The Wide-Reaching Effects of Teaching

In this round of posts on how teaching or mentoring affects our own writing, both Stephanie and David have touched on the fact that teaching is also a learning experience for the teacher. I strongly endorse that fact!

In my early days of writing, I worked in solitude by trial and error—writing, rewriting, and only reluctantly sharing the results with a few others. Then I tried collaborating with another writer, which involved a constant process of sharing, editing, and plugging away at an ultimately successful two books. My next stage of writing involved moving ahead on my own and enrolling in a MFA program. This was a huge step forward for me, as I went into the program with the intention of learning everything I could and soaking up ideas and advice from all my mentors and fellow students.

During the process, I discovered another love—that of teaching the craft of writing. But I also discovered that beyond the basics of good grammar, spelling, punctuation, and proper sentence structure and format, there is no true right or wrong way of writing. Everyone’s approach, experience, and voice is different. The workshops that I now teach at Misty Hill Lodge are not lectures or “lessons” as such. My goal is to offer opportunities for writers to explore ideas, expand their knowledge of the craft of writing, engage in lively discussions with other writers, and, above all, to WRITE. Over the past five years of teaching, I have learned every bit as much from my “students” as they have from me. There’s nothing like preparing a lesson plan to force yourself into studying a topic and pushing yourself to a deeper level of understanding in order to get the idea across to others. Often just one comment from a student adds another depth of meaning to the topic. My own level of writing has grown by leaps and bounds since I began teaching, and I hope I never stop learning and improving!

Two months ago I began mentoring a young 12-year-old writer, who plans to apply to the Literary Arts program at the Barbara Ingram High School for the Fine Arts. How I wish I had had this same opportunity when I was 12 years old! I can’t help but wonder how that would have changed (or sped up) my own writing career. One day I hope Kimberly will look back on a long career and remember a mentor who helped her get started. Maybe she will then do the same for some other aspiring writer.

Oh, the wide-reaching effects of teaching!

Mentee or mentor?

Once I had my first book published, I thought I knew it all. Why should I take writing classes or go to workshops? Those things were for folks who couldn't get published. What a mistaken attitude I had...and one that slowed my writing career by years.

One of the smartest things I ever did was to sign up for a children's writing class taught by Judy Delton at the Loft Literary Center. This was years after my first book was published, and boy did I discover that I didn't "know it all" like I had thought. Judy's class was good for me for many reasons. She gave me honest, sometimes painfully blunt, feedback on my work, which helped me grow considerably as a writer. She taught me the value of regularly producing new work. And she brought me in contact with a community of other writers who have become good friends. Without Judy's encouragement, I would have never had my first novel, Absolutely, Positively Not, published, and I'm proud I was able to dedicate the book to her.

This past year I was asked to be the teacher for a master picture book writing class hosted by the Loft, the same writing center where I first met Judy. Although I've taught writing to children for many years, my initial reaction to this offer was "No way! What could I possibly teach other adults?" But as I get older I'm getting braver at stretching myself, so reluctantly I agreed. The experience was wonderful. Just like Stephanie said in her previous post, I learned so much as I read and critiqued the work of the participants in this class. And to my pleasure, I discovered that I did have plenty of things to say to adult writers, many of them things I learned from my mentor, Judy. I think she would have been happy with this circle.

Mentor or mentee?

Our topic this go-round is how teaching and mentoring affects our own writing. For the past few years, I've been teaching Children's Writing for Gotham Writer's Workshop. The courses are all online, with lectures, discussions, and assignments, as well as a Booth, where students post work and everyone comments. Though I'm the teacher, I find myself learning so much from the students and what they have to say. And suggesting things for them to do in their own writing really causes me to evaluate those same things in my own writing. It makes me more aware of what I need to focus on in my own work.
I'm always learning more about writing. With each novel I write, I learn more and more about the process, as I hopefully get better at it. Honestly, to me, writing isn't like other subjects. I used to teach high school social studies and that is a subject where you can know all the answers. In subjects like history or economics or psychology, either something is a fact or it isn't. Writing isn't so black and white. I feel I will never know all the answers, and teaching is one way to keep learning...

USA Today Defensive Player of the Year

A friend brought this to my attention and wanted me to see the recent favorite book Jadeveon chose.
Happy holiday wishes to all.

Defensive player of the year

JADEVEON CLOWNEY

Defensive end for South Pointe, Rock Hill, S.C.

Height: 6-5; Weight: 235.

Why him:Considered the top recruit in the 2011 class, he combines rare speed (4.5 in the 40) with strength and size. Had five touchdowns on defense, 162 tackles, 29 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, 11 caused fumbles and six fumbles recoveries. On offense, he had 20 carries for 274 yards and nine touchdowns. His team was 38-6 in the last three years. Showed he won't have trouble adjusting to next level by dominating talented athletes in the Shrine Bowl in Spartanburg, S.C., drawing five holding calls while making five tackles for loss, including three sacks in the game. He's undecided in his college choice.

Favorite musician: (Atlanta rapper) TI

Best book you've read recently:Box Out (By John Coy)

Little-known fact:"I am an extremely sore loser...I hate to lose at anything."

High school highlight:"Winning the 2008 State Championship in football vs. Northwestern ... They are our crosstown rival ... We actually beat them twice that year. But beating them in the title game was awesome."

Favorite teacher:"Mr. Joe Koon ... My English 4 teacher. He is the smartest man I know. He is a great guy that enjoys helping kids learn."

Football start:"It's a family tradition."

Funniest recruiting story:"People (coaches) always telling me what they can do for me and they really don't even know me."

After football, I'll:"Go fishing with my granddad and spend time with family and friends."

***

Holiday Traditions

I love the holiday season -- stringing lights and decorations, listening to seasonal music, inhaling the warm smell of cookies and pies baking in the oven, snuggling under a comforter to watch old holiday movies, even shopping!! Until I entered an early "retirement" a couple years ago and became a full-time stay-at-home dad, I worked with kids at a middle school and so I was able to also enjoy the yearly rite of a two-week Christmas vacation -- definitely a way to keep the "kid" inside me excited about the holiday season!

Like others, we have some traditions involving ornaments and tree-cutting and opening one present on Christmas Eve, but the "tradition" I most cherish is our private designation of our home as a "drama-free" zone during the holidays. As many know, the holidays can be stressful and, unfortunately, that stress can many times result in familial discord. It's nice to know that no matter what happens when we visit others during the holidays, our own home remains a haven for the holiday spirit of peace and joy and goodwill toward all. What more could you want, or wish for others?

