tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31713358610225455092024-03-21T02:21:31.985-07:00Root, Page, and Goldon gardening, writing, and the weight and worth of daily thingsJessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-70912787607269435882012-01-06T19:30:00.000-08:002012-01-06T20:39:19.628-08:00A Break Until SpringSo, my friends, my new year didn't stumble in tipsily, nor did it gently knock. It shattered my front door as sure as Vader blasted Alderaan. It has my full attention.<br /><br />I must bow out (again!) of the blogging in order to do the living. It's a new living, and a challenging one: learning how to be a single mom, learning how to bid farewell to a love that leaves . . . as well as just lots of <em>learning </em>as I take four college courses while teaching part-time.<br /><br />I know I disappeared last year, too. It's totally fair if you're not around when I come back. BUT! I'll come back in April. AND, I will offer you one of the BEST parting gifts!<br /><br />My parting gift is the name and face of a new favorite: PATRICK ROTHFUSS<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 170px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 202px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1226875325p5/108424.jpg" border="0" /><br />Back story: Laini herself first told Jen and me about Patrick Rothfuss when we met her in Chicago. Hearing we were from Wisconsin, Laini mentioned a great fantasty writer from Steven's Point. Okay, ANYBODY Laini recommends, I need to read. Unfortunately, I quickly forgot his name. Ack! But how can you blame me? I had just met Laini Taylor.<br /><br />In December, Laini posted a picture of the back of her UK edition of <em>DoSaB</em>, and Rothfuss wrote the blurb on it: "Wow. I wish I had written this book." I thought, He <em>blurbed </em>her? How fantastic is that? And oh, yes, <em>that's </em>how you spell his name?<br /><br />So I checked out his book, <em>The Name of the Wind</em>:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/images/page/cover_277.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 144px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 232px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/images/page/cover_277.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />And friends, it's gorgeous. It's 700 pages of oh-my-god-he's-three-years-older-than-I-and-how-the-heck-did-he-get-so-amazing?-and-he-lives-an-hour-away!-and-I-want-to-eat-ramen-with-him-and-his-girlfriend-and-learn-everything-he's-ever-thought.<br /><br />Wait, that was way too much inner dialogue.<br /><br />It is, honestly, a beautifully-written tale of a young hero named Kvothe. Kvothe is a boy traveling with his troupe-family when disaster strikes. He struggles to survive for years before finding haven at the University. There he learns the magic of sympathy, but what knowledge he really seeks is a) how to call the name of the wind and b) how to find and conquer the baddies that attacked his troupe. Kvothe is a brilliant boy living in a ruthless world. Honestly, Kvothe is teaching me to take my licks these days better than any creed or self-help book. The boy gets knocked down every other page, it seems. But I'll be damned if he doesn't get back up every single time.<br /><br />Check out Rothfuss' <a href="http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/index.asp">webpage</a> and <a href="http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/">blog </a>to learn more. (His blog Worldbuilders has raised over half a million dollars for Heifer International over the last several years. How fantastic is that?) And maybe, if you fall in love with the beard as much I do, watch a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRhBQIEYTIA">video</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afk-2S4r6nE&feature=related">two</a> of him to hear some of his thoughts of genre writing, Simon and Garfunkel, and trying to make the world a better place.<br /><br />Rothfuss is coming to Appleton in April for our spring book festival. I'll be sure to return then with a post on his visit. Hopefully a couple of you will have joined Kvothe in his battle against the scrael and have enjoyed his captivating lute playing at the Eolian in Imre. :)<br /><br />Keep writing. Keep hoping.<br /><br />I'll talk to you soon.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-26986253928609636702011-12-13T18:01:00.000-08:002011-12-13T18:32:51.896-08:00Did My Class and I Rock NaNo?<a href="http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/55300/55327/55327_girl-writing_lg.gif"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 254px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 227px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/55300/55327/55327_girl-writing_lg.gif" border="0" /></a> QUICK NaNoWriMo Update for me and my four brave, brilliant 7th-graders:<br /><br />Student 1 Wrote 18 pages of a brutal story that involved a broken home, an abusive father, and the hope found in a friend-who-could-maybe-be-more. This student read bits of her story to the other girls during lunch; they argued over who was their favorite character and pestered her to keep writing so they'd know what happened.<br />Then the student tore that story out of her book and started a new story.<br />Her guardian had read through it and didn't approve it. Her new story does not contain a broken home or an abusive father. All the favorite characters are gone.<br /><br />Student 2 Wrote bits and scraps on backs and half-sheets for most of November. By the third week, she had about 6 pages all together. Organization knocked her out. So did setting--she didn't know how to write scenes about Washington D.C. when she'd never been there. We talked at length about writing herself into a corner. :) She picked up her pace during the last week by focusing on her characters, and she wrote about 9 more pages.<br /><br />Student 3 Hated her story by the middle of the month. When I gave her permission to start over, she gleefully stomped on her old pages. She spent most of the fourth week glumly facing her new project, annoyed with how she kept ruining great ideas by writing boring set-up. This girl is an artist, so I showed her <em>Maus</em>--we had just finished a WWII-lit unit--and discussed graphic novels. What a bright face she had! It was like I had lifted a lead blanket off her shoulders.<br />She showed me pictures that she just worked on last night of a girl getting run over by a car. The student was glowing, proud of her bloody images and of grossing out Ms. Jessica. She's going to finish her story through December.<br /><br />Student 4 Had 37 pages at the end of November and will write through December. She had started writing a horror story, but she realized she didn't need to embellish anything to tell a terrifying tale. She is writing her life story.<br />At first, she thought she had to modify it to keep it 'middle school appropriate.' I told her to be as honest as she wanted to be about what she's been through.<br /><br />Me? I mean, does it really matter, compared to these girls? I think they're so cool, so brave, so fun, so strong. They inspire me. But, just to round it out--I wrote 18, 400 words. It was totally fun and diverting and sometimes awful and annoying. Like John Green says, NaNoWriMo gives a writer 1) discipline and 2) permission to suck. I think I picked up some discipline, and I definitely am all about being okay sucking.<br /><br />So, YES, we absolutely rocked NaNoWriMo!<br /><br />And now we're reading "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti and "Goblin Fruit" by Laini Taylor. Favorite. Unit. Ever. :)Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-49887170890201698262011-12-10T17:26:00.000-08:002011-12-10T19:08:35.940-08:00Geeking Out Over Collaborations<a href="http://blogs.kcls.org/booktalk/geektastic.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 171px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://blogs.kcls.org/booktalk/geektastic.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My love for both John Green and M. T. Anderson has led me to another dated discovery:<br /><br />The hot-hot-hot themed YA anthology!<br /><br />Collections of short stories by rockin' authors are popping up all over, and again I'm late to the party. But that's okay! Late to a party equals awesome! (NOT early. NOT on time. These, to a party, are not so awesome. These are tragic and send a gal home by 8:30 in tears.)<br /><br />FIRST anthology is <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Ten-Original-Dark-Tales/dp/0763627372/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_3">Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales</a></em> published by Candlewick in August 2004. I'm putting this first even though I have no real idea if it has a predecessor. If you know of another first, let me know! This cool collection came out with authors like Neil Gaiman, Celia Rees, Gregory Maguire, and of course, M. T. Anderson. (no. not obsessed.)<br /><br />SECOND anthology is <em>Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd</em>, published by Little, Brown in August 2009. Holly Black collected stories along with her friend and co-ComiCon attendee, Cecil Castellucci. Contributing authors include M. T. and John Green, natch, as well as Sara Zarr, Cassandra Clare, David Levithan, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Scott Westerfeld, Garth Nix, and Libba Bray.<br /><br />Side-note: I ADORE 2009-LIBBA BRAY. I'm sure 2011-Libba Bray is just-as-if not-more adorable, but 2009-Libba Bray made <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KloEAoKvBqA">this video</a> promoting her Printz-winner, <em>Going Bovine</em>. Please watch, even if you never click on links. Three minutes of adorable <strong>in a cow costume.</strong><br /><br />I admit it: this is why I write. Not to write, but to write with friends like Libba who rock cow costumes in New York City. More on this thought in a second.<br /><br />THIRD anthology is <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-vs-Unicorns-Holly-Black/dp/1416989536/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323571283&sr=1-1">Zombies vs. Unicorns</a></em>, collected again by Holly Black, this one published by Margaret K. McElderry Books in September 2010. This collection offers six stories pro-unicorns, and six stories pro-zombies. Contributing authors include Carrie Ryan, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, and more fun from Cassandra Clare, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfeld, and Libba Bray.<br /><br />John Green <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avhOcKHWb-Y">posted a vlog</a> about this debate in 2007 and described unicorns as the "horned beasts of suck." Also, he questions, "What have unicorns ever accomplished? Providing transport for the Care Bears to and from the Forest of Feelings?" :)<br /><br />LATEST collection is <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-Anthology-Fantastically-Strange-Stories/dp/0763648434/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323568619&sr=1-1#_">Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories.</a></em> This one came out by Candlewick in October 2011. It was put together by Kelly Link, but Holly Black still contributes, along with Corey Doctorow, M. T., Garth Nix, Cassandra Clare, and Libba Bray.<br /><br />(Afterthought disclamier: This list of four books is, of course, in no way exhaustive and is as extensive as my Googling skills allow.)<br /><br />So--I want to say how awesome I think this is--writers consistently publishing together. <br /><br />I mean, I'm not saying that all these writers got together and wrote their stories in one big house, sharing coffee duties and pizza runs. However, clearly the community--as John said in his vlog--had been discussing the topics for months. I don't know, but I imagine that the books came out of those discussions. So community created art, rather than art bringing together a community.<br /><br />I love that.<br /><br />But, as an extension of that thought, why not gather together in a big house and write? Why can't we do that? Percy Shelley did, at Leigh Hunt's, with John Keats. Some writers used to write together. Some said--Shelley certainly said--they needed the companionship for inspiration. So I say YAY anthologies! YAY communities of writers collaborating and inspiring one another. I cannot WAIT to join you. I will totally take the first pizza run.