Look! Look! That’s me at SCBWI!

Pre-Conference Intensives for Writers

Originally uploaded by SCBWI

That’s me there in the red sweater (which I knit by the way) in a photo taken by the official SCBWI photographer. This is the morning session of the Writers’ Intensives. I am concentrating very very hard, as you can tell. Actually, I probably was. The two hours flew past and there was lots of good writing to be had.

There is also this photo of me and Kaela:

I was really glad she was there. I think I’d have gone far crazier than I did if she hadn’t been there to giggle with, I mean, discuss issues in deep profound ways. And drink wine. I pretty much don’t want to go to SCBWI conferences if she’s not there.

The conference was a huge, hugely surreal, mind-boggling experience. I am still processing all the information I received and scrawled down in looping letters in my notebook. It’s taking me this long partly because there were so many different kinds of information: pure artistic inspiration, cold hard business advice, amusing anecdotes and intelligent analysis. Much of these sit in different parts of my brain

So for instance, there was this inspirational thought:

Remind children of beauty. The world is harsh and ugly enough.

That was Bruce Hale. I agree with this wholeheartedly. I think of children’s brains as gardens. What they ingest (whether books, TV, conversations, images, parenting, teaching — everything) are the seeds and those seeds, depending on where they came from, grow into flowers or weeds, trees or brambles. It is crucial that we plant seeds of beauty, give them rich, powerful language to express their thoughts with, write stories of power that show the many wonderful ways in which they might grow up. Children’s writers are really parenting their readers. What would I want my own children to discover about the world? How can I write a story that lets them discover it?

But there was also this more practical, savvy thought:

Get a hook.

Almost everyone said that. I know I know. Actually, I did leave the conference with a far clearer understanding of how important the first 500 words are, which is very useful.

Then there was this rather sobering reflection on the state of education today from Richard Peck:

You can teach children, or you can fear their parents, but you can’t do both.

So true. When teachers pander to parents, children lose. They become spoiled, weak, vain, self-indulgent. Parents can’t always demand enough from their children — we are too close, too sympathetic. A good teacher will take a child and force them to do better than they thought they could. And it will cost the child. It will be hard. It will make them work, think, cry even. But it will make them grow.

And the bottom line was Ursula LeGuin (I can’t remember who quoted her, I think it was probably Bruce Hale again):

Sure it’s simple writing for kids; just as simple as bringing them up.

Ah.

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