getting closer

I have been working on another picture book hoping to submit it to publishers by April 1st. It hasn't even gone through ten revisions, but it is very close to being ready. After getting some great feedback from our RACWI critique meeting last Thursday and my two critique groups this week I am getting excited about meeting my personal deadline goal of April 1st. A major edit I had to make brought the word count down from around 600 to about 400. This seems crazy since that is less than half the length of my last story. But I am learning a lot about "bare-boning" my writing.

"Bare-boning" means looking at each and every word and asking the following questions:

"Does this advance my plot?"
If the answer to this question is "No" then I should probably cut it.

"Is this something the illustrator can take care of?"
"Is this my voice being inserted into the story?"
If the answer to these questions is "Yes" then I should probably cut it.

"Is there a shorter way I can say this?"
"Is this text showing rather than telling?"
If the answer to these questions is "Yes" then I should probably re-work the text.

With that being said, I am well on my way to submission.

The Graveyard Book

I know it's been a while since I have posted, but there hasn't been much to blog about. This past Thursday was my monthly RACWI (Rochester Area Children Writers and Illustrators) meeting. It was our annual first pages critique night. I got some really good feedback from experienced writers and published authors. My goal of submitting my next story to publishers by April 1st is starting to seem attainable.

As a side note I have been reading The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman so I will be ready for our March meeting of RACWI when we will be taking a look at last year's Newbery winner (The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman) and Caldecott winner (The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes). While I read The Graveyard Book I am making numerous notes on post-its so I can go into the meeting knowing what I am talking about. I strongly feel that the premise of the story is inappropriate for a younger audience. I prefer to see the Newbery awarded to a book that is appropriate for a wider age range of children. But that may just be me. But I can honestly say I have put my negative bias aside as I analyze it as a piece of children's literature.