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November Bonus Links Worth Your While

11/26/2015

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm grateful for the lists of picture books that I discovered this month!

Publishers Weekly has this fabulous list of the best books of 2015.

Kirkus helps us discover the top picture books of 2015, here.

Sarra Manning posted the best 2015 books to give as gifts.

Top 11 Picture Books gives us another peek at worthwhile books.

Which picture books do you think are the best of 2015?

November Mentor Text Check-In and Challenge: The Ones that DON'T Grab You

11/17/2015

By Carrie Charley Brown

This month’s challenge is going to be different than all the rest. You won’t see any book covers here. Yes, I am STILL challenging you to find mentor texts, but I’m taking a slightly different angle this time. All you’ll need is a trip to the library and a notebook. Hooray for libraries and notebooks! Agreed?

What exactly are we searching for? The titles and stories that DON’T grab us. Yes, you heard me right. I’d like you to pay attention to your subjective judgments. What are you NOT picking up?

Why would we take the time to do this? We all know how subjective this business is. Surely, you have read books that made you think, “How did this get published?” The answer: Somebody loved it! Chances are, the author loved the book at that time, too. Something awakened their muse or their heart or tickled their funny bone. An emotion stirred inside of them to help them find their voice. Paying attention to the things we don’t like to read can help us find our voices, too.

Here is your challenge:
Browse the spines and notice the titles that pop out at you. Now, ignore those titles and look next door to the ones that you would never have picked up. Read some of those stories and take notes. You may or may not end up liking the story. I want you to pay attention to the things that you DON’T like. You might also browse through your Goodreads account and find the titles you were less than fond of. Pull them back out.

Was it simply a title that needed more pop? Or was it poor execution?
Lack of emotion?
Unrelatable characters?
A boring concept?
As you take notes, you should be searching for threads of similarities. Things that always bother you or don’t sit right.

Go ahead and exercise a critique of sorts- for your eyes only, of course. Through that critique, you will see what you would have done to strengthen the story. That’s where your voice kicks in. When we critique, we are offering up our subjective voice.

Now, go ahead and reverse this process. Select some of your favorite titles and take notes on the same types of things: Language devices, emotion, characters, concepts, plot styles, point of view… all of it! What similar threads are present? Are any of those things running through your current writing?

Finding your voice is not an overnight revelation. It’s a long process, and many multi-published authors admit that they are still searching for theirs. That makes sense when you consider that we are always changing and growing as we develop our craft. As outsiders looking in, sometimes it’s easier for us to see those similarities that qualify a voice. Here on the Carrie On… blogs, we’ve been analyzing voice each month through our Author Study posts. You’ll see voice present itself through almost anything an author writes. As editor Jill Santopolo shared at a recent SCBWI North Texas workshop, an author’s voice even comes out in an email. Have you ever noticed that? You’ve probably even picked up some of my voice by reading my posts. Have fun finding yours. If you see mine, let me know.

Author Jodi Moore Talks Mentor Texts

11/10/2015

Welcome to Part Two of Jodi Moore's author interview. If you have not yet read Part One, you can find it HERE. You won't want to miss the complete look into Jodi's personal writing world.

Were there any particular mentor texts that inspired you in the creation of the Dragon series? (Or another one of your upcoming published books?)

I think every book you read becomes a mentor text in a way. Each one becomes a part of you, interwoven into your creative tapestry.

When I was a toddler, my mom worked outside the home, but every night, she’d bring a book home for us to share. I soon learned to associate books with love.

While it’s so hard to narrow the books down, I suppose there were certain “tails” that planted the seeds that would ultimately influence Dragon’s characters and conflicts. My husband and I had our boys enrolled in book clubs before they were born. Of course, they were always enthralled if the stories involved dragons. One of our family favorites was (and will always be) THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A DRAGON.

Inspiration for MY Dragon? Of course. NO ONE wants to be ignored.

Who doesn’t love a perfect partner in crime?

I love the second person narrative for so many reasons: for inviting the reader into the book; for giving them power; for allowing them to immerse themselves in both the joy and the consequences.

I could go on and on. There are so many wonderful books out there! Each one has inspired me in its own way.

