Why I Like Teaching

I am very lucky to teach at a school full of amazing students. Yes, it's small and it's private, and I wish all schools could be.

What makes this school so wonderful, are the students! They each bring something so special into my life. This year, I have been especially lucky to have had had the chance to work with students I wouldn't usually interact with because I was able to sponsor two creative projects. These project were outside of my Learning Skills realm, and the students chose to take these classes.

The first, was an introduction to stained glass and the second, was recycling, Bottle Beauties .

Here are a few of the amazing pieces of art these kids made.

Stained Glass creations

Bottle Beauties

I LOVE MY JOB!

Y is for YOU Made It!

On day left in the A to Z challenge and this year, I've made it! This being my second year, I knew what I was up against. I had a better plan, a list of ideas and several set in stone topics to write about. This planning, made it so much easier.

What this challenge has really done is made me sit and write, every day for a month. No excuses. This has established a new pattern for me. One that makes me think of writing every day. After I write my A to Z post, I've been working on an outline for a new book.

I only spend 20 minutes researching the different themes that I want to include, it keeps me writing.

This is an exciting time. This idea that has been with me, festering for a few years, now feels fresh and new. I can't wait to work on it more.

So tomorrow is Z and I look forward to to it, knowing that I and many others have made it through this challenge. 

I finish with more than I started. Thank you!

R is for Retro

Want to go retro? Thinking about the past? Need a fix from your childhood?
GO RETRO!

Glorious Blooms

Spring it about to take hold here in New Hampshire. The Weeping Willows along the pond have yellow buds. The snow drops are already receding and the crocus are in full bloom. The lush dark green of the tulip foliage, dark against the newly greening grass, heralding the glorious color about to burst forth has me pulling out the Adirondack chairs and looking through garden catalogs.

I've always loved the meaning of flowers. Each bloom has a different meaning. During Victorian times, life was emotionally strict and people use flowers to express their feelings toward each other.

Tulips are the symbol of The Perfect Lover.

Wisteria  means Youth and Poetry

 Forsythia means Anticipation.

Purple Hyacinth means I am sorry, Please forgive me, also Sorrow.

Cyclamen means  Resignation & Goodbye.

Iris means  Faith, Wisdom, Valor, Your Friendship Means So Much To Me.

 

I can't wait for my garden to bloom!

What would you say with flowers?

Finding Space

I want my own space to write. Separate from my house, yet only steps away. It needs to have several large windows, electricity, wifi, and a wood stove. So I wasted an afternoon searching for structures. Here are some I really like.

I would paint the door a a different color!

Eventually,  I can camouflage this one so no one can find me!

I love the shape of this one and it has a metal roof to help with snow removal!

 I can really picture this one on the hill behind the house. I'll have to keep saving. One day I'll have a room of my own.

Tell me where would your room be and what would it look like?

Hapenny Magick by Jennifer Carson

Hapenny Magick by Jennifer Carson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this story! The illustrations are wonderful.

Maewyn may be the smallest of the small, but she has so much heart and determination on her side. When she learns the terrible secret to her brutally mean guardian, and finds out that she has magick she finds two wizards to teach her how to use it to protect the villagers she loves. Through all of her travails, Maewyn learns about friendship and family and sacrifice.

Beautifully written. If you enjoy fairytales, then you'll enjoy Hapenny Magick!


For more about Jennifer, go to her website.



View all my reviews

What to Say?

I always feel as though I don't have anything important to say about writing when it comes time to blog. Today I realized that this isn't true. I say so much to so many people, everyday!

I teach!

And everyday I am asking questions, giving suggestions and talking my high school kids through writing. But I never have a moment to stop and digest what I say, I just know that when they listen and actually try some of the things I suggest, they reap the rewards of better writing.

Just what did I say to my student about writing from the place where they are most passionate?

Just now one of my students peeks into my office.

"What are you writing?" she asks.

"Junk!"

"Not you."

"Yes, me! I'm trying to blog about writing but I don't have anything to say"

"You always have something to say."

I smirk, think she's being cheeky.

"No, you really do."

"Like what? What do I tell you?"

She sighs and comes into my office.

You ask me stuff?"

"Like what? I can't remember."

