Wade Bradford's Blog

Ah, the SCBWI Conference… so much fun. So many inspiring speeches. So many informative workshops. So many after-parties. So little sleep.

I loved connecting with old friends and meeting new authors and illustrators.

Oh, and I met my agent Mary Kole, live and in person! I think she really liked my latest project.

Maybe.

In short, the weekend was incredibly fun and fulfilling. But the party is over. Time to get back to writing.

I can’t believe it has been two years since I last attended the Society of Children’s Book writers and Illustrators. This organization has been the secret to what little success I have so far attained as a writer.

The people are great. The connections are invaluable. And the keynote speakers have never yet failed to inspire me.

I hope to see some fellow writers there! I’ll take along my trusty I-pad and blog from the event.

For the first time, I will be directing a play for the Canyon Theater Guild’s family season. It is an adaptation of one of France’s (and the World’s) most beloved books:

THE LITTLE PRINCE

Here is the audition information… I hope to see many of my theater friends there. (And make some new acquaintances as well!)

Director Wade Bradford is seeking the following for the Canyon Theatre Guild’s production of
The Little Prince:

3 – 5 Male actors (able to play ages ranging from late 20s to early 50s)

2 – 4 Female actors (any age)

4 – 8 Performers: Special Stage Ensemble

A Boy (or Young Woman) able to play the 11 year old “Little Prince”

1 Girl (able to play age 9 – 12)

Auditions will be cold readings from the script on
Monday & Tuesday, July 25 & 26 from 6 – 9 PM
at the Canyon Theatre Guild
24242 Main St., Newhall
Performances will be weekends Oct. 1 thru Oct. 30

Yes, I finally figured out how to convert Tomorrow’s Wish into an eBook (or an iBook?) so that it can now be read on your favorite Mac product.

Grab your iTunes gift card and READ TOMORROW’S WISH ON YOUR iPAD!

So far it has been a great summer. Since I am teaching a World Literature class, I am immersed in an ocean of poetry and prose, much out of my realm of expertise. It’s always fun to read new material.

And, my I-pad has one of the most awesome apps: Free Audio Books. Last month I began listening to a book I should have read a LONG time ago. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

Back in 7th grade, my English Teacher, Mrs. Johnson, tried her best to coerce me into reading this mammoth volume, but I just couldn’t get past all of those incredibly long sentences. (That’s what happens when you pay Victorian authors a penny for each word.)

But now that I have finally absorbed the novel, I am glad to have read Great Expectations — so many great characters, including the freakishly grudgeful Miss Havisham.

After Dickens, I moved onto an early 1900s novella called “The Agony Column.” An entertaining distraction with dashes of mystery and romance, and not much else — although it does paint of verbal portrait of London on the brink of World War I.

And now I am listening to Abandoned by William Clark Russell, which so far strikes me as a bit tedious and more than a bit sexist — but a fun read nonetheless.

And, of course, since I am always adding content to my About.com Guide to Plays and Drama, I am planning to read a few plays that I haven’t gotten around to consuming yet:

Uncle Vanya

How I Learned to Drive

and maybe

God of Carnage

Sometimes, after working very hard on a writing project…

I would get very frustrated about things…

Rejection letters, sloooow periods when editors, agents, and publishers don’t respond, those many moments when you want to write but can’t fin the time. It gets irksome. It makes you wonder if it is worth all of the time and energy.

Then something happens that makes me feel like Joe Cool.

Last night, my book reading went great. Burbank Barnes and Noble launched their summer reading program, featuring storytime (which involved me and my little picture book) and some magic (which involved a very nice writer named Diana S. Zimmerman).

After the reading, Diana and I sat at the entrance of the store, signing our books and chatting with customers. A mom and her two daughters stopped by our table, just to see what was going on. The mother liked the title of my book and showed it to her teenage daughter. Here’s what the teen girl said:

“Hey, Wade Bradford is the name of the person who wrote my monologue.” I found out she was referring to my monologue from Tomorrow’s Wish. It turns out she recently performed the monologue for her class, and got a good grade I believe.

