[MissJan] Welcome to the Casual Tuesday Forum...if anyone has a question, I'll do my best to have the answer.
[George] I have a question right off the bat Jan, which hopefully you'll know the answer to.
[George] I know it's silly to be asking you about local events, but there's a writer's retreat here in Rhode Island called Whispering Pines. In the past, Jennifer Rees from SCholastic has been there and people can sit with her for 30 minutes. Do you know any details about this? Especially prices?
[MissJan] 2:04 pm: Hey, I went to Whispering Pines.
[MissJan] Whispering Pines usually happens at the end of February and it's limited to about 20-full time participants. Last year the information about it was posted at http://www.nescbwi.org in November. So I would start watching for it in October just to be sure, then you'll have a really short time to register -- it fills up within a few days of their opening registration usually.
[George] When did you go Jan? And do you know roughly how much it is? I'd love to attend this if I can.
[MissJan] I went in 2004, so it may have changed a little since then and I honestly don't know how much I paid. When I went, you could go to day sessions, I think, and that's much cheaper than going and staying the way I did.
[George] I'd only go to day sessions because I live here in Rhode Island.
[Spiritwalker] There has been a question in the writer's retreat about tags. What is the appropriate amount to use for the different age groups?
[MissJan] Okay, SpiritWalker, you asked about speech tags. You need more tags for very young children...because they can't guess the speaker as easily as older kids. BUT you can still tag with actions and don't need always to use a traditional speech tag.
[MissJan] Editors are still a little fragile about the sound of constant tagging of every short bit of speech...especially if you always tag in the same spot in the speech.
[MissJan] So changing up with action sometimes and with sometimes leading or trailing with the tag and sometimes breaking speech with it...all will help.
[MissJan] But with older kids, you don't have to tag if it's easy to tell who is speaking.
[chippy] Is it adventurous to attend retreats?
[MissJan] The retreat at Whispering Pines is actually the only one I ever went to...I liked it...it's much cosier than a conference.
[MissJan] So less overwhelming.
[MissJan] The food was excellent...the speakers were excellent.
[MissJan] But I had to share a room and I wish I had not. The lady was nice, but I would really have liked the extra writing time. Some of the folks had veritable room parties, hanging out with other writers.
[chippy] What's the different between a retreat and a conference?
[MissJan] The dining areas get LOUD (which also happens at conferences).
[MissJan] A retreat is smaller. There is more hands on things, more opportunities to talk with the other attendees
[MissJan] More direct access to the speakers.
[MissJan] It's easier to "blend in" at a conference and basically talk to no one...at a retreat, folks chat up more, for sure.
[MissJan] I was able to discuss policy questions with editors about their houses...which was really nice.
[MissJan] Spirit, did you feel you got enough answer on the tags thing? I can pontificate longer... I can always pontificate longer :D
[Spiritwriter] The information you provided is great.
[chippy] Pontification Jan, but we love your answers too
[MissJan] : Good. I aim to please
[Spiritwalker] Another question on tags if there are only 2 people do you have to tag even for little ones?
[Spiritwalker] I was thinking the same thing
[MissJan] You don't always have to, if it's really clear you can skip some of them.
[Spiritwalker] I like to make my conversation flow freely.
[MissJan] Especially if the characters are very different.
[MissJan] For example a discussion between mom and child are pretty hard to confuse one for another.
[MissJan] I would mix in some tags -- or at least narrative action -- to keep the character names occassionally mentions and keep the reader oriented.
[MissJan] You don't want disembodied voices -- that's the big no no
[chippy] What's a disembodied voice?
[MissJan] I see a lot of disembodied voice stories as an instructor, just voices and basic tags but only like one sentence of any scene setting and no action
[MissJan] That's when you just have text or text with tags but no context...no action or sense of the space they are in.
[George] Jan, got another question. Do you know anything about the contest called The Sandy which is offered by the Crested Butte Friends of the Library organization every year?
[MissJan] No, I haven't heard of that one, George...sorry.
[writerbill] Im thinking of writing some storys later about life in old west among indians as well a s americans ans thru history just pick some regular characters famous or not is that good???
[MissJan] Sounds good, writerbill, though you have to be really careful with any kind of Native American depictions in historical fiction or nonfiction. Publishers are a little twitchy because they get mail.
[MissJan] The Native peoples can be touchy about history of their tribes.
[writerbill] Even if I tell truth from their side??
[MissJan] If you're a member of the tribe.
[MissJan] I wouldn't say not to write it, but research it carefully and know that someone somewhere is going to not like it and be vocal about it. But with careful research, you should be good with a publisher. But you'll still get some vicious reviews so it helps to be prepared.
[writerbill] I guess people still dont want to hear the truth about their past I try another topic thanks for advice
[omalizzie] bill, you might want to interview one of the tribal members to get some facts too
[MissJan] It's not that they don't. They tend to feel like the "white" majority have been trying to misappropriate their history, spirituality, stories...and make money from them. So as a result, it's kind of hard to make the more militant members of the Native American groups really happy these days.
[omalizzie] It is a matter of truth and fact and it would be difficult to get both of those from either side bill
[writerbill] cant blame them someways its asahme this a new generation we should try to live better
[writerbill] for lesson 4 im writing about the fun of children making bubbles
[chippy] that sounds intresting bill.
[MissJan] Bubbles are fun. I saw the coolest piece once on frozen bubbles. It has never occured to me to blow bubbles on a snowy day but apparently they can freeze...then instead of bursting, they kinda shatter.
[MissJan] I still haven't tried it, but I have it on good authority...I read it in a kid's magazine :-)
[omalizzie] anyone here going to do nano this year?
[omalizzie] this will be my third year
[coa3d] Please excuse my ignorance, but what is "nano"?
[omalizzie] pm: NaNoWriMo....National Novel Writing Month...November
[MissJan] 3 You write a novel in a month.
[omalizzie] you write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days
[coa3d] Wow
[chippy] Wow. For what age group, oma?
[omalizzie] it is definitely tough...especially if you don't get to write every day
[omalizzie] any age group miriamar
[omalizzie] mostly though YA -- up
[coa3d] Definitely a challenge, I suspect.
[omalizzie] oh..it is
[MissJan] Obviously you're looking at least upper middle grade to adult among your choices...since younger kids novels don't run so long, nor to chapter books...but the challenge isn't age specific.
[omalizzie] people from all over the world sit down each november and do this. That impresses me
[coa3d] How is this all monitored? Maybe I can find some information on the internet.
[omalizzie] Jan, I'm sure once our nano novels are finished revisions, they'll end up the size of a chapter book...lol
[chippy] you must have to sign up if you get a certificate
[omalizzie] yes you have to sign up
[omalizzie] igoogle nanowrimo.
[Sora Dina] The thing that bothers me about it all is that I wonder how many writers there just aim for the word count and not the substance.
[omalizzie] you have to send in word counts too
[Sora Dina] do they go on and work on the book the rest of the year
[christine] Do all the stories get published?
[omalizzie] you can do whatever you want with the book cc
[christine] right but I wonder do they try and get them published
[omalizzie] only if you find a publisher...they don't publish at nano site
[MissJan] I know that some Nano books (after extensive revisions) have gone on to be published. I would doubt most do because revision is going to be a huge job and lots of folks don't want a job that big. But I know some do.
[MissJan] But the challenge is about writing, not publishing. The sponsors don't publish any of the works.
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