THE WRITE SISTERS

Poetry Friday--"November Night"

2009-11-13T00:02:00.005-05:00

Photo by lapstrake
You've heard of the form cinquain. Do you know who created it? A woman named Adelaide Crapsey. Crapsey lived a short life of 36 years, from 1878 to 1914. Much of her writing deals with the subject of death, but this lovely cinquain can be read simply as a description of what happens at this time of year.

November Night

Listen...
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees
And fall.

If you'd like to try a cinquain of your own, here are the simple "rules":

1. five lines
2. unrhymed
3. the first and fifth lines have 2 syllables; the second has 4, the third has 6, and the fourth has 8 syllables
4. usually with an iambic cadence

In elementary schools cinquain are often taught with this added element:

1. line one contains the subject name (noun)
2. line two is a description (adjective/s)
3. line three is actions (three words ending in "ing")
4. line four is additional description (a simple phrase)
5. line five is another name for the subject (noun)

Here's an example:

Rooster
noisy, nosey
strutting, flapping, crowing
boss of all the barnyard chickens
King Cluck
© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved

It's a good lesson on parts of speech, but it makes for a lousy poem!

Visit GottaBook for this week's Poetry Friday Round-Up.

Women of Wednesday--There Have Always Been Women Artists

2009-11-11T07:05:00.000-05:00

I've profiled several artists for the "America's Notable Women" series. These women were able to create art despite social nonacceptance. It was not until the mid-twentieth century that they were able to make their way into the art world. They moved from "gentle ladies" who could paint china, or do needlepoint, to artists.

Nowadays gender makes no difference--art is what is made by an artist.

There have always been women artists, and lest we forget, here is a short video I found on YouTube. It shows the work created by women over hundreds of years.

Imagine how much richer the video would have been if all women who were so inclined had received the training, support, and the freedom to create that their male contemporaries received!

--Diane

Mentor Monday--What to Read Next?

2009-11-09T06:22:00.002-05:00

If you're a writer of fiction, you must be a reader. You should read extensively in the particular genre (mystery, contemporary, speculative, fantasy, etc.) you wish to write in. But sometimes, you draw a blank. What to read next?

There are online places to go to for direction. All you need is the title and author of a book you've read and liked previously. You can look for either adult or children's books.

What Should I Read Next? is an easy to remember site! It's recommendations are based on those of other readers.

The Book Seer gathers its recommendations from Amazon and Library Thing. What I like about this site is the wise advice, "Of course, you could go ask your local bookshop or your local library."

At tastekid there is a definite "young adult" feel to the site. The search engine is named "Emmy" and is represented by a cute little Japanese manga character. Emmy suggests not only books, but also music and movies.

For the above three sites I used The Giver by Lois Lowry as my test. Not every suggestion made sense. Here are a few examples: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, and The White Rose and the Swastika (Oxford Modern Playscripts) by Adrian Flynn.

Another place to look for suggestions is NoveList, an EBSCO product. Check your local public library to see if it offers this great database. One of its search options is "describe a plot." This can come in handy if you've read a book and can no longer remember the title, but you want to read something similar!

--Diane

Photo by Marco Bellucci

Poetry Friday: The Flu

2009-11-06T00:02:00.007-05:00

Is anybody else having as many swine flu conversations as I seem to be having? I know several people who are struggling with whether or not to have their children immunized. I'd roll my sleeve up in a heartbeat if the vaccine became available. I'm too old for the nasal mist, and apparently there are not enough shots for even those folks whose health puts them at risk for great complications. I guess my only defenses are to keep washing my hands and then crossing my really clean fingers.

I'd like to offer The Flu by J. P. McEvoy for Poetry Friday. It rings as true today as it did when it was first published in 1919.

THE FLU

by J. P. McEvoy

When your back is broke and your eyes are blurred.
And your shin-bones knock and your tongue is furred,
And your tonsils squeak and your hair gets dry,
And you’re doggone sure that you’re going to die,
But you’re skeered you won’t and afraid you will,
Just drag to bed and have your chill;
And pray the Lord to see you through
For you’ve got the Flu, boy,

You’ve got the Flu.

When your toes curl up and your belt goes flat,
And you’re twice as mean as a Thomas cat,
And life is a long and dismal curse,
And your food all tastes like a hard-boiled hearse,
When your lattice aches and your head’s abuzz
And nothing is as it ever was,
Here are my sad regrets to you,
You’ve got the Flu, boy,

You’ve got the Flu.

What is it like, this Spanish Flu?
Ask me, brother, for I’ve been through,
It is by Misery out of Despair,
It pulls your teeth and curls your hair,
It thins your blood and brays your bones
And fills your craw with moans and groans,
And sometimes, maybe, you get well —
Some call it Flu — I call it hell!

Today's Poetry Friday is being hosted by Elaine at Wild Rose Reader.

Rethinking the Pigeon

2009-11-04T16:28:00.004-05:00

I was late coming to the Mo Willems appreciation party. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! made me shake my head in the kids section of Barnes and Noble the first time I read it. I didn't get it. I understood that the pigeon, singularly focused on its ridiculous goal, represented a preschool-aged child. I knew the pleading, begging, bargaining, whining, foot-stomping, petulant pigeon was supposed to be funny, but I wasn't laughing. The bird left me cold.

I put the book back on the shelf and kept leafing through new titles. I didn't think of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! again until it showed up in the pages of Scholastic's Firefly Books flyer one month. Since I buy any book recognized with a Caldecott that shows up in Firefly, I used my teacher reward points and ordered Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! I read it again when the book arrived, and my original opinion didn't change. If anything, I was maybe even a little bit more disgusted. Why, I wondered, did this book win a Caldecott Honor? It will only encourage this Willems fellow to continue polluting the picture book market.

I shelved the book and didn't give it much thought until this past Monday. One of my students brought a Mo Willems book for Sharing Day, which is kind of like Show and Tell. I hadn't read The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!, but based on my reaction to Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, I wasn't expecting to like the book. Of course I was right. I didn't like it. I loved it. If I was handing out starred reviews, I'd have given it 5 stars.

How could this be? Have I no convictions? I don't like the pigeon. At least I didn't before. I'm a total fan now. Could it be because I think dogs are the best thing since white go-go boots, and if the pigeon likes dogs the pigeon must be okay?

