Monday Moment #100!!!: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my characters better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.)

Wow! What a milestone for Monday Moments.

NUMBER 100

It's been almost two years in the making. The very first Monday Moment was posted on January 12, 2009. It was just an idea I had; something I did as a writer. I didn't know if anyone else would find them useful. I didn't know if I'd continue posting them. Or for how long. But it seems Monday after Monday I found some personal experience in my life that could possibly relate to your characters.

So...for #100 I thought one of you wonderful Monday Moment readers should get a CUPPA! (Details below.)

Getting to 100 (of anything) takes a bit of waiting, patience, and perseverance. A whole lot of what we do as writers, no?

I also did quite a bit of waiting yesterday. I was crazy enough to think the Santa line at the mall wouldn't be a mile and a half long on the Sunday before Christmas! I'm sure you're all thinking, DUH! OF COURSE IT WAS THAT LONG!!!

So I put on my patience pants and waited in the line as my girlies wandered around the mall with their grandma and papa. I also felt the need to be the one waiting since I think the picture was for my own good and not theirs. They're now 8 and 10 and just hitting that age where...well, you know.

How'd I make it though that long line without crumbling like a tasty Christmas cookie? I tweeted about about my people-watching experience while I waited. People watching in the Santa line is quite fun.

Here's my tweets:

For my own entertainment I will tweet from the Sunday before Christmas Santa line. #santaphotos

Little girl: Santa, please bring my mom a skirt long enough to cover her cheeks. #santaphotos


I'm fairly certain those two little guys just asked for spray paint for their future graffiti masterpieces. #santaphotos


Sibling fight is breaking out behind me. Mom may ask for a new set of marbles. #santaphotos



Young girl just swiped extra candy canes from Santa's basket. I hope this doesn't jeopardize her list standing. #santaphotos



Here comes the classic clinging to mom's neck, do not make me go near that guy experience. #santaphotos



This might be the last time my girls do this. I think this year they are taking the photo for me. http://plixi.com/p/64041579 #santaphotos



Al. Most. There. #santaphotos



Little tiny people are so stinking precious. (But my big ones can take themselves to the bathroom.) #santaphotos



Two year old: *stares at ground* When will this be over. I will NOT smile. #santaphotos



Two year old trying so hard to smile he can't keep his eyes open. #santaphotos



Success! http://plixi.com/p/64047163 #santaphotos
 
 

I had to sneak a shot with Santa too. http://plixi.com/p/64048098 Whispers: Do the elves make MacBook pros? #santaphotos

What has your character had to wait for? Did they have patience and persevere?

And in honor of this 100 Moment milestone, I would love to thank all of you who visit Cuppa Jolie and read Monday Moments. I know you don't always comment, but I know you are out there, reading. And, I know you all have been in the same WAITING-PATIENCE-PERSEVERANCE boat when it comes to writing. I would love to hear from you in the comments, whether you've read Monday Moments 1 or 100 times.

So here's the deal. From now until Monday, January 3, leave a comment about a time you have had to wait (requiring patience and perseverance) whether it relates to writing or not. For all those who comment, I will put your name in a drawing for a CUPPA (a good cup coffee or other drink of choice) at your favorite spot.

(Monday Moments will take a holiday on December 27.)

THE WARMEST OF HOLIDAY WISHES FROM ME TO YOU.

Monday Moment #99: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my characters better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.)

99 MM posts on the blog, 99 MM posts! You take one down, pass it around...

99! How'd that happen?

Okay, getting to it. I apologize ahead of time for the bit of bah humbug in this post, but a particular person sucked it right out of me over the weekend.

Isn't it amazing how one person, ONE, can bring a certain energy to a room big or small, with few or many? That energy can be amazingly positive or ridiculously negative. Unfortunately, I had the experience of the latter over the weekend.

I was so looking forward to watching both my eight-and-ten-year-old girlies play their basketball games on Saturday. But once my eight-year old's game started, all the fun was drained from the gym. It's hard to imagine how that can be when there were two teams of young girls, full of energy and sparkle, out on the court, surrounded by family, cheering them on.

It took the crappy energy of one single man, the other team's coach, to take ever bit of fun out of the game. He stood on the sideline, never once cracking a smile, only yelling, yelling, and yelling. You'd think he was Bobby Knight or something. He required those girls play so aggressively, there was no fun to be had. He ordered them to run, even if they were headed back to the bench. He'd shake  his head and get upset if they did something wrong. I don't think I ever heard him shout encouragement. Again, these are 3rd and 4th grade girls!

