String Bean Dean Goes Swimming

By Lori

My parents were both teachers, so summer was a special time when I was growing up. Particularly the last day of school. We would go out to eat and my parents would be in great moods. I still love the last day of school, it makes me get the same happy feeling even now. Summer was mostly a blast. And then there were swimming lessons. . . .

My mother took me to classes at an outdoor community pool, taught by a stern woman we called Miss Jean. She was a drill sargent and didn't hold with namby pamby students who complained about the cold. We were in northern Michigan and summer sees it's share of cold days. No matter. When Miss Jean said, put your face in the water, there was no question you would do it. I learned to swim out of the simple fear Miss Jean might drown me if I disobeyed. She shouted stroke counts above your head as you fought your way across the pool. There was no encouragement, unless you count things like, "You're SINKING!" and "Get your BUTT UP!"

I was a miserable swimmer. There was no hope of impressing Miss Jean. I knew this. And, at eleven, I looked emaciated in my bathing suit besides. The boys in class called me Lori Dean the String Bean. Though I had an appreciation for alliteration even then, this did not give me comfort under the circumstances. I felt like a stick bug trying to be a fish, and failing terribly. I continued to sink, much to Miss Jean's disgust. Then, one day after a successful prone kick and fin she said dryly, "Well, now you've got it."

I never made it past the Red Cross "Advanced Beginner" level, but I do thank Miss Jean, who ultimately had a heart of gold, for bringing me that far. She was hard to impress which was magnetic somehow. She taught me that there was a time to be serious and do the work, and she made me work harder. She didn't reward you simply for showing up. And her compliments were few, which made them precious indeed.

Summertime Memories

from Ann

Is it okay if I break the rules a little? Currently, I am focused on a teenage summer, my last teenage summer.

That summer, when I was 19, turning 20, I took a chemistry class at a small state college. Some of the people I met then or knew around that time served as models for the characters of my WIP. Some of the stupid things I did that summer inspired scenes in my manuscript. That was a time when going body surfing was as simple as walking a couple miles down the fire trail to the beach. My biggest worries were studying for tests and keeping my GPA up. Actually, my biggest worries involved boys.

It was summertime, and dreaming was easy.

Question of The Week

This week's question is, which summer from your childhood is the most memorable to you? Here's one to spark a story idea. . . .

Scaffolds and Scribbles and Drafts, Oh My!

--Debbie's View

When I write a story in rhyme, my drafting process begins in a burst of enthusiasm and optimism. Usually I’ll have been inspired by an idea or a fun phrase or word or sound; this spark starts the story. The next step in my process involves experimentation, as I try out different rhyme schemes and cadences, and play with characters and plot. I usually enjoy this exploratory period, much of which takes place off-paper. Eventually I arrive at a workable rhythm and a general notion of my story’s arc. I then set up a blank draft to indicate the general structure of my story, including notes about recurring words and phrases. This is the scaffolding for what’s to come.

But when I get to the next step, of fitting my story idea into the structure I have devised for it, the work becomes much more intense and often much less fun. Once I’ve started earnest work on my draft, I find it very difficult to stop until I have a complete first draft. Having an incomplete rhyming story draft is physically painful to me. It gives me a feeling of having been left hanging. So I juggle my work schedule; ignore the dishes, the laundry, and the cats; and stay up far past my bedtime for however many days it takes to churn out a complete first draft.

To my mind, second drafts – at least for rhyming stories – are much less painful.

Roughin' It

Lori's View

I find the rough draft to be insanely difficult. Gail Carson Levine, fairy tale teller extraordinaire, describes the rough draft process as sitting in a cave, scraping condensation off the walls into a cup. Then waiting for the condensation to build up again and scraping it off in a tedious, torturous cycle that can’t be made to go faster.

I identify with this. Probably because I don’t outline or anything before I start. Oh, sure, I write random scenes and maybe a character sketch or two. But I only like to write stories, not outline them or plan them. Much as I can’t stand this part of things, I thrive on the tension of not knowing what comes next.

