2010 Boise SCBWI conference part I--Chris Crutcher

The conference was just really well done. I traveled 5-6 hours to go to it because I wanted to hear those specific speakers and learn from them. I got a lot out of their presentations, partly because they were so good and partly because I went with an idea of what I wanted to learn. The first time you go, you don't know what to expect, so it's hard to absorb it. This time, I knew what I wanted, and so I could ask questions and listen for the things that might help me in my writing. And then there are always unexpected things you bring away that you didn't know you wanted until you heard them. I was particularly moved by Chris Crutcher's talks, and I don't even like reading issues novels. (Real life is already stressful, and reading to me is supposed to be an escape! But for some people it's lifesaving, a way to know that someone else has gone through your problem and that there is a way out for you, too.) I went to his breakout session and of course listened to his talk to everyone. So without further ado, Chris Crutcher.

Chris Crutcher, author

He’s an amazing speaker and reminded us that we are humans first, then writers. He is a therapist and he really knows kids, and what struck me most was how much he cared about real people, and how much of a voice he was for the voiceless. He has Mitgefühl—not just bland sympathy, but he feels along with another human being. He writes about difficult things and so often people ban his books—yet the things he writes about are a lifeline for people who think they’re alone, who don’t know how to talk about their secret horrors, and who need a way to talk about the problem and get help without talking about the problem in a personal way. He moved the group to tears with several real-life stories. Just a fantastic speaker/storyteller/writer/person. A few quotes/paraphrases:

"Truth floats, and people will recognize it"--after seeing enough similar real-life situations, the truth of them float up and you can write something that is fictional but still carries the weight and truth of the real life things you’ve experienced. Then people who have had this experience will recognize it and see themselves in it.

He likes to get the voice of a new story set first. Otherwise he can’t get into the story.

Grief is a process and has to be cleared away so new stuff can come in. If that doesn’t happen, you get sick. And you grieve until you’re finished, and no one else can do that for you or control how long it lasts.

Putting real life into fiction is all about getting the reader to feel this thing you’re writing about.

Go to the hard places in your writing (emotionally) and don’t back off. Write what you care about.

You’re a human first. Then you’re a writer. Your writing should reflect that.

On issues books and book banning—secrecy is a big part of abuse. Sometimes when you spill secrets, you make people mad. (My thought when he talked about this—both spilling bad secrets, and also maybe putting very personal stuff, even if good, on public display in a book can make people feel invaded. Hence the reflex to shut down and ban things.) He's trying to find common ground with the people who want to ban his books, because he thinks that he and they are all trying to help kids, and they just need to find a way to meet so they can. I wish more people could have heard him talk, because there's no way you could listen to him and say that he doesn't care and that he doesn't do all he can to help kids in need/trouble.

A girl at a reading in Texas (where he’s never lived—he’s from Idaho and has worked in California) came up and told him that when she read his book, she felt like he knew her personally. A librarian had given her this book and it was the way she was able to talk about some bad situation in her life and get help to get out of it. The strong feeling I got from listening to him talk was that he is a voice for people who don’t have one. His books might not be for everyone, but for some people they are a lifeline. The book Whale Talk exists because one girl he worked with in therapy wanted her story out there so it could help someone else. Even though therapy sessions are legally confidential, she insisted and eventually signed papers and everything so he could use her in the book. The book has a lot of bad words in it. (I think every bad word Chris Crutcher knows?) But the intent is not just to throw out bad words. It’s to help someone else out of trouble.

"As a writer we have the obligation to tell the story we know."'

"Our job as writers, educators, is to help empower."

2010 Boise SCBWI conference, part II

This is a smaller collection of notes of different talks/sessions. I didn't attend all the sessions as you had to choose. I heard Kelly Milner Halls was great, but I wasn't in hers, so you'll have to take other people's word for it. Jill Corcoran from the Hermann Agency was the visiting agent, and since I only knew her from Verla Kay's before, it was fun to meet in person. She's brilliant at queries, which is a lot of what she talked about.

Jill Corcoran, agent

Jill talked a lot about writing queries, knowing what your book is really about so you can succinctly talk about it in an enticing way. She said you should research your agents well so you can say specifically why you chose them to query. She said in several sessions that she is not a fan of books starting with a child and parent (esp. arguing—you know, the scene with the parent trying to get the kid to go/do something and the kid is negative and angry and talking back). Teens look more to their peers and are trying to get away from their parents, so the opening parent scene isn’t as much of a draw.

