.
…
shishh-shishh-shishh (in a nod to
Mary Ann's post on sound, this is the sound of shuffling through all the entry names on strips of paper in a pail with my eyes closed and then pulling one out)
Irene Latham! How appropriate for Poetry Friday—congratulations, poet Irene!
Life is what happens to you / While you're busy making other plans,
John Lennon wrote in his song Beautiful Boy.
I have been working on the election for more than a year and have put my 14-year-old-novel-that-scares-the-dickens-out-of-me aside. You know the one--the one that's supposed to be in bookstores everywhere by now. At least that was the plan.
Every day my stomach twinges; I wonder if I'll ever finish it. If I'm capable of finishing it.
Don't try to force anything. Let life be a deep let-go.
See God opening millions of flowers every day without forcing the buds
~ Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
PATIENCE
by April Halprin Wayland
.
"Come in," I say to my almost-book.
But it stays outside,
in a halo of porch light.
It will not take off its coat or paisley rain boots,
though I offer it a place on the couch
and a cup of hot tea.
It seems comfortable out there,
watching rain
dripping off the roof.
So I go about my days, my nights,
researching, running, writing.
Wrestling with wildlife.
Every now and then I tilt my head
to look out the window
at my almost-book on the wooden porch.
It's out there still,
in no hurry,
surrounded by the fragrance of tuberose.
poem (c) 2012 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
Writing Workout: Wrestling with Demons
In the poem above, I told an embarrassing truth that haunts me.
It's October...nearly Halloween.
I dare you to do the same.
And remember to write with joy.
.
Hooray! Today I'm pleased to share a Student Success Story interview with my former student and now picture book author (and fellow poet) Eileen Meyer. I believe all of you who are aspiring writers will be especially interested in learning about Eileen's path to publication.
Eileen's brand-new book,
Who’s Faster? Animals on the Move, (Mountain Press) is a nonfiction picture book illustrated by Constance Bergum that introduces readers to 14 different creatures from the animal kingdom. Written in lyrical prose, the book starts with the slowest animal and builds to the fastest, describing each creature’s unique locomotion. An informative appendix provides fun facts about animal movement and speed. After reading my interview with Eileen, I hope you'll enter our drawing to win an autographed copy for your children or classroom.
First, let me tell you a little about Eileen Meyer. In addition to her picture book, Eileen also has a new poem in the recently released sports anthology
And the Crowd Goes Wild: A Global Gathering of Sports Poems edited by
Carol-Ann Hoyte and Heidi B. Roemer. (If that title sounds familiar, it's because one of my poems is also in the anthology! I wrote about it in
this interview with Heidi.) Eileen's upcoming picture books include
Ballpark (Amazon Publishing) and
Sweet Dreams, Walrus (Mountain Press). Her poetry has appeared in children’s magazines, including
Highlights for Children, Ladybug, and
Highlights High Five. She lives in the Chicago area with her family. When she’s not writing or visiting schools, she enjoys reading, watching sports and traveling. To learn more, visit
Eileen's website.
And now, for the interview:
1. Eileen, it’s been a long time, maybe 10-12 years, since you took
my introductory class in "Writing for Children" at the College of DuPage.
Do you recall what inspired you to sign up for the class and/or any ways the
class helped you?
I remember the first writing course that I took from you
with such clarity, Carmela!
My three sons
were in preschool and elementary school and we loved to spend hours together reading
fabulous contemporary children’s books. So for me, it was my interest in great
children’s books that directed me towards your class and prompted me to
consider writing for children. Your class was filled with a group of
like-minded starry-eyed students and it was an informative introductory program.
You encouraged us to join the
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), to attend programs and network meetings, to
learn how to properly critique work, and to consider submitting to the magazine
market. These were all excellent pieces of advice for new writers beginning to
find their way.
2. I'm so glad you found the class helpful, Eileen. And that you took my advice to heart! In your article in the current SCBWI-Illinois newsletter,
you discuss the importance of writing classes in your career development. Would
you tell our readers a bit about some of the classes you took and how you found
them?
When I joined SCBWI, I signed up for many different courses
in order to explore and learn more about myself and what I liked to write. Most
class offerings were either advertised on the SCBWI-IL website, posted on our
Listserv or listed in the College
of DuPage Course Catalog.
Through
Heidi Bee Roemer’s class, "
The
ABC’s of Children’s Poetry," I not only discovered my interest in writing
poetry, but I was able to connect with classmates and form a special poetry
critique group. Through
Pat Kummer’s program,
"Nothing but the Facts: Get the Scoop on Writing Nonfiction for Children
and Young Adults," I found that I enjoyed researching and sharing
information with young readers. I’ve taken many courses over the years, but
Heidi’s and Pat’s classes were critical in my personal development. I encourage
new writers to find their own pace by attending a wide array of programs. You
never know what course or speaker might expand your horizons.
[Speaking of classes, if you live in the Chicago area, you may be interested in a new one I (Carmela) am teaching this Saturday, Oct. 13, from 1-5 pm at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook: "Fundamentals of Writing Fiction for Children and Teens." See my website for details.]
