Master of the First Draft

Holy crap. I just sent the first draft of my master’s project to my reader, Ann. I’m so excited. It took me four whole days to write it (after months and months of research, interviews, etc., and a few lunch breaks in which I started the writing). I took two days off from work to get it done, and I think forcing myself to sit and work helped. And a deadline. That’s always good for me. Oh, and a shiny new computer on which to write it. That was a great motivator, too.

I really like how it turned out. I hope Ann does, too. And I hope she gives me the great feedback she always has on my class papers. I know she will. If we can get this taken care of in a month, I will be graduating at the end of May. Wow. This is finally happening. How exciting!

Apply: Check. Nervous: Check.

Well, I’ve done it. I’ve finished my application for a position on our city’s Arts and Cultural Commission. I’m told I will hear sometime in January, so I’m going to try to put it out of my mind and focus on the tasks at hand: Christmas dinner with the hubby (not that that’s ever a big ordeal), finishing some old class projects that should have been done a long time ago, getting a good chunk of my master’s project completed, continually editing how-to articles for my freelance work, and the third (and final!) wedding of our “wedding season” in January. Those are my plans for my “winter break” from work.

Oh, yeah, and having a day job. Yeah. That comes into play once-in-a-while.

So, I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something from the city council. Wow. That makes it sound so serious. Here come the butterflies again. But I think it’s time to start getting involved again. I’ve lived too long in this state without getting attached, being a commitment-phobe. It’s time to take the plunge.

Unavailable

So, I plan on being unavailable tomorrow. I really have to buckle down and get this reading completed for my MA project. I’ve been collecting resources and evaluating them, but only just a little. I went to my local library and the university library, and I’m totally stocked up for a day full of reading and research.

I am also going to finish all my work for my two independent study classes. Though my prof won’t let me get out of writing the screenplay, he said I can have all the time I need to finish it. I’m not going to worry about completing it before the end of the summer. I’ll have it done by December, but the beautiful thing is is I don’t need those credits to graduate, so I can get my degree this summer (if I decide to push it and complete my project by August; it might be waiting until December, too) and not have the class technically finished until December. Sweetness, eh?

And I don’t really need the credits from those independent study classes, either, but I just want to get them out of my hair. They’ve been hanging over my head for nearly a year, and it’s about time the damn things are out of the way. It’ll also help put the focus back on my MA project.

The interviews are coming along really well for my project; almost all of the children’s nonfiction writers agreed to be interviewed, and I have two responses from editors, with another one (from the EIC!!) coming in early next week. I also have another one in the works, but that’s all dependent upon the editor. I hope to have all these completed by the end of next week. Woohoo! One step closer….

I know I’ve been massively boring lately, but I’m really pleased with the direction all my work is going in. It’s funny how everything starts to fall into place once I finally get my tail in gear and get down to work. I like being organized; I generally am very organized. But I get distracted easily. And with my little sister’s wedding fast approaching (August 8th) and the hubby’s best friend’s shortly thereafter (September 20th), it’s imperative that I get my work finished before the wedding craziness starts.

So, if you are in need of contacting me tomorrow, you’re going to have to either call or e-mail me today, or call or e-mail me on Monday. Or try contacting me tomorrow, and just waiting until Monday to hear back. I will, of course, check my messages (phone) periodically, just in case something important occurs. Not that I think it will. I just don’t need to be missing something. Because I’m just too damn nosy to miss out.

(To all my kid’s lit peeps, this is for you!)

I recently discovered JacketFlap.com. It’s a networking website for children’s writers, editors, and publishers. It’s a great place to meet like-minded professionals in the children’s literature field. I’ve already found a few new faces and had a couple friends join, so we can talk shop without taking up space in our e-mail inboxes. You can also track your reading and show off your published books (if you are so fortunate to have any). It’s fun, safe, free, and the place to be. You know it.

If you join, add me: avonde

Internship Post #1

I was fortunate enough to be a part of a brainstorming session at the pub. house I interned at. By the time the session arrived, quite a few people knew who I was, but many may have seen me, knew I was an intern, but really knew nothing about me. That was fine. I’m pretty outgoing.

I was to be the notetaker. A menial job but one I didn’t mind because I was able to be a part of it all, to listen to these incredibly talented minds come up with new book ideas, ones nearly on the spot while others were researched and detailed down to the specs of the book’s size.

I had received an e-mail from the EIC, along with the rest of the editorial department, telling me to prepare two ideas for the session. I knew she didn’t mean me personally; I was only an intern (though very often I wasn’t treated that way at the pub. house). I assumed I wasn’t even going to be acknowledged during the session–I had heard enough stories about interns–little fish in big, talented, smart ponds.

But I was asked for input. One of the editors running the group asked sincerely; the other, I think, asked out of obligation, perhaps. I don’t think she was expecting much from me. When I passed both times, I kicked myself. I could have made a difference. Or could I have?

During the sessions I learned about the requirements of a new series–and the intense research that goes into each one, making sure it’s good enough to fly, even pass the VP. I hadn’t known this ahead of time, and even though I did have a few ideas, they weren’t nearly prepared enough to be put out there, to let them roam free and be used or abused.

I still kick myself for not preparing for the meeting. But, at the same time, would I have made an ass of myself going on and on about ideas that weren’t well-researched or investigated, with no backing in curricula and state standards and marketing, even if they were great ideas? Ideas for new books need a firm foundation in the basics: whose going to read it, whose going to need it, whose going to buy it, and how do we market it to all of the above?

But I found I love this process, this idea to book to into the hands of a needing reader. This is where I’m finding my niche, my passion, my love. Where to go from here? We shall see.

And I do have one great idea, one that was later endorsed by the editor I worked the closest with, one that may very well become my master’s thesis (depending upon how I shape it, of course…ugh). But it is one that will be developed and researched and planned to the smallest detail but will obviously still be flexible enough to have changes made without breaking the main idea. It will be pitched to a publisher–hopefully to my beloved pub. house from this summer. But all is fair in love and book publishing.

So I’m done for the semester. I took my last final and handed in my last paper, and I’m done. Well, at least until fall.

I’m doing an independent study this summer to get credit for my internship, but that will be different. I won’t have to attend class each week, and I’ll be doing my own research and writing about my observations at the publishing house. I’m very excited.

Next fall should be so much easier class-wise, but I’m going to be busy again because I am the new editor-in-chief of my university’s student literary magazine, Cellar Roots. It will be a wild ride, one I am looking forward to greatly.

I just received word that one of my poems has been accepted for publication in this year’s edition of Dust & Fire. I was published in their 2005 edition, but this year I’m being published as an alumnus. I’m pretty damn excited.

Writing Tip from a Three-Year-Old

My nephew, Andrew, and I were playing in his sandbox at my parents’ place. He has a little chest of “treasure” that he got along with his Little People Pirate Ship. He likes to bury the treasure in the sand, and then dig it up.

I asked him, “Is it buried treasure, Andrew, or hidden treasure?”

He thought for a second and responded with, “No, treasure.”

Sometimes, adjectives are unnecessary and just clutter your meaning. I too often fall into the adjective game, attempting to describe a situation with adjectives instead of using details. Dr. C, one of my brilliant profs from BSU, used to slash my fiction stories with her purple pen. 85% of the time she was crossing off unneeded adjectives.

Thank you, Andrew, for your wise advice. Now we have to get you to read and write. In time, dear, in time.

I love it when dreams lead to stories.

Being Haunted

I’ve been writing this story in my head for days, and it’s about time it finally made its way onto paper.

Well, maybe tonight…