Dreams. No, goals!

  I've decided to put in writing some more concrete goals that I would love to accomplish this year, or maybe we'll just say soon, so that I can look at them daily, be reminded to work towards them, and put it out there for the universe to be aware of! Ok, here goes, mind you, some of these are pretty lofty, but I say why not?  As my Blanchet high school class of 2002 motto stated: "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll land among the stars,"  cheesy and applicable!

* Win the SCBWI Barbara Karlin Work-In-Progress Grant for unpublished picture book writers

*Use that money to finally attend one of the SCBWI's international summer/ or winter conferences in LA/ NY

*Where I will sign with an agent

*Who will get my book published with a major, reputed publishing house 

*Who then attaches an illustrator whose work perfectly captures the vision of my book

*Get to stand up at the "Good News" portion of my local SCBWI Western WA meeting and announce that my picture book has come out and is ready for purchase, as I hold my very own book in my own two hands

*See my picture book on the local author's shelf at Mockingbird Books

*See my picture book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble 

*Receive starred Kirkus and Booklist reviews for my book

*Do book readings and signings in classrooms, libraries and book shops around the state, around the nation, around the world!!

*Publish my next book

Page Ahead

  Last Friday I did my monthly story time at the Jennie Reed Elementary School in Tacoma.  I am a Story Time Volunteer with Page Ahead, a children's literacy program based here in Seattle, whose motto is Giving Kids in Need the Chance to Read, how great is that?!  I love this program and I absolutely love doing story time.  My classrooms include Kindergarten and Head Start, which means that the kids are enthusiastic, excited, and definitely energized!  Our theme last week was dogs, so we read two or three picture books about dogs (i.e. Dogs by Emily Gravett, which the kids LOVED, its such a simple story with fantastic illustrations and the kids just ate it up), interspersed singing a few songs about dogs (i.e. Bingo, How much is that doggy in the window..), did some fingerplays and stretches to shake the sillies out, and ended with a craft (i.e. folding paper into the shape of a dog's head and coloring a face on it) and that's it!  The kids love this whole program so much, and their positive reaction, engagement and excitement for reading is just so uplifting to witness, I recommend getting out in your community and reading to kids any chance you get!  The benefits of instilling a lifelong love of reading in a child are immense, just look at Page Ahead's stats-

"Literacy can make the difference between the poverty of one generation and the promise of the next. Page Ahead helps children realize their potential by providing them with the inspiration to read.

Page Ahead operates on one simple and astounding fact: being read to as a youngster is the foremost predictor of academic success in childhood. If a child can read at grade level by 3rd grade, she will continue to read at grade level throughout her academic career. A child who succeeds in school will remain there, earning a chance at a better job and a better life in the years ahead. A child who lacks early exposure to reading often suffers from low self-esteem, struggles academically, and is at higher risk for substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and delinquency. Succeeding begins with reading."
Thankfully, since 1990 Page Ahead has worked to place 2 million! new books into the hands of 550,000 at-risk children through collaborations with schools, social service agencies, preschools, and early childhood centers across Washington State. 
If you want to learn more about Page Ahead's mission or you are interested in volunteering, please visit their website http://www.pageahead.org/index.php

Being read to as a child fosters boundless imagination and creativity, it opens up a world of unlimited possibilities, it creates better readers and future writers, it builds a bond between between parent and child that lets the child know just how much they are valued, appreciated and LOVED- and that is an amazing truth.  Read, read, read, it can truly change the world.

  I finally did see 127 Hours, and yes it was as viscerally uncomfortable as I had anticipated!  His hand is literally stuck between that rock and a hard place for so long, that eventually I was actually rooting for him to cut it off already!  Still, I was not prepared for how much it grossed me out! But then I am a pretty big baby when it comes to gory bodily details.  I thought it was a moving portrayal of a survivor's harrowing story (I was even moved to tears when he finally makes it out and finds people to help him. I mean, complete strangers came to his rescue, no questions asked, and it was just so reassuring to witness the generosity of the human spirit for once!)  But still, a best picture of the year? I'm not so convinced.  I thought The Ghost Writer was a better film- superbly acted, even Hitchcockian in its quietly thrilling tone.  If you haven't seen it, or even heard of it, check it out on dvd. Oooh, I also thought that The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo should have gotten some Oscar love.  Those Swedes did a fantastic job with the first of Steig Larson's incredibly engrossing Millenium Trilogy, and Noomi Rapace is beyond compare as Lisbeth Salander. 

