In Which I Conferenced

Saturday I hit the MN SCBWI annual conference. It was my first one, since I've only been a member for a year now (which, I mean, you can attend if you're not a member. I just didn't know about it until I became a member)

There's something to be said for a conference that only lasts a day. At the very least, it means you still get some of your weekend to do your normal weekend stuff (for me, that's errands and cooking club. And writing blog posts, natch)

So anyway, here's a rundown of the conference:

The keynote speakers were David Small and Sarah Stewart. David is an award winning illustrator and Sarah, his wife, is a Picture Book writer. The first panel was David talking about his graphic novel memoir, Stitches.

David Small was just an amazing speaker. Seriously. Everything that came out of his mouth was entertaining and profound and funny. He was one of those speakers you could have listened to the entire conference.

He and Sarah gave another presentation on her book The Quiet Place, which he had illustrated.

And they were both adorbs. Like, you know those couples that love each other so much that you can't help but love them too? Not one of those couples that fills facebook with "I love you" and "I'm on my way home!" and "I can't wait till you get home!" Those couples drive me crazy. Listen, I know you love each other, but you don't have rub everyone's face in it. David and Sarah were not like that at all. I think everyone just absolutely loved them together.

There were only like 5 copies of Stitches for sale at the conference. I got the second to last one. BAM!

The conference was then split up into Workshops. Two at a time, one for illustrators and one for writers, so naturally I hit the writer ones.

The first one was "A Whole New World: How Dreams and Desire Can Improve World-Building" put on by Sara Sargent, Assistant Editor at Balzer + Bray, a HarperCollins imprint.

Her presentations was great. The best part was, though, a writing exercise we did. She had brought with a box of books and she said anyone who volunteered to read theirs could pick out a book.

Later, someone would tell me that she thought I was super brave to volunteer and I told her the truth, that I will pretty much do anything for a free book. I got Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Honestly I wanted to be first, but one girl had a critique to go to in the middle of the workshop and managed to raise her hand faster. But I went second.

The exercise was to just list out your MCs tangible want, emotional want, barriers to their success, tools to combat the barriers and wish fulfillment. Most of these are things I actually write down before I write my rough draft, so it was easy to participate for me.

The second workshop was "Cracking the Nut: One Agent's Advice on Craft and Career for Writer's of All Levels" by Linda Pratt from Wernick & Pratt Agency.

Her presentation was good, but I was familiar with a lot of what she said, so there really wasn't much that I found surprising.


There were critiques going on as well. If you paid an additional $35 you could've had your first 5 pages read by an agent or editor or creative director. I didn't participate, mostly because I thought $35 seemed pretty expensive for only 5 pages (or at least, it did to me, since it seems like there's always blog contests or auctions where you can get 50 pages or more read by agents). But in hindsight I kind of wish I had done it, just because everyone else was and I felt a bit left out. Of course, that's a known flaw I've talked about here.

There was, however, a first pages event. And that was free to enter. How it worked was, if you wanted, you emailed your first page before the conference. Then the last event of the day was the two agents and one editor would listen to randomly selected first pages and comment on them.
It was all anonymous and random, so there wasn't a huge chance you'd get picked, but it was fun to hear what the agents and editor had to say. And I totally learned a LOT on how to write Picture Books

BUT!! I was totally picked! They only had time to go through 4 of them and mine was the 3rd one!

I have to say, it was utterly terrifying hearing someone read my first page (also, kind of a bummer, she flubbed my best line on that page, which gave it a different meaning. Le sigh).

I think I got pretty nice feedback. Or at least, they all said something good about it (they liked my opening line, my tension and the dialogue) where as it seemed all the others had mostly criticisms. But still, it took me an hour or so to calm the eff down so I could accept the critiques with a critical eye.

So there you have it! I tried to keep this post short, but clearly, I didn't.  Sorry, and high five if you stuck through the whole thing!

In Which We Catch Fire!

Welcome to the Catch Fire blog party! wOOt!!

