And even more great bedtime reads!

While reviewing my site stats, I've noticed that lots of people want bedtime selections for their little sweethearts (or maybe for their little hellions...maybe THAT'S why they're so anxious to get them to sleep). Here are some new discoveries in the Klempner household.

This Little Chick by John Lawrence tells the adventures of a wacky little chick who would rather speak the languages of the other barnyard animals than that of his family. The woodblock print illustrations are just fantastic, and my children laughed at the chick's antics. Ages 18 mo - 5 years.

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na has to be one of the most dreamily illustrated boardbooks I've ever seen. A wakeful owl watches over sleepy animals of all types until day arrives. The language is simple and lulling, and the pictures are filled with fanciful whorls and flowers and vines faintly sketched against the blocks of color. My favorite illustrations are those of the giraffe using the cloud as a pillow and the penguins huddled together. Perfect for ages 18 mo through 4 years.

The next Jewish holiday, a month and a half away, will be Chanukah. Here's a fun story to celebrate the holiday:

Asher and the Capmakers by Eric Kimmel isn't precisely a folktale. This is a whimsical, darkly humorous story--about the mysterious adventure a boy has when he runs to the neighbor to borrow an egg for the family's latkes--created by interweaving folktales from many traditions. I'd recommend this one for children 5 to 10 years old. It's a little scary for the youngest readers. Also, some families might be uncomfortable with the mention of fairies and their magical caps.

Revision update

I know I set a deadline of Nov. 1st for revising my novel, but I kinda forgot I'd be out of commission during Sukkot. Now, I'm paying the price.

My tush is asleep. My tailbone is rebelling.

I really want to finish by Tuesday night, but I'm finding the chair at my computer so painful (despite yoga and 600 mg ibuprofen every 6 hours), I'm not sure I'm going to make it. Plus, every time I look at what I've already written and supposedly revised, I keep finding more things I don't like. Ugh.

Self-doubt sets in. Maybe it's no good after all.

I'm going to try to finish, anyway. What if I spend the next 20 years kicking myself about "that novel I wrote, but never finished..."?

Bram Stoker's journals to be published

(photo by Paul Capewell on Flickr)

Here's a reminder to jot down all your brilliant and not-so-brilliant ideas into a notebook and then to keep your notebooks around long after you've filled them:

Relatives of the Irish author Bram Stoker recently discovered his first journal, kept while he was a university student. While the quality of the writing it contains shows nowhere near the professional skill of Dracula or Stoker's many short stories, it does reveal that in later life, he went back to the snippets he jotted down in early adulthood to include in his writing. Even if he couldn't use the material immediately, this journal laid a foundation for future success.

A lot of people walk up to me and say, "I have this really great idea, but I don't have the time to follow up on it right now." Or they say, "I had this thing happen to me, but I don't think I can write about it."

My answer: JUST JOT DOWN A FEW WORDS. Or draw a picture. Or paste in a magazine clipping or family photo that will jolt your memory at a later date. A journal, notebook, or planner works because these formats are less likely to get lost than the back of an envelope and keep everything together.

Maybe right now you don't have the skills or time to write your masterpiece. That's okay if you save the ideas for later in a concrete format. (For foodie types: it's like keeping a crock of sourdough starter around so you can eventually bake bread.)

For the complete article about Bram Stoker's journal, follow this link.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/18/bram-stoker-notebook-dracula?CMP=twt_fd

This is officially a rant.

Please forgive me for the following. I cannot help myself.

In the middle of this lovely Jewish holiday of Sukkot, I find myself very cranky instead of all smiley-faces. I just received a rejection letter (the second for this particular writing project), but that's not the thing that upsets me the most. What upsets me the most is that there are so few options left for me on this project.

I am an author. I am a first-rate doodler, but I am not an illustrator. And because of that, many publishers and agents don't even want to hear from me. Many, if not most, have closed their doors to unsolicited picture book manuscripts that are submitted without illustrations attached.

