Upcoming Workshop: Social-Emotional Writing in Fantastic Literature

I’m happy to announce my next workshop with Whale Rock Literary Workshops. I’ll be co-teaching a workshop on social-emotional writing in fantastic literature with US author and poet Laura Shovan. Please check out her latest book – a children’s poetry collection called Welcome to Monsterville. My books with monstrous characters and social-emotional themes include my picture book Sour Cakes and my novels Monster vs. Boy and Bog.

Addressing the Monster in the Room: Social-Emotional Writing in Fantastic Literature

Dates/Times: Sept. 21 and 28 at 7:30 to 9:00 pm ET (two sessions)
Cost: $60 US
Delivery: Online with sessions recorded for later viewing

Ursula Le Guin writes in Cheek by Jowl, “What fantasy often does that the realistic novel generally cannot do is include the nonhuman as essential.”

Monsters of all sorts live in our dreams, embodying our deepest emotions. They are guides to our truth and, as such, they play a huge role in social-emotional development. While realistic fiction centers the intricacies of humans, fantastic fiction is the imagination on fire, exploring shadow versions of our world and breathing life into our inner monsters. Stories about monsters – whether they appear in a game of Dungeons and Dragons, in a poem, or in a work of fiction are essential, especially in our post-pandemic times. They help readers and listeners better understand how to manage emotions, develop healthy identities, feel empathy, and show support for others.

This two-session workshop will ask four key craft questions to help you incorporate the monstrous into your writing. What is your protagonist’s relationship to the monstrous? What are your monster’s physical, emotional, and/or magical character traits? What metaphors or image systems define your monster and why? Does your monster live alongside our real world or has the protagonist crossed into the monster’s world? Our goal is to deepen your work’s social-emotional themes, offering you and your reader an opportunity to better understand the heart, mind, and spirit.

This Workshop Is For You If

  • You are drafting or revising a picture book or novel with a monstrous theme and/or character.
  • You are seeking to deepen your monstrous character(s) (widely defined as invented creatures of any kind).
  • You’d like to explore how monsters in fiction support social-emotional learning and themes.

To register, go to the Whale Rock website. While you’re there, please also check out their many wonderful offerings for new, emerging, and established writers for children and youth. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Whale Rock newsletter!

Teaching Assistant at Vermont College of Fine Arts

I’m excited to be heading to the July 21 to 29 residency for the Vermont College of Fine Arts as a Teaching Assistant in the Picture Book Intensive semester! This will be the first time the residency happens in Colorado Springs – a huge transition for everyone. I’ll be working with faculty member Loree Griffin Burns to support the students during residency and for the rest of the semester too. I’ll also be delivering a lecture and reading. It’s a great opportunity for me to learn more about how to mentor children’s writers. I’ve been prepping my lecture, and I can’t wait to share it. Plus, it’ll be wonderful to soak up all the wisdom and creative energy of an in-person residency. I’m especially excited to connect with my fellow Teaching Assistant Laura Obuobi, author of the fabulous picture book Black Gold, and to see so many friends deliver their graduating lectures. These writers are brilliant, folks.

Here’s my lecture topic. If it’s available to the public, I’ll be sure to share a link:

Generating Story Approaches: How Else Can You Tell It?

You’ve written a good story, or you have a good story idea. How can you make it great? One way is to improve the writing craft skills you’ll need to write it. Another is to consider the optimal approach to writing it. Taking the time to generate and assess alternative story approaches at the start of your writing process and during revision can elevate a good story to greatness. This lecture will explore the process of generating alternative story approaches using mentor texts as our guides.


Reading in Colorado Springs: Monster vs. Boy

While I’m in Colorado, I’ll also be visiting local bookstore Tattered Cover for a reading and presentation of my new middle-grade novel Monster vs. Boy, which will be published on July 11. If you’re around and available, I would love to see friends there!

When: Saturday, July 29 at 6 to 8 pm
Where: Tattered Cover Book Store, 112 N. Tejon St, Colorado Springs

Prepping for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2023

I’m busy prepping my upcoming presentations for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2023! From April 30 to May 6, 2023, I’ll be touring along with many other talented creators (25 authors, 6 illustrators, and 1 storyteller in total), sharing our love of reading with young people in schools, libraries, and homes across Canada. Here’s the full list of touring creators, including where each will be. I’ll be touring in-person in Ontario, and I can’t wait. Check out the gorgeous Book Week poster below, illustrated by Jeni Chen, who will be touring virtually in Ontario and Manitoba. Thanks to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and their sponsors and partners for helping to connect kids with books!

Drawing in the Reader into a Non-Fiction Picture Book

Many thanks to Anne-Marie Strohman for her insightful writing-craft review of my picture book One Tiny Bubble, illustrated by Dawn Lo. Anne-Marie and I both attended the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she is certainly a writer to watch.

In her article, Anne-Marie looks at how my writing choices pull the reader into the story of LUCA – our Last Universal Common Ancestor – through the use of direct address, invitation to the reader, kid-friendly comparisons, alliteration, repeated sequences, and more. She begins:

“Non-fiction books are meant to provide information to young readers. But many non-fiction books also tell the reader a story. And some of the best non-fiction books go the extra mile to pull readers into that story. Exhibit A: One Tiny Bubble: The Story of Our Last Universal Common Ancestor by Karen Krossing.”

