Coming Soon: WriteOnCon 2013

WriteOnCon is a free kidlit themed online conference where writers and aspiring authors can rub virtual elbows with agents, editors, and authors. You can ask industry professionals the questions you want to ask, have them look at your queries, see how they critique others' work, and you can do all that from the comfort of your own office chair. I've participated in WriteOnCon for the last two years, and I've learned so much about writing and the publishing industry by participating in this. 

This year's WriteOnCon is on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 13 and August 14. I already marked my calendar!  You know how some people keep checking back at conference web sites to see updates on schedules or speakers? I'm sooo that person!

For any of you who can't make it out to a kidlit writing conference, but want some of the benefits of being at one, I recommend you give WriteOnCon a try.

Have you participated in WriteOnCon before?

For WriteOnCon newbies, online chats with industry professionals occur throughout the conference. Which kidlit authors, agents, or editors would you like to do an online chat with? For me, I would love to do online chats with J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, and Amanda Hocking, just to name a few peeps.

IWSG: Ray Bradbury on Rejecting Acceptance

First, I just wanted to thank my readers for the thoughtful comments they left for me over the weekend when I shared about some stuff that was making me feel uncertain about where I was as a writer. You guys are really AWESOME! 

Today is Insecure Writer Support Group day. Thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting.

A year ago from today, Ray Bradbury passed away. He is still missed. His writing has always pushed me to think about topics that many people prefer to overlook- xenophobia and the suppression of free speech, for example. Here's one quote of Mr. Bradbury that I reach for on days when I remind myself why it's important for me to stand by my values:

“You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.”

Many of us are taught that rejection is a part of life (especially if you're a writer!) and that we should accept rejection with grace. The idea of knowing when and how to reject acceptance is less common. But this is a very important awareness to have, especially when winning the approval of someone or something comes with a price tag or an unspoken agreement that you must leave part of who you are at the door when you walk into the Mansion of Conditional Acceptance. 

Please take my word for it when I say that at the Mansion of Conditional Acceptance, the wine sucks. And it's okay to spit out bad wine, and walk out. 

(That's just one example of how Mr. Bradbury's words have encouraged me to think.) 

Have you ever rejected acceptance? 

Kidlit Authors Support Oklahoma Disaster Relief

My friend Kim lives in Oklahoma. Her hometown is Moore, where an EF5 tornado recently struck. Things have been very tough and stressful for Kim and her loved ones these past few weeks.  Recently, I found some really wonderful kidlit authors who banded together to host Red Cross fundraisers in support of the Oklahoma disaster relief efforts.  

Here are two fundraisers I've come across:

Hosted by The Lucky 13s, Friday the Thirteeners, and The Enchanted Inkpot, Kidlit Authors for Oklahoma offers donors a chance to win giveaway prizes for each $10 donation that is made. 

Kate Messner, an author who hosted an auction after Hurricane Sandy hit, is currently putting together a giveaway called Kidlit Cares for Oklahoma Book Giveaway where a minimum donation of $10 is required. 

While it'd be nice to support other kidlit authors' efforts to fundraise, of course, we can also donate to the Red Cross without participating in these fundraisers at all. 

If you hear about other fundraising efforts to support the Oklahoma disaster relief, feel free to mention it in the comments section.

If you live in Oklahoma, or you have friends or family living in Oklahoma, and you just want to express your thoughts about what's going on, feel free to leave a comment here. 

Fess Up Friday: I'm Wishing and Hoping...

I'm involved in the local media. I enjoy interviewing children a lot because they can be very honest about sharing what they think. Recently, I spoke with a team of really sweet junior high boys who competed in a technology gadget competition. During the announcement of the winners at the event, the runner-ups were announced first. The boys were disappointed they didn't hear their team announced for any of the runner-up prizes. 

When the announcer was about to reveal the big grand prize winner, also the final award, the boys were reassuring one another that it was okay they didn't win and they knew they all tried their best. 

Then the boys heard their team name announced as the grand prize winner. They totally didn't see it coming. How cool is that. 

