Finding Inspiration from Life

Last week, when Esther introduced her brand new baby board book, Txtng Mama Txtng Baby (which you can still enter our drawing to win!), she explained how the book was inspired by her yet-to-be born grandson. As a follow-up, the other TeachingAuthors are sharing our own examples of how real life has inspired our stories. On Monday, Mary Ann talked about how the ideas for several of her books came from things that happened to her, her daughter, or family friends.

I've blogged before about how my novel, Rosa, Sola, was based on personal experiences, experiences I'd never considered writing about until I was working on my MFA at Vermont College. I don't want to bore our long-time readers by repeating that story. (If don't know it, you can read this blog post from 2010.) Instead, I'd like to share a bit about the inspiration for the first children's short story I ever had published, which appeared in the August 1999 issue of Pockets magazine.

I've talked before about why I think Pockets is a great market. One of the reasons is that their theme list is posted online, along with submission deadlines. That theme list inspired me to write a story specifically for them.

The theme I chose to address was discrimination. On reading that word, the first ideas that came to mind had to do with discrimination based on race or some other physical trait. But the magazine's theme description encouraged writers to think beyond the obvious forms of discrimination. That's when I turned to real life for inspiration.

At that time, my husband helped out with a ministry at our church that picked up surplus items from a local Hostess Foods thrift store to share with the needy. My husband's assignment was to bring the extra bread, fruit pies, and Twinkies to a nearby youth home/correctional facility. One day, the box of surplus food he picked up consisted almost entirely of Twinkies. When he carried the Twinkies into the youth home, one of the kids said, "Hey, look. It's the Twinkie Man!" That soon became my husband's nickname at the facility.

The children there began to look forward to my husband's visits. One day, as he dropped off another box of goodies, one of the boys in the home asked my husband to pray for him. When my husband came home and told me that, my heart went out to the boy. Before that request, I hadn't thought much about what it was like for the children in the facility. Part of me assumed that the kids sent there had to be "bad kids." For the first time, I realized that they were simply kids that had made bad choices. They were no different from my own son, who was around 10 years old at the time.

My son occasionally went with my husband to the Hostess thrift store to help him load up the food. Because of the correctional facility's rules, my son wasn't allowed to go into the facility with my husband. But I began to wonder: What if he was allowed inside? What if he looked down on (in other words, discriminated against) the kids there and thought he was "better than they were." And what if a boy incarcerated there had surprised my son by asking him for prayers?

The answers to those questions became the inspiration for my short story, which I called "The Twinkie Man." It's about a boy who helps his father make deliveries to a youth home and learns that the kids there are really no different than he is. I was happy and honored to have Pockets magazine accept the story for publication. However, I was a bit disappointed when they changed the title to "The Cupcake Man." That just doesn't have the same ring to it. J

The first paragraph of the published story reads:

They call my dad the Cupcake Man. It's not because he likes cupcakes. I've never even seen him eat one. He got the name because of his volunteer work.

(See what I mean about the title change--the third sentence would be more believable--and entertaining--if it was referring to Twinkies and not cupcakes!)

I want to emphasize that, even though I based this story on real-life events, I never would have written it at all if not for the theme idea and deadline set by Pockets magazine. So I'm as grateful to the magazine editors as I am to my husband, the original "Twinkie Man," for inspiring my story. And, like Mary Ann, I continue to take note of interesting and unusual dialogue, characters, and settings I encounter that may help shape and inspire my fiction.

Don't forget--time is running out to enter our giveaway for a chance to win one of two copies of Esther's terrific new board book, Txtng Mama Txtng Baby. See her blog post for details.

And when you're finished entering the giveaway, head over to check out the terrific Poetry Friday round-up at Steps and Staircases.

Happy writing!
Carmela

Winning the Lottery

It must say something about me that I have written two of my five published novels with contests as a central conceit.  Despite my generally abysmal luck, I love a trip to Vegas, a nice scratch-off, a good game of trivia.  Of course contests that combine luck with skill give one the feeling of more control and, generally, greater satisfaction.  (Give me video poker over straight slots any day -- though I seem to be an equal opportunity loser.)

I have spent the past week preparing my talk for the upcoming Nora Roberts Writing Institute on the topic of breaking in to the business of screenwriting.  When I moved to Los Angeles, I quickly learned that you can't get anywhere without a terrific spec script; and you can't get anyone to read your spec script unless you are either a Hollywood scion or are willing to sell your firstborn child in exchange for the opportunity.  [This is only a slight exaggeration.]  You need an agent in order to have your work read, but most agents accept clients only through industry referrals.  It's quite a quandary.  I once attended a writing seminar in which it was recommended that aspiring writers cultivate relationships with producers in any manner possible -- mowing lawns, washing windows, nannying.  Thankfully, there are alternatives.  One is to work as an assistant on a show for very little money but for the tremendous opportunity to learn the ropes from the inside (as I did).  The other respectable path to access is the writing contest. 

