The Very Nearly Honorable
League of Pirates
Book 1: Magic Marks the Spot
by Caroline Carlson
Middle Grade
To say I have been waiting for this book's release like a dog waiting for a mouthwatering steak is, well, an understatement. Caroline and I were fellow classmates at Vermont College. Go Extraordinary League of Cheese Sandwiches!
I had the awesome pleasure of getting to hear an excerpt of
Magic Marks the Spot during our last residency. To say the deck was stacked in favor of my liking this book is to state the obvious. But don't let my bias sway you (much :-) My girls were there too, and they were literally lining up to buy the not-yet-sold ms before the reading was over.
This is one of those books you dream about coming along. The one you'd dearly love to write and happily disappear in when you found someone else has.
Basic plot: Hilary wants to be a pirate. Her father, the admiral, is for obvious reasons grandly opposed. Her mother, a member of high society, is swooningly opposed. Hilary's magical gargoyle, and sidekick, is swashbuckingly not. The two escape boarding school to try out their piratical-ness on the high seas and find adventure galore.
Got your google browser open to download a copy?
Carlson keeps the reader magically entertained while at the same choosing
Pirates of the Caribbean humor over blood and gore, which, for young readers, is such a godsend. There is no persisting nightmares in which dementors chase said child, or take up residence in her closet (which happened many many nights to my youngest after we read one of the
Harry Potter books). Instead, there is laughter and merriment and general tomfoolery all around.
From a writer's perspective, admittedly, the lack of gore and ever present possibility of sudden death gentles the emotional ride for readers. At the same time, a young reader isn't emotionally put through the ringer either.
If for no other reason than authorly curiosity, read the story and ask yourself, what does this mean to have a plot that doesn't hinge on pain of death, but rather, uses humor to skirt the darkness that could overwhelm? It's definitely had me thinking for a long long while.
While I sit in my ivory tower and mull, check out
Barry Summy's website for an autumnal gourd o' reading plenty!
Last week, Mary Ann, Carmela, and April responded to an
Ask the TeachingAuthors question submitted by Joanna Cooke about the pros and cons of getting an MFA.
Here's my story...
The summer after I graduated from college, I moved to Los Angeles to be an unpaid intern on my favorite TV show,
Days of Our Lives. That summer, I remember watching the Democratic National Convention and the Olympics, eating scads of S'Mores with my awesome roommate, Gretchen, meeting tons of soap stars (both nice and not-so-nice), and attending my first national SCBWI conference in Marina del Rey. On the last day of my internship, when I'd already shipped my belongings home and signed up for a medical transcription course at the local community college, I was hired to be a lowly writers' assistant.
For four years, I made coffee, fetched lunches, made thousands (millions?) of copies, talked to brain surgeons, answered questions from fans and actors and writers alike. I also negotiated a four-day, ten hour/day work week so that I'd have a full day each week to actually write. I was hired to ghost write a Nancy Drew mystery and had the opportunity to work with the fabulous Olga Litowinsky. I sold a children's biography. And I slowly began to realize that I was never going to get a shot at writing for the show.
Ultimately, I decided that I'd given my soap writing dream a good go. I didn't have to live in Los Angeles to write children's books. It was time to go home.
In Maryland, I took a variety of part-time jobs. I wrote some articles and two more Nancy Drew novels. But the hard truth was, I was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of a top-tier college; yet I was in my late twenties, living with my parents, and working as a secretary (a job for which I was overqualified on paper but utterly underqualified in practice). While I was a published writer, I did not feel comfortable calling myself "a writer" -- or much else, for that matter.
Then one day I saw an ad in the monthly SCBWI bulletin for the low-residency MFA program at Vermont College. The program was in its infancy then. I'd never heard of it. But when I saw the list of faculty, I knew that I must apply. I was desperate for a jump start, direction, affirmation, anything!
Now, I fully realize what children's book writers typically earn in terms of salary. I was quite clear that it was unlikely that I'd ever recoup the money spent on my graduate education. I told myself it would be a spiritual investment.
I could not have imagined how truly magical my experience would be. During my second residency, I received an email (there was no cell phone reception, and only one pay phone on the whole floor) stating that
Days desperately needed a writers' assistant, and would I come back ASAP? I said only if I'd have a shot at writing, and they said fine. I found an apartment, flew home from Vermont, packed my things, and a week later I was back at work in L.A.
The day that Marion Dane Bauer called to tell me that my novel had won the Houghton Mifflin Award was the same day that I learned I would get a scriptwriting contract on
Days.
The year that Houghton Mifflin accepted my novel for publication was the year my now-husband and I started dating, and the year it was published, we got engaged.
To say that Vermont College changed my life would be like saying having kids changed my life. I truly was a different person when I graduated.
Not to say that it was all perfect and wonderful. Juggling the program with a full-time job was often exhausting. I had one difficult semester where I did not really "click" with my advisor. I had to take a semester off because my job did not allow four weeks of vacation in the same year. I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer during my last semester -- had surgery, radiation, moved back to Maryland, and yes, still graduated!
Some unexpected benefits: When my daughter comes home from school gushing over a book by Phyllis Root or Carolyn Crimi or Susan Fletcher, I get to say, 'I know her!' And nearly a decade later, I am still in touch almost daily with my classmates.
I also remember the MFA being touted as a "terminal degree" that would allow one to teach at the college level. Being a total introvert, I didn't think I would ever pursue this course, but ta-da, here I am. And now, yes, I can definitely say I've earned back my monetary investment.
Nowadays, there are other MFA programs as well as options for great instruction -- McDaniel College's online certificate program (highly recommended), UCLA Extension, and Mediabistro.com courses, for example. But to this day, I crave the monthly deadline pressure and the immediate feedback of a large, knowledgeable, supportive writing community.
For anyone looking for a fresh start, a jump start, or a new beginning, the MFA could be for you.
L'Shana Tova -- Happy New Year! -- Jeanne Marie
A big THANK YOU to all the readers who entered our latest giveaway contest--see the end of this post to find out who our winner is. And stay tuned for more fun giveaways in the coming weeks.
As
Mary Ann posted on Monday, this week we're answering an
Ask the TeachingAuthors question submitted by Joanna Cooke. Before I share my comments on the topic, I want to remind readers that if you have a question you'd like us to address, either about writing for children/young adults or about the teaching of writing, you can use the link in our sidebar to submit your own
Ask the TeachingAuthors question. Please keep in mind, though, that our posting schedule is usually set several months in advance, so we may not be able to address your question right away.
