SCBWI Tri-Regions of Southern California Schmooze

Westside Illustrators Schmooze with Soooz

2012-01-12T21:59:00.000-08:00

Westside Illustrators Schmooze

Monday Evening, January 16, 2012
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

(note new venue) 445 Fifteenth Street, Santa Monica, Ca 90402

Topic: 'Happy New Year, Happy Serious Planning!'

Let's take our monthly challenge for a spin
"Baby Steps....Dream Big...Start Small"
We'll turn our baby steps into leaps!

Map out your individual plan...
Where do you see yourself in 3 years? or 1 year? or next month?

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Come prepared to participate, ask questions and be inspired!
Let's enjoy a fun creative evening together & move forward in our common pursuit of making a contribution to the world of children's illustration and literature!

Next meeting... February 20

RSVP???... YES...if you can... SuzyBlock@gmail.com

WHERE???.. NEW VENUE 445 Fifteenth Street, Santa Monica Ca 90402

5 blocks north of Wilshire, halfway between Montana and San Vicente.

A two story Spanish style private home with a flag pole in front.

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&q=445+15th+st+santa+monica&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x80c2a4af8b9ee295:0x4d6f577225e2717f,445+15th+St,+Santa+Monica,+CA+90402&gl=us&ei=AAPQToqZAYniiAKg-fnPCw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CB8Q8gEwAA

PARKING???... Residential street parking

xoxo...suzy
cell... 818 389 1950

If you wish to be removed from this email list...write REMOVE in the subject line.
come visit me @ SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

The Westside Writers Schmooze welcomes YA author, Allen Zadoff

2012-01-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

It was a packed house (40+ people) for the December Schmooze with special guest, Allen Zadoff. The night featured laughter, insights, inspiration, writing exercises and, of course – baked goods galore!

After brief announcements, during which Karol implored everyone to check out the awesome new issue of Kite Tales, we dove right in. Well, sort of. Often we skip the intros around the room when we have a guest speaker. But Allen wanted to know more about the Schmoozers, so we went ahead with a quick round of introductions.

As usual, the writers in attendance ranged from picture book authors to young adult novelists, with everything from cartoonists, musicians and poets in-between. One Schmoozer had come all the way from San Diego! (We think it’s safe to say that Allen was pretty impressed with our little group…mostly cause Allen said he was pretty impressed with our little group!)

More importantly, our little group was WAYYY impressed with Allen. More than one of you have gushed to Karol and Charlie that it was the “best, most inspiring Schmooze ever,” which, while fine for Allen, was hurtful and thoughtless and heartbreaking to poor Charlie and Karol. Worse, we consider it one of the best Schmoozes ever, too (at least since we’ve been leading it)!

Why was it so good? Well…

The Highly Impressive portion of the evening began when it was Allen’s turn to tell us a little about himself.

An Unexpected YA Writer (and the most inspirational story you will ever hear at a Schmooze)

Originally a theater director in New York, Allen came to LA to pursue a career as a screenwriter. After an encouraging start (he was accepted into the prestigious Warner Brothers Comedy Writing Workshop), he spent several years writing scripts on spec. (For those of you not familiar with screenwriting terms – that means he wrote scripts on his own, hoping to sell them.)

Unfortunately for Allen (but, as it turns out, fortunately for YA readers everywhere), the Big Screenwriting Break never quite materialized.

Allen hit a wall.

In desperation, he started to question whether he’d ever make a living as a writer. Fed up with trying to sell screenplays, Allen started writing personal essays for a small Japanese magazine. Instead of telling stories for Hollywood, he began telling his own stories.

It was during this period that Allen started asking himself what he considers “the more important questions:”

If I never sell, will I keep writing?
What do I really care about?
If I’m not trying to sell, what stories do I want to tell?

Allen ultimately realized he did want to continue writing. A teacher told him, “You’re an artist. An artist’s job is to build a body of work. Get going.”

So he did.

The Funny, Heartbreaking Guy

Allen shifted from screenwriting to a memoir and novels. He had to “unlearn” some habits he’d picked up from screenwriting, most having to do with relying too heavily on plot. He also learned that “the stakes” in stories are not continually rising like a thermometer; instead, Allen says the stakes should be at 110% from the start and stay there the whole way.

Of course, his screenwriting background wasn’t entirely detrimental. He tends to write short chapters, has keen facility with structure and forward propulsion, and he’s good at taking “notes,” screenwriter speak for “feedback.”

(As Karol promised, here’s a link to the awesome interview with Allen and his Egmont editor, Elizabeth Law, where he details his great approach to dealing with notes. Look for the “notes” part about half way through, but the whole interview is great!)

Around this same time, it came to Allen’s attention that a lot of really great stories were being told in the YA world. He cites Laurie Halse Anderson’s SPEAK as a YA novel he read early on that really made an impression on him. (M.T. Anderson’s FEED was another – which, incidentally, your humble Schmooze co-coordinator Karol gave to him!)

As it turns out, his agent (the one who dubbed him the “funny, heartbreaking guy”) told Allen the new material he’d been writing was, in fact, YA.

He faithfully continued his regimen of writing in the wee hours of the morning at a coffee shop before going to his day job…and the rest, as they say, is history.

Not only did Allen’s debut novel, Food, Girls and Other Things I Can’t Have win the Syd Fleischman Humor Award,

but his second novel, My Life, The Theater and Other Tragedies, was also well received (including making this year-end list). And his memoir Hungry sold, too!

Allen’s next novel for Egmont, Since You Left Me, will be published in August. It’s the story of a teenager named Sanskrit Aaron Zuckerman who (as his name suggests) is trapped between worlds--stuck in private a Jewish School while trying to keep his yoga teacher mother from leaving the family. It’s Allen’s first novel set in Los Angeles!

He has several additional novels coming out and/or under contract as well. (He shared some super-secret details on them, but we’ve been sworn to secrecy…SEE what you miss not coming to the Schmooze?!?)

A Little Exercise To Get our Brains Moving

Once Allen finished telling us about his journey to YA Authordom, your other humble Schmooze co-coordinator Charlie commented that, after reading Allen’s aforementioned memoir Hungry about food addiction, he was afraid he might be “addicted to writing.”

Allen said that in fact you can have an unhealthy relationship to your work, and that, in his case, facing the fact that he may never sell changed his relationship to writing for the better.

That exchange provided an excellent segue to the writing exercises Allen had planned for us. They are inspired by exercises from Julia Cameron’s The Artists Way and ideas from Stephen Pressfield’s War of Art and were designed to help us let our stories write themselves.

The writing prompts Allen used were brilliant and led many of us to Major Revelations. But we ain’t gonna tell you what they were. Not out of vindictiveness (except perhaps on Charlie’s part) but because it would spoil future presentations Allen may want to give (now are you EVEN MORE BUMMED you missed the Schmooze?!?).

But we will reveal that, for Allen, “looking inside and letting the unconscious decide the story” and letting go of “trying to figure it out” on his own led to a big breakthrough.

‘K. Nuff said—loose lips and all that.

A Few Additional Tidbits

As Allen sees it, an author’s job is to ask questions and be curious: fascinating stories are written by authors who are curious and honest.

That said, an author is also basically a business owner. Development, creation of content, publicity – it’s all on YOU. In fact, Allen says he has a weekly “executive conference” with himself during which he asks, “What’s my story about?”

He shared a bunch of insightful thoughts on writing craft. Here are a few:

Be curious about your fears because they mirror you’re protagonist’s fears.
Plot can come from working on character.
Your protagonist wants something – and it must be a matter of life and death.
At the end of the second act (i.e. the protagonist’s darkest hour, when all hope seems lost), he or she must reach an ultimate defeat and subsequent surrender and become open to being in the world in a different way.

So…dear fellow Schmoozers – if you’re feeling discouraged with your writing, perhaps you’re just at the end of the second act of your (current) writing journey. Perhaps you’re merely a defeat and subsequent surrender away from it all coming together in some fabulous, unexpected way.

(Your humble Schmooze co-coordinators are certainly counting on that, though Charlie wonders how long this “end of the second act” period of his life is supposed to last…)

Alllllrighty then. Out with the old, in with the new…

On January 11, 2012, please join us for the next Westside Writers Schmooze –

BRAINSTORMING! LIKE BARNSTORMING…BUT WITH YOUR BRAIN! (NOT REALLY, BUT WE THOUGHT IT WAS CATCHY!)

Bring your brain and join us for a highly informative, hands-on Schmooze where we’ll discuss different methods of brainstorming, idea mining, research, and problem solving, whether it’s on your current project or in selecting the right Next Big Idea. We’ll also take time to set some writing goals for 2012!

You can tell how Incredibly Exciting we expect this Schmooze to be by all the exclamation points used. And if you don’t get your butt there, you’ll probably be reading the blog post a month from now and kicking yourself for missing it.

DON’T LET THAT HAPPEN!

Happy New Year! May we ALL have a happy, creatively successful 2012!

(There we go with the excessive exclamation points again…)

Keep passing the open windows,

Charlie & Karol

The Westside Writers Schmooze explores the value of Giving It Away

2011-12-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

About 29 of us (give or take) gathered on November 9^th for a lively discussion of the potential benefits of giving away our work, aided by a Schmooztastic panel of homegrown “experts.”

But before we got into the meat and potatoes of the evening (or should I say turkey & stuffing?), our brief mention of upcoming events unearthed this way-cool advance tidbit from Lee Wind, regional advisor with Sarah Lawrence of the LA County SCBWI:

The 2012 LA County Writer’s Day will feature an additional half-day of intensive workshops! (Yes, kind of like what was done with the National Conference this past summer.) More info will be available in the coming months. Space will be limited, so Lee suggests acting fast once registration goes live. (Check the SCBWI So Cal site for announcements.)

Just when we thought Writers Day couldn’t get any more amazing, right?!

And speaking of Writer’s Day events – Karol gave a mini recap of the Central-Coastal CA Region Writers Day which took place on November 5^th.

Favorite moments included:

· Getting to hear Lin Oliver share about the craft of writing, rather than introducing the next speaker or handing out door prizes (like she does at the National Conferences). Lin also told the story of how she and Stephen Mooser met and formed the SCBWI. Very fascinating and inspiring!

· An in-depth look at the charming and unique picture book, WON TON – A Cat’s Tale Told in Haiku. Author Lee Wardlaw, editor Sally Doherty (from Henry Holt & Co) and illustrator Eugene Yelchin all spoke about their roles in bringing this special book to fruition.

After those awesome appetizers, Charlie took a moment to share the inspiration behind this month’s “freebie fundamentals” topic. He’d been bothered by a nagging feeling that all the old structures of business and distribution of art were dying on the vine. This felt particularly true of books, where the workplace seemed barely just anymore. The corporations could no longer afford to devote editors’ time to editing, nor could they do much to publicize your book once it was released. It felt like some new form was needed, some new way of doing business. Something to do with DIY (Do It Yourself) – getting straight to an audience – generating a smaller overall profit but with more going to the artist. But Charlie wasn’t sure what this form was. Until he realized his kids had already discovered it: they were getting stuff for free.

Somehow, in other mediums, folks were making money by giving their work away. When Charlie’s son wanted to learn flash animation, he found a website that let him download four lessons for free, in the hope that he’d find them valuable enough to pay to download more. (He did find them valuable, and Charlie did pay for more!) As well, the hilarious online site Homestarrunner.com had been making Charlie’s kids laugh for nearly 10 years with funny, satirical cartoons that are totally free. Homestarrunner has no ads, tie-ins, or membership requirements. They make their money through merchandising.

(Charlie even brought in his set of Homestarrunner characters to illustrate, but he wouldn’t let us touch them, keeping them close to him the whole time, eyeing us suspiciously.)

Lastly, Charlie spoke of Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast. Maron is a comedian who had fallen on hard times until he started interviewing other comedians in his garage and posting the interviews on the web for free. Maron’s comedy shows now sell out, he has become a major respected figure in comedy, his podcast is now sponsored, and he makes additional money selling podcast-related merchandise. Giving it away sure seemed like the way to go, and a great idea for a Schmooze topic.

Except for one thing: Charlie had no idea how this related to books.

Charlie was bemoaning this fact to fellow bemoaner Greg Pincus when Greg went into a fascinating and detailed discussion of the many ways to monetize free. “AHA,” Charlie thought, ignoring Greg as Greg continued, “I get it! Karol and I don’t need to understand this topic; we just need guests who do!”

And thus was born our Schmoozetastic panel:

First up was none other than Lee Wind, who started his blog – I’m Here, I’m Queer, What The Hell Do I Read? – in September of 2007 as a “safe space for kids to find out about books featuring GLBT characters.” Before long, he branched out to include posts about social issues that he cares about. His passion and consistency paid off. Not only has his blog won awards, but he was invited to be a part of the Official SCBWI Team Blog (which blogs live from national conferences) and was recently appointed the Captain of Team Blog and the Official Blogger for the SCBWI.

Lee found blogging rewarding both personally and professionally. He loved the fact that “there was no one I had to convince to publish my blog.” He could just do it himself. And now that his blog is a known presence, Lee is too. He’s interviewed many authors for his blog and has gained credibility in the whole SCBWI community. Pretty much everyone knows who he is now and will return his calls (except, perhaps, for Charlie and Karol, who are too small and bitter).

Next was Greg Pincus, who began blogging in February of 2006. Greg’s original blog (GottaBook) focuses mainly on poetry for kids, though he now also has a second blog, The Happy Accident, which is about using social media for good. GottaBook came about because Greg didn’t feel like waiting seven years to get a poem published. He saw his blog as a way for him to get a “seat at the table” and his efforts have more than paid off. His path to success is the stuff of Schmooze legend! Not only does his huge readership (an e-mail list of over 1,100 for his poetry alone) inspire “bigger” authors to happily write poems for his blog, but after a post went viral and the story landed in the New York Times, Greg ended up signing a two book deal with Arthur A. Levin Books.

(It’s probably important for your humble Schmooze co-coordinators to note here – results may vary!!)

Greg emphasized that for blog writing to pay off you have to be disciplined. You have to set up a schedule and keep to it. That way, folks know to when to check you out, and you know when to be brilliant. Greg also made the point that your blog should have a point. It should have a subject, and it’s best if you know what you want to get out of it.