You can sign up for the KidLitCraft newsletter for more great content.

Upcoming Presentation: How to Build Character Cultural Literacy

I’m happy to announce that I’ve joined Whale Rock Literary Workshops as faculty! Whale Rock offers MFA-level workshops and mentorships with impressive faculty that I admire. My first presentation will be a lecture with discussion and writing prompts about How to Build Character Cultural Literacy. This talk is based on the critical thesis I completed during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and I’m excited to share it with the children’s literature community.

My 90-minute presentation starts at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 5, 2023, and the cost is just $30. The class will be recorded for those who can’t attend. Here’s what I’ll be speaking about:

Whether you are writing picture books, middle grade or young adult literature, to reflect the full and varied reality of human experience, you need to respectfully and thoughtfully depict secondary characters with a range of backgrounds and cultural beliefs. Even when your protagonists largely mirror you, can you say the same for all their friends?

Each character you create exists within a global village and within a particular nation, neighborhood, social class, and ability level. They also live within an ethnic, gender, sexual-orientation, family, and peer group—each with its own distinct culture. Awareness of your characters’ cultural beliefs will deepen their presence on the page.

Through a discussion of cultural elements in selected picture books and novels, Karen will introduce tools you can use to identify your characters’ deep-level cultural beliefs, offering insights into their motivations and story arcs. This class will focus on family culture as that’s where we first learn and express our beliefs, although these cultural tools can be applied to other cultural groups. You will develop awareness of your cultural beliefs as compared to your characters’ and consider how and when to write within your cultural elements, bridge cultural gaps and avoid bias through omission.

There are no pre-assigned readings for this class, but you will have on-the-spot writing prompts to explore.

Note: Karen speaks from her own identity elements and does not represent any cultural group. She will share her personal identity statement with the class and will encourage you to explore your own as a tool to understanding our cultural lenses.

To register, go to the Whale Rock website. While you’re there, please also check out their many wonderful offerings for new, emerging, and established writers for children and youth. And don’t forget to subscribe to the Whale Rock newsletter!

Writing Mentorships Available (Giveaway!)

GIVEAWAY ALERT! Enter to win one manuscript critique with me (either a picture book or the first ten pages of a middle-grade or young-adult novel). To enter, leave a comment below or on one of my giveaway posts on social media before January 31, 2023. I’ll announce the winner on February 2.

One of the reasons I completed an MFA in Writing for Children and Youth was to improve my mentorship skills. In the three years since I graduated, I’ve connected with a wonderful new agent and signed six new book contracts with fabulous publishers. Now I feel ready to offer creative mentorships to writers of fiction and nonfiction for children and youth, and I’m celebrating with a giveaway!

My mentoring is informed by my background as an editor and writing workshop leader as well as my MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. My own published works include fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle-grade and young-adult novels, and short stories for teens.

I see my role as a writing coach who listens to and supports writers in expressing their stories in their way. For me, mentorship is a way to give back, pay it forward, and promote community with the goal of helping all voices in our world feel worthy, heard, and valued. I want to share my writing craft knowledge and experience to help you to write the best book you can.

If you’re looking for a manuscript critique or a long-term mentorship, please check out my Mentoring page or email me to chat about options.


UPDATE: And the lucky winner of my giveaway manuscript critique is Andrea Mack! I’ll message you, Andrea, so we can get started! Thanks to everyone who entered and for those who contacted me about my mentorship services!

An Interview on Side-Writing

Ever since I first heard Erin Nuttall read from her works-in-progress during our time together at the Vermont College of Fine Art’s Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program, I was a fan. She is a writer to watch, and I’m sure we’ll be reading her middle-grade and young-adult novels in the future. Thanks to Erin for interviewing me about side-writing on KidLit Craft – a terrific blog you’ll want to explore. You can check out Erin’s thoughts on side-writing in her inaugural post on KidLit Craft, and stayed tuned for more side-writing exercises on the blog all month.

And if you want even more on side-writing, you can sign up for my workshop Fresh Stories for a New World: Finding Your Stories Through a Practice of Side-Writing with SCBWI Canada East on April 10.

Upcoming Talks

CANSCAIP Monthly Membership Meeting: Panel Discussion

In a virtual meeting for CANSCAIP Members and Friends across Canada, I’ll be speaking with panelists S.K. Ali and Nadia Hohn as well as moderator Glen Huser about our faculty and student experiences in writing programs and schools.

Have you considered a degree in creative writing? What degrees are out there? What is the workload? What can you gain? And – is it worth the money?

Date and Time: March 10, 7 p.m. ET
Guests are welcome, and can contact office@canscaip.org to request the Zoom link.


Fresh Stories for a New World: Finding Your Stories Through a Practice of Side-Writing

As part of SCBWI Canada East’s Digging Deeper series, I’ll be delivering a virtual workshop.

Our world has been going through extraordinary changes, and so have we as writers. Who are you now? What stories are currently simmering within you, waiting to be told?

In this hands-on workshop, I’ll explore how to tap into ourselves and our stories through the practice of side-writing, which refers to stepping away from the story on the page to explore the raw heart of it through creative exercises. You’ll explore how side-writing can help us to write true to ourselves, plumb the emotional depths of our characters to better connect to readers, and spark joy and play in our writing.

