SCBWI Los Angeles 2013 - Inspirational Moments

This past weekend I attended my 5th year of Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Los Angels Conference, filled with encouragement, inspiration and craft.  Woven between each keynote speech and workshop session were unforgettable moments with friends.  We laughed. We cried. We learned from one another. But most of all, we reminded each other that we are not alone.

It's not a surprise that I gleamed from the talent and love for our craft that was oozing from the California Ballroom stage and throughout the Century Plaza conference rooms all weekend. From the moment SCBWI founders, Steve Mooser and Lin Oliver welcomed us, I listened and watched and learned from authors, illustrators, publishers and agents. Here are just a few moments that inspired me.

FRIDAY

Your job is to defend, protect, and celebrate childhood. - Laurie Halse Anderson





















Don't put kids to sleep, for God's sake. Wake'em up. - Jon Scieszka



Do the unexpected. - Deborah Halverson

We hold a mirror to [our readers], but behind them is a world of fiction. - Peter Lerangis

Look right into the eyes of your audience; children. Know what they are going through and what inspires and excites them. - Michelle Markel

SATURDAY



Editors Panel, moderated by Lin Oliver, with
Nami Tripahi, Andrea Pinkney, Donna Bray, Claudia Gabel, Allyn Johnston, Melissa Manlove
This was the best editors panel I've ever heard. Everyone spoke candidly and was full of heart.




The story about Nico and his whale. - Mac Barnett

Read every line you write, out loud, standing up. - Richard Peck

Enjoy your writing. Don't worry about perfection. - Carolyn Mackler

You just have to sit down and work or nothing's ever going to happen. - David Wiesner

SUNDAY

Agents panel, moderated by Lee Wind

 The bar has been raised for all of us. - Steve Malk

Keep trying. Don't let rejection hold you back. - Jenny Bent

Publishers want to put out a personality. - Mela Bolinao

You can't force yourself to be a different person. - Ginger Clark

Know the market. Read books. Know what others are doing. - Joanne Volpe

If the story deviates from the image, ditch the image and follow that story! - David Wiesner

We are in an age where we compete with media. We need genre breakers. Attention grabbers. - Andrea Pinkney, author and editor at Scholastic

The craft of writing is getting your brain to bleed directly onto a blank page. - Richard Peck



















History is cool. Nonfiction is a way to remember truth. - Jeri Chase Ferris, Golden Kite Winner for Nonfiction

We live in a world where awful things happen, but sometimes there are things that are so atrocious that happen to kids and

we can't fix them. We create magic, wonder, escape.

- Jarrett Krosoczka, author of the Lunch Lady book series

Fellow writers, Meg Lentz and Bridget Casey, building characters through improve
in our intensive workshop with Henry Winkler

Don't overthink. It's all in your mind. You need to let it out.

- Henry Winkler

And a few more fun moments...


Joanne Rocklin, Golden Kite Winner for fiction



Mo Willems won the Sid Fleishman Award for humor, but unfortunately
he was tied up and couldn't be at the awards luncheon.

 


Meg and I enjoyed laughing with Marla Frazee at the book signing on Sunday



After Mike Jung signed a copy of his new book for my son, a lucky few of us
had the opportunity to enjoy our own personal concert as Mike played
the ukulele and sang with Arthur Levine.



You never know who you're going to spot in line at Starbucks. 

Meg and I met Jarrett Krosoczka on Monday.

Having a blast at the Black and White Gala with Lori Degman and the "checkered people"
(I later found out that they were Jessica Freeburg and Jay Asher)



This photo truly summarizes the weekend for me. Hanging out with my peeps. My tribe. My family.
I don't know what I'd do without the friends who help me through the ups and downs of this crazy literary journey.
I have a heart filled with gratitude to be a small part of the best organization in the world,
including many of you who were unable to attend the conference this year.

 I love you SCBWI!!!

Please be aware that the inspirational moments in this post were taken from my conference notes and may deviate from the speakers exact quotes.
All photos are copyrighted material and may only be used with direct permission.
(But, I'm pretty cool, so just ask.)