Cartoonist Joshua Hauke spoke next, explaining how, after being turned down by an agent, he “got mad” and decided to emulate the example set by Jeff Kinney (of Diary of a Wimpy Kid fame). Kinney’s entire first book was done on-line, and thus Josh began his Tales Of The Brothers Three website. He posts new comics every Sunday and uses a “Sunday funnies” format. Originally, his goal was to get a book out the endeavor, but Josh says it’s expanded to become about developing “a community of comics lovers” as well. Recently, he’s added new features, like “Ask Dad – A Fatherly Advice Column” – where kids write in questions, and Josh’s dad actually answers them! Josh also has T-shirts readers can buy (through a link on his site) and plans to make a collection available soon. And – for the record – his “free work” has resulted in job offers.

In terms of immediate gain, Josh feels that merchandising is the way to make money. But he also pointed out that whenever he does release a book, he now has a built in audience. They’ll want to see the new adventures, or to have a beautifully bound compilation of past ones (depending on what Josh decides to do), and now Josh knows just how to reach them: on his blog.

Last but certainly not least was Sara Wilson Etienne, who’s been described as “heart-wrenching, terrifying, hot and un-put-down-able”…just kidding! That description is a blurb from Tamora Pierce about Sara’s upcoming debut novel, Harbinger! (We here at Schmooze Central could Not Be More Excited about this – look for Sara’s book on 2/2/2012!!!)

Most posts on Sara’s blog (which, Greg Pincus’ advice aside, was started years ago as a way to “test the waters as a writer” rather than with any distinct goal in mind) now focus on the upcoming Harbinger release. It features new illustrations inspired by the book, which are revealed weekly on Thursdays, alongside Sara’s interviews with the artists. The idea for this way-cool promotional “tool” came when an illustrator friend asked to read the ARC (advanced reader copy) of Harbinger so that he could create a piece of fan art. Sara got inspired and reached out to other artist friends, asking if they’d do the same, and results have been stunning.

The website is also stunning but that’s because Sara cheated – her husband Tony is an actual graphic artist and he designed it. NO FAIR! There’s also a website for Holbrook Academy, the creepy school in her book. On top of that, Sara made Holbrook Academy brochures and Harbinger lanyards to giveaway at events. (The way-cool orange lanyards spread through the summer SCBWI conference like an epidemic.)

Sara shared a very important lesson from her freebie adventures: When considering doing free work, do something that’s enjoyable for you. Free work takes a lot of time; more than you’d think. And for it to be of value, for it to really catch on with an audience, it’s got to be fun, new, different and available on a consistent schedule. That can only really happen when you enjoy the work. And besides, if you’re going to slog miserably through something you’re not getting paid for, why not just get married? (Okay, she didn’t say that; somehow Charlie got into her paragraph.)

Speaking of Charlie (and why isn’t everyone?), he wanted to end this post with a small mea culpa: More than one Schmoozer has gently mentioned that “Give It Away, Now” was both way inspiring and way intimidating. By focusing on the success of our Schmoozetastic panel, we did a great job of showing what’s possible. But we neglected to explore the equally prevalent and important failures that each has encountered along the way. Everyone had tales to tell of false starts, dead ends, and confusion of purpose, but due to time limitations and our own natural boosterism, we never got to those. In the future we vow to give failure its fair due. In fact, “Failure” may be a perfect topic for a future schmooze.

Much more was said and much more was done. The meaning of life was actually revealed near the end of the Schmooze. Sadly, for those who missed it, we have run out of time for this already-ridiculously-lengthy blog post. Sorry.

Just to show you Charlie & Karol aren't completely heartless, here's a little Give-It-Away-themed something for your viewing pleasure:

Make sure you come to the next Schmooze so you don’t miss anything!

Until then…

Keep passing the open windows,

Charlie & Karol

Westside Illustrators Schmooze with Soooz

2011-11-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

Westside Illustrators Schmooze

Monday Evening, November 28, 2011
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

(note new venue) 445 Fifteenth Street, Santa Monica, Ca 90402

Topic: 'Troubleshooting!!'

A new topic for our schmooze.

1) Bring us your ISSUES

... questions about submissions, portfolios,
self promotion, agents, art materials,
work habits, writing, etc...

Bring work to crit!

2) Bring us your SOLUTIONS...

...answers to problems, share helpful hints,
new material ideas, writing tips,
conference reports, personal insights, etc...

Continuing Monthly Challenges...
Where are you heading now???
'Baby Steps... Dream Big, Start Small"
&
'A Doodle a Day"

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Next meeting:
January 16

Come prepared to participate, ask questions and be inspired!
Let's enjoy a fun creative evening together & move forward in our common pursuit
of making a contribution to the world of children's illustration and literature!

RSVP???... YES...if you can... SuzyBlock@gmail.com

WHERE???...NEW VENUE 445 Fifteenth Street, Santa Monica Ca 90402

5 blocks north of Wilshire, halfway between Montana and San Vicente.

A two story Spanish style house with a flag pole in front.

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&q=445+15th+st+santa+monica&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x80c2a4af8b9ee295:0x4d6f577225e2717f,445+15th+St,+Santa+Monica,+CA+90402&gl=us&ei=AAPQToqZAYniiAKg-fnPCw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CB8Q8gEwAA

PARKING???... Residential street parking

xoxo...suzy
cell... 818 389 1950

If you wish to be removed from this email list...please write REMOVE in the subject line.

come visit me @ SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

The Big Picture of Little Lit: SCBWI-LA Illustrators Day 2011

2011-11-17T18:05:00.000-08:00

On November 12, a talented horde of local illustrators gathered for the Annual SCBWI-LA Illustrator’s Day in San Gabriel, where event coordinators Ken Min, Wilson Swain, and Karyn Raz had put together a stellar lineup of kidlit luminaries. Though notoriously camera-shy, Ken Min even allowed himself to be photographed for the occasion.

The day had everything. Not only were there presentations by fellow illustrators, but there were also insights into the publishing process from art directors from two different houses, as well as an editor who discussed her working relationship with writers, illustrators and art directors.

In her presentation, Charlesbridge Art Director Susan Sherman offered the perspective of someone who has been in the business since book titles were hand-painted and Xerox machines were just a pipedream.

She also demonstrated that sometimes, tried-and-true methods of composition like the Golden Mean make for the most aesthetically pleasing images.

In his presentation, Illustrator and Art Director Scott Magoon walked the audience through a typical process of creating a picture book at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt from start to finish.

One highlight of Scott Magoon's speech was the behind-the-scenes look at his early character sketches for MOSTLY MONSTERLY.

Next up, Andrea Welch, Editor at Beach Lane Books, discussed the working relationship between the imprint Beach Lane Books and the Art Directors and Designers at parent company Simon & Schuster.

In a photo tour, Andrea Welch, Editor at Beach Lane Books, gives the audience an inside look at her working space – including the view of the ocean from her office window!

She later gave us a sneak preview of RAH, RAH, RADISHES!: A VEGETABLE CHANT, by April Pulley Sayre, and shared how much work Simon & Schuster's Lauren Rille put into designing it.

Next up was a presentation from Giselle Potter.

A prolific illustrator, Ms. Potter shed light on how growing up as part of a traveling theater company has informed her illustration work.

Below is an image from THE LITTLEST GRAPE STOMPER, written by Alan Madison, illustrated by Giselle Potter.

Charlesbridge Art Director Susan Sherman and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Art Director (and Illustrator) Scott Magoon conduct the “First Impressions” panel, critiquing audience members’ submitted images live.

For those illustrators not as brave, industry professionals like Mary Petersen were on-hand to review and critique portfolios one-on-one.

Even without getting a portfolio review, face time with working professionals was practically guaranteed, given the faculty-to-attendee ratio. At least two faculty members were guaranteed to have looked at every single portfolio on display, as Andrea Welch and Scott Magoon were the judges for the "Professional's Choice" Portfolio Contest.

Speaking of contests, there were three different contests for attendees to enter. Incredibly, only 14 people entered the Annual Illustrators Contest, for which the grand prize was a full scholarship to the SCBWI Winter or Summer Conference. You could scarcely ask for better odds!

(From Left to Right): SCBWI-LA Annual Conference Scholarship Illustration Contest Grand Prize Winner John Krause, 2^nd Place Winner Tanya Maiboroda, 3^rd Place Winner Louisa McHugh, Professional’s Choice Portfolio Winner Jason Pruett, Professional’s Choice and People’s Choice Portfolio Winner Jennifer Gray Olson, and Promo Postcard Contest Winner Lauren Gallegos

It was a fabulous day that couldn't have happened without the time and effort of its many volunteers. Thanks, everyone! And special thanks to SCBWI-LA's Schmooze Schmizard, Rita Crayon Huang, for taking such gorgeous photos that day.

Please “like” the ID Facebook page to get news on next year’s event at www.facebook.com/scbwiLAillusday - While you're there, check out the rest of Rita's photos as well as the illustrations that were displayed that day, including contest entries!

Thanks for reading, and hope to see you all next year!

Antelope Valley Schmooze: Past, Present, and Future

2011-11-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hi, Everyone!

This is Rita, SCBWI-LA's new Schmooze Schmizard. On Wednesday, Oct. 12th, I had the pleasure of attending the Antelope Valley Writers Schmooze for the first time. This group has been meeting in a Barnes and Noble in Palmdale on the second Wednesday of every month (except December) for many years, led by the remarkable Marilyn Dalrymple.

What a wonderful group! Of the 13 of us in attendance that night, a couple were first-timers like myself. Others were regulars who not only knew each other's work and had attended each other's signings, but also attended other writing-related events together. The meeting took place around a table near the in-store cafe, so some people brought over their own beverages.

I had long been fascinated by the Antelope Valley Schmooze--ever since Lee Wind and I found out they had self-published an anthology of their own writings, It's Tough Growing Up: Children's Stories of Courage. Westside Schmooze regulars will remember that we invited Marilyn and the book's co-editor, Joan Foor, to come speak to our group in Santa Monica a year and a half ago, along with other experts in self-publishing, in a panel discussion "Westside Writers Schmooze Talks Self-Publishing: The Good, The Bad, and The Reality." That was just after the anthology had first come out, and it is now going into its 2nd Edition. In fact, during the Antelope Valley Schmooze that I attended, Marilyn passed around illustrations by John Macfarlane that will accompany the updated version. (I asked, and some of the anthology's story contributors were present this night.)

Cover of the 1st edition. Click to visit Web site.

What Schmooze could be so tight-knit and self-motivated, I had always wondered, that they could produce and self-publish their own anthology?

Well, not surprisingly, the Antelope Valley Schmooze is an extremely friendly and experienced group of writers, many of whom have published both traditionally and on their own. On this night, Marilyn kicked things off by sharing some factoids she found while preparing for a talk she'll be giving on self publishing soon. From there, we went around the table sharing about ourselves and our writing processes. Felix Mayerhofer passed around his novel, Diary of a Young Musician: Final Days of the Big Band Era, and the audio CD on which his many picture books have just been collected, while Ed Mooney shared insights into the progress of his book, The Pearls of the Stone Man, being made into a movie.

Novels by some of the Antelope Valley Schmooze's attendees. Click on the book covers to visit the authors' Web sites.

At one point, a question came up about How to Find an Agent, and I mentioned Literary Rambles, an online resource provided by Casey McCormick, as an invaluable place to start. There, she compiles all the online research you could possibly find yourself on children's book agents, organized by name, agency, and age range (Picture Book, Middle Grade, YA, etc.); spotlights authors; provides writing tips; conducts interviews; and more.

My visit to the Antelope Valley Schmooze actually had two purposes: One was to get to know the Schmooze I had been so curious about. The second was that Marilyn--after having led this group for the past 8 to 10 years--has recently decided to let someone else take the lead, and I wanted to come help make a passionate plea: don't let such a wonderful group cease to exist!

Coordinating the Antelope Valley Schmooze would mean continuing to reserve the table at Barnes and Noble and taking over Marilyn's email list, as well as choosing new discussion topics and/or making any other changes you feel inspired to (if any). If interested, please contact Marilyn <marilyn160@verizon.net> and me <rhcrayon@gmail.com>.

Because this Schmooze does not meet in December (due to the bookstore's holiday schedule), November's meeting will officially be Marilyn's last. Don't miss this special night:

Wednesday, Nov. 9th, from 7 to 8 PM.

Barnes and Noble Booksellers
39228 10th Street West
Palmdale, CA 93551

Topic: How can SCBWI help you become a writer? A Very Special Round Table Discussion

Come show your appreciation for Marilyn's many years of generosity and leadership!

Cheers,
Rita

Rita Crayon Huang
SCBWI-LA Schmooze Schmizard

P.S. For more insight into this Schmooze's history, check out this great article. I met many of the people mentioned in the article when I attended.

The October Westside Writers Schmooze Gets BLOODY!

2011-11-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there Schmoozers - we're trying something a little different since Charlie missed our last Schmooze. This month we present...a conversation.

Hey Karol! How did the Schmooze go without me? Don't feel bad if the answer is "terrible.” I'm sure you did the best you could given your abilities.

Actually, Charlie, I thought it went great! We had a smallish but passionate group of 27 Schmoozers (28 if we include you, and as it turned out, you were there with us in more than just in spirit…but I’ll get to that…).

After announcing upcoming events and the customary brief introductions, we dove right in to the topic at hand: Blood On The Page – what the heck is it and how do we mere mortal writers achieve it?

Our discussion got kicked off by…well…YOU!

God, I AM good. I don't even recall being there. I recall being at my sister-in-law's house eating very healthy, un-charred, un-browned, uninteresting food. My thoughts were with you, though. I was really sorry to miss this one: it's dear to my heart. Hey, that's a pun: blood/heart! Get it??

Anyway, how exactly did I "kick it off" and what in heck did I say? And what did our intrepid Schmoozers say in response (besides the inevitable "Kudos!")?

Well, after I stammered a bit about how you and I had discussed what blood on the page really means and decided that it had to do with emotion rather than tense plot points, your Schmoozerific stand-in, Greg Pincus, cleared his throat and suggested that he read what you wrote, because, well, it was “really terrific.”

He then read the following:

Lately I’ve had to read a lot of teenager’s college essays, and I’ve noticed they all share the same problem: they don’t reveal anything about the actual teen. Kids want to protect themselves, hide themselves behind “wit” or lessons learned. Anything but reveal who they really are.

I always tell them the same thing: it’s fine, but there’s no you in it. You tell us all these things that happened to you, but you don’t tell us how you felt about it; what it did to you inside, etc. Put some skin in the game. Some blood on the page. That is, put some you into it.

I feel the same holds true for many of the things folks write. They’re nice, fun stories, but the have no real pressing need to be told. And if there’s no need to be told, there’s no need to be read. They are soulless constructs.

Blood is NOT the thing that makes you anxious to read on, to turn the page, to find out what happens next. It is the thing that really makes you believe and feel what you’re reading right now. The thing that makes you forget you are reading and feel you are experiencing.