<br /><br />So my friends, <em>who would you want in your big writers' house? Who would be in charge of meals? Who would you borrow toothpaste from? :) Who would you love to toss ideas around with over slices of pepperoni pizza? </em>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-72608837879431829252011-11-24T18:25:00.000-08:002011-11-24T19:56:37.719-08:00I am thankful for John Green<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1300041951p5/1406384.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 206px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1300041951p5/1406384.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>First, I have to say that I bought <em>Paper Towns</em> when it came out in 2008 and liked it. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And that was the extent of my experience with and appreciate for John Green.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>AACCKK!! How foolish am I??? All these years I have missed out on the wit, the hilarity, the now-accumulated 904 video blogs that John and his brother have posted to one another! It's a travesty, and I can't allow it to happen to you, my friends; so I am spreading the good word of John Green and the Nerdfighters.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Second, I have to say that I found John Green's vlogs while Googling M. T. Anderson. Which brings me to my subpoint--M. T. Anderson is also a rock star, and I just thought he was an adorable bespectacled hipster. Nope. He's actually sort of everywhere, loved and lusted by everyone: many awesome ladies and gentlemen <a href="http://www.forcesofgeek.com/2010/12/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-this-guy.html">wish for him for Christmas</a> and/or <a href="http://fusenumber8.blogspot.com/2006/06/hot-men-of-childrens-literature-part_20.html#links">list him on their hot list</a>, or get to <a href="http://www.leewind.org/2010/07/mt-anderson-exclusive-scbwi-team-blog.html">interview him for SCBWI</a>. <a href="http://oinks.squeetus.com/2009/02/squeetus-exclusive-mt-anderson.html">Shannon Hale herself posts a hilarious interview with him</a>, and so does <a href="http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/sbeaudoin/2010/12/this-is-not-an-interview-an-interview-with-mt-anderson/">Sean Beadoin</a>. And <a href="http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2010/03/writing-across-formats-mt-anderson.html">Cynthia Leitich Smith.</a> He's on the board of directors of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance and particpated in the NCBLA's recent publication, <a href="http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html">The Exquisite Corpse Adventure.</a> He keynoted this week's <a href="http://www.alan-ya.org/alan-2011-chicago/">Assembly on Literature for Adolescents</a> conference. So--woops! I'm just six years late to the M. T. party, and no, sub-sub-point, I am not obsessed.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So Tobin and John Green met years ago at a conference and broke into abandoned buildings together. John recorded <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtZmFHxxijo">their adventure for one of his vlogs</a>. You can find it and the other 900 videos on youtube or on the Green brothers' site, <a href="http://www.nerdfighters.ning.com/">www.nerdfighters.ning.com</a>. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>What are Nerdfighters? The Nerdfighters are nerds who fight--folks who use their inner awesome to decrease world suck. And we are legion! John just announced he has 1.1 million followers on Twitter. Isn't that incredible? A YA author with 1.1 million followers? Again: <strong>rock star</strong>. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>John Green won the Printz award in 2006 for his first book, <em>Looking for Alaska. </em>His second book, <em>An Abundance of Katherines, </em>was a 2007 Printz honor book. Last year, he co-wrote a book called <em>Will Grayson, Will Grayson</em> with David Levithan; and in January, his latest book, <em>The Fault in Our Stars</em>, will be released! And he will be touring for it!! (Please come to Wisconsin! And bring Tobin with you!)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>John and his brother Hank are hysterical and brilliant. Among their hundreds of videos, you can watch clips on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwZIhJq9xBU">John's top 5 zombie apocolypses</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrnd63DAH8o">31 great nerd jokes</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzW8xkF_DnI">the amazingness of Norbert Wiener</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BatRR_UFzYo">how tired John is of signing his first 150,000 copies of The Fault in Our Stars</a>, and how it <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77C47XYm_3c">costs us 70 million dollars a year to subsidize the making of pennies.</a> They talk about great literature, current events, Helen Hunt--just really relevant, beautiful stuff. I've logged in many, many non-NaNo hours this holiday week watching and laughing. Please join me! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><em>Have you already fallen in love with the John? Do you have a favorite video of his to share? What literary rock stars do you follow?</em></div>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-10252481029215503152011-11-14T12:56:00.000-08:002011-11-14T13:41:03.061-08:00Rockin' Jan Brett Rolls to Green Bay!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674958751899298930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dkuUl7WYtse35c9DSMyabV6efoUcP31A0WqaEwTWhYo4_8kGsuv33yRPrXfXzIg89huUcK0BPsq8WmYAqa9LaH6NxGYP6UGW03vjodZC_RQO7m18QDKRNp65ejMxvD0c2GTg8R_Z5Lw/s200/100_2498+II.jpg" border="0" /> <a href="http://www.janbrett.com/index.html">Jan Brett is touring </a>from Boston to Walla Walla, driving across the country in an enormous, illustrated bus! Clara and I passed the bus as we drove to Green Bay on Sunday, November 13. I cheered and clapped and waved, so happy to see it on Highway 172! Clara kept asking, "What's wrong, Mom? What's wrong?" I tried to explain that a beautiful artist and storyteller was near, and that brought Mom so much joy. :)<br /><br />Jan Brett spoke to a crowded room at the Brown County Central Library last night at 5:00 p.m. She shared with us the inspiration for her newest book, <em>Home for Christmas. </em>She also told us about the tour that she and her husband took of Sweden, doing research for the illustrations in the book. Since a moose is a key character in the story, she took the time to actually draw the head of a moose for us.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674958962316677650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gkRCn_c6ZSrJU_NMD3s1yoCPf8USMcQxFIyJJVftnukfoAn7Q727LPA3tB8yMXsstWr7C15FUEd7XinXSO2FJXIHX7wC81lNNVzVlmwAqZXSXYQrM4AdROWziPN_DADvAawrkReO4B0/s200/100_2505+II.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674959182289471090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvWklJjlRtCicEeqyanyxGilgTz0v_wa_JgE3xP5DfbJ43QLsDvYg8jw0cZYL42sCgoKiiV0nkJcE_K6nWFfgW_x_YDp2HggexfdvraO_yFDAQFL6RYZN9MV4r-CQstMUGKk9UNBDres/s200/100_2508.jpg" border="0" /><br />All the while, she was sharing charming anecdotes, like how she met a friendly herd of moose, and how she got to kiss one on its big, blubbery nose.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6qNIH4jAlfC19ATc3RfeCnH_CKtr0p0jfumNc5X70s8p2cfif26_Y1inT66SR_VfUr8xASpMJxWSSISvirTjDbm_64yDPYmjs6J0f54LC05tBnd3XCTVQN6gxJbdvVktXmegg3bvGs4/s1600/100_2509+II.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674960249537010706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6qNIH4jAlfC19ATc3RfeCnH_CKtr0p0jfumNc5X70s8p2cfif26_Y1inT66SR_VfUr8xASpMJxWSSISvirTjDbm_64yDPYmjs6J0f54LC05tBnd3XCTVQN6gxJbdvVktXmegg3bvGs4/s200/100_2509+II.jpg" border="0" /></a> She filled her half-hour presentation with encouragement for all the young writers and artists in the auditorium. She reminded everyone that just as our fingerprints are our own, so our stories are our own. We have unique vision and creativity, she said. It is important not to lose our vision as we grow so we can make both ourselves and others happy with our art.<br /><br />I was in line for over two hours to meet Jan. She is, without question, a rock star. Her website states that she has over <strong>37 million</strong> books in print. Her stories are rich, warm, and deep. I grew up with "The Mitten," and Clara is daily enchanted by "The Owl and the Pussycat." Which of her books did you grow up with? What are you reading to the children in your life?<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674960487441260098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdy3ydlLjp7-hB1LhZb13CrL-2NZaSPZ1Ptor3xrPTp4lz6x-03yGrVvGjJXOwGdcsbY5NWmrmYGXL0D9I-Ixdwv8m_ElE_M1DA4ZIQMpZz9zWEya74ZQW1Qq788KPTg8TOCk7wK4T4Q/s200/100_2511.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div>I know we are all trying to be true to our visions; but on the drive home, I thought about all of our unique stories. Not the ones we make up, but the ones we are living. And I wondered, what artist would you choose to illustrate the story of your life?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-9601837586119557322011-11-10T14:13:00.000-08:002011-11-10T15:21:28.161-08:00Author Linda Godfrey brings DOGMAN to Neenah!<a href="http://www.ghosttheory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/bray_road.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 192px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 184px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.ghosttheory.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/bray_road.jpg" border="0" /></a> This is Godfrey's first sketch of Wisconsin's Beast of Bray Road.<br />You thought I was kidding, didn't you? :)<br /><br />On Monday, November 7, five Academy students and I, along with our high school English teacher, visited the Neenah Public Library to hear <a href="http://www.beastofbrayroad.com/media.html">Linda S. Godfrey</a> speak about her newest book, <em>Monsters of Wisconsin.</em> Godfrey has published 12 other titles, including <em>Weird Wisconsin, Haunted Wisconsin, The Michigan Dogman</em>, and <em>Mythical Creatures.</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://extraordinaryintelligence.com/files/2009/07/dogmangodfrey.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 288px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://extraordinaryintelligence.com/files/2009/07/dogmangodfrey.jpg" border="0" /></a> Here is another one of Godfrey's illustrations based on a witness's testimony.<br /><br />Godfrey was a UW-Oshkosh grad working as a newspaper reporter 20 years ago when she first learned about a local legend of a 'werewolf' prowling around Elkhorn, WI. After learning that the area county patrol officer actually had a file labeled 'werewolf' in his desk to hold the many complaints and sightings he received, Godfrey decided to write the story. The story ran in her local paper, <em>The Week,</em> on December 31, 1991; it went national two weeks later!<br /><br />And literally, she's been hunting monsters ever sincee.<br /><br />Godfrey's hour-long presentation on Monday was packed with pictures, sketches, and statistics of the many beasts she has received reports on: Dogman, Pigmen, Bigfoots, and Dragons.<br /><br />I had asked my students to go into the presentation looking for something they could use for their NaNos. Motivated by M. T. Anderson's passion for place, I was hoping we would hear about wonderfully creepy locations to emulate in our own settings, lending our stories color and personality.<br /><br />And in a way, we did. What we learned was that many sightings were in normal places, like wide roads, bridges, and well-lit neighborhoods. For example, open Bray Road is a popular place for<br />Dogman sightings. The road is a most un-spookified stretch, surrounded by cornfields. Godfrey explained how cornfields themselves are the spooky places--they are, in fact, Creature Highways: snack-filled swaths of land that creatures can trek unseen.<br /><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 222px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.beastofbrayroad.com/img.brayroad.jpg" border="0" /><br />Bray Road. How scary is that, right?<br /><br />So we learned often the scariest things lurk in the shadows near the most normal-looking places.