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Censorship Kerfuffle Update and Thankful Thursday

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:08:32 GMT

I want to thank everyone with all my heart who responded with encouragement and support for Maddy. She really appreciated it! It made her cheerful, and by the end of the day, that was very necessary!

I received no response from the teacher in question, but when Maddy got to Honors English 7th period this is what happened:

Maddy and friends enter and sit.
Teacher looks past Maddy to Maddy's friend and says loudly, "Do you know if (other Honors English teacher) has a class 7th period? I need to get someone out of this class."
Maddy is embarrassed but remains silent. Other students are giving her looks and whispering about it.
Teacher, (after no response, and to the room at large) loudly proclaims, "Stay here! I have to go see (other Honors English teacher) and check if she has an opening this period. I need to remove a student!"

Ugh! The thing is, until this happened, Maddy loved this class. She doesn't want a schedule change, and I think it is wrong (again!) to allow the teacher to force one. In fact, after the initial kerfuffle over the assignment, Maddy and I agreed to just let it go, as long as the teacher didn't go forward with the detention. And I was convinced she wouldn't; that she it had just been an overreaction and that she would realize that, and not hand in the detention slip. In which case, we would have let the whole thing drop. But no...

So I called (Mr. nice VP) again, and left a message explaining that Maddy does not want to change classes, and that it sounds like we need a meeting with the teacher. He emailed me back saying he would call this morning, but that the teacher was requesting until Monday to respond to my email.

I bet. Time to call her union rep, I'm guessing. Wish she'd thought about the repercussions before she upbraided and tried to censor Maddy, and then wouldn't let it go. Now I think she owes her an apology in front of the class. Is that too much?

What are we teaching kids about responsibility and accountability, when teachers are allowed to say and do whatever they want? [Note: my husband is a public school teacher, and I have the utmost respect for those who do this hardest of jobs. But they also must act respectfully to their students, the students' parents, and the differing value systems that built this country and its freedoms. And we all need to be held accountable for our actions, especially those in positions of authority and influence.]

Moving on...

Thankful Thursday (Summer Vacation-style)in photos:

Bear and needtobreathe live!

A very sweet and chubby ground squirrel.

A Stellar's Jay.

The Lone Cypress

Anthony Tashnick, Big Wave Surfer Extraordinaire!

Me and Tazzy!

Wednesday (W)ramblings

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:01:28 GMT

I've walked through this life with certain... shall we say, expectations, about the things I'll do, the places I'll see. And as time passes, (a lot of it, more than 40 years of it) these opportunities pass me by. In some way, it is the natural order of things, and in some small way, I'll grieve as the dream--however small--gives up the ghost.

Case in point: As a literary and not a literal foodie, I'd always anticipated someday dining at the Russian Tea Room and Tavern on the Green in NYC. The Tea Room dream died in 2002. Now the Tavern dream is gone as well:
Times article

At least I am fortunate enough to have eaten, in my youth, at Maxwell's Plum, the San Francisco iteration.

I signed up for JoNoWriMo 1.5 and will keep this blog posted with goals and achievements and whatnot.

In other randomness, my daughter's Honors English teacher assigned the class to write an alternate ending for a short story they read. It was a fairly violent story, and rather than go the usual route of more mayhem and murder (which most of her peers chose), Maddy decided to have the two male antagonists fall in love.

Her teacher didn't like that at all, and told Maddy her ending was "inappropriate", going on to mischaracterize Maddy's ending as having the two characters "having sex under a tree".

The actual ending read: "They fell in love, and lived happily ever after." (Maddy enjoyed the satire of having two opposing forces come together and do something different than expected). Heh.

Maddy stood her ground, explaining to the teacher that it was love, not lust, and that there was no sex involved. She also said it was less inappropriate to have two men fall in love than it was to have all those mass murders being committed.

As you might have guessed, the teacher wrote her up for being "rude and argumentative" and gave her detention.

Which resulted in a call to the Vice Principal this morning, and the following email to the teacher:

Ms. (Name omitted for obvious reasons),

I spoke with Maddy after school on Monday regarding the issue you and she had in class.
I've also spoken with Mr. (really nice guy VP) this morning regarding the same, and he asked that I outline my concerns to you.

Maddy's father and I object to both the detention/disciplinary incident report, and the characterization (by you, in front of the class) of her rewritten story ending as "inappropriate".

If you had an issue with Maddy's ending, it would have been fine to speak to her about that after class, and in private, rather than berating her in front of the class, and mischaracterizing the content of her assignment before her peers.

I understand that she spoke back to you, but I believe it was only to correct your misstatements about her work, and to defend what she had written, which was in no way inappropriate.

Maddy can be a boisterous person, but I believe she is generally respectful in school and diligent in her assignments. Maddy does, however, have a strong sense of right and wrong, and will not tolerate injustice or censorship, both of which I believe, she felt took place during the course of your disagreement in class.