I could tell even the supporters of his team were shaking their heads at the scene. Thank goodness there were no chairs around for him to throw, or he might have thrown one.

When has your character been in a situation where one other person has changed the energy in the room for better or worse?

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference interview: LINDA SUE PARK

I've had the immense pleasure of hearing Linda Sue Park speak at a couple of SCBWI conferences. Not only that, but I've also had the opportunity to sit and talk with her, and let me tell you, the words that come out of her mouth are so great, so helpful, so smart that you won't want to dare miss them when she's gives her keynote presentation at the upcoming SCBWI Winter Conference.

Linda Sue Park is the award-winning author of many books for children, including A SINGLE SHARD which won the Newbery Medal in 2002. The list of awards Linda Sue has won is as long as my arm, and sure to keep growing. Linda Sue also serves on the SCBWI Board of Advisors.

I'm so honored that Linda Sue was able to find time for this interview as her latest book A LONG WALK TO WATER was just released on November 15. Check out her great book trailer and PW interview about this booked based on a true story.

Then, if you haven't already, click here to register for the conference and ENJOY the interview.

As I mentioned in the introduction, you are on the SCBWI Board of Advisors. How and when did your involvement begin with SCBWI, and what has it meant to you?

I attended my first-ever SCBWI conference in the fall 2001; it was organized by Ellen Yeomans, who was then RA for upstate New York. I had already published three novels at that point, and Ellen invited me to be on a panel, I think. I was fortunate because we have a well-established children's writers' group here in Rochester--the Rochester Area Children's Writers and Illustrators--so I had been active with them for a couple of years before that, and Ellen used to visit us once in a while.

After the conference, I signed up to attend the national SCBWI conference in New York; I think that was its first year? I had always wanted to go to LA but couldn't afford it, so I was delighted when Lin and Steve brought a big conference to New York. And just a couple of weeks before the conference, the Newbery Award for A SINGLE SHARD was announced! I remember Lin announcing from the podium that this year's Newbery winner was in attendance at the conference--as a participant, not as a presenter--and I felt so honored by that.

Then I was invited to join the Board. Unlike some authors, I don't have stories about how SCBWI helped me 'break in'--I was already published when I found out about SCBWI. But what RACWI and then SCBWI in turn have given me is invaluable: the camaraderie of other people who care about children's literature as much as I do. For people who spend much of their working lives alone in a room with a keyboard, that kind of companionship is invaluable. Being on the Board is a way for me to give back to a community that has given me so much over the years.

I think I can call myself a conference vet, having been to more than I can count. That said, I believe the best conference take-away I’ve ever had came from you at an SCBWI conference years ago. You said it never hurts to try something new (changing POV characters, tense, etc.) for a few chapters. So, thank you for that.

What’s been the most helpful tip someone has shared with you?

My most valuable tip came from Katherine Paterson, who wrote in an essay about how she tries to finish two pages per day. I read that when I was starting work on my first novel, and it was a huge light-bulb moment. I thought, I can do that! I don't know if I can ever write a whole novel, but I sure as heck can write two pages a day. I've written every single one of my novels that way, and I'm positive I never would have written even one if I hadn't read that tip.

I also read about Lois Lowry's general outline for novels:

--Character

--Quest

--complications and choices

--climax

--conclusion

--change

I've modified this over the years to suit my own temperament and style, but in essence it's still the first thing I write down when I'm working on a new story.

I think you (and Katherine) just gifted me with another favorite tip! But I have to ask, what gets you through on those days when finding the words seems impossible, and how do you keep yourself from being distracted by those tasks that easily pull us away (email, blogs, etc)?

I give myself a mandate to write two pages, AND permission to write two BAD pages. Most days, I start my work time by throwing away a lot of what I wrote the day before. If I can salvage half a page, or a paragraph, or even a single line of dialogue...that's progress. To paraphrase Thomas Edison, it's a vital part of the process to find out what *doesn't* work!

But I do get distracted, and many are the days that I spend way too much time on e-mail and the internet. (I am, alas, an eBay fan....) On those days, when I get close to the end of my writing time, I'll look up from the screen, slap myself mentally, and crank out two bad pages.

