GROG Roundtable Part 2: Routines and Cues for Revision Facilitated by Kathy Halsey

Roundtable on Revision: Routines and And Cues

In Part One of our Roundtable we discussed our thoughts about how to write consistently. In Part 2 we chew on a topic that writers are always curious about. . . how to pysch yourself into revising. The GROGers have tips and tricks to make your revisions go better.

Kathy Halsey: 

I write my revisions in purple and the Com San Serif font to train my mind that this is revision work. When I see purple, I know my mindset changes. I know everything can be changed. 

I also use my MacBook Pro to read my revision back to me and change as I hear it aloud. On  a Mac, Choose Apple menu, Go to System Preferences,  then to Accessibility. Then click Spoken Content. Select the “Speak selection” checkbox. By default, your Mac speaks text when you press the keyboard shortcut. Again, see System Preferences.

Christy Mihaly: 

My favorite revision tip is to give something to my critique partners! Honestly, they're brilliant. Then I just have to try to reconcile their various comments. 

On my own, for picture books, doing a dummy really helps clarify where I need to revise. 

I  have a cool writer's tool for this: a reusable, 32-page dry-erase notebook that's great for sketching out stories. [Images attached, including one showing how I mapped out spreads for WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery (which is 64 pages).]

Finally, when I'm stuck with a story I often find that rewriting it from another character's point of view helps get things unstuck.

Carol Coven Grannick:

I happen to love revision much more than the first draft. Re-reading, often aloud, is my door to noticing that something—I may not know what, yet—is “off”. Whether short poem or middle grade novel, I trust the “off” feeling (whether it’s from me or critiquing colleagues). And so it goes over and over, fine tuning one draft after the other until it feels right.

Sue Heavenrich:

Like Christy, I use my critique partners to help me see things that could use revision, or to help me clarify what I’m trying to say. Often I’ll print out what I’m working on and put it in my Morning Pages notebook. I might try a different structure (using rhyme instead of prose) or a different point of view. Or I might wad the whole thing up, toss it against the wall, and say: “If I had to explain this to a kid, how would I do it?” Then I write that into Morning Pages. 

Some of my best ideas for writing and for revision, though, happen while I’m in the garden or turning compost or out for a walk - so I make sure to tuck an index card and pencil in my pocket when I head outside. 

Suzy Leopold

The revision process is a time to bring order to my thoughts. It’s a process of discovery to reread, rewrite, rethink, review, and reconfigure the story idea to write an improved version. My stories include multiple revisions. The following are suggested tips for revision to consider:

• Revising requires time, patience, and reimagination.

• Read the manuscript aloud

• Write a pitch or one sentence description 

• Create a book dummy

• Be deliberate with word choices. For example: use a blue highlighter to identify active verbs versus passive verbs, pink to identify dialogue.

• Read and reread mentor texts

Every writer has his/her own approach for the revision process.

Patricia Toht

My creating is done in fits and spurts, depending on how busy my day job is. But, even if I’m unable to create something new, I usually have something old that can be revised. 

One part of the revision process that I love is focusing on word choice. While it might seem tedious to some, I enjoy taking one sentence at a time and examining each word. Is it necessary or superfluous? Is it the BEST word for THIS sentence? Is there an opportunity to add internal rhyme, assonance, alliteration? If I need to reduce text by a specific count, I write the number of words I'm removing (with a minus) and once in a while adding (with a plus). It's a great visual to show progress!

Four editing resources I keep at hand

Julie Phend

Like Patricia, I love revising for word choice and sentence flow. And, like Carol, I read it aloud for the sound. I have much more trouble revising a whole novel--my first drafts are often messy muddles. What helps me the most is Martha Alderson’s plot planner. I put the plot line on a long piece of craft paper, and use sticky notes above and below the line for specific scenes. The visual really helps me see where the problems are, and the sticky notes make it easy to move scenes around.

You've seen how GROGgers get creative to make revision work, what can you add to our discussion? Give us a revision technique that works for you or one we haven't suggested in the comments. Thank you.

The Craft of Revision with Author Hope Lim

Welcome to the GROG Blog, Hope Lim! It’s always a pleasure to showcase the work of picture book authors and to learn more about the craft of writing for children. 

Let’s begin with Hope’s debut book: 

I AM A BIRD

Written by Hope Lim

Illustrated by Hyewon Yum

Candlewick, February 2, 2021

 

To help our GROG Blog followers learn more about you, Hope, please share five facts.

 

1. The ideas for my stories are drawn from real-life experiences.

2. I’m originally from South Korea.

3. I have many notebooks filled with my favorite poems and my own drawings from my childhood. 

4. I like to have espresso with sparkling water. 

5. I run almost every day and use it as time to reflect. 

Share the inspiration behind your debut book I AM A BIRD.

