Keep reaching for your goal

I'm listening to a video chat from the national SCBWI conference about setting and achieving your career goals- and it occurred to me that I have actually done this. I had a full-time job in a library (around wonderful children, wonderful co-workers, and books books books.) I also wanted to write books. I ended up writing many books and over 40 of them were published. We won't talk about the ones still filling drawers in my office filing cabinets. And for about a year I was a famous author. :) (then I went back to being a working mom who wrote books in her "spare" time. :) )

I also reached my goal of performing as a musician and hanging out with other musicians (in college) and later with music fans. (followed the Moody Blues for a while and even got to meet them for a quick minute backstage with a friend.)

I got very, very tired of shoveling snow (one year we had over 4 feet of snow - in Maryland!) So I now live in the land of eternal springtime - southern California coast.

I wanted more instruction about writing, so I went for a second masters degree (the first was in Library Science that I attended with my husband), at VCFA - Vermont College of Fine Arts, writing for Children and young adults.

Have I reached all my goals? nope. If you stop reaching for goals, you shrivel up and die.

So I keep reaching.

Are you shy? So am I

I'm a really shy person.
How shy?
Well, for example:  at a recent writer's convention a group of us who had graduated from a grad writing program decided to get together for dinner.

We set up a place in the hotel to meet.
When I arrived there, another group waiting there asked me to take their picture beside the flower cart bicycle.  Which I did.  Then I sat down to wait.
The other group chatted together for a while.
Finally I texted the group I was supposed to meet --
and the chatting group turned to me --
they were the group I was supposed to have dinner with.
Oh.
I had been to shy to ask them if they were waiting for someone.
Since they were from different graduating classes, they didn't know me by sight and I didn't know them.
If only I were brave enough to simply join a group and talk to them.
But I'm not.
I'm shy.

Weeding filing cabinet and finding treasures

I'm weeding my filing cabinet. It's just as difficult to weed my home filing cabinet as it was to weed my workplace ones. Mainly, I want a drawer to file new projects in. Which means something has to go.
I have two drawers full of stuff from my earning a MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine arts a few years ago. Surely I can toss most of those papers and put the papers I want to save into a plastic tub in the garage,
Meanwhile, I began searching for a certain story I had submitted for a workshop.
The core story.
The picture book story that the faculty advisor told me was Not a picture book, but perhaps it was the outline of a novel.
The Picture book story that morphed into the novel that became my creative thesis during my last semester there and is now completed and circulating out into the publishing world.

I found it. !!!
It now has been transferred from the grad school file to the file where all my versions of this story reside.
This makes me happy.

Sharon Darrow - Worlds within Words

One of my favorite faculty members at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the Writing for Children and Young Adults department, Sharon Darrow, has published a book of her lectures.

When I offered a picture book manuscript in a workshop at VCFA run by her, she told me that it read more like the outline of a middle grade novel than a picture book, which changed my whole view of it.  And I spent the next few semesters enlarging it and building the world where those characters lived.

So, if you'd like to get a taste of the kinds of things we learn in this graduate course about writing, I highly recommend her book, Worlds within Words, Writing and the Writing Life. 

You can read a smidgen of it here on the Cynsations blog

ALA Award Day

What were the best books for children and Young Adults in 2015? Check out the awards given out this morning at the American Library Association annual conference:

Just a small brag here - a good percentage of them were won by people from my grad school at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the Writing for Children and Young Adults program - faculty and students.

And some of them were predicted right here in this blog right here. (she said, blowing on her fingers and casually brushing them off on her shoulder.)

A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic by Lisa Papademetriou

I was only a few pages into this book when I suddenly thought - Exquisite Corpse??? There's a book in this story that is acting like Exquisite Corpse?  Hey! I bet Lisa Papademetriou had Sharon Darrow for one of her workshops at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Writing for Children and Young Adults.  (Because Sharon Darrow also ran one of my workshops where we spent part of the time working on a group Exquisite Corpse.)

What is Exquisite Corpse?
It's where someone begins a story, writes several sentences or even a paragraph, then folds back all but the last sentence of their writing and passes it along to the next person to continue the story - without knowing what the first person had written.  (The person who passed the group story to me had drawn a monster, then folded it back until all I could see was the feet of the monster, which made it quite difficult for me to figure out how to add to the story. But I managed. Mostly because I had seen him doing the drawing out of the corner of my eye.)

What if you found a book that at first looked like it had all blank pages, but when you decided to use it to write your journal opened it, you discovered someone else had already begun writing in it.

Now, what if there are TWO such books, with the story appearing in both of them.  And, no matter what you or the other girl wrote, the book merged your writing into the story it was telling.

