January is National Mentor Month!  (Insert fanfare!) Do you know someone who could benefit from your talent and/or experience? Remember my mantra? Everyone has something to give, even if they are new to the world of children's book writing.   Let's celebrate by visiting the official website for National Mentor Month at http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/about_nmm/, making a decision to mentor someone somehow, and telling me about it at carrieapear@aol.com. Just type, "I'm a new mentor/mentee" in the subject line. I'll tally the number of new mentor relationships that are born and report on their progress in this blog. 

I'll go first. I've just begun mentoring a totally cool lady in Marquette who among other amazing things, has skiied to the Geographic North Pole and Antartica. She's ready to tell her stories to children and needs help getting started. One thing I know for sure? This relationship will be an adventure for me. 

Now...Rev your engines and start mentoring!!

I've found ANOTHER friendly and helpful person from Austin:  Andy Sherrod.  He's shared his insights on being a mentor and a mentee and offers his take on editorial feedback.  Andy is also a go-to guy on the issue of boys' aliteracy. Even more information about Andy as a writer, writing coach, and public speaker can be found on his website:  http://www.andysherrod.com/Home.php.
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Andy, please share a brief bio of you and your work. 

I came to writing late, 1999 to be exact, when I turned 40.  I write for middle grade and most of that is historical fiction.  The intent of my writing is to take boys back in time to experience history.  I speak to groups about boys’ aversion to volunteer reading and cite research that identifies the literary components of a good boy book.  I hold an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and I wrote my thesis on boys’ aliteracy. 

Why did you decide to become a mentor?

Pure and simple, I love to teach.

How many writers have you officially mentored?

Mentoring is different than just offering a critique, and I’ve done a lot of that.  So really I’ve only officially mentored one person through the Austin Mentoring Program.  But beyond that, I’ve mentored one other.

What strengths do you bring as a mentor?

Because I love to teach, I think I’m patient with people.  That said, I feel I must tell a writer exactly what I see in their manuscripts that need improvement but I can do so in an encouraging fashion.  My philosophy is that anyone who is serious about writing can take a strong critique.  Only pointing out those aspects of a manuscript that are working doesn’t help a writer improve one bit.  Serious writers want serious critiques.  So I give it to them.

Have you been a mentee? If so, what from that experience helps you be the best mentor you can be?

For the two years I studied at Vermont College I was mentored by four fabulous writers.  Uma Krishnaswami, Ellen Howard, Sarah Ellis, and Marion Dane Bauer.  From them I received incredible support for what I was doing well and firm admonition to improve.  I have striven to carry that balance into my own mentoring relationships.

If you could mentor any writer throughout time, who would it be and why?

What a great question!  I can think of a host of writers I’d like to be mentored by but the one I think I’d like to actually mentor would be G.A. Henty.  Henty wrote over one hundred historical novels for boys.  His story line seldom changed.  His boy protagonists could have been all the same kid only the name and time in history were changed.  He is a great writer and I would recommend his books to anyone but I think I could have helped him a little with variety.

If you could be mentored by any writer throughout time, who would it be and why?

There are so many writers whose work I admire.  Gary Paulsen is my hero.  Gary Schmidt is brilliant.  But I think I’d like to be mentored by C.S. Lewis.  Lewis’s strong Christian faith pervades his work without overwhelming it.  I like that.

I thought it would be fun to hear from Melissa Shanker's mentor, Kristin Wolden Nitz. Kristin took time out of a tight deadline to answer our questions about mentoring and how important the process has been to her and her writing. She can be found at http://www.kwnitz.com/.  Thanks, Kristin! 

Please share a brief bio of you and your work.

I’ve always written the books that I wanted to read.  That might explain why my credits include a young middle grade contemporary fantasy (SAVING THE GRIFFIN), upper middle grade sports novel (DEFENDING IRENE) and YA mystery (SUSPECT).  My husband and I have moved thirteen or fourteen times since we graduated from Michigan Tech. Currently, we’re in the middle of preparing for our third move to Missouri. 

Why did you decide to become a mentor?

When I heard that the (SCBWI-MI) mentorship was going to be a novel in the next year, I offered to serve as one of the judges. When a friend on Ad-Com asked me if I’d actually BE the mentor it was hard to say no!

How many writers have you officially mentored?

Other than Melissa, I’ve also officially mentored Debra McArthur. She won the Missouri mentorship back in 2003 or 2004.  Unofficially, I’ve offered a lot of encouragement to a number of talented writers.  I also teach for the Institute of Children’s Literature in their beginners and book course.  Often, I feel more like I’m mentoring the novel students rather than overtly teaching them.

Were you part of the decision process for choosing Melissa Shanker as the SCBWI-MI Mentor Award? If so, what about her work made it rise to the top?

Yes.  I had my choice of the top three writers as chosen by the other judges. I bonded with Melissa’s characters almost immediately.  They seemed very real to me.  At the same time, she brought some serious tension to her project.

What strengths do you bring as a mentor?

Well, I have a zeal for making sure that there’s enough conflict and tension in a project since that used to be one of my weaknesses. I also have a pretty good understanding of layering in subplots so that they all come together in a coherent and dramatic way. Finally, I really want to see talented writers succeed.  For that reason, I really have an enthusiasm for nurturing and encouraging them.   

