It’s that time of the year ‒ the winter holidays ‒ and that means it is time for us to bring you our annual holiday guide. This year, we want to celebrate the storytellers who light up children’s imaginations. From cozy desk essentials to creative tools, our team has curated gifts to inspire and support the writers in your life, including you!

Get in the zone

Bose QuietComfort

Noise-cancelling headphones are an essential for focus on the go. Bose QuietComfort and JBL Tour One headphones offer quality sound and comfort to keep distractions at bay. If you prefer earbuds, try Beats StudioBuds Plus or JBL Noise Cancelling Earbuds. In your own space, a white-noise machine can create the perfect soothing atmosphere for writing sessions. The Yoga Sleep Dohm Nova Sound Machine and Rest Nature Mini Portable Sound Machine offer a variety of sound settings to keep you relaxed and writing. 

Support yourself

Blue light glasses

Long days at the desk mean plenty of screen time, which can lead to eye strain, headaches, and fatigue. Blue light glasses are an essential tool for comfort and eye health. Warby Parker and Felix Gray offer high-quality frames with lenses designed to filter out harmful blue light and make screen time gentler on the eyes. For a more budget-friendly option (and the ones I opted for), Firmoo provides a range of affordable styles. 

Wrist rests and ergonomic cushions 

Don’t let physical pain stop your flow! Ergonomic wrist rests, yep, even those shaped like a cat or dog, are designed to ease strain during long typing sessions. Seat cushions can relieve pressure in other achy parts. These small but mighty accessories can help make every hour a little more comfortable. 

Move your body

As a writer your body takes a beating, so give yourself the gift of movement and stretching. Jill Braverman’s online classes are a favorite of Whale Rock. Jill’s focus on building strength, flexibility, and mindfulness in a calming, supportive environment is perfect for all levels, and her sessions aim to help you release stress and find your center. Whale Rock community members can enjoy a free trial class with Jill. Just drop her a note and let her know you’re a Whale Rock community member. 

Quiet your mind

Treat yourself or a writer friend to one of Whale Rock’s meditation-based writing sessions, designed to help you tap into flow and your subconscious writer-self. In January, editor, author, and meditation instructor Laurie Caulkhoven will lead Whale Rock writers through a meditation and two subsequent prompts. Award-winning author, coach, and meditation instructor Heather Demetrios will run a meditation and prompt in February. All our mindfulness sessions offer flexible pricing to meet your needs. 

Gifts for readers

Find the right words

Still looking for that perfect writer gift? Consider a bouquet of book page flowers, a personalized embosser for your favorite readers to label their books, or fragranced candles designed to smell like a bestseller, a masterpiece, or reading time. 

Read, read, read! 

What would a holiday gift to or from a kidlit author be if children’s books weren’t involved? Check out our Whale Rock Workshops storefront to support the work of our community of authors and faculty.

Wrap up a workshop

Give the gift of creativity and treat yourself or a friend to a workshop at Whale Rock! Contact us to purchase a gift certificate and for more details.

This is a question that comes up a lot in the Whale Rock community.

I know many talented writers who take workshops, participate in one-on-one opportunities, and work intently with their writing groups.

And yet, no bites on their projects.

It’s frustrating, and it’s hard, and I know that sometimes it just makes you want to throw in the towel and give up.

Publishing is a long haul. It's years of rejections and non-responses until you find that one person who sees the potential in one of your projects. I've written four novels and sold one. I've written about 15 picture books and sold four. Many of my stories will never see the light of day.  

Some of my stories were just poorly timed: a classic fairytale when fractured or modernized fairytales were all the rage. Some of my books were too quiet or not commercial enough. And if I’m being honest, some just weren’t good enough to sell.

How do you know when your project is ready and good enough to pitch?

Well, there’s no way of knowing for sure, but my approach: I never send anything out unless I've had two trusted, experienced reader friends give me the thumbs up AND at least one of my mentors tells me the manuscript is ready.

I never know when my story is good enough to go out because by the time I think it's done I've read it too many times to be truly objective. I have to rely on others for honest feedback.

What if you don’t have a trusted mentor?

1) Get in front of an agent or editor at a conference.

For example, you can sign up for PYI at Canscaip or an SCBWI one-on-one event and pay for one or two editor / agent meetings. Listen to their feedback. (If they tell you the book isn't there yet, don't race home and make quick edits and then send it out right away. You will still need feedback on those revisions.)

2) Take a craft class with a truly exceptional instructor multiple times.

Work with one or two teachers who really get to know you and your project. Some of the most talented writers I know return year after to work with Patricia Lee Gauch and Gary Schmidt for our Master Skills class. Published books are coming out of that class! If the timing and pricing doesn’t work for you, that’s okay, find another teacher whom you love and work with them again and again. This repeated access offers you concrete progress on your project. Taking one project to multiple conferences and classes will result in confusing, often conflicting feedback. There are many ways to make a project work. Choose one path and stick with it.

3) Find a critique group with experienced authors or exceptional readers.

Even better, find a group of writers who work with the same mentors or teachers as you! That way you will all have a shared sensibility and approach. Writing groups are tricky. Well-meaning peers too often offer well-meaning advice that can derail your project. A group of only unpublished, beginning authors will very likely know if a manuscript isn't working, but they may not have the experience needed to help you take that project to the next level. Even published critique partners often lead others astray. Never assume advice on how to fix your manuscript is correct.

Another big mistake I see is submitting projects to the wrong people.

A wise writer friend once told me that most writers make the big mistake of assuming the market they are selling to is readers. In fact, as a writer, your market is agents and editors. You sell your product to agents and editors who then sell that product to readers.

If you don’t know your market, you can’t sell properly.

Before you submit to an agent or an editor make sure that agent/editor is a good fit for your project and your work in general. The best editor on the planet is a bad fit for your picture book about the lifecycle of a mouse if that editor only publishes commercial character-driven stories.

To get a sense for what kinds of stories an editor or house publishes, look at their acquisitions. Publishers Marketplace is a great resource. Follow presses on Instagram and social media. Take books out of the library from different publishers and study the differences. Editors will only acquire a book that fulfills their branding guidelines.

If you’re looking at agents, do the same kind of research. Read the agents’ wishlists, look at their personal websites, and look at what they sold in Publishers Marketplace. Don’t submit your romantic young adult fantasy to an agent who only represents middle grade authors.

I wish I could tell you there's a secret sauce, but we are all submitting, pitching and hoping.

There are no guarantees in this super fickle industry, but getting your story as close to ready with a trusted mentor or teacher and subbing to the right people will get you a whole lot closer.

With publishing in a perpetual state of flux, I am continuing my quest to keep you connected to small (indie) presses committed to helping authors bring their stories to life.

I met Michele McAvoy about a year ago through an industry friend. My first impression of Michele was: “WOW, this woman is smart as anything, and I can’t believe what she has accomplished.” Michele started The Little Press from home, and now her books are being distributed to libraries and bookstores nationwide. Her acquisitions are being announced in Publishers Weekly. The Little Press is the real deal.

Below is my Q&A with Michele. Whale Rock community members have an exclusive opportunity to submit to The Little Press for the next month. See details below. (After the month is over, The Little Press will be closed to submissions for a while.)

Enjoy,
Shari

Can you tell me a bit about how and why you started The Little Press?

This is a loaded question. There are so many reasons why I started The Little Press, but in a nutshell, I started it as a means to give debut or early career writers an opportunity for publication. As an author, my publishing opportunities have come with smaller indie presses, and I am able to enjoy all the benefits of being a published author. I sit right next to my colleagues published with bigger houses at book festivals and kids don't know who published what. All they care about is a good book. I wanted to do something bigger in the industry by giving others the gift of publication.

Can you tell me a bit about your background prior to starting The Little Press?

I've been in the industry since 2016 when I self-published my first children's book, My Superhero Grandpa. As an attorney for 20+ years, I’m naturally inquisitive and began to research and learn all I could about the publishing industry. I went on to get an agent and published additional titles through smaller independent presses, like Native Ink Press, Cardinal Rule Press, and Pigman Books. At some point I realized, hey, I could do that! As an attorney with large international law firms and working in-house at a major bank, I've had a seat in many meetings with high stakes. I didn't realize my legal work was training me to be the CEO of my own company. I now not only sit at the table with CEOs and influential folks in the industry – I had a Zoom call with a senior creative director at DreamWorks (OMG!) – but I also have the business sense to drive my own company to success. 

What is the mission of The Little Press? 

It's our mission to open doors for debut and early career creatives. In this way we can bring new voices to children's literature. I love sending that email to a debut author telling them we would like to acquire their project. I know the joy that gives and that fills my mission right there.

Tell me a bit about the small press model:

Publishing isn't for the faint of heart. I have to be creative in a business sense in order to find profitability. There is a very good reason why you may not see big advances from small publishers or you may not sell 20,000 books from small publishers. It's not because the publisher doesn't care or isn't trying. It's a difficult market for an indie. At the same time, we aren’t constrained by large marketing teams and budgets that many of the bigger publishers have to contend with. We have the power to acquire books we love just because we love them. And we can take on projects that resonate with us.

For example, we’ve boosted our ability to bring beautiful picture books to market with our collaboration with One Little Earth, an environmental nonprofit. I've had a fantastic time collaborating with their founder, Debra Wolf Goldstein, and we’re excited for the amazing stories and new voices we are bringing to market through this partnership.

What kind of distribution do you have?

We have traditional distribution through Baker & Taylor Publisher Services (BTPS). This means that we have national distribution and our books are available to all booksellers and librarians nationwide. Procuring traditional distribution through BTPS was a game changer for us and has allowed us to offset print — we can now do print runs abroad instead of print on demand (POD). Working abroad allows us to bring a higher quality print to market. Now some of our covers are adorned with sparkles, foil, spot UV, embossing, and treatment you can't get with POD.

