Writing Workshop at the Blake Library in Stuart, FL

Thanks, Jennifer Salas, Youth Services Coordinator and uber-wonderful children's librarian! 

By the time my writing workshop ended last night, Jennifer had been at work around the clock.  And was still smiling!

A big thanks to the teens (and almost teens) who came out (ahem, may possibly have been forced by their parents) to my writing workshop, where we imagined ourselves winning a medal for something we accomplished 25 years in the future, did some fun brainstorming and learned a rather disconcerting fact about hamsters sometimes eating their babies.  (Is this true?  Ugh!)

Brilliant young writers hard at work.  Jennifer Salas, back left.  And through those windows were young children reading to therapy dogs.  (One of the dogs barked at the exact moment we said the word "cat."  Hmm.)

My bud, Holly, was awesome enough to spend her evening helping with the workshop.  I paid her in food at a cool restaurant when it was over.  Thanks, Holly! 

My favorite part was not the hour of writing and sharing (although that's always awesome), it was the few minutes when it was all over.  A handful of kids came up to me and shared what was important to them -- their love for writing or reading or something special they'd written.  I stopped cleaning up and paid attention to each child, because those are the moments that stick.

For the first time at a writing workshop, I had more boys attending than girls.  How cool is that?!

Almost as cool as the six children's authors who also teach writing and run this amazing site, loaded with great ideas, inspiration and exercises for teaching writing.  Thank you, Teaching Authors!

Did you know October 20th was National Day on Writing?  Thank you for that NCTE!  And if you think that's cool, check out their National Gallery of Writing and post something you've written.

Speaking of writing, are you prepared to take the NANOWRIMO challenge and write a novel in a month?  It begins soon.  It's a great motivator!  Or if you're a young writer, check you their young writers program.

All this talk about writing makes me want to . . . I don't know . . . hmm . . . take the dogs for a walk. 

And then, of course, write my heart out on the new novel.  Hope YOUR writing flows . . .

IT'S HERE! AND IT'S HAMMY TIME!!!

Meet HAMMY -- the little star in my new novel, HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL. In the book, David creates a funny video starring his hamster, Hammy, and it becomes a YouTube sensation.

Thanks to the creative minds at Page Turner Adventures, Hammy is now the star of his own MUSIC VIDEO for you to enjoy!

(Warning: You might find yourself humming the tune for the next few hours . . . and smiling.)




Also, thanks to Chris Baty of NaNoWriMo for posting this Q & A on his blog.

SOLD!

This past November, needing something to kick-start a new book, I decided to write a novel in a month.

So . . .

After 29 days of intense writing, I typed the last words of OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN. It's about a trivia-obsessed girl who will do anything to get on Jeopardy! . . . and to get her father back home. Throw in a goofy little "bother" who spouts gross trivia, a mom who loses her job at the local newspaper, her mom's (Ugh!) live-in boyfriend and an annoying boy next door, whom Olivia absolutely, positively does not like (except when she does) and you've got OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN.

If you'd like to read about the experience of writing a novel in a month, click here. If you want to read about each day of NaNoWriMo, start here. (There's a fun trivia question at the end of each day.)

I sent a five-page synopsis of OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN and the first fifty pages to my uber-agent, Tina Dubois Wexler. She sent them to my wonderful editor at Delacorte Press, Stephanie Lane Elliott.

Tina called with the delightful news that Stephanie has acquired rights to publish OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN.

WAHOO! It will be my third novel with Stephanie and Delacorte Press.

For some reason, with the sale of a third novel, it feels like this is more than a lucky break . . . or two. This feels like a career. My career -- a career I've long dreamed of and worked toward.

As if that weren't enough good news, HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL comes out April 13th, and I'm busy preparing to speak at schools, bookstores and conferences. My schedule is filling fast, so if you'd like to arrange an author visit, please get in touch soon.

After that, AS IF BEING 12 3/4 ISN'T BAD ENOUGH, MY MOTHER IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT! comes out in paperback in time for summer reading -- May 25th.

Who knew that this nerdy kid, who used to ride her purple, banana-seat bike to the local library in Philadelphia would end up creating books that have landed on the shelves in that very library?

Although I'm a person of many words (Really. Ask my husband and kids.), I have only one to describe how I'm feeling: GRATEFUL!

Happy New Month!

That's write. A decade is too overwhelming to think about. Even a year is a looooong time, so I've decided to celebrate the month.

So . . . Happy New Month!

As a writer, I've discovered that breaking things down into month-sized chunks is effective. I mean, I never, ever thought I could write a novel in a month, but thanks to NANOWRIMO, I did. So did Sara Gruen, by the way, when she wrote her amazing Water for Elephants.

So, last month, I set myself writing goals. And here's what I accomplished:

1. Wrote a 2,500 word article for the 2011 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market about creating quirky characters.
2. Wrote another article of similar length that I hope to sell on spec.
3. Applied for a writing residency. Fingers crossed!
4. Wrote an essay for the "Three Books" feature on npr.org on spec. Again, fingers crossed.
5. Created a batch of poems for my terrific editor at Blue Mountain Arts.
6. Finally came up with a short story for a children's magazine, whose editor has been very patiently waiting.

Phew!

This month, I hope to revise my novel and update my Web site.

What do you plan to accomplish/discover/create/learn/celebrate this month?