Toni De Palma's Blah-blah Blog

Paris is for Writers

2011-07-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it. My resolve to remain a writer has, over the last year, been a little shaky. Difficulty selling a book, getting an agent and then some personal losses have all taken their toll. Feeling rung out, I started thinking that a job as a waitress might be more gratifying. At least there would be tips. And if a customer complains about their meatloaf it doesn't hurt near as much as when someone rejects your novel.

When a friend suggested we go to a writers' retreat in Paris, I jumped. Wow, Paris! I'd never been. And oh yeah there was the writing part too. I figured I could fudge that. Truthfully, by the time I arrived at the Hotel Saint Louis, I'd already resolved to give up writing all together. But to my surprise, my resolve splintered. After the mornings of writing in the Luxembourg gardens, after rich lunches in some of the same cafes where Hemingway drank his whisky and laid down his prose, after wandering around the grand boulevards and narrow alleys of Paris, my writer's soul woke up and I began writing again. Just as the Lost Generation - Hemingway, James Joyce, Fitzgerald - did, I also discovered the spell that Paris casts on writers.

Now I am home, with only photos and journal entries as reminders of my time away. But, at least for today, I am not thinking about filling out an application for Denny's. And that is a good thing.

What Book Changed You?

2010-12-28T04:44:00.000-08:00

I was over at Nathan Bransford's blog (if you don't know it check it out, there's a link on this page) and Nathan asked his readers, What Book Changed You? I like reading these posts to see if there are any books that I might want to check out. Invariably on a post like this there are fledgling writers who post the name of their own WIP. At first I figured that these people are only trying to gain someone's attention, but then I thought that what book could impact a person's life more than the one that they themselves have written (or are attempting to write)?

Writing like reading (only more so I think) is a journey of self discovery. When I'm in the "zone", scenes, characters, dialogue, it all flies out of my fingers and onto the page in some odd and lovely subconscious way. Afterward, I may pause and see snippets of myself, my life and the people in my life and have an AHA! moment. This feeling of fleeting clarity, of how my life has come together in the way it has, always delights and satisfies me. It's better than therapy! A lot of times I don't see myself on the page so much as my readers do. Often they will ask about how I came up with a name for a character or a unique situation and I honestly can't answer them. But with a bit of self examination I take a closer look at what i have written and and it's like looking into a mirror. There I am!

So for anyone who dreams of being a writer, I would say forget about the fame and the wealth that drive you. Rather, why not view writing as lovely and mysterious exploratory journey where the ultimate treasure trove is YOU!

And P.S.: What books have changed you?

Jeremy Owl video

2010-12-08T04:38:00.000-08:00

My publisher created a cool book trailer for Jeremy Owl. Check it out, along with Gregg Hinlicky's fabulous illustrations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3Ia8jz8KdM

Just Do It

2010-10-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

The toughest time for me as a writer is the time between projects. It's during this period that I waffle, questioning myself continuously about what idea to explore next. Should I work on that screenplay I've had flickering through my imagination? How about that non-fiction picture book? Or maybe I should just stick with a YA novel since I've been published in that area and I should just build upon "my brand" as they say in the industry. The worst is when I start something and get about 50 pages into it and then abandon the story, turning my attention to the next, big, sexy idea that draws my attention away from the real muck raking that happens when you write. Because of this tendency, I now have about 5 novels in various states of disrepair. Some people have agents to help them make their choices. Since I don't, I have to rely on my own internal compass. This morning, however, I had a realization.

The thought occurred to me when I was standing on the new patio my husband and I had installed this summer. One year ago, that patio wasn't there. In it's place was a row of dead trees and bramble. In the five years we've lived in this house, I've hemmed and hawed over pulling out those trees and landscaping the backyard, turning it into something more liveable. It wasn't until last summer that I finally met with a landscaper and planned out the project. Because of the landscaper's schedule, the project was slow going. Crews of men showed up at the oddest times throughout the project, throwing my own summer schedule into a tizzy. Then there were the endless decisions that had to be made. Where do I put the planting beds? How should we arrange the sprinkler heads? And what plants should we choose that would benefit most from amount of sun we receive in the backyard? Being a city girl at heart, all those decisions really started to get on my nerves and I just wanted it DONE. But now it is done and I marvel at how well my patio furniture looks on the pretty rose colored pavers. But it's more that this. How cool is it that I was able to take a loose idea and create something concrete (no pun intended) from it. Of course you might argue that my landscaping project was nowhere near the amount of work it takes to write a book. But isn't it the same thing?

So just do it (sorry Nike)! Go out there. Create something. Anything. And see how it turns out. Don't worry about the end product. Follow your muse. You just might get a book or screenplay or a pretty, rose-colored patio out of it. If you don't try (and finish), you'll never know.

Bookfest 2010

2010-09-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

One of the nicest things about being an author is getting to meet other authors. At Bookfest 2010 at the Ocean County Library in Toms River this weekend, I got to meet Ellen Jensen Abbott and Cyn Balog. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and the good folks at the OC library placed us under the Teen Zone tent. With pens in hand and, in Cyn's case, fortune cookies all ready, we were ready to meet lots and lots of teens. Be we all quickly discovered something. Teens are a little shy. But honestly guys, we love you and want to talk to you. After all, YOU are the reason we write. We want to share our stories with you and hear your stories too!