What's something you'd like folks to know about The Little Press? 

As a true indie we don't succeed unless you support us. Full stop. Unlike large publishing houses, we don't have built-in distribution to every library or big box store. But we can be successful through true grassroots support. We need YOU to buy our titles, ask for our books at libraries, and support us on social media. We need the power of the collective in order to bring success to all of our amazing creatives. 

How do you think publishing has changed in the past few years? How has that impacted The Little Press?  

There has been SO much change in the past few years, not to mention the change that came with Covid, Print On Demand, Amazon, etc...  I think folks crave a change and are beginning to see the power of being independent. I think The Little Press has benefited a bit from the shake up in that creatives are seeing the benefit of starting small and are trusting us with their amazing work. I also think the industry has welcomed us with open arms, as our acquisitions get picked up in Publisher's Weekly, we have been featured in Publisher's Weekly, Foreword, and the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA.) 

What kind of stories do you look for?  

I typically look for stories with great commercial appeal and humor. I think that stems from being a Saturday morning cartoons kid from the ’80s. For our Christian imprint, Bless this Press, we publish quieter stories. For MG and YA, we are just looking for GREAT writing. Candidly, we are too small to heavily edit a manuscript, so we look for work that is already strong. All of our novels have gone out to receive fantastic industry accolades and that's because the writing is really good. 

What will writers get from working with you?

When you work with The Little Press your book gets the same amount of attention as every book on our list. We work closely with our creatives throughout the marketing of their titles. We invest in educational guides, book trailers, Edelweiss promotions, etc., for all of our titles. 

Any final thoughts?  

We would love to give an exclusive submission to Whale Rock's authors. We will open until May 15 for MG and YA only. Please follow our submission guidelines at www.littlepresspublishing.com/submissions and put "Whale Rock" in the subject line. 

This month, we checked-in with Levine Querido Executive Editor Nick Thomas. We wanted to learn more about Nick, his work, his background and what it’s like to work with him. Want to work with Nick, check out his class: First Fifteen: Openers to keep readers turning the pages coming up next month.

Can you tell me a bit about your editing background prior to joining Levine Querido?

I would say it really began in high school when I worked at Books Bytes & Beyond, a children’s bookstore! But officially, I was an intern at Arthur A. Levine Books (Arthur’s old imprint at Scholastic) for two summers in college. Then I was Arthur’s assistant after graduating, worked in editorial at Bloomsbury and then back at Scholastic in another role (with two British imprints, Chicken House and David Fickling Books), and then back at Arthur A. Levine Books for a couple of years before leaving to join LQ! I’ve been at LQ for five years, which is my longest time in one place, funnily enough.

How do you think publishing has changed in the past few years?

In so many ways, some good, some bad! I definitely feel like we’re seeing a broader diversity of voices being published (good). We’re also seeing consolidation into ever-larger houses and an even greater portion of sales going to a few bestselling backlist titles (both of which I think have some negative ramifications). But indies remain resilient and it’s been great to see Barnes & Noble expanding. It feels like that’s the way it goes with publishing – a mix of positive and negative and there’s always change.

How has your mission changed in the past few years?

I wouldn’t say it’s shifted, moreso our commitment has only deepened! We’re trying to make beloved books that people will look back on decades later and say, “that book meant so much to me.” And we’re trying to have our list reflect the world around us in the stories and creators we publish. We believe that, deep in our core, and our experience the past five years has only strengthened that feeling.

What kinds of stories do you look for?

Books from really talented people who are telling a story from their heart. I edit everything – picture books, chapter books, novels, nonfiction, graphic novels, etc.

What will writers get from working with you? 

That’s a great question. I would hope they get honesty, kindness, and enthusiasm. And my full and utter commitment!

How do you approach editing?

I always say being an editor is one-third discovering talent, one-third nurturing that talent, and one-third communicating your passion for that talent to other people (in-house and out of house). When I’m working with an author to develop their book, I’m trying to be that trusted first reader and friend who loves their work and just presents his reactions – for them to take or leave and revise as they see fit. I think if you get too prescriptive that’s a slippery slope.

What's your favorite book of all time for adults? For kids?

 For adults, I would probably say The Secret History. For kids, I would say the His Dark Materials trilogy (cheating a bit there)!

What are you watching now? Or, best movie you saw in the past year?

Always the NBA and WNBA (my wife and I are huge fans). I’m not a huge TV show consumer but I love movies. I really loved Past Lives and The Boy and the Heron this past year. I’m hoping to see the new Godzilla and All of Us Strangers soon.

What snack is by your desk?

My colleagues would probably laugh at this because I am eating almost constantly during the day:  chicken, trail mix, carrots, tuna sandwiches, etc. Whatever I can get my hands on.

Coffee or tea?

Coffee by a million. I drink a LOT.

Most of us enter the writing world because we’re creative and feel compelled to or called to share stories. We use words to paint scenes. I've yet to meet an author who writes because they’re interested primarily in the business, entrepreneurial side of books. But when you're selling and promoting a book–you quickly come to realize  that authors are expected to take on the role of a small business. You suddenly need to become your own marketing team.

We hear publishers and agents asking authors about their social media presence. But what role does social media really play in marketing your brand as an author, and your books?  We connected with Sarah Cassell, Whale Rocks’s marketing manager and founder of Latte Libro Marketing to learn more.

How are you seeing social media being used today as compared to a few years ago?

When social media originated, it was about making connections and sharing your daily life with others. Now, it’s become a place to learn and get world news. In fact, there’s an increased trend of users using social media as search engines to get their information. How did the presidential debate go? What’s happening in the Middle East? You can find all the information without ever leaving a single platform – and for better or worse, that information is served to you in a view and way that aligns and reinforces your pre-existing opinions and beliefs.  

This has, in my opinion, exasperated the divide on a number of human rights and social issues. And because of the anonymity, hate speech and harassment online are at an all time high. According to an annual survey by the Anti-Defamation League, 33% of adults reported being harassed online in the past 12 months – that is 10% higher than the previous year. 

Does social media really help in terms of marketing yourself, your services or your books?

Marketing, at its core, is about reaching an audience, communicating and building trust, and then selling or exchanging goods and services. Social media is just one tactic through which authors can reach their audience. And when you’re trying to grow your audience, social media and its 4.8 billion users can be a great place to do that. 

Here’s where I see many writers struggle however: how you approach social media as an author is inherently different then how you might approach it as an individual, because when it comes to your author life – you’re promoting your author brand and your goods (i.e. your books). Social media won’t be as successful without first defining and understanding your personal brand and your audience. 

Just saying “my book is for everyone!” won’t work because it leaves your messaging feel too broad and impersonal. Take the time to think about your brand as an author and really try to understand who your target audience is on social media. There are a lot of writers and authors on social. What sets you apart? What do they gain from following YOU that sets you apart from others? 

Some authors want to completely separate business and personal accounts by having two separate accounts. But many choose to only have one that is used in both ways. This is completely fine – but also know that in every personal interaction on that dual account, you represent your brand/business as an author. If your goal is to grow your audience and promote your new book to new audiences, my recommendation is to keep your account public. For personal posts on a public account, you can leverage privacy settings like “Close Friends” list to limit who can see that content. 

What is your advice to an author who wants to disconnect?

It is 100% okay and valid to disconnect from social media – either periodically or completely– especially if you’re feeling similarly about social media as Whale Rock Workshops founder Shari Becker described in a recent community newsletter. If the platform is only feeding your anxiety and consuming your creative energy, go offline. 

So while you might need to disconnect from social media, don’t disconnect from marketing altogether. There are other forms of marketing that you can explore that don’t require you to be bombarded with images, news and negativity. Here are some ideas of where to refocus your time:

• Improving the accessibility and SEO of your website.

• Dedicate time to your author newsletter. 

• Work on building relationships with bookstores and writers and bloggers or via workshops and conferences. 

What is your advice to an author who wants to build a following?

Whether you’re looking to grow your social following or your newsletter subscribers, my biggest advice is to start now. 

It can take several months or even a year to grow to 500-1,000 followers. 

I have a number of clients who reach out to me AFTER they've sold and need to promote a book. But people need time to learn more about you, connect with your content before they'll be compelled to buy. Before you convert people to buy, you have to build their interest and trust. 

What is the best use of an author’s time on social media these days?

1. Focus on consistent, quality content. Make sure your content is connected to your brand, and centered around the needs your audience has. 

2. Spend just as much time engaging on others’ content (related to your author brand – liking your bestie’s dog pics doesn't count. At least, not unless dogs are central to your author brand and they play a big role in your book themes.) This is the social piece of social media. It can help connect you with future followers and build a meaningful, engaged community. 

For more than a decade, Sarah Cassell has weathered the tides of digital marketing. She's supported national and local nonprofits, where she designs, builds and implements marketing and communications strategies that attract and engage millions of people. She holds a Bachelor's in Journalism from Ohio University and a Master's in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In this fast-paced growing world of technology, Sarah is passionate about sharing what she's learned about marketing with her writing community.

Dear Friends,

The snow is coming down here in Toronto and the skies are gray. But the candles are flickering and the holiday lights shine to brighten the gloomy afternoons.

And isn’t that what the winter holidays are all about – bringing light and joy into the darkness?

Normally, I’d be sending a newsletter filled with ideas for holiday gifts, but this year, I’m going to make the case that what we all need is a little TLC.

My holiday wishes for you involve loving kindness towards yourself and others:

May you take care of that nagging errand. For me, that entailed buying a new desk chair. It’s not glamorous, it’s not pretty, but it sure does make my back hurt less. 