I truly hope everyone who reads this can find peace and joy this holiday season, and beyond. If you need a little emotional pick-me-up, just find a child to share some time with -- their sense of wonder and instinctive joy during this season should be a good antidote to any potential holiday blues.

Happy Solstice

WARM GREETINGS FROM SNOWY MINNESOTA

This was ten days ago when we got seventeen inches, but we've had more since and are on our way to our snowiest December ever. Solstice marks a nice time to think about lessening or letting go of some things and increasing others in the new year as the days increase with light. Happy holidays to each of you.

Hemingway Family Rituals

Until contemplating the topic for this round of posts, I had not necessarily thought of our family Christmas rituals as traditions, but I like the word "tradition" and from now on, that's the way I'll think of them.

Each year we (just my husband and I now that our children are grown) go out to cut our own Christmas tree, and for the last 15 years or more we've gone to the same small tree farm in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland, not far from the presidential Camp David. Some years the selection is better than others, but I inevitably lose my sense of "room size" when out in the woods and we come home with a tree so large it's difficult to carry inside, set up in a tree stand, and then decorate, even with a ladder. Fortunately our log cabin has a vaulted ceiling and open beams, but my husband's back can no longer tolerate these oversized trees. Now I am held to a 10 to 12 foot limit.


Another tradition began with our son's first Christmas (when he was just one week old)--the gift of a Christmas tree ornament for each child's stocking in keeping with their personalities and interests. By the time our children left home and started their own families, they had quite an assorted collection of ornaments to take with them. Now we continue the same tradition by choosing special ornaments for each of our grandchildren's stockings.

And finally another tradition--baking. I do bake some Christmas cookies, but the older I get, the less patience I have for decorating them and the more I try to avoid consuming them. However, I do love baking bread, especially our old family recipe for shredded wheat and molasses bread. I start several days before Christmas and try to deliver to special friends and neighbors while the loaves are still hot from the oven. Of course I do save a few loaves for our own family. Feel free to enjoy the recipe below:

Shredded Wheat and Molasses Bread

3 shredded wheat biscuits (the large ones)
3 cups boiling water
1/2 cup molasses
2 TBSP oil
2 tsp salt
1 pkg. dry yeast, soaked in 1/2 cup tepid water
Around 10 cups of flour (enough to make a good dough)

Pour boiling water over broken wheat biscuits; when cool, add yeast which has been soaked in 1/2 cup warm water in meantime. Add molasses, oil, salt. Mix in enough flour to make a good dough; knead, let rise in greased bowl until double in size (about 2 hours). Then punch down and knead again, divide in two and place in greased loaf pans to rise for about 1 hour more. Cover lightly with a towel while rising both times. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes; then reduce to 350 degrees for about 45 minutes more. Makes 3 medium or 2 large loaves.

Enjoy warm from the oven, toasted, or for sandwiches!

Flan de Coco

Ingredients

1/4 cup of dark Karo syrup

1 can (14 oz) coconut milk

1 can (14 oz) evaporated milk

1 can (14 oz) condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 eggs


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the Karo syrup into a 1 quart, ovenproof, round mold. Roll the mold to coat the sides with the syrup.

In a blender, mix in the three milks, vanilla, and eggs.

Add water to a larger pan to come halfway up the sides of the mold.

Place the mold with the custard on the pan with water, as in a double boiler.

Bake for 1 hour or until the knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Unmold the flan onto a deep platter.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

I'll Buy a Vowel

Ten years ago I made a conscious decision to start a new Christmas tradition with my family. While some relatives are asked to bring fruit salad or wine to dinner, I'm always asked to bring the games. Ten years ago I decided to make a large scale Wheel of Fortune game, and we've been playing it every Christmas since.

The game consists of a three-foot wheel, a large puzzle board, and of course "valuable prizes" to be won (lottery tickets and gift certificates). I get to play the parts of both Pat and Vanna. It's a great way to pass the time while waiting for dinner, and it's something we all look forward to doing together. It also proves that you can start a holiday tradition whenever you want.

and the seasons, they go round and round

Part of the pleasure of tradition is experiencing the renewed hope cycles bring. I celebrate by creating calendars. I started years ago using handset letterpress type accompanied by single color linoleum cuts. I got a little fancy and added rainbow rolls for my linocuts. Eventually I began printing from my computer—sometimes black and white, sometimes full color on my snazzy Epson. This year my calendar features scenic details from my book The East-West House. I've created different versions in varied sizes. My mini-ones fit in a business envelope and will also serve as promo.

SPUDS, send me your address at christy@christyhale.com and I'll mail you a mini!

Tastes of the Season

Every year I bake about 20 kinds of treats and pack them in boxes to give away to friends and neighbors. ( I only left out family because we don't have any family within 1,000 miles of where we are.) This is a box from last year, but I plan to start this year's baking today. And with the college kid coming home on Thursday, I am really starting to get in the Christmas mood. Here is one of my favorite recipes:

Candy Bar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

3 cups flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

60 mini Snicker bars

In large bowl, mix butter, sugar, and peanut butter until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix flour, baking powder, and soda, then add to peanut butter mixture. Mix well. For each cookie, take a tablespoon of dough and wrap around a Snickers, completely covering it and forming a ball. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Drizzle with glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2T. cocoa powder

Add 1 T of milk, then add additional milk 1t. at a time until drizzling consistency.

Makes 60 cookies.

Enjoy!

Stephanie

Studio Time, Connected Time

I just had coffee with a friend this morning ~ an artist, and she said she was just realizing that she isn't the lonely isolated person she has always thought of herself as being, but actually an artist who prefers to be alone. It was a life-transforming revelation. The day before, I had an email conversation with a friend who announced she was "turning off the noise, inspired by an interview with Jonathan Franzen she made a decision to turn off her internet for most of the day so she could really sink into her writing.

It is interesting to me how the solitude of the studio is so easily connected to the rest of the world. I could spend the day reading all of my friend's blogs and commenting on them, then following my other friends on Facebook; then emailing more friends, without ever leaving the "solitude" of my studio. I DO have to make conscious decisions to turn off the internet. I have a calendar on which I write down coffee dates with friends, perhaps it is time to write down times for dates with the internet? I do notice the difference, turning off the noise. Concentrated, focused, and rich. It is the best. It is music! Yes, I love solitude in my studio. I have spent most of my life balancing family, friends, and business with time in the studio. Now I have to balance within the studio- noise or music?