In general, though, the two pages thing is a habit for me. By that I mean, I don't ever say to myself, "Oh--I must make sure to brush my teeth today." I don't have to say it, because it's a habit, an automatic part of my day. It took me many months of trying and failing, but eventually the two pages became a habit. When I'm in the groove working on a novel, *not* writing my two pages feels all wrong to me...just like when I don't brush my teeth!

That makes such great sense!

You’ll be giving a keynote at the conference on Sunday morning. Can you give us a little teaser?

I usually write my speeches a couple of weeks before I have to give them, so at this point I haven't yet written the keynote. But what I'm planning to talk about is doubt: How to keep writing and do our best work in spite of all the doubt demons that plague us. I hope it's a topic that almost everyone will be able to relate to. But for those folks who never have doubts about themselves or their work? They can go for coffee during my presentation. ;-)

I have a feeling I’ll be hanging on your every word during that keynote!

Thank you so much, Linda Sue. I feel like I just had a short writer’s therapy session.

Monday Moment #98: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my characters better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.)

The sleeping hours. Aren't they wonderful?

Well, yes! That is, if you're actually sleeping.

Don't you just hate it when you wake up in the night, for whatever reason, and can't go back to sleep? For us adults we tend to have to-dos, or too-much-to-dos, on our minds. You they there. Flip over. Keep thinking. Think of something else. Flip over. Check the clock. Been an hour. Flip again. Replay the list. Check the clock. And on, and on, and on...

But remember how different it was as a kid? At least it was for me. I certainly wasn't playing to-do lists in my head.

What was playing instead? My imagination!  In dark-scary-night- imagining ways. For me, every nighttime noise, familiar or not, was something frightening. I still recall one night when I heard scraping on my ceiling, slow and constant. And loud. Right above me. Now I'm sure that it was a mouse, doing it's mouse thing, but in  my scared-kid-nighttime brain, it was a scary guy in my attic digging through the ceiling with an ice pick. Yes, I was sure it was an ice pick. I still recall nights when I'd hold tight to the pillow just under my head with one arm and my favorite blanket with the other, just in case I was taken during the night and held captive in a cave. This way I wouldn't have to use a rock as a pillow.

I was a normal kid, I swear. But perhaps the nighttime stories I freaked myself out with were some of the first signs that I'd one day become a writer. Do you think?

What does your character think about when they wake up in the middle of the night? What kinds of nighttime noises do they hear?

Season of Love and Hope

Help Bridget kick cancer!

Most of you probably know about the great auction happening to help young-adult author, Bridget Zinn. The Season of Love and Hope Auction has all kind of great items/services for auction to help Bridget as she battles stage 4 colon cancer. The auction ends tomorrow, so check it out and start bidding!

Five other WA writers, as well as myself, are offering a super-loaded critique. Here's the description:

Five Washington writers (Kim Baker, Martha Brockenbrough, Joni Sensel, Jolie Stekly, Laurie Thompson) and one very insightful writer/illustrator (Jaime Temairik) will critique up to 50 double-spaced pages of a picture book, middle grade, or YA manuscript and/or a query letter and synopsis. If you have a 50-page picture book manuscript, we'll REALLY critique it.

Six published and otherwise, creative, and grammar-wise ladies with lots of experience workshopping and critiquing manuscripts in multiple genres will provide a thoughtful, detailed editorial letter full of constructive feedback along with additional manuscript notes.
And, we'll send chocolate.

Bid HERE.

I will leave myself out of this, and just say about the other five ladies...uh, THEY ROCK. Not just rock at life in general, but if you want some kick-ass feedback (yes I said kick-ass because it's true) these five will knock your socks off. And she might hate me for saying this, but all you novel writers out there, some of the most insightful thoughts will come from our lone illustrator, Jaime. So, what I'm really trying to say is, if a critique would be valuable to you, bid away and help Bridget kick cancer!

There's also an awesome SCBWI WWA package. If you go to our conference and participate in our events, you might as well bid. This way, you'll get what you usually pay for anways AND know the dollars are going to help Bridget. What could be better?

The 2010 December La La: State Your Goals

I don't know about you, but December can give me a serious case of the Fa la la la las!

Anybody else? Or perhaps you just don't know what I'm talking about?