Blood is the essence, the heart, the juice behind the story. It’s what makes it alive, not a story but a living, breathing thing. Another way to put it is that blood makes the story feel lived rather than invented.

Blood can also be passion. Something bigger than the story that informs it. Something the author believes to his or her core, that the authors are burning to say or show. This is not the same as whatever lessons the character is learning. It can even be the writerly passion to tell a new kind of story, or tell an old story in a new way. (e.g. Reservoir Dogs: That movie is as much about Tarantino’s excitement to make a new kind of movie as it is about any plot.) Whatever the passion, if the writer allows it to inform the work, it can make the whole thing come alive.

At the risk of making your sizable ego even bigger, I will report that the Schmoozers seemed to hang on your…er, uh …Greg’s every word (and one even asked me to e-mail her a copy). I assured everyone that your profound ruminations would be included in this blog post.

Ego is a funny thing, you know? No matter how big it gets (and it really did inflate quite a bit just now) it’s never big enough to make me feel like I’m up to the task of writing well. Fortunately, that’s not a bar I choose to hold myself up to.

But back to the Schmooze: What happened next? My schedule says you guys were going to talk about how you get the page bloody.

Not so fast, partner. Your brilliant kick off launched an interesting conversation about what blood on the page means. (Contrary to what your ego may be telling you about how “beat all/end all” your statement may have been, others did have stuff to add.)

A number of bloody good authors were named – folks like Ellen Hopkins, Libba Bray, Suzanne Collins, Donna Jo Napoli, Neil Gaiman and Laurie Halse Anderson – who all seemed more than willing to put their characters in peril. One Schmoozer wondered whether using first person is inherently “bloodier” than third person and another made the distinction between blood and voice.

Greg chimed back in with the idea that successful authors often have themes they need to explore and, while the plots of their books might not mirror the circumstances that they experienced personally, often times the themes speak to something personal. He gave John Green’s Looking For Alaska as an example, saying that Green’s intent was to explore how the characters dealt with tragedy.

There was general agreement that the real goal was to get to the root of the problem and the feelings around it – rather than to focus on the “symptoms.”

We wound up our What Is Blood discussion with the question of whether picture books could also have blood on the page.

The Schmoozers were quick to site several picture books that fit that bill, mentioning titles like Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Judith Viorst & Ray Cruz) and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary: A Cautionary Tale (Mo Willems). It was also noted that the blood can be in the pictures rather than – or in addition to – the text.

DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT! That sounds incredible! Who would have thought other people had such interesting things to say?

That does it: one of these days I’m gonna actually listen to someone. Man, I’m sorry I missed it.

Yeah – so after ALL that – we did get around to the “OK, So How The Heck Do We Get The Blood On The Page Now That We Know What It Is…HUH?!?” portion of the evening

Lots of people had suggestions, running the gamut from using music or soundtracks for particular projects to get you in the right frame of mind to Sara Wilson Etienne’s tactile approach of creating character boxes full of physical items from her characters’ lives.

(Interjecting: If you ask me, Sara's just a big show-off, working harder than the rest of us for a little extra character oomph when she could be relaxing with beer and pizza.)

(Interjecting back: Jealous! …Okay, so we all are.)

Anyway...

Of course the tried-and-true theory of Show, Don’t Tell came up, and it was pointed out that Anastasia Suen has a wonderfully succinct explanation of the difference between “showing” and “telling” in her book, Picture Writing: Writing for Kids and Teens.

Another really helpful book that was suggested was Second Sight: An Editor's Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein.

Don’t know if Greg mentioned it, but I found a terrific Chekhov quote about that:

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

Yes, of course! I meant to let you know that we did, indeed, use the awesome Chekhov quote you’d found. My bad.

Now, where was I…?

Right. After much discussion, I decided – enough talk, let’s see if we can get some blood to flow, right here, right now! You guessed it – it was time for our fabulous writing exercise.

Since you were too busy with your highly important personal stuff to show up for your Schmooze co-coordinator commitment – and for anyone else who might have missed out on the bloody fun, probably for much better reasons – here’s your chance to participate:

First, close your eyes (okay, close them after you read the rest of the exercise set up). Imagine yourself at a particular age. It could be the age of a character you’re currently writing about, will soon be writing about or the age you write about most often. Now try to remember how you felt. Free write.

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

…Sorry sister, it ain’t happening. Not that I’m self-conscious or anything. Just wouldn’t want to intimidate our readers with my brilliance.

But what happened when you did it at the Schmooze?

Wuss!! Okay, fine. Be that way….

Ahem.

After allowing time for people to finish, I asked if anyone wanted to share what they’d written. One brave Schmoozer volunteered to go first, and boy was she a tough act to follow! Her raw, emotional stream-of-conscious writing about need and shame pretty much stunned the room – no more so than when she said the age she’d imagined was five! (Personally, I was thinking much older, at least 13 or so.)

She helped to open the floodgates and many stunning pieces followed, covering subjects like sibling rivalry, riding a bike for the first time, the freedom of climbing a tree, being uprooted due to a new marriage and, of course, sexuality – which ran the gamut from awkward to tense to hilarious.

I was seriously BLOWN AWAY by the talent in our group and by how willing people were to read what they’d written. A few have even volunteered to let me post what they wrote here!!

Angry and scared and mad that I am getting older and more responsibility is expected of me—4 younger siblings and an out of control mother, resentful of what is asked of me and wanting to be a kid longer, wanting to play, don't want to be mother's emotional caretaker. Then—guilty, bad, unloved, manipulated, used, ignored.

Age – 9

I am intense, hyper aware, with strong beliefs, the world is mine. I owned it. My future was about to begin...I couldn’t wait. I wanted my freedom. I wanted it badly. I couldn’t wait. High School would be over soon. I was free to go...I wanted out. I counted the days. I wanted nothing more. Nobody could tell me what to do. No more rules...The air. The sky. The open road. College as far away from home as possible. Graduation couldn’t come soon enough.

Age – 17, Senior Year

There she is. You Know Who. I can’t say her name. You know I can’t. I can’t. I’m hiding behind a tree because she might see me. There she is. She’s looking this way. How do I get her to notice me? Maybe I’ll wait for her after school and carry her books. Maybe I’ll be walking home with her and that German shepherd that’s always barking at me will attack us and maybe I’ll defend her. I’ll punch the dog in the noise and it’ll run away and maybe You Know Who will fall in love with me and maybe she’ll want me to be her boyfriend then maybe, maybe we’ll walk home holding hands. I’m really scared of that dog.

Age – 10

HOLY CRAPOLI! These people are too good. Now I’m glad I wasn’t there: it’s too intimidating! Besides, it sounds like I’m (sniff) completely (sniff, sniff) UNEEDED-WAHHH!!

Fear not, Charlie. Just after we got done blowing ourselves away with the writing people shared, Greg did that clearing-of-the-throat-thing and made sure people knew YOUR thoughts on the trappings of autobiographical writing by reading the following:

One way to short circuit it, and get to real juicy stuff, is to make your work autobiographical. This gives you access to all kinds of emotion and observations. But it’s risky. Because autobiography by itself is not blood on the page. Just cause something happened doesn’t mean it will come alive when you write it. In fact, it’s a pretty good bet that, the closer you get to the actual event, the less real it will feel. Why? Because for something to live, breath and bleed on the page, it must first be digested. It must be at least once removed from real life, infused with your sensibilities. For as anyone who’s lived it should know, real life is pointless, unfocussed, and uninteresting.

Sounds like me. “Leave ‘em suicidal,” I always say.

We finished up the Schmooze with a few fabulous examples of Blood On The Page from the following books:

Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

Food, Girls and Other Things I Can’t Have by Allen Zadoff

What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones

Horray For Amanda & Her Alligator by Mo Willems

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Not A Stick by Antoinette Portis

After that, it was time to pack it all up and go home. You missed a good one, my friend. And we really, really, really missed YOU! (Well, at least I did!)

Yeah, just one more question - how did the red velvet cupcakes go over?

They were devilishly delish! (I was going to say they were “bloody good,” but I think I’ve definitely overused that phrase big time.)

Last but not least, we both want to give a HUGE thank you to Greg for filling in so valiantly! (Apparently coordinating the Schmooze is like riding a bike because Greg seemed to have NO trouble remembering what to do.)

And there you have it Westside Schmoozers – all the details on our Blood On The Page Schmooze!

Sad you missed it? Well, don’t miss the next one on November 9^th (this includes YOU, Charlie). Our topic will be GIVE IT AWAY NOW, where we’ll be discussing whether it’s possible to monetize your art by taking money out of the equation. We'll also be talking with some of our own intrepid Schmoozers who have made money by first giving stuff away.

PLUS – save the date – at our December 14^th Schmooze, we’ll welcome author Allen Zadoff, winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for his debut YA novel Food, Girls and Other Things I Can’t Have. (If that title sounds familiar, it’s because a passage from the book was one of our “Blood On The Page” examples noted above).

Until then…

Keep passing the open windows,

Charlie & Karol

2011-10-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Westside Illustrators Schmooze

Westside Illustrators Schmooze
Monday Evening, October 17, 2011
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064

Topic: 'Licensing!' What's it all about?

Kat McDonough is a member of our schmooze who has done
extensive research on the topic. She is generously sharing
her findings with us. Please bring your own knowledge &
experience as well, so we might share in a informative discussion!

Have you entered any contests for Illustrator's Day?
Bring in your pieces to share!
&
Continuing Monthly Challenges...
Where are you heading now???
'Baby Steps... Dream Big, Start Small"
&
'A Doodle a Day"
&
Let's plan our topics for the year!
Looking forward to seeing you all!

Next meeting:
November 21

Come prepared to participate, ask questions and be inspired!
Let's enjoy a fun creative evening together & move forward in our common pursuit
of making a contribution to the world of children's illustration and literature!

RSVP???... YES...if you can... SuzyBlock@gmail.com

WHERE???... 11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
This is a large gray building with ivy & bamboo on the facade.
Look for the RED door ....it reads - "Alliance Francaise."

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-05,GGLR:en&q=11624+W.+Pico+BLvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90064&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

PARKING???... Street parking only. You don't have to feed meters after 6pm. Do NOT park in the electrical warehouse parking lot next door OR the parking lot behind the building on the corner of Federal Ave. You will be towed...FAST.

xoxo...suzy
cell... 818 389 1950

come visit me @ SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

Westside Illustrators Meeting Date Change!

2011-10-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

Just giving everyone the heads up!
Our meeting this month will be Monday October 17
(NOT October 10) 7-9pm.
Topic "Licensing"
we will try to meet the 3rd Monday evening of the month
unless otherwise noted...

More info next week! Suzy

SuzyBlock@gmail.com
SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

The Westside Writers Schmooze September Distractions-Busting Super Schmooze!

2011-10-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

After a two-month hiatus, the SCBWI Westside Writers’ Schmooze is….BACK!

On September 14^th, we reconvened for what we affectionately dubbed the “Back To School Schmooze” where we discussed: LOVED ONES, CIVILIANS AND INNOCENT BYSTANDERS: HOW TO GET RID OF THEM (and other distractions). There were about 40 Schmoozers in attendance (Karol meant take an actual headcount, but she got distracted. As for Charlie, he’s too afraid of lynch mobs to ever count crowds).

The evening started with first-(and possibly last)-time attendee, Kayto Silverfish (we’re pretty sure that’s not her real name) demanding that Charlie and Karol make good on their promise to solve ALL her life problems and address EVERY question she has about the writer's life. Charlie explained that this was merely the co-coordinators’ bait and switch – luring Schmoozers in to solve all of his and Karol’s life problems and answer every question they have about the writer’s life. Kayto stormed out (not really but we thought we’d milk this gag for everything it’s worth) and the rest of you Schmoozers came through with flying colors!

While you may not have actually answered ALL our life problems (for instance, why doesn’t the world think Wally Shawn types are sexy?) you certainly came up with a boatload of great ideas and super resources to help us avoid distractions and get our work done. More on this in a moment, but first…

A Mini-Recap of the fabulous SCBWI National Summer Conference!

Before we got to our main topic, we checked in with a small handful of people about their favorite speaker or experience from the summer conference, just to get a taste of it. Much more info can be found in the SCBWI Team Blog (which is both amazing and searchable!) (LINK), but here’s what we learned:

Karol spoke about Donna Jo Napoli’s keynote speech: “How Writing About Terrible Things Makes Your Reader A Better Person.” Since Karol’s writing a YA novel about a kid to whom terrible things happen, she hung onto Donna Jo’s every word. She especially appreciated hearing her say, “Chances are someone needs to read the book you need to write.”

Marilyn Cohon followed with a valiant attempt at describing the awesomeness that was Gary Paulsen's keynote, "A Writer's Upside-Down Life," summarizing how the simple kindness of a librarian offering him a library card (with his last name spelled correctly) launched the rescue from his wretched childhood, pretty much saving his life. Gary's speech was brutally honest, hysterically funny, and slyly subversive. What left the biggest impression on Marilyn was how utterly authentic he was and how that links to his books which have likely empowered many other troubled young lives.

Laurie Young talked about Libba Bray, doing her best to describe Libba’s indescribably funny latest novel, BEAUTY QUEENS, and her quirky sensibilities in general. The biggest gem for Laurie was Libba’s Survivor metaphor, warning against trying for perfection: “Perfect” wants to vote you off the island. “Better” wants to make an alliance.

Jeff Cox's highlight was the manuscript critique. He was super excited to have been assigned to Ellen Hopkins, author of several edgy and powerful YA novels (CRANK, TRICKS and the just released, adult novel, PERFECT). He found her notes and advice to be incredibly valuable. The thought and care Ellen put into his critique really blew him away.

Lupe Fernandez, one of four writers who make up the Pen And Ink Blog, showed off (and handed out) some nifty promotional bookmarks and pens that he and his blog-mates gave out at Friday night’s wine and cheese reception to celebrate published SCBWI members.

As an added fun perk, Lupe also hipped us to this hilarious video they made, featuring kid-lit luminaries reciting the alphabet. (Don’t ask; just click!)

One Schmoozer raved about the Illustrator’s Intensive day. The high point for her was the illustrator demonstrations, with the illustrators creating artwork right there in front of captivated conference attendees. Thank God no one asks writers to do that!

In a perfect example of Conference Serendipity, another Schmoozer told how she and some friends came to have a surprise, two-hour lunch with Rukhsana Kahn, winner of the Golden Kite for Big Red Lollipop. Fortunately, they managed to keep their jaws off the ground long enough not to slobber on their clothes.