I also have a lot of false starts. I can’t count how many story openings are stored on my computer. The cool thing is, once I know my characters well enough (after all that false starting business) they up and surprise me all the time, taking the story in directions I had no idea of before. This is when the story breathes for me. And why I enjoy revision so much more. Alas, I’m writing a rough draft right now and the walls of the cave are dry as a bone. A storm would be nice, anything to create some humidity in here.

First Drafts

Ann's view

I enjoy writing first drafts. Usually by the time I start, I’ve done character sketches, mapped the setting and outlined the novel. Sometimes I’ve written a few random scenes.

The first draft is unbridled creativity. It’s a time to get to know my characters, make new friends, create new enemies and discover what the novel is actually about.

Question of The Week

This week’s topic deals with process. Let’s talk about handling first drafts. How do you approach this and is it difficult or easy, relative to revision and the rest of your process?

What to Read --April

I am striving to control myself in my role as book reviewer because really, I want to simply recommend it to everyone. It's important right now that everybody reads it because of a recent development and extension of this work, which I'll discuss below. But for now, suffice it to say, despite its age, this book is as important as ever.

Last Chance to See is a little-known book written by none other than Douglas Adams. Even big fans--slavish fans!--of his work don't know about this book, which was written after his work on a BBC series in the 1980's.
Why should you read it? Because it's one of the funniest dang books ever written, and it's Non-Fiction! Not only is it nonfiction, it's about endangered animals from around the world, which could be depressing, but Adams is perfect for the reporting. I could even argue that it is FUNNIER than his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Okay, now for the new development: Stephen Fry (yes, of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves & Wooster stories, adapted by Clive Exton as a British television series) is filming a sequel with Mark Carwardine, the co-writer of Last Chance to See, which will re-visit all the animals which Carwardine and Douglas Adams wrote about oh-so-long-ago.
Read the book. Watch the upcoming series. Laugh, but also learn about our endangered animals!

Grammar Guidance for your Angst-Ridden Inner Rebel

a writing resource book review by Debbie

I love words. I love their sounds. Their shapes. Their meanings. Weaving words together into phrases, sentences, and more brings me great pleasure. I find joy in simile and metaphor. In alliteration and onomatopoeia. In rhythm and in rhyme.

But I find no joy in grammar.

This may be a surprising revelation. By general disposition, I’m a rules and regs sort of person; so you might think that the ins and outs of grammar would appeal to me. But they don’t. Like many people, grammar makes me anxious: I know that I make a lot of grammatical mistakes, so I figure it’s only a matter of time before my errors are pounced upon as proof-positive that my writer credentials are a sham. This in turn brings out my rebellious side (ah, you didn’t know I had one of those! but yes, I do; inside me is a quiet, small, and well-mannered rebel, but a rebel nonetheless), and I find myself muttering, “Who made these stupid rules anyway!?!”

Enter June Casagrande to the rescue.

Author of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies and the recently released Mortal Syntax, June is a funny and friendly companion on the rough and rocky road of grammar. Both of her books are hilarious in a laugh-out-loud sort of way, but both books are also chock-full of highly accessible grammar and usage guidance. By educating and entertaining simultaneously, June’s books help to eliminate the heavy fear factor that so many of us carry into our otherwise enjoyable writing endeavors. I consider June to be a leader in the long overdue movement to take back the streets from the grammar snobs. If she’s successful, we’ll all become better writers in the process.

So go take a look at her books. She also has a blog, called Conjugate Visits, which is fun -- and enlightening -- as well.

A couple of quick side notes: Since I’m posting this review on Write Brainers, a children’s writers’ blog, I should probably point out that June’s books aren’t kids’ books. But they are great resources for writers, as well as for the general public at large (particularly anyone who lives in fear of being ticketed by a grammar cop). Also, it probably goes without saying, but humor is very subjective, so what I find hilarious won’t necessarily appeal to every reader. But I for one love Grammar Snobs and Mortal Syntax, and I can’t wait to read whatever June Casagrande writes next.