<br /><br />When Godfrey learned that we were looking for stories to propel our own, she readily acknowledged that many other writers, particularly science fiction writers, read her books for the same reason. She explained that what especially attracts writers is that the creatures she learns about act so very, very differently from how our "normal" concept of <em>creature</em> acts. For example, in the hundreds of reports she has received from the United States and Canada about Dogmen, she has recieved ONE report of an injury caused by one. How interesting is that? A ferocious looking, man-hunting beast that snarls and lunges, that lurks and prowls, but that doesn't actually attack? That's peculiar, and it goes against our preconceived notions of werewolf.<br /><br />Pretty fun stuff, but I'll be honest. (But I'll say it parentheses: I had to sleep with my light on the first night after the presentation. They were everywhere, I swear. The Dogmen were coming for me, and I couldn't do anything about it!)<br /><br />:)<br /><br />Other sort of wonderfully obvious bits I picked up from Godfrey's excellent presentation were a) follow your passions, b) do your research, c) trust people, and d) be open to believing in the unbelievable.<br /><br />Thanks so much to Melissa of NPL's Adult Programming to let us join the three dozen others for this event. And so much thanks to Linda S. Godfrey for coming and speaking. We had a wonderful time, and we have picked up great spooky stories to weave into our own tales.Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-16239725692304210322011-11-08T13:54:00.000-08:002011-11-08T15:09:39.853-08:00NaNoWriMo Check-in 1Seven days of writing have passed. How’d I do?<br /><br />Total word count: 7355<br /><br />Total I should have if shooting for 1667 a day: 11669<br /><br />SO--<br /><br />I present to you four frank reasons I’m not stressing about being behind:<br /><br />#1:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/files/bluewillow/files/katedicamillo.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/files/bluewillow/files/katedicamillo.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.katedicamillo.com/">Kate DiCamillo!<br /></a><br />My copy of <em>The Chronicles of Harris Burdick</em> came in, and I have a NEW literary crush to add to my list of crushes. Kate DiCamillo’s contribution to this collection is knock-you-in-the-teeth poignant and hilarious. Love, love, love the Kate! How can one be gloomy when Kate’s “The Third-Floor Bedroom” exists?<br /><br />#2<br /><br />I found <a href="http://www.elizabethfama.com/">Elzabeth Fama’s blog </a>last night (and commented on it ;)). She, a published author, speaks candidly of the pros and cons (and many more cons) of our yearly NaNo competition. I love her honesty. Her reminder that our goals this month are sort of ridiculous helps me laughingly accept that I may not make my goals—but the best goal is to write every day.<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 117px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 193px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil_zwKDTjezSgR3uotVhu0w0frO2vKki0QQtf25bB8cKGm_Gn5Dyq58zDXTwKQq9eBifiCDcRZm5IVjI6qPxUE03K5qG66vO2axfCJCa9nTYClUE033ZLz186_tIf-GGobFjkZC8UY8uQ/s320/Overboard.JPG" border="0" /> How haunting is Elizabeth's cover?<br /><br /><br /><br /><p>#3</p><br /><p>I’m writing. This, all by itself, is just lovely. This *poofs* stressful thoughts of <em><strong>more</strong></em> and<em><strong> now</strong></em> and <strong><em>hurry</em></strong> away. </p><br /><p>My idea that I’m fleshing out this November I had in February, but I didn’t get to it. I had too many shows to watch. :) Then in April, I heard editor Julie Scheina--one of two editors who brought us <em>Beautiful Creatures</em>--speak at an SCBWI luncheon. She enthusiastically shared one of her new books coming: </p><br /><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 203px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 232px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRi6-njMSTV86FBk-wXrAMUHdKteeE20uKmA3RaG5O81vxiAi9rZXj9vdiDxrzwhaxE43i-KK5_SfusJ1Spvxv4f0EJ_CcBShstmHWTXILD3XVJ-6XQGfsvxB_fvu8XXBk9zlsxvl6NIRP/s1600/Jane.jpg" border="0" /><br /><em>Jane</em>, by April Lindner, is a modern retelling of Jane Eyre. </p><br /><p>My story idea is a modern retelling, too! So I should have been writing in April! Retells are wanted by editors, she said! But I didn’t go for it. I had too many naps to take. I dipped into it a teensey bit, enough to say I was working on it, but that’s about it. </p><br /><p>Our NaNo has me deep in my story each night. I’m loving the characters. I’m loving the places they take me. I’m loving the cashmere sweaters or silver nail polish I find them wearing. I’m writing, and<strong> it’s fun</strong>.</p>#4<br /><br />I am, let's repeat, doing a retelling. This makes my life easier, yes? I'd argue yes, absolutely, it does. In addition to my six pages of notes, I have the hundreds of pages of story to follow. So when Elizabeth Fama points out that October should be novel-planning month and we should create pages of detailed outline with dialogue notes—I mean, I do, right? I have the whole book in front of me. I read it again in October and wrote out character notes and plot points to emphasize, but . . . Come on. I think having an already-written-masterpiece in my hands takes some of stress away. :)<br /><br />So that's my reports, my friends! How are you doing? Week 2, here we come! :)Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-65248575183550637812011-11-05T17:15:00.000-07:002011-11-05T17:42:33.469-07:00Harris Burdick Lives!<a href="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/files/2011/06/chroniclesofharris.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 151px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 193px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/files/2011/06/chroniclesofharris.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Joy, Joy, so much Joy!<br /><br />So, for Chris Van Allsburg fans, the nearly unthinkable has happened. New stories have been written for the collection of enigmatic illustrations in his 1984 book, <em>The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.</em><br /><br />Just released October 25th is AN AMAZING COLLECTION of 14 stories inspired by the original artwork. The list of contributing authors is stunning. Inside we will find works by<br /><br />Sherman Alexie<br />Kate DiCamillo<br />Cory Doctorow<br />Stephen King<br />Lois Lowry<br />Gregory Maguire<br />Walter Dean Myers<br />M. T. Anderson<br />and more!<br /><br />Check out <a href="http://www.hmhbooks.com/features/harrisburdick/">this hilarious clip</a> that shows some of the authors and the pictures they chose to write about.<br /><br />Can you stand it? Are you running to the bookstore now? Wait! While you're there, check to see if Chris Van Allsburg is coming to talk about this new release. Because I discovered he and beautiful M. T. will be in Chicago on November 17. <a href="http://andersons2.indiebound.com/event/chris-van-allsburg-others">Check it out!</a><br /><br />And cross your fingers that my lovely, giving, self-sacrificing, wonderful, gorgeous sister will help me drive down there to see them. (Talented, hilarious, kind, creative, generous sister. . . )<br /><br />So my friends, whose story are you looking forward to reading the most? Which picture from the original are you the most curious about?Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-88252840299355269742011-11-03T18:08:00.000-07:002011-11-04T16:39:38.745-07:00Author Steven Polansky Speaks at the AcademyI teach at an international academy in Northeast Wisconsin. Parents pop in often; we have moms who visit classes, dads who eat lunch with their daughters . . . imagine my surprise and delight learning that the attentive dad who joins his girl so very often in the cafeteria is Steven Polansky, author of <em>Dating Miss Universe</em><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 124px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 166px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://i43.tower.com/images/mm100783417/dating-miss-universe-nine-stories-steven-polansky-hardcover-cover-art.jpg" border="0" /> <em>and</em></p><br /><p><em>The Bradbury Report</em><br /></p><br /><p>(Aw, man, trouble getting the cover to post . . . )</p><br /><p><a href="http://www.popmatters.com/images/book_cover_art/t/the_bradbury_report.jpg"></a>The first book is a collection of short stories that shows the failings of humanity with humor and grace. The second book is a novel that explores what it means to be human in 2071 when cloning is legal and "Copies" are used only for the aid of the "Original." Totally fascinating! And Steven totally needed to speak to our students! How is it possible we had not plundered all of his knowledge already? What riches to mine! :)</p><br /><p>He graciously agreed to join us for an hour this week, kicking off our NaNo WriMo with an honest, in-depth discussion of the business of writing.</p><br /><p>My hand flew as he spoke because quite literally every sentence he shared was either poignant or hilarious or ridiculously insightful or tremendously useful to us as writers. Ten pages of scrawl have been typed into four pages of notes. Here, I'd like to reproduce the gems I think will help us as we continue living our dreams as writers.</p><br /><p>1. The world of publishing will be so changed in three years that in 2015, our students will know more about it than he. The institutions he knows--agents, editors, and printing companies--are being replaced, rendering all his years' experience in publishing obselete. (How fascinating and sobering is that?)</p><br /><p>2. Consider the length of your novel. Length is gift we can offer our readers. He compared a small piece of writing to the passing glance of a beautiful face in mass-transit. One can fall in love in a moment like that, but the love doesn't linger. Contrast that passing glance with a deep, devoted marriage, and one will better comprehend the sense of<em> knowing</em> we experience reading a long novel. He said, leaving a world long lived in (he mentioned <em>Harry Potter</em> as a popular example), "The feeling is you are now transported back into your universe, and it is utterly transformed."</p><br /><p>3. The life of a writer can be "the best of lives and the worst of lives." He confessed every morning starts the same. He faces his blank screen, and his inner critic tells him, 'Everything you've done before makes no difference. You have no idea how to do this next scene. You can't do it.' And it's awful. But then writes one sentence, and then two, then four, and he eventually forgets he can't do it</p><br /><p>4. He gets his ideas for stories by keeping open. He watches and listens. He refuses to play the market research game, sniffing out what sells. Also, he refuses to keep a notebook to jot ideas into because 1) he'd never look at it, and 2) he'd forget what his notes meant if he did look at it. Instead, he just pays attention to those ideas that don't go away. If an idea stays in his head for three or four weeks, then he knows it's worth taking seriously. (Where do you get your ideas from?)</p><br /><p>5. It takes him three years to write a novel. He wished those of us trying to do it in a <em>month</em> the best of luck. :) Rather than blasting through a zero draft as most of us have (or are), he methodically focuses on each chapter, perfecting it and then completely leaving it. He sites Dickens as a model for this style of writing: when a chapter of Dickens' <em>Great Expectations</em> was printed in the paper, thousands of readers made the events in that chapter indelible. Dickens couldn't go back and change things. Steven showed us some eighty pages of notes for one <em>chapter </em>of his current novel. (Again, how fascinating is this? I have six pages of notes! For the whole thing!)</p><br /><p>6. He left us with two final thoughts:</p><br /><p>If you truly want to be a writer, you should write. And there is no substitute for writing.</p><br /><p>If you truly want to be a writer, you should read. And there is no substitue for reading.</p><br /><p>My heartfelt thanks to Steven Polansky for sharing his wit and wisdom with us. I very much hope he will join us again soon!</p><br /><p>So my friends, what do you think of his writing process? In the dawn of NaNos, is it worth reconsidering our methods?<br /><br /></p>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-66914931971098127452011-11-01T12:34:00.000-07:002011-11-01T13:25:19.608-07:00I Dreamed of My NaNo Last NightSo a student came into class declaring, today. “Did you dream of your story, or did you dream of you writing the story?” I asked her.<br /><br />“Of me writing,” she said.