Seasonal Fiction -- is anyone buying Santa these days?
December 10 - 12, 2008
"Seasonal Fiction" with Gayle Krause
Come chat with Gayle Krause, author of Rock Star Santa.
Gayle C. Krause is a freelance writer, children’s book author, and award winning teacher educator. Her debut picture book titled, Rock Star Santa, is currently available from Scholastic Book Clubs (See Saw) in the December 2008 order form. Other publishing credits include: Chicken Soup for the Kid’s Soul 2 (March 2006), The Blue Review, Fandangle Magazine, Stories for Children Magazine and Anthology, SCBWI Bi-Monthly Bulletin, Kidz Wonder, Hopscotch for Girls and Boys’ Quest Magazines.

She is a member of SCBWI, Cliff House Writers, The Poetry Garage, and Wayne County Arts Alliance. She is a past member of the Historical Novel Society, a graduate of two Highlights Foundation workshops, and a two-year consecutive participant in the Rutgers One on One Conference, where she met her editor for Rock Star Santa. She reviews books for Children’s Literature.com, and was awarded 1st Place in the 2005 SCBWI Pocono Retreat writing contest.

Remember, if you totally don't want to figure out the Writer's Retreat, you can still send questions for Gayle, just drop an email to jan.fields@forums.institutechildrenslit.com or WebEditor@institutechildrenslit.com -- but I will only take email questions until chat begins. And, check out the new article on using the cool features of the Writer's Retreat -- http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/ws01/retreat.shtml

NOTE: All transcripts are archived! The archive contains more than six years' worth of full-length interview transcripts

NO NIGHT CHAT FOR DECEMBER -- sorry guys, I couldn't find a free Friday night all month.

Our Next Casual Tuesday Forum will be Tuesday December 16
http://institutechildrenslit.net/entry.htm
3-4PM Atlantic
2-3PM Eastern
1-2PM Central
Noon -1PM Mountain
11AM - Noon Pacific

Hang out with us on Tuesdays!
http://institutechildrenslit.net/entry.htm

The Institute Chat is open again and flashier than other. This is a much smoother easier to use chat, but for those who are new to chatting or just want some help with all the nifty bells and whistles, we have a new article.
How To Chat
http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/ws01/howchat.shtml

Come Hang With Us Every Tuesday
Talk Writing, Socialize, Make new friends
http://institutechildrenslit.net/entry.htm
We'll be waiting for you
3-4PM Atlantic
2-3PM Eastern
1-2PM Central
Noon -1PM Mountain
11AM - Noon Pacific
Come on in and let's chat!

Next NIGHT Forum -- come ask your writing questions
One Hour --January 16-- Fully Fun
http://institutechildrenslit.net/entry.htm
We'll be waiting for you
10-11PM Atlantic
9-10PM Eastern
8-9PM Central
7-8PM Mountain
6-7PM Pacific

And be sure to visit theWriters Retreat if you haven't checked in yet -- I visit daily and I'll be happy to pontificate right there if you have any writing questions. We have over 200 members now!
And, check out the new article on using the cool features of the Writer's Retreat --
http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/ws01/retreat.shtml

6. What's New At Kristi's

Kristi Holl's Writer's First Aid is so good, the Institute has decided to highlight the goodies she has to offer every week --
it's like getting extra special writing advice in every visit.
So what does Kristi have for us this week?
http://institutechildrenslit.net/Writers-First-Aid-blog/

Monday, Nov. 24: "Free Writing Conference"
I love writers' conferences, but let's face it. They're expensive: the travel (often including plane tickets, shuttles), hotel rooms, and food. (Plus child care, if you have small children.) Even if money isn't an issue, you might not be physically able to handle a conference away from home. Have I got great news for you! If you don't delay, you can sign up to attend the week-long Muse Online Writers Conference in 2009 for FREE. The conference isn't until October 14-18, but I encourage you to sign up now.

Wednesday, Nov. 26: "Fixing Common Failings in Fiction"
I won't be commenting on my NaNoWriMo status until next Monday when it's officially over, but I've received a few emails from NaNo people who are writing their first novels. As the month draws to a close, they've realized with horror that December is coming–with revisions! "What do I do with this mess?" I was asked. Your rambling rough draft needs to be reworked, but where do you start? "Is there a checklist somewhere I can follow?" another writer asked. I came across such a checklist last week.

Friday, Nov. 28: "Thankful to be a Writer"
With the economic downturn, news from the publishing world has been pretty grim this past week. A major publisher has told its acquisitions editors to stop acquiring new manuscripts for the time being. Publishing lists are being slashed. Down-sizing and reshuffling have hit editors too. So, during this Thanksgiving week, is there anything to be thankful for if you're a writer? YES!

7. MARKET NEWS

City Kidz World magazine is running an "Imagine Your Future" writing contest. It is for students ages 7-18. Guidelines for age groups are located at http://www.citykidzworld.com. The deadline is Dec. 20, 2008

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8. Sensory Snapshots

I'm not a big fan of writing exercises -- if you are, I respect that. For me, I'm lazy. If I'm writing, I'm probably going to try to sell it at some point. But sometimes a writing exercise can help us hone skills and get a bit of writing in during a really hectic time (like the holidays?) So here's an exercise I do a lot and one that frequently finds its way into my published work: sensory snapshots.

No time of year offers more sensory impressions than the holidays with rich foods and much more contact with people and places. So I try to take a moment and write a quick sensory map of something different every day. I might jot down connections, impressions, figures of speech, and pure clinical description about the act of eating my first Clementine of the year or my first sip of egg nog.

Equally, I might make the same kinds of sensory lists about the stores I'm in, the lines I wait in, the airport...all of these offer me a chance to capture the moment in words so that I can retrieve it later. Then, if I need to build a scene in one of these settings, I have a “record” of the kinds of sights, sounds, smells and textures my characters might encounter. I keep these “sensory records” in a notebook with tabs for different categories. Then when I write a scene set at a zoo, for example, I can pull out several “sensory records” – one made at a small zoo, one from a nature park, and one from the National Zoo in Washington. They remind me of small details I might use.

So, this year, consider a few of these sensory records so then when you need to put your teen characters in a crowded mall full of whiney kids, you can make the reader beleive it completely. Or when your character catches snowflakes on her tongue, you have the exact words to capture the taste and feel. Memory is great, but how much better is it when you can pull the actual moment from your file.

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9. REMINDERS

The CHAT ROOM is up and available at http://institutechildrenslit.net/entry.htm -- for extra help, check out "How To Chat."

Our WRITER'S RETREAT, ICL's discussion board is up and available at http://institutechildrenslit.net/index.php. For tips on using the discussion board, check out "Using the New Writer's Retreat."