Today is the Catch Fire Blog Party, celebrating the release of CassaFire by Alex J. Cavanaugh!

The goal is to help CassaFire “catch fire” on the best seller charts and achieve the success of the first book, CassaStar.

There’s also a special package of prizes being given away at the author’s blog (copies of CassaFire, CassaStar, tote bag, mug, and bookmarks) as well as book giveaways during his two-week blog tour. (See Alex’s site for details)

Unfamiliar with CassaStar? What? How can that be? Well, no worries! Here's the breakdown:


CassaStar was just the beginning…

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.


The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities.

To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…


What? You want more?

Well then, here's the book trailer!





Yeah, you'd better believe you want to nab a copy of that.
Luckily now you can!

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Amazon Kindle


So head on over to Alex's site and pick up a copy today!

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In Which I List My Favorites

Anne McCaffrey, over her career, won both a Hugo award AND a Nebula award. She has been inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and she did more for women in sci-fi (both characters, AND writers) than almost anyone else. For all of us women who write genre fiction, a large part of our success is owed to Anne McCaffrey. Without her and her stories, there may not have been room for the strong female heroines we love, or for us, their writers.

The overall plot of the Pern series has to do with the dragons and Thread. Thread is a living organism that falls from space every 250 years. The fall lasts for four hours at a time over different parts of the planet and lasts for 50 years. Thread devours anything organic (except rock, and metal) and the only thing that kills it is fire or water.
The dragons were created to fight Thread in the sky before it can land on the ground and destroy crops, animals and people. The dragons can breathe fire and also possess the ability to teleport, so they can destroy Thread in the air and pop in and out before Thread manages to touch and devour them or their riders.
That's Pern in a nutshell.

All right. Let's talk about my favorite Pern books. For my list, I'm only considering books written purely by Anne McCaffrey. Of course, that still leaves 18 books to choose from. Not an easy task, but one I dove into.

Here we go, my top 5 Dragonriders of Pern books, in no particular order.

DRAGONSINGER (published 1977)


Plot: Menolly travels to the Harper Hall, a music conservatory for harpers (minstrels/educators). Menolly finds life in the Harper Hall challenging. She must at first live with a group of paying female students who are catty and mean and also finds herself torn between master musicians who want her to specialize in their techniques. The situation is complicated by her nine fire lizards, small dragon-like creatures recently rediscovered in Pern.

The Harper Hall trilogy is the YA part of Pern Saga. It's an easy starting place for anyone who wants to give Pern a try. It's certainly where both myself and Twin started. Of the three books, Dragonsigner, the middle one, is my favorite. I love Menolly as a character. She's both self-effacing and humble but also strong and not afraid to punch a boy in the face. The best part about this book is the life at the Harper Hall. I love books that center around schools. I could read about Menolly going to her music classes any day of the week. The only thing I don't like about this book is that it's too short. I wish there was more.

DRAGONSDAWN (1988)




Plot: The planet Pern seemed a paradise to its new colonists—seeking to return to an agrarian-based simpler way of life. Shortly after arriving on the planet, however, a new threat appeared – Thread, an organism that falls from the sky and devours anything organic. With time running out, the colonists set out to bio-engineer Pernese lifeforms that appear to instinctively react to the Thread – the dragonets that colonists have adopted as pets.

This book is firmly in the science-fiction category, with space travel and technology that is not present in most other pern books. It's also the first, chronologically, in the series (barring a short story or two). I love this book because it's the beginning of everything. We get to see the dragons genetically engineered. We get to see the tragic first threadfall when so many colonists were killed. I also love colonization stories, so that helps a lot with my love of this novel.

THE WHITE DRAGON (1987)



Plot: The White Dragon follows the coming of age story of Jaxom the young Lord of Ruatha, who had accidentally impressed the white dragon, Ruth. As Jaxom grows up, he has to deal with the difficulty of being both a Lord Holder and a dragonrider. While fighting Thread, Jaxom falls ill with a potentially deadly sickness. This leads him to recuperate in Cove Hold, where he discovers some of the mysteries that the Ancients, the ancestors of the Pernese, left behind.

