It’s NaNoWriMo Time Quotes To Keep You Writing

November 10, 2014

It's Nano Time. Quotes to keep you writing

By Susan J. Berger

It's NaNoWriMo time again.   I am following Dawn Knobbe's lead  and using this years' NaNo to make last years novel into a readable 2nd/3rd draft.
She also did a post on inspirational quotes for NaNoWriMo.
If you've never tried National Novel Month, it's a great way to get a first draft. Deadline is everything . You have thirty days to do it.

 

 

This isn't about being perfect. It's about getting the words out. If you get the words out, the story will come. I guarantee there will be lots of surprises.

"Here's the bottom line; writers write. Sometimes words flow easily. Sometimes it's like sloughing through mud. Either way a professional writer keeps writing." 

P.C.Cast 

 

 "A word after a word after a word is power." - Margaret Atwood

Dory and I have so much in common. I often stop to Google.

“Don't worry about what you're writing or whether it's good or even whether it makes sense.”  

Lauren Oliver

“Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.”
Ray Bradbury.

 

Advice from a Hollywood NaNoWriMo coordinator.

"When all else fails, throw in a Zombie."

Will you revise after NaNoWriMo? Of course, but right now the trick is meeting the deadline.

 

"There's an old folk saying that goes: whenever you delete a sentence from your NaNoWriMo novel, a NaNoWriMo angel loses its wings and plummets, screaming, to the ground. Where it will likely require medical attention.”
Chris Baty

 

“You can't edit a blank page”

Nora Roberts

 

Happy writing.

Links From Kris. Appropriate and In Appropriate

 by Kris Kahrs

In the spirit of collaboration, the forces of good and evil here at The Pen and Ink Blog decided to split the difference and list both the appropriate and inappropriate kidlit links this week. 

The Appropriate:

Go to bed with a good book?  What if that book also kept you warm at night? The Great Eastern Hotel in the UK has a blanket designed by Tiago da Fonseca that is also a traditional bedtime story.

The Inappropriate:

Author/Illustrator, Josh Cooley has a series called the L'il Inappropriate Book line.  One of these has a Golden book of our favorite movies, The Godfather. Definitely not a bedtime read for anyone under 21. 

The Appropriate:

 

This ultra-hip library desk from the Tu Delft Architecture Bibliotheek in the Netherlands.  Every bibliophile's dream.

The Inappropriate:

Over at College Humor (and yes, the name does say it all), there are more funny, but ah, inappropriate titles for children.    

My favorite.  You can get the wallpaper here.

Enjoy this week's Appropriate and Inappropriate Links.

Upcoming Holidays

It was Hilde's turn to post, but she's opted out till school ends. Between the classes she is taking and the classes she is teaching, she's finding almost no time to sleep, less write.
I haven't got a post in my head, so here is a list of Holidays, should you be searching for a topic of conversation. I took the from two different sites, so you can choose.
The first Calendar is from Holiday Insights
They failed to mention that April 19th is the anniversary of the Battle of Concord and Lexington. But

 

I forgive them because of Mother Goose Day.  What's your favorite strange Holiday?

