Harry on the Prairie

Harold Underdown at Prairie Writers Day

Some of us thought he’d be a little old man with a beard. What did the reknown Harold Underdown look like? I wasn’t sure–the only Underdowns I had known lived on my block when I was a kid and I was pretty sure no matter how old he was, he wasn’t a black guy related to old Mrs. Underdown.

 

It turned out I was right (he wasn’t black) and other folks were wrong (he wasn’t old). (Of course, if we had bothered to look on his famous web site, Harold’s Purple Crayon, we would have seen a picture.) But any of us who thought he was inciteful, entertaining, and knowledgeable about the children’s book biz would have been absolutely correct.

 

Harold Underdown was the lead speaker in SCBWI-Illinois’ Prairie Writers Day and as usual, it was a day packed with information. This year’s program focused on craft, so after Harold’s look at the positives and negatives in the state of the publishing industry, the guest editors (LIVE from New York!) took us through voice, plot, and revision.

 

I have never been to an SCBWI-IL event that I didn’t feel like I have gotten my money’s worth. I can’t afford an MFA and my entire education in writing for children has been via SCBWI programs. If you are not a member and you want to write for children, JOIN!

The Music of My Life

Election craziness was getting to me today so I am doing something I haven’t done for a really long time–I’m playing CDs. It’s not that I haven’t played CDs because I have an iPod. No, sir. I haven’t listened to any recorded music because I am tuned into public radio ninety-five percent of the time. But right now, while I’m working on a nonfiction bio, having the voices of News Present in my head was not helping.

So I’ve listened to Prokofiev and now I’m listening to David Benoit. I’ve always loved piano jazz. I’ve forgotten how much I love David Benoit. (He’s the modern day interpreter of Vince Guaraldi’s music.) Music is wonderful. Back to the book now. . .

The All-Important Mission Statement

After much deliberation after Kelly Herold’s talk to our Chicago Southland SCBWI group on Saturday, I decided I needed to start over with my blogging life. And to do it right, I needed to fall back upon my business experience and write a mission statement for my blog. What did I want it to be about? What did I want it to say about me?

My last two blogs were very different–my first one was about my hobby of collecting vintage handbags, “Gail’s Red Bag,” and the second was “Notes from the Lemonade Stand.” It was about writing while trying to make the best with what life gives you. In my case, what life gave me was lupus, so this was not as upbeat a blog as what I wanted it to be. Lupus doesn’t usually give you anything to laugh about or be happy about or even share with anyone that doesn’t have lupus too. So let’s move on!

I deliberated on the title of the new blog, and finally settled on The Riant Writer. It sounds very smart doesn’t it? Riant is just a fancy word for laughing, mirthful, but I thought it was perfect for me. I laugh really, really well. My husband says I can laugh at anything. (He isn’t saying that to be complimentary, though.) I like to read middle grade and picture books that make me laugh. I like to write things that make kids and parents smile.

But I am also a slave to the truth. So there you go–a mission statement is born! And I didn’t need a board retreat (although a hotel stay would be nice), a commitee, an ad-hoc group, or a constitutional convention to make it! This is way easier than in politics and business!

Mission Statement for The Riant Writer: This blog is dedicated to sharing news and views about writing for children and good living with mirthful truth.