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The story of the oldest known wild bird in the world. At 62+, she hatched a new chick in February, 2013. Read her remarkable story. A biography in text and art.
Just got an e-newsletter from the North Pole and Santa had these writing tips posted for the young-at-heart who are writing novels this year. Stay tuned: Santa promised to send me Rudolph’s writing tips tomorrow.
Back by popular demand is my series on writing tips from popular Christmas figures. First published in 2007, they are updated here for your Christmas cheer.
These writing tips are based on the song, “The 12 Days of Christmas” and focus on structure and language.
On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
Play with alliteration. Part of the reason the opening stanza works is the repetition of the initial sound, P, in partridge and pear. Can you add alliteration or other language play in your story?
On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Set up a cumulative pattern. This stanza is important because it sets up the pattern: we now know that this is a cumulative story, a story that adds a line each time and repeats all the other lines. Some cumulative stories keep going and take off a line each time. Study other cumulative stories, then try writing one.
On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Consider your audience. Always, you want to consider the audience for your work. For example in this video, the audience is Canadians and those interested in all things Canuck.
On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Parodies of this song are popular. They demonstrate the importance of playing with the themes, structures and particulars of a story to create something fresh and new. Have fun.
In this video, “The 12 Pains of Christmas,” the concept is turned on it’s head.
On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Vary the rhythms When you do a long story, try to find places where the language can slow down the rhythm. This line is traditionally slow, extending the story and adding variety.
On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Variety within a pattern is established here. We’re still adding a line each time, but now the verb at the end becomes important. For longer pieces like this be sure to add variety to keep the interest.
On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Numbers are often important to picturebooks, classic songs and our culture. For example, there are three little pigs and seven dwarves. Part of this fascination with numbers is cultural. In the Navajo culture, four is important: the four cardinal directions and the four sides of a hogan. Three and seven repetitions are generally in northern European stories. Nine is three-threes and twelve is four-threes (or three-fours). Watch for repetitions in stories and notice how many times something repeats. Try retelling stories with a different number of repeats and notice what it does for the story.
On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Play with language. Here’s the Straight No Chaser men’s accapella choir. By the time they get to the 8th day, things get very complicated — and wonderful. Don’t be afraid to play and have fun with language.
On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Use great verbs. Notice the verbs that are added each time. They make the story come alive with action. Wikipedia has a great introduction to the history of this song. This article includes the lyrics, the music and links to parodies.
On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Use strong nouns. Just as important is the use of specific nouns. The story doesn’t have generic birds; instead, we have a partridge, turtle doves, calling birds, and geese. Be as specific as possible in choosing nouns.
On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Don’t stop too early. The temptation in a story like this, especially a cumulative story that gets longer with each stanza, is to stop too soon. Instead, this story goes the full dozen stanzas. Take a deep breath — and finish what you started. Don’t give up before you finish a writing project. See it through to the end.
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!
Finish what you started. Notice that each stanza builds on the previous and the whole cumulative stanza here is satisfying. Create a unified story that hangs together.
And you just have to end with Burl Ive’s version with its lush illustrations.
It has been a truly difficult time, and I've got to say, I was down and out for a while. Without going into too many details, I was laid off from a beloved job and have had a terrible time looking for work. I became very sick and for a couple weeks, I was barely able to do anything, much less get any writing done.
I'm still out of a job, but at least I'm back on my feet, and using the extra time to write and work on great projects.
I'm happy to announce that "Sing We Now of Christmas: An Advent Anthology" is coming very soon. I've ordered the proof copy of it and it just needs my final review. It will be coming out in paperback and Amazon Kindle formats.
You can get a better idea about what you'll find at the anthology's website:
adventanthology.wordpress.com
We will be having a promotion soon to get everything kicked off that has to do with "The 12 Days of Christmas". We're also hoping to do another book next year that will benefit autism. Please send any stories you'd like to have considered for that my way.
This week, another anothology came out of which I am a part. I have two stories that are modern parables that I think you'll like. Check out "Parables for Today":
http://amzn.com/1599559226
I'll going to try to be online more in the upcoming days. Thank you all for your friendship and support.
3 Comments on Get Ready for Sing We Now of Christmas, last added: 9/19/2012
I am looking for anything in instructional design or education/training. Anything requiring writing experience would be nice as well, or that includes German language skills.
For the seventh year, Fiction Notes offers writing tips from popular personalities of the season. Tomorrow, the Grinch joins the lineup, with Top 5 Writing Tips from the Grinch (link will work on Friday, Nov. 25).