May you shop local and support small businesses trying to stay afloat.

May you curl up with a great book that inspires you and watch a movie that makes you smile.

May you find some time to catch your breath and enjoy a cup of tea, coffee, hot cocoa, or whatever your winter drink of choice may be.

May you find time to connect with others.

Have dinner with neighbors. Play a game with your friends and family.

May you find time to savor a delicious meal. We cannot do our best work if we’re not satiated. After that meal, treat yourself to our hearty and flourless writing cookies. You can add your favorite mix-ins to the recipe. 

May you find some time to nurture your body, whether that means sleeping in, going for a run, or taking Whale Rock's free special yoga class created just for writers.

May your creativity be sparked.

Have a lightbulb moment, an epiphany in your stories, or an idea so genius, so amazing, so incredible that you can’t wait to write it down. If you’re looking for a little inspiration, check out this wonderful podcast with founding faculty member Patricia Lee Gauch and author Tom Baron. It’s sure to get you thinking about voice, plot, and storytelling.

May you find time for real conversation. As writers we understand the power of words. 

May you lead the way in modeling conversations full of nuance and complexity. Let’s speak out against hate of all kinds and encourage empathy. Let’s show children and young readers that human stories are more than 'likes' and reposts. 

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season full of peace and loved ones!

Patricia Lee Gauch

Hello, Kathryn!

Kathryn Erskine is the author of National Book Award winner Mockingbird, Jane Addams Peace Award honor book Seeing Red, and other novels for young readers, including The Incredible Magic of Being and Lily’s Promise. She is also the author of picture books Mama Africa: How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with her Song and All of Us. She is currently working on several books for children and adults.

Gearing up for our mentorship program and looking to learn more about our amazing faculty? Kathryn Erskine answered some of our fun questions to help you get to know a little bit more about her:

Your favorite book of all time?

To Kill a Mockingbird, although I have to say Demon Copperhead bowled me over.

Your favorite children's book?

I can only pick one?! I’ll go with a classic, Catherine, Called Birdy.

The book by your bed right now?

I have two towers about to topple, but the primary Middle Grade book is Orange for the Sunsets by Tina Athaide.

What is your go-to writing or editing snack? 

I don’t allow food in my office but I will go down to the kitchen for chocolate and nuts. Or chocolate-covered nuts.

You're the go-to mentor for …

Honest analysis (my legal training makes me hone in on everything), helping you get unstuck, loving your people (others call them characters).

Coffee or tea? 

Coffee. Lots.

Best movie or show you watched this summer? 

Lupin, a fun French detective show. You have to be OK with subtitles or speak French a lot better than I do.

Your secret talent?

Throwing together random ingredients to make a meal. Less useful: SET (a matching game).

What would you say to a writer considering our mentorship program? 

You know you’ll get quality assistance, but you may not know how fun it is and that the camaraderie and support are priceless!

Hey, Lisa!

Lisa Papademetriou is a former editor with Scholastic, HarperCollins, and Disney Press, and has taught at Sierra Nevada College’s MFA program in Writing. Her critically acclaimed novels include A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic, Middle School: My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar and Homeroom Diaries (both with James Patterson). She is also the founder of Bookflow.pub.

Gearing up for our mentorship program and looking to learn more about our amazing faculty? Lisa Papademetriou answered some of our fun questions to help you get to know a little bit more about her:

Your favorite book of all time?

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos. It's so funny, and so sly, and the voice is absolutely perfect.

Your favorite children's book?

When I was a kid, I loved the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. The ones in the series I liked the least were the ones I "only" read 13 times. As an adult, when I finished The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, I shut the book and then immediately opened it again on Page 1.

The book by your bed right now?

I'm working my way through a collection of short stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates called American Gothic Tales. It's a deep dive into 200 years of American horror fiction, and it's fascinating. I've learned a LOT about mood and suspense from these stories.

What is your go-to writing or editing snack? 

Hmm... I don't really eat while I'm working, mostly because I need my fingers. But if I'm going to snack on something, I have to say THERE WILL BE COOKIES.

You're the go-to mentor for…

Pesky plot problems. If you're asking yourself WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NOW? and/or DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE? I'm your girl. I love realistic fiction, funny stories, romance, mysteries, fantasy, and science fiction, and I'm comfortable mentoring any of those genres.

Coffee or tea? 

Coffee, but I'm weirdly picky. It has to be dark roast. Mention medium or blonde roast, and I'm going with tea.

Best movie or show you watched this summer? 

I binge-watched the new season of Black Mirror in two days. I'm not usually a big horror fan, but I recently interviewed the horror writer Paul Tremblay for The Boston Globe, and I was so interested in our chat that I decided to learn more about the genre.

Your secret talent?

I can cook anything in a Crockpot.

What would you say to a writer considering our mentorship program? 

When I turned 40, I decided I wanted to get a master's degree in writing. My husband argued that I didn't need one. I agreed with him; I had already published 15 books. But, I argued, the program would give me the mental space and time that I needed to take my writing to the next level. That's what I was buying. That, and the concentrated attention of a mentor. Of course, a two-year commitment (and the HEFTY PRICE TAG of an MFA) is more than a lot of people want to commit to. 

But a single semester at Whale Rock with the same faculty who teach in some of the most prestigious MFA programs in the country? If you've got a project in mind that you really want to dig into, I think the WRW mentorship totally makes sense. Personally, I'm thrilled to be among this faculty—I can't wait to work with and learn from them!

Dear and Gentle Whale Rock Writers,

It is that time of year when we’re finishing up the routines that summer has brought to us, and thinking about the new rhythms of autumn. There are the cooler temps, the pleasures of good apples, the changing of the trees and the seasonal plants, the sense—at least for northern climates—that winter is coming and we remember that travel may not be as easy, the mudroom needs to be cleaned up and coats and gloves and hats and galoshes (Isn’t that a lovely word?) pulled out from their recesses, and the rhythms of school life re-established for children and grandchildren.

We’re all busy with the change of the season. And that’s good. Routines are healthier when they’re varied, and it’s a good thing to feel the rhythms of the world and to recognize how powerfully they affect us.

In the middle of all that, we’re writing to encourage you to keep on with the writing that you’ve been working on. Perhaps you've been wrestling with language, or with plot, or character, or setting, or with those troublesome middles. You’re doing that because you are writers—that’s one of your major identities. You’re many other things too, but writing is how you have expressed your inner life, the way you have worked out what it means to be a creative human being. You have been given the great gift of being storytellers, and it is such a very human gift, one that deserves to be served. And storytelling is an act of service. It’s one way you work out who you are, and what it is that you are going to give the community and the world.

And yes, fall brings with it so many new things to do—and it’s not hard for us to list good things that we need to attend to other than our writerly gifts. There are real reasons not to write: We need to figure out what’s for supper tonight, we need to pick up this kiddo or that spouse, we need to tend to our friends because we’re social beings, we need to attend to those we know in distress or in loneliness or in discouragement. There are the physical and emotional needs of our families, and there’s the need to stay informed in a world that can’t even figure out what a fact is.

How do we find time to write in all of this? Should we even be doing this writing, given the pressing needs around us? And given the vagaries of the writing market, is it folly to give huge amounts of time and emotional energy to something that may not pay itself back?

These are all real pressures, and all good questions. And it’s true that any of us can find good reasons not to write today.

Write anyway.

Write because it’s who you are. Write because a gift needs to be served and brought into service. Write in gratitude for all that story has done for you. Write in gratitude for the gift you’ve been given and the opportunity to share it with another person who might one day open your book and find not only you, but herself in it. (Remember when that once happened to you?)

Remember that Patti and Gary, and the entire Whale Rock faculty believe in you, in your gift, and in your ability to make good on that gift. So we encourage you to stoke the wood stove, find ways to nurture your writing, grab a cup of good tea, let your dog curl up beneath your desk, then get to a couple of pages each day. Remember, Jack London wrote only 500 words a day, and he published more than any other American writer.

There’s a kiddo out there waiting for your story. That’s why you’ve been given the gift.

So write well, and keep going.

Yours,
Patti and Gary

Whether you’re trying to land an agent or trying to sell a book, this industry can, at times, feel fickle and discouraging. We asked our faculty members to share their thoughts about how to ride the ups and downs of the publishing industry.

Tip 1: Keep writing

Sure. It sounds simple, but author and winner of the National Book Award, Kathryn Erskine reminds us: 

“It’s always darkest before the dawn. It seems when you just can’t take it anymore, something good happens … the sun comes out, the money comes through, your teen says, You were right, Mom. I know it’s hard to feel you’re shouting your words, your thoughts, your whole self into the darkness but this time is not wasted. We’re getting more ideas and more writing practice, more experience and more wisdom, all of which will help our craft.

“ We can’t control what happens in the publishing world but we can control what we do with our own lives. Keep writing. Please. Be kind to yourself.”

Keep writing. Please. Be kind to yourself. Enjoy the process. Know that what you’re writing matters. Know that your story is and will be loved. To quote another famous saying (OK, it’s from the movie Galaxy Quest) “Never give up, never surrender!” Keep shouting into the darkness. The dawn is coming.”

Tip #2: Remind yourself why you write

When you’re doubting your purpose or place in this industry,  longtime Editorial Director at Philomel Books,  Patricia Lee Gauch reminds us:

“If you are feeling very discouraged about the state of publishing, I would encourage you to take time to appreciate why you write.  In an article by George Saunders, published in the New York Times about five years ago, someone asked him if it was hard for him that he couldn't guarantee all writers can publish.

