My mom, the artist

Imagine awesome cover here.

This weekend I get to visit my mom and dad, sister and her family. There are lots of reasons I'm excited to see them! This will be our first road trip with new baby boy, too, so that should be interesting. But the most writing-related thing I'm looking forward to is brainstorming cover art with my mom.

She's always been a naturally talented artist, and earlier in life she had some training that's just stuck with her. Now, even if she hasn't done anything in a while, she can pick up her drawing tools and make the most emotionally evocative artwork. She's done landscape oil painting, but for most of my life the artwork I've seen from her has been in pastels. Whenever I see a pastel drawing, I think of her.

And I'm excited because she's agreed to make a cover for my middle grade novel. 

I'm just starting to do my part by revisiting the novel once again for another round of revisions. Because it's been two years since I originally wrote it, I'm finding it much easier to see the big picture problems. It's still a challenge for me to re-imagine it (I think that's the hardest part of revision). But it's easier than it was two years ago when I thought I'd written something almost perfect in only two months.

I'm finally reading Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, and loving the advice (and the relatable voice of the agent/author). But so far, unfortunately, all it's inspired from me is to outline a completely different novel based loosely on the characters in my existing book. That won't do. I need to maintain the integrity of the playful middle grade by NOT making it a "breakout novel," but I'm loving the advice because of how it will help me write my next book.

For now, I'll be rereading my middle grade book again and again, trying to find those weak spots that make even me - the writer - go, "huh?"

What are you working on today?