AND THE WINNERS ARE: Jennifer Beasley, Charline Profiri, Lola Woods, Deborah Bates Cavitt, and...and...and...one more!

BIRTHDAY BASH! Someone once said that it is better to give than to receive, so for my birthday I've decided to have a book drawing. You can think of it as a "contest," but I would hate to be accused of "brain abuse" (to quote one of my former students), so we'll make it a simple drawing. Here are the details:

Enter your name and stats for a chance to win a signed copy of MERRY CHRISTMAS, OLD ARMADILLO (just in time for Christmas). Winners will be chosen at random from e-mailed entries, and each winner will receive a signed copy. Five (5) winners will be chosen at random, one a day, between November 16 and November 20, 2009. Enter only once, please, and the deadline for entries is midnight, November 13, 2009.

Send your entry to:
LDB@BRIMNER.COM

In the Subject Line, write the words: Birthday Bash Drawing

In the body of the e-mail, include:
1. Your name (for example: Jasperino Vicious)
2. Your school affiliation, if any (for example: Nottinghill Elementary)
3. School address, if affiliated with one
4. Your mailing address, if different from #3 above (City, ST ZIP)

Simple, yes? Note: You must be 18 years of age, or older, to e-mail an entry, but teachers/parents may enter on behalf of a child. If entering on behalf of a child, in step #1 include your name "on behalf of Child Name."

Keep checking this blog for future drawings.

Now that my computer is limping along instead of all-out crippled, I thought I'd try an update. Technology is great...when it works. Frankly, friends, I'd so much prefer writing on an IBM Selectric.

Writer's Tip: Angela asked about tense usage; i.e., present vs. past. Present tense: At this very moment, I am walking. Past tense: Yesterday, I walked. The vast majority of middle-grade and young adult fiction is told in the past tense. This is the traditional way to tell a tale, especially at the middle-grade level. For example, "There was another yell as Roger chucked milk all over his hair. Miss Adderstone snapped her false-teeth castanets and descended upon him like a bad-tempered lobster. 'That's it, Roger Fibbin. For that, you get a nip. And, click-clacking her way toward the quaking Roger, she gave him a nasty nip on the arm." (From Georgia Byng's Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism) I've bolded the past-tense words. (Okay, "bolded" isn't a word, but you get the drift.) You will also notice that there is some present-tense action going on in this passage as well, BUT the present-tense words are limited to the dialogue: 's (for is), get. And also to the dependent descriptive clause: click-clacking and quaking. This is a clue for you: The narrative is told in past tense, while dialogue is told in present tense. Descriptive dependent clauses that are not really necessary to the understanding of the sentence may also be told in the present (and these are almost always set off with commas). So: Larry, while updating his blog, heard his stomach rumble. This is present tense: while updating his blog. This is past tense and the main sentence: Larry heard his stomach rumble.

Over the past several years, a few authors have opted to tell their entire story in present tense. This brings immediacy to a story, a happening-right-this-very-second. Is one approach better than the other? Absolutely not. Listen to your characters. They will usually tell you the tense they prefer. Trust your gut. Just remember that if you begin your story in either past or present tense, don't pull a switcharoo: Miss Adderstone snapped her false-teeth castanets and descends upon him like a bad-tempered lobster. Such a sentence would likely cause an editor's eyes to cross permanently.

Here's a link to my interview with Michael Spradlin of Five on Friday:

http://michaelspradlin.com/blog/2009/09/five-on-friday-with-larry-brimner/

Enjoy!

In the Rockies, one must always be concerned with bears. MOST locals understand that. You don't feed the wildlife! You don't leave food in the car or a scavenging bear may rip it apart in search of a snack. You don't throw away kitchen waste outside your door or you'll have a late night visitor. So a woman in the neighboring burg of Ouray, Colorado, decides to feed the bears dog food. She builds a little cage that she can sit in to watch them eat, and the bears do--eat, that is. Over a few weeks, they get very used to this arrangement. But one day, the dog food runs out and there's that woman sitting in the cage. I guess she made a tasty little snack for a bear or two. Yes, she--what was left of her--was pronounced dead at the scene. Humans must rank as the most idiotic of animal species.

Locally, a bear attempted to break through a kitchen door of a neighboring house. The woman inside banged pots together and shouted, scaring the bear off. A few doors away, a bear broke into a car and stole a child's car seat; old-timers are convinced that the milk and other drool on the car seat is what attracted the bear. Of course, it may have been just the smell of child. And another man thought he'd sneak in a bag of potato chips on the way home from work. He destroyed the evidence before he got home . . . but potato chips have a lingering smell. A bear broke into his truck during the night and shredded his upholstery and dashboard. I think he'll be sticking to his diet in the future.

