Join the FOOD FIGHT!

Only 5 days left until the First Annual Write Routine's FOOD FIGHT! 

You are going to want to join in.  In fact, today I am proud to announce that one lucky winner will receive FREE registration in the Picture Book Academy's self-paced e-course "Writing Wonderful Character-Driven Picture Books". 
Thank you, Dr. Mira for your generous donation. 

So what are you waiting for? 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

1) Today. Make sure you are a Follower of this blog. And grab the uber nifty Participant Badge. By the way, this badge was designed by Julie Rowan-Zoch. Make sure to tell her how awesome you think it is. So, grab the badge. Display it proudly on your social media and blogs. Spread the word. Link back to this post. Let's get the word out. Because the more people slinging peas and flinging Jell-o the better. Trust me.

2) On March 4th, if you have a blog ~ Create a post in which you start a story. This story should have a clear setting and at least one clear character. Set the scene. Be creative. It can be anywhere. But remember, I am a kidlit writer...so let's keep it clean (until we start throwing food, of course). Write the story up to the moment when a food fight breaks out. And then stop. Publish your post, stop at the Write Routine to link up your story...and then sit back. If you don't have a blog, relax...your participation will be needed to. See step #3. 

3) March 4th til March 8th (midnight EST) ~ Comment on as many of the Food Fight stories as possible. Your comment needs to grow the story.

Read the posted story and all of the comments that precede you. Then, post your comment. Be sure to build on and further the existing story. Your comment should flow. The story should read as if it was written by one person when read from beginning to end.

ALSO, your comment needs to include at least one word of onomatopoeia and one thrown item of food. Your onomatopoeia must be a word that has not been used already in that story, as well. That's right. Be creative.

We are creating community here. Anyone can participate. Comment on as many stories throughout the week as possible.

You can comment more than once on a story, however, you cannot fight with yourself...meaning, you cannot follow one of your own comments...someone else needs to comment before you can comment again. Have fun.

4) Over the weekend (March 9th and 10th) blog owners need to wrap up their story with one last comment. Make sure the ending is satisfying. It should feel like the story is defnitely concluded. Flex those creative writing chops.

5) There will be 2 prizes. One prize will go to the "Most Food Flung", meaning the person who commented/participated the most. Another prize will be given to the owner of the blog with "Best Story Overall" to be decided on by our judges. Prizes to be announced on March 4th. You MUST be a Follower of this Blog to be eligible for prizes.

See you on the battlefield! 

"Creative Habit": #11 Failure and the Validation Squad

Well, we are nearing the end of Twyla Tharp's "The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life".  And in my opinion, no book on creativity is complete without a chapter on failure.

Let's face it, we are all going to fail at times.  Its par for the course.  However. what Twyla is talking about in Chapter 11 is not simply failure, its the difference between private and public failure. 

"The best failures are the private ones you commit in the confines of your room, alone, with no strangeres watching.  I encourage you to fail as much as you want in private.  It will cost you little.  Private failures are the first drafts..."

She goes on to states that the more you fail in private, the less you will fail in public.  It's editing.  It's exercising your judgement.  It's setting the bar high for yourself.  "If you forget this--if you let down your guard or lower your strandards or compromise too quickly or leave sometihng in that should have been rejected--you'll have to deal with the other, more painful kind of failure, the public kind."

So, how can you ensure you have more private than public failings?  One way is to make criticism part of the process.  As Twyla says, "build your own validation squad."

Frequent readers of this blog have heard me say over and over again, "JOIN A CRITIQUE GROUP!"  And I am going to say it again.

What is a Validation Squad?  Its a small group of people that you invite to see your works in progress.  You trust them to look at your crudest, clumsiest noodlings and reward you with their candor. And yes, these people are as easy to find as a soul mate.  Take time and be selected.

Some criteria for your Validation Squad should include:

• people who you admire their talents and therefore trust their judgement.
• people who have your best interests at heart
• people who are not competing with you so they have no agenda
• people who are capable of brutal honesty

Bottomline, you want honesty.  I recently met a wonderful addition to my Validation Squad.  I knew right away she would be a wonderful addition because her response to one of my recent manuscripts was "I didn't find the ending satisfying".  YAY!  Honesty!  And in continuance to show her my work, I have felt stretched to higher heights.  What a great feeling.

Look around you.  Who are the brightest, most talented people you know?  Choose them, "qualify" them and then get them involved. 

It takes time to find these people, but its worth it.  Expect to shop around. 

For those of you in the NYC area, I will be participating on a panel regarding Critique Groups at Book of Wonder on Sunday, March 10th from 4-6pm.  An RSVP is required, as space is limited.  Find out more info at http://metro.nyscbwi.org/.

World Read Aloud Day: Celebrating with a FOOD FIGHT Contest! Join Us!

Wednesday, March 6th is "World Read Aloud" Day.  On LitWorld's website (wwwlitworld.org) they state that, "World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology."