I needed to see if this was a fluke. I pulled Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! off the shelf and reread it. Oh, my God! What a great book! And the bird is actually kind of charming. What happened? Why am I suddenly a Mo Willems groupie?

It took fourteen 4-year olds to open my eyes to the wonder of Willems. Instead of zipping through the text silently, I read the books out loud to my students. The kids were instantly engaged in both of Willems's books. They were actually dialoging with the pigeon. They were invested in not letting the pigeon drive the bus. They were pointing out the holes in the pigeon's arguments. Puppies don't play tennis, for Pete's sake!

When I finished reading each of the books, all fourteen kids called for an encore. So we read the books twice, and they were just as much fun to read the second time around. In fact, the kids want even more Mo, so I'm heading to the library right now to check out any other pigeon books that Willems fellow was encouraged to write when he won that Caldecott Honor.

Before I go up to the Harvey-Mitchell Memorial Library I have one piece of advice. Resist the urge to judge a picture book after a silent skim through the pages. These books are meant to be read aloud as surely as song lyrics are meant to be sung.

Poetry Friday - The Erl King

2009-10-30T13:56:00.006-04:00

In keeping with the creepy classic theme, I'd like to offer up the Erl King, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

The Erl-King

Who rides there so late through the night dark and drear?
The father it is, with his infant so dear;
He holdeth the boy tightly clasp'd in his arm,
He holdeth him safely, he keeps him from harm.

"My son, wherefore seek'st thou thy face thus to hide?"
"Look, Father, the Erl-King is close by our side!
Dost see not the Erl-King, with crown and with train?"
"My son, 'tis the mist rising over the plain."

"Oh come, thou dear infant! Oh come thou with me!
Full many a game I will play there with thee;
On my strand many flowers there blossoms unfold,
My mother shall grace thee with garments of gold."

"My Father, my Father, and dost thou not hear
The words that the Erl-King now breathes in mine ear?"
"Be calm, dearest child, 'tis thy fancy deceives;
'Tis the sad wind that sighs through the withering leaves."

"Wilt go, then, dear infant, wilt go with me there?
My daughters shall tend thee with sisterly care.
My daughters, by night, their glad festival keep,
They'll dance thee, and rock thee, and sing thee to sleep."

"My Father, my Father, and dost thou not see,
How the Erl-King his daughters has brought here for me?"
"My darling, my darling, I see it aright,
'Tis the aged grey willows deceiving thy sight."

"I love thee. I'm charm'd by thy beauty, dear boy!
And if thou'rt unwilling, then force I'll employ."
"My Father, my Father, he seizes me fast,
Full sorely the Erl-King has hurt me at last."