 

The idea for I AM A BIRD started after an encounter with a stranger in Golden Gate Park. I thought she was strange at first, but I immediately recognized my perception was unfair and started to reflect on our innate fears and biases toward each other. When I came home, my husband told me about how my daughter made joyful birdcalls on their way to school on the back of his bike. I was struck by the contrast between my daughter and my simultaneous experiences. At that moment, I knew I had to write a story about exploring the fear of the unknown and combined it my daughter’s soaring spirit. That’s how I AM A BIRD was born - a story of celebrating kindred spirits discovered unexpectedly all told from a child’s perspective. 

List three words to encapsulate the spirit of I AM BIRD.

1. kindred spirit

2. friendship

3. empathy 

 

To become effective and proficient writers, students in my classes follow five-steps to write a polished/published piece of writing. Students learn skills and strategies and gain confidence through practice and revision. This third step of revision needs dedicated time to write and rewrite, redo, reconfigure, and reconsider.

Writers of children’s literature understand the importance of revision, too. Writing manuscripts requires numerous revisions and edits and countless hours prior to publication. 

Hope understands the importance of revision. She shares meaningful tips for the craft of revision and the process she uses to work from a draft to revision as she polishes her manuscripts preparing them for publication.

 

Everyone has a different revision process and technique. For me, the revision stage begins when I share my story with critique partners. They all offer different suggestions and I read them and try to see their suggestions from their perspective. 

 

The revision process needs time, patience and a lot of re-imagination. As a writer, self-editing skills can be very helpful. Self-editing begins when I have a complete draft, no matter how rough it is. I keep rewriting until the draft loses its roughness and generates ideas for a new structure, character, or ending. After going through multiple re-writes, I stop when I feel it’s close enough to share with my critique partners. I wait at least a few days to make sure it’s ready before I solicit opinions from my CPs. I find the feedback on a polished manuscript helpful. 

With early drafts, I often receive conflicting ideas on undeveloped areas, whereas polished ones tend to get similar feedback on an outstanding issue. When I receive the comments, I let them sit for a few days before applying them. I may share the revised version with them again or share it with my agent. My approach to revisions with my agent or an editor is similar. I try to look at my story from their perspectives based on their comments and start to revise only when I understand the direction they suggest.

Thank you, Hope, for sharing your thoughts and perspective about the craft of revision and how you make your stories better through time and rewriting.

 

These two spreads share the just right words, including onomatopoeia, that Hope created after numerous revisions. The bright and colorful illustrations by Hyewon Yon compliment the story line.

Just a few more wonderings . . . Tell us about five objects that sit on your writing desk. Perhaps some are functional and others provide inspiration.

1. A journal 

2. Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

3. Piles of picture books and New Yorker Magazines

4. AirPods

5. A glass of water and a cup of coffee

Please share a favorite literary quote.

 

“What is essential is invisible to the eye.” — The Little Prince

What stories are you currently hard at work writing and creating? What books should we look for in the near future?

 

I am currently working on several stories, some new and some old. I’m trying to find a new way to transform my old stories while slowly putting time into new ones. MY TREE by Neal Porter Books will be out in May 2021, and MOMMY’S HOMETOWN by Candlewick will be out in fall 2022. 

Congratulations, Hope, on your debut book, I AM A BIRD, and two more books to follow! Thank you for sharing your success and a craft of revision tip on the GROG Blog today. Wishing you all the best as you continue to read, write, revise, edit, polish, and repeat.

Hope Lim is a children’s book author from South Korea and currently lives in San Francisco. Her debut book, I AM A BIRD, is to be released by Candlewick on February 2, 2021. Her debut will be followed by MY TREE, Neal Porter Books/Holiday House in May 2021 and MOMMY’S HOMETOWN, Candlewick, in Fall 2022. You can find Hope on Instagram @hopelim_sf, Twitter @hope_lim or hopelim.com.

Welcome to our newest blogger, Carol Coven Grannick! ~ by Patricia Toht

The GROG has added a new blogger to its roster:

Carol Coven Grannick!

PT: Welcome, Carol! How did you get started as a writer?

Carol: As a child, it seemed natural for me to write, to put thoughts and emotions to paper. From childhood on, poetry and wonderful stories delighted and moved me, and the most natural thing in the world seemed to be for me to create the same. I suppose without putting it into words at the time, it felt like this - this thing, this experience is 'me.'

As far as I've meandered from full-time writing, being a writer has always figured into my multi-faceted identity. But there did come a time, once I was writing for children in a committed way, when I said to myself that whether or not I ever became book-published, I was a writer, and would keep writing. For several years, I put submitting on the back burner, and that freed me to write exactly what I needed and wanted to write. I still do. The deepest joy is in creating and re-creating.


