THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson

I couldn't wait to read THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, after hearing literary agent, Erin Murphy, speak at the Miami SCBWI Conference. Ms. Murphy reads a lot of YA literature, so if it was her favorite book of the season, that was good enough for me.

However, I didn't expect to fall totally, head-over-heels in love. It may be my favorite book of all time. You see, I have something in common with Lennie, the book's protagonist: we have both lost our only sisters.

Lennie's last conversation with her sister was inconsequential. It was over whether Bailey should wear a blue or a green shirt. My last conversation with Robin was over the phone, but not about anything really important either. There is no warning whenever we're speaking to someone for the last time. In hindsight, that is maddening and seems so wrong.

Lennie talks of choosing the dress her sister will wear forever. What a profound way of putting it. I chose the clothes my sister is buried in also, but in Robin's case, I chose pants. She hated dresses and there was no way I was torturing her with one for all of eternity.

I completely lost it when Lennie laments not being a sister anymore. Robin was born when I was three years old. I don't remember a time prior to being a sister, but the twelve years since her death have been extremely painful. We've celebrated many holidays with an empty seat at the table. She is my son's godmother, and I've marked every milestone without her to share them with.

I don't know Jandy Nelson personally, but somehow she knows what is inside my heart. She wrote it all down to share with sisterless girls everywhere.

It's not enough to have THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE on my Kindle. I need to hold this book in my hands. If you've ever lost someone you love more than life, read this book. You won't be sorry.

Novel Writing Tips from Erin Murphy, Joyce Sweeney, and Krista Marino

As part of the SCBWI Miami conference, I attended a "Novel Writing Intensive" led by literary agent, Erin Murphy; Executive Editor, Krista Marino; and writing instructor, Joyce Sweeney.

Erin Murphy talked about the art of revision. She advised us to see our manuscripts with fresh eyes. She shared the following tips to help:

• Apply Darcy Pattison's shrunken manuscript technique.
• Outline after you've written a first draft.
• Employ the nine steps for plotting fiction (found on Verla Kay)
• Use wordle.net to look for overused words.

Joyce Sweeney started by telling writers to "be in scene almost all the time." She advised using the first part of a scene to orient the reader (e.g. who, what, when, where). She asked us to consider what each particular scene means to the novel as a whole. To remember that each chapter needs its own arc.

Krista Marino lectured about voice. There are two kinds: authorial voice, which she defined as the fingerprint of an author, think Stephen King and Meg Cabot. The second kind is narrative voice, which she called "the character's voice."

Elements that contribute to voice include:

• Diction - Word choices.
• Perspective - Mental view.
• Characterization - Appearance, age, gender, education level, ambitions, motivations.
• Dialogue

Krista said the #1 element missing from most manuscripts she receives is interior monologue. She read us a passage from REVOLUTION by Jennifer Donnelly without interior monologue, and then she read the same passage with the interior dialogue inserted. The manuscript was much richer and more interesting with the right amount of interiosity included.

Krista reminded us that when you're young everything feels like the end of the world. She said to write effectively for teens, we should erase adult perspective and in our minds go back to high school everyday. We need to actually listen to teens to get their dialogue just right.

The workshop provided lots of great tips, and I'm summarizing an entire days worth of notes. If anything is unclear, post a question and I'll try and answer it.

Happy Writing!

ERIN MURPHY and AUDREY VERNICK TALK QUIET BOOKS

During the recent Miami SCBWI conference, I attended a workshop with literary agent Erin Murphy and her client Audrey Vernick. The topic was quiet books.

What exactly is a quiet book? It's the opposite of a high concept book, (e.g. vampires). If you hear that an author wrote a vampire book, you're pretty sure of what the book will be about...romance with a vampire. On the other hand, a quiet book is hard to summarize in one sentence. Quiet books are often about relationships, sometimes they're historical. These kind of books are harder to sell and harder to market.

Ms. Murphy spoke about ways to make a quiet book louder. She used Lisa Schroeder's book, IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES, as an example. This book is technically a quiet book. It's about the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Sounds like a hundred other books, right? But the author made this book more interesting by its unusual setting: many scenes take place in a cupcake shop. The publisher was able to use this setting as a marketing hook. The cover is pink with cupcakes to appeal to tween girls.

Ways to Make A Quiet Book Louder:

1. Add a hook. (e.g. THE EXPRESSOLOGIST by Kristina Springer - main character is a barista)

2. Really unique setting. (e.g. IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES)

3. Glamorize the situation. (e.g. THE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER by Ellen Emerson White)

4. Wish fulfillment (e.g. ANNA and the FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins)

5. Have the character make a really bad choice. (STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr)

I developed a reading list of both picture books and novels from Ms. Murphy's workshop. Check out the following titles for quiet books that were loud enough to find success in the marketplace.

LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green

CLEMENTINE by Sara Pennypacker

THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson (Erin Murphy's favorite book of the season)

THE PENDERWICKS by Jeanne Birdsall

TOYS GO OUT by Emily Jenkins

A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT by Linda Urban

JULIA GILLIAN by Alison McGhee

STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky

TRIGGER by Susan Vaught

PENNY DREADFUL by Laurel Snyder

RED GLASS by Laura Resau

AMAZING MORNING ON ORANGE STREET by Joanne Rocklin

ADIOS, NIRVANA by Conrad Wesselhoeft

SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU by Peter Cameron

SOMEDAY by Alison McGhee

NOTES FROM A LIAR AND HER DOG by Gennifer Choldenko

Quiet books are my favorite books to read and to write. This workshop gave me lots to contemplate as I plot my next novel. Audrey Vernick writes quiet books too. Be on the lookout for her upcoming novel, WATER BALLOON.

If you've read any of the books on the list, I'd like to hear your opinion. Or if you write quiet books, I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences.