KidLitNation

Introduction by Judith Ashley

SUPPORT AUTHORS OF COLOR

Romancing the Genre is celebrating Children’s Books authors the entire month of June. This weekend we are featuring our own B.A. Binns. Blog Queen, Sarah Raplee, interviewed B.A. when she was a finalist for Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award for yet-to-be published authors in June 2010. When we had an opening in 2011, we invited her to join us.

This is B.A. Binn’s monthly post introduction.

Hi everyone!

I am Young Adult and Middle Grade author Barbara Binns, writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. As my tagline says, I write Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  My debut MG novel, Courage, was recently published by Harper Collins. It's a great read for this, or any season.

Check my books out at http://babinns.com

Last month Barbara posted about a mentoring program sponsored by KidLitNation, a non-profit organization working to assist authors and illustrators of color break into publishing. She has given us permission to use that material this month while as an International Group Blog we celebrate children’s book authors and the Genre-istas share their favorite books growing up.

 Last year, KidLit Nation announced a mentorship program and selected three aspiring children's book writers to work with published authors.

The individuals chosen to be mentored in the KidLitNation 2019-2020 program agreed to share their experiences during the six month mentorship. You’ll see the questions and each of their answers as you read on.

To me, the most important question Barbara asked is why they wanted to write children’s books. As you read on you’ll see that these three women are serious about telling the story of their heart in the best way they can. To do that, they took a chance and signed up with KidLitNation’s mentoring program. 

Good writers are always learning how best to tell their stories. I’m looking forward to the day when Gabriella, Suzannah and Catherine are published authors.

Gabriele Davis comes from a racially and culturally mixed family: African American, Native American, and Swiss/Caucasian. She grew up loving to read, and realizing as she grew older that something was missing in books. There were no families like hers. She applied for the mentorship to write books with humor and heart that allow all children to feel embraced. She picked Russ Busse as her picture book mentor to work with her on her Picture Book, Mary Had a Little Slam.

Suzannah Sebayan is a Filipina-American mother and writer. Since the birth of her daughter, the lack of Filipina voices in children's literature made her determined to write children's stories featuring Filipino characters. She wants to give her daughter the kind of stories she wished she had while growing up. She selected Barbara Binns as her mentor for her Middle Grade story, Mari and Her Amazing Super Cape.

Catherine Velasco is a Latinx who grew up in a multicultural family. She hoped to craft a story that would help children feel less lonely and make them laugh a little too. Her Middle Grade novel is Hammerin' Hector vs. Godzilla Gomez.

Here are their thoughts about their 2019-2020 KIDLIT NATION MENTORSHIP ~

How did you find out about the mentorship program?

Gabrielle: I discovered the mentorship program through KLN’s webinar with Russ Busse in May 2019, which I found either on Twitter or FB. The session included an announcement about the program, so I hightailed it over to the KidLitNation website to locate the details.

Suzannah: I found out about the program from the SCBWI [Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators] Illinois listserv.

Catherine: I found information on social media, from Urania Smith [One of the KidLitNation founders].

Why did you want a mentor? What did you hope to gain?

Gabriele: I had been querying agents for a couple of years with bits of encouragement but no success, so I wanted to better understand my strengths and weaknesses as a picture book writer. I also hoped to improve my craft. I saw this mentorship as an opportunity to move closer to my ultimate goal of bringing my stories into the world.

KidLitNation Mentorship - Writers Helping Writers

KidLitNation is a non-profit organization working to assist authors and illustrators of color break into publishing. (http://facebook.com/kidlitnation) Last year, they announced a mentorship program and selected three childrens's book writers to work with published authors for a six month period.

The individuals chosen to be mentored in the KidLitNation 2019-2020 mentoring program agreed to share their experiences during the six month mentorship.

Gabriele Davis comes from a racially and culturlly mixed family: African American, Native American, and Swiss/Caucasian. She grew up loving to read, and realizing as she grew older that something was missing in books. There were no families like hers. She applied for the mentorship to write books with humor and heart that allow all childrn to feel embraced. She picked Russ Busse as her picture book mentor to work with her on her Picture Book, Mary Had a Little Slam.
Suzannah Sebayan is a Filipina-American mother and writer. Since the birth of her daughter, the lack of Filipina voices in children's literaturemade her determined to writechilren's stories featuring Filipino characters. She wants to give her daughter the kind of stories she wished she had while growing up. She selected Barbara Binns as her mentor for her Middle Grade story, Mari and Her Amazing Super Cape.
Catherine Velasco is a Latinx who grew up in a multicultural family. She hoped to craft a story that would help children feel less lonely and make them laugh a little too. Her Middle Grade novel is Hammerin' Hector vs. Godzilla Gomez.

