A little over a week ago, we travelled north for an hour and a half to visit the Georgian Bay area for a few days. Once there, we enjoyed the sun and beaches, the pines and poplars, and a movie outside under the stars.
The hilly drive there and back is something I always look forward to because of the gorgeous farms that we pass on our way. For miles, bright green or yellow fields stretch out toward the horizon as far as our eyes can see. Roaming freely over those hills, are the stars of this scenic show. Horses gallop within white fences or sip from streams, their manes flowing in the breeze. Cows graze in pastures, or rest in the shade of trees. Pigs lounge closer to red barns set against blue skies.
We never tire of this scene, interrupting each other in conversation to point and say, “Look!” and the teenagers in the backseats exclaiming a combined “Aww!” with more volume than you’d expect. The fact that they were wearing earphones might have had something to do with it but I still enjoyed their enthusiasm.
The farm fun was not over as we pulled into our driveway, arriving back home. We noticed a box half-hidden by our doormat. I broke open the box to find the adorable faces of cows, horses and pigs looking up from book covers at me. The books I wrote for Capstone’s new Farm Animals series are now available!
The books are intended for PreK-Grade 2 readers. Through leveled text, kids will experience 'a day in the life' of each farm animal. The photographs are absolutely stunning and feature cows grazing in fields, pigs at play, and horses in action. Kids will learn interesting facts like how soon after birth a calf can stand, why pigs like to roll in mud, and how tall the biggest horses are.
Throughout the process of writing my novel, I stopped in my tracks and tried walking in another direction. At other times, I slipped off my main character’s shoes and walked a mile or two in the shoes of other characters, which helped me think outside of the first person perspective. To achieve all of this, I opened up a new ‘experimental’ document.
This technique worked on two levels. First, when something felt a little ‘off’ in the direction a character decided to take in my original document, I could still move forward knowing in the back of my mind that I could experiment later. Sometimes the ‘off’ feeling was smoothed over once I wrote a little more and realized why my character needed to do/say what he or she did. Having that ‘experimental document’ just sitting on my desktop, waiting to be opened, allowed me to move forward with a possibly iffy decision.
But then if that off feeling only worsened, that’s when I’d turn to the experimental document. Writing in the openness of the new document, allowed my character the freedom to feel out or test other trails, stumble upon new things she hadn’t known about herself.
Having the safety net of the original just sitting there for me to go back to allowed for risk-taking. I
Writing my novel has been a process of ‘two steps forward, one step back’ because I was not able to take the advice of some writers and just plunge forward without looking back. I did turn around and ponder. I sometimes second-guessed the motives or choices of my characters. I challenged them to take risks. I tried different approaches to scenes.
As I wrote and I changed something about a character, or about the plot, I couldn’t help myself from going back and making related changes throughout the novel as I wrote the first draft. I revised as I went along. I took breaks. I set the manuscript aside often to gain perspective. After two years of working this way, I finally finished a first draft of my YA novel.
At first, I was in shock. My reaction? No reaction. Again, I put the manuscript to the side and took a deep breath. I exhaled. And then, a few days later, came a great sense of satisfaction. Not that my novel is anywhere near perfect or ready for submission but this first draft is complete. It is currently 68, 696 words and 242 pages in length.
Now, as I wait for feedback from a few people, I am hoping to develop some emotional distance from the novel so that I can be as open as possible to critiques.
In a week or so, after absorbing feedback, I’ll move on to another round of revisions.
When you finish a first draft of a piece of writing, how do you prepare yourself for the next stage of revision?
It's actually Sunday, April 29th where I am but Blogger's time zone, I just realized, is Pacific Daylight Time so this post will come up as Saturday, April 28th. I am still up at midnight so I decided to post now.
I’ve had so much fun discovering a new line in the Progressive Poem each day this month! Thanks again,
Irene, for organizing this.
If you are reading this
you must be hungry
Kick off your silver slippers
Come sit with us a spell
A hanky, here, now dry your tears
And fill your glass with wine
Now, pour. The parchment has secrets
Smells of a Moroccan market spill out.
You have come to the right place, just breathe in.
10 Comments on Kidlitosphere Progressive Poem - Day 29, last added: 4/30/2012
I’m a little late getting my Poetry Friday post up but it’s still Friday and I had a lot of fun putting this together.
This week, I played around with some ideas for found poems. From what I understand, a found poem is one created out of words and phrases that are pulled from another work. The words and phrases are then placed together to create something entirely new and unique.
A poem can be ‘found’ in a speech, a song, a letter, a manual, an advertisement, a newspaper article, or in any written text.