PT: What inspires you?

Carol: Everywhere I go, everything I do, every moment of my life, can inspire a poem or idea for a picture book. It could be something a child does or says, something I observe or experience during the day, but it's always something visceral and something that my brain sees in language. An idea comes from this kind of response to anything - always something that catches me, sparks a sensation of wonder, even awe. Something tiny, but breathtaking, whether beautiful, joyful, painful, sorrowful, will catch my attention, and I'll hear an opening line of a poem, a title or opening lines for a picture book.

Advice Image source and CC link

PT: You've written quite a bit for newsletters and blogs. What are your favorite bits of advice for writers?

Carol: It's true that I've written lots of articles on the writer's inner life for newsletters and blogs. In fact, before I had a professional interest in the writer's inner journey and the strengths needed for persisting on the journey, I wrote columns for my high school paper, and later longer papers and articles that always leaned "internal." 

I never offer advice that I don't take myself, and so the small pieces of advice I'd offer - as a writer and clinical social worker - are these overarching things:

1. trust or learn to trust your emotions and refrain from judging them; 
2. if a pessimistic framework seems to inhibit your work, choices, and life, learn - with help and practice - to reframe language into a heartfelt, optimistic framework; and
3. when preoccupied with the self-absorbing issues of working at being creative, make certain that your life has "other-balance" - focusing on what you can do for others or the greater good.

PT: Which books and authors are among your favorites?

Carol: Many authors have impacted my writing life, from the ALL OF A KIND FAMILY books I received as a child and classic picture books like BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL, MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, and THE STORY OF FERDINAND, to the extraordinary books I discovered at Skokie Solomon Schechter Day School, where Irene Sufrin had created and shared a magnificent K-5 library that took my breath away and turned my writing journey toward children. I read and re-read Jerry Spinelli, Linda Sue Park, Katherine Applegate, Kerry Madden, Karen Hesse, Lois Lowry, Claudia Mills, Deborah Wiles, Frances O'Roarke Dowell, Richard Peck, and so many more I don't have room to mention.

PT: Tell us a little about your upcoming book. What was your path to publication?

Esther Hershenhorn

Carol: My middle grade novel in verse, REENI'S TURN (Fitzroy Books, 2020), is a story of becoming, as one of my mentors, Esther Hershenhorn, so aptly said - really, a story of a shy, self-conscious preteen girl becoming the girl she'd like to be, without giving up the person she already is. It is a body-positive story that challenges the cultural notion that who we are, what we achieve in our lives, and what we even allow ourselves to want, is dependent on the size and shape of our bodies. 

The seed story for the novel appeared in Cricket Magazine in 2001, and inspired the award-winning experimental film, La Folia (Filmelodic, 2018). For now, I'll say that REENI has been through many years and more drafts and versions than I could have imagined, with me facing plenty of obstacles not unique to our business, but important to learn from, and to share. The degree of help and support I received from so many people in so many different arenas was a true gift. I took a turn toward independent, traditional publishers in early 2019, and found my good (and best) match with Fitzroy Books and publisher/editor Jaynie Royal.

Carol spent time this summer on a creative retreat, led by
Esther Hershenhorn in Landgrove, Vermont.

PT: Do you prefer the initial writing or the revision process?

Carol: I prefer revision, hands down! I love revising and have learned to revise with the eyes of a stranger. The benefit of putting away a manuscript for some period of time cannot be overstated. Our brains need the distance in order to see clearly.

PT: What's next for you?

Carol: I believe I've circled back to where I began my writing life - with poetry, whether verse or poetic prose, it feels like where I belong.

Heidi Bee Roemer

Poetry for the very young is my primary focus right now. When I began writing full-time, for the first time in my life, in July 2018, I took an intensive class with Heidi Bee Roemer. I felt like my brain exploded into a garden. I couldn't stop writing poetry for the very young, and I didn't want to! My inspirations were, and still are, the beloved children at the cutting-edge early childhood center where I'd worked for six years, and continue to serve as a volunteer story-reader. Heidi is a wonderful teacher, and a loving and supportive mentor. My classmates and I continue to exchange valuable critiques online.

I'm also working slowly and carefully on a poetry chapbook for adults that deals with an experience in a major hospital that jeopardized my husband's life, and had a major impact on me that I'm still processing.

PT: Wow, Carol! What an interesting journey you've had. Your path and persistence are an inspiration to me. We're so looking forward to having you join us on the GROG!

Hello, Carol!

************ WINNER ALERT!!! ************

Congratulations to Andrea Page,

the winner of Michelle Schaub's

new picture book/poetry collection,

FINDING TREASURE!

Andrea, please contact Michelle via her website
HERE.

