Write, Revise, Repeat

Congrats to our own JoAnn Early Macken on the fabulous review of Waiting Out The Storm in The Washington Post this weekend.  (She might be too modest to mention it, but I am not!  She also happens to be in excellent company.)  If you'd like to win a copy of this terrific read-aloud for young kids, post a comment here by 11 pm Thursday, CST.

Thanks to Mary Roy for the following question:

"I am writing a children's story for the first time. I've published articles in local magazines and special sections, but not yet a book. I am starting at ground zero with this story. I feel that I probably need a class. For certain I need direction, and that's really what I'm asking for. Where should I start? How do I develop the basic story into a charming book for children?"

Mary, this is a question that bears repeating and is something I still ask myself all the time.

One good place to start is this post by Esther Hershenhorn.

I will echo her sentiment that one of the most important things to do is read, read, read.  Study what's out there.  Has a topic similar to yours already been covered in a published work?  How did other skilled writers solve the same problems you face in your own writing? 

I like to visit the bookstore (support indie bookstores!) and see what's new -- what books are being marketed heavily, which ones are facing outward, etc.  It is always fun to find a friend's book on the shelf and give it a little marketing boost by making its place more prominent. :)

Bear in mind that what is trendy today (hello, vampires) will almost certainly be well on its way out by the time anything you write now could be published in, say, two to three to four years. 

I also go to the library.  They might not have the best selection of what's new, but they almost always have the classics.  Check out the works of Esme Raji Codell and Anita Silvey for books every children's author should know.

Google is also my friend, and I often search on http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.indiebound.com/ for card catalog-type information so that I can get a general sense as to what books are "out there." 

Do you know whether you are writing a picture book, a middle grade novel, or a YA?  Do you have characters in mind?  Plot?  Beginning, middle, end?  I find it hard to begin writing until I have a somewhat solid sense as to all of the above, even though these elements may change significantly in the writing process.  There are so many ways to go about fleshing out a story -- of course you have to find what works for you.  You already have good writing habits, or you would not be a published author.  You will likely find that many of these habits apply to writing fiction as well.

When I write mystery novels and soap operas, I outline.  In fact, all TV writers and screenwriters outline (or write treatments, as they're called).  Many novelists, on the other hand, like to be surprised by the twists and turns that ensue along the way.  There is, of course, no right or wrong way to do it -- just do what works for you!

GET A DRAFT.  That is the most important thing you can do.  Then, finally, the real work begins -- revising.

You mentioned that you think you might need to take a class.  Many of us have our MFA degrees in writing for children.  Assuming you don't want to do something quite so hardcore, you can try to find a class at a local college, where non-credit courses in writing for children are often offered.  Online courses are another great idea. There are a number of excellent courses taught through UCLA Extension and http://www.mediabistro.com/, for example.

Workshopping your manuscript is important.  That said, "clicking" with your teacher/mentor is crucial to a productive experience.  Writing is, obviously, highly subjective.  If you get feedback that doesn't speak to your heart, you don't have to take it; but if you find yourself getting the same feedback from multiple sources, then of course it's time for another look.

You may be able to find a local critique group through SCBWI.  If you find one that you like, you're golden. :)  If you find one that you hate, a break-up may ultimately be in order.

Revise, revise, revise.  How will you know when your pride and joy is ready to submit?  You might not.  You are too close to your own work.  Seek input from other seasoned writers.  Attend conferences.  Hook up with editors.  Network.

Good luck, and please keep us posted. 

And if anyone wants to start an online group, let me know -- I am desperate to find one! -- Jeanne Marie

Waiting Out the Storm, Part 1: Inspiration to Acceptance

My brand-new picture book Waiting Out the Storm was released by Candlewick Press this month. Yippee! My generous fellow Teaching Authors offered to organize a series of brand-new-book interviews like we did for April’s New Year at the Pier (starting here) and Esther’s S is for Story: A Writer's Alphabet (starting here). But spring is a busy time for me—especially this year! School visits and teaching fill up my days and nights in March and April. So I’ll write this week about the beginning of the process and continue the story in next Friday’s post. In the meantime, you’ll have a chance to win an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm. See the Giveaway Guidelines link below. I’ll post the winner next Friday.