Here is a found poem I created out of a rejection letter.
April
thank you for
green
we do hope
and continue to search
thank you again for
green
we do wish
And here is a found poem I created from an acceptance letter.
consulted for his wisdom
look forward
we will run around the world
cut and paste
an ancient language,
tongue twisters,
limericks and haiku
if you find
a convoluted path
don’t worry
make the poems
your own
Here’s a found poem I created out of some album titles.
This Women’s Work
After the Gold Rush
Ladies of the Canyon
Shine a Light
1 Comments on Poetry Friday: Found Poetry, last added: 4/29/2012
Happy Poetry Month!
Have you discovered Poem Flow? Last week, while browsingthe pages at
poets.org, I read all about this app. and downloaded it for free.I’ve enjoyed a poem daily on my iPhone but now have reached the limit with atotal of 20 poems stored in my library. Today I was alerted that I could purchase 100 more poems for 99cents.
The app. is for the iPhone or iPod Touch but I also noticedthat if you go to PoemFlow.com you can “get involved even without an appledevice.”
You can find out more about it
here.
I enjoy the ‘flow.’ When I click on a poem while myiPhone is turned on its side, the words appear and disappear on my screen in a‘flow’ of words. Held upright, the phone displays the full poem.
Here are a few screen shots:
From “Haunted” by Naomi Shihab Nye:
From “Ghost Elephants” by Jean Valentine:
Although, I'm going to have a busy month finishing up my novel,working on a nonfiction project, and trying to prepare a picture book forsubmission, I'm going to try to get a daily dose of poetry. There are so manypoetry activities going on throughout the blogging world. You can find a greatlist of events at
Jama’s Alphabet Soup.
Sap is already flowing in the local sugar bushes because of the warmer weather. It will be interesting to see how long 'the run' lasts this year.
My poem "Sounds Like Maple Syrup" appears in the March 2012 issue of Highlights High Five.
I was so thrilled to see Jim Bernardin's beautiful illustrations. Don't you just love that dog?
Laura is hosting Poetry Friday here .
I’ve had a slower start to the year as I completed a nonfiction project that consumed me for the entire fall season. What also resulted for me was a forced distance from my creative work. The break from my YA novel and my poetry picture book has had some benefits.
Over the last several days, I’ve given myself a little time to reflect. I’ve been going back and reading my novel and my picture book with fresh eyes. I’ve gained a new perspective that I think I need in order to make it to the finish line.
Now to settle in for some serious work. Wish me luck! Both books are almost complete.
Taking the time for reflection can feel like a gift to the self. Have you given yourself any of that good stuff lately? I highly recommend it. It’s the best response to chaos that I can think of.
The tortoise and the hare come to mind. Slow and steady will be my approach this year.
My 2012 perspective – see the world with fresh eyes.
Over the last several weeks, I have been working hard to meet a few deadlines so I have had to set my blog on the back burner. I hope to establish a blogging schedule this month because I really enjoy connecting with other writers through these posts and the posts of other bloggers. I’m wondering how all of you do it. How do you juggle the demands of life, work, and writing, and still manage to squeeze in time for blogging? Do you find that a blogging schedule helps?
I have been so immersed in my writing projects that when I do pop up and out of the world of words it really does feel like I am coming up for air. Just recently I emerged and realized that all of the books that I’d taken out of the library for research are overdue. When you have twenty-two books on loan, it doesn’t take long for the fines to be outrageous! I renewed all of them but I am left with a hefty fine. Oh, the guilt. Is it okay to think of library fines as a kind of good donation to the library? Having cards for two different library systems just complicates everything! I set up my accounts so that I would receive email notifications when my books are due. For some reason, I didn’t receive a notification for these books. That’s not an excuse. Maybe I should write down the due dates in my day planner. Do any of you know of a way to ensure that books are returned by or renewed before the due date?
I just signed up for the "Third Writers' Platform Building Campaign" over at Rach Writes!
It sounds like a great way to connect with other writers so I hope you'll join us for all the fun.
I just finished reading
More Writers First Aid: Getting the Writing Done by Kristi Holl. The timing is perfect. The end of February(and “February’s Writing Blues”) couldn’t be shrugged off faster than with this motivating book. It’s March now – spring is just around the corner and I’ve started the month off on the right foot, thanks to Kristi’s book filled to the brim with helpful tips on getting the most out of a writing life.
I’m working on developing some of the good habits discussed in the book. For example, I’m practicing ‘mindfulness’ in my approach to my work. I’m using Kristi’s tips on time management, organization, prioritizing, and goal-setting. Kristi also covers the emotional side of writing, focusing on how to tap into positive thinking in response to dealing with fear and guilt. She offers practical strategies to deal with rejections and setbacks.
