10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2018

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Aaron Reynolds, Cassandra Federman, Dan Santat, Danielle Davis, Garret Weyr, illustrator tips, inspiration, Kayla Cagan, Kent Culotta, Melody Mansfield, Victoria Wells Arms, writing tips

I’m always grateful for the community and connection that comes from being a member of SCBWI. There’s no shortage of people willing to share advice, tips, and knowledge. And lucky for us, so many in the kid lit community have shared their stories and wisdom on the Kite Tales blog.

Whenever I need a creative boost, I like to reread Kite Tales posts for nuggets of inspiration.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Kite Tales stories this year. Hopefully they’ll inspire you too as you set your 2019 writing goals. Read on and click the links to see the full posts.

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Working Writer’s Retreat 2018: Revisions, Connections, and Karaoke

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E. Katherine Kottaras, Jessica Chrysler, Katya Dove, Kelsey Horton, Nephele Tempest, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, Stephanie Guerdan, Victoria Wells Arms, Working Writer's Retreat

By JESSICA CHRYSLER and KATYA DOVE

This year’s Working Writer’s Retreat brought together writers of all skill levels and backgrounds to the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, Sept. 28-30. From actors to teachers, newbie writers to seasoned veterans, participants had something to gain from the faculty and each other. In workshops, writers were grouped by category and genre and had ample opportunity to mix and mingle throughout the weekend, including a karaoke party.

Faculty included agent Nephele Tempest, agent Victoria Wells Arms, Delacorte Press associate editor Kelsey Horton, Harper Collins assistant editor Stephanie Guerdan, and author E. Katherine Kottaras.

In this post, writer and illustrator Jessica Chrysler and writer Katya Dove share a conversation about their experiences at the retreat.

Jessica Chrysler: It was so great to see you again at the retreat this year, Katya. As much as I love getting to know new people, it’s always nice to find friendly faces. Every year the organizers try to change up the panels and workshops, so I’d like to know, what was the highlight of your weekend?

Katya Dove: I thought the critique sessions were amazing. Listening to other writers read their work, sharing my own, and bonding over words was by far one of the most powerful experiences. There’s so much talent among the attendees. I was blown away by how focused and committed everyone was. Though I must say, the karaoke party brought out a whole new side to fellow writers and faculty—a wild and vivacious side!

JC: I have to agree on the karaoke! It’s always my favorite part of the retreat since it gets everyone out of their quiet, writerly shell. I also really enjoyed the presentation by Katherine Kottaras on “The Joy of Revising.” It’s important to love revision as part of the writing craft and it felt like everyone had similar challenges when facing editing demons. It was great to share and learn different strategies to tackle those obstacles.

#KTWriteOn with Agent Clelia Gore: Unsung Animal Heroes

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Bistra Masseva, Brian Russo, Cheryl Lawton Malone, Clelia Gore, Jackie French, Jessica Kensky, Jessica Olien, Jessica Sima, Leah Gilbert, Patrick Downes, picture books, submissions

As you settle into fall, celebrate the new season with a new manuscript. Clelia Gore, agent with Martin Literary Management and former Writers & Illustrators Day faculty, offers a challenge to the animal lover (and researcher) in you. 

SCBWI 2018 Summer Conference: Striking Gold

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Denise Vega, Diane White, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, pitching, query letter, SCBWI events, Tina DuBois

By Lorian Steider Brady

SCBWI held its 47^th Annual Summer Conference at the JW Marriott at LA LIVE in Los Angeles, August 3-6. The event spanned three extensive floors and was appropriately centered in the Diamond Ballroom. It was a perfect setting for the dazzling event.

Every day of the conference began with keynote speeches from well-known authors and illustrators or panel discussions with agents, editors, and authors. On August 4, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, award winning author of the middle grade novels One for the Murphys and Fish in a Tree, made us laugh, made us cry, until, finally, the audience rose en masse for a standing ovation. And that was just one of many. Outstanding keynote speakers shone throughout the weekend, reminding us again and again to write the stories in our own hearts because there are children who want, and need, to hear our stories.

