The Great Critique - coming 1/18/2020

Winter Great Critique – January 2020

Date/Time
Date(s) - 01/18/2020
9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Location
TaborSpace, The Dining Room
5441 SE Belmont Street - Portland, OR 97215

SCBWI Oregon’s Great Critique is an event that happens twice a year. Each session is an awesome opportunity for writers and illustrators to be critiqued by a professional and their peers.

Never been in a critique group? Wish you could be critiqued by someone who is ahead of you in the publishing game? Want to strengthen your work? Need a fresh set of eyes and ears on that oft-revised piece? This is your chance. A published author or illustrator will lead each small group and critique your manuscript or art. You’ll also hear/see others’ work and get feedback from those writers and illustrators too. Plus you’ll learn from the comments by the critique leader about the work of others.

So sign up for a morning of perfecting your craft. And, who knows, you might make a few new like-minded friends to start a new critique group, too.

There will be a meet and greet at 9:00, where attendees sign in and get their name tags, then can enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack while meeting other writers and illustrators. Faculty books will be available for purchase during the refreshment time as well.

Sign up here: https://oregon.scbwi.org/events/winter-great-critique-january-2020/

The faculty includes;

Addie Boswell 

Cindy Baldwin 

Zoe Burke  

Kelly Fry 

Melissa Hart 

Sarah Jane Marsh 

Suzy Vitello 

Kate Berube 

Quilting and Homemade Stuffed Animals

Those of you who know me, know I love to make, bake and create. I just can't seem to help it. "Sew" when I saw this little elephant fabric, I thought, "I'd love to make a little stuffed elephant for a friend's baby shower." Of course, I'd never made a stuffed animal before but again I thought, "How hard can it be?" 

Lucky for me, I was thinking in 2D not 3D. If I'd had to make four legs, that would have thrown my making into another dimension entirely...thus, 3D not 2D.

But, if you're like me and have never made a stuffed animal (without a pattern) and you're curious how I did it, just keep reading.

First, I was inspired by this fabric, which I used to make the backside of a baby blanket for my friend's shower.

But like everything I do, inspiration comes from many sources. Do you see the yellow and gray polka dot ear on the front side of the baby blanket? Well, immediately I thought an all gray elephant just wouldn't do. Imagine that. But I was also inspired by Mike Curato's Little Elliot - Big City books.

 I just heard Mike Curato give a presentation in L.A. at the SCBWI Summer Conference. I thought, "I want my little elephant to be all polka dotted--like little Eliott." So I went in search of some more fabric - this time polka dotted. And I figured I only needed about one-fourth a yard for a stuffed animal. 

Then I thought, "I really like the shape of the little gray elephant above." So I drew the shape on a piece of paper (and I'm not an illustrator or an artist) so I drew it lightly, in case I made mistakes (which is super silly because it was paper and I was using a pencil--duh, I could have erased a mistake-but whatever, that's what I did). 

When I got that done, I drew the shape right on the fabric.

Cut it out and laid the front sides together and sewed around the edges. I left a little section open so I could stuff it (I made a mistake here--I left the trunk open to stuff, I should have left a foot open to stuff so it wouldn't be noticed as much--but that's the way I did it.)

After I had him stuffed, I sewed a couple of yellow ears on (because I had some leftover yellow fabric from when I made my Candy Corn Cushions for my benches out in my yard). Then I took some leftover material and braided a tail and sewed those on. But I still needed an eye. I didn't want to sew something on that the baby might pull off and eat so I embroidered a little eyelash around one of the polka dots (on both sides). And Voila...or, as I would say,  Wah-lah!

I had a fun little gift for the baby shower (a baby blanket and a stuffed elephant). 

Let me know if you have made a stuffed animal for a child. I'd love to visit your blog to check it out.

 

My first annual L.A. SCBWI conference

If you've ever gone to an SCBWI event, then you already know how jam-packed with keynotes, various speakers,  workshops, classes, parties and more these conferences can offer. BUT the annual summer conference is the no-holds barred, throw-down event of the year. And I'm going to show you... with just a few pictures that a NON-photographer person (me), sitting in the audience took.

