We’re about to have our first big winter storm of the season. Around midnight, the white stuff is supposed to start falling. By tomorrow afternoon we should have 2-4 inches. This may not sound like a lot to people who live up north, but in the south such forecasts send people into a tizzy. We go to Walmart and clear the shelves of bread, milk, and eggs. We cancel school. We listen to the meteorologists’ predictions of doom and shiver uncontrollably.

The impending storm has made us more fearful than normal after the ice storm of the century hit here in January ‘09. We were without cell phone service, landline phones, electricity, heat, water, gasoline, you name it, for more than a week. Most people were without electricity for 2 weeks or longer. I can no longer burn scented candles. When you burn 15 of them every night for 12 days, the smell gets sickening.

I’m well prepared for this upcoming weather event. It’s doubtful we’ll lose power, but there are things you need to be comfortable during the blizzardy conditions. So here is a list of the essential supplies I’ve stocked:

• Diet Coke
• Bacon
• Chocolate
• Cheez Nips
• Toilet Paper
• One pink Snuggie (which my BFF bought me for Christmas. Hubby doesn’t need a Snuggie, though. Real men don’t wear pink Snuggies.)
• Laptop with Internet access
•  Cat food and treats (for the cat, of course)

In my neck of the woods, there are about 3 hours left in 2009. Then we’ll have a brand new, fresh and shiny year.

As I look back on the year, overall, I’m pleased with what I’ve accomplished and had some great experiences along the way.

Since this blog is mainly about my writing life, I’ll focus on what I consider to be my successes this year.

 Though my blog suffered from extreme neglect during the final three months of 2009 (due to family issues, increased SCBWI responsibilities, an intense revision of my WIP, and a hectic work schedule), I managed to update it fairly reguarly the other nine months. I’ve Tweeted on and off and really enjoy it (especially the Kidlit chats), but I’ve also found that it’s the first thing to get pushed aside when life gets too busy. While I’ve read comments by social networking gurus that writers should maintain a Twitter presence and use it to grow an audience, I’m not convinced it’s crucial to the well-being of my career. Facebook, however, seems to be easier for me to keep up and I enjoy the interactions there. The newspaper I work for started a Facebook fan page this year and it’s been a fun way to connect with readers.

I only got to attend one writer’s conference this year, but what a conference it was! The 2009 SCBWI-Midsouth conference was two days jam-packed with inspiration and information. I gleaned some great tips for my WIP, and thanks to a presentation by editor Cheryl Klein, had a couple of a-ha moments that led to major changes in the manuscript.

I also attended the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville. I heard Kate DiCamillo speak and got to hang out with some of my writer and illustrator friends. I also made the difficult and painful decision to relinquish my volunteer role as organizer of the SCBWI-Midsouth booth at the festival. As much as I’ve enjoyed doing it, I have too many other responsibilities now and it’s time to let someone else enjoy the blessings of serving in that capacity.

I can’t say I’ve set any goals for 2010 — at least not yet. I have a couple of WIPs I’d like to finish; both are novels and I’d like to complete both drafts and have one polished by the end of the year.

The best part of 2009, when it comes to my writing life, has to be the friendships that have deepened and the new acquaintances I’ve made. I am so blessed to know so many talented people from all over the world!

I raise my Diet Coke to you, 2009, and take a sip in honor of 2010.

Best wishes to all!

Newbery-winning author Susan Patron (The Higher Power of Lucky) offers suggestions on purchasing books for kids, based on her experiences as a children’s librarian:

Read the article from the L.A. Times here.

4) What do you like least about writing?

The self-doubt that comes as you wait for weeks and months — or longer — for a response to a manuscript submission. Publishing rarely happens like it’s portrayed in the movies or on TV.

3) What do you most enjoy about writing?

I love everything — everything — about the writing process. I’m not a grammarian. I’m like a person who has taught herself to play the piano by ear rather than reading notes. I consider myself a self-taught writer. I’ve had a few college classes, but most of my progress has come by trial and error, by falling off the horse and getting back on again.

For example, I love formal, metric poetry, like sonnets, pantoums, villainelles, etc. I love how the structure forces you to refine your words until you have created something that’s a pure thought set to an elegant, subtle rhythm. The problem is, I suck at it. Still, I believe like E.B. White, who said that he wanted to be a poet. Poets, he said, are “the great ones.”

Whether children’s writing or journalism, it always means a lot to me when someone takes the time to tell me I’ve written something that’s touched them or caused them to think differently, to see a situation in a new light or to understand a topic better. I love getting letters from kids who have read my books, when they tell me how much they like the characters or that they can relate to the stories.

Another installment from the Q&A exchange I recently had with a reader. Again, my answer is divided in two parts, because of the two types of writing I do:

2) What is the pay like?

Writing for children — Don’t quit your day job. Do it because you love it, because you love to create stories. love the process of writing and love to engage readers. I’ve met many published writers. Many have day jobs.

Journalism — The pay is not great, compared to other careers. The “career journalists” I know do it because they love to write and feel compelled to tell the story of their community, warts and all. They understand the important role newspapers hold in keeping city and county governments accountable to the people. They also understand that with each day’s edition, you are writing history. There are some stories that, when you write them, you know 10, 20, 30 years from now someone will dig through the newspaper archives and use that story as part of their research, as an historical record of some event or person. It’s interesting to think about that.

