Last year was the first time I kept a reading list and tracked what I read. And I have to say, I’m glad I did! I would have forgotten half of the stuff I read had I not written it down. So here’s my list (in no particular order). With a few exceptions, I’d enthusiastically recommend all of them!

Walk Softly, Rachel by Kate Banks
Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
Skellig by David Almond
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Compound and The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Unwind and Everlost by Neal Shusterman
Life As We Knew It (twice!), The Dead and the Gone and This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
The Roar by Emma Clayton
Hush, hush and Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Numbers by Rachel Ward
The Line by Teri Hall
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last of the Olympians by Rick Riordan

If you’re new to the TED site, I encourage you to visit the site often to explore the other videos. I’ve stumbled onto some pretty fascinating presentations just by clicking around. It’s an endless supply of material for inspiration or thought starters for your work. Dig in and see what you can find!

As you walk to the bus stop, you encounter a woman sitting crumpled and sobbing on the sidewalk. What happened? Write the conversation that led to her breakdown.

This was a scene that actually unfolded in front of me when I was in college. I was waiting for my bus in Harvard Square, and a woman walked into the street and just crumbled. I don’t think I’ll ever forget those five minutes.

If you want to share, you can post your exercise (300 words or less) here.

One of my goals for the year is to compile a reading list and get through it. This may not sound like a lofty goal, but for me it adds accountability for the overall goal of reading more.

It’s terrible to admit, but although I’ve always been a writer, I haven’t always been an avid reader. To me this is inexcusable since I firmly believe that reading improves your writing. But I’ve either been too busy, too tired, (insert excuse here) to make reading a habit.

And while I’m confessing things, I might as well cop to the fact that I have only recently started the Harry Potter series. This feels like a sin for a children’s writer, but I’m not generally into fantasy so I kind of overlooked them in favor of other books. But my interest was piqued after seeing a snippet of one of the movies, so I started on my own Harry Potter adventure. And they’re great, of course, so the remainder of the series is on my list.

So here’s my list so far. I don’t plan on reading them in any particular order, but I do want the list to be varied and not just titles I know I’ll like. I’ve been adding titles here and there as I come across recommendations on other sites. Certainly if you have any you recommend, by all means leave a note!

• The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
• Maniac Magee, Jerry Spinelli
• Mars Trilogy, Kim Stanley Robinson
• Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds
• The Island of the Day Before, Umberto Eco
• The Compound, S.A. Bodeen
• Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult
• The Road, Cormac McCarthy
• Two Years, No Rain, Shawn Klomparens
• The Years of Rice and Salt, Kim Stanley
• Books 3-7 of Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling
• Positively, Courtney Sheinmel
• The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
• Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
• Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher
• The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin
• The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
• Homeless Bird, Gloria Whelan
• An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, Jim Murphy
• Hush, Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
• The World More Full of Weeping, Robert J. Wiersema
• Brains: A Zombie Memoir, Robin Becker

Since one of my goals for the year is to submit an article to Highlights Magazine, I thought it would be helpful to share some of the information I’ve come across.

So far, the most important thing I’ve learned is that research is the best preparation. Having loads of ideas is great, but you should make sure the subject you choose is a good fit before you start writing.

To do that, first go through at least the last year’s worth of issues to make sure your topic hasn’t already been covered in the same way. Highlights is well-respected in the industry, so it’s one of the top publications children’s writers submit to. Taking the time to get to know the magazine and its content will help you write the best piece for their market.

Next, you’ll want to review (and bookmark!) two excellent resources on the Highlight site: The contributor guidelines and current needs pages. These sections really help take the guesswork out of what, when and how to submit your articles. But remember, the kind folks at Highlights provide and update this information for a reason. FOLLOW IT!

Former Highlights senior editor Kim T. Griswell also shared some great tips on the Women On Writing site. The interview is a few years old, but the advice is still relevant.

After you’ve done all that, the main focus is to write the best piece you can. This means writing drafts, getting feedback, revising, reworking and making sure the topic and language are appealing to the magazine’s age group. That, of course, is the hard part.

As I mentioned in my 2010 goals post, I received a rejection to my first submission to Highlights. It was also my first rejection ever. I was disappointed, naturally, but I was also encouraged by the notes and suggestions the editors made about the piece. It wasn’t something I expected, but I appreciated the guidance.

It helps to remember that writing is a journey. If you expect the ups and downs, the days that ideas flow and the days that you get nothing, you’re more likely to be persitent. And it’s the persistent writer, not the one who gives up, who reaches the goal in the end.

I’m in the process of consolidating my personal blog with this site, so I’m bringing over a few relevant posts. Stay tuned for fresh posts coming soon! In the meantime, here are some great resources for picture book writers.

30 Days to a Stronger Picture Book – Darcy Pattison’s site is filled with helpful information. Her 30 Days information is broken up into smaller posts that she adds to frequently.

Picture Book of the Day – If you’re looking for daily inspiration or suggested reads, Anastasia Suen’s site is the place to go. She shares a little piece of each text as well as suggested mini-lessons for educators.

Getting out of the slush pile – Harold Underdown’s article on how to make your manuscript stand out and get read.

Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators – I have nothing but praise for SCBWI. It’s a great resource if you’re a children’s writer. Their discussion board alone is worth the price of membership.

There are a million tips and nuggets of wisdom out there for writers. But I’m interested to hear what advice you’ve received that has been valuable to you. Leave a comment with your best advice (or cautionary story!) below.