Waiting Out the Storm began as a need to do something in response to the terrible events of September 11, 2001. Like many other writers during that time, I had trouble focusing on my work. I was wordless. I couldn’t stop thinking about the children affected by the tragic events, and the only thing I thought I might do was try to offer some comfort. But how?

I couldn’t write about terrorism. Not only did I feel it was not appropriate for the audience, but I knew I wasn’t equipped for such a task. A thunderstorm seemed a common childhood fear that symbolized a vague threat but that parents could explain and reassure children about. I’d write about a storm.

As for each of my books, personal experience went into the creation. Years before in Florida, I’d heard our friend Susan call her baby son “Buttercup.” I'd saved the memory of that delightful name, and I used it in the book. I researched animals, played with rhythm and rhyme, and kept trying to focus on my goal of providing comfort to children during a difficult time.

Between September 2002 and June 2003, I submitted the manuscript five times. Even though the rejection letters included positive comments, they still stung. One said it “felt too sentimental.” Another called it “not quite special or unique enough.” Ouch! I still cringe when I read them.

What did I do next? I put the manuscript away. I must have been discouraged. I kept writing, though. I  submitted other manuscripts.

I pulled out Waiting Out the Storm again to submit to our 2005 SCBWI-Wisconsin fall retreat. There, I had the great fortune of receiving a critique from a Candlewick editor, who gave me suggestions for improving the manuscript and said she’d be willing to look at it again after I revised it. I felt so hopeful!

With help from my brilliant writing group, I revised the manuscript over the next few months and resubmitted it in January 2006. We returned from a canoe trip that April to find a message on the answering machine from the editor, who said she’d like to offer a contract. I'll always remember the thrill!

For a chance to receive an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm, read our Book Giveaway Guidelines. Then enter our drawing by posting a comment to today's post that includes your name and e-mail address. I'll continue the story of Waiting Out the Storm and post the winner next Friday.

JoAnn Early Macken

Recap of Our Live, In Person, Teaching Authors' Workshop

Last Thursday, five of the Teaching Authors were gathered together as April posted live from her hotel room at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield, Illinois. As April reported in that post, earlier in the day:

"Two magical, amazing and very smart professors from DePaul University--Roxanne Owens and Marie Donovan--introduced us and moderated our workshop, called Flabby to Fab-y: Writing Workouts to Shape Up Your Curriculum."

In case you weren't there, here's a recap of our presentation, which focused on the theme of exercise (inspired by our Writing Workouts): For the first half of our double session, we discussed common questions related to the five stages of writing:

Warm-up:   How do you prepare students (and their classroom) so they live and breathe and see themselves as WRITERS? (Esther)
Stretching    How do you help students generate/find ideas? (April)
Strength-training   How do you help students shape their ideas into compelling stories? (JoAnn)
Cardio          How do you help students find/create voice for the story? (Mary Ann)
Cool down   How do you motivate students to revise? (Carmela)

 Here's Esther, describing how to create an environment for growing young writers.

Then, for the second half, we offered "Personal Training" small group sessions with individual TAs. The attendees practiced hands-on activities to address these questions:

Esther:   How do you help motivate/engage reluctant writers?
April:      How do you help students discover topics that are meaningful to them?
JoAnn:    How do you help students create believable, well-rounded characters?
Mary Ann:  How do you teach students to incorporate specific details into their writing?
Carmela:    How do you help young writers “go for the burn,” inspiring them to connect with their writing on a deeper level?

 Here's JoAnn, discussing characterization with her small group.

We sure made those attendees sweat! But, judging from the feedback we received, they really did feel "Fab-y!" afterward. Here are a few of the comments:

"Excellent presentation!"
"They should offer this again."
"Thanks so much! You've given me a step-by-step process I can take back to use with my students."
"I can't believe that was two hours--the time went really fast."
"You're all so enthusiastic; your passion for writing really comes through."
"You were obviously having fun."

We really did have fun, as you can see from the photo below.

From left to right: Mary Ann, Esther, JoAnn, Carmela, and April.

We're hoping this will be the first of many Teaching Authors' workshops. To facilitate that, we've added a new link at the top of our Web page, just below our logo. If you click on "Workshops and Visits," you'll see information regarding how to arrange a presentation by one or more of the Teaching Authors at your school or conference. Do check it out!