3. Terrific advice, Eileen. Your first publishing credits were poems in children’s
magazines. As it happens, both you and I have poems in the recently-released
anthology, And the Crowd Goes Wild: A Global Gathering of Sports Poems.
Would you tell us about the poem you wrote for that collection?
Yes,
Carmela, it’s really exciting that a number of Illinois poets have work in the newly
released,
And the Crowd Goes Wild: A Global Gathering of Sports Poems. For my sports poem,
The Letter, I
wanted to combine two interesting themes: first, introduce a situation where a
parent is the coach and highlight the awkwardness that may result on occasion,
and second, expand upon the concept that we all have had a sports outing where
nothing seems to go our way – one of those days in which absolutely everything
goes wrong! I was able to weave these two themes together in a humorous fashion
in this poem. Volleyball’s fast-paced action provided the perfect setting for
this young player’s all-too-silly mishaps. In addition, it was fun to work
outside of my comfort zone and write something humorous.
[Note to readers: Eileen and I will join editor Heidi B. Roemer and 4 other contributors to And the Crowd Goes Wild for a special Book Launch Party and Poetry Celebration to be held at Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, at 7 pm, Tuesday, October 16, 2012. The event will be especially geared to children ages 6-12, though adults are welcome, too. See the Anderson's website for details. And if you'd like to reserve a copy of the book to have autographed by the poets that evening, be sure to call Anderson's as soon as possible: 630-355-2665.]
4. Would you tell us how you came to write and publish Who’s Faster? Did the book go through a
lot of revision between acceptance and publication?
My first children’s book,
Who’s Faster? Animals on the Move (Mountain Press), was a project that I wrote during
winter 2007. Interestingly enough, I have come to find that the January–March
time frame is a very productive one for me.
I’m not an active winter sports participant,
so when I am chased inside by our frigid temperatures, I’ve used my time
productively for a number of manuscripts. This project was an outgrowth of the fact
that I had found books about fast moving animals, and detailed nonfiction books
about particular animals, but there didn’t seem to be a book that represented
the broad spectrum of slow-crawling to fast-racing mammals. So I began my
research and drafted the manuscript within a few months. I had the work
critiqued by two different writing groups that I met with at the time and both
groups had excellent ideas for tightening the text, incorporating repetition,
and including substantive appendix materials. The manuscript text is less than
350 words, so it was a great experience to carefully reduce the text as much as
I could. The appendix was 1000 words and included detailed research.
Additionally, the book was fact-checked by local
zoo staff. Once the manuscript was polished and ready to go, I began to submit
to a few publishers at a time.
Early on,
I received a number of no's but I also had one close call – the editor noted
that he turned it down after quite a bit of deliberation. That was one of my
first so-called “good rejections” and it spurred me on. As it ended up, my
lucky 13
th submission hit the jackpot. In March of 2009,
approximately 2 years after I had finished writing the manuscript, Mountain
Press, contacted me about publishing the book.
5. Your story is yet another example of perseverance paying off. I always tell my students how valuable it is to attend
events where they can hear editors and agents speak, but I’m not sure they
believe me. ☺ Would you share your story of how attending a conference led to one of your book
contracts?
I make it a point to attend the fabulous
Illinois Prairie Writer’s Day
Conference held in mid-November. The line-up of editors and agents is always
very compelling. In 2010, I listened to a panel of editors talk about their
particular interests for manuscript submissions, and I jotted down notes that one
editor was looking for sports-related picture books. A month later, I submitted
my manuscript to her, and then I forgot all about it as I immersed myself in
other projects. About nine months later, the editor contacted me and asked for
a revision to my manuscript,
Ballpark.
After my resubmission, I was offered a contract for that picture book! This was
an opportunity only afforded to conference attendees. SCBWI-IL was critical in
opening this door for me to earn my second book contract.
6. On your website, you mention that you didn’t always want
to be a writer. Your first career was in business. Has your business experience
influenced your writing career in any way?
Yes, I previously worked for over 10 years as a software
consultant in California and Texas after I earned undergraduate and
graduate degrees in business.
I designed
training programs, helped market the programs and interfaced extensively with
customers.
After my children were born
(three in less than two years – yes, I have twins!) I elected to stay home with
my sons and it was a wonderful period in my life. After about six years at
home, I decided to write for the children’s magazine and book market, I was
glad that I had a varied business background that would aid me in my current
efforts. I’ve been able to create and produce some professional looking
marketing materials myself – such as bookmarks, school visit brochures,
promotional flyers and then have had other projects such as my website, farmed
out to experts after I wrote the copy. As a former professional software
trainer, those skills transitioned easily to the classroom as I designed and
created new school programs offerings. All in all, it’s been a nice blend of
new and old skill sets that I’ve been able to utilize.
Thanks for joining us today, Eileen. I'm always excited to share stories of my students' success.
And now readers, as promised, here's your chance to win an autographed copy of
Who’s Faster? Animals on the Move written by Eileen Meyer and illustrated by Constance Bergum. You must follow our
TeachingAuthors blog to enter our drawing. If you're not already a follower, you can sign up now in the sidebar to subscribe to our posts via email, Google Friend Connect, or Facebook Network blogs.