A Tough Balancing Act

While I usually try to read the posts of my fellow potatoes in a timely manner, I was only able to read the last two weeks' entries this morning. There is so much good stuff in these posts about finding the balance between solitude and community as an artist that I find it hard to contribute much that is new. Perhaps one variation on the theme is the difficulty I have encountered, at times, knowing when I need space versus when I need to reach out to others for support, inspiration, or even just good old fashioned social interaction. I tend to naturally lean toward solitude and so I think it is easier for me to "know" when I need to lock myself away from the distractions of life. But it's important to balance this time with all the benefits that come from defying my introversion and connecting with others, like on this blog.

One thing I think has not been mentioned on this theme is the value of connecting with kids, our audience. As one who is not in demand for author school visits (since, you know, I haven't published a book yet!) I have satisfied this desire by volunteering at my son's school. Whether I assist during reading time, help lead a writing assignment, or just chaperon a field trip, hanging out with a gaggle of third-graders always sends me home with fresh perspectives and new ideas. I also find their energy contagious and their joy in life an inspiration, and though I return home exhausted and definitely ready for some personal space after each visit, these interactions are some of the most satisfying social events in my life -- not to mention what an hour or two in a classroom will do for your appreciation of teachers!!

Finding Solitude and Community

As I write this, I am beginning a weekend retreat with twelve other writers near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. I am hoping for (and needing) the perfect mix of solitude and community--a solitary nook for thinking/creating/revising without distraction and, when the time is right, a warm fire and an engaging discussion and sharing of our work. When it's time for a break or mulling over ideas, the C & O Canal Path along the Potomac River beckons.

Everyone came supplied with enough snacks and bottles of wine to keep us going far into the night. Our organic meals will be delivered by the owner of the retreat house, so no excuses for not getting any work done! After traveling for several weeks, I have hopes of finally getting back to my work-in-progress and making some in-roads over the course of the weekend.

And on the home front, where it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate my various roles, my husband is planning the "writing cabin" he will build me in the woods behind our house--small enough to be comfortable for one, rustic enough to give me an escape from the ever-present cyber world, and near enough for me to walk home for some company and a cup of tea.

Now, on to my retreat...

A Solitary Writer?

My husband tells me that I should go out more. But when I'm not traveling, I like to be home writing and reading, with my Lily Maltese on my lap and my husband upstairs working. He has a regular office, but I beg him to work from home. I am downstairs; he is upstairs--yet I know he's there and that makes me feel good. Lily and I growl when he leaves for his office, then we realize that we have each other and all those characters in my head talking at the same time, competing for my attention. I'm never alone.

I have a wonderful writing group: Ellen Howard, David Gifaldi, Pamela Smith Hill, Susan Fletcher, Nancy Coffelt, Eric Kimmel, Winifred Morris. Unlike other people, I take rough drafts to them. What they have to say guides me--even though at first, my mind growls. It takes me a few days to digest their comments and Voilá! I finally get it. I wouldn't be published today if I had belong to writing groups. Objective readers can catch issues that I don't.

All of my editors I have met at conferences. I was ignorant enough to follow Robert Warren (Harper & Row--please don't count the years) at a Willamette Writers conference in Portland, Oregon. He had to smoke, and we were outside when I told him the first story of my Juan Bobo. He asked me if I could write it as an I Can Read. I said yes, but I had no idea what and easy-to-read was. At home I studied Frog and Toad, Amelia Bedelia, you name it, and Robert bought the manuscript.

I met Harold Underdown and Margery Cuyler at Oregon SCBWI retreats. Harold had a group critique. My manuscript was on top. Still, when he said, "She even researched the photos!" I took it as saying "How she dared when this book is so far from ready." When the session was over, I told him that I had received an SCBWI grant to go to Puerto Rico, and while I was there I took advantage to find photos. He looked at me and said, "I want to buy this book." That was my first biography. Little did I know that I was going to write six more with Margery Cuyler at Marshall Cavendish Book for Children.

So, I recommend solitude to write, writing groups to revise, and conferences to be published.

A few words on isolation and creating

Like Christy, I find my critique groups to be a wonderful source of feedback, encouragement, and guidance. Without my critique groups (one which was formed from the members of a writing class I was in, just as Christy noted) I know I would have never completed my first novel, nor would I be as productive as I am. I've been in one group over ten years, and the other just slightly less, and the other members have become more than critiquers, but good friends, like fellow spud John Coy.

And while I greatly appreciate the community of other creators that I find in my critique groups, I also agree with Christy that I don't feel lonely at all when I am creating. Sometimes I'm frustrated, and sometimes I'm discouraged, but I never feel lonely. And when the writing or illustrating is going well, then I feel simply joyous...and very content.

Striking the Balance

Christy's post yesterday about balancing the at-home work with the out-in-the-world work really got me thinking. For my first several books, the internet did not exist. If I wasn't out doing school visits or speaking elsewhere, I was just home, disconnected from the publishing world. But now, the publishing world is in my inbox and at my fingertips every day. And I find it dangerous.
For the past year, I have battled with the balance. I found myself on two "supportive" web boards for writers. But I found, more often than not, that I was becoming consumed and obsessed by them. And each time, I logged off feeling more and more unsupported, and less and less confident of my skills as a writer.
I swore off both sites about 45 days ago. ( Yes, I'm counting.) They were like an unhealthy addiction, nothing more than a distraction to the work I'm trying to accomplish. Does my finger still automatically want to click on the Favorites? Not so much with each passing day, and the urge becomes less and less every day I stay off those sites.
Do we need outside support as we sit at home and work? Yes. But it is all about finding the appropriate kind that nourishes our creative soul, rather than extinguishes it... and I'm grateful to have the Spuds, who do that for me every day:)

Aloneness (not loneliness), community, and making the internal external

Monday is the day I reclaim solitude. I love my family and friends, but I love my work too. Isolation is essential for focus. Being self-employed allows me flexibility for coffee and lunch-dates, however I rarely schedule purely social daytime meetings, and particularly loathe planning any kind of appointment on Mondays. The hours while my daughter is at school are few, and those hours constitute my main work time. Plus, I need daylight to see my art properly.


The “loneliness” of writers and artists is a lot of hooey. I do not feel lonely when I am alone. Years ago I read The Shape of Content by painter Ben Shahn, a series of lectures he delivered at Harvard. Shahn discusses the act of painting as a dialogue between creator and creation. The work takes on its own life. This rings true! When I am creating I am deep in conversation. Most creators would agree that few dialogues are as satisfying

I do willingly attend two daytime monthly critique groups. I’ve been a member of a local writers group for several years. Most members are focused on middle grade, YA and even adult works. This group has astute, thoughtful writers with good ears and great advice. Last month I added a second daytime critique group in San Francisco. All the members are picture book authors AND illustrators. The new group skews more toward illustration critiques and is so delightful that I’ve even agreed to meet on Mondays. I am lucky for this wealth of support.