Agent and SCBWI-LA WWR Faculty Victoria Wells Arms On Critiques, First Lines, and More

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Candice Ransom, critiques, E.D. Baker, first lines, Han Nolan, Katherine Hannigan, Marcella Pixley, Nikki Grimes, Shannon Hale, Susan L. Roth, Susan Middleton Elya, Victoria Wells Arms, Working Writer's Retreat

Before founding Wells Arms Literary Agency in 2013, Victoria Wells Arms spent 20 years in the publishing industry, working as an editor at Penguin and Bloomsbury, where she was the founding editorial director for their U.S. children’s list. She brings her expertise to this year’s Working Writer’s Retreat (WWR) as faculty.

She’s worked with bestselling and award-winning authors, including: E. D. Baker, Susan Middleton Elya, Nikki Grimes, Shannon Hale, Katherine Hannigan, Han Nolan, Marcella Pixley, Candice Ransom, Susan L. Roth and Renee Watson. She is an MFA candidate at the Vermont College of Fine Arts’s Writing for Children and Young Adults program.

Victoria took time away from her studies to answer our questions and share her insight.

ERLINA VASCONCELLOS: The retreat will feature a panel on first pages. How do first pages make readers eager for more? What are the elements commonly overlooked by unpublished writers?

#KTWriteOn with Agent Bridget Smith: Query Letters When You Have No Idea Where To Start

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Bridget Smith, query, query letter, tips, writing prompt

As you celebrate Independence Day, why not free yourself from the agony of the query letter with the third installment of the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #KTWriteOn? Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas and creative energy. This prompt was created by Bridget Smith, an agent at Dunham Literary, Inc., where she represents middle grade, YA, and adult novels, including contemporary fiction, historical fiction, and science fiction & fantasy. She is also the co-host of the podcast Shipping & Handling, and you can follow her on Twitter @bredalot.

By Bridget Smith

As an agent, I very often hear complaints from writers about how hard it is to write a good query. And I sympathize! I have written many pitches myself, after all. But unfortunately, it’s a necessary skill – and it doesn’t stop once you get an agent, either.

Luckily, with all the pitches I’ve written, I’ve figured out a formula that can give me a workable draft quickly. This isn’t necessarily the form your final pitch needs to take: I’m always delighted to see a pitch that breaks out in interesting ways, whether it’s hauntingly minimal or a clever inversion. And, of course, there is LOTS of room here for adding flavor: voice! Jokes your characters would make! Emotion! Tension!

But if you have absolutely no idea where to start, here’s a handy map:

Peer2Peer Critique Day 2018: Inspirational Setting and Writers

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community, critiques, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, writing

By Renee Carter

It was a spectacular Saturday morning. The temperature was in the low seventies and the sky blue. The Peer2Peer Critique Day facilitators, Daka Hermon and Pamela Rippey, arrived early to the Skirball Cultural Center, armed with candy and great attitudes. I was warmly greeted, efficiently signed in, and encouraged to pick any spot for my group. Within minutes, other SCBWI members arrived. There were several familiar faces; two from my mingle group and two from prior Critique Days.

The table where I sat was composed of four other middle grade writers. We were a diverse group: a teacher, life coach, retired banker, retired physical therapist and a full-time author. Our common ground lay in the areas of writing children’s literature and a positive, supportive attitude.

SCBWI Members Help the Getty Bring Art and History to Life for Young Readers

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Abrams, Annie Won, Getty Publications, Janine Pibal, Julie Berry, Michelle Thies, Nick Geller, Scholastic Press, Viking Children's Books

Each year, the J. Paul Getty Museum hosts more than 100,000 children on field trips to view the vast art collection at its two locations: the Getty Center atop the Santa Monica Mountains and the Getty Villa in Pacifica Palisades. Add to that those who visit with their families and take part in family-centered events and activities.