<br /><br />What happiness! A small sprawl of seventh graders swarmed my classroom floor and wrote this morning. Today we NaNo WriMo-ers are living our dream of writing. What propels us from our ‘such stuffs’ into reality? Or, a stiffer metaphor, what shots of inspiration are you knocking back? Here are a few of mine:<br /><br />1) A practical, hilarious list of NaNo preps on <a href="http://sharppendullsword.blogspot.com/2011/10/nano-prep-tips-lola-style.html">Lola Sharp’s fantastic blog</a>. Do read it; you’ll be so glad to learn that others stock freezers, warn spouses of hygienic neglect, and of course, avoid all hosting responsibilities.<br /><br />2) Laini Taylor’s recent post on <a href="http://www.lainitaylor.com/2011/10/creating-your-life.html">Creating Your Life</a>. It’s pasted beside my kitchen sink, so I can remind myself not to shrink my dreams while I’m cleaning Clara’s breakfast dishes.<br /><br />3) My kitchen. This is where the magic will happen. One of Laini's Ladies smiles down amidst a flourish of mirrored butterflies. The script on the side of the purple-winged fairy quotes Rumi: "I am so happy, I cannot be contained by the world. I have blossomed so much, I am the envy of gardens." So mote it be. :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3M6pJ3F-1_boouc00Sv8EEMyHwAZ8kgVA9-QAtfcbw0YxL3LW2MafOXs7pusf84KmWUTYcYQ9R-6duAJ8-tOyTrrLNAckD8LpmKe2k3kfPAlSJWctKC0GiDnAtBJghJaKpj7wBohVew0/s1600/100_2496.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670118761768536290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3M6pJ3F-1_boouc00Sv8EEMyHwAZ8kgVA9-QAtfcbw0YxL3LW2MafOXs7pusf84KmWUTYcYQ9R-6duAJ8-tOyTrrLNAckD8LpmKe2k3kfPAlSJWctKC0GiDnAtBJghJaKpj7wBohVew0/s320/100_2496.jpg" border="0" /></a> 4) M.T. Anderson’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5IJ9fwepr0">talk at the National Book Festival</a> last year. Quite a bit of his talk here is the same I heard last month; the Dogtown anecdote is missing because it was new and therefore had, as he said, the vigor of the unrehearsed. Watching this clip, you will be inspired by his glorious romance with geography. Also, you will learn he is hypoglycemic. Terribly, <em>terribly</em> important resource material. </p><br /><p>4 1/2) M. T. Anderson's talk on Place from 2007. As mentioned in my earlier post, it’s by my mirror so I can memorize it while coiffing. I’m up to, “I would like to speak of Stow, Massachusetts.”<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATecN9LPchEAM892Hp5Jd_LpHJiqsNYZvWIhhK6r9yMmxwEgEPhDs3-6TD2TEJ0R3AkrmZIf0VdIG1G_hyvTrrXcRSPk6PjP-6znnSSxM3iGafyK9eIHetnhiGz84xtmE8t9yjCP2_E8/s1600/100_2495+III.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670116549827743650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATecN9LPchEAM892Hp5Jd_LpHJiqsNYZvWIhhK6r9yMmxwEgEPhDs3-6TD2TEJ0R3AkrmZIf0VdIG1G_hyvTrrXcRSPk6PjP-6znnSSxM3iGafyK9eIHetnhiGz84xtmE8t9yjCP2_E8/s320/100_2495+III.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Okay, now I'm off! I have seven pages to write before my girl gets up in an hour. :) Wish me the best of luck; I'm sending all my best loves and laughs to you. Happiest of writing, Dreamers.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-69042754942067630042011-10-28T18:10:00.000-07:002011-11-03T04:51:21.198-07:00Love and MagicWe partied at school today, students and teachers alike. Of course I had to try to coil a bright blue wig around a couple of paint brushes, wear my new favorite wishbone, and go as Karou. :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdC6UMlTuCNP_XfRaFT3y_9NMdc6_7ws-5Z5SP-TK-QmfkQ4bIO7UWWU8v9T_tCxvfW2SgeMPQByR1cxeTWpHFJ8RBP0cNVMGGczQ0GwHqQ0SA_FnXMcr0QGBuRj22u7bY_vQXB9M6VAc/s1600/100_2455.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668715828168995698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdC6UMlTuCNP_XfRaFT3y_9NMdc6_7ws-5Z5SP-TK-QmfkQ4bIO7UWWU8v9T_tCxvfW2SgeMPQByR1cxeTWpHFJ8RBP0cNVMGGczQ0GwHqQ0SA_FnXMcr0QGBuRj22u7bY_vQXB9M6VAc/s320/100_2455.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I hardly do her justice, right? But I had to try. I carried my signed copy of <em>Daughter of Smoke and Bone </em>around the halls with me, sharing the good news of brilliant Laini Taylor to all who would hear. :)<br /><br />Incidentally, the Queen of the Night there, beside me, is Becky, our science teacher. Becky is the smartest person I know. How can she be that adorable AND know everything about everything? It's not fair. Stars? She knows them. Volcanoes? Knows 'em. Fishes? Knows. Physics and spiders and electricity and turtle poop--she knows about it all. I love LOVE working across the hall from her. I hear the weirdest, most disturbing stuff through her open door, especially when gerbils die, and I wouldn't have it any other way.<br /><br />And since I'm sharing things I love, I have to again say that I love M. T. Anderson. I read <a href="http://mt-anderson.com/blog/he-talks-talks-2/on-the-place-i-am-from/">this speech he shared</a> while accepting the Boston Globe/Horn Book award for <em>The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, </em>and I've decided I'm going to memorize it. I'm hanging the speech beside my mirror so I can ingest its wisdom and vocabulary while curling my hair. That way, when he comes back, I can say so much more than, "Thank you for coming to Wisconsin." I can say things like "fatuous emotion," "vertiginously rapid," and "vernacular of Americana."<br /><br />I also read <a href="http://mt-anderson.com/blog/he-talks-talks-2/on-the-color-of-dinosaurs/">this short piece </a>about his telling a classmate about the color of dinosaurs, and I laughed so hard I cried.<br /><br />And then I found <a href="http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=544">this lovely, long interview</a> from years ago. I learned others love the M. T., too, and also that he hates the word 'slacks' because it smells of thigh-sweat.<br /><br />Just passing the good word tonight--there's so much out there to love. Halloween, and amazing coworkers and characters and creators. What are you just loving tonight?Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-41713379774964038122011-10-26T14:11:00.000-07:002011-10-29T14:06:00.716-07:00M. T. Anderson Charms SheboyganBeautiful lake-side Sheboygan hosted its second annual <a href="http://sheboyganchildrensbookfestival.org/">Children’s Book Festival</a> on October 14-16. I drove 90 minutes east on Saturday, October 15, to join 3 dozen teens and adults listen to Matthew Tobin Anderson speak on the mythology of American landscape.<br /><br />We gathered at 1:00 at Sheboygan’s Mead Public Library. It’s a wide-windowed library, one clearly well-loved and well-funded. The third floor holds the children’s library as well as the Maas Teen Learning Center, a long conference-like room wrapped in aqua and cobalt blue. I studied the orange, green, and maize squares of the carpet while eavesdropping as a volunteer encouraged Anderson to order something to eat between sessions. He responded with gentle embarrassment, asking her often “Really?” and then joking of needing a filet mignon, medium-rare.<br /><br />His voice, by the way, is as rich as James Spader’s. Think Steff in “Pretty in Pink.” Yet he’s funny and disarming. My god, it’s like he’s Duckie and Steff rolled into one—how’s a girl to learn anything when confronted with such a package? Especially when the package is wearing salmon-colored All Stars.<br /><br />He began his 30-minute talk, and I did my best to pay attention. I was distracted by visions of my parents NOT having moved from Massachusetts when I was a baby. Then Anderson and I could have been next-door neighbors. We could have biked to the Carnegie-era brick library together and whispered among the pages of Conan the Barbarian, writing fake names in the yellowed check-out cards.<br /><br />Clearly, I’m crushing on the M. T. Where is his fan page? I looked. Couldn’t find one. Seriously? No one is tracking his tours? What he had for lunch? (It was a ham sandwich.) Come on, cyber world. Start obsessing about quality, will you? There’s quality here, wearing pinkly-orange Chucks.<br /><br />Okay—back to the conference room. Anderson began with a humble note that he’d had only one connection to Wisconsin—he had met our Butter Queen at a friend’s wedding. “I had expected her to be a greasier, more gelatinous creature,” he quipped, “but she was quite a lovely person.”<br /><br />Landscape was his topic—our own rugged, revised American landscape. His devotion to landscape developed as a child reading adventure stories and histories that recorded folks doing on paper what largely is lost in the lives of the modern American: discovering vast, howling wildernesses. He was enraptured by the romance of geography and the mood of space.<br /><br />How right and yet how surprising for me to consider America full of romance and mood. I fall into the spell—as he notes many writers do—of the magic of medieval Europe, of its henges and moors, its castles and lochs. But America is rich with its own witchery and lore. To that end, Anderson makes a point of collecting local ghost stories. Not only do they detail new, often private locations, but they poignantly display what he describes as the poetry of American emptiness—that loneliness that comes with night time walks in wide meadows and deep forests. The tellers of these tales, he says, are often more entertaining than the ghosts, themselves.<br /><br />I have learned that author Linda Godfrey collected Wisconsin’s monster stories and is sharing them at the Neenah Library in a couple of weeks. My middle schoolers and I will be in the front row. How perfect an opportunity to experience local ghost stories with newly-opened minds. We will hear not only about UFO sightings and haunted locales, but we will hopefully see the landscape of our own state unfold ornately before us.<br /><br />His presentation included layers of tales about a small settlement named Dog Town in Massachusetts. I suppose it would be rude for me to reproduce his notes, right? In brief, he showed pictures of the current location and told stories of the town from the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The stories built up: what did happen, what happened in reaction to what happened, what happened on top of that, and then Anderson’s own jokey bits added on top of that—all of the area’s history of sadness, all of the magic of human involvement and connection, and all of the loneliness of the trees and boulders that carry centuries of secrets—these things together build landscape.<br /><br />Landscape should be a more emotionally potent force in our stories than even our characters.<br /><br />Now are we all in love? Because we should be. A Harvard-educated, National Book Award-winning author just shared brilliant stuff that will change our books forever, and he did it with generosity of spirit and maybe even a twinkle in his eye.<br /><br />During Q & A time, an enthusiastic teen asked how in the world Anderson wrote in such varying voices. Particularly, <em>Whales on Stilts</em> contrasts with the sober tone of <em>The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing</em>. Anderson revealed that he actually wrote those books simultaneously. Researching his 18th century story thrust him deep into that odd, stylized, gracious tone that referred to breeches, not pants, and required specific buckles on each shoe. Giving himself a holiday, he created the Pals in Peril series. Taking three or four weeks to write <em>Whales on Stilts</em>, he got his irreverence out, and he was ready to revisit Octavian’s sobriety.<br /><br />His books were piled for purchase in the children’s library, and I picked up both <em>Octavian Nothing</em> and the latest Pals in Peril. I stood between a group of four teens, each holding a copy of <em>Feed</em>, and an area teacher carrying two or three plastic bags bulging with books. I thought it was fantastic how he so clearly delights readers of all ages.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667914170926971778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 115px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 171px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPn298bFzadLiJq9QdmbY27vfv8jHMbTtdeZHvUViB8JHJHLfqW6rezoV88XOUp-__9V22jE91XzArw8NMwY1b3glte2u6CJcLv-ObXAXGEW1kJZSnqZj1Dcl6DHfFyZL6Guyf_O971OU/s320/TwisterMT.jpg" border="0" /><br />This is M.T. Anderson NOT in Sheboygan. I have no pictures of him in Sheboygan because I was a bit too shy. But look at the socks. And read his books and <a href="http://mt-anderson.com/">website</a>. And fall in love as you should and must.