Goals, Rewards, and Unwinding

This is what my brain feels like this week:

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I don't know if it's the heat, or just letting myself be pulled in too many directions. But in an attempt to unscramble this mess and  regain my focus, I've returned all of the books I had out from the library (they were beginning to feel like distractions) and I'm determined to focus on my picture book revisions. But first, I need to unwind a little. So I've turned on the A/C and watched Jane Eyre (a guilty pleasure) twice this weekend. It was the version with Ciaran Hinds and Samantha Morton, can you blame me?

Of course, I can't watch Ciaran Hinds without remembering him in Persuasion. Perhaps I'll watch that next weekend. . .if I make progress on these revisions.

What's your goal for this week?

Re-engaging, Reinforcement, & Words that Change Us

I was thinking of skipping my post this week. I came up with several reasons: this is the first Father’s Day since my dad passed away, so the day feels especially heavy. I’ve spent the day cooking and baking a special dinner and dessert for my husband. I had a tiring week, adding cat sitting responsibilities that had me up extra early and out extra late. I could go on and on. It’s easy to make excuses. But then I thought of a line from the book I’m reading right now. In the YA book, Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach, the main character, Felton, doesn’t have many friends, considers himself an outcast and tends to isolate himself. His mother is constantly prodding him: “Felton needs to re-engage.”

Did I know I was making excuses this morning? Yes. Would I have sat down sooner to write this post if someone had told me to? Yes, again. It’s funny how reading (or hearing) something can reinforce what we already know. So with Felton’s fictional mother’s voice in my head, I’ve decided to re-engage. And write my blog post.

I think we all need reinforcement sometimes. When I send a story off to my critique partner and she comes back with advice, I’ll say to myself, I knew that line was unnecessary or  I knew that statement was didactic. But sometimes we need to hear it from someone else before we act. Reinforcement is good.

I'm re-reading a wonderful booklet by Jim Wilson called How to be Free From Bitterness. Years ago, this book changed my life. It made me a better person. The words shared are powerful. I knew at the time that I would need to read them again and again. And I wanted to share them with others. I ordered booklets for friends and family. This was probably twenty years ago. I've read it many times since. 

I had my copy out the other day when my sister stopped over. “Oh, you’re reading your bitterness book,” she said. Then she told me she still has hers as well. I wasn't surprised. Here is the blurb from Amazon:

Bitterness often grows out of a small offense: perhaps a passing word, an accidental shove, or a pair of dirty socks left in the middle of the living room floor. Yet when bitterness takes root in our hearts, its effects are anything but small.
In this collection of short articles, Jim Wilson and others discuss what it means to live as "imitators of God." As the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians, we have been called to leave the bitterness and anger of the world and instead embrace the love and compassion of our God. The authors remind us that we are to forgive others just as we have been forgiven, pointing to Scriptural admonitions and examples as they offer sound teaching on the trials and temptations of everyday life.

 It’s available here as a free PDF or here as a Kindle download for 1.99.  With sections like Forgiving Others, Taking Offense, Bridling the Tongue, and Saturation Love (to name a few) it could be the best 23 pages you ever read.

Have you ever read a book that helped you become a better person?

Great Books

Are you ever amazed at how many great books there are out there? I read two wonderful books this week. The first was Mirka Breen's, The Voice of Thunder. I was lucky enough to get a free Kindle copy during the publisher’s special promotion so I didn’t have to wait for the September 4^th release date.

I don’t read enough middle grade fiction. That's how reading this book made me feel. I read it in one sitting last weekend because once I got started, I couldn’t put it down. Mirka has taken these big issues: war, prejudice, intolerance, and filters them through the eyes of two ten- year-old  Jewish girls living in Israel in 1967. Mira and Gili are richly drawn characters: neighbors in the same apartment complex and best friends. They have crushes, secrets, dreams, and they are both amused and frightened by their eccentric old neighbor. They could be any one of our younger selves. But at a time when they’re discovering their own voices in the world and through their own diary entries, they also discover a frightening new voice broadcast over the radio.The Voice of Thunder from Cairo threatens the annihilation of all Israeli Jews. As uncles, fathers, and friends go off to fight, Mira and Gili are left to make sense of how their world is changing and what it means for their families and themselves. This is a beautifully written, compelling story you won't want to miss.

The second  book I read and loved was I’ll Be There, a YA novel by Holly Goldberg Sloan. I originally added this to my TBR list because of the cover. I discovered it while reading about illustrator, Neil Swabb's process here. The cover turned out to be just one of many things I will remember about this book. Among them strong, memorable characters revealed through multiple third person narrative, a gripping emotional journey, and a sweet, sweet romance (the very best kind, in my opinion.)


One of the reasons I've experienced so many wonderful books lately is because of the reviews and recommendations on your blogs. So thank you! Do you have a book you're dying to give a shout out today? I'd love to add it to my list.

Distance

Sometimes distance is good. When I've spent all day cooking and my husband stops off on the way home for fast food, a little distance is more beneficial than argument. But when, as writers, we allow distance between our characters and our reader, that’s not good.

Last week during my blog travels, I found this wonderful post by Cynthia Chapman Willis about filter words. Filter words are words that filter the reader’s experience through a character’s point of view. They tell instead of letting the reader experience. The timing of finding that post was perfect. You see, one of the critiques that I received on my current WIP pointed out an embarrassing number of uses of the word “feel.” The thing about filter words is that I know about them, or some of them, anyway. See, hear, and look tend to jump out at me. After reading Cynthia’s post I discovered that there are many more. And they've found their way into my writing.