To say that a love relationship (not sexual relationship, as you assumed) between two people of the same gender is inappropriate is not the job of the educational system. To say so in the face of other violent endings being deemed "appropriate" is irresponsible, especially given the actual content of the story, which was far from passive or mundane.

Whether you or I or the boy in the corner believe someone else's life-style choices or values are "appropriate"
should not come into play when grading or reviewing assignments or teaching other peoples' children. It is not the role of the educational system, and when it becomes so, we will have lost a great standard of the freedoms upon which this country was founded.

Sincerely,

Ally Cowee

We'll see what happens...

Most Embarassing Song

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:32:10 GMT

Today I'm asking a question, and sharing a tidbit: What's the most embarrassing song on your iPod, iTunes, playlists etc. You know, the one you only play when you're wearing headphones, or when the house is empty? And why do you have it?

I have a crazy-eclectic mix of stuff in my iTunes, but I think my MOST embarrassing song, even more than those couple by Haley Duff, and The Spongebob theme is:

Go The Distance by Michael Bolton (from the Hercules soundtrack) but I have it because it's... well... inspiring :D So, what's yours?

I have often dreamed
Of a far off place
Where a hero's welcome
Would be waiting for me
Where the crowds will cheer
When they see my face
And a voice keeps saying
This is where I'm meant to be

I'll be there someday
I can go the distance
I will find my way
If I can be strong
I know ev'ry mile
Will be worth my while
When I go the distance
I'll be right where I belong

Down an unknown road
To embrace my fate
Though the road may wander
It will lead me to you
And a thousand years
Would be worth the wait
It may take a lifetime
But somehow I'll see it through

And I won't look back
I can go the distance
And I'll stay on track
No I won't accept defeat
It's an uphill slope
But I won't lose hope
Till I go the distance
And my journey is complete

But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part
For a hero's strength is measured by his heart

Like a shooting star
I can go the distance
I will search the world
I will face its harms
I don't care how far
I can go the distance
TillI find my hero's welcome
Waiting in your arms...

I will search the world
I will face its harms
TillI find my hero's welcome
Waiting in your arms...

Beautiful Time Sucks and Why We Need Them

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:33:12 GMT

Ok. So I promised you a post yesterday. Your point? I fell into the Nerdvana that is Goodreads (after my writing time, mind you) and spent much of my evening post-workout and dinner in a state of wondrous satiation.

So go friend me there! (But not until you've done your writing for the day!) Also, can anyone tell me why it won't let me friend people? It keeps telling me I've met my maximum for the day, but I can't get past 13 friends total. *sigh*

And for those of you more techwise than myself, can anyone get LJ and Facebook to interact together, the way Facebook seems to with every other app under the sun? (Oh Facebook, how I love thee...)

So, other than a single post in June, it's been over a year since I blogged. I've changed a lot in that year, most of it (I hope) for the better.

Some hard things happened last August, along with some great things. My beloved kitty passed away, I parted ways with my agent, I attended a marvelous conference and made some fantastic friends. But while all of it was happening, I kept feeling drained, overwhelmed, creatively bereft.

As we do, I tried to soldier through. And as we do (though lately I've seen a number of writers coming out of the closet with their frustrations, the pains that accompany the joys of writing, most notably Courtney Summers here: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/courtneysummers/42693.html) I hid my stress, and angst, and pain. So I wasn't here. Or at Verla's much. I Twittered now and then, and got on Facebook. But mostly I worked on freelance editing projects, and chatted with my crit peeps as if all were fine. And I kept working. Because that is what we do, right?

After leaving my agent, I started touching base with other possibilities, many from when I jumped first and asked questions later and signed with my first agent. I wasn't subbing the novel he'd shopped, but the one I'd completed and he hadn't yet seen. I knew the first book needed some tweaking, it was I'd left in the first place. He was ready to shelve it, but I knew I could make it stronger. When I realized the novel I was subbing needed more work, I stopped writing and started reading: Scene and Structure, Hooked, The Artful Edit, Story, Writing Fiction, and The Anatomy of Story. From early October through Jan 1, that is all I did. No writing. Only craft reading and pleasure reading.

And on Jan 2, I was ready to work. I knew what LTS and BSD needed, knew how to rewrise and make them not just good, but great, fabulous, amazing! But as we know, "Men make plans, and God laughs." I spent the next 3 months plus some, sick as a dog. Too dizzy to even sit in front of the computer. Now I can't remember exactly what I did during that time besides go to doctors, but I think it might have involved a lot of sleeping. By the time I was diagnosed and we got the situation under control, six months had passed and I hadn't written more than a few words, and perhaps some notes!