The father now gallops with terror half wild,
He grasps in his arms the poor shuddering child;
He reaches his courtyard with toil and with dread,
The child in his arms finds he motionless, dead.

~~~~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Today's Poetry Round-up is at Biblio File
Art by Albert Sterner ca 1910

Classics Gone Bad

2009-10-29T00:22:00.017-04:00

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
by Seth Grahame-Smith

This novel is exactly what the title implies - Pride and Prejudice, with zombies added into the mix. You’ll find the same characters you loved in the original, but in this slightly alternate universe, there just happen to be zombies, too.

From Wikipedia - Elizabeth Bennett and her four sisters live on a countryside estate with their parents. Mr. Bennet guides his daughters in martial arts and weapons training, molding them into a fearsome zombie-fighting army; meanwhile, Mrs. Bennet endeavours to marry the girls off to wealthy suitors. When the wealthy and single Mr. Bingley purchases a nearby house, Mrs. Bennet spies an opportunity and sends the girls to the first ball where Bingley is expected to appear. The girls defend the party from a zombie attack, and attraction sparks between Mr. Bingley and eldest daughter Jane Bennet. Elizabeth, however, clashes with Bingley's friend, the haughty monster-hunter Fitzwilliam Darcy

And thus a classic love story becomes a romping adventure. If you’re into Horror or Humor, you’ll love the farce and parody. If you loved the original, it’s fun to see how the new element of zombies is interwoven into the plot, and how, even with the zombies added, the original story still remains and holds up. A very fun read.

Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer
written by Van Jensen, art by Dusty Higgins.

I’m not a fan of Graphic Novels, but as with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the title just sucked me in. I had to see what it was all about.

Vampire Slayer is a 128 page Graphic Novel that you can read in 20-30 minutes. It’s about a kid (well, a puppet) with a killer nose that grows in the blink of a lie - which comes in handy when you happen to be in need of a stake.
The story, (which follows the original Carlo Collodi) begins after Gepetto is dead, killed by vampires who have taken over the village. Fueled by revenge, Pinocchio, who is still made of wood, sets out to destroy the vampires and clean up his hometown. He is joined on his quest by a fairy, now old and tired, the carpenter who found the wood to make him, who now makes cool and deadly gadgets, and the ghost of the cricket he killed in the original version, who serves as a wise-cracking sidekick.

I wasn’t thrilled with the art, but what do I know? It isn’t my genre. The story itself has darkness and mood with a nice touch of humor, both slapstick and subtle, and the premise is clever. As a writer, it got me thinking about all the things you could do with it. Jensen and Higgins plan for this to be a trilogy, and book two is already in the works. Here’s a peek.

Mentor Monday - Horror: How Much is Too Much

2009-10-26T00:25:00.006-04:00

Everybody likes to be scared. Even the littlest kids. Think about playing peek-a-boo with a baby. You cover your face with your hands, cutting off all eye-contact with your child, and you virtually disappear. If you peek through your fingers, you can see the worried look on the baby’s face. Keep your face covered too long, and the baby is overwhelmed with fear and cries. But if you time it right, you part your hands and shout ‘peek-a-boo,’ the baby gives a bit of a start then smiles or laughs, and you do it over and over, flipping him from fear to joy and back again.

Sounds sadistic, doesn’t it? Yet both adults and babies seem to like the game. Why? My guess is because scaring others, and being scared, is fun. There’s something in us that makes us enjoy that frightened, scary feeling, as long as we know we’re not really going to be hurt.

Unfortunately, once you pass a certain age, peek-a-boo just doesn’t do it for you any more. A good horror story can. But in the world of children’s writing, how do you know how much is enough? At what point does scary become too scary?

Early Readers - Make Them Imagine

Psychological terror is probably the scariest and most sophisticated type of terror there is. The things we imagine are always much worse than reality. Forcing readers to use their imaginations can create multi-layers of terror in a story. And if you’re writing for the youngest readers, it can be just the tool you need to keep things from getting too scary.

The Spooky Old Tree, by Stan and Jan Berenstein, is basically a haunted house story for the youngest readers. Three little bears crawl into an old, dark tree to explore. As they progress through the tree, they encounter a series of scary obstacles, (suits of armor with axes, a rickety stairway, a small chasm, a great sleeping bear.)

The text and illustrations are simple and straightforward, leaving readers lots of room to envision their own terrors. What is down in that dark pit? Is it bottomless? If the bears fall in, will they die?

If the Berensteins had answered those questions with text or illustrations, the story might have been too scary for some and not scary enough for others. In either case, a child might have put the book down. By leaving it up to the child’s imagination, each child may imagine something different, but the fright level for each is the same - just right - because we only imagine what we already know. The Berensteins have very skillfully allowed the readers to imagine their own worst fears, and what could be scarier than that?

Middle-Grade - Make Them Feel

Horror isn’t simply about fear. It’s also about making the reader feel uneasy and uncomfortable. It’s about making his stomach turn or his flesh crawl, making him gasp, go ‘eeeew,’ or turn away. One way to dredge up those feelings is to create clear, visual images.

This works particularly well in MG novels where the emphasis is generally on gross rather than terror, and the horrors are mostly monsters, the supernatural, or from the fantasy realm, rather than humans. Show your readers the blood oozing from the walls. Show them the headless corpse being eaten away by maggots at the bottom of the pit. Let them smell it decomposing. But be sure to use description carefully. Adding it gratuitously won’t do anything for a story, and may even turn some kids off. Like every other genre, a story should contain only the elements it needs to make it work.

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell use description wonderfully in the dark fantasy, Beyond the Deepwoods. Their use of detail allows the reader to see a world of creepy creatures and gruesome deaths, and they do it without it being too much. The story is gory and gross and frightening, but it isn’t repulsive, and the horror is all kept a bit distant from the reader.

YA - Make Them Care

No matter how spooky or horrific your story is, none of it matters if your readers don’t care about your characters. The easiest way to create empathy is to put the reader into your character’s head. Let them understand not only what your character is thinking, but why. What makes him who he is? What makes him do what he does? And most important in horror, what is he afraid of, and why? Understanding people, and being able to empathize with them, is what brings people close. It’s not only the key to a great horror story, but to any story in any genre.

Creating empathy also gives your story more depth, which works well in YA. Teens can understand a more complicated story that isn’t simply about the scare. They can explore feelings and motivations, the darker fears and desires real people have, as well as why some people keep them in check and why others don’t.

A great example of this is Ray Bradbury’s, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bradbury explores age in this story about kids who want to be older and adults who want to be younger, and what might happen if it were possible. He not only draws us into the lives of his main characters, but into the life of the town and the carnival as well. All his characters are unique with motivations of their own, and while we may not like some of the darker characters, he makes it possible to understand and empathize with all of them.

Writing horror for children can be a tricky thing, but as Australian Horror writer Robert Hood said -- How can we expect them (kids) to value the light if they never play in the dark.

