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| SCBWI
France |
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| Meet
the Pros |
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| SCBWI France publishes interviews
both in the SCBWI France Expression newsletter
and on-line. These interviews offer an insider's
view of the international children’s
publishing market. |
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| Esther Hernshenhorn |
Author
Esther
Hernshenhorn teaches
Writing for Children at the
Ragdale Foundation and the Newberry
Library. She is the SCBWI Regional
Advisor for Illinois, editor
of the chapter's newsletter
"The Prairie Wind,"
and a writing coach. Esther
joins us in Paris in March as
one of the speakers at our Writers
Day.
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I
often introduce myself to children's book
writers as The Susan Lucci of Children's Books.
(For those unfamiliar with the American daytime
TV soap opera actress, Ms. Lucci was nominated
19 consecutive years for an Emmy before she
actually won the coveted award!) My writer's
plot line was much in keeping with the Universal
Plot Line of any character who needs to realize
a dream. Once I accepted that Truth, I kept
on keeping on. Along the way I met friends,
allies and mentors who sustained me; I carried
(and read) children's books to light the way,
and finally found the necessary courage to
connect with my characters so my stories would
re-sound in my readers' hearts. The eventual
Holiday House publication of my first trade
sale There Goes Lowell's Party! in March 1998
was a typical plot resolution: inevitable,
yet surprising and more than satisfactory.
There Goes Lowell's Party! illustrated by
Jacqueline Rogers, tells the tale of Lowell
Piggott, who knows, jest as sure as snakes
crawl, that even iffen red skies and loud
geese and leafbacks mean rain, and even iffen
that rain brings floods, mudslides and twisters,
his Ozark Mountain kin are smart enough and
love him so they'll do what they have to do
to get to his Birthday Party. The Library
of Congress classified the book under Rain
and rainfall — fiction, Storms —
fiction, Birthdays — fiction, and Ozark
Mountains — fiction. I would add a fifth
category: Faith and Hope. Author Marian Dane
Bauer advises writers in What's Your Story
to put their stories in the stories they're
telling. I knew, jest like Lowell, folks were
coming to my party.
My Spring 2002 Holiday House publication,
the middle grade novel The Confe$$ion$ and
$ecret$ of Howard J Fingerhut, also took a
long time coming. Howie writes the story himself,
chronicling the month-by-month progress of
his lawn care business, A Boy for All Seasons,
in the H. Marion Muckley Junior Businessperson
of the Year Contest. Certain he'll win, he
journals his experience with the hope of selling
it to a publisher as a how-to business book
for kids. Thanks to my Holiday House editor
Mary Cash, I was able to give Howie a successful,
character-based plot line: Howie's "Howie-ness"
now leads to escalating scenes of calamity
and disaster until Howie's "Howie-ness"
saves him and the day. Crucial to this telling
was my understanding — finally —
of how the character's physical plot line
(what he wants) and emotional plot line (why
he wants what he wants) must intersect at
that Crucial Moment so the character is different
for making the journey. Crucial, too, was
my willingness to dig deep, to remember how
I felt when wearing Howie's shoes. What did
I want then and why did I want it?
Simon and Schuster will publish Chicken Soup
by Heart, illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger,
in Fall 2002. In this story, Rudie Dinkins
decides to make his flu-ridden after-school
babysitter Mrs Gittel "good as new"
by cooking her chicken soup the way she does
for him. Fortunately he knows her Chicken
Soup Secret by heart: she stirs in nice stories
about her soon-to-be-soup eaters.
In Fall 2003, Holiday House will publish Fancy
That, illustrated by Megan Lloyd — a
Christmas story, of all things, from a nice
Jewish girl from West Philadelphia! In 1996
I met Stephen J. Shelton, a 25-year old artist
attempting to live the life of an early-19th
century American limner and fancy painter.
Stephen's fate proved to be that of his 19th-century
models: dissatisfied with their images, customers
refused to pay him! Right then I "saw"
my story. Again, thanks to Mary Cash, I added
a few orphaned sisters who needed my character
Pippin Biddle to succeed or else, a failed
return at Christmas, not Thanksgiving as originally
planned, and Pippin's dog Biscuit who proved
a key part of the resolution. I have just
learned Megan Lloyd is mixing her paints with
egg yolks and original tints, just as Pippin
would have done. The illustrations, in the
naïf style of American folk art, will
be framed as well.
I've taught writing for many years, but only
recently started working with writers on a
more personal level as a Writing Coach. As
a coach, I do everything a good children's
book does: inform, educate, encourage, inspire.
And because I believe each writer has the
right to tell his story, like a children's
book, too, I offer hope. Regardless of where
the writer is in the writing and publishing
process, regardless of whether we're working
by mail or in person, the writer's story is
there to be discovered, there to be crafted
to reach its readers. I often read a writer's
first draft and "see" the story
waiting to be scooped up, waiting to be told
effectively to readers. I "see"
the story parts that work and those that don't
and share ways to make sure the story works
as a whole. I often recommend the works of
authors who write similar tales, or write
in similar styles, and editors and publishers
who publish a particular kind of work.
I continually preach, in my workshops, in
my classes, in my school visits, in my SCBWI
work: write, read, connect!
Write in varying formats, for varying audiences,
in various genres. And save your writing:
nothing is ever wasted. Read across all formats,
all audience-levels, all genres. Find those
books that sound or look like yours. Study
their structure, their pacing, their sentences,
determine their successes, evaluate their
failures. And connect with your world, your
writing community and yourself. What better
way to meet the friends, allies and mentors
who will sustain you?
Children's book writers do important work:
we help our readers make sense of their world.
Now more than ever we should stick to our
writer's and illustrator's plot lines, we
should keep on keepin' on to tell our stories
well.
If you'd like to know more about Esther's
coaching sessions for writers, email her directly
at esthersh@aol.com |
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