SCBWI-LA Writer's Day 2013

Me with my friend, Paula Yoo

I had the privilege of attending the SCBWI Los Angeles Writers Day 2013 on March 9-10 and the theme was Diversity.  It was a great time connecting with friends, learning about writing, and being inspired.

Here are a few highlights that resonated with me as a writer.



Steven Mooser greets the audience

 Author and SCBWI-LA Co-Regional Advisor, Lee Wind, began the weekend with a talk about our world of diversity and what that means for the characters you create. "What are the things that make your characters complex?"

Adriana Dominguez with Full Circle Literary Agency spoke about the market for diverse literature including challenges and opportunities. She spoke about the importance of children seeing themselves in literature. "Good literature seeks to bring as many readers as possible and is universal."

Author and 2012 Crystal Kite Winner Eugene Yelchin

After lunch the 2012 Crystal Kite Award winner, Eugene Yelchin, delivered a moving keynote about his thoughts on emotional writing for children. "The only way to make it easier for readers is to make it terribly hard for us, the writer. Our courage will help them feel less frightened and less alone."

Young Adult Author, Melinda Lo discussed cultural intersections and how she came to write what she does. "It took me a long time to believe in myself." Melinda added, "I wonder what it would have been like if I read about people like me [when I was growing up]."

Daniel Nayeri, Digital Editorial Director for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group spoke to us about what diversity isn't.  He spoke to us about censorship and encouraged society to have healthy disagreements, adding, "Whatever your opinion, there will always be a group that wants to silence [it]."

Me with the talented poet and author,
Nikki Grimes

Finally, one of my favorite poets and authors and Coretta Scott King Award Winner, Nikki Grimes, shared her keynote, The Poetry of Patience: How to Create a Classic.  Nikki told us about how powerful words are on the page and how our work as writers is sacred. Nikki closed telling each of us to bring that energizing power, presence and authority out into the world through our stories. "There are children who need it. All around."

A few of us returned on Sunday for the master class intensives offered by each of the guest speakers. I, along with my talented friends Paula Yoo and Claudia Harrington,   was honored to have the opportunity to attend Nikki's poetry intensive.  She shared an array of poetry styles. I have to say, it was quite mesmerizing to hear her read from a select few poems, some of which were from her books.

We brought our pre-intensive developed characters (pre-class homework) and worked independently on writing our own poems for both a picture book and a teen novel in verse.  It was illuminating to hear Nikki's writing process as she broke things down in a simple doable way. I walked away with what I think is a seed beginning of a novel in verse for tweens. 

Overall, the weekend left me emotionally spent and creatively encouraged to be more diverse in my writing.

On a similar note, I visited the library last week and checked out several books on poetry. One of my favorite poets is Langston Hughes, who I heard about from the awe-inspiring Ashley Bryan at the 2010 SCBWI Summer Conference when he delivered a stunning recital of Hughes' poem, My People.  I gave an example to my family of how different poetry is when it's read with real emotion by reading My People twice. First, quietly, almost monotoned with very little emotion. Then with gut wrenching emotion, volume, and passion (as closely to Ashley Bryan's delivery as I could muster up). It was pretty cool to see their reaction.  And for the first time, I think they got a glimpse of why I love poetry so much.

There's a Party and You're Invited

Hey there peeps! I wanted to let you know that there's a new Kid Lit party in town and you're all invited!  Twelve kidlit writers and illustrators have come together at Word Disco to kick-off a new blog. And guess what. I'm one of them (woo hoo) and you can check out my first post here where I talk about the inspiration behind the idea of Starry Kalahari.

What exactly is Word Disco, you ask? Well, my good friend and fellow disco dance partner, Meg Lentz, said it perfectly in our first post last week:

"Hello world, and welcome to Word Disco! We are thrilled to bring you a fresh perspective on life and laughter in the world of Children’s Literature. This is not your mahogany-desk-alphabetized-bookshelf sort of writing forum. This is a KidLit dance floor. Here at the Word Disco, we believe that professional strides are made while having fun. Yes, you can expect to find writing tips and inspiration beneath the speckled lights of our ever-spinning disco ball, but for the most part—we’d like to invite you to kick back with us on our comfortable couch in the Lobby, and have a good time. So, woot-woot, here we go!"