A critique venue is essential for creators. Regularly scheduled meetings serve as deadlines to motivate writing and sketching. “Crits” were my favorite part of art school. They helped me learn to distance myself from my work. Now in writers groups, reading aloud to others makes me hear my work in a new way. It is quickly evident whether the work is met with confusion, boredom, or enthusiasm. Suggestions often unlock problem areas. Affirmations and guidance can make the difference of whether or not a work-in-progress is brought to completion.

For those looking to connect with other writers, consider enrolling in a writing class. Class workshops have helped me develop manuscripts that were subsequently acquired. I’ve known class groups to continue meeting after the class has officially ended. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) has chapters all over the world now. There are newsletters and lists that help members connect with others looking to form critique groups. Even meeting with one other committed author is valuable. I have a couple friends in the field with whom I meet for this kind of exchange.

Authors now need to be marketers. Social networking, attending conferences, speaking engagements and presentations connect the creator to their public. I have not figured out the balance between being the private creator and the public promoter. Each role seems to demand more and more time. Something tells me that I will wrestle with this until I’m horizontal for good.

A Different Kind of Conference

This month I was invited to attend a conference in Washington, DC called The Emergence and Legacy of African American Basketball. The organizers contacted me because I've done workshops on basketball and poetry in conjunction with the picture book STRONG TO THE HOOP. I was interested but unsure what to expect. The conference was fantastic. The first day, William Rhoden of the New York Times had a fascinating discussion with Mayor Dave Bing of Detroit and Earl Lloyd (pictured above), the first African-American to play in the NBA. I sat and listened and absorbed as much as I could.

Saturday, the events took place at Howard University and one interesting speaker after another presented to the group. I led a workshop on basketball and poetry and was thrilled to be among people who were even more passionate about the game and its legacy than I was. I came back from the conference energized and full of ideas, which is always the sign of a successful conference.

A "First" Conference

I've been to some conferences over the years, and I'm always amazed by the great people I meet. I just got returned home today from NCTE/ALAN in Orlando, where I had a fabulous time. At NCTE I got to listen to some great speakers like Gary Paulsen, Jack Gantos, and David Weisner. I did a signing at the Macmillan booth and was pleasantly surprised that we had to run over the time because of all the people. Kirby Larson even stopped in, which was so fun, because I hadn't seen her since my Whidbey Island MFA days.


ALAN started on Monday and I spoke on Tuesday to this audience:

I was so fortunate that Macmillan had me at a luncheon where I "hosted" a table of educators and they each got a copy of The Gardener. I also did a dinner this way with authors Alyson Noel and George O'Connor, and we switched tables after each course so we got to spend time with everyone. Here are George, Alyson, and myself with our fabulous Macmillan crew, after watching the Disney fireworks show from the 15th floor catwalk of the Contemporary Resort Hotel.

This was my first trip to NCTE/ALAN and I truly hope it won't be my last.

3 Reasons to Attend a Conference

I have attended perhaps a half-dozen conferences in the last few years. I paid the fees, took time out from my family life, and traveled to these conferences for three primary reasons.

First, I’m always looking to work on my craft. Many conferences offer sessions that meet this need, whether it be discussions of character or plot or even the nuts and bolts of the narrative craft.

Second, conferences never fail to inspire me. Gathering with others to talk about literature and writing always renews my drive to continue pursuing my own artistic dreams.

Third, I need to network more with agents, editors, and other writers. By their very definition, conferences always provide plenty of opportunities for confabbing and schmoozing – the only obstacle has been overcoming my own reticence to reach out and socialize with others. To help with this, I always remember the “ice-breaker” I learned at my first conference, when others introduced themselves and then invariably asked, “What are you working on?” For a socially-challenged person such as myself, learning that one line was worth the price of the conference!

New Ideas...

I feel as if I went to a conference yesterday when I visited a school that was hosting four authors. Amongst the four were Tim Egan, Mary Ann Frazer and Amy Goldman. Watching them work their magic with the students was so much fun. Questions ranging from: "Will you adopt me?," "How old are you?," and "But how does the princess climb up into her bed at night?" (spoken of a very tall bed in the shape of a swan), made me laugh and think and remember how much fun it is to speak to kids. The authors all were artists too, and they amazed the students with their inclusive art and "cooking" projects (how to cook a story - ingredients included a tablespoon of characters, a dash of problems, and a quarter cup of setting - or something like that!).

What I walked away with is a renewed desire to attend conferences again. I've spoken at a few, which I love doing, but I also like sitting in the audience and being entertained. There are so many great ideas out there, and so much to learn. I think I'll check out what SCBWI is offering in the near future!

The photo is of my son's second grade teacher, Mrs. Hodges, escorting me around Mariposa School when I was a guest speaker. She graciously offered to carry all of my stuff for me, and I agreed for this photo op. They treated me so well that I'm always eager to go back!

Conferences: To go or not to go...

I have time for just a quick post on my way to the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Conference/Convention in Orlando, FL to present a roundtable discussion along with fellow authors from the Class of 2K9 on the topic of "The Other Happily Ever After: A Retooling of the Female Hero's Journey." It has only been in the last few years that I have become a presenter at some conferences, rather than an attendee, and even more recently I've become an organizer of conferences now that I am Regional Advisor for the MD/DE/WV chapter of SCBWI. The last two roles present a lot more stress and advance preparation, but my main focus and hope remains the same: to make and renew connections with fellow writers and to give and receive inspiration to keep writing.

Probably my favorite and most productive conference that I attended was during the summer of 2006 when I submitted 10 pages of my manuscript in progress for a 15 minute one-on-one critique with an editor. That 15 minutes with Michelle Poploff, VP and Executive Editor of Delacorte Press, eventually led to the contract for my middle grade novel, ROAD TO TATER HILL. And at a conference during the summer of 2010, Michelle Poploff and I gave a joint presentation on our author/editor revision process.

Attending conferences is expensive during these difficult economic times. I suggest first researching topics and speakers and looking for some "hands-on" craft-oriented sessions, before registering. Go to the conference with an open mind, not expecting a miracle, but definitely expecting to make new connections with other writers and illustrators, to gain some practical advice, and to go home inspired to persevere. If you're lucky, you may even have one of those "aha" moments that will provide a breakthrough in your career!