Before the boys knew the final results, I imagine them graciously applauding the runner-ups, but perhaps feeling just a teeny tiny bit uneasy that their names haven't been called.

As an aspiring author, I feel like that once in awhile.  

Knowing how hard many writers struggle, work, and persevere toward their publishing dreams, I am genuinely happy for writers I know, even writers I don't know, when they hit milestones in making their dreams into a reality. The pursuit to get published can come with so many challenges and so much heartache and headache that I strongly feel we need to support one another. In fact, a major pet peeve of mine is when I observe a bitter person raining on someone else's parade, someone else's success.  When I hear an author sharing good news, I often think, YAY for them, and that could be me.

But sometimes, I also wonder, when will that be me? 

There is no answer to that. All I can do is work hard, learn as much as I can, support others, and just wish and hope that I would get to hear my name get called someday. 

How do you process your moments of uncertainty, in and out of your writing life?

Author Interview with Director/Producer/Screenwriter Chris Columbus

Chris Columbus has done a bunch of really awesome stuff, including writing the screenplay for The Goonies (I devoted an entire post to The Goonies last month), and directing the movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Having written HOUSE OF SECRETS (Balzer + Bray) with co-author Ned Vizzini, he is now officially a children's book author as well.  

I got to interview Chris Columbus face to face when I attended his author talk last month at the San Jose Public Library. The event was hosted by Hicklebees, a fabulous kidlit bookstore. 

HOUSE OF SECRETS, a MG fantasy novel, is about three siblings who discover that their new house in San Francisco can drift straight into the stories written by the home’s former owner, an author of books with occult themes. While combating live skeletons, creepy pirates, and the evil Wind Witch, the kids are also on a quest to find the The Book of Doom and Desire, a wish-granting object. HOUSE OF SECRETS captivated me with its twisty magic, non-stop action, and occasional warm and fuzzy moments between siblings who need to fend for themselves without the protection of their parents.  

From my interview with Chris Columbus: 

How did you write your story?

It’s a matter of figuring out the characters, the storyline, and doing a summary for the book. This started out as a screenplay in 1999. I did 90 pages. It felt too big for a movie- it would be too expensive- so I put it in a drawer, and I went off to direct the first two Harry Potter movies. When I came back to America four years later, every couple of years, I’d take the manuscript out of a drawer and try to figure out what to do with it because I loved the story. Two years ago, I decided it’d make a great novel. So I hired a co-writer so I could still make films while I was writing. It took us two years to finish writing this. It all worked out, and we’re happy with the book and proud of it. We hope this book will help get kids into reading.

What is your philosophy on writing about magic?                                            

The rules of magic are the rules you set up. I don’t look at books about the occult or anything.

How do you develop your characters?

I’ve had 23 years of experience raising children so I base a lot of these characters on my own kids. You want the characters to feel real, to be three-dimensional. Character growth and development is essential.

Is there anything else you’d like to add? 

We’re hoping the book is successful enough so that kids would read it and tell their friends about it. My goal is to have kids walking around on the beach reading this book during the summer.   

From Chris Columbus' author talk:

On how he gets his dialogue-  He listens to his four children talk during dinner time.

On having J.K. Rowling critique his writing- After reading one of his drafts, J.K. Rowling gave him the advice to slow down with the writing and reveal more character, and that’s what he worked on during his revision.

On films he is most proud of working on- He's happy he got to direct the Harry Potter movies and Rent, and produce The Help.

On getting to direct the HARRY POTTER movies- He sat down with J.K. Rowling for two hours at a café where he told her his vision for the movie. After she heard what he had to say, she said that was her vision too.

On dealing with writer’s block- He runs every day.

On his favorite books from childhood- He loved comic books. He read a collection of Ray Bradbury short stories, and it changed his life. He also liked THE AVENGER series by Kenneth Robeson, stuff by Charles Dickens, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, and THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.

On attending New York University’s film school at Tisch School of the Arts- His parents were both factory workers and he knew when he went to film school, he didn’t have any choice but to make it and carve out a career for himself in film making.