Poetry Friday--Found Poems

2009-10-23T00:02:00.003-04:00

Found poems are made up of words that a poet "found" somewhere--in print or in conversation--that the poet arranges on a page giving the words a whole new meaning.

Click on the link below for a delightful found poem from Naomi Shahib Nye:

One Boy Told Me : Poetry Everywhere : Video : The Poetry Foundation

An article by Hart Seely in Slate from 2003 gives many examples of found poems taken from official transcripts on the Defense Department's website during Donald Rumsfeld's term as Secretary of Defense.

Keep your eyes and ears open to the possibilities for creating a found poem of your own. Poems are waiting for you to find them.

Head over to Big A little a for the Poetry Friday Round-Up.

Women of Wednesday--Bosom Buddies

2009-10-21T07:09:00.002-04:00

There have been many women whose battle with breast cancer is fought in the public eye--Elizabeth Edwards and Melissa Etheridge are just two. Most women, however, fight the battles away from the spotlight, but with the help of family and friends.

I'm a survivor myself. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I made it through with the loving support the Write Sisters provided me during surgery, chemo, and radiation. They went above and beyond the call of a critique group when they accompanied me to purchase a wig! I'm eternally grateful.

This past weekend I attended the American Cancer Society's "Making Strides against Breast Cancer" walk in Manchester, NH. I've been suspicious of some of the "Run/Walk for the Cure" type events in the past because I was afraid that "the cure" meant more drugs and more chance for Big Pharma to make a killing (no pun intended) at the expense of women. I have a hunch, though, that the money raised in NH goes to provide NH women with support, like rides to treatment centers, and even hugs where needed. As of Monday, the total raised was $290,000 with more expected to come trickling in.

The walk this year, took place in the middle of a nor'easter that included rain, wind, and at points, SNOW. It was colder than a witch's you-know-what, but my heart was warmed by the numbers of people who showed up. Below are a few of the photos I took before my batteries ran out.

The weather's looking a little uncooperative!

Despite the weather the crowds came.

The Fisher Cats scoreboard flashed messages and photos from last year's walk. We attended last year, but we were still quite surprised to see our picture on the big screen!

Nice socks!

These lovely young women gave hugs freely!

There are seven of us Write Sisters, and of the seven, three of us have had breast cancer. So much for odds of 1 in 8!

I'll conclude with a HOPE that if you're a woman, you'll be faithful in getting a yearly mammogram, and with a WISH that if you do get breast cancer, that you'll have a group of bosom buddies as faithful as the Write Sisters!

(Note: Muriel alerted me to the organization Army of Women, which works for the prevention of breast cancer. Thanks, Mur, I've joined the Army.)

--Diane

Get Ready to Celebrate!

2009-10-18T09:33:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow, October 20th, is the "National Day on Writing"! This day has been designated by the U.S. Senate because it recognizes that "people in the 21 st century are writing more than ever before for personal, professional, and civic purposes" and also that "the social nature of writing invites people of every age, profession, and walk of life to create meaning through composing." (Read the complete Resolution here.)

What a great reason to celebrate! If you're a closet writer, open the door and enter the National Gallery of Writing. If you're a long-time writer, organize a local Gallery. The National Council of Teachers of English is supporting the day and has more information on getting involved on its website.

Not surprisingly, the Gallery welcomes the submission of recipes! Hey, we all love to eat. And, how many stories have been inspired by dinnertime conversations? Hundreds! Here's a simple recipe that you can mix up in a flash, and while you're waiting for it to bake, sit down and write!

SWEDISH APPLE PIE WITHOUT THE APPLES

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease 9" pie pan
Spread 1 large can sliced peaches (drain liquid first) OR cherry pie filling in pan

Mix together
1 1/2 sticks melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add 1 egg and beat well

Gradually beat in
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Pour over the fruit in the pie pan.

Bake until golden, approximately 45 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.

--Diane

Women of Wednesday... Enjoy Brunch!

2009-10-14T01:00:00.004-04:00

The Write Sisters spend a lot of time researching and writing about strong women who have made a difference in the world. What they won't mention is that they are part of this group. On Saturday, October 3rd, it was my chance to entertain the Sisters and half a dozen other strong women and their friends and family members.

The third book in Apprentice Shop Books' America's Notable Women series is out! Women of the Golden State: 25 California Women You Should Know is now in print and ready to inspire future generations of notables.

The women who put this series together gathered to meet each other and share stories. They are pretty notable themselves. There are 16 writers for children, 1 fine artist/design specialist, 2 bookkeepers, 1 photo researcher and 1 intern. Their contributions to the field of children's literature is amazing. Besides the hundreds of children's books they have written or contributed to, many have worked in the teaching and library fields. They've raised families--some as single parents. They've cared for sick children and elderly parents, survived breast cancer and organ transplants, built careers and started new ones.

So what happens when you put a bunch of people like this in one room? Lots of laughs and lots of enthusiasm about the field of children's literature. Enjoy the show!

Mentor Monday: Where Are You?

2009-10-12T01:00:00.002-04:00

There are many reasons we keep reading a book. We identify with the characters, we love a particular author’s style, we enjoy a certain genre. One other way an author keeps his reader turning the page is by giving the reader a real sense of place. A setting can be nearly as entrancing as the plot. Harry Potter lovers will understand what I mean. How difficult has it been to leave Hogwarts? Here are some other bewitching (pun intended) examples:

“Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.
The great, dark trees of the Big Woods stood all around the house, and beyond them were other trees and beyond them were more trees. As far as a man could go to the north in a day, or a week, or a whole month, there was nothing but woods. There were no houses. There were no roads. There were no people. There were only trees and the wild animals who had their homes among them.”

Laura Ingalls Wilder

“If, instead of a pencil, I held a brush in my hand, I would paint the scene: the scene of Autumn Street…and Grandfather’s house would loom huge, out of proportion, awesome and austere, with the clipped lawn as smooth and green as patchwork pockets on a velvet skirt. The rough pink brick of the sidewalk, bordered by elms, would wind the length of the street, past the Hoffman’s house, past the bright forsythia bushes that grew around the great-aunts’ front porch, past the homes of strangers and friends and forgotten people, finally disappearing where the woods began.
…I would blur the woods. I would blur them with a murky mixture of brown and green and black, the hueless shade that I know from my dreams to be the color of pain.” Lois Lowry

“In my father’s study there was a large globe with all the countries of the world running around it. I could put my finger on the exact spot where I was and had been ever since I’d been born. And I was on the wrong side of the globe, I was in China in a city named Hankow, a dot on a crooked line that seemed to break the country right in two. The line was really the Yangtse River, but who would know by looking at a map what the Yangstse River really was?
“Orange-brown, muddy mustard-colored. And wide, wide, wide. With a river smell that was old and came all the way from the bottom. Sometimes old women knelt on the riverbank, begging the River God to return a son or grandson who may have drowned. …but I knew who busy the River God must be. All those people on the Yangtse River! Coolies hauling water. Women washing clothes. Houseboats swarming with old people and young, chickens and pigs. Big crooked-sailed junks with eyes painted on their prows so they could see where they were going…” Jean Fritz