Now, back to our current question: Joanna asked us to share some of the pros/cons of getting an MFA. Mary Ann has already discussed one of the biggest advantages: your growth as a writer. I'd been freelance writing for years before entering the
Vermont College MFA program. Like Mary Ann, I'd also attended conferences and taken workshops related specifically to both fiction writing and writing for children and teens. (Unlike Mary Ann, I was already active in the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and had served as publicity chairperson for the Illinois chapter for a number of years. That's how I met Esther Hershenhorn!) Yet I didn't understand just how much I had to learn until I started at Vermont College. I'd enrolled with the intention of polishing a young adult novel I'd already written. After getting my first adviser's feedback on the manuscript, I realized that I wasn't skilled enough as a writer to tackle the major revisions the novel needed. I chose to work on several other projects instead, and eventually wrote a draft of the middle-grade novel that was later published by Candlewick Press,
Rosa, Sola.
So, for me, the number one "pro" of going through the MFA program was learning to be a better writer. When I look back on those two years, I'm still amazed at how much my fiction writing improved in that time, and also at how I learned to read so much more critically. However, another important advantage for me was a HUGE increase in my writing productivity. I wrote more in those two years than in any similar period before or since. In addition to starting and finishing a draft of my novel, I wrote several polished short stories and about five picture book manuscripts--all on top of the program-required critical essays and thesis writing, and teaching part-time. The monthly deadlines, and knowing my adviser was waiting to read and critique what I'd produced, really helped me stay on task.
One of the biggest "cons" of going to graduate school, at least for me, was the cost. It is a significant investment, and not an easy one for me to make. Interestingly, that turned out to also be a "pro" for me--I was determined to get the most for my money! As a result, the expense made it easier for me to say "no" to distractions and other demands on my time, thus raising the priority of fiction writing in my life. That, too, contributed to my productivity.
I could say plenty more about considerations when deciding on pursuing an MFA, but I'll leave that for April and Jeanne Marie who will also be blogging on the topic. Meanwhile, I want to remind readers that we have links to information about MFA programs in our sidebar, under the heading "Graduate Programs in Writing for Children and Young Adults." As Mary Ann mentioned, when we started at Vermont College, it was the only school that offered a graduate program devoted to writing for children and young adults. That's no longer the case. If you know of any programs we missed in the sidebar, please let us know and I'll add links to them as well.
And now, time to announce the winner of an autographed copy of
And the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global Gathering of Sports Poems, edited by Heidi Roemer and Carol-Ann Hoyte. Our winner is:
Karen Casale
Congratulations, Karen! (Please respond to the email I sent you so we can get the book in the mail right away.)
If you didn't win, I hope you'll consider buying a copy of
And the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global Gathering of Sports Poems. As I mentioned
in my interview post, a portion of the proceeds from both the paperback and e-book editions will be donated to
Right to Play, an international organization that uses sports and games to educate and empower children facing adversity. The book is now available for purchase
directly from the publisher, FriesenPress. If you're a librarian or bookseller, you can also order the book through Ingram. For more ordering information, see the official
And the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global Gathering of Sports Poems website
And stay tuned for more fun book giveaways here in the coming weeks!
Happy writing!
Carmela
It's Ask a Teaching Author time again. This week's question is from Joanna Moore who wants to know our thoughts on MFA writing programs.
I have an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College. Bottom line, my time in the Vermont MFA program was the best two years of my life. At that point, I had been writing for thirty-something years, but I knew something was missing from my work. How did I know that? I knew because my rejection letters all said the same thing..."you write really well but..." But what? Nobody would tell me. My MFA program did.
I had been searching for that missing "something" a long time. I went to every writer's conference I could find (although for some reason, the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators--SCBWI---never showed up on my radar.) I read "how-to" books, lots of them. I still stumbled around in the wilderness, looking for answers. Through a series of incredible events, I found myself at Vermont College in the first MFA program dedicated exclusively to children's writing.
Did I find my answers? Yes. Is an MFA like Willie Wonka's Golden Ticket? No. Having an MFA does not guarantee you a book contract, an agent (I still don't have one) or a Newbery medal.
What you
are guaranteed is this; if you keep an open mind and take advantage of every learning opportunity, you
will be a better writer and teacher.
I can only speak about my experience as a graduate of the Vermont College Summer Class of 2000. I don't know if the Vermont program has changed, or anything at all about other programs. Taking that into consideration, the one-on-one intensive mentoring at VC was invaluable to me. As a low residency program, nearly all of my work was done through monthly mail packets. (At the time, e-mail was not as widespread as it is now, and most of my faculty mentors did not even have email accounts.)
I turned in a set number of pages of "new work"-- a goal agreed on between my mentors and I during the on-campus sessions -- and a certain number of pages of revised work. The packets were returned with copious notes and suggestions for revision. I have worked with any number of editors over the years, and while my editors are all geniuses (really!), none of them has given me the attention and focus of my Vermont mentors. There is a good reason for this. As a student, I shared my mentor with no more than four or five other students. An editor has any number of ongoing projects, even though you always hope that
yours is the most important. My four Vermont mentors--all successful and renowned children's authors--spoiled me with their extremely thorough critiques.
MFA programs are not for everyone. I am blessed that there was a time in my life when I had the time, money and energy necessary. I went into the program with a specific goal; I had the idea for
Yankee Girl, but not the slightest idea of how to write it. I wanted to do justice to my idea, whether it was ever published or not. I knew almost nothing about plot, setting and characterization. Two years and four mentors later, I knew a lot more.
I'm still learning.
Don't forget that the deadline for
entering the giveaway for the poetry anthology is 11 pm CST, Tuesday (as in
tomorrow!)
Posted by Mary Ann Rodman
Today is the last day of our Ten Days of Thanks-Giving. The event was inspired by Esther's post about a poetry form called the THANKU, a thank-you note in haiku form. We TeachingAuthors decided to sponsor the Ten Days of Thanks-Giving as an opportunity for our readers, students, and everyone in the Kidlitosphere to share their own thank-yous. We hope to make this an annual event taking place every November 20-30.
Today, I'll share some of the thank you notes we received, and a roundup of links to sites where fellow bloggers posted their thank-yous. But first, I want to share my own THANKU.