There are some wonderful author-illustrators out there. But even many famous ones write books not illustrated by themselves (Mo Willems, Rosemary Wells, and Kevin Henkes, for example), and there are also examples of books that would have been better if the publisher had given the writing and illustrating jobs to separate people (I refuse to name names, as this would be hurtful). Outstanding words rarely come from outstanding graphic artists. Many wonderful authors would never be heard from if they had to prove their drawing chops just to get a book deal.

Maybe an editor or agent can explain this trend to me, but right now I'm busy having a pity party. Try me some other time.

Chugging away

(photo by RJ Stew on Flickr)

I've decided to set a goal for myself: rewrite the rough draft of my novel in entirety and hand over to my trusted reviewers by November 1st. Hopefully, a deadline will keep me chugging away.

After the research I did last week, I've decided to do a "two pass" method. First I went through the whole thing and made sweeping changes to the structure, made characters, plot points, and themes consistent all the way through, etc. Now I'm doing a line-by-line edit.

I'm very excited but very nervous. What if everyone hates it? What it everyone loves it but no one will print it?

[Reminding myself to reframe:

It doesn't have to be perfect, just the best I can do right now (thanks Holly Lisle).]

Ladies: Have you seen "The Heart that Sings" yet?

Last spring, I enjoyed the fabulous, soul-stirring, ladies-only film by Robin Garbose "The Heart that Sings." The film is 100% kosher. Not only are performances by ladies only for ladies only, but contain authentically Jewish content. If you didn't catch the movie the first time around, you can catch it during chol hamoed Sukkot in the following locations: Boro Park, Monsey, Crown Heights, Toronto, L.A., and Lakewood. Follow this link for times and ticket prices:

http://www.kolneshama.org/sukkos-screenings-of-the-heart-that-sings/

There's also a preview available to watch on the website.

And now comes the hard part

I'm preparing to revise the novel-in-progress.

Many bloggers have recommended the "One Pass Method" of Holly Lisle. For details, see: http://hollylisle.com/how-to-revise-a-novel/ which tries to do everything in one fell swoop from beginning to end.

Others suggest a longer process, saying their revisions take longer than writing their first draft. Yikes! Just the idea makes me want to hyperventilate.

I'll update you on my trevails. I'm taking a breather for a few days and working on other projects.

I DID IT!

Yes, it's true! I finally finished my first novel. Hooray! Of course, I was supposed to finish by Labor Day, and it's probably pretty terrible, and it's shorter than I intended, but it's done. It's just a first draft...but a complete first draft! And the longest thing I've ever written. (I never realized before how it takes a long time to print an entire novel.)

I'm in shock right now. All my nearest and dearest are in bed right now, so I'll just blog and get to bed.

Bear With Me

When you actually make it to regular pediatrician visits for all your kids--and you've got a few kids--you spend a lot of time with the aforementioned pediatrician. So you shmooze. Over the last couple years, part of our shmooze has been on the topic of his son-in-law's picture book.

It came out not too long ago, and I have to recommend it, not only is it by a friend of a friend (so to speak), it's by a local author and actually very worthy of a recommendation. Max Kornell's Bear with Me is quite a charming book and got lots of giggles out of my kids.

A little boy's parents bring home someone new to live with them. Someone who takes up a lot of his parents' attention. Someone who tampers with his belongings and makes him lose sleep at night. Sound familiar? However, this little boy didn't get a new baby...he got a new bear.

While some of the reviews I've read recommend this book for children with new siblings, I think it would be even better for kids with an ADOPTED sibling on the way. Here's why: the little boy and the new bear are able to enjoy each other's company rather quickly. It can take a while before newborns are entertaining and engaging. This would probably be good to discuss before a new baby comes home, otherwise your elder children might be disgusted by the family's new addition.

Other than that little picky point, I highly recommend this funny little book for kids, ages 3-7.