Two years ago I had to do something to keep myself writing and pushing through in December. (You can check out my 2008 post here.) And, each year, I feel the same. I want to end December proudly beating my drum. Pa rum pa pum pum.

This year's no different. As I said yesterday, I want to serve up a major helping of productivity with a nice side of outside accountability this month. If that's something you desire too then lets help each other get through the December la las.

What's that mean? Well, what do you realistic want and need to accomplish this month? State it in the comments and together we'll help each other through by checking in and cheering each other on. The more the merrier.

The December La La Returns

Anyone else wondering how it's suddenly November 30th. The holidays are here. Smack...right in the face.

Personally, I had a productive October, but November was a big Wah-Wah-Wahhhh! I know how easily December can get eaten up with happenings other than writing. So, I'm returning to my plan from a couple years ago: The December La La.

If you want to indulge in some serious December productivity with side of accountability, come back tomorrow and declare your goals!

(And, a huge congrats to all you NaNo Winners.)

Monday Moment #97: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Did you burn off some of those extra T-day calories with some serious shopping in the days following?

I'm not one of those 4-A.M.ers, hitting the stores for the those early hours Black Friday deals. What I did this year (and loved!) was Small Business Saturday. Anybody else? Such a great promotion to remind us all what a huge impact shopping at small businesses can make.

I love so many of the stores in my small town, and I had several finds. Some of which will be gifts and others that just made me giggle. One huge upside of shopping small business? The gifts can be quite unique.

I took some photos to tweet out while I was shopping.

Every seen this game?

I really think I should go back and buy those cards. What could the game be? I was thinking maybe they're just playing cards, but it says "Card Game." Curious.

And I've been looking all OVER for these!!!

Bonus! They make them for him...

and her!

These seem writer friendly. :)

Small Business Saturday got me thinking about how much I do enjoy shopping at these great boutique stores, and how much my girls love them, too. Which also got me thinking about all the small stores I loved growing up. As kids, we know the big name stores, but all of us had those great stores, within our own communities, that are/were our favorites. For me it was a corner grocer where I could get 10 cent candy, a knickknack, touristy store called Sax & Fryer (which still exists), a crafty store called Wilmer's, and the card/gift store which had Hello Kitty and Precious Moments (two things I loved).

What's your character's favorite small business/store and why?

Monday Moment #96: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.)

This Monday Moment is on SNOW DELAY, just like everything else in the Seattle area (except my kids' school).

When it snows here, people freak out. Kind of funny, because I do too. Didn't used to be that way. I grew up in Montana. When I moved to the Seattle area (at 15) I was shocked by a couple of weather factors:
1) How warm the winter weather was. I think the first year we were here I never once zipped up my coat.
2) And, when it snowed, school was cancelled! What!?! This was unheard of where I came from. School had never once been cancelled for anything.

Here, there's this build up of excitement. Snow's coming! Kids go to bed (okay, and parents go to bed) excited then wake up eager to peek out the window to see if there's any of the white stuff.

This morning...

NOTHING

Honestly, not one stinkin' flake.

DISAPPOINTMENT

But THEN...what starts to happen? Small flakes spit from the sky. Kids eat breakfast. I pack lunches. Flakes get bigger. The ground is white.

Five minutes to bus time. Phone rings...

Nope. It's not a school delay.

More DISAPPOINTMENT.

Off to the bus stop. No bus. Waiting. Still no bus. And just when we think maybe we've missed an announcement...THE BUS.

Even more DISAPPOINTMENT.

But really, now I'm nervous I sent my kids to school. Will I be able to get them home? It's quite seriously a winter wonderland here.

And just for fun...my hummingbird friends.

Can you spot him in the photo below. He looks just like one of the rose bush leaves.

How about when he turns his head and you get that flash of red?

Really, depending where in the world you live (or what world you live in) all of our characters would have a different reaction to snow.

What does you main character think of snow and how would they react to it?

Monday Moment #95: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.)

Wrinkles!

Yeah, they've been on my mind lately. Especially the ones I feel like I have the power to prevent, and yet...I don't feel like I can make it happen. I am not powerful enough.

I have always ALWAYS been a side and tummy sleeper. What's that have to do with wrinkles, you might ask? Well, you can cause wrinkles by sleeping in the same position over and over. I know this, because the people on TV told me so. :)

But it's true. At least it is for me. Not only do I sleep on my side and stomach, but my head almost always faces one direction, and I can see the two spots that smoosh together creating  my sleeping lines. Not the pillow kind that go away, but permanent creases that I can only imagine will get deeper and widen as I smash my face in my pillow night after night. Gah!