The days began with keynote speakers like Libba Bray (can I just say WOW! - because she was funny, poignant and just plain filled with heartfelt moments (okay I'm girl crushing for a moment))

And then after the keynote, we would head off to our workshops, which had such great speakers as the Mavin of Social Media: Debbie Ohi. who taught us tricks, hints and tips of how to get out into the world...without ever leaving our seat. Really.  

And, if awe-mazing keynotes and wonderful workshops weren't enough to whet your appetite, we also had some tempting treats..

And, yes, I do mean REAL treats that were served during our lunch with . . .

Lois Lowry

LOIS LOWRY. . . Yes, can you believe it? Lois - because after this session - I felt that we could have been on a first-name basis ;D and she entertained us while we ate...SERIOUSLY.

She told us all about her inspirations, process and just some of the things about her life.

And if that wasn't enough to make your jaw drop and your head hit the table... they threw parties you wouldn't believe. There was a street party with prizes for the best book costumes. Just look:

And we literally danced in the street

And to top it off, I made some wonderful friends that I'm sure I'll be connecting with again in the future:

All in all, it was a trip I'll never forget and if you get the chance and can make your way to L.A. one day, you should definitely do it.

DIY Fingernail design with Words

So I was going to an SCBWI Writing Conference in Oregon and wanted to do something fun and artsy with my fingernails 'cuz that's something I can do at home...usually with some help from my daughter-in-law ;D...so we decorated my nails--or maybe I should say Fatina decorated my nails ;D

Anyway, I didn't want to spend a fortune on a manicure so this was an EZ, inexpensive way to have some fun at my fingertips.

First you paint your fingernails white, then you cut out some newspaper clippings and soak them in alcohol. Place the newspaper clipping on your nails, rub them with a blunt object so that they transfer without ripping the paper and then pull the clipping away. Voile' you will have words on your fingernails.

(I did a youtube video of this process but it isn't working right now...sorry)

If you have any questions, let me know. And if you try this out, please send me a picture and share it in the comments below. And Happy Writing!

April Henry and Christy Ottaviano at the SCBWI Storybook Intensive

I went to the SCBWI Storybook Intensive here in Portland, Oregon on June 10th and got to meet the AWE...mazing April Henry and the inspiring Christy Ottaviano (editor extraordinaire at MacMillan Books)

I wanted to share some of the wonderful tips, tricks and hints they shared with us at this workshop and . . . I will...but first, I wanted to share a short interview April was kind enough to give me.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

April, when did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

When I was in third or fourth grade, I started writing stories. But as I got older, I decided that authors didn’t come from little logging towns in Southern Oregon.

How many hours a day do you devote to writing?

About four of solid writing, then an hour or two of business stuff, like answering fan mail or crafting Facebook posts. 

What’s more important to you when you write, character or plot?

Plot.

What is the hardest part of writing a story for you?

When a deadline creeps up and I have no idea how to have an exciting and satisfying and yet surprising ending. 

What did your family think of your writing career when you first started out?

Everyone was supportive, but I think only my mom really believed I would be published.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I love to do Brazilian jiujitsu.  I just got my third stripe!

What authors do you like to read?

I read widely.  I just read Wildman by JC Geiger, a first novel by an SCWBI member who lives in Eugene.  Next up The Scribe of Sienna, an adult book which I think has some time travel in it, by Melodie Winawar and Refugee, a middle grade book about three refugee children in three different time periods by Alan Gratz.

Do you have future projects in mind?

Next May, Run, Hide, Fight Back comes out.  It’s about a shooting that traps six teenagers at a shopping mall, and it’s basically Die Hard meets Breakfast Club.  And after that, it’s The Lonely Dead, about a girl who can talk to the dead. 

How many books have you written and how many of those have been published?

It’s got to be close to 30.  So far, 21 have been published, and three more are under contract. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book?

CountAll Her Bones is a companion novel to Girl, Stolen, which was about a blind girl who was accidentally kidnapped when a teenage boy stole her stepmother’s car.  The new book takes place about six months after the previous one, on the eve of the trial for the thief’s father (who decided to hold her for ransom).  For that book I spent a lot of time learning various martial arts that blind people could use to defend themselves.  The book has a great twist that was a surprise to me when I thought of it - that was really fun! 

(Tips, Tricks and Hints on Monday)