So here's a picture from Bookfest. We don't look that scary, do we? So the next time you see us, will you come on over and say hello? And I promise. While we may look like your mother, we don't bite. And we definitely won't tell you to go clean up your room!

Eat, Pray, Love

2010-08-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

I read EPL when it first came out. Since I was in my mid-thirties at the time and wrestling with some of my own mid-life crisis issues, I related deeply to the book. In fact, during my own soul-searching period, I also traveled to Rome and sat on that same bench that Julia Roberts sat as she ate gelato. I related to Liz and her story so much that I found myself talking to her (well, more like stuttering) at a book signing one day in NJ. She was lovely and gracious and when she smiled at me, I felt truly bathed in her serenity. Unfortunately, I was too much of a groupie to articulate what her book truly meant to me.

Since that meeting, I went on with my life, had my own book published, and have found a bit of my own serenity. Other than taking a trip to Two Buttons (Liz and Felippe's store in French Town N.J.), and sitting next to her equally lovely sister at a writers conference, I haven't much thought of Liz or her book. That is until today when I saw the EPL movie starring Julia Roberts.
In my opinion, the movie did not do justice to all of the subtlety of the book or the gorgeous language that Liz Gilbert uses to paint her experiences in Italy, India and Bali. However, I must give the movie kudos for one thing. It did maintain the book's essential soul - yes, that pretty, luminous light that I saw emanating from Liz's eyes that day at the book signing. For this, I am grateful. For when all was said and done and Javier Bardem's gorgeous countenance faded to black, I felt satisfied knowing that Liz (via Julia Robert's portrayal of her) was changed for the better as a result of her journey. And that she, like me after reading the book, walked away with the courage to open herself up to life once more.

This is the power of story and why human beings need stories. Stories feed us and it is the writer's sacred role to nourish the soul of the reader. If I ever get the chance to meet Liz Gilbert again, I hope that I will take a moment to thank her for nourishing my soul with her story. Hopefully, I won't stutter this time around.

The Birthing of a New Book

2010-08-12T04:24:00.000-07:00

As I await the publication of my new book, Jeremy Owl, I find myself reflecting on what I have learned about myself both as a writer and about the business of publishing a book. In Forrest Gump's words, "It's A Lot." But there is one primary thing and that is, above all else, HOLD ONTO YOU.

When I first started out writing (about 16 years ago), I used to think that if only I could write the perfect book, someone would read it, love it, and want to publish it. Of course the belief of "if you build it, they will come" sounds logical. But what I've learned about the craziness of the publishing business is that it is anything but logical. First off when I wrote my first book, it was (after several rejections), embraced by a publisher who claimed they "loved it". I, of course, was excited, but then the waiting game began. I waited to get my contract and when that finally arrived, I waited to get my revision letter. Then I waited for publication. All summed up, it was about three years by the time the book finally hit the stands. All that waiting created a lot of anxiety and feelings of general helplessness in me. While the book was mine, I didn't feel like I was part of the process.

But just like labor pains, when I finally did hold my book, the anxiety lifted. The reprieve, however was short lived. After my book was out, the real anxiety and the real waiting began. The second season of my waiting came as I tried to write the "next" book. Oh, there were next books - three to be exact. I poured my heart into them and tore my hair out because of them. I submitted, got rejected and waited and waited. There were some dark times when I didn't think my words would ever see the light of day ever again. I thought that the stories I cared about so much would be resigned to the file cabinet in my office (which is beyond stuffed now and really needs a twin). Then one day, I got the call that someone wanted to publish Jeremy Owl. It seems that very, very soon, I will have another baby to coddle and show off to the world

The thing is I like to learn from the past so I asked myself, "Who will I be with this next book?" My answer is this: When Jeremy Owl comes out, I want to be the same kind of mother to it that I was with Banyan. I will give it my time and my patience and introduce it to the world as my new child, one they may want to get to know. This time, however, I have decided that I will not lose myself in this new child. What I mean by this is that I will not get hung up on my book and take its success or lack of success personally. While I brought this book out into the world, it will have a life of its own and go out and do what it is meant to do. If that means, Jeremy Owl will go out and win awards for how "smart" it is, then so be it. But if Jeremy Owl's destiny is to fall flat on his butt, then so be that as well.

My intention is not to be defensive. If anything, I am trying to be ego-less by acknowledging that, in this crazy business, I have no control over results. This viewpoint is quite freeing and by letting go of what I can't control, I see what it is that is within my grasp. And that is the story. Whether I show up to the page and do my work is all that I can do. Truthfully, it's all I ever wanted to do. The rest of it is fate.

And I believe in fate. Otherwise, I would not be a dreamer, which is just another word for writer, after all.

Lonely Hearts Writers Club

2009-09-09T07:26:00.001-07:00

Tonight I will meet with my first writing for children and young adults class. Tonight I will be their teacher, a prospect that both scares and exhilarates me. When I got my MFA in writing, I never planned on teaching. My goal was to phase myself out of an old career - social work - and to phase into a new one, full time children's writer. So what has led me to taking this step?

TOO MUCH ISOLATION...

I'd heard other writers talk about it, but when I was working full time and only dreaming of writing full time, all that solitude sounded heavenly. That was until I experienced it for myself. Last year was a long, cold, lonely winter. With only my laptop and my blanket for company, I knew I couldn't start the new season resorting to old habits. Yes, solitude is necessary to some extent when you're a writer, but I learned that too much of it, at least for me, is not healthy. So that's why I've decided to teach this class. My hope is that while I provide some knowledge and inspiration to my students, I might also connect with a new group of peers and friends. What makes this possible is that this is a continuing education class and not a for-credit class, so essentially I don't have to worry about being the person in authority, you know "THE TEACHER" in all caps. Instead, I can just be me.