On Monday, Mary Ann wrote about being thankful for the Hive, a group of Vermont College alumni that we're both blessed to be part of. My thank you today is an appropriate follow-up to that post because it's to the woman responsible for my attending Vermont College: my teacher, mentor, and friend, Sharon Darrow. I've known Sharon for so long now that I can't even recall how we first met. However, I do remember the fateful day when we had lunch together and I mentioned my desire to take some advanced writing classes. Sharon encouraged me to apply to the Vermont College MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults instead. The idea terrified me. Who was I to try to get an MFA in writing? My undergraduate degree was in Math and Computer Science! But Sharon had such faith in me that I decided to take the plunge and apply. Little did I know then all the wonderful things my acceptance to VC would lead to.
Your encouragement
yielded a harvest beyond
my expectations.
Thank you, Sharon. And thank you to all the wonderful writing teachers I worked with at Vermont College as a result of following Sharon's advice.
Now, to share some of the thank you notes and comments we received during our
Ten Days of Thanks-Giving. As it happens, just this morning Bobby Miller, a terrific writer I met when we were both students at Vermont College, posted a Vermont College-related thank-you comment on
Mary Ann's post of yesterday:I share my big Thank You to the MFA/Writing for Children program. It changed my life, personally and professionally. It brought my life's goal into focus, gave it purpose. And I walked away with treasured friendships.
Yesterday, Linda at
Teacherdance posted a beautiful 25-word thank-you note to her w
Picture book month continues here at Book Review Wednesday, but first a word from our sponsors...
Now back to our regularly scheduled program. When the temperatures cool it is a good idea to pull out the ingredients for a little soup– the ultimate comfort food. In my husband's family, the joke is that a chef can't make truly good soup until they've reached 40. (We're there.) To pull together the right ingredients and spices, and end up with love in a pot, it takes creativity, know-how, and risk taking.
Ruthie, in The Princess of Borscht, has all of these qualities. The Princess of Borscht, written by Vermont College of Fine Arts faculty member Leda Schubert, and illustrated by another VCFA faculty member, Bonnie Christensen comes out Tuesday, November 22rd. (Happy Book Birthday Leda and Bonnie!)
From the publisher:
Ruthie's grandma is in the hospital, not surprisingly complaining about the food. All she wants is a nice bowl of borscht. Ruthie comes to the rescue, even though she hasn't the faintest idea of how to make it. With the help of a few well-meaning neighbors (including the Tsarina of Borscht and the Empress of Borscht and some ingenuity of her own), a soul-reviving brew is concocted…
The book has earned a star from Kirkus:
"Of course, it’s not just about borscht or even about cooking, though there’s a great recipe included. Schubert has concocted a sweet mixture of traditions that bind and give comfort, along with love in many forms; intergenerational family, friends and neighbors all act with selflessness, kindness and compassion. Christensen’s heavily outlined, strongly colored illustrations emphasize equally strong personalities. The paintings are filled with details that add interest to the proceedings, from the array of get-well cards in the hospital room to the homey, old-fashioned décor of Grandma’s apartment."
The book also got some attention from the New York Times (that's nothing to sneeze at):
"Schubert (“Ballet of the Elephants”) turns the story of a sick relative, not a particularly cheery topic, into a sweet and salty tale, warmed by Christensen’s lively sketches, about bickering Jewish neighbors and intergenerational caregiving."
If you'd like to know more about Bonnie and her art work I can point you to not one, but two! lovely postings on Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast.
Soups on, grab a book!
Here is what happens to me when I sit down to post to my blog these days.
1. I get an idea- "Today is my graduation from Vermont College of Fine Arts." Simple enough. A little yahoo! a few tears an amazing accomplishment. Shouldn't be hard.
2. I start to reflect on the topic. It's like cleaning my desk. I can't just pile up the papers and put them neatly in the corner. No. I have to look at each sheet of paper. When I do, I realize that each paper- idea and memory connect to another.
3. Now the post is looking more like "Vermont College and all the amazing wonderful things that have happened here, all I've learned, all about the incredible faculty, the community, my grad rez, my work and...and.. and before I know it the task seems overwhelming.
4. I click to some less daunting thread of the world wide web until I forget all about the blog tab on my desk top.
5. When I get back to it, the post seems irrelevant.
6. Repeat.
In order to reintroduce the discipline of the blog, I'll be posting small at first. Trying not to get overwhelmed. I'm hoping to blog Mondays, Wednesdays. Don't be fussy if I miss a week and share interesting content with others when it moves you. Comment often to keep me going. That way I know you are out there and that it is worth it.
I do graduate from Vermont College of Fine Arts today. My residency has been wonderful. Full of friends new and old. A few stand out lectures from faculty and a lot of pride watching my fellow League of Extraordinary Cheese Sandwich members ace their lectures. The readings have been amazing. Each one full of heart and soul. We've come so far, and the growth is all based on two years of intense study and work.
My lecture and reading were well received. I am so thankful to the entire VCFA community. This process has taught me not just how to write, but how to be a writer. I leave the program with confidence. Confidence that might even last a whole week before the fear of creation begins again. I am ready to leave. I know I'll stay in touch with my dear friends but like the end of an emotional book, I am reluctant to close the back cover.
More reflection in time. Peace.
The TeachingAuthors are proud to be part of the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) Summer Blog Initiative. We're especially pleased to be the first blog to feature these inspiring and practical posts by students and graduates of the MFA programs because four of us (Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford, Carmela Martino, Mary Ann Rodman and JoAnn Early Macken) hold MFAs from Vermont College. As for me, I’ve vicariously attended Vermont College since it began in the late 90’s via my writing friends, colleagues and even students whom I recommended. One of these days my Summer teaching schedule will change and I can at least attend a Summer Intensive. (I’m saving the Winter Intensives for my Next Lifetime.) Our series began last Monday with Jodi Paloni's entry, "The Point of Point of View." In last Wednesday's guest post, "Decide vs. Discover," Cynthia Newberry Martin shared a technique for letting the characters tell you what happens next in your story. Sion Dayson gave us another method for moving forward in last Friday’s post, “What Happens Next? Inch Forward in the Dark.” On Monday, Lynn Miller-Lachmann put forth the VCFA way to critique a fellow writer’s manuscript in "Critiquing Others" The Constructive Critique."