Ruth, is, hands-down, my favorite dragon. He has more personality than a lot of the larger dragons, due to his runt-like nature. Jaxom is also a very likeable character and it's fun to watch both he and Ruth grow up to become leaders of Pern

DOLPHINS OF PERN (1994)


Plot: Readis, the Paradise River Lord Holder's son, is saved by talking dolphins ("shipfish") as a young boy after falling into the sea and subsequently develops a strong fascination with the dolphins. T'lion, dragonrider of Bronze Gadareth, also develops an interest after being involved in an early dolphin encounter. The two befriend each other due to their shared interest and, in their own ways, defy family, Hold and Weyr to maintain their friendships with dolphins and convince others of the dolphins' intelligence and ability to speak.

This book is just a lot of fun, because the dolphins are adorable. They're funny and entertaining and their interactions with the dragons is worth a book alone. I always feel like this book is too short, though. Right when it ends is when I want to read more, even if it's just boring technical stuff. I'd read it, because I want to know how all of Pern deals with the reintroduction of dolphins into their society.

ALL THE WYERS OF PERN (1991)


Plot: AIVIS, the AI machine left behind by the original colonists, is re-discovered and sets about on his original task, to discover a way to use the dragons to stop Thread once and for all. But not everyone trusts the talking machine and its new technology, and factions of people seek to destroy it, even if it means Threadfall and Pern's dependence on the dragons and their riders must continue forever.

This is, more or less, the final book in the overall plot of the pern series. The dragons were bred to fight thread in the sky, but they were only supposed to be a temporary solution. What I love about this book is all the characters learning about their history, especially the people and events that take place in Dragonsdawn. It's like a super crossover. But it's also sad for many different reasons, so I both love picking it up, and loathe it, because I know what happens at the end.

BONUS BOOK
THE MASTERHARPER OF PERN (1998)


Plot: The story of Robinton's life as he grows from a boy, choosing whether to be a harper or a dragonrider, and his subsequent position of Masterharper of Pern and the most important man on the planet.

Yes, I cheated a bit. This is a sixth book. I couldn't put it above any of my other favorites, but it felt wrong to leave it off. Robinton is the heart of most the Pern books. He is kind and funny and plays a main character is almost all the ninth-pass books. I love this book because we get to focus on Robinton and his life, even though it's a life full of sadness and tinged with regret.


So that's it! Those are my top Pern books. If you're a fan, do you agree or disagree with any of my choices? And if you've never read the Pern series before, I really hope you one day decide to take the plunge. You won't regret it, I promise.
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In Which I Remember Anne McCaffrey

I've been a long time fan of Anne McCaffrey. I can honestly say she's one of the main authors who steered me towards my love of fantasy. I probably would've gotten there without her, but certainly not as quickly. It would have been a different path, and one not as happy, or exciting.

I knew she was old. Even as a kid I knew one day she would die, and there would be no more Pern books written by her. And though, yes, Todd McCaffrey has taken on the mantle, he's just not as good of a writer as his mom.

If you asked me if I'd rather be a jedi, go to school at Hogwarts and become a witch, or impress a dragon on Pern and be a dragonrider, I would pick dragonrider every time. There's seriously no competition.







my favorite picture of Ruth and Jaxom



When I'd heard that she died, it was extra sad because I had, quite literally, just finished a re-read of most the Pern series, something I used to do every winter, but had taken a long break from. I read 12 books in less than two months. That's how much I love the Pern series. I could not put them down, even though I had read them all countless times before. Even though I knew what would happen. That, to me, is firm evidence of her skill as a writer.