Date and Time: April 10, 1 to 2 p.m. ET
Cost for members:
$15
Registration closes at noon on April 8.

My Interview on Cabin Tales

Last year, author Catherine Austen began a spooky new podcast for kids and adults called Cabin Tales, which I highly recommend. Catherine is a Canadian author of many excellent books, including including Walking Backward, My Cat Isis, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6, 28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6, and All Good Children. Please check out her books!

Now, you can listen to Catherine’s interview with me on Cabin Tales. It includes my advice to young writers with writer’s block, and tales of terror from my childhood. (Yes, I was afraid of closets. Maybe I still am.)

Cabin Tales: A Spooky Podcast for Kids

It was great fun to be part of Cabin Tales, a spooky new podcast for kids and adults.

It’s a new project from Catherine Austen, author of many books including my personal favourite All Good Children.

Each episode of Cabin Tales focuses on one aspect of creative writing, such as setting. They include original spooky stories, excerpts from creepy classics, and writing tips from authors like me. The stories are deliciously monstrous – ones you might tell around a campfire to scare your friends – so Catherine warns that they’re not for very young listeners.

Cabin Tales also encourages young writers to share their own stories with fun weekly prompts. I hope you check it out!

Upcoming Talk: SCBWI Canada East Art of Story

UPDATE: Thank you to the organizers of the SCBWI Canada East Art of Story Conference, who have wisely decided to cancel it due to covid-19. I hope to be back as a speaker at a later event. In the meantime, they’re hoping to host online workshops and distance critiques so stayed tuned!

I’m thrilled and honoured to be included as faculty at the upcoming SCBWI Canada East Art of Story Conference. This is an intimate and craft-based conference focused on writing and illustrating for children and teens. I hope you’ll be able to join us.

Date: April 24 to 26, 2020
Place: Albert at Bay Suite Hotel, Ottawa

Applications for the Rising Kite Diversity Scholarship and the Gift of Creativity bursary are available.

You can check out all the faculty and workshops. My talk will be based on my critical thesis and grad lecture I completed during my MFA in Writing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I’m excited to be able to share it with a wider audience.

How To Build Character Cultural Literacy
To reflect the full and varied reality of human experience, all writers need to respectfully and thoughtfully depict secondary characters with a range of cultural beliefs. Even when our protagonists largely mirror us, can we say the same for all their friends?

Each character we create exists within a global village and within a particular nation, neighbourhood, social class, ability level as well as an ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, family, and peer group—each with its own distinct culture. Awareness of our characters’ culture beliefs will deepen their presence on the page.

Using insights from contemporary cultural anthropologists, I’ll introduce tools we can use to identify our characters’ deep-level cultural beliefs, offering insights into their motivations and story arcs. I’ll focus on family culture since that’s where we first learn and express our beliefs, although these tools can be applied to other cultural groups. We’ll also compare our own cultural beliefs to our characters’ to discuss the importance of respecting #OwnVoices, writing within our cultural elements, and avoiding bias through omission.

My Latest Komics

I’ve been having fun drawing my Kan’t Draw Komics, which I started because I’m a terrible artist. You can read more about that in this post. Here are my latest ones.

As author Jane Smiley said, “Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.”

May your story garden thrive!

Personally, I’m not sure the revision stage ever ends. That’s one of the wonderful and challenging parts of writing.

You can read more of my comics on my Kan’t Draw Komics page.

How to Revise a Picture Book (Part 2)

During my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, I wrote about how to revise picture-book manuscripts. I’m happy to share this as a two-part article in the CANSCAIP News.

The first part was published in the Spring issue, and it focuses on beginnings and endings. Now, the Summer issue includes the second part on how to revise the messy middle.

For the article, I visited my local archive—the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books in Toronto—to seek original manuscripts that became acclaimed picture books. I then analyzed how three authors revised their manuscripts, including Kathy Stinson’s Red is Best (illustrated by Robin Baird Lewis, published by Annick Press), Linda Granfield’s The Road to Afghanistan (illustrated by Brian Deines, published by Scholastic Canada), and Paulette Bourgeois’s Franklin in the Dark (illustrated by Brenda Clark, published by Kids Can Press).

Many thanks to the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers for publishing both parts. Thanks also to Kathy Stinson, Linda Granfield, and Paulette Bourgeois for permission to quote from their archived material. Happy revising!

My MFA Journey (Part 5)

Note: I’ve been writing about my journey during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in Writing for Children and Young Adults. You can read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of my journey as well.

I’m currently finishing up my second semester with my genius advisor Amanda Jenkins, author of the Printz Honor Book Repossessed, among others titles. My goal this semester was to understand how to convey authentic and deep character emotion in both revised and new manuscripts. It expanded to include how to structure a story based on a character’s emotional journey.

Here’s what I did over the last six months:

  • I read and analyzed books in a wide range of genres — picture books, chapter books, poetry, novels for kids and teens, graphic novels, novels in verse, manga, short stories for kids and teens, nonfiction and memoir. I listened to 20 audio-recorded VCFA lectures and a handful of critical theses.
  • I wrote short essays about how to use humor to maximize reader engagement with emotionally taxing characters and how to use micro-level tools to focus emotion in a scene. At the request of my advisor, I wrote a personal essay on why I’m drawn to write monstrous characters like Bog, since one of my works-in-progress has a monstrous character in it. I also wrote two long essays about power relationships and group dynamics in kid-lit families and peer groups.
  • I researched for my upcoming critical thesis, which I’ll write in my third semester, and I wrote a proposal for it. I’m super-stoked to start writing this!
  • For my creative writing, I wrote side writing about my works-in-progress as well as new manuscript pages. I focussed on two projects: a revision of a YA novel and first draft of an MG novel. My creative was focussed on depth of characterization and understanding the story that occurs off the page as well as on it.