Today’s post by Pam Watts, "Finding the Heart in Your Story," addresses the heart of your story and how it can be found. It captured my writer’s heart instantly. Following the post, I've offered a related Writing Workout. The next stop in the VCFA blog initiative? Pam's very own Strong in the Broken Places blog.Thank you, Pam, for sharing your insights with our readers and writers.Learning from you and your fellow VCFA bloggers these past two weeks gladdened this teacher's heart immeasurably.--Esther Hershenhorn &nb
The TeachingAuthors are proud to be part of the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) Summer Blog Initiative. We're especially pleased to be the first blog to feature these inspiring and practical posts by students and graduates of the MFA programs because four of the TeachingAuthors (Carmela Martino, Mary Ann Rodman, JoAnn Early Macken, and I) hold MFAs from Vermont College. Last Monday, our series began with Jodi Paloni's entry, "The Point of Point of View." In Wednesday's guest post, "Decide vs. Discover," Cynthia Newberry Martin shared a technique for letting the characters tell you what happens next in your story. On Friday, Sion Dayson gave us another method for moving forward with "What Happens Next?" Today we hear from Lyn Miller-Lachmann on the art of critiquing. --Jeanne Marie
Critiquing Others: The Constructive Critique by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Before entering the Vermont College of Fine Arts program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, I had extensive experience in critique groups and workshops. Some of these were helpful, but others left me with more hard feelings than ideas for improving my work.
Like unhappy families, unsupportive critique groups can be unsupportive in many different ways. Some function as cheerleading squads, leaving the writer unprepared for the highly competitive and often cruel world of publishing. Others spend more time tearing down the work and the abilities of the writer, leading to discouragement and disengagement from the critique process. Some members consistently fail to pull their own weight, refusing to read and comment on other people’s work or else to share their own. Others see the group or workshop as a competition, an attitude that some workshop leaders encourage.
Enough of the negative. The workshops at VCFA offer a model for the constructive critique that enables all participants to share their work in a safe, supportive environment and to learn from their own and others’ writing. At each residency, students take part in daily workshops, two hours long, with 10 fellow students and two faculty workshop leaders. At each workshop, two student pieces from 10 to 20 pages long are critiqued, giving each student an hour to hear feedback on the work and to ask questions. The workshop members are at different levels in the program, from nervous first semester students to workshop veterans about to graduate, and the types of works presented range from picture book texts to novels in verse to short stories, from early readers to edgy young adult.
On the first day, faculty advisers set the tone and the ground rules. The student with work to be critiqued reads a paragraph from that work. Then we go around the table, each person stating one thing he or she likes about the work. Faculty advisers take their turn. No one’s comments are more privileged than anyone else’s. After fifteen minutes of what we like about the piece, workshop participants discuss questions, which may be problems with the piece, or confusing parts, or aspects that touch on general writing topics. This part occupies thirty minutes of the discussion. For the final fifteen minutes, the writer, whose work is being discussed, finally has a chance to respond. Until that final fifteen minutes, the writer remains silent—unless there’s a factual question that requires a quick answer.
The silence of the writer for nearly an hour requires a lev
The TeachingAuthors are proud to announce that we'll be kicking off a Summer Blog Initiative with students and graduates from the MFA programs at Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). We're especially pleased to be the first blog to feature these inspiring and practical posts because four of the TeachingAuthors graduated from Vermont College: Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford, JoAnn Early Macken, Mary Ann Rodman, and me, Carmela Martino.
We'll feature the first guest post on Monday, June 13, when Jodi Paloni discusses "The Point of Point of View." Please stop by and read what she has to say.
Happy Writing!
Carmela
Yippeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have finished my third semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts. This one was more challenging than the first two because it was the critical thesis semester. I really got into my topic - the illustrious objective correlative. So much so, I applied higher math to literature. Yes, this is what weeks of researching a topic will do to you, collide the left and right halves of your brain until you're combing math and words. Craziness...it's all part of the graduate school experience.
After I honed an cut, crafted and styled my thesis, I spent the rest of the semester sculpting the beginnings of a new piece. It was all about layering this time around. Coming up with the basic foundation, i.e. character and problem. Layering scene on top of that. Then external plot. Emotional plot. It was like creating a painting very painstakingly from the canvas up, hyperaware of each layer and the role it plays in the final perception of color and composition.
So, all in all, a successful semester. And only one left!
What this graduate experience has thus far taught me is that even if Socrates was a little glib when he said, "I know that I know nothing"...I know that I know nothing. There is so much to learn about any field--any craft--and writing is no exception. I will spend the rest of my life learning about it, glorying and despairing in the nuances of the written word and my ability to use it (hopefully glorying a little more than despairing!).
The critical work has imparted the same lesson it did during my PhD, structure, analysis, description and interpretation. It helps me to be able to organize the parts to story and know how they work together, what tools are available, which one I want to tinker with, and how other writers have done so in the past. I need that kind of direction in my writing.
Next semester it is all creative, all the time. I am curious to see, what I learn then?
I've been let out on good behavior for a few days having turned in my revised critical thesis. This basically means that I have time to take care of those fires that have been burning so evenly around my house. One is the Dr. Doolittle room, which goes straight to the heart of this blog: You might be a writer if...you try to make books come to life.
I don't mean the books you write because, of course, you try really hard to make those come to life.
I don't mean the books you read when you were a kid. Raise you hand (mentally) if you're one of those kids who tried to levitate rocks like Luke Skywalker or wondered if you really could tesser if you just thought about it hard enough.
No, I mean that you're still doing that today.
Guilty secret: I am.
Only, it isn't so secret anymore. You see, the summer residency at Vermont College assigned Linda Sue Park's
Project Mulberry. Three other books were assigned with hers. We only had to read two. Being the good student I am, I only read two. But then, being the guilt student I am, after residency was over, I got the other two and read them (and I did not just write that in case any faculty members are reading my blog. Really).
Project Mulberry was assigned because of its format. Instead of Park remaining an unseen, unheard, unexperienced author, she steps in and has conversations with her main protagonist. The question posed was whether this got in the way of the actual story, if it pulled us readers out and whether that ultimately worked or was a hindrance.
Granted, all of that was interesting, but what really hooked me was the actual story. Two children raise silkworms, make thread and then embroider a project from the thread they've made to enter at the state fair.
In the words of ten year olds everywhere...Awesome!
So when my kids came home from their Montessori school needing a creative project for the year (they are in 4th and 6th grades in the same classroom), BANG! I had the perfect idea for them.
And they liked it. Yippee! Super Mom gets to secretly do good and make her favorite read come to life. Could life get any better?