Kristi is like a writer’s very own life coach. Through
More Writers First Aid, Kristi offers loads of wisdom based on her years of experience as a successful author who has also faced many of the same career and life challenges that all writers face in one way or another.
To learn more about
More Writers First Aid: Getting the Writing Done, click
here.
To visit the Amazon Kindle page, click
here.
The Kidlit4Japan Auction began today at 9 AM EDT. The is such a great way for the kid's lit community to come together and provide some aid for the victims of the recent Sendai earthquake and tsunami. To see how it all works, please visit
Children's Authors & Illustrators for Japan.
I am kicking off Poetry Month by visiting Poetry Friday posts. Round up is at The Poem Farm.
I am also going to head over and buy a PoetryTagTime ebook. (It's only 99 cents!)
There is still a little time left to enter the Writing for Children Competition.
Details below or visit The Writers' Union of Canada for more information.
$1,500 Prize
Entry Fee: $15 per entry, cheque or money order made payable to The Writers' Union of Canada.
Deadline: April 24.
Publication
- Entries of the winner and finalists will be submitted to three publishers of children's books for consideration.
Eligible Writers
- Canadian citizens or landed immigrants
- All writers who have not been published by a commercial or university press in book format, in any genre, and who do not have a contract with a book publisher
Eligible Entries
- Any writing for children up to 1,500 words, English language
- Not previously published in any format
- Multiple submissions are welcome
How to Submit Entries
- Typed, double-spaced, with pages numbered, on plain 8.5'' x 11'' paper, not stapled. Do not send entries that have only a few sentences per page; they will not be eligible.
- Submissions are accepted by hardcopy only.
- A separate cover letter with full name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and number of pages of entry. Please type name of entrant and title of entry on each numbered page.
Manuscripts will not be returned.
I received an eReader as a gift several weeks ago. I wish I could say that I love it but I cannot.
I
can say a few good things about it:
1. It has relieved the dull ache I get in my bad wrist (broke it while on a kickboxing ‘date’ years ago). It is so light and I can hold it or rest it up against something.
2. Downloading books is so simple. I can get a new book at any time of day or night and in any kind of weather.
3. The e-books cost less than the hard copy versions.
4. Books are stored inside the little gadget instead of cluttering my office shelves. (I did a book purge a few years back and vowed then to sell or donate most of the books I buy in order to keep my office manageable.)
5. It is easy on the eyes – unlike my computer screen.
6. There must be environmental benefits. I wonder what size of carbon footprint an eReader leaves behind.
Although I have tried, I just cannot love this gadget. I prefer hard copy books. Here’s why:
1. Without the ability to turn physical pages, or flip back to a page I have read, or see in my left hand how much I have read, my memory is being challenged. Sure, I can push a button back to the last page or any of the pages I have read, but I cannot ‘see’ where that page lies physically with respect to the whole (although it is noted that the book is 85% read, for example). I am realizing how much this act of turning physical pages serves as a memory tool for me. With each page that I turn, it’s as if I store in my muscle memory, roughly ‘where’ something happened within the story. When reading a regular book, it’s easy to look back and find something I want to revisit. It’s almost as if my hands know where to look in the bulk of pages on the left side. When I have to click back to find something, I feel lost. I have no idea how far back something happened. I don’t know if other readers are in the habit of looking back within a book as they are reading it and I’m not sure how aware I was that I enjoyed looking back as often as I do until this habit was made problematic through the eReader experience. I am just beginning to understand the relationship between how well I remember a story and the physical act of turning pages.
2. It has happened just once so far, but my eReader froze and I was unable to click to the next page. It took a good 5 minutes to get it working again.
3. An eReader runs out of batteries. This is obvious but I didn’t anticipate the inconvenience of having to wait until it was charged to read my book again. Then there is the whole issue of forgetting to re-charge, night after night.
4. I can’t flag my pages with sticky notes! I’m forced to use the notebook that I keep beside my bed to jot down sentences or the numbers of pages that I love. (If there is some way of doing this electronically and you know how to do it, please let me know). I cannot write in my book. Or fold pages that I like.
5. If you are sensitive to scents, as I am, you might notice that your hands smell plastic after holding the eReader.
6. I haven’t looked into this but since there are various text size options, and each option impacts how many words are on a page, I wonder how difficult it would be to refer to page numbers when discussing books with others who have hard copy versions of the book, or have eReaders with a different text size setting
School is not over until the end of June but last night we opened our calendar to the July and August pages to pen in our summer plans.