Top Writing Tips from Rudolph, Santa, Frosty, Gingerbread Man, 12 Days of Christmas, and the 3 Kings
In appreciation for all you do for children’s literature, I am offering a free set of lesson plans for Winter Writing with Kids. Based on popular Christmas and winter children’s stories, kids will learn 34 skills of writing.
My new book blog is finally ready... after waiting for the appropriate holiday shopping weather to arrive. The book is titled 'The 12 Days of Christmas in Washington' and it's from Sterling Books.
Residents of Washington state will recognize many of the local landmarks right off. This colorful book is full of fun scenes in Pike Place Market, Mt. Rainier, Downtown Seattle, Puget Sound, Leavenworth and Spokane.
Although I myself have never been to the Space Needle, I understand it's quite a popular destination. I have often looked up at it from Seattle Center to marvel at it's modern character, alongside the EMP. These Seattle landmarks are richly featured on several spreads of this new book. I did learn in making this book that the Space Needle is way more difficult to draw than the Eiffel Tower. (I haven't been there either.)
Other familiar sights are listed in the 'The places visited' tab of my new book blog. I have been to ALL the above mentioned locations and happily can testify to the authenticity and delights that they hold.
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0 Comments on The 12 Days of Christmas Book Blog as of 1/1/1900
And now, for this the 12th Day of Christmas we welcome my wonderful English friend, the author / illustrator and delightful Marcia Williams. She is heaps of fun to be with and has created a super Christmas story here - perfect for the culmination of this 12 Days of Christmas.
So now read on for Marcia's Christmas memory - THE MERRIEST CHRISTMAS EVER!
********
Let me tell you about last Christmas. As soon as I came home from my morning walk I knew we were in for an extra special Christmas feast. Mum was already in the kitchen singing Christmas jingles as she basted a ridiculously oversized and overstuffed turkey. With the turkey back in the oven, she started to glaze the ham. My tummy rumbled up a storm at the smell. Well, I hadn’t had any breakfast! I made my usual breakfast noises, but nobody took any notice. Dad was mixing his famous Christmas cocktail, Iggy, who was usually my brother in all things, was unwrapping his stocking for the tenth time and Mum, well, Mum was now sticking cherries into the ham. I tried begging, pleading, sighing, jumping and howling… nothing, not even a biscuit. I had been imaging a special Christmas breakfast, but by this time any breakfast would have done: dry toast, a morsel of left-over supper, a chocolate Father Christmas, maybe even a bauble from the tree. I started to bat them, while I tried to imagine what they might taste like – I could feel Mum losing patience. The question was, would she give in and let me have some breakfast or give up and send me out for another walk! One bat later I was sent for a walk!
Dad was delighted as he had been on sprout duty, so we set off together. We were just passing our neighbours a
0 Comments on 12 Days of Christmas, Day 12 - Marcia Williams as of 1/1/1900
Good Morning my friends. I’m trying something new today and I hope you enjoy the blessing. But before you read further, please don’t forget to comment on our last post to win a free copy of Esther Jeon Borth’s Christmas CD, CHRISTMAS WISH. We’ll choose tonight and announce the winner tomorrow. Good Luck. . .
Now on to the new- I’m thrilled to announce the 2nd Annual 12 Pearls of Christmas! We’ve lined up several authors to share their Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom”! Please follow along beginning today (Monday the 13th) through Christmas day as Melody Carlson, Lauraine Snelling, Rachel Hauck, Tricia Goyer, Maureen Lang, and more share their heartfelt stories of how God has touched their life during this most wonderful time of the year.
We are also providing this series as free content for your own blogs (as 12 html posts) – if you’d like to share the 12 Pearls of Christmas with your blog readers email ([email protected]) and she’ll send you the content.
AND BEST OF ALL … there’s also a giveaway!!!! Fill out the quick form at the link located at the bottom of this post or any of the following 12 Pearls of Christmas posts (on any of the participating posts) to be entered to win a PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS! You may enter once a day. The winner will be announced on New Year’s Day! Pearls – a tangible reminder of God’s grace to us all.