Here are their thoughts about their 2019-2020 KIDLIT NATION MENTORSHIP ~

How did you find out about the mentorship program?
Gabrielle: I discovered the mentorship program through KLN’s webinar with Russ Busse in May 2019, which I found either on Twitter or FB. The session included an announcement about the program, so I hightailed it over to the KidLitNation website to locate the details.

Suzannah: I found out about the program from the SCBWI [Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators] Illinois listserv.

Catherine: I found information on social media, from Urania Smith [One of the KidLitNation founders].


Why did you want a mentor? What did you hope to gain?
Gabriele: I had been querying agents for a couple of years with bits of encouragement but no success, so I wanted to better understand my strengths and weaknesses as a picture book writer. I also hoped to improve my craft. I saw this mentorship as an opportunity to move closer to my ultimate goal of bringing my stories into the world.

Suzannah: I hoped a mentor would provide support as I continued working on my middle grade manuscript. I wanted feedback on this work in progress, and information on the publishing industry, which is new to me.

Catherine: I have been a mentor for 30 years on and off. First with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and then as a journalist, helping high school reporters. So I thought it would be nice to be a mentee and see what happens. I had hope to gain the insight of a veteran author and get guidance with my middle grade contemporary story. An editor asked me for 50 pages and I was hoping to get some help and confidence before I submitted it


What was the mentoring experience like?
Gabriele: I feel really fortunate to have mentored with Russ Busse. Russ was generous with his time and feedback despite his very busy schedule. He has a keen editorial eye and a supportive, encouraging manner and was open to answering any questions I had. I really valued his honest feedback. For each manuscript, we began with a “big-picture” conversation. Then I got to work (unsure if I could accomplish what Russ had suggested) and always surprised myself with how quickly the revisions came together once I calmed down and let his feedback simmer. In our followup conversation, we focused on pickier, more line-level suggestions, and the revision process began again. In each case, Russ helped me tighten and fine-tune my story so that it felt submission-ready.

Suzannah: The experience was positivce and productive. Barbara Binns and I spoke about once a month from August through March. I restructured and refined my manuscript, particularly the opening chapters. I also learned about agents and editors, finding a writing partner and/or group, dealing with critiques and building an online presence.

Catherine: It was a true gift. My mentor, Matthew J. Kirby, is a talented author and teacher. He shared his experiences in the publishing world – the good and the frustrating. We also talked about craft – especially setting which is my weakness. He generously read my entire novel and pinpointed areas that took him out of the book as a reader. That alone was priceless. I wrote diligent notes and now I’m enjoying the revision process, something I used to dread.
 
 What is the most important thing you learned?
Gabriele: I gained a better understanding of how to pace my stories, especially how to effectively develop pivotal scenes (my tendency had been to rush through them). I learned to clarify my characters’ motivations and to trust my instincts regarding beginnings, endings and overall plot. Finally, I learned be patient during the revision process and to trust that the necessary ideas and words would come.

Suzannah: The importance of the opening chapters. I received support and encouragement, motivation to continue writing, feedback on my work and help in navigating the new-to-me children's literature world.

Catherine: Not to compare my book to the great author Judy Blume! That puts too much pressure on my character. Matt said that was unfair to Hector! That was one of my excuses for never submitting it – that it wasn’t good enough.

Is there anything you wanted or expected that you did not get?
Gabriele: The mentorship exceeded my expectations. I had hoped that Russ and I might work together on two to three manuscripts. We worked on four. And Russ helped me fine-tune the story closest to my heart, which earned me a spot in the 2020 PB Party showcase. My entry caught the eye of numerous agents and ultimately led to my signing with the fabulous Joyce Sweeney of The Seymour Agency.

Suzannah: My mentor was generous with her time, feedback and knowledge. I am grateful.

Catherine: No!

Would you recommend the experience to others?
Gabriele: Absolutely. Honest editorial feedback is invaluable to one’s growth as a writer. And a mentorship offers the opportunity to learn not only about craft but about the industry in general. I will always be grateful to Kidlit Nation for helping me leap forward on my writing journey.