I emerge from this first semester with this big-picture takeaway: how I can transform my writing process to achieve greater depth of character emotion and use that emotional depth to form the inner arc of a story.  I’ve now got a handle on my characters from both my novel projects, and I’m ready to write them in a way that is both honest and deep.

My third semester starts in January with a residency filled with workshops, lectures and readings — and a new faculty advisor. I’m so grateful for what I’ve learned so far and I’m excited for the next steps!

Want more? You can read Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.

Workshop: Become Your Own Plot Doctor

I’m excited to be presenting at CANSCAIP‘s Packaging Your Imagination 2018 along with so many talented creators and industry experts. You can check out the full line-up here. The date is November 10, 2018. Hope to see you there!

I’ll be delivering a workshop on plot. Whether you’re outlining, writing, or revising, an analytical examination of your story will help diagnose and treat any plot problems. I’ll be discussing how to become your own plot doctor by asking yourself questions about your characters and story, and then intuitively answering those questions.

My MFA Journey (Part 4)

Note: I’ve been writing about my journey during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in Writing for Children and Young Adults. You can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of my journey as well.

I’m just back from my second residency at VCFA, and I’m exhausted and inspired by days filled with lectures, workshops, readings, and so many conversations about writing. To tell you the truth, I was a little shocked when I arrived home and my family didn’t want to constantly discuss writing. At residency, I also delivered my very first lecture, which was about picture-book revisions.

In my lecture, I talked about revision as the heart of the writer’s craft. It’s the reason an editor might eventually be able to sense the pulse of my story. It’s the reason a reader might get to thrum to the beating heart of the story I’ve finally managed to infuse with life.

But how to revise well? I explored this question with a visit to the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books in Toronto to seek original manuscripts that became acclaimed picture books. My goal was to analyze how authors of both classic and recent books had revised their manuscripts. I thought of it as a game, where I could identify what questions the author may have asked when revising or what questions they answered through revision. I could then ask the same questions about my own works-in-progress.

Each time I revise a manuscript, I seem to go through the same painful bumps in the road. My hope is that, by analyzing and learning from others’ revision processes, I’ll be able to find the beating heart of my story more directly and with fewer bumps. Perhaps each of these questions I identified can become the basis for one pass through the manuscript. Perhaps I can infuse my intuitive process with some of this analytical knowledge.

My lecture was part of a panel discussion of picture books with four amazing students I studied with during the Picture Book Intensive (PBI) semester. Together we wrote, critiqued, and analyzed picture books in an online forum, as well as working one-on-one with our faculty advisor, the talented Liz Garton Scanlon. I found the PBI discussions to be more demanding and focused than monthly writing groups. It fostered deep thinking and valuable insights.

With my lecture done, I received a PBI certificate, since this semester can be taken separately from the whole MFA program. I was also thrilled to receive the Beyond Words Scholarship! It’s awarded to a student who demonstrates a passion and commitment to picture books. Now, to use my new knowledge of this genre, I’ll be reviewing picture books for Canadian Children’s Book News as well as continuing to write my own.

I’m now back at my desk and diving into my pile of second-semester work. In this semester, my advisor is a writer with great heart and instinct—Amanda Jenkins, author of the Printz Honor Book Repossessed, among others titles. I’m super stoked to dive into how to better connect to my characters and convey emotional depth on the page, which are my goals for this semester.

Taking this MFA program is the best gift I’ve ever given my writer self. It’s a transformative experience, and I’m so grateful for it.

Want more? You can read Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.

Ways to Grow as a Writer (Part 1): Critical Writing

I wrote an article for the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP) about one of my many mind-blowing take-aways from my first semester in an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). In it, I discuss how critical analysis of children’s books can give us insight into our creative writing.

The article first appeared in the CANSCAIP News Summer 2018 issue. Thanks to CANSCAIP, you can read the full article here.

To read more, go to “Ways to Grow as a Writer (Part 2): Critical Discussion.”

MY MFA Journey (Part 3)

Note: I’ve been writing about my journey during my MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) in Writing for Children and Young Adults. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 of my journey as well.

Credit: Vermont College of Fine Arts

I’m currently finishing up my first semester, which was a Picture Book Intensive. As an author of young-adult and middle-grade novels, I took a head-first dive into writing a new-to-me genre. My goal was to delve into craft aspects of picture books such as the sound of language, how to think in pictures, and economy of language. I also hoped that a rigorous focus on picture-book story structure and depth of characterization would also strengthen my novel-writing skills. Finally, I wanted to analyze the revision process to gain insights into how to improve my rewriting and polishing stages.