So, where are you? Do you know where your story’s going? Are you taking your reader along?

The Writer's Almanac

2009-10-06T20:23:00.010-04:00

If you've never heard of The Writers Almanac with Garrison Keillor, you're missing a great daily dose of food for the intellect and soul -- to both writers and readers. If you can't listen to it during its daily broadcast on your local National Public Radio station, sign up here to get it in your inbox.

The offering for Wednesday, October 7 includes this poem by Katha Pollitt. She's also a regular contributor to The Nation with her column titled Subject to Debate, an offering The Washington Post called "the best place to go for original thinking on the left."

Amor Fati

by Katha Pollitt

Everywhere I look I see my fate.
In the subway. In a stone.
On the curb where people wait for the bus in the rain.
In a cloud. In a glass of wine.

When I go for a walk in the park it's a sycamore leaf.
At the office, a dull pencil.
In the window of Woolworth's my fate looks back at me
through the shrewd eyes of a dusty parakeet.

You can read the rest of Amor Fati at The Writers Almanac for Wednesday, October 7.
This is Katha Pollitt:

You can almost hear Garrison Keillor's smooth, distinctive voice as he offers up this little nugget about Charlotte Bronte in another October 7 entry.

It was on this day in 1847 that Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was published (some sources say October 16). The public reception was divided. William Thackeray, who wrote Vanity Fair, called it "the masterwork of a great genius." One reviewer said, "This is not merely a work of great promise; it is one of absolute performance. It is one of the most powerful domestic romances which have been published for many years."

But not everyone liked the novel. A lot of reviews were focused on trying to figure out who had written Jane Eyre, and especially whether the author was a man or a woman. Charlotte Brontë had published the book under the androgynous pseudonym Currer Bell, the same one she had used a year earlier when she published poems by her and her sisters, Emily and Anne. She changed Charlotte to Currer Bell, Emily to Ellis Bell, and Anne to Acton Bell.

Charlotte decided to publish the poems after she accidentally found some poems that Emily had written, and the three sisters realized that they had all been writing poems secretly for years. When she published Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell in 1846, only two copies sold. But she submitted Jane Eyre for publication the next year. It was rejected five times, and then she sent it to Smith, Elder, and Co., her eventual publishers. She sent it with a note that said:
It is better in future to address Mr. Currer Bell, under cover to Miss Brontë, Haworth, Bradford, Yorkshire, as there is a risk of letters otherwise directed not reaching me at present.

Poetry Friday: Tugging at Heart Strings

2009-10-02T11:47:00.001-04:00

With the exception of a few years after college, I've been going back to school every September since I was 4-years old. My day job teaching is a huge part of my writing life. I find inspiration in my classroom every single day. Teaching also keeps my own experiences as a student as fresh as if they happened just yesterday.

We've talked in the past about poems we memorized as children that are still with us. One of my favorites is Little Boy Blue by Eugene Fields. To this day, I get a bit verklempt (a word I didn't know in 5th grade when I learned the poem) when I read it.

Little Boy Blue by Eugene Fields

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
   But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
   And his musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
   And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
   Kissed them and put them there.
"Now, don't you go till I come," he said,
   "And don't you make any noise!"
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
   He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
   Awakened our Little Boy Blue---
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
   But the little toy friends are true!
Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,
   Each in the same old place---
Awaiting the touch of a little hand,
   The smile of a little face;
And they wonder, as waiting the long years through
   In the dust of that little chair,
What has become of our Little Boy Blue,
   Since he kissed them and put them there.

Mentor Monday: Know Your Reader

2009-09-28T20:22:00.005-04:00

Several months ago, I wrote a Mentor Monday entry recommending that you read as much as you can within your genre. For me, that's picture books. I've read literally thousands of them during my almost 30 years of teaching preschool. Part of knowing your genre, is knowing your readers. What do they think makes for a good read? How do they process information? What do they find funny? How do they articulate their thoughts?

To that end, I'm having book discussions with my students at least once a week. My students range in age from 3 years 0 months to 5 years 2 months, and I mix the ages in my classes. I'm blogging at The Picture Book Project, and thought all of you children's writers might find it interesting to read beyond the professional reviews and find out what children really think about the books we write for them. (The numbers before each child's name indicates the child's age in years and months.) Enjoy!

Let's Get Started!

The first three books we're reading at Hogarth this year are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? written by Bill Martin, Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar written and illustrated by Eric Carle. In our class discussions following the readings, we looked at Carle's illustrations and noted that the endpapers of the Bear books were illustrated with stripe patterns, and the endpapers of the Caterpillar book was illustrated with a dot pattern. References to stripes or dots within the children's comments relate back to that discussion.

In order to get the book discussion ball rolling, I asked each child to pick his or her favorite from among these books and talk about what made that book so appealing. If this didn't prompt a big response, I followed up with questions specific to their favorite book. If they picked either Bear book, I asked which animal depicted in the book was their favorite. If they picked the Caterpillar book, I asked which food they'd eat first if they were a hungry caterpillar.

EARLY KINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

4.8 Keegan: My favorite was Polar Bear. I liked the front cover. My favorite animal was the peacock because of his spots, and I never seen a peacock.

5.2 John: I liked them all because I liked when the zoo keeper came to feed the walrus in Polar Bear and because all of the kids were dressing up like animals. I like Brown Bear because the class was looking at the teacher and the teacher was looking at the fish and looking at the kids. I like The Very Hungry Caterpillar because of Monday, Tuesday and all of that stuff when they flipped over and there kept being more and more food. The Caterpillar one is my very favorite. I liked the way Eric Carle did the end papers. One had dots and one had stripes facing up and one had stripes going sideways.

4.10 Daniel: I liked the Caterpillar one best because it had the folds in the paper. I liked it when the caterpillar was a baby and I liked the part where it was a butterfly. It was really pretty.

4.3 Brady K.: I liked Brown Bear best because I liked the stripes on the end. My favorite animal was the purple cat because he's purple!

4.5 Sophie: I liked Brown Bear best because the teacher was reading the book about animals to the kids. My favorite animal was the purple cat because of the purple. I like purple.

(Note: Neither Brady nor Sophie heard the other one's purple cat preference. Mack in PK also referred to the purple cat. Obviously, this is a very appealing illustration.)

PREKINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

4.2 Kaitlyn: I liked the Caterpillar because it was super hungry and he ate too much and he had a stomach ache. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat the apple first.