  Ok, enough movie talk?

Yes, back to writing...

And the nominations go to...

Best
Picture: "Black
Swan," "The Fighter,"
"Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech," "127 Hours," "The Social Network," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit," "Winter's Bone"

The only one I haven't seen is 127 Hours.  Guess I'll have to see that guy cut his own arm off after all..

Best
Actress: Annette Bening, "The Kids Are
All Right"; Nicole
Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer
Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"; Natalie Portman, "Black
Swan"; Michelle
Williams, "Blue
Valentine"

Best
Actor: Javier
Bardem, "Biutiful"; Jeff Bridges, "True
Grit"; Jesse
Eisenberg, "The Social Network"; Colin Firth, "The King's Speech";
James Franco, "127
Hours"

Best Supporting Actress: Amy
Adams, "The Fighter"; Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"; Melissa Leo,
"The Fighter"; Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"; Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"

Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale, "The Fighter"; John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner, "The
Town"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"; Geoffrey Rush, "The King's
Speech"

Best Director: Darren
Aronofsky, "Black Swan"; David O. Russell, "The Fighter"; Tom Hooper, "The
King's Speech"; David Fincher, "The Social Network"; Ethan Coen and Joel Coen,
"True Grit"

Best Animated Feature: "How
to Train Your Dragon," "The Illusionist," "Toy Story 3"

Best Screenplay: "Another
Year," "The Fighter," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech"

 

Best Adapted Screenplay:
"127 Hours," "The Social Network," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit," "Winter's Bone"

Best Foreign Film:
"Biutiful," "Dogtooth," "In a Better World," "Incendies," "Outside the Law"

Art Direction: "Alice in
Wonderland," Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O'Hara (Set
Decoration); "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Stuart Craig
(Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration); "Inception," Guy
Hendrix Dyas (Production Design), Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration);
"The King's Speech," Eve Stewart (Production Design), Judy Farr (Set
Decoration); "True Grit," Jess Gonchor (Production Design), Nancy Haigh (Set
Decoration) 

Achievement in
Cinematography: "Black Swan," Matthew Libatique; "Inception," Wally
Pfister; "The King's Speech," Danny Cohen; "The Social Network," Jeff
Cronenweth; "True Grit," Roger Deakins

Achievement in Costume
Design: "Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood; "I Am Love," Antonella
Cannarozzi; "The King's Speech," Jenny Beavan; "The Tempest," Sandy Powell;
"True Grit," Mary Zophres

Best Documentary Feature:
"Exit Through the Gift Shop," "Gasland," "Inside Job," "Restrepo," "Waste Land"

Best Documentary Short
Subject: "Killing in the Name," "Poster Girl," "Strangers No More,"
"Sun Come Up," "The Warriors of Quigang"

Achievement in Film Editing:
"Black Swan," Andrew Weisblum; "The Fighter," Pamela Martin; "The King's
Speech," Tariq Anwar; "127 Hours," Jon Harris; "The Social Network," Angus Wall
and Kirk Baxter

Achievement in Music Written for
Motion Picture (Original Score): "How to Train Your Dragon," John
Powell; "Inception," Hans Zimmer; "The King's Speech," Alexandre Desplat; "127
Hours," A. R. Rahman; "The Social Network," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Achievement in Music Written for
Motion Picture (Original Song): "Coming Home" from "Country Strong;" "I
See the Light" from "Tangled;" "If I Rise" from "127 Hours;" "We Belong
Together" from "Toy Story 3"

Best Animated Short Film:
"Day and Night," Teddy Newton; "The Gruffalo," Jakob Schuh and Max Lang; "Let's
Pollute," Feefwee Boedoe; "The Lost Thing," Shaun Tan and Andrwe Ruhemann;
"Madagascar, A Journey Diary," Bastien Dubois

