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Here's to a fantastic year ahead! I've written out my "tentative plans" for 2010. You can read them here.

Happy New Year, everyone!

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As 2009 comes to a close, I guess it's time to look back and review. During last night's #kidlitchat on Twitter, we were discussing goals for 2010, so that's all on my mind too.

Yes Virginia, I have been a blog slacker this year, and that is number one on my list of resolutions.

1. Stop being such a blog slacker. You know what I want to know? I want to know how people like Maureen Johnson can Twitter all day and keep up a blog and write bestselling books. Oh, AND winning the Most Interesting Twitter Person to Follow on Twitter in the Mashable Open Web Awards this year. Congrats!! Maureen! Are you out there? What is your sekrit? Do you not need to eat or sleep or perform unmentionable bodily functions? Now, I believe Maureen does not yet have teenage children, so that probably eliminates the need for her to spend a goodly portion of her life in a car chauffeuring them places. Or arguing with them. Or cooking for them. Or taking them to the mall to buy them clothes that they already have but NEED more of of they will be social outcasts. But still. I can't help wondering if when she wrote the scripts for the Harry Potter video games they snuck her one of Hermione's Time Turners. Me want one. Me NEED one.

2. Stop making myself crazy by comparing myself to other people. Yep. To do anything else is crazy making. My life is my own and has its own challenges and limitations and opportunities. It's up to me to make the best of it.

We talked about this one on #kidlitchat last night and it's a biggie

3. Focus on the things that are within my control A lot of what happens after we write out books is out of our hands. Recite the Serenity Prayer and work your butt off where you can make a difference. Such as:

4. Keep trying to learn and refine my craft. Keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone. That's definitely something I'm working on now with the new project. It's all about the journey, and each book has taught me something new along the way.

5. Do a better job at keep track of the books I've read Inspired by my middle/high school friend Peter Conway, who has lists of what he's read going back decades I decided I was going to start keep track of my reading. I ended up with 32 books on my list which didn't include any of the books I read for research and left out a huge swath of books I read during the summer and fall when I forgot to put them on the list. Must come up with a better system. Or a better brain.

6. Karma counts. As publishers cut back, unless yours is the big book they've chosen to promote that season you're pretty much on your own publicity wise. And so are all the other authors out there. Lisa Schroeder did this wonderful post about Supporting authors when your heart is bigger than your wallet. So shout out for your friends and celebrate. Help network each other. We are each other's community.

And as such, I just want to give a loud and very public SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
I was in the Barnes and Noble at the Stamford Town Center the other day (Connecticut's LARGEST Barnes and Noble, FYI) and lookee what I saw:




Lots and lots of copies of EIGHTH GRADE SUPER ZERO by our very own

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Yes, January is almost over...but I've finally made a New Years Resolution...blog more and blog better!

So I'm going to post a series of blogs with specifics on how to get published. I'll probably sneak in a few funny stories, some self-deprecating comments, and an occasional plug for my up and coming novel.

Add in 40 mind-blowing interviews with hot-to-trot debut authors, and a bunch of contests for things-you're-dying-to-own, and this blog will be smoking.

I'm going to get the fire extinguisher now. Stay cool.

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In keeping my previous theme, the third best thing I did for myself in 2008 was....

Create an inviting, inspiring, and away-from-the-kids writing space.

I had an office. Downstairs, just off the kitchen, steps from the den. A nice 10' x 12' room with a window and plenty of space for all my books and my computer...and my son's computer and my other son's guitar and two amps...and, oh wait, another computer. More like a TV really, considering the size.

My office was becoming a hang-out. Not exactly conducive for plot layering exercises.
I needed another space. Away from the texting, the gaming, the NOISE.
I knew just the right spot.

The floor plan called it a "retreat". To me it was an awkward nook in my bedroom, that would have been better served as an extra room or closest. For years it was the dumping spot for magazines, books, and furniture. My kids used to sleep on the old couch that found it's way into the space, claiming brothers or nightmares kept them from their own beds.