3.6 Eva: I liked the Caterpillar best because it ate a leaf up and then had a tummy ache, that's why. I liked the part where the caterpillar ate up all the food. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat a leaf first.

3.8 Mack: I liked Brown Bear best because it had the kitten. It was purple. I liked that one. And she was licking her elbow. Meow! Meow! Meow! I can do the sound of her. That made me laugh.

3.7 Emelyn: I liked the Caterpillar because it was silly when you said the moon was an egg!

3.11 Acadia: I liked the Caterpillar because I got it at home and it's my favorite book. I like the colors of the circles. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat the pickle.

Even More Eric

We continued exploring Eric Carle's books today when we read The Grouchy Ladybug. Once again, I asked the children to pick their favorite Eric Carle book from among those we've read thus far.

EARLY KINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

4.5 Leah: I loved The Very Hungry Caterpillar so much! I liked the food part best. I loved that. That was so silly. If I was a hungry caterpillar I would just eat three plums so I wouldn't get a tummy ache.

4.9 Brooke N.: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because there were a lot of people who were big, but she said they were not big enough, but they were big enough. I liked the rhinoceros part because he was trying to eat him but he was too big.

4.2 Bella: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because of the pictures with the little pages and the big pages. I liked all the clocks because the hungry ladybug did all of that. [Points at clocks.] I liked the elephant best because I saw one at the zoo.

4.0 Arthur: I liked all of these books. My favorite was The Grouchy Ladybug because he keeps saying, "You're not big enough!" I liked that it did it like this. [Indicates the differently sized pages.] My favorite animal was the whale because it slapped the tail on the ladybug and the ladybug said, "Ah-h-h-h-h!" And then he put his tail back and that was my favorite part.

4.7 Hayden: I liked Brown, Bear, Brown Bear best. I liked the goldfish because it's yellow because I love yellow. I liked the duck because I love yellow a lot, because the ducky is gold and the goldfish is gold.

4.11 Brooke B.: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because when he said, "No, you're not too big!" I liked the hyena best because it reminds me of Izzy. She really likes hyenas and she's my best friend.

5.2 John: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because the nice ladybug offered, but the ladybug said, "Hey, you! You want to fight?" But she said, "Aw, you're not big enough!" And I liked it because it had when the ladybug said to the tail on the whale, "Hey you! You want to fight?" And the tail gave her a big slap. And I liked it because it had the house and the lighthouse. And I liked it because when the ladybug met the wasp and he showed it his big stinger. And I liked when that animal [points to stag beetle] showed him his big claws. And I liked when the mantis wanted to fight and he said, "If you insist." And I liked the bird because I knew it was going to eat the ladybug. I liked the lobster because he opened his claws and I knew he was going to snap him in his claws. And I liked the skunk because he lifted his tail and I knew he was going to release a stinky smell at the ladybug. And I liked that the snake was going to eat the squirrel and the ladybug for his breakfast. And I liked the hyena because he laughed and he was going to eat him. And I liked the gorilla because he was beating his chest and he was going to punch him. And I liked the rhinoceros because he was lowering his horn and he was going to run into him and then he said, "Oh, you're not big enough!" And I liked the elephant and he was showing his tusk and his trunk a long way out. And I liked the whale because he said nothing and I thought that the ladybug was going to run into the water going up out of the whale. And when he said, "Hey, you! You want to fight?" and the flipper said nothing. And when he asked the fin to fight the fin said nothing. And I liked when the ladybug spoke to the whale's tail and said, "Hey, you! You want to fight?" and the tail gave him a big slap and he was flying over where he started and he got to eat some aphids. And then I liked it because the ladybug said, "You're welcome." And I liked that the leaf said, "Thank you!" And I liked the fireflies were dancing around the moon and I liked the moon and I liked the stars. And I liked the green grass at the beginning and at the end. I think Eric Carle wrote nice books. I think he does his art in not a fast way, but in a slow way. I like that art best.

PREKINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

4.5 Christel: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because he said, "You're not big enough!" I liked when the whale flipped the Grouchy Ladybug into the sky. And I liked this part when the lobster tried to bite him. And the skunk looked like he was going to spray. And the snake looked like he was going to eat the ladybug. And I liked this one [hyena] when he looked like he was going to bite the ladybug. And I liked the gorilla! [Christel then turns to the last double-page spread in which the ladybugs share the remaining aphids.] This is my favorite part because he let him share the bugs! And I'm all done!

3.4 Camryn: I liked The Very Hungry Caterpillar because it's my favorite. I have some caterpillars in my yard. Their backs go up and down. [Points to caterpillar on cover.] I like his back. I love his ears, too! [Points to caterpillar's antennae.] If I was a hungry caterpillar I would eat the cake and ice cream first.

3.8 Mack: I have caterpillars in my yard, you know. My mom found one and she was very colorful and she had a red head and she was so soft and she had little antlers sticking out and she had the legs that she could climb.

4.2 Kaitlyn: I liked the Ladybug book and the Caterpillar book. [The rest of Kaitlyn's commentary relates to the Ladybug book.] I liked the nice one and the grouchy one, because the grouchy one said, "Hey! You want to fight?" The nice one said, "Why don't we share?" And they didn't share. I liked that one [sparrow] because he thinked the bird was too big, but it was too small, but it was really big. That one [elephant] was definitely big. He talked to that one [whale's fin] but it wouldn't talk. I liked that it ended up back where he started.

4.0 Arthur: [Popping into the conversation.] Why did they put the clocks on the ladybug book?

Miss Murphy: Eric Carle used the clocks to take us through the whole day with the ladybug. The clocks let us see what time the ladybug met up with each animal.

3.8 Mack: I really like the Polar Bear book because the polar bear saw the lion. All the kids dressed up like the animals. I like Eric Carle's drawing about the ladybug. I like the caterpillar one because I like his green eyes. I like his legs. This one isn't attached.

CPG Children Weigh In On Eric Carle

In addition to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the CPG children read Eric Carle's "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth and My Tool Belt. The children reacted to their favorites as follows.

4.3 Julianna: I liked the Sloth. I liked it when he was boring. And I liked it when he was hanging upside down. And I liked this [indicates picture] with the monkey and tortoise.

4.8 Ryan: I liked the Caterpillar best. I liked it because he ate so much food and he was green and that was my favorite color. Mom would like the red and she would say, "Ryan! I have that book!" And that's why I like it.

3.9 Brady D.: I liked the Sloth because him was keep staying right there and because the animals kept coming back and forth. I liked this one best. [Points to Yellow-Spotted River Turtle on the back end papers.]

3.7 Maeve: I liked the Sloth book because of the night. [I asked Maeve which animal was her favorite, and she pointed to the anteater and the caiman. When I asked why, she pointed to the caiman's teeth and said, "Claws!]

3.10 Aiden R.: I like the Caterpillar because it itches. Polar bears would like that story. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat the watermelon and the cupcake and the candy and the lollipop and the pickle and the cheese and the cake.

4.3 Teagan: I like Brown Bear best because I saw a bird and a bunny and a dog in there. My favorite animal was the purple cat.

