I'm J.J Pennyfur, the Furriest and smallest member of the Pen and Ink blog team. Most humans call me Penny.
I am an aspiring children's book writer. My first love is YA.
In spite of being a single mother with six small children, I managed to finish my manuscript in time to go to the SCBWI Summer Conference for a critique of my first pages.
I was pretty nervous, this being my first conference. I hoped for words of advice and support from my fellow writers. And I got them. (You will note that many of these word's are addressed to my picture. I had a problem with my baby sitter and had to leave for a while. But I made it back in time for my critique)
Want to win an autographed copy of Struck by Jennifer Bosworth? If you're a loyal follower, then you've read our interview with this distinguished YA author, and know what the book is about. We know, we know. It's too good to be true. Believe it, non-believers. To win a copy of Struck, all you have to do is visit Jennifer's author page on Facebook and tell her how much you want to read her book. Be sure to tell her The Pen & Ink Blogspot sent you. We'll be watching Jennifer's author page and be selecting a winner at random. It could be you. What are the odds? Better than being hit by lightning.
The deadline is Midnight, September 30st. Sincerely, The Management
Jennifer Bosworth is the author of Struck, a YA novel set in post-earthquake Los Angeles, a city full of cults, prophecies and Mia, a girl with a fatal attraction to lightning.
1. I
attended your amazing talk at the 2012 SCBWI Conference – The Conspicuous
Writer: Helping Readings Discover Your Work. How did you score that gig?
I made
threats that if they didn't put me on staff I would spike the Purple Haze
cocktail at the Hippie Hop with LSD. And when that didn't work, my agent pulled
some strings.
Actually,
I never would have thought I could make it onto the SCBWI conference staff, but
my agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton, who used to be one of the conference organizers,
suggested I write a few proposals for breakout sessions and panels just to see
if they’d accept me. I chose topics I had some insight into, wrote my
proposals, and my agent sent them in. I was quite pleasantly surprised (and
terrified) when they accepted my Conspicuous Writer proposal and also put me on
a success story panel. I have chronic “I don’t deserve this” syndrome.
2. The
amazing Struck book trailer screams professionalism. Any advice for us amateurs
about creating book trailers?
One of
my favorite topics! I could jibber jabber about this subject all day, but I’ll
keep my advice brief.I want to speak
specifically to live action book trailers, because that’s what I chose to
create for “Struck.”
When
writing the script for your book trailer, don’t try to deliver a synopsis. If
potential readers want to know what your book is about, they can read the
jacket copy. Trailers should help them feel
what the book is about, and live action trailers especially need to pack a
punch, so pick the most visually compelling scenes to adapt, and write
theme-based copy rather than plot-based.
Hold
a casting session and pay your principle actors, even if it’s only $50 a day.
Casting is one of the most important parts of a live action book trailer,
because this is often where potential readers will get their first introduction
to your characters. A bad actor or a miscast actor can alienate a reader. Also
you’ll widen your pool of available talent if you offer compensation.
Music
is your best tool for manipulating the audience, so don’t choose sleepy, classical
music unless you want the audience to take a nap. There’s no shortage of music
licensing sites online where you can find inexpensive options for music that
won’t cause narcolepsy.
3.
Have you ever had a close encounter with lightning?
I've never been struck by lightning, but I did have one strange experience while I
was working on “Struck.” I’d just finished a long revising session and was
heading to bed. I looked out my bedroom window, and I got a strange feeling.
Then a bolt of lightning flashed through the sky right outside my window. There weren't even any clouds that night. I swear I’m not making this up. You believe
me, don’t you? Don’t you?!
4.
Your main character Mia mentions a lightning strike triggering the Puente Hills
Thrust Fault. I’ve heard of the mythical earthquake weather, but I haven’t
heard of lightning effecting fault lines. Where did you get this idea? (Any
complaints from seismologists?)
So far
no complaints from seismologists, but I’d love to get a professional’s take on
the possibility of lightning causing earthquakes. The truth is, no one really
understands lightning, and it can do amazing, inexplicable things. Scientists
can argue with that, so they might also have a hard time arguing with my
fictional science.
5. Do
you think the end is coming? Do you have a personal “End of the World”
scenario?
Have
you seen “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”? Because if you watch it, you might be
convinced that the world has already come to an end.
Seriously,
though, I don’t want to believe the end is coming, but whenever I watch the
news, I can’t help myself. I have a survival plan for an earthquake in Los
Angeles, but my husband keeps drinking our earthquake water, and I keep eating
our Progresso soup when we run out of groceries. I don’t think we’re going to
last long. My backup plan is to learn how to make moonshine so I have a trade
that will increase my post-apocalyptic, societal value.
6.
Some years ago, I dreamed of a Los Angeles basin covered in garbage. Gray sky.
No people. Just garbage obscuring everything. On the beach, possibly Santa
Monica, I saw tires mounted on pylons rising up above the garbage field like
monuments. Should I worry?
Yes.
Absolutely. If there’s one thing my main character, Mia Price, and I have in
common, it’s that we expect the worst. Now I’m worried that you’re having
psychic visions and my city will soon be a wasteland.
Side
note: I checked an online dream dictionary and it said: to see piles of garbage in your dream represents rejected or unwanted
aspects of yourself.