Saturday April 23	Talk Like Shakespeare Day Duh. It's Shakespeare's birthday. Shoot him a card.
Sunday, April 2	Hug an Australian Day
Monday, April 27	Babe Ruth Day
Thursday, April 30
Friday, May 1	Mother Goose Day
Sunday, May 3	Lumpy Rug Day
Monday, May 4	Star Wars Day
Wednesday, May 6	No Diet Day
Friday, May 8	No Socks Day
Monday, May 11	Eat What You Want Day
Tuesday, May 12	Limerick Day
Wednesday, May 13	Frog Jumping Day
Thursday, May 14	National Chicken Dance Day
Friday, May 15	National Chocolate Chip Day
Saturday, May 16	National Sea Monkey Day
Sunday, May 17	Pack Rat Day
Monday, May 18	Visit Your Relatives Day
Thursday, May 21	National Waiters and Waitresses Day
Monday, May 25	National Tap Dance Day
Sunday, May 31 The Next list is From Holiday Insights 18 International Juggler's Day - also applies to multi tasking office workers 18 Newspaper Columnists Day 18 Patriot's Day - third Monday of the month 19 National Garlic Day 20 Look Alike Day 20 Volunteer Recognition Day 21 Kindergarten Day 21 National High Five Day third Thursday 22 Girl Scout Leader Day 22 National Jelly Bean Day 23 Lover's Day 23 National Zucchini Bread Day - they hold this at a time when you are not sick of all that zucchini. 23 Take a Chance Day 23 World Laboratory Day 24 Pig in a Blanket Day 25 East meets West Day 25 World Penguin Day   26 Hug an Australian Day 26 National Pretzel Day 26 Richter Scale Day 27 Administrative Professionals Day (Executive Admin's Day, Secretary's Day) -  date varies 27 Babe Ruth Day 27 National Prime Rib Day 27 Tell a Story Day 28 International Astronomy Day 28 Great Poetry Reading Day 28 Kiss Your Mate Day - guys, do not forget this one. Kiss her, then read her some poetry. 28 Take Your Daughter to Work 4th Thursday 29 Arbor Day  -last Friday of month 29 Greenery Day 29 National Shrimp Scampi Day 30 Hairstyle Appreciation Day 30 National Honesty Day	World Tobacco Day

Bad Picture Books

By Susan J Berger


My Granddaughter Grace reading to my Granddaughter Eleanor

I have a theory that kids learn to read more easily

when confronted with one sound at a time. I taught a second grader to read with Hop on Pop.

To that end I have written a few one sound picture books that are hopefully funny and publishable. Allyn Johnston at Beach Lane bought Log on Log. She has not yet rejected Nat The Rat and Fat Cat. Allyn is pretty quick with lovely rejection letters. She rejected Claire and the Bear. I will be shopping that elsewhere.

I love working with one- sound picture books, but some sounds make really bad books. For example: Fun with Nun and Hun. Even changing the Hun from a Nazi to Attila the Hun didn’t help.

Fun with Nun and Hun

Nun and Hun have fun in the sun.

Run Nun, run.

Run Hun, run.  

Hun finds a bun.

One Bun.

 Nun finds none.

“Bun, Nun?” asks Hun.

 Nun is hungry. “Yes, Hun.” 

“No. No bun for Nun.” Hun runs. 

Nun shuns Hun.

Hun has a gun. 

“No Hun!” says Nun. “Not fun!”

 Nun takes gun from Hun. 

Nun stuns Hun with gun.

“Not fun, Nun,” says Hun

Hun is done.

Now Nun has a bun and Hun has none.

Nun won.


See What I mean? I tried the “an” words. Hmmm.
 

Stan’s Bad Plan

Gran.

Nan and Dan.

Van.

Nan and Dan go with Gran in the van.

Gran and Dan and Nan go to Jan’s.                      

 

Nan wants Jam

 

Dan wants Spam.

“I have a plan,” says Gran. She buys Bran and Jam and Spam.

 

A man in a tan van scans Nan.

 

“Gran,” said Dan, “the man in the tan van scanned Nan.”

Gran scans the man in tan.

“The man is Stan,” says Gran. “He is a bad man.”

“Scram, Nan and Dan.” Gran throws the can of Span at Stan.

Nan and Dan ran.

Stan rams Gran with the van.

Poor Gran.

Bad Stan.

 

Then there is Skunk and Monk. This one is almost publishable if I left out the work drunk…I put illustrator notes in parentheses, as the words have more than one meaning.

 

 

Monk and Skunk

Monk.

 

Skunk.

 

Monk saw Skunk.

Monk shrunk. 

Skunk stunk.                                            (skunk sprays)

 

Funk.                                                        (Cloud of smelliness)

 

Monk in funk.                                          (runs to pond)

 

Monk dunks

 

Plunk!

Monk sunk in gunk.

 

Hunk of junk.                                             (old boot in pond)

Monk has spunk. 

 

Monk chunks junk at skunk.                  

“Punk!” says Monk.