I can almost taste the fresh watermelon and icy lemonade we'll enjoy on shaded porches. I'm dreaming of our Lake Huron adventures and our long forest walks at Lemoine's Point.
But I have to wait. For now, "Forest Walk" by Kristine O'Connell George is bringing me one step closer to summer.
Forest Walkby Kristine O'Connell George
I'm practicing my
I-belong-here
no-twig-snap
no-leaf-rustle
no-branch-crack
see-all, know-all
float-like-fog ...
Read the full poem
here.
Poetry Roundup is at
my juicy little universe.
I have been researching the anatomy, behavior, and habits of cows for a nonfiction project I am working on. There are so many things to love about these animals but one fact really caught my attention - cows like music! Some farmers play music to help cows relax. It has me wondering what a cow’s playlist might be. Do they have preferences? Do they enjoy some styles more than others?
This is such a contrast to something else I discovered last week – a
study suggesting that teens who listen to too much music are at a higher risk for developing depression than teens who do not. The same study found that teens who read books, on the other hand, decreased their risks for developing depression. This is great news for readers! But what about young music-lovers? Growing up, I loved to read
and listen to music for long hours. Music was a great escape for me and I usually walked away from a listening session feeling invigorated. Or relaxed, just like the cows.
While writing my YA novel set in a music school, I’ve been listening to a lot of Bach, Chopin, Ravel, and Debussy. My protagonist also loves jazz so my office has been filled with the beautiful voices of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. It really sets the mood while writing relevant scenes.
Do you listen to music while you write? Does it inspire the process?
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Sheri, what a beautiful tribute to your dad! Happy Birthday, 90!
Thank you for hosting this week's Poetry Friday. Amy VanDerwater and I had fun co-writing "Unplugged," illustrated by my son, Chip Ghigna. We've posted the results on her blog at The Poem Farm and at the FATHER GOOSE Blog
Thanks for hosting, Sheri! "Miracles" is a beautiful Whitman poem. Love your tribute to your dad! =)
Hi Sheri! Congratulations to your dad on reaching 90 years! He's right--being happy is the key to longevity! I have an aunt who is well past 90 and still going strong. I know her happiness is strong, life-affirming, and contagious.
My three posts will all go live after midnight. Thanks.
Hi, Sheri. Thanks for posting links early! Happy birthday to your father. Ninety -- the miracle of a long life is worth celebrating. Friday is my birthday and I'm winding down my weeks-long poetry postcard project. I mail out the last card today.
Today's poetry postcard is about February 22. http://authoramok.blogspot.com/2013/02/poetry-friday-poetry-postcard-38.html
Thank you for hosting Sheri. Wonderful post for your father. I like your writing about his 'happy glow'-his gift to everyone I imagine. Happy 90th Birthday to him! I have two original poems inspired from a blog post by Joy Acey at Poetry for Kids, about 'minute' poems.
Thanks for hosting and CHEERS to your dad!
This week's poems is called "A Thought" http://mmsocks.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/a-thought/
Enjoy!
M. M. Socks
What a lovely tribute to your dad, and thanks for hosting!
Happy birthday to your dad, and what a perfect poem to offer! I've submitted my link above, but in case it doesn't work (a few weeks ago, I posted it three times and it never took), here's the link: http://mattforrest.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/poetry-friday-monster-supper/ (won't be live til just after midnight)
Thanks for hosting!
Happy Birthday to your Dad -- what great photos of him, and a perfect poem to celebrate the happy occasion!
At Alphabet Soup I'm sharing Robert Bly's "Things to Think." (My link goes live at 6 a.m. EST)
Thanks so much for hosting this week.
Gorgeous entry! Thank you for hosting!
Oh, whoops, I just realized I posted the wrong link. The other day I wrote a poem ("The Poem House," that's the link above) about my daughter reading some Dickinson and Sandburg poems to me. For Poetry Friday, I've shared the poems she loved best, which are quoted in my poem. If you follow that. ;) Anyway, here's the PF link: http://melissawiley.com/blog/2013/02/21/poetry-friday-between-two-hills/
Hey, Sheri--thanks for hosting! Welcome to the Kids of Parents Who Are 90 Club! How wonderful that you and he are writing his memoir. Over at TeachingAuthors we're tossing out recommendations of our favorite books on teaching the craft of writing, and I've posted an original poem on jealousy. :-)
Thank you for sharing your father's wisdom and this beautiful poem! My post about J. Patrick Lewis's Monumental Verses is here: http://readingtothecore.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/poetry-friday-…-patrick-lewis/
Thanks for hosting!