Had a recent request from a Facebook friend to answer some questions about the writing life. After I read them, I thought they might make a good series of blog posts.

Thanks, Mindy!

1) What things made it challenging for you to be a journalist and a writer?

I split my writing life into two identities, so I will have to answer this in two different ways:

Writing for children — The most challenging thing is to stick with it and not give up. It is VERY difficult to get published. I will not pay to publish my own work and I never have. If I can’t get an editor interested, then I need to polish my work or keep writing stories until I DO write something that will make an editor sit up and take notice. I’ve been fortunate to do that four times. I thought that getting accepted once would mean no more fears. Yet I found the second book was just as gut-wrenching as the first, and so on. The problem is then, “What if I fail? What if I’m out of ideas? What if it’s a fluke that I even got published in the first place?” I’d say that’s the hardest thing, always second-guessing your abilities.

Journalism — Lots of things were hard for me at first, like learning to be bold and ask questions, understanding how open records laws work, adapting to situations I’d never been placed in before (from flying in a four-seater airplane over a brush fire to being at the scene of a car wreck to covering volatile city council meetings). The writing was easy. It was dealing with people and situations I wasn’t familiar with that was the most difficult.

I’ve organized our SCBWI region’s booth at the Southern Festival of Books, which is held outdoors on Nashville’s War Memorial Plaza, for four of the past five years. This year, the weather was not very cooperative.

We tried to set up Friday morning, and the wind was blowing so hard we thought it would blow the booth over. When we finally got our equipment together and started setting out our display materials, we were told to pack up and go to the basement of the Legislative building. There was a severe storm headed our way! My friends and I sat on the basement floor and ate chocolate chip cookies while we waited for the storm to pass.

Once we were able to go back outside, we set up again and opened the booth. A few minutes later, a monsoon hit. The crowd dwindled to zero.

I spent the rest of the evening chatting with my friend, SCBWI-Midsouth Regional Advisor Genetta Adair, in a cozy booth at a Panera Bread. Then, to reward ourselves for surviving such a taxing day, we bought a bag of dark chocolate truffles to eat while we checked our e-mail back at the hotel.

Ah, the exciting life of writers!

On Saturday, we didn’t have rain, just heavy cloud cover, cold winds, and high humidity. Got to hear Kate DiCamillo speak. She talked a bit about the path she traveled to become a published writer, then said she believes it takes more tenacity than talent for a writer’s dream to come true. I got three copies of The Magician’s Elephant signed. She was gracious, even to those of us who were in the back of the line that snaked around the inner court of the Legislative building.

Sunday was a perfect autumn day, sunny and cool.

I’ve decided to relinquish my post as volunteer booth coordinator so that someone with fresh ideas can take over. I may attend the festival next year just as a spectator, so I can hear more author presentations and check out some of the booths I’ve missed.

I have to admit, though, that the best part of the festival has always been hanging out with my SCBWI friends, like Genetta, Tracy Barrett, Shellie Braeuner, Linda Ragsdale, Cheryl Mendenhall, Alison Lyne, Donna Getzinger and Kristin Tubb.

I even got to meet Elizabeth Dulemba  this year, and learn more about her amazing talents.

This event is just one of the many opportunities I’ve been able to enjoy because of my membership in SCBWI. The Southern Festival is for everyone, of course, but being a part of the world of children’s writers and illustrators has made it a much richer experience for me. The chance to meet and learn from others who share your interests is priceless.

SCBWI-Midsouth will have a booth at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville this weekend.

This is our fifth year to participate in the festival. It’s a wonderful weekend! There are author presentations, panel discussions, book signings, musicians, food, children’s activities and more.

And, of course, there are lots of books for sale.

If you’re around the area, stop by our booth and say hi!

It will take my aging brain several days — possibly weeks — to process all the information I gleaned from the 2009 SCBWI-Midsouth Conference. We were blessed to have the warmest, friendliest, and most inspirational faculty I’ve ever seen assembled in one place at one time.

Several upcoming posts will be devoted to sharing what I learned during the weekend. I’ve decided to start with the one “goosebumps” moment I experienced.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear Cheryl Klein teach “Principles of Plot,” go. Don’t miss it. Don’t make excuses. Just go.

Over the years, I’ve spent tons of money on books that I hoped would give me a better understanding of how to plot a story.

There are rare times when we have a thought or impression that is so powerful that it affects us physically. We get goosebumps. We shiver. We gasp, awed by that “lightbulb” moment.

Halfway through Klein’s workshop, a switch flipped in my brain and the light came on. It was as if a thousand puzzle pieces suddenly clicked together, creating a recognizable image. (Looking back on it, I hope I didn’t gasp out loud!)

At last, the principles of plot were no longer mysterious and unobtainable.

My thoughts raced. I flipped a page in my notebook and started writing. My hands trembled. I couldn’t form the words on paper fast enough.

It was such a relief, at last, to understand — to know.

At the end of the presentation, I tried to thank her, but I was so full of nervous excitement that I know I did a poor job of expressing my gratitude.

Hopefully I can make up for that with this post.

Cheryl Klein, if you read this someday — thank you. Thank you for coming to our conference and teaching the principles of plot in a way that I could understand. Thank you for your workshop. I came away inspired to work harder, to keep writing, and to put the knowledge you shared with us to good use.