Blog Archives

Writing Goals 2016

12/14/2015

Just in case you missed last week's announcement, I wanted to let you know that the Carrie On... Together blog will be taking a break for a while. My professional time will be split between my own writing, ReFoReMo 2016, the Regional Advisor position for SCBWI North Texas, serving KidLit clients with professional critiques, video production, and social media marketing, and yes, still be a mom to three busy kiddos. You will also find me blogging year round on Writer's Rumpus, The Institute of Children's Literature, and ReFoReMo (this site), of course. I will eventually return to the Carrie On... Together! blog, as well, when the time is right. If I don't see you during ReFoReMo, then maybe I'll catch you over at 12 x 12, ReviMo, NaPiBoWriWee, KidLit Summer School or PiBoIdMo...all of which I just can't give up! (They motivate and help me produce!)

Lots of exciting announcements are on the way as we prepare for Reading for Research Month 2016! We'll reveal the calendar of challenge presenters on January 5. See you there!

What are your writing goals for 2016?

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December Author #2: THINK QUICK with Laura Murray and The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas

12/7/2015

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I am pleased to present our second author interview of the month, and our final post in December. Please join me in welcoming author Laura Murray!

Hi Laura! Congrats on the release of THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE AT CHRISTMAS. I love the themes of respect and giving that run throughout this story. All of the THINK QUICK themes below appear in your book. Let’s see which way you lean. Remember, THINK QUICK!

On Giving:
Homemade Presents or Store Bought?

Homemade presents!

I have found through the years that the most meaningful gifts I personally have received are notes, crafts, and things that my students, their parents, my own children and family, and friends have written or made. I value these gifts because they are personal, thoughtful, and they also represent a gift of “time to create” on the giver’s part. My children and I also love to give homemade gifts, especially around the holidays, and especially as a surprise to folks who don’t expect them – like our postal carrier, our trash collectors, our check- out person at the grocery, etc. – their surprised faces make our day too! I think I leaned on this theme in The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas, because my children discovered that giving these type of simple gifts made them just as happy as the receiver – it is so much fun!

On Small Acts of Kindness:
Start young or wait?

Start young, but you’re never too old to start!

On Creating with Children:
More glitter or less?

More glitter!

Sparkly creations are just fun. A mess is often the sign of a good time, and also a sign of curiosity and creativity. And the children can have just as much fun cleaning up, if it’s made into a game.

On Catching the Gingerbread Man:
Make him a friend or eat him all up?

I have to admit that I love a warm Gingerbread Man cookie with icing. But it always bothered me as a child that the Gingerbread Man character in the original story gets eaten by a fox at the end (even though the original GB Man is a bit sassy.) So when I decided to write the first book in the GB Man series, The Gingerbread Man Loose at School, I decided to change things up a bit, starting with my GB Man’s personality and the ending.So I think I’d choose – make him a friend.

On Snow:
Love it or leave it?

Snow with kids is fun! So if my kids and I can stay home and enjoy it – love it! My feet don’t get mushy like the Gingerbread Man’s but they do get crazy cold, so when we lived in Canada for a little while, I had to get very good boots.

On Christmas:
Old traditions or new ones?

Both, absolutely! I love to carry on old traditions from when I was a kid, but I love to start new ones with my own children too. My mom gave me an ornament each year when I was growing up so that I would have several personal ornaments with memories attached when I moved out and started putting up my own Christmas tree. I have carried on this tradition with my own kids. One of our new traditions involves the surprise homemade gifts I mentioned in the first paragraph – we love it because it helps our children to think about others who may not get appreciation or thanks for all that they do for us. And it can be as simple as a card or a compliment – try it and just watch the faces of those you surprise!

On Kissing a Cookie:
Just a small peck or grab a bite while you can?

Hmmm… if it’s a cookie we bake – and who doesn’t jump off the pan – then a bite is irresistible! If it’s a cookie that decides to tell a story – then a sweet smooch would be in order.

On Teaching Gratitude:
Work Together or make it personal?

For young children, it is always fun to work on ideas in a group. But the more specific and personal we make a gift, the more meaningful it can be. For instance, a compliment or note to a teacher telling them what your child loves about their teaching/classroom, or how they have helped your child to grow, is SO wonderful!I still have notes from parents and students like this, which I kept over the years because they meant so much to me.

On Fractured Fairy Tales:
Keep some things consistent or change it all up?

Both – Keep some things consistent so they are familiar to readers. And then ask “What if…’this’ happened instead?” to change things up and make the story fresh.

On Books:
The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas or The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas?

Since I seem to lean towards the “both” answer a lot in the above questions, I think I’ll just keep my streak going and say… both!

Thanks for THINKing QUICK with us, Laura! Penguin Books for Young Readers is offering a giveaway of The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas along with a whole batch of cookie related books! To enter, visit HERE.