Lessa, bringing the oldtimers 400 years into the future


Anne McCaffrey offered this nugget of wisdom to inspiring writers:

“First — keep reading. Writers are readers. Writers are also people who can’t not write. Second, follow Heinlein’s rules for getting published: 1. Write it. 2. Finish it. 3. Send it out. 4. Keep sending it out until someone sends you a check. There are variations on that, but that’s basically what works.”


Wednesday I'll have a quick list of my favorite Pern books and why. Though it will be hard to choose.
I've read many of her other series, as well, but Pern's the only one I come back to, over and over again.

I know there was one final book planned for the ninth pass story arc, tentatively titled "After the Pass is Over". I wait for it eagerly, because I never felt like their story was done, even though the main plot had closed. I didn't care about that. I wanted more of Jaxom and Ruth, and F'nor and F'lar and Lessa. I could read about Menolly writing songs at the Harper Hall for the rest of my life and never be bored of it. I laugh out loud at the adorableness of the Pern dolphins and their intentional puns. Every time I read a dragon impression story I want to be there.

But now, that's all done.

Dear Anne McCaffrey. You changed my life for the better. Though the Red Star has passed and thread has gone, Pern seems emptier without you in it.

Thank you for the books you leave behind. I will always dream of dragons in the sky.

In Which We Launch Tangled Tides!!

Yes, I know all us americans are doing either two things right now, recovering from our food comas, or shopping, but other important things are happening on this blackest of fridays...

Karen Amanda Hooper’s young adult novel, TANGLED TIDES, is officially being released into the world today. I’m joining the celebration by fighting in the war--the underwater web war between the sea creatures!

Karen’s story contains battling merfolk, selkies, sirens and gorgons. She says she loves all of them, but she wants everyone else to choose a side, so…

I CHOOSE SELKIES!!
 
 
 

 
 
Wanna learn more or join in on the fun? Go check out the details at Karen’s blog.
 
Karen is giving away a signed copy of her book and some other sea creature themed prizes. To enter, join the underwater web war on Twitter. Tweet which sea creatures you’re rooting for and why. Include the hashtag #TangledTides and you could win.


Karen will be on Twitter all day celebrating and answering questions, so stop by and say hello. @Karen_Hooper



Summary of the story:

Yara Jones doesn’t believe in sea monsters—until she becomes one.

When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.


Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people—until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process—or she might open the gateway to a love that’s deeper than the oceans.



Amazon
Rhemalda Books
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
 
 
Bam! So support Karen! Because she's an awesome chick with an awesome book!

In Which We Discuss Writing Groups

So at 4th street, the writing seminar this year focused on writer support networks.
Patricia C. Wrede said writing groups are broken down into 3 different types:

Critique Group
Support Group
Social Group

A crit group would be a group focused purely on getting everyone's stuff read and critiqued by other members of the group.

A support group is a group that focuses on commiserating about the difficulty of being a writer and supporting each other during the highs and lows.

A social group is a group where writers get together discuss gardening. Or movies, or anything they want as long as it's not really related to the business or craft of writing.


She went on to state that all writing groups have aspects of these three categories. You're not going to go to your crit group and get absolutely no social interaction or support, but it's not going to be the main focus of that group.

The key, she said, to being happy with your writing group, is to decide which one of those three categories you want and make sure you join or form the correct group.

If you want/need crits from people, you'll be frustrated by a support or social group. And if you want support, you may feel hurt if you join a crit group.


Regarding a crit group, Lois McMaster Bujold stated that it's very important to be in a group where there's at least one person who's better than you, so you can grow as a writer. But she also stated what most of us already know, that providing critiques for others also makes us better writers.

She said, in regards to reading someone's work who is way below you in skill/talent, or the work is just not good, the key thing to remember is to:

Be on the side of the story. To remember that there is something in the story that is worth being written.

And to focus on that if you're having a rough time with a rough MS.
And lastly, to remember that it is their story, not yours, so try to keep that in mind if you're thinking about all the cool stuff you could do with their MS.







So how about you? Are you in a writing group? And if so, which kind? Mine is 50% crit and 50% social, split right down the middle.