A Question of Books

This week's question deals with reading. What is the best book you've read lately, and why? If you'd like to post a full review, that's fine, but not necessary. I'll be nice and say you can even mention two, if the spirit moves you. . . .

If you haven't read anything great lately, watch the blog and get yourself some titles to try!

Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia by Barbara O’Connor

Frances Foster Books imprint of Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003. 102 pages

Reviewed by Tim Bogar

Synopsis

Bird (Burdette) Weaver is a sixth-grade outcast in a little town in Georgia. A new kid, Harlem, arrives and is instantly disliked. So Bird has the brilliant plan to make him her friend. As she says, "Nobody else wants to be his friend, see, so that means he's available for me," I said. "I think it was a stroke of luck, don't you? Him coming to Freedom and not having any friends and all?"

The problem is, Harlem doesn’t want her for a friend. When she discovers he’s an excellent speller, she aims to make him her partner in a spelling bee. (Oh no, you say, not another spelling bee story. Relax, this one works nicely.)

Bird is lucky at this point in her life to have a kindly neighbor who has moved back to take care of her ailing father. Without Miss Delphine Reese, Bird would have given up trying. O’Connor is big on mentors.

What I liked most

I loved this little book. It’s more affecting in 102 pages than many much longer books, at least for me. I uncharacteristically read it three times, more or less (some skimming the second and third times, going to my favorite parts).

1.) It’s a great lesson in voice. Bird’s voice is distinctive and engaging. She’s one of my favorite first-person narrators ever. O’Connor nails it again.

2.) The engaging, charming protagonist. I was really rooting for her to succeed, because I liked her. A big reason I liked her was because she liked and admired Miss Delphine Reese. There’s a lesson there for writers wanting to create likeable characters. Show them admiring and respecting someone else.

3.) Another good lesson in stakes. What she wants is not very much: a friend, and a day – or even a few minutes – of fame and glory, “to make those pea-flicking kids stop and take a look at Burdette Weaver and really see me instead of looking right through me like I’m Casper the Ghost.” But the stakes are important to her! And because I cared about her, they were important to me.

4.) Good character development. Not a false note in the batch.

Some of my favorite lines:
... “I took one look at him and I said to myself, ‘Bird, here's your chance. Make friends with that kid,’ I said, ‘before somebody poisons his mind with lies about you.’” You gotta root for someone like that.
P. 8: “When I walked into the cafeteria, Janice Carpenter said real loud, “Red and yellow don’t go together, Bird.’

“I looked down at my red sweater and my yellow shirt and I knew she was right. They looked ugly together. Shoot, I thought. They had looked good this morning when I put them on, but now they didn’t.”
I love those last two lines. Shoot! There's a lot of repressed pain in there, though I dunno if kids would pick up on it.

I liked the charming cover. It already puts you in the mood to like the protagonist. That’s another lesson for authors, if they have any say about the cover. Compare with O’Connor’s Me and Rupert Goody or Beethoven in Paradise. Not attractive covers at all.

For you plotties, the plot is simple and its resolution simple – but that’s all right. This is not a book you read for plot, it’s a book you read for character and voice.

Where I write

QOTW: What's your ideal work environment?
My favorite place to write this year was in my daughter's fifth grade classroom. She has a very understanding teacher who lets me sit in the back of the room and sketch the kids or work on my projects.
The energy keeps me awake.

The kids and teacher keep me accountable (they know I'm working on the next book).

The math keeps me alert and educated.

And every once in a while I'm called on to give a writer's perspective to an English lesson.

It's perfect.

Mrs. White and Miss Hunt lead
a discussion on Hatchet & metaphors

Alas, my daughter's moving on to 6th grade in a new school next fall (just like Ellie McDoodle!), and my teacher friend is retiring. I'll lose my favorite workspace. :( Maybe I'll start biking to the library or a coffeeshop or something.
I'd work at home in my studio but there are sooo many distractions.

Actually, I didn't work at the school as much as I should have this year.

But I did get very good at Snood. :/

What is my ideal writing place?

Let me pull this into a few convenient pieces.