Kindling

My experience with electronic books is so extremely limited that I have guts even writing this. I know I've avoided the subject as it seemed to be in such opposition to the experience of a story. When I read a book, it is tactile. I feel the pages, and turn them and many times wander ahead in the story to return to an earlier part. The experience of falling into a book, is entering a world, finding myself inside of it and turning page after page.
Yet, the kindling world recent broke through my clear attachment to the traditional book form. I was at lunch with a friend sitting at a marble oyster bar and next to me was an almost elderly gentleman, enjoying his po-boy with an electronic book set up on a stand. It displayed two pages at at a time, and he could eat and read rather effortlessly. I became interested and we shared a conversation. He still loves books, real books, books with pages and covers that hold that paper and ink scent, yet, especially when he travels, the electronic book becomes a friend.
I get this, and may eventually get one, but find my thoughts meandering back to ancient words found on salt tablets and papyrus, the printing press, and how the future filled with words always presses on expressing as our technologies evolve.

It has been a long time

Well, I'm here to catch up after an amazing trip researching Picasso in France, Spain, and Connecticut.

In France I visited most of the place where he lived near the Mediterranean: From Cadaqués (very much the same as he painted it) to Nimes (Roman bullfight ring), to Nice where my husband and I stayed a few days, driving every day to towns such as Antibes (where he learned to do ceramics) and Mougins where he died. On our way back we drove to Aix-Provence where he and his second wife, Jacqueline, are buried, then through the gorgeous Pyrenees to visit Gósol where he spent a summer. He chose his places well!

In Barcelona we visited Picasso's museum and we have photos of the places he lived and worked. We ate a couple of times at Els Quatre Gats where he often got together with friends.

Málaga is the city that celebrates him the most. His natal house is a museum and there is a museum with his childhood paintings and paintings that his first wife Olga kept. The day of his birthday, October 25, my husband accidentally--luckily--took an alleyway. The media was there and who comes out but Bernard Ruiz-Picasso. I got to shake hands with Pablo Picasso's grandson!

Back home--not quite but in Connecticut--I visited Yale's Bierneke Library and had in my hands original letters and postcards written by Picasso!

I'm sure you can feel how pleased I am!

My comments on picture books: Because of the pictures, they are a form that English learners can understand and learn the language. If they don't get the written word, they look at the pictures to get it. For that reason and many others picture books must live!

My comments on e-books: They are another way to read. Some people read better on paper, others don't. And it is easier to travel with a Kindle than to travel with many books.

Am I covering everything I've missed? Who knows? But for those of you who don't like to read long posts, this is enough.

THE BEST puPET theater OF ALL!

Pardon me for posting off-topic, but I wanted to share the wonderful experience I had in Kansas City, Missouri last week. Last spring I was contacted by the Paul Mesner Puppet Theater who was interested in producing my picture book The Best Pet of All for their November production. My publisher was able to work out all the legal formalities, and last week I flew down to watch the opening night premiere.

It was wonderful! In the morning I saw two performances, one sitting with an audience of 200 preschool-second graders who roared with laughter, and one sitting behind the scenes watching two puppeteers scurrying about as they worked their magic. In the evening I watched a performance attended mainly by adult donors then signed books afterwards.

I was especially curious as to how they would take my 500-word story (which takes about five minutes to read) and turn it into a 50-minute production. They did so by paying close attention to the illustrator Hanako Wakiyama's artwork and turning small details into full scenes. For example on the first page of the book the boy asks his mom for a dog and she says, "No, dogs are too messy." Hanako painted the mom working out to a television exercise show. The puppeteers picked up on this detail and created an entire scene where the mom is working out to a TV show called Davy Jones' Fitness Locker: "Alright Ladies, it's time to do those Capt'n Crunches!" It was hilarious. They fleshed out other scenes in a similar way.

I was amazed at all the clever tricks the puppeteers had up their sleeves, from using a real fire extinguisher to make the dragon look like he was roasting hot dogs in the living room, to using different versions of the same puppet for different scenes (there is one dragon puppet for when he is eating spaghetti in the bathtub, and a completely different dragon puppet for when he is dancing to music).

It was exciting to see my story come to life in this new way and I'm very grateful for everyone at Paul Mesner Puppets for the care they took with my book. Once again I'm reminded of how our books have a life of their own.

Conferences—connections, injections

This round of posts we're talking about conferences—their value, which we've attended, and which ones we would recommend. In fact, I've never enrolled in a conference, but have only attended conferences where I've been a keynote speaker, break-out session presenter, or on a panel—SCBWI Conferences, the Charlotte Huck Festival, California Reading Association, CCBC biennial, Mazza Museum of International Art from Picture Books Fall Weekend, Reading the World, and several others. Many use the conference as an introduction to attending editors. There is often a policy that allows submissions (at houses where submissions are not usually open) for a period of time after the conference. Perhaps because I worked in-house at several publishers in NYC, this has not been my own strategy or intent. Conferences provide rare times to draw creators out of their caves to connect with others. For me conferences are about community and inspiration. I love hearing other writers and illustrators describe the backdrop and development process of their stories. Speaking at conferences gave me the opportunity to meet fellow potatoes Stephanie and Edie. Stephanie and I are pictured below at the Charlotte Huck Festival many years ago. Which one of you will I meet next?

The picture book app and Me

My Hornbook Magazine came in the mail yesterday and I was delighted to open up to Roger Sutton's editorial: "When A is for App". He asks some very interesting questions, ("so... when do we stop calling them books?") after observing a little girl clicking through a picture book app, page to page. Later in the article he observes how "book-bound" the apps are. The authors and illustrators featured in the app downloads he mentions, (Ruckus Media and Oceanhouse), wrote and illustrated for the printed page. How much input do they have when it comes to turning their books into apps? Should these large media outfits confer with author or illustrator when creating the apps? Or should they even consider using the editor who was deeply involved with the creation of the original printed picture book?

