Boy In The Magical Forest.

The boy, Ethan, is a real, live, nine-year old boy, and the forest is a real magical forest. This is the story of how Ethan became my number one fan.

Ethan and his mother visited my acreage awhile back, and the first thing we did was go searching for gnomes.

We didn't find any gnomes, but we did notice gnome poop in the horse field. We did find some odd tracks, which could possibly belong to gnomes. And then, we found bones---most probably dragon bones. Ethan took several of these bones home.

I showed Ethan and his mother where Petra and Snarls, and                

all the characters in The Pen Pieyu Adventures (adventure kids books) live in my magical forest.

In the forest, we noticed several wavy, misty, glittering images that darted around---most likey fairies.

Suddenly,  a wild gust of wind that twirled leaves to capture us in its vortex. Then a mighty dragon's roar---or maybe a bellowing cow---that sent us charging, in the other direction.. Then, as if by magic, everything went deadly silent.

That's when we came upon something I'd never seen before . . .

This unique and awe-inspiring mud pie made with flowers and berries, and a horse ornament that has been missing from my house for months. Was the pie magic? Was it made for us? An offering from my story-book characters?

 We were still pondering where the mud pie could have come from when this giant, snarling, wolf-creature rounded the corner.

  Paralized with fear for only the briefest moment, our feet soon took flight. We headed for the safety of the castle gates and then into the castle.

 Once inside the safety of the castle, we made our way to the dinning room where we had lemonade and snacks, and chatted about our adventures of the day.

Since our day of adventure, Ethan has become my (or should I say, Petra's) number one fan. He writes to Petra regularly and Petra writes back. They often exchange gifts.

Ethan has his dragon bones mounted in a frame, although his mother wouldn't allow him to take home any gnome poop (this I don't understand since you don't come across gnome poop that often).

More on Ethan and Petra's blooming friendship in another blog.

Visit me and my fantasy kids books author's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com

Redundant Again.

Redundancy. Something that is said over and over and sometime over again, and for the most part is just plain annoying. There are so many phrases that we write and say which say the same thing. The phrases have become so overused that, somehow, they have become acceptable. Believe me, I have been guilty of the "redundant act" myself. Here are two over-exaggerated paragraphs, but the point is to realize some of the redundant phrases we use far to often. Can you spot how many redundant phrases are used below?  As an author, he had a major breakthrough of paramount importance with an altogether new book. The final outcome has kept him out of serious danger from total annihilation with the publisher. The writer and the publisher worked in a joint cooperation to create a successful project that ended up being more than adequate enough.  This author is considered a trained professional, and his past history as a writer helped him plan in advance to eliminate altogether any misconceptions about the project. The final project should create successful prosperity for the author. Answer. There are 13 redundant phrases in the paragraphs: - major breakthrough - paramount importance - altogether new - final outcome - serious danger - total annihilation - joint cooperation - adequate enough - trained professional - plan in advance - past history - eliminate altogether - successful prosperity So, the lesson here is to become aware of these redundant phrases and to eliminate them. Doing so will make us better writers. Illustrations by Samantha Kickingbird Visit my author's website: http://www.dragonsbook.com copyright, Diane Mae Robinson, 2013

Creativity In The Forest.

Creating, imagining, daydreaming, and writing in the forest is one of my favorite summer

pastimes. I imagine all sorts of

Illustration by Samantha Kickingbird

fantasy creatures and then, just as I nearly catch a glimpse of them, they run and hide behind the trees, giggling at me and my human eyes that can't quite focus on them.

The forest is my inspiration for my writing about the fantasy characters that are featured in my fantasy/adventure children's books series (book two coming soon).

As I imagine and daydream, the trees turn into faces and then materialize as full bodies. They start to laugh and dance and turn into  fantasy characters doing all sorts of things (of course this is just the wind shape-shifting my perception, but we're in creative mode, right?)

