My editor just sent me the first of the finished, finalized, hardcover versions of TOFU AND T.REX! It turned out great -- the cover has this nice three-dimensional effect. And, of course, the text is sublime :-).
Available in stores this July...along with the softcover of NINJAS, PIRANHAS, AND GALILEO.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Friday, May 13, 2005
Numbers game...
Number of Ph.Ds in physics awarded each year in the US: 1,350
Number of Ph.Ds in chemistry awarded each year in the US: 2,200
Number of Ph.Ds in psychology awarded each year in the US: 4,500
Total number of science and engineering Ph.Ds awarded each year in US: 25,000
Total number of non-science and engineering related Ph.Ds awarded each year in US: 15,000
Total number of Ph.Ds awarded each year in the US: 40,000
Total Number of current holders of bachelors and higher in science and engineering: 10,500,000
Total Number of NFL players: 1,700
Total Number of MLB players: 1,200
Total Number of NBA players: 410
Number of Ph.Ds in chemistry awarded each year in the US: 2,200
Number of Ph.Ds in psychology awarded each year in the US: 4,500
Total number of science and engineering Ph.Ds awarded each year in US: 25,000
Total number of non-science and engineering related Ph.Ds awarded each year in US: 15,000
Total number of Ph.Ds awarded each year in the US: 40,000
Total Number of current holders of bachelors and higher in science and engineering: 10,500,000
Total Number of NFL players: 1,700
Total Number of MLB players: 1,200
Total Number of NBA players: 410
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Picture book!
Cyn and I just got the contract for a new picture book - our first joint work! Check out Cyn's blog for more info.!
Monday, May 09, 2005
Channeling your inner child
More thoughts for beginning novelists.
What distinguishes a children's or YA novel from an "adult" novel?
No, I'm not getting all metaphysical here.
But the answer to this question often underpins many questions I get at beginning writers conferences, or among non-writer laypeople: Do you have to "dumb down" the vocabulary? The plots are simpler, right? You can't actually address any kind of sophisticated theme, can you? (If there was any doubt, the answer to these questions is emphatically "no.")
To me, perhaps the fundamental definition of children's literature is that it's literature – stories -- about a child or teen character. From this fundamental (and obvious) beginning, a couple things follow.
First, the child has to solve his own problem. It is for this reason that "normal" parents are conspicuous by their absence in children's literature: if the parents solved the problem, there would be no conflict and hence no story.
Second, the child character's epiphany must evolve naturally through him and his experiences in the book. Otherwise, the character does not change and grow. If the character does not change and grow, he seems less like a real person.
A corollary to this is that the epiphany usually should not be "I guess mom and/or dad were right after all." (To me, this is only slightly less annoying than "And then I woke up.") While such a theme can be done artfully, when this is the epiphany, the reader generally feels cheated because the thing mom and/or dad were right about has usually been presented on page two – if that's all that was going on in the novel, why bother reading? Note that I am not saying that mom and/or dad cannot in fact be right (at least occasionally), just that the child's recognition of their correctness should not be the focus and/or reason for the novel.
Third, and closely related, is that children's literature is about story. It is not about The Lesson. (The Sermon on the Mount has already been written and written far better than you will ever do). While there may be things -– important things -- that the reader will learn and leave with, this should not be the focus of the novel, any more than it is for "adult" literature.
Fourth, remember that the typical child reader is not an idiot – he is not less smart than your average adult reader, he is merely inexperienced. And sometimes, that lack of experience can drive the conflict.
How to do all this? Easy. Channel your inner child. Do not channel your child (or more precisely, how you think or would like your child to behave under these circumstances. You're probably wrong, anyway.).
Your. Inner. Child.
Think of all those things you did and never told your parents about.
Think of all those things you did and don't want your kids to find out about.
That's your inner child.
What distinguishes a children's or YA novel from an "adult" novel?
No, I'm not getting all metaphysical here.
But the answer to this question often underpins many questions I get at beginning writers conferences, or among non-writer laypeople: Do you have to "dumb down" the vocabulary? The plots are simpler, right? You can't actually address any kind of sophisticated theme, can you? (If there was any doubt, the answer to these questions is emphatically "no.")
To me, perhaps the fundamental definition of children's literature is that it's literature – stories -- about a child or teen character. From this fundamental (and obvious) beginning, a couple things follow.
First, the child has to solve his own problem. It is for this reason that "normal" parents are conspicuous by their absence in children's literature: if the parents solved the problem, there would be no conflict and hence no story.
Second, the child character's epiphany must evolve naturally through him and his experiences in the book. Otherwise, the character does not change and grow. If the character does not change and grow, he seems less like a real person.
A corollary to this is that the epiphany usually should not be "I guess mom and/or dad were right after all." (To me, this is only slightly less annoying than "And then I woke up.") While such a theme can be done artfully, when this is the epiphany, the reader generally feels cheated because the thing mom and/or dad were right about has usually been presented on page two – if that's all that was going on in the novel, why bother reading? Note that I am not saying that mom and/or dad cannot in fact be right (at least occasionally), just that the child's recognition of their correctness should not be the focus and/or reason for the novel.
Third, and closely related, is that children's literature is about story. It is not about The Lesson. (The Sermon on the Mount has already been written and written far better than you will ever do). While there may be things -– important things -- that the reader will learn and leave with, this should not be the focus of the novel, any more than it is for "adult" literature.
Fourth, remember that the typical child reader is not an idiot – he is not less smart than your average adult reader, he is merely inexperienced. And sometimes, that lack of experience can drive the conflict.
How to do all this? Easy. Channel your inner child. Do not channel your child (or more precisely, how you think or would like your child to behave under these circumstances. You're probably wrong, anyway.).
Your. Inner. Child.
Think of all those things you did and never told your parents about.
Think of all those things you did and don't want your kids to find out about.
That's your inner child.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Reading in the Garden
Yesterday, Cyn and I had the pleasure of speaking at Earning by Learning of Dallas's "Reading in the Garden" event at the Dallas Arboretum.
We had a great time at a great venue. The kids (and adults) were engaged and laughed in all the right places :-). Also there was a cellist from the Dallas Youth Symphony playing excerpts from the Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites (which, of course, feature prominently in Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo).
We had a great time at a great venue. The kids (and adults) were engaged and laughed in all the right places :-). Also there was a cellist from the Dallas Youth Symphony playing excerpts from the Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites (which, of course, feature prominently in Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo).
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