What We Learned at Our Inaugural Residency

September 2024: Revision Reflections

This past Labor Day weekend, the R(ev)ise and Shine! crew gathered at the Highlights Foundation campus with a few special guests and a cohort of thirteen talented and enthusiastic writers for our inaugural Residency. By every measure it far exceeded our wildest expectations!

For this month’s newsletter we thought we’d each share a few words about what we took away from the experience.

Lesa:

To learn about other writers and creators through their craft, process, reading lives, and their daily artistic output is, for me, nearly as valuable as sitting at my desk engaged with my own work. Through this discovery I find I often uncover something new about myself and my own writing in the process. Up until this retreat and Jo Knowles’ Let’s Talk About It: Revising Dialogue to Develop Strong Characters and Create Active, Emotional Scenes workshop, I’d often considered dialogue to be a craft element that was synonymous with Voice. But when she began her workshop with, E.B. White’s iconic first line from Charlotte’s Web, “Where’s Papa going with that ax?” I knew my views on dialogue were about to change.   

The writing prompt during Jo’s workshop that directed us to evoke anger and then sadness in scenes using the same four lines of dialogue inspired a closer examination of my own work. I was reminded that while the strength of dialogue lies in the power of clear and distinct word choice exchanged between characters, dialogue also exists in the quiet, nonverbal exchanges—the movements, actions, and objects. On the page, the unsaid can also offer opportunities for nuanced exchanges that make readers feel as if they are part of a dynamic conversation.  

Jo:

It's hard to choose a single favorite moment, but the one that keeps returning to me as I try to get back into the writing life is the night James (special guest illustrator James Ransome) led our Cocktails and Collage event. Although I listened to James's presentation carefully, something inside me insisted on creating a "picture" when it was time to start creating. I carefully selected brown pepper for a trunk, green for leaves, blue for sky... you see where this is going. No sooner had I begun to form my prescribed and unoriginal image, James wandered over to take a look.

""Why are you making a tree?" he said. "No trees.”

"But—"

"Collage!"

I could have argued: "My next book is about a girl who talks to the tree in her backyard. And... I used to talk to the three in my backyard. And...I just really like trees! And... the real truth: It's all I know how to—"

Oh.

James had told us to play with shapes, patterns and colors. To rIp the paper and see what edges emerged. To explore how found shapes fit together to make something pleasing to the eye. To create wonder.

How many metaphors to revision and writing freely might I squeeze into this tiny but revelatory moment? No trees. Discover new edges. Play. Explore. Do something unexpected. And, most importantly: RIP THINGS UP.

I covered the tree with patterns and shapes. I added yellowed paper clipped from the copyright page of The Outsiders. It was freeing. It was fun. And in the end, it was far more pleasing to my eye because it did evoke wonder. A new way of looking. A new way of seeing. A new way of creating. Maybe even a new way of being.

This is the magic of retreats/residencies, isn't it? You never know who will say just the right thing at just the right time to set your creative spirit free.

Jennifer:

I love craft presentations that somehow speak to everyone no matter where they are on their creative path. I can honestly say that all of the presentations at the R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency met me where I reside. Rob’s presentation on setting definitely gave me much to think about. I’ll admit, setting is the literary element I think of least. What a lost opportunity! To demonstrate how integral setting is to all aspects of a novel, Rob shared a memorable story. His protagonist lived in upstate New York near a lake. His MFA mentor asked, “Can your character swim?” Rob didn’t know. (How wild, he thought, that he didn’t know.) This question led him to explore how his protagonist moved in the world, what his relationship to the lake might be, and why the lake was so important. Knowing whether his character could swim or not transformed his novel in significant and powerful ways. 

I’m eager to spend more time developing my settings (knowing that I’m also deepening my characters and my plot) and asking the all-important questions. Questions like, “Can your character swim?”