Issues books—they start with the issue and don’t fumble around. Also, they are about people who have dreams but the issues are getting in the way of them. Not about oh-no-I-have-this-issue-now-what?

Jill’s short synopsis: In TITLE, X-year-old Main Character needs to (define problem) before (obstacles).

There was a debut author panel featuring Amy Cook, Laura Bingham, and Sarah Tregay. Advice: keep writing and don't give up. Tregay wrote five books before the one that sold to Harper Collins, and had a triple-digit rejection list. Other advice: check and re-check small presses that sound too good to be true. You can look in all the usual spots--Preditors and Editors, Verla Kay, Absolute Write, etc.--but also the secretary of state's office for the state the place is registered in. More advice: just because you start small doesn't mean you have to stay small. Learn all you can on the way, but also keep your goals in mind and work toward what you want to be as a writer.

Cheryl Klein, editor at Arthur A. Levine, talked about revision. If you study her web site you can find all kinds of useful thoughts on this, and she has a book coming out soon that is all about revision as well. (My note: Cheryl is brilliant. I don't know anyone else who understands how a book is put together better, and certainly no one else who can articulate it so well.) If she asks for a revision she values quality over speed (a good revision in 6 months is better than a cursory one in two weeks). In revising, once you’ve had a break from your draft, write out what you think the main point of your book is (without looking at your actual draft). Write flap copy (250 words): opening situation, something about the MC and what their challenge is, and a couple of action items that promote the MC’s change. Then go through your draft and study every scene for turning points, how tightly the internal and action arcs are bound together (the more tightly they are, the stronger the book, because one propels the other), and also to watch for excessive negativity in your character at first. What are the first 10 things the MC tells the reader? Do they make the reader want to hang around for the next 200 pages? Compare your actual draft to the writeup you did without it. Does your execution match your intent? Then work large to small on your revision. Voice=emotional flow.

 

 

2010 Boise SCBWI conference, part III

Finally, the public critique of first pages by Cheryl Klein and Jill Corcoran

Firstly, the entries all had strong writing, so they could go in depth a bit more, which was nice. They mostly agreed, but not always. They have different tastes, like different kinds of voice, and on one page, JC was confused and put off whereas CK was intrigued and liked it. So, some subjectivity is involved! But here are general things they said in response to specific pages:

References to things outside what we know of the book so far can be intriguing or confusing—if you don’t know the MC, it’s more confusing. Be careful of making the reader work too much, especially on page 1.

First page—build and cliff-hang, but avoid being too far-off misty and mysterious. Get a little closer and just spit it out so we know what’s going on. Balance nice writing with the hooky elements.

For rhyme (both rhyming ones had excellent natural rhyme and rhythm—they were both impressed): look for unexpected rhymes, not the tired ones everyone finds first. You also MUST have a plot. Just a list of images is not enough. CK says she has to come up with 5 selling points for each book for the marketing department, so there need to be five different, interesting things about it.

If the main character wants the reader to sympathize with his/her plight, the reader needs a reason to care. Some evidence, something.

Begin in the immediate action with the character NOW, instead of just a bunch of backstory. Get close up to know character.

For retellings—use your opening page to invest in the character. CK said that you can expect a reasonable degree of flap copy to let the reader know it’s a retelling. The reader will know the story—your job is to show the uniqueness of your version. Let us know the character.

JC said again to start with peers, not parents.

The writer needs to have a clear vision of where they’re going, and let the reader know what to expect. The tone should match all over, or it’s disjointed.

Picture books need an unexpected kick or twist at the end.

Voice = emotional flow, the up and down of the character’s feelings.

Don’t get tangled up in convoluted clauses that make a reader backtrack to figure out what’s going on. Especially at the beginning, where you’re trying to figure out what to expect from the story. Don’t beat around the bush, obscuring the main point.

Writing itself needs to be strong—90% of CK’s rejections are voice/writing-related.

First page sets up character, setting, hint of main plot. You don’t need subplots on the first page—but you do need to nail the character.

CK wants one clear question to pull her in and one reason to care (all told with voice) on the first page of a novel. In the first five lines of a picture book.

Sometimes very good illustrators can get away with a weak story (ie no plot). But writers can’t.