At It Again

“Oh, Janet, you have SUCH an imagination!” my mother used to say.

Well, my imagination is at it again.

I recently learned that a family from India has bought several service stations in my community, and that gave me an idea.

What if our enemies in the Taliban were to arrange for hundreds of their members and friends to buy every service station in the USA? Then they could cause major problems for us by refusing to sell gas so we’d have no transportation. And maybe they’d even blow up all the stations and start huge fires all over the country. 

Of course that couldn’t really happen because not all service station owners would be willing to sell. And many people could use electric cars, bikes, or other forms of transportation. (And I’m sure the local family from India are not members of the Taliban.)

But it might be an idea for a sci-fi book. (Writers, feel free to use the idea since I don’t write things like that.)

Metaphors and Similes

I majored in English in college and took electives in Linguistics because I've always been fascinated by language. I also studied Latin, German and French in school and later became fluent in American Sign Language. I'm the author of five books and my work has been published in lots of anthologies and periodicals so the information I learned about our language has been useful to me for the most part.

But here's one thing I don't understand: why does anyone care about the difference between a metaphor and a simile?

Yes, I had to learn the definitions in school to pass tests, but in all my years as a writer and reader I've never needed to know that information.

Sometimes I use and read comparisons using the words, like, or as, and sometimes I use and read comparisons that don't use those words.

So what?

The meaning is clear either way.

Lots of things - maybe even most things - I learned about grammar in school are useful to know,  but the difference between a metaphor and a simile is one thing I consider a waste of time to teach.

Who cares?

Imagination

"Oh, Janet, you have SUCH an imagination!" my mother used to say.

She didn't mean it as a compliment, but I'm happy to have an active imagination.

My neighborhood friends and I used to pretend to be all sorts of things while we played outside. At times I was a princess, a horse, a space alien, etc., etc., etc.

Unfortunately, today lots of kids stop pretending when they're young because they always have adults supervising them. Sometimes the only way they use their imaginations is with video games.

But I still have an active imagination, which is one reason why I write books for kids. And when children - or grown-ups - get involved in good books they're carried away to adventures and different worlds and experiences.

Some of my books include ordinary kids taking risks to reach important goals. One is about an imaginary creature - a giant talking worm. Another book takes readers to the past, and one helps them understand people who are different from themselves.

I believe providing fiction for kids to read is an important task.

What else can we do to help kids use and develop their imaginations?

(P.S if you want to know more about my books go to my website, www.janetanncollins.com)

My First Book

Do you remember seeing signs, T Shirts and jewelry with the letters, WWJD a few decades ago?
Those letters stood for the phrase, What Would Jesus Do?

At the time I was a substitute teacher and sometimes worked with kids in Middle School. I wondered how Jesus might have acted if he'd been a kid in an environment like that.

Later that question inspired me to write my first published book, The Peril of the Sinister Scientist.
It's about a boy in Middle School who wants to act like Jesus.

I needed a strong motivation for him, and thought of one: the boy thinks he might be a clone of Jesus Christ because a scientist who worked on an experiment to clone Jesus is stalking him.

The book is with a small publishing house, and the publisher hurried it into publication ahead of schedule so I would be able to participate in a group book signing. Unfortunately, because of the rush, the kid on the cover doesn't look like the main character in the book.

The book was published in 2009 but it's still available on Amazon
(Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/hbdhtuu ) and bookstores can order it through their distributors.

Here's what the cover looks like:

Why I Read Them

Sometimes people ask, or wonder but are too polite to ask, why I read books for kids. In our local library I'm probably the only adult who checks some of those out every week without intending them to be read by children.

Okay, here are the reasons:

1. I write books for kids.

2. I can usually finish a middle grade and sometimes a YA novel in an hour or two and don't have to put it down in the middle of a story.

3. YA books are usually not offensive or depressing.

4. Okay, here's the real reason: I'm still really a kid on the inside and hope I never grow up.

Of course I sometimes read books for grown-ups, too, but those are mostly non-fiction and I read them for practical reasons.