As I write by the light of my Christmas tree on a late winter’s night, I reflect upon the poignancy and purpose of this season. The tiny white lights look like strands of pearls draped gracefully (perhaps haphazardly is a more honest description) across the evergreen boughs. Tomorrow I will hang the ornaments and at last place the angel atop the tree
Angels carry a special meaning this Christmas. My brother, Randy passed away on December 2nd from a heart attack at age 53. He was feeding a stray cat on his side porch. Randy was always like St. Francis of Asissi – animals would find him, sensing a kind soul. And my brother was a gentle and patient soul. He loved to fish. He tried to teach me, but I immediately lost interest when I realized worms were involved. And I could never sit still on the banks of a river and just wait. However, Randy could do that. He could wait, and waiting is a true gift. He put into practice the Scriptures. “Wait upon the Lord.” “Be still and know that He is God.” Patience doesn’t have to be passive. Wait is still an action verb. Part of the waiting process for fishing is seeking. Elaine (Randy’s wife of 31 years) told me that Randy said he could see the fish deep beneath the waters. He actively waited for the right time to catch them.
During Randy’s last fishing trip on earth – just a week before his death, he felt an urgency to take a picture of the clouds with his cell phone. When he returned home, he showe
0 Comments on 12 Pearls of Christmas as of 1/1/1900
One website totals the value of the 12 days of Christmas at nearly $100,000. Makes you wonder what this guy did for a living, and why he needed to try so hard to impress his true love. (And if he bothered to wrap any of the gifts.)
It is speculated that the song was actually a Catholic symbolism song meant to teach children:
1The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments 3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues 4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists 5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace. 6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation 7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments 8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes 9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit 10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments 11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles 12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed
The question is, if someone was going to do the 12 Days of Christmas to you, what would you want? Leave a comment on this post answering this question, and you could win one of two signed copies of "The Canticle Kingdom." You don't have to do the whole song if you don't want, but at least on of the days.
Myself? I'd probably put more edible stuff in there like "and a pizza with pepperoni..." 12 publishing contracts would be nice too.
I will draw a winner on the 12th of December and one on the 24th (which is 12 days from the 12th). Entries are as follows:
1 entry for a blog post answering the question. 2 entries for posting on Facebook about this contest. 2 entries of posting on Twitter about this contest. 2 entries for blogging about it.
(Please let me know which of these you have done in your post.)
"The Canticle Kingdom" is also available on amazon.com for a great price. Check it out here: http://amzn.com/1599553627.
And have a very Merry Christmas!
3 Comments on A New Twelve Days of Christmas Contest, last added: 12/4/2010
I've heard this theory about the song before, but it's so complicated that I doubt it's true. Maybe I just don't see the connection between 10 Lords a Leaping and the 10 commandments.
Maybe if the lyrics were 10 plagues a-plaguing.
Anywhere, here's my contest entry!
1. Gorgeous wife 2. Bank Accounts 3. Percent interest 4. Movie tickets 5. hundred grand 6. Pack Abs 7. Chicken Fingers 8. Dunkin' Donuts 9. Belly Dancers 10. Leather Jackets 11. Hugs and Kisses 12. Weeks Vacation
My linguist dad said the "calling birds" was originally "coaly bird" (ie, BLACK birds) but enough people heard it wrong that it eventually changed. This kind of stuff fascinates me!
As for my list, having a bit of fun: 1. Spotless house 2. book tours 3. trips to Disneyland 4. happy, healthy kids 5. gold rings (hey, why not?) 6. afternoon naps 7. happy hours with family 8. days to write 9. million dollars 10. chocolate pies 11. days in Europe 12. pounds lost! (more than that, but the song doesn't go any higher)
12 books for reading 11 bags of popcorn 10 funny movies 9 new notebooks 8 hours for sleeping (every night) 7 peaceful days (each week) 6 happy children 5 ice cream bars 4 family parties 3 writing conferences 2 pairs of jammies 1 book contract just for me!
The folks at Paper Tigers (and especially Aline) sent to me an email late last year that included the following:
If you want to report back on your reading Christmas stories to the kindergartners, I would love to post your notes to our blog as part of our "religious diversity in relation to end-of-year celebrations" focus. I know this is a busy time of the year, but if you're up for it, we would be honored to share your classroom visit with our readers.
Up for it? Of course I was, although in the hurly burly of gathering the 12 Days of Christmas that appeared on this blog I forgot to post the link. So here is my piece at the PaperTigers blog site.
I should also mention too that the folks there are creating a wonderful project - but more news on that real soon!
1 Comments on Paper Tigers & Reading to Kindy, last added: 2/2/2010
The Spirit of PaperTigers Project was announced yesterday! You can read about it, see the 2010 Book Set and find interviews with the authors by visiting the website: http://www.papertigers.org
We are excited about donating these books to children in areas of need across the globe!
