Cardboard, a Contest, and a Second Chance Castle

Where would we be without second chances?

No do-overs.
No recycling.
No erasers, delete key.
No breathing room.

It makes my lips numb just thinking about it.

I live off second chances
- art, words, and everything else!
 
What if there was a colossal rule
that you could only write One Draft?
No revisions allowed?

Aside from those sainted few who write a flawless novel to publication in three weeks,
where would we be?

Mummified, probably.

For my writer friends, I'm curious:

How many drafts do you average before your manuscript's submission worthy?

And author friends:

How many drafts do you endure before you have a finished book?

I think I stopped counting after Draft Two.

Hooray for working drafts, for do-overs, for sorries and second chances!


Remember Wish baby?
A gift from my friend Margaret Bloom
of the lovely blog We Bloom Here,
Wish baby was lonely for a new house.
Oatmeal box needed a second life.
Hello, scraps and glitter!

So far, it's been castle, tower, tunnel,

car wash, observatory, teddy bear, hat... 
 
See?
Second chances!
or third, or fourth, or whatever it takes...





And speaking of second chances,
do you know about the DEVINE INTERVENTION Book Giveaway?

I just started Martha Brockenbrough's YA novel
DEVINE INTERVENTION.
Brilliant! I'm hooked!
As I mentioned here, I can't wait for you to read it!

Martha has graciously offered a free signed copy of DEVINE INTERVENTION to one lucky blog reader. Yippee!
Check out the contest here.

I'm extending the deadline to give as many of you as possible a chance to win an excellent book!
You have until noon (pst) on Sunday, June 17 to enter.
Please do, and good luck!

 

Chivalry, Castles and Cardboard

Because it's raining,
Because boxes mean all kinds of good fun,
Because a boy needs a good medieval train station.

It all began 

with a bored train track,

pining for something grander. 

I rescued a box from the recycling pile

and cut it into two panels with squiggy castle tops.

One panel has a slit going halfway down the middle,

the other has a slit going halfway up.

After cutting arches for the tunnel,
snick!
I niched the walls together.



Hurray! Huzzah! A tunnel!  
My small knight roared with delight.



And because everybody likes to color,
I drew some castle walls and taped them on top.

The idea is that they will be so busy playing
and coloring the castle tunnel
they won't even notice I've spent hours revising my novel.

But here's the problem...

I have a new idea for a cardboard garage.

I'll get back to you on that novel rewrite.

And lest you think that knights are limited to trousers:

... And did I remember that today was Prince William's Wedding? Oops. 

Happy Royal Marriage Day!

Great books about boxes, trains, castles and knights:

Not a Box,  Antoinette Portis
Train to Somewhere,  Eve Bunting, ill Ronald Himler
Mailing May, Michael O. Tunnell, ill by Ted Rand
The Princess Knight, by Cornelia Funke, ill. by Kerstin Meyer
The Orphelines in the Enchanted Castle, Natalie Savage Carlson, ill. Adriana Saviozzi
Tom Thumb, Richard Jesse Watson


And speaking of picture books...
IT'S COMING!
NaPiBoWriWee