In a matter of four hours, the useless waste of a space in my bedroom was transformed into my new writing retreat. My desk faces two windows that overlook a beautiful country side with hills and mountains. It's a great perch to view countless birds, watch the runners and those out walking their dog olong the bike path that ambles past the back of our home.
It's a great space and I'm sure I've gotten more writing done in the past two months than all of last year. The difference is really staggering.


Let the words flow....

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If I were one to make New Year's resolutions, I'd be a week behind. As it is, I'm one to make any-time-of-year resolutions, with certain restrictions:

• I won't make outcome-based resolutions ("I will lose weight"—a commonly made and almost as commonly broken New Year's resolution), only behavioral ones ("I will bike several times per week").
• I cut myself a lot of slack. ("If I bike five times per week, that's great. But if the weather's bad or my knees flare up, less is okay.")
• Whenever possible, they should be things I can enact immediately. ("The bike's sitting there. I can use it today!")
• I won't make resolutions based on "I shoulds," only "I needs" or "I wants." ("I feel better about myself, mentally and physically, when I exercise! I want to do that more often.")
• I won't make lists of resolutions. If I enact a resolution right away, there's no reason to write it down. And if it's important to me, I won't forget it.

I made a personal resolution, in December of 2005, to write at least one page in my notebook every day—something strictly behavioral and within my control. If I missed a day, I forgave myself but got back on the wagon immediately. I made the resolution not because of any external pressure but rather because I was unhappy with my lack of writing routine and lack of follow-through in my writing projects. I didn't wait for January 1 to arrive; I started right away. A year later, I had a novel manuscript to send out.

In the two years since, I've signed with an agent and finished another novel (not to mention worked on a lot of projects that will probably go nowhere). Finding a publisher, at this point, is largely out of my control. If there's any writing resolution to be made, it's to continue writing one page a day in that notebook of mine. Some days I can do much, much more. But even at my most uninspired, most depressed, and most busy times, I know I can write one notebook page. It's my anchor.

I really enjoyed Carol Grannick's column in this winter's Prairie Wind, "New Year’s Resolutions, Optimistically." She has many great things to say about making positive resolutions and coping with the emotions that accompany life's changes.

I appreciate Carol's talk of "normalizing" one's journey and feelings. This isn't a term I was familiar with, but I very much like the idea and know it's something I would like to work on. I tend to be very hard on myself in a lot of ways, force issues into black-and-white when they're not, and assign positive/negative values to my emotions. Carol says:

Moving forward is always full of obstacles and detours. Greet those obstacles and detours gently, with curiousity for the information they hold.

and:

Feelings are simply clues to your internal movement as a human being. You may have lots of different feelings as you move toward your goals. They are not good or bad. Greet them with interest (literally: “This is interesting. I am feeling ______”) instead of judgment, and they will come and go more easily.

Based on my own criteria, I can't resolve "to feel better about myself" (that's an outcome), but I'm resolving to change the way I approach obstacles and bad feelings. And I'm enacting it immediately. So mote it be.

This is interesting. I am feeling hopeful.

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Guest Blogger Rachael Walker is the Outreach Consultant for Reading Rockets, a national multimedia initiative which aims to inform and inspire parents, teachers, childcare providers, and others who touch the life of a child by providing comprehensive, accessible information on how to teach kids to read and help those who struggle. Rachael began her career in literacy outreach at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), has also served as a consultant to the NEA’s Read Across America campaign, and was most recently the Executive Director of Reach Out and Read of Metro DC.

Many New Year’s resolutions focus on developing healthy habits.  Here’s one that Reading Rockets wants to help you keep: a regular diet of books and reading for you and the young readers in your life!

Just like any diet, you’ll want to get the portions right to satisfy your reader.  Parents should try the “five finger rule” and check out this advice on choosing books that are a good fit for their reader.  If you are looking for a book on a specific theme, your local librarian or recommended reading lists can be helpful.  Or try the Bookfinder at PBS.org which allows you to search by age and theme.