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-7439701825824177952011-10-11T13:08:00.000-07:002011-10-11T15:51:37.269-07:00Poetry Workshop with Ellen KortOn Saturday, October 8, I was sitting with three dozen poets listening to the great, gentle Ellen Kort share her wisdom,<br /><br />Kort was Wisconsin's first poet laureate serving 2000-2004, with Denise Sweet following her from 2004-2008. An interesting bit of dark triva: Governor Scott Walker terminated the position of poet laureate in February of this year, ending the term of our third laureate, Bruce Dethlefsen. Dethlefsen, along with the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission, is seeking to sustain the role through non-profit support.<br /><br />We didn't meditate on politics together, however; we jumped right into poetry exercises. Kort's first admonishment for us was to Love Ourselves in our poems. "Don't beat yourself up," she said, "no matter where you are."<br /><br />Our first task, then, was to write a poem called "Autobiography." Her challenge was for us, along with being kind with ourselves, to write as fast as we could without thinking about what came out.<br /><br />We shared the resulting "spillings" as we felt moved. Part of mine reads,<br /><br />I am not what you think I am.<br />Wide eyes suggest a cartoon-watching<br />cocoa-puff munching, mall-loving, hair-curling--<br />Okay, I do curl my hair. My spirit curls<br />iron, though, ripped<br />with muscles, reps upon reps I heave,<br />working out with weights of patience,<br />of self-sacrifice<br />of watching others,<br />and of listening.<br />I am leathered skin, long exposed<br />I am feet crusted with mud<br />I am callouses<br />and I am sweat running down a ropish neck<br />I am the creases between eyebrows when no guiding star is found,<br />and I am the start of a smile<br />as an evening breeze startles the wanderer<br />with its cooling hand.<br /><br />Sharing our spillings brought the group close--some stumbled as they read their scribbles, others read strong, tight pieces that felt fully-formed.<br /><br />We were all encouraged to start with spills. That's how most of Korts poems begin, she confided. She said she thinks to herself, "Oh, I should write about that," and she spills. What a good reminder for us future NaNoers, yes? Just spill.<br /><br />Next, we were encouraged to think about where we are in our family. She read her poems "Seeing Is Believing" and "Drumming," and then"First Ties: The Father in the Mirror" by Bill Meissner. Here is a portion of Meissner's beautifully captured image:<br /><br /><em>Nothing to a tie</em>, he said.<br />For those few seconds, his big arms were my arms--<br />I watched his thick fingers<br />working the tie,<br />each time a little<br />too short or too long.<br />He leaned his face alongside mine,<br />And I smelled a sharp scent of Old Spice, heard the hiss of sighs<br />through his nose, like a car tire losing air,<br />as he focused on the broad, wrinkled pillar<br />that would not tie.<br />Arms that hadn't surrounded me for years<br />now wrapped me like ribbons. I couldn't pull away<br />from the rough kiss of whiskers<br />against my smooth cheek.<br /><br />The last exercise was the most difficult for me to participate in, but the most enjoyable to listen to. Kort read three poems, each personifying an abstract noun. She had Commitment wearing sensible shoes; Pleasure was underestimated--laughing too loud and drinking too much; and Imagination--oh, what was she like? I think she wore yellow.<br /><br />We were asked to choose an abstract noun and personify it, and boy, my brain just shut down. I tried giving Truth an irridescent coat that winked new shades as one walked near him. I let Criticism feel tired, wearing sweatpants, looking expectantly out the window for someone who never comes. I couldn't make it work. But my classmates! They blew me away! Modesty wore sweeping skirts and never asked questions, but a silver toe ring and an emerald pendant flashed at a careful watcher. Curiosity was a three-year-old, sleeping nightly on a soft pillow of no judgment. Betrayal met a girlfriend for coffee, warmed her into confiding, and then stabbed her friend's back while hugging her goodbye. Certainty mowed his yard at right angles and wakes late at night but won't talk about it. Contradiction was that uncle--not the favorite one--who started fights at family dinners. They were so fantastic. How I wish we could get a compilation of those poems--a little keepsake from sharing a bright blue October morning with some gifted writers.<br /><br />Some last words of wisdom that Kort shared were<br />Don't justify what you write to yourself or to others.<br />Do not whine about not having time or energy.<br />Do not repeat a line at the end in attempt to add weight or significance. Let the verbs and nouns you've used throughout the poem do that work.<br />And do not undercut a fine poem with a last line of humor. Good funny poems are a joy; but tacking a joke on the end of serious poem rarely works.<br /><br />What a morning of wisdom! Thank you so much, Ellen Kort, for passing your knowledge and experience on to us. And thank you to the FVUUF for hosting the workshop. It was a truly inspiring morning.<br /><br />I'll end with a poem by Ellen Kort.<br /><br />Argument<br /><br />She didn't talk to him<br />for an entire day<br />lost herself in a book<br />to avoid looking at him<br />and when he asked why<br />she told him to leave her alone<br /><br />He slammed the cupboard doors<br />flipped through the TV channels<br />looking for football wrestling<br />NASCAR He turned the volume up<br />hoping she'd come downstairs<br />so he could tell her<br />he was pissed really pissed<br /><br />She took the dog for a walk<br />He fell asleep in the chair<br />She took a long hot bath<br />He smoked a cigarette<br />She made herself a salad<br />He friend a hamburger<br />They moved in and out<br />of the kitchen careful<br />not to brush against each other<br />She ate at the table a candle<br />burning in the center<br />He at in the living room<br />by the light of the television<br /><br />And the anger was deliciousJessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-77493956479790445542011-10-01T08:57:00.000-07:002011-10-01T15:53:54.205-07:00When Wishes Come TrueHere's what mine looks like:<br /><br /><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhJ8WZausGzukXSQJ_mWsCWsec7gTtKoZZZYOEoZlMBpOk6xgs5yKjGr564fP7NqdXXB9RXM_dyQLfV7U3_MLbw39Kijjeg-whRl-FJW1LckJJQ8cznZ9OGPrRIF9afNx36K9jAUOBzk/s1600/100_2397+II.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658553848055931378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhJ8WZausGzukXSQJ_mWsCWsec7gTtKoZZZYOEoZlMBpOk6xgs5yKjGr564fP7NqdXXB9RXM_dyQLfV7U3_MLbw39Kijjeg-whRl-FJW1LckJJQ8cznZ9OGPrRIF9afNx36K9jAUOBzk/s320/100_2397+II.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />On Tuesday, September 27, my sister Jen and I drove from Neenah, WI, to Chicago to hear Laini Taylor read from her newest book <em>Daughter of Smoke and Bone.</em><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>The trip could have taken 3 1/2 hours, but we did it in 5. :) One tricky exit and several wrong turns swooped us around Oakbrook Center until finally a tollbooth lady saved the day. Grace in a glass box, that's what she was, giving directions to two tired and hungry Wisconsites.<br /></div><br /><br /><div>About a dozen folks gathered on the second floor of Barnes and Noble at 7. A beautiful blue-wigged bookseller passed out turquoise-feathered masks to those of us who blogged about books, and then she introduced Laini. </div><br /><br /><div>(And this is where I want to gush, but it's probably too much, too weird, too strong, so I'll put it in parentheses to lighten it up. But I absolutely felt like Amy from The Big Bang Theory. Socially inept Amy who girl-crushes on pretty Penny, and badgers her with titles of Bestie and BFF, wishing for sleepovers and hair-brushings. I absolutely wanted to share BFF necklaces with Laini and brush her pink hair. But, you know, I played it cool. Except for when my eyes were shining with I-love-you-so-much tears.) :)</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>Laini began by telling us where Daughter of Smoke and Bone originated. I think we may remember this, we followers, we familiar to the 'shiny new idea.' (Didn't we call it slutty, too? The delicious idea with that 'come hither' smile?) Hitting walls and grinding dry on a post-apocolyptic novel, Laini gave herself a day of free writing. A scene between a blue-haired daughter and her monster-dad bubbled up, and with it bubbled dozens of questions: Why did this monster raise a human girl? Why is he wearing a wishbone? And why is his shop filled with teeth?</div><br /><div>She finished her original novel before returning to her blue-haired heroine. That original novel hasn't been touched since. Writing about Karou and Brimstone totally jazzed her, she shared; blooming their story brough tremendous wish fulfillment for her.We heard her read Akiva's attack on Karou--that important moment of his soulless eyes staring at Karou as she cocked her chin to the side in wonder--that breathless moment of a killer's hesitation.<br />And then she opened up the floor for questions. One woman asked about how art and illustration influenced her descriptive writing. Another commented on how hard writing a review about DoSaB is since the story is propelled by secrets and timed reveals. Laini talked about illustration for a while, mentioning (I hope these notes of mine are accurate!) not only her original graphic novel with Jim that led her to Prague for research but also a new 8-page graphic novel that Jim designed for the U.K. promotion of DoSaB. I wish they would make that available here! She also agreed that the book is hard to describe. The jacket summary took some serious work for everyone, she told us, to interest readers without giving away too much. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I asked abou Zuzana, my favorite character. ("Ooh cake. I'll take cake. But not pocket cake, because yuck.") Laini shared with us how Zuzana was important for levity and warmth--how stories without those moments of joy were a struggle for readers to return to. My sister Jen whispered "The Hunger Games," and I couldn't help but agree. Luckily, fans of Zuzana can look forward to seeing her again. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And then it was time for book signing and pictures. </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658653554298537906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmyFThCLr2WmJkDXcyR4lzsRD0pmE7JzIVLqv_gIrqmU6GyNG8EUNWdOeybqctj5tqxxSjWh2mnDOi9mGn1Xpon3Tw2ZWfduttOBOhjw9hAh4p3k09qPHchluvfeyxl8gAYlnNbgQNrw/s320/100_2394+II.jpg" border="0" /> And more gushings want to pour out here, and not even parenthetical ones, because it's just such a lovely moment to experience a wish coming true. How I've wished to meet Laini. Stopping short of rubbing my head onto hers, I've wanted to see how I could press some of her creativity and her energy into my own spirit. I've found so much inspiration in her blogs--how much more magic could she pass through smiles and eye-contact, laughs and eyebrow waggles and nods? And of course, words and wisdoms? I've thought of flying to Portland--maybe during CthuluCon?--and sitting at Slappycakes until she and Clementine come by.<br /><br /><div></div><br /><div>But no need to lurk behind delicious pancakes. I've met the loveliest writer, and I've bottled up her magic. I'll mix her inspiration with a dash of my own courage and get back to my writing my own dark, beautiful stories. </div><br /><div>When wishes come true, hearts burst with gratitude. My thanks to beautiful Jen for facing rush hour and wilty salads with me on our 12-hour adventure. I know you've fallen in love with Karou, too, and have reminisced your trip to Prague. I'm so glad you're a part of the fan club. :)</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658658421221305538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-lT4l0XzkkyHTsBm-RG-5Jn3-bJlN-u1GWjhSGH1QAaZYkQoSPlUNxqzwQDIW1bsQApqDQyMMnkRX2T22_3ZQIS9j6AoVlAd3F9OaEW0A61GS_i3JXmeXDlzgNN8wqKNoKTpwWhnDTE/s320/100_2398+II.jpg" border="0" /> <br /><div>Thanks to the dads and grandma who made it possible for us moms to run away for a day. Thank you again, tollbooth worker, who guided us out of neverending I-94. And thank you, Laini, for your gorgeous, elsewhere stories and for sharing them with us in person, and in polka-dots. </div>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-59765369403186844962010-12-03T18:17:00.000-08:002010-12-03T18:52:35.645-08:00Jo's Pink RibbonI'm thinking about Jo March tonight. Do you remember in Little Women when Jo first took her manuscript to a magazine editor in New York? Didn't she lovingly wrap her pages in a pink ribbon? I'm fairly sure a ribbon was involved. And I'm fairly sure the whole bundle hit the bottom of a wire trash bin before she had a chance to pull her skirts from the quickly-closing door.