On why he hasn’t written a sequel for The Goonies- Chris said, "If they’re 35 years old, and they’re still riding around in bicycles looking for treasures, that’s pathetic. If [people] want more Goonies, then they should read HOUSE OF SECRETS.”

...As for me, I'd still consider aging Goonies as the cool kids, even when they’re playing Mah Jong in pajamas with their dentures put on wrong.

IWSG: Reflections on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge

It's Insecure Writers Support Group Day, a blogging event that occurs on the first Wednesday of each month. Thanks to the wonderful Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this! 

First, congratulations to everyone who completed the Blogging from A to Z Challenge last month. As some of you know, my blogging theme for April was World Building from A to Z. 


To complete my 26 posts, I reached into the back of my head to recall details from stories I've read or seen. Sometimes when I read, random story details would glue themselves to my memory, whether or not I want them to be there. These little Post-It notes came in handy  when I brainstormed for my posts. But still, I couldn't realistically remember every nitty-gritty detail of every story I've ever been exposed to. So when I wasn't sure about the information scribbled on one of those mental Post-It notes, I would fact-check it. So once in awhile, I'd re-read excerpts of certain books or I would do quick Internet searches to confirm minor details of a story. My insecurity revolved around my fear that if I accidentally presented a detail of a story inaccurately, some snarky commenter would call me out on it and accuse me of not knowing what I was doing. But that never happened. And to be fair to myself, I'm pretty confident about the accuracy of the details in the stories I shared.

I came across a lot of neat blogs this past month. I am grateful for the visitors who faithfully returned to my blog day after day to leave comments- you people know who you are! I also want to thank fellow blogger Nicole Rivera, who took the time to recognize my blog and my A to Z challenge theme in her post, Writing a Novel- World Building. She put up links for all of my posts throughout the month! Nicole's blog is called Rivera Runs Through It. You should check it out if you haven't already.

I really hope you A to Z Challenge folk aren't going to shun the blogosphere now that April is over. The reason for this is because I have some cool news....Remember on Day X, I mentioned I was attending an event featuring writer/director/producer Chris Columbus, and remember I was hoping to interview him for my blog? I GOT THE INTERVIEW!!!! I would like to finish reading his book before I post the interview, which should be sometime in the next week or so, if all goes according to schedule. So I hope you could stick around for that.

Did you participate in the Blogging from A to Z challenge? If so, how did it go?

World Building A to Z: Zeus and Other Gods

This month, I've been sharing details I've noticed in world building and setting from a bunch of different stories. Today is the last day of the World Building A to Z series, but this probably won't be my last post on the topic. Orange-pineapple-coconut smoothies to all of you who've been visiting and commenting here this month! 

Zeus and Other Gods: The most obvious deities in the world of Greek mythology would be Zeus and his gang, the human-like immortals sitting around in their flannel togas and stuffing themselves with ambrosia and Doritos all day long. And yet, these gods and goddesses still get their share of worshipers. 

I associate religion with who, what, and how people worship. When religion is presented in a story, it helps to examine if religion is used to uplift, confine, or both. 

In ANIMAL FARM, religion is used to uplift and confine. The hard-working animals, unknowingly exploited, believe that they will pass through the pearly gates of Sugarcandy Mountain when they die. The promise of a comfortable afterlife gives them something to look forward to and pushes them to work harder. Seeing how hard Boxer, the horse, works makes it all the more depressing when it's implied that he will be slaughtered once his body is too worn down for labor. 

There are fictional characters and real people who don't subscribe to any religion. They might consider themselves atheists or non-believers of a higher power. 

Nonetheless, I strongly believe that everyone worships something. For example, someone might worship the idea of becoming rich and famous, or the pursuit of appearing eternally young, or the dream to be powerful and feared, or the hope of being seen as attractive or desirable, or all of the above.The choices someone makes to elevate themselves to a certain goal reveal what they worship. I apply this statement to atheists, non-atheists, and public followers of a religion. 

Can you think of other examples where religion or implied religion are used in stories? 

Are you religious?