Springmingle and Jane Yolen

I attended the Springmingle writer's conference this weekend in Atlanta, sponsored by the Southern Breeze region of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Jane Yolen was the keynote speaker. I am in awe of Jane's beautiful way with words. She has published 300 books in the field, including the Caldecott Medal winner, Owl Moon. It was a treat to sit and listen.

























Jane has several new books available. I am the proud owner of an autographed copy of All Star! Honus Wagner and the Most Famous Baseball Card Ever. I bought it for my husband, but the inscription is for me.

Another of Jane's lovely picture books just out is My Father Knows the Names of Things. Delightful!

So check these new books out. Your students will definitely enjoy them.

Gems from Kathleen Duey

Southern Breeze Springmingle Notes

Bits of wisdom from a delightful author:

Unless the coffee table is important, don't describe it.

If you have a digital recorder, take it with you to the garden, the gym, for a walk. You can collaborate with yourself later, complete with excitement in the voice.

When doing research, find professors on the internet. E-mail them and ask for books they would recommend on your subject. The two or three books that overlap from professors are the best research in the field. Read them and you've saved yourself hours of time.

Experiment when you start a new work. Try first person, third person, present tense, change the age of your protagonist. A significant investment in exploration will provide depth and understanding of your characters before you start writing.

Pass on everything you know about life to people who don't know it yet.

Conference Survival

I grew up hugging the walls, fading into the woodwork, blending with any flowers I could find. As a teenager, I tentatively began trying out my voice. As a young mother, I found that I had a lot of things to say, but didn't often say them. As an adult, I began to deal with the issues that nailed me to the walls and found that freedom of speech is a marvelous thing!

That said, put me in a room with 200 mostly strangers from morning to night for a weekend and I'm still an introvert at heart. I'm pretty good at spotting others in my species and often will strike up a conversation with them.

The problem is that the weekend is an important time for meeting people, making friends, finding comrades for a journey into story that is often solitary. So halfway through Saturday when I'm too tired to press beyond the default button and I'm generally asking myself--Why did I decide to do this?--I have to remember who I am. I have to give myself permission to steal away for a quiet moment to regroup. I have to remember that it's not how many people I meet, it's recognizing where the genuine connections occur in those random interactions. And then when I get home, making time to weave that tenuous thread of acquaintance into a stronger cord of friendship.