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June 17, 2013

Monday Catch Up

I just flew in from New Paltz...

...and boy are my arms tired!

No seriously :)  I spent the weekend at the inaugural 21st Century Children's Non-Fiction Conference.  It was fantastic and I highly recommend it.  (And Joanna - I got to meet Bo Zaunders who created The Artist Mortimer!  Everyone see Joanna's post HERE)  (Oh, and I also got to meet the lovely and talented Laura Purdie Salas and she signed my copy of A Leaf Can Be for me!)  (Oh, and I also got to meet Karen Robertson who is starting a course in how to create apps.  She was a wonderful speaker and very nice, and if any of you are interested, go check it out HERE... but here I go digressing.)  The POINT is that I find I'm very behind with work and family after abandoning both for nearly three days... shocking :)

So today, instead of a proper blog post, I give you this little gem.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

Kurt Vonnegut, Author of Fiction and Satire, Explains Story Shape

What's your favorite story shape?  Classic, circular, cumulative, parallel, time-line, question and answer etc... or one of Kurt's? :)

Have a magical Monday  everyone, whilst I try like mad to catch up! :)

P.S.  I hope you're all working on your July 4th stories for the upcoming Writing Contest - I of course have not even started thinking about mine!

P.P.S.  I hope you are all noticing with jaw-dropping amazedness the incredible brevity of this post!  Apparently getting way behind is what it's takes to make me short-winded :)


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41 comments:

  1. Ruth SchiffmannJune 17, 2013 at 8:06 AM

    What a great clip, Susanna. And a great way to start the day - with a smile on my face and story shapes in my head =D

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  2. Angela BrownJune 17, 2013 at 8:16 AM

    Three days of hobnobbing with some great folks? Sounds like you had a great time. And thank you for sharing the video :-)

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  3. Heather DentJune 17, 2013 at 9:06 AM

    I adore Kurt Vonnegut and that clip literally made me laugh out loud. That was excellent! Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 9:36 AM

    I know - isn't it so funny? I'm glad you enjoyed it too! :)

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  5. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 9:36 AM

    I did have a great time - it was fantastic and educational, and I'm full of new ideas I don't have time to pursue :) Glad you enjoyed the video - I thought it was really funny :)

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  6. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 9:39 AM

    So glad you enjoyed it, Ruth! And I apologize for the fact that I still have not gotten over to read your post about your experience at BEA which I'm dying to read. I need more hours!

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  7. This_Kid_Reviews_Books_ErikJune 17, 2013 at 9:56 AM

    HAHAHAHA!!! I LOVE that video! :D I like a classic shape, maybe with a little twist. ;)

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  8. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 9:57 AM

    Isn't he funny? And yes, there is much to love about classic with a twist :)

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  9. Tina ChoJune 17, 2013 at 10:05 AM

    How neat you went to the NF Conference and met all those people! Did u meet Laura Salas? She was presenting also. I'll watch this video clip later!

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  10. Rachel SchieffelbeinJune 17, 2013 at 10:07 AM

    Thanks for sharing! He's very funny!
    I am trying to think up something good for the July 4th story! Hmm, maybe I need to start writing and see what comes out. :)

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  11. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 10:16 AM

    You and me both, Rachel :) I have a feeling I'll be writing my sample at the eleventh hour :) Glad you enjoyed the video!

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  12. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 10:16 AM

    It was a great conference, and yes! I got to meet Laura! I should have said that. I'd better edit my post! She signed my copy of A Leaf Can Be for me, and we had lunch together - she was lovely!

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  13. Laura Anne MillerJune 17, 2013 at 10:18 AM

    It is stunning how just being gone 3 days puts you 6 days behind! Thanks for the video.

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  14. RosiJune 17, 2013 at 10:46 AM

    Great stuff. Thanks, Susanna, for sharing this video.

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  15. nrhatchJune 17, 2013 at 10:50 AM

    Glad you enjoyed the conference. I featured your 4th of July Mystery contest in today's post:

    http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/everyone-loves-a-good-mystery/

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  16. laurasalasJune 17, 2013 at 4:11 PM

    So lovely to meet you in person, Susanna! I'm working on follow-up stuff right now. But I'm so tired!

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  17. Patricia TiltonJune 17, 2013 at 5:27 PM

    Susanna, so happy you enjoyed the conference! Gee, you are short-winded. Very funny video. Story shape, circular and classic. But, I'm willing to try anything new.

