Author: beckylevine

Becky Levine is a children's book writer, working hard to strengthen her picture-books skills. She is the author of The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide, a book to help you get started with a critique group, learn to revise from a critique, and strengthen your own critiquing powers. She has also published two nonfiction children's books with Capstone Press. She is currently seeking representation. Becky lives in California's Santa Cruz mountains, where she spends a lot of time sitting on the couch, knitting needles in hand, thinking through the next revision. At her day job, she writes grants for a nonprofit healthcare organization.
Posted in Historical Fiction

The YA Historical Fiction Challenge–I’m In!

Posted on by beckylevine

Last week, Joyce Moyer Hostetter at The Three R’s—Reading, ‘Riting and Research posted about the 2011 YA Historical Fiction Challenge. Sab Horande at YA Bliss is hosting the challenge, and you can read all about it here and sign up to participate.

Basically, the challenge is to read 5, 10, or 15 historical fiction novels (depending on the level of challenge you pick), and they  have to be either middle-grade or young-adult. Then you blog about them–with a few basic thoughts or a full review–and each post enters you for all sorts of fun giveaways. The books do not have to be published in 2011, and Sab has thoughtfully included a few book lists to help us get started.

I’m going in at Level 1, which means I will read and blog about 5 books. Honestly, I’m going to use her list to totally stock my to-read pile, but I don’t want to commit to more than 5 review posts. I like to talk about books that really excite me as a story or that show me a wonderful example of some piece of writing craft, so I want to save the review slots for books I really want to share with you. Plus, I’m going to try and focus my search on books with protagonists who are at least 16 years old, at the older end of the YA spectrum. Don’t worry. If I fall in love more than 5 times, you’ll most likely hear about it–if not here, on Facebook & Twitter.

I’m a big believer in reading what you’re writing, so I’m excited and grateful to Sab for setting this up. I can’t wait to see the reviews that everyone else in the challenge comes up with. 2011 is going to be a great year for reading!

Posted in Historical Fiction, Research

Monday Method: This is My Brain on Research

Posted on by beckylevine

Thought I’d just give you a (not-too-scary) glimpse into my favorite research technique these days. And not just favorite because it involves a comfy couch and books. Remember, this is the research I’m doing to help figure out my characters, what they want (which means figuring out what is possible, probable, and/or dream-worthy in 1911), and what they might usefully do to further my plot. This is not the research for filling in details about how many hospital beds were in a ward or what kind of fruit you could buy at a market. That stuff I’ll find out while I’m writing. This is instead the research I really feel like I have to do before I dig deeply into the 2nd draft.

To proceed:

Step 1. Pick a topic, based either on character-development, setting for a scene, or a virtual dart toss, because I could pick any one of a dozen paths to follow.

Step 2. Start to browse the web for articles and books.

Step 3. Realize I probably HAVE some of that information already in my research stacks.

Step 4. Gather a small pile of books & take them away from the computer. Take myself away from the computer, too.

Step 5. Curl up on the couch with the books and my Blackberry. Yes, my Blackberry. This is important. The cat is also welcome.

Step 6. Start reading.

Step 7. Gather data and details, while waiting for burst of inspiration for the story.

Step 8. Repeat Steps 6 & 7. Perhaps ad nauseam.

Step 9. Get an idea.

Step 10. Gasp with excitement.

Step 11. Email it to myself via my Blackberry. (Told you it was important. This system actually keeps me doing research, without losing my place in the book, while the ideas simmer away and grow, hence creating more emails to my self via my…okay, you got it. So it is not just laziness.)

Step 12. When the BIG lightbulb in the sky blazes with THE idea and enough emails have been sent, I drop the books (being careful to not, of course, drop my Blackberry with them) and run to the computer. Or skip. Or dance. Depending on how bright that lightbulb really is.

(Artistic interpretation by my son.)

Step 13. Open Scrivener and start putting all those emails into character and scene notes.

Step 14. Rinse and repeat.

Step 15. Get closer and closer to shoving all character and plot and research into a paper bag and just start writing.