Here I will speak for myself. The author of my illustrated book, Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs, Linda Ashman sent me an email just last week with a link to an app for our book. I don't have a kindle or an iPad (yet!), but I immediately downloaded it to my iPhone and played around with it. "Played" is the keyword here. With all of the bells ringing every time you turn a page (go here to experience how Iceberg Kids apps work.) and the recorder to make your own voice reading the story, it becomes a toy, and not the intimate experience of reading a book. I applaud the opportunity to record a favorite uncle's voice reading the story-- or even the child's voice reading aloud to his or herself, but what then? Is the child put to bed with their iPhone/iPad reading to them? What happened to the warm lap or the comforting arm around the pajama-clad child? Not to mention the interaction between child and adult as they page through the picture book together. (Check this out to see that the picture book is alive and well. )To me, it is a toy. An educational toy. Would I have bought one for my kids when they were little? Yes, especially for long drives in the car. But there would also be the box of books in the car for them to leaf through at their leisure, forwards and backwards, again and again. And at home, there would be just as many books on the shelves, because books are books, and apps are toys.

In terms of conferring with the author and illustrator about the making of the app, here is my two cents: In the Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs app from Iceberg Kids, there is an automatic zoom from a close-up of the image to the overall spread after the words have been read. The choice of "close-ups" from which to zoom does not always make sense. Had I been consulted, I would definitely have had a few things to say about the visuals that would make a better flow of text and image for the user of this app. (Note: I say "user" rather than "reader"-- it is a different experience, and I say this with no judgement of good or bad. ) It is very early in the world of picture book apps, but I would call for the inclusion of the original illustrators and authors when possible, in order to make a more integrated experience of the original picture book. This would allow each app its own unique look, just like each picture book is unique. This would be more appealing than wrestling and pulling each picture book to conform to the format of the app which tends to be rather institutional in its aesthetic. But this would take the same careful attention an author, illustrator, editor, and designer give to each picture book. This would take time. And with the speedy growth of the eBook and Apps, I don't think this kind of time is possible.

My only experience with e-books is through the Kindle that my 77 year old mother-in-law just bought. She loves it, and as she is an avid reader, she uses it every day. She is the leader of a book club, and still uses "real" books for that, so she can turn the pages back and forth easily for discussion, but I'm sure that once she figures out how to do that on Kindle, she'll be blazing the way for her friends and family. Perhaps someday I will be the lucky recipient of a gift card, so that I can feel less guilty about buying a Kindle. :) The first thing I will do is order all of your books, and practice my e-book skills on them!!

On Digital Immigration...

It's hard to write about the ebook. I've seen someone's Kindle and it was cool. I wanted one. But did I want one to read books on or because it's the newest coolest gadget out there?
I was recently in Texas, doing some school visits. The library coordinator there was so smart. So Smart. And she had a couple terms I'd never heard before. Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants.
We potatoes are all Digital Immigrants. We have migrated to the digital age, the age of computers and ebooks, after living several decades on the Earth with nothing even close to computers. I remember how cool VCR's were, and who the first family was in my town to get one.
On the other hand, my children are Digital Natives. My youngest was two when we first brought a computer into the house. Does she remember life without a computer? Doubtful. Her life has consisted of one technological revolution after another.
As a Digital Immigrant, I still fight it sometimes. I like buying pens and writing in a notebook. Notebooks are a lot harder to lose than digital files. I like curling up with a hot drink and my library book, eating my sandwich and getting crumbs all over it, which I quickly wipe away. I'm a messy reader, I admit. I'm not sure ebooks would be as forgiving to this Digital Immigrant as the real ones have been...

The e-book and how it might affect us...

Our topic for this round of posts was to be "the e-book and how it might affect us, both as readers and as writers." Judging from the lack of responses from our spuds thus far, it appears we may not yet know how it will affect us. I personally don't think I will ever want to give up the traditional bound book (either paperback or hardcover), but I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by the Kindle and how easy it is to use.

Random House simultaneously published my book, ROAD TO TATER HILL, in hardcover and e-book formats. My latest statement shows that not many e-books have sold yet (only 24 as of June 30th), but I am happy to have it available for those who choose to read in that format.

Not long ago I was given an Amazon gift card, and I decided to use it to purchase a Kindle. Of course, the first book I had to buy was ROAD TO TATER HILL! I wanted to see exactly how my book would appear in that format. Here are a few pros and cons for e-books as I see it.
Pros:
1. Less expensive to buy individual books.
2. The e-book arrives almost instantly if you're within internet access.
3. The Kindle is easy to carry or pack when traveling.
4. You can take any number of books with you without taking up any more space.
5. The pages don't get worn or torn.
6. The page (at least of the Kindle) has no glare.
7. When you take a break from reading and turn your Kindle off, it reopens to the page you were last reading. No need for a bookmark!
8. The print/font size can be enlarged as needed.

Cons:
1. You may not find the books you want in e-book format.
2. It's almost too easy to order a book! By accident I ordered one I didn't want, just by pushing the wrong button, and I had to go through canceling the sale.
3. You can't buy an "autographed" copy if you happen to know the author.
4. It's difficult to lend. I just finished reading THE RED KAYAK by Priscilla Cummings and immediately recommended it to my husband. However, if I want him to read it, I have to give up my Kindle for however long it takes him to finish the book.
5. I have yet to learn how to go back to the beginning of the book or find a specific page without continuously pushing the "back" button until I get there. (There's probably a simple answer to this that I haven't yet found.)
6. The initial cost of the Kindle is rather expensive, at least by my standards. I bought mine for $139, and paid extra for the nice leather protective cover. I would not have bought it if not for the gift card.

I think the e-book is here to stay. I, as an author and reader, will embrace it as a new form, but will not give up my love for and collection of traditional books!

November also means PiBoIdMo!

October was a month of celebrations for me. Celebrating two new picture books, 1 + 1 = 5 and Other Unlikely Additions and Minnesota's Hidden Alphabet. Celebrating turning 50 years old (it's been one of my best birthdays ever). And of course celebrating Halloween, with plenty of pumpkin carving.

Now it's time to catch my breath and look at a new month. As Stephanie reminded us, November is National Novel Writing Month. Cheers and good wishes to all who are taking up this challenge. But for those of you who wish to try a shorter writing form, November is also Picture Book Idea Month, or PiBoIdMo.

For the second year in a row, Tara Lazar has assembled a collection of children's authors and illustrators who are providing inspiration and encouragement on writing picture books. Readers of Tara's blog are encouraged to take the PiBoIdMo Challenge: come up with one new idea for a picture book each day throughout the month of November. And for all those who follow through, she is offering some fabulous prizes (oh, I do love contests!), including free books, original artwork, manuscript critiques from published authors, and personal consultation from established agents. Best of all, after 30 days you'll have 30 (or more) ideas for a new book.

It's not too late to take part. You have until November 7th to take the PiBoIdMo pledge to qualify for prizes. And even if you don't sign up for the challenge, you can read the ongoing list of inspirational ideas to get motivated for your next picture book (I was the guest blogger for November 2).