But here's the kicker. It was a great, good, wonderful thing! Because as God knew, more than anything, even more than writing, which I love, love, love! I needed to recharge, recover, rejuvenate, refresh, and refill. Otherwise, I would never have been able to create, and recreate!

He knew better than me. During the recoup time, when we were figuring out what course of action to take medically, I started working with a wonderful personal trainer who lives in my neighborhood and has a home gym and a pool. Since April, I've been working out an hour a day, five days a week, and I feel better than I have in 23 years. I'm on target to meet my weight loss/fitness goal at the end of January, which may seem like a long time, but I'm 42 people! Life-style changes are slow when you're this old *smirk* And I have to say, there've been many other healthy changes to accompany my working out. (Now hubby's working out twice a week!)

Perhaps one of the most important things I've discovered from all of this is that not only is balance in life attainable, it is vital. I'm a bit of a Type A girl; I love my job, I love to work. I have a tendency to overdue it, and especially since for many years I had to scrabble for writing time, I have a hard time letting it go at the end of the work day, leaving it behind and going on to family time, relaxation, and refilling of the well.

I can't work without isolation, and my office is in my entry-way/eating-area/kitchen. Clearly I don't work weekends! But even throughout two periods of unemployment within the last year (yes, hubby is a teacher in California, poor guy) I have the blessing and luxury of being a writer at home with my kids. Which means for 185 days of the year, I can write for 4-5 hours a day. And now, finally, that is enough :)

I've learned to use my time to write, and ruminate, and edit, and submit, and plan. I save the beautiful time-sucks like Facebook, and Twitter, and *gasp* Goodreads, and LJ for a few minutes in the morning, and a bit of time in the evening. (Or a sneak peek at lunch.)

And when my alarm goes off at 2:15 each afternoon, I hit ctrl-s, smile, and head off to change for my workout. I don't look back, and I don't reopen that document until the next day. And although I may think and dream and make a note here and there, I'm learning to check my writing day at the door. And I think I'm a much better, happier, healthier novelist, wife, and mother because of it *smile*.

Edited to add: And lest you think this post sounds holier-than-thou, let me assure you, I just spent 2 1/2 hours of writing time cleaning the kitchen (not my chore this week, but my in-laws are passing through) and writing this post. Guilt is a lot more difficult to check at the door. *grin*

It's Today, It's Today!

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:06:16 GMT

Remember how excited George was to meet his new littls brother, Stuart Little? He kept jumping up and down and shouting, "It's today! It's today!"

I'm that excited. Today is that day *smile*. (The two of you who still read this long-stagnant blog know what I mean, don't you?)

Today is the first day of school! And while I am no longer a student myself, I still roll around the school calendar, what with having 3 kids, and a husband who's a teacher, and whatnot.

Today I am the mother of a cell-phone wielding freshman in high school. She has volleyball tryouts this afternoon. Wish her well, if you read this :) Go Maddy!

I'm the mother of a 6th grader! A willowy, (yeah, I know right, where'd she get that height?!) bright, funny girl! Yay, Kate!!

I also claim that most awe-inspiring of creatures, the eleventh grade boy :) Tall (again with the height!), handsome, and all spiffy-smelling! It's a new year. Michael, you rock!

Hubby is now teaching an hour away, so we add the dimension of the long commute to our life and schedule this year. But hey, in this economy, in this state, in his underated, underpaid profession, who can complain? Honey, you're all that and a bag of Snapeas!!

I'm not simply excited for my family, though. See, here's the thing. I'm really a solitary kinda person. I crave alone time (except for the animals). Time to read, and reflect, and meditate, and pray, and yes, time to write!!!

During the summer, it does not happen. Not at all. And that's okay, too, because I love the luxury of spending time with my family; the lazy, relaxed pace of slow days and sleepy nights. I enjoy the downtime. But some days I cannot wait for it to end!

Autumn is energizing; and though here in Northern CA we won't see fall weather for a long while now, as the clock turns to school time, so I turn to the rejevenation and renewed thrill of work and writing and arting. I'm not a New Year's kinda goal setter. I set my goals when school starts, planning my year around holidays and breaks. So today I'll sit and dream and plan, for this year and also the future.

But I'll also write, because I'm in the middle of one novel revision, and will start reworking another as soon as I finish!

For those of you (still) reading, tune in tomorrow to hear what precipitated a nearly 1-year blog hiatus, and how my life has changed for the better in the interim. I'm off to savor the silence and revise that novel!

It's today! It's today!

Been a long, long while!

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:16:48 GMT

And besides sending a shout out to everyone on the f-list, I'm in desperate need of new icons!

My daughter is so bored and Halo'ed out that she's pretending to stalk Holly Black on MySpace :S

Yes, she is a little strange; perhaps the impending Freshman year is scaring her... or addling her brain... what was left of it...