<br /><br />I know. It's so common. The bundle of papers on the editor's floor. Mine joined them again this week and I know this is part of the journey but I couldn't help but wish oh please let this be the right person and I know.<br /><br />Rejection slip in the mail today, my friends. I'm squinching my nose up as I type because I know the story probably wasn't ready. My March mini-NaNo could use months--years?-- of ripening. However, I met an editor at an SCBWI luncheon last spring, and she had a deadline for us to send one manuscript this fall. I sent it and crossed every finger and toe. But my story wasn't a good fit for her, and I can't help but think that I'm still so new and naive and I wonder when WHEN will my writing not wear a pink ribbon.<br /><br />That ribbon is naivite, isn't it? It's too much hope, maybe. It's green-apple newness, and not-readiness, and not quite good enough to publish-i-ness.<br /><br />And although it's best to shake it, shake myself a stiff martini, and get <em>on</em> with making my apple-green story much, much better, I can't help but take tonight to just sniff and sigh. Tonight I'm just sad.<br /><br />What do you do with rejections? Stick 'em on a nail, like Stephen King? :) I keep them in a binder. Jay hates binders, but I figure binders make everything better. They organize and store and somehow keep old things relevant by having them perch, upright, on the edge of a shelf. My green binder is fat with four unmarked chapters and one new, thin form letter. Blech.<br /><br />Tomorrow I fill the well, as <a href="http://myfleet-footedself.blogspot.com/2010/10/its-beginning-to-look-lot-like.html">my friend Sophia so eloquently reminds us</a>. I'm sure cinnamon toast and Santa Claus will clear the blues.<br /><br />How do <em>you</em> overcome the not-a-good-fit-for-us-best-wishes blues?Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-9349117868918914242010-11-28T11:04:00.000-08:002010-11-28T12:06:04.229-08:00Story or Skill?Hello! Just before Thanksgiving break, one of my NaNoing 6th graders asked a question that I've been mulling on all week. She asked, "What do you think is more important? The plot, or the writing?"<br /><br />! ! ! ! !<br /><br />I love this question. Lydia answered herself quickly enough. "I think it's the plot," she said. "I mean, think about it. Why would you pick a book up anyway? Because you read the back and think it sounds good."<br /><br />And Lydia's absolutely right: a good story is crucial. But exceptions abound, don't they? What draws us to books, what keeps us in them once we've started? What do we value as readers? Can we finish a book even if it has a lame plot? Does crappy writing make us chuck unfinished stories across the room? I've been trying to compile a list of awesome story/awesome skill titles, and I'm falling woefully short. I thought I'd at least start the list here and ask you all to pile on it with me. :)<br /><br /><strong>Awesome Plot, Awesome Writing</strong><br /><br /><em>The Hunger Games</em> by Suzanne Collins has to lead this catagory simply because I just finished it. I'm totally traumatized, of course, and will never shake Cato out of my memory. However its plot is wildly imaginative (as well as horrifying), and the prose is so tight, I almost cried. After reading the first two pages, I shook my head and wondered how I ever thought I could write a novel.<br /><br /><strong>Awesome Plot, Not-so-awesome Writing</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />Mary Shelley's <em>Frankenstein.</em> Killer story! Brilliantly eerie concepts of the monsters we create with our own hands. Love how Mary is the monster and her dad inspired the character of the cold-hearted Dr. Frankenstein. Love how she wrote the beginnings of the tale in a Swiss chateau with her hubby Percy and their bff, Lord Byron on a cold summer night, sharing scary stories. Do NOT love the writing. It's stuffy and overwrought. It meanders and moralizes. It clouds things I want clear and illuminates bits I could care less about. But it's a classic. Hmm. Do I just not know good writing when I read it, or could plot maybe weigh in heavier than clean, concise prose? :)<br /><br /><strong>Not-so-awesome Plot, Awesome Writing</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><em>The Little Stranger </em>by Sara Waters. I waited years for this latest of Waters' books, and I was woefully disappointed when reading it. Her writing is gorgeous--when I'm in her books, I feel the cramp and cold of old cars, see the late-summer sun glint off of high windows, sigh with the sadness of a mother's slumped shoulder, shield my eyes at gaudily decorated rooms and aristocratic women. But the story wasn't good enough! I know, I know--who am I to say so? But I do say so. A cranky doctor spends 500 pages terrorizing a small family out of their fine home. <br />Not enough! I did finish the story, but I felt grumpy and let down most of the way through. And I jumped to the end to see 'whodunit.' So, maybe no matter how gorgeous my writing grows to be after decades of practice, I will not rely on style to tell a stale tale.<br /><br /><strong>Not-so-awesome Plot, Not-so-awesome Writing</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><em>Pretty Little Liars.</em> I want to simultaneously give this series a frat-boy high-five and a wicked-twisty snake bite. You know the kind where you make your frenemy's forearm burn? Because I think the plots are ridiculous and the writing made my eyes feel coated in bubblegum: "she watched his tight-from-running ass" and "taut-from-swimming abs." Seriously? But I finished the whole first book. So well done, Sara Shepard. I mean, holy cow--debuting as a best-seller? Nabbing a TV series? Seriously--high five!<br /><br />I waded through over 300 pages of teenage sex, drugs, stealing, drinking, lying, and blackmail. Why? Because no matter how much it drove me crazy, I wanted to know who was sending the mysterious texts. Is that a good plot? I don't think so. I think it's a brilliant gimmick. Especially since we don't find out the texter's identity until book four. :)<br /><br />So, the cynic in me raises an eyebrow and wonders, is gimmick even more important than plot and writing style?<br /><br />No, no, no. Of course it isn't.<br /><br />But is it?<br /><br />No.<br /><br />Well--?<br /><br />Stop it.<br /><br />Tell me what you think!Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-65044102023314641592010-11-09T17:42:00.000-08:002010-11-09T18:11:48.142-08:00NaNo LoveNaNo is in full swing here in midwest Wisconsin! :) Some highlights from our first week:<br /><br />Team Dracula has been writing with a vengence. My 7th grade students have already upped their word count goal. By the fourth day, they both neared their initial target of 2000 words. Harper Madeline bumped her goal up to 5000, and Alexsis Rocks is shooting for 4500.<br /><br />Alexsis flopped down yesterday and said, "I'm kind of sick of writing." I told her how normal that was and asked what I could do to help her along.<br /><br />"Well, I could use some candy," she said. Oh! Missed opportunity! I'm not that teacher with the glass bowl of candy on her desk! But of course I love candy. Of course we need candy to help get us through. Left-over Halloween bowl . . . here I come. :)<br /><br />With no sugar to boost her mood, I asked Alexsis if she wanted to be done with her story. She thought for a minute, then said, "No. I don't want to just give up on it. That's lame." She decided to get to the "blood and stuff because that's interesting." I totally agreed.<br /><br />Not only is Team Dracula flying along, but my four sixth graders heard about our novel project and asked to get in on it. Absolutely! They deferred registering online; they weren't interested in word counts. They're just on fire to write these stories that bump and spin in their brains. One girl plans to write a full-length novel modeling the Percy Jackson series. Another is inspired by <em>Twilight</em>, but wants her werewolves and vampires to fall in love. Another girl is working on a WWIII dystopian romance. What a gift of a job I have! To sit with these girls each day, hacking away at scenes; working out dialogue and punctuation; planning action sequences and twisty endings. I am daily inspired and encouraged by them all.<br /><br />We spent time last week haunting author websites. They pored over blogs and sites of Rick Riordan, Derek Landy, Terry Deary, Scott Westerfeld, J.K. Rowling, Jeff Kinney . . . . Some of the students are writing letters to the authors, and to read their first drafts was so touching:<br /><br />"I'm writing a novel too." <br />"Do you have any advice?"<br />"I LOVE your books!" <br />"I want to write a book like yours."<br />"I'd really like to hear back from you."<br /><br />I love, love, love watching young hearts fall in love with authors and their stories. There's really no greater romance, in my mind.<br /><br />As for me and my NaNo? I'm plugging away, but I'm woefully behind. Since I'm registered on the Young Writers site, I can't seem to buddy-up with you grown-up NaNoers. I'm at something like 6500 words today. I'm very proud of those words. :) No sense in beating myself up, right? It's all about the ride. And who knows? I may get swept up in a wildfire of writing over Thanksgiving break. Here's crossing my fingers!<br /><br />Here's a funny anecdote to end: A fifth grader asked me about my story. Now, my story is a YA book touching on all sorts themes not appropriate for fifth grade boys. I hemmed and said, "Oh, you know, it's about friendship."<br /><br />"But, like, what happens?"<br /><br />"Oh, it just covers this one night when all these friends get together."<br /><br />He just looked at me, clearly disappointed. "So, your story doesn't really have a plot?"<br /><br />Oh, ouch! Could this be wisdom from the mouth of babes? It took me days to recover. No, my story has a plot. It has a subtle plot, a Catcher-in-the-Rye plot, I tell myself. Not a Deltora Quest plot (and more's the pity for me! Deltora Quest is awesome! Where in the world do you come up with your ideas, Ms. Ridda?)<br /><br />But our conversation didn't end there. He asked the title of my story. I told him the working title was <em>Cinnamon Blue.</em> <br /><br />"Does it have any cinnamon in it?" he asked.<br /><br />I shook my head. "No, buddy. It doesn't." I don't know if I've ever let down a student with so loud a thud in all my life.<br /><br />;)Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-69039593833100967072010-10-26T19:10:00.000-07:002010-10-26T19:36:30.784-07:00NaNo for Two or ThreeMy seventh graders and I are going to novel together through National Novel Writing Month. I teach English at a small international school, so when I say 'my seventh graders,' I mean both of them. :)<br /><br /><br />I've registered all three of us on the NaNoWriMo site under Team Dracula. We've been reading Dracula this month, and they're learning how to craft a really killer horror story. They're both prepping characters: good ones, bad ones, expendable ones. They're describing monsters, devising brutal murders and impossible supernatural powers. They're facing the reality that I'm actually going to ask them to write every day next month.<br /><br /><br />They both looked at me today. One said, "This will be hard." The other immediately said, "This will be fun." I smiled and said, "It will be both."<br /><br />Their stories will be between 2000-5000 words. With just the two of them for company, I don't know that we'll be able to sludge our way through the murky sloughs of writer's block. It will absolutely be hard, and I'm worried I won't have the skill to quietly encourage them through.<br /><br /><br />But, oh, if they make it---and if they learn how to work through a tough scene, and if they feel a character pull them in a whole new direction, and if they hear dialogue faster than they can record it---what fun it will be! And what an honor it will be to join them on their journey.<br /><br /><br />And I? Am I ready to write 50,000 words? Oh, man. I don't know that I am. Life and sickness and then more sickness knocked me out of the writing scene this summer, and I got all cramped and un-muscle-y and resigned. Can I really jump into this ridiculously challenging marathon? This is going to be hard. ;)<br /><br />What's your plan? How many words a day? How many weekend retreats from family and laundry? And what is the treat you will give yourself at the end?