Posted in Uncategorized

Friday Five: Signs that Xmas May Come Early This Year

Posted on by beckylevine

1. Everything-and I mean everything: wrapping paper, ornaments, green-and-red-wrapped candy–has been out in the stores for almost a week. This doesn’t bug me quite as much as I know it bugs a lot of people, but they could have waited another few days. Although, honestly, Trader Joe’s could sell their peppermint-chocolatey goodies all year, if it were up to me.

2. Our “tree” is up and has been since last weekend. My husband got a little bored and built a metal sculpture, which–halfway thru–the three of us decided had branches and would do just fine, with a bit of decoration. Normally, we don’t get the tree thing done till a week or so before the big day. And, yes, there are presents out.

3. The car thermometer read 36 degrees earlier this week as I was taking my son to school. What other purpose could this serve than to get things cold enough (and perhaps snowy enough) for Santa and the reindeer to visit?

4. I think I’m almost done with my shopping. Which scares me into thinking maybe I’ve forgotten something important, but I’m going with cheerful oblivion for now.

5. This wonderful video has already been making its way around Facebook. Beaker always makes me smile.

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Chronicle Books AMAZING Giveaway

Posted on by beckylevine

Have you heard what Chronicle Books is doing?

They’re asking (more like letting!) bloggers post a wishlist of books from Chronicle, up to $500 (wow!), and then they’ll draw a winner from the (I’m guessing) ginormous pool of entrants. AND (yes, there’s more!), they’ll give the same pile of books away to a commenter at the winning blog.

So, what I’m basically saying is, if you comment here, you and I could win!

A very, very grateful thank you to Jama Rattigan for pointing me toward this contest. Make sure you check out her list and comment there, two, thus doubling your chances to win. And if you want to go crazy with commenting and entering, check out the list here of all the bloggers who are entering.

And now, without further ado…my Chronicle wishlist.

Vanessa Newton’s Let Freedom Sing


Bob Gill’s The Present


Jesse Hartland’s How the Sphinx Got to the Museum

Suzy Lee’s Shadow

Sandra Markle and Daniela Terrazzini’s Animals Marco Polo Saw

Muriel Harris Weinstein and R. Gregory Christie’s When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat

Peggy Mercer & Bill Crews’ Ten Cows to Texas

James Stimson’s Thirteen O’Clock

David Slonim’s He Came with the Couch


Robin Jarvis’ The Alchemist’s Cat

John Duggleby’s Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence

Michaela MacColl’s Prisoner’s in the Palace: How Princess Victoria became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel

Dilys Evans’ Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children’s Illustration

Susan Goldman Rubin’s Delicious: The Life and Art of Wayne Thiebaud

Susie Middleton & Ben Fink’s Fast, Fresh & Green: More Than 90 Delicious Recipes for Veggie Lovers




Posted in Character, Plot, Writer's Block

Today, Character Definitely Comes Before Plot

Posted on by beckylevine

When I finished the first draft of my WIP and after I did the happy dance, I decided I was going to do some major plotting before I started on Draft 2. I had spent enough time with that exploratory first draft and now I wanted structure. Big time.

So I opened Scrivener and I started tossing in scenes, and I was happily and busily adding cards to my corkboard.

Until…I wasn’t.

As happens all too frequently, I ran out of scenes–I ran out of ideas for scenes. When I hit this spot, I go back to character. My exploratory draft made me familiar with each of my characters in a sort of gray, blobby, nebulous way, but did not really put me in touch with what they want, why it matters, and–most important–what actions they’ll take to try and get there.

Today, I started working on the father character, someone I love a lot, but, no…don’t really understand. And I was drawing a blank, but taking a stab at who he might be and what his goal could possibly become, and I was only getting so far until…

I realized I was giving him a goal very similar to the goal of my MC’s would-be boyfriend. Oops. I almost gave up then, because you can’t have too characters with the same personalities and same needs, right? Wait…what if they start at the same point, but end up changing in very different ways–one much more successfully than the other? Then what you’ve got is…such a lovely word: CONTRAST! I mean we’re talking about the two men in the book, both of whose goals revolve around loving a woman (different women!), and we’re looking at one generation following the other and needing to do things very differently.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

From here, things took off–this glimpse of similar goals with different paths led me deeper and deeper into who these men are, who they need to be, and which–if either–is going to succeed. Along with why. And guess what…

Character led to plot.