Suzannah: Yes, I would recommend it. I enjoyed working one-on-one with a mentor, and my manuscript is now stronger.

Catherine: Yes, I would recommend the program to others because it’s nice to have someone rooting for your book from the publishing world. Matt picked me as his mentee because he loved Hector’s voice and said I made baseball sound interesting even though he was not a big sports fan. That was encouraging to hear that the book appealed to non-sports fans!

Is there anything else you would like to say to others?
Gabriele:  Know what you want from your mentorship. Then, work with your mentor to create a schedule that works for both of you, so that you can achieve it. Everyone’s busy. Having set times (and/or deadlines) will help both of you stay on track. Remember, you have an insider at your disposal. Don’t be shy. Ask ALL your questions! And be prepared to work hard. Working with a mentor can move your career forward if you take full advantage of the opportunity. Most important: have fun! Take joy in the process of creation.

Suzannah: For writers of color, please keep working on diverse children's stories. They are needed.

Catherine: I don’t want people to think all mentors will read an entire novel. I was in an unique situation where an editor wanted 50 pages and my book was selected in SCBWI’s 2019 Work-in-Progress Grant. Matt thought he could be the most help by giving me insight on what needs improvement since the book was getting interest in the publishing world. I truly appreciated his time and guidance, and KidLit Nation’s program. I feel more confident about releasing my book into the world.

You've heard ftrom the mentees. As one of the people selected to mentor an aspiring author, let me say I enjoyed the process. Suzannah and I spent long hours on the phone, and I feel that I came to know her well. Mostly, I enjoyed sharing publishing expoeriences with her, both pitfalls and highlights, and providing feedback that helped her story grow stonger over the months.

Receiving Critiques

Hi everyone! 

I am Young Adult and Middle Grade author Barbara Binns, writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. As my tagline says, I write Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  

Critiquing another writer's work can be a thankless task. Too often, writers are seeking praise. Maybe a few spelling or grammar corrections, but not a deep uncovering of plot issues and a lack of character development. Sometimes, when you point out actual problems with their writing, they get upset. That's one reason critiquing is not a job fro family or friends.  Bot the giving and the receiving can be painful.

Praise is a wonderful thing. In fact, let me admit, I like -- no, I love -- praise as much as anyone. But praise along does not move me any closer to my goal of becoming a better writer. That sometimes requires cold, hard truth.

I recently sent off a manuscript to my agent. A month later I received back a six page, single spaced letter. SIX pages. I can almost visualize my agent and the reader she engaged bending over trying to craft the right words to use in their criticism. They did not want to hurt my feelings.

Well, six pages was enough of a "cut direct" as they say in Regency novels. At first glance I wanted to cry. There was no way to make that kind, I should tell them not to bother. Like any other piece of

writing, too many words can obscure the real meaning, hide the gem of information inside. And they do not need to worry, there is nothing they could say that would make me ever decide to stop writing.

They had some real points. I do have multiple main characters, one with no arc to speak of.  The chit-chat between the characters is sometimes just that, idle talk that, while fun and realistic, does nothing to move the story forward. Ditto for my villain, he's just there, not really being as bad as he could be.

All that, and more, could have been shared in far fewer pages.  In fact, I got an excellent reader report from a 7th grader who read the manuscript and told me, in a terse but perfect fashion, which of my chapter had no real reason for existing.  It happens, even to \multi-published writers, we can get long-winded, and enjoy writing a section so much that we forget to murder our darlings. it's nice that the 7th grader was able to express things better than the industry professional adults.

I am currently mentoring two aspiring authors, one as a part of a formal mentorship program from KidLitNation - http://kidlitnation.com/home/own-your-voice/mentorship-program/. The organization sponsored a 6 month mentorship, and I was paired with one of the aspiring authors. My other mentorship is informal, I am working with someone from my home town.

There are five primary things I tell them:

1. Multiple criticizers can overwhelm you with contradictory advice
2. Always remember, it is your work and your voice
3. No one likes everything
4. Someone will hate even the best work out there
5. Take your time before deciding how to respond.  Lots and lots of time.