Diets are most successful when combined with exercise, so remember that reading every day builds skills.  But don’t turn story time into test time.  Talk together about what’s being read and give your reader the chance to ask questions.  Think of your reading diet as a family reading activity rather than something done just for the benefit of your young reader.

And since your reading diet is a family activity, make sure that you’re a good reading role model.  You may want to crash in front of the television, but don’t forget to let your child see you spending time reading and tell your child how much you enjoy it.

The great thing about this diet is it isn’t all about the books.  Do things with you reader and talk about them.  Get out of the house. A trip to the grocery store can stimulate learning skills just as much as a visit to a museum if you talk about what you are seeing and what your child thinks of it.  Reading comprehension demands background knowledge.  Once you have some knowledge, the brain finds it easier to get more and more knowledge.  Take one of Reading Rockets’ Adventures in Reading if you’re having trouble remembering that reading and learning are fun, and happen everywhere – not just at school.

Speaking of school, it’s a new year according to the calendar, but in most schools, we’ve just reached the half-way point.   Don’t forget to talk with your child each day about school and homework.  And watch for signs of problems.  Lots of kids find school to be fun, stimulating, and a time to be with friends. But others experience a great deal of stress associated with school. If your child seems unhappy with school, talk with your child and listen carefully before you offer any solutions.

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2008 was a big year for us at Stone Arch Books.

• We published 102 books (and that doesn't include paperbacks, reprints, audio, or interactive).
• We won a bunch of awards: American Graphic Design Awards for The Adventures of Sam X, our Spring 2008 catalog, our Fall 2007 catalog, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; the Golden Duck Award; and Ropes of Revolution won both the Moonbeam Award and the Teacher's Choice Award.
• As part of a restructuring at Capstone Publishers, we assumed responsibility for Picture Window Books' fiction, and now we're publishing a more comprehensive selection of fiction, expanding our age range to preK through grade 9.
• We said goodbye to Kay, one of our designers, and Maryellen (who is now working as the classroom project manager for Heinemann Raintree/Capstone Publishers).
• We welcomed two new editors (Julie and Christianne), an art director (Bob), two designers (Emily and Hilary), and an intern (Sean, who has just officially become an associate editor).
• We solved approximately 250 New York Times crossword puzzles during lunch.
• Two babies were born (Sam, to Beth, and Isla, to Julie).
• We got a bunch of great reviews.
• We moved from our cramped cubicles in "the garage" to more spacious offices downstairs. Our new location is a work in progress—and some of us are still not in our permanent desks—but we've got a lot more room!
• We traveled all over the US—to ALA, SCBWI, Comic-Con, TLA, and helped host PLA here in Minneapolis (where we introduced Jake Maddox to a bunch of happy librarians).
• We had tons of fun!

How can we possibly top 2008? It's going to be tough, but we're pretty sure we can do it. For starters, we've got 106 new books headed to libraries now for our Spring 2009 season. We'll have another 98 the season after that (making our 2009 total 204!). January will mark the launch of our new DC Super Heroes set, featuring Batman and Superman. We've been working on these books for years now, and we're so excited for them to finally be in the hands of readers! But the fun won't end in January—we'll have more new series, great new authors and illustrators, and fantastic new books all year long.

The Stone Arch Books blog is evolving in 2009 too. We want to give you more—more insight, more behind-the-scenes, more commentary. We'll feature more staff members, authors, and illustrators. We'll unveil more new features. And we want to hear from you—please use the comments sections to tell us what you want, what you think, how we can better serve you (as teachers, librarians, parents, readers).

Our resolution for 2009: Innovate more. We know that 2009 is going to bring challenges in every industry, including ours. We've always considered ourselves innovative, but with the new economic atmosphere, we're going to have to be even more creative. We'll have to find new ways to do things. We'll have to do our work differently. It'll be exciting to see what comes out of it.

What's your resolution for 2009? What challenge are you excited to tackle? (Let us know by leaving a comment!)

