by Karen Krossing | Dec 4, 2019 | On Writing, Presentation News
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, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7 as well.
I’ve just finished my final semester! What a journey it’s been! Next stop—graduating residency!
For the last six months, I’ve been working with my fabulous faculty advisor Alan Cumyn, author of a slew of wonderful novels, like his latest one, North to Benjamin, about a boy named Edgar and the farty, lovable Newfoundland dog he cares for. My overall creative goal this semester was exploring how to write emotionally rich characters who compel readers to turn the page and publishers to say, “Yes!” Alan provided in-depth responses to my work through on-page comments, editorial letters, and video calls. His big-picture comments prompted deep revision while his enthusiasm and kindness celebrated what worked.
Fourth semester is all about writing a creative thesis, which is submission-ready creative work, and well as an academic lecture. For my creative, I revised twenty-two chapters of a middle-grade novel, and I wrote eight new chapters to complete a full draft. Through discussion with Alan, I have a plan for another round of revisions. I also revised three picture books, and my creative thesis is a combination of a fiction picture book, a nonfiction picture book and chapters from my novel. I leave this program with a pile of manuscripts to continue to work on as well as a writer’s toolbox that’s overflowing!
My lecture is titled “Peeking Beyond Our Cultural Blinders,” and I’ll be delivering it at my graduating residency in January 2020. I plan to talk about how our cultural blinders can get in the way of understanding our characters. Using insights from contemporary cultural anthropologists and touching on the #OwnVoices movement, I’ll introduce tools we can use to identify our characters’ deep-level cultural beliefs as compared to our own. I’ll focus on family culture since that’s where we first learn and express our beliefs, and show how cultural orientations provide motivation for how characters feel, what they do, what they say, and how they change. Writing this lecture has given me more confidence as a speaker and mentor, and I hope I’ll get the chance to share more of my new writing-craft knowledge with others.
At my graduating residency, I’ll also be delivering a reading from my creative thesis. And I’ll be celebrating the many talented writers I’ve been lucky enough to share this journey with. VCFA is a caring, supportive community, and I’ve met so many incredible people who’ve become lifelong friends. Here are a few friends from my class, who I’ll miss seeing at residency every six months!
Want more? You can read my final MFA post.
by Karen Krossing | Oct 30, 2019 | Kan't Draw Komics, On Writing
Who needs to hoard gold? Dragons have it all wrong. My latest comic…
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. Enjoy!
by Karen Krossing | Sep 12, 2019 | On Writing, Presentation News
On Saturday, September 28, I’ll be at Chapters Scarborough for a hi-lo author panel with these terrific authors! Please join me, Erin Thomas, Bev Katz Rosenbaum, Paul Coccia and Melanie Florence. Thanks to Orca Book Publishers and Chapters Scarborough for helping to organize us!
by Karen Krossing | Sep 10, 2019 | Kan't Draw Komics, Mentoring, On Writing
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.
by Karen Krossing | Jul 24, 2019 | On Writing
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, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6 as well.
I kicked off my fourth and final semester with a two-week residency that left me inspired and emotional. I was touched by how many faculty and students read or lectured on topics that left them open and vulnerable. I’m reminded yet again how deeply creators must connect to their characters in order to encourage readers to care for them as well.
A highlight of my residency was a workshop on writing within and across identity elements, facilitated by the inspirational Cynthia Leitich Smith, who’s latest YA novel Hearts Unbroken dismantles stereotypes. In it, Louise Wolfe deals with the challenges of “dating while Native.” She also attempts to uncover who’s behind a coalition against the school musical director’s ethnically inclusive approach to casting. From our workshop, I’ve culled a list of strategies, techniques and issues to ponder when writing within and across identity elements. Thank you, Cynthia!
Now I’m back home and writing my creative thesis, which means I’ll focus on how to use my newly developed skills to bring creative pages to a professional polish. I plan to revise a middle-grade novel as well as several picture books – both fiction and nonfiction. I also hope to explore some new, fledgling ideas.
And I’ll be preparing an academic lecture based on the critical thesis I wrote last semester. I want to help writers, including myself, peek behind our cultural blinders to identify our characters’ deep-level cultural beliefs as well as our own. I’ll touch on the #OwnVoices movement and explore how to develop culturally rich characters.
And lucky me! I get to do all this with my new faculty advisor Alan Cumyn! If you haven’t yet read his latest, North to Benjamin, you’re in for a treat. In it, Edgar moves to Dawson City with his mother so she can start over yet again, but this time their new home comes with a dog-sitting job. As Edgar’s mother starts to upend the lives of those around them one more time, Edgar takes refuge in his friendship with the farty, lovable Newfoundland dog, Benjamin, so much so that his words come out as barks. I love Edgar’s doggy traits as he tries to figure out what to do next.
Wish me luck as I start my deep dive into my semester work!
Want more? You can read Part 8 and my final MFA post.
by Karen Krossing | Jul 1, 2019 | Mentoring, On Writing
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!