3.6 Aria: I liked My Apron because I do. I liked the pages. [Indicates end papers.] I liked this one. [Indicates page with Aunt Elizabeth making an apron for young Eric Carle.] Her making an apron for her. I liked this one. [Indicates page with the house with the incomplete roof.]

This is just a small excerpt. If you're interested in continuing to research your reader, head over to The Picture Book Project.

Poetry Friday: In the Other Gardens

2009-09-25T07:35:00.003-04:00

For the last two weeks it seems we have been plunging headlong into fall (okay, not counting yesterday and the day before, when summer put in a sticky, unpleasant curtain call). Oversleeping because the sun isn't up when I get up, running out of evening and needing a flashlight to do evening chores (flustering the chickens, who are smart enough to notice when it starts to get dark . . .). And then, last evening, whiffs of smoke drifted in the window - potent enough to send us into the yard to be sure it wasn't OUR place that was smoldering, but not strong enough to trace to its source. And so on to today's poem, a paean to a bygone era, when we were unwise enough to fill the air with particulate (not that we're much wiser now, filling the air with clean-but-deadly carbon dioxide, but that's a rant for another forum . . . )

From one of my favorite poets: Robert Louis Stevenson

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Mentor Monday: Market Research: Do you know which shelf your book belongs on?

2009-09-21T08:05:00.007-04:00

I spent some time the other day with a new writer who has recently been to one of the big conferences. She came back very discouraged. She had paid a lot of money for multiple critiques of her non-fiction work-in-progress. Now she has several detailed written critiques of her manuscript. As might be expected, each had different items they suggested changing. All of the critiques complemented her writing (a paid critiquer is never going to say “Give it up and get a desk job.”) But four out of five made the same comment: “Not marketable.” (The fifth was a writer, not an editor.)

My friend has brought this manuscript to critique group a couple of times over the last year, and I had told her that I thought it was two different books twined together, so I was pretty sure I knew what the editors were trying to say. “Tell me again about your market research,” I urged my friend.

“There’s nothing like this book out there,” she said. She went on to tell me about the other kinds of books she had found – personal experience, self-help, scientific inquiry, religious reflection: lots and lots of books on the topic but nothing like hers.

Pretty soon my friend had figured out what all those editors were trying to tell her, and it’s an important component of market research. Her book doesn’t fit into any niche. In fact, a library would be hard-pressed to decide where to shelve it. And a book that is so very different needs to be positively brilliant in order to have a chance.

When you do your market research, you are searching not only to be able to say “there is a need for this book, there is a gap in what is available.” You also need to be able to say “this book is like that successful title except. . .” My friend understood that she shouldn’t submit her book to a publisher who already has very similar book in print, because the publisher doesn’t want to compete with themselves. But she missed the flip side: a competing publisher might be very interested in a similar, competitive book – if it offers something unique and valuable to get that established readership to pick it up. Even the first publisher might be interested in a book that covers the successful topic for a different age group, or with a religious viewpoint that hasn’t been heard (if the target age group or religious viewpoint matches that of the publisher’s market!) What niches do other books on your subject fill?

Since with non-fiction you generally submit a proposal that includes an outline and a couple of sample chapters, you can (and should) actually shape the book to reflect what you’ve learned from your market research. Fiction is a little different, both in the approach to writing and in selling the manuscript, but market research is still essential. Expectations for YA historical fiction are different from those for fantasy and differently different from those for teen romance. If you think your book fits all three, it’s likely that it won’t sell in any of those genres.

By now we’re all familiar with the “elevator pitch” method of selling a concept. A related exercise may help you figure out strengths and weaknesses of your book idea. Write the copy for the sales rep who needs to sell the bookstore buyer. Write the jacket copy that will capture the browsing book-buyer. You’re not going to submit those things, obviously – but if you can’t write them, your book won’t get as far as the sales force. Always remember that the first buyer, the publisher, is only interested in your manuscript if it can turn a profit.

My friend is ready, now, to think about untwisting the strands of her book and writing just one of them really well. Perhaps another one will become a second book later. Unfortunately, she spent hundreds of dollars to get to that point, because she couldn’t bear to give up her first vision of the book when it didn’t match the market. Writers need to have a vision, but we can’t stay starry-eyed. We have to be hard-nosed and practical, just like our publishers. We need to do our research, and then, to use it.

Poetry Friday

2009-09-18T10:05:00.006-04:00

I think perhaps this is a dance we've all done at one time or another.

Danse Russe

If I, when my wife is sleeping
and the baby and Kathleen
are sleeping
and the sun is a flame-white disc
in silken mists
above shining trees, --
if I, in my north room
dance naked, grotesquely
before my mirror
waving my shirt round my head
and singing softly to myself:
"I am lonely, lonely.
I was born to be lonely,
I am best so!"
if I admire my arms, my face
my shoulders, flanks, buttocks
against the yellow drawn shades, --

who shall say I am not
the happy genius of my household?

William Carlos Williams

Today's poetry round-up is being held at Becky's Book Reviews

Tidbits

2009-09-17T09:41:00.012-04:00

It’s coming, folks. The day we’ve all been waiting for is just around the corner. September 24, 2009, is just seven days away. So get out your oven mitt and your Strunk and White, and get ready to celebrate National Punctuation Day!

Yes. It’s for real. On September 24, the nation will celebrate the ubiquitous Period, the shapely Question Mark, the elusive Comma, and let’s not forget the exciting Exclamation Point! Wow!

But that’s not all! Joining the celebration will also be the Colon, Semicolon, Quotation Marks, and Apostrophe, with special appearances by the Brackets and Parentheses, the Dash and the Hyphen, and the Ellipsis. That’s right! All our favorite punctuation marks that we use and abuse will be honored on this illustrious day.

And the oven mitt?

That’s for the contest. That’s right. There’s a contest. Bake something in the shape of your favorite punctuation mark and win a prize. But you only have until Spetember 30, so get those photos in.

Boy, this is going to be exciting!

Book Buzzr

Not as exciting, but probably more useful, is something else I came across, which might prove a great marketing tool. Book Buzzr is simply a widget you put on your web page, blog site, Facebook or Twitter page. It allows you to upload an extract of your book for people to read and view.

The nice thing about it is that the book extract shows up in book form. You not only get to see the cover, but when you click the corner, it opens and the pages turn, and you get to see a bit of what's inside. There’s no scrolling involved. And it comes with a navigation bar that allows people to purchase your book, as well as learn more about you, or the book, or any other information you’re willing to put out there.

Book Buzzr is a free service of fReado.com. It doesn’t cost anything, but you do have to join fReado, also free. When you upload your extract, it also becomes available on fReado, which makes another place folks can find, and purchase, your book.

Book Buzzr comes with a lot of other features, too, mostly for Twitter users right now. They plan to expand to Facebook in the future. It seems this might be a neat little thing, especially for those who self-publish.

Tension

2009-09-16T00:15:00.006-04:00