Happy New Year from all of us here at Stone Arch Books. 2009 may not be easy, but we're pretty sure it's going to be good.

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Happy New Year to everyone. I actually took the holiday season pretty well off this year, for possibly the first time in the last decade. I still did a little work for MetaFilter and kept up with email, but my posting frequency went down to almost nothing which is okay by me. So, I hope you had a good holidaytime.

I have a few personal resolution-type things over on jessamyn.com but I’ve also got a few work-related ones. Last year all my assiduous recordkeeping was interrupted by a hard drive crash, so I was doing great on keeping receipts and tracking invoices until about August and it fell apart. This year I’ve already got a weekly backup system in place so I’m anticipating no similar three month setbacks. A non-librarian mailing list that I’m on has been talking about 2009 plans and one of the main bits of wisdom that came down the wire in the last month was this

Resolution: Don’t be good at things you hate.

For me, what this means is just because I’m good at solving technical problems, it doesn’t mean I need to always do it as a job (or hobby), or do it for people who aren’t decent about it (whether that means decently polite, decently paying or decently convenient). I did a good job last year limiting the amount I was teaching — I love teaching but working within the chaos of a school environment was difficult and frustrating for me — and I think that really added to the ease of the other things I did in my life that I loved.

So, for 2009 I have some work related goals

- Automate the Tunbridge Library
- Maintain the VLA site to a degree that people are happy with
- Give interesting well thought out talks to interested people in neat places
- Keep teaching classes and drop-in time at a level that’s not exhausting
- Be a better “social” and real life networker and library friend to people new in the profession
- Keep writing for Computers in Libraries and try to get them to call what I write a column and not a department.
- Maintain this blog and launch fun new project blog (details forthcoming, sorry to be a cryptic jerk)
- Share as much of my personal work content as possible (see next post)
- Make a little movie about my many jobs

What are you thinking about doing?

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I always look forward to this time of year as an opportunity to look back, and make a list of new goals and resolutions for the coming year. Last year, I accomplished just about half of my 20 goals--not great, but I am most proud of one of them: 

-Come up with plan to manage submissions in a more efficient way--do not keep authors/agents waiting for more than 3 months
-Read (including audio books) at least one adult book every three months, one published MG/YA book every month (I know this probably seems pitiful, but I always feel guilty when I'm not reading submissions)

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Last year I decided on a mantra, rather than a resolution: Comment. Connect. Create.

I knew that commenting on blogs is a good habit, one that makes the community stonger. In connecting, I hoped to reach out to my friends, lest they become only Christmas Card friends. I wanted to write in a space other than my blog.

Halfway through the year, I checked in with myself. I found that I was doing a pretty decent job on my commenting, though one can always improve. Other than a trip to Las Vegas with my college girlfriends, I hadn’t connected much with my friends and planned to do better. As for creating, I had written articles, tried some poetry, and helped in our filmmaking projects. But not enough of a writing focus.

Now, at the end of the year, it’s time to revisit the theme for 2008.

Comment: I’d say that the Comment Challenge puts a big checkmark by this goal. I also now recognize that there are periods where I don’t have time to keep up with my blog reading and commenting as much as I’d like. For instance, the entire month of December. But by keeping the concept in focus and by bringing the idea to the attention of others, I’m keeping it relevant.

Connect: I did abysmally on connecting with my lifelong friends. However, I spent a lot of time with my extended family, particularly my niece. I also worked on connecting with my blogging friends, both online and off. I was a pretty constant member of the DC Kid Lit Book Club, even when we had to drive two hours away to visit with Jenni Holm. (Totally worth it.) I throughly enjoyed the Kidlitosphere Conference, enough so to organize it next year. (Gulp.) I don’t know if I can call this a draw, or an astute observation that you can’t fit everyone in your life at one time, regrettably.

Create: I did some creative, artistic, literary things, but I did not get as far as I’d hoped with this goal. I did write a picture book, pretty much just as the publishing industry came crashing down. I’ll come back to that project next year, for sure. I know that I have more to write, but I’ve been unable to make it a priority, to my own disappointment.