Here’s what I did over the last six months:

  • I read and analyzed over 220 picture books, seven picture-book manuscripts from the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, 25 audio-recorded VCFA lectures or written critical theses, as well as a few young-adult and middle-grade books and many craft books.
  • I wrote short essays on topics like meta-fictive picture books and strategies for writing dark subject matter in picture books.
  • I wrote a long essay on an analysis of revision from early drafts to final versions of three acclaimed picture books — Red is Best by Kathy Stinson (illustrated by Robin Baird Lewis), The Road to Afghanistan by Linda Granfield (illustrated by Brian Deines), and Franklin in the Dark by Paulette Bourgeois (illustrated by Brenda Clark). My goal was to identify what questions the authors may have asked when revising or what questions they answered through revision so that I can improve my own revision process.
  • For my creative work, I wrote and revised 12 picture books, including metafiction, fiction, narrative non-fiction, concept books, rhythmic/lyrical, dark/difficult topics, and wordless. I also drafted several other fledgling ideas for picture books.
  • I rewrote my long essay into a lecture script, handout, and slides in preparation for a panel presentation at my July residency. I’m so excited to share my discoveries!
  • In an online forum with my wonderful faculty advisor, Liz Garton Scanlon, and four other students, I discussed picture-book craft daily, and I critiqued each of my classmates’ draft and revised manuscripts for a total of 20 critiques.

I emerge from this first semester with this big-picture takeaway: how a process of detailed and individualized critical analysis of children’s books through my annotated bibliography and critical writing gave me insights into revision of my creative writing. Over and over again, I was able to directly apply insights to my works-in-progress. Let me tell you – this process is huge and life-changing. I explored things like how to respect both the intuitive and analytical aspects of writing, the importance of concept as structure in a picture book, how to use rhythm in writing and ways to tackle the revision process. I also gained skills in critical analysis of my fellow-students’ manuscripts.

As I finish my first semester, I can see that I’ve gained insights into myself as a writer, my process and where to go from here. This MFA has been one of the best gifts I’ve given to myself. I can’t wait to see where it’ll take me next.

Want more? You can read Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.

Opportunities for Teen Creators

Toronto Teen Writers and Artists/Photographers

I’m thrilled to once again be a guest editor of the Toronto Public Library’s annual magazine for teen creators – the Young Voices Magazine. Toronto teens aged 12 to 19 are welcome to submit by April 3, 2018. Go here to read past issues and check out the programs and classes, including on March Break, and review the submission guidelines. There’s also a free Young Voices Conference in October, so watch for more information on that.

Canadian Teen Writers

The Amazon Canada First Novel Award now has a Youth Author Award. Authors between the ages of 13 and 17 can submit a short story under 3000 words. The prize for the winning short story is $5000 and a mentorship lunch with The Walrus editors on Wednesday, May 23, 2018. Deadline is March 30, 2018.

For more submission ideas, go to my list of Where Young Authors Can Submit. Good luck, and keep creative!

My MFA Journey (Part 2)

Note: Many writing friends have asked to hear about my MFA journey, so I’ll be posting about it regularly. To read Part 1, go here.

My first six-month semester at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) started with a ten-day residency in snowy Montpelier, including dorm life with a roommate who was wonderfully matched to my habits, cafeteria food that I did not have to make or clean up (thankfully), and lovely welcoming traditions designed to help me make the most of my residency. It was a jam-packed schedule of inspiring and insightful lectures by faculty and graduates, readings by everyone, nuts-and-bolts workshops, and so much more.

During the residency, they have a saying: “What happens at VCFA, stays at VCFA.” It’s a time to focus on craft rather than Instagram posts and Tweets. So what is it like? It’s mind-bogglingly busy. I could barely text my family, or remember where to be next. It’s event after event with generous, enthusiastic writers in rooms that are steeped with creative energy. It’s a marathon of insights and laughter with people who love writing for children as much as I do.

For me, winter feels like a great time to start an MFA. To borrow from Persephone imagery, the seeds are resting under the snow in preparation for spring, and my ideas are gestating too, ready for the deep exploration of writing craft that will bring them new life.

So how does the program work? I’ve created my own independent study plan for this semester, with the help of my wonderful faculty advisor, Liz Garton Scanlon, author of numerous books for children, including the Caldecott-honored picture book All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee.

Here’s what my study plan includes:

Process Discussion

I’ll have an ongoing discussion with my faculty advisor about my writing practice and process, including drafting, revisions, frustrations, and successes.

Creative Writing

My focus this semester is on writing picture books. I’m stretching my writing muscles to try a totally new genre, which is scary and fun because I have a LOT of picture books to write over the next six months.

I’m particularly excited about this writing because I’ll be able to both write and revise manuscripts, based on feedback. I’m fascinated by the revision process, since so much of our craft lies in that stage.

Reading

This will include an annotated bibliography of all the books I read, so that I’m reading with an eye on writing craft (i.e., what works and how I can use these techniques in my writing).

Critical Essays

I’ll be writing monthly critical essays on topics that relate directly to my writing craft. These are not papers on literary analysis, but on craft analysis.

To tell the truth, the critical work didn’t appeal to me when I was first considering this program. I wanted to focus on my creative work. I wasn’t an academic. But after I wrote a critical essay for my application, I began to understand its value. I wrote about establishing multiple point-of-view characters (using Caroline Pignat’s wonderful young-adult novel Shooter), since I’m currently writing a novel with three points of view. As I wrote my first draft, I kept thinking about my essay, and I feel it helped me hone my various points of view. I can just imagine how much my craft will improve as I incorporate more analysis into my writing practice. I’m already a convert.