But, what to do? I can't sleep on my back. I'd have to strap myself down. But then, I wouldn't sleep.

What is something your character does often that has left a physical mark on their body? Is the mark something they are proud of, or wish they could get rid of?

Monday Moment #94: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too.)

Monday Moment #94, take two!

Last night I returned from a long, but wonderful, three-day writing retreat. I guess it was a bit more than that for me, since I am the Retreat Director for SCBWI Western Washington. But I will say our Weekend on the Water was fantastic, and I was going to write about here for Monday Moment #94!

BUT!!!!

I can't load any photos. And what good is it if I can't show you some of the weekend's delights through photos? Arg!

(Maybe one of you out there can help me. When I click to add an image, it pulls up something called Google Cloud Picker and wants me to sign in. Huh? Since when? But then it says the application I need to use is unavailable. Frustrating. I've given it time, and then come back to it. Same thing happens.)

So, I'm moving on with plan two. I'll tell you about the retreat in a separate Cuppa post another day when I figure out this whole picture thing.

Until then, has this ever happened to your character?

Here's one bit to share from the weekend. I can tell you, my Monday Moments were absolutely validated by the lovely editors (Jill Santopolo and Nancy Mercado) who were leading us over the weekend. Being able to answer any and every question about your character (regardless of whether it something that happens within the pages of your book) will creates stronger work.

So, I ask you: When was a time your character was frustrated by something that didn't work and how did they react to it?

Monday Moment #93:a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too. )

How could this Monday Moment not be a post-Halloween Moment?

I have a bit of a Halloween hangover. How 'bout you?

And it's not that I had too much to drink or too much sugar (I think) but it was just all so much. Too much!

I told you last week that my fellow and instructors and I launched our new programs dressed as Wonder Woman. There were 8 of us! That was a whole lot of Wonder to behold: quite a sight.

Here I am, taking off to teach.

Based on your comments, and the encouragement of my family, I also wore the costume OUT! Yes, I walked our little town's parade in this get up. Although, with all the wind and chilliness, this Wonder Woman was happy to be wearing a red puffy coat. At least it matched the outfit. But all that wind kept whipping my wee little skirt up and my cape around my neck.

That's me with my handsome hubby heading to the parade.

I love this town when it come to Halloween (and lots of other things). The downtown streets close down at 4:00 and all the shops are open for the kids to kick off their night of trick-or-treating.

The streets were packed!

 I loved my girlies' costume ideas this year.

My oldest wanted to be a rag doll. I earned many Mommy Bonus Points making that yarn wig. She did her own make up. Love it.

My younger girlie decided she wanted to be Frankenstein, but a girlie one, and not the Bride of Frankenstein. She said, "I want to be pink. Not green." I love the idea.

Even my adorable mom and pops got into the act.

So, what were you for Halloween?

Funny enough, the first chapter in my first novel takes place on Halloween and is quite memorable for my main character.

What one Halloween was most memorable for your main character and why?

Monday Moment #92: a writing prompt for you work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too. )

It's still Monday, right? I'm still getting this posted on Monday. Just. In. Time.

It's been a bit nutty for me lately and the things that are burning hottest are the ones getting the water. It's that time year, and I'm guessing it's not just me feeling the heat. Your feeling it too?

We're less than a week out from Halloween and my kids still don't have their costumes. We finally know what they are going to be, but given where we live, I'm wondering when in the world (and where) I'm going to get the stuff to transform them. (The Halloween Fairy will come to save the day, right?)

Me, on the other hand. My costume is all ready to go. The funny thing is, that's not a joke. My costume: done. My kids: not. (Sorry, girlies.) But it's all for good reason and part of what's keeping me sane at a crazy time.

My gym launches all their new fitness classes (we do this quarterly) and we celebrating Halloween in the process. That means I've been 1) getting my workouts in, and 2) I have a costume ready to go. I'll be teaching my two classes (along with my teammates) as...

Drum roll
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

WONDER WOMAN!!!

It's fun and hilarious and I think our members are going to get a huge kick out of it, or should I say, kick out of us. (And let me just note, we have skirts instead of little briefs.)