There's also another new link at the top of our Web page labeled "IRC 'Top Ten Questions.'" That takes you to a page featuring the questions we addressed in our presentation, along with links to corresponding Writing Workouts. (Sorry, I haven't had a chance to post the full ten questions yet, but hope to get to it soon.)

If you receive our posts via email, I hope you'll visit our Web site to see these new pages. And if you're a new visitor to our blog who would like to receive emails of our posts, please see the box in the sidebar labeled "Receive Our Posts Via Email." You'll also see other subscription options below that, including via Google and Facebook.

Finally, if you attended our IRC presentation, please post a comment here telling us what you thought of it. We'd love to have your feedback!

By the way, if you're wondering who won our last giveaway, see my post from Monday. And don't despair if you weren't our winner--you'll have a chance to win an autographed copy of the most recently published Teaching Author book on Friday.

Happy writing!
Carmela

Our Latest Giveaway Winner

We Teaching Authors are still catching up from being away at the Illinois Reading Council Conference last week. I'll report on the conference on Wednesday. Meanwhile, while we were gone, our Guest Teaching Author Johanna Hurwitz selected our latest giveaway winner:

Cheryl S of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Here's Cheryl's winning question, and Johanna's answer:

I have sketched out the main characters for my novel in my mind, but have yet to name them. I have determined the conclusion and have chosen the title. What do I do next? Where should I begin? Should I begin with a story outline? Should I concentrate on fleshing out my main characters? Should I mention that there are subplots?

Wow. You have a lot of questions and a lot of work ahead of you. Many writers prepare an outline before they begin writing. However, there is no rule. You already know your conclusion so you just have to think of a beginning and work towards that ending. Personally, I don't use an outline. I like to be surprised by my story just as if I was a reader. That's the way I work - I compare it to taking a trip and knowing where I want to go but leaving the map at home. That means I might get lost, I might waste time. But there will be surprises along the way and that's what makes writing fun for me.

Why don't you give your characters their names? (You can always change them.) They will seem more real to you once they are named. Then sit down and write. Nowadays with computers it is so simple to flesh out characters or make changes at any point. When I began writing (in the Dark Ages), I literally had to cut and paste my stories together and retype over and over. You are spared that but there is still a lot of work ahead of you. Start now or you'll never finish.

Good luck - you've already won a free book! (Cheryl will receive an autographed copy of I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Jokes, Tricks, and Switcheroos, edited by Johanna Hurwitz and featuring a story by me, Carmela Martino.)

Thanks again, Johanna, for sharing your wisdom with us. And thank you to all our readers who entered our contest. If you didn't win this time, never fear. You'll have another chance to win a new autographed book on Friday, when we celebrate the release of the latest TA book: Waiting out the Storm, by JoAnn Early Macken.

Happy Writing,
Carmela

Howdy From the IRC Conference!

Out and About!

Guess what?  Teaching Authors are PORTABLE! 

Today, five Teaching Authors gave a wildly successful workshop (I can say that, right?) at the Illinois Reading Council's 42nd annual Conference, and now we're schmoozing with teachers, attending banquets, and generally having a wild time.  Woo-woo!

Two magical, amazing and very smart professors from DePaul University--Roxanne Owens and Marie Donovan--introduced us and moderated our workshop, called Flabby to Fab-y: Writing Workouts to Shape Up Your Curriculum. 

As "personal trainers," we warmed-up, stretched, strength-trained, cardio-ed and cooled down the attendees...and then awarded them tres cool certificates of completion to hang on their walls with pride.

And yes...we really did teach them one actual physical exercise!  In the break-out sessions we taught hands-on writing exercises.

 

Spring in Springfield, IL is fabulous--wish you were here!

Out and About in the Clover-dash-Shamrocks!

I’m Out-and-About and in clover today, wheeling to Springfield, Illinois to join four of my five fellow Teaching Authors for our Workshop tomorrow afternoon Thursday at the 42nd Annual Illinois Reading Conference.

(And, for the record, I care little o'bout the variety of the three-leafed plants that surround me – red, black, white or otherwise, all of which can be classified as Shamrocks. My Chicago River’s flowing green today!)

Visit us Friday to view photos of our singular workshop we’re co-presenting with Dr. Roxanne Owens and Dr. Marie Donovan of DePaul University’s School of Education – “Flabby to Fab-y: Writing Workouts to Shape Up Your Curriculum.” Thanks to you, our readers, we’re able to focus on the Top Ten Teaching-Writing Issues Teachers Face Daily and ways Young Writers can stretch, flex and bend.