Unfortunately, bears are given only two strikes here. On the first strike, they're captured, tagged, and relocated 50 miles away. But bears roam great distances; they have been known to return to the scene of the crime. If they have a human encounter a second time, even if not at the scene of the original crime, they're put down. AGAIN, DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE!

Writer's Tip: When researching nonfiction, keep a log of interesting photographs you encounter, including where found, date of publication, address of publication, art director's name (if given), photographer's name (if given), and any other photo credit information. It may be useful to your own project in the month's ahead. I usually like to keep a photocopy of the photograph, also, as it may help identify it if you wish to request using it.

Happy Writing!

After taking the day off from writing yesterday to rip off part of the roof so construction can begin, I'm thinking it's time to get back to the WIP. Besides, I'm not so sure my muscles could withstand multiple days of actual physical labor. Physical labor is much more intense and a heck of a lot different than a gym workout!

Writer's Tip: Scenes are core to a story and each one should be an element of action that advances the story toward its ending. By action, I don't necessarily mean a chase scene. Action, in the sense I'm using, is anything that challenges your main character, that tests his resolve, that forces him/her to make a decision. It might be a chase scene, but it just as well might be a decision that he/she is somehow forced to make or a path that he/she is forced to take. Just as a story has a beginning, middle, and an ending, a scene also should have its own arc. It is these many mini-arcs which make up a story. As Martha Anderson writes in her must-have-in-your-collection book, Blockbuster Plots Pure & Simple, "A scene is written in moment by moment detail." She goes on to say, "A scene shows. Summary tells." One of the most important points Anderson makes is the following: "All conflict, confrontations, and turning points--all the high points of your story--must be played out in scene on the page, moment-by-moment in real time."

How many scenes should a story have? That depends on how many scenes it takes to tell your story, to bring your characters and their story to a satisfactory conclusion. It will vary. How many scenes should a chapter have? Some writers lump together several scenes per chapter and others allow only one scene per chapter. I've read that each chapter should have three scenes, but if you've done any reading lately--and of course you have--then you know that this simply isn't true. A chapter should have enough scenes--one or several--to bring your character to the next big turning point in your story; in other words, the next crisis in your character's life.

What other writing questions do YOU have? Comment below, and I'll see if I can scramble up some information for you.

Writer's Tip: Agents. One of the questions I'm most asked is "Do I need an agent?" A variation of this has been, "The reason my book hasn't sold is because I don't have an agent."

Many successful children's book authors have never had an agent. Others didn't get one until they'd sold several titles on their own. The question you need to ask yourself is: Why do I think I need an agent? If the answer to that is

1) because it would sound cool at a cocktail party to mention "My agent ..."
2) because everyone expects a writer to have an agent
3) because everybody else has one

YOU DO NOT NEED AN AGENT.

If the answer to that question is

1) because an agent can open doors at publishing houses closed to unsolicited submissions
2) because an agent can drive work my way
3) because an agent can negotiate and I'm a wus who hates talking about money
4) because I am overwhelmed with ideas/work and an agent is likely to have a better handle on where to submit my projects
5) because an agent will help keep me on task

THEN PERHAPS YOU DO WANT AN AGENT.

The two key words are are "need" and "want."

If you want an agent, finding a GOOD one often is more difficult than finding an editor. There are plenty of BAD agents out there, and even agents who are not really agents. Ideally, your relationship with an agent should be that of a team. If it is not, an agent can be a great stumbling block. Does the agent like what you write, your style? An ideal agent will be your cheer squad when they love your work--but will he/she also show enthusiasm when the work is experimental or out of your typical style and content area. How does the agent work? Does he/she edit your work and offer suggestions before submitting it to publishers? Some writers might find this to be an annoyance. Others might welcome another set of eyes. What if you decide to revise according to the agent's comments, assuming he/she comments? Will the work still ring true to your ears? What if you decide not to revise? Will the agent still submit your work to publishers?

Agents control the flow of money, and they control it for the life of the book--whether it be for 1 year or 75 years. Does your agent strike a check to you the minute he/she receives a check from the publisher? Do they hold the check for one month, two months, three months before striking a check to you? The writing life is a tenuous one and sometimes the timely receipt of a check due you can make the difference between being housed and being homeless. Remember, the agent should work for you, and not the other way around.

Other things to consider:
Do you want an agent to hold your hand? Do you want a friend or a business partner? Is the agent that you are considering someone you can have a long-term relationship with (sort of like a marriage) or not? Is the agent an independent operator or does he/she work for an agency? If he/she is an independent agent, what happens to your money if the agent quits the business or, worse, dies? Finally, do you trust the person you are considering to represent you in the marketplace?

The decision as to whether you want an agent or not is up to you, but I cannot state strongly enough that in the field of children's books you do not NEED an agent.