tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post7849924484875567388..comments2023-08-09T08:09:18.833-07:00Comments on The Cat and the Fiddle: Tricks of the Trade: Revision Tips from Picture Book AuthorsMichelle Markelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12274916876741497200noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-62700403676401486512010-02-03T20:46:16.781-08:002010-02-03T20:46:16.781-08:00Michelle, I just realized you are the author of Dr...Michelle, I just realized you are the author of Dreamtown. I love that book! I found it in my search for great first lines. I read the beginning and then I finished the book. I purchased two copies: One to give away and one to keep. Thank you!!!Susan B Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10752641433121011158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-56326007537888204872010-02-02T13:28:32.248-08:002010-02-02T13:28:32.248-08:00Thank you so much. I also love the different fort ...Thank you so much. I also love the different fort idea. It is so easy to skip over things when you are always seeing it in exactly the same way. I love all of these ideas. (Must find out who "the Chopper" is in my group. My critique group and I have a blog http://thepenandinkblog.blogspot.com<br />Lupe Fernandez posted a hilarious list of successful ingredients for a contemporary YA novel. I am currently blogging great first lines/paragraphs. I find searching for them fuels my writing.Susan B Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10752641433121011158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-24228950928587607952010-01-28T14:16:38.696-08:002010-01-28T14:16:38.696-08:00The different font, the different voices, the tape...The different font, the different voices, the taped voice reading the story all provide that necessary "detachment." In order to improve the story we have to look at it as an "object" and not our flesh and blood. The dummying is a great tool for assessing plot and pacing and making sure the story has enough illustratable moments. Thanks for sharing!Michelle Markelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12274916876741497200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-36614424986219525552010-01-28T12:04:22.060-08:002010-01-28T12:04:22.060-08:00These are great. Another one, that I got from Li...These are great. Another one, that I got from Lisa Yee in a workshop she gave at the SCBWI Conference, is to print the ms out in a different font from the one you've been using. It makes you see it differently -- and you also catch a LOT more typos.Kathy McCulloughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02241700558365544977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-76003560062657794302010-01-27T17:59:24.944-08:002010-01-27T17:59:24.944-08:00Excellent post! I read my manuscripts aloud, too. ...Excellent post! I read my manuscripts aloud, too. Also, I ask my friends to read them aloud to ME. It's a must with rhyming manuscripts, to ensure there are no bumps in the rhythm. But it's just as helpful with non-rhyming stories. I want to hear flowing cadence in my prose as well.Kim Normanhttp://www.kimnormanbooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-1179030379863207712010-01-27T17:16:57.613-08:002010-01-27T17:16:57.613-08:00This is a great post, Michelle. I'm going to ...This is a great post, Michelle. I'm going to link to it for my UCLA picture book class...for my students...but also for ME!April Halprin Waylandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10760393691320267240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-87668153828874312212010-01-27T14:33:34.287-08:002010-01-27T14:33:34.287-08:00These are all great tips. I'll add another on...These are all great tips. I'll add another one for us picture book writers. I make a writer's dummy using the technique Sue Alexander taught me. Cut the manuscript apart, sentence by sentence. Then make the dummy. I dragged my heels, begging Sue to let me leave the sentences in the paragraphs together as I had many one word sentences. Sue sweetly but adamantly told me to get back to snipping. She was right, of course. I found extraneous sentences, sentences to move to another place, and plain, old boring text. <br /><br />And I make dummies throughout the writing process, as taught to me by Ann Whitford Paul. It may be when I’m stuck. Or it may be when I think I’m finished. But no matter when or how I make the dummy, the manuscript always improves.Mary Ann Dameshttp://www.maryanndames.com/blog.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-71373491767045795082010-01-27T08:41:49.248-08:002010-01-27T08:41:49.248-08:00Thank you for this post Michelle! I heard you spe...Thank you for this post Michelle! I heard you speak at Writer's Day and love your books. So do my kids. <br /><br />I write mainly YA and MG but the advice here is true for that as well.<br />Along the lines of what the instructors have said here, I find that having others look at it with fresh eyes is always helpful. Sometimes it's just below the surface for me and when someone else says it, it's like a lightbulb going off and I go "oh yeah, I agree."Lisa Gail Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03648323153868702165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5790689532870711910.post-79247141667346502402010-01-27T07:35:39.069-08:002010-01-27T07:35:39.069-08:00This was great! I adore the idea of putting your W...This was great! I adore the idea of putting your WIP on a "word diet." I also read my manuscript out loud - I actually record it, and then I listen back to it like it's an iaudio book. It helps me catch things like using the same word to describe something on two different pages.<br />Great post!<br />Namaste,<br />LeeLee Wind, M.Ed.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06314692778355984313noreply@blogger.com