Here's the publisher's description:

Kai and Leila are both finally having an adventure. 

For Leila, that means a globe-crossing journey to visit family in Pakistan for the summer; for Kai, it means being stuck with her crazy great-aunt in Texas while her mom looks for a job. In each of their bedrooms, they discover a copy of a blank, old book called The Exquisite Corpse. Kai writes three words on the first page—and suddenly, they magically appear in Leila's copy on the other side of the planet. Kai's words are soon followed by line after line of the long-ago, romantic tale of Ralph T. Flabbergast and his forever-love, Edwina Pickle. As the two take turns writing, the tale unfolds, connecting both girls to each other, and to the past, in a way they never could have imagined.

A heartfelt, vividly told multicultural story about fate and how our stories shape it.

There are many 5-Star reviews of this on Goodreads, plus a flood of excellent reviews in the national review media.

Here's a link to a great review of this book on ReaderKidZ blog.

MFA

What was I doing the last few weeks?

I was attending a 10 week Residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts - my final Residency,  where I earned a second Master's Degree.

Critical Thesis - Check - (about an aspect of Children's Book Writing that had not been written about before - First Chapter Books)
Creative Thesis - Check 
Reading from my Creative - Check (they laughed in all the right places)
Presentation of my Lecture (based on my Critical Thesis) using Keynote instead of Powerpoint for the first time.

Attended the Masquerade Dance celebrating the Graduating Class - Check

and Marched across the stage in the beautiful Chapel and was Capped and given my diploma, along with the 23 others in my graduating class. - Check 

(Yes, that is a real pipe organ behind us.)
As you can see from the symbol at the top of this post - this graduating class called themselves the Craftographers.
Home again, home again, Jiggidy Jog. 

What all Great Leaders have in common

I just watched a fantastic TED talk.

I got pulled into it because of my love for the Wright Brothers (see my books along the side) who are mentioned in this talk, but stayed to listen because of the fantastic ideas.

"Great Leaders lead because of what they believe, not because of what they make or do."
Interesting.
It seems that, we follow, we buy products, these people (the leaders) succeed because our gut feeling also believes.
Learn more by clicking on through.

(and if you wonder why posts here have been a bit scarce lately, I spent the past six month in and intensive writing semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts in their Writing for Children and Young Adults program.

Boy did I learn a LOT. I'm going to spend the next six months digesting what I learned, then will go back next July for my last semester there.  When I graduate (some year), I will have earned an MFA in writing, but more than that, I will have learned so much about writing.  I've always believed that I wanted to write, and this course is giving me even more tools to enable me to write better.)

Discovering feelings to write about

If you clicked on through to Lisa Papademetriou's web page yesterday, you probably discovered it led first to her blog and you've probably already read her entry about driving in a thunderstorm. She was another third semester student who lived in Martin House with me during our residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

This is an all-too-true tale about the feelings that overcome you when hit by an impossible-to-see-through storm while driving.  You can't stop because of the fear that cars behind you can't see you and will crash into you.  You can't even see the side of the road in order to pull over. You just drive, hoping nothing bad happens.  Lisa, being an excellent writer, decides to remember all of her sensations so she can use it in her next story. Do you find yourself thinking this, too?

Side note -- meanwhile, the rest of the class who did not leave directly after graduation but planned to leave the next day from Residency, were at a restaurant in Montpelier.  Half of them walked there and back and there was no sign of rain at all.

Back to college

In case you were wondering where I've been/ why there have been no posts for two weeks, I've gone back to Vermont College of Fine Arts to work on my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and was in Vermont at the two week residency there.  This is a low residency course where we attend lectures from 8:30 in the morning to dinnertime and Readings in the evenings.  Then go home to write, write, write for 5 months.

Now, you're probably thinking, Hey. She's retired.  She's a published writer.  Why the heck is she going back to college to learn how to write?

Well, like most of the people taking this course, I want to learn to write better.  At least half of the third semester class -- my current classmates -- are already published, including one of my favorite writers, Lisa Papademetriou.  Look her up on Facebook (link here = Lisa Papademetriou) or her website.  

So, how was my college adventure?
It was a wonderful two week residency. (all the rest of the course is done at home with me in email contact with my Advisor and responsible for turning in 5 packets of work.  The first packet?  A draft of my Critical Thesis.  (yikes!)

Well, the weather wasn't the usual balmy Vermont weather.  It was cold the first week and I found myself wearing practically everything I brought to keep warm in the evenings. (I now live in Southern California.)  Then the weather flip-flopped and it became close to 90 degrees with hazy, hot, and humidity.  Ack!  The same weather we used to have when we lived in the Baltimore, Maryland area.  Hot and sticky.  Yuck.