We wrapped up the recap with Rita Crayon Huang imparting a few of her favorite conference moments: Judy Blume (whom Greg Pincus was giddy to learn is one of his twitter followers) describing how trapped she felt before she began writing, so much so that she suffered from many exotic illnesses, all of which cleared up once she let her inner-artist out. (Laurie Halse Anderson reported the same phenomenon – so it’s official! NOT writing is bad for your health!) Also leaving a lasting impression on Rita was Bruce Coville, who recommended voice and acting lessons for writers and cautioned that we need to take ourselves seriously as business people – learn to read contracts and royalty statements people! (FYI – Rita’s blog has great pictures from the conference! Be sure to check them out.)

Loved Ones, Civilians, etc…

Obviously, we could have talked about the conference all night, but we didn’t want to get distracted from our main topic: distractions. So we turned out attention back to the task at hand. Of course, Step One is always admitting you have a problem, right? So we did an exercise – list your top 3 to 5 distractions and possible ways to eliminate or lessen them. In a matter of moments we were all insulting our children.

Charlie told a story about Kathleen Duey’s call to arms at a previous conference, “This is the year we tell them that when they knock on our office door to ask if we know where their socks are, they’ve just cost us a day’s work.”

Charlie was so inspired by this that he marched home and did exactly that, explaining the situation to his teenage son. Unfortunately, this did not lead to a reduction in interruptions, but rather, added a mocking preface to them: “Are you in the zone? I know you don’t want me bothering you when you’re in the zone!”

Lee Wind joked that school is not to educate, it’s to get kids out of the house so we can write.

One of our Schmooze Moms shared a magical phrase she discovered to combat familial interruption: “Can I think about it?” Others quickly offered variations: “Can it wait?”, and the infinitely-helpful, “Can you take care of that?” This one seemed to be a crowd favorite, though results are still being compiled as to its actual success rate.

Yet another Schmooze Mom spoke thrillingly about teaching herself not to care: “Let that towel stay on the floor, let things stay a mess. Let it all GO.” She described her own emotional struggle with caring, and how she finally learn to STOP. It was very inspiring and had the whole room nodding in approval.

For a lovely take on one mom’s rebellion against her messy family, check out The Piggybook by Anthony Browne. (Awesome illustrations!)

For spouses, we suggested giving them the following hand-outs to read:

http://oinks.squeetus.com/2010/07/how-to-be-a-writers-friend-or-spouse.html

http://www.writingiscake.com/2009/12/14/being-a-writers-spouse/

Having fully eviscerated our kids and spouses, we moved on to other distractions starting with the usual suspects: day jobs, errands, and Facebook—the longest cup of coffee…ever, before moving on to some more obscure (and possibly deeper) problems:

General Worry & Doubt

The number of people hoping to get published vs. the number of people who DO get published can be daunting. As well, money worries and putting the weight of income on the work can pretty much paralyze anyone: “If I don’t place this comma correctly it could RUIN us!”

Having TOO MUCH Time On Your Hands

This one was surprising even for your co-coordinators, but pretty much everyone agreed that too much free time can be counterproductive. Busier people have to squeeze in precious writing time here and there, whereas the non-busy can always justify putting writing off until a “later time” – which never ends up coming. It was good news to those of us with day jobs and those whose spouses insist they need to get one now. It may INCREASE our productivity!

DISTRACTION-BUSTING SOLUTIONS

So here they are: the ideas you all came up with to solve all our problems. Of course, there’s a plethora of “distraction-busting ideas for writers” available online as well.

Much of the suggestions we had fell into a few categories:

Create the Optimum Work Space

Find a writing spot that works for you. This could be in your home or elsewhere. Make sure you have a comfortable chair and good lighting.

Keep your workspace neat & tidy. Not only is a messy desk distracting, you run the risk of being tempted to stop writing & start straightening. Here is an example of what your desk SHOULD NOT look like:

Design your space to support you As A Writer, not make you feel like a schmuck with a hobby. Take yourself seriously as an artist and set up a sacred space that is just for this purpose. To inspire you, here are some famous writers’ off the grid spaces:

http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/email/famous-writers-small-writing-sheds-and-offthegrid-huts-140587

Alas, we can’t all be as lucky as Laurie Halse Anderson!

Schedule Your Writing Sessions

Figure out when your most productive writing time is (morning? evening?) and try to write during those times. For most of us, a regular schedule works better than a catch as catch can approach.
Use a timer. Decide how long you intend to (or are able to) write for and stick to that. Don’t set up unreal expectations or beat yourself up for not writing longer; the idea is to write often and to set goals you can meet.
Communicate with your family, roommates, boss, etc. when you’ll be writing and, just as importantly, when you’ll be free. That way they’ll know they can count on seeing you later, and will be more likely to leave you alone now. Of course, this only works if you do what you say.
Write when you can. Sometimes, catch as catch can is all you can catch. And, sometimes, that’s just fine. Allow yourself to live an adult life and take care of business when business needs taking care of. But try to fit in some writing, just to keep the muscles from atrophying.

Block Out Distractions

Turn off all media. Yes, ALL. Yes, that too. Shut off/unplug your phones. All of ‘em. That editor who wants to offer you a huge contract can leave a message! Disconnect your Internet. Try to do your research in advance so you aren’t tempted. We all know how easy it is to click on Facebook, “just for a second” and lose an entire day. For the weak amongst us, there are programs available (Freedom) or websites (Stay Focused for Google Chrome) that will block out the internet, and even one that blocks out everything on your screen but a blank page and a cursor (Dark Room).
Try earplugs if you write in a noisy environment.
Some writers like to listen to music as they write. This has the advantage of totally blocking out your kid knocking on your door to ask you, “Are you in the ZONE?!” or to tell you there’s a fire in the kitchen.
Sneaky trick: For those who can’t write with music blasting in your ears, use earphones that are unplugged, to make the kid think you’re listening to music. After a few failed attempts, he’ll walk away and call 911 himself. Success!

Once you’ve instituted these handy suggestions, Schmoozers agreed that finding a way to hold yourself accountable is invaluable. Suggestions for doing that included:

Have a writing buddy to whom you report your progress. This is different from a critique friend. This buddy doesn’t have to read anything. They just ask you what you got done each day/week/whatever, and you return the favor by asking them the same obnoxious question.
Reward yourself for writing accomplishments and milestones (although it was suggested that you pick a reward that doesn’t stress your wallet or waistline). On the other hand, how much could a single chocolate chip cookie per page hurt you?
Using colorful charts to record your progress. Karol does this and the result not only helps her to stay on schedule but it truly delights her often-grumpy inner-child.

Still worried about distractions? Still not ready to get down to work? What IS your problem?! OK, as promised, here’s…

CHARLIE AND KAROL’S NIFTY LIST OF RESOURCES

Distraction-Busters Edition

Writing Through The Distractions of...Mothering

http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/45-FE4-WritingThroughDistractions.html#MotheringDistraction

How to Write Without Distractions

http://writetodone.com/2008/01/09/how-to-write-without-distractions/

Tips and Tricks for Distraction free Writing

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/tips-and-tricks-for-distraction-free-writing.html

The Guilt Ridden Writer’s confession

http://www.copyblogger.com/word-virus/

The Frazzled Writer: 5 strategies for alleviating the guilt

http://www.tglong.com/blog/2011/04/the-frazzled-writer-5-strategies-for-alleviating-the-guilt/

That pretty much sums up all the helpful hints we remember (please feel free to add things we forgot in the comments below). It was GREAT to be back in the swing of things and reconnect/recommit following our Summer Vacation.

Check the calendar at SCBWI So Cal for all the upcoming Schmooze topics, starting with BLOOD ON THE PAGE: How to get that ineffable quality, that juice, that pizzazz, that… blood on the page.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday October 14^th!

Keep passing the open windows,

Charlie & Karol

Westside Illustrators Schmooze with Soooz

2011-09-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

Westside Illustrators Schmooze
Monday Evening September 12, 2011
7:00 - 9:00pm
11624 Pico Blvd LA CA 90064

Topics: 'Let's play 'Catch up!' & 'Get ready for illustrators Day!'

Share your notes from the summer conference....
Illo Day Prep for Nov 12 ....Get your portfolio in shape ...
and enter 2 contests, research speakers

Continuing Monthly Challenges...

'Baby Steps... Dream Big, Start Small"
&
'A Doodle a Day"

Let's plan our topics for the year!
Looking forward to seeing you all!

Next meeting:
October 10th
Topic: "Licensing"

RSVP???... YES...if you can... SuzyBlock@gmail.com

WHERE???... 11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
This is a large gray building with ivy & bamboo on the facade.
Look for the RED door ....it reads - "Alliance Francaise."

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-05,GGLR:en&q=11624+W.+Pico+BLvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90064&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

PARKING???... Street parking only. You don't have to feed meters after 6pm. Do NOT park in the electrical warehouse parking lot next door OR the parking lot behind the building on the corner of Federal Ave. You will be towed...FAST.

xoxo...suzy
cell... 818 389 1950

come visit me @ SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

Self Promo and Picture Book Dummies

2011-06-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

Self Promotion

We tackles every aspect of promoting our work and ourselves from promotional mailings to websites. We had several samples of ones that other illustrators use and like. We shares and discusses what works best for promo. We even learned that one of our own got a job illustrating with use of one of his own Postcard Send-outs... :) YAY!

Picture Book Dummies - Part 3

From visuals to discussing ideas everyone participated in our Part 3 Picture Book Dummies. Seems like we are all moving along with some sort of progress. We all shared our great success and our weak points in layout and composition. The phrase "Baby Steps" was used... as we all take our ideas and make them into visual masterpieces. We are going to have a part 4 with our Book Dummies as well as go over our Portfolios next month (July) before the conference in Aug. We have new people showing up and we are all excited to share and evaluate all work.

There is no such thing as bad work... all work is good. It is good to be consistent and enjoy it. Keep illustrating and bring what you are working on next mo. as well as your portfolios.

I just read through the Conference Blog and there are some great notes that hit home with me.... last Aug I was fortunate to stay late one day and was able to get a really great random portfolio review from a speaker. It was one of the best reviews that really made sense to me and I have been enhancing my portfolio since. So if you get the chance to hang out later on any conference days, you never know when or who you will bump into and make sure you are prepared to show your work and talk about it with confidence.

Draw well,

Jen Swain

Illlustrator Schmooze, SFV-Glendale Area

(Photo illustration Book Dummy by Diana Browning)

The Westside Writers Schmooze celebrated faux pas - and lessons learned - on June 8th, 2011

2011-06-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Thirty-two people gathered to discuss faux pas and etiquette tips at the June 8^th SCBWI Westside Writers Schmooze. As anticipated, it was an evening filled with laughter. Charlie and Karol had a ton of tips and funny stories they pulled off the web and/or collected from anonymous sources in case the Schmoozers were shy about sharing, but that wasn’t the case at all.

After briefly mentioning some upcoming local events (have YOU registered for the national conference yet??), the evening started…and, well, sort of ended, too… with long-form introductions. The idea was to have everyone participate – and boy, did they!

Often the introductions around the circle “eat up” precious time for the “real content,” but since your humble new co-coordinators’ master plan is to do as little work as possible…er, we mean…encourage as much participation from the group as possible, we provided this poster board prompt, opening up the Schmoozerific floodgates.

Charlie started off the evening with a brand new faux pas, forgetting (for the second month in a row) all his notes, the nametags, and even his chicken hat. None of these, it turned out, were of any real import except the chicken hat, which he was going to use to augment his own etiquette tail of woe: It’s seems he and a partner traveled to the Cartoon Forum at Ludwigsberg Germany to sell a chicken cartoon concept to the world and it couldn’t have gone better! They wore their chicken hats for the entire week of presentations and were a smash hit with many interested buyers…until his partner drank WAY too much on the final triumphant night and basically destroyed all of the good will they’d created. (It takes a lot of alcohol, by the way, to destroy the good will created by chicken hats.) Charlie’s lesson-learned was this: Drink in moderation! (Heck, that’s probably a good idea in any life situation!)

Charlie also shared an anonymous wardrobe-malfunction faux pas submitted by one brave Schmoozer.She had a brand new blouse (bought especially for the occasion) betray her not once, but twice during a conference, when talking to two different, important faculty members. The moral of the story: Test new clothes! (And speaking of clothes, dressing in layers for the conference was suggested. You’ll probably be dealing with a wide range of temperatures inside and outside the hotel.)

These opening stories helped set the evening’s tone of we’re-laughing-with-you-not-at-you, and several people shared their own cringe-worthy experiences. Many of the Schmoozers’ faux pas involved blurting out something they wish they could take back, such as one person’s experience of “kindly correcting” an editor’s misinformation, which was not at all appreciated by the editor. The lesson in that? Don’t correct an author or editor on something she’s already published or said! (Actually, there were quite a few Schmoozers, who couldn’t restrain themselves from correcting editors, authors and the like. Is this an authority issue, a devotion to craft above all else, or just suicidal tendencies? Dunno.)

This theme of foot-in-mouth stories prompted Karol to introduce a word she learned recently:

Logorrhea. Noun: Excessive flow of words, especially when incoherent.

(FYI – Karol came by this word via a nifty little free e-mail subscription from Wordsmith.org. Check them out at A.Word.A.Day .)

The problem with logorrhea is – you can’t unring a bell…or get in the way-back machine and go correct your mistake….or fly around the globe so fast that you actually turn back time like Superman did to save Lois Lane in Superman II.

You CAN:

Offer a brief, lighthearted apology (“Wow, that was kind of insensitive…sorry about that!”)
Accept that you acted like a boob, forgive yourself and move on. Everyone puts his foot in his mouth occasionally. And on that note – if you find that you’ve put your foot in your mouth, take it out! Don’t shove it in further!
Prepare better so you’re not so flummoxed the next time you meet some Big Shot Author/Editor/Agent, etc. (More on this topic in a sec.)

Logorrhea brought to mind another terrible faux pas: blogorrhea. This is when you say things on your, or someone else’s blog that should either remain unsaid, or be said privately. Not only can online bells not be unrung, they keep ringing repeatedly and in perpetuity. This can best be shown through the cautionary tale of “The Greek Seamen.” Click this link to see a writer self-destruct as she tries to upbraid an online reviewer for giving her book a vaguely negative review. She just goes crazier and crazier, until this exchange became an Internet sensation. Rather than being known for her work, she’s now known for this:

http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2011/03/greek-seaman-jacqueline-howett.html

On the other side of the logorrhea coin is a faux pas so bad, and yet so common, that we collectively concluded it was the worst and most deadly one you could fall prey to – no faux pas at all: Many people sheepishly admitted that they had no embarrassing stories because they were so afraid of saying or doing something stupid, they would routinely cower in a corner and avoid all contact with those with whom they most wished to make contact. This anti-faux-pas-faux pas is the story of countless missed opportunities.