For 2009, I’m keeping my mantra, but I’m changing the order.

Create. Connect. Comment.

Will that change in word order help reset my priorities? Eh, maybe. And as Girl Scouts have a slogan and motto that are completely unrelated, I’m adding a blanket resolution to Get Organized in 2009. I’ve got the book and a growing irritation with living in chaos. Oh, and don’t forget the near certainty of time on my hands when budget cuts take my job away. Don’t worry for me; I’m looking at it as more of a sabbatical. I think I’m ready for 2009. How about you?

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Well 2008 just flew by!!! 2009 should be a good year if I stick to some of my resolutions which includes getting a gig that I can be happy to boast about (like a book cough cough). I have been keeping myself pretty busy through Christmas, mostly painting and making presents for clients, family, and friends. Most of them were dog portraits, which I hope to add a link to on my website. I also created a wall plaque for my sister who is a hair stylist which was a lot of fun and something different. I definitely would not say that sculpting is one of my strongest points by any means so I rarely take an opportunity to "play" with sculpey and acrylics. I molded hair dresser supplies to spell out her name....can you see what it says???? Well everyone have a Happy New Year, and here's to sticking to resolutions in 2009!!!




Don't forget if anyone is interested in having a personal painted portrait of their favorite pet or child that I am open for business!!! I will be soon to post these examples and hopefully others on my website along with rates!

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There's one thing I know to be true and that is: if you want to be happy, you, and only you, have the power to make that happen.
I hear some of you saying right now, "Well, not exactly." I'm holding up my hand to all you naysayers! True, I'm an optimist, someone who (annoyingly to some) finds the good in most everything. I can say no easily. I recognize my limits and most importantly, I know what fulfills me. So with all that smugness behind me, I'm letting you know that to achieve happiness, you first have to experience unhappiness, or in my case, restlessness.
So, in the essence of pure self-indulgence...I'm offering a few posts on the best things I did for myself this year....

Number one on my dissatisfaction list was: Losing a Healthful Mindset.

Problem: Last year, at this exact time, I weighed my heaviest. I don't have weight problems, but my caloric indulgences went way over the top. I noticed my pants no longer fit and my knees were developing some issues. On top of that, my generally fit husband had elevated cholesterol levels for the first time in his life. Something was wrong.

Solution: So after watching Bob Greene on Oprah one day, I signed up for his Best Life Diet. Okay, I'm not a fan of diets, but rather subscribe to the mantra that everything is fine in moderation. Having read his book of the same name, I knew of Bob's healthful mindset and so subscribing to his tactics was natural for me. His meal plan, all of which you make yourself (recipes provide) is not one of deprivation, but of elimination. Remove white bread from your diet and replace with whole grain--that type of thing. As you get use to one thing, he takes you a little farther. It's a great education in nutrition. If you don't lose a single pound (which is impossible if you follow his advice) this knowledge alone will improve your life.
But food is only one part.
Exercising is a major part of a healthful lifestyle and this is where The Best Life Diet challenged me most. I'd been spending far too much time with BIC (writer's know this acronym well) and not enough time in the great outdoors. So, with an online record keeping journal, I methodically began to add exercising into my life again.

Results: I lost ten stubborn pounds in three months and have kept it off. I feel very satisfied with my weight, even better with my fitness. I have more energy, my husband lost 15 pounds, and my kids are eating healthier than ever before (even though my fifteen year old claims that I'm starving him to death).
I encourage you to explore Bob Greene's philosophy if you ever wanted to improve your overall well being.

So that's enough for one post. I know the Oprah Show has a show devoted to Bob Greene next week and I encourage you to watch. He is really the most sensible voice in developing and maintaining a healthful mindset.