I am excited to say that here at the Write Routine we are going to mark "World Read Aloud" Day through a week-long celebration of community and language.  That's right.  We are going to have a FOOD FIGHT!!!!!!

What says "read aloud" more than onomatopoeia?  Maybe its because I grew up with Adam West's Batman on tv and would live for the fight scenes when onomatopoeia would cover the screen.  POW! ZING!  WHAP!  But I do have an absolute love for onomatopoeia. What a tool in children's books.  So much fun to read aloud and play with. 

I therefore declare the week of March 4th, 2013, Onomatopoeia Appreciation Week.  Which brings me to our contest.  The Food Fight.  Here's how it is going to work:

The Participant Badge!

1)  Today.  Make sure you are a Follower of this blog.  And grab the uber nifty Participant Badge.  By the way, this badge was designed by Julie Rowan-Zoch.  Make sure to tell her how awesome you think it is.  So, grab the badge.  Display it proudly on your social media and blogs.  Spread the word.  Link back to this post.  Let's get the word out.  Because the more people slinging peas and flinging Jell-o the better.  Trust me. 

2)  On March 4th, if you have a blog ~ Create a post in which you start a story.  This story should have a clear setting and at least one clear character.  Set the scene.  Be creative.  It can be anywhere.  But remember, I am a kidlit writer...so let's keep it clean (until we start throwing food, of course).  Write the story up to the moment when a food fight breaks out.  And then stop.  Publish your post, stop at the Write Routine to link up your story...and then sit back.  If you don't have a blog, relax...your participation will be needed to.  See step #3.

3)  March 4th til March 8th (midnight EST) ~ Comment on as many of the Food Fight stories as possible.  Your comment needs to grow the story. 

Read the posted story and all of the comments that precede you.  Then, post your comment.  Be sure to build on and further the existing story.  Your comment should flow.  The story should read as if it was written by one person when read from beginning to end.

ALSO, your comment needs to include at least one word of onomatopoeia and one thrown item of food.  Your onomatopoeia must be a word that has not been used already in that story, as well.  That's right.  Be creative. 

We are creating community here.  Anyone can participate.  Comment on as many stories throughout the week as possible. 

You can comment more than once on a story, however, you cannot fight with yourself...meaning, you cannot follow one of your own comments...someone else needs to comment before you can comment again.  Have fun. 

4)  Over the weekend (March 9th and 10th) blog owners need to wrap up their story with one last comment.  Make sure the ending is satisfying.  It should feel like the story is defnitely concluded.  Flex those creative writing chops.

5)  There will be 2 prizes.  One prize will go to the "Most Food Flung", meaning the person who commented/participated the most.  Another prize will be given to the owner of the blog with "Best Story Overall" to be decided on by our judges.  Prizes to be announced on March 4th.  You MUST be a Follower of this Blog to be eligible for prizes.

What do you think?  Ready to flex those onomatopoeic muscles and build some community at the same time?  Grab that badge, display it proudly and spread the word.  Oh, and watch out for the mashed potatoes....SPLAT!

COMING SOON: Food Fight! -- a contest to flex your onomatopoeia muscles

Stop by tomorrow for complete contest rules and to get your own nifty participant badge!

"Creative Habit": #10 Ruts and Grooves

"It's going to happen sometimes: Despite all the good habits your've developed, the preparation rituals, the organizational tools, the techniques for scratching out pre-ideas and actual ideas, there will come a time when your creativity fails you.  You start at the canvas, the screen, the keyboard, the empty room -- and it refuses to meet your eyes.  It looks away as if it's ashamed of you.  You may as well be painting on shards of broken glass.  Your screen shows nothing but wavy lines.  Your fingers slip off the keyboard, never getting traction.  The room turns dark and cold, and someone is locking the door behind you.  You are in a rut."

Sounds pretty scary, right? But I am sure you can relate. 

Ruts versus grooves.  Its the difference between moving forward and staying in place. 

Twyla goes on to explain that a rut "is not writer's block.  When you're in a rut, at least you know your motor is running.  Writer's block means your engine has shut down and the tank is empty.  Being blocked is most often a failure of nerve, with only one solution: do something -- anything."

"A rut is more like a false start.  The engine's kicked over, your've picked your destination, and you're moving.  A rut is the part of the journey where you're spinning your wheels, spitting out mud behind you and you're going nowhere."

So how do you deal with a rut when you are in one?

1)  First, you have to see the rut.  This is difficult for writers because we primarily work alone.  Therefore, we can be days or months into a project and realize that our manuscript is not going anywhere.  "Make a habit of reviewing your work along the way, seeing where you've been and where you are to make sure you're still heading in the right direction," says Twyla.  One big indicator is when pessimism turns to optimism.  The "I love this story" turns to "this is the worst thing I have ever written".  I can only speak as a picture book writer (as I do not work in the longer forms) but I do share my work with my critique groups often.  I get other eyes on it.  And I check in with myself as to how I feel about the manuscript: is this the story I want to tell?  And if the answer is "no"...

