How this project came about
Writing my way toward an approach
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5: Feeling the pressure & three areas I'm thinking about (Feb 28, 2019 #5) (7:20)
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6: Feeling anxious (Mar 7, 2019 #1) (2:49)
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7: Brainstorming possible story structures (Mar 7, 2019 #2) (7:08)
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8: What will the big picture conflict be? (Mar 7, 2019 #3) (7:20)
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9: Story structures I want to try (Mar 7, 2019 #4) (6:18)
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10: Sketching out my first attempt at the storyline (Mar 7, 2019 #5) (7:02)
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11: My research so far (Mar 7, 2019 #6) (4:27)
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12: Next steps and trying out a diary format (Mar 14, 2019) (5:27)
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13: Can I tell this story in haiku? (Mar 14, 2019) (2:37)
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14: Or there's always good old prose (Mar 14, 2019) (4:28)
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15: Heyyyyy, what about rhyme? (Mar 14, 2019) (2:36)
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16: My word notebook! (Mar 14, 2019) (4:06)
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17: Reading, research, and word gathering (Mar 21, 2019) (4:48)
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18: How old is that loonling? Reconciling loon age with photos with story (Mar 21, 2019) (5:10)
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19: Narrowing down four possible formats to my favorite two (Mar 21, 2019) (4:12)
Contracts, research, and story structure
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20: How do I describe loon calls? (Mar 28, 2019) (4:03)
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21: Loon research on the road (Mar 28, 2019) (3:49)
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22: Progress on the contract end of things (Mar 28, 2019) (5:24)
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23: An update on the loons contract and attorney (Apr 4, 2019) (3:57)
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24: Making a tiny bit of research progress while doing author visits (Apr 4, 2019) (2:24)
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25: Some nontraditional research this week (Apr 4, 2019) (5:17)
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26: Yeehaw! Done with my loon research! (Apr 12, 2019) (5:01)
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27: Thoughts on picture book illustration--photo illustrations in particular! (Apr 12, 2019) (5:49)
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28: My biggest challenge as I start my full first draft (Apr 12, 2019) (7:02)
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29: Trying to condense my storyline--why? (Apr 12, 2019) (7:06)
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30: I have a contract! (Apr 22, 2019) (3:16)
Writing the book
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31: Building rhyming word sets (Apr 22, 2019) (6:18)
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32: The pros and cons of sharing work in progress (Apr 25, 2019) (4:31)
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33: Using a mentor text in my first draft (Apr 25, 2019) (7:16)
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34: First rhyming draft is finished! (Apr 25, 2019) (0:57)
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35: Whee! It's a fully executed contract! (May 6, 2019) (2:06)
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36: Three rhyming drafts plus a grid (May 6, 2019) (8:03)
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37: My editor's response to her first look at a rhyming version (May 6, 2019) (4:14)
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38: An in-person meeting with the photographer and editor (gulp) (May 6, 2019) (6:08)
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39: My editor likes my rhyming draft! (May 10, 2019) (4:57)
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40: Figuring out my next steps based on editor's reaction (May 20, 2019) (7:10)
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41: Draft 4 -- What I improved and what I still need to work on (May 21, 2019) (5:42)
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42: Draft 5 (May 22, 2019) (5:34)
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43: Adding in more description and setting in draft 6 (May 22, 2019) (8:37)
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44: Improving verbs and sensory details in drafts 7-9 (May 23, 2019) (6:41)
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45: Sending in draft 11 and thinking about photo selection (May 31, 2019) (3:37)
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46: Why I'm sending in an imperfect draft (May 31, 2019) (3:10)
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47: My editor's feedback on draft 11 (Jun 3, 2019) (6:39)
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48: How I changed two passages (Jun 3, 2019) (7:18)
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49: I read draft 12 aloud (Jun 3, 2019) (6:34)
Focusing on backmatter and collaboration
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50: Thinking about backmatter and design (Jun 19, 2019) (7:38)
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51: Backmatter decisions (Jun 28, 2019) (7:02)
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52: Figuring out credits and bylines on a collaborative project (Jul 19, 2019) (5:12)
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53: Tweaking catalog/sales copy (Aug 2, 2019) (9:05)
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54: Comments/questions from the editor and the photographer (Aug 2, 2019) (9:31)
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55: Editing backmatter written by collaborator (Aug 9, 2019) (8:00)
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56: Filling out the author questionnaire (Aug 28, 2019) (14:51)
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57: Tentative cover and expert review of manuscript (Aug 28, 2019) (12:25)
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58: Giving feedback on final text with contact sheet (Sep 11, 2019) (10:09)
Layout and design
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59: Time for the book to go to layout! (Sep 16, 2019) (2:05)
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60: Juvenile loons can't wail? When facts get in the way. (Sep 16, 2019) (9:18)
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61: Meeting with my editor (Oct 4, 2019) (4:55)
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62: Seeing first pages and giving feedback (Nov 25, 2019) (8:28)
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63: Second pages are so much better! (Nov 25, 2019) (5:46)
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64: A small step back with third pages (Dec 2, 2019) (8:21)
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65: A photo switch means a text adjustment (Dec 13, 2019) (4:53)
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66: Fourth (and final) pages (Dec 13, 2019) (12:02)
Getting ready for publication
