SRS Lash Flash: Kirby Larson

For today's first addition of LASH FLASH, Cuppa Jolie welcomes the amazing and lovely, Kirby Larson. A perfect way to start! And over at Holly's, don't miss her editor, Catherine Onder.


Kirby was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2007 for her novel HATTIE BIG SKY, a definite must read. Recently she's made her way back to picture books and has been celebrating the success of TWO BOBBIES which she co-wrote with Mary Nethery, and a new project is in the works for this great team. And be sure to bookmark or follow Kirby's blog Kirby Lane: A Place for Readers and Writers which is always packed with heart and wisdom. Oh, and pictures of her new puppy, Winston.

Kirby is a fellow SRS participant, albeit a rule breaking one. But I say, if it gets the job done, then good.

Here's a tip she had to share with the rest of us:

"The tip I would give is one I am personally using right now -- taking lots of walks and letting my mind go. I'm finding it's a terrific way to process all the editorial feedback I've been given without feeling uptight and constrained. For example, on Friday, two unrelated bits of info that had been buried deep in the old gray matter surfaced and bumped into each other, giving me a great idea for resolving one of the problems I'd been working on.

The other thing, which isn't as fun or healthy, is sticking with it -- the old bum glue advice. But now that I have an adorable puppy to sleep on my lap, sitting in my work chair isn't so painful!"

I love that from Kirby we get a little bit of B-O-C (butt-out of-chair) and B-I-C (butt-in-chair)!

Thanks, Kirby!

Don't forget to check in over at Holly's tomorrow with your Revision Report. We can't wait to hear all about the progress that's been made out there.

SRS Candy Buzz: Progress (or Procrastination) Posts

Productive Procrastination? Could there be such a thing? I'd like to think there might be.

A few of you chimed in about the ways you procrastinate over at Holly's yesterday. So I was thinking about ways we might be able to help each other through while getting in just a wee bit of procrastination. Sound good?

When Holly and I were doing our 5K days, one thing that helped us through was posting comments throughout the day. I'd have a comment pop up that would say something like, "I just hit two thousand." We'd go back and forth like that through the writing day and it pushed us along. It also provides a little break (or a wee bit of procrastination)...that chance to check your inbox or the comments section of the post to see how others are doing. And to report how you're doing, which makes you actually do something! Right?

Want to play along? Check in here by leaving comments throughout the day on your progress. I'll make the first.

Blog note: Paula Yoo has a fun post on the progress she made yesterday over at Write Like You Mean It. Let us know if you make post related to the smackdown on your blog.

SRS Wednesday Whip Tip: Bruce Coville

Yes! You read correctly...BRUCE COVILLE!

Today Cuppa Jolie welcomes the amazing Bruce Coville to offer the first Wednesday Whip Tip.

Leave it to a talent and fantastic guy like Bruce to pass on a tip during a very busy time for him. And don't miss the Wednesday Whip Tip from author and readergirlz diva, Lorie Ann Grover, over at Holly's blog.

Bruce Coville is the author of nearly 100 books for children and young adults, including the international bestseller MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, and the wildly popular UNICORN CHRONICLES series. He has been, at various times, a teacher, a toymaker, a magazine editor, a gravedigger, and a cookware salesman. He is also the founder of FULL CAST AUDIO, an audiobook publishing company devoted to producing full cast, unabridged recordings of material for family listening.


So, in few words, the guy ROCKS. And if you've never heard him speak...you must!

Here's a few words, straight from Bruce, on revision!

I have a list of words that I overuse in early drafts, and that generally add little of use to the text. "Just" is one, "that" is another. "Started to [verb]" and "began to [verb]" (okay, those are phrases, not words) are also there, as generally you can just go with the verb. At some point I just do a word search (in which case I would delete the just I just used!) on these words and phrases and evaluate each for elimination. No single one of these changes makes a big difference, but the cumulative effect can be a tighter, cleaner text that reads more smoothly.

Thank you, Bruce!

Don't miss tomorrow for tips from Kirby Larson and Holly's editor, Catherine Onder!

Ingrid Law...Don't miss this great interview

SCBWI Team Blog will be bringing you many interviews with the superstars who will be keynoting at this summer's L.A. conference.

Don't miss the first one, a fun interview with Ingrid Law over at Paula Yoo's Write Like You Mean It!

SRS: Smackdown Spotlight with Robin Mellom

Each Tuesday, Holly and I will both spotlight a Smackdowner. Be sure to head over to Holly’s (if you haven’t already) to see the Smackdown Spotlight on Realm Lovejoy.

But here at Cuppa Jolie, please welcome Robin Mellom.

Welcome, Robin! I am also a writer who is very behind on laundry (see her blog header)! Will you share a bit about yourself?

Hmmm…well, I write middle grade novels but I’m branching out to write young adult. I got started writing for kids when I was a middle school teacher, but then got serious about it when I had my son and found time to write during nap time. To learn the craft (and make friends!) I joined SCBWI, attended weekly critique groups, started a blog with my friends Eve and Jay (The DiscoMermaids) and read many, many books. Now I have an agent, Jill Corcoran, and she’s started submitting my middle grade novel THE HAPPINESS PROJECT. So now we wait!

Tell me a little about your current revision project.

I am writing the first draft of a young adult novel. Nothing too dark and serious—just a light-hearted romance. My hope is to spend the first couple of weeks writing as far into the first draft as possible, then I’ll spend the last couple of weeks revising the first three chapters and getting them completely polished so my agent can take a look and give me feedback. I don’t want to get too far and then find out she hates it and it makes her queasy. Queasy would be the worst. But then again, maybe she’ll love it!

