We're back from our short hiatus--and boy did the time fly by! I thought I'd bring you up to speed about what several Mayhemmers plan for our new year of 2017. Here we go:
Kell Andrews: In 2017 I want to finish writing and revising my current novel, which is the book of my heart. My goal next is to write something for my daughter. She has a hard time finding enough of the books she loves, so I want to write the book of her heart.
Caroline Starr Rose: February 7: Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine publishes!!!!
Jim Hill: I'm teaching a workshop at NESCBWI called "So You Want to Write a Graphic Novel." April 21-23, 2017, Springfield, MA.
Mary Cronin: I'll be teaching two workshops at the New England SCBWI conference in April--
"World-Building: The Power of Setting for LGBTQ Characters" and "Writing about Characters with LGBTQ Parents."
(Looks like this will be a great conference to attend if you want to see Jim and Mary in action!)
Eden Unger Bowditch: I have MG/YA two books coming out in 2017:
May-The Strange Round Bird (Book 3 of The Young Inventors Guild)
October- Fun Things to Do With Dead Animals with my friend, Egyptologist Salima Ikram
Yamile Saied Mendez: My good news is that I'll be graduating from VCFA in January. I'll also be teaching a casual diversity class at the Storymakers conference in Utah in May. Storymakers is the largest writing conference in the state.
Michael Gettel-Gilmartin: Inspired by Caroline's recent post on The Artist's Way, I'm planning to work through the course once more. I was in an Artist's Way group way back in 1998. It'll be interesting to see how my inner artist responds to revisiting Julia Cameron's "spiritual path to higher creativity."
I hope you all have a magnificently creative and wonderfully fulfilling New Year. Thanks for reading and supporting Project Middle Grade Mayhem (now in our 7th year!!!)
My family gave me a unicycle for Father's Day. They might be trying to kill me. Thirty days later, I'm still alive – Ha! – and covered in wisdom. Or maybe those are bruises. Whatever. The point is, I've discovered that learning to ride my one-wheeled-antagonist is a lot like writing a novel. Strap on your helmet and wrist guards, and I'll explain.
1. It Seems Like a Good Idea at First
Unbridled optimism might be the first sign you could be a writer or a unicyclist. You're sure in your heart-of-hearts that this new undertaking is a great idea, and you can definitely get it done if you work hard enough. This feeling is followed by the realization that...
2. You Have No Idea What You're Doing
Whether saddling up for the first time or staring at the blank screen while the cursor pulses in silent judgment, you quickly realize you're clueless about how to begin. Congratulations! You're on your way! To the emergency room. Or maybe the Newbery Award. I'm just saying prepare yourself for anything at this point, is all.
3. Research is Key
Write what you know is a cute aphorism, but maybe a bit of a lie. Unicycle what you know is straight-up crazy talk. Research is your friend, the Tom to your Huck, the Martin to your Lewis. I wouldn't even have been able to get on that cyclopean-death-steed if I hadn't googled and YouTubed beforehand. The same can be said about writing. Do I know which fork to use first at a State Dinner, or the melting point of human flesh? No, no I don't. But the internet does. If that fails, your friendly, neighborhood librarian is just an email away. (Raise your hand if you think the NSA has you flagged for some "necessary" search topics. Yup, me too.)
4. It's Hard to Tell Where You're Headed
Plotter or pantser, sometimes you wander off the main road and end up in the garden. Ask yourself, "Is that poison ivy?" and "is anything happening in this scene that moves the plot forward?"
Atop the mono hoop-of-shame, you have to activate your core to stay on course. So, what is the core of your writing? The characters. What do the characters want, what do they need, and what's in their way? When you're face down in the hydrangea, take a moment to check in with your characters, and they'll pull you out of the weeds. (I may have sprained my metaphorical ankle with this one.)
This is the part of Hero's Journey when the hero faces abject failure and almost quits, but then somehow beats the odds to return with the elixir. The elixir, in this instance, being a large bottle of Advil.
Writing has similar, less (physically) painful pitfalls. You will hit them. Good crit partners will be there to ask if you're okay and get you back up and pedaling toward a resolution in no time.
6. Butt In Chair (or Seat)
Yolen's Law gets the job done on the page and on the road. You're not going to get better thinking about writing or riding. You're going to get better by doing them. A novel is a big, intimidating goal. Mastering the single-wheeled-conveyance-of-clowns-and-doom is too. I'm nowhere near joining the circus, but I am better than I was yesterday. So don't sit down to write a novel, sit down to write the next sentence, the next paragraph, and the next scene. You can get a lot accomplished with just two pages a day. Keep track. Celebrate your progress. Jump for joy.
Meanwhile, if you need a unicyclist that's good for about eight to ten feet at a time, I'm available.