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The Canadian Telecom Summmit has allowed the Chairman of the CRTC, Konrad von Finckenstein, and the head of Canada’s Competition Bureau, Sheridan Scott, to bring Net Neutrality to the forefront as “one of the polarizing issues of the day [that] will have to be addressed and debated.” The CRTC is perhaps planning on holding a “major public consultation in order to obtain the views of interested parties.” Thankfully, the CLA and BCLA recently voted on a Net Neutrality Resolution. (see also the BCLA backgrounder (pdf) nicely put together by Devon Greyson)

SaveOurNet (here and here) and Michael Geist have more to say on the CRTC and Competition Bureau speeches.

In the meantime, SaveOurNet is having a party on Sunday June 22 to strategize about the next steps that need to be taken. The discussion will be led by Steve Anderson from the SaveOurnet.ca Coalition and Campaign for Democratic Media.

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One of my New Year resolutions was to blog more often, yet here it is, the 23rd of January (exactly a month since I last posted), and I’m writing my first post for the year. Not that this is a sign of complete failure – because even when I wrote my list of resolutions, I knew that most of January would be a write-off writing-wise. First, there was the annual Murphy trip to the beach, staying in

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Maybe you're liking the look of your fate as it is, but if you think it could use improving upon, the above could be a great motto for you in 2008. Ah, I'm just kidding. Holli took the best word to rhyme with 2008 for her "resolution" motto, so I just grabbed something else--ANYthing else! But seriously, whatever your perspective is on fate or destiny, we can all agree that most of us can do many things to move our careers along. We agreed that this week on our blog, we'd tackle the topic of "resolutions". So, though I haven't made a classic list of resolutions for 2008, there are things I'd like to accomplish this year in my business, and they are:

-Managing my own website. Presently my husband is my website's keeper so I'd like to learn our website building software and build and manage it myself. For me, that's a pretty steep learning curve, but I hope to accomplish that as the year progresses.

-Become familiar with classical artists/illustrators. I actually started this in December by checking out a book on the Wyeths, but I'd like to spend more time reading about the lives of other artists to broaden my familiarity and knowledge of what others have done.

-Join a local art group or take a class. I'll probably hold this off until the summer because I usually relocate for part of the winter season, but since I live close to a community art center, I should take advantage of things like this. You know...Get out and hang out with other artists. It's not something I ever do.

As for moving forward in my medium of drawing and illustration, I'd like to:

-Keep-a sketching. That's one of the best new things that I'd taken up in the last year or so and I don't want to let that go dormant again. I want to keep working and pushing myself to draw out of my comfort zone by using mediums I wouldn't normally use as well as tackle subject matter that I'm not comfortable with. I can only get better if I keep drawing/sketching.

-Keep-a cartooning. It's my first discipline and my dominant one. I'd like to do more with this and/or take in a bigger direction. I still have to think about this one, but it's on my list.

-Keep-a illustrating. One thing I thought about here was to experiment with some diverse color schemes. I was never much of a colorist and I so love seeing the palettes others choose in their art. I want to experiment more in this respect.

I have other ideas I'm brewing over in my mind. Executing these ideas and 'resolutions' is another matter, so I'm leaving it at just sharing some of my thoughts per what I'd LIKE to see happen in my business and art this coming year.

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I haven't been posting a lot lately, but I have lots of things "in the works". Here are some topics you'll be seeing from me in the coming weeks and months:

* Fairy Tale Retellings--I will taking a closer look at some specific fairy tales that have been retold. I am also created an annotated list of folk tale retellings by subject/tale/region, etc.

* Author/Illustrator Studies--I will be reading as many books as I can get my hands on by one author and post reviews in succession. I am currently working on Adam Rex, Polly Dunbar, Eric Rohmann, Emily Gravett, and more.

Stay tuned for more things to come... Read the rest of this post

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I thought it would be nice to highlight the best of our “advice” giving posts from the past year. Below is a sampling of posts that may help you reach your resolutions. Good luck!

Having a case of the Mondays? These tips from authors Gillian Butler, Ph. D., and Tony Hope, M.D., should help you get down to work. (more…)

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Good morning!