Critiques

As part of the Picture Book Intensive semester, I’ll also be interacting with four other writers at various stages of the program in an online forum, where we’ll critique one another’s work and share insights from reading and analyzing books. I’ve been workshopping with these students during residency, and we’re already a tight-knit group. I trust their insights, and I love their enthusiasm.


Back at home now, I’m diving into work and trying not to worry about the crazy amount of writing I’m aiming to accomplish between now and mid-June. Hopefully, I can get my sea legs quickly and balance all I want to accomplish. Then I’ll head back to Vermont for my second-semester residency in July, which I’m already looking forward to.

Want more? You can read Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.

Reflections on a Year of Writing

If you’re like me, then you love to take time every now and then to look at where you are, where you came from and where you’re going. I’m a big goal-setter, and the end of a calendar year seems like a natural time to celebrate progress and re-adjust goals. I like to ask myself:

What writing did I accomplish this year?

I take a moment to celebrate every page written, no matter how much revision it still needs.

What writing did I hope to accomplish this year?

My goals are often more ambitious than I realize, and I don’t always get as far on a project as I want to. I try to respect the process, and give my projects the time they need to grow and develop fully.

What new goals do I want to set for next year?

I try to make new goals as realistic as possible. I’m famous for over-estimating what I can accomplish and then feeling discouraged when I don’t meet my expectations.

How can I help myself achieve these goals?

Maybe I need to plot out writing time and protect it fiercely. Maybe I need to respect the time it takes to ponder an idea, rather than pounding out a half-formed one. Maybe I need to read a book on writing craft or take a course. I try to find the ways forward that are right for me.

As writers, we’re often setting and assessing goals in isolation, so I encourage you to talk to your friends, family or writing partners about your accomplishments and goals. This week, I printed out my work-in-progress for a writing partner to critique, and I shared the moment with my family, letting them hold my impressive 299-page draft. It’s not done, but it’s on its way, and I’m grateful for that.

I had many stops and starts with writing this year, as well as much experimentation. Here’s my list to celebrate:

  • a draft of a new young-adult novel written.
  • a plan to revise a middle-grade novel and a quarter of it revised.
  • three picture books written, which I’ve never done before.
  • several new ideas that I’m nurturing.

I’ve also been reading kid lit more critically, assessing what works and why, and re-evaluating my revision process to figure out how to improve it. And I’ve critiqued many works-in-progress by other writers, helping them figure out their next steps.

For me, next year will be full of adventure, as I embark on a two-year MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I have personal writing goals as well as academic ones for 2018, and I’m ready to work and play hard.

Best wishes for you and your writing goals. I hope 2018 is a creative year for you.

 

My MFA Journey (Part 1)

Note: In August, I posted about my decision to return to school for an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). You can read that post here. I’ll be posting about my journey regularly, so check back for updates.

In January 2018, I’ll travel to Montpelier, Vermont, for my first ten-day residency. I hear that it’s a magical whirlwind of lectures, workshops, and readings from morning till night. I hear that I’ll meet like-minded writers eager to learn more about craft. I hear that I’ll form life-long friendships and be changed in ways I can’t yet imagine. Bring it on!

After the ten days, I’ll return home to work on my critical and creative projects from a distance with my faculty advisor for my first semester. I’m very happy to announce that this semester will be a picture-book intensive, which you can read about here. I’ll be studying with four other MFA students, a faculty advisor with an expertise in picture books, and a professional illustrator.

Like most children, my enchantment with literature began with picture books read aloud to me by adults. As a young girl, I “read” The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit by Beatrix Potter to myself long before I could make sense of letters on a page. I liked to capture members of my family and recite my version of the story, over and over. In the book, Potter portrays a fierce, bad rabbit who bullies a nice rabbit and steals his carrot. At a young age, I could already relate to the bullying. Yet what fascinated me was how a man with a gun comes along and shoots at the fierce, bad rabbit. This rabbit ends up with no tail or whiskers, and the nice rabbit avoids the hunter’s gun. There will be justice in this world, Potter’s book told me, although you may not get your carrot back.

When my own children were young, I read them too many picture books to count. Now that they’re twentysomethings, we still find time to read aloud new books I bring home, and we regularly quote from old favorites. “A promise is what you were given and a promise is what you got,” my partner will sagely say, based on A Promise is a Promise, written by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak, illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka. “Strength is for the wise, not the reckless. –More cake, please,” my daughter will recite, quoting young Patrick Edward in Monster Mama by author Liz Rosenberg and illustrator Stephen Gammell. Picture books built the foundations of my joy in reading and, later, in writing. As children’s poet Charles Ghigna wrote, “It is the joyous power of picture books that turns young listeners into readers and readers into writers.”

Although picture-book writing is an art I’ve admired for many years, I’ve only begun to experiment with the form recently. With this semester, I hope to learn skills that’ll apply to both short-form writing (the sound of language, how to think in pictures, economy of language) and long (story structure and depth of characterization using few words).

I’ve been prepping for my first semester by reading at least one book by each of the VCFA faculty. It’s been a wonderful exploration, and a great way to get to know them from a distance.

As I count the days until it starts, I’m sure the semester will be full of trials and joys. Will I get across the Canada-US border without trouble? Will the winter driving in Vermont be treacherous? How will I adjust to residence life? Will the workload overwhelm me?