It could get a whole lot more real, but I'm skipping ahead.
We ordered the worms. The girls quickly pointed out (after having read
Project Mulberry, too) that the worms were more expensive in real life than in Park's story. I tried to explain that a few years had gone by, inflation, that kind of thing. I think they were still upset that reality did not exactly mirror fiction (as was my pocket book).
We pressed on, setting up shop in the garage since it's got the perfect incubating temperature at the moment, a balmy 85. Teh eggs arrive. We carefully placed them in the habitat, sprayed them with water...waited...sprayed...waited. In only six days, they began to hatch (faster than in Park's story, but no one complained this time).
Then the trouble started. We have a mulberry tree on our property, so food shouldn't have been a problem. We picked some leaves.
The worms wouldn't eat them.
Uh-oh. Silkworms eat mulberry leaves and mulbe
When I am able to pull away from the isolation of my studio, and reenter the land populated by real (as opposed to imagined) people, it is a gift. The Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program is an such an amazing community of real people that I consider myself especially lucky and blessed. We are five days into the residency and it is laundry day. Traditionally, this is the day when people cry. Think of it, you put generally solitary people in rooms where they schmooze, and discuss craft, and put their writing up for critique (the work that they've birthed out of their hearts and heads), and listen to lecture after lecture after lecture and there are bound to be a few tears.
Not for me this time. As a third semester student I know what to expect and I'm savvy enough to skip a few events here and there to keep myself sane. In fact, I am extremely happy right now because I presented my semester's work to the school and it was very well received. The whole Picture Book Certificate class was extremely thoughtful in their work and we were told the presentations were particularly professional. Some have even suggested we submit our work to industry journals. Very, very exciting!
Also, the list of advisors was posted last night and I'll be working with faculty head, Margaret Bechard. I'll focus on my researching and writing my critical thesis and then work on my novel with her guidance. Margaret is famous for her lengthy editorial letters and her wonderful teaching abilities. I'm thrilled.
It's been a little difficult, but necessary for me to break out of my VCFA head space to complete work for Friends School of Portland. Look for our ad in the Common Fair newspaper!
I once worked at an Industrial Psychology firm, where I administered hundreds of Myers-Briggs tests. My own test results showed the most extreme case of introversion that I encountered in my albeit brief career. I am an INFJ, a rare type. How many of you can say the same? I'd actually venture to bet plenty.
At writing conferences, I note that there seem to be more of "my people" than not; whereas in the world at large, not so much. And yet, there we are, a room full of introverts trying painfully to network.
I will be bold and say right now -- I HATE WRITING CONFERENCES! I like the results of having attended (sometimes), but the actual process is awkward and, frankly, often excruciating.
My first writing conference was the big one -- the annual SCBWI conference in L.A., 1992. (Were you there, April?) I was 21 years old, was completing an unpaid internship at DAYS OF OUR LIVES, and had no car to get me from Burbank to Marina del Rey. (If anyone here has ever contemplated living in L.A. without a car, you get how badly I wanted to attend this conference.) I believe I took three buses, and I know it took me four hours to get home. But wow, was it worth the effort. At the Golden Kite reception, one of the keynote speakers, Mary Downing Hahn, was seated at my table. She is from my hometown, and I am a big fan. (My husband teaches at least one of her books to his students, as well.) She also happens to be VERY funny. Mary Downing Hahn is the person who taught me that it is indeed possible for an introvert to make a room full of people burst into gales of laughter.
My manuscript consultation that year was with the late Craig Virden, who was then the head honcho at Bantam-Doubleday-Dell. He was extremely kind and enthusiastic enough about my manuscript to tell me to send it to his Executive Editor with his blessing. Can you imagine? Excitement! Then deflation, months later, when she rejected it outright. (As an aside, the same manuscript subsequently got buried on Stephanie Owens Lurie's desk. Over a year later, I received a rejection note: "I'm sure you've sold this by now..." Nope. Not yet! )
The following year, my manuscript consultation was with a writer whose work I did not know. She hated my manuscript -- she hated everything about it. She did not have one positive thing to say. I accept constructive criticism well. I am enthusiastic about rewriting when feedback resonates, makes sense, makes the work better. This was an unnecessarily miserable experience. Even my college students know that the first thing you do when giving feedback is find SOMETHING nice to say. What I took away from this experience (and I say this as the veteran of a workshop-based MFA program) is the understanding that when you enter into a critique with a stranger (or even a non-stranger with whom you are just not simpatico), you must guard your ego carefully. A mantra I always share with my students: Everything is subjective!
After being a shy attendee at several conferences and hearing dozens upon dozens of lectures at Vermont College, I finally promised myself a respite from writing conferences for awhile. But as my time and focus have waned with the births of my darling children, I realized last year that it was time to get reinspired by communing with like-minded folk.
Last summer I attended the alumni mini-residency at Vermont College, which included small workshop groups with well-known editors. For serious writers, mid-residency events for alums at Vermont College (and, I believe, Hamline) are open to the general public and are a terrific opportunity worth considering.
In short, this business is tough. If a little handshaking and smiling is what it takes
1. Deadlines approacheth. I'm working on a difficult revision of a picture book with civil rights information. Questions such as how to be developmentally appropriate, not be preachy, and show not tell are swirling around my computer today. It doesn't matter how long we've been writing for children these always seem to be the crucial questions. Also working on my picture book presentation for the VCFA July residency.
2. My second triathlon is on Sunday morning. The experience of the first has taken away some of my pre-race jitters so I'm mostly excited. I've decided that triathlons are sort of like child birth. You forget the pain after you enjoy the emotional high of the finish line.
3. Good news on the job front! I'll be teaching an integrated 5/6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies class at The Friends School of Portland coming September. The four morning a week schedule should be perfect for completing my VCFA critical thesis. (You can remind me I said this when I'm pulling out my hair in November.) LL Bean has also hired me to a retail sales job at their camping department. Stop by if you're in Maine this summer and I'll show you some tents!
4. My son was part of a Civil War reenactment this week. I have to say, it was a little uncomfortable watching our children in this romanticized version of war especially when we are in a war right now. We need to ask our children to contemplate the effectiveness and cost of battle to reach political ends. By teaching war do we beget more war or preclude it? What is worth fighting for?