"Like, how does it make me feel? Why is it uncomfortable? Does it make me angry?"

I think about this a moment.

"Thanks!" I smile. Wish she would go so I can get back to writing this blog post. But she stays a moment longer.

"My favorite question you ask me," she says, "is what's the worst thing that can happen?"

I look up from my laptop, she's grinning, we both both laugh.

"You can always revise!"

Sabotage – We All Do It!

For the last Four weeks I have been trying to complete a final revision on my YA. I'm almost there. But if I finish it, I'll then have to submit. I think the prospect of subbing my manuscript is what is holding me back.

Sabotage. We all do it. But why?

7 Ways to Change from Saboteur to Successful!

1. Plan your writing time.
   Pick a time and stick to it. 
2. Give yourself a goal.
   500 words, 3 pages. Whatever you think can get done in the amount of time you actually have to write.
3. Do not revise while writing.
   Just get the words down. You can revise later.
4. Give yourself a timeline. You can always change this, but it helps to know what your deadlines are, even if no one else knows.
5. Believe you are a writer.
   Own it! This isn't difficult.
6. Understand that rejection is not about you.
   This is the most difficult, but take away the emotion behind rejection and you become strong.
7. Seek support from your Writer friends.
   They understand.
   

Help me add to my list! What do you do to be successful?

Summer Solstice 2012

Celebrating the Summer Solstice

Each year, on the summer solstice I make a wish. For me, it's all about rejuvenating my spirit and finding inner peace. Tonight, my family will have a small bonfire in our backyard fire pit. we'll sit under the stars and talk about what we think the next six months will bring.

About the Summer Solstice Energy You Create

This is a time of completeness and abundance, for nature as well as for you, a time to celebrate all that you have achieved and manifested. The summer solstice invites you to celebrate your individuality and who you are, and to use your positive intent to look forward to all that you still want to become. As the sun’s energy comes to its peak, the active principle ripens all our outer achievements on the inner level too, bringing a transformation of spiritual strength and awareness. In this wholeness, you can recognize and celebrate the death and rebirth of the great cycle of the year.

How You Can Celebrate

This is definitely a time for celebrating and entertaining in style with the whole community. Drama, dance and song are all essential elements to raise the energy, and give everyone a chance to display their own unique talents. Light a huge bonfire and have lots of fireworks – Catherine wheels are especially symbolic. If you can find a fire-eater, even better! Throw aromatic herbs onto the fire (traditionally fennel, lavender, geranium, rue, rosemary and chamomile) and dance through the smoke. The tug of war is traditionally played at this time – all the summer-born people on one side and the winter-borns on the other, to symbolize the battle between summer and winter. Close the evening’s activities with a ceremony of thanks, to the sun, moon, five elements, nature, spirit, ancestors and, of course, each other. Then bless the food and drink and enjoy!

With thanks to Triple Moon at www.semelexerri.co.uk/calendar/celtic-festivals/ and Glennie Kindred for her excellent source book Sacred Celebrations.

Why a Trusted Beta Reader is a Valuable Addition to Your Toolbox!

You’ve completed your manuscript, edited and revised, read it aloud, and now you want to have a trusted reader complete a beta read.

As a writer, I crave feedback from my peers. I want honesty. I want to know what works and what doesn’t. Which all boils down to having another writer to be my beta reader.

Most writers understands that criticism isn’t about the person, but the manuscript. But, sometimes getting criticism is painful (I remember one very specific occasion where I cried) and can be very difficult to hear. Even for a seasoned, well-critiqued writer.

I want honest and well thought out feedback from someone who recognizes structure, story arc, dialogue, developing characters, plot, and who the intended audience is. Their constructive criticism will empower my creativity and bring with it a desire to continue revising until I get it right.

There are numerous ways to find a trusted reader. Recently, I found a writer who does all of this for me. We’ve swapped manuscripts a few times now. I have learned so much about my writing by reading and offering feedback to her about her work.

I have known her for several years and we first met as members of a critique group. I contacted a critique group that was listed on the NESCBWI.com critique group page. They were looking to grow the group but after a short time the group disbanded. To this day, she and I laugh about it. What I ended up with was a wonderful beta reader and a super writer friend. A girl can get lucky!