All I know at this point is, when I talk to recent grads of the program, they tell me they’d gladly start the whole process again, if they could.

Want more? You can read Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and my final MFA post.

Young Voices Magazine 2017

I was thrilled to to celebrate tonight with Toronto teen creators at the launch of the Toronto Public Library’s Young Voices Magazine 2017. Fifty-two years in print! Wow, that’s a lot of talent. It’s a honour to be a small part of this legacy.

Teen Creators: If you love to create, don’t miss the Young Voices Writers Conference on October 28. To submit to next year’s magazine, click here. You can check out back issues here, and pick up a copy of the 2017 magazine at your local branch! The Toronto Public Library also has its first ever Young Voices Comic Artist in Residence this year! The talented Tory Woollcott will be offering workshops for teens here!

It’s Not Hogwarts, But It’s Just as Magical

I’ve had a growing urge to learn more about writing craft. After graduating from university many years ago, I’m about to become a student again. In January 2018, I’ll start an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. It’s not Hogwarts, but I know it’ll be just as magical.

I’ve been a writer at heart since I personified my toy cars as a young girl. At age ten, I wrote comic books about a girl named Lucky Lisa and the dog I wished I had. At age seventeen, I scribbled angst-filled poetry about the meaning of life. In high school, I knew I’d try to write for publication, although I thought I’d have to take a sensible job first and write professionally once I retired. Imagine my surprise when, after ten sensible years as an educational book editor, I found the courage to quit my full-time job to make room for writing.

Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to learning writing craft through hours at my desk as well as through workshops like Peter Carver’s Writing for Children class at Mable’s Fables Children’s Bookstore, CANSCAIP and SCBWI conferences, screenwriting seminars with John Truby and Robert McKee, and personal critique groups.

Although I’ve achieved much with my writing, I feel the burn to learn more. How can I better translate my characters to the page? Deepen my revision process? Understand the emotional journey of readers and how writing craft guides it? I’d like to explore new genres and techniques. I’d like to discover new ways to mentor emerging voices.

For me, the Vermont College of Fine Arts is the place to do this.

Thanks to the many people who helped me during the application process: Harry Endrulat, Sarah N. Harvey, Melanie Fishbane, Shelley Tanaka, and the VCFA administration. For the warm welcome, thanks to program director Melissa Fisher, Tim Wynne-Jones, and Amanda West Lewis.

I’m honoured. I’m grateful. I’m ready. I can’t wait to begin this journey.

Note: For Part 1 of My MFA Journey, go here.

Photo credit: Hannah Morris

Weekend of Words Workshop

The Weekend of Words Festival on September 15 to 17 in East Toronto will feature a series of reading, writing, and performance events and workshops throughout the east end, including the What’s Your Story, East Toronto? celebration of reading and writing.

As part of the festival, I’ll be running a free writing workshop on revision. Please join me!

How to Revise Your Writing

Where: East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Ave, Toronto
When: September 17
Time: 12- 2 pm

To make readers care, your memoir or fiction writing must be told with finesse. In this workshop, you’ll discuss how to re-envision a work-in-progress, explore the craft of revision, and learn tips for focusing and polishing your stories. Since this workshop will include writing activities, you’re welcome to bring a work-in-progress that you want to revise.

Thanks to the Ontario Book Publishers Organization, East End Arts and Toronto Arts Council for presenting this event.

For the Facebook Event page, click here. For the event flyer, click here.

“My student loved your book!”

It’s a wonderful day when an author gets an email that reads “My student loved your book!” Thanks to Bonnie, a Library Media Specialist in New Jersey, for letting me know that Punch Like a Girl has made a huge difference for one reluctant reader. Thanks also for posting the email as a Goodreads review. It’s a great reminder of why I write.

Dear Ms. Krossing,
I’m a high school librarian in New Jersey. I have a student who who is a reluctant reader and was unhappy that she had to pick a book for her sustained silent reading. I recommended Punch Like a Girl, which she renewed twice before starting. A few weeks later her teacher returned it and told me that the student loved the book so much she asked for more by the same author. This is a huge victory, and I thought you should know. We have only Punch Like a Girl in our collection, but I look forward to populating our reluctant reader collection with more of your books. Thank you – you deserve the credit for getting a reluctant reader to love a book!
Bonnie
Library Media Specialist in NJ

Art MEETS: Writing in Place Workshop

An East End Arts Initiative
Saturday, April 8, 2017, 1 to 4 pm
Danforth/Coxwell Library, 1675 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
Ages 16 +
FREE
Register here

Our lives are the fuel for our writing. The everyday places where we spend time, the people we meet, the events that still haunt us or inspire us — all of these infuse our stories, poems, memoirs, and rants.

Please join me for Art MEETS: Writing in Place — a writing workshop for ages 16 and up. Using fun and inspiring prompts, like six-word stories and writing based on photos, you’ll learn writing techniques and explore how your everyday experiences can enrich your writing. You can also bring a story, poem, memoir, or rant that you’d like feedback on, as well as your questions about writing techniques or how to get published. Designed for emerging writers and diverse voices, this inclusive workshop will also help you prepare your writing for two East End Arts writing opportunities.

My City My Six is a public art project in partnership with the City of Toronto, where individuals are encouraged to submit six-word stories to be included in a local east end and City-wide exhibition in September and October. What’s Your Story, in partnership with the Ontario Book Publishers Organization and Toronto Arts Council, is a writing competition for both established and emerging writers.

