Author Archives: Judy

MEANDERINGS

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Editing1     One way authors create character is through word choices. For example, Who would use a word like harbinger? Katniss Everdeen? The Cat in the Hat? Winnie the Pooh? Captain Underpants? Harry Potter? The main character in your story?

When you first start writing for publication, you think: If only I could get this one book published. When you have been publishing for awhile, you think: If only I could get this next book published.

Author Sid Fleischman always gave good advice. One tip he shared proved so true. “Never throw anything away. If you cut scenes or information from your work, put those parts in a doggie bag.” Doggie bags might contain future magazine stories or nonfiction articles, picture books, sequels, or new novels. Does your computer have a doggie bag file as well as an idea file?

If there are topics you’d like the Mavens to address, let us know, please. The other Mavens will Meander when inclined or when avoiding writing or instead of cleaning the office or . . . .

Happy Writing, Everyone!

 

 

 

I HAVE AN—

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Editing1 IDEA! In fact, I have a gazillion ideas. When the writing muse flies over, she scatters idea seeds that sprout like Washington mushrooms, and I gather them. Some I place in my computer Idea File in categories like Novels, Picture Books, Magazine articles, and Miscellaneous. I’ve had ideas arrive as titles or as characters. Some get expanded into outlines or synopses. Some have only a paragraph.

Other ideas live in my office closet. In a red storage bin, there’s a plastic idea box. The lid no longer closes. The bin holds not only that box but also scraps of paper, index cards, napkins, bank deposit receipts—all with ideas jotted across them: titles, characters, or what-if questions. Ideas and more ideas all hoping to become stories.

I’ve noticed that ideas sometimes present themselves when I’m focused on the routines of life. My morning starts with cereal and the local paper, where ideas jump off the pages. Some ideas find me when I walk in the neighborhood, pull weeds in the garden, grocery shop, or take a shower. In a restaurant or in a checkout line, snippets of conversation might contain ideas for characterization or even a hint of plot. (Perhaps I should put Author and Eavesdropper on my business cards.)

The muse has been known to slip ideas into my brain at night, as I settle into bed. On a recent wintry evening, as I pulled the covers up chin high, a title popped into my brain: PURPLE SNOW. This idea arrived with a couple sentences: Ever since preschool I’ve always been the first one in my classroom in the morning. Until today. Immediately my brain started with the WHO? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? and more. NAMES? AGES? DO THESE SENTENCES HINT AT THE PROBLEM OR NOT? All hard to answer because I don’t know the characters or the problem yet. What does purple snow have to do with this story? I don’t know that, either. But I suspect I’ll find out.

PURPLE SNOW is one of those ideas that’s sticking with me. Those are the ones that demand attention, insist on being written. They never let go. I have several in files on my desk right now in various stages of growth. They can get downright obnoxious, intruding when I’m reading or working on something different. They refuse to go away, to be quiet, to behave and wait their turns. They will not go in the closet with the patient ideas.

Most amazing is when I’m visiting my writing partner, Stephanie Jacob Gordon. We can’t travel anywhere together without ideas pouring forth. And it’s not unusual for the phone to ring and for Stephanie to say: “Listen to this” followed by an idea or two or three. Two heads do have more ideas than one.

Are you bombarded by ideas? How do you store, handle, sort them? How do you choose the one to write next or does it choose for you? And what do you say when someone asks: “Where do you get your ideas?” I usually say: ”They come from everywhere.”

KidsBook Mavens Debuts

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To blog or not to blog. That was the question when five children’s book authors met this past May at a private writers’ retreat in Ohio.

Though everyone thought a blog was a good idea, no one had yet felt she had the time to devote to a solo blog, especially when added to all of the social media we were already committed to visiting frequently. Oh, yes, and then there was the time needed for writing. And we are all writers. But the idea of a blog wouldn’t leave us alone so we decided to blog together.

First we worked with lists of potential blog names. Some had already been taken. Some didn’t meet the approval of all of us. Some were just plain silly. What would represent all of us? Our goal was to share our love of books, their creation, and more. We wanted to explore our experiences as authors, pass on writing tips, and celebrate our enthusiasm for the written word. Together we had a huge range of experience in the children’s literature arena. And so we chose to call our blog KidsBook Mavens.

We are published picture book, middle grade, and YA authors. We have written for magazines and children’s television. We include freelance editors and a small, independent publisher. This makes us Mavens: authors who are experienced and knowledgeable.

While each of the Mavens will introduce herself, I will tell you that We Mavens have a long history as friends and writing associates. Let me introduce myself: Judith Ross Enderle. My friends call me Judy.

I’m the daughter of a 100 year-old plus man who visits the library every three weeks. My mother was a teacher with a major in English. Reading and writing are in my genes.

One of my early books was a teen romance, S.W.A.K. Sealed With A Kiss. It made the New York Times Besteller List. Recently I reread this book. How my writing had changed!

My daughter, Monica Enderle Pierce, is now an author. Her first adult novel, GIRL UNDER GLASS was released about six weeks ago. It’s an e-book and has garnered four and five-star reviews thus far. Reading and writing are in her genes, too. I’m a proud mama.

And I am half of a writing team. The other half, my best friend Stephanie Jacob Gordon, will introduce herself when it’s her turn to blog. We write picture books like Two Badd Babies (Boyds Mills Press) published as Jeffie Ross Gordon and Smile, Principessa! (Simon and Schuster, eBook). I met Stephanie in a writing class at UCLA. Our teacher was Eve Bunting. We also studied with Sue Alexander. Though we’ve been published individually, more often we’ve chosen to write together. Current projects include: All the Never Nevers, a middle grade novel about grief, bigotry, and magic. This manuscript is now circulating. And heading off to our agent this week:  Shagaman an adventure/mystery short chapter book set in 1906 California, based on the bigfoot legend. Of course, there are more books in development.

Please watch for KidsBook Mavens’ scheduled posts the second Wednesday of every month. Don’t be surprised if some of us slip a few other posts in between, when we have something we want to share.  Welcome to our blog!