This creative process was how Snarls, the dragon, and Petra, the princess knight, were created several years ago--they are the characters in The Pen Peiyu Adventures. And still, years later when I  look at the same tree formations I first saw them in, they are still etched into the bark of their tree homes.

Through the years, and with lots of practice at creative imagining,
I've trained my human eyes to be more preceptive to the

forest and the fantasy characters that live within it. I see gnomes,
fairies, witches, princesses, giants, and of course, a dragon.

Can you spot the dragon guarding my horses?

Creativity is a training process. The same process occurs when we stare into the clouds and make pictures.

I'm often asked at author visits how I get into creative mode. Well, creating characters within the barks and leaves of the trees is definitely a creative process for me. But what of those who don't have a forest?

I have suggestions.

-  Listen to music, especially classical music, to get your right brain stimulated--scientists have proven this.

-  Write and doodles with the opposite hand you usually write or doodle with.

-  Do an art project. I am an artist, so I paint while listening to music. This really stirs up my creative juices    and I can write wonderful things after a session of art.

- Meditate or deep breathing with your eyes closed for at least 20 minutes.

- Dress in a costume relevant to what you are writing about.

- Dance nude under the moonlight. Okay, this one I don't suggest if you live in a town or city. (Okay, I've never done this, but my writer friend swears by it).

This is me in my creative forest.


Creativity is a learning process, and for some of these processes it may be best to practice when you are alone so as not to be judged too harshly by those who do not know how creativity works. Find your creative muse by tying different things--creativity will come to you.

Visit my author's website: http://www.dragonsbook.com

Which Vs. That.

     That sentence, which has 'that' in it, is confusing me. So should we use that or which in a sentence?  

Illustration by Samantha Kickingbird

In British English, sometimes both are correct. 

Correct:   The dragon held out the paw which was hurt.

Correct:   The dragon held out the paw that was hurt.

     In the above sentences,  that and which are introducing what’s known as a restrictive relative clause.  This kind of clause contains essential information about the noun that comes before it. If you leave out this type of clause, the meaning of the sentence is affected, and it will probably not make much sense. Restrictive relative clauses can be introduced by that, which, whose, who, or whom.

     The other type of relative clause is known as a non-restrictive relative clause.  This kind of clause contains extra information that could be left out of the sentence without affecting the meaning of the sentence.  Non-restrictive clauses can be introduced by which, whose, who, or whom, but you should never use that to introduce them. Examples:

                 A scroll  listing all of the dragons, which live in the forest, is in the royal  library.

                 The librarian handed her the scroll, which she took.

     A non-restrictive clause is preceded by a comma to set off the extra information. A  restrictive clause  in not preceded by comma because the information is essential  to the meaning of the sentence.

Non-restrictive clause:      The dragon brought his new sword, which was  still shiny.

Restrictive clause:                 The dragon brought the sword that was new and still shiny.

     In the next two sentences, we look at the difference in the meaning of the sentences.

Non-restrictive clause:       All the scrolls, which are about dragons, are in the library.       

Restrictive clause:                All the scrolls that are about dragons are in the library.

     In the first sentence, we are saying all the scrolls are in the library. That they happen to be about dragons is extra information.

     In the second sentence, we are saying that all the scrolls about dragons are in the library.

So think about what you need to say and portray in the sentences you write. Write the sentences well and everything will become much clearer for the reader.

copyright, Diane Mae Robinson, 2013

Visit my author's website here.

Fan Mail: Um, About Your Dragon.

As a writer of dragon books for children, I understand that a dragon character can become as real to the reader as he is to me.  When this happen, the dragon character seems to get a life of his own, and strange things can happen.

Snarl is a dragon. He is a secondary character in my children book series, The Pen Pieyu Adventures. I quite love Snarls and he is usually a well behaved and lovable dragon.

Apparently, Snarls gets into his own mischief outside of the books he is in.

The readers of this blog will already be familiar with Snarls and some of the antics he has been up to. The only way I know of these instances is by the fan mail (or maybe in this case it's called non-fan mail) I receives from someone called "Anonymous".