And now the final day, the 12th day of Christmas .... and this is all mine:
***************
A Vivid Christmas-Eve Memory
I rushed to bed. Me? Never. But on this night, a quiet, nothing-to-do-except-wait night a job had to be done. A discovery had to be made.
I lay in bed, still as a stone, not making the bed creak. Tonight was a night for silent waiting, waiting, until the loving family voices ceased their chatter. It was hard this waiting. It was dark. My eyes were heavy with excitement.
I counted to 100. It was time. Climbing off my creaky steel-tubed bed I tip-toed down the hallway. It wasn't easy, this sneaking down the hallway, dodging the tables and creaky floorboards but I did it and no one heard me!
And then I squatted, waiting for THAT man to come down the chimney right next to me by the fireplace. I counted to 100. Nothing. Maybe a window was open. I checked. All our windows were locked as usual. Maybe a door remained unbolted. I checked them both; front and back. Closed.
If I couldn't see him arrive, I would catch him emptying the sack. I hid behind the lounge, a perfect hiding spot, right in front of our silver Christmas tree. The biscuits and milk and carrots were on the table just where we left them. I waited. Not a sound. I counted to 100. Nothing.
Was that a noise, a creak on that floorboard? My eyes were wide. I counted to 100. No one entered the room.
My eyelids were heavy. I took a sip of his milk. I counted a little and took another sip and then counted some more ... but I never made it to 100.
My head snuggled on the back of the cloth covered lounge.
And that's all that I remember of that Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning my sisters entered. "Santa's been" cried one. "The milk's gone" cried another. I jumped up from behind the lounge ready to yell but instead saw the presents wrapped beneath our tree ... but the biscuit and the carrots remained untouched.
I never did discover THAT man. But he came every year – and still does!
***************
I hope you have enjoyed the 12 days of Christmas memories ... and maybe it has sent off some of your own reflections and memories too!
2 Comments on 12 Days of Christmas, Day 12 - ME, last added: 1/8/2010
It's that time of year when the champagne flows, the waistline grows, and gifts and parties are on the mind. Well, at least they're on mine!
I'm throwing a party all month long and you're invited! So pour yourself a glass and pass the shortbread cookies. Here's how it works:
I have this stack of books I was going to take to the used book store, but then I thought how much more fun it would be to give them away on the blog. But I'm not just giving away books. You could win a bracelet or a gift card, a critique or an ARC. Yeah, this is going to be fun!
It's really easy to play along. All you have to do is follow this blog and leave a comment. Every follower who leaves a comment is automatically entered to win. And I'll be giving something away every time I post. Would you believe I have 12 posts planned for the month of December? It's my 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway. Woohoo!!
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, an ARC of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Have you heard about this book? In a word, incredible!
This ARC actually was given to me by one of my true loves, Kathy Mullins at the Book Loft in Solvang. I've told you before how fabulous it is to be given books when I go to the book store. This is another awesome find that she sent my way.
Here's the blurb:
There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
Oh man, I get chills just thinking about it again! You can read more about the book (and the authors) over on Myra's blog. If you like paranormal YA, you'll
Sherrie, you are so generous! What a great idea for December! (and I'm glad the prizes aren't food, my waistline has grown since Halloween already... ;)
Don't enter me - I won the last fab contest here ("Runestone" was a really fun read, btw. My 15 y/o, my 10 y/o and I all read it over Thanksgiving break..thanks again!)
And, living in Solvang, OF COURSE you're passing out shortbread cookies. Yum!
(did I tell you my hubby is Danish? Lived in Denmark for a while? Loves Solvang cuz he can talk to the waitresses in Danish and get "real" Danish/Norwegian food? We used to go there from time to time when we lived in Ca -- but havent' been in years. Maybe someday :D )
Great idea! Free books! Woo-hoo! Oh, wait, I think I heard a groan coming from my overflowing bookshelves. Oh well, certainly one more potential book on the shelf won't be the book that caused the shelves to come tumbling down . . . would it???
I know you already selected a winner, but I wanted to say BEAUTIFUL CREATURES sounds really good! Plus, you mentioned the Book Loft at my blog! What a great place!
After today, my only day in the (weirdly quiet) office this week, I'll be off work through January 5th, so this is my last post of the year. I considered giving a recent news roundup, but that's not very, um, festive. I toyed around with a "12 Days of Christmas" parody, but I'm too sleepy to get any further than "11 good rejections."