Click HERE for a review of THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE AT CHRISTMAS.
(Review by Carrie Charley Brown)

From our homes to yours, we hope you enjoy this holiday season. The Carrie On...Together blog will have limited posts for a while to allow enough time for Reading for Research Month (ReFoReMo) preparation. The THINK QUICK interview will find a new home on the ReFoReMo blog in April, and you'll always find tons of helpful picture book posts there, as well. We invite you to participate in the second annual ReFoReMo challenge in March. Registration opens February 15. If you are subscribed to the newsletter in the sidebar, you'll receive all of the updates for the challenge. For more information on the challenge, visit the ReFoReMo page and utilize the drop down menu for more details.

Laura Murray was a teacher before becoming an author. She’s had fun trying to find many an escaped Gingerbread Man in her time. She is the author of THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE IN THE SCHOOL, and the Gingerbread Man's continuing school adventures - THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE ON THE FIRE TRUCK, THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE AT CHRISTMAS, and THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE AT THE ZOO (2016).

Laura lives with her family in northern Virginia. Visit her on Twitter at @LauraMurrayBook or www.LauraMurrayBooks.com for loads of fun activities and lessons, standards-linked teacher's guides, as well as information on school author presentations.

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December Mystery Author #1: Kristen Remenar

12/1/2015

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Each December, I give the double bonus gift of featuring TWO Mystery Authors before the blogs officially go on a holiday break. The first of these is a super-librarian, national speaker, and children's writer that I had the honor of getting to know through the CYBILS fiction picture book panel in 2014. Kris Remenar loves books. No, I mean she really, really loves books! I know that most of us do, too, but Kris is like a literary super woman. (I mean, just look at this picture! Super hero, right?)

She even writes books about how to use books in the classroom...a mentor text lover to the core! Part One of her interview follows, and you won't want to miss Part Two which covers mentor texts. Happy Book Birthday to Kris and Ground Hog's Dilemma! Today is the special day!

How did it feel to hold your debut picture book for the first time?

I felt a bit like a Russian nesting doll, and all the younger versions of me, the eight-year-old me, the twelve-year-old me, the thirty-three-year-old who sent out her first submission, etc., were all present and so happy to finally hold this book.

I understand that lots of revision helped you turn your dream into a reality. Do you have any words of advice on patience or revision?

The first time I shared a manuscript with a group for a critique, I was so naïve, and I was offended when a member suggested major revision, as if he’d just called my baby ugly! I’d love to think my stories will spring from my forehead perfectly formed, but the truth is my writing benefits from thoughtful revision, so I’ve learned not to take suggestions as attacks on my character and see them as tools to improve the piece at hand.

What do you feel is the secret to finding your voice as a writer? When did you realize that you had “found” yours?

The secret to finding your voice as a writer is this: be willing to write an incredible amount of mediocre work at the beginning, looking for those sentences or paragraphs that shine upon re-reading, and eventually you’ll write something that you can reread six months later and not cringe. I have a filing cabinet full of decent manuscripts, but my writing became much better when I let my own sense of humor in and stopped thinking about what would sell.

How has your experience as a librarian contributed to your writing?

I get to read picture books for a living! When I read a book to kids, I can automatically see what works. When a book entrances an audience, or when half of the kids are fidgeting as I read, I take mental notes on those pages and study them later.

Do you think visually when you write? Or does having a talented illustrator husband, the amazing Matt Faulkner, encourage you to think visually even more?

Living with an artist has definitely helped me think in pictures! He doodles constantly, and every little character he draws seems to have its own story – there are no stock or background characters. I’ve learned to imagine each character in my writing much more fully, and I’ve learned that long chunks of dialogue with no action in a picture book lead to illustrations of talking heads.
here to edit.

What do you feel is the single most important factor of an agent/client relationship?
I’m represented by Fuse Literary Agency: Gordon Warnock handles my adult writing and Sara Sciuto does the youth market. The most important factor of our relationship is the knowledge that we’re all working as hard as we can to sell my writing. My agents know the market, so when Sara suggests how to make a story stronger, I listen. I work to give the best manuscripts I can and I know that my agents will do all they can to sell them.

And there is MORE! Kris shares her experience and viewpoint about picture books as mentor texts in Part 2 of the interview HERE!

Kristen Remenar is an author, children’s librarian, and national speaker on early literacy. Her first picture book is GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA, published by Charlesbridge, and is illustrated by the award-winning author/artist (and super-cute husband), Matt Faulkner. Her alter ego, Helen Wrath, has a book out on December 29 (just in time to deal with your post-holiday stress disorder) called DRAW WITH A VENGEANCE: GET EVEN IN INK AND LET KARMA HANDLE THE REST.

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Click picture for a video greeting.

Carrie Charley Brown

As a children’s writer, and a teacher, my goal is to help you carry on. Sometimes learning is challenging, so why go it alone? Your journey will be more meaningful and comfortable with friends to share it with. Together, we'll get up close and personal with authors, illustrators, and the best of picture books. If we work together, great things will follow!

Writing Goals 2016

December Author #2: THINK QUICK with Laura Murray and The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas

December Mystery Author #1: Kristen Remenar

Carrie Charley Brown

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