The Author Attitude

     Here's what I've been thinking lately: The talent/determination to keep writing, to keep trying, when most people would've given up, is that REAL talent and just as important as the talent of writing in the first place.
     So, keep writing, writing, and rewriting! And, don't forget to submit. Get your work out there. Mine tends to linger on my computer hiding in the shadows.
 
   

Pig Writes a Book, An Author's Evolution

A HUGE "Thank You" to theartofpuro for the artwork sketch!

PIG WRITES A BOOK

     One day Pig declared, “I’m going to write a book for children!”

     “That’s ambitious,” quacked Duck. “You’re going to need some magic words.”

     “And paper and a magic pencil,” said Rooster.

     “And some magic coffee beans,” said Lamb.

     But Pig said, “That’s silly. Writing for children is easy. I can do it all by myself.” And he went home and wrote a story about a sailboat.

     This is good, thought Pig. He showed his book to Duck, Rooster, and Lamb.

     “Wonderful!” said Duck.

     “Fantastic!” said Rooster.    

     “This is the best story I’ve ever read,” said Lamb.

     “You really think so?” Pig asked. He blushed. “I’ll take my book to Cow, the editor and he will make it into a book.”

     Cow read Pig’s book. “This is bad,” said Cow.

     “Why?” asked Pig. “My friends think it’s wonderful.”

     Cow shook his head and sighed. “Sorry,” said Cow. "We’re closed. Try us again another time, but not with that book!” Then he slammed the window.

     Pig walked home very slowly. When he got home, he e-mailed his favorite book author. 
     Dear Ms. Horse, 
                 Where can I buy magic beans and words and paper and a magic pen? 
     Pig waited and waited, but he did not get an e-mail from Horse.

     “I will go looking for magic things,” said Pig. He filled his backpack and set off.

     Pig went to the grocery market, but they didn’t sell any magic coffee beans. Pig bought some regular coffee beans. Next, Pig went to the office supply store.

     “I’m sorry, we don’t carry magic paper or pencils,” said the clerk. “Do you want some regular paper and a regular pencil?”

     “No thanks,” said Pig. “I already have those at home.” When Pig got home, he checked his e-mail again.

     “You’ve got mail!”

     There was an e-mail from Ms. Horse. 
     Dear Mr. Pig, 
           Thank you for your letter. To write a book, you don’t need magic. You need a beginning, middle, end, a plot, story-arc, detailed characters, distinct voice, interesting settings, and character growth with a satisfying ending. If you read lots of good children’s books, attend conferences, work with a mentor, and buy my book about writing, you will learn how to write books for children.

     Pig ordered the book right away and waited for it to come in the mail. When it finally arrived, he read it from front to back. This is helpful, thought Pig, but I need to know more. Pig ordered more books about writing. It took him a year to read all the books about writing that he had ordered. It took him another year to read lots of good children’s books.

     Finally, Pig took out his sailboat story and worked on it. Then he wrote Horse another e-mail. 
     Dear Ms. Horse, 
                 I’ve been working on my story. Will you please read it?

     Ms. Horse answered. “Dear Mr. Pig, I’m afraid I’m too busy visiting schools and reading my books to children. I suggest you join a writer’s group and revise, revise, revise!”

     Pig started a writing group and read his story to his writer friends. They didn’t say “Wonderful!”, “Fantastic!” or that it was the best story they’d ever read. Instead, they told Pig how he could make his story better. After another year of rewriting his story, Pig finally had a manuscript ready for Cow.

     Pig took his story back to the editor’s office. This time, Cow didn’t slam the window. “I see you’ve learned a bit about writing,” said Cow. “But this sounds too adultish. Fix it and bring it back to me when you’re done.”

     Pig took his story back home and worked on it. When Pig finished revising, he said, “Aha! I’ve finally done it!” And Cow agreed.

     Pig signed Cow’s book contract and spent the next few months working with Cow on final editing changes. Then, it was time for Cow to hire an illustrator who drew pictures for Pig’s story. Finally, it was time for Pig’s story to become a book.

     Now, Pig spends all his time visiting schools, reading his book to children, and working on his next book. 

But I AM Funny!...Why are you laughing?

But I AM Funny!...Why are you laughing?

     Have you seen the book John Vorhaus wrote for me? THE COMIC TOOLBOX: HOW TO BE FUNNY EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT (I wonder if he knows where I live, too. Spooky.) But, ya know the great thing about being a writer? I can be funny even when I'm not. As a writer, I have these fantastic tools called DELETE and TIME. When I use them correctly, even I seem funny. I love writing! 

How I Became a Published Author

I met my editor at an SCBWI conference. He mentioned having never turned down a choose-your-own-adventure story, so I made it my mission to learn how to write one. He had offered to send story samples to attendees, and I took him up on the offer. After receiving story samples, I cut them apart and taped them up on the living-room wall so that I could see the flow of the choices. Then I wrote my own, taping each part up on the wall in a flowchart as I went, just like the other stories. After I finished the story and I was sure it worked well, I gave it to three different high-school English teachers I knew from church. They kindly edited my story. Then I made all the grammatical changes suggested, and I only changed the other things if I agreed with them or if two or more people had mentioned the same thing. Then, I sent the story to the editor. And, believe it or not, is how I got my first contract!