Blame it on Blume

One writer’s foray into the world of kidlit

– Jen Reeder

I love children’s books. I started reading them again as an adult ostensibly to be able to talk about books with my seven nephews and nieces (one of my life’s great pleasures) and then developed a genuine affection for “kidlit.” My bookshelves are filled with young adult fantasies (Legend, Graceling); coming-of-age stories (If You Find Me, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight); middle-grade (The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Wonder); chapter books (Bad Kitty, Clementine); and picture books (Bark, George, Dragons Love Tacos).

There are special nuances in each book, but I can usually count on a happy ending and at least one inspiring protagonist. Delighting in children’s literature has turned this journalist into an aspiring kidlit novelist. And since there are many Durangoans who are fellow creative types, I thought I’d share a little bit about what I heard at the 2014 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference in Los Angeles recently.

The conference kicked off with the faculty – some of the industry’s top editors, agents and authors – filing into a ballroom to Pharrell Williams’s hit song “Happy.” (Luminaries who weren’t taking themselves too seriously? How refreshing!) Then each faculty member said his or her name and one word for the crowd. Meg Medina (Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass) opened with, “Bienvenidos.” Meg Rosoff (Picture Me Gone) urged “Rebel.” Tim Federle (Better Nate Than Ever) offered “Optimism.” Literary agents suggested “Authenticity,” “Unputdownable,” “Agog,” and “Chocolate.” Judy Schachner (Skippyjon Jones) said, “Epiphany.” Jay Asher (Thirteen Reasons Why) said, “Hashtag Selfie” and snapped a shot of himself with an audience of 1,235 conference attendees (from 20 countries) grinning behind him.

So began four days of what my brother later described, based on my stories, as “fantasy book camp meets boot camp.” The boot camp aspect – workshops and tips from editors and agents – could be disheartening. One agent (who receives over 10,000 submissions a year) told us that it was easier to get into Harvard than to sign with a top agent. Asked what his agency was looking for, he said they wanted books that were “award-winning or best-selling – ideally both.” (No problem, right?)

There were lots of practical submission tips throughout the conference – don’t have typos in your query letter, make sure you have page numbers in your manuscript, avoid claiming your book “is like Harry Potter, but more marketable.” But we were also extolled to write books that help readers see the world in a different light, to tell the story only you can tell, and to try to change kids’ lives through stories. Every talk was peppered with books they loved – a passion for children’s books that showed their career choices weren’t about making a buck, but about getting kids excited about reading.

Then there was the fantasy camp side of things: the authors! Meg Rosoff (There Is No Dog) laughed off recent claims that fairy tales aren’t good for kids because they don’t stand up to scientific scrutiny. She countered that “You need imagination to become a great scientist just as you need it to become a great writer.” She said kids want intensity and big answers and emotions, and that our job as writers is to imagine “what might be, as well as what is.”

Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) told us to reread our favorite classics to inspire and challenge us to become better writers. “You’re gonna die – you might as well use the time,” he quipped, garnering a huge laugh. He also gave the best advice on writer’s block I’ve ever heard: “There’s no such thing as writer’s block. If you have it, you’re editing too early.”

Maggie Stiefvater (Shiver) suggested that we be thieves in our writing, stealing ideas from real life but then using artistry to make them our own (she also referred to her children as her “womb fruit,” which made me chuckle). Lamar Giles (Fake ID and an organizer of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign), warned against using stereotypes in books because “if a stereotype slips through, it becomes ‘true’ again.” Linda Sue Park (A Single Shard) told us we need a “passionate, personal stake” in what we’re writing about. And Aaron Becker (Journey) had us on our feet singing two-part harmony while he belted out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” – best book plug ever!

I rushed up to Becker after his speech and asked him to sign a copy of Journey for my friend’s 6-year-old daughter, Lily. He asked about her, then wrote, “For Lily, This is your journey. Make it count!” It wasn’t the first or last time I was moved to tears during the conference.

I also cried (and laughed!) during a keynote by Megan McDonald, best-selling author of the hilarious Judy Moody series. She made her respect for early readers clear with, “You have to write up – not down. Give them hard words and they backhand them back across the net.” And in a callback to her introductory word – “Splinter” – she told us, “If you want to write, find your splinter – the thing that pierces you and won’t let go.”

The final speaker was Judy Blume (as it said in the SCBWI program, “Yes, the Judy Blume!”), who said she never gives keynote speeches because she doesn’t want to prepare for them. Despite her alleged lack of preparation, she held the entire room spellbound as she shared her concern that kids today are so busy that they “won’t have time to imagine.” She told us that writing changed her life, and in many ways, it saved her life.

I think everyone in the room felt the same way. Reading, writing and all creative pursuits have the power to profoundly change and even save lives. But as many Durangoans know, the artistic process can be incredibly daunting – there are so many roadblocks to being able to share our work with the world. So I hope you’ll take heart, as I did, from Judy Blume’s parting advice: “Do not let anyone discourage you. If they try, get angry – not depressed.”

Let’s make our journeys count!