How to Feed and Care for a Book

by Sue Heavenrich 

Congratulations! You have a book! (If you are at the idea-germinating stage, then you need our guide on What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Book.) As joyous as this occasion is, books require a lot of love and guidance to reach maturity.

Whether this is your first book or your tenth, remember that each book has its own unique personality. Some books are easy-going, slapping words onto the page as fast as you can scribble. Others are shy. Rather than forcing them to come to the page, invite them out for pizza or ice cream. Ask how their day is going and practice your active listening skills. Perhaps they’re having a tough time with their narrative arc, or are stressed out by the amount of research they have to do. Your job, as a book parent, is to be a sounding board. Rather than offering solutions, spend time brainstorming with your book in a non-judgmental way. Perhaps your book will discover a new direction to explore.

Make sure your book gets lots of exercise, healthy meals, and plenty of sleep. Growing books need proper nutrition to support developing plot lines, and a minimum of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise to strengthen their fact-digging muscles. You can help by taking them with you when you head out for a walk or run. (A steady diet of coffee and m&m’s does not constitute a balanced diet.)

Include your book in family life and decisions. Working together on household chores, such as helping you cook dinner, fold laundry, or clean the litter box will give you and your book time to gossip about characters or debate issues. And when you discuss family vacations, make sure your book is involved. Other family members will need to know whether it will be going along or staying home alone. (note: books sometimes stow-away on flash drives.)

Submitting your book to agents and publishers is a lot like sending a kid to college. Make sure you check out potential agents and editors to see if they are a good fit for your book. Don’t pin your hopes on that “one editor”; submit applications queries to a few publishing houses/agents at a time. Once your book is accepted, make sure you read their financial package carefully so that both of you understand your obligations.

At this point it’s premature to worry about “empty nest syndrome”. Your book will come back to visit one or more times for what editors call “revision” and your book refers to as “self-loathing and adolescent angst”. Some books, particularly nonfiction, return home for more tutoring while others need to work on their language skills. Give your book a hug and remind it that you’re on its side. Be kind but firm when you tell it that it needs to undergo crucial changes to become the best it can be. Let your book know that it is not alone; all books go through the “edits”. Eventually it will metamorphose into its final stage, with a hard shell and words that sing.

A note on sibling rivalry: Do Not redecorate your book’s bedroom or give its favorite jeans to your shiny new Work-in-Progress until your book is well on its way to the printer.

Rebecca Hirsch Writes Science

By Sue Heavenrich

Rebecca Hirsch has written more than sixty books, from picture books to YA nonfiction, for educational and trade markets. She’s also written about science and nature for Spider and other magazines. Her most recent picture book, released just last month, is Plants Can't Sit Still. If you’ve got a wiggly-worm for a child, you’ve gotta get a copy. (I reviewed it on Friday over at Archimedes Notebook)

“This was the manuscript I took to Rutgers back in 2013,” she said, but the story Hirsch took to Rutgers looked nothing like the breezy text of the published book.

“It was a list about cool things plants can do,” she said. Her Rutgers mentor pointed out that it needed just a few things to set it straight:

• an entry into the story
• a narrative ark
• a strong ending
• turn descriptions into art notes and let illustrations show those details

 The first thing Hirsch did when she went home was to closely study picture books. “I wanted to see how they start. And I discovered I could take out description because it would be shown in the artwork.” One of the books that helped her see a different way to organize material is Ducks Don’t Get Wet, by Augusta Goldin. She paid attention to how that book used a repeating line. It took her about six months, and a complete re-visioning of her story, but she found the heart of the book.

Reading the kind of book that you want to write is important, Hirsch says. One summer when she didn’t have any projects, she read 100 picture books. She chose a number of award-winners and studied how the first sentence worked; how the first page worked; what the “fresh take” was for that story. At the same time, she studied Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books.

“It’s focused on fiction, but the rules apply to nonfiction,” Hirsch said.

Her advice to other writers? “Have more than a single project going on at once.” On any single day, Hirsch usually has four to six books in various stages of completeness. Right now she’s doing preliminary research for one, writing text for a middle grade science book, has a couple picture books in the rough draft stage. “This,” she says, “allows me to get away from one project for a couple days – and come back with more clarity.”

Every six months or so, Hirsch takes a step back and reviews her goals. She usually has two or three big goals: write a new picture book; study picture books; maybe write some poetry. She also sets herself a few minor goals that she matches to a timeline: do research, draft the story, do the back matter. She puts these on a calendar.

“Having a framework helps,” says Hirsch. “Knowing that this week I’m working on back matter helps me stay organized.”

It must be working because she’s got another book hitting the shelves in November, Birds vs. Blades. It’s about offshore wind power and protecting seabirds.