Wow, this weekend has been a whirlwind! As many of you know the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators had their annual NYC conference and, thanks to the hubs, I was able to share the same room with some of the most respected authors and illustrators in children’s literature. I learned so much and met wonderful people that share my same doubts, hopes, and aspirations. There were some ‘ah ha!’ Oprah moments, some uncomfortable moments, and some moments where I just wanted to curl up in my bed and fall asleep because I was so ex…hau…sted.
Two quick tips:
1. Bring an extra suitcase for books.
We had many authors at the conference that also signed as many books as you wanted. They offered a variety to purchase, and then were able to sign at the end of each day. I got one book for my school, books for my family, my students, and myself. I could’ve—and would’ve—bought a ton more if I had the room. I’m a bit of a book whore.
2. January + snow + no rubber boots = soaked feet and a serious threat of frostbite.
My friend Kim warned me of this, but I had no time to get to a Target before reading her advice and getting on the plane the next day. So I just figured I’d pick some up if I needed them once I got there. Well, being HUGE Friends (the tv show) fans, the hubs and I traipsed all around Greenwich Village looking for Monica, Rachel, Chandler and Joey’s apartment building. We found it all right, at the expense of my slouchy black boots and left pinky toe.
The speakers at this winter’s conference were wonderful. Lois Lowry is one of my favorite children’s authors, so to hear her speak about how she got the ideas for many of her popular books was a dream come true. R.L. Stine was surprisingly hilarious. I had no idea the man who is responsible for freaking children out for years really just wanted to have his own humor magazine one day. How ironic. Jane Yolen, Mark Teague, Jules Feiffer, Mo Willems, Lenore Look…I was in hog heaven.
But the two most influential speakers to me came on the last day. Young adult author Sara Zarr (A Girl Like Me and Sweethearts) spoke very candidly about the characteristics of a fulfilling creative life and the obstacles that keep us from it. I loved how honest and stripped down she was, like the gap between her and all of us was simply bridged by the podium in which she spoke from. She reminded us all that the value of our writing is not in if it gets published, or if we get a myriad of agents wanting to represent us, or even one agent who wants to represent us, but its in the work. It’s in the writing. It’s in that small, private, sacred place where we go as writers to feel alive and completely creative. But she also reminded us how easy that place gets threatened, how incredibly fragile it is and how susceptible you are to disenchantment. With working full time, being a mom to a toddler, and a military wife, this totally resonated with me. I have to fight off that threat every day.
Sara Zarr signing my book!
The last speaker, Linda Sue Park, left us with some of the best writing advice I’ve ever heard: Don’t believe in yourself, believe in the work. How many times have we tried to believe in ourselves? How many times have we heard that from others? Park asked the question, how the heck can you believe in yourself if you don’t? She said to step back from the FaceBooking, the tweeting, the—ahem—blogging, and get to the writing, because that is what it’s all about. Always.
Linda Sue Park!
Oh, and did I even tell you about all of the sightseeing? No? Well, I’ll just do it in pictures then. J
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I'm loving reading all the recaps! I loved Sara Zarr's speech too – it was amazing to have someone talk about the frustrations of being at this point in our writing careers when she's an author I look up to and would hope in many ways to emulate. And everything she said about building a creative life really struck a chord in me – awesome.
I hear you on the challenges too – I'm working full-time, grad school part-time, and it's tough. I can't even imagine how much harder it gets once you add kids into the mix, but you'll make it happen. 🙂
Oh, and love your sightseeing photos – looks like you had a blast in NYC!
Sounds like a wonderful (but cold … so very cold …) experience! Love the pics!
EJ
Ariel- it was great to meet you im glad you had a good time at the SCBWI conference hope to see you again nest year! I love the pics BTW