He went to the heart of why people write.  In answer, he went to the heart of why people write, said that, for him, it goes way beyond publishing alone. That writing grows a writer's very sense of humanity.

“Keeping an eye on publishing is fine, but not at the heart of why a good writer writes.
”

Many years ago a writer by the name of Katherine Paterson wrote a book out of her experience as a missionary's child.  It was a story she needed to tell.  She had no agent, she just had a good book. One day an editor plucked it off the slush pile  (Ann Beneduce) and gave it to Virginia Buckley who, at that time, was on Ann's staff.

I think it is important to engage your soul, searching for a story that will affect your readers whoever they are.  If writers concentrate on the real goal — writing a good book, or as Brian Jacques used to say, writing a good yarn, they will not be as distracted by publishing and the state of publishing.  They need merely concentrate on writing the best book possible so that a reader/editor will pluck it out of the pile.

“If there is validity in this, a writer’s time would do well to be spent, “seeing,” “thinking”, “listening” to their deepest selves and ideas, and considering what the best way to tell the story they discover is.”

No one really knows what the state of publishing is.  But I think, all too often, writers can get sidetracked by this issue, rather than growing themselves.  Write a good story...tell a good yarn.  That's where energy needs to go.”

Tip  #3: Mentally separate the writing process from the writing product.

Honor each part of the process independently from one another, advises Karen Krossing, author of ten critically acclaimed picture books and novels for young readers:

I’ve developed a personal philosophy to help me deal with the ups and downs of the publishing industry, including passes on my manuscripts.

First, I separate my writing process from my writing product, completing the two sets of tasks at different times of day with different intentions. I wear my writing-process hat when deciding what to write and how to write it. I switch to my writing-product hat when deciding which manuscripts are ready for the market. This helps me to protect my writing process from the volatility of the market, hold space for writing play and exploration, and remember that not everything I write will be intended for the market.

When I decide to prepare a manuscript for the market (notice that I avoided the word “submit,” which has negative connotations), I think of each of my goals as a quest—like in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Although a quest may lead to surprising delights or disappointments, it’s always an adventure.

I make sure my quest is an action I can take (e.g., prepare a manuscript for a publisher to read), not a decision I want someone else to make (e.g., offer me a book contract). That way, my quests are under my control. If I want a better chance of succeeding in my goal, I can choose to put more effort into my actionable steps.

Once I’ve completed my quest (e.g., sent my manuscript), I celebrate. (Yay, fun!) Then I dive into my next actionable item. (What to write next?!) I think of the manuscripts I’ve sent to publishers as probes launched into the universe. Some may get lost beyond a faraway planet. One may blow up on the launchpad (time to retool it). Others may return with valuable data that I can act on (in the form of a new quest).

Finally, I avoid the word “rejection.” I borrow a term from my friend and fellow writer Mary Jane Nirdlinger, who repositions it as a “proof-of-effort.” Sure, I’m still disappointed when a publisher chooses to pass on my manuscript, but I find it easier than I used to.

“Rejection and I co-exist, and I stay focused on my writing process. Because in the end, I will keep writing no matter what decision any publisher makes. ”

So I may as well make it easier to focus on the part of this industry that I love—the hours spent dreaming stories into being.

MFAs are great, and perfect for those who are interested in teaching and/or writing critical essays. But what about those of us who are looking for mentorship, craft-building and community? 

Introducing Whale Rock Workshops! 

Hi, we’re excited to see you here. Our company has grown and evolved over the past five years. Whether you are new to Whale Rock or are one of our original attendees, we want to be sure you know how to make the most of your Whale Rock Workshops experience. We’ve collected some of the most popular questions and answered them for you here.

How is Whale Rock Workshops Different Than Other Workshop Companies?

MFA-quality seminars without the long-term commitment or costs

Whale Rock Workshops’ programming is designed to be on par with MFA-level seminars and is geared towards authors who want to dive deep into craft and literary analysis. Many of our students are published and/or agented authors who are seeking to elevate their skills and take their writing practice to the next level. Our classes go well beyond the basics.

Our company is SMALL and our workshops are intimate.

We believe great teachers change lives, and we believe that the personalized attention our students receive dramatically impacts the quality of their work. How can you become a better writer when you are one of 60 people in a workshop? One of 500 in a webinar? One of a 1000 at a conference? Unless otherwise specified, our advanced workshops maintain excellent student to teacher ratios. Our mentorship workshops have a 1:3 ratio faculty to students, and our Master skills weeklong workshop have a 2:15 ratio, with each student receiving four, one-on-one meetings over the course of the week. A Whale Rock Master workshop promises you the opportunity to really connect with instructors and one another.

Our Instructors are Top Notch

We vet our instructors carefully. Our instructors are award-winning AND critically acclaimed, and many have taught at the MFA level. It is vital to us that our instructors have more published works and publishing experience than our intermediate students. In other words, our bar is VERY high.

Can You Explain the Different Kinds of Workshops you Offer?

Our classes are divided into four categories. This allows you to mix and match based on your specific needs throughout the year. As you progress with one project or start a new project, you might face different needs or identify new skills you want to hone.

Weeklong Master Skills & Mentorships

Designed for intermediate writers looking for more intense one-on-one experiences, these classes are given at an MFA level in terms of skill and craft. Our weeklong workshops are well, seven-days, while our mentorships extend over three months with about eight, 90-minute workshops scheduled over the course of the session.

Master Classes

Our signature master classes are designed to dive deep into one specific area or project. While these are offered at an intermediate level, taught by award-winning, acclaimed instructors, they are accessible to beginning writers who want to be pushed out of their comfort zone. Each of our Master Classes is between four-to-six weeks in length, will have weekly assignments, and culminates with a tangible project (or projects).

Close Read & Write Classes

These 90-minute workshops are designed to connect our students with our master instructors either between workshops or as a way for new students to get to know our faculty. All profits from this series go towards our scholarships and diversity grants.

Learn How To Classes

New to our programming for 2023, these 90-minute classes are designed to be accessible to everyone at a reasonable price. We don’t want to run webinars so large that you cannot connect with your instructors, so we view these as large Zoom classrooms, where questions can still be answered. We are choosing topics appropriate for both novice and intermediate authors, but our goal is to create a curriculum that is still unique while challenging our students at whatever stage they are.

All Whale Rock community members and newsletter subscribers are invited to join our free writing accountability group, Write Now!, which takes place four times a week. This quiet writing space is designed to build a cozy, supportive writing practice into your week.

What if I’m thinking about an MFA? How do you compare to those programs?

We wrote a whole blog on this, if you’re looking to dig deep into this MFA question.

Top level though, if you really want to get an MFA because you want the degree for teaching and/or you want to write critical essays and a thesis, then absolutely pursue an MFA degree. It is the only path to accomplish those goals.

But if you are looking for the craft-building, mentorship and community, (and you do not have US $50,000 +) Whale Rock is your alternative. Our mentorships cost a fraction of the price, and most of our instructors are or have been MFA instructors at the very programs you are likely exploring!

Want to build your own MFA-like curriculum?

Here’s what that might look like through Whale Rock:

Year 1

Winter Mentorship Program (faculty mentor #1)

Weeklong Master Skills Workshop or Whale Rock Retreat (coming soon)

Fall Mentorship Program (faculty mentor #2)

Year 2

Winter Mentorship (faculty mentor #3)

Weeklong master skills or retreat (coming soon) OR Close Read & Write Series plus two Master Classes

Fall Mentorship (faculty mentor #4)

Why do Your Workshops Cost What They Cost?

Our classes cost what they do because they are in keeping with our philosophy about learning craft: We hire top-notch instructors, and we keep our student to teacher ratio small for most offerings.

Better student to teacher ratio

The majority of our small classes have 12-15 students while our competitors have more like 30-60. Our ratios are simply better. As such, our students get more instructor connection than they would in any other program outside of an MFA.

We only hire the best instructors

Unless they are subject-area experts, our faculty members are critically acclaimed and/or award-winning and/or MFA bearing, and/or MFA-teaching, multi-published authors and editors. And frankly, those instructors come at a higher cost. We won’t settle for anything less. We know that too many workshops don’t deliver for intermediate writers.

Will You be Adding More In Person Events?

COVID-19 has made the logistics challenging. Pre-COVID, students would “bunk-up” or share rooms with multiple beds in order to bring down costs, but now we are finding that most students want their own rooms. That makes the events more expensive AND requires more space. 

Pre-COVID we also didn’t worry about squeezing into tight indoor spaces, and now we are looking at ventilation, classroom sizes, and shared spaces with other guests/clients/students at any given location.

We are imagining offering different iterations of in-person workshops in the next 12 months, and we would love your input. If you have 5 minutes, please take a few minutes to fill out our retreat survey.

Where do I start if I’ve never taken a Whale Rock Workshops Program?

If you are totally new to Whale Rock, we encourage you to start with a Learn How To … class or a Close Read and Write class. These lower cost offerings will give you a taste of our instructors and our community. 

If you are looking to dive deep on your project, but you aren’t ready to commit to a weeklong intensive or a three-month program, we encourage you to check out our Master Classes, which will enhance your writing in either your picture book writing or will help you take your novel to the next level. These classes are also ideal for a student who has taken one of our more intensive classes, but who would like to go deep in one specific area.

If you have been working on a project intensely or you have been contemplating an MFA or you wish to develop advanced craft skills, we encourage you to look at our Weeklong Workshop or our Mentorship Program. 

We hope this post helps you make the most of Whale Rock Workshops’ offerings. We are always talking to writers and students and instructors, asking for their input, pivoting with feedback. We are confident that classes that offer you real instructor connection, one-on-one attention, the ability to get clarity on questions, to dive deep, and to push yourself to try something new, will change your writing experience and grow your skills. And our philosophy that great teachers changes lives guides all of our decision-making when we are planning programs for you. 