Snarls visits "Anonymous" on occasion, and "Anonymous" writes me to tell me about the newest, um . . . adventure.

Snarls on his way to visit Anonymous? Not sure.
Illustration by Samantha Kickingbird

Here is the latest letter from Anonymous:

Dear author person,

I do not remember much, but the smoke is finally beginning to clear out of the building and hopefully soon out of my apartment. No one in my building has been talking to me. 

Snarls bragged about his fire-making capabilities and that he was a friend of mine. Now they blame me for the smoke-filled apartments they currently reside in. Management is looking the other way. They do not want to explain on television, or even in the local paper no one reads, how a dragon got into one of their apartments or that dragons still exist.

Tell Snarls to stop picking his nose. It is quite disturbing when fires shoot out. He's trying to gross me out while burning me down.

Sending your dragon back home. He is too much trouble!

Signed,
Anonymous
********************

Well gosh, Anonymous, I am truly sorry for the troubles my dragon causes you. He does not do these kinds of nasty things at home. I think this may just be the rebellion of his youth--he is only three, you know.

I hope you will not want monetary compensation for the damages he has done. You see, I am a struggling writer and cannot pay you with money.

I can, although, order him to go back and clean up the mess. Should he bring his pajamas? Will it take more than a day? Can he stay at your place while he cleans up the mess? Do you have kitties? He likes to lick kitties!

As soon as he arrives home, I will send my dragon back over there A.S.A.P.

Signed,
The Author

This is Snarls when he is at home. Seems innocent enough, right?
Illustration by Samantha Kickingbird

For more information about Snarls and the other characters of book one, Sir Princess Petra - The Pen Pieyu Adventures, visit:  http://www.dragonsbook.com/for-kids.html

Book two, Sir Princess Petra's Talent - The Pen Pieyu Adventures, forthcoming soon.

Yes, You Can Create That!

Too often the voice within us says, "No, I couldn't possibly do that."

 All of us are capable of creating wonderful magic in the arts, whether it be in painting, literature, music or dance.

And to prove the point.

I was asked to give a watercolor art lesson to twenty, eight-year-old children in one of our local schools. When I showed the students what our project would be about, creating Yupo art and then making a giant bouquet of flowers for a display, most of the children replied; "We can't do that."

Yupo art demo by Diane M. Robinson

I assured them they can do it, and with some                    practice and learning the techniques, we will achieve
this goal today. The first part of the project was to learn about mixing colors to make new colors, then to make twenty 8 x 10 Yupo pictures in bright colors like this. These will be cut out to resemble flowers.

Yupo art demo by Diane M. Robinson

The second part of the project was to create twenty Yupo picutres (8 x 10) in browns and greens like this. These will be cut out to resemble stems and leaves.

Art project with artist, Diane M. Robinson,
with lots of help from grade 2 teacher, Mrs Larochelle,
and student teacher, Dezi Warholik.
St. Paul Elementary School
April 19, 2013


I think the project turned out fantastic. I am so proud of these kids for their willingness to learn, following directions, and realizing that, "Yes, we can do that!"
I'm proud of you, children!

My mission in life, with teaching art and with my writing, is to inspire children so that they see their potential to create and do wonderful things. I hope I've convinced them with this project.


Visit my author's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com

As we worked on the project, the children realized they could create this wonderful art. This is their final project for the Earth Day display.

The Woes Of Being An Author.

Writing children's books can be a frustrating business. Not only because of all the competition in getting a contract in the first place, and the intense marketing efforts the author must be willing to work on with a new book, but also because of the delays that can come with publishing the book. Don't get me wrong, I love being an author, it's just all the frustrating stuff I don't care for.

Book two, Sir Princess Petra's Talent - The Pen Pieyu Adventures, coming soon and three months behind schedule, and here's why.