Or, to put it another way: If you haven’t made an ass of yourself, you’re not really trying!

With the SCBWI National Conference coming up, there was general agreement that you must FORCE yourself to schmooze and network! Learn to think of the inevitable faux pas as badges of honor.

Luckily for the timid among us, the Schmoozers had a plethora of wonderful tips on how to get the absolute MOST out of your conference experience (and these tips are applicable for those prone to logorrhea as well).

Behold, the wisdom of the SCBWI Westside Schmooze Collective:

Go to the conference with a plan. It’s your time & money – make the conference what you want.

Familiarize yourself with editors’ or agents’ work before approaching them at a conference or meeting with them. Read reviews on Amazon.com if you don’t have time to read their books. Look up their images on the ‘net, so you know who you’re looking for.

Nametags for faculty are often different – printed, on a lanyard, etc. Take note of what faculty members’ nametags look like to help identify them. Try to KNOW who you’re talking to.

Bring business cards. You don’t have to put your phone number but definitely put your e-mail address or website. Maybe put what you write or a particular project if that’s what you’re concentrating on currently. (Try Vistaprint.com for free or inexpensive cards. Also, Avery labels makes perfectly fine business cards you can design and print out on your home computer with their free software.)

When people give you a card, jot down notes about the conversation you had so you remember them. Do the same when you give someone your card.

Stick around after the “official day” has ended. There’s the potential for valuable one-on-one time. If you’re tired, take a nap out by the pool.

Be open to possibilities – every conference attendee has value. Don’t be rude – don’t ditch the person you’re talking to in order to “upgrade” to someone “more important.” Charlie told the story of being “stuck” at a table at lunch with people he didn’t know when he could have sat with his pals and Bruce Coville. Making the best of it, Charlie demeaned himself to talk to the “nobodies” at his table and found, to his left, a teacher who was not only funny and brilliant, but offered to teach his unpublished book to her third grade class. During the next school year the class Skyped him on numerous occasions, giving him feedback on his work in progress and, in the case of one very astute young man, pronouncing his book “the best book I ever read.”

Praising someone’s work is a good way to start a conversation (but be honest about what you’ve read – or you run the risk of getting caught!).

Editors & agents are people, too! It makes them uncomfortable if you look at them like they’re meat. (They’re SOOO sensitive!) So, rather than salivate at what they can do for your career, ask them about theirs! Joke about the conference, ask what sessions they’ve been to, etc. Do this, and before you know it, they’ll ask you about you, and you can go into your spiel. All they really want to know is that you’re not crazy.

Don’t give away your power – you have something they want: great stories. Be confident in yourself and your material. Mention your successes – but GLOW, don’t GLOAT.

Take the pressure off your manuscript consultant if it’s not going well – ask him or her questions, take it as an opportunity to get to know an author, editor, etc. And remember: their opinions, while valuable, are still just that – opinions. Don’t let any one bad reaction to your work devastate you. (Of course, if everyone has the same bad reaction, go ahead and be devastated…um, we mean – you might want to consider a rewrite.)

Lastly, have your “elevator pitch” ready – but be appropriate!

And speaking of elevator pitches…Charlie & Karol had a Mini Pitch Mad Lib exercise planned for the end of the evening, but they ran out of time for anything beyond a hasty introduction of the idea. As promised, here’s the format you can use as a general guideline to formulate your own Mini Pitch Mad Lib. (Some Schmoozers were uneasy with the “readers will love this book because…” part, so this is definitely a “take what works for you and never mind the rest” situation).

**Please note – this mini-pitch format is copy written material, created by screenwriting teacher par excellance Pilar Alessandra, and was used/adapted with her permission. Karol has taken a class with Pilar and says she's awesome! Check her out at www.onthepage.com.

And one more VERY important note on pitching at the conference....DON'T do this:

With all the sharing and the cringing and the laughing we conveniently ran out of time before Karol had a chance confess to one of her own faux pas.

“Not so fast,” says Charlie. “Spill it!”

OK – here goes, a logorrhea story if there ever is one:

I’m a bargain hunter. Give me a sale price + a coupon, and I’m in heaven! One time an author was kindly signing her book for me, and I blurted out, oh-so-proud of my frugality, “I got your book for $1.98!” The author definitely did not share my enthusiasm. (If that author happens to be reading this… “Wow, that was kind of insensitive…sorry about that!”) Not sure what the lesson learned there was for me beyond – try really, really hard not to be an idiot.

Another thing we ran out of time for (are you picking up on a theme here?) was reminding everyone that the Westside Writers Schmooze will be taking its annual two month hiatus in July and August. Our next meeting will be September 14, 2011. But we’ll be at the conference (Karol attending, and Charlie at the bar, drinking away his last dime.)

Thank you everyone for being so open and giving and informative with your personal tales of shame. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect evening.

Until the next schmooze, you can…

Follow the Official SCBWI Conference Blog

Like us on Facebook - Friends of the SCBWI Los Angeles Westside Writer's Schmooze

Please LIKE us…please really, really like us!

Keep passing the open windows,

Charlie & Karol

Westside Writers' Schmooze takes on Misfits, Mutts & Bastards, May 11, 2011

2011-05-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

A group of about 30 – including many new faces this month – gathered for the May 11^th Westside Schmooze, the first under the new Charlie & Karol Regime. Our topic was Misfits, Mutts and Bastards – which was not commentary on the people assembled (although Karol and Charlie both willingly identify as “misfits”). No, the misfits, mutts and bastards we were discussing were alternative book formats – from novels in verse to graphic novels to books so special and different they defy classification (The Invention of Huge Cabaret, anyone?).

In keeping with Schmooze tradition, we started with introductions. Everybody had a chance to say what kind of material they write and name a favorite “misfit book” (if they had one). In addition to The Invention of Hugo Cabaret by Brian Selznick (which got multiple mentions), some other books hailed by Schmoozers were The Arrival by Shaun Tan (a graphic novel without words), Wonderstruck, the latest book by Brian Selznick, and Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill, What My Mother Doesn’t Know by local author Sonya Sones and Out Of The Dust by Karen Hesse, all novels in verse.

The evening started formally with a discussion of novels which use devices to tell their stories. Some examples were Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary, a middle grade novel told through letters and diary entries only, and the recent series of duel-protagonist books by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist, Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares), where chapters alternate between the POV of the male character, written by David, and the female character, written by Rachel.

Novels in verse were discussed as well. Karol offered tidbits from a Summer 2010 Kite Tails (download it here) interview with author Thalia Chaltas, whose debut novel Because I am Furniture, is written in verse. When asked why she writes in verse, Chaltas explained that she “thinks in verse…in swooshes of words, smatterings of sounds, burrowings of emotion.” She feels novels in verse are able to handle heavy subject matter in a way that’s not too overwhelming. It was also pointed out that, with novels in verse, a short poem can get across plot advancement and emotions that could fill several pages of a traditional novel. To illustrate this point, Karol read a couple sample poems from Virginia Euwer Wolfe’s This Full House, the final novel in Wolfe’s fantastic Make Lemonade trilogy. For anyone interested in exploring this genre (and Karol highly recommends that you do!), author Sonya Sones (who describes herself as “a poet first, and a storyteller second”) has a wonderful list of outstanding novels in verse on her website.

Next up, Charlie discussed graphic storytelling, starting with an overview of the various forms:

ILLUSTRATED NOVELS – novels with pictures, like The Wizard Of Oz, Alice In Wonderland, Lynda Barry’s dark and violent Cruddy, and even Vonnegut’s Breakfast Of Champions, which features a crude drawing of a butt-hole that made Charlie wax poetic. These book would not have the power and poetry they do, would not stick in the mind with such tenacity, without the imagery of great artists like John Tenniel and Lynda Barry or Vonnegut’s bratty pen.

COMIC BOOK NOVELS – novels with prose & comics, like Dav Pilkey’s great Captain Underpants series and Jeff Kinney’s even greater Diary Of A Wimpy Kid series. These hilarious amalgams move between telling a story and showing, combining all out comedy and slapstick with well observed commentaries on middle school life.

COMIC BOOKS & COMIC STRIPS – you know: Peanuts and such. Also Windor McCay’s seminal Little Nemo In Slumberland.

INTERNET COMICS & iPOD APPS – our own Josh Hauke discussed creating his hilarious online comic Tales Of The Brothers Three, as well as the advantages and limitations of writing for the internet. (Hint: it seemed like a pretty good idea to us.)

GRAPHIC NOVELS – the meat and potatoes of graphic artistry, from Frank Miller’s brilliant (though neo fascistic according to Charlie) Batman Begins to Alan Moore’s complex and very human Watchman to Art Spiegelman’s clear eyed and accurate look at the holocaust through cats and mice: Maus, to Chris Ware’s endlessly sad tale of regretful middle age, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth.

Schmooze regular Eric Drachman also discussed his own bastard work: wedding terrific picture books to beautifully produced audio recordings of the text, complete with cast and music. (Check ‘em out on Kidwick.com).

Charlie then went on to describe the proper form for writing graphic novel manuscripts, explaining that, in a graphic novel, the key element is the PAGE. You design each page, stating how many panels you want on it, and then describing each panel, one by one. When designing pages, keep in mind that, in graphic storytelling, each bit of dialogue takes up literal space. So a dialogue heavy scene will leave little room for action or art.

Josh, along with the many other illustrators who showed up for our little Schmooze (thanks!), mentioned the books Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and Sequential Art by Will Eisner as essential resources for anyone interested in writing graphically. A spirited debate then ensued about which one was truly more essential! (The same crowd also debated the virtues of various software used to create iPad apps, but since neither Charlie nor Karol could figure out what they were talking about, we cut that one short.)

Finally, we talked about markets for your bastard opuses (opai?). It was noted that Scholastic has a new imprint called Graphix and may looking for graphic novel manuscripts for kids. There are other markets as well (a list is included in our collection of resource links below), but many of the comic book publishers are fairly closed houses. The good news, though, is that this is one area of the market where self-publishing is well respected. Many comic book stores take pride in supporting local artists and writers and will give your book a featured place by the register.

We ended the evening with an exercise – a fun attempt to translate some classic prose writing (samples handed out were from The Hunger Games and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) into graphic novel or novel in verse form. Honestly, it proved to be harder than we anticipated, (at least for your humble leaders), but when it came time to share, the Schmoozers astounded and delighted!

Perhaps the most important take away from the evening was to avoid style over substance. These alternative formats can be utilized to great effect, but your manuscripts need to feature great stories

first and foremost. There’s no better example of this than The Invention of Hugo Cabaret. Yes, the format – kind of a picture book/middle grade novel hybrid – is stunningly beautiful and unique, but the story itself is also incredibly special. (Seriously, if you haven’t yet read this book, go to your local library or bookstore now and get it. Well? Why aren’t you going? STOP READING THIS AND GO!)

Now that you’re back from the library…

For those of you who missed the Schmooze (shame on you!), here’s a copy of the list of references that was handed out:

CHARLIE AND KAROL’S NIFTY PAGE OF RESOURCES

The Bastard Edition

Everything you need to know about writing & selling graphic novels (OK, fine…not everything):

http://www.fivesprockets.com/fs-portal/features/main.do?content=comicbook-basics

This is the little lesson we went through in class from Five Sprockets software on how graphic novels are formatted. Also here: Free Software!!

http://homepage.mac.com/dmcduffie/site/Scripts.html

A GOLD MINE! Dwayne McDuffie, the writer Static Shock, Hardware, and others, as well as numerous Spiderman comics, generously shows samples of ALL THE DIFFERENT STYLES. Also, click on his name at the top, and nose around his site.

http://www.topgraphicnovelreviews.com/how_write_graphic_novels.html

a short little lesson in how to format and write graphic novels, including a nifty little exercise to help you with dialogue writing. Also, dig the links on where to sell—I included one of them below:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/specialty_writing/submit.htm

Some info on novels in verse:

YA author of novels-in-verse extraordinaire, Sonya Sones (home page, comprehensive list of outstanding novels in verse)

http://www.sonyasones.com/index.html

http://www.sonyasones.com/imreading/novelsinverse.html

First Novels Club Guest post by Cathy Ostlere (Karma); Demystifying novels in verse.

mailto:http://www.firstnovelsclub.com/2011/04/demystifying-novels-in-verse-guest-post.html

Thoughts about Verse Novels, inspired by questions from author, Susan Taylor Brown, for an article in Children’s Writer, March 2010, The Novel World in Verse.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150249694535254http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150249694535254

Interview with Ellen Hopkins by Laura Watkinson for SCBWI Bologna 2010

http://www.scbwibologna.org/2010/presenters/interviews/ellen-hopkins.php

Next month’s Schmooze topic is: Writer’s Etiquette or Why-Oh-Why Do I Keep Putting My Foot In My Month And How Can I Stop? This will feature, “Miss Karol’s Pointers On Manners And Decorum.” That should be good. Oh, wait…this just in… Karol has renamed her presentation. It will now be called, “What NOT to Do. Ever. Really.”

In all seriousness, we’re counting on lots and lots of input from everyone in attendance, so won’t you please join us on June 8^th and bring your horrors stories and tales of triumph to share.

See you then!

Namaste? Nah! We’re going with…

Keep passing the open windows,

Charlie & Karol

RSVP Schmoozin' with Westside Illustrators

2011-05-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

Westside Illustrator's Schmooze
Monday Evening, May 16, 2011
7:00 - 9:00pm
11624 W. Pico Blvd. LA 90064

"Summer Conference Prep 101"
Get the biggest bang for your buck!

Start here...
http://www.scbwi.org/Conference.aspx?Con=8
Research speakers, topics & workshops
Bring your findings to the 'schmoo'
& we'll do some serious 'strategery!'

Plus
Continuing Monthly Challenges
'Baby Steps... Dream Big, Start Small"
&
'A Doodle a Day"

Come prepared to participate, ask questions and be inspired!
Let's enjoy a fun creative evening together & move forward in our common pursuit
of making a contribution to the world of children's illustration and literature!

RSVP???... YES...if you can... SoozyEB@aol.com

WHERE???... 11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
This is a large gray building with ivy & bamboo on the facade.
The sign near the RED door reads - "Alliance Francaise."

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-05,GGLR:en&q=11624+W.+Pico+BLvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90064&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

PARKING???... Street parking only. You don't have to feed meters after 6pm. Do NOT park in the electrical warehouse parking lot next door OR the parking lot behind the building on the corner of Federal Ave. You will be towed...FAST.