The thing we love most this time of year is letting our loved ones know how much we care and appreciate them. A thoughtful gift says: I see you, I understand you. I love all the things that make you, you!

So what can you give your writer friends? Here are some of our favorite ideas.

Book gifts

A writer can never have too many books! Seriously, most of us are happy just looking at books, never mind reading them. But you’d be surprised at how creative and thrifty you can be with book gifts.

Shop vintage or secondhand

If your writer friend has a favorite book, visit secondhand bookstores to seek out a vintage version (dare we say first printing?) of their favorite or one with an eye-popping cover. No favorite? Try a classic book instead.

Go local

Your local indie bookshop likely has a collection of books written by local authors. Offer double support by shopping local AND sharing a local author friend.

Make a sale

We’d argue most published authors want nothing more than book sales. Consider this outside the box gift idea – buy a bunch of your friend’s books from a local bookstore and donate them to a good cause, like a local shelter or a low-income school. And, if your friend has published a book, one of the best gifts you can offer is an online review! Book buyers look at existing reviews before making a purchase.

Think big

If your writer friend has “read them all,” check out Bibliophile: an Illustrated Miscellany. Gorgeous artwork mixed with reading lists, fun literary facts, and sneak peeks into bookstores and writer spaces make this coffee table book a must for book lovers.

Cozy writing gifts

Get cozy

Most of writers work at home, often writing in sweats. In colder seasons, there’s nothing better than a cozy pair of socks to keep feet toasty. Pact Socks offer thick socks that are sustainable and organic – and come in different colors and patterns. The packaging is recyclable. For more whimsical options, check out the Awesome Socks Club, started by beloved author brothers Hank and John Green. All profits go to supporting medical care in Sierra Leone. 

Send a sip

Many writers enjoy a warm cup in their hands during typing breaks – especially in winter months. Arbor Teas is known for its sustainable, fair trade practices and its backyard compostable packaging (even the labels break down!) Alaya Tea is a woman-owned company committed to supporting organic and biodynamic farms. Does your writer friend prefer coffee? The Green brothers have you covered yet again: The Awesome Coffee club is committed to sustainable coffee-growing practices, and 100% of profits are donated to supporting medical care in Sierra Leone. If you’re in Canada, check out Sister’s Story Coffee, whose fair trade coffee is purchased from female Indigenous farmers in the Andes; a portion of profits are donated to women’s shelters and sexual assault centers. 

Creativity Boosters

Pick a card, any card

While you may associate tarot decks with fortune tellers, these decks can also serve as writing prompts. Whale Rock instructor Heather Demetrios often uses oracle or tarot cards as a way to ease into her writing. Unsure how a character is thinking in a given scene? Pull a card and see if the image resonates. Unsure where your novel is heading? Pull a card and see whether the image sparks plot. Two of our favorite decks are the The Modern Witch and Light Seers decks.

Break in case of emergency

There’s nothing like getting stuck in a writing rut. For the stalled writer, the Writer’s Emergency Pack is a deck of cards designed to help authors get unstuck. 

Pop the top

For the writer who is heavily immersed in revising and editing, a pack of colorful gel pens is a great tool for categorizing notes around plot, character, pacing and more. 

Homegoods and clothing 

Wear words 

Looking for something a little more personal? Out of Print offers an incredible collection of book-themed T-shirts, totes, and more. Does your writer friend have a book they love more than any other? Check out Litographs for clothing and homegoods with designs made from book manuscripts. 

Kind Cotton offers apparel with values-driven, appealing slogans, like “Read More Books” and “Be Kind.” Every order will help place a book in a student’s hand.

Hang out

The Picture Book Gallery offers an incredible collection of original artwork by award-winning Canadian picture book illustrators that goes towards supporting the Canadian Children’s Book Centre programming. You can also check out Sur Ta Mur, with works by Quebec illustrators

Self care

Stretch it out

Your writer friend sits at a desk all day long. Their back aches, their neck pinches. Consider treating them to a massage or a small-group online exercise class they can jump into in between writing chapters. Two of our favorites are
Anna Nettles Small Group Online Training and Jill Braverman’s small group yoga. 

Go nuts

When they are totally immersed in a project, writers forget to eat! Send grabable nutritious munchables, like organic trail mix or nuts from Tierra Farms, whose products are ethically sourced and whose packaging is 100% compostable. Also check out Mid Day Squares, high-protein chocolate bars that will satisfy your sweet tooth without brain fog.

Deliver dessert

Our virtual weeklong and mentorship students receive a package of goodies as part of our programming. Over the years, we’ve narrowed down three favorite cookie  delivery options. For organic, kosher hockey-puck-size cookies, check out Bang Cookies. For gluten-free goodies, Sans Bakery is always a hit. Finally, our dairy-free/vegan students request Maya’s Cookies year after year. If you’re feeling ambitious, or you want to do something homemade, try whipping up a batch of Whale Rock’s very own Writing Cookies. 

Wrap up a workshop

Finally, for the ultimate self-care treat, buy yourself or a friend a workshop at Whale Rock! Purchase a gift card that can be used towards any workshop at any time. (Please note: gift cards only work for online purchases using credit cards.)

Looking for great holiday gifts for the young readers in your life?

We’ve compiled the 2021 and 2022 releases written by your Whale Rock friends - instructors and students. Please consider supporting your fellow author friends by including their books on your holiday gift list.

Young Readers

Emerging Readers

Middle Grade Readers

Young Adult Readers

About ten years ago, every member of my writing critique group decided to get an MFA in Children’s Writing. Every member of the group, but me. 

At the time, my FOMO (fear of missing out) was out of control. I desperately wanted to be with my peers. I dreamed of immersing myself in a community of people who loved what I loved, who talked my language, who would be able to help me grow as a writer. 

I imagined that an MFA would take my writing to the next level, that writing my books would be a more efficient, easier process, that my newfound skills would make selling my books a more efficient, easier process, too. Maybe I would teach. Maybe I would write a Newbery or a National Book Award winner. Maybe. All I knew was that getting an MFA in children’s writing was my destiny! 

Except for a few obstacles. 

First, I had two children under ten and no one to watch them while I was away or doing my course work at home. Second, money was tight. Really tight. How could I justify the cost of an MFA, especially when I had already invested in an MA years earlier? 

I told myself the timing just wasn’t right. 

I told myself there would be many opportunities to apply for an MFA down the road.

Ten years later, I still don’t have an MFA in writing for children

Ten years later, I’ve published four books. Two were written many years ago, two within the past 10 years. Would an MFA have helped me be more productive in the past decade? I will never know. But ten years later, I’m also confident enough to say that having an MFA is wonderful if you can do it, but not having an MFA doesn’t hurt your trajectory.

Now, I need to pause here and acknowledge my biases. I run writing workshops. I do not have an MFA. But I created Whale Rock Literary Workshops, in part, as an answer to my own MFA dilemma. 

Hear me out.

Having many friends and colleagues who have gone through an MFA program and shared their experiences with me, I have an understanding of how they benefited from enrolling in this kind of academic program. 

What you gain from obtaining an MFA:

• You will join an incredibly connected, networked community, and you will make amazing friends who you will continue to learn and grow with.

• You will dive deeply into analysis. You will gain an academic understanding of literature, tools, and techniques. You will learn how to write critical essays.

• You will have access to some of the finest teachers and mentors who can guide you both in your career and/or on a specific project.

• You will walk away with a degree that allows you to teach at the university level.

• You will be able to tell folks that you have an MFA in children’s writing.
  

However, the degree doesn't guarantee "success."

There is no guarantee you will come out of an MFA program and get published. Let me say that again: there is no guarantee you will graduate and publish a book.

In fact, I’ve met a number of graduates who have not yet sold novels nor have they landed agent representation. 

Writing critical essays does not necessarily make you a better children’s writer. If you are less interested in critical writing, a program that requires critical essays may not be for you.

An MFA requires a lot of time. If you have a full time job or children, you may find the ongoing reading and writing demands taxing, if not stressful.

If you dream of working at the university level, there are not nearly enough teaching positions for the number of students graduating from these MFA programs each year. And, most adjunct positions pay very little - some pay nothing at all.

Graduates have shared, anecdotally, that:

• You may be frustrated with a lack of access to your dream mentors. This is a tricky complaint because sometimes the best teacher is the one you discover by accident. But, if you applied and attended a program with your heart set on working with one instructor, you might be disappointed.

• Your community may dissipate when the degree ends. Once you’ve completed your MFA, you may lose touch with your peers and your mentors.

• The lack of focus on process and the business does not prepare students for the realities of trying to get a book completed, submitted and published.

• You may sometimes be surprised by the wide range of writing skills within the programs. 
  

Finally, an MFA costs a lot of money!

A low-residency MFA program will cost you somewhere between  $36,000 and $55,000 depending on the institution and its fees. That is A LOT of money IF you are attending the program because your primary goals are to be published and form a network. This degree cannot guarantee outcomes in an industry that pays notoriously poorly. 

If you are considering applying for an MFA, ask yourself:

• What is motivating me to apply for an MFA?

• What do I ultimately hope to gain from an MFA? 

• Is an MFA financially viable for me? (How much debt will I accrue? Can I pay it back if I don’t sell books after I graduate?)

• Can I get what I seek elsewhere or is an MFA the only option for me?

If you're looking to grow your skills, build a community and get published, there are other, more cost-effective options.

When I thought long and hard about what appealed to me about an MFA, it was access to incredible teachers, gained writing skills, and a community. I had no real intention or desire to teach at a university. I didn’t really want to write critical essays. I’d already spent years writing a thesis, and I didn’t need to do that again. In a way, the MFA was more than I needed. 