Usually I give myself a daily page count when I’m trying to make a self-imposed deadline. But I’ve never been able to sustain that. I often torture myself by thinking, “If I just write five pages a day, I’ll have a whole book done in 40 days!” It’s like a diet…I do great the first three days, then I immediately go back to scarfing Lay’s sour cream & onion potato chips. (And Reese’s.)

So for this revision smackdown (love the title btw), I’m going to challenge myself to write for one hour every day. I know that’s not a lot, but with my life (part-time work, a kid no longer in school, and a dog that sheds non-stop) I think one hour a day is manageable. Then I won’t have to judge myself on how much I get done, I just have to put in the time! I’m curious to see if this technique works better for me. So thanks for putting together this challenge, Jolie & Holly!

You are most welcome. We’ll look forward to your weekly report—to see if that one hour is holding strong.

Do you have a revision tip you can share with the rest of our whipper smackers?

I don’t really have a “tip” but here’s what works for me…(I think)

In my first draft, I focus on getting down the bones of the story, and I write in little notes to myself like, “Make this part funny,” or “Figure this part out.” In my second draft, I work on voice and getting the tone “just right.”
Then I provide myself with salty snacks, close my office door, and stay off Facebook.

Thanks, Robin!

Tomorrow, don't miss the Whip Tip! There will be two posted, one here and one at Holly's, both feature special guests.

SRS: Whip of the Week #1

Holly and I have been amazed by the wild licorice waves of you who have signed up to participate in the Summer Revision Smackdown! So...we award each and every one of you the first WHIP OF THE WEEK award:



Our Whips of Wonder and their goals:

• Cuppa Jolie: finish revising YA, and outline a new WIP!
• Holly Cupala: second draft of that second YA novel, woot!
• Beth Kephart: self-proclaimed revision queen!
• Molly Blaisdell: she's in, and she's not telling how...
• Kirby Larson: eschew the rules and revise like crazy...
• Martha Brockenbrough: two top secret PBs and a novel draft headed for the lash line!
• CocoaStomp: non-top-secret dummies, NTS art, and a truly top secret secret...
• Sara: tweak the rules and finish the rewrite!
• Justina Chen Headley: some secrets are worth the wait...
• Realm Lovejoy: finish the first, crack the whip with 20 pages per week on #2!
• Kjersten: 2 illustration spreads per week!
• Robin: she's in, she's in!
• C. N. Nevets: throwing her licorice in the pot with double the overhaul power!
• Vivian: finish that FINAL revision, baby!
• kbaccellia: her goals are secret...for now...
• Lorie Ann Grover: revise through June, and on and on!
• Kim Baker: move forward, girl!
• jillalex: she promises details to come...
• beth: finish the rough draft, fix the problems, and get to the betas by June 30!
• Kelly: what to do after the first draft...
• Julie Reinhardt: nail that satisfying MG ending, and rewrite the PB!
• Annie Gage: keep on the revising train with index cards and the trusty bulletin board!
• Deb Lund: reread, refrain, rewrite!
• motherhoodtales: fly by the seat of her pants and get her feet wet with accountability!
• maya ganesan: get going to finish that first draft!
• Lois Brandt: stop being a novel slut and revise just one novel!
• -karen ann.: revise that graphic novel manuscript and finish the artwork!
• Judy Bodmer: revise her 30 chapters, five per week!
• Jennifer Mann: current PB ms and illustrations, & start another PB dummy!
• Susan Uhlig Ford: process 4 critiques on her creepy MG and get ready for submission!
• Lisa L. Owens: get that shaky first draft ready to sell again!
• Michele Gawenka: return to that MG novel and make it A-list!
• Lee Wind: revise the revision goals...with licorice!
• Laurie Schneider: a chapter a week on that MG novel!
• jone: awake and raring to go on revision!
• Joni Sensel: 5 or more chapters on the third FWQ book!
• Michèle Griskey: produce 4 pages/day and turn that screenplay into a YA!
• Robin Gaphni: finish that MG novel and polish a chapter book!
• HelenL: revise, tweak, and copyedit that YA novel for her agent!
• Jet Harrington: SFD by June 30!
• Alison Weatherby: 2 YA chapers per week!
• Brenda Winter Hansen: 1 chapter every two days!
• Krista Mercer: she's *got* to finish that draft!
• Shelley S.: finish that novel, revise it, and outline companion novel - no excuses!
• Plus all of the facebook participants who are going to post their goals HERE...right?

And, it's NEVER too late to join.

Give yourselves a pat on the back, and then werplash! Get revising!

Feel free to share what you're sure to whip into shape today or this week. Today, I plan to revise on the fly as I ride the whip into Seattle for the day.

Don't miss tomorrow's Smackdown Spotlight!

Monday Moment #21

The Seattle weather has been Un.Be.Leeeev.Able!

There was no way I was going to spend it on inside activities or chores. So, I took both the activity and the chore parts of my life outdoors for the weekend. (I hope that my children have some clean clothes to wear to school this week!)

I spent the majority of my time working in my garden--hard, back-breaking, yet therapeutic work. Oh, and chasing the puppy around the yard as she went from cream colored to dirt-black very quickly and also discovered she loves the sprinkler. But much of my time was spent bent over, bum in the air. What I didn't realize was that, just like plumbers, my waist band lowered and my shirt lifted exposing my back (not my crack...thankfully). I ended up with about a one inch wide strip of sunburn on my low lumbar right where girls like to put tats of butterflies and dolphins...you know the spot.

I love thinking about how the description of my sunburn strip is a great way to "show" that I spend time in my garden, that the weather is sunny in Seattle, and that I don't put sunscreen on my backside.

How does an event or activity leave it's mark on your character?