And the Winner Is....

I am so very honored and excited to share some fantastic news. I attended the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Summer Conference in August, which has truly been the highlight of my year for four years now.  It's a time to meet up with my beloved writer friends, make new friends, share stories and nuggets of gold, meet the awe inspiring publishers, editors and agents that help make this kidlit machine run so beautifully, and a time to learn more about this amazing craft of writing and the business side of being an author.

This year I submitted my manuscript, STARRY KALAHARI, for a consultation and I WON the MOST PROMISING PICTURE BOOK AWARD!!!! Words honestly can not explain how blessed and honored I feel.  The fact that this is the very first year for the award is truly an award all within itself.

SQUEEEEEE!

P.S. A HUGE congratulations to the winner of the 2012 Sue Alexander Award, Kat Yeh!!!

NaPiBoWriWee 2012 - Day 1

This month is one of my favorite times of the year as a picture book writer. Why? Because May 1-7 is National Picture Book Writing Week. For four years now, I've joined my friend, the talented author/TVproducer/musician and founder of NaPiBoWriWee, Paula Yoo, in writing seven picture books in seven days.

Impossible, you say? Well, we aren't actually writing seven final drafts. In fact, they don't even have to be seven good drafts. The only resemblance of a NaPiBoWriWee rule is that you have to write seven picture book first drafts, each with a beginning, middle, and end. That's it... OH, and you have to post your progress on Paula's Website each day. Paula's blog post for DAY 1 is HERE.



Ready? Set? Go!!!

SCBWI Summer Conference 2012 is Coming!

Registration for the 41st annual Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Summer Conference will begin on April 18th. With last year's sell-out, don't miss this opportunity to join hundreds of kid lit industry professionals for keynotes, workshops, and lectures by some of the  best in the world.

Go to SCBWI's website for detailed information and I hope to see you there!

SCBWI Summer Conference 2011 - Saturday, Part 1

The Saturday line-up at the SCBWI Summer conference was AHHH-MAZE-ING!!!

Author Donna Jo Napoli kicked off our morning, getting right to business with a keynote titled, How Writing About Terrible Things Makes Your Reader a Better Person.  She talked about the difference between children who are protected (fed well, kept safe, listened to, etc.) and those who are not. When a child is unprotected, he feels alone and embarrassed and when he reads a book about a character going through the same thing, a perfectly good person, he realizes that bad things happen to good people.  This reminded me of the keynote by Richard Peck in 2009 when he discussed how important our "jobs" are as writers. We can not always save a hurting child, but what we can do is offer her a companion. Needless to say, I was a blubbering mess through Mr. Peck and Ms. Napoli's keynotes.

The next keynote has stayed with me since the moment I heard it. Author/Illustrator, David Small, began with a short film that was made as a trailer for his illustrated memoir, Stitches, that takes the reader through a journey of unimaginable abuse. After sharing with us about his writing, art, and how he grew up feel unloved, he closed his keynote singing, "How sweet it is to be loved by you," as he pointed to us, the audience, his family. The moment was unforgettable and when most of us had started to tear up in that moment, his wife joined him on the stage. They, together, danced a victory dance, and Mr. Small sang to her as they danced, "How sweet it is to be loved by you."  It was an unforgettable moment and I am honored that I was there to be a part of it.

As if we weren't emotional enough, Lin Oliver took the next keynote segment to interview the incredible Judy Blume.  Yes... That's right. JUDY BLUME!  I feverishly took five pages of gold-nugget filled notes. Here are a few if my favorites...

• Kid's concerns are the same.
• No matter what, get that first draft done!
• It never gets any easier.
• I hear them talking.  (re: writing dialogue.)
• Telling a story is a quest. It involves questioning.

When Lin and Judy closed, the California Ballroom erupted with applause and a much deserved standing ovation from all.

Stay tuned for Saturday, Part 2 with details of my breakout session with Libba Bray and Jenni Holm and keynotes from Jon Scieszka, Norton Juster and Mary Pope Osborne.