You might already be a member of a writer's group. But a fresh reader, someone who hasn't heard all about your struggles with the story is essential when you are preparing for a final round of revision before sending your manuscript to agents or editors.

Do you have a beta reader? if so, how did you find them? I'd love to hear you suggestions and tips.

What To Bring To The NESCBWI 2011 Conference

I'm packing for the #NESCBWI11 conference. Packing always stresses me out. Every year, I swear I will not forget my business cards. Did I mention, I hate packing? I can never decide what to bring to wear for the weekend. So, rummaging through the closets began last night. I am almost over-packed, I might just have to stop somewhere on the way to Fitchburg to go shopping. Just in case.

In the meantime, I have to start my list. Every year I forget my business cards. So they are at the top this year. (I just ran out to the car and put them on the front seat.)

CHECK LIST

• Business Cards
• AQQ Schedule
• Copies of AQQ letters
• Copy of Manuscript Critique Submission
• Questions for Critiquer (I wonder who it is?) :)
• Laptop
• Phone
• Power cords
• Camera
• My Own Pillow (Because you just never know where hotel pillows have been!)
• A bottle of wine to share
• Something Silver to wear to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of this conference
• Clothes that I feel Comfortable Wearing!
• Comfortable Shoes
• A SMILE!

I’m sure I forgot something.

What do you usually forget? Tell me. I’ll add it to the list.

Unavoidable

To be a true writer, you have to get to the end — it’s unavoidable. The best advise I've ever received, this from a well published writer, was to write the whole thing. Don’t stop to “polish” any chapters until your entire manuscript is written.

If you polish, you never finish.

Another great unavoidable for me — the outline. I find that an outline, even one as simple as:

Chapter 1 — Hero breaks leg, can’t save the world.
Chapter 2 — Hero wallows in self pity.
Chapter 3 — world falls apart because hero, isn’t.

Gives me something follow. If I don’t have it, I end up polishing.

The final unavoidable — the rejection. Everyone gets them. I read them, work with them, and move forward.

What are your “Unavoidables” when writing?

T is for Time and Thanks

I know I won’t quite finish the A to Z Challenge on time, but I had family to be with and mourning to get done. I will finish, and I hope to continue to blog more often. I’ve enjoyed this challenge.

To all you A to Z challengers, thank you for visiting my blog. I have read some spectacular blogs and met some incredible bloggers.

Thank you to everyone for your kinds words and support this week.

S is for Seven Weird Facts About Me

I thought it would fun to give you some interesting facts about me. It’s the stuff that doesn’t usually come up in conversation.

1.    I value honesty. I try, even when I really don’t want to - to tell the truth.

Sometimes, this can’t be accomplished tactfully. Often not. So if you don’t want to know if I think you drink to much, have bad judgment in men, or drive badly, don’t ask. I will tell you the truth.

2.    I’m not afraid to die.

I’m afraid I’ll die before I get a chance to do everything I want to do.

3.    I love living in New Hampshire.

Truly, I do. I have lived in many different places and my current residence is by far, my favorite.

4.    When I was kid, I hated my name.

I wanted to change it to Aimee (spelling it this way, mattered). For six months I wouldn’t answer to anyone if they called me Joyce. This was problem at school. I was always being reprimanded by a teacher.

5.    I was adopted.

On October 12, 1991, my birthmother found me.

On June 22, 1992, she married my birthfather. I’m the oldest of 8.

•   3 1/2 brothers

•   2 1/2 sisters

•   1 Sister

•   1 Brother

6.    The Geraldo Rivera show called to ask me if I would be on their very first reunion show. A friend of my birthmother had called them and told them about our reunion.

I said no. They didn't like it.

7.    I have been the human in the life of 10 dogs.

Their names were:

•   Duke

•   Honcho

•   Wolfgang (my son's middle name is after this dog)

•   Paisley

•   Brownie (he came to live with us after my Grandfather died)

•   Cardea

•   Katie (my duaghter's middle name is after this dog, but spelled Cait)

•   Daisy

•   Lucy

•   Thor, my current dog. He is a 3 year-old black pug. I love this dog!

Revision Tools For Revising Your Manuscript

Just the thought of revision can make you quake in your chair. Where to begin? What to think about? Revision can be overwhelming. Here are 10 points about revision to help get you in the mood for revising.