My IDEAL Place: A house or cabin in a rural area, overlooking a pond or Lake Michigan. (None of that in-between stuff for me.) It would include a screened porch or gazebo with a power outlet. Hey, me no crazy man; Michigan has bugs (but only for six months of the year). And it would have to be vewy vewy quiet. I don’t know if the place exists, but it would have to be free of the dulcet tones of traffic, motorcycles, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, Jet Skis, ATV’s, barking dogs, etc.

My Former FAVORITE Place: My patio (maybe five months of the year). It’s pretty and fairly private. I’ve been planting various vines and grasses to make it more secluded. Unfortunately, sound is not so easily obstructed. I live in a pleasant neighborhood where lawns and yards are kept up both by homeowners and lawn-care services. I believe that most people do not even know it is physically possible to remove grass from sidewalks or leaves from lawns without the use of infernal combustion engines.

Yes, I am cursed with sensitivity to noise. I cannot screen it like most people can. So, more and more, I’m abandoning the patio in favor of …

My Current FAVORITE Place: The Library of Michigan! It’s between my place of employment and home. It’s a beautiful, vewy vewy quiet building. There’s a window in the law library that looks into the upper branches of a tree that I watched come into leaf. I’m really hoping some bird will make a nest there. In six hours over four days last week, I didn’t see a single other person in the law library. And I eventually realized I could plug my laptop into the outlet by “my” table. Power to the people! And then there’s …

My USUAL Writing Place: In my house, looking out at my patio, seated at my desk-with-hutch. It was custom-built for me by my then-brother-in-law, a fine furniture maker. I’ll post a picture later or sooner.

The Pout Pout Fish (Official) Debut

This was the scene at Schuler's Bookstore (the local independent we love!) during Debbie's book launch on Saturday. These pictures come from Ann and Tim, who were the on-hand paparazzi.

Debbie did a storytime where she not only read The Pout Pout Fish, but also a couple other books by Michigan authors. There were some great handouts for all ages, including some very cool fish masks.

For more information about Debbie's book, or to bring her to you school for a great program, check out her website.

They lined up for autographs. . . .

And really, what's better than putting a book you wrote in the hands of a kid who seems thrilled to get it? Is there anything better than that? No, I don't think so.

Congratulations, Debbie!

***

(Don't forget to check out the question of the week, below) Anyone reading who would like to participate, go ahead and leave your answer in the comments. :o)

QOTW: Who the Heck Am I?

(QOTW = Question of the Week)
"I'm a (w)itch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint, I do not feel ashamed..." from a song by Meredith Brooks, and it sums me up as well as anything, I guess. I'm also a writer and illustrator and an observer of life. (photo by Eric Luper at the SCBWI National Conference in NYC, Feb 08)
I grew up with an oversize sense of shame and am trying to shed it. It's not easy.
I worked in advertising -- creative problem-solving under tight deadlines with a shoestring budget. I loved it, but I love writing and illustrating kids' books much more.
My first book, Ellie McDoodle, came out last year. The sequel comes out next month (bring me to your school to talk about it!).
This author stuff thrills me and I don't take any of it for granted; I've endured a very healthy share of rejection, and insecurity still haunts me.
This blog brings together some of my dearest friends, my critique group. I don't always agree with their assessment of my work (especially when they like it -- ha!) but I know they're brilliant and they have something to say that's worth hearing. And that's why I'm glad they're blogging; it'll be like being on permanent vacation with them. :)

“I’ll have fries with that!”

I have an entire house to myself. Unfortunately, I can’t work in the quiet of my own home. My best writing takes place in the corner table of my local McDonald’s eatery, or up the road at a bagel/coffee shop. It seems I need the noise in order to concentrate. I have a bag fully packed with my project and tools that lives in my car just waiting for a chance to be put into play. And a place where everyone knows how I like my coffee. Once there, the bustle of the place just fades and I’m… inside my characters.

