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?

Are You Ready?

Check out what Holly is doing to get ready for the big day! I completely relate to this need (you'll have to read it to know), which is why I almost NEVER work at home.

And those of you who live in the Seattle area know that making yourself work RIGHT NOW, while it is THIS gorgeous, is not easy. But since I have this view...

I really can't complain.

I spend time at my little table next to the window, and when I need fresh air, I go to the beach right outside the door and pull up a piece of drift wood (along with my notebook and pencil)...

Stay tuned as we kick it all off on Monday. We'll have daily features and more yummy graphics (ala Cupala!).

Bring It On...Summer Revision Smackdown

Ah...the lure of licorice. We knew it was strong, but it's bringing you out in droves. Yow-yow!

If you've already declared your participation here on Cuppa Jolie or on Holly's blog, make sure to find us on Facebook ,too (if you haven't already). But if you haven't let us know you want to join in yet, it's not too late, please tell us your goals here or here.

So, I've already started my journey and have been busy at work. Even sometimes working when I'd rather not be, like when I'm taking my girlies to school. It's not like you can tell your brain..."Hey, knock that off. I can't do this right now." I mean, if you started jonesin' for jog but you were in the middle making dinner, you could always put it off until later. But when your brain is writing, even though you don't have pen and pad, too bad. That's how my morning went. And the thoughts were coming like crazy. I continually repeated key words over and over in my head so that I would forget. Whee!

Okay, time to declare my own goals. But I'm feeling chatty (ah, so many friends!) and I thought I'd tell you why I personally needed this wherplash so desperately--it's too easy to WASTE TIME! Right? It's like when you're trying to make good food choices so you keep a food journal. It makes you accountable, especially if you have to show it to a dietitian or personal trainer--you must list the good and the bad. Creating this public lashing forces me to make "healthy" writing choices, meaning Facebook, Twitter, and emailing are the equivalent of candy, ice cream, and cookies. Yes? Yes. I can tell it's already going be a huge aide.

I will out myself right now...I had ice cream at dinner (literally ice cream, not a Twitter session).

MY GOALS

*Finish revision of my young adult novel (this will mean working through about 40 pages/week).

*Outline 3-5 chapters a week of my work-in-progress (yes, I know that this is not revision, but it's the accountability thing...plus I want to make you rule-breakers feel better).

Let's let the licorice fly!

SUMMER REVISION SMACKDOWN!

So, I teased that Holly and I had something revion-y up our sleeves. Well, here it is!

Summer Revision Smackdown: The Process and the Perks

• Declare that you will crack the whip during the month of June and revel in revision with us.
• State your own revision goals (pages per week, hours/day, picture book/dummy drafts). What do you want to accomplish by June 30?
• Check in with us at the end of each week (Friday or Saturday) and report your progress by commenting on our blogs. We’ll alternate where to post, starting with Holly’s at the end of week 1, then over to Jolie’s at end of week two, then back to Holly, finally back to Jolie). No worries, we’ll remind you where to post every Friday.

Each Monday, Holly and Jolie will award THE WHIP OF THE WEEK to one Smackdowner who they feel has cracked the revision licorice whip the previous week.

During the month we will link to great spots to have a read on revision. Plus, you may just hear from some special guests, sharing tips and thoughts on revision.



At the end of June, Holly and Jolie will give one Smackdowner THE WHIPLASH AWARD for excellence in revision during the month of June. And that just might come with a cuppa something and your own personal licorice memento.



Don’t feel like you need to wait until June 1st to start…ready, set, werplash!