Blog Hop- Writer's Tell All

Have you watched The Bachelor or Bachelorette reality dating show on ABC TV? Neither have I.  But one of my favorite segments I heard that the Bachelor/Bachelorette: Women/Men Tell All segment is the most interesting and entertaining part of the show. This is where secrets are told and discoveries are made. I just learned that Juan Pablo may be the next Bachelor (not that I follow the show or anything). 

In any case, I am presenting to you a Blog Hop: Writers Tell All!

Vivian Kirkfield of Picture Books Help Kids Soar tagged me in a Blog Hop. I am to answer three questions related to my writing and tag 3 others to do the same. I invite you to visit the other writers and enjoy the updates of their writerly life. Who knows, you may discover a secret or two. 

What I want to find out is who started this blog hop. So I did some investigating. Here's my blog hop tree:

Chart made on http://www.easel.ly/

Join the Blog Hop and visit their sites- Vivian Kirkfield, Alayne Kay Christian, Yvonne Mes, Elaine Kiely Kearns, Carrie Charley Brown, Kristen Fulton, Robyn Campbell, Sharon Mayhew, Sue Bradford Edwards, Cynthia Reeg, Cheryl Malandrinos, Mary Cunningham

[News flash: I just got tagged by Sylvia Liu too! She's not on the chart but she would be in the same circle as Vivian Kirkfield. Hmm...wonder what her Blog Hop tree would look like.]

Now that you know my Blog Hop tree, on to the interview!

Question 1: What are you working on?

• Polishing 2 picture book manuscripts
• Researching and submitting to a short list of agents
• Writing a new picture book story for this month's 12 x 12 with Julie Hedlund
• Critiquing my fellow writers' manuscripts (usually it's 7 in a month for my 3 groups)
• Studying current picture books by visiting my local library every week
• Participating in Pam Calvert's Picture Book University
• Gearing up for next week's SCBWI conference in Los Angeles!

Question 2: How does your writing process work?

Here are the steps I use in my writing process:

1. I work through my list of picture book ideas that I came up with during Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) and write a draft of the story. Julie Hedlund's 12 picture books in 12 month challenge helps me keep focus.
2. I revise until I feel my story is as good as it can be (this is my favorite step).
3. I send it off to 1 of 3 critique groups I belong to. Having more than one critique group is beneficial because not all groups critique the same way. Critique group (CG) #1 focuses a lot on plot- what works and what doesn't work. They are critical thinkers who challenge me the most. CG #2 does a lot of line editing, which I appreciate so much. CG #3 is a little bit of both my CG #1 and #2 and tunes in to the marketability of a story. Eventually, my manuscripts make the rounds of all three groups after much revising.
4. I get a feel from my critique groups to determine which of my manuscripts are worth pursuing and concentrate on polishing those.
5. I send my polished manuscript through another round of critiques until it is submission-ready.

Question 3: Who are the authors you most admire?

Mo Willems! I admire his skill of writing humor in succinct text. His dialogue is so authentic to the child's voice. 

Margie Palatini I love her writing style- her rich language, dazzling word choice, and distinctive voice. 

Amy Krouse Rosenthal Her books are clever and fun!

Now it's my turn to tag 3 people (Actually I'm tagging 4 because I'm a rebel). Stop by their blog and join the fun. You may discover interesting tips or leads as Writers Tell All!

Lauri Meyers

Cathy Meally

Jennifer Chow

Tina Cho

TAG YOU'RE IT!