You can exercise, too, of course, by checking out this year’s Children’s Choice Book Awards list, a joint project of the Children's Book Council and the International Reading Assocation.  Each year publishers submit hundreds of titles for consideration by five teams of some 12,000 young readers from across the country. Share the voting opportunity which began Monday, March 15, with your students, children, grandchildren, library patrons - AND/OR - use the list to acquaint yourself with titles children already enjoy. We children’s book writers need to know The Best of the Best as determined by – drum roll, please – our readers.

Finally, please remember: 11 pm today Wednesday is the deadline for our current book giveaway of Johanna Hurwitz’s I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Tricks, Jokes, and Switcheroos.

Keep those insightful questions comin’!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Esther Hershenhorn

*Credits for photo
http://www.lycoming.edu/
http://www.rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress/

Job Description

For all the Johanna Hurwitz fans out there (me, me, me!) and those with tween readers who may have missed it, check out Carmela's interview for our fab new book giveaway.  Lots of great questions have been posted already. 

I am the sole, lame Teaching Author who will be sitting on her butt (butt in chair -- hey!) next week while my cohorts do the heavy lifting of presenting at the Illinois Reading Council Conference this week. 

Between my full-time job of writing soap operas and my part-time job of teaching college and my part-part-time gig writing articles and that 24/7 job of raising children, I have found my travels to be severely curtailed for the last few years.  Note that the one job that I did not mention is, yes, writing books -- of which I have done precious little of late.

My college students are, as I write this, working busily (I hope) on their definition essays.  I have to confess, this is my very favorite type of essay to assign.  As I tell my students, words are powerful; words can be the most potent weapons on earth -- whether you are six or sixty.  Does anyone believe that old chestnut about "sticks and stones"?

The public discourse, it seems to me, has devolved into a series of loaded words being flung back and forth with increasing frequency.  Am I alone in wanting these verbal missles to be channeled into a productive discussion?  Please define "victory."  Define "terrorism."  Define "socialism." Define "anti-American" and explain how it differs from "anti-government."  There are important distinctions to be made; there are substantive arguments to be made on both sides of every issue.  And yet, it seems, that all we do is shout the same words over and over until they lose all real meaning.

It took me many years of working as a writer and a secretary, a writer and a transcriptionist, a writer and a go-fer, for me to finally be able to call myself a "writer."  This transition happened in my mind not when I published my first article or my first book (as I had always imagined it would) but when I was finally able to earn my living consistently as a writer.  Unfortunately, as a professional soap opera writer, my job security is nil.  And a funny thing happened when I lost my job a few years back.  I have not been writing or selling books for awhile (see above) and have never earned more than a pittance doing so, anyway.  Can I continue calling myself a writer if I'm not being paid to write?  And if I am not a professional writer -- what am I?

This evening I was putting my daughter to bed and reading to her from Meet Kit, the first in the American Girl series that takes place during the Great Depression.  Very early in Chapter 1, it is established that one of the characters' husbands has been unemployed for two years, and the family has lost their home.  My daughter, Kate, said, "That's terrible that he lost his job.  But this is just a made-up story, right?"  I assured her that it was and continued reading.  A moment later, she interrupted, "But do people really lose their jobs?"  I said that yes, they do.  Then, "Are you going to lose your job, Mommy?"  (Now, full disclosure.  When I am on a deadline on a childcare-free day and my daughter is making her two thousandth demand of the day in full whine, I have been known to threaten that noncompliance will result in my unemployment, which will have dire effects on her toy collection.)  So I explained to Kate tonight that yes, someday Mommy will probably lose her job.  And she cried.  And she cried and cried and cried.  And I thought -- couldn't I have just said that Mommy will always have a job?  I will always, always be her mommy.  And, honestly, after all this time, is there any going back?  Whether I am a soap opera writer, I will always be a writer. 

I FINALLY, after lo these many years, completed a mystery manuscript that's rapidly going nowhere.  I recently got some professional feedback and am excited to have a clue what to do with it.  So there's another two years of my life to invest in a manuscript that may never be read outside a very small circle of friends and critics.  It is hard, I now realize, to turn down paying work, to believe in oneself enough to risk zero return on a huge investment of time and energy and heart. 

