Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers and the Mountain

I spent last week at the workshop/conference Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers, which is put on in part by my teacher and friend, Carol Lynch Williams.

It was fun to spend the week with family and friends and absorb all I could. But by that Thursday, I felt overwhelmed, unprepared, and out of place. I considered skipping Friday, but I’m glad I didn’t. I would have missed Jennifer Nielsen’s keynote speech. Listening to her was like being scraped off the floor, set on my feet, dusted off, and handed a bowl of ice cream.

Something like this.

I took no notes, but here’s what I remember:

So what if 81% of Americans want to write a book? You only have to compete with the .01% who actually finish a manuscript.

There’s no one right way to climb the mountain known as writing and publishing. We’re all on the mountain, and we’re all heading for different summits. Writing “The End” on a first draft is one summit, but when you get there you realize it’s not the top of the mountain. Looming above you is another summit called revisions. And so on.

Most importantly, if you are not where you need to be today, climb higher tomorrow.

I thanked her for her speech when I got my copy of The False Prince signed.

I’m on the mountain. If I look down, I can see the switchbacks of rejections for Raven and the Trinketeers. Way behind me are the foothills of all those other unfinished stories. Every time I look up, revisions on Featherfolk appear insurmountable. But I’m going to keep climbing.

Where are you on the mountain? Where are you headed next?

Happy Yarning.

The Promised Pictures

Here are a few pictures of the sideless surcoat I sewed for Baby.

The last stitches were done in the car on the way to my friends’ wedding. I finished the belt on the drive too. It’s a piece of an inkle band I wove about two years ago when I learned to inkle weave.

In other news, my story “Should Have Prayed For a Canoe” placed 3rd in the 2015 Mormon Lit Blitz! I’m very pleased and also surprised. I thought it a bit too silly to go far in the contest, but I suppose it hit readers’ funny bones just right.
“Faded Garden,” a poem by Emily Harris Adams, won first prize, and it was my favorite by far. You can read it here if you haven’t yet.

Happy Yarning!

My Votes Are In. How About Yours?

There’s still time to read this year’s Mormon Lit Blitz finalists and vote for your favorites. Each finalist is under 1000 words. Several are half that length or less. So put your feet up and head on over to http://lit.mormonartist.net! Voting ends on June 6th.

With the move, I’ve been too busy to finish up Baby’s new garb. But she will be wearing it this weekend whether the hems are finished or not.

Happy Yarning.

“Should Have Prayed For a Canoe”

You can now read my flash fiction story “Should Have Prayed For a Canoe” on the Mormon Lit Blitz page!

Vote for your favorite finalists between June 1st and 5th. I hope I make it into your top four!

Happy Yarning.

A Week of Flash Fiction

Have you read the flash fiction pieces posted this week on lit.mormonartist.net? They’ve been wonderful, some of them piercingly touching. I’m excited for the rest. And of course only a week left until you all get to read my story “Should Have Prayed For a Canoe.”

Voting for the winner of Mormon Lit Blitz 2015 will take place in June. Everyone votes for their top 4 favorites, so be sure to read them all.

On the crafty side of things, I’ve been keeping busy sewing, namely a dice bag for my brother-in-law and a sideless surcoat for Baby.

After my last fiasco with sewing baby clothes, I figured I better try a garment that can’t go wrong (famous last words, right?). Pictures to follow.

Happy Yarning!

Flash Fiction Finalist

My 990-word story, “Should Have Prayed For a Canoe,” made it into the top twelve in this year’s Mormon Lit Blitz!

I first heard the news shouted at me from a speeding car by my good friend Annaliese Lemmon, whose piece, “Disability, Death, or Other Circumstance,” is also a finalist. (Though it took my brain a few minutes to figure out why what she shouted sounded like “Congratulations,” rather than a more conventional “Hi.”)

You can read my piece, Annaliese’s, and the other ten as they are posted on the Mormon Lit Blitz page over the next two weeks. Mine goes live Friday, May 29th. Annaliese’s will be up on Monday, May 25th. After reading all the finalists, be sure to cast your votes for the Grand Winner.

I am elated and honored to be a finalist in this contest. May the best work win!

Happy Yarning.

Sock Yarn (the Other Kind)

The sockalypse has come! My husband and I bought new socks to replace our pairs that are wearing out. He HATES sorting socks, so he insists that he own only one kind of white sock. What to do with all the socks that he no longer wants?

Sock yarn.

Yep. You didn’t think I really meant “all kinds of yarns,” did you?

Simply cut each cotton sock into one long strip. This could probably done in a spiral fashion, but I prefer to snip it into strips one direction, not cutting all the way to the end, then slit each strip in half from the opposite end, again not cutting all the way to the end. This results in a long zig-zag of sock. Give the thing a good stretch, and it’s ready to work with.

The possibilities of sock yarn are limited. After all, who wants something made out of old socks? But this would be great for something like a bathroom rug. It makes a cushy, absorbent fabric when crocheted.

I need to finish up a wedding present and my Hufflepuff scarf before I can invest any more time in this, but the upcycled sock yarn rug will be a thing. I assure you.

Happy Yarning!

Success! and a Short Short

I reached my goal of 10,000 words last month for Camp NaNoWriMo! That got Featherfolk draft III off to a good start. I also wrote a flash fiction piece for the Mormon Lit Blitz competition. Here’s hoping I make it as a finalist!

This month has been hard, but not as crazy as a November NaNo. Still, I’m looking forward to kicking back a little and getting some crocheting done.

Happy Yarning!

Camp NaNoWriMo: The Home Stretch

Only a few days left in the month. It’s been great to get words out on the page with Featherfolk, and I’ve had fun and giggles with a flash fiction piece for a contest as well.

While I came out of the gate with a burst and stayed ahead of schedule most of the month, I’m stalling out. I’m agonizing over a pivotal scene. It’s so important that I get it right.

I think I need to give myself permission to tell it wrong. At least in this draft.

Here we go: “Julia, you can mess up. It’s okay. Just write something.”

Perhaps I should put a sticker with those words on my computer…

Because it’s time to gear up for the home stretch. I’ve promised myself some sweet Camp swag if I meet my goal.

I’m going to think of this last bit as a literal stretch. Yes, I’m running out of steam and my apartment is a sty and I’m moving in a month, and my baby just woke up again, but I can reach this goal!

Happy Yarning.

This Is Not Knitted

While my Hufflepuff scarf gradually grows, I’ve been practicing with color. I can now keep two separate strands tensioned on my left fingers while I crochet. Yes, the above swatch is crocheted! Tunisian knit stitch makes for a bulkier textile than I usually like, but it looks very neat. Rather than the “k”s of Tunisian simple stitch, it makes “v”s!

And Camp NaNoWriMo is going swimmingly. I’m even a bit ahead of schedule and having bunches of fun with my lovely cabin mates.