Sir Princess Petra's Talent by Diane Mae Robinson.
Illustrations and cover art by Samantha Kickingbird.

The production of a children's chapter book takes many months, even up to a year or more. Signing the contract is by far the easiest part.

Once the book get to the editing phase (two to three months after signing the contract), the editor and writer work at fine tuning the text.  The editor cannot tell the writer what to write, only suggest what has to be clarified or re-vamped. With both of my books, this phase took over two months; a lot of re-writing, much more conversing with the editor, and more re-writing. I am a big fan of editing as it does make the final story so much better. But really, it is a hair-pulling-out event on the writer's part.

The next step is the illustration phase. This stage may take the illustrator a month or more to create the illustrations.The writer doesn't have much of an idea what the illustrations will be as the illustrator is the professional that works for the publishing company and knows what scenes to illustrate and where the art will  be placed in the book so that each illustration enhances the text.  So when the author finally gets the illustrations, it is an amazing moment.

Next is the layout stage. The book is made into a "book dummy" in the form of a pdf. The author's job is to go over everything in the pdf with a fine-tuned comb: illustration placement, page breaks, front and back matter, and one final chance to check for grammar or punctuation mistakes. This phase should take a month or so.

So, at the pdf layout stage is where all the snags of book two production get chaotic. First of all, there was a new layout guy working for the publisher. For some reason, he didn't get the notice that this was a series and the book size and font should be the same as book one. Back to a new layout.

One month later, at the second layout, the fonts and size of the book are corrected, but because of the font size change, some of the illustrations and text don't match, and a couple other small corrections with the text need correction. Back to a new layout.

One month later, at the third layout and proof, (when the book actual gets printed for the author's approval only) the text is corrected, but not the illustration placement. Back to new layout.

This last stage has been troublesome, and it will have put the book behind schedule by at least three months. 

I have talked with other authors who have suffered the woes of publishing mishaps. It doesn't happen often but it does happen, and there's not much the writer can do about it. I understand that publishers are busy people with hundreds if not thousands of books to deal with, but, like I said, it can be a frustrating business.

Visit my author's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com

The Ridiculous World of 'Whom'?

Personally, I think the word whom should be demoted just like the planet Pluto. But since whom is a word we have to deal with, I will try to simply explain its correct use.

                                                      

The difference between whom and who:  Both whom and who are pronouns. 'Who is used as the subject of a sentence or phrase to indicate who is doing something. 'Whom' is used as the object of a verb to indicate who has something done to it.

                 Who = Subject = He/She

                 Whom = Object = Him/Her

Often a preposition (by, for, in, with, at, etc.) comes before 'whom', but not always. So in deciding which, 'who' or 'whom, is correct, ask the question: 

Who is doing what to whom?

The following examples should make this easier to follow.

1.  Who do you consider the best dragon-book character?

                     Should it be who or whom?

Figure it out by turning the sentence around and replacing the who or whom with he or him. If he is wrong, so is who. If him is wrong, so is whom.

      Do you consider him the best dragon-book character?

      Do you consider he the best dragon-book character? 

Since him is correct, whom is also correct.

      Whom do you consider the best dragon-book character? 

2.  It was Snarls, the dragon, who starred in that book.

                     Should it be who or whom?

Figure it out by turning the sentence around and replacing the who or whom with he or him. If he is wrong, so is who. If him is wrong, so is whom.

                          He starred in that book.

                          Him starred in that book.

Since he is correct, who is also correct.

        It was Snarls, the dragon, who starred in that book. 

Here are some sentences for you to test your new who/who knowledge. Answers at the bottom of the post.

1.   Nobody knows who/whom will get the staring role.

2.   Nobody knows who/whom we will choose for the staring role.

3.   Please point out the actor who/whom you met today.

4.   Snarls, who/whom, was the original dragon character in that  series, now lives at Longstride Castle.

5.  Send the invitational scrolls to whoever/whomever know Snarls.

ANSWERS:
1. who
2. whom
3. whom
4. who
5. whoever

Just remember the simple little rule of he/she vs. him/her, and the problematic who/whom should become easier to solve.