1.  What is the story that I am telling?

2.  How will my character change?

• Does my character get to where s/he needs to be?
  No – How do I make her change?
  ~  Introduce a crisis situation that makes my character  change.
  Yes – Do the things that happen along the way help get my character where s/he needs to be?

3.  What does it mean to move forward?

• Reveal something about the character.
• Propel the plot.
• Build a relationship that is important later in the book.

4.  Summarize the things that don’t move the story forward.

• An example of this is Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy speaking, but the adults always sound like,
  “Blah, blah, blah.”
• One sentence summary of the scene.

5.  Is my main plot a character development arc?

• Subplots
  ~  Do they fit in?
  ~  When do they resolve?
  ~  How do they resolve?

6.  Characters

• What are my character's quirks and personality traits?
• Do my secondary/minor characters grow with each appearance they make in the book?

• Do my characters have unique voices?
• Do they reveal everything about their characters?
  
  An example of this is sub vs grinder (sandwich)
  Their socio-economic placement

• Does the dialogue let their relationships evolve?
• How authentic do they sound?

8.  Setting and Description

• Picture it then brushstroke the description. Let the reader envision it, unless it must be specific.
• For it to be specific, it must be important later in the book. If not, take it out.

9.  Wordsmith

• Search for commonly used, but unnecessary words.
  ~  Examples are just, so, next, that, but.

10. Show, don’t tell.

What works for you?


formerly my 11/17/10 post ~  Revision Toolbox

Q is for Questions Asked by First Time Conference Attendees

Are you going to your first writer’s conference this year? Are you wondering how to get the most from your first time?

If your first time is a large regional conference, I recommend you focus on craft. The New England chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators Conference is designed to have something for all levels of experience.

For first-timers, there is a Friday afternoon workshop, Conference Orientation. This workshops is an excellent way to get a quick over view and great tips on making your first conference work for you.

Peer Critique Workshop will explain how to give and receive critiques. Other writers are some of the best sources for Learning from. Most have been exactly where you are, at the beginning of their writing journey. And remember, there is something to be learned from each person, even if you don’t agree with their style or comments. Dig deep and be objective. Take what you learn home and start your own critique group.

I hope you registered for Saturday’s Publishing Basics: The Myths and Realities. You’ll learn about the basics of manuscripts, researching and finding publishers, agents, how to handle rejection, and what to do when you sell your first book.

Sunday has a great workshop for beginning illustrators. The Illustrator’s Academy focus on revision in illustration.

Most of all, relax and smile. Say hello and introduce yourself. We’ve all been a beginner at something. Writing can be solitary but that doesn’t mean you are alone.

What tips and suggestions can you give first time Writer conference attendees?

K is for Kendra

This is an abridged version of an earlier post.

Well it’s official, my daughter is a poet. This year has marked a major change in how Kendra’s feels about writing. A positive change, something I was sure would never happen.

Everything changed in October 2009, once she was diagnosed with Dyslexia. Kendra hated writing, cried on the mornings she had to go into school knowing it was spelling test day.

This is what dyslexia looks like to Kendra.

Kendra figured out how to compensate for her dyslexia, and overcame the dyslexic obstacles preventing her from reading. To this day she can’t explain how she figured it all out, she just did. Now, two years later, she is an avid reader, who cannot spell at all. I don’t know how she does it, but it is amazing!

Kendra keeps trying though. She writes her own poetry and stories, and spell check is her pal. On most days, writing is all done with a pencil, and on these days she is still frustrated. She has to go back and read what she has written, which is hellish for her. It’s not easy to read her writing, everything looks the same to her. Phonetically spelled words are never written the same way twice. It’s hard work. But, she keeps trying and this is why I am so proud of her.

The poem below is beautiful, just like Kendra. Here it is:

What If Trees Had No Leaves

By Kendra Johnson

What if trees had no leaves?

They would look bare,

shiver in the cold,

look lonely, like all their best friends

will never come back.

And everything would darken in the snow,

Finally, the snow melts,

The leaves don’t come back.

Though it is lighter than in winter,

The trees were yearning for their leaves.

After crying a hundred tears of missing them,

the trees finally go silent.