Children's books used to be the one area of commercial publishing in which an agent was not necessraily required.  Novels were still routinely plucked from the slush pile and published.  In the two decades since I began writing, many houses have closed to unsolicited submissions. The path of the unagented writer has become much more difficult.  Again, many agents accept clients only through referrals.  It's the same Catch-22 all over again.

Though I had had some modest success breaking in to publishing on my own, I determined that the best way to gain access and, more importantly, expertise would be through an MFA program.  I certainly did not enroll with the expectation that I might win a scholarship, but it was a happy surprise when I was awarded the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Prize (one of several scholarships offered by Vermont Collee) in my second year.   It was an even happier surprise when Houghton Mifflin offered to publish my creative thesis, which became Mind Games.

Even if a contest does not result in publication, the credibility garnered by a win is a terrific addition to a query or resume, and it can provide the access to the agent who can provide access to the publisher, who might just launch your career.  Which brings us to our...

Several of my writer friends have been on a sending-out-manuscripts spree, and it is my intention to join them.  Query an agent, submit to a publisher, enter a contest -- polish a manuscript and get it off your desk.

To get you started, here are two contests with upcoming deadlines:

The Cheerios picture book contest for new authors
and the Pockets magazine short story contest.

Good luck to all! --Jeanne Marie

Building A Writing Portfolio

Most of the adults who sign up for my writing classes have the same goal: to get a book published by a traditional publisher. They're usually shocked to learn what a long, slow process book publication typically is, whether they're working on a picture book or a novel. To help cope with the wait, I recommend they work on building a portfolio of writing credits they can mention in their cover/query letters. On Monday, Esther shared links to information on how to get published in Highlights magazine. Highlights is a well-respected magazine that's been around for years, and an impressive credit to include in your writing portfolio. Unfortunately, that means they receive a huge volume of submissions, making them a tough market to break into. I like to remind my students that there are other children's magazines, many of them more open to material than Highlights or the Cricket Magazine Group, which publishes high-quality magazines for toddlers to teens.

One of my favorite lesser-known children's magazines is Pockets, published by The Upper Room, for 6 to 12-year-olds. Like Highlights, Pockets runs an annual fiction contest. They also accept a variety of material, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, puzzles, and activities. Although Pockets is a Christian magazine, not all content is explicitly religious. I recall studying a sample issue years ago that happened to include a story that had won their fiction contest. It was a wonderful story about a girl learning to accept her new stepfather. I don't believe it mentioned God at all.

As it says on the Pockets website:

"Each issue is built around a specific theme with material that can be used by children in a variety of ways. Submissions should support the purpose of the magazine to help children grow in their faith, though all submissions do not need to be overtly religious." 

The magazine's monthly themes are listed on their website, along with a submission deadline for each issue. To paraphrase something I heard Richard Peck say years ago, "A deadline is a writer's friend." When I first learned of Pockets and their theme/deadline list, I submitted some theme-related puzzles. To my delight, they were accepted! That success led me to try my hand at writing a short story specifically for an issue focusing on "prejudice." They accepted that piece, and "The Cupcake Man" became my first published children's story. Pockets also published my first children's poem. (Is it any wonder why I'm so fond of this magazine?)

Of course, the key to success when writing for Pockets or any other magazine is to study several issues so that you can draft a submission that fits with the magazine's overall feel. You should be able to check out copies of well-known magazines like Highlights and Cricket at your public library. For smaller magazines like Pockets, you can usually request a sample copy from the publisher. Instructions for doing so are often listed in the "Magazines" section of the annual Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market (Writer's Digest Books). You may be surprised by the number and range of magazines you'll find listed there. If you're a member of SCBWI, you can also download the latest SCBWI Magazine Market Guide, which also includes general tips on writing for magazines.

Besides magazines, another good market for building your writing portfolio is the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. Their upcoming titles are listed on their website along with their submission deadlines. (Remember: Deadlines are our friends!) When Chicken Soup put out a call for the book Teens Talk High School: 101 Stories of Life, Love, and Learning for Older Teens, I submitted a poem in two voices called "Questions," which they accepted. My Writing Buddy, Leanne Pankuch, recently had her second Chicken Soup story published in Hooked on Hockey. Again, to place a story in a Chicken Soup book, it's important to study past issues, and also to carefully read their guidelines. While Chicken Soup stories are nonfiction, they must read like well-crafted fiction--with a beginning, middle, and end; action; dialogue; conflict, a theme, etc.

By the way, all the markets I've discussed today pay for your writing. While it's not exactly a "pot of gold," receiving payment for our work is affirming. And it has given many of my former students the confidence to say "I am a published author," even as they wait for their first book contract.

Don't forget: there's less than a week left to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of JoAnn Early Macken's, Write a Poem Step by Step. See JoAnn's guest post for details.

Happy writing!
Carmela