But here's the thing, I feel brave enough to wear that costume in the gym with my teammates (who are wearing the same costume), but the thought of wearing it out to the Halloween party the next day makes me a cringe a little. I don't know that I'm brave enough to go out. In that.

What do you think? Should I?

I think this leads to a good question when thinking about our characters.

What is your main character brave enough to do in certain situations, but not in others?

Monday Moment #91: a writing prompt for you work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too. )

CAKE!

I'm a sucker for cake. Actually anything with frosting. Cookie, cupcake, cake...if it's covered in frosting, I can't resist.

That's said, not so much if it's chocolate. I know, all you many chocolate lovers out there, you think I'm nuts!  I too like chocolate, but not quite like you. And not in my frosting.

Fresh off my birthday has me thinking about cake. About how as we get older we settle into our favorite and tend to have a certain "kind" for our special day. I'm fairly certainly this doesn't just apply to my family and friends. You too, right?

Me? I'm Angel Food with Seven-minute (never-fail frosting).

My hubby: Carrot Cake
My dad: Cheese Cake
My mom: Chocolate on Chocolate
My brother: Chocolate with Brown Sugar frosting
My daughers: still working it out

I'm sure each of those cakes speaks a bit about who we are (each certainly would in a novel, right?). I'm mean, I'm Angel Food with seven-minute frosting, angelic and sweet at to my core.  :)

How about your main character? What's their favorite cake and what does it say about who they are?

Monday Moment #90: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too. )

What makes a birthday memorable?

A flood of gifts. A mailbox full of cards. A Facebook wall inundated with well-wishes. A day of pampering? Phone calls from friends and relatives?

Or maybe...

Feeling all alone? Having a loved one forget? Someone else ruining the day that is supposed to be special for you?

Certainly birthdays can be memorable for both the good and the bad.

Why do I bring up birthdays today?

'Cause...

It's my birthday! It's my birthday! It's my birthday!

I thought it might be kind of odd to do a birthday post, but then I thought, Why not! Today's the day. And what I love most about birthdays is hearing from family and friends, or even better spending time with them. So I might as well share it here and celebrate with all my blogosphere friends, too.

Some memorable birthdays from my past:

• I don't remember the age, but I do remember a particular cake. It was an Orange Blossom (one of Strawberry Shortcakes friends) doll cake. I thought it was sooo pretty.
• My fifteenth birthday, when I was new to the Seattle area, when I had no friends and bangs that had just been cut up to here! *holds fingers just below my widows peak* Yes, that short!
• For my sixteenth birthday, my parents gave me a hot air balloon ride to take with a friend. How cool is that? (Yes, I had finally made a friend.)
• And for my 30th, I threw myself a party! Because I wanted to.

So, I have to say, thanks for stopping by here today! It feels like you're part of my celebration. I just wish we could share a piece of cake together.

What is your main character's most memorable birthday (for either good or bad reasons)?

And if you have your own particularly memorable b-day (again good or bad), please share!

SCBWI 2011 Winter Conference in NYC

I feel like I was just in LA with all of you (literally or on the blog) but it's already time to start thinking about the winter conference. In NYC. Yeah, Baby!

Here's the thing: REGISTRATION OPENS TODAY at 10 am Pacific Time. Like really soon!

So, set your alarms and ready your fingers, especially if you're interested in participating in the Intensives on Friday before the conference begins.  The Intensives are HUGELY popular, as well as successful. I consider myself as a success story and I know of so many more. If you're interested, register before they sell out.

Then there's the conference. Want a little peek of who will be there?

You do, don't you!?!

Ladies first...

LOIS LOWRY... I know. How unbelievable cool.

SARA ZARR... Love her!

JULES FEIFFER...Seriously!

R.L. STINE... I mean, come ON!

MO WILLEMS...Going boneless here!

Don't know about you, but I'm already sold.

And I really hope I see you there.

I'll be typing away, live blogging from the conference floor, with my peeps on Team Blog.

Here's where we blog and tweet:

Team Captain - Alice Pope (Twitter @alicepope)

Jaime Temairik (Twitter @jaimetem)

Lee Wind (Twitter @leewind)

Martha Brockenbrough (Twitter @mbrockenbrough)

Suzanne Young (Twitter @suzanne_young)

...then there's me! (Twitter @cuppajolie)

The twitter hashtag will be:

#NY11SCBWI

Monday Moment #89: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too. )


I read it for the articles. And the interviews!