So I set out to fulfill my goals via other paths. I took a series of high-level writing classes with a master teacher. There, I found trusted friends whom I could share my work with and get honest feedback from. Still, I wanted to push my writing skills even more. 

It quickly became clear to me why so many authors apply to low-residency MFA programs. The application process feels like a guarantee that many of the writers are at a similar caliber to you. and the MFA instructors have been curated for their abilities. 

In the writing workshop space, while there are many, many writing programs available to the masses, most are geared towards all levels, often making the curriculum redundant to an experienced author.

The other option, hiring a private editor (often an experienced published author, or a former editor from a publishing house), comes with a steep price tag, and there are huge discrepancies in their skill sets. What’s more, their aim is often to “fix” your existing manuscript rather than teach you the skills you need to grow and develop for your own future projects. 

So I created what I sought. Patti Gauch, Gary Schmidt, and I put together a weeklong master-level program for intermediate writers who might otherwise have sought MFA-level instruction. Our mentorship program evolved from our students’ desire for more one-on-one time with our amazing instructors.

Deciding to get an MFA, like all things in life, is an incredibly personal decision. If your dream involves critical essays and a degree, go for it! Who knows, maybe one day my goals will change, and I will get an MFA, too. 

But if you’re applying with the goal of improving your craft, or if you’re applying because you want access to amazing mentors, know that you have options. Viable, equal options that cost a whole lot less. 

Additional Reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/us/ucla-adjunct-professor-salary.html

https://medium.com/read-watch-write-repeat/5-good-reasons-to-pursue-an-mfa-in-creative-writing-a23efa7fbf4d

https://medium.com/read-watch-write-repeat/5-bad-reasons-to-pursue-an-mfa-in-creative-writing-1aef80be89a

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/potential-mfa-students-there-are-no-academic-jobs

https://electricliterature.com/how-the-mfa-glut-is-a-disservice-to-students-teachers-and-writers/

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/writers-center/writing/will-mfa-give-you-edge/

(But not necessarily before your first draft!)

Understanding how plots work is the keystone to writing an excellent plot outline, just as it’s essential to writing a good manuscript.

In this blog, I’ll explain how to write a plot outline, when to use a plot outline, and my Big Picture Philosophy of storytelling that’s based on beliefs about telling stories held by E.M. Forster, Aristotle, and Shakespeare. 

Most writers fall into two categories: “writers who love to plot” and “writers who love to create characters.” Generally speaking, plot writers tend to visualize events, and they love to write outlines and plan what will happen when. Character writers like to dive in with only a loose idea and get to know the people in their story as they write the first draft. Character writers often tell me that they hate outlines or that outlines take the fun out of writing.

I get that.

But all writers who are crafting a novel should write an outline.

You do not, however, need to write that outline before you write your first draft.

Wait, what?

Writers are often confused by this, so let me back up a bit. 

Plot writers versus character writers

Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. Plot writers create stories where lots of exciting things happen but run the risk of creating characters that feel underdeveloped. Character writers create complex relationships and backstories but sometimes craft stories that feel stagnant. (Scene after scene of two people talking, anyone?)

The most important piece of advice I can give any writer is this: Write to your strengths. Revise to your weaknesses. 

You don’t need to start with an outline.  But an outline is an essential tool for writers, either when beginning writing or as part of the revision process. (Or both.)

If you love to work with plots, then an outline is a great way to brainstorm events and kickstart your creative process.

If you love to work with characters, then an outline is the best way to revise your first discovery draft.

Outlining a novel doesn't make writing go more quickly

The reason to write an outline is not that it will make writing easier or faster, at least, not exactly. Because the outline itself is a lot of work, and writing an outline--if you do it properly--will slow you down at first. The reason to write an outline is that it will force you to boil down your scenes to their essence. And when you do this, you can more easily see what can be eliminated or combined. You can see where the most emotional moments are. You can more easily assess the overall pacing.

Decisions, actions, and character impact each event

You cannot separate plots from characters or characters from plots. Every story is a story about someone who faces events and makes decisions. By making decisions and taking action, the character impacts events. But the events themselves impact and change the character. The person at the start of the story is a different person by the end of the story.

That is the purpose of the story.

There are some people who say that “everything happens for a reason.” Of course, in life this isn’t true. Random events—both good and bad—happen all the time. But in a novel, it is true. Everything happens for a reason. 

What reason? To make the character into the person they will be at the end of the story.

An outline should capture more than just events. If you are writing a novel, the outline also needs to capture why things happen, and the explanation is always found in the character, their relationships, and their emotions.

What Goes Into An Outline

A novel outline is not just a list of “this happened and then this happened”. Remember that a novel must supply a why, which means that an outline should capture character motivation.

Step One: Capture the Protagonist

Step Two: Determine the Ending

Step Three: Build Out the Cast

Step Four: Investigate the Setting

Step Five: Establish the Tentpole Moments for Main Plot

Step Six: Establish the Tentpole Moments of Subplot

Step Seven: Understand What You Need to Capture in Each Scene

Step Eight: Begin the Scene-By-Scene Outline

Step One: Capture the Protagonist

Your main character will determine your plot.

The main character will drive the main plot by taking action. Your character must want something, and usually what they want is to solve a problem. They will take action to solve the problem, but the action will have unexpected consequences. They will then take further action, resulting in more unexpected consequences.

One of the most common mistakes writers make is in creating dynamic characters ((insert link)) who experience events, but don’t take action to get what they want. Readers are not invested in characters who simply stand back. Even timid characters can take action—they can actively avoid a situation or flee a confrontation. 

In an outline, the four essential points you need to capture about your protagonist is their:

• Feature: their dominant positive quality

• Flaw: their dominant negative quality

• Want: the problem they wish to solve

• Guiding Belief: the way they think about the world
  

Step Two: Determine the Ending

Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

You don’t need to know the exact ending of your novel before you write it, but you’ll need to have a sense of whether it will be a happy ending or a sad one from your character’s point of view. Stories that have happy endings usually start with characters who are flawed in some way and, little by little, grow and improve as people. Stories with sad endings are the opposite—the character starts off only slightly flawed, but gets worse and worse over time.

Knowing whether your character is improving as a person or becoming more flawed will make it easier to brainstorm plot events.

Step Three: Build Out The Cast

Interactions between characters create most plot points.

Your protagonist is not the only character who wants something. Your secondary characters want something, too. (Even your villain wants something—usually the same thing or the opposite of what your protagonist wants.) Again, the plot will be driven by the character’s want.

Your cast will help you determine your subplots. Create the rest of the cast in the same way that you created your protagonist: by determining their feature, flaw, want, and guiding belief.  The difference between a main plot and a subplot is that subplots are shorter and less intense.

Step Four: Investigate Your Setting

Your setting offers opportunities for plot points.

Many writers consider settings in order to build a mood or evoke emotions in a reader. They are also plot opportunities. When you think about the location where the action takes place, you can consider where cast members might interact and places that might escalate conflict. Think about who lives with whom, how close those locations are, where the common spaces are located, and what in the setting might cause conflict or struggle. Is there a mountain to climb? A river to cross? A diner where everyone comes for waffles? A tavern that attracts marauders and thieves? Each location has something to offer.

Step Five: Establish the Tentpole Moments For The Main Plotline

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Tentpoles hold up your story

There are five major “tentpole” moments that support your story. Some people have given these moments names and divided them into Three-Act Structure or Five-Act Structure or The Hero’s Journey. But, fundamentally, they are:

• The set-up: Once upon a time

• The problem: And then one day

• The first major failure: When all of a sudden

• It seems as if all is lost: When just at the last minute

• The details are wrapped up: They all lived happily ever after

There are, of course, a large number of scenes between these major moments. In these scenes, things are either getting better or worse for the main character. Some ways that things could get better for your character are that they meet a mentor or friend, they find something useful (could be information), they make something useful, they improve their skills, they reach a destination. Some ways that things could get worse for your character are that they become injured, they are threatened by the villain, they attempt something and fail at it, their equipment fails, the clue they found is a dead end, someone steals something important that belongs to them.

Step Six: Establish the Tentpole Moments for Subplots

Smaller tents need fewer poles

Most subplots follow the same structure as a main plot, but are slightly shorter. Their major tentpole moments are often combined and there are fewer scenes between them. For example, we might meet our secondary character and understand their problem in the first few sentences of the introduction. Their first major failure and all is lost moments might be the same. And their happy (or sad) ending usually coincides with the main plot’s outcome. 

Determining between three and five major moments for each of your subplots will help you brainstorm and flesh out many of the scenes in your scene by scene outline.

Step Seven: Understand What You Need To Capture In Each Scene

A large part of writing a good scene-by-scene outline lies in understanding what makes a scene. Each scene should capture Six Essential Moments:

• time and location of the scene: setting

• the character’s opening emotion: what is your character feeling?

• the character’s expectation: what do they expect to happen?

• how that expectation is upended: what actually happens?

• how the character’s emotion changes: how the character feels

• the character’s new expectation or plan: or a cliffhanger

Step Eight: Begin The Scene-By-Scene Outline

For outliners with a Discovery Draft:

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

If you have already written a discovery draft, tackling a scene-by-scene outline is fairly straightforward. Simply re-read your work, breaking each scene into the Six Essential Scene Elements. If an element is missing, consider whether the scene is really working. You might need to combine what happens in this scene with another, more active scene. Or you might want to cut the scene entirely.

For outliners working on a first draft:

Once you have written your Five Tentpole scenes descriptions and subplot tentpole scene descriptions, it’s time to brainstorm how to get from point A to point B. Consider what your character wants, why they want it now (instead of earlier), and who or what is preventing them from getting it.