 

Clunk!                                                           

 

Skunk bunks                                            (skunk flees)

 

Monk shrunk.                                          (His robe shrank)

 

Monk in trunk                                         (underwear)

 

Monks on Bunks.                                    (Monks lying on beds)

Thunk!                                                     (Skunk posse arrives)

 

Skunks on trunks.                                  (Skunks sit on trunks at ends of bunks)

 

Skunks stunk.                                        (spray)

 

Monks slunk.                                          (Run away)
 

Skunks in bunks.

 

Monks get drunk.

 

Currently I am working on Buck and Duck. It’s not going well. Hopefully I will find a sound that makes a good story. Please feel free to leave me a suggestion.

I apologize for any oddities in the layout and spacing. I returned from SCBWI's fabulous National Conference at 9:30 and couldn't make blogger behave.

It's Nano Time. Quotes to keep you writing

By Susan J. Berger

It's NaNoWriMo time again.   I am following Dawn Knobbe's lead  and using this years' NaNo to make last years novel into a readable 2nd/3rd draft.
She also did a post on inspirational quotes for NaNoWriMo.
If you've never tried National Novel Month, it's a great way to get a first draft. Deadline is everything . You have thirty days to do it.

 

 

This isn't about being perfect. It's about getting the words out. If you get the words out, the story will come. I guarantee there will be lots of surprises.

"Here's the bottom line; writers write. Sometimes words flow easily. Sometimes it's like sloughing through mud. Either way a professional writer keeps writing."

P.C.Cast

 

 "A word after a word after a word is power." - Margaret Atwood

Dory and I have so much in common. I often stop to Google.

“Don't worry about what you're writing or whether it's good or even whether it makes sense.” 

Lauren Oliver

“Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.”
Ray Bradbury.

 

Advice from a Hollywood NaNoWriMo coordinator.

"When all else fails, throw in a Zombie."

Will you revise after NaNoWriMo? Of course, but right now the trick is meeting the deadline.

 

"There's an old folk saying that goes: whenever you delete a sentence from your NaNoWriMo novel, a NaNoWriMo angel loses its wings and plummets, screaming, to the ground. Where it will likely require medical attention.”
Chris Baty

 

“You can't edit a blank page”

Nora Roberts

 

Happy writing.

 

 

The Kid Lit Writer's Alphabet

By Kris Kahrs

The Pen and Inkers are all busy writing our New Years Resolutions. This is a repost from New Years 2013. Happy 2014 to all of us.

By the same people who brought you The Pirate's Alphabet, Ms. K. felt inspired to share her version of the Kidlit Writer's Alphabet.  Please feel free to join in and share your own version in the comments below.

A is for Associate Social Media Editor, the job you take while working on your manuscript nights.

B is for 'But first coffee..', the first thing your brain says in the morning as you stagger to your writing table after another late night.

 

C is for Conference, where you spend the trillions of dollars you make at your day job to flog your latest YA, geek-cum-vampire masterpiece.

D is for Desk Cat, because (say it with me now), no writer should be without one.

E is for Earnest, as in the tone of the Query Letter you write to the editor you met at the conference.

F is for the thing that you said when you received your twelfth rejection letter.

G is for Great which is the chocolate you ate after the twelfth rejection letter.


  

H is for Hungover, which is how you feel after you drank the martinis after you ate the chocolate after the twelfth rejection letter.

I is for Instant Acceptance, which is how the newly published author you went to listen to at the bookstore described how her book got picked up after she got out of her Master's program.

J is for 'just', the word you did a search and replace on and found 54 times in your manuscript.

K is for Knight, the new character you add to your YA manuscript on the advice of your online critique.

L is for the Love letter you write to the agent who calls to request the whole manuscript after reading your ten page submission.

 

 M is for the Mantra (please buy my book) you chant the whole time the agent has your manuscript.

N is for the Non-stop fun you are having doing the revisions requested by said agent.

O is for the Opera you sang when the agent offered to take you on as a client.

P is for the Publishers your agent shops your manuscript to.

Q is for yet another Quick and dirty revision you do for each of them.

R is for the Riot you started at Staples when you couldn't find the right ink cartridge for your printer.

S is for the Salmon filet you cooked for desk cat (you had the champagne) when the publisher called to say they wanted your book.

T is for the cup of Tea you had (to keep your hands from shaking) when you went in to the Publisher's offices to sign the contract.

