packed up and moved to New Jersey.  While the two friends have been physically separated ever since, they have kept in contact for the past 70 years and supported each other at weddings and births.

These themes of friendship, justice, and determination, so evident in Vivian’s childhood, shine through her writing. I can’t wait for her first book to debut.  PIPPA’S PASSOVER PLATE (Holiday House, February 2019) was originally an idea Vivian logged into her 2013 PiBoIdMo (now Storystorm) notebook.  It is illustrated by the talented Jill Weber, who just happens to be one of Vivian’s local critique partners, as well as a dear friend.  This doesn’t surprise me at all; friendship means everything to Vivian.

I hope you enjoyed this first of three sketches on author Vivian Kirkfield.  Feel free to share your favorite story of childhood friendship in the comments section below!

Would you like to win a free PB Critique from Vivian?  Leave a comment!  All individuals who comment will be entered in a drawing on Saturday, July 28th.

Sarah A. Hetu-Radny