Beautiful tribute to your dad! I'll bet you are doing a terrific job with his memoir. Thanks for hosting!
Beautiful post. Happy 90th birthday to your father. Thank you for hosting today.
Sheri, Miracles indeed! Love this snapshot of your dad -- and what a wonderful project to work on together. Thanks you so much for hosting and for sharing this bit of your life.
Thank you for hosting today, Sheri! It must be such a gift to you both to create this memoir together, a wonderful opportunity to share and learn.
Sheri, I submitted my link last night, but it's not showing - so I just re-submitted it. Here it is again: http://mattforrest.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/poetry-friday-monster-supper
Thanks,
Matt
I tried to submit my link, but it says it's too long. Here it is: http://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2013/02/poetry-friday-sonnet-for-my-sub.html I have an original poem today.
Thanks for hosting! It's true -- there are miracles everywhere we look.
Sorry you had trouble.
I was able to submit your info and link and it worked. : )
Thanks, Matt!
Matt (above) had trouble too. I was able to submit his info for him. The form asks for an email address and I can't see one on your blog. If you'd like to send me your email address, I'll submit your link and hopefully it will work.
Thank you, Charles!
Thanks, Bridget!
Happy Birthday to your Dad! And thanks for the reminder about the everyday miracles - great poem!
Thanks, Diane. I love that happiness is contagious!
Happy birthday to your inspirational dad! I loved his advice and think it is just wonderful that you are writing together. Thank you for hosting today's roundup. Over at The Poem Farm, I have a poem that I wrote together with Charles Ghigna... http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/2013/02/unplugged-writing-with-friend.html
Thanks, Sheri!
Hi Sheri,
Thank you for hosting Poetry Friday today! I just love this tribute to your dad. He sounds like a great man and a wonderful role model! Happy 90th birthday to him.
Today I’m feeling grateful and have written a blessing septet at The Writer’s Whimsy. http://tamerawillwissinger.squarespace.com/the-writers-whimsy/2013/2/22/how-lucky-can-one-gal-be.html
Thanks again,
Tamera
Thanks! Happy Birthday to you! : )
Yes, my dad's 'happy glow' is definitely a gift to everyone - I like the way you put that. Thanks, Linda!
Thank you! : )
Thanks, Laura! : )
Thanks, Sheri. I got some help and learned how to shorten the url! The form took my link and I learned a new skill, too. :-)
Thank you, Matt!
Fabulous post! Happy birthday to your dad -- lucky you to still have him with you, to be helping with his memoir, to get to see that infectious smile on a regular basis!!
Thanks for hosting this week.
Happy birthday to your dad. Enjoy every moment with him. What a great poem
Here's my link: http://maclibrary.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/poetry-friday-getting-ready-for-national-poetry-month/
Thanks.
I filled out the form for you so you'll see the link up in the list too. : )
Thank you for sharing all of this. Moustaches! What a wonderful gift. And your Whitman poem. What a great gift to all of us. This is exactly the perspective we need to carry with us.
Thanks for hosting.
Ny selection is -- "Be glad your nose is on your face and other poems: some of the best of Jack Prelutsky" with illustrations by Brandon Dorman.
Here's to your dad's next full year and your work together! Thanks for hosting and the Whitman words.
Happy Birthday to your Dad - what a beautiful smile. And a beautiful cake! Thank you for reminding me of Walt Whitman's poem - and for hosting.
This week I say Happy Purim via Debjani Chatterjee and Brian D'Arcy's wonderful anthology Let's Celebrate!, as I had the great good fortune to have a coffee with them yesterday.
Thank you, Jama!
Thanks! : )
I entered your info again so the PF link appears now. : )
Ha - glad to be a part of the club!
Thanks, April!
Thank you for reading my post! : )
Thanks, Tabatha. Yes, the memoir has been a lot of fun. : )
Thanks!! : )
Thank you, Irene! Just discovered over at your blog that we were both in the mood for some Walt Whitman. Awesome.
Oh, yes - I'm definitely learning a lot.
Thanks, Tara! : )
Oh, good!
Thank you!!
I just got done reading the posts. Thanks so much for hosting and for the beautiful post you wrote.
Thanks, Amy!
Thank you, Tamera!
Lucky is exactly how I feel. Thanks, Mary Lee. : )
Yes, we had a blast with the moustaches. So glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks!
Thanks, Janet!
Thanks, Lorie Ann!
Thank you for the kind words, Marjorie!
Thanks again, Ruth!