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  18. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 6:33 PM

    Shocking, right? You never thought I could be such a queen of brevity :) Glad you liked the video :)


























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  19. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 6:35 PM

    It was lovely to meet you in person too, Laura! I hope your drive to Laguardia wasn't too awful! I'm tired too, and I didn't have to do all that flying and presenting! :)

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  20. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 6:38 PM

    Oh, that was so nice of you Nancy! I'll come over and check it out :)


























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  21. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 6:40 PM

    You're welcome, Rosi! I'm glad if you liked it - I thought it was very funny :)


























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  22. CatherineJune 17, 2013 at 6:41 PM

    What a fun video! Super that you got to meet Laura, Susanna and all the other fun stuff. Don't worry about catching up, get some rest ;)

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  23. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 7:06 PM

    Oh you're so nice! I wish I could! But too much to do on all fronts! I might try to go to bed before midnight tonight though :)

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  24. Vivian KirkfieldJune 17, 2013 at 7:27 PM

    Love the brevity of your post, Susanna...I will have to take a lesson from you...and also from Kurt Vonnegut, who managed to give an unbelievably funny interesting and educational workshop presentation under 5 minutes. :) :)
    My contest entry is written...now to open a jar of silver polish and start buffing it...oh...I can't polish it that way? Darn!
    Glad your time away was so good...sounds like a wonderful conference!

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  25. Vivian KirkfieldJune 17, 2013 at 7:28 PM

    Oh, I was so brief, I forgot to mention my favorite story shape...circular...but I LOVE Kurt's examples.:)

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  26. Teresa RobesonJune 17, 2013 at 8:13 PM

    Waaah...the Kurt Vonnegut story shape isn't loading for me. Good luck with catching up! I will actually keep my comment short so you can get back to work. ;)

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  27. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 8:18 PM

    No! Don't take a lesson from me! This was a desperation-induced aberration. I have no advice to give on brevity :) Glad you liked Kurt's video! And I can't believe your entry is already written! What must it be like to get things done before the deadline? I wonder... :)

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  28. Susanna Leonard HillJune 17, 2013 at 8:21 PM

    Here's the YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ so you can enjoy! And aren't you kind not to keep me from my work... which is commenting on some stories up in our group so I must get busy :)

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  29. Vivian KirkfieldJune 18, 2013 at 12:59 AM

    That's only because I am leaving for the east coast on Wednesday morning and wanted to get as much done before I left as I could. At my daughter's, I'll be spending a lot of time with my grandson...not sure how much writing time I will have.:)

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  30. Susanna Leonard HillJune 18, 2013 at 7:06 AM

    I live on the east coast! Let's visit! Have a great time with your family :) I'm sure you'll come home with even more writing ideas :)

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  31. Susanna Leonard HillJune 18, 2013 at 7:07 AM

    POSTED FOR JOANNA at http://joannamarple.com

    *picks jaw off floor*! I am so glad that you made this conference, Susanna and that you met Bo! Funny video and nope, haven't yet started to think of the story for the 4th. Need to read more on what 4th is all about first!

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  32. Susanna Leonard HillJune 18, 2013 at 7:08 AM

    I didn't get to talk to him much, but I told him I'd read about his app on your blog :) Glad you enjoyed the video, and don't feel bad... I haven't given one second of thought to my sample entry yet. I'll probably be frantically writing it at 11:59 PM on June 30 :)

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  33. Susanna Leonard HillJune 18, 2013 at 9:31 AM

    I know! What's with that? Glad you liked the video :)

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  34. Laura MarcellaJune 18, 2013 at 10:24 AM

    LoL, thanks for sharing that video!

    Happy reading and writing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines

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  35. Susanna Leonard HillJune 18, 2013 at 11:12 AM

    Glad you enjoyed it, Laura :)

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  36. Vivian KirkfieldJune 18, 2013 at 3:49 PM

    Oh Susanna...I wish I could. I know I need to get back to the NYC area...so many friends and family I haven't seen in over 10 years. My niece, who lives in the city, just got engaged...maybe her wedding will be the opportunity (excuse) I have been waiting for.:)

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  37. Susanna Leonard HillJune 18, 2013 at 3:55 PM

    Or I could make up an excuse to go to Colorado and meet you and Julie and Stacy... :)

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  38. Vivian KirkfieldJune 18, 2013 at 4:39 PM

    Now you are talking!!! How about coming up for the Fall Letters and Lines SCBWI conference.:) :) I am definitely going with Sheri McCrimmon and Stacy (both are in my local critique group here in Colorado Springs).

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  39. laurasalasJune 18, 2013 at 5:44 PM

    I was still a bit stressed, but it was MUCH better going home. Yay! Today I had a keynote at an educator conference. I have lots of work to catch up on for the rest of the week, but I'm relieved to have no speaking stress until ALA in a couple of weeks. Whew!

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  40. Susanna Leonard HillJune 18, 2013 at 6:23 PM

    My goodness! So many speaking engagements! Good for you, and lucky for the conference attendees! :)

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  41. Susanna Leonard HillJune 18, 2013 at 9:03 PM

    When is it?

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