Best Live Action Short: "The
Confession," Tanel Toom; "The Crush," Michael Creagh; "God of Love," Luke
Matheny; "Na Wewe," Ivan Goldschmidt; "Wish 143," Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Achievement in Sound
Editing: "Inception," Richard King; "Toy Story 3," Tom Myers and
Michael Silvers; "Tron: Legacy" Gwndolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague; "True
Grit," Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey; "Unstoppable," Mark P. Stoeckinger

Achievement in Sound Mixing:
"Inception," Lra Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick; "The King's Speech,"
Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley; "Salt," Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg
P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin; "The Social Network," Ren Klyce,
David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten; "True Grit," Skip Lievsay,
Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Achievement in Visual
Effects: "Alice in Wonderland," Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey
Villegas and Sean Phillips; "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Tim
Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi; "Hereafter," Michael
Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell; "Inception," Paul
Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb; "Iron Man 2," Janek
Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Toasting Tinseltown!

  Tomorrow the Academy Award nominations will be announced and I couldn't be more excited! Awards season is one of my favorite times of the year, and no dance is bigger than the Oscars.  The grandeur, the gowns, the speeches, the spectacle- I love it all! Best Picture front runners and some of my absolute favorite films this year, all of which feature phenomenal acting include Inception, The Social Network, The King's Speech, The Fighter, Black Swan, True Grit and The Kids are All Right.  See any and all if you have the chance!  Can't wait for the February 27th ceremony to see who the Oscars go to. 
p.s. Forgot to mention one of my other favorite movies of the year- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I. I found it sad and moving and so beautifully executed.  It definitely had a more somber, grown up tone compared to the earlier films. I really will hate to see this wonderful, magical story come to an end.

  Just signed up for SCBWI Western WA's 20th Annual Writing & Illustrating for Children Conference! This will be my first conference and I am feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety. After the Great Critique I realized that my Kiwi & Chirp story still needs a lot of revision and reworking until I feel satisfied that it is conference ready. So, I have also signed up again for Peggy King Anderson's Magic of Writing for Children class. It was an expensive morning! But well worth it. I need the help, guidance and support of my fellow Peggy King followers to get this work where I want it before Feb 26th when I have to send a draft in if I want to have a personal manuscript consultation (which I desperately do) and a conference ready draft no later than Mar 26th. So big goals and lots to do. I really can't wait to tackle this and make it a work I am truly proud of. 2011 is the year for writing and the pursuit of success!

The Great Critique

  I attended SCBWI Western Washington's Great Critique last night, and I'm so glad I went!  Lately I've been feeling really discouraged about my seemingly hopeless pursuit of publishing a children's picture book in a dying market.  I broke down in tears last weekend feeling so overwhelmed by the unlikely odds that some nobody like me can ever get published.  With only a few rejections under my belt, I know I need to get a thicker skin if I want to make it in this business. But its the breaking in that seems the most insurmountable to me at this point. If I want to get published I need an agent to get my work into the right and tightly guarded hands, and if I want an agent I need to be published first.  I feel like I'm banging my head against wall after wall.  Thus the weekend breakdown. When I set out on this journey I didn't fully realize just how much of an emotional roller coaster the creative process can be. For me and my boyfriend who has to deal with the unexpected bouts of depression (sorry Tim!).
  That is why I am so thankful for the SCBWI community.  Being around fellow writers who are struggling and succeeding and can commiserate and enlighten, is just the greatest joy. Every time I go to a meeting or spend time with a critique group or attend a class, I am reenergized and I remember the passion that got me excited to write for children in the first place. 
  Last night I turned in one of my versions of Kiwi & Chirp (I have probably 10 different ones now!) for critique. And again my face burns hot and my heart beats fast any time my work is read aloud.  But all the enthusiasm and support and guidance is so welcome and so appreciated. Sometimes you just need fresh eyes to go over a work that has become blurred to you. It allows you to breathe a little, and take some of the burden off of you making your work so perfect, while someone else takes a stab at it.  So while a peaceful snow fell outside our classroom window, I finally made (some) peace with my own work by letting others in. It was a beautiful thing and I feel grateful for having seized the opportunity, even if it would have been easier to stay at home and wallow away in misery and doubt.  Attending the Great Critique was much more fun! So I'll keep writing, keep pushing forward, and keep finding inspiration and positivity wherever I can get it.
Next stop: SCBWI Western WA Conference in April