Number 1 is often the easiest to handle. I always look first at places where those giving me feedback agree. I remember back when a group was critiquing the opening chapter of my first YA novel, Pull.  There was a passage in there that brought out the big difference in opinion. 1/3 of the group felt that passage took them out of the story. 1/3 felt that passage was well written and they enjoyed having it. The final third barely noticed it, they didn't care one way or another.  My first thought was simple, only a third were bothered by it, so it was going to stay in. Then I slept on it. A few days later I had a different realization. I was taking one third of my audience out of the story. Was that really a good move? The rest of the audience might like it, but would never notice if it weren't there.  The passage of time made it simple, as much as I loved my great turn of phrase, I was not going to take people out of the story. Now, years later, I barely remember the passage at all, just that it was once in the first chapter and I once considered it essential.

Number 2 was taught to me by my first editor, who handled Pull as a matter of fact. I was looking at her changes to the manuscript and came across something that altered the meaning significantly. With great trepidation I called her to explain why that part could not be changed. She said fine, agreeing so easily I was stunned. Then she reminded me, in the end, this was my work, my voice. And my name would be listed as author. I therefore needed to either agree on any proposed changed, or push back as I had done. Hearing that from the woman who sent me a check in exchange for the right to publish my book made a big difference in how I handled editorial and review comments from then on.

Number 3 and 4 go together. No one likes every book, motion picture, poem, piece of art, etc. I have a friend who writes poetry and keeps asking me to review her stuff. We have a running joke, because I admit I don't get poetry. My comments are always surface level comments, because I wouldn't know good from bad, and I really only ever read hers. There are best-sellers that I still have no idea how anyone enjoyed them and think the writer needs to go back to school. And books that barely made a splash that I found unforgettable and that hit all the right marks. In other words, many critiques are  personal opinion.

Number 5 is the most important. If you are in a critique session, smile and say absolutely nothing unless asked a direct question.  Never try to tell the person they are wrong. First, because that will only discourage them from being honest. And second, if your mind is busy coming up with a response, it can't also be listening for the real issues that may exist. Just listen. You do not have to agree. Then sleep on the problem. For a day, two days, even a week. Then, relook at the issues raised without anger or judgement. Look for anything that makes sense. Only act on things that make sense to you and that fit within your voice.

As I said, I look for multiple critiques. When I entered contests, I never did one unless there were three judges, I needed that best two out of three opinions. I also divide comments into three types:

• first - things I totally agree with. I often have a subliminal feeling something is not right. If the comments hit that bell, I accept there is a problem immediately.

• second - things I totally disagree with. Especially ones where a "solution" has been included. These I usually reject right away. Too often these are from writers saying, "I wouldn't do it that way" and their solutions are, in fact, their voice, not mine.

• third - things that make me think. These are the ones I put away for a day or two, then look at again. That 6-page letter had a number of these, some I am still digesting. The good news is they did not waste time trying to tell me how to fix the problems, they simply pointed out the weak areas. By taking time, in this case a week, before trying to attack anything, I've given my own subconscious time to examine these issues. There are significant weaknesses. I'm glad they, and my 7th grader, pointed out the problems to me.

A good critique, done by someone who has no axe to grind or no intent on changing your style, can be worth its weight in anything, including gold. But it depends on what you do with the information. Like a shopkeeper whose customers want different items and brands, you have to decide which fits your journey, your goal. That's what I'm trying to work on with my mentees, to help them use critiques to their greater benefit.

I would also love to hear any additional tips on how you deal with receiving critiques to your writing. It always helps to share.

Change My Life - Maybe

Hi everyone! 

I am Young Adult and Middle Grade author Barbara Binns, writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. As my tagline says, I write Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  

Welcome to July at Romancing The Genres. Can you believe the year is more than half-over?

This month I get to talk about getting a do-over for my life. What, if anything, would I change? Oh for the magic wand that would let me do a complete do-over. Whoever said we regret most the thing we did not do and the choices we did not take was talking about me.

Now let me see:

WORK?
I don’t regret taking early retirement. I retired almost twelve years ago and feel like I should have left even sooner. My time with myself has been heavenly.

LOVE LIFE?
Nope, I do not regret the guy I dumped when I was thirty even though I never came close to marriage after him.  I mostly regret having stayed with him as long as I did. But the ones before him, the ordinary men who were okay but no prince charming. I think I do regret not taking a longer, harder look at a few of them.