J is for Just Remember

I’ve been thinking about how the small things that happen to us, change us. I’m well traveled. My honeymoon was a three week adventure, driving around Namibia (what used to be German Southwest Africa) in an unair-conditioned Ford, diesel station wagon and camping under the stars. A weekend adventure to Costa Rica to zip line the canopy, only to sprain my ankle so badly, I couldn’t. Skinny-dipping in November in the Baltic Sea off of Sweden.

Visiting the German City of Dachau, on a rainy winter’s day to visit the concentration camp.

From the car, we followed the signs for the entrance, down a path along a gray concrete wall. A group of Czech teens were laughing and joking ahead of us. I think I looked up then because the wall seemed unnaturally high. That was when I realized we were walking the exterior perimeter of the camp. A guard tower peaked through the trees and vines, chilling me.

My husband took my hand.

Approaching the entrance wasn’t difficult, what made it hard was knowing that I was about to willingly walk through the gate when others had never had a choice. I needed to compose myself. I closed my eyes and was instantly swept back by the smell of fear coming from the railroad bed under my feet. Time was disjointed, I had to open my eyes.

I heard my name and moved closer to the gate. This is what I saw.

Being there was eerie, as again time wavered between then and now. The place wreaked of despair. My eyes watered the entire time.

As dusk approached, groups of people moved toward the gate. The Czech teens, subdued.
No shouts of Halt as I exited through the gate. No rapid fire machine guns popping. Silence except for the footfalls of those around me.

Then the sky exploded. A sonic boom, my husband said. I felt time tear and this is what happened.

DACHAU REVISITED

Metallic drizzle glazes the decades.

Knees tremble stepping from the car.

Our forced march through time defies fear.

Subtle grays disguise the truth,

a spasm of recognition etches guard tower, ruined wall.

Now covered in vines, leaves of brown

plaster tightly to bricks and mortar.

I walk, eyes straight ahead.

Grays shift in the corner of my vision,

twist into muted shapes of rigor mortis.

Wrought iron lies greet me.

Beyond, the shadows coagulate into ghosts of the once-living

wearing gray and white stripes like the criss-cross of barbed wire.

Gravel crunches underfoot; I taste ashes in my mouth.

Forced march -- double-time -- down the avenue to the gate.

I feel the noose around my neck, choking.

Ovens cold and dark, hungry lips coated with what I do not want

to see. I can’t close my eyes,

I don’t want to look.

I can’t stop.

Jostled and bumped by mournful souls, I flee

through the gate of lies.

Truth explodes around me.

A sonic boom rips through the air, tearing time.

Ghosts walk along side me, through me

Liberated.

The Glimmer of an Idea

That glimmer of an idea, the one that won’t let you sleep, or focus on your family. It shimmers at the most annoying times, just out of reach. You can hear your brain scream as you try to snare that illusive thought. Stretching your gray matter, hoping to capture any essence of this magnificent idea before it slips away.

If you can lasso that runaway thought, form a solid, cohesive concept, you may just have the start of something brilliant. It’s the holding onto that hint of an idea which causes the brain scream.

I’ve tried the “carry around the notebook and pen” approach, but no idea ever forms when I’m prepared for it. Instead, it raps the inside of my skull every once in a while, reminding me it’s still there. Then the day comes, when it dislodges from the gray matter and bursts forth in full color.

If I don’t stop what I am doing the moment this happens, it’s lost. So now I scribble on whatever is available, usually on my arm. Sometimes my kids arm. Just a word or two is all it takes for me to remember. Then I race home, power up the laptop and tell the kids to fend for themselves for the rest of the night.

How do you do it?

An Absolutely Amazing Attempt At Blogging All of April

Alright! I’m attempting to blog all of April, except for Sundays. I’ve signed up to do the A to Z Blogging Challenge because I’m hoping to awaken the abeyant blogger within.

What is this A to Z Blogging Challenge all about? It’s blogging a letter of the alphabet every day, the month of April. I’m not exactly sure how this is going to work, but I feel that I can do it.

I’ve read that it can take 30 days of doing the same thing, to make a new habit stick. Here’s a list of 18 Tricks to Make New Habits Stick.

Let the blogging begin!