There are two ways to enter:
1) by a comment posted below
OR
2) by sending an email to teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com with "Book Giveaway" in the subject line.
Just for the fun of it, tell us what animal you think is the fastest. (This is optional.)
Whichever way you enter, you
MUST give us your first and last name AND tell us how you follow us. If you enter via a comment, you MUST include a valid email address (formatted this way: youremail [at] gmail [dot] com) in your comment. Contest open only to residents of the United States. Incomplete entries will be discarded.
Entry deadline is 11 pm (CST) Tuesday, October 23, 2012. Winners will be announced Wednesday, Oct. 24. Good luck to all!
Happy Writing!
Carmela
P.S. Don't forget--
tomorrow is the last day to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Carolee Dean's paranormal novel in verse,
Forget Me Not. See
April's post for complete details.
I love your poem, April. Someday soon the almost-book will come in to stay :).
I love this poem, April! Also, the quote by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. (I'm not sure how your almost-book can turn down a nice cup of tea! Maybe after the election...)
You exactly captured the feeling of an unfinished project waiting there for you. Wonderful poem. I have a book of poems on my porch, but it's a bit more aggressive, nose smushed up on the window, a big "Well??" expression on its face. Sigh.
I'm not sure there's a writer out there who can't identify with this! Really enjoyed it, April.
Just as "Beautiful Boy" was finishing up and right after I'd opened this comment box, a mosquito came flying straight at me and I (Mosquito Magnet with "only" 3 recent bites) smashed it on my first clap. I wonder if that was a symbol of something--or just a mosquito? Goodbye Scary Thing(s)! Onward!
This comment has been removed by the author.
April, thank for your courage. Here's a haunting:
The Gift of a Daughter
If
I should let go
For a moment,
Are you able
To swim on your own?
Why ask?
Long past your memory,
It was I who held
Your hand
As you floated freely.
Hannah Ruth Wilde, All rights reserved, 2012
Beautiful poem, April. And I loved the quote by Rajneesh. It would be wonderful to live in that mindful place all the time. It's something to strive for.
April, your porch must be a welcoming place for your almost-book to even stay there. Perhaps it's gathering courage or waiting for you to prepare something necessary. I love your poem. My almost-book is waiting for me to add a chapter near the beginning. One day our almost-books will don their covers and move off the porch into readers' hands!
Hi, April. I heard Laura Amy Schlitz speak at the Baltimore Book Festival recently. She talked about how writers dream up this ideal version in their minds of the book they are writing on. Part of the process is letting go of that vision and writing the books that wants to be written. Your post reminded me of her wise words!
April...We 'he been blogmates forever and didn't. know that you and I share a case of being frightened by our own books and for almost as long... eleven years. I thought I was the only one. Thank you.
Love this poem, April. And, oh, I can relate to that wanting-to-have-written-the-book feeling. The darn things just want to take their own sweet time.
Dear Everyone Who's Stopped By,
Your comments are heartening...I didn't realize that I wasn't alone on that porch...especially for so many years. I have been full of shame about it. So thank you for coming and sitting with me, Jama and Matt. And Tabatha and BJ, I love that quote, too...it IS something to strive for.
Hannah Ruth, always nice to see you and thanks for your haunting, mysterious poem. It makes me want to know more.
Janet, smack those mosquitoes-- kill the scary monster demons for all of us!
Renee--I like your more aggressive almost-book and it's nose smushed against the window.
And Joyce Ray--it makes me feel as if one day 100s of us will take our books' hands and walk off the porch with them...in a sort of author march to freedom.
...and dear Mary Ann and Jill...
your comments...and the comments of the others on this blog...have been so helpful today. I really thought I was the only one filled with such shame.
Hi there dear April. I fell in love with your poem. I shall share it with my PhD supervisees who must be struggling with their almost-PhD thesis out in the rain. If they can smell the tuberose then I'd get the drafts of their manuscripts soon. :)
It seems you have quite a gathering here today because of the words you shared, April. I liked your honesty that the book is waiting, and that seems okay, even when you write "though I offer it a place on the couch
and a cup of hot tea." Perhaps this will be a small hop in the direction that takes the book onward? Best wishes.
You speak so much truth here. Sometimes things are just not ready for us even when we feel ready for them. I hope it comes in for that tea soon, it sounds like a cozy place in your poem.
I can really relate to the feeling of shame about unfinished projects. Some day you'll finish it, or you'll learn what you need to from it that will make your next project even greater.
Laura—I love "writers dream up this ideal version in their minds of the book they are writing on. Part of the process is letting go of that vision and writing the books that wants to be written." Well, this has certainly been true for me in other projects...
Myra ~ I'm honored that you'll share this with your PhD students! :-)
Linda ~ Perhaps opening up to everyone like this is, indeed, a "small hop in the direction that takes the book onward"
Betsy ~ I love this: "Sometimes things are just not ready for us even when we feel ready for them."
Ruth ~ Thank you for this: "Some day you'll finish it, or you'll learn what you need to from it that will make your next project even greater."