A month of tough decisions

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:43:59 GMT

and yesterday... a heartbreaking good-bye.

Not the cutest pic of him, but I'm not up to looking through a bunch right now...

One snowy winter day in February 1992, a young woman walked into a shelter in Wolfeboro, NH and walked out with a new addition to her family of felines. Little Roland (for that was his name) wasn't too keen on the car ride home, but quickly fell into love and into step with his new family. Over the years, he went from being the youngest, to being the oldest, bidding farewell to his older brothers and welcoming others (felines, humans! even canines) into his growing family.

And he was always welcoming. Always friendly and loving. And though never a talker, would ride proudly atop his owner's shoulders.

He slept in my bed for 16 1/2 years, sharing it amiably with other cats, kids, husband, even the dogs every once in a while.

How I loved him!

Ahhh...

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:00:18 GMT

Wow.

I've been completely alone in the house (except for the animals, who're also totally relaxed and thrilled to be back in the rhythm of the school year) for about 1 1/2 hours now.

What an amazing blessing to be able to have space and time to create. I'm inexpressibly grateful.

Today is about incorporating the crits from PCCWW into Calendar, trying to move forward a bit with the story, and working on some freelance editing projects. I intentionally allowed for a slower start to ease the transition back to work. I'm also trying to weave together the playlist for CALENDAR. I have the theme, so that's good, but the rest always takes forever! And I do need to have it in order to sprint later in the process.

About PCCWW. It's not really a conference, and I shouldn't use that misnomer. It is a workshop. Extremely intense. Insanely productive. Amazingly intimate.

A couple of pictures: First is of Saturday night faculty dinner. (I was adjunct faculty, so to speak, as I presented the focus session on Saturday.) The theme for this year's workshop was epiphanies and endings. Edward is on the end, across from me, with Nancy Sondel, the workshop director, between us at the head of the table. Anne is two up from him on the right, in the leather jacket. Photo thanks to Doug Giddings.

One of the masterclass crits (this is a 3 on 1 critique. The other attendees are present and are invited to participate at the end with questions and comments on the manuscript.) Each faculty member crits for 5 minutes, the author asks questions/clarifies their points for 5 minutes and then there are 10 minutes of audience participation. Some crits are more a round-table discussion between faculty and author with audience chiming in. Mine was like that.

This was just after our Sunday brunch. Most everyone had left, but we gathered for one last picture. Can you tell which one is Edward? There WERE men attendees, 4 actually. Photo thanks to Derrick, our server.

The main issue with CALENDAR was structure. Talking it over with Anne and Edward was heady and enlightening and... empowering. So off I go to get to work. More later. Specifics and details and applications.

The second coolest thing about this workshop are the opportunities to chat with the faculty, get to know them as people. Amazing. Fun. Trippy. A blessing.

I leave you with a video from the CALENDAR playlist. This is for the theme song:

Aristotle's Incline ala Ray of The Weekend Novelist et moi...

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:02:55 GMT

Okay, sadly I don't own the book, so I'm going from my notes, but, Mel asked about Ari's incline and this is how Ray visuals it, and I use it:

Opening Scene and Closing Scene provide a frame for the story.

The hook and the introduction(s)[characters, setting, conflict, desires etc.] occur in Act One, where the action starts slowish and picks up but slowly. Imagine a line starting at bottom left and moving upward in an incline to upper right.

Plot Point One (this is a MAJOR pp) ends Act One; sending the mc in a new direction, usually an action or decision they think will help them achieve their goal, but which actually results in MAJOR COMPLICATIONS, which are revealed in ACT TWO.

[this is all my weird paraphrasing, btw, lol]

ACT TWO is all about conflict and complications, lots of them. It's also a good place to weave in some backstory, if necessary. Make it seamless, though, or it will disrupt the narrative flow. ACT TWO is the longest act in the book, so it's important to keep the action rising (remember that incline) but not too quickly and not too slowly!

The MIDPOINT divides parts one and two of ACT TWO, and is a nice place for romance, seduction, and minor, foreshadowing transformations. Ray says the MP links the two chains of events in the book, those leading up to the MP and those leading away to climax and eventual resolution.

PLOT POINT 2 caps ACT TWO and is the best place for a reversal, because this is the moment of decisive change-- this is the catalyst that transforms the mc. Action. Ray characterizes it as a mini-climax that propels the story into ACT THREE. PP 1 and PP 2 must have a distinct connection.

ACT THREE is where the action peaks and then quickly falls; the shortest act in the book. MC is tired and defeated, but makes one last decision toward change. This time the mc succeeds, and in the resolution, the story plays itself out to its natural and satisfying conclusion, which ends in the wrap up.

Which wraps up my post for today :)

Back to the revision-zone!

My Other Revision...