Tension. It’s what keeps a reader reading. If there is no tension in a story, then it becomes just another walk in the park. It’s nice, but nobody wants to sit and listen to you talk about it for four hours.

So how do you create a walk people will be interested in?

Imagine a rumbling volcano.
A crazed gunman in a busy shopping mall.
A town banning a book.

You might think all of them would be great for creating tension in a story. But it’s not the problem that creates the tension. It’s the human element. Without that, your rumbling volcano is just a bit of excitement.

Now imagine John. He lives in the valley below the mountain. John is a paraplegic who can’t get himself out of bed. John’s wife just ran into town to pick up a few things. Now the volcano rumbles.

Tiffany is shopping in the mall with Mom. She nags mom to let her hang out in the pet store while Mom browses books across the way. Mom lets her go. Now the crazed gunman enters the mall. Right between the pet shop and the book store.

Mary loves her job as a librarian. Mary also loves freedom. Now the town tells her to take a certain book off the library shelf.

In all three scenarios, the question the reader now asks themselves is, ‘What will happen next?” That is tension. The need to know what will happen next.

Will John’s wife save him in time, or will he get himself out of his predicament?

Will the gunman kill Tiffany or her mom, or both, or will they be able to save themselves and each other?

Will Mary comply with the town in order to keep her job, or will she refuse to remove the book and risk losing her job?

Now technically, tension isn’t the need to know what happens next. It’s the opposition of forces, which is also in each scenario. But in order to make that opposition work, the reader has to care. Asking, ‘What will happen next?’ is a sign that she does. Having an opposition of forces that doesn’t create that question in a reader means all you have is an opposition of forces. You haven’t created tension.

An easy way to create tension is to give your characters what they want. But you do have to be a little sadistic about it. Getting what they want should create a problem. So if we go one step further back in each of our scenarios . . . .

John hated being coddled all the time. He wanted his wife to leave him alone. He wanted to prove that he’d be fine on his own for an hour or two. So she left him.

Tiffany is thirteen, big enough to wait in the pet store while mom browses books. She doesn’t need a constant babysitter. Mom lets her go.

Mary loves her job. Mary loves freedom. We gave her both. She has to choose one.

Just remember that tension for tension’s sake, won’t work in the long run. Whatever happens in your story has to be relevant to the overall plot or it doesn’t belong there, no matter how cool an idea it is.

Photos

volcano J. D. Griggs click effusive eruption

Elastic man

Cra a a a ck!

2009-09-14T10:19:00.010-04:00

The Write Sisters are breaking form!

After a year of blogging, we have decided to take a step away from the same old, same old, and diversify, change, branch out, alter and vary our weekly words of wisdom. Or blather.

The world of Children's Writing is still our purpose, and we'll still be offering writing tips and advice, as well as insight into some amazing women. Poetry Friday will not disappear. But the format won't be so rigid, and you're likely to find a variety of other offerings in the mix. You might even find a post on a Tuesday or Thursday!

So stay tuned, and let us know how you like the change!

Photo by Amir

Poetry Friday--"Still Here"

2009-09-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

A simple poem from Langston Hughes to help me get through anniversaries like today's.

Still Here

I been scared and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
      Snow has friz me,
      Sun has baked me,

Looks like between 'em they done
      Tried to make me

Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'--
      But I don't care!
      I'm still here!

Yes, we're still here--and hopefully all still laughin'.

Check out the Poetry Friday Round-Up being held today at Wild Rose Reader.

--Diane

Women of...Wednesday--Margaret Fuller

2009-09-09T06:52:00.003-04:00

Margaret Fuller was born in Massachusetts in 1810. Her father, a lawyer, taught her at home, since only men could attend college at that time. As an adult, she became a teacher and was compelled to further educate the public. Fuller wanted to lecture, but women weren't allowed to lecture, so, instead, Fuller held "Conversations." She was considered an excellent conversationalist!

Fuller was an editor, a writer, an investigative reporter (for Horace Greeley's New York Tribune). She was a member of the Transcendentalists and was a beloved friend of both Emerson and Thoreau.

Margaret Fuller lived an incredibly full life which ended a few months after her 40th birthday. She, her husband, Giovanni Ossoli, and her baby boy were drowned in a sailing ship accident off the coast of Long Island, NY. Her body was never recovered, but a monument was erected in her memory in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Watertown, MA. Its brass plaque sums up her life,

By birth a child of New England
By adoption a citizen of Rome
By genius belonging to the world

In youth
An insatiate student seeking the highest culture
In riper years
Teacher, writer, critic of literature and art
In maturer age
Companion and helper of many
Earnest reformer in America and Europe

Margaret Fuller is not a name familiar to many, but, if you do an online search, you'll find numerous sources containing information on this remarkable woman, one of America's first feminists. If you visit the Project Gutenberg site, you can read two volumes of her memoirs as well as other of her writings. Here's a small sample from Women in the Nineteenth Century Woman and Kindred Papers Relating to the Sphere, Condition and Duties, of Woman:

Man is as generous towards her as he knows how to be.

Wherever she has herself arisen in national or private history, and nobly shone forth in any form of excellence, men have received her, not only willingly, but with triumph. Their encomiums, indeed, are always, in some sense, mortifying; they show too much surprise. "Can this be you?" he cries to the transfigured Cinderella; "well, I should never have thought it, but I am very glad. We will tell every one that you have 'surpassed your sex.'"

There's no doubting her tone! You go, girl!

--Diane

Mentor Monday--Happy Labor Day!

2009-09-07T06:21:00.001-04:00

I know a writer never gets a day off. How can you turn off your imagination or your curiosity? You can't, but perhaps you can cut yourself some slack today. Force yourself NOT to read anything writing related, unless it's strictly for fun.

Let me give you a few "fun" titles to consider, starting with Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life, edited by Monte Schulz [F & W Media, 2002]. Interspersed with Snoopy strips is advice for Snoopy from real writers. Included are Julia Child, whose books have suddenly become very popular again since the movie Julie and Julia opened last month, and Catherine Ryan Hyde, whose Pay It Forward [Simon & Schuster, 1999] makes a great book discussion group choice. Here's Hyde counseling Snoopy on editors,

Yeah. What is it with editors, anyway?

They send form rejections. They don't deign to comment. Or they scribble a mortal wound of an insult. Or you hear nothing for nine months. Or your story disappears entirely.

Who are these people? Don't they appreciate what we go through?

And speaking of rejections--visit your favorite used book store (I like the online vendor, AbeBooks.com) and look for a copy of Rotten Rejections edited by Andre Bernard [Pushcart Press, 1990]. As one who has collected hundreds of rejections, I know that reading this book always puts a smile on my face! For more rejection fun, head to the Literary Rejections on Display blog. You'll find yourself asking, "Who are these people?"

Remember Snoopy's favorite opening line, "It was a dark and stormy night..."? It was originally written by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton in 1830. It continues thusly, "the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness." Bulwer-Lytton's horrendous prose lives on and is imitated annually in the "Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest." Check it out here.

It's Labor Day, so put the real work away, read, and relax!

--Diane