FAMILY?
My father was a dreadful man and when he left my mother and my siblings and me, I literally washed my hands of him. My brother and sisters still hung around with him because he gave away money. I, being stubborn, decided if he didn’t think I wasn’t worth hanging around for, I didn’t think his money was worth enduring his presence. (I have been known for mounting my high horse, another thing I don’t regret.) Relatives, even my mother, told me I needed to forgive him. That I would regret having no relationship with him after he died.

Well, it’s been over thirty years and I’m still waiting to feel any of that regret. But maybe that’s why so many of my stories are family dramas, estranged family members learning to reconnect and love each other. Even more than a romance, I like to write about families getting an HEA.

The book I am reading now, leaving time, is by Jodi Piccoult (yes, her again, I can't help it, she's my favorite).  Like most of her novels, the story is all about families and relationships. I can’t give out spoilers. I really can't, I am still only on chapter 3, but as always, she deals with an issues for our time, in this case, abortion. We open with a man who had no good father figure when growing up, no one to model being a good husband. While he has failed at the husband thing, he is grimly determined to be a good father. Which leaves him inside the clinic with a gun he won’t hesitate to use.

Readers also get another father, a dedicated policeman stuck outside the clinic under siege. He's a hostage negotiator who is good at his job, even when his fifteen year old daughter is stuck with the gunman. As much as I love romance, and romantic suspense, these are the kinds of dramas that leave me glued to the page. (Or in this case the audio book) Never a screen, I have never found reading from a screen enjoyable or engrossing.

The middle grade novel I am revising now is yet another family drama. Yes, there is a romance subplot, although they are in high school, so readers can only expect a HFN. But mostly it is about two families reconnecting after being torn to pieces by events outside their control.

BTW, I’m in the middle of looking for beta readers now to see how others view the story. If interested, let me know.

P. S. - followup to last month:

I am a part of KidLitNation (KLN) and we are about to begin a mentoring program (http://kidlitnation.com/home/own-your-voice/mentorship-program/). I am one of three established authors who will provide six months of mentoring to three aspiring authors of color in the Picture Book, Middle Grade, and Young Adult areas. Final selections will be announced later this month, with mentoring beginning in August. I’m all set to work with a new author, and hope I will be able to guide them and help them fine-tune their talent.

Hi everyone! 

I am Young Adult and Middle Grade author Barbara Binns, writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. As my tagline says, I write Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  

Welcome to June at Romancing The Genres.

I recently volunteered to be a mentor to an aspiring author, as part of a pilot mentoring program set up by KidLitNation (http://kidlitnation.com/home/own-your-voice/mentorship-program/)

In 2016, Urania Smith and I worked together to fund the attendance of three aspiring authors to an Illinois SCBWI conference. This picture shows Urania and I plus the three scholarship recipients. Urania went on to co-found KidLitNation. That organization continues to provide conference scholarships. They also hold monthly informational webinars, and now, is setting up this mentorship. I continue to contribute to the scholarship fund, presented one of their webinars last year, and now will be one of their first crop of mentors.

Part of me is eager to begin sharing my knowledge in a new arena. The rest of me is gripped with terror that this person will discover that I know nothing, that my career is where it is solely because of luck. This is a six-month commitment, so I need to put aside the impostor syndrome trying to own my head, and use my knowledge to help another author move along their path. Currently I and two other mentors are evaluating writing samples and trying to determine who we might be compatible with.

For the past few years I have made presentations to school children about writing and courage, to librarians, parents and teachers. Today, June 12, I will be making a presentation to writers about writing cross-cultural fiction. I love teaching almost as much as I like writing. I've been a critique partner. And now, I am ready to conquer new territory in helping others.

 Picking a mentee is not quite like picking a significant other. It’s not even like picking an agent (and yes, I will need to discuss finding and using an agent with my mentee.) It’s a little like the Voice during the blinds. I get to see the writing, ask them a little about their hopes and work ethic, and what they expect from a mentor. Once I find someone whose expectation for the relationship matches mine, we’ll hook up.

A mentor is not a teacher or critique group,  not a writing partner or beta reader.  This is one person who has been through the door trying to help another get past the threshold. I hope to be a brain to pick, an eye to guide, an ear to listen and an arm to give a push in the right direction. I plan to challenge him or her to do more, maybe more than they think they can. Most of all, I will be a loud voice in their cheering section.