So now I'm thinking... What other things can I do to beat the lonely heart blues? That is, aside from taking a lover. That would mean I'd have to splurge on new underwear and I'm pretty sure my husband would be a little put off if I did. Anyway, as writing is a process of revising, so is life. As I move along and try new things to re-invent my writing habits, I will keep you informed. And if you have any ideas, please feel free to contribute them.

Dealing with Self Doubt

2009-09-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

This summer I attended the Vermont College Alumni residency. The program included great workshops and readings, but one of my best moments was sitting in a room with other alums as we talked about self doubt. So today I'm adding a link to a terrific article about the decreased productivity, depression and general self loathing that comes when you feel like you'll never make it.

http://www.intelligentlight.com/PrairieWind/?cat=15

NJSCBWI conference

2009-06-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to the NJ SCBWI conference in Princeton. The conference has grown tremendously since I first started writing sixteen years ago. 241 people attended, ranging in experience from people who are just starting to get interested in writing to people who have been in the field and have published many books.

In case you've never been to a SCBWI conference and are curious about what goes on there, here is how the day went for me:

1. Breakfast

2. Panel discussion with editors, agents, art directors and speakers. Agents and editors spoke about their submission policies and then the audience got to ask questions.

3. Workshop 1 - My first workshop was officiated by Richard Peck, Newbery Award Winning author and Newbery Honor award winner. I've seen Richard Peck speak before. He is droll and smart. The two main things I took away from his lecture were 1)All chapter ones are throw-aways and your last chapter is usually your first chapter and 2)walk around when composing your scenes and act out all the parts. This technique will help you create scenes and bring the characters to life.

4. Workshop 2 - Steve Meltzer, Executive Editor, Dutton's Children's Books/Dial BFYR/Celebra Books. Steve talked about what happens after your book is acquired. He showed an example of an editorial letter and made me laugh when he said that he and his staff roll their eyes in agony when they have to sit down to write one. He emphasized that the revision process is a lot of give and take and he acknowledged that even an office full of editors can hold different opinions about how a book should go.

5. Lunch

6. One-on-One critique- I have to say that this was a bit disappointing. The editor with whom I was paired just didn't jive with my novel's "conceit" as she put it. She said nothing about the writing. When she asked me if I had any questions, I asked her about another project. She was generally bland and I had the impression she had had enough for the day. Next!

7. Workshop 3 was given by Kathleen Lindsay. She gave tips on how to promote successful school visit. She emphasized getting the kids involved in some way and demonstrated a memory game she plays with the kid that ties in to events in her picture book.

8. I skipped Workshop 4 and decided to hang out and enjoy the bright sunshine that was finally breaking through the clouds. As always, the campus was gorgeous.

9. Book signing. Sold some books, gave away a few too.

10.Mingled with old friends, met some new ones, met some editors and some agents. All in all a good day.

Summer time resolutions

2009-06-03T06:19:00.000-07:00

Gosh it's June already! Where has the time gone? Summer is almost officially here so now is as good a time as any to make a Summer's resolution. Why not? Resolutions don't have to be just for the new year.

So here are some of my summer time resolutions:

1. Exercise my writer's bum off! A long, cold winter has resulted in two nice revisions and one rather large BUTT-OX - as Forrest Gump puts it.

2. Take sailing lessons. Even if I'm lousy at it and I don't have a boat, I figure it will be good "research".

3. Enjoy friends and family! My son is out of school and my good friend Lisa is home from her job as an art teacher. We already have a road trip to Vermont planned for mid July. Cow tipping, anyone?

4. Read some really good books. My son has his reading list. I'm going to make mine. I've heard a lot about a novel called Catching Fire. Have to check it out. Also, Brandon Mull's "The Candy Shop War" came highly recommended to me by an eight year old in the know named Jarret.

5. Get inspired! I'm in between projects right now and I'm looking for inspiration for my next. I had a lot of fun recently with a picture book biography. Might try that again or maybe do some prewriting for that script that I've been promising myself to write.

6. Wow this is a load of stuff.... So for the last thing on my list, I'm going to resolve to CHILL! Summer is, after all, the time for relaxing and enjoying those warm breezes.

Happy Summer!

What Do You Know For Sure?

2009-05-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm writing a book, these are the things I consider: character, plot, pacing, dialogue, setting, Oprah. Yes, you read that last one right. Often when I'm writing a book, I think of Oprah. No, I'm not thinking about how I can get my book mentioned by Oprah or selected for Oprah's book club (well, not all of the time anyway). No, when I'm writing, I often think about Oprah's "What I know for sure" column that she features at the end of every one of her O magazines. For those of you who don't know this feature, Oprah was once asked by movie critic Gene Siskel what it is that she knew for sure. At the time, the question left Oprah speechless, but since then she has been thoughtfully pondering the question and examining what indeed she is sure of when it comes to life's major issues. She also invites her readers and viewers to ask themselves the same question.