What If....?

Okay, here goes my writerly imagination again.

Today plastic and synthetics are everywhere.  What would happen if they were all to suddenly disappear? Insulation on wires would be gone so fires would start, cars would fall apart on the roads, and many people would find themselves naked as their clothing evaporated.

If you're a writer, or would like to be one, think of a story involving that horrific event. What could have caused it? How would people react? And what could be done about the resulting problems?

I'd love to hear your ideas.

Becoming a Writer

Recently someone asked me to explain how I became a writer, so here’s the story.

From early childhood I wanted to be an author and majored in English in college. I carefully wrote every assignment in my first English class according to the Thesis Sentence Outline that had been drilled into us in high school.

One day the professor asked what I wanted to do after graduation. When I told him my goal to be a writer he replied, “You’ll never make it. You have no creativity.”

Foolishly I believed him and gave up the dream of getting published, although I never stopped writing. But no other career seemed right so I still told people I wanted to be a writer.

My roommate said, “Show me your rejection slips. You’re not a writer unless you have rejection slips.” To stop her nagging, I sent something to a publication where I knew it couldn’t possibly be accepted, showed her the rejection slip, and she left me alone.

One day about 25 years later I remembered the professor’s words and realized following that outline had made my writing uncreative. I wrote a children’s story I had often told my kids, submitted it to two possible publishers, and it was accepted by one of them.

“That was easy,” I thought.

I typed out something else, sent it off, and got the first of many rejections. That showed I was really a writer!

Realizing I needed to learn the craft, I read books, subscribed to magazines, attended conferences and joined a critique group. As with any other profession, there was a lot to learn.

Since then I’ve lost count of how many things I’ve had published in periodicals, and I’m now the author of three books for kids. A fourth one, Slime and All, will be published this month.

Oxygen

Years ago when I first joined a writers' critique group I'd had a few things published in periodicals but was bringing book manuscripts for critique. Some of the other members were sharing excellent work and I was afraid if they got books published before I did I'd be jealous.

But when John Olson and Randy Ingermanson (Randy lived far away but had visited our group) got their book, Oxygen, published and it went on to win a Christy award I wasn't jealous at all. Instead I felt like a proud grandmother because our group had become almost like a family and we'd all helped John and Randy nurture that wonderful book.

The plot was exciting, the characters believable, etc. and even those of us who knew both the authors couldn't tell which parts had been written by either of them because the teamwork was flawless. No wonder it won that award!

John and Randy have just re-published Oxygen as an e-book, and have added a lot of information helpful to writers at the end. That material will also be of interest to anyone who wants to know how a book gets published.

Although the book is for adults, there's nothing in it that would be inappropriate for kids and I think lots of teens would love it. It's on sale on Amazon for only 99 cents for a few days and I hope it sells well. After all, it's sort of like my great grandbaby. ;-)

11 Secrets of Getting Published

I've met Mary DeMuth at writers conferences and was pleased to get a free copy of her e-book, 11 Secrets of Getting Published. I've always admired Mary for her courageous vulnerability and willingness to help others and those qualities show as she reveals her own mistakes along the way.

The book is great, but I think the title is inaccurate. It should be called All the Secrets to Getting Published because just about everything important I've learned from books, magazines, websites, and writers conferences is summarized in it.

While the book will be immensely helpful to new writers, any of us will benefit from being reminded of what we've heard and seen and may learn a few new things along the way.

Mary DeMuth has offered to send a free copy to the winner of a drawing. and anyone who makes a comment on my blog (not on Facebook) answering the question below will be entered in the contest.

What's the most important thing you think a writer should know?

If you tweet about this post and let me know you can have another chance to win the e-book. You can also enter the drawing by liking her Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/authormarydemuth

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing

Because I often review books for or about kids on this blog I was happy to have Mayra Calvani give me a copy of her book, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing to review.

But, wait! Do I really dare write a review of that book? What if I don't do it right?

Okay, I'll be brave and tell you about the book anyway, because it might be helpful to a lot of people.