Looking forward to seeing you all!
xoxo...suzy
cell... 818 389 1950

If you wish to be removed from this email list...just let me know.

come visit me at... http://www.SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

A New Era For The Westside Writers Schmooze Starts Tomorrow!

2011-05-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

I've been struggling to figure out how to best sum up the last two and a half years of co-captaining the schmooze with Rita Crayon Huang.

But Rita, as always, comes to the rescue - with her permission, I'm re-posting this from her blog. Thanks, Rita!

***

Check it out! SCBWI's International Summer Conference Registration starts tomorrow (April 15th, at 10 AM Pacific Time), and they're using my photos from last year's conference on the Registration page, as a teaser! They're embedded as a slideshow!

I didn't know you could embed Flickr slideshows. I want to do that, too. But I want to do it for the SCBWI Westside Schmooze. Last night was Lee Wind's and my last schmooze as its Coordinators. It's been a wonderful run of 2 1/2 years, from which we've both learned so much. We often joked that we weren't (were not) trying to teach a UCLA Extension Course on children's book writing through this Schmooze. But honestly, leading the Schmooze was like taking such a course. An intensive one.

Here are some photos I took during that time.

If you can't see the slideshow because you're viewing this somewhere other than my LiveJournal, click here. We're doing writing exercises, critiquing manuscripts, discussing such serious topics as Voice, Beginnings and Endings, and Multiculturalism, listening to special guest speakers, and more!

Enjoy!
rita

P.S.
All hail the Westside Schmooze's new Coordinators, Karol Ruth Silverstein and Charlie Cohen!! Keep following the Westside Schmooze blog, everyone, for all of our continued adventures!

As I once said in Lee's and my "Volunteers in the Spotlight" piece in Kite Tales, I kept a deliberately low profile when I first started attending this Schmooze, because I didn't want to volunteer. (Thanks a lot, Sara and Greg, for asking me, anyway.) But the learning has been humbling and stupendous. (Thanks a lot, Sara and Greg, for asking me, anyway!) I am singing a changed tune. Otherwise I couldn't have roped in Karol and Charlie with such a clean conscience. Super super superstars!!

walks off whistling

jaunty heels-click

(high-fives Lee in the distance)

((kind of ominous, isn't it? Muahahahahaha!))

***

And please show up in droves for Karol and Charlie's first schmooze on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at the Fairview Branch Library Community Room, 2101 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Our meetings are in association with the Fairview Branch Santa Monica Library.

Misfits, Mutts and Bastards - Alternate Formats & Forms
Graphic novels, illustrated novels, novels in verse, comic books, hybrids… from Hugo Cabret to the Wimpy Kid, there's more than one way to skin a story. At the May Schmooze we'll take a look outside the box and explore these oddball formats. Find out how they tick, what they look like (why you can't just slap a new cover page on an old screenplay and call it a graphic novel), and where you can sell 'em! PLUS: The baton has been passed: It's Charlie and Karol's first Schmooze as coordinators. Come and watch us stammer and sweat!

Nahh, they're gonna be great!

Write On!

Namaste,
Lee & Rita

CANCELED TONIGHT! Westside Illustrators Schmoozin'

2011-03-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Westside Illustrators Schmooze
Monday Evening, -March 21, 2011 postponed to April 11
7pm - 9pm
11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles

Back by popular demand!
'Through the Art Director's Eyes!
Art Director, Laurie Young will walk us through
the job of hiring the right artist for the right project!
Try your hand at this challenge.

Laurie Young, Art Director & Graphic Designer will talk
about what she looks for in an illustrator, the process of choosing an artist for a project, & how an illustrator can
best position themselves for consideration.

1) RSVP and you will be sent a picture book text.
2) Do your research.
3) Bring 3-5 samples of different illustrators whom you feel would be good match for the material.

You can print out color samples from online

pages, or bring in work of artists you know.
We will have a lively discussion of the merits of each
choice and ultimately "choose" one artist for the job.

AND...continuing monthly challenges

"Baby Steps... Dream BIG, Start Small'
&
"A Doodle a Day"

Come prepared to participate, ask questions and be inspired!
Let's enjoy a fun creative evening together & move forward in our common pursuit
of making a contribution to the world of children's illustration and literature!

RSVP???... YES...if you can... SoozyEB@aol.com

WHERE???... 11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
This is a large gray building with ivy & bamboo on the facade.
The sign near the door reads - "Alliance Francaise."

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-05,GGLR:en&q=11624+W.+Pico+BLvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90064&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

PARKING???... Street parking only. You don't have to feed meters after 6pm. Do NOT park in the electrical warehouse parking lot next door OR the parking lot behind the building on the corner of Federal Ave. You will be towed...FAST.

Looking forward to seeing you all!
xoxo...suzy
cell... 818 389 1950

If you wish to be removed from this email list...just let me know.

come visit me at... http://www.SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

Monday Evening, March 21, 2011

Westside Writers Schmooze Annual Picture Book Critique Night

2011-03-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

Oh, the glories of critique night! 42 of us gathered to talk and read and help everyone get to a better understanding of what makes a great picture book, and for those of us brave enough to share our works in progress, how to make OUR stories the best they can be.

We started off the evening with announcing that Karol Silverstein and Charlie Cohen will be taking over the Westside Writers Schmooze Co-Captaining duties from Rita and Lee starting with our May 2011 meeting! Hurray, Karol and Charlie!!! We can’t wait to see what amazing adventures you’ll be taking us all on.

Lee reminded everyone of the sandwich method of critiquing – say something nice, ask the author if they have specific questions, share your kind constructive thoughts on things that might be improved, and end with encouragement for the author to revise.

Rita advised authors on how best to handle receiving feedback, and ran down some wonderful categories of things to look and listen and read for when critiquing – culled from this wonderful article by Linda Sue Park on "The Give and Take of Critique."

Jeff reminded us that the SCBWI grant applications are due in just a few days (March 15, 2011)!
(It's worth noting March 15 is a "Received by" deadline. Once you identify which grants interest you, click along the left to read more about them and download applications.)

Charlie regaled us with the lamentably true tale of a TV show’s dissing the effort that goes into creating quality children’s books, with an upcoming episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” making writing picture books their timed challenge. Next week, they’ll be doing Celebrity Apprentice timed heart surgery, because hey, it must be easy - everyone has a heart, right? (Though we’re not sure about those Celebrity Apprentice producers!)*

*While the picture book episode is evidently real, the heart surgery one is just Lee’s bitter cattiness, disguised as humor. He hopes you find it funny, too. (Rita assures me she does. Thanks, Rita!)

We also shared that SCBWI offers a wonderful service for local members who are interested in finding--or starting--their own critique group. Learn all about SCBWI Critique Connections Online here at http://www.scbwisocal.org/htmls/critique_connect.htm, and/or by emailing critiqueconnect@yahoo.com.

We mentioned the upcoming, FREE Critiquenic that happens in Roxbury Park, in Beverly Hills, on June 4th, where people also gather to exchange feedback on their manuscripts--that have perhaps been revised based on feedback from tonight!

And with talk of getting manuscripts in shape for the upcoming SCBWI Summer Conference and the additional Manuscript Consultation and Intensive Workshop opportunities there (Summer Conference registration begins April 15th!), we launched into our evening of reading, laughter, serious discussion, and baked goods!

With seven or eight people around six large tables, each group had five manuscripts to review. (A few tables had less than five, so Rita and Lee had in advance typed up the texts from three successful picture books so those tables could analyze them as their original editors might have – experiencing them text-only.)

We had a picnic this Sunday past, by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Diane Greenseid

City Dog, Country Frog, by Mo Willems, illustrated by Jon J Muth

and
The Quiet Book, by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Renata Liwska.

This is a great exercise to do yourself – choose a favorite picture book (we chose recently published, well-received books whose authors were different than their illustrators) and type it out in manuscript form. You’ll learn a lot from the experience.

We hope you join us next month for our annual . . . Middle Grade/Young Adult Critique Night!

Come share and give feedback on your MG or YA works-in-progress in a warm, open, encouraging environment, and see what your fellow writers have been working on! Manuscripts are NOT required to participate. Critiquing is a great way to learn. If you DO wish to share a middle grade or young adult manuscript, please bring SIX copies of up to FOUR pages (or roughly 800 words, if you write verse) in proper manuscript form (double spaced, normal fonts and margins). Both fiction and non-fiction are welcome.

Please email westsideschmooze@hotmail.com to RSVP, and mention whether you will be bringing a manuscript to share or not. Thanks!

Cheers and Namaste,

Your Co-Captains for one more schmooze,

Rita and Lee

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PRESENT YOURSELF ONLINE?

2011-03-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

Oh, the irony! Of being slow to blog about the schmooze where we discussed "Presenting Ourselves Online!"

Over 46 of us gathered at the Westside Writers Schmooze last month to talk about social media, networking, platforms, and all manner of online goodness.

To start, we went over a schmoozerific checklist Rita brought of easy steps we could all potentially take (not saying "should," just "could") in presenting ourselves online.

These steps progressed from Basic: Be findable, professional, and explore the community. (Read blogs! Get informed! Don't know where to start? Try the links listed here.)

through Intermediate: Create content and engage with the community

to what to do before you submit a manuscript, once your books are out, and a bigger discussion about platforms.

A number of interesting ideas were discussed along the way. Such as: Do different email providers have different stigmas or status attached to them? Are we better off choosing a gmail email address than, say, yahoo? What about best addresses for our blogs? (Blogger? Wordpress? Livejournal? Our own?)

Or the "crazy test" - which is what most editors and agents are really doing when they're interested in buying your book or representing you and they google you. They just want to make sure you're not crazy. So consider that when presenting yourself online. As above, you want to be findable and professional.

It was recommended we set up Google alerts on our own names, so that we, too, could find out what others might learn about us. (On this, Greg Pincus recommended his two-part, quick tutorial on how to set up a Google Alert, at his Web site The Happy Accident.)

Other great tips from that night:
- the benefits of Google Reader to organize your blog reading,
- compelling reasons to sign up for free Twitter and Facebook accounts sooner rather than later,
- and blogging platforms! Regarding understanding platforms, Greg Pincus also suggested everyone check out Christina Katz's Web site. (Click on the links list at the right to find her posts
sorted by tag, such as under "Author Platform.")

The entire group also worked through some illuminating worksheets Lee generously shared from his "Ready, Set, Blog!" workshop, to help each of us define the theme that runs through our writing - and to consider the synergy we can create between our on-line presence and our writing for children and teens.

A discussion of what goes in our "About Me" bios led to our climactic, go-round-the-room exercise: Each of us took a turn sharing one interesting tidbit about ourselves that people might not know, which we might or might not choose to incorporate in our bios. The resulting reveals were wildly various--and eye-opening--helping us get to know each other anew, and giving us food for thought on how we'd like to present ourselves going forward!

So think about what YOU are doing online, and for inspiration and cheering-us-all-on support, make sure to check out the following websites and blogs of our Westside Writers Schmooze Schmoozers!

Rita Crayon Huang http://rhcrayon.livejournal.com
Lee Wind http://www.leewind.org
Joshua Hauke http://brothers3comics.com
Megan Frances Abrahams http://www.onbeyondwordsandpictures.com
Lori Berezin http://junglegroupproductions.com
Phil Houtz http://wildrye.com
Rhonda Hayter http://rhondahayter.com
Melaine Bryant http://www.theprophecykeepers.com
Stephanie Dreyer http://stephaniedreyer.wordpress.com
Daniel Teeter http://www.jellyrollfortheearhole.blogspot.com
Joan Charles http://www.joancharles.com
Greg Pincus http://gottabook.blogspot.com and http://www.thehappyaccident.net
L. Fernandez http://thepenandinkblog.blogspot.com
June Sobel http://www.junesobel.blogspot.com
Cindy Marcus http://www.showdownstageco.com
Jennifer Bao Yu "Precious Jade" Jue-Steuck http://www.chineseadoptee.com
Bob Miller http://wrmilleronline.com and http://www.justicedragon.com
Serge Delpierre http://www.filmgrok.com

Namaste, and Cheers,

Lee and Rita

Photo of The Westside Writers Schmooze in action by Rita Crayon Huang

FEBRUARY 21.... Schmoozin' On The Westside 'Finding our Groove' & 'Baby Steps'

2011-02-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

SCBWI Westside Illustrators Schmooze
Monday Evening, February 21, 2011

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064

TOPIC 1
'Examining Children's Book Genres'
BRING books!! Examples of books, authors & illustrators
that you relate to in terms of YOUR goals and career...
perhaps a writer or illustrator that you have 'modeled'?

TOPIC 2
'Baby Steps...Dream Big, Start Small'
(continuing monthly topic)
Last month, we announced our 'baby step' program!
Commit to a small 'goal' & report back to the group the following meeting ...
If you haven't already, start NOW! :)

RSVP???... YES...if you can... SoozyEB@aol.com

WHERE???... 11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
This is a large gray building with ivy & bamboo on the facade.
The sign near the door reads - "Alliance Francaise."

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-05,GGLR:en&q=11624+W.+Pico+BLvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90064&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

PARKING???... Street parking only. You don't have to feed meters after 6pm. Do NOT park in the electrical warehouse parking lot next door OR the parking lot behind the building on the corner of Federal Ave. You will be towed...FAST.

Looking forward to seeing you all!
xoxo...suzy
cell... 818 389 1950

come visit me at... http://www.SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

Hope Is Not A Plan: Planning Your Career - Our January 2011 Westside Writers' Schmooze

2011-01-13T14:29:00.000-08:00

43 of us gathered yesterday to look at our career journeys as if we were each the hero of our own stories - and we are!

"In nearly all good fiction, the basic - all but inescapable - plot form is: A central character wants something, goes after it despite opposition (perhaps including his own doubts), and so arrives at a win, lose, or draw."
--John Gardner

So if we're the central character of our lives, we need to be able to state what we WANT.

Holly Black had a wonderful exercise that she shared at the 2009 SCBWI Summer conference where she asked writers to rank different options on their writing career dreams from 1 to 10. Options included writing one single perfect book, being able to live off the earnings from my writing alone, writing a critically acclaimed, award-winning book, becoming famous because of my work, and more. (Check out additional great resources for writers at Holly's website.)

We then all tried to name our dream, taking inspiration from Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" both for naming our dreams and with a great story shared by Sara Wilson Etienne about the collage exercise in that book, visualizing them. Rita had a wonderful exercise for us to try at home about drawing out your dream - 15 minutes, no less, of making all the details of your dream feel real.

