High-concept Books; I Think Mine Fits

To my multitude of readers, (ha, ha), sorry for the my lapse in posting on my blog. I've been trying to recuperate from burning my candle from both ends and thus burning myself out physically. I'm doing better now. No promises that I will be better at posting, because I've got to spend my spare time polishing up my novel Literary Loom. I'm attending the SCBWI national conference in LA in a few weeks. I hope to find an agent or a publisher while there.

After reading an article in the August Children's Writer newsletter, I'm optimistic about my manuscript. In the artilce they talked about high-concept books. These are works that can be described and pitched in a single sentence. The primary appeal of the work is right there in the concept. There's a straightforward hook to snag an audience. With increasing frequency, editors and agents are requesting and buying high-concept projects. I was told that my book fits into this catagory by a fellow writer in my critique group, Matt Kirby (who, by the way, recently sold his first novel to Scholastic).

So here's my high-concept pitch. Let me know what you think--if you want.

Fifteen year old Josh experiences book travel with the help of a Literary Loom and is able to delve into books, reliving history and discovering the ultimate source of all freedom.

Shingles Aren't Just for the Roof

Shingles are for roofs and old people. I'm neither. I'm young. At least my brain still thinks I'm twenty. Unfortunately, this last week my body had to break the news to my head that it is not young, and I can no longer operate at the break-neck pace of a twenty year old. It did this by putting out a notice, a declaration, a shingle if you will. Several shingles.

Those of you who have had shingles, or a loved one who has, knows they are very painful and annoying. They are a viral infection of the nerves, related to herpes and chicken pox. And they aren't just for old people and roofs, they are for people like me who don't know how to say no (not to drugs, but to everyone's pet projects--including their own). They are for people who burn the candle at both ends and push their 50 year old body like it was years younger. Yeah, I have shingles.

So now I have to take it easy (doctor's orders). I guess that means "No" to the jungle of weeds in my garden for a while, "No" to my sister-in-law's sewing project she needs help with, and no to that room that needs painting. Oh well. But what can a person who is used to keeping busy do that has to take it easy for awhile? I guess I'll just have to sit down more . . . and write on the computer . . . perhaps finish that manuscript that I've been praying for help to finally get to.

Be careful what you pray for. You might get it. Just not in the way you had envisioned.

Teen Writers Conferece

My 13 year old daughter Danielle attended the Teen Writers Conference at Weber State yesterday. She absolutely loved it, telling me that she learned lots and wants to be a New York Best selling author one day.

I want to applaud the organizers of the conference. There were well over 100 attendees (they originally thought they might only get about 30 participants), and the price was nominal. I'm sure most of the authors donated their time and services. What an awesome thing to do to help encourage these young kids to write. I wish they would have had a conference like this when I was a teen, (then maybe it wouldn't have taken until I was 50 to discover I want to be an author).

It's known in many circles that Utah produces more good YA/children's authors than any other state per capita. I'm sure this first annual teen writers conference will only add to the number of good authors produced by this state. Go kids!

Don't Be Afraid to Fail

You've failed many times, although you may not remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you? Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat? Heavy htters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out many times.

R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on.
English novelist John Creasey recieved 753 rejection letters before he published 564 books.
Babe Ruth sturck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs.

Don't worry about failure.
Worry aout the chances you miss when you don't even try.

So you fellow writers out there, keep at it. Also, make sure you check out Danyelle Furgesen's awesome contest. You could have a chance to win some of my puppets.
http://queenoftheclan.blogspot.com/2009/06/qotc-summer-time-give-aways-petite.html

Computer Misfit vs. Technology

I should have been born in the 1800's. I think I'm allergic to computers. Either that or I have some sort of electromagnetic field that I give off that jams them from functioning properly for me, but they do just fine for everyone else. I have had a number of friends comment via e-mail that they can not leave comments on my blog. I have pushed every button, enabled every field, even leaving it open to spam in hopes of getting that little "comment" word to show up at the bottom of my posts. It used to. Take a look at my earlier blogs. The only thing I can think of is that when I started to use my fancy background it somehow interfered with the ability to leave a comment. I don't want to wiped it out to find out. That took forever to get it to stick (and then I had to recruit the help of my 13 year old daughter to help.

I'm pathetic, I know, but if anyone can give me some tips I would appreciate it. I'm going to try one more time to enable my comment ability. If you want to lend help, but still can leave a comment, try my e-mail.

Thanks.

Quick Book Review: The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

If you liked Twilight, you'll love this book. It has the same teen and romance elements, but I felt a lot stronger plot and character development. The fantasy element was more believeable. You know it is a fantasy because there is no such thing as time travel, but she does it in a way that the fantasy element does not blare in your face with its ficticious element. Because she is a debut author I could detect some of the pitfalls that new writers often succomb to, such as the over use of adverbs and lengthy superflous descriptions. But if I were not a writer I would have never noticed these flaws. They didn't distract from the story.

This review would not be complete without mentioning the response of my 13 year old daughter. She is an absolute Twilight fan. I recomended this book to her. She read it in two day and has now listed it in her top three favorite books of all time, (and she is an avid reader). Her favorite book/books is the Twilight series. Her second is A Walk to Remember, by Nickolus Sparks, and her third now is The Hourglass Door. If you happen to read this review Lisa (fat chance), then you should feel good, and give yourself kudos for ranking up there with such famous authors.

A Story about Cookies . . . and Life

The following is an awesome story I heard a few months ago. A day or so ago I recieved it as part of a newsletter from our commercial real estate broker. I liked it so much I thought I would pass it on. (Please note that I typed it in as written in the newsletter. As a writer, the liberal use of exclaimation marks made me a bit squeamish, but the message in the story compensated for them).

It is entitled simply, The Cookies.

A young lady was waiting for her flight in the boarding room of a big airport. As she would need to wait many hours, she deieded to buy a book to spend her time. She also bought a packet of cookies. She sat down in an armchir, in the VIP room of the airport, to rest and read in peace.

Beside the arm chir where the packet of cookies lay, a man sat down in the next seat, opening his magazine and started reading. When she took out the first cookie, the man took one also. She felt irritated but said nothing. She just thought: "What nerve! If I was in the mood, I would punch him for daring!" For each cookie she took, the man took one too. This was infuriating her but she didn't want to cause a scene.

When only one cookie remained, she thought: "What is this man to do mow?" Then, the man, taking the last cookie, divided it into half, givging her one half. Ah! That was too much! She was much too angry now! In a huff, she took her book, her things and stormed to the boarding gate. When she sat down in her seat, inside the plane, she looked into her purse to get her eyeglasses, and, to her surprise, her packet of cookies was there, untouched, unopened!

She felt so ashamed! She realized that she was wrong . . .she had forgotten that her cookies were in her purse. The man had divided his cookies with her, without feeling angered or bitter . . . while she was dividing her cookies with him. And now there was no chance to explain herself or to apologize.

There are some things that you cannot recover:
The stone . . . after it's thrown.
The word . . . after it's said.
The time . . . after it's gone.