I just finished reading a rough draft of a student's essay on the definition of courage.  It takes courage to be a writer.  COURAGE to us all.

And does anyone know a really good online critique group?  Because I could surely use one! 
--Jeanne Marie

Strength Training Your Stories! (And a poem about being lost for Poetry Friday!)

Happy Poetry Friday!

Today's poem is lost at the bottom of this post.

As Carmela has mentioned, on March 18th, from 1:45-3:45 pm, we Teaching Authors will be at the Illinois Reading Council presenting a workshop with DePaul University professors Roxanne Owens and Marie Donovan called Flabby to Fab-y: Writing Workouts to Shape Up Your Curriculum.

Exciting!  I am v-v-v-v-v-vibrating in anticipation of this adventure beyond my Southern California borders!  (I'm also packing winter underwear and mittens.)

In keeping with our workshop's title, here’s a “strength training” exercise which will surely help you and your students generate ideas and get that first draft down.

 (Okay...you're going to have to use your
writerly imaginations here.
Suddenly I can't upload images...
even ones I've used before.

So the cartoon I drew of a girl
bench pressing a giant pencil
is something you're just going to have to
conjure up on your own.
I know you can do it.)

This exercise comes from my friend, poet and prolific children's author Janet Wong.  Janet teaches this exercise to help kids and adults alike find content for poems.  But it could just as easily be used to jump start stories.

WRITING WORKOUT--Generating Ideas

She calls it her "Mind Walk" exercise.

Janet says,   “I write the numbers 10 to 5 on the board, in descending order, and I talk briefly about one memory from each of those years of my life.

As I talk about the memory, I jot down 3-5 words next to the year. I talk about my skateboard accident and stitches (7 years old), spitting milk on the table at a birthday party when someone told a funny joke (9 years old), riding an elephant (10 years old), getting in trouble for taking a nickel to show my underwear to the boy next door (5 years old)-various things.

Then I give the students 1 minute to jot down some memories.  This is easy for them because most of them have started thinking of memories while listening to my stories-you can see them practically bursting to tell someone about the time they broke an arm, or whatever.

At the end of the minute, I call on people to share their memories aloud (and this is another time when people get ideas).

I ask if anyone still has no memories; if hands go up, I then ask a bunch of silly questions: Have you ever cut your own hair, and it turned out awful? Have you ever vomited in public? Have you been embarrassed by your parents? Have you ever cheated, or lied for a friend-and gotten caught?

I then talk briefly about rhyme, repetition, and rhythm, and tell them to write their poem.

I tell them, "If you're stuck for a beginning, you might want to try something like this, writing "I am x years old" and describing what happened in the present tense, as if it's happening right now. A couple of them will take this route.

This exercise produces interesting results because it invites people to shock others and also reminds them of funny/strange things that they might otherwise never have the opportunity to remember. Such as: the woman in her mid-20s who put Nair hair-removing cream in her "friend's" shampoo bottle when she was a teen; the teen girl whose dog bit off her bird's head when she was 6 years old; the boy who accidentally set fire to a house with firecrackers at age 5, etc.”

Thank you, Janet!

So...what are YOUR childhood memories?  Write down ages 5-10 and unearth a few embarrassing or a silly or a tender or scary ones.  Then, risk all by writing a story or poem about one of them.  When you're done, as Esther Hershenhorn encourages, read your work aloud.

Do it!  And then...will you do me a huge favor?  Will you check in when you've done it?  Will you drop us a line in the comment section?  We live for your comments! 

Here’s a poem that came from one of my childhood memories:

LOST AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO
by April Halprin Wayland

 I reach up to hold your hand.
 It isn’t yours.
 All of a sudden
                          there you aren’t.

 A forest of legs, legs,
 footsteps, footsteps:
 families clattering through the zoo
 to the elephants!  To the lions! 

 They’re all scared of the snake house,
 pushing past me
 boarding the fat tram—
                                     but nobody is you!

 My face is hot.  My buttons are tight.
 You are lost in this jumble of giant Strangers.
 Where are you? 
                       Where are you? 
                                              WHERE ARE YOU?

A navy-blue uniform
takes my sweaty hand,
gives me cold water,
turns on a microphone:

“Will the parents of a lost youngster
please come to the Zoo office.”
I’m sitting on the desk
sucking a cherry lollipop.