So why do I think of Oprah and her "What I know for Sure" question? Well, aside from writing an interesting story with a compelling character, writing is also about conveying an essential truth, a tiny crumb of something that will leave the reader satisfied yet pondering how they would answer that question if they found themselves in the situation the character finds themselves. I suppose asking yourself and your reader Gene Siskel's question is challenging them to find their own moral compass of sorts. Truthfully, I don't always have an answer, but if I'm lucky my character helps me develop an answer by the time I get to the end of my book. But shouldn't I know my answer up front before I start my book-journey? Or is that the whole purpose of writing the story in the first place? Ah, more questions! I guess questions and the hope of arriving at some answers is what makes people want to write in the first place.

Asbury Park for Mother's Day

2009-05-11T12:15:00.001-07:00

I spent Mother's day walking the boardwalk in Ocean Grove clear north to Asbury Park. I know Asbury Park has a lot of history, but it's pretty new to me since I grew up going to the Seaside Heights Boardwalk (and now Ocean City). Even though it's a bit rundown, Asbury Park is cool. Convention Hall is an architectural masterpiece and I loved the New York/Soho feel of the cafes and shops lining the boards. During my walk I spied Tilly and the Stone Pony, both AP landmarks. What I loved most about the day was that even though I was on a boardwalk along the Atlantic Ocean (something about as unique to me as meatballs - remember I'm Italian), AP had just the right amount of chipped paint, neat architectural details, and interesting people to shake up my senses. A good shakeup every once in a while is a good thing. Sitting at my desk here in suburbia can be a little stifling. AP was definitely a feast for my senses and I plan to go back.

Editing Letter Fun

2009-05-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

For anyone who's ever received an editing letter from their editor or anyone else who knows what it feels like to revise, this is a lot of fun. Cheers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKkR9S2lq6Q&feature=channel_page

The Tribe Under the Tent

2009-05-06T03:42:00.000-07:00

I've lost count of how many days we've had rain now. Five, six days straight. But writers are certainly an intrepid bunch (maybe even better than postal workers) when it comes to doing the work to promote their books. For instance, this past weekend, along with six other authors, I was doing book signings at the Ocean City Block Party - in the rain. Gratefully, we did have a canopy that one of the authors brought along, but needless to say the circumstances were less than optimal. Still, we hawked our wares and attempted to engage new readers.

What most impressed me about this crew of authors that included a picture book author, a cookbook author, a Chick Lit author, and a YA author (who is a senior in high school mind you) was their bravery. Let's face it, it takes guts to put yourself out there. And it wasn't the rain that made the whole situation difficult, but the fact that people kept walking by and ignoring us. In all fairness, the economy has got everyone skittish, but being ignored is a tough pill to swallow. Still we held each other up by commiserating, laughing, and sharing. We shared stories about life and writing and publishing all while trying to stay dry.

Even though I only sold two books (actually not too bad in this economy), it was nice to hang out with my fellow tribesmen. I felt proud to count myself a part of this daring group and I also realized how important it is for writers to find a "tribe" - a group of artists who understand the work and who appreciate what it takes. If I had been alone under that tent, my experience of that rainy day I am sure would have been much different. But instead of leaving doused, I left feeling good about myself and about my work and reenergized.

Self Sabotage

2009-04-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

Today, I started my writing day at around 8 o'clock. Around 9:30, my mother called to tell me that porterhouse steaks were on sale at Shoprite (just in case you're interested). Since I didn't really get a chance to talk to her this weekend, we had a rather long conversation, not just about porterhouse steaks, but about the weather and my father's eye doctor appointment and about a coupon that Oil of Olay is going to send her. Now, don't get me wrong. I love my mom. But we spent 45 minutes talking about this stuff. About ten minutes after I got off of the phone with my mom, my husband called. He was in between meetings and in the car and just wanted to chat. Translation: he was bored. Fifteen minutes later, I finally said, "I really have things to do." There went an hour. Gone. Kaput!

Now a year ago, when I was employed full-time, neither of them would have ever considered phoning me at work just to chat. Both knew that I had work to do and that if I was found dawdling on the phone, my boss might say something about this. So why are things different now that I'm working from home? I have to say the fault is mine. When I left my job, I was very straightforward about the fact that writing was now my full time job and that everyone should respect my writing space and time the way they had when I worked out of the home. I took action to back up my verbal treatise. I claimed a room in my home, made it my office and whenever someone wandered into my space to just "hang out and talk" while I was writing, I usually grunted or tossed them a stone cold stare that made it pretty evident that they weren't welcome. I was also very good about not answering the phone, putting off errands until the late afternoon or the weekend (when I would have done them normally when I was working full time).

But then I began to slide. The slide seems to have coincided with the revision of my second novel. While I waited for my editor to get back to me, I took on the attitude that I deserved a vacation since I'd been working myself so hard. I began to avoid my office, go out to lunch with friends, talk on the phone and run my errands during the day so that I would have time on the weekends for play. In effect, writing was no longer at the center of my life. Writing, instead, became the thing I did when I wasn't too busy doing everything else.

The time I lost on the phone today isn't the only reason that I'm thinking about this. This weekend, Peter Fox posed a question to everyone in the workshop.The question was: What do you do to sabotage yourself? Picking up the phone, running errands when I can put them off until later, not taking myself seriously, not believing in myself. These are just some of the things I do.

What about you? How do you sabotage your writing dream? But more importantly, how do you go about fixing it?