5. Again, with the Civil War... I always felt that my understanding of this atrocious loss of life was always distilled to the lowest common denominator. "The good north was fighting to free the slaves from the bad south." As I've gotten older and done some study of my own, I find that the facts are much more nuanced than that. Why do we persist in teaching this distilled version?
PS: if you see me on facebook this weekend, tell me to get back to work.
Oh goodness. It has been over a month, a month? since I've posted and I'm so sorry. That means I've done NO book review Wednesdays for a month. Ack. (And I thought those would keep me blogging.) March has been a month of deadlines and to excuse my absence I quickly fill you in on some of the deadlines that I've been meeting and working towards. If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably see a lot of this already so my apologies.
March 1: Final illustrations for the book Fufu and Fresh Strawberries You can see some of those illustrations here.
Forum assignment for my Picture Book Certification Semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA)
March 15: Final egg paintings for the Great Goose Egg Auction. You can see the eggs here.
March 17: My 2nd packet was due for VCFA
March 22: Forum assignment for my Picture Book Certification Semester at VCFA
March 23: I did my first multisport event. An indoor triathlon at the Naval Air Station Brunswick. The event was a 1000 meter row on an ergometer, a 5 mile bike on a stationary lifefitness cycle, and a 1.5 mile treadmill run. You can see pictures of me and Mike (the gentleman paired with me) in the event and read more about it in the captions here. I used this indoor triathlon to train for an event that I am doing in May, The Tri for the Casco Bay Y. If you'd like to donate a small bit to the scholarship funds and to my team the MIghty Mamas, please take a look at our fund raising page where you can donate online. I'll be swimming and cycling and my friend Rachel will tag off to do the 5K run.
This past week I've been revising and polishing the first 10 pages of my novel, working on the synopsis and query letter for the deadlines associated with the New England SCBWI spring conference critiques and quick queries. While the Friday and Saturday registration is full, there are still spots for Sunday so check it out.
I also just got back from the post office, where I was sending a picture book to for the April 1st scholarship deadline at VCFA and a trip to the library where I was stocking up with a new load of 25 picture books for VCFA Packet 3!
All of this with my husband out of state for the first three weeks of March and two kids who need me.
So you see, I've been an extremely busy Writer/Mom/Triathlete but we'll see if April, with its extended sunshine hours, allows me to find more time to blog. Happy Passover to all who celebrate. Look for my Wednesday review of the book: The Matzoh That Papa Brought Home.
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Posted on 3/3/2010
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“If you want to write nonfiction, dig out the humanity. Really, this is the old ‘show don’t tell’ rule—if you show the human actions behind the event, the story comes alive…” --Vicki Oransky Wittenstein
Day 2 of our interview with Vicki Oransky Wittenstein, author of Planet Hunter, Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths (Boyds Mills, March, 2010).
Q: The story of Geoff Marcy as he develops his groundbreaking system to detect new planets is full of human drama. From Marcy’s boyhood on he seems to battle the odds against becoming not only a world class astronomer but the man who achieves what others believe is impossible. I’m reminded of Phillip Hoose’s wonderful book on Claudette Colvin Twice Toward Justice in that you were able to create new awareness and excitement about a subject by showing events through another’s eyes. How did this human drama help shape the book? How much did you draw on fictional techniques while writing? Do you have any advice for other writers in approaching non-fiction in terms of shaping their story?
The nonfiction I admire most draws on fiction techniques to create suspense. The story arc is so important. Without it, nonfiction is just narrative and pretty hard for people, especially young people, to follow. Behind every true-life event, there is human drama, often a special kernel of truth that imparts significant meaning to children. If you want to write nonfiction, dig out the humanity. Really, this is the old “show don’t tell” rule—if you show the human actions behind the event, the story comes alive, and important life messages are conveyed without sounding didactic.
Posted on 3/2/2010
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“…I love drama! And if, as they say, truth is stranger than fiction, then I certainly have seen my share of unbelievable human stories come true.” –Vicky Oransky Wittenstein
Q: Vicki, congratulations on your beautiful and amazing new book Planet Hunter, which has just been released with a Kirkus starred review! I found myself completely drawn in by the human drama of astronomer Geoff Marcy’s story and his fascinating hunt for “other earths.” (I have it on good authority that Marcy will be at your Manhattan launch party in April!) Can you talk a bit about what inspired Planet Hunter? What was the moment like when you finally saw your inspiration in actual book form?
I think Planet Hunter was brewing for many years, maybe even from when I was a young girl and went camping. Warm and toasty in my sleeping bag, I would stare at the stars and dream about life on other planets. When the first extra solar planets were detected (planets outside our solar system) in 1995, I was glued to the news stories. Although astronomers had long thought there were planets orbiting other stars, finally there was proof! The possibility of other planets like Earth became a reality, and I was hooked. Since then, Geoff Marcy, the astronomer in my book, and his colleagues have detected over half of the known 400 planets orbiting other stars. Scientists are getting closer to finding another planet like Earth, and when they do, it will rock our world view.
My second residency at Vermont College has come and gone. I was so pysched to get there and, by the end of the ten-day residency of twelve hour days, kinda, pretty much ready for it to be over as well.
It's such a bittersweet mix. So much writer stimulation. So many ideas. So many wonderful people to hang out with and talk shop (so much wine)...and so many long hours.
I came back last Wednesday mentally functioning on about three synaptic connections that had somehow managed to weather the constant firing all that learning had put them through. On Thursday, I was a zombie. All synapses fried. Weekend meant some downtime (minus taking oldest daughter to a gymnastics meet at 8 a.m. Sunday morning). Monday, I managed to pull myself together and write my first critical paper for the new semester. Today, I'm writing my second. Secretly, there is a part of me that would like to abscond to a deserted island and lay in the sun for a few weeks, doing nothing but processing the vast amounts of information I took in while at Vermont College, but writing is the name of the game, and this program keeps you swimming in it, no matter what. That's a good thing, even if it feels like having to eat your broccoli some days.
If you are thinking about entering the Vermont MFA in Writing for Children, my advice is, do it! Do it now, rather than later. It is such a magical opportunity for a writer to live in and work with an incredible group of ever-changing writers. You get a little spoiled even. All of the greats seem to come to Vermont at some point. This time around, Katherine Patterson was there, as was (she stops to look up names because, no, those synapses are not yet firing like they should) Kimberly Willis Holt and Lynne Rae Perkins. Inspiration is in the air. The place really does become a little like Brigadoon for writers. Time stands still. The reality of the outside world is held at the base of the hill leading up to the college (if you ignore the 7 a.m. fire trucks our program accidentally called out twice--the classic blow dryers burning out fuses and setting off fire alarms in the dorm scenario. The New England Culinary Institute students have got to hate us by now.)
