Karen Day's Blog

Join me on the Cape!

Karen — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:14:52 +0000

In August I will be on the Cape, teaching the write-for-kids segment at the Cape Cod Writers Center Conference in Hyannis. This is the 50th anniversary of the conference, and I feel honored to be part of it.

Writing fiction is hard enough, full of rules and guidelines, possibilities and disappointments. Writing for kids is even more specialized. But the longer I’m in this business, the more interested I am in the process. How do we find our child voice? How do we write stories that appeal to people 35 years younger than ourselves? Knowing what we know as adults, how do we “unknow” — or do we have to “unknow?” Wait, what do I even mean by “unknow”???

Here’s some information from the website (http://capecodwriterscenter.org/conference/)

Announcing the 50th Cape Cod Writers Center Conference, August 5-10, 2012

In honor of our 50th anniversary, the Cape Cod Writers Center Conference will take place from August 5-10, 2010 at the Resort & Conference Center of Hyannis.

While we had many happy and productive years at Craigville, our increasing attendance, need for additional classrooms, state-of-the-art technology, and more convenient parking mandated our decision. The Resort & Conference Center of Hyannis has 233 air-conditioned rooms, extensive modern amenities, ample networking opportunities and unlimited free parking.

To celebrate our Golden Anniversary the Cape Cod Writers Center is hosting an outstanding staff of teachers — authors and poets, editors, media experts and agents listed below.

Keynote Speaker, Monday, August 6, 7:00 p.m.

Joseph Finder, Thriller Author and NY Times Best-Selling Author.

Keynote Speaker, Tuesday, August 7, 7:00 p.m.

Amy Caldwell, Executive Editor, Beacon Press

Keynote Speaker: Wednesday, August 8, 7:00 p.m.

Andre Dubus, New York Times, Best-Selling Novelist

OUR DISTINGUISHED FACULTY INCLUDE :

Matthew Pearl - New York Times Best-Selling Author, The Dante Club, The Poe Shadow, The Last Dickens and The Technologists.

Jule Selbo –Hollywood screenwriter and head of the MFA in Screenwriting Program at California State University, Fullerton

Lee Harrington - best-selling memoirist of Rex and the City

Michelle Hoover - novelist and recipient for 2010 Massachusetts Book Award “Must Read Pick, Forward magazine’s Best Literary book of 2010.

Pitchpalooza — the nationally acclaimed program by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry

Brian Schwartz -president KindleExpert.com and president-elect, Colorado Independent

Vivian Shipley — Award-Winning Poet, Distinguished Professor and Editor of Connecticut Review, nominated for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize

Benjamin Leroy: award-wining publisher of Tyrus Books, F & W Media

Karen Day, award-winning novelist for middle-school students

Sam Cornish, Boston Poet Laureate

Jamie Cat Callan — best-selling author and Massachusetts Cultural Council Awardee

Randall Peffer -- acclaimed author of six crime novels, nonfiction books and national magazines

Gina Barreca — best selling author and syndicated humorist, professor of English at University of Connecticut

C.E. Lawrence –award-winning playwright and thriller writer

Reade Scott Whinnem — popular young adult novelist

Peter Drummey — Stephen T. Riley Librarian (director) Massachusetts Historical Society

No Cream Puffs

Karen — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:30:50 +0000

Lovely post in the Children’s Literature Network on the story behind the story for my novel NO CREAM PUFFS!

http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/magazine/bookscope/2012/no-cream-puffs/

Mom-daughter book group in Maynard!

Karen — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:04:11 +0000

How great is this? A group of wonderful girls eating homemade cream puffs at a mother-daughter book group meeting last week! I had the best time talking about NO CREAM PUFFS and getting to know the girls. We also talked about other near and dear things to my heart — throw up, squished frogs, rodents that blow up, dogs, cats, Girl Scouts, The Hunger Games, maggots and writing assignments. The girls were so interested and interesting. I love visiting these groups. Thanks to all of the girls. And to Trish and Ellie for hosting.

Young writers!

Karen — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:44:49 +0000

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of running a fiction writing workshop for local fourth and fifth graders. Several students I knew from earlier workshops. Most were new to me. In the beginning they were awfully quiet — mostly, I believe, because they were from different schools across our city and didn’t know each other. They listened attentively as I talked. They scribbled on their worksheets when I offered writing prompts. And then I set them loose, asking them to write scenes with the characters they’d created.

I like to experiment with my prompts. And yesterday I introduced a whole new sequence. Would it be too confusing? Would they be able to follow? What would they come up with?

Twelve kids, twelve different stories. But all pretty amazing. Each of them created a strong narrator, thrust into a compelling conflict. We had middle school bullies, dead mothers, talking animals, a world-engulving crisis, frustrated dancers, sick children. It was so exciting to read their stories out loud. They were excited to hear their voices. And as I left the library yesterday I felt really encouraged. If they could all write like that, after only an hour and a half together, what else could they come up with?