Following my muse or Screenwriting for Dummies

2009-04-27T03:46:00.001-07:00

Well, this weekend I followed my muse to the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey (http://www.countbasietheatre.org/). There I participated in a two day screenwriting workshop. Before I tell you about the workshop, let me preface it with the fact that the weather this weekend was stupendous, warm and cloudless, the kind of weather I've been waiting for all winter. So did I mind spending this glorious weekend locked up inside a room with black walls? Not a bit! Because the workshop was one of the best educational experiences I've ever had.

The workshop ran from 10 to 5 with a brief 45 minute lunch break. A few of the participants were repeats and at first I wondered why they would want to take the class again. But as Peter Fox, the workshop leader began to speak, I soon understood why. There was so much information (good information) to absorb that at times I felt as if Peter was unzipping our skulls and pouring all of his valuable knowledge right into our brains. Not only did he care about giving us the content, he didn't pull any punches when explaining the ins and outs of the business either (BTW, Peter is a former story analyst who worked at a major Hollywood studio before relocating to the East coast).

As you know from another post on this, I initially resisted going. Having written for kids and young adults for the past fifteen years, I figured it probably wasn't wise to dip my toe into another format of writing that may confuse me or force me to stray from what I've been trying to achieve in my novel writing. But instead of confusion, I came away with a much firmer grip on the structure of storytelling. By using the framework of The Writer's Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler, Peter broke down the elements a story needs for it to resonate with an audience.

Peter also reminded me how important prewriting is. What is prewriting? Well, it's the stuff I resist. The stuff that feels like work and not fun. It's the stuff that forces us to delay gratification (never a popular thing). It's also the necessary stuff that a writer must do in order to avoid hitting a wall at page 50 in a novel or in Act 2 of a movie. Peter emphasized over and over how essential prewriting is and warned us to not even bother writing until we have done our prewriting homework.

In screenwriting, prewriting has an order: treatment, character histories, beat sheet. If I could equate these exercises to writing for prose, I guess they would be called a synopsis (though much more extensive, about 20 to 30 pages worth of writing), character histories (sometimes I do journal entries for my characters in order to get into their heads and this is like that) and an outline. I actually like the beat sheet more since its just writing a lot of quick sentences whereas outlining brings out my natural defensiveness because it takes me right back to High School Biology.

As the week goes on, I'll let you know more about what I gained from this class. But for now, I wonder how good are all of you when it comes to doing your prewriting exercise? Are you self-disciplined as Peter suggests? Or are you like me, a sprinter who doesn't judge the distance accurately and ends up getting winded midway in the race?

And here's Peter's website. He does workshops in other states as well and is planning to come back to Red Bank soon. http://insidetrackworkshop.com/live/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Here comes the sun doo da doo da...

2009-04-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

I love it! The sun is out and the weatherman is predicting summer like days for the weekend. What I love more is that I've been writing. A lot! In addition to writing, I just signed up for the spring NJSCBWI conference and I'm also submitting an excerpt of my new middle grade novel to the Hunger Mountain contest which is being judged by none other than Katherine Patterson.

Why my sudden flurry of energy and activity? Might it have something to do with the sun? Possibly. Over the years, I have noticed that I tend to write more in Spring, Summer and Fall, eventually petering out right before Thanksgiving. At first I thought it had to do with Seasonal Affective disorder, that clinically diagnosed lull that some people have (in various degrees, some severe, some not so much). I definitely have the milder form because as soon as it turns cold and gray, I hunker down and slow down. I eat more, feel blah. My energy wanes and my creative juices cease.

Apparently, I'm in good company. I don't know if he suffers from SAD (the acronym for Seasonal Affective Disorder), but in an interview with Matt Lauer, John Grisham recently revealed that he writes from spring through just before Thanksgiving and then he gives himself a break. He didn't say why, but it's got me wondering about the other types of writing patterns we create for ourselves. I mean I've heard where some people need complete quiet and other writers need to rock out to music while writing. Do these patterns influence what we write? Or are they just extensions of the writer's personality? Their overall modus operandi for expressing themselves?

Having pinpointed one of my patterns, it's got me wondering.... If I moved to a sunnier, warmer climate would I be more productive?

Science? Psychology? Creativity? It's all a big, interesting mush. What are your writing patterns?

Is it done yet?

2009-04-23T04:37:00.000-07:00

When I cook a chicken, there's always that handy-dandy little pop up button that tells me when the chicken is done. But how do you know when a piece of writing is done, complete, finito or cooked to perfection?

The middle grade fantasy novel I am working on started off as a small little seed in my head way back in 2003. Over the next gasp! six years, I have revised it five times. Thinking it was "done", I recently began to submit it to agents and editors. I've had some nice feedback, but still no acceptance letter. For lack of anything else to submit, I brought the manuscript to my writer's group and the feedback bowled me over. A few of the members recommended that I take the second chapter and move it up to the first chapter slot. They thought that it would pick up the pace of the story.

I've learned that, while I do have to trust my own instincts, there's nothing to be lost when at least considering the opinions of others, especially if more than one person tells you the same thing. So I took the advice. Wow! What a difference it has made. My story is definitely more engaging and my writing crisper and more imaginative. And instead of just moving around a few chapters, I have decided to take another jab at the whole manuscript.

That said, when will I know if it's done? Will it be done when an agent or an editor accepts it (though there are always rewrites as per their request)? Is it done when my head feels like a lead balloon and my eyes are about to pop out of my skull? Will it be done when my imagination starts to wander over to another story that is calling out to me desperately wanting my attention?