So I will simply end another year of blogging by thanking everyone who visits this space. Whether you follow, stop in daily, or zip by once in a while, I really appreciate it and I hope, at least occasionally, you find something useful or interesting. This has been my best year of blogging, with more readers, more followers and more posts than ever.
Thanks also to all who participated in my blog this year--all the Debuts Authors of the Month, Bloggers of the Week, and editors and agents who answered questions for me.
And, finally, thanks to everyone who uses CWIM. It's a joy to produce my book year after year and I intend to keep doing it as long as long as it's fun. (I'm now working on my 17th edition, so it's going pretty well so far.)
I LOVE the book, and intend to save my Christmas Gift Cards to purchase the new one (this summer?). I love that we get to hear about the publishing world, and about new authors/bloggers from your site.
Thanks for sharing with all of us- have a safe and happy holiday yourself!!!
I have to agree with what Boni just wrote. I'm a loyal follower of your blog and appreciate the news and info you share. Happy holidays to you and yours!
Very nice picture of the Thomas Nast Santa drawn in the 1860s, the first popular drawing where Santa was round, red-cheeked, fur-dressed, and jolly. Before that Santa was imagined to be more thin and dour.
Thanks for the blog, I look forward to using it more in the new year, only just discovered it recently.
Two years ago, I got an email from the North Pole! Wow! It had Santa’s Top 5 Writing Tips and the next day, I got an email with Rudolph’s Top 5 Writing Tips. I’m still in contact with the North Pole and this is the 2008 Writing Tips, this time courtesy of the classic carol, The 12 Days of Christmas. Enjoy!
Writing tips for this song are all about structure and language.
On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
Play with alliteration, the repetition of initial sounds such as the p in partridge and pear.
On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
This stanza is very important because it sets up the pattern: we now know that this is a cumulative story, a story that adds a line each time and repeats all the other lines. Some cumulative stories keep going and take off a line each time. Study other cumulative stories, then try writing one.
On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Good writing is about communicating. This video shows how a different audience might interpret this story. Why do those sea turtles have wings? Five gold rings are onion rings? And why are those ten lords sky-diving? Word choice does matter. And always keep in mind your audience and their point of view.
On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Parodies of this song are popular — as in this Geek’s version from TeacherTube. Study parodies and write one of your own.
On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
You gotta LOVE Miss Piggy singing 5 golden rings. When you do a long story, try to find places where the language can slow down the rhythm. Here, it also becomes a place where the singers can ham it up a bit. (Get it?)
On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Variety within a pattern is established here. We’re still adding a line each time, but now the verb at the end becomes important. For longer pieces like this be sure to add variety to keep the interest.
On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Numbers are often important to picturebooks, classic songs and our culture. For example, there are three little pigs and seven dwarves. Part of this fascination with numbers is cultural. In the Navajo culture, four is important: the four cardinal directions and the four sides of a hogan. Three and seven repetitions are generally in northern European stories. Nine is three-threes and twelve is four-threes (or three-fours). Watch for repetitions in stories and notice how many times something repeats. Try retelling stories with a different number of repeats and notice what it does for the story.
On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Here’s the Straight No Chaser men’s accapella choir. By the time they get to the 8th day, things get very complicated — and wonderful. Don’t be afraid to play and have fun with language.
On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Wikipedia has a great introduction to the history of this song. This article includes the lyrics, the music and links to parodies.
On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
And yet another parody, this one from a Science Class in Australia.
On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Take a deep breath — and finish what you started. Don’t give up before you finish a writing project. See it through to the end.
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!
And you just have to end with Burl Ive’s version with its lush illustrations.
But then I thought of my darling children and their shining faces on the twelfth day of Christmas, and knew it had to be marvelous, incredible leaping Lipizzaners
"Cerbero"; oil on copper, c1725, by Johann Georg von Hamilton Cerbero was a Neapolitan brown piebald, one of Emperor Charles VI's favorite riding horses. From the collection of the Lipizzaner Museum.
"Scarramuie"; oil on copper, c1725, by Johann Georg von Hamilton Scarramuie was a dapple-grey of the Neapolitan school, and here performs a piaffe (a trot in place) in the hands of a stable boy. From the same collection.