Visit my author website:  http://www.dragonsbook.com

copyright, Diane Mae Robinson, 2013

So, You Wrote A Story, Now What?

What does a writer have to do to become a published author with a traditional publisher?

Illustration by Samantha Kickingbird

This advice comes from my experiences of learning to write well first and then, becoming a published children's book author.

When I first started writing seriously, some twenty years ago, I thought every story I wrote was worthy of being considered for publication. That was so not the case.

I think a lot of writers have that same syndrome when they are beginners. It's called the Ego Syndrome.

So my first rule of advice is to get over yourself, burst your ego bubble, and get to work. I know that sounds cruel, but it is the absolute first rule of becoming a published writer.

So once you have a story completed, then what?

Edit, edit, edit, and then edit.

A good piece of advice here is to leave that story alone for a few weeks, then go back and edit it for possible better words to use, ditching more adverbs than keeping, and  most important, the killing of useless words and sentences (useless words and sentences are those that do nothing to move the plot, character, or scene forward).

I know, the killing of our own words is the hardest killing of all. This is also the process of killing your ego, which for a writer is a very important lesson.

 So you're ready to start submitting your story? Not yet. More work.

 Leave that story alone again for a few weeks. The next time you edit, go over every sentence individually, looking for ways to enhance that sentence by re-writing or re-wording so that the writing flows. Re-write the sentence a dozen ways if you have to. You will know when that sentence is the best it can possibly be, when the words flow off the tongue like something similar to music.

Submit now?  No.

Another edit for punctuation and grammar. You will not believe how many times the Spell Check on your writing program has the wrong word usage, or how many times your punctuation can be simplified.

Okay, three major edits and you might be ready to start the submitting process.

The submitting process is loads of work. One of the best things you can do before you start submitting is to research the publishers; find out what they are accepting, follow the guidelines listed by each publisher, learn how to write a great cover letter and/or query letter.

The book, Book Market for Children's Writers, will become invaluable to writer who can follow the rules in the submitting process.

And now that your ego bubble is burst, you've done your best work, the rejections that follow should not deter you from getting your book published.  And quite possibly, many rejection letters will follow.

My first book, Sir Princess Petra - The Pen Pieyu Adventures, had 27 rejections before finding a home with a traditional publisher.

Chin up. Persistence will get you published if your story is well edited and written well, and you follow the guidelines set out by publishers before submitting your manuscript to them.

Illustration by Samantha Kickingbird

Visit my author's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com   

The author has a journalism diploma from the Schools of Montreal and an advanced diploma from the Institute of Children's Literature.

 Visit my author's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com              

Writers On Writing.

Writer's quotes are like mini writing lessons--they make you think deeply about the writing process. 

   My favorite quote from the list below is #6, James Michener, because I believe the art of writing well is all in the editing. In the editing, that is where the best of the story comes out and the writing  can soar.

1.  "I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." - Jorge Luis Borges

2.  “The idea is to write so that people hear it, and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.” —Maya Angelou

3.  Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow

4.  And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath

5.  If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~Toni Morrison

6.  I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter. ~James Michener

  

7.  Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth

8.  Easy reading is damn hard writing. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

9.  To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music the   words make. ~Truman Capote, McCall's, November 1967

10. Be obscure clearly. ~E.B. White 

11. A good style should show no signs of effort. What is written should seem a happy accident. ~W. Somerset Maugham, Summing Up, 1938

12. The road to hell is paved with adverbs. ~Stephen King

13. Caress your phrase tenderly: it will end by smiling at you. ~Anatole France

14. Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself. ~Franz Kafka

15. The best style is the style you don't notice. ~Somerset Maugham

16. Kids: Fiction is the truth inside the lie, and the truth of this fiction is simple enough: the magic exists. Stephen King

17. When you are describing something:
      A shape, or sound, or tint;
      Don't state the matter plainly,
      But put it in a hint;
      And learn to look at all things,
      With a sort of mental squint.
~Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)

These writers have important truths in their quotes. Take their advice, then re-write until your words sing.