<br /><br />I'll keep you posted on our class progress. I believe I will find tremendous inspiration in the efforts of my two sweet girls. Learning from them, expanding my own heart and mind as they open themselves to a new challenge--that is going to be the most fun.Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-34946916071046404192010-10-25T19:30:00.000-07:002010-10-25T19:55:40.162-07:00Birthday Wishes<div>I recently had a birthday. Though I packed my tiara away the second I turned 30, and I've inexplicably soured toward streamers, I found myself celebrating richly. </div><br /><div></div><div>So much can be accounted for among those flickering candles; so much can be hoped for in their wisps of smoke. I held so many wishes in my heart for this new year that I heard them tumble over themselves as I blew. Who knows what the universe heard. Who knows what may be granted, what may be denied, what may be a surprise to me, a bungling of my heart cry or a wry game of the Fates. Who knows.</div><div></div><br /><div>But I know I wish for more writing. For more friendships with writers. For more risk and strength and barbaric-yawp bravery. And I wish for health for my loved ones. And I wish for calm. And I wish, and I wish, and I wish . . .</div><div> </div><div>And I wish to hear from you. :)</div><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532182075407962866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcasl7OLsXYgj3oTT7Cc3ImHSVJTbY0jpy90M9v5KYCOtxhKQ0IsfrKN-MQ6VoDj8qAfjTE2zNshyi95BDHkoQqlDW8svz0Rpu2SobaQkLlW8Ub9W1R2VQUky4Jfo5HPr4WNiexa4XjA/s200/100_1500.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><br /><p>On my birthday, with my Snow child, looking forward to all good things together.</p>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-13008086875132897282010-07-25T19:45:00.001-07:002010-07-25T20:26:34.595-07:00Gardening PainsWays Gardening Has Sort of Kicked my A**<br /><br />1. Rain has rotted my roses.<br /><br />2. Slugs have devoured my pansies. I poured salt on the slugs--like the leaches in "Stand By Me"--but salt actually just blanches and dries pansies. didn't know that.<br /><br />3. Rabbits and chipmunks have severed my morning glories.<br /><br />4. They have also devoured two pumpkin vines, one squash vine, two rows of lettuce, radishes, and an entire tomato plant.<br /><br />5. Three planters filled with nasturtium, zinnias, and kitchen herbs actually didn't have drain holes, so rain has rotted their roots. Their leaves sag brown or blow away like transparent gray paper.<br /><br />6. Rabbits have eaten half of my sedum and also half of the marigolds I planted around the sedum to protect it from the rabbits.<br /><br />7. A storm whipped off a branch from my ash tree, and the branch landed on my potted impatiens.<br /><br />8. I planted the ferns too late and in too much sun. They have withered into brown crumbs.<br /><br />But! Ah, but! The potatoes and one tomato plant have not only survived but are enormous, are imposing, are promising far more harvest than I would have hoped. And rows of onion flourish despite our hardships.<br /><br />So I have learned that gardening is far more about defensive tactics than about healthy soil and organic seeds--at least in my world. Gardening is about strong fences, wise research, careful evaluation of tools and goods. It's about protecting roots from rain and leaves from hot sun and from black-hearted, hungry critters.<br /><br />And life is no different. And if these very real, very annoying gardening stories could be read as metaphors for our last several weeks, then I would say the lessons are the same. I must build strong fences to protect what's within. Research carefully to know what I face. Evaluate the tools I use, and improve them if they are not doing the job.<br /><br />And celebrate what is flourishing.<br /><br />The rains have hit us hard, and my god but those a**hole bunnies won't leave us alone. :) But we'll harvest some good crops next month, I am sure.Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-72981645704405613342010-06-23T19:26:00.000-07:002010-06-23T19:58:06.758-07:00Shush, Slush. Hush.I've been thinking about <a href="http://www.salon.com/books/publishing_news/index.html?story=/books/laura_miller/2010/06/22/slush">Laura Miller's article</a> on the slush pile today. The Salon article, which is entitled, "When Anyone Can Be a Published Author," has the tagline, "How do you find something good to read in a brave new self-published world?"<br /><br />At first I thought the article simply showed what an absolutely fan-glorious-tastic world we new writers are entering. Miller writes, "Aspiring authors have never had more or better options for self-publishing the manuscripts currently gathering dust in their desk drawers or sleeping in seldom-visited corners of their hard drives. Writers can upload their works to services run by Amazon, Apple and (soon) Barnes and Noble, transforming them into e-books that are instantly available in high-profile online stores."<br /><br />WOOO-HOOO!<br />;)<br /><br />It can't be that easy, right? Of course not. Miller takes this dizzingly-delicious view of the future writing world and looks through the perspective of the reader.<br /><br />The reader. Bah. Who cares about the reader? ;)<br /><br />Oh, wait. I'm totally a reader. Just finished <em>The Sugar Queen</em> (glittery gold star for magical realism!) Have revisited the old <em>Anne of Green Gables</em> series this summer for a little comfort, a little familiarity. Am tearing through <em>Ash </em>so I can write Malinda Lo a thick, oozy fan letter. I love, super-love, triple-scoop love reading.<br /><br />So what does the future look like for me, the reader? Not so brilliant.<br /><br />What tired editors and over-worked junior editors do is suffer through slush piles. They read thousands--thousands!--of unsolicited manuscripts a year to hunt for that one lost jewel of a tight, witty, relevant novel. Miller paints a bleak, albeit hilarious, picture:<br /><br />"It seriously messes with your head to read slush. Being bombarded with inept prose, shoddy ideas, incoherent grammar, boring plots and insubstantial characters -- not to mention ton after metric ton of clichés -- for hours on end induces a state of existential despair that's almost impossible to communicate to anyone who hasn't been there themselves. . . . Instead of picking up every new manuscript with an open mind and a tiny nibbling hope, you learn to expect the worst. Because almost every time, the worst is exactly what you'll get. In other words, it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it, and if the prophecies of a post-publishing world come true, it looks, gentle readers, as if that dirty job will soon be yours. Also, no one will pay you for it."<br /><br />I am fascinated and horrified by this. Fascinated because it will be so interesting to watch slow, subtle changes: what determines 'good' in popular fiction, what 'bad' writing will do to good writers, and how the languages of readers, writers, critics, and publishing may muddle so Babel-badly that understanding among them will disappear.<br /><br />I am horrified by this idea, really, because it reminds me that I am just slush. Slush! One of hundreds of thousands of unsolicited manuscripts, of red-eyed, chipped-nailed dreamers begging the gods and unseen, exhausted editors for my one chance at immortality. It is such a sad idea that I doubt my little story. My little, torn, shorn story that isn't ready for anyone's eyes yet--I look at it and wonder if it could ever rise above the slush pile. How do you keep going when the terrors and bogeymen of Cliches, of Boring Plots and Shoddy Ideas loom and leap and lurk? What gives you confidence when the slush doesn't hush?Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-22622876082796767592010-06-20T17:49:00.000-07:002010-06-20T18:04:01.604-07:00My Faerie QueeneBeautiful Thistledown Nursery and Greenhouse hosted their fourth-annual FaerieFest this weekend. We celebrated the coming summer with faeries and greenmen, pixies, witches, and bellydancers. All them friends, all of them magical. The most magical was of course, Queene Clarabella Snow. <div> </div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485023706929448402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLqYJWLlxohVRw-AnGrXTkfFQmb4-Y_ez71Wua5ki9f_4QuXIfO1xAx3vL6XRV2KGUBWiv4jgIJB1cpx4_H2OBpkQ1ZvGpE5VXXkwWqDk2qe-7NscSbp9YncLeWA_sNOeiRZhzGdM_KM/s200/100_1354.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><p>She found my new bottle of lavender, made by friend Melissa of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=643701066#!/group.php?gid=293260789675">Aurora's Apothecary Herb Shop</a></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485023720042844834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXR7lt5WIo-NJeAQRbk1Sf2o7ZOsNobZWkmsm3jvHR4xoAMlTXdgDSMU1VOAMdw6SpCcqgjGuWUx5H5RFxVEgGV8dI0B1KNBY1X7YDHEQZAgcBrW8OzyJUC8DPWMuycOxBnjbRzkFW7po/s200/100_1316.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>All visiting fairies were invited to write wishes and draw pictures on slips of brown paper that were hung in the trees. The wishes come true, we were told, when the papers--whoosh!--were whisked away by the wind. Here Clara is both scribbling baby-wishes in green crayon and also devouring far too many cheddar Elmo snacks.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485023729016863410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzgIk6x-fc2NhTfl0XCjJT_9Q23vPCHPW0_sPsxw1AElabnCzOz_I2muLxIrvMvgtjoI6z1oXUhRsy9zK_blSG9Qw-c1C7_6v7xsplUfpXv5tDZIZmn7Pn14gw1YhmjiDP3WqaBxO6JE/s200/100_1319.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>I took plenty of notes as I toured the greenhouse, sketching unusual pots and leaves, copying Latin names and nicknames of plants I'm sure one of my characters grows in her own greenhouse. What a fantastic way to research for my story! :)</p><p>Next year, I'll have to pull out my own wings and dance with the drummers and my sweet baby girl.</p>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-4927237526158820552010-06-15T19:29:00.001-07:002010-06-15T20:00:04.507-07:00The Monsters of TempletonI just finished reading Lauren Groff's <em>The Monsters of Templeton</em> and couldn't go to bed without giving it it's due shout-out.<br /><p></p><br /><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 159px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 186px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://shelflove.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/monsters_templeton.jpg" border="0" /><br />No YA book, that's true, but it clearly deals with YA themes: a young, clever woman, Willie Upton, runs to the welcoming womb of her small-town home after making a mess of her attempts at a grown-up life on the west coast. Her visit home becomes one long summer of self-discovery. Although she knows who she is in a rudimentary way: town royalty, one of the last of the town's great founder, she dives into library journals and family documents to find more. As Willie digs into the past to understand her present, she uncovers ghosts and murderers, fire-breathers and monsters. It is an utterly suspenseful, 200-year-old coming-of-age tale.<br /></p><br /><div>The story is beautifully crafted, offering chapters narrated by passed family members as well as some of their vibrant letters and journal entries. We also get pictures of many of her ancestors--an element, I admit, I'm not sure added to the story as a whole. </div><br /><div>The bits from the past were, for me, more compelling than Willie's real life. Her would-be townie boyfriend wasn't believable, speaking 'hick' and towing cars one minute, reading Spinoza and complaining about the hegemony of marriage the next. Her fey friend who swam in Speedos but scored with all the ladies was another muddle. But nothing about Willie's slowly-revealed family tree was a confusion. Groff excels in making the many names of Willie's past bloom and burn with life. I was especially captivated by the Civil War-era letters of two dear-friends-turned-bitter-enemies, Charlotte and Cinnamon. :) (Isn't Cinnamon a fantastic name?)