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:59:05 GMT

Or repurposing... I like revision(ing)

These silver(plate)? spoons into a wedding gift for our kids old babysitter (and our recent petsitter)

They started like this:

And now they look like this:

Today I'll add found text to the bowls of the spoons to create the poem I wrote for the happy couple. After sealing and letting them dry until tomorrow night, I'll add some embellishments and jump rings and we'll have a wedding spoon book :) Will post picks when they're finished.

And hey, if you happen to have some silver or silverplate spoons lying around and want a book made for you, let me know. These are FUN!!!

Objects in Mirror are Larger Than They Appear

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:38:50 GMT

Tomorrow I begin revisions on The Brown Shoe Diaries.
Armed with comments from 3 beta readers and my lovely CP
idaho_laurie plus the normal route I walk.

Tomorrow and the day after, I will read through each reader's comments,
making notes, and adding notes to the revision sheets I am already starting
out with, ie.

BSD Revisions (surfing) Things to watch in descriptions: flow/fluid/grace/style
These aren't WORDS to use or that I might have overused (that comes way later in
the process) these are keywords to remind me of the comments I need to incorporate
into the surf scenes.

I'll read through for Voice, seamlessness, pacing (Ari's incline etc.)
Ask, is there conflict on every page? Are the 5/6 senses present on each page?
Can any visual details be added or expanded?

And remind myself that except in summary:NO TELLING! SHOW!

And I'll make the necessary changes.

For Melody (and anyone who needs it)

Wed, 21 May 2008 22:03:43 GMT

Okay I may be showing my age here (my kids would agree) but YouTube just constantly surprises me by what you can find there!

newport2newport posted a video clip that was so in sync with how I've been feeling the last two days!! [Quick run look if you haven't already and come back]

Some novels just pour onto the page, but others drip, slowly. I've been fighting and fighting The Brown Shoe Diaries, struggling with every word and it finally occurred to me that as Aiden goes through her losses, I am reliving my own as well.

This may be completed novel #5 for me (with 5 others in various stages) but this is the only one that has true autobiographical elements to it. And there's many of them, let me tell you! No wonder it's taking me 5x as long to write it as I think it should. It hurts!

So, in honor of my mom, and Mel (just because, not like she's old enough to be my mom) I bring you a song from my playlist from The Brown Shoe Diaries, enjoy!

Daily Book Bits May 20, 2008

Wed, 21 May 2008 03:37:31 GMT

The Brown Shoe Diaries

Words written: not nearly enough lol! (not done quite yet, so...)

Delights: Though there's great sorrow at this point in the story, it is still beautiful.

Struggles: Well, ya know sorrow can be a bee-yatch to write :)

Amusing: Yeah. Not much today. Maybe tomorrow? Or not?!

Research Google: Do siblings share DNA?

And that's it for today.

Rest well all!

I have no clever title, not even a not-clever title for today...

Tue, 20 May 2008 14:49:46 GMT

Progress, I have, tho.

Brown Shoe Diaries: Moving on toward finishment.

(no word yet from editor reviewing requested partial)

Life's Too Short

(yeah, still completed, still out on subs, no news from agent nudges this week)

the Summer Novel (as it shall be called here)

No new word count as I am focusing on those brown shoes :)

The Anointing aka that pesky partial-ish+synopsis+series proposal I must have ready for a crit submit by June 17

dudes, I hope it is perking away in my brain.

Since I don't do Teaser Tuesday's myself, and can't talk in any detail about projects in process (once they're out in the world, it's different) I was going to write a little about Life's Too Short and that particular book journey.

Instead, I'm going to whine a little, and then get back to work. Sometimes this life is so isolating it sucks. Especially if you're like me, and live in a small town where the SCBWI presence is virtually non-existent and gas prices are prohibitive. Having crit partners and writing friends you stay in touch with every day or week is so critical to well-being, because the waiting and the subjectiveness of this business can be crazy-making!

My two dear friends and crit partners have both dropped off the radar lately, mostly due to family issues, and (selfish moment, here) I am so bummed out and lonely without them! Meh.

Carrying a book through to the end (for me) is in part made possible by sharing the process with one or two people who get my writing, know my weaknesses, and love my stories and my characters as much as I do.

The mc in Brown Shoes, Aiden, has lost all her supports, she is totally alone and must fight her way to safety/security. I hate to admit that on a smaller, more insular level, I feel the same.

Write well, and fellowship!

FLU

Sun, 18 May 2008 22:29:43 GMT

+ 3 days= Me.

Bleh.

However, I was able to salvage something positive out of the non-productive writing days. An epiphany re: the ending of Brown Shoes, that will make moving through the remaining chapters much easier than it had been.

So, goody!

No additional progress yet on what I'll call summer novel. But Secret Agent Man liked what he read, so yay!!

Catch ya tomorrow! Enjoy the remainder of the weekend!