I made a list of these culprits on a Post-It note and stuck it to the side of my computer monitor. Then I went through my manuscript, and using the find and highlight features in MS Word,  I used different colors to mark every use of the words see, hear, feel, think, realize, watch, look, seem, know, and sound. (I just discovered that touch, wonder, can, decide, notice, and experience are part of the group as well. I guess I know what I’ll be doing this week.) 

When I was done, my manuscript looked more like a child's board game than a YA story. Of course, not every use of these words is taboo; at times a little distance is needed, and sometimes the particular word choice may be right for the voice of the story. As I go through and rework things, I have the satisfaction of knowing that my story is being made stronger, I’m tightening the gap between my characters and future readers. My pages are starting to look less like an art lesson and more like interesting reading. And hopefully, my heightened awareness for filter words will make me a better writer.

Is there one (or more) of these words that you struggle to weed from your own writing?

Nourishing Your Inner Artist

Photo courtesy of Free Artistic Photos

It’s been several years since I read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. If you’ve read the book you are familiar with The Artist Date: time that the author encourages you to set aside each week towards “nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist.” Some of my favorite artist dates I’ve spent at local art galleries letting myself get lost in the creativity of others. In each brush stroke or click of the shutter I find motivation, energy, and inspiration to fuel my own projects.

Reading is another way that I feed my inner artist and I am starting this week on yet another reading high.  I finished Sara Zarr’s How to Save a Life (Amazing!) and Margarita Engle’s The Firefly Letters (Lovely!)  I’ve also started Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (too soon to tell, but I’ve heard great things and have high hopes.)

I’m also a big So You Think You Can Dance fan. I just get lost in the emotion and artistry of so many amazing dancers. And I’ve learned that the most powerful artists whether they be painters, photographers, writers or dancers, are the ones who put their whole heart and soul into their work – something that we can forget to do when we focus too heavily on the technicalities of our craft.

I missed the first half of this season’s premier episode of SYTYCD last Thursday because I was at writing group, but I made it home in time to see this guy, Hampton Williams, who bares his soul and in doing so, he reaches ours. We all want to be that kind of artist/dancer/writer, don’t we?

In what ways do you nourish your inner artist?

Kindle Free Download

I don't usually post on Fridays but I want to let you all know that Saying Goodbye to the People, Places, and Things in Our Lives, A Dream of Things Anthology is available today and tomorrow (25th & 26th)  as a Kindle free download from Amazon. It includes my essay, "The Evolution of Your Goodbyes." I hope you'll check it out! 

From Amazon:


"Saying Goodbye is a collection of true stories about saying goodbye to the people, places, and things in our lives. The stories are universal. They are incredibly powerful and moving. And they are surprisingly uplifting and cathartic. "The stories are about love, really, not sadness," says one critic. "Despite all the sadness and grief that come with saying goodbye, there is love and joy and comedy on the Other Side." Says another: "If you have ever had to deal with loss, read this book. It will make you feel better."

These stories show that there is sadness in goodbyes, but there is also irony and humor. We cry about the sad stories, we laugh at the funny ones, and along the way, we learn valuable lessons about how we say goodbye -- sometimes under the most difficult of circumstances. We learn because the contributors are unflinchingly open and honest when it comes to sharing very personal stories about how they and their loved ones say goodbye. Taken together, these stories serve as amazing examples of how to say goodbye with grace, dignity, and good humor.

Saying Goodbye is the first anthology in a new series from Dream of Things intended to fill the gap between popular anthologies of stories that are "short and sweet" and the Best American Essays series, which are much longer. Dream of Things anthologies are collections of quality stories between 500 and 2,500 words. Instead of short and sweet, these stories are short and deep."

Stories That Make You Feel

This has been a great week for stories. I started the week by watching Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South (thank you Anne, for the recommendation.) Watching this made me realize how powerful a story’s ending can be. The morning after I finished the mini-series, I put the DVD back in the player and re-watched the last scene; it was just so perfect. I knew I would have to return the movie to the library soon, but I left it in the player anyway. Before dropping it off the next day, I re-watched the last two scenes. After it had been returned and a late fee had been avoided, it dawned on me what a wonderful thing YouTube is. I searched for “North and South ending” and re-watched (again, and yes, again.) As I reveled in the absolute perfection of that final scene, (next up, I must get the book) I naturally thought about the endings that I have written.  If endings can be this powerful, surely mine need reworking!

North and South was not the only story I experienced this week. I also read The Summer I Learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt. (Loved it!) And right now I’m completely enraptured by John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars. I am laughing, crying and totally in love with these characters. And it makes me wonder a little about why we want movies, books, and songs to take us on these roller-coaster rides of emotion.

 

 After several months of listening to the latest Jack's Mannequin CD, I finally ejected it from my car player and turned on the radio. I heard a song called "Glad You Came" that immediately brought me to tears. I’m talking wracked with sobs, need to pull over to get myself together tears. I have no idea what the song is really about. I didn’t process any of the other lyrics.  It was just that particular line, “I’m glad you came” that struck me. There was a time, when my dad was suffering with dementia, but still living at home. I went over each afternoon to visit and bring he and my mother their evening meal. Each time, as I went to leave, he would walk me back out to my car. One day he stood there at the drivers side door and I waited as he searched for words that eluded him. Finally, like it was the most important thing in the world, he said “I’m Glad You Came.”

Maybe it’s that connectedness to our own lives that stories, songs, and movies bring to mind that make them so memorable, so important. What story, song or movie has connected with you lately? I’d love to hear from you and thanks for stopping by. I’m glad you came.