I'm only a little late with my new year's resolutions, so here goes!  We'll make it short....ah, the power of THREE!

NUMBER ONE

Looking back:
This year, I enjoyed a lot of FIRSTS.
....my son's bar mitzvah
....my novel released
....my wedding

Looking ahead:
....relaxation.  I VOW to rest.  To be good to myself.  To take time off!

NUMBER TWO

Looking back:
I read some excellent books.  My favorites include:
Barry Lyga's Boy Toy
Gail Giles' Right Behind You
Emily Smith Pearce's Isabel and the Miracle Baby
AND OF COURSE, the amazing

classof2k7

...what great books and great people, all of them.  Too many to post.

Looking ahead:
I need to read MORE.
I can't wait to read THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE, by

lizgallagher

which was released TODAY.  (more on that soon.....)
And I love being part of

thru_the_booth

....which everyone should check out.
and I need to update my website:  www.saraharonson.com...

check in soon...

NUMBER THREE (and last)

Eat more chocolate, but less of other things.
Feel good about the process, welcome new ideas.
clean the desk, clean the desk, clean the desk......

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So, originally I had in mind the trifecta of resolutions: Exercise Daily, Lose Weight, and Get Organized. Good, strong resolutions, and all areas in which I need improvement. However, when I thought about these goals, I got knots in my stomach. It felt all wrong. New Year’s resolutions should motivate and get you ready to take action, not depress and get you ready to throw up. I took the

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I love goals! And at the start of each year, I make some poetry goals. Now this might seem to go against my theme of Losing Control in my Writing, since goals seem very contained and controlled. But it doesn't, really. I want my words themselves to be out of control, but I want to be dedicated and consistent in my poetry habits.

So, my Pinch of Poetry entry for January is Poetry Goals (yeah, I know. Catchy title.):

A lot of people seem to think poetry is all about the muse. It’s the mood; it has to strike you; it’s out of your control.

For me, that’s a bunch of…baloney.

Poetry is a craft. It benefits from discipline and practice. People have varying amounts of talent and creativity. But these things can be increased and improved by simply working at it. Well, simply might not be the right word. But you know what I mean.

In 2007, I wrote 10 poetry books for Capstone Press, kept a photopoetry diary (where I tried to take a daily picture and write a 15 Words or Less poem based on the image), and worked on several trade poetry projects (all unsold, as of now). I was writing poetry on an almost daily basis. Many days, I wrote more than one poem. Some days, I wrote 5 or 6.

But for 2008, I don’t have any poetry book assignments. And that makes me a little nervous. Will I keep my skills sharp? Will I improve? Will I get lazy and let weeks go by without writing poems?

You can read the rest of the column here, where I share my 2008 poetry resolutions and offer a few guidelines for creating your own. If you'd like to share your poetry resolutions in the comments, I'd love to read them!

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So, here we are at the end of the year once more. How did my A-Z read go, you ask? A-hem. I had the best intentions, really I did. But I have learned that my reading cannot be disciplined like that outside of committee work!

There are a couple of goals for 2008 in regard to this here blog!

1) I want to actually blog more of the books I read. There were some gems like No Flying in the House (an A-Z too, btw) that never made it online. For shame!

2) Do some historical blogging. Especially of picture books. There are so many great old folktales that I use in my curriculum that I would love to share with others!

3) Make it a point to post either here or at Tweendom three times a week. I still want to remain focused on recommendations, but with all those books read that never made it here....it should be possible.

4) Click away in order to find new(ish) blogs that I like. Just found the 3 Evil Cousins today!

5) Get/stay active in the Kidlitosphere. What a great conference this year! Most likely I won't be able to make it out West for '08, so I want to be involved however possible!

This March will be my 3 year blogoversary! Who knew it would be this much fun?

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Last week, a Target cashier asked me how many days were in December.

"31, I think," I replied.

"Oh, good," she said. "I have four more days to eat chocolate. And drink soda. And eat fast food."