Upcoming Workshops: Winter and Spring

“Girls Are” Writing Workshop

Tuesday, January 24, 2017
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Girls Are, 145B Main Street, Toronto
Ages 10 plus
Cost: $20 per person
To register, call Angela at 416-624-3006 or email angela@girls-are.com

Join me for a WordPlay writing workshop on the theme of beauty and body image. Using inspiring writing prompts, like masks and photos, you’ll write poems, stories and/or rants. Spark your imagination and enjoyment of creative writing in this hands-on workshop.

Greater Sudbury Public Library

March 13 to 15, 2017

StoryPlay (ages 4 plus): Join me for fun word games and shared story writing. Using inspiring starters like story dice, you’ll spark your imagination and enjoyment of story-building in this interactive workshop.
Tuesday, March 14, Dowling Branch, 6 to 7 pm
Wednesday, March 15, Main Branch, 10:30 to 11:30 am

How to Create a Believable OtherWorld (ages 8 plus): Whether you write about unicorns or alien planets, an imaginary world needs rules and structure in order to be believable. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create a fully imagined fantasy or science-fiction world and the characters who live there.
Monday, March 13, Consiton Branch, 6 to 7:30 pm
Tuesday, March 14, New Sudbury Branch, 10:30 am to 12 pm
Wednesday, March 15, Lively Branch, 1 to 2:30 pm

Sophie’s Studio Workshops

Wednesdays on April 5, 12, 19, 26
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Toronto Public Library, Evelyn Gregory
Ages 8 to 12
Registration begins March 1 at the branch or by calling 416-394-1006

In this four-week workshop, you’ll build your own characters and write scenes and stories. You’ll also create villains, write based on real-life events, and create fantastical worlds for your characters to live in. Have fun with creative writing in this free hands-on workshop.

My Back-to-School Special

Hey, teachers and librarians!

Book me for a writing workshop this Fall to help get your students writing. With great writing prompts and plenty of advice for overcoming writer’s block, my workshops inspire kids and teens to create. Popular workshops include Stories Inspired by Real-Life and How to Create a Believable OtherWorld. You can check out more of my workshop ideas here. Customized workshops are also available.

Bonus: Book before November 1 and get a FREE copy of Punch Like a Girl or Bog for your school library.

For current rates and availability, please contact Karen, or Authors’ Booking Service at abs@authorsbooking.com. Funding assistance is available through The Writers’ Union of Canada Readings Subsidy Programs.

“After Karen’s writing workshops, my students were so motivated that they set their goals high and began producing the beginnings of novels for their fantasy stories. Some of their best work this year came from Karen’s workshops.”
Kris Madill, Grade 5/6 Teacher, Beaches Alternative School

“The workshop in my opinion was freaking awesome. I enjoyed it a lot. I love to write. It is one of my favourite pastimes. It helps you figure yourself out as well as clear your head. The only thing about the workshop that I did not like was the fact that it was rather short, and in my opinion, it would have been more effective and entertaining if we were able to have you come back for a full day! The one aspect of the workshop that I really enjoyed is that the creativity level of each participant was phenomenal. Everyone was really creative, motivated, and descriptive in their short stories.”
Workshop participant at Covenant House

writer

The Role of Doubt

My family members are ever-present observers of my creative process. Often, when I complain about feeling blocked on a project or feeling doubt about whether I can complete a project, they nod knowingly.

“Oh, that stage,” they say. “You’ve been here before.”

At that point, I typically rant, explaining how this time is different. How they don’t know what they’re talking about – until I think it through.

Each time I face doubt, it feels like a fresh, impossible challenge. So I spent the last few weeks pondering the role of doubt in my creative process. Upon reflection, I’ve noticed two main stages where doubt can creep in.

Restless Stage

First, there’s the restless stage. I may have writer’s block. I may say that I have nothing to write about. I may worry that I’ll never have another “good” idea.

If I do have a writing idea, I may procrastinate. I want to write, but all I seem to do is complain about writing and how hard it is. I may compare myself to other writers and idealize their creative processes.

The good news is that this stage usually precedes a time of focus, when I dive into a new project, commit to it, and write madly.

Wavering Stage

At some point in a project, maybe mid-way, I may lose focus and doubt myself. How will I end this book? What if I can’t actually write it? What if I fail?

The good news is that this stage usually precedes a leap of courage, where I dive back into the project, taking risks, exploring ideas, and immersing myself in it once again. (See my post Stuck in the Messy Middle? My Tips for Completing a First Draft for suggestions on how to handle this stage.)


I must admit that my family is right. I’ve hit similar stages of doubt on many of my projects.

Identifying these stages is a good first step to understanding them. Doubt seems to have some role in my creative process, and perhaps this is true for other writers too. I suppose that a healthy dose of skepticism helps me to evaluate a work-in-progress. It helps me to think harder and search deeper than I would otherwise have done. I ask questions that I don’t know the answers to. I expose the vulnerable side of my creative self. I explore the uncomfortable.

That’s when writing feels hard. When I can become blocked. Yet doubt seems to have value in the creative growth of a project.

Maybe I need to embrace doubt with an open mind. Maybe I’m lucky to have my family around to remind me of that, over and over again.