SCBWI Conference

Last Saturday I drove up to Poughkeepsie to attend the SCBWI Eastern NY Conference. I'd been to the Long Island SCBWI conference and wanted to try something different. Besides, the upstate conference offered manuscript critiques. The LI conference only offers first page criitques and then only a select few.

The keynote speaker was 1982 Newbery winner, Nancy Willard. She proved to be not only an amazing writer, but an inspirational speaker and captivating storyteller. Like me, she was born and raised in Michigan and has an avid interest in fairy tales, but man, if only I could write like her! I could have listened to her speak for another hour or two, if she'd been so inclined. If you haven't read her book, The Left-handed Story, I recommend it. The book is an eclectic collection of essays on the writer's craft, family stories, failures, successes, muses and the mundane and the mystical.

I also listened to part of author Colleen Paratore's talk on her journey to becoming a successful writer. She didn't talk about good luck so much as hard work, perseverance and butt in chair time. I didn't get to hear all of her talk because I stopped by to listen to agent Tina Wexler speak. She was interesting but not nearly as fascinating as Colleen and I wish I'd hung around to listen to everything she had to say.

Is it just me, or do nearly all these editors and agents look they're fresh out of college?

Alexandra Penfold, associate editor at Paula Wiseman Books (imprint of Simon & Schuster) spoke about what she looks for in a manuscript. She asks herself a couple of questions as she's reading through a submission. Is there an audience for this book? Does the story surprise me? Take me to places I'd like to go? Am I moved by the story? Does the action move at a good pace? Build tension? Is the character somebody I care about?

Tina Wexler, who works for ICM, spoke about the kind of stories she likes. She wants a book that makes her cry, makes her feel, think and not want to put it down. She likes books that take a risk, adventure stories, mysteries, coming of age stories and the quirky. She represents mostly middle grade and YA authors. I'm always mystified by the word "quirky".

Kim Griswell, editor at Highlights Magazine, discussed how to create a sense of place. She suggested we make use of our five senses as we write and to avail ourself to local newspapers, Chambers of Commerce, library archives, etc. to find out more about any particular place.

So went the conference. It's always good to connect with other writers in person instead of through message boards -- to see the faces behind the names. I was not disappointed.