I smiled at her and wished her luck. I tried, sincerely, not to be cynical. I imagined her sleek and svelte and completely fast-food, chocolate, and soda free for all of 2008.

And then, less than a week later, here I am, doubting her. Blogging about her. Holding her up as Every Woman Who Will Fail. Mean, right? (And totally against my blog rules.)

And yet, this is exactly what we do to ourselves. We say that we believe in ourselves. We say we are listening to our dreams. We say that we will never give up. But sooner or later, we're going to be dissing ourselves and our good intentions. We're going to blame our disintegration on "not enough willpower" or "being unrealistic" or "life had other ideas."

So, for every resolution you make, consider this: do you have a plan for failure? What will you do on the day you fail to get up and write 500 words at 4:30 in the morning? What will you do on the afternoon that you eat a whole bag of Oreo cookies? What will you do when two weeks go by and you haven't been to the gym, not even to drive by it?

May I suggest that you make the answer something fun? Failure doesn't have to be miserable. On the day you realize that you haven't walked a mile for several days, give yourself a foot massage. On the morning you sleep in and don't write your word goal for the day, read a poem to yourself. On the day you eat the Oreo cookies, allow yourself to daydream for fifteen minutes. (At least make use of that sugar rush!)

You can even have a Failure Jar. Put in it several slips of paper with failure plans on them. Draw one out as needed. Celebrate. Rejoice. Because failure means that you're pushing hard enough for something else to push back. You've provoked a reaction. You've budged the universe one tiny little bit.

Whatever you plan to do when you fail, think of the cashier at Target. What would you say to her? Be at least as kind to yourself as you would to her.

And now, I'm going to get nerdy and quote an online dictionary.

Resolve:

1. To make a firm decision about.

That's fourteen ways of looking at your Resolve for the New Year. (Isn't the music one cool?)

But I really like #11: " To render parts of (an image) visible and distinct." I can't be something that I'm not. But I can be more of what I am. And everyone, absolutely everyone, can fail with more distinction.

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Happy New Year, everyone! Now that 2008 is FINALLY here, I’m sure that everyone is ready for a great new beginning and a fresh start. I know I am, (especially after all those Christmas cookies…)

New Year’s resolutions are fun to make, but can sometimes be hard to follow throughout the year. I know I’ve had trouble. Last year I promised myself that I wouldn’t overdo it on the Christmas cookies….Oh, well. You win some, you lose some. But what’s most important is if you try. And when you get through that first month, the other eleven are easy!

This year, I’m making a New Year’s resolution to Shine Through as much as possible. What do I mean? Each time I’m faced with a situation in which I have the choice to follow the crowd or be myself, I plan to be myself.

Huh?

Well, because I can see into the future (…), on January 20^th, my friends and I go to see Enchanted in theaters. Again. And they all order a small popcorn, a bag of Skittles and a 16 oz. bottle of water. I’m not the biggest fan of popcorn. (Don’t get me wrong: I like eating it when I’m watching movies in the house where there’s dental floss nearby. And I’m definitely not carrying toothpaste in my pocket. Though there’s nothing wrong with that…)

So, in that situation, I would order myself a big bag of chocolate covered raisins. So, why is that such a big deal? Well, if I was wearing a mask in that situation, I would have ordered a small popcorn, a bag of Skittles and a 16 oz. bottle of water. Why? Because that’s what all my friends ordered. Why should I be any different? It’s a very small situation, but it can mean a whole lot. When you Shine Through, you choose to be yourself in whatever the situation may be. Especially when it involves choosing chocolate over corn…

My New Year’s resolution is that simple: I plan to be myself as much as possible! And you should, too. Besides, you’re the only you that you know. Who else is better suited to be YOU than YOU?

So pull out a sheet of paper and jot down your New Years resolutions, including your plan to Shine Through. (And don’t forget to write down that one about not drinking soda so fast. Don’t forget what happened the last couple of times you did that…)

Have a happy, healthy New Year! And don’t forget to Shine Through!

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