Then all 43 of us shared our dreams for our writing and/or illustrating careers.
Dreams included writing a book for a daughter to having a teen come up to tell you that your book saved their life. From wanting a bookshelf full of your books to living in a castle purchased because of your books. From having a lunchbox based on your book to seeing someone read your book on a plane. To finishing the current draft of your work in progress, to getting 3 starred reviews! From being a literary sex symbol to finally submitting, to helping others... It was very moving, and funny, and poignant, and most of all, inspiring!

We then listed our internal and external opposition to achieving our dream. And then, for each force of opposition, the resources we have to overcome it. For example, internal opposition to being a writer might be that voice in your head that says that you'll feel isolated. Attending SCBWI events like our schmoozes and the upcoming 2011 SCBWI Winter Conference are ways to feel part of the community of creators of children's literature. Not isolated at all! External opposition might be not having time to write. Stopping to watch your favorite weekly TV show gives you an extra hour a week... You control your time, and that's your external resource.

Running out of time for the schmooze itself, we discussed everyone's homework (and you can play along at home, too!) Define your short (1 to 5 year) and long-term (5-10 year) goals. And recognize that there are goals you control and goals you don't. For example, getting an agent is a goal you do not control. Submitting to 5 agents you're excited about is a goal you DO control.

And then we spoke about defining ACTIONS that would get you to your goals. What Actions are you planning to take:

This year
This month
This week
Today
Right Now.

Well, right now you're reading this post about planning out your career, so you ARE actively doing something to move yourself forward already! Congrats!

We finished with an inspirational piece from the conclusion of Anne Lamott's brilliant "Bird By Bird" - about how just by going for your dream and taking those actions, even if you don't "win," you DO WIN, because you've grown and been changed by the journey.

"Even if only the people in your writing group read your memoirs or stories or novel, even if you only wrote your story so that one day your children would know what life was like when you were a child and you knew the name of every dog in town - still, to have written your version is an honorable thing to have done. Against all odds, you have put it down on paper, so that it won't be lost. And who knows? Maybe what you've written will help others, will be a small part of the solution. You don't even have to know how or in what way, but if you are writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing the best you can to understand and communicate, this will shine on paper like its own little lighthouse. Lighthouses don't go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining."
--Anne Lamott

It was an amazing evening of setting our sights high and planning our paths forward... and we hope your path takes you to the next Westside Writers' Schmooze, on Wednesday, February 9th, when we'll meet to discuss . . .

"Presenting Yourself Online."
Social Networking, Blogs, Facebook, Platforms - laying the groundwork for getting published and then building your career--beyond the first book! For Picture Book through Young Adult, fiction and nonfiction; for newbies through experts at social networking, this schmooze is for YOU. Tell a friend!

Hope to see you there!
Namaste,
Lee & Rita

books referenced during this month's schmooze included:

"Bird By Bird" by Anne Lamott

"The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron

"Advice To Writers" compiled and edited by Jon Winokur

"2011 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market" edited by Alice Pope (I have three interviews in this book, but the inspirational quote I shared was by John M. Cusick in his article, "An Agent/Author's Crash Course in Getting Published."

Upcoming SCBWI events we mentioned included:

The upcoming 2011 SCBWI Winter Conference

Writer's Toolbox: Boys versus Girls with Michael Reisman and Cecil Castellucci

The SCBWI-LA 7th Annual Scholarship Contest for L.A. member writer and illustrators (See what "Cinnamon" inspires you to create!)

There are so many wonderful events coming up in our tri-region area - go to scbwisocal.org to find out about them all!

January 17.....Schmoozin' On The Westside

2011-01-12T23:47:00.000-08:00

A Happy New Year to All! Please join us for our 1st meeting of 2011...

SCBWI Westside Illustrators Schmooze

Monday Evening, January 17, 2011

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

TOPIC 1
'Reassessing Goals For 2011'
Let's talk about last years goals & see how they worked out!
Take a moment to write down your goals for 2011... & we'll share!
TOPIC 2
'Exploring New Markets in Childrens Publishing"
Technology & the bad economy has changed the face of children's print publishing.
Let's research emerging markets for illustrators.
Contribute your knowledge of On-line Venues... E-Books, digital art, scanned art, etc...

RSVP???... YES...if you can... SoozyEB@aol.com

WHERE???... 11624 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
This is a large gray building with ivy & bamboo on the facade.
The sign near the door reads - "Alliance Francaise."

DIRECTIONS???... http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-05,GGLR:en&q=11624+W.+Pico+BLvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90064&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

PARKING???... Street parking only. You don't have to feed meters after 6pm. Do NOT park in the electrical warehouse parking lot next door OR the parking lot behind the building on the corner of Federal Ave. You will be towed...FAST.

Looking forward to seeing you all!
xoxo...suzy
cell... 818 389 1950

come visit me at... http://www.SuzyEngelmanBlock.com

Illustrators' Schmooze in OC January 22

2011-01-03T17:04:00.000-08:00

Hey Illustrators! Let's schmooze!

Saturday, January 22
10:30 am to 12:30 pm
at the home/studio of Marilyn Scott-Waters

2011 is here! So let's get together, write down, and share our illustration goals for the year ahead of us. Here are some things we'll discuss:

• Three things that you were proud of from 2010.
• One thing that you would have done differently.
• Three projects that you want to achieve/finish this year
• Three skills/techniques you want to hone.
• One Super Stretch goal for 2011.
also--
Share any ideas for topics you would like to explore in 2011.

Let's lunch afterwards at a nearby restaurant. Contact me if you need directions to Marilyn's. See you there!

Veronica Walsh
green2cats@yahoo.com

Los Angeles SCBWIers! Wanna Attend The 2011 Summer Conference or the 2012 Winter Conference For Free Tuition? Enter This Contest!

2010-12-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

Great News!

The Los Angeles region of SCBWI is now going to be giving out TWO annual scholarships for free tuition to attend either the Summer Conference in Los Angeles or the Winter Conference in New York City. (This is up from one scholarship a year, taking turns for illustrators and writers.) This year, SCBWI L.A. will be giving a scholarship to one writer and one illustrator.

These conferences are amazing - an opportunity to really kick in the turbo engines on your career, and to fully dive into the inspiration, business and craft of writing and/or illustrating. But most of all, the conferences are a chance to immerse yourself in the community of being a children's content creator. To spend a long weekend with people just as passionate about telling great stories as you. To breathe deep of that sense of belonging to a tribe - your tribe, and mine, too. (For a taste of what goes on at these conferences, check out the wealth of information over at The Official SCBWI Conference Blog!)

The theme/inspiration/prompt of the contest is

"Cinnamon."

Entries must be postmarked by February 1st, so it's a great thing to work on now, before you have to go back to school/work/routine. Details are here.

You should enter. It's for free tuition, and even just doing the contest entry should be lots of fun!

Best of fortune, and here's to a fantastic 2011!

Namaste,
Lee

The Westside Writers Schmooze "MAKE YOUR OWN PICTURE BOOK DUMMY" Workshop led by Special Guest Speaker Laura Lacámara!!

2010-12-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, December 8th, 2010, more than thirty Westside Schmoozers gathered for a truly festive holiday treat, as special guest speaker Laura Lacamara led us through the process of making picture book dummies.

Laura with her two published picture books,
"Floating on Mama's Song," which she wrote,
and "Runaway Piggy" which she illustrated!

Laura is the author of Floating on Mama’s Song / Flotando en la Canción de Mamá, a bilingual picture book inspired by her mother, who was an opera singer in Havana. Floating on Mama’s Song, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, was released by HarperCollins September 1, 2010 and has already received its first starred review--from Publishers Weekly! Laura also recently illustrated The Runaway Piggy / El Cochinito Fugitivo, a bilingual picture book for Piñata Books, an imprint of the University of Houston’s Arte Público Press. The Runaway Piggy, written by James Luna, debuted November 30, 2010. You can learn more about her at http://lauralacamara.com/

Laura regularly attends the Westside Schmooze, and we were thrilled to have her lead this workshop! As both a picture book author and illustrator, Laura is uniquely positioned to look at picture book manuscripts with an eye for both text and illustrations, and was the perfect expert to guide us in creating our own picture book dummies.

Lee introducing Laura - and setting the serious tone for the evening

Laura prepared fantastically for this schmooze. Before everyone arrived, she had already set each "place" with its own large Book Map to creating a picture book dummy, a WONDERFUL handout on "Tips for Determining Page-Turns in your Manuscript"--full of concrete, very clear tips!--and individual, precounted stacks of 16 sheets of paper. Each table had communal scissors and staplers. In addition, schmoozers were asked to bring in two copies of their own picture book manuscripts (or any favorite text) to work with. For attendees who did not bring in texts, Rita typed up "manuscripts" from existing, already published picture books, so everyone could join in the fun.

Spirits were high, and baked goods and snacks kept arriving. THANK YOU, everyone, for not only bringing in your manuscripts, but also contributing such a wonderful holiday FEAST! WE LOVE YOU ALL!!

As soon as we were settled in, we were ready to go!

To start, Laura had us each decide whether our picture books would have "portrait" or "landscape" orientations, and we stapled our papers accordingly. Regarding orientation, Rita recalled Mo Willems once suggesting at a conference that character-based stories were better suited to portrait, and stories about location were better suited to landscape--and, furthermore, that concept, or "arty," books could go square. :) Something to think about!

Laura then guided us through the process of determining where the page turns would fall in our manuscripts.

She talked us through her handout, holding up and reading from published picture books to give examples of each tip.

She even showed us a few pages from the dummy she had made for her own picture book manuscript prior to it being illustrated by Yuyi to make her points!

We then paired up and read each other's manuscripts, to give feedback on the flow of each other's stories, and on page turns. It was wonderful seeing everyone engaging in each other's stories on this level!

The happy sounds of scissors, staplers, chatting, and enjoying good food all filled the room as everyone got busy assembling their stories into picture book dummies.

As the night came to a close all too soon, we also took a few minutes to share insights with the room at large about what we had discovered--about our stories and about pictures books--through this process. One Schmoozer brought up the idea that the tips for determining page turns might also be applied to longer format stories (MG, YA), regarding chapter breaks.

THANK YOU again, Laura, for guiding us through such a joyful, fun, and truly informative workshop! We all learned so much--and are better story creators for it!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Rita and Lee

P.S. Please join us in the new year on Wednesday, January 12th, when the Westside Schmooze will meet to discuss,

"Hope is not a plan": Outlining your story and your career.

"Hope is not a plan." --CNN Host Anderson Cooper. It's a new year. Where do you want your writing to take you, both within your story and in life? Come share in advice for outlining our manuscripts, setting goals, and plotting out the trajectory of our writing careers! For Picture Book through Young Adult, fiction and non-fiction.

Hope to see you there!

p.p.s. all photos by Rita Crayon Huang

The Skirball Cultural Center Offers A Unique (And Free!) Event For SCBWI Members

2010-12-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

Here's the event:

SCBWI Members, come to the Skirball to experience two new, exciting exhibitions celebrating art and creativity! Saturday, December 11 12:00-3:30 p.m. (Maira Kalman docent tour begins at 12:30p)

First, take a docent-led tour of the whimsically witty exhibition Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World) and take a closer look at what inspires illustrator, author, and designer Maira Kalman (Stay Up Late, Ooh-la-la [Max in Love]) and her joyful, humorous vision of contemporary life.

Then, visit The 1000 Journals Project and meet Jason Porter, co-curator of the exhibition and SCBWI member, to learn about the idea behind this unique initiative encouraging people around the world to explore their personal creativity and stimulate collaboration. Spend time creating your own entry in the journals and then meet with fellow SCBWI members to share, discuss, and collaborate on your work!

Around 2:30 p.m., all Members will come together to see each other's work. BYOL (bring your own lunch) to sit back and enjoy with fellow Members as each presents their journal entry. The group will vote to choose one of the created works to be used on the cover for a new journal. The work chosen will also be included on the Skirball's website, Flickr site, and Facebook page.

Finally, enter a special SCBWI raffle to receive a copy of the Maira Kalman exhibition catalogue or The 1000 Journals book. As a guest of the Skirball on that day, you will also receive a 10% discount in Audrey's Museum Store to purchase gifts or mementos of your visit.

This is an experiment and you are part of it.

Limited to the first 50 people, so please RSVP with SCBWI-L.A. RA Claudia Harrington: Click Here to RSVP.

We will forward the list to the Skirball so they've got your name on the official list!

What a cool way to celebrate art, creativity, and the Holidays!

Namaste,
Lee

Westside Writers Schmooze holds an Expert Panel on Author Visits!

2010-11-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

Best. Schmooze. EVER!!

Seriously. This November's meeting may have been the best Westside Schmooze ever -- and that's saying a lot for our beloved longest running schmooze in the region.

On Wednesday, November 10th, about 40 Westside Schmoozers gathered to hear an expert panel of a public librarian, an independent school librarian, and an independent book store owner speak on author visits: what they're looking for, the difference between these different venues, how we can get ourselves booked for author visits, and more. This genius panel was Lee's brainchild (awww, thanks, Rita!), designed to represent the three key sectors of the author-visit landscape. To this end, Lee invited the following all-star lineup:

Sharon Hearn, owner of Children's Book World, a full-service children's bookstore in West Los Angeles,

Elizabeth Abarbanel, librarian at the independent Brentwood School's upper campus,

and

Ann Wagner, Youth Services Librarian at the Santa Monica Public Library, main branch.

Our Panelists left to right:
Sharon Hearn, Elizabeth Abarbanel and Ann Wagner

From the moment the discussion began, it became clear how different these three categories of author visit are. A few of the eye-opening things we learned:

• Unlike schools, who pay for authors visits; and libraries, who give honorariums; bookstores never pay for visits. Instead, publishers offer to send
authors to them, and, if the bookstore agrees to host an event, the expectation
is that they will sell books. Local authors might approach a store to do an
event as well, but it works best if it's the author's first signing for a book,
because that is more likely to sell copies and draw a crowd.

• Schools look for ways in which an author's book or talk or personal story can
tie into curriculum. For example, if the book is historical it could tie into history, or the author talks about writing (or about how he or she became a writer) it could tie into English and creative writing, or maybe an element of your book and talk can be tied into Human Development (a class about growing up).

• School librarians and decision makers share information on listservs about how much authors have charged and how well their presentations went.

• Public libraries don't sell books (of course), or educate specifically. They also can't guarantee the kids in this setting will have read the author's work in advance, so they look for visits that are lively and interactive, and that will get their audience excited about the book and about reading. It's definitely a good idea to read excerpts during visits to libraries.