Workshop Report Coming Soon... Stay Tuned

I've been busy at work over the past several months attending workshops and discussion panels about writing. I look forward to reporting on those over the next few weeks.

Coming up...

• Screenwriting Tips for Wrters, lecture by Michael Mahin, M.D.
• SCBWI Writers Day L.A., including lectures by Margaret Miller, Bruce Coville, Susan Patron, Rachel Cohn, and Tony Johnston.
• L.A. Times Book Festival (discussion panels)
• SCBWI Agents Day, with Natalie Fisher, Edward Necarsulmer IV, Rosemary Stimola, Stefanie Von Borstel, and Ana Webman.

And finally, the SCBWI Summer Conference 2011.  Stay tuned!

NaPiBoWriWee Update & More

First things first. As you can see by my lack of posts about my 2011 NaPiBoWriWee progress that I didn't have much progress... At least not with the NaPiBo challenge.  I've been working on tightening up one of my newest picture books and, like Starry Kalahari, this one is in verse with a nonfiction slant. 

Tomorrow is the 2011 SCBWI Agents Day in Newport Beach and I'm looking forward to seeing two of my long-time picture book critique partners, Sherry Dargert and Anne Speirs.  I also can't wait to meet two of the five agents on my "agent wish list".  Considering this year has been slow in the query area (aka: procrastination), I expect next week to be a week filled with query letters, postage stamps and lots of optimism.

More soon...

SCBWI Summer Conference is Coming!

One of the highlights of my year as a writer is attending the SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles.  This year the faculty will include Mary Pope Osborne, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Donna Jo Napoli, Jerry Pinkney, Jon Sciezka, David Small, Gary Paulson, Norton Juster and Bruce Coville, just to name a few. 

Alice Pope has reported that this year's format will be slightly different.  Keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and manuscript/portfolio critiques will take place during the first three days, Aug 5-7. The last day, Monday, Aug. 8, will consist of special intensives and round-table critiques from agents and editors, offered to a limited number of attendees.

Whether you attend one day, three days, or all four, one thing is for certain.  Your life as a writer and/or illustrator will be better for it.  And for those of you who will not be able to be there in person, be sure to keep close tabs on this fabulous conference through the SCBWI Team Blog posts HERE.

See you there!

2010 SCBWI Summer Conference: Friday Morning

Keynote speaker Jon Scieszka kicked off this year’s conference with Tales of a Picture Book Writer: Do’s, Don’ts and Maybes.


Here are a few:

DO read every picture book you can.
DO let illustrators do their thing.
DO be a storyteller.
DON’T chase the market.
DO what thrills you.


M.T. Anderson was our next keynote speaker with The end of All Our Exploring: The Journey of Narrative.

He explains that literature forces us to see what we already know in a new way. It works through estrangement, taking the familiar and making it unknown.

Take us away from what we expect.


A.M. BREAKOUT SESSION

Stephanie Owens Lurie’s session, How to Think Like a Publisher, brought us from publisher to reader.

The List
The Pitch
The Franchise
The Deal
The Media
The Gatekeeper
The Consumer
The End User

More later… For now, I’m off to bed.

A Writer's World

Time has a way of ticking by quickly, especially when it comes to neglecting my blog readers!!! (Jenni is hanging her head in shame.)

The good news about neglecting my blog is that it usually means I'm working on other writing projects. And this is no exception. Lots has been happening in my writer's world and here are a few of the most notable happenings over the past couple of months:

#1 - I registered for the SCBWI Summer Conference. This will be my second year - YAY! The premium picture book workshop taught by Diane Muldrow filled up only hours after registration opened. I'm on the waiting list... so fingers crossed!

#2 - I queried and submitted exclusively to an agent and six weeks later, received the most amazing rejection. And that's all I'll say about that. (Jenni is grinning, because she doesn't like to share details about stuff like this, but will some day when she's rich and famous.)

#3 - I submitted my award winning picture book manuscript, Starry Kalahari, to a choice editor... fingers and eyeballs crossed that they LOVE it!

