What I've been working on: in short, a short novel

On March 25^th, I finished the first full draft of the middle grade novel that was my creative thesis at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It’s a ghost story that’s also a mystery. Since I love writing humor, it has that too. It’s the project I focused on most in grad school, and I’m extremely excited about it. I planned to begin revising as soon as I reached the end. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this on my blog yet, but I typically prefer revision to drafting. That’s when I have the whole story in my head and feel I can dig into everything in a deeper way. So, finish then revise. Solid plan.

But…

Near the end of 2024, a few months before the first draft of my ghost story was finished, I heard about a five-month workshop that was starting March 23^rd. The workshop, The Short Novel, was being offered through Whale Rock Literary Workshops, and it sounded amazing. I was already aware that agents, editors, school librarians, and young readers were seeking shorter novels. When I saw this workshop was being taught by Shelley Tanaka and Gary D. Schmidt, I really, really, really wanted to take it. (You can see their bios on the Whale Rock faculty page.) I applied and was thrilled to be accepted.

Each instructor is mentoring five students, and I was assigned to Shelley. After Shelley and Gary introduced the ten of us to short novels through assigned readings, fabulous lectures, group discussions, and more, each of us brainstormed short novel ideas with our mentor. Then we were off and writing! With three packets, monthly mid-packet check-ins with our mentors, and monthly packet one-on-one meetings discussing our work with them, we’re learning a ton. The instructors are—as the class description said—walking us through the process of writing a short novel. And I’m loving it!

Shelley is an award-winning editor, author, teacher, and translator. Her ALA Notable book, On Board the Titanic, was hugely popular with students in the library where I worked, and I love the short novel Taming Papa, which was written by Mylène Goupil and translated by Shelley. For years, Shelley was on the faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she mentored over a hundred students in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Having Shelley mentor me has been an incredible experience. She sees everything from such a high level, and she thinks steps ahead as she gives feedback, brainstorms, and listens. I love thinking about process, and I love that she asks about mine and gets it. She asks all the right questions, and she makes sure that I, at the end of each meeting, have a plan to move forward. Shelley is brilliant and encouraging, and she shines a light on everything, helping me see what’s working and what isn’t. I found that being able to talk things through with her at our check-ins and monthly packet meetings resulted in drafting with less second-guessing, and I could lean into the play of writing a discovery draft while trying out this new-to-me form.

July 31^st was my last packet deadline, and I turned in a full draft of my first short novel. It’s a first draft, but I’m proud of it and can hardly wait to revise it. Shelley will soon give me an editorial letter, and then we’ll have our last one-on-one meeting. Our workshop’s final group meeting will be near the end of August.

Remember how I said I typically like revision best? Now I get to revise two novels, my ghost story and my short novel, and both have me super excited. I’m so glad I didn’t stick with my original plan and that I leaped at this opportunity!

Thank you, Shelley and Gary! I also want to thank Shari Becker, the Whale Rock Literary Workshops founder who made this whole experience possible.