Every scene is a moment in which things either get better for the character or get worse for the character. What are some things that might happen that might make the character’s situation worse? Brainstorm as many as you can for two minutes. Don’t edit yourself here—feel free to think of ridiculous things, like Character gets hit in the head with a loaf of bread or Character falls in a well. 

Remember the setting and the other characters. What exists in the setting that might cause a problem? What could the other characters say or do that would make things worse? Just come up with as many as you can. You should have a list of at least ten events, but it will probably be a lot more.

Next, ask,what are some things that might make the character's situation better? Setting and characters offer opportunities for plot events. Making a friend or meeting a mentor is a great way for things to get better, and it is also a way to kick off a subplot.

Take a look at your two lists and choose at least one event to explore as a scene. Go through the Six Essential Moments for the scene and see where it leads you.

Every scene you write will set up the next scene. The next scene will either continue the plot or defer the plot.

These things get better/things get worse scenes are the fabric that connect your major tentpole moments, setting them up so that they have the right emotional impact.

When done properly, an outline serves as a map of your story, offering a bird’s eye view of each step along the journey. It can help you see where your story is off course and help streamline your storytelling process.

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Lisa Papademetriou is a former editor with Scholastic, HarperCollins, and Disney Press, and has taught at Sierra Nevada College’s MFA program in Writing. She is the author of A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic (a South Asia Book Award Highly Commended Title), the New York Times-bestselling novel Middle School: My Brother is a Big, Fat Liar and Homeroom Diaries (both with James Patterson), and the Confectionately Yours series, among others. Her books have appeared on many prestigious lists, including Bank Street Best Books of the Year, the NYPL Books for the Teen Age, and the Texas Lone Star Reading List, and have been translated into multiple languages. Most recently, she is the founder of Bookflow.pub, a tool designed to help writers reach their goals by building skills, organization, and motivation.

Self care is a critical part of your artistic process. Give yourself the gift of rest.

Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I have been working on receiving this season, finding beauty in the icicles outside my window, the flurries that whip around the yard, the luscious quiet of nighttime snowfall. In short: receiving rest. Receiving what is being offered - ease - instead of demanding a book to show for all my time inside. 

I want to talk about what it means to receive rest, and to receive a place, a moment, a season of your life. As Natalie Goldberg says, "Practice comes from our body - we receive it." 

What does it mean to receive our writing practice in our bodies?

Sometimes it takes a long time for the seeds of a story to bloom. Sometimes, it just needs good ground to burrow in, and trust from the earth of your body that, when the time is right, the words will flower onto the page. 

Trusting that the words will come is hard. Preparing the way is even harder. What does it look like to be actively fallow? To celebrate seasons of rest, periods of preparation? 

Some of my resting places are:

• the moon

• windchimes on my back and front porches

• lighthouses

• my husband's eyes

• my morning cup of coffee

• the Sahara desert

• my grandmother's lap

• Minnesota

• Bowie’s Starman

• my childhood bunk bed

• The Boston Public Library

• the lake by my old place in North Carolina

• Little Women

• Anne of Green Gables

• my best friend's smile

• my sister's laugh

• my kitty's soft body

• a dark theater just before the curtain rises

• a blank piece of paper

• Mary Oliver

• Sunsets

• Sunrises

• My breath

What are your resting places?

Ilham Rahmansyah on Unsplash

I've been thinking a lot these days about how my writing can become more of a resting place for me. It's so often fraught - for all of us - with the weight of expectation, the inner critic, always feeling like we've fallen short, or behind. 

We crave and grasp and want, so very badly, to flow, to write the book, to finish the book, to get the deal. But after that mountain? More mountains. How do we rest during the climb, on the summit, on the way down, and in the valleys between?

What would it look like to receive rest, to give ourselves permission to reject the pressures of the attention economy: to set the phone down, to not do it all, to take good care of our bones?

Photo by Stacey Gabrielle Koenitz Rozells on Unsplash 

How do we, as people with wonderfully gifted imaginations, imagine our way into some rest? Some delight? Some time to jot down a few words?

One way is to see your words in the context of a gift economy, as a gift that is being offered you, and an opportunity for you to pay that gift forward. To see yourself and your words as an essential part of a larger ecological system that needs you to keep telling stories and writing poems and journal entries - not just to-do lists. A gift that you don't have to stand in line for, wrap, mail, or cross off a list.

This gift is already inside you, waiting patiently under the tree of your heart, wrapped and ready to be opened. 

A piece of Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass sums up the questions surrounding giving and receiving rest to ourselves, including the gift of our words and our words as resting places:

“A gift comes to you through no action of your own, free, having moved toward you without your beckoning. It is not a reward, you cannot earn it, or call it to you, or even deserve it. And yet it appears. Your only role is to be open-eyed and present.”

In 2022 I'm going to be resting more, and writing more, and giving more time to study.

If you feel that same tug, a whispered inner yes, then sit with that. Listen to it. Build the writing life you long for in 2022.

Written By: Heather Demetrios

Heather Demetrios is a critically acclaimed author, writing coach, and certified meditation teacher based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

She has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN America Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real. Her novels include Little Universes, I’ll Meet You There, Bad Romance, as well as the Dark Caravan fantasy series: Exquisite Captive, Blood Passage, and Freedom’s Slave. Her non-fiction includes the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Code Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall, and she is the editor of Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love.

She will be teaching our upcoming Craft Boost: Bingeable Chapters in April, 2022.

Every January, I set big writing goals. By March, the goals have dissolved or morphed, depending on what has happened in my life. After realizing I’ve missed my benchmarks, my brain naturally spirals into all the ways I’ve failed myself. My friends have published more books than me. Read more books. Posted more on social media. The self-loathing grows exponentially.

For many of us, sitting at a desk all day every day is not realistic. Some of us have other jobs, other commitments, even physical limitations, like bad backs, necks, bulging discs, and arthritis. (Welcome to the body of a writer.) So when we finally do sit down, we put all this pressure on ourselves to write something amazing, to be super productive, to get tons of words on the page. The pressure to create is intense. And the pressure to be a productive creator can be crippling.

Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash

On the best of days, we get into that state of flow, that glorious experience when fingers type furiously, in sync with the universe. Time stands still, and the words on the page are deep and poignant and exquisite. But sometimes, we sit at our computers and stare at our screens and all we can think about is our grocery list, or that the dog needs a walk, or that we can’t really think of anything interesting to write, and maybe this writing thing is a big waste of time because we can’t write anyway.

What if we considered process something bigger? What if we considered that those days of inefficiency, those days of no words, of just staring at a monitor with a blank mind, is part of the process that leads us to a state of flow? What if all those hard moments, those days when you slog at your computer, or when you can’t write anything at all, are as much a part of the creative process as those bursts of flow? What if flow doesn’t occur despite all those days of slogging, but instead, flow occurs because of it?

Photo by mosi knife on Unsplash

I once spent three weeks trying to solve a problem in a novel. I grew restless and irritated, stressed with myself. So I told myself I was giving up. I put the book aside, and I spent the next three weeks not writing. I went for walks. I chatted with friends. I cleaned my closet. And then one day, I went to a yoga class, did my downward dogs and Shavasana, and then left the building and walked outdoors. It was a glorious, sunny summer day. The sky was perfect, the temperature just right. I tilted my face towards the warmth of the sun and suddenly, the solution popped into my head. It just came to me.

In our Write Now! Group, writers often check in at the end of our sessions sheepishly confessing they didn’t accomplish the goal they’d set out to do. They say things like:

I wanted to write a chapter, but I only got through three pages.
Or
I wasn’t sure what to write, so I just reread my last chapter.
Or
I was so tired that I fell asleep. I didn’t get anything done.
Or
I spent the whole time revising one paragraph.

After almost 20 years in this business and two years of leading Write Now! groups, I need to say this out loud: They Count! Every one of those experiences counts!

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com

All these moments that feel unproductive are part of your process, and they count. The very commitment that you make to yourself to sit in a chair, even if you are staring out the window, counts. And we haven’t even talked about self-care. We can only write if our wells are full, so filling our wells is as important as the writing. Whale Rock instructor Heather Demetrios shared with students last spring that if they were so tired that they needed a nap during their writing time, then that nap counts. Because that nap helps heal the fatigue and fills the well. 

As I look at the months ahead, I’m going to be thinking about my process and about what I need to do to keep my creative juices flowing. Spoiler alert: some of that work will be boring and unproductive. I encourage you to do the same. And if you need to step away from your computer to walk your dog or buy some groceries, no worries. That counts. 

PhPhoto by lilartsy on Unsplashoto by lilartsy on Unsplash

The time we spend thinking and dreaming counts. 

The time we spend reading counts.

The time we spend journaling counts.

The time spent sitting in a chair, staring at our computer, whether we are productive or not, counts.

Whether we write one word or one thousand words…

It counts.

For more thoughts on the creative process consider reading (or listening to):

How to Fly a Horse, by Kevin Ashton

Creativity can't be forced. Take breaks and zone out to find new inspiration

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, by Matthew Walker PhD (Heather Demetrio recommendation)

Creative Pep Talk Podcast (Hannah Barnaby recommendation)

It’s that time of year. Time to think about your holiday gifts. We asked our Master Instructors and Whale Rock Staff to share their top book picks from 2021 in three categories. For the next three weeks, we’ll introduce a new category for you to explore. Here are their recommendations for books to buy for a young reader.
Wishing you a lovely holiday season!

Instructors Picks

The book I would buy for a child / middle-grade reader or teen this year would be:  A Bird Will Soar by Alison Green Myers because through sparse prose, a young boy on the spectrum reveals heart and wisdom as he brings his family together.  