#4 - I've spent time tightening up several "almost finished" manuscripts and developing others that are first drafts. (Jenni is an A.D.D. writer, so it's typical for her to work on several projects at once. In fact, since starting this blog post, she's checked emails, facebook, and started a word processing document.)

#5 - I pulled a muscle in my back last week, so I've been babying it with heating pads and such. Hey, whatever it takes to get out of doing a few dishes and laundry, right?

#6 - I've lost a critique group facilitator, pouted about it, and accepted a unanimous nomination and vote to step up as the group facilitator. This is a HUGE honor, considering the talented writers we have.

and...

#7 - I worked this week on narrowing down my schedule of sessions I'll be attending at the Summer Conference.  For those of you who have attended before, you know how difficult this can be, given the caliber of speakers. Additionally, I noticed that two of the closed houses I'm interested in subbing to will have representatives attending. (Jenni is going to walk through ALL the open doors she gets, but knows she must first knock... and wait... and smile, real cute-like when the door opens.)

So that's that. I'll keep you all posted on my submission process. Until then, HAPPY WRITING!

Starry Kalahari WON!

The 2010 SCBWI-LA Writer's Day contest winners have been officially posted. HOW EXCITING!!!

See all the winners and titles posted here, including your's truely with my narrative nonfiction rhyming picture book manuscript, Starry Kalahari.

NaPiBoWriWee: Day 6 & 7

National Picture Book Writing Week Challenge Update...

Day 6:
I woke up and right away, I knew the pressure was on. I had two days left to write four picture books (first drafts) and I'd already started and abandoned three stories that were going nowhere.  Then, I remembered a monkey character idea I had... YES!  I plowed through 441 words of prose, but ran out of steam and went to bed early, leaving myself 3 books to write the next day.

PiBo #4 - (441 words in prose): A very badly written PiBo with a fun plot about a monkey with a physical challenge that he has to learn to overcome in order to save the day.  Cute idea, but needs A LOT of work.

Day 7:
WHAT???? Three picture books in ONE DAY???? Can it be done? Well, I happened to know the answer was yes, since I wrote my last 4.5 stories in one day last year. And being the competitive soul that I am, I took that challenge once again and worked my patootie off.

PiBo #5 - (223 words in lovely rhythmical rhyme): A bedtime story inspired by my very own darlings. VERY SWEET and definitely my favorite of the bunch.

PiBo #6 - (123 words in simple prose couplets): A very gentle rhythm that asks and answers that curious question, where do babies come from... on a toddler/preschooler level, of course. This one is very sweet too, but needs to be revised desperately.

And.... drum roll, please....................................

PiBo #7 - (131 words in rhyme): At this point, I had just over an hour to write an entire picture book (first draft) and I was getting desperate.  I took the easy way out and did a rhyming ABC book about squishy, squashy, icky, sticky treats, like caterpillars and such. YUM! I finished just in time for my midnight snack :)

A huge thank you to PAULA YOO for hosting this awesome challenge for us picture book writers (and wanna bees). Even though Paula had a crazy week, being the co-producer of the TV series EUREKA and all, and wasn't able to meet her 7 book challenge for herself, she set the platform for many, many, MANY other people to give it their best.  And truth be told, having 2 or 4 or 6 new drafts is quite an accomplishment for any picture book writer.  The honest truth is that none of us failed if we managed to come out of the week with even ONE new manuscript draft.

Until next year... (or my next post)... Peace out!

NaPiBoWriWee: Day 5

A BIG HIGH FIVE! We're in the fifth day of National Picture Book Writing Week where we're attempting to write seven picture books in seven days.  You can read all about our progress on Paula Yoo's website.

I did it! I finished another picture book today.  I may have had a slow start, just like the sloths in my third picture book (first draft), but I'm making up for lost time over the weekend.

PiBo #1 (157 words in prose): It's all about a girl who loves...  Well, you'll have to wait and see when it comes out in print! For now it's top secret!!! Shhhhhh!

PiBo #2 (49 woppin' words in prose using an internal-rhyme scheme): Inspired by my own picky eater, guess what this little guy wants with every meal??? Well, almost every meal.