2)  Admit you're in a rut.  It requires an admission that you've made a mistake. Not easy.  But the sooner you admit it, the less you deepen your rut. 

This past summer I was making dinner and I was struck by creative lightning.  I dropped what I was doing and ran for the pad of paper and a pen.  I furiously wrote down the beginnings of a picture book story.  It was euphoric.  To this date, what I wrote in those moments is gold.  I have had many eyes on this piece and everyone says the same thing -- the beginning is sharp and witty and has wonderful rhythm.  But that's where it stops.  I have been struggling with the second half ever since.  I am in a rut -- even after several revisions and brainstorming.  What do I do?

3)  Get out of the rut. This is the hard part.  "Knowing and admitting a problem are not the same as solving it.  But executing a solution is also the fun part, because the solution saves you and gets you moving again," says Twyla.  Some people work their way out of it.  Some people take a rest.  It really depends on you and your rut.  Here are some suggestions:

• Step away.  Sometimes a momentary stall as you try to get from one part to another during the day's work is what's needed.  Get out of the house.  Stare at the sky.  Go for a walk or run.  Tend your garden.  Grab lunch with a friend.  Take a shower.  "Do something that gets you out of the vehicle with the spinning wheels."
• Create an agressive goal.  Set the timer and set a goal.  For me, it could be create 5 alternate endings to my story in one hour.  Its a tough goal, but it will help me start to get all of my ideas-- the good, the bad and the ridiculous -- down on paper.  Be your own tough manager. 
• Shake it up.  Get creative in another way.  A novelist friend of mine recently told me that she is in a rut with her novel.  She is having trouble getting beyond a certain spot.  Therefore she is going to start writing her novel in non-linear episodes -- meaning she will write the scenes that are in her head and not worry about the problem area right now.  I think this is a wonderful way to work through a rut.   There are no rules.
• Open the drawer.  And sometimes its just better to put the manuscript that is giving you problems into a drawer and move onto to something else.  For me, this not only helps free me from the problem manuscript, but it also allows me to focus on another project and prove to myself that I do have good ideas.  I am not dry.  It breaks the pessimism that ruts create.  Promise yourself that you will come back to it.  Know that this manuscript will always be sauteeing in the back of your mind, but release yourself from toiling over it.  Give it, and yourself, a rest.  And trust that you will know when it is time to open that drawer and try again. 

Which brings us to grooves -- our ultimate goal. 

"When you're in a groove, you're not spinning your whelles; you're moving forward in a straight and narrow path without pauses or hitches.  You're unwavering, undeviating, and unparalleled in your purpose.  A groove is the best place in the world.  Because when you are in it, you have the freedom to explore, where everything you question leads you to new avenues and new routes."

Some grooves last an hour.  You have that lightning and words just pour out of your pen.  Some last for days, weeks or if we're lucky months.  The key to being creative is not learning to avoid ruts and stay in the grooves.  Ruts are going to happen.  Grooves will too.  The key to the creative life is to be disciplined and passionate to work through them all.

"In the end, ruts and grooves are different sides of the same coin.  The work itself will tell you which side you're looking at.  Does it give you pleasure or pain? 

The call to a creative life is not supposed to be torture.  Yes, it's hard work and you have to make sacrifices.  But it's also supposed to be fun."

So I ask you, where are you today?  Rut or groove?  And whatcha gonna do about it?

This is Marcie Colleen!

Today I launch my new website (www.thisismarciecolleen.com) and I have to say I am pretty proud about it.
I would love to hear what you have to say. 
Follow the tab above called "My Website" and have a look around.  Especially check out "My Teacher's Guides"-- a page dedicated to showcase my Common Core Compliant Teacher's Guides. 
And then come back here and leave me a comment.
Enjoy!

PS A very very special thank you to Tracey Berglund for the use of her artwork and for her keen artist's eye in this process.  Check her out at www.tra4art.com. 

Watch This Space

"Brooklyn Brownstone"
by Tracey Berglund.
www.tra4art.com

Its makeover time and I urge you all to watch this space for some exciting new changes!

As you can see, I have been renovating this blog and I am still waiting on a few items--including a snazzy new banner designed by my fabulous friend, Tracey Berglund.

Also, note the "My Website" tab up top which, starting Monday, will link to my brand-spanking-new website!  That's right, folks!  Monday will see the launch of www.thisismarciecolleen.com which will feature my Teacher's Guides--complete with sample lessons from each of th 7 guides I have recently created.  I am very excited to share with you!

In addition to the website launch and a new look for The Write Routine, I will be announcing a fun contest/challenge next Friday.  You are going to want to get involved.  Trust me.

So, have a wonderful weekend.  Let me know what you think of the new design.  And be sure to stop by on Monday to check out www.thisismarciecolleen.com.

Happy Writing!