• Bookstores can sometimes coordinate with publishers to bring authors to schools--and set up pre-order sheets to send home with the kids. This type of visit can sometimes be quite large, with other schools bussed in.

• When bookstores are not involved, schools can still sell an author's books in conjunction with a visit -- sometimes through their PTA. Schools often get good discounts from publishers.

• Advice: Authors should definitely have Web sites through which schools can contact them.

• Best Piece of Advice of the whole evening: Watch other authors' presentations!

At one point during the Schmooze, a debate broke out on the merits of waiving one's fee for visits, with an eye to building brand awareness. This brought up the oft-cited advice: Should you decide to do a school visit for free or cheap, always indicate you have "waived your fee" (or provided an x% discount) to make clear you are providing something of value. To this, our expert panel hastened to add that you should also always make sure you have an advocate on the inside who will build enthusiasm and ensure the proper preparation for your visit. ("Free" does not equal a babysitting offer!)

Throughout the evening, Schmoozers also shared their own experiences with doing author visits, including fascinating descriptions from both Eric Drachman and James Otis Thach of elaborate video conferences, and visiting schools via Skype!

Here are a few more choice tidbits from the evening, from both our panel and Schmooze attendees:

Authenticity--the giving of yourself in what you share--is the best way to connect with kids.

If the kids have read your book, they will probably enjoy hearing "behind-the-scenes" stories about earlier drafts, inspirations, etc. Even if they haven't read the book, the real message here is that your book didn't come out perfect the first time. Rewriting is key, and everyone can do it.

Kids are so visual these days. Share your book trailer! Use PowerPoint! If you're an illustrator, draw! (Kevin Henkes has used old-fashioned slides! Patricia Polacco brought in her quilt!)

But: Avoid what Lee called "Death by PowerPoint." Your visual aids should not make sense without your presenting them. You are the most important visual aid in your talk. (Along these same lines, don't turn the lights completely off and stand to the side.)

This was a truly amazing Schmooze, during which we all learned so much! When it was over, many agreed that 95% of the information we'd heard this night was completely new to us. We didn't even know how much we didn't know!

For more excellent information on school visits, check out schoolvisitexperts.com by SCBWI's own school visits expert Alexis O'Neill.

Here, too, is a link from Westside Schmoozer Hannah Ruth Wilde showing how some authors have banded together to create an author visit contact site! www.authorsforschoolvisits.com

And the fun (and epiphanies) keep on coming . . .

NEXT month, on Wednesday, December 8th, the Westside Schmooze is having a hands-on workshop, "MAKE YOUR OWN PICTURE BOOK DUMMY," led by Special Guest Speaker Laura Lacámara!!

Laura is the author of Floating on Mama’s Song / Flotando en la Canción de
Mamá, a bilingual picture book inspired by her mother, who was an opera
singer in Havana. Floating on Mama’s Song, illustrated by Yuyi Morales,
was released by HarperCollins September 1, 2010 and has already received its
first starred review--from Publishers Weekly! Laura also recently
illustrated The Runaway Piggy / El Cochinito Fugitivo, a bilingual
picture book for Piñata Books, an imprint of the University of Houston’s Arte
Público Press. The Runaway Piggy, written by James Luna, debuts November
30, 2010. You can learn more about Laura at her Web site,
http://lauralacamara.com/

As both a picture book author and illustrator, Laura is uniquely positioned to look at picture book manuscripts with an eye for both text and illustrations, and is the perfect expert to guide us in creating our own picture book dummies.

We'll see how our words work on the dummied-up pages, and learn how this technique can help us make our picture book manuscripts sing! For picture book authors (and illustrators, too!), fiction and non-fiction. Even if you don't write picture books, come! You will absolutely gain a new understanding of narrative structure through this creative process.

For this schmooze, Laura recommends you bring two (2) copies of a picture book text (or favorite poem, or whatever words you would like to work with)--one to mark up, and one to cut up--typed in 14-point font at 1-1/2 line spacing. It will be like a holiday crafts party, with cutting and pasting and storytelling, and the satisfaction of taking something home that you made with your own hands, from the heart.

As always, RSVPs are greatly appreciated to WestsideSchmooze@hotmail.com.

Until then, friends,

Cheers and Namaste,

Rita and Lee

p.s.: Our thanks to Eric Drachman for the photos!

SFV Illus SCHMOOZE: Nov 18, Thurs 6:30-8pm

2010-11-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

History of a favorite Illustrator:
We all love to see what others are inspired by. Focus on one person, discuss period and time or history of illustration and or books. How has this person/or art work impacted contemporary illustration and/or children’s publishing. How does it inspire you and share what have you learned or gained from him or her.

LOCATION: Once Upon a Time Bookshoppe
2207 Honolulu Avenue, Montrose CA 91020
(between Zeke’s and Rocky Cola Cafe)
PHONE NUMBER TO STORE: (818) 248-9668
If you can't find st parking go through the alley, by Black Cow in a big lot.

RSVP to Jen Swain (818) 429-6906

To be removed from list, please respond with REMOVE in the subject line of message.
We won’t take it personally.

November 15th... Schmoozin' on the Westside

2010-11-10T16:16:00.000-08:00

Join the Westside Illustrators Schmooze
on a field trip!

Monday evening, November 15, 7-9pm
1333 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, Ca 90403

The Westside Illustrators Schmooze is proud to
announce our November Guest Speaker!

LOIS SARKISIAN
Every Picture Tells A Story...

LOIS SARKISIAN...is the owner/founder of Every Picture Tells A Story..., the first Los Angeles gallery devoted to the art of illustration. For over two decades,the gallery has featured an extensive collection of paintings, drawings and lithographs from over one hundred classic and contemporary illustrators -- including Garth Williams, Dr. Seuss, Charles Schulz, David Shannon, Mark Teague, Mo Willems, the Brothers Hildebrandt, Hilary Knight and Maurice Sendak.

Every Picture Tells A Story has changed the historical perspective of illustration and continues to influence the world of art. It has created programming and outreach utilizing celebrity talent and continues to produce events that showcase reading and storytelling.

A publishing division of Every Picture Tells A Story..., Every Picture Press, has successfully created both children’s and adult illustrated books, including award-winning small-press publications, Painted Prayers and Rip Squeak and His Friends. and the landmark exhibition and biography, Friedl Dicker-Brandeis. She has consulted with numerous American publishers and worked with foreign publishers to introduce them to American book creations.

An exhibit of original art from the Every Picture Tells A Story... collection, curated by Lois Sarkisian and devoted to the subject of teaching tolerance, toured American museums and included stays in Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis and Los Angeles. The response to the artwork and the artists as well as the acceptance of the premise that children’s books can influence feelings and action in a positive way has inspired thousands of childrens and parents..

In addition to curating and publishing, Lois Sarkisian continues to consult on film and television projects for many independent producers and for both Dreamworks and Sony Pictures. She also devotes herself to a wide variety of cultural, environmental groups and political candidates who support vital children’s and women’s issues. Among the groups she has been involved with are Pediatric AIDS, Make A Wish, Big Sisters,and Wonder of Reading.

___________________________________________________________

PLEASE RSVP SuzyBlock@gmail.com
0r SoozyEB@aol.com
seating is limited!

Directions...

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=M0z&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=1333+montana+ave+santa+monica+ca&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Be careful NOT to park in 'permit only' spaces on side streets!
Looking forward to seeing you all! ....Suzy
www.SuzyEngelmanBlock.com
818 389 1950

Illustrators' Schmooze in OC

2010-11-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

Let's schmooze!
Come share your best illustration and news of 2010.
Saturday, November 20
10:30 am
at the studio of Marilyn Scott-Waters

Contact me if you need directions.

Join us for lunch afterwards at a nearby restaurant.

See you there!

Veronica Walsh
green2cats@yahoo.com

The Westside Writers Schmooze meets to discuss "VOICE: The End-All Definition"

2010-11-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

These books have it. Voice. So just what IS "it?"

Schmooze Recap: Part 1
Note: This first half of this Schmooze recap first appeared on Rita's personal blog at rhcrayon: The Blog! the morning after the October 13th Schmooze.

All right. So here's the promise Lee and I made to the world in our latest e-blast about the SCBWI Westside Schmooze.

Subject: The SCBWI Westside Schmooze -- Wednesday, October 13th at 7 PM

Does October mean thrills, chills, and suspense to you? Well, it should if you attend the next meeting of the SCBWI Westside Schmooze! Because on October 13th, at 7 PM, we will meet to unmask . . .

VOICE: The End-All Definition

That's right. Editors and Agents often say that while they can fix everything else in a manuscript, Voice is that one special quality a manuscript must have from the start, for them to fall in love. Yet when it comes to defining what Voice IS, even the greats flounder, with many falling back on the axiom "You know it when you see it."

What is THAT about? Are we in the business of describing things or aren't we?? At the next Westside Schmooze we aim to settle this mystery once and for all--AND come up with an End-All Definition--by showing great examples of Voice, analyzing WHAT IT IS, and sharing exercises that will help each of us find and perfect our own. For Picture Book through Young Adult, fiction and non-fiction. Let's do this. It's time.

Now, I'll admit I've been frustrated in my life lately, and I wrote this email with a mad gleam in my eye when the weather had taken a turn for the worse.

But.

I think it's hilarious to set out to do "impossible" things--especially because (in my experience) 60-65% of the time, it totally works. Most of the time, the only reason anything is perceived as "impossible" is because it's unlikely you'll get enough people to back your vision. Once you have that, the thing itself is easy.

We had 41 people attend this Schmooze, and I really thought we were going to do it. Not come up with an "End-All" Definition like I'd advertised (that would be impossible!) but come up with a definition that we 40+ children's book writers could live with, which we would then throw down in cyberspace like a gauntlet to the world. I wanted to stir things up.

We had . . . an excellent discussion, full of impassioned, articulate insights. It's not true that no one knows what Voice is, or can define it in a few pithy words. Plenty of people can--and did tonight. It's just that every time someone put theirs out there, we all agreed with and then rebutted it. The spirit was willing, but the time ran out.

(Also, I think a lot of people like that Voice is an ineffable mystery and subconsciously sabotaged our efforts.)

I've been fed up lately with how no one can agree on what Voice "is," in a few blunt words, even though we do all recognize it when we hear it. Lee and I and Karol read examples from books tonight that gave everyone thrills and chills. Few people had the view of the room we did. 41 grownups turned into rapt little children, falling under a spell, every. Single. Time. Grr.

Sigh.

I had a vision of us gathering like tribal leaders that would go down in history.

Nathan Bransford, for your excellent post on Voice written May 10th of this year, I bow at your feet.

r

Schmooze Recap: Part 2

Here is a small sampling of the suggestions that came up during this night's impassioned discussion.

VOICE IS . . .

. . . authority. Letting the reader feel--through specificity of word choice and details used--that they are in good hands. That you, the Author, have Authorial Control.

. . . performance. Imagine your readers eating popcorn as your story unfolds.

. . . to writers what "Style" is to photographers: the subject matter you choose to show, plus "how" you show it. In photography, "'how" means camera/equipment settings. In writing, this means favorite writing techniques.

. . . soul.

. . . a figment of the Reader's imagination. It's what readers always SAY they like when--for any reason--they like what you've written.

. . . tone. (Which sparked a discussion on Mood as well, and whether these differ.)

. . . what makes your work unmistakably, recognizably yours, even when your name isn't given. (Examples abounded. David Mamet came up a couple times!)

. . . possession. That thing--the mysterious Muse--that takes us over as we write, for which we are merely the conduit.

. . . difficult to distinguish from masturbation--meaning: once you've found your Voice, how do you know when enough is enough? (From here we segued to the "Moderation" section of Nathan Bransford's excellent blog post on "How To Craft A Great Voice," which was an article we reference many times that night. Speaking of which, Rita also shared this comment Nathan Bransford wrote in the Comments section to that post: "I think voice is there when it's adjustable. Can you dial up or down certain elements? . . . [I]s it enough of an entity that you can think of it apart from the elements it's describing?")

. . . the Holy Grail.

. . . trending towards the sarcastic and snarky these days.

. . . determined by your audience. (For example, do you write for just one person? How well do you know your audience?)

On this, Rita also shared M.T. Anderson's fascinating suggestion--from Lee's exclusive interview on Lee's blog this summer: M.T. Anderson said that he imagines voice going TOWARDS the reader in MG, but coming FROM the narrator in YA and adult.

. . . when an editor or agent says, "I want your book!"

Throughout the evening, the group also discussed

the Voice of the author vs. that of characters,

whether authors each have one "true" Voice or whether each of one's works possesses its own. (One nice analogy was made to actors: some actors are highly visible and dependable in what they deliver, and some disappear completely into each new character they play.)

the helpfulness of "tone" and/or "mood" in defining Voice (is there a
difference?);

the distinction between Literary Writing and Commercial, and so much more.

Mary Kole's blog was also brought up as an excellent resource for us all, in addition to Nathan Bransford's mentioned above.

We ended the evening by sharing some thought-provoking exercises to take home.

We also tried THIS fun exercise during the last minutes of Schmooze itself--
which you can do now, too!

Every Schmooze attendee spent two minutes writing down their own opening line to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." (The moment when Goldilocks is at the bear's door.)

As the final moments of the Schmooze ticked down, volunteers raised their hand to share their opening lines, and we all marveled at the truly spectacular, different Voices that came shining through--and at the wildly different tellings of "Goldilocks" that each next Voice promised!

Have your own insights on Voice to share, or your own first line to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears?" Please post them in the comments; we'd love to hear from you!

Yours,
your Schmooze co-Captains

Rita Crayon Huang and Lee Wind

P.S.

Please join us at our NEXT Westside Writers Schmooze on Wednesday, November 10th
at 7 PM, when we meet to learn more about

Library, School and Bookstore Author Visits with Ann Wagner, Elisabeth Abarbanel and Sharon Hearn.

Most authors don't make their full income from book sales alone. Many see author visits (to libraries, schools and bookstores) as a critical part of their career.

So whether you're already published or just planning for the road ahead, come hear our expert panel discuss "What makes a good author visit" and "how do you, as an author, get that opportunity?"

Our expert panel: Ann Wagner is a Youth Services Librarian at the main branch of the Santa Monica Public Library. Elisabeth Abarbanel is a middle and upper school librarian at Brentwood School, an Independent School in Los Angeles. And Sharon Hearn is the owner of Children's Book World, an independent children's book store in West Los Angeles.

Hear what works (and what doesn't), find out what they're looking for and learn how to set yourself up for success. For Picture Book through Young Adult, fiction and non-fiction.

Hope to see you there!