And OOOh!! squuee-age! I was a winner in Meg Cabot's Airhead t-shirt contest! :D WOOT!

Thankful Thursday

Fri, 16 May 2008 05:12:28 GMT

Yeah, yeah, an unprecedented number of posts, I hear ya.

I am thankful for:

air conditioning

my healthy family

a husband who won't let me starve when I'm in the sprint-to-the-finish stage of a novel

a husband who will cook what I like

beautiful children that are mine, that love books, love to write, offer criticism and props, love to make art (and teach me a thing or two) are proud to be themselves and in general bless my days

2 dogs, 5 cats, and a landlord who allows them

an agent who will talk on the phone for an hour, and totally gets me and my writing

a brain full of stories

the ability to stay home and write those stories, even if it means going without a whole lotta luxuries

WIP

Fri, 16 May 2008 04:50:04 GMT

So, spoke on the phone today with Secret Agent Man--great convo. We've been brainstorming which project I'll submit in June for my face-to-face crit at the conference in August. Along those same lines, I've been trying to decide which of several projects would become my love affair post Brown Shoes. I really want to work on something light and humorous, as BSD has been... darker... more emotionally charged than LTS, or anything I've done in a couple of years.

Ready for a break, much? Yeah.

So as Steve and I were running through projects, I pitched this one I started a month or two ago (not getting into the whole process thing again, if you're interested, I've totally dished on this in previous posts) and he got SO excited, he asked to see what I've already written. lol. Normally I don't share first draft material, but he insisted, so I complied, and we'll see what he thinks.

For now, the word count stands at:

and I think this one might be a crazy-fast, summer-festacular ride.

Ask me Monday, when BSD is to the cps and I've had no sleep to speak of...

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:23:54 GMT

My agent is made of awesome. Just saying.

So, once again I've been a bad, absentee blogger. Other than the typical life things (mother's day, school ending, summer plans etc.) I've been finishing my wip, and determining which project to submit for the face to face crit at Pacific Coast Childrens Writers Workshop.

This stage of a project is always both stressful and amazing. I imagine it to be a bit like riding a chemical high, though I can't say from personal experience.

I don't sleep much, and when I do it is a light doze filled with dreams of scenes and mini-revelations and epiphanies.

I barely eat, and then only what I can grab and gulp, or consume at the computer.

(the extreme heat 102 degrees forecast for the next several days, doesn't help at all)

I tend to zone out and have to have people repeat themselves, because I am totally focused on the story and its culmination on paper.

I can't type fast enough, unable to keep up with my brain, which has been finished with and waiting to tell this story for a rather long time. And it goes on like this until I type the end.

So that's the agony, such as it is.

The ecstasy is that beautiful siren song calling to me as I finish, of the next project (the beginnings of which I've already begun), the story itself playing out in the recesses of my mind even as I complete its predecessor.

This weekend I will type The End on The Brown Shoe Diaries. I will pack it off to my cps, who will tear it apart, and then I will revise it to my own standards, feast on their feedback before implementing it, and send it off to Secret Agent Man.

And we shall see.

Meanwhile, I fully intend to document my journey through the next novel. Starting today.

Picture Book Recs from My Kids...

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:49:24 GMT

I mentioned we were going through boxes from the ministorage. One thing I had to do when we moved, almost 2 years ago, was donate a great deal of the picture books and board books we had accumulated over 20+ years and 3 kids. We donated them to the Central Valley Children's Hospital in Madera. But still had many, many, boxes of books. I filled the shelves in the house with the early chapter books through ya and some adult novels and classics. Most of the nonfiction and remaining research books and picture books ended up in storage.

The other night we came across the box of favorites, and the 9, 12, and 15 yr old all sat reading and listening as I read through their favorite bedtime stories from younger days.

We still read aloud occasionally (mostly when camping during the summer) but about 2 years ago it became much more difficult to get them all to sit still and agree on a book. Plus interest would wane depending on length, or they always wanted 3 or 4 chapters instead of 1 or 2 and would simply end up frustrated and reading the book themselves at a faster rate!

So here they are, in MY fave order, but all three kids love them equally (and have memorized the text, lol)(images gakked from Amazon.com and property of their respective publishers, artists, et al.)

When Moon Fell Down by Linda Smith (simply the sweetest, most poignant and fun picture book)

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson (funny, endearing, and a blast to read aloud)

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams (one of the best read-alouds EVAH)

Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (sweet, familiar, and lulling)

You Are My I Love You by Maryann K. Cusimano (heartwarming and clever)

Bedtime for Bunnies (always great for a laugh!)

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown (honestly, this one wouldn't have made my list, but the kids LOVE it)

Things That Make You Go...Hmmm?

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:32:08 GMT

Remember Arsenio Hall? I adored his show (which certainly dates me). Things in life right now are making me go... hmmm?