Something to consider . . .
---------------------------
The Management would like to thank Jennifer Bosworth for granting this interview. For more about Jennifer, visit her website.
by Susan Berger I attended Bonnie Bader's breakout session, Writing for the Transitional Reader. Early Chapter Books at the SCBWI Summer Conference because I wanted to know more about them. I find it a confusing subject. Bonnie clarified many things for me. I did some internet research to try fill in the gaps. As best I can figure out, this information varies by house, so take it with a grain of salt. Leveled readers: Usually 32-48 pages. Leveled readers have a structured vocabulary. The best known structured vocabulary list is is the Dolch List I've linked to the one that is alphabetical by grade.
Beginning Readers: This is taken from Mary Koles's Kid Lit.com Early readers are the earliest “chapter” stories that a kid can get. They’re very short in terms of manuscript length (1,500 words max) but are broken up into either chapters or vignettes that will give the reader the feeling of reading a book with real chapters in it. Your target audience for these is kids ages 4 to 8. Early readers feature a smaller trim size, some the size of or slightly bigger than a paperback novel, and can go from about 32 to 60 pages. The font size is smaller and they feature spot illustrations in either color or black and white instead of full color throughout, like a picture book. Even if you think you have a great early reader idea, it has to be a very precise fit for a publisher’s established vocab/sentence/word count guidelines.
If you use the "look inside me" feature, you can get a very good idea of this format.
Bonnie's example wasYoung Cam Jensen,(a level three book) 4 chapters. Color illustrations Probably under 48 pages. But, I believe more words than Ting and Ling
Easy Chapter Books
The Princess Posy series:
These books have 10 chapters, and black and white illustrations. They run 96 pages, 2400-3000 words per book - approximately 300 words a chapter. If you go to the link, you can see how the illustrations meld with the text, making some description unnecessary. "She slipped a spoonfull of green peas into Danny's mouth." (Yes you can add an art note to your manuscript Mom feeding Danny in High Chair.) The illustrations shows a mom feeding a baby in a high chair.
Bonnie said this type of book requires simple plot lines,memorable characters with a short hook, and familiar settings. We need to know who the character is and what their problem is right from the beginning. The sentences are shorter in these books. You have to figure out your chapter breaks carefully so that you reader is left with a hook and a sense of accomplishment in finishing the chapter.
Henry and Mudge, by Cynthia Rylant. Color illustrations Seven chapters. 100 words per chapter. Average 25 words per page)
The ever popular Captain Underpantsseries These are longer books. 29 chapters LOTS of black and white cartoon illustrations. about 185 pages long. Boys and girls love this series.
You may have noticed these books are all series books. That's what publishers prefer. Is there room for a single book? Why, yes.Deborah Underwood'sPirate Momis a stand alone level three reader published by Random House (Three chapters 48 pages color illustrations) I bought a copy at the SCBWI Summer Conference and I think it's hilarious and very accessible to young readers.
Early Chapter Books
These are aimed at ages 7-9, Grades 2-4, depending on the level of reading competence. They run around 128 pages and 10,000 words. The illustrations are black and white and the number of them seem to vary by series. The characters are usually aged 8-10
Bonnie says George Brown Class Clown is about 10,000 words. Take a look at the layout. The Author, Nancy Krulik, also writes the very popular Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo Katie looks to be a bit more word dense than George Brown,(smaller print. I counted 100 words on on page and 10 pages in the chapter.) but they are both listed for the same reading level.
My current favorite early chapter books is Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker and illustrated by Marla Frazee. This one breaks some rules. There is no Chapter 2. It goes from chapter 1 to chapter 3. I believe it is seven chapters for the days of her "not so good of a week. " I love the humor and the wonderful first person voice. Another popular early chapter books is Judy Moody This one had 141 pages but many full page illustrations. My friend and fellow author Nancy Stewart's blog post Early Chapter Books for Young Readers. mentions several books I want to check out. I hope this clarifies a few things. If you want to look further for information on leveled readers, the best place I found was ReadingA-Z.com. Here's a link to their criteria for Early emergent readers, Level aa to Z. (phew!!) and here is the list of books that match their criteria. If you click on the books. you will see a picture and a word count. Levels aa-books have 17-24 word. Levels A-C seem to average 50 words and use a High frequency word list. Happy writing and researching.
Photo courtesy of Illustration Friday & Melissa Sweet
by Kris Kahrs
Because we never have enough new friends around here at The Pen and Ink Blog, we'd like to share some of our favs with you. The talented, the creative, the brave, the committed -- Illustrators and Authors alike. They have been our favorite partners in crime: Megan Frances - Illustrator and Writer
Megan is always a delight. Her illustrations are imaginative and ethereal. http://www.onbeyondwordsandpictures.com/
Ann Whitford Paul - Writer
Ann has a beautiful, playful blog. http://annwhitfordpaul.net/ Catherine Lee - Illustrator/Writer
Catherine has a couple of well-done sites: blog, website & facebook page. Beautiful to behold. http://www.catherine-lee.com/ Paula Yoo - Writer
Always, always, fun and fab. http://paulayoo.com/
If these sites don't inspire, then ye hearts be made of stone! Enjoy.