I’ve set up maybe a half-dozen more scenes this morning and moved at least that many more around on my corkboard, because–as one thing happens, it sets off another. And when that thing happens, it sends something else into a new spot. And so on and so on and so on….

This, to me, is one of the best cures for writer’s block, backing up to the who ARE these people and what the BLEEP do they want? Yes, it involves some fixed-and-dilated starting at the computer. Yes, it means resisting the impulse to pound your head against your keyboard. Eventually, though, the wall cracks, and a brick falls down and then another brick and, finally, the story starts to come.

And, of course, that brings on yet another dance of joy.

Here’s hoping the productivity fairy zings her wand over your writing space today!

Posted in Uncategorized

Coming Back Up & Out of the Holiday

Posted on by beckylevine

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week around here. My parents came up for several days, and they brought one of my nephews (who’s going to college near their house) with them. The flaming flamingo visited. My sister & her family, along with my brother-in-law, joined us for Thanksgiving afternoon and dinner. We relaxed, read, worked on hobbies, visited The Mystery Spot, and–oh, yeah–ate. (I highly recommend the Key Lime cheesecake my son baked.)

Weeks like this are a strange mix of calm and chaos, I think, of sort of being transplanted to a different world, even when you’re based at your own house. I wanted to take this break, to have everybody here and together, but it’s a definite shift to get myself out of the writing, editing, and networking that make up so much of my regular daily routine.

And then comes the shift back in.

Saturday, honestly, I slept. I read, too, and I tidied a bit, but then I’d nod off and wake up to find another hour had passed. Last night, I slept great and long, and this morning I got a few productive things done–getting ready for the upcoming week. I definitely needed the transition–as much as I needed the break.

I come out of weeks like this, often, wanting something different from what I was experiencing when I went in. For me, a pretty tight single-focus is necessary–I am on holiday, and I am doing the holiday, and that’s it. And it’s fun. There’s a certain amount of calm, because I need it to be calm. At the end, though, when I look ahead to the multi-tasking and juggling that’s my norm, I find myself tempted to back away, step back into the one-task world, even if there’s no writing or productivity in that small circle. Which, of course, is not really a place I want to stay.

So instead, I’m striving for is a calm that includes writing, a calm that lets me relax into my work, into my craft, rather than jumping like a caffeinated grasshopper from project to project. It’s times like these I reconsider meditating and tell myself that–oh, come on–I can learn to do it and to benefit from it. It’s also times like these that I determine to exercise more, to keep the house from becoming one big pile of stuff, to dig deeply into my fictional worlds and gain understanding–not just word count.

Yes, in other words–just when I’ve discovered calm, I’m ready to add back in a gazillion goals at once. Irony? Oh, yeah.

What I’m learning to do, as I get older, is breathe just a little more consciously and a little more slowly. If I don’t keep a gratitude journal, I do try to spend a little time at night filling my brain with the good from the day, and a little time the next morning reminding myself  about what I want to spend time on that day. It’s when I try to remember that life takes time and—almost always—small, clear steps will move me forward.

Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and wishing you calm productivity, at least between now and your next holiday!

Posted in Uncategorized

Final Flamingo Teaser: No Flames…YET!

Posted on by beckylevine

Okay, tomorrow there will be a turkey on my table and a flaming, with flames, on my blog. Today, you just get one more tiny piece of the whole picture.

I hope this isn’t feeling too tedious or irritating, but otherwise, this week at the blog would have been a lot like the old test-pattern screen you’d find on your TV in the old days, when nothing was on the air.

Here’s your teaser:

Posted in Uncategorized

Flamingo Teaser

Posted on by beckylevine

When I casually mentioned that my house would contain flaming flamingos next Thursday (no,we’re not eating them–still going with turkey), I’ve had a few demands requests that I post a picture of them next week.

Never say I don’t listen.

For today, just a little piece to get you interested. In fact, I’m pretty sure that, with the craziness of the upcoming week, you will be getting no writing or critiquing content here for many days. So let’s just say the whole week will be tiny, tantalizing pieces of the puzzle, and on Thursday–the big reveal. The whole enchilada flaming flamingo!

Artist: My son. (Any of you who were expecting art from me have obviously not been reading this blog for long. My drawing talent stops before stick figures.)

Piece One:

Now…house-cleaning.