The effort to make art interesting and digestible for children extends to Getty Publications, which in recent years has increased its efforts to publish for the youngest readers, said Getty Senior Editor Elizabeth Nicholson.

“The goal is to support understanding and appreciation of art for all audiences — art, archeology, humanities, ancient world,” she said.

Although some books are published to accompany a Getty exhibit, they’re all meant to be readable on their own.

“They’re not meant to be didactic,” Nicholson said. “They’re meant to be fun.”

The books, available through the Getty and also distributed by Abrams, range from picture books to young adult graphic novels. They include two picture books by SCBWI members: author Julie Berry and illustrator Michelle Thies.

Berry is writing the picture book Don’t Let the Beasties Escape This Book! to be published in conjunction with the exhibition, Book of Beasts, a major display of medieval bestiaries — illustrated volumes about beasts real and imagined. It will open in May 2019 at the Getty Center. Berry, has experience with history and research. Her young adult novel, the Printz Honor book The Passion of Dolssa (Viking Children’s Books), is set in the thirteenth century.

Thies, a background artist for the Cartoon Network show Unikitty!, illustrated the picture book Cleo and Cornelius: A Tale of Two Kitties and Two Cities. The book, co-written by Elizabeth Nicholson, Janine Pibal and Nick Geller, was published in conjunction with the exhibit Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World, currently on view at the Getty Center.

Berry and Thies answered our questions about their books via email. The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

BRING ON THE BEASTIES

ERLINA VASCONCELLOS:  Congratulations on the Don’t Let the Beasties Escape This Book! How did you become involved with this project?

Need Help Finding a Critique Partner or Group – Peer2Peer Critique Day Can Help

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critique groups, critiques, critiquing, Daka Hermon, SCBWI events

Writers and illustrators, if you’re ready for the first step to taking your work in progress public, Peer2Peer Critique Day (formerly known as Critiquenic) returns Sunday, June 3 to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

It’s an opportunity to connect with other SCBWI members, and you may even find a critique group or partner to continue with after the event.

Peer2Peer Critique Day is free, but registration is required and is open until Sunday, May 27 on the SCBWI Los Angeles website. It’s for current SCBWI members only. If you’re not yet a member, you can sign up here.

The event runs from 10:30 AM to 3 PM. Bring a lunch or purchase food at the Skirball’s café.

Critique Day coordinator Daka Hermon gives us the scoop on how to prepare and what to expect:

Erlina Vasconcellos: How will Peer2Peer Critique Day be structured? Do participants meet individually or in groups?

Daka Hermon: When registering, the attendees will choose a category: illustrations, picture book dummy or text, chapter book/middle grade, or young adult/new adult. Upon arrival, attendees will be placed into groups. The size of the groups will vary based on attendance, but it’s normally about five to six members.

EV: Writers and artists are notorious introverts. How are you hoping to coax them away from the solitude of their desks and creative caves?

#KTWriteOn with Author Marilyn Cram Donahue: Character, Voice

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character exercise, Marilyn Cram Donahue, voice, writing exercise, writing prompt, writing tips

Welcome to the second installment of the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas and creative energy. This prompt was created by author and SCBWI volunteer Marilyn Cram Donahue whose latest middle grade novel, When Crickets Stopped Singing (Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek), will be published on March 20.

By Marilyn Cram Donahue

Are you looking for a boost of creativity? All you need is a pile of old magazines, some tape, and a sheet of 11”x17” paper. This is the ideal size, but you can also tape two sheets of regular typing paper together.

Step 1: Open the magazines and choose pictures that speak to you. Don’t analyze. Just think “AHA! I like that.”

Step 2: Rip out the pages you like and use your fingers to tear around the edges of whatever part of the picture speaks to you. Why are you tearing?