Kathy Erskine’s latest books are Lily’s Promise and All of Us.

The book I would buy for a teen this year would be Code Name Badass by Whale Rock’s own Heather Demetrios. This novel tells the true story of Virginia Hall, a spy for the Allies during World War II. While many wrote her off for being female and disabled (she used a prosthetic leg), she helped train French Resistance fighters and organize sabotage missions to take down Hitler. Meticulously researched, it reads like a Jason Bourne novel.

Lisa Papademetriou is a former editor, the author of over 20 novels, and the founder of Bookflow.

Anne Ursu’s The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy would make a fabulous gift for a middle grade or teen reader.

It is a powerful and compelling fantasy with a deeply satisfying conclusion about a kingdom where every boy has the potential to wield magic to protect the country but every troublesome girl is sent off to Dragomir Academy.

Phyllis Root is the author of over 50 books including, most recently, Begin With A Bee in collaboration with Liza Ketchum and Jackie Briggs Martin.

Randy Ribay's Patron Saints of Nothing is a YA novel that centers around Jay Regeuro, who lives in Michigan and travels to the Philippines to uncover the truth about his cousin's murder during Duterte's war on drugs in that country. It's a compelling, complex, and searing read.

Gary D. Schmidt is the author, most recently, of the novel Just Like That and the picture book, One Smart Sheep.

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This Is How I Know by Brittany Luby and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley because the illustrations are bold enough to engage a very young child, but still contain telling details and convey lots of emotion. It’s a bilingual book about the passing of the seasons. The English text is poetic and spare. You can listen to the Anishinaabemowin text on YouTube. Beautiful enough that you’ll want to pin the dust jacket on your wall; interesting and evocative enough that readers of any age will pick it up again and again. (P.S. This is how you say the title: Mee-MAN-dah AY-zhee ge-ke-END-mah.)

Shelley Tanaka is the longtime fiction editor at Groundwood Books, where she has edited more than a dozen Governor General’s Award-winning titles. She is the author of thirty books for young readers.

Whale Rock Staff

Yara's Spring by Jamal Saeed & Sharon E. McKay is a hard-hitting look at life during the Syrian War through the eyes of a young girl. The novel fiercely refuses to shy away from the brutality, senselessness and issues of a revolution that killed so many innocent victims. At once heartbreaking and hopeful, the novel captures a country in turmoil in striking detail as Yara grows from age 10 at the start of war to age 16 when she awaits her fate at Jordan's Azraq Refugee Camp.

Heather Camlot
Whale Rock Workshops’ Editor & Workshop Host.

Heather is the author of The Other Side and What If Soldiers Fought with Pillows? amongst others.

The book I would buy for a teen this year would be Radha and Jai's Recipe for Romance by Nisha Sharma as it whisks you right into a world where you can find new (or rekindled) passions and talents. It reminds you that you can grow as a person, conquer fears and anxiety, and find what really brings you joy.

Sarah Cassell
Whale Rock Workshops, Social Media Manager

It’s that time of year. Time to think about your holiday gifts. We asked our Master Instructors and Whale Rock Staff to share their top book picks from 2021 in three categories. For the next three weeks, we’ll introduce a new category for you to explore. Here are their recommendations for books to buy for a friend. Happy Reading!

Instructors Picks

I would buy The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. The Perveen Mistry series is such an entertaining and informative view of 1920’s India through the eyes of a young Zoroastrian woman lawyer who defies stereotypes with dignity and determination as she unravels murder mysteries.

Kathy Erskine’s latest books are Lily’s Promise and All of Us.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. I really loved this book. I love Shakespeare and found it fascinating to think about the family he left behind when he went off to London, and only rarely came back. But the writing is exquisite; she makes life live.

Patricia Lee “Patti” Gauch, author, teacher, former Editorial Director of Philomel Books.

The book I would buy for a friend this year would be: Gastro Obscura. This design-heavy celebration of world food is a delight to look at and super fun to flip through. It's the kind of book that you open and immediately start reading aloud from, sharing interesting facts and photos with your friends or even random nearby strangers.

Lisa Papademetriou is a former editor, the author of over 20 novels, and the founder of Bookflow.

The book I would buy for a friend this year would be Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert.

It thoroughly and brilliantly tells the story of the until-now little-known race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma.   

Phyllis Root is the author of over 50 books including, most recently, Begin With A Bee in collaboration with Liza Ketchum and Jackie Briggs Martin.

The Warden by Anthony Trollope, which is the first of his six Barsetshire novels. After a year of such conflict and rancor, it's wonderful to watch a sweet, gentle character rise above the ambitions of the petty and ambitious.

Gary D. Schmidt is the author, most recently, of the novel Just Like That and the picture book, One Smart Sheep.

Whale Rock Staff

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a collection of essays that explores the reciprocal relationship humans must have with nature in order to sustain our ecosystem.

Kimmerer weaves stories about life with botany lessons and Indigenous teachings. Each essay is moving, poetic and a reminder to be grateful for the grass under our feet.

Shari Becker,
Whale Rock Workshops founder.

Shari is the co-author of Sprouting Wings and the author of The Stellow Project, amongst others.

Although it's the young readers' edition of bestselling The Hidden Life of Trees, Can You Hear the Trees Talking? By Peter Wohlleben (translated by our own Shelley Tanaka) is so dense with information and written in such an inviting way that it really is a wonderful read for any age.

Every page has nuggets to glean, from how trees breathe and drink to whether they are brave or afraid. Just fascinating.

Heather Camlot
Whale Rock Workshops’ Editor & Workshop Host.

Heather is the author of The Other Side and What If Soldiers Fought with Pillows? amongst others.

The book I would gift to a friend this holiday season is Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean.

My friends and I grew up loving the Princess Diaries books and movies. This story is a modern Princess Diaries tale, written in a humorous style like Crazy Rich Asians. The love story is deep and captivating.

Sarah Cassell
Whale Rock Workshops, Social Media Manager

It’s that time of year. Time to think about your holiday gifts. We asked our Master Instructors and Whale Rock Staff to share their top book picks from 2021 in three categories. For the next three weeks, we’ll introduce a new category for you to explore. Here are their recommendations for books to share with a fellow writer. Happy Reading!

INSTRUCTOR PICKS

Jeff Tweedy’s How To Write One Song is a perfect book for a writer because it is not specifically about writing!

At face value, this book is about songwriting, but really Tweedy examines the entire creative journey from anxiety to discipline to process.

Hannah Barnaby has worked as a children’s book editor, independent bookseller, and book reviewer. She is the author of multiple young adult novels, chapter books and picture books, including Monster and Boy and Home is….

A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders is my recommendation for writers.

The stories themselves, all Russian, are powerful and true examples of the finest writing. They are perfect stories in themselves and novels in miniature. Saunders follows with essays that are directed not at the reader, but the writer. A don't miss!

Patricia Lee “Patti” Gauch, author, teacher, former Editorial Director of Philomel Books.

The book I would buy as a gift for another writer this year would be My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson.

The language is exquisite. Reading any one of these short stories—profound in content—will make you want to up your game when it comes to clever, sharp, loaded prose.

Kathy Erskine’s latest books are Lily’s Promise and All of Us.

The book I would buy as a gift for another writer this year would be The Plot.

It's a novel about a writer with an insufferable student who happens to be writing a brilliant, potentially bestselling story. When the student dies unexpectedly, the writer steals the plot and decides to write it himself. All is well, until he starts receiving threatening emails... It's a fun, writer-centered psychological thriller with shades of Patricia Highsmith.

Lisa Papademetriou is a former editor, the author of over 20 novels, and the founder of Bookflow, a platform that helps writers stay organized and motivated.

I chose Wishes by Mượn Thị Văn, illustrated by Victo Ngai because in seventy-five words, the author and illustrator have created a story that moves me every time I read it. It’s a perfect example of elegant simplicity, relevance, and heart.

Phyllis Root is the author of, most recently, Begin With A Bee in collaboration with Liza Ketchum and Jackie Briggs Martin.

I Talk Like a River, written by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith is an astonishing picture book, a perfect collaboration of text and illustration, as a father gives his son, who struggles with a stutter, the metaphor he needs to begin to deal with the disability. The central illustration, which opens into a four-page spread, is a brilliant entry into the unconsciousness of the speaker, who is suddenly empowered by his new understanding.

Gary D. Schmidt is the author, most recently, of the novel Just Like That and the picture book, One Smart Sheep.

I chose The Greats book because it subverts so many writerly “rules." In Guyana, a giant prehistoric sloth comes to life. Meanwhile, a teenaged boy decides to kill himself after he is jailed as a young offender, and his grandfathers, all of whom died by suicide, return as ghosts to pull him back from the brink. This book “appropriates” voice, race, genre and setting and dares to turn a story about poverty, addiction, mental illness, suicide and grief into a celebration of life and nature. I hope it encourages every writer to reconsider the rules and embrace their inner weird.

Shelley Tanaka is the longtime fiction editor at Groundwood Books, where she has edited more than a dozen Governor General’s Award-winning titles. She is the author of thirty books for young readers.

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WHALE ROCK STAFF PICKS

I chose The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab because the story idea is wonderfully original. Every detail in the book is important and comes back to connect to the storyline in beautiful and meaningful ways. The build of tension and the pacing of the novel is one to be studied and admired.

Sarah Cassell
Whale Rock Workshops, Social Media Manager

I chose On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, a heartbreaking letter from a son to his mother, exploring the depths of their relationship and the immigrant experience.

Written in a poetic style, both the language and the story will completely blow you away.

Emelia G.
Whale Rock Workshops, Summer 2021 Intern