A Writer's Week #70: Editing

I think the title of this week's post says it all. There was not a whole lot of writing going on this The Golden Dragon of Ang a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea to do a little editing work on the manuscript. That's what I did this week.
week. Instead, editing was at the fore. First of all, since I decided to slacken the pace on writing

I have to say that as I reviewed the 158 pages I've written so far that I am pretty pleased with the way the story is unfolding. I even think there might be a girl who's interested in Eric. That just kind of came up out of nowhere. What was even more surprising was that there is someone who

doesn't seem to be very happy about it. Eric's almost 14 now. These things happen. As I was reading the story, I found a lot of things that I could improve, writing-wise. So all in all it was a productive week. I can't wait to start moving the story forward again.

On Thursday I got a little closer to doing that. My friend Ana sent me the layout for Order of the Crystal Lion. While the artwork is still undergoing finishing touches, I took some time to review the preliminary layout. It's looking pretty good. Now all that remains (hopefully) is to slip in the artwork and map and get the cover ready and we'll be all set to publish. Exciting stuff!

I'm including some more pictures of last week's visit to Mrs. Robinson's class. I was supposed to visit my son Christian's class this week, but I had to postpone it for a few weeks. I'll let you know what transpires on the writing front next week.

What's Abigail Reading? Katie Kazoo Switcheroo, Going Overboard

Abigail's been reading up a storm these days. She's really fallen in love with a girl called Katie Kazoo. Abby just finished reading Katie Kazoo Switcheroo: Going Overboard, by Nancy Krulik. Let's see what she thought about it.

Here's what Abby says the book is about:

This story is about a girl named Katie. Katie and Suzanne’s family are going to go on a cruise together. They were going to be in the Cruising Kids Club together. First a shy girl came up to Suzanne .and told Suzanne that her name was Lizzie. The first thing they did was rock climbing. Katie was the first one to go. They had to climb up the wall and ring the bell. The last one to go was Suzanne because she felt nervous because she thought that the wall was really high.

The next day they went to a magician show. Katie got picked to be the helper and then Suzanne got mad that the magician picked Katie instead of her. Then Suzanne stormed out and Lizzie followed her and went to the promenade deck and brought coral reef earrings. At dinner that night Katie told that she was the helper at the show. Then Suzanne didn’t like what she was saying because it was not about her so she asked everyone at the dinner table if they liked her earrings that she bought on the ship. Then Lizzie came over and asked if she wanted to come and play miniature golf with them and she said okay!  When they were done she came back and said that it was the worst miniature golf ever.

The next day they went to Dolphin Reef. There were shops and Katie said the best part of all was swimming with dolphins. When Katie went to go get the camera she felt the magic wind and she knew that she was going to turn into somebody or something but who? The magic wind turns Katie into all kinds of things like an adult or an animal. I won’t tell you what she turns into, but it’s really cool. Read the book to find out.

Here's what Abby liked best about the book:

My favorite part of the book is when Katie goes swimming with dolphins, because I think it would be cool to do that.

Was there anything that Abby did not like about the book?

My least favorite part is when Katie gets chosen to be the magician's assistant and Suzanne doesn't and storms out, because that isn't very nice to do to somebody.

So, how did Abby rate Katie Kazoo Switcheroo: Going Overboard by Nancy Krulik?

She gave it five out of five dolphins.

Between the Lines: Little Red Riding Hood

This week we’re taking a look between the lines at another great fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood. I’m very happy to have the heroine of this enchanting story here with me today. I’m talking of course about Red Riding Hood. Let’s see if she has any interesting information to share about her remarkable adventures.

Greg:  First of all, I want to thank you for taking some time out to talk with us for a little bit. As you look back upon your adventure, what’s the biggest thing that jumps out in your memory?

Red Riding Hood:  Thank you for inviting me. Why, what a big house you have! But I’m sorry. You asked me what stood out about my adventure. Why, the wolf of course. He was such a big, nasty, awful brute. I don’t ever want to meet someone like him ever again.

Greg:  I should say not! How did you first meet this wolf? I would think that could not have been a pleasant experience.

Red Riding Hood:  It started when I decided to bring my poor little old grandmother something nice for her midafternoon snack. Granny wasn’t feeling at all well and I wanted to do something to cheer her up, the poor dear. So, I packed a basket filled with some goodies—banana bread, grape juice and a small bottle of wine. Granny takes wine of an evening—strictly for medicinal purposes of course.

Greg:  Of course. Well, that’s a very nice thing for a grand-daughter to do. How does the wolf enter into this?

Red Riding Hood:  You see, my gran lives in the prettiest little cottage nestled in the center of Rootrot Forest. It’s very pretty, but unfortunately the neighborhood’s gone downhill. My daddy has been trying to get her out of there for ages, but she simply does not want to budge—stubborn old thing.

I was walking along the path. My mama told me to stay on the path, you see—better safe than sorry. As I was walking, I could swear I heard noises coming from the forest, almost as if someone were following me. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me, so I kept following the path. Suddenly, what should I see up ahead but a large wolf standing right in the middle of the path, blocking my way.

Greg:  Oh dear. What did you do?

Red Riding Hood:  Well, my mama didn’t raise any shrinking violet, but she also didn’t raise a fool. I approached the wolf cautiously wondering how I could get around him when all of a sudden, he up and spoke.

“Where are you going little girl?” he asked.

“Oh nowhere of any importance,” I said. “I’m just going to visit my grandmother and give her a basket of goodies.”