When I wrote Under the Banyan Tree, it took me eight revisions (okay, I'm a little slow on the uptake). But there was a moment when I wrote the last line of the story and cried a great cathartic cry. That I feel was the moment when I knew I had finished it (though the editor that worked on it with me after that still had suggestions). So is that what "finished" is? That sensation of you can't give any more of yourself to this piece of writing? The feeling of exhilarating spentness (okay, not an official word, but who cares).

I'm curious, how do you know when your chicken is cooked?

Georgian Court College Reading

2009-04-22T10:10:00.001-07:00

Doing anything tonight? If not, come by for a free presentation and reading at the Little Theater on the campus of Georgian Court University in Lakewood New Jersey. Starts at 6:30.

Here's the nice write up the university did for the event:

http://app.com/article/20090420/GETPUBLISHED/904200353/-1/getpublished03

Writing Groups

2009-04-20T04:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my monthly writing group. We meet at the local Barnes and Noble. While the group has been in existence for a number of years, I joined the group last July so am fairly new (there have been a few members who joined after me and some who have left too).

Before joining the B&N group, I must admit I was a bit hesitant to get involved in another writing group. Years ago, when I first started writing, I was a member of a writing group that just so happened to meet at the same B&N where my current group meets. That first group was a bit of a disaster. Why was it a disaster? Well, to begin with there were only three of us. Now a group of three isn't necessarily bad, but this group of three (one being me) was so disparate in our abilities and so incongruent in our personalities that it made for some rough going. One woman in the group was positively brilliant in her writing and she had the Masters degree from the Columbia School of Journalism to prove it. But brilliant doesn't necessarily mean that that person is a good fit for a writers group or that that person is kind or has the best interest of the other group members in mind. Because when it came time for her to give her critique, the woman often lauded her knowledge over me and the other woman in my group. I can have a pretty thick skin and I hung in there because I did recognize that I could learn a lot from this woman. But thick skin or not, there were some times when I couldn't help walk away from those sessions feeling dumb and inadequate. Not a good feeling especially when you're just starting out and need all the encouragement you can get.

Fast forward to my new group. I love them! Since the group had already been established and they had a pretty defined framework on how they wanted to run things, I reaped the benefits of all this and just slipped right in. Instead of three people, our base membership currently looms at around 9 people. This might seem like a lot of reading and a lot of critiques to get through over the course of two hours, but not everyone always shows up and not everyone always submits. While abilities and experience still varies (one lady in my group has published 35 books and has been writing for fifty years), I don't get a sense that anyone is jealous of anyone else and that we are all there to learn from each other. What I love most about the group is that I always leave a meeting feeling like I have a new way of looking at my writing project and that my group members have helped me to chart a new course for my work. Essentially, they breath wind into my sails when my sails have gone slack.

I have a friend who is a writer and who is also going to attend her first writers group this week. I'm excited for her and a little nervous because I so want her to have a good experience. When I do school presentations or meet my teen readers at a book signing, they often ask me if I can take a look at their work. Because they are so terrific and enthusiastic, I can't help but say yes, but I also urge them to start their own writers group. Here are a few hints I give them:

1. When offering a critique, always highlight the positive things that the writer has done. If the writer has a gift for dialogue, creating interesting characters or description, point this out. A writer needs to feel as if they're doing something right.

2. When offering a critique, I like to point out parts of a manuscript that I have questions about. I might say. "So and so, I really like this scene of when your main character catches the bunny, but I was a little confused at how the bunny popped out of the frozen tundra like that?"

3. Before you prepare to read your group member's submission, make sure you know what the writer is aiming for. Is this a fantasy or realistic piece? Who is the target audience for the story? When you discover that the manuscript you are critiquing is sci-fi fantasy, that bunny poking out of the frozen tundra might now make sense enabling you to see the story in a completely different way.

4. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. Okay, that's about as preachy as I'm going to get here. But really, just be kind. If you write, you know how hard it is and just remember writers have their good days and their bad days.

Some other things to consider...

In my group, the person who is being critiqued is not allowed to say anything until all the other members are finished critiquing their work. This is kind of hard sometimes, especially when you're feeling particularly defensive. But it does get easier and this technique streamlines the process. Of course, all members should be given a chance to speak on their own behalf after they've received a critique.

Sometimes my group comes up with an exercise to do. While we've never done a writing exercise, we have written up book flap summaries of what we're working and sample query letters.

Groups are a great place to share your highs and your lows and to learn about conferences, editors, publishers, agents and of course, the great books you are reading.

One group I know, has their own blog. The blog is a wonderful way to promote themselves and showcase their talents (you can buy members' books right off their blog). Check them out at, thepaperwait.blogspot.com/

So what do you think? Are writers groups worth the time and effort? What has been your experience?

Something New

2009-04-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

I recently read that it's not a good idea for a writer to write outside of their market and that publishers generally look down upon a writer who wants to write for kids as well as adults. The article said that there have been writers who have been able to cross market themselves successfully, but for a writer who is just starting out, this is not such a good idea. I guess the idea is that the beginning author should establish themselves in one market and build a fan base before they ever consider branching out.

I suppose this makes good business sense, but this well-intended advice makes me feel a bit cagey. For instance, there's been a story rattling around in my brain that screams screenplay with middle aged women as the story's target audience. While my business mind is telling me that I should use my time and energy on writing another YA novel that will compliment my first, my creative mind is playing a tug of war, pulling me back to my screenplay idea.