Whether your interest lies in novels or a picture books, here's to a new month of celebrating successful writing!

November 1st means NaNoWriMo

Today I am hijacking the blog to shout from the rafters about one of my favorite things. Well, it is one of those favorite things that you end up despising at some point.... Yes, November 1st means it is time for:

National Novel Writing Month!!

You too can write a novel in 30 days. I have done it and am doing it again this year.

Check it out: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Over at Redstone Science Fiction today is an interview with myself and four other authors who managed to turn a NaNo project into a published novel.

http://redstonesciencefiction.com/2010/10/cribbs-essay-november2010/

Good luck to all of you who decide to join me in this writing quest!

Stephanie

Books equal love

As a very young child, my grandmother gave me the Peter Rabbit books, which I loved. She also gave me tiny books with great pieces of artwork in them from Monet, Degas, and Cezanne. I don't have them anymore, just the memory of a painting of a little girl that looked kind of like me on the cover of one.

As I grew, the books' content grew too, but it's funny that I only remember my first ones. I still have the Polar Express with her handwritten note inside the cover, and I've saved the books she gave my son. My grandma was the perfect grandma, and her books reminded me, and remind me today that I was, and am, loved by a very special person.

The Lonely Doll

I love going to the library, something that started when I was just a kid. Our town didn't have a library, so every Saturday we drove 6 miles to Merrillan, Wisconsin, population 636, where they had a tiny library, open only on Saturdays. My grandparents' insurance agency was just up the street, so we usually parked there and walked down.
This was the early 70's, and I doubt any book in that library had been published after 1965. So my check-outs consisted of oldies, like the The Wizard of Oz series and The Five Little Pepper series, both of which I now collect. ( Most of my Pepper books are first editions, with publication dates between 1890-1910. Oldies, indeed...) But they were new to me, so their age didn't matter.
But I think my absolute favorites were Dare Wright's books about Edith, The Lonely Doll. The library had big hardbacks of them, dressed in noisy, crinkly plastic covers. I'm not sure what it was about them that fascinated me, but one has to wonder the depth of the impression, given my first picture book was about a doll... I have searched on ebay for first editions of these, to no avail, but happily they came out as reprints a few years ago and I picked a couple up. There is something absolutely reassuring about having copies of these books and the Oz books and the Pepper books on my shelves. It's like I have my childhood there, just waiting for me to open the covers and go back to those days when I walked into that little library, eager to take stories home.

Favorite Picture Books from Childhood

A LITTLE HOUSE OF YOUR OWN (Harcourt Brace and Co.) by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers and with drawings by Irene Haas was one of my favorites. I was a child who loved to find my own cozy nook or hideaway to read in, and all the ideas triggered by this book gave both my brother and me endless hours of fun.



















I was also a girl who loved horses, saved my allowance for horseback riding lessons, collected china horse figurines, and spent hours galloping around on my imaginary horse, Salute. So, it's no surprise that THE LITTLE FELLOW (The John Winston Company) written by Marguerite Henry and illustrated by Diana Thorne was another favorite. Of course I went on to enjoy all of Marguerite Henry's books.



















A new bedtime favorite of my grandchildren's (and mine) is ONE WOLF HOWLS (Sylvan Dell Publishing) written by Scotti Cohn and illustrated by my good friend, Susan Detwiler. It's a wonderful concept book for not only learning about wolves and their habitats, but also counting and learning the seasons and months of the year. A favorite page for finding and counting all the wolves is for September:

"Nine wolves hide on September hilltops-
shy ones, sly ones, no one sees.
Nine wolves hide on September hilltops
deep in the woods in the falling leaves."

Tears of Laughter

I read a lot growing up, but mostly on my own. I do, however, remember reading Fox in Socks together with my father. He had been working out in the garage that evening, but when he came inside, we began taking turns reading the silly nonsense tongue twisters. "When Tweedle Beetles fight, it's a tweedle beetle battle..." As we stumbled through the rhymes, we laughed harder and harder until we both had tears running down our faces. It is a great book, no doubt about it, but part of what makes it so great in my memory is that I shared it with my father. That's the priceless magic of reading picture books together; it creates a bond between the reader and listener.

Fast forward thirty-five years and you'd see me sharing another picture book, this time with my friend Gary. Mo Willems' Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is so ridiculous, and so hilariously accurate with regards to children's (and yes, adults') emotions. Gary bought the book for me as a birthday gift that year, and we still crack each other up by quoting favorite lines. True story. Who says you ever get too old to share a picture book?

You are a cowboy

…riding around the range. Suddenly Bad-Nose Bill comes up behind you with a gun. He says, "Would you like me to shoot a hole in your head?"
What do you say, dear?





Early Sendak tickles me. The pages are graphic, open, and perfectly composed. Characters strike just the right emotional chord, yet nothing is labored. The economy of line makes the drawings fresh—like they were dashed off. Figures move with whimsy. This text, by Sesyle Joslin, is wonderfully absurd.


Give me any early Sendak book (don't care for the fussy later ones). These books all shaped my sense of what a picture book or early chapter book should be.

Words Like Seeds

Words are seeds that grow into stories. Images many times give rise to the words, for me. In Strong Moon Tonight, I saw a river, a tree, a father and son, and a mighty moon. I could see it and remember writing that image on a yellow legal pad. I wonder if other writers have beginnings that way? In the Alfalfa and the Omega, it was a voice that spoke so sassy and loud that she made me laugh out loud. In the short stories I have written for adults, I've found that the seed arrives from images and experiences. Then, my imagination joins the clan and off we go . . .

As a child, my first official story was a play titled "Santa Claus on the Moon". I gave my brother and sisters parts, used brown car coats for reindeer costumes with cutout round paper noses colored red (Rudolf, of course). My brother was Santa, in red footed pajamas and a beard made out of a paper plate and cotton balls. The Moon was three sofa cushions wrapped in a old yellow sheet with black marker craters. Our production debuted on Christmas Eve at my grandparents house, in front of 30 cousins, aunts and uncles and family friends. It was a great hit--but of course, they loved us! I was nine years old then.

