In this story, we get a more in-depth look at her crush on Manny Cruz and her attempts to deal with it.

The story is available for FREE in all the formats below. Download and enjoy it today – it may shift to a paid version in the future.

And speaking of free, make sure you enter to win an autographed paperback copy of Fact of Life #31 on Goodreads. Click the cover in the sidebar for more info.

Kat Flynn’s Guide to Getting Over a Crush by Denise Vega (Amazon) (Amazon Kindle)

Kat Flynn’s Guide to Getting Over a Crush by Denise Vega (Nook) (Barnes & Noble Nook Book)

Kat Flynn’s Guide to Getting Over a Crush (iBook) (iBooks)

Kat Flynn’s Guide to Getting Over a Crush by Denise Vega (Sony Reader)) (Sony books)

Kat Flynn’s Guide to Getting Over a Crush by Denise Vega (Kobo books) (Kobo)

If the format for your device isn’t listed here, let the moderator know and we’ll hook you up! And let us know if any of them give you trouble.

Today I want to share some awesome guides for you to use in a book club or, if you are an educator, in your classroom. My sister/webmaster/moderator, Cheryl, created the beautiful guides you see below. Click on an image to automatically open the PDF and/or download it for your own use. They are free to copy and distribute so go crazy!

Click the image to download the guide!	Click the image to download the PDF!
Discussion guide for book clubs and other discussion groups. Questions specific to the book and questions to help readers relate to the themes.	Unit guide for classroom and educational use. Activities, vocab, figurative language and more.

Buy Fact of Life #31! Or get the E-book!

Today I’m sharing a video of me reading an excerpt from the book. This post will be up for the next couple of days so check it out! The video is also now part of my YouTube channel and my Videos+ page.

 

Buy Fact of Life #31!

Or get the E-book!

But what about setting our own deadlines. Are they as motivating?

For me the answer is sometimes and sometimes not. Right now I’m trying to finish my Fact of Life #31 e-story to time it with the start of my GoodReads giveaway of autographed paperbacks on May 24. I’m highly motivated because I’ve said in the giveaway that the story is available. Of course, the contest doesn’t start for another week so conceivably I could change the contest text before it goes out.

But I don’t want to. I want to finish the story and have it ready. So I’m writing like crazy, which is a good thing.

Setting mini-goals

I’ve found that the best way for me to reach a goal is to set mini-goals along the way. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you’ll know this because I’ve talked about it in previous posts. If I want to have the story available on May 24, that means I have to write it, revise, finalize the cover that my son is designing, format it for different devices and e-readers and get the links on my site. So, my deadlines look like this.

May 20-21: Finish final revisions

May 22: polish – get final cover

May 23: Format versions

Time the Deadline with an Event

Another deadline tip that has worked for me in the past is to time it before a big event – a holiday, vacation, the arrival of guests – something where I know I’m not going to be able to do much, if any, writing. If you’re like me, you’ll be looking forward to that event and won’t want the writing you didn’t do hanging over your head…so you’ll get it done.

If you have other tips or tricks you use to meet a self-imposed deadline, share them!

Queries

There are hundreds of sites and blogs covering the query, but the general idea boils down to three items a query should contain:

1. Introduction. If you met the agent or editor at a conference or elsewhere, mention that here, along with if they requested a query and/or sample pages. If you didn’t meet the editor or agent anywhere, you can jump right into #2.
2. Introduce your manuscript–title, type, and number of words (in the order that makes sense to you), along with a brief, compelling summary of the story that also shows the voice and/or tone.
3. A bit of background on you–any published books, writing credits, memberships to pertinent organizations–like the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and any expertise that relates to the book.

For query junkies and those who really want to immerse themselves in queries that worked and query critiques, check out AgentQuery Connect.

Writing Queries for Picture Books

It’s always seemed a little odd to write a query for a picture book since (a) the manuscript may actually be shorter than the query and (b) most publishers and agents ask for the complete manuscript anyway. However, the query is a great place to predispose or interest the editor or agent in your work so it’s worth crafting a well-written query that not only provides a summary of your story, but also gives a taste of your voice.

Picture Book Queries

This post is a couple of years old, but it provides a good example of a query and an excellent explanation of what to include.

Writing Novel Queries

There are a zillion sites that not only provide examples of good queries, but also offer critiques. You can find many of them by doing your own online searches, but this link at GalleyCat is a list of queries of all levels and genres that actually got an agent’s attention so check it out!

Novel Queries

Tracking Your Queries

Before I had an agent, I kept track of all my queries and submissions in an Excel spreadsheet. That’s still a decent way to go, but I discovered Query Tracker recently and thought it was a wonderful tool and resource; something I’m always on the lookout for when I’m teaching classes. This site has a three-fold purpose–(1) finding agents and editors to target, (2) organizing and tracking your queries, and (3) sharing information about agents and publishers. This last one is invaluable, but is all self-serve–meaning it relies on parties on both sides to enter pertinent information and updates so it’s only as good as those who go back and update their information and progress.

Query Tracker

If you have other tips on querying, share them here!