Interestingly enough, I probably read more books in mentor-fashion once Shari expressed interest in publishing WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN. It was important to me that the readers decide whether Dragon was real or a figment of the boy’s imagination. But that presented a challenge. How do you draw a character that may or may not be there? Both Shari and I researched for over a year, seeing how others had dealt with “imaginary friends”. Some of the books we investigated included:

What do you feel is the BEST way for picture book writers to utilize mentor texts? Read them out loud, see what speaks to you, what gives you all the feels.

Can I choose all of the above? First of all, I believe it’s essential to read a story out loud to get a sense of its rhythm and musicality, whether or not it rhymes.

Second, I love how you phrase the question “see what speaks to you”. Because that’s exactly what you have to do with picture books. You need to study the artwork and realize how much of the story is told through illustration. And you have to remind yourself that it’s critical to allow room for the artist to present that other half as only he/she can.

And yes, I want – I NEED! – to feel all the feels. Plot is important, but I need to care about the characters that are being affected. I want to laugh out loud. I want to tear up. I want my heart to simultaneously expand and squish. The characters have to be believable, well developed and layered. For me, it’s emotion that solidifies the lasting impression.

An example of a book that gave me all the feels at a recent bookstore trip?

Finally, I think it’s important to read new mentor texts as well as ones that made an impression upon you as a child. The current ones help us to understand what’s selling today; the older ones help connect us with our inner child. And I don’t know about you, but I think I write better picture books when my five-year old self is guiding my hand, and my thoughts.

Recently, I’ve been working on a picture book manuscript where the main character enters a fantasy world to deal with a devastating challenge. I worried the concept might be too complex for my target readers. Then I read BEEKLE, and was reminded once again that we are writing for the most discerning, sophisticated and important audience in the world.

Our children.

Learn more about Jodi in Part One of this interview.

Jodi Moore is author of the award winning WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN (Flashlight Press, 2011), its newly released sequel, WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN AGAIN (Flashlight Press, 2015) and GOOD NEWS NELSON (Story Pie Press, 2012). Jodi is the proud, (admittedly) neurotic mother of two talented young adults and never ceases to be amazed at how far the umbilical cord will stretch. She loves connecting with readers through school and book events. Jodi lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Larry, and an ever-changing bunch of characters in her head. Follow her website at www.writerjodimoore.com and blog: https://kidsinspiringnewdirections.wordpress.com/

Mentor Text Author Study: Amy Krouse Rosenthal

11/4/2015

9 Comments

By Kirsti Call

Amy Krouse Rosenthal has always been one of my favorite picture book authors. Her stories are clever and full of humor and heart. As a New York times bestselling author, Amy knows how to write books that people want to read repeatedly. Little Pea, Little Oink, and Little Hoot are the kinds of books we love to read over and over again at our house. In fact, Little Pea was a mentor text for my anthropomorphic story, The Raindrop Who Couldn’t Fall.

Amy’s 2015 books, I Wish You More, Friendshape, and Little Miss, Big Sis are evidence of her ability to write about things that matter in a way that kids understand. Amy’s use of anthropomorphism, wordplay, and the unexpected make her books great mentor text for any picture book writer.

Anthropomorphism: Amy does a wonderful job of making inanimate objects come alive. Exclamation Mark chronicles the life of an exclamation mark who doesn’t fit in until he figures out who he is. Spoon and Chopsticks’ messages are similar; you need to be ok with who you are, but also stick together.

Wordplay: Almost all of Amy’s books involve clever wordplay. I Scream Ice Cream is filled with homophones. The One Smart Cookie series is all about metaphors for life. Wumbers, and Alpha’s Bet are hilarious teaching books filled with fun puns and wordplay.

The Unexpected: Amy does a good job of turning the truth upside down. Little pea hates eating candy for dinner and loves spinach for dessert. Uni the Unicorn dreams of meeting a little girl although everyone knows little girls don’t exist. Little Oink is required to mess up his room before play time when all he longs to do is clean and organize. Little Hoot longs to sleep at night when owls are supposed to stay awake!

What Amy Krouse Rosenthal books have helped you in your writing journey? Which ones do you love to read?

9 Comments

November Bonus Links Worth Your While

November Mentor Text Check-In and Challenge: The Ones that DON'T Grab You

Author Jodi Moore Talks Mentor Texts

Mentor Text Author Study: Amy Krouse Rosenthal

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