"Courbette"; watercolor, 1923, by Ludwig Koch, from the same collection
For more about Lipizzaner horses, Laura recommends:
With that, folks, Christmas is officially over at Farm School as of tomorrow and if I have the energy -- after the 12 days of Christmas, this recent blogging spurt, and the Cybils (short list to be announced Sunday, which I'll post here after swilling my coffee) -- the tree will be "planted" in a snowbank outside and the decorations returned to their boxes.
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You might know them as Rose campion (Lychnis coronaria) "Dancing Ladies", because they look like little swaying dancers in brightly-colored ballgowns. Especially if you are in the garden early in the morning before that first cup of coffee and without your glasses.
The picture above is from the online catalogue of Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine, which offers a great variety, including organic and heirloom seed. Imagine a whole garden full of dancing ladies, for the bargain price of $1.80 -- the cost of a packet of seed.
This is the season gardeners love, planning the new year's garden while snow is still on the ground. For me this involves stacks of printed gardening catalogues (and no, it's just not the same online, though I do request them by email), a pen, Post-It notes, and a graph paper pad filched from Tom.
I'll leave the last word to Katharine S. White, E.B. White's wife, an editor at The New Yorker, and ardent and opinionated gardener. After she retired from her editing duties, in the late 1950s, she began a series of garden pieces for the magazine. More than a few columns were reviews seed and nursery catalogues, which Mrs. White considered as seriously as any other American literature. After Mrs. White's death in 1977, her husband collected them into a delightful volume, Onward and Upward in the Garden. From her first piece, dated March 1, 1958,
For gardeners this is the season of lists and callow hopefulness; hundreds of thousands of bewitched readers are poring over their catalogues, making lists for their seed and plant orders, and dreaming their dreams. It is the season, too, when the amateur gardener like myself marvels or grumbles at the achievements of the hybridizers and frets over the idiosyncrasies of the editors and writers who get up the catalogues. They are as individualistic -- these editors and writers -- as any Faulkner or Hemingway, and they can be just as frustrating or rewarding. They have an audience equal to the most popular novelist's, and a handful of them are stylists of some note. Even the catalogues with which no man can be associated seem to have personalities of their own.
Before we examine the writers and editors, let us consider the hybridizers, and the horticulturists in general. Their slogan is not only "Bigger and Better" but "Change" -- change for the sake of change, it seems. Say you have a nice flower like the zinnia -- clean-cut, of interesting, positive form, with formal petals that are so neatly and cunningly put together, and with colors so subtle yet clear, that they have always been the delight of the still-life artist. Then look at the W. Atlee Burpee and the Joseph Harris Company catalogues and see what the seedsmen are doing to zinnias. Burpee, this year, devotes its inside front cover to full-color pictures of its Giant Hybrid Zinnias, which look exactly like great shaggy chrysanthemums. Now, I like chrysanthemums, but why should zinnias be made to look like them?
By the way, any Katharine White fans who have despaired of ever reading more of her garden writings would be very happy with Emily Herring Wilson's 2003 compilation, Two Gardeners: A Friendship in Letters, Katharine S. White & Elizabeth Lawrence, the latter a talented and prolific garden writer.
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Little Grandson (LG)is out of school for a week or so before beginning the free summer school provided by the state for pre-kindergarteners next week, so we had the opportunity to have him for the day while his mom was at class.
This morning I golfed, but he had fun helping Papa wash the car, or more likely spraying him... and after LG helped me make lunch we had a variety of 'projects' to complete. Started by making puppets out of paint stirrers and plastic bags...which of course generated several puppet shows. AND we even wrote a script...he wrote his lines (definitely does not need pre-k, but he likes school) and I wrote mine.(Maybe he'll be a writer someday, too!) Then we put together the kite he got for his fifth birthday a couple of weeks ago, took it to the field down the road and flew it, and then went 'exploring' in the woods at the other side of the field. When we got home, he read me a story and then I read to him...a very good day. We get him again on Thursday, too.
I continue to work on marketing...thanks, Kate, for your suggestions. Also am working on a 'Meet the Author' kit for schools, and on editing the press release my publisher sent me. Found a site yesterday that has all the newspapers in the country listed, so I'll have plenty to choose from when mailing the release out...http://www.50states.com/news/ . Now all I have to do is to sit down and DO all this stuff...
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Congrats on the anthology and sorry about the job! Hope you find something soon!
Michael, please comment here and let everyone know what kind of work you are looking for. I am linking to this article from my blog.
I am looking for anything in instructional design or education/training. Anything requiring writing experience would be nice as well, or that includes German language skills.
Thanks Daron!