U is for the pair of Uggs you bought that you wore to Starbucks because you are a writer in L.A. after all.

V is for Very ecstatic because your agent says your book is on The New York Times bestseller list.

 

W is for Writing the sequel because your agent has created a bidding war for your next manuscript.

 X is for the Xtra large cup of Pinkberry you buy because you figure you can afford the big bucks.





Y is for the YES you screech when your agent tells you that a producer is interested in making a movie of your book.

 

Z is for zealous, which is how you feel about you and desk cat religiously getting your couples' massage on Tuesdays.



Best of luck to all of us in 2014!

.Picture Books That Will Never Be Published.

By Susan J Berger


My Granddaughter Grace reading to my Granddaughter Eleanor

I have a theory that kids learn to read more easily

when confronted with one sound at a time. I taught a second grader to read with Hop on Pop.

To that end I have written a few one sound picture books that are hopefully funny and publishable. Allyn Johnston at Beach Lane bought Log on Log. She has not yet rejected Nat The Rat and Fat Cat. Allyn is pretty quick with lovely rejection letters. She rejected Claire and the Bear. I will be shopping that elsewhere.

I love working with one- sound picture books, but some sounds make really bad books. For example: Fun with Nun and Hun. Even changing the Hun from a Nazi to Attila the Hun didn’t help.

Fun with Nun and Hun

Nun and Hun have fun in the sun.

Run Nun, run.

Run Hun, run.  

Hun finds a bun.

One Bun.

 Nun finds none.

“Bun, Nun?” asks Hun.

 Nun is hungry. “Yes, Hun.” 

“No. No bun for Nun.” Hun runs. 

Nun shuns Hun.

Hun has a gun. 

“No Hun!” says Nun. “Not fun!”

 Nun takes gun from Hun. 

Nun stuns Hun with gun.

“Not fun, Nun,” says Hun

Hun is done.

Now Nun has a bun and Hun has none.

Nun won.


See What I mean? I tried the “an” words. Hmmm.
 

Stan’s Bad Plan

Gran.

Nan and Dan.

Van.

Nan and Dan go with Gran in the van.

Gran and Dan and Nan go to Jan’s.                      

 

Nan wants Jam

 

Dan wants Spam.

“I have a plan,” says Gran. She buys Bran and Jam and Spam.

 

A man in a tan van scans Nan.

 

“Gran,” said Dan, “the man in the tan van scanned Nan.”

Gran scans the man in tan.

“The man is Stan,” says Gran. “He is a bad man.”

“Scram, Nan and Dan.” Gran throws the can of Span at Stan.

Nan and Dan ran.

Stan rams Gran with the van.

Poor Gran.

Bad Stan.

 

Then there is Skunk and Monk. This one is almost publishable if I left out the work drunk…I put illustrator notes in parentheses, as the words have more than one meaning.

 

 

Monk and Skunk

Monk.

 

Skunk.

 

Monk saw Skunk.

Monk shrunk. 

Skunk stunk.                                            (skunk sprays)

 

Funk.                                                        (Cloud of smelliness)

 

Monk in funk.                                          (runs to pond)

 

Monk dunks

 

Plunk!

Monk sunk in gunk.

 

Hunk of junk.                                             (old boot in pond)

Monk has spunk. 

 

Monk chunks junk at skunk.                  

“Punk!” says Monk.

 

Clunk!                                                           

 

Skunk bunks                                            (skunk flees)

 

Monk shrunk.                                          (His robe shrank)

 

Monk in trunk                                         (underwear)

 

Monks on Bunks.                                    (Monks lying on beds)

Thunk!                                                     (Skunk posse arrives)

 

Skunks on trunks.                                  (Skunks sit on trunks at ends of bunks)

 

Skunks stunk.                                        (spray)

 

Monks slunk.                                          (Run away)
 

Skunks in bunks.

 

Monks get drunk.

 

Currently I am working on Buck and Duck. It’s not going well. Hopefully I will find a sound that makes a good story. Please feel free to leave me a suggestion.

I apologize for any oddities in the layout and spacing. I returned from SCBWI's fabulous National Conference at 9:30 and couldn't make blogger behave.