Maybe this is just another form of procrastination on my part. Maybe not. Maybe my muse has a different vision for me than what just makes "good sense". And because I've discovered that the process of writing involves a certain level of trust in that inner voice, I signed up for a two day screenplay writing workshop. I figure that even if I don't ever write the screenplay, the class might inspire me in other ways and help to make my writing stronger.

I'm following my muse. Who knows where she'll take me.

Writing Versus Publishing

2009-04-07T10:33:00.001-07:00

Writing for many people is a dream, but when that dream becomes polluted by the desires of the ego, the writing and the dream can suffer. That is why many times a writer who has published their first book often times struggle with writing their second. When the writer writes that first book, there may be the hope of eventually getting it published, but essentially the writer is writing because they are driven by a strong passion to tell a story. Words are rooted in emotion and the process feels more like play and less like work. The writing produced comes from an authentic, heartfelt place and this inevitably produces writing that is fresh, beautiful and poignant. However, after that first book is published, an expectation is placed on the writer (by themselves as well as others) that the second book should be equal too or even better than the first. These expectations can actually paralyze a writer. This I believe is the difference between writing and publishing. Writing is about the heart. Publishing is about the ego.

Where Writers Write

2009-04-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

Over the years, as much as I've had to revise my work, I've often times had to revise the actual way I approach my writing as well. For instance, over the last four years I have had an office in my house designated as mine. At first I loved the idea of having an office that was all mine, but lately the idea of walking over the threshold of that space has made my blood run cold.

Maybe it's the fact that I have spent the last six months revising two novels in that space and I'm feeling a little burnt out. But the best way I can describe how I feel right now is that, after sunning myself on the beach again, I'm hesitant to take the first plunge back into the cool water (even though I know that once I do start swimming again I'm going to love it).

So I'm trying an experiment today. I set up my laptop on the center island of my kitchen. The kitchen is the hub of activity in my house, but during the day no one besides me is home. As I putter around the house, making beds, exercising, and doing laundry, I find that I've been thinking about what happens next in my story. Periodically, I end up in the kitchen and when I'm there all I have to do is stir my laptop out of hibernation and write what I've been thinking about. So far this morning, I've written three pages in between making an appointment to get my brakes checked and doing a load of darks. What I really like (beside the fact that I've written three pages) is that I'm not feeling so stressed out.

I always thought having an office designated for my writing would be great, but at least for now, the idea of having to "go to the office", even though that office is in my house, feels like a drag. So by taking a look at my attitude and beliefs that my office is the only place I could or should write, has shaken things up a bit. For the better, I think. That is until I come up with another idea.

Hammonton High

2009-04-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

The Book Club at Hammonton High School invited me to come speak this Monday. Along with Kathy Prengher, the librarian, a Junior at the school named Erika V spearheaded the whole event. Erika, who practically breathes books, started the Book Club two years ago. For the occasion, Erika's mom baked ricotta cookies - those white mounds of fluff topped with a sugary glaze and rainbow colored sprinkles that took me back to my old Italian neighborhood the minute I glimpsed them. The minute I saw those cookies, not to mention the mountain of chocolate chip cookies Erika also bakes (the girl goes to school, works and bakes! A force to be reckoned with for sure), I knew I was amongst friends.

Besides growing the best blueberries in the world, Hammonton grows great kids! About forty students and some faculty members attended my power point presentation. The teens were a force of enthusiasm and life and I just loved how they swarmed the library ready to dive into my presentation and those cookies. After I did my spiel, the kids asked questions about my book and about writing and publishing. Their questions were fantastic and some went straight to the heart of the matter (I.E.: Are the characters in your book similar to people in your own life?). Sometimes I felt like I was on my therapist's couch :) I loved their honesty and their curiosity. When one boy talked about my book, his face lit up and he touched his hand to his heart. He said that my book made him feel things and made him think. WOW!

On my drive home, as I popped three more cookies into my mouth (hey, it was a long ride)I realized that, for me, connecting with my readers is the best part of what I do. Sometimes when I sit in my office and I'm wracking my brain over what should come next in a book, it's easy to lose faith. But meeting with my readers, seeing the potential impact my stories can make and most of all encouraging them in their dreams, makes me get back in there and want to keep on going.

Stop Second Guessing and Mooooove On

2009-03-30T03:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I woke up feeling a little virus-y. You know, noodle legs, shaky all over, achy. Now my main goal for yesterday was to get the grocery shopping done. Since I wasn't feeling well and it was Sunday, a day when I don't usually write, I had no expectations of getting any writing done.

Well, after I put the groceries away, I remembered the piece of paper I had taped on my computer two days before. The saying written on the paper came from a blog on writing and goes like this: Nothing dries up the muse stream worse than too much second guessing. If there was ever a second guesser - wondering what perfect word fits where - it's me. It's okay to do this if you're in the revising and polishing stage, but I'm working on a first draft. I decided to put the statement on my computer because lately in the first draft stage, I start getting down on myself at about page 50 and then give up. (I've recently given up on three different story ideas because of this).

How did it work? On a day when I had absolutely no expectations for getting any work done, I produced six really good pages (she says modestly). Whether the censor in my head was too busy keeping my brain awake (remember I was not feeling optimal) or it was that little piece of paper, I'm not sure. Whatever it was, I was typing very freely, moving forward in the story, telling it as it came, rather than second guessing every little word placement.

Interesting, huh?

