SCBWI - Children's Book Writers

4 days at the SCBWI Conference in LA - One Thousand People at this conference all passionate about children's books - and the impact writing and illustrating and publishing for this young audience can have on the future of our world.

Besides the overwhelming information from numerous well-spoken and entertaining speakers and workshops presented each hour, it brought me up-to-date on my Babar the elephant, Harold and the Purple Crayon favorites. Check out Flotsam, The Three Pigs, and for teens, Grief Girl as my new interests, along with Looking For Alaska as passionate, alive ways to wake up your mind. These all appeal to adults as well.

Even if I weren't already writing, this conference made me Have To Write.

SCBWI - Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators

Submission of the Writing Sort

I'm sending off two manuscripts to editors today. Manuscript is too big a word for this package in my hands but not too big a word for this event.

I'm submitting two picture-book stories to two editors today.

Submit and wait.

7 Deadly Challenges

Seven weeks of summer left. If you don't count a few weeks from Mid-August on where:

a) everyone in California goes on vacation. It's the deadest few weeks of the year, for those of us who are in an "on-call" type business.
b) anyone left behind in New York City is sitting in front of a fan, dripping wet. (Because if they are in NY, they are not on vacation).
c) something deeply stirs inside each of us to make the most of what was, and get ready for what is to come.

Before that time, however, I have 7 weeks of:

a) a painting class,
b) an attempt to rewrite and send out two children's stories to publishers,

and most important -

c) the Weekly Farmer's Market Challenge!

Holiday

I went to a marvelous party. Last night. Blue and green lights only on the tree. Blue and green ornaments. Leaves on the floor of the house. Magic house. Yes, you walked into the house and underneath your shoes were leaves. Crunching in the kitchen, living room, dining room. Arriving post-industry time. No deals being made. Just talk amongst old friends. The evite being scattered with bulletholes of replies from people confessing they were going to "lesser parties" "parties not so interesting as this one"

Good thing I don't host and e-scrutinize.

Do you know how fast you can get to an agent on the phone when you are not an actor?

We almost didn't go. We'd spent the entire day not doing my errands, but shopping for his. He himself and his family. All well done though. Except I still feel two days behind.

The best present we found we also bought a copy for ourselves. Annie L Photography from 1990 to 2005. Not only is it laid out so that the order of photos leads you into deeper revelation, the photos themselves make you take a deep breath in and relax. Inspiration.Fantastic meditation. Which brings you to points in your own life. Reflection. Anyone will make their own personal attachment and meaning to her book.

We shopped and shopped carrying heavy bags that grew. I missed out writing my daily allotment of 350 words for the 2nd day in the row. And we only have 3 days into a challenge of writing 350 words a day for 5 weeks. a challenge I myself set up.