I would love to hear from any of you who have been in a mentor/mentee relationship. Someone who helped you on the path to achieving your personal goals? Please comment on how the relationship worked for you. And, if for some reason the relationship didn't work out the way you wanted, share that too. I want to hear both the good and the bad.

Yippee. 2018 is coming to a close

Hi everyone! 

I am Young Adult and Middle Grade author Barbara Binns, writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. As my tagline says, I write Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  My debut MG novel, Courage, was recently published by Harper Collins. It's a great read for this, or any season. 

Check my books out at http://babinns.com

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. 

That line is true, not only for the French Revolution as depicted in Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, but also for me and the entire year of 2018.

Best of Times:

2018 saw the long-delayed publication of my middle grade novel, Courage - https://www.amazon.com/Courage-Barbara-Binns/dp/0062561650.  Kirkus not only gave Courage a favorable review, they also printed an interview with me - https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/barbara-binns/.

I had numerous opportunities to share my knowledge with others.

1. At the Illinois Library Association conference in Peoria, Il, I spoke with librarians on ways they can perform outreach to various diverse populations. Afterward, the public library in Matteson, Il invited me to reprise that topic for their staff who could not attend the conference. 
2. The Sauk Valley school in Illinois invited me in to speak to parents and teachers about helping reluctant readers. And I already have an engagement for next March at the University of Illinois.
3. I gave a Webinar for KidLitNation http://kidlitnation.com/home/resources/webinars/ about my journey to publication.
4. I hosted a presentation at the Spring Fling Writer’s romance writer's conference in Schaumburg on the subject of diverse writing. Plus, I got a new agent. Thank you Spring Fling!
5. I also spoke at the Romance Slam Jam conference for readers and authors of black romance, about the art of crafting Heroes & Heroines. Being there felt a lot like coming home.
6. I helped youth, by judging at Chicago's annual Louder Than A Bomb  poetry slam in January, and at the City of Chicago Annual Science Fair in March.

I also had chances to learn from others.

While attending the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color , (JCLC) I had an opportunity to be part of a half-day seminar called Beyond the Racial Stalemate, which was facilitated by  people trained at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation - https://www.wkkf.org/.   For more information on this intense experience on communication and racial healing look at a blog post I wrote for JCLC at: http://www.jclcinc.org/conference/2018/beyond-the-racial-stalemate/ 

Last, but certainly not least, my daughter had her thirtieth birthday this year (talk about feeling old).

Worst of times:

Did I mention I got a new agent this year? She really liked the two manuscripts I sent her, saying, “Nice start.” AKA, let me see what you can really do because these need to be changed.

Fortunately, she and I talked and she gave me a good idea of where her thoughts were. She felt they were too old for a middle grade market, something I was shooting for.

I have finally re-written one of them two. I'm calling it Duets, and it's a story about some cello playing middle graders living in a south suburb of Chicago and daring to dream big. So big, that by the time I finished the rewrite I looked up to see it was almost Christmas. There's really no point in sending it to my agent until next year. I just fear that by then I will probably see more problems on the pages and want to rewrite from scratch all over again.

One of the things that made the re-write so slow was recent cataract surgery. That killed my ability to see, and to write, for awhile. Ditto for some intense pains in my knees caused by worsening arthritis. The pains grew so bad, I agreed to an experimental treatment that Medicare did NOT pay for. Even the sticker shock beat the idea of knee replacement surgery. I am now back to walking and even climbing stairs again, with no pains strong enough to keep me from writing.

JCLC marked my second time being part of a Beyond The Racial Stalemate seminars, I also attended one in 2017 at the American Library Association conference. In spite of that, and the seminar's intense focus on communication issues, I still fell into a “failure to communicate” trap with some Facebook friends on diversity initiatives. I'm still not sure that friendship can be salvaged. Facebook is a poor communication device. Not even emojis help or replace real face-to-face content, which

And, as much as I loved being part of the JCLC, my heart had a reaction to the altitude in Albuquerque. The slightest exertion (and I mean just walking across the street from the hotel to the convention center) had me completely out of breath. My cardiologist recently ordered an echo cardiogram to see what might be happening inside me.  (I'm still waiting for the results)

My session at Spring Fling went okay. EXCEPT for technology issues that made me unable to show my presentation on the screen! All that time spent on preparing visual effects, only to be undone by a machine I didn't understand.  I had wing the talk without visuals.  I still have nightmares.