When  dragons and faeries are real to me, the writer, they will be real to my readers.
 Diane Mae Robinson

Visit my author's website: http://www.dragonsbook.com

Those Darn Dangling Participles.

Dangling Participles. Sounds scary but they really aren't. It's more a matter of common sense and a couple of rules that will correct this pesky problem.

The definition of a dangling participle:  Adjectives ending in -ing and sometimes -ed are called participles. When a participle modifies the wrong thing, then it is said to be a dangling participle or a hanging participle.

In the sentence below, the modifying clause (Rushing to catch the dragon) contains a participle (rushing). The participle is said to be dangling because the subject of the main clause (Sue's sword) is not the thing modified by the initial modifying clause. It was not Sue's sword that was rushing.

[wrong] Rushing to catch the dragon, Sue's sword fell out of its sheath.

[right] Rushing to catch the dragon, Sue realized her sword fell out of its sheath.


And in this example, the modifying clause (Running after the dragon) is dangling because it is modifying the arrows. The arrows are not running, Sue is:

[wrong] Running after the dragon, the arrows fell and broke.

 [right] Running after the dragon, Sue felt the arrows fall and watched as they broke.

Each sentence in the examples above beginning with an "ing" word is called the participle. A participle is created when we turn a verb like rush or run into a word phrase that acts like an adjective. The
participle is created by adding "ing".

          Rush becomes rushing

          Run becomes running.

An adjective must modify some noun.

The modifying clause doesn't always 


Another example:

[wrong]  Sue ran from the dragon, still holding the dragon food.

So who exactly is holding the dragon food, Sue or the dragon? As the sentence reads, the modifier clause (still holding the dragon food) modifies the dragon. If you meant to say Sue was holding the dragon food, the sentence would read like this:

[right] While still holding the dragon food, Sue ran from the dragon.

Now the sentences sound like Sue is the culprit, running away with all the dragon food. Why? We don't know. I think, sometimes, Sue just likes to tease the dragons.

visit my author's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com
copyright, Diane Mae Robinson, 2013

Integrity of Book Reviews.

Children's book reviewer, Sue Morris, at Kid Lit Reviews responsed to my previous post, The Problem with Amazon Reviews, where writer, Michael Drakrich, talks about the importance of getting and giving honest book reviews.

             Integrity + Honesty = Pride

             

By Sue Morris.
I find myself agreeing with everything Michael Drakich wrote. The reviews part is most distressing, considering I am a children's book reviewer. Just recently, I was asked to review a book and at the bottom of the email were links to three reviews. The author invited me to read the reviews to help me decide to accept the book. It was good advice but caused me to reject the review request.

Two of the reviews were written by the same person who was paid to write a positive, 5 star, review. The third was, according to the website, written by the author. The author denied, but the terms of service clearly stated that each book must be reviewed by the author to get on the top page. Needless to say I refused the request. I have plenty of books from legitimate authors that I have no desire to waste time on those that cut corners to cut out competition.

I have known for a long time that authors are writing their own reviews, or simply 5 star rating their books after uploading them to places like Library Thing, Goodreads, Jacketflap and the like. Doing so is not against any official policy on any of those sites. Still, what about ethically? Is it fair to give yourself a false leg up by giving yourself a 5?

Sure the author believes this is true, or they should if they believe in their writing. But to take 5 stars from systems that are relying on reviews from outside sources is, to me, unconscionable.

Honesty is important, especially in children's books. Kids view some authors like movie stars or super heroes. They need those authors to be good people, honest people, people the kid can look up to and emulate.

Cheating is wrong. "Only trying to make a living," is no excuse. 

I agree totally, Sue Morris and Michael Drakich!

Visit my author's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com