Rob:

It's been said that writing can sometimes feel like slow therapy, but I think it's spending time with other writers that's truly therapeutic. No matter how deeply I bury myself in my writing cave, on those infrequent occasions when I crawl into the light and camaraderie of other writers, I am always renewed. That's the thing I rediscover each time I attend a writing retreat—that glorious, precious, vital sense of renewal. Though I may show up creatively blocked or frustrated with the progress (or lack thereof) of my career, the simple act of talking about stories with other writers invariably reminds me of what I love about what we do.

And writing sure is a hard thing to love sometimes.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly bonds are formed at events like these. Although many of us were strangers to one another when we arrived, after a few Starred Reviews (our signature cocktail), a delicious meal, and a stimulating ice breaker akin to speed dating, the walls quickly fell away to be replaced by a profound feeling of togetherness that grew stronger as the Residency progressed. It's a humbling thing to be entrusted with another person's story. It's an act of bravery to share your own. Yet, we all somehow managed to live up to the responsibility of both, and in the process of listening and sharing, I believe (or at least hope) that we each rediscovered some of our lost confidence and reclaimed our writing joy.

I know I did, anyway—and that's the best kind of therapy I can imagine.

That’s a wrap on the R(ev)ise and Shine! Residency 2024. We’re already hard at work planning for next year’s event, which we hope will be even better! Our tentative dates to return to the Highlights Foundation for our next Residency are May 21-25, 2025. Mark your calendars and stay tuned…

In community,

Lesa, Jennifer, Jo, and Rob

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Announcements:

It All Starts With Structure: Finding the Perfect Framework for Your Picture Book w/ Pat Zietlow Miller

We’re delighted to announce our first picture book-focused Zoomie, featuring special guest Pat Zietlow Miller!

Workshop description:

There are SO MANY ways to structure a picture book. And, choosing the right one is as important to your story’s success as choosing the right design when you’re building a house. Award-winning picture book author Pat Zietlow Miller will share common picture book structures, tons of book recommendations and tips for making your structure sing.

When: Wednesday, October 23, 2024 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm ET

Where: Online

Cost: $30*

*For those who can’t attend live, a recording of each session will be made available for 30 days after the event for all ticket holders.

Click the image below to find out more and sign up:

Pat Zietlow Miller knew she wanted to be a writer ever since her seventh-grade English teacher read her paper about square-dancing skirts out loud in class and said: "This is the first time anything a student has written has given me chills." (Thanks, Mrs. Mueller! You rock!)

Pat started out as a newspaper reporter and wrote about everything from dartball and deer-hunting to diets and decoupage. Then, she joined an insurance company and edited its newsletter and magazine.

Now, she writes insurance information by day and children's books by night. Her first picture book, SOPHIE'S SQUASH, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf was released in 2013 from Schwartz & Wade. It won the Golden Kite Award for picture book text from the SCBWI and was named a Charlotte Zolotow and an Ezra Jack Keats New Author honor book

Her second picture book, WHEREVER YOU GO, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler, was released by Little, Brown in 2015. That was followed by SHARING THE BREAD, illustrated by Jill McElmurry (Schwartz & Wade); THE QUICKEST KID IN CLARKSVILLE, illustrated by Frank Morrison (Chronicle) and SOPHIE'S SQUASH GO TO SCHOOL, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf (Schwartz & Wade).

In 2018, New York Times bestselling BE KIND, illustrated by Jen Hill (Roaring Brook), WIDE-AWAKE BEAR illustrated by Jean Kim (HarperCollins) and LORETTA'S GIFT, illustrated by Alea Marley (Little Bee) were published. REMARKABLY YOU, illustrated by Patrice Barton (HarperCollins) and WHEN YOU ARE BRAVE, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler (Little, Brown) were published in 2019, and MY BROTHER, THE DUCK, illustrated by Daniel Wiseman (Chronicle) came out in 2020.

Pat has one wonderful husband, two delightful daughters and two pampered cats. She doesn't watch much TV, but she does love "Chopped." Pat lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

You can follow Pat on Twitter (@PatZMiller) or Instagram (@patzmill). You can also visit her website at www.patzietlowmiller.com or stop by www.picturebookbuilders.com, a blog she's part of.

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