A few items of note in the kidlitosphere today. Five to be exact.
#1
If you are one of those writers, like me, who is often wandering lost in the desert of missing plots, hop on over to
![[info]](http://www.backup.susantaylorbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/userinfo2.gif){kind=small}
where she has an interview with the wonderful Plot Whisperer, Martha Alderson. Martha is the author of Blockbuster Plots: Pure and Simple. Becky is running a contest and you can win a copy of one of Martha’s DVDs to help you find your own missing plot.
#2
If the idea of working on your plot makes you want to run away and hide for an hour or two or three, curled up with a good book. Well it’s not too late to participate in Mother Reader’s annual 48 hour book challenge.
#3
So You Think You Can Write? is the brainstorm of
who is looking for a few friends to share the experience of writing in different genres. She asks the question, “If there were such a thing as “So You Think You Can Write”, what genres should be included, and how do you characterize that genre?” When I first started writing I admit to having a lot of tunnel vision and not being very willing to write outside what I THOUGHT was my genre (sweet romances for teens and historical, ahem, bodice rippers for adults.)I could have used something likeSo You Think You Can Write?to help me stretch my writing muscles. Hula Bunny also posted another Oulipo exercise that is a lot of fun.
#4
Just in time for Father’s Day,Mitali Perkins, author of the First Daughter books, posts a baker’s dozen of books about the relationship of fathers and daughter. Thank you to Mitali for including my novel, Hugging the Rock, on the list.
#5
Which leads me to announce that I will be hosting this month’s Carnival of Children’s Literature. The theme for this month’s carnival is fathers in children’s literature. Think about a father in a children’s book that made an impression on you in one way or another. Good or bad, it doesn’t matter. Write a blog post about it and send the link into the carnival. You can also send the link directly to me. Links for the Carnival are due Saturday, June 21st. I’ll post the round-up of all the links on Monday, June 23rd. It should be some interesting reading. Thanks to Jen Robinson for mentioning both the Carnival and Hugging the Rock in her Thursday visit round-up.
Ahhh, thanks for #1. Just what I need right now.
C and I did the 48 hour book challenge last year (but later than everyone else) and we’ll be doing it again this summer! (Again, later…when it fits our schedule). š WOOHOO!
Susan, thanks for the link. I’ll have the contest up soon (you early bird!).
Oh, I’m going to try really hard to do something for the Carnival. It’s interesting, though–I just ran through my shelves, and my Father book selection is pretty low. (Well, there’s this incredible one called Hugging the Rock…) I think its because so many of my kids’ books are those light either fantasy or adventure ones, where the whole reason the kids get to do what they do is because the father (and often the mother) is relatively absent in the story–but for those books, that’s, you know, a GOOD thing.
You’ve set me a fun challenge.
You are very welcome, Susan. I’m thinking about what to do for a fathers in children’s literature post, too.