The book, co-written by Calvani and Anne K Edwards, begins with basic information that would be familiar to most writers, but soon moves on to explain less obvious things. Some of the topics covered are various types of reviews, legal and moral aspects of publishing them, and the influence of reviews on book purchases. There are also lists of places to get reviews published and information about using them on the internet.

Anyone interested in becoming a professional reviewer would find the sections dealing with that especially helpful, but the book is also a good resource for amateurs. (I wish some of the people who reviewed my book, The Peril of the Sinister Scientist, had read the part about not giving away endings.)

I'll keep The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing near my desk and refer to it often in the future. Anyone who writes, or would like to write book reviews will probably find this book helpful.

Folk Song for Writers

Would you like to be a professional writer? If so, you might be interested in something I wrote many years ago. It's a little bit silly, but true.

Advice

by

Janet Ann Collins

( To the tune of Get Along Home, Cindy)

“I’d like to write some novels

And stories, books, and rhymes.

I want to write some articles

And sell them every time.”

“Sit down and write,

Then you mend ‘em.

Sit down and write,” I say.

“Sit down and write,

Mend ‘em, send ’em.

That’s how you’ll sell someday.”

Author Questions

Cheryl Malandrinos tagged me! That means that I have to play tag by answering a few little interview questions! Then I have to blog tag someone else! So, here are my answers and here are the bloggers I am tagging! I guess I’m it!

1. Which words do you use too much in your writing?

Suddenly, just and the verb to be. I was just amazed when my editor suddenly asked me to remove most of them from my manuscript.

2. Which words do you consider overused in stuff you read?

To tell the truth, I seldom notice the words when I’m reading. They’re like a transparent window that lets me view the fictional universe of the story.

3. What are your other favorite blogs?

http://relevantblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.janetperezeckles.com/blog.html

and http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/

http://www.soccermombook.com/blog/

to name just a few.

4. Name a favorite word:

Acceptance. I love getting those from publishers.

5. And a word you’re not so keen on:

Rejection. Getting those proves I’m a writer, but it doesn’t make me like them.

6. What would you like to improve about your writing and/or blog?

I’d like my words to be so fascinating people would be flocking to read them.

7. What’s your writing ambition?

Seriously, I would like at least a few people to have their lives changed for the better because of reading things I write.

I now blog tag the following blogs / bloggers:

http://billkirkwrites.blogspot.com/

http://jessicakennedy71.blogspot.com

Why and How of Critique Groups

     Why bother to join a critique group? If someone just wants to diddle around and fellowship with people who like to write they would be better off to join a book club. Accomplished professional writers may join groups to help beginners and intermediates. For the rest of us, the input from critique groups does a lot to help us improve our skills and get published. That is, if the group is run well. 

     Whether on-line or in person, it's imperative that the group has and follows rules that make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to have their work critiqued and that everyone helps critique the work of others. I was once in an internet group where the moderator sent lots of things for others to critique, but never critiqued other people's work. For obvious reasons, I didn't stay in that group for long.  It also helps to have clear limits about how much each person can ask the others to read and discuss. In some groups people argue about suggestions, which wastes everyone's time. Nobody is required to follow advice, but common courtesy requires that they accept it politely. A poorly run group can be worse than none at all, but a good critique group is something every serious writer should experience.  

New and Different

First I must apologize for not posting much recently. I've been overwhelmed with other things, but promise to do better from now on. One of those things is signing a contract for a picture book. My work has been published in periodicals for years, but this is my first book, and in today's world authors are responsible to do a lot of the marketing and publicity. The amount of information about how to do that is amazing. It's about what you'd expect from a whole semester class in college. 

Although blogging is one marketing tool mentioned in the material, I won't turn this blog into just a way to advertise my book. There will still be posts about compassionate communication and I'll probably review other people's books from time to time, but I'll also share information about how I became a writer and the steps it takes to get a book published and made available to people who would want to buy it. I hope you'll come back and join me on the journey.