Great review in FOCUS

Karen — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:26:26 +0000

While writing A MILLION MILES FROM BOSTON, I thought a lot about Lucy’s “psychological biography.” After all, I was writing about a girl who’d lost her mother six years earlier. I knew she’d have lingering unconscious and conscious issues and that she’d view everything through the lens of grief. Having not actually lost a parent, I wanted to be as accurate as possible depicting Lucy’s life. Over the years I talked about this with several psychologists. A couple of them also read drafts and gave me feedback. One has written a wonderful review in FOCUS, the publication for the National Association of Social Workers (Massachusetts chapter). Thank you, Cynthia!

Oct11FOCUS_v7_ONLINE(1) 5-1

ENCORE! 2011

Karen — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:32:33 +0000

I’m never quite sure how my talks go over with people. Sometimes there will be encouraging smiles and nods. Sometimes sighs. Sometimes people will talk to each other, depending on the size of the group. Sometimes kids will look as if they’re about to go to sleep. Sometimes they sit on the edge of their seats. You can drive yourself crazy, trying to interpret what this all means (you can also lose your place in your talk!).

I often hear from people after a talk. But maybe the best feedback I’ve ever received was last spring, when I was asked to join the faculty of ENCORE! 2011, a one-day conference sponsored by SCBWI in Southern New England and the Alliance for the Study and Teaching of Adolescent Literature (ASTAL) at Rhode Island College in Providence. I will join other presenters John Bell, Erin Dionne, Mary Lee Donovan and Mark Peter Hughes. We were asked to repeat workshops that we first gave at the NESCBWI conference last spring because they went over so well with participants.

ENCORE! 2011 will take place on Saturday, October 29, 2011. For more information and to read about the wonderful writers/editor who will be there:

http://www.nescbwi.org/scbwi-events/encore/

Look what my critique group can do

Karen — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:41:28 +0000

Last night we held our annual potluck dinner/monthly meeting at critique member Laya Steinberg’s house. Usually we meet once a month at the Newton library to go over our manuscripts. But for the last five years we’ve kicked off our September meeting with a dinner at someone’s house. In the kit lit world it’s not unusual to find writers joining together in monthly critique groups. But what I think makes our group unusual is the level of commitment. For the last 10 years, once a month, we’ve been meeting to give each other honest, often difficult, feedback on our WIPs. Members have come and gone (Mitali Perkins, you will always be a member!), and several of us — John Bell, Ed Loechler and I — have been there since the beginning. We don’t dwell on our families, our other hobbies, our lives outside of our writing. We work. And we know each other very well through our work. Last night was an exception when we were entertained with wonderful harmony and guitar by three of our members (Mordena Babich, Laya and Ed). Thanks, all!

Invite me to speak to your girls!

Karen — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:54:18 +0000

In July I had the good fortune to visit Westwinds Bookshop in Duxbury, MA., where members of a mom-daughter group attended my signing. I didn’t give my usual book-group talk because there were other girls there who hadn’t read the book and I didn’t want to spoil it for them. But we were still able to talk about the book and writing in general.

Something magical often happens with these mom-daughter groups. Maybe it’s that the girls and moms often “see” different things in the books, and it’s fun to talk about this. Or that the girls are excited to meet a real author. Or that our talk is part academic (for example, what themes did you find in the text?) and part fun. Whatever it is, I love it.

So, here’s the deal. If you live in the Boston area and are hosting a book group and want to read one of my books, I will come to the meeting and facilitate a talk about it. Just shoot me an e-mail!

Franki Sibberson’s blog

Karen — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:41:06 +0000

So, so thrilled to read this wonderful review on Franki Sibberson’s blog this morning. Thanks, Franki!

http://readingyear.blogspot.com/

Karen — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:32:44 +0000

It wasn’t until I figured out how to revise that I got my first writing contract. The revision process is an exciting experience – it’s where I see what’s possible, what might be. I typically spend four to five years (from the very beginning to the very end) writing a novel and MOST of that time is spent on revision. Over the last couple of years I’ve developed some revision strategies that have helped bring me back from the abyss—multiple times. Thank goodness!

So last year when Kate Messner reached out to middle grade authors – asking for help with her revision book for kids – I jumped at the chance to talk about this. Published by Stenhouse Publishers, Real Revision, Authors’ Strategies to Share with Student Writers, is a wonderful look at revision. She has geared it toward teachers working with kids. But I think it’s a worthwhile book on revision for any writer, both published and unpublished.

Kate separates the book into chapters, including ones on detail, cutting, research, making characters more “real;” she relies on her own writing experience as well as those of the 40 authors who contributed to the book. I found myself saying, “oh, good idea,” when I read about an exercise Kate does in her classroom (requiring students to write a second opening paragraph for their essays).

I also really liked the “Try it” pages. Kate has taken revision suggestions from various authors, then made up an exercise page directed at kids. For example, Linda Urban has a great step-by-step process for peer editing. Jeannine Atkins offers a “Try it” page where students can work on improving language.

Again, these suggestions are geared toward teachers and students but I couldn’t help but think how even the most “advanced” author could benefit from these exercises.

At the spring NE-SCBWI conference I led a workshop on revision (I’ll be repeating this at the Encore 2011 in October). One of the main points in my talk was that writers must develop their own internal editor and come up with their own revision “rules” or guidelines. But how does a young writer do this?

By learning what other writers do!

Kate Messner has just made that search a whole lot easier. Check it out!

http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9446&r=