I’m not crying
       but those wet things
                                    keep running down
                                                                from my eyes...
Then,
 you come hugging!

This poem has been accepted for publication in Cricket Magazine.  Copyright © April HalprinWayland

Remember to breathe.  And remember to write with joy ~

Photo and drawing by April Halprin Wayland

Book Giveaway and Guest Teaching Author Interview with Johanna Hurwitz

I'm honored to announce the publication of my short story, "Big Z, Cammi, and Me," in the new middle-grade anthology, I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Tricks, Jokes, and Switcheroos (Candlewick Press), which was released yesterday. (Don't you just LOVE the cover?) Here's a description of the book from the Candlewick website:

An arrogant prince tries to bluff his way out of paying the bridge troll’s toll, only to find that honesty really is its own reward. Judy Moody dreams up her best-ever prank on Stink, but he finds a hilarious way to make her joke fall splat. And when a boy’s grandfather plays an elaborate trick that has the whole town laughing at him, can he use it one day to big-time advantage? Edited by acclaimed children’s author Johanna Hurwitz, this collection of stories -- all woven around the phrase "I fooled you" -- range from a comic graphic tale about clever chimps to thought-provoking explorations of fairness, empathy, eccentricity, and the power of imagination. How many different ways can ten leading middle-grade authors tell a story including the line "I fooled you"? Prepare to be surprised!

And today I'm especially thrilled to be able to feature a Guest Teaching Author interview with Johanna Hurwitz herself. In the interview, Johanna shares a bit about how the anthology came to be, and also about her own experiences as a Teaching Author. She has also generously agreed to provide an autographed copy of the anthology for one lucky TeachingAuthors reader. You'll find details about the giveaway following the interview.

Although I've never met Johanna Hurwitz in person, I have long been familiar with her work as the award-winning author of over 50 books for young readers, including picture books, novels, and biographies. Two of her recent titles are Amazing Monty and Squirrel World. You can read more about Johanna at her website.

And now for the interview:

Johanna, can you tell us how you became a Teaching Author?

I was a school librarian and then at one of my positions, I was asked to teach reading. I guess I did too good a job because before I knew it I was asked if I could teach writing as well. I drew the line when the school director, realizing that I knew how to type, asked if I would type up all the teachers’ student evaluations. Subsequently, after several of my books were published, I was invited to teach summer writing workshops at Hofstra University on Long Island and a three-day workshop at the University of Vermont.

What’s a common problem/question that your students have and how do you address/answer it?

“I don’t know what to write.” Everyone has a story or many stories to tell. So I may ask my students: “What do you talk about at supper with your family? What happened today at school that made today different from yesterday?” But usually I make up a topic that everyone can answer in their own way. For example, “If you have a pet, write as if you were this animal and describe yourself from the pet’s point of view. And if you don’t have a pet, write from the point of view of the pet you wish you had.”

That sounds like a great Writing Workout for teachers. Do you have any suggestions for how teachers might also use some of your books in the classroom?

First Birthday Surprises (Morrow, 1995, now available in paperback from Avon), and now I Fooled You (Candlewick, 2010), take a single premise and have different authors write their own version. A teacher could read aloud one or two stories from one of these books and then ask students to write their own story. The important thing to stress is that there is not a correct way to write the story and each is different. Another suggestion is in conjunction with my three-book series about Ali Baba Bernstein: The Adventures Of Ali Baba Bernstein (Morrow, c1985, now available in paperback from Avon), Hurray For Ali Baba Bernstein, and Ali Baba Bernstein Lost & Found.  Ali Baba’s real name is David but there are three other Davids in his class. In order not to be confused with the others, he picks a new name for himself. I ask students to discuss with their parents the name(s) they were given and why. Surprisingly, many don’t know if they were named after another family member. Then I ask them to write about their name. Also, if they were going to change their name, what name would they select and why. Each chapter in the books begins with David Bernstein’s age (for example, eight years, six months, seventeen days). It’s a great exercise to have the students figure out their exact age, too.

I was so pleased when I found out that my short story, “Big Z, Cammi, and Me” would be included in the I Fooled You anthology. Would you tell our readers where you got the idea for the anthology and how you collected the stories for it? Had you already written your story when you sent out the invitation to other authors?