Despite the long hours, I like Vermont College in January. You would too.
Dear Friends,
Originally I was going to lock this post and then decided that there are probably many others who are experiencing similar circumstances and could chime in.
I recently posted about a job for which I applied. I found out yesterday that I did not get the job. I had high hopes that this was the one. I've applied to many in the last six months. Six or seven, or is it more like eight or ten? Whatever the numbers, for each one there is the work of the application. For teaching jobs this is more extensive. Transcripts, fingerprints and certifications all need to be gathered. I have to impose upon friends to write or rewrite their references for me, yet again. I send it all in. I get my hopes up. I wait. I follow up. I don't get the job.
I don't feel this is at all a reflection of my competence. The employer often sites the large number of qualified and over-qualified applicants. The economy and the high unemployment rate is certainly a factor. Jobs in Maine are few and far between. Budgets are slashed. The employers applaud my intelligence, my creativity, my interesting experiences and then they say, "no." On the publishing front the message is often the same. Wow, the editors say. You are a wonderful writer. So professional. Your piece is great. I just signed a similar one. I'm sorry. No.
The question one might ask, I might ask, I DO ask, is how much "no" can a person take? The reality of our financial situation (two mortgages as our spec house is unrented and unsold) forces me to get up on that horse. Keep riding. Redesign that resume. Network more. Apply or submit again. Tenacity counts. I am tenacious.
I tell myself that a better opportunity will come along. That the universe knows what it is doing. That it wasn't meant to be.
All this in the midst of a wonderful, magical MFA residency at VCFA in the snow covered mountains of Vermont.
What a joy kill.
Anna
Sometimes there is the pressure to have something to say when one starts to write a blog entry. I always start thinking I've got nothing. Lists help, so here we go...
1. Kids went back to school today. I got almost all my sketches for Fufu printed out on good Arches paper. Two are already painted. Must keep on, keeping on.
2. Lucy puppy is growing fast. With the kids and hubby gone she was visibly confused and decided to sleep for most of the day. I took her out skiing, went for a walk, and practiced frisbee fetch. She gives it back to me if I keep a few bits of hot dog handy. I'm so happy that she is part of our family.
Is she beautiful or what?
3. My VCFA residency starts on Sunday! This is pack week. That means that this is also laundry week. And go to Target for last minute "I needs", I need twin size flannel sheets, a new set of long johns, an electric water kettle, and a back support chair insert if I can find one. After the New Year's storm I'm expecting deep snow. I got these slope sliders as a gift to bring with me to the residency.
I'm also trying to catch up with my reading, both pre-lecture and pre-workshop readings. I should have done this during the last two weeks but used the reading time to treat myself to grown-up books The Help and Eat Cake.
4. Cross your fingers for me as I have a job interview on Wednesday as the Media Liaison of a private school. I think I'm a great match for the job, we'll see how the meeting goes.
5. My kiddo got a Sansa mp3 player which I was assured would take files from itunes. (not purchased but the ones that were originally my cd's) Turns out that all my music was imported in nonmp3 format so I have to convert them all. Ick. Now I know there is a box to check in preferences to fix this problem for future imports.
I wish I could blog about how thrilled I am to have completed my first semester at Vermont College, what a ride it's been, how much I've learned, how much better my writing has gotten, all of that good stuff, but today, this week's professional accomplishment has been entirely overshadowed by something so much bigger.
My oldest goes in for minor surgery tomorrow. She's having her adenoids removed and turbinades shrunken. She's a mouth breather, is going through the joys of orthodontic work, and needs more breathing room.
It's minor surgery. Twenty minutes tops.
But it's a full anesthesia. Granted, that's what my husband does. Not that he's doing hers. Not a good idea to work on your own loved ones. He'll be in the OR, though, which is great. Still, I'm worried. This is my baby. My little girl. My responsibility.
Will everything go all right? How will her recovery be? Is the pain manageable?
I don't even want to go to that one question that circles around on the perimeter of all the other worried parent questions. It's like, if I give voice to that question, I'm inviting disaster.
I'm not the only one who worries like this, am I? Am I overdoing it? Okay, maybe. I keep telling myself it could be a lot worse. There are greater things to overcome. But denying my feelings isn't working all that well today.
So, I guess I'm going to bury myself in my writing. And when my baby gets home after school, hug and hug and hug her.
Somewhere, in all that, I hope to find my courage.
1. I know it's been a while since I just blogged for the pleasure of blogging. I miss it. I really do. Life has been quite hectic recently. I'm sure a few of you are going through the experience of having a spouse who works far away so that they can have a job. This is our situation. We have gotten use to the good-byes, the hello's are getting a little easier too. Hubby has been a total trooper doing the "bag drag." He really has two jobs. One with a private defense contractor company and the other in the Navy Reserves. I was very proud to attend his Change of Command ceremony last weekend. It's rare that we get to see our spouses in action (at work). It was lovely to see him in uniform, carrying himself with such grace and exuding leadership. His speeches were eloquent, funny, and well delivered. What a treat! Here we are with his Chief Petty Officer.
The week leading up to this was crazy. The brakes in the trucks failed while I was driving (we are all fine) and I had to do the mechanic thing. The next day, I locked my sweet puppy and my keys in the car. Huge thank you to the lady who used her AAA to save me and the Dad of I's classmate who drove my son to basketball practice. The next day, to travel to the Change of Command, my Hubby rented us a car from Enterprise. I showed up at 12:10 not knowing that they closed at noon. Needless to say, there were tears. But all was well.
2. I've completed a full draft of my novel. I missed the JONOWRIMO check in, but happy to have reached this milestone. Of course, now I turn around and start to revise: put in, take out, look for emotional distance, inconsistencies, character arc, adult word choice. Someday. Someday.
3. I turn in Packet Five today. This is my last packet for the first semester of my Vermont College experience. It's been-- I don't really know-- arduous? time consuming? enlightening? I can certainly say that I am able to look at my work with a more critical eye than before this semester. I write and read all the time. I read more critically than I did before. My critical writing has improved markedly. In my creative work, there is no time for excuses. (Although here I am at 6:30 am blogging, without my last critical essay complete and the packet due today.) I'm really looking forward to being at the residency again. Seeing my cohort group and getting the workshop pages from others to critique. I'll be doing the Picture Book certificate and I'm really looking forward to working with Sarah Ellis and Kathi Appelt. (Time to look for a back support cushion.)