Have you been a mentee? If so, what from that experience helps you be the best mentor you can be?

My writing life changed dramatically when I won a mentorship with noted children’s author Gary L. Blackwood back in 1999.  He helped me understand the importance of conflict in novels.  I would often try to smooth things over for my characters.  Problems would stop before they got started.   I can never pay Gary back.  This is the kind of debt that you can only pay forward.  (Award-winning science fiction author Robert Heinlein came up with this idea decades ago.)

If you could mentor any writer throughout time, who would it be and why?

Megan Whalen Turner.  Then I could find out what happens next in her Attolia books. 

If you could be mentored by any writer throughout time, who would it be and why?

As much as I adore writers like Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen, they probably wouldn’t be that much help in dealing with current issues in writing.  That’s why I’d have to go with either Lois McMaster Bujold or Elizabeth Peters.  They’re both delightful, generous writers who went through tough times before achieving success. 

The first Mentor Monday interview is with Michigan's own Melissa Shanker, winner of the 2011 SCBWI-MI Mentorship Award.  Melissa is mentored by the accomplished author, Kristen Wolden Nitz, who can be found at http://www.kwnitz.com/. The interview follows: 

Please provide a brief description of your mentor and your winning manuscript.
    I am fortunate to have Kristen Wolden Nitz as my mentor. She’s the author of SUSPECT, a young adult mystery that made the ALA’s list for best YA fiction, as well as two imaginative MG books and several sports themed non-fiction books – so obviously her experience crosses many genres. 

    The manuscript that won the award was my YA novel, A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF AN ORDINARY GIRL. It’s a story about an under-the-radar teenage girl who discovers the ugly truth about the boy she loves and then risks everything to save the girl she hates.  Over the course of one week, I do some horrible things to my poor protagonist, including making her an accomplice to murder. She emerges from the rubble a little beat up, but a lot wiser about love, friendship, and the power of truth.

Why did you decide to apply for the SCBWI-MI Mentorship Competition? 
    I’m at a point in my writing where I think my work is coming closer to the level of the authors I admire.   A consistent and experienced writing presence in my life, like Kristen, will be just the motivation I need to make my writing worthy of submission and hopefully acceptance by an agent or editor.  In other words, I need a taskmaster to kick my butt, and Kristen is up for the job.

Did you find the application difficult? If so/not, why? 
    I don’t think there is a writer in the world that enjoys writing a one-page synopsis.  So yes, I found it difficult, but also helpful. Whenever you’re asked to summarize it forces you to step back and take a look at your novel as a whole.  Sometimes that bird’s eye view can have the reverse effect – the tiny hiccups you noticed close up, look like big black holes from far away. 

Why do you believe your manuscript was chosen? 
    Oh, didn’t they tell you?  I was the only one that entered the contest.  

    Kidding. No, I was told that the voice of my protagonist, Addie, is smart, self-aware and funny without being self-pitying.  While the plot does share some common coming-of-age teen elements, the judges thought my writing was confident and compelling.

What do you hope to accomplish during the course of the mentorship (improve craft, revise this manuscript, develop new project/s, etc.)? 
    My mentor and I are working on a brand new novel that I am immensely excited about.  It’s a middle grade novel, part mystery/part humorous contemporary fiction.  Kristen is a whiz at pacing mysteries, and she’s completely organized and meticulous – two areas my family will tell you I fall woefully short.  I’m confident she will be a huge help. 

How will you know if the mentorship was a success for you?
    I already know that it’s a success.  

If you could choose any mentor in the course of history, who would it be and why? 
    Wow. That’s a toughie.  My favorite contemporary writers are Sara Zarr, Laurie Halse Anderson, Gary Schmidt – and Lauren Myracle is a machine…but I think I’d have to pick John Green because he’s so darn cute, and if I were his mentee he might let me join the Nerdfighters. Side note: Can you say “mentee” without feeling like a completely pretentious idiot? I cannot. 

Would you consider mentoring another? If so, what could you offer? (FYI, it is my belief that everyone has something to offer even if he/she is just beginning in the writing world…)
    Yes, of course, if anyone would have me! 

"We can help a person to be himself by our own willingness to steep ourselves temporarily in his world, in his private feelings and experiences. By our affirmation of the person as he is, we give him support and strength to take the next step in his own growth." 
                                                    -- Clark Moustakas

Four years ago this fall, I won the SCBWI-MI Picture Book Mentorship Award judged by Newbery Award winner, Lynne Rae Perkins. This was a turning point in my career as a writer and author. The nod from Ms. Perkins validated that I had a story worth telling and that she, a gifted author who won the highest honor in the industry, enjoyed reading it. She helped me recognize the value of my words on paper. Could there be a better gift?

My new weekly blog series will spotlight the importance of mentorship in our field and how the act of helping one helps us all. I'll interview people who have been menteed as well as mentors.

I believe everyone, even those new to the field, has something to offer. Mentoring, whether formal, like the annual SCBWI- Michigan Mentorship Award, or informal, such as offering to give thoughts on a new chapter, is all worthwhile. Who knows what next step you might help someone take? 
    
Watch for my first interview with Melissa Shanker, winner of the 2012 SCBWI-MI Mentorship Award on Monday, November 7th.