I’ll admit, it was an awesome ego boost to randomly meet someone who had admired my plays while at the same time signing my picture book to the family.

Just thought I’d share. Now, back to the anxiety-ridden world of writing.

Barnes and Noble will be launching their Summer Reading Kickoff for kids this week, and I will be making a couple appearances.

I will be reading my picture book, “Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?” at the Burbank Barnes and Noble this Thursday. Here’s the store’s address and info:

Media City Center
Burbank Town Center, 731 N San Fernando Blvd., Burbank, CA 91502, 818-558-1383

This coming Saturday at 10:30 I will be reading and signing books at the Thousand Oaks Barnes and Noble. (160 S. Westlake Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
805-446-2820)

I guess I should say I will be signing my books. I won’t just go around the store signing random books. They probably wouldn’t like that.

Happy Father’s Day, everyone! And Happy Birthday to my wife Cheri!

From Cabaret Night at Westminster College:

I don’t know that I have ever had writer’s block. I have always been able to sit down and write something (although it wasn’t always good, and it wasn’t always what i was supposed to be writing.)

However, I often go through periods when I am too busy to focus on my writing projects. That has happened a lot since my kids came into the world, God Bless them. Sometimes I have to grade papers. Sometimes I have to do things around the house. Sometimes I am doing stuff at the Canyon Theatre Guild.

But what I have noticed lately is that when I am not able to write, I have been very moody, sort of filled with angry daydreams of what I would be writing if I could be writing. It was getting very frustrating.

Normally I respond to this negative mood by staying up late and trying to write after a long busy day of doing other stuff. But the quality of my late night writing is general not that great. And since I am getting old, I am getting tired.

So, I tried something for the first time in my life. I gave myself a week in which I would NOT write creatively. (I had to keep up with my About.com Guidesite, of course — but that’s mostly non-fiction stuff.) I also did my best to STOP THINKING ABOUT WRITING. So basically, I have been trying to be very present in my daily life, and not so embittered with daydreams.

It’s been about three days since my self-imposed writer’s block has come to an end, and I feel revitalized. I am not sure if it’s because I forced myself to stop brooding and to take a break, or if I am just re-energized because I have really missed just sitting at my computer writing stuff. Whatever the cause, the effect seems positive. here’s what I am working on presently:

I am currently tinkering with “The Greatest Play Ever Written” (Yes, that’s the actual title. Pretentious, isn’t it? But in my defense, my editors suggested the title.)

I am also looking for a home for “Curse of the Pharaoh’s Kiss.” My friend Chris Sands has been seeking a theater for about two years now, but kismet hasn’t kicked in yet.

I just finished a One Act play — it’s in my Shakespeare Spoof series, in the tradition of “Romeo Revised,” “Hopeless Hamlet,” and “Macbeth Mixed Up.”

And my big project is a middle grade novel. I won’t mention the name, but I will say it’s an adventure that takes place at a summer camp. (Or, perhaps I should say, it starts at a summer camp.)

Finally I am happy to announce that I will be attending the SCBWI Conference in Los Angeles. I am especially excited about this because I haven’t been there in almost three years — and I always come up with great ideas every time I attend.

So, good things are going on with me. What about you out there in cyberland? What are you working on?

The Junior Cabaret was a smashing success. Someday when I have more time to blog I’ll put up some photos. The kids were terrific. We had one serious technical problem in Act One — the microphones started to die. (We didn’t change the batteries.) But the kids pulled through, sang louder than ever, and we quickly fixed the problem during intermission. I think the Canyon Theatre Guild raised over 8000 dollars.

It was a great night.

And tomorrow (June 11th), I am looking forward to a great morning. I will be reading my book “Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?” at the Barnes and Noble in Manhattan Beach. Story time starts at 11am, and I will be signing copies afterward. Here’s the address in case you are interested:

Manhattan Gateway Shopping Center, 1800 Rosecrans Avenue Building B, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266,
Phone: 310-725-7025