PiBo#3 (176 words in rhyme): My main characters may be slow to move, but this first draft wasn't.  I plowed through all ten rhyming stanzas about sloths in less than an hour. YES! WOO HOOO!

Now, I'm off to work on writing one more picture book first draft before I nod off to sleep.  I've got the plot, main character and his problem in my brain, I just need to make it work on paper.

NaPiBoWriWee: Day 4

Well, after a VERY busy weekend, I've kicked off my PiBo writing today, on day four of NaPiBoWriWee. I finished two - YES TWO - picture books today. So what, they don't have much substance. So what,  they are pretty... ummm... dumb. So what!  Truth be told, this PiBo week has got my writer's groove groovin'.

I worked on revising a picture book that I started writing last year (yes, that would be 12 months ago) and just reached a BRICK WALL several months back. I put it down... I picked it up... I put it down... I picked it up... I slammed it down... I threw it against the wall...

But this week I sliced... I diced... and I worked that story down to just over 400 words. OH YAH! Now, instead of feeling nagged at and frustrated, I'm in love with the story again - YAY!

Paula Yoo's NaPiBoWriWee doesn't just torture us into writing bad picture books. It gets our groove on, Baby!

NaPiBoWriWee 2010

National Picture Book Writing Week is almost here! We Pibo’s affectionately call it NaPiBoWriWee. Paula Yoo is posting an inspirational blog every day in April to get us geared up for May 1-7, when we’ll attempt to write seven picture books in seven days.

I’m extremely honored to be featured as a guest blogger on her site today. You can read it here where I discuss the role that NaPiBoWriWee 2009 played in my inspiration to write my award winning manuscript, Starry Kalahari.

For a quick giggle, take a look at the silly poem I wrote for Paula last year after I achieved my seven picture book goal at NaPiBoWriWee 2009, HEY, PAULA YOO.

Spring Break Recap and Some GREAT NEWS!

Well, as you can see by my last blog post, I've NOT been blogging. So, what have I been doing???

In addition to all my PTO Secretary, Room Parent, School Raffle Organizer, New Girl Scout Daisy Troop Leader, Mom, Wife, and Schnoodle Owner duties... Let's see...

Of course, Spring Break was amazing. After spending some lovely time with some friends in Chandler, Arizona, we enjoyed an excursion on the Grand Canyon Railways with our kids.There was snow on the trail and it was C-O-L-D, but it was beautiful and lots of fun!

Here's my husband and two older kiddos on the trail...

Okay, so here's a zoom shot...

We all admired this super-cool squirrel from afar. As you can tell, he loves living on the edge of excitement, just like me.

Now, on to the GREAT NEWS! Warning: I'm taking the scenic route to get to the best stuff...
This past weekend I was privileged to attended the SCBWI-LA Writer's Day. I really don't know where to start! First of all, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my talented critique partners from the PICTURE THIS critique group, Sherry Dargert. We hadn't met in person yet, so we decided to carpool up together.
We heard about "How to Wow an Editor" from HarperCollins Editor, Rachel Abrams. She said to find your voice, write effective dialog, develop your characters and she discussed plotting, pacing and style.
Next, my rhyming hero and friend, Lisa Wheeler, shared her tidbits on Rhyme with Reason with the group. Right about that time I was pretty much in a daze. At the break, I added four of her books to my library, including Castaway Cats, and managed to walk away with this lovely picture. THANK YOU LISA!!!
I also met Nancy Sanders, author of D is for Drinking Gourd, one of my favorite picture books! She spoke to the published authors at the break out session, so I didn't get to glean from her speech (this year, that is... just you wait).
Now, on to the SUPER-DUPER-GREAT NEWS!

As if seeing lots of friends, making new friends, and learning from other brilliant and hilarious speakers (including Rachel Abrams, an editor at HarperCollins Children's Books, Herman Agency's, Jill Corcoran; middle grade author, Kathleen O'Dell; and YA author, Libba Bray), something even more exciting happened.

Just before we were dismissed, the contest winners were announced and my very own manuscript, Starry Kalahari, WON the non-fiction category! My friend, Rita Crayon Huang, posted a photo of my win on her blog here. All I can say is that my head is still spinning from it all and I'm floating on a cloud. Now I have something awesome to reference on my BIO for my query and cover letters - woooo hooooo!!!