</div><br /><div>Speaking of bitter, I have to confess that when I read Groff's bio, I was wrenched with bitterness. First, she is two years younger than I am, and this novel was a bestseller in 2008. Second, she wrote the novel while working on her MFA at UW-Madison. How difficult it is for me to celebrate her success! When she has my life! Have you ever watched someone live your life and muttered, "If only . . . "? Not only has she succeeded while I have just puttered, but she has trained where I oh-so-badly wanted to train. Madison is my Christminster. (wry smile. Any <em>Jude the Obscure</em> fans out there?) </div><br /><div>But I won't leave on a bitter note. I looked up her <a href="http://www.laurengroff.com/">website</a>, and Lauren Groff is not only brilliant and younger and well-trained, she is also hilarious. She posts a final blog just a week ago in her <a href="http://www.laurengroff.com/?display=news">"news" section </a>that clearly explains why is she breaking up with blogging. Please check it out! I love how she says frankly, "The problem is that I would always look back at you the next morning and cringe a little. In broad daylight, your face smeary on the pillow, you were neither as clever nor as interesting as I had dreamed when I posted you the night before." Oh how I wish had found her before she quit blogging! I should have loved to read her other smeary-pillow bits. </div><br /><div></div><div>Final note--how curious that the UK edition should have such a lovely, such a provocative cover when ours is stark in its wood-cut classicism. Hmm. What do we need to do to get a little color and allure from our publishers?</div><div> </div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 247px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 288px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n51/n255189.jpg" border="0" /></div>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-86168506980197102252010-06-10T18:39:00.000-07:002010-06-10T19:54:44.286-07:00James Bradley Comes Home<div>Tonight I went to the History Museum at the Castle in downtown Appleton to hear <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.jamesbradley.com">James Bradley</a> speak. I knew next to nothing about him, but I figured that any opportunity to hear an author talk about his work was one to snatch. Jay agreed to put Clara to bed, so I slicked on some gloss and threw a cobalt scarf over my baby-stained raincoat and was out the door. At the castle, I climbed two flights of stairs, passed a coffin of Harry Houdini's (was it really his?), and turned right into the Living History room. It was a biggish room, holding about 140 people in fold-out padded brown chairs. James Bradley stood in front of burgandy velvet curtain, his white Japanese shirt--short-sleeved with frog-clasps--a stark contrast to the suit and tie I had expected. But really what had I expected? I knew he was an historian. A WWII nonfiction writer. Honestly, I expected tortoiseshell glasses and tweeds.<br /><br />James Bradley is the author of NYT bestseller <em>Flags of our Fathers. </em>He has also written <em>Flyboys </em>and <em>The Imperial Cruise. </em>I was a little late, so I missed the opening of his talk, but it was information I quickly gleaned from his website: he is a Wisconsin boy who went to UW-Madison. While still a student, he flouted most of his professors and followed the advice he read in <em>Reader's Digest</em> from James Michener (paraphrased): "When you're twenty-two and graduate from college, people will ask you, 'What do you want to do?' It's a good question, but you should answer it when you're thirty-five." Bradley took time off college to travel the world for a year. He asserts that this time prepared him for his journey as a writer because of the experience and perspective he gained.<br /><br /><div>When he graduated with a Bachelor's in history, he never imagined he would write a book. In fact, he didn't begin writing until he was 40. At that time, his father died. "I didn't set out to write a book. I wanted to know why my dad wouldn't talk about Iwo Jima. It was as simple as that." </div><div><br /> </div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 296px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 188px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.b105.com/blog/media/WW2_Iwo_Jima_flag_raising.jpg" border="0" /><br />He said he's often asked about his process, about his "research." He seemed to scoff at this a little. "'Research' is the big word. But I didn't have a plan." He started with a question about his dad. The question led him to several boxes of momentos. In one box he read a letter that his 22 year-old father, John Bradley, wrote to his parents two days after John helped raise the flag on Iwo Jima. This discovery led to several phone calls to the families of the men in his dad's platoon.<br />He said that the families were tired of hearing from reporters and researchers. The families of the men who helped raise the flag didn't want to glorify their sons or make them into heroes. Bradley said, "I just want to know, did he have a girlfriend? Did he play football?" The book was well received by the families because he told their sons' stories honestly, frankly.<br /><br /><div></div><div>When his book came out in 2000, it was an instant bestseller. Bradley said this didn't surprise him because the photo on the cover is the most copied photograph in the world. It's an iconic image. He said that he had the most recognized image with stories no one had ever heard: from a marketing p.o.v., he was confident the book would sell.</div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 158px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 176px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.japanfocus.org/data/flags%20of%20our%20fathers.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><br /><div>How difficult it was for him, then, to hit brick wall after brick wall. First, he tried pitching the story as a movie. Whom did he call for help? Ross Perot! "He had a lot of money, he was patriotic, and he knew Hollywood," Bradley said. Unfortunately, Perot refused. </div><br /><div></div><div>"'Bradley, you gotta write a book. You gotta write a book, Bradley,'" he told us he heard over the phone. "'Hollywood'll steal your idea. You gotta write it down. You gotta write a book.'"</div><br /><div></div><div>So though he really didn't want to, Bradley wrote the book. After that, he cold-called 50--50!--agents. By the 50th, he realized that agents don't actually appreciate phone calls; they really just want to see your work. :) (Good tip!)<br /></div><br /><div>When an agent finally took him on, his manuscript was sent to three big houses in New York. Bradley told us that he mused, "Hm. Which one will I choose?" He was certain all three would be interested in buying it. All three refused it. Twenty-four more publishing houses refused it. He said that one publisher sent him a letter that said, "We've heard you're not getting any positive responses, and we wanted to let you know why. The publishing industry judges the stories you want to tell aren't worth the paper they'd be printed on."</div><div></div><br /><div>Oh my stars! Do professionals in the publishing world really write letters like that??</div><div></div><br /><div>Bradley took a moment to charge the young people in the crowd (I'm sure he was talking to me, right?): "If you want to get anything done, you gotta go through a lot of no's."</div><div></div><br /><div>He followed up with a story he heard while working with Clint Eastwood during the production of the "Flags of our Fathers" movie. Eastwood told him that he pitched "Million Dollar Baby" to Warner Bros, with whom he'd worked closely for years. Their response was, basically, "Clint, you've lost it. It's a boxing movie? And it's a boxing movie with a girl in it?" They refused to support it. Eastwood said, "I don't even start to think it's a good idea until I hear two people telling me it's a bad idea." </div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>So we'll keep those chins up, right writers? If Academy-Award-winner "Million Dollar Baby" and NYT-bestseller <em>Flags of our Fathers</em> had to struggle to live, we must expect our little seedlings will struggle too. But we'll be tenacious, yes? And we'll have excellent senses of humor.</div><div></div><br /><div>He talked much more about his other books and on his current project, but it's really the QA I found the most interesting. He asked clearly that if folks had questions, to please raise their hands; however, if they had comments, please go to his website and share them there. He wanted to know their stories, but he couldn't write them down in a format such as this (he's looking for new stories for his next book). Clear enough, yes? </div><br /><div></div><div>The first hand up was from a dear white-haired woman who shared for some time that the woman with her had been a neighbor of Bradley's father and that they had gone to school together. She was clearly delighted to be talking to the author; her voice was timorous and she was clutching the shoulder of the woman sitting beside her. Bradley was oddly terse. He inserted during each breath, "We'll talk afterward." "I look forward to talking with you afterward." "Are there any questions?" </div><br /><div></div><div>The second hand was of a man standing on the side of the room holding a large frame. He wanted to tell Bradley about the photograph, that "meaning no disrespect," the photograph was taken moments before that iconic picture was taken. He said more, about the landscape, and maybe about his father. The man tried to give the picture to Bradley, but the author said, "Why don't you take this?" and asked for any questions.</div><div></div><br /><div>The third--you won't be surprised, will you?--was a gentleman who shared information on a charitable organization that is slightly similar to the foundation that Bradley has started. Bradley said, "Did you hear that? He was talking about AFS, which distributes kids all over the world. Are there any questions?"</div><div></div><br /><div>Questions. Authors want questions. James Bradley especially wants questions. He was hard-pressed to get them tonight. I was tickled to death by this. I wrote in my journal, "This has to be the suckiest part of authors' speaking engagments." It really must. Worse than leaving your family or lumpy motel mattresses or mikes that don't work, dealing with a difficult crowd HAS to be the worst. Have you ever seen an author deal with a difficult crowd? How did he/she handle it? Or are you an author who has dealt with chatty, opinionated folks? What's your secret for a gracious exit? </div><div></div><br /><div>:) Yes, I'm back to writing my zero draft, but I'm already planning how to handle myself in upcoming speaking engagements. It never hurts to be prepared, right?</div><div></div><br /><div>I hope James Bradley enjoyed his visit home in Wisconsin. He's looking for stories of today's America; he kindly reported that his talks with our principals and mayor have given him a positive view of our midwest version of America. He said he may just stop reading the New York Times. :) Reports of New York's beaches and parks closing down, of LA declaring bankruptcy had him thinking that we had fundamentally changed as a country in recent years. The buoyant tales of community and closeness he has heard here has encouraged him. </div><div></div><br /><div>Whatever the truth of Wisconsin's 'community' may be, I do hope his next book offers all of us inspiration and joy. Wishing him the very best of luck on his continued journey!</div></div>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171335861022545509.post-28498121564604719422010-06-07T20:13:00.000-07:002010-06-07T20:44:19.959-07:00Put. The Scissors. Down.21,500 words. That's all I've got after my cuts.<br /><br />Oh my stars. I have 1/3 of a novel. What do I do?<br /><br />I've got a couple of little plans. I need to take some notes walking down certain streets. Gotta see how the sun hits the trees at certain times. Check out flowers in bloom, birds in song, etc. Plan to visit two herb-queens to get their stories on making concoctions and to sniff around their greenhouses. I'm looking forward to these little visits.<br /><br />But I need much more. I need whole huge chunks more. I need twice as much story as I have now, and I know notes and descriptions aren't going to give it to me.<br /><br />I'm leaning on Ray Bradbury. Laini posted a clip of him talking about his creating <em>Fahrenheit 451. </em>The editors required 25,000 more words for his original manuscript. He asked, "How did I do that? I got the characters to come to me. Montag came to me and said, 'Do you know who I am completely?' I said 'No.' I said, 'Tell me.'" He listened to each of his characters and let them tell their stories.<br /><br />I hope I have the ears to hear. And honestly, I hope I've created honest-enough characters who will tell me who they are completely.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzD0YtbViCs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzD0YtbViCs</a>Jessica Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12210850155571710389noreply@blogger.com4