2018 was the last year the Museum of Science and Industry and the Chicago Science Fair will be together.  Although the event has been hosted by the Museum of Science and Industry for almost 70 years, the museum announced it would not continue doing so after 2018.  I'm not sure of the new location, or how that will effect my ability to continue volunteering.

And now, at year's end, the stock market appears to be struggling to reduce me to poverty. Plus, I've heard several Indie Authors reporting unexpected declines in revenue.

At least it's almost the End of Times

It’s now time to sit down to my annual viewing of Die Hard, my favorite Christmas Movie of all time. The season doesn’t really start until I watch Hans Gruber plunge from the Nakatomi Building.

It also doesn’t start until I wish you all a very happy holiday season. And Great Expectations for 2019!

Preserving your Voice

Hi everyone! I am YA author B A Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them. 

This is my second post on that super-elusive quality called Voice. The first post (which you can find at VOICE: It's All About You) came back in March, fittingly occurring as I was beginning the first of what ended up being three different rounds of revisions for my debut middle grade novel, Courage. I craft stories for kids. I am not one of those prolific writers who can curn out multiple books every year.  My first YA novel was published by Westside Books in 2010. Courage, which will be released in 2018 from Harper Collins, is only my fourth published novel. In between I have written several short stories and have two stories in progress.  Like a chisel wielding stone artisan, I work slowly, clawing out a finished product one chip at a time. At least my chosen media is slightly more forgiving than rock. When I mess up, I get to delete and rewrite with a keyboard.

For me, crafting a novel means doing that over and over again. The roughest part for me is figuring out how to perform major revisions without loosing my initial vision, my Voice.

Voice is hard to describe, but it’s something you just know when you hear it. Think of music. Christmas approaches (I know, I can barely believe how much of this year has gone myself).  Various artists will be releasing their versions of the old standards. Same old words, same old story, but different people find different artists compelling, singing standards that stand out because of the arrangement; the Voice.

I ponder this because I came face to face with the issue over the last few months while doing final revisions for Courage. As I said in another prior post, Revision and Editing are not the same things. Revision can involve making major changes to improve the story and reading experience. Those changes can encompass everything. Everything except dismantling the novel's basic core and theme. That has to remain to keep the voice intact.

At its core, Courage is about brotherly love and is a retelling of the Prodigal Son parable told from the point of view of the good brother who now fears the older brother he once loved and revered. I typed The End on this story in 2015. It was acquired by Harper Collins in 2016. Revisions began earlier this year for the 2018 release. Let me say that my editor is a wonderful woman. She’s interesting, loves books, and has near infinite patience. She also saw parts of the story she really wanted changed. I had to both listen to her, and remain true to the theme that moved me.

However, over the years, my own voice had changed. The 2016 elections played a large part in that, along with many of the issues plaguing people of color in America, including children of color. As I did the revisions, I realized there was no way that could not leech into my story. I was amazed to find how the personalities of several characters changed as I plowed through the revisions. But the innermost story of redemption remained strong.

As I said in my prior post on Voice, an author’s voice is the sum of their life experiences. That is the thing editors and agents prize more than they do the author’s plot. Lots has happened to me, my life and my world in the last two years. When called on by my editor to rework the ending, my updated Voice licked it’s lips and took control.

Our writer’s voice constantly evolves. That sometimes has us looking back on our body of work done years earlier and being astounded. We evolve, change, come up with things that are different because we ourselves evolve. Remember that when dealing with critique partners, beta readers, and editors. I’ve heard of writers revising to please them until their once vibrant and lively story turns voiceless. No editor or agent I know is interested in a story without a compelling, leap off the page and suck readers in, Voice.  It is Voice that makes writers. As someone said, there are only so many plots in the world. What makes a story original, what makes it yours instead of someone else’s, is how Your Voice tells Your Story.

On a related note: a number of editors, agents and award-winning authors are giving away critiques as a way to help the new a new organization, KIDLITNATION.com. Kidlitnation will use the funds to help #ownvoices. be heard. Today, August 9, is the final day of the raffle, if you are interested, take a look at the array of talent you can bid on at http://kidlitnation.com/home/own-your-voice/fundraising/. This is a chance to get feedback from industry experts on your Voice and your manuscript.