I'm Home!

After being engulfed by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 38th Annual Conference for four days, I'm recovering... unfortunately.

I have so much to catch up on. Email's galore. Revisions galore. Submissions galore! YAY! I LOVE MY WORK!

Quick WIP Status:
I'm searching for a home for several manuscripts. I pitched one of my prose picture book (not rhyming) stories this weekend and received a personal invitation to sub to Simon and Schuster (***grinning uncontrollably***). During the conference, I received a very helpful critique on my rhyming piano story from the amazing author/illustrator, Dan Santat. Additionally, I am awaiting a detailed critique of my rhyming nonfiction story about a dessert from the lovely Kristy Dempsey, author of Me With You. I'm looking forward to diving in, polishing, refining, purifying, and then sending my babies out into the BIG WIDE WORLD of publishing houses.

Withdrawals:
I'm used to being pretty tech savvy, so I went through a few withdrawals this weekend when we realized our laptop didn't work, my cell phone broke, Brian's cell ran out of juice (and the charger was in the valet parked car) and I misplaced a VERY IMPORTANT phone number I needed in order to meet up with one of my heroes, the amazing and talented Kelly DiPucchio. After searching and asking around all weekend, I missed her. I'm still recovering from that lost opportunity.

I filled 60 pages in my 70 page spiral notebook with notes and ideas I gleaned from the keynote speakers, workshops and many friends I've met. Thanks to my new friend Mary Hershey, I'll be tackling a very new, very cute and very serious picture book manuscript about my cat. By the way, go here to see a photo of us at the Golden Kite Luncheon.

My most memorable moments on Friday?

*Sherman Alexie's passion for kids and telling the raw truth
*David Wiesner's "It's Alive!" (on inspiration and ideas) and his flying frogs
*Allyn Johnston's comment that picture book authors need to "Let go!" and let the illustrators do what they do best - illustrate
*Melinda Long said her collaboration with David Shannon on How I Became a Pirate took 6.5 years from signing to publication
*Betty Birney shared that "Getting kid's hooked is what it's all about"
*Meeting my PiBos from National Picture Book Writers Week. You can check out photos of our reunion and a video of us attempting to say NaPiBoWriWee on Paula Yoo's web site.

More memorable moments, coming soon... I promise!!! But for now, I'm back to revisions and fine tuning. Oh, but first I need to go check out more recaps and photos posted on The Official SCBWI Conference Blog. You HAVE to check it out. The SCBWI Team Blog kept busy keeping us all informed and entertained throughout the entire conference.

Summer Conference, Almost Here!

The SCBWI 2009 Summer Conference in Los Angeles is just around the corner and I am just about beside myself with anticipation. In honor of this amazing upcoming event, which happens to be my first national conference for writers, I've written yet another fun little poem to keep my fingers and word-weaving thoughts entertained.

Summer Conference, Almost Here

by Jenni Bielicki

Summer conference, almost here.
Creating.
Waiting.
Elating.

Two more days to pack my gear.
Lacking.
Stacking.
Attacking.

The names and faces, not so clear.
Weeding.
Reading.
Speeding.

Each friendly face will calm my fear.
Grinning.
Beginning.
Winning.

Absorbing cheers for my career.
Yearning.
Learning.
Earning.

There’ll be a Blue Moon Ball, I hear.
Dressing.
Guessing.
Impressing.

Everyone is so sincere.
Caring.
Sharing.
Baring.

Knowing I shall persevere.
Holding.
Molding.
Unfolding.

Staring down a new frontier.
Proving.
Moving.
Improving.

Watching closely where to steer.
Twisting.
Insisting.
Persisting.


Too fast, day four will then appear.
Hauling.
Recalling.
Installing.

I’ll have new friends, both far and near.
Remaining.
Sustaining.
Entertaining.

We’ll laugh and cry again next year.
Reflecting.
Connecting.
Affecting.

Summer Conference, almost here.
Inviting.
Exciting.
I'm writing!