What is Success?

2009-03-27T03:54:00.000-07:00

I just finished read Outliers - A Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. This book is on the New York Times Bestseller list, a spot, I think, is well deserved. According to the author, our culture's philosophy is that success is the result of the individual's efforts. Essentially, the effort a person puts into something will result in what he/she gets out of it. Gladwell sees this as a simplistic view. Through extensive research, Gladwell shows how other factors (a person's ancestry, how a child is parented, and when a person is born in history) influence the opportunities a person will have and thus impact the level of success they will experience.

When I first started reading Outliers, I have to admit, Gladwell's premise pissed me off. In reviewing the variables he outlined, I realized that the deck was stacked against me. In terms of cultivating my own success as a writer, I seem to have come from the "wrong" ancestry, I went to the "wrong" kind of public school, and well as far as the job my parents did, according to Gladwell, they pretty much botched things up.

But then I started looking at my life a little more objectively. While I don't have the level of commercial success that J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer or Meg Cabot have in the area of YA literature, I am far from a failure. First off, I am published - a feat that in and of itself is a small miracle in this highly competitive age of publishing. Under the Banyan Tree garnered some very favorable reviews and was even placed on VOYA's Top Shelf Fiction for the Middle Grade List. My book sits in libraries all over the U.S. and there are 25 copies of it in the Singapore libraries (how cool is that?). I have spoken at large and small conferences, schools and libraries. What has been most wonderful is that I have had both children and adults tell me that they love my book. Isn't that success? (sorry my spacing got screwed up here and I don't know how to fix it.)

So all this made me wonder. How do we define our success, not as a society but as individuals? Is it fair to discount the efforts of a mother who gets up every morning to feed and clothe and bath her baby just because she isn't in a high powered job or a high profile position? Is it fair to assume that we all have to be Oprah or Bill Gates to be successful?

How do you define your own success?

Beyond the Surface

2009-03-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

About ten years ago I took a creative writing class. The teacher was wonderful, a person who really thought outside the box. On the first day of class she involved us in an icebreaker where we had to pair up with another student, someone we didn't know. Before we spoke to our partner, we had to make a quick appraisal of what kind of bush, tree or flower the other person reminded us of. We jotted these first impressions down along with a few quick comments on how we came up with this observation. The second part of the activity was homework. Over the course of the next few days, we had to observe our partner and conduct an interview with them.

My partner was a young girl in her early twenties (I was in my early thirties at the time). For the sake of this blog, let's call my partner Liz. Liz had straight blond hair that landed lushly at the middle of her back. Her complexion was all honey and cream and when she sat, her posture I noticed was correct and regal. She reminded me of one of those people who has been studying ballet her whole life. As a kid, I'd always wanted to study ballet, but my parents didn't have that kind of money. I envied Liz's posture and what I presumed to be her cool confidence. When I compared Liz's elegance to my own shlumpiness, that old green eyed monster reared its ugly head. When it came time to jot down my choice of vegetation, I decided that Liz was a hothouse lilly, technically perfect with ever petal in place, but lacking character or fragrance.

Then came the interview. Since we were both Type A personalities and wanted to get the assignment over with, Liz and I agreed to talk that night by phone. Liz's interview came first. Liz, I discovered, was surprisingly open. She revealed to me that she had just returned to school after being away for a year. The reason for Liz's long absence from school was that on her way home from work one night, she had been involved in a collision with a drunk driver. The accident had left Liz in a full body cast and early on in her recovery it had been questionable whether she would ever walk again. With repeated surgeries and therapy, Liz had regained her ability to walk. The reason she sat so stiffly, Liz revealed, was because she now had a steal rod in her back that was there to support her spinal column. My first reaction to Liz's admission was surprise. Then came shame. Sheepishly, I told Liz about my first impressions, but she was kind enough not to judge me.

When it was my turn to be interviewed, I too began to open up to Liz. I admitted to insecurities about my own body, my sometimes difficult childhood and even my hopes and dreams. Liz listened attentively. Though we had started off the conversation as strangers, something important happened that night - a real human connection was made.

I learned a lot about myself that night, not only about my own tendency to judge people, but as a writer as well. To really make a connection with readers, a writer can't skirt their character's internal lives. A writer has to be aware of their character's secrets, their fears, their hopes, their joys. Even if these details never make the cut to the page, a writer must engage in an intimate conversation with their characters so that however they are introduced on the page rings as authentic and true. Because it is in truth that we find real intimacy and connection.

A Writer's Journey

2009-03-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

Tara Lazar interviewed me for her blog. If you're curious about how I started as a writer and where my idea for Under the Banyan Tree came from, read on...

http://taralazar.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/toni-depalma/

Let's get this party started!

2009-03-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my very first blog. My hope is to share my thoughts about writing and the writing life with my readers. Since I'm just getting my feet wet, I thought I'd start with something fun.
Something my readers may not know about me is that I was born in Brooklyn and lived there until I was eleven. Brooklyn was a real happening place in the 1970's. We had blackouts, the Son of Sam murders and Saturday Night Fever, which was filmed in my old neighborhood of Bay Ridge. A trailer was set up on the avenue for John Travolta, the film's star, and while I was squeezing in with all the other autograph hounds, someone opened the door to his trailer and I actually got a glimpse of John Travolta's foot!

So to get this party started, follow this link to a classic dance scene!

YouTube - John Travolta - Saturday Night Fever(Single Dance)