4. My puppy is growing quickly and needs LOTS of love and attention. When Hubby came home Monday (after a week away), I grabbed my computer and books and said, "You are in charge here at home. I'm going to the library." Yesterday he asked me, did I notice that it's really hard to get anything done with the puppy wanting to play all the time? Um....yes.
5. I'm afraid that I failed to post Book Review Wednesday this week. I'm sorry. It's just been too crazy here. I have three authors out there waiting for their reviews and I promise I'll do them over the next few weeks. The new year is coming quickly, if you have a 2010 release and would like to send me a review copy, leave a comment with your email (spell it out so the spambots don't get you.)
1. We are hanging the Maine Illustrators' Collective Classics Reimagined show on Monday, November 2nd. If you'd like to come and/or attend the opening, here is the information:
2. If you won't be able to make it and would like to see my piece here it is:
From Aesop's, The Fox and The Crow.
3. If you are wondering why I'm up early it's because I have so much work to do on my VCFA packet. I always seem to get to this point. I read for too long then I'm crunched for writing time. (I know, Mona. Six am isn't early but I've been up and working since four.) I needed an extension last time and I'm set on not asking for another one. Feeling a little anxious.
4. I just bought a wide format Epson printer with the money I'm earning from my illustration work for hire. Very exciting but it is an investment.
5. Even though I just dealt with a disappointing rejection on the job scene, I'm applying for yet another one. I guess that is just how it goes, but I start to wonder-- between writing rejections and job rejections, how much can I take before I want to curl up and hide from the world? Perhaps it is a little like child birth though. Nature allows us to forget the pain so that we will do it all again. At least at the end of child birth you have the beautiful child. I'm ready to see the fruits of my labor on the job market. And in the children's book industry for that matter.
6. Lucy the yellow lab puppy is coming home to our house on November 15th. She'll be 9 weeks old and is as cute as cute can be. I'll post pics when I get some. I only have them on my phone and don't have a plan that allows me email them to myself. (ACK!)
About six months ago we took Cassie for her eval to see if she could make it into day care. We thought a day or two a week playing with doggie pals would be good for her. Alas for Cassie, a complete introvert, it turned out not to be a good thing after all. She flunked the eval and we were told that it would too hard on her, traumatic even, to be there all day. The evaluator told us to keep Cassie out of dog parks because it would be too much for her. My poor shrinking violet.
She gets so excited when she sees another dog, tail wagging, sometimes a pay attention to me bark. But then the moment comes and they are face to face (or face to rear as it goes with dogs) and she is just overwhelmed by it all and usually gives up on the attempt to make a new friend.
I can so relate. I want to meet new people, make new friends and yet there is that whole, tail wagging, attention getting time where I wonder if I have something to bring to the table of friendship. Will they like me? What if they don't? What if I make a mistake of some kind or say something stupid? What if I'm too fat or too old or too serious or too, you get the picture. Fill in the blank with your current irrational fear.
Recently we met a friend and his dogs at a local dog park so we could get to know each other's dogs and catch up with one another. While Cassie wasn't the life of the party she didn't dig a hole and climb in. She spent most of her time glued to our sides. But she tried. We've been taking her to the dog beach where she can run after the other dogs as they chase a ball. She's not interested in the balls and not totally interested in the dogs but she ventures further away from us on her own there. She stays back from the pack, the leftover, the lone wolf just outside of being accepted. Of course if she would let herself join in the fun I have no doubt that should would be accepted totally, just as she is.
We went back to the dog park last weekened and as soon as we opened the gate and took off her leash she ran into the crowd of dogs without even a backward glance. She didn't stay there long and she didn't really play with anyone but when she trotted back to our sides she looked happy and interested and not at all traumatized. For over an hours she would venture off on her own to sniff around and then come back and check in with us. Friends commented on how much better she was doing this time around.
As we were getting ready to leave another dog entered the park. This one was a German Shepherd. Cassie tore off after him, happily doing the sniff test and letting herself be sniffed. No matter where we go, she gravatives toward her kind. After a little bit of visiting Cassie was ready to go home, the scent of her new friend firmly implanted on her brain. My shrinking violet was starting to bloom.
In the morning I leave for Austin for the one day conference put on by the folks at Vermont College. Being a confirmed and lifelong introvert, I don't normally do this sort of thing. But I decided to take a chance. I decided to go in early so I could have time with friends and do a little reaching out of my own.
Thursday night dinner will be with illustrator Mary Sullivan and illustrator/author Don Tate. Friday morning (I hope) with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
liz_scanlon and Friday afternoon with Peni Griffin before heading to the opening mixer where 70 children's authors will gather to glean wisdom from Kathi Applet and Sharon Darrow.
These are my people. And though I am a shrinking violet myself, I gravitate toward my kind for I know I will welcomed there and accepted and they will help me bloom.
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Love it!What a great Vermont story. Mine is less dramatic, but I adored my Vermont MFA years. I graduated four years ago, but not a day goes by that I don't think about that time or use what I learned in my writing life.
Wow. Wonderful story. I have an MA in acting (which quailified me to work at the Dole Pineapple Cannery) but I enjoyed the scholarship and the degree.
Susan
Gee, Jeanne Marie, even though I was there with you, I didn't know you were going through all this at the time. Thanks so much for sharing your story with us.
Well, JeaneMarie: your fellow Hiver Phyllis Harris will have to share the MY Heroine Status I awarded her this Spring with YOU, now that I know YOUR amazing story!
My, oh, my, oh, my.
Your Fan Esther, who thinks she was at that Marino Del Ray SCBWI Conference with you....
Wowee, JM. So inspiring! An MFA could well be in my future...when my kid's in med school. :-)
Oh, gosh, Esther, wouldn't it be funny if we were both at that conference? I think that was the one where I heard Patricia Reilly Giff, among many others. Joan Bauer? Wish I'd met you then!
And Susan, I think I took a field trip of the Dole Pineapple Cannery in kindergarten. :) I love pineapples! I took an acting class in L.A. because I thought it would help my writing, so I happen to think you have a very useful degree.
April, I think you absolutely made the right decision to enjoy that family time while you could. The MFA is definitely consuming. And gosh, it all really does go by so quickly!