The rhythmic give and take of a question and answer format is ideally suited for picture books. The question engages young reader/listeners and encourages them to respond before finding out how the book answers it.

The book starts out with the main character asking if a friend can come over to play and the mother saying she can. Then the questions that follow inspire a response from the listener: “Are you a princess just like me?” – “I’ve been a princess since I was three!” Each question not only may elicit a response from the young listener, but the answer (depicted with hilarity and warmth in the illustrations) will have kids giggling and parents grinning.

Other books that have a similar format may use an actual question or perhaps another device, like If/Then.

There are many ways to engage your listening in your text. As you read a a writer, see if you can identify other stories that have some kind of question and answer format. Let me know what you find!

“Pete the Cat was walking down the street…”

_(character name)___ the _(type of animal/alien/object)__ was…

My take:

Ann the Bunny was hopping toward her burrow when a shadow flew over her.

I’m wondering if that’s too ominous for a picture book. I just looked outside where about a zillion bunnies hop around our yard, eating our flowers, and that’s what came out.

Today we’ll be riffing off a published book – Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean, illustrated by Eric Litwin, doing a sort of a Mad Libs because we need to fill in the blanks.

“Pete the Cat was walking down the street…”

_(character name)___ the _(type of animal/alien/object)__ was…

I’ll post mine tomorrow!

Let’s look at what Nancy does to hook us on the first page of this novel.

The Page

Chapter 1

Two Crows taunts me, making sure no one is around to hear.  He dares me, but keeps a safe distance. I spring like a rabbit and chase him, wrestling him down and straddling him.  I pin his arms to the ground, hoping no one can see us from the trail that leads down to the creek.

Even though I have the upper hand, Two Crows mocks me again. “Hides Inside, don’t cry too loud.  Our enemies will find us in the night.”

Two Crows pulls one arm free and tries to twist out of my grip.  I squeeze hard with my knees and hold one shoulder down with my left hand.  I double my free fist and bring it up, stabbing down at the place of his heart.  He wrenches away and throws me off, but when he rises  my older brother, Standing Tall, is there, arms folded, glaring at us.  Standing Tall’s gaze freezes us in place.

“We are only playing.” Two Crows says quickly. “Practicing our warrior skills.”

Why It Works

Even if we never saw the cover, we’d know this was a story about Native Americans by the names, which Nancy introduces immediately, along with giving us a taste of the relationship between Two Crows and Hides Inside. And what about the names themselves? “Two Crows” evokes the birds, but what about “Hides Inside?” Does he hide inside a dwelling or inside himself? I’m immediately intrigued, especially when Two Crows taunts him about crying, but Hides Inside has Two Crows pinned so who really might cry if things go too far?

Clues to character and relationship are woven in deftly. We already know a little about these boys and care about what happens to them. And of course we want to know what Standing Tall will do.

I recently read this quote in How to Write Fast (While Writing Well) by David Fryxell (the book is best suited for non-fiction writers, but has a few good tips for fiction writers). Fryxell also states that there isn’t writer’s block, just disorganized writers.

Both of these caught my attention because I’m not very disciplined or organized when it comes to my writing. But what if I was? What would it look like to be disciplined?

So, here’s my vision of what a disciplined and organized writing session would look like:

• Plan/schedule writing time in advance. I just started doing this about three weeks ago. Each Sunday I open my calendar for the coming week and schedule in blocks of time – with a reminder! Sometimes it’s 30 minutes, sometimes it’s 2-3 hours; it just depends. But I try to have something scheduled every day if possible (I also write on the weekends, but that is catch as catch can).
• Set goals I want to accomplish that week. I’m back with my writing buddies and we’ve been sending each other goals and progress reports. For me it’s things like: “Finish revising short story” or “Write the scene(s) leading up to the midpoint in my novel.” I’ve focused on goals that I truly believe I can attain, rather than shooting for the moon; starting small and as I see how I progress, perhaps upping my goals.
• Have everything I need to accomplish the goal. Is there research I need to do that if I don’t have it, will slow me down? Do I know the scene or part of the story where I want to begin? Do I have a decent idea of what that scene or part will be about? If I’m writing at another location, do I have my pad and pen, laptop/tablet, chargers, etc?
• Have my inspirations/rituals in place. I’m not a coffee drinker, but if I was, I’d make sure I had my coffee ready. I’m trying to take deep breaths, walk around and begin thinking about my work. Sometimes I’ll read, meditate, or do yoga to help me transition to writing. Light a candle, murmur a mantra, do yoga or meditation, scream therapy – whatever it takes to trigger your brain to know it’s time to write.
• When it’s my scheduled time to write, I need to write. I confess: I haven’t always done it. There were two times when the reminder went off and I was in the middle of something else. I didn’t stop and start writing, but I should have. Or better yet, I should have been aware that my writing time was coming up so I could wrap up what I was doing and be ready to get down to writing.

One of my big goals is to finish a novel in a year – or sooner. To do this, I will absolutely have to develop discipline and organization so…onward.

If you have tips on how you stay disciplined and organized, share them!