With the success of my first anthology Birthday Surprises (NCTE Teacher’s Choice Book, Junior Library Guild selection, starred reviews), people said to me, “You found the only subject that would work this way.” I wanted to prove them wrong. After much thought, I got the idea to write a book called APRIL 31st. I wrote my own story and came up with about two other stories that would work as well. However, when I discussed this subject with Candlewick editor Sarah Ketchersid, she felt it was too limiting a topic. We discussed it and eventually decided to have all the stories show someone playing a trick on someone else. Sarah and I then made up a list of potential authors. Some are personal writer friends of mine and some are people (like you, Carmela) that I was unfamiliar with but who Sarah suggested. Some of the people that we approached had too many commitments and rejected the invitation at once. A couple never responded. A couple said they’d get back to us but the book has come out and they never did.

It was my idea to have a poem and I suggested Doug Florian who is in my writing group. I love his contribution. It’s a great lead-in to the stories in the book. I also felt we should have a graphic tale as there would be no illustrations in the book and a graphic story would break up all the dark print. Sarah suggested Jennifer and Matthew Holm who are famous for their Baby Mouse books. Jennifer didn’t have the time but Matthew offered to do a story on his own. Two authors were so delighted to be invited that they each sent three different stories. I read all six stories and sent them on to Sarah. Coincidentally and fortunately, she favored the same story from each author as I did. I think the finished book is a great mix of humor and seriousness with first person and third person stories, contemporary settings and a historical one, a modern fairy tale, as well as the poem and graphic story. I hope reviewers and readers will agree.

Finally, would you share a funny (or interesting) story related to your career as a Teaching Author?

The Internet has provided me with messages from all over the world. Last September, I got a letter from a woman who said she heard me speak in 1989 when she was a fourth grader and I did a visit at her school on Long Island. She even still owns the book I signed for her and has a photo of standing in line waiting for my autograph. Now she is a third-grade teacher at a school in Delaware. She was reading one of my books aloud to her class and she told them about meeting me. She said they were very excited about this personal link. I wrote back and in my letter I mentioned that I still make school visits. “Should your school ever consider inviting an author, think about me,” I told her. This was the beginning of a long correspondence, but the ending is that her principal and the other teachers in her school loved the idea, she applied for and received a grant to cover all expenses, and in April I will be visiting the school and having a “reunion” with someone who remembered me after more than twenty years.

This anecdote is a wonderful reminder that as an author one never knows when a book we’ve written or a talk we’ve given has influenced someone. Even after a book has gone out of print, it is still available in libraries and via on-line bookstores. Even after a talk is given, our words resonate with our listeners. It’s a big responsibility but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and hopefully give something important to our audience.

Thanks so much for taking time to share your words with us today, Johanna. I have no doubt they will resonate with our blog readers. Your comments may also raise additional questions in our readers' minds. So, readers, we are offering you an opportunity to ask Johanna your own question. As Johanna would say, "No fooling!" By posting a comment below with a writing or book-related question for Johanna, you will be entered for a chance to win your own autographed copy of I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Tricks, Jokes, and Switcheroos. The book is a fun read, featuring the work of David A. Adler, Eve B. Feldman, Douglas Florian, Matthew Holm, Johanna Hurwitz, Ellen Klages, Michelle Knudsen, Megan McDonald, Barbara Ann Porte, and me, Carmela Martino. If Johanna chooses to answer your question in a follow-up post, then you will be our winner. It's that easy!

A few "do's" and one "don't":

• Do try to ask a unique or intriguing question to increase your chance of winning.
• Do make sure your question is related to writing and/or children's books.
• Do provide your email address or a link to your own blog in your comment.
• Do post your comment by 11 p.m. (Central Standard Time) on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. 
• Do read our complete giveaway guidelines here. 
• Don't enter if your address is outside the U.S.

The winner will be announced in my next post, on Wednesday, March 24. (Sorry to keep you in suspense, but we TAs will be speaking at the IRC conference on March 18, and I'll be in catch-up mode after that.)

"Out and About"

This evening, I will have the pleasure of speaking at the North Suburban SCBWI-Illinois Network meeting on the topic of "Character Names." Instead of having a handout, I've posted some character-naming resources on my personal blog. If you'll be attending the meeting, or would like to check out the links, you can access the blog post here.

Good luck to all the contest entrants, and Happy Writing!
Carmela