Elaborate? Perhaps. But... no. Not really.

The sinus gunk which had taken hold of me and held me captive for many months is being broken by the siege of antibiotics even as I type. However, the cure is proving almost as bad as the ailment, causing me hours of squished-into-a-ball-of-writhing-stomach-pain-wishing-to-die. And the course is loooonnnnnggg. 3 weeks instead of 2. But I shall stay the course, because I really really really ridiculously want this infection GONE!!

We've been going through boxes and donating and tossing loads of stuff in order to not have the ministorage any more. Can't wait 'til that's over. Yeah lots of spring cleaning here. Fun fun fun.

Writing wise I've had the blahs to go with my blechs, stemming from the pain and the lack of sleep the pain causes. Today, however, I got back a little oomph and put my bic and worked on BSD. Can't wait to finish!

The downside is that it's not even 9:30 pm and I am wiped out. Time to watch ANTM on DVR and go to sleep. Tomorrow will be wonderful, it's Thankful Thursday, after all!

A new form of procrastination...

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:21:46 GMT

Is compulsively starting new projects a form of procrastination?

Somebody stop me!! (No, don't, really.) I aim to continue my progress on completing BSD while writing a 120 page screenplay during the month of April.

Crazy, I know, but what can I say? And the best part is that I will be using most of an idea I've had percolating for more than 20 years!!! (Wow, does that date me, or what?) Also, my agent's been encouraging me to write a screenplay, so...

And in honor of National Poetry Month:

Fog weaves through my brain
Tendrils of mist masking light
Frosty air wakes mind

Also, a shoutout to birthday girl kellyrfineman ! Enjoy your day!
And to new book mama bluemalibu Congratulations!!
As well as an: if I lived in Maine, I'd vote for you!! To carriejones!!

An awesome author, fabulous person, and drinker of Postum!

Inspiration, Perspiration, Percolation, and Procrastination

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:54:23 GMT

Random: Peanut butter on bagels=the worst kind of nasty. Alert the bagel police. Bleh!

Sometime after I get my title, (usually a year+, sometimes sooner) a voice or voices will start talking to me: a word or phrase here and there, just a tantalizing tidbit of personality and voice. But what's the story? Where's the inspiration?

That's the big question. Literally. My characters show up, and a question pops into my head. And the first question engenders the conflict, which tells me what the character wants, and leads the entire story deeper and further, offering snapshots of the other characters and the setting etc. (Nothing goes on paper at this point. Only the title remains written in my notebook. But I will now create a document file and folder for the novel, with a title page only.)

For Life's Too Short, the novel Secret Agent Man is currently subbing, the initial question was: What would it be like to have a Madonna-impersonator as a mom? I'm sure you can see where the conflict might be and how the situations can only deepen from that point on.

From here, the process moves quickly, though in the background, with major and minor characters, setting, and plot all swarming into place and into play.

The back of my mind is a constantly churning pot of plot and story.

My characters show up fully named (first and sometimes last though mostly I research the last names for story reasons), though every rare once in awhile I change them.

Once things are gelling and moving, slamming together, breaking apart, reconfiguring, I get a clear sense of how the story begins, how the story ends, and what the middle will likely contain. Still no writing. Nor do I ever talk about the story to anyone at this stage. I've learned the hard way that is the quickest way to destroy the creative push to write it down.

So, inspiration and continued percolation (not a word until today, I believe, lol). At this point it is about perspiration... on another project.

Because my stories write themselves in my head before I ever commit a word to paper, it is essential that I always am working on something else as well. For me, starting a story too soon (on paper) signals its death knell. I might as well throw out the sparse notes, delete the file, and move on. And I've had to. I have learned to respect the process, in all its weird and wonderful randomness.

So I write and write and write, and revise, and crit, and read, and bug my agent, and obsessively check email. Lather, rinse, repeat. And the urge to get that story on paper grows, and grows, and... you know what they say about anticipation...

And when I can finally stand it no more, and there is time in my schedule, I write. But only the beginning. About 10-15 pages, sometimes less. Just enough to get going. Then I go back to my current project and allow the need to create to build up again. This time, when I move back to the project, I write a synopsis. (I love synopses; I think they're terrific tools)

Now I'm ready to draft. And I do. I edit as I go, not a person able to just vomit onto the page and clean it up later, though that method has been wildly successful for so many. I need to play with the words, to get them just so, in order to move on. Same thing with details, I research every little thing, and I don't use placeholders in the text. I'd be lost without the Internet, and instant access to... say... photos of vintage fabrics and sewing instructions.

And I'm a big believer in procrastination. Kerry Madden had this great quote in her blog a couple of years ago, I think it was by Edith Wharton, about how much time she spent staring into space, and how that was *working* too. Love that, feel that, live that!