Well, his big eyes got all sparkly when I mentioned the goodies. He seemed to be quite hungry. I suppose I could have offered him something, but I was told never to feed the animals in the zoo, and I thought this might be like that. His manner became very brisk and he took his leave hurriedly, but not before suggesting a spot where I might pick some flowers to bring to granny.

Greg:  Hmmmm, that’s strange. What did you do?

Red Riding Hood:  I went to the spot and picked some flowers. Gran loves flowers. They were quite lovely, too. I thought it was worth the delay. I hurried on my way and arrived at granny’s cottage before dark.

The front door was ajar, which I thought was kind of strange. But when I went inside, nothing seemed to be out of place. Granny was in the bed, and I have to say that she did not look at all well. Her nose was swollen and hairy and her big eyes bulged with a hungry look. She was drooling all over her huge false teeth and she licked her lips with a giant pink tongue. She was in a bad way, I can tell you.

I told her she did not look at all well and outlined each of the areas I just mentioned. She replied in a voice that did not sound like granny’s but was vaguely familiar. It was deeper, for one thing and kind of snarly. Then, almost before I could think, do you know what happened?

Greg:  No, but I could guess.

Red Riding Hood:  Granny jumped out of bed and out of her nightgown. But it wasn’t granny at all, it was the wolf! Yes, a wolf in grandmother’s clothing! I was terrified out of my mind, and I let out a big scream. The wolf rushed at me and I knew he meant to eat me.

Greg:  What happened?

Red Riding Hood:  Luckily, I was prepared. Like I said before, my mama didn’t raise a fool. I reached into the basket of goodies and pulled out the spray bottle of mace that I kept there for emergencies. Granny does live in a bad neighborhood, after all.

That big, bad wolf did not appreciate being sprayed in the face with mace, and he took of out of granny’s cottage so fast, his tail hardly had time to catch up with him.

Greg:  What a relief! I’m glad you were okay. However, there’s one point that I’m hoping you can clear up. I’ve heard accounts that say the wolf ate your grandmother, and others that say he only locked her in a closet. Which are true?

Red Riding Hood:  To be totally honest, neither. It’s all a little bit embarrassing, but you see granny was away that week at her timeshare in Aruba. I had totally forgotten that she spends the first week of every March there. So you see, this whole nasty business was really all for nothing.

I felt a little bad for the wolf. I sent him a basket of goodies to try and make it up to him, but for some reason her returned it unopened. I suppose he’d lost his appetite! 

A Writer's Week #69: On the Road

This was an awesome week. I got a chance to do one of the things I love best, a school visit. I just want to give a big thank you to Mrs. Robinson's 5th grade class. You guys asked some awesome questions! It was great getting to meet you all.

Dan draws

This visit was doubly awesome because for the first time I was accompanied by illustrator Daniel Vogel. Dan added another dimension to my presentation, because he was able to answer all the students' questions about the "art" of illustration. I was fascinated by his description of his creative process. I think we were all impressed when he drew something for the class on the spot. The kids asked him to draw a James Bond-type character. Dan went right to work, asking the kids for details such as what type of tie he would wear as he drew.



I know they were impressed. I loved to see him in action. The class was also inspired by the fact that Dan is just 15 years old and had already illustrated one book with a second due out shortly. He showed them the original artwork for the cover of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel as well as the original drawing of the map.

After our talk, Dan and I were treated to an art show of our own as the class showed us the pictures they had drawn of the opening scenes of The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel. They all did a fantastic job, and I'll be featuring them in another post in the near future. It was a lot of fun to see the different interpretations of the book. Eric and Stig's first meeting and meeting the Gatekeeper in the Hallway of Worlds were two of the most popular choices for subject matter. I had intended to have Dan and I judge the drawings and award some prizes, but I loved them all so much that I couldn't decide which I liked the best, so I kind of scratched that idea. It didn't seem right to pick just one or two. I did take the pictures and will display them on a page of the blog soon.

I really have to credit Mrs. Robinson for instilling such a love of reading in her students. This is the second year I've visited her class and both times it was obvious that the kids were excited by reading, and writing their own stories. By the way, she is one half of the talented writing team (along with Jessica Haight) behind the fantastic middle grade mystery The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Morrow.

Next week I have another school visit scheduled. I can't wait to talk to another class about their writing and to answer all their questions. I'll let you know how it went next week!

Inklings: Questions Answered

For the next few Inklings installments, I'll be answering writing questions that I've been asked by students on my school visits. Today, illustrator Daniel Vogel and I visited Mrs. Robinson's fifth grade class. We had a great time and the students asked some fantastic questions. I'll tell you all about it in a couple of days. One of the questions they asked was How long does it take to write a book?

That's a difficult question. It really depends upon the book--each one is different. For example, The Deliverers: Sharky and the Jewel took six years of off and on writing and rewriting for me to finish, while The Deliverers 2: Order of the Crystal Lion took a little over a year.

The best answer I can give is  this--until it's done. When you start out on the journey of writing a book, you may have an idea of when you want to finish it, but the truth is until you get it written, and rewritten, you never know for sure exactly how long it will take to complete it.

The worst thing you can do is try to rush it so that it fits into some predetermined time frame. You have to give a book the time it needs to unfold and the time you need to help it do so in a way that makes for a readable story. In short, don't worry about what time you'll arrive at your destination, concentrate on the journey! If you do, you'll find the trip is a lot of fun.

It's May and the next meeting of the Character Book Club (CBC) is coming!!

The exciting thing is, it will be hosted right here! Eric and Stig will be interviewing Millie from Millicent Marie is Not My Name!!

Check back here on May 17th for the scoop from Millie!!