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Peggy's Pages Blog 

Sprucing up Flowerbeds and Manuscripts

March 17, 2010
Tags: St. Patrick's Day, spring flowers, planting, manuscript revision, Name That Dog!, Starke county Young artists day, North Judson
Happy St. Patrick's Day! What a beautiful day today is. I actually went for a walk outside with no coat on! The grass is green. Spring flowers are poking through the ground. Tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer.

I need to get rid of last year's dead growth to make room for the flowers coming up, and rake the leaves out of the bushes. Soon I'll be able to plant new flowers, too. If I plan it right, I'll have a beautiful garden that will last until the snow comes again.

Manuscript revision is sort of like that, too. I need to go in and pull out what's not working, and rake out the unnecessary words that are cluttering up the story. Then I can plant new words, and watch my story grow. If I plan it right, Read More 
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Math and Poetry?

March 10, 2010
Tags: math, Poetry, patterns, rhythm, simplicity
A former teacher, and fellow writer, put the thought into my head that math and poetry are related. It's something that I never thought of, but what she said kind of makes sense.

Math is a science. It gets to the point, or the answer, using the shortest route to get there. When doing a math problem every step counts, or you end up with the wrong answer.
Poetry gets to the heart of things, using the shortest route, with meaningful words, without explanations. In poetry, every word must count.

There is a pattern to math, just as there is in poetry. The pattern of a poem creates its rhythm. Read More 
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Aspiring Picture Book Authors

March 3, 2010
Tags: aspiring writers, picture books, picture book authors, children's authors, writing tips, marketing, connection, author presentations
On Saturday I spoke to an amazing group of close to 50 aspiring picture book authors. All of us are authors, some published and some not yet published. All of us are aspiring, some of us hoping to be published for the first time, and some of us hoping for that next book. Read More 
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Grants and Contests

February 25, 2010
Tags: SCBWI, Grants, contests, work in progress
On my list of things to do is 'apply for the SCBWI Work-in-Progress grant.' Heaven knows that I have enough works-in-progress in my file cabinet! The manuscript that I've chosen to submit is something that I was working on before my life went crazy around the holidays. Now that I've pulled it out again, I'm pretty excited about it and about getting it finished.

That's one of the perks of entering contests and applying for grants. It gets you excited about  Read More 
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You Have to be Committed to be a Children's Author

February 17, 2010
Tags: cmmittment, anniversary, Revision, research, marketing, rejection, acceptance, children's writers
My husband and I just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. We renewed our vows. Our kids totally surprised us with a celebration with family and friends. It was wonderful.

It made me think about committment. People often want things, but hesitate to make that committment. And it just doesn't work that way. If you love something, or someone, you make a committment to stick with it, through the good and the not so good times. Because it's where your heart it. And it's so worth the journey!

Writing for children is like that, too. First,  Read More 
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Writing--A Lonely Job?: Part II

February 9, 2010
Tags: writing, children's books, critique groups, feedback, connecting with other children's writers, SCBWI, conferences, libraries, bookstores, on line resources, websites, blogs, message boards, listservs, volunteer, contacts
Instead of the word 'lonely,' let's substitute 'solitary.'
You certainly can say that 'writing' is a solitary job. The story is yours alone. The characters, the setting, the voice. No one can write it just the way that you can. So you sit with your pen and paper, or at your computer, alone. And you write the story that's in you head, and in your heart.

Once your story is down on paper, however, there are many ways that you as a writer can connect with others to help you along  Read More 
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Writing--a Lonely Job?

February 4, 2010
Tags: writing, writing for children, interruptions, Stories, Children, critics, story starters, phone calls
Writing is a lonely job! Or is it? Maybe. If you have no kids. And no one knows that you write for children.

I started writing (to be published, that is) when my children were little. It's a bit uncanny how you can write surrounded by six small bodies in constant motion. But I did. In between the "I'm hungry" and "I hafta go potty" and "He/She took that away from me!" I'd sit and write (well, sometimes I would do laundry, or other things).

Occassionally I might hear something like this:
What are you doing, Mommy?
I'm writing a story.
Is it about a pig?
No. But it's about a farmer.
Does he have a pig?
! Read More 
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Kidlitosphere Blog Comment Challenge

January 27, 2010
Tags: kidlitosphere, kidilit, blogging, blogs for children's writers, Poetry, poetry books, children's writers, children's writing communities, networking
Almost three weeks ago I discovered Kidlitosphere and the Comment Challenge. Kidlitosphere is a community of people who blog about children's and young adult literature. The challenge was to post comments on 100 blog sites within a 3 week period, which amounts to around 5 comments per day.

It sounded easy enough.  Read More 
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Caldecott Awards 2010

January 20, 2010
Tags: ALA, Caldecott awards, picture books, illustrations, picture book text, children's authors, illustrators
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

The Cladecott Medal winner for 2010 is "The Lion & the Mouse," illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers).

2010 Honor Books include "All the World," illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon, published by Beach Lane Books. And "Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors," illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman, published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

What wouldn't an author give to have their book chosen as a Caldecott Award Book!

But how can an author, who is not an illustrator as well, make a difference?

What if our words could inspire the most fantastic pictures in the mind of the illustrator! So much so, that their hands and fingers would magically translate those wonderful pictures to paper, which become pages in a book. And in the end, the eyes of a child could see into the heart of our story.

For an author, isn't that what's it's all about? Words, inspiring pictures, inspiring a child?

May our words and pictures work together to inspire the hearts and minds of children. I do so appreciate the illustrators who translate my words into pictures to that end. Read More 
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Welcome home Luke! and Toddler Conversation

January 14, 2010
Tags: new baby, toddler, big brother, dialogue
Baby Luke finally arrived on Tuesday evening! Of course he is absolutely beautiful!
Big brother Logan and I got to meet him yesterday. PapPap comes on Friday. Today Mommy and Daddy brought him home.

Big brother, little brother. Small hand over smaller hand. The wonder of babies, and toddlers.

"He squeaked."
"Yes, it sounded like a squeak."
"He's looking at me!"
"Yes, he is."
"Can I hold him?"
"Only when mommy and daddy are with you."
"Can I feed him?"
"With mommy and daddy's help."
"Can I kiss him?"
"On his head."
"Can horsey kiss him?"
"Only on his head."
"What's he doing?"
"Making faces."
"He tooted!"
"Yes, he did."
"Can I see his diaper?"
"Yes. Will you bring me a clean diaper?"

Dialogue. Simple. To the point.

Welcome to the world, Precious grandson Luke. Read More 
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