About Jennifer Kay
Jennifer Kay is a children's author aspiring to be published. She has a VCFA MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, is an SCBWI Network Rep, and teaches creative writing classes. All fingers and toes are crossed in hopes her fiction or nonfiction novels will earn her that privilege soon.
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Category Archives: SCBWI
Post-Grad Revelations
Last month I checked a few major writing milestones off my bucket list: 1) Delivered my graduate reading of my young adult science fiction work-in-progress, Eraser. 2) Presented my graduate lecture, Shift That Narrow Trend Line into a Scatter Plot of … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Engineering, Family, Jennifer, MFA, Nature, RVC, SCBWI, Teaching, VCFA MFA WCYA, Writing
Tagged Goals, Graduation, Jennifer, MFA, RVC, Teach, VCFA, Writing
3 Comments
The Open Question
My first revelation of 2018 is that MFA programs have magical time slip powers. I last blogged in September when my third semester at VCFA was just getting started and I had taken on the challenge of writing a pretty … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Jennifer, MFA, Nonfiction, Reading, SCBWI, VCFA MFA WCYA, Writing, Young Adult Books
Tagged Deborah Heiligman, VCFA MFA, Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers
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Subtext: Two Plus Two Equals A Reader Connection
Eons ago, at my first SCBWI Prairie Writer’s Day Conference, I heard the popular writing tip “show, don’t tell.” That catch phrase should be writing advice to live by, except this wide-eyed newbie didn’t understand how to “show.” I jumped … Continue reading
Posted in Jennifer, MFA, Prairie Writer's Day, SCBWI, Writing, Young Adult Books
Tagged Andrew Stanton's, Donald Maass, Holly Black, Jennifer, Sarah Aronson, Subtext, Writing
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Super Hero Writers
Last weekend Super Heros flew to Chicago to gather for SCBWI Prairie Writers & Illustrators Day. This year my conference posse grew from two writers to four, including one of my VCFA classmates. We happened to sit in the Maw-ha-ha section … Continue reading
Posted in Jennifer, MFA, Prairie Writer's Day, Publishing, Reading, SCBWI, VCFA MFA WCYA, Writing
Tagged Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Cynthia Ward, Daniel José Older, Diversity, Don Tate, John Parra, Kendra Levin, Kirsten Cappy, Linda Pratt, Nikki Garcia, Nisis Shawl, Prairie Writers and Illustrators Day, SCBWI, Writing the Other
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Wild, Wild Midwest
Last weekend 500 Wild, Wild Midwest children’s authors and illustrators gathered in Chicago for the SCBWI regional conference. The faculty list was a who’s who of awesome children’s authors, featuring keynote speeches by Lisa Cron, Sarah Aronson, Linda Sue Park, … Continue reading
Posted in Jennifer, Publishing, SCBWI, Writing
Tagged A Long Walk to Walter, Linda Sue Park, Sarah Aronson, We Need Diverse Books, Wild Wild Midwest
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Writing Characters Who Don’t Look Like You
Last weekend my critique partner and I journeyed into Chicago for SCBWI Prairie Writer’s Day. Once again it was an event filled with awesome people in the publishing industry (or aspiring to be), invaluable knowledge, and heaps of inspiration. This … Continue reading
Posted in Jennifer, Prairie Writer's Day, Publishing, SCBWI, Writing
Tagged Diversity, Jennifer, Prairie Writer's Day, SCBWI, Writing
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Summer Slacking Ends Here!
The summer slacker has officially taken over, keeping me away from the blog (and grown-up responsibilities) for almost a month. Where has the time gone? My family has been busy celebrating the 4th of July, camping, and taking every opportunity … Continue reading
Posted in Jennifer, Publishing, SCBWI, Words in the Woods, Writing
Tagged Inner Conflict, Jennifer, Joanna Cardenas, Matthew Kirby, Rising Reciprocal Action, SCBWI, Stephen Fraser, Words in the Woods, Writing
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Do You Read Enough?
Linda Sue Park shared a wealth of knowledge at the SCBWI Downstate Craft Retreat, everything from basic writing concepts to her own personal revision methods. Among all that awesome practical advice, the comment that most stuck with me was an … Continue reading
Posted in Downstate Craft Retreat, Jennifer, Publishing, Reading, SCBWI, Writing
Tagged Downstate Craft Retreat, Jennifer, Linda Sue Park, Publishing, Reading, SCBWI, Writing
94 Comments
Set The Scene
I came home from the SCBWI Downstate Craft Retreat inspired and ready to write! Linda Sue Park was of course amazing, but more on that next week. First I wanted to chat about the lovely Julia Durango, our Friday evening … Continue reading
Posted in Downstate Craft Retreat, Jennifer, SCBWI, Travel, Writing
Tagged Alhambra, Downstate Craft Retreat, Jennifer, Julian Durango, SCBWI, Setting, Writing
6 Comments
Something Resilient
Last Saturday many published and aspiring Children’s book authors made their annual trek into Chicago for SCBWI Prairie’s Writer’s Day. This year’s theme was Something Brilliant This Way Comes, and it did. But not at all in the manner I’d … Continue reading
Posted in Jennifer, Prairie Writer's Day, Publishing, SCBWI, Writing
Tagged Hurricane Sandy, Jennifer, Prairie Writer's Day, Publishing, SCBWI, Writing
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