My Happy Place, By Lori

My ideal work environment doesn’t exist in real life yet. I’d love an office. A whole separate room in which I wouldn’t have to put things away at the end of the day. Something with soft colors and a comfortable chair. A nice piece of artwork. My shelf full of books I admire. Ah, yes. That is the fantasy.

The reality is I wrote my current novel on a folding TV table in my living room. Before that it was the kitchen table. When I am writing a rough draft I can't have interruptions because it’s so easy for me to quit at this stage. I must work in the dark, in my living room, at 5 am with my dreams fresh in mind and a cup of chai steaming beside me. The smell has a Pavlovian effect on my creativity. Chai time means writing time.

After the first draft I can relax a little and work during the day (if I’m not teaching). I move my little table close to one of the sliding glass windows and, if I’m a good girl, ignore the phone. The chai still applies here.

And then there are times when I need to work and there are simply too many distractions at home. Then I go to the library at my local university and spend the entire day sequestered on the fourth floor where I can have the focus I need to really bring my story to life in the later stage.

I suppose my perfect work environment has nothing to do with a pretty office, much as I’d love one. It is a state of mind when it comes right down to it (and however one must achieve it). A wonderful place where reality and imagination overlap and mix until one isn’t sure how to separate them again. It is here that my best work is done.

Who the Heck am I?

As far as I know, I’ve got the only Y chromosome out of 16 chromies in this group. Don’t think anyone cuts me any slack on that account.

I am, in one sense, self-published: I am a storyteller who writes his own stories and tells them all over the place – mostly at school assemblies. Many thousands of children have heard my stories. None have read them.

My current project was originally intended as a YA novel for boys. I think of it as speculative fiction. But because it has a medieval setting, it might be pigeonholed as fantasy – even though there’s no magic, no elves or dragons, not much blood. So maybe it’s really for adults. A later draft will determine that. What it is about is brothers, family, loyalty, honor, duty, responsibility. And very, very strong men.

I work for a union newspaper, published by the UAW. I have been a peace activist (seems pointless now, doesn’t it?). I currently put more effort into environmental causes.

I’m single, with one grown daughter.

Sorry, dear, but I can’t hear you right now

My ideal writing environment is a quiet, clutter-free place. However, the last time I had either quiet or tidiness in my home was probably the day before my elder son was born, nearly a decade ago. With two lively children on premises, life in general these days is loud and messy; and to be honest, I rather like it that way (except when it’s driving me crazy). Still, to get any writing done, I find it’s best to locate myself in areas of my home or schedule that at least aspire to library-like standards. If I tidy up my desk before sitting down at my computer, or vacuum the carpet before curling up on the couch with a notebook and a pen, I’m much more likely to tap into a good writing vein.

I’ve also found judicious use of ear plugs to be a writing lifesaver.

Who the Heck... & Ideal Work...

First of all, I'm late. I didn't manage to answer last week's question before this week's was posted. Maybe this entry could be a twofer.

Who the heck am I?

I'm a person who loves to write. Hmmm. Is that enough?

Okay. Here's a bit more. Currently, I'm writing novels for teens. I have one upper midgrade novel (being submitted), one young adult novel (being revised) and another young adult novel (being pondered). Previously, I wrote nonfiction math and science for kids.

I'm a wife, a mom of two teenage sons, and the daughter of a frail, forgetful 91-year old mother. I've worked as a research scientist, a college instructor, and co-managed a large, unwieldy volunteer organization.

What is your ideal work environment?

Last weekend, I went on a writing retreat, so my concept of "ideal work environment" changed drastically. The picture on the left shows the view from the deck of our retreat cottage. There's more about my writing retreat on my blog.

Usually I write at the big computer desk in our bedroom. Sometimes I bring a laptop to my sons' TaeKwonDo class. I am not distracted by ki-haps (concentration yells), breaking boards or the sounds of fists and feet slamming into targets (or other students). I cannot write at my younger son's music lessons because listening to other moms' chitchat drives me nuts. Another favorite place to write is at Write Night, but I'm sure another member will write about that.

I love to type and hate to write longhand. If given the opportunity, I will type grocery lists.