Seriously. It's true. It wasn't always that way, but it is today.

Now get your mind out of the gutters.

I'm talking about the Children's Writer's & Illustrators Market Guide or the CWIM. I love the CWIM and have for 10 years, back when I bought my first copy in 2001 ( I still have all of them). I remember looking for it at a Barnes and Noble and asking a salesperson to help me find it. I specifically remember looking for the name Alice Pope. So funny to think about that now, because, at the time, Alice was this stranger-of-a-person who I thought was probably a blue-haired lady (in a lunch-lady way, not a cute Stephanie Perkins way). Clearly that was before I really got to know the industry. And Alice.

Last week my door bell rang and it was the UPS truck with a package.  For me. And I knew what it was the second I saw it. My CWIM. Not just my latest CWIM, but MY CWIM; the one I have a byline in. Also extra special since it was Alice's last.

So, do you have your 2011 CWIM yet? If you do (and haven't yet read all the articles and interviews), opening up to page 81 right now. If you don't, order it right now.

Whee!!! THAT'S MY INTERVIEW WITH LIBBA BRAY. Yes, that Libba Bray.

Such a wonderful experience to have the opportunity to interview her, and I promise you'll enjoy the read. Not because my interviewing skills are spot on, but because ANY question Libba answers is entertaining, at the very least.

Back in 2001, I never would have guessed/dreamed/thought that I would know Alice personally and be working with her on Team Blog, or that I'd have an interveiw featured in the 2011 CWIM. It's been a pure treat, I must say.

What experience has your character had that they never would have guessed would happen or be possible a short or long time ago?

Monday Moment #88: a writing prompt for your work-in-progress

(If you’ve already read this then skip past all the italicized blah-di-blah and start writing.) Monday Moments are writing prompts for your work-in-progress. They are questions that come from my experiences and are my favorite way to find out more about my characters. I find I learn a lot. Some of it I use. Some of it I don’t. But I always, always get to know my character(s) better just by answering the question. I hope you do too. )

Cleaning up my girlies' room has sort of been an all summer task; a frustrating and unending (we're still working on it) task. The girlies seem to be in the mood for a change, and have also been ready to make room for new things by getting rid of the old. Or, truth be told, they wanted to sell some of their things to make some cash. The making-room-for-the-new was secondary.

Well, many things slowed us down over the summer, but we FINALLY had that garage sale and took care of the getting-rid-of. (Although, all you moms out there know it's not really over. The stuffs out of their room, but I still need to be rid of all that didn't sell.)

But now we're cleaning up and organizing in attempt to get ready for some rearranging, and possibly a bit of repainting. You see, my ten-year-old girlie seems to think she's got to be the ONLY fifth grade girl who still has flowers on her walls. (Does that seem oh-so flowery to you? The other two walls are striped. Well, I guess it does to her.) They also want to redecorate and move furniture to create more personal space for themselves (Hey, I get that!). And the other biggie? They want posters. Cool posters. (I'm clueless here.)

So, we we're working on it.

But I think it's something true of all of us and our spaces. We come to a point where we'd like or need a change, which must (especially in the youth years) say much about how we change as people. And our space (or what we'd like for our space) speaks volumes about who we are.

If your character could redecorate their bedroom or space, what would they do?

Weekend on the Water, SCBWI WWA's Fall Retreat

Maybe you've already heard about it. Perhaps you've already applied. But if you haven't, time is running out.

SCBWI Western Washington's 4th annual fall retreat (November 5-7) is on its way and the deadline to apply and get your materials in is this September 27th.

I organize and run this event for our amazing Western Washington region and this year is sure to be great. The wonderful thing about this retreat is that it's small and intimate (with no more than 50 attendees), and this year we welcome two executive editors: Nancy Mercardo, Roaring Brook Press and Jill Santopolo, Philomel Books. Between the both of them they are a mass of experience, knowledge, and expertise. (Many of you know Nancy as @editorgurl on Twitter.) Personally, I can't wait to soak up as much as I can from them.
So much to look forward to:

• amazing knowledge shared in a small group setting with our talented editors
• beautiful location at the Alderbrook Resort and Spa (check it out)
• delicious food
• awesome people

Go HERE to register.