My favorite procrastination tools are: LJ, Verla's, and Neopets (in fact, while I was composing this, my youngest neomailed me from her school, lol)

So, what's your inspiration? Do you let your ideas steep? Favorite methods of procrastination?

Tomorrow, scene summary's, Ari's incline, and crit peeps...

Teaser Tuesday (A Day Late...)

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:59:52 GMT

I haven't participated in these previously, but as I break for lunch, decided, what the heck?

A snippet from THE BROWN SHOE DIARIES, the wip I'm finishing up:

She waited at the window, watching until the Jag’s headlight beams swept across the side yard, illuminating a stark black and white snapshot of the dunes and the trees, before cloaking them again in night. The landscape hide-n-seek reminded her of the two faces of Ian and she shuddered. Such a master of deceit; able to transform from Mr. Perfect to King of the Damned without even passing one hand over his face.

Sweet dreams, and productive days. 'Til tomorrow!

Thème et Variations

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:41:26 GMT

As I was starting my day this morning, (kids off to school and caffeine round 1 imbibed) I sat down at the piano and ~~played masterfully~~ attempted to play. It has been many, many years. Cellular memory (along with normal memory) is deserting me as I age. Ugh!

My best friend growing up, Nancy, played both the piano and the cello. Enviably well. But she was dedicated. Me, I was a dallier who got the ruler across my knuckles from the nuns more often than not.

It got me thinking more, though, about beginnings, and about the recurrent themes in our lives and in our art.

The themes I find cropping up most often in my novels are characters who are artists of various types: painters/photographers/musicians/songwriters/writers/designers/sculpters/architects etc.

and the overarching theme of voices unheard and/or unheeded. Most of my mc's are fighting to be heard, understood, respected, for who they are and who they wish to become.

What are your themes and variations?

How do you begin your stories?

Almost without exception, I begin with a title. It may come years before the actually characters and storyline reveal themselves, but it comes first. I keep a notebook with all my titles in it, and when the time is right, and the story and characters have gelled in the back of my mind, the two become one. (Note: I am a MAJOR pre-writer, composing entire novels in the back of my mind before ever committing a word to paper)

New project one's title came to me about 2-3 years ago, and I thought at the time it would be a mg novel set in middle school with a female mc. When the main character spoke to me for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I was shocked but thrilled to discover my mc was a senior in high school, and a gay male. Go figure!

Tomorrow... the big question, names, personalities, and agendas. The next step in the process.

I've Been a Bad, Bad Blogger

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:07:58 GMT

Since my little calendar shames me every time I log on to read my f-list, I've decided to kick my blogging into high(er) gear. Which in my case means blogging more than once a month, I guess.

I was so excited last night I had a hard time falling asleep! For the first time in two weeks I had writing time all to myself on my wip! Yeah!! When last we left our heroine, things were about to get fabulously fantastic. And then come crashing down. In a big way. And then again. And just when she thought life couldn't get any worse... Yep. I'm the big bad wolf of writers. Poor Aiden. And she's such an awesome person, too.

My kiddles returned to school, today. (I know, lol, random much?) Anyway, since I spent the last two weeks helping 7th grader edit the first 50 pages of her novel (she didn't make the entry deadline, though, for the Scholastic PUSH 1st novel contest)and write a synopsis and also wrote two synopses and 2500 word openings for two new projects of my own, it was nice to get back to BSD. We spent the day getting reacquainted, and ah... I do so love this book :)

I always try and enter the SCBWI WIP grant competitions. It's a nice brainstorming/testing time for me with projects that have been working in the back of my mind. This year was no different (note the two new projects and synopses above) however, in the end I decided not to enter. Not sure why, just felt project one needed more head time, and project two felt too sweet for someone else to see it before Steve...

Got my first taste of editing/working revisions/brainstorming with Secret Agent Man though, on new project one, and it was just as awesome and amazing and kick-ass as I knew it would be :) That project will be taking a hiatus for quite awhile, though. It's still in the back-burner, percolating stage.

The other new project though *insert ginormous, high-pitched squee-ing here* just made me lol and happy dance and do the ooh ah boogie I do when I first fall in love with a story and its characters and the voice. As soon as Aiden has danced her way into Steve's hands and heart, new project two and I will be spending some quality time together!

It does have a title, which will remain secret at this point, and is the first teen male protag I've written since forever! I cannot wait!!! But I must...

In other news, for the first time (seriously!) in almost a year, the studio is nearly clean and organized, and is already usable!! I'm in creative heaven, people, I swear!!

I may even post evidence of this by the end of the week :)

Ooh and book reviews!! I have read tons and reviewed none here! Bad, I say, bad!

But you have my pledge, faithful readerz (all two of you) that I will be a good little bloggette henceforth. And perforce. 'Cuz ya know, I just like the sound of it!!