Someone once said that writing a children's book is like trying to condense War and Peace into a single haiku.
So it is trying to cram all one's notes from the 2001 SCBWI National Conference into a single, 500-word column.
With that in mind, we're going to forgo notes, and offer quotes. The best quips and quotes recorded over an exhausting (but enlightening) four-day span:
"Writing is a lot like being in love. At first, it all seems so bloody perfect."
–Author Joan Bauer, on the buzz of beginning a new novel.
"I have an inner critic that speaks to me in five languages."
–Bauer, on the doubts that creep in soon after.
"We're like spoiled priests and nosy nuns--we're always ready to hear confessions."
–Novelist Richard Peck, on hunting for great story material.
"You can never be something you've never been unless you try."
–Author Pam Munoz Ryan, on her transition from picture-book author to novelist.
"Somehow we have to come back to tears in children's books."
–Poet Nikki Giovanni, on books with feel-good themes.
"We don't do happy endings because we don't lie to the young."
–Richard Peck, on the importance of honesty in one's writing.
"The great thing about having a dysfunctional childhood is it never stops giving."
–Author Joan Bauer, on how she incorporates the serious woes of her youth into her writing.
"Sometimes I think if it weren't for bad childhoods, I wouldn't have a job."
–Wendy Lamb, editor of Wendy Lamb Books, adding that she would like to see a book about a kid who actually enjoys high school.
"I don't know what the story is until I've finished it."
–Author Donna Jo Napoli, on the mysteries of writing a novel.
"Deadlines are very inspirational."
–Author Pam Munoz Ryan, on disciplining herself as a writer.
"Humor, without question, is about irritation."
–Author Joan Bauer, on how she finds inspiration for her novels in the most annoying things, such as her neighbor's new wood-chipper.
"Eventually they learn this is a miserable hobby."
–Susan Kochan, Senior Editor of G.P. Putnam's Sons, on those who approach writing for children as if it were a casual pastime.
"I love my husband. After every letter of rejection, he said, 'You are such a GREAT writer. It is [the publisher's] loss . . .' But my children, on the other hand, are savage."
–Author Donna Jo Napoli, on the balance her family brings.
"There was a time I was doing books for medals and adulation . . . I forgot the most important part of all--you're doing books for children."
–Author/illustrator Tomie dePaola, recipient of 100,000 fan letters a year, on keeping it all in perspective.
"Don't tell me it will make a good line of sheets."
–Simon & Schuster Editorial Director David Gale, on what not to include in a query letter.
"Well, Mary never did that."
–Hyperion Editor and author Andrea Davis Pinkney, on how she responded when her husband first suggested that she try writing children's books. Davis Pinkney, a devout fan of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," once modeled her life after its lead character, TV journalist and big-city career woman, Mary Richards.