For me, there are a couple important ideas that keep me plugging forward. When I first began focusing on writing children’s books, I took some courses that had critique components. I’d submit, get comments back, revise based on the comments and submit again. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that if you act on ALL feedback, you end up with a piece that you don’t like much and isn’t anything like the original idea. After that, I began to evaluate critiques of my work so I only focused on comments that I felt made it better.

The other constant in my mind is the idea that writing well and successfully takes time. I know that my first draft will not be the best one. Most likely the second, third or even tenth won’t be either. And even if all the planets align and I write something that I feel is done and ready to submit, I’m prepared for the years of work that come after the writing is finished.

So those are my top pieces of advice. What words of wisdom do you have?

Use the photo above as a writing prompt. Take 10-20 minutes and write a scene, poem, piece of dialogue or anything that comes to mind. The idea is to write freely without editing. Just let yourself go.

If you’re having trouble getting started, ask yourself questions to dig for details. Who is the table reserved for? What is the location like? Are the people meeting going to talk business or pleasure? What do your other senses pick up?

As technology advances at the speed of light, writers have more tools available at their fingertips. Here are 10 iPhone applications that are essential for writers to have in their bag of tricks.

1. Dictionary.com – (Free) You’ll always need a dictionary/thesaurus within easy reach. The Dictionary.com app provides both.

2. Nameshake – ($2.99) Coming up with names for your characters can be difficult. But who says it can’t be fun? Nameshake lets you specify gender, origin and letter. You can also save the ones you like to a favorites list.

3. QuickVoice Pro – ($0.99) Inspiration can strike at the grocery store, doctor’s office or as you’re falling asleep. A voice recording app is an important tool to quickly capture your ideas. There’s also a free QuickVoice app that offers fewer features.

4. Creative Whack Pack – ($1.99) This app is like a workshop that will help you discover different solutions to problems and train you to approach challenges from other angles. Check out the Creative Think website’s Whack of the Day to see what it’s all about.

6. Mind Wave – ($1.99) I stumbled onto Mind Wave when I was browsing different relaxation apps. But it’s got a lot of interesting options for different situations. Basically, it sports a list of binaural tones that can boost creativity, focus or relaxation.

7. Naturespace – (Free) Sometimes you just need to tune out and relax. Naturespace provides a set of five holographic audio tracks that bring the outdoors to your headphones. Enjoy the sounds of the beach, a flowery meadow, the rainforest and more!

8. Writer’s Block Buster – ($3.99) If you need a way to plow through writer’s block, the Writer’s Block Buster app might be the ticket. All you have to do is select the part of your story you’re having trouble with (let’s say dialogue, for example), and it will serve up thought-provoking questions and explanations that will get you back on track.

9. Story Tracker – ($9.99) Keep track of who you’re sending your work to, how long they’ve had it or note responses you’ve received. You’ll be able to avoid embarrassing mix-ups and simultaneous submissions made in error. There’s also a free version available with fewer features.

10. Kindle – (Free) For those of you who enjoy e-books but don’t have the actual Kindle device, this is the next best thing.

So that’s my list. What useful apps are on your iPhone?

Back in April, I attended the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (NESCBWI) conference. It was an amazing experience and I encourage all writers to attend conferences whenever possible.

Author Cynthia Lord gave a keynote speech discussing her award-winning middle grade novel RULES, which tells the story of how 12-year-old Catherine deals with life and her younger autistic brother.

During her talk, Lord described writing a scene where Catherine pushes her wheelchair-bound friend Jason around a parking lot so he could know what running felt like.

She told us that in order to get the real sensory detail of the scene, she actually went to a parking lot and pushed a stroller all around like a mad woman. The excerpt below is the scene that she wrote for the book.

I jog, more a fast walk than a run. Jason’s head and shoulders shake as I bump him over cracks in the tar. There’s so much to watch out for: holes and rocks and sand near the side of the building.

I stop beside the Dumpster. “Sorry this is such a bouncy ride. Are you sure you want to do this?”

Run. Fast.

I start again, pushing Jason’s chair ahead of me. I run past the fire hydrant and around the parking sign, keeping a lookout for cars pulling into or out of the parking lot. Every few feet I shoot a lightning-quick glance at Jason’s hands.

He doesn’t pick them up, just holds tightly to his communication book. So I make the first turn, running faster. Clouds of seagulls take to the air in front of us, quarreling and shrieking.

Running hard now, my feet pound the tar, the flap of seagulls wings as loud as my breath in my ears. People are looking, but I try not to see them as real, just statues to run past.

At the final turn, I see Mrs. Morehouse standing in the entrance to the parking lot, her palm out like a traffic cop, keeping cars from pulling in.

I dash past the mailbox, the EXIT HERE sign, past Mrs. Morehouse.

Leaning into it, faster, harder, my feet slap the pavement, until it comes — that weightless, near-to-flying fastness.

Lord suggests visiting places and observing people similar to those you’re writing about to notice the surprising details. Although she was speaking specifically about fiction writing, the same advice works for many types of writing.

Let’s say you have to write a fund-raising campaign letter for the local animal shelter. What could you discover by spending time with the animals or observing the volunteers and patrons?

What if you had to write a sell sheet for a $5,000 toilet? It may be odd to think about, but actually using the product once (or even just seeing it in person) could provide a level of detail you wouldn’t have otherwise had.