Picture Books and Me

Ever since the NY times posted that article about the "Picture Book is Dead", I have wanted to write about it on this blog. It was the picture book that assured me one-on-one time with my mom, sitting in her lap, listening to the rise and fall of her voice while I had the luxury of "reading" the pictures without interruptions from my siblings. I had favorite picture books; carrying them from room to room, waiting for my mom to be finished in the kitchen or return from dropping my older sister off at nursery school and put my younger brother down for his nap, so I could curl up with her in the rocking chair and rock back and forth with her reading aloud. I loved the pictures and was not in a hurry to read myself. Picture books meant "love" and if I learned to read chapter books on my own, then I was alone-- or at least that is what I felt until I got hooked on Nancy Drew in the second grade and I have been an avid reader ever since.

When I was in the fourth grade, my family moved to Mt. Lebanon, a small suburb of Pittsburgh, PA. I had a wonderful art teacher, Miss Yingling, who noticed my shyness, being the new kid, and who also noticed my passion to draw. At that time the Carnegie Museum of Art had a program where art teachers in the public schools could choose one or two students to attend an art class held in a huge auditorium on Saturday mornings. I remember taking the city bus downtown to the museum, then getting in line with what seemed like hundreds of other 4th - 6th grade students to be given a 11 X 14 masonite drawing board, a sheet of manilla paper, a box of crayons, and a pencil. We took our places in the auditorium and wrote our names, address, and phone number on the back side of the paper in the upper left-hand corner. We used the crayon box to outline a horizontal box and a vertical box for thumbnail sketches, then used the slim side of the crayon box to outline a narrow rectangle in which we used our pencil to shade from dark to light. A color wheel with complimentary colors and secondary colors was drawn-- all of this was accomplished while waiting for all of the students to be seated. Then the teacher, whose name I cannot remember, would use a microphone and an easel and teach us to draw. There was usually a theme and we would watch, then draw two ideas for a picture- one in the horizontal box and one in the vertical box. This was the first hour of the class. The second hour was spent drawing the full-size picture on the other side of the paper in color with crayons. When the hour was done, we waited in line to turn in our supplies and place our drawings on the pile with hopes that our drawing would be "chosen." To be "chosen" would mean receiving a phone call mid-week and asked to come to the stage the following week and reproduce your drawing really big at an easel in colored chalk while the teacher taught in front of the stage. Then at the end of the two hours you would get to go up and speak into the microphone to briefly speak about what inspired you, and receive a pin. All during my fourth grade year, I yearned to be asked up onto the stage. In the fall of my fifth grade my mom finally got the call. I had drawn a kid jumping in leaves paying special attention to hands and feet, as we had learned how to draw them the week before. I remember donning a white painter's smock. There were ten easels on stage as ten students were chosen each week. I remember the feel and smell of the large colored chalk in one hand and holding onto my drawing from the week before in my other hand, referring back and forth as I enlarged it in front of all the other students in the audience. I remember my voice cracking in a whisper and being asked to speak louder into the mike. And then the pin. A little round pin. I felt like a real artist. An official artist. Two more times I went to that stage to draw before my family moved again. And what do picture books have to do with this? It was picture books that taught me to understand and connect to the world around me. It was picture books that inspired me to draw-- I learned about shape and expression, movement and composition that was re-inforced by the lessons I learned at the Carnegie Museum of Art. I no longer have the drawings except in my memory, but I have the three pins-- those three official pins that told me I was "real".

Raccoons

I'm jumping in here a day late. Sorry Mark!!

My first big writing "success" came when I was in 5th grade. We had just moved and when I started at a new school, I was jumped up to the 8th grade writing class for some reason. I truly didn't know why and no one explained it to me. (I was the third child, and I think that by that time my parents were tired of explaining things!) But in that class I wrote a poem about raccoons that won the admiration of the teacher, who made a big deal out of it to my parents. She even framed it for me. In our series of moves, the poem has been long lost, but maybe that's a good thing. I have a great memory of writing a good poem, and actually seeing it might make me think a little less of my accomplishment!! The painting that it was based on is long gone too, but I remember studying the scene of forest animals when it was hung in our family room.

I still love animals, and writing about them, and we even have some raccoons that live in the storm drain a few houses up from us.

My First Novel

The year was 1980. My sister and I spent the summer in England visiting our grandparents. Although we took many a daytrip to castles, cathedrals and various other tourist destinations, we were there for two months, leaving plenty of downtime. At some point during the summer, I decided to work on a novel and so a few days a week I packed up pen and paper and took the bus downtown to the Liverpool library, where I diligently wrote (by hand!) about 100 pages over the course of the summer. (The story itself involved a group of “stoners” at a high school reunion; a reflection of the milieu in Alaska at the time.) While it was not the first writing project I ever attempted, it was my first “completed” novel, and I still remember the pride I felt after I finished the last page and returned to my grandparents’ flat, certain that an adoring public would soon discover my literary talent! Although things did not exactly turn out that way, the experience remains a very fond memory from that summer.

I still have the hand-written manuscript tucked away somewhere for posterity…

An Early Story

While cleaning out a drawer recently, I came across a short story I wrote in 6th grade, entitled "Judy and Her Violin." I remember my teacher, Mrs. Rivas, spread pictures out on a table, and all the students got to look through the choices until we each found one that sparked an idea for a story. My picture was of a young girl playing a violin in an orchestra. It wasn't an ordinary orchestra, though, more likely one in a poverty-stricken/slum community. My story involved a girl who loved music and the Hull House, which was opened to improve social conditions for underserved people (mostly immigrants) in Chicago back in 1889.

About a week after I wrote the story, all the 5th and 6th graders (a couple hundred) were assembled in the auditorium, waiting for a program that was delayed for some reason. I guess the teachers were frantically trying to come up with things to kill time because the next thing I knew, my teacher was speaking into the microphone, announcing that Edith Morris would read her short story aloud. I remember my shocked walk from my seat in the auditorium up to the stage more clearly than I remember actually reading, but it makes me proud all these years later that she chose my story. I wish I still had the picture that sparked it!

Lessons

Lesson#1

When I began to color in coloring books, my sister said, "You don't color people's faces."

I ignored her. I colored pink faces pink, brown faces, black faces , purple faces. People are not all white, nor all black. We are all people of color.

Lesson#2

In second grade my teacher asked my class to paint landscapes.

At home we had a painting by Tía Marta. It was of a river in the night, the moon reflecting on it. I decided to paint my version. Hadn't Picasso imitated other artists such as Matisse and Velazquez successfully? Why not me.

My river zigzagged down, like black cloth cut with pinking shears. The moon had ripped the river in half, its pale-yellow rays zigzagging, too.

"What's that?" my classmates asked horrified.

I tried to explain.

"It's ugly!" they said.

Wasn't that what Pablo Picasso's friends said of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon?

I should have kept my landscape.