I stayed in Martin House with a great group of third semester students and was able to participate when they revealed their class name -- Allies in Wonderland -- where we all dressed up representing different children's books.  I was Professor Minerva McGonagall, complete with a feather in my witch's hat.  (wearing my daughter's college graduation gown plus that wonderful Professor McGonagall hat)

One of the lectures so inspired my friend Jean Gralley that she skipped lunch and spent the afternoon in her room above mine, writing, writing, writing.

Being a third semester student (there are four semesters to this course), I spent a lot of time in the thesis room, reading and deciding what to request the administration to send to me to print out at home.

Now I'm home and busy doing research and playing around with the molding of my thesis.  More about that later.

Reading like a Writer

In the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, I participated in an Internet bulletin board called FIDOnet, on the Writer's board.  At that time I coined the phrase,
"Writers Write -- Writer's Can't Not Write,"
and used it as my SIG file for all my messages.  Over the years I have used it periodically as my SIG file for other writer's boards, more recently the one for Vermont College Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

My original phrase has taken a life of its own and has spread throughout the internet -- most recently on this blog post by Jen Bailey on her blog, Write Fiercely and Own It.

One of her recent blog posts is about Reading Like a Writer. I've always wondered what THAT phrase meant and found myself nodding at the points she makes about this. Yes, yes. I agree.  My own reading has changed since I began attending that college -- but this is the first time someone has articulated just why this happened.

Click on over and see if you have also begun reading like a writer.

Vermont College of Fine Arts Faculty

You wanna see pictures of the faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adult?

Just click on over to Ingrid's Notes, a blog run by a marvelous writer/ illustrator. She has posted all of the SuperHero illustrations she created of the faculty there.  (and explains why they were created)

I can brag that I've worked with a lot of these wonderful writers, either in writing workshops or during the school off-campus semester, and that the illustrations do capture their personalities.

Writer's Block?

What if you sat down to write and discovered you had nothing to say? Big-Time Writer's Block.

Tim Wynne-Jones contemplates Writer's Block at the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults's blog, Write At Your Own Risk.
Click on over and enjoy, while I go back to working on my own work-in-progress.
-wo

Nonfiction Monday

I'm busy right now working on a new form of Critical Essay for my writing class, so there won't be a new Nonfiction Monday review here today.  However there are lots of interesting ones out there in the blogosphere.  Check out the links at True Tales & a Cherry on Top.

Reading, Researching, Writing

Such is the life I lead now:


Reading, reading, reading. 
Found the book I need for a critical essay.
 Began essay. 
Checked reviews of the book only to discover it's the sequel of another book. Darn. Can't use it because I need a stand-alone book.
 Back to the library. Checked out four more. 
Reading, reading, reading.

Blog -- On Beyond Words & Pictures

The students and graduates at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, Writing for Children and Young Adults are writing articles about writing and the writing life. Each week or so, the group moves to a different blog to post their articles. For this week's writing advice, you should check out On Beyond Words & Pictures.

Wednesday's post, by the wonderful Tim Martin, talks about Pushing the Boundaries, how do we reach and grow as writers? Do click on through, and keep coming back to this blog to see all the wonderful articles.

Blog -- Through the Tollbooth

If you have a mad desire to get a daily dose of writing craft information, you couldn't choose a better place than the Through the Tollbooth blog.

It's run by graduates of Vermont College of Fine Arts, Writing for Children and Young Adults and features one aspect of craft during a week, discussing it in five tasty chunks. Or it has interviews of children's book authors. Or it features new children's books. Actually, all of the above.

The Booth Crew includes:

Sarah Aronson

Tami Lewis Brown,

Liz Gallagher,

Gretchen Geser,

N. Griffin,

Teresa Harris,

Helen Hemphill,

Sarah Blake Johnson,

Carrie Jones,

Michelle Knudson

Clete Barrett Smith.

Sarah Sullivan,

Zu Vincent

(and in the interest of disclosure, I know several of these writers.)

-wo

Rita Williams-Garcia!!! Four medals

Well, I arrived safely at Vermont College on Sunday, in a snowstorm.

ALA announcements of award winners was Monday morning -- lots of Vermont College graduates won or were cited as honor books.

AND --
Rita Williams-Garcia's wonderful book, One Crazy Summer, won the Scot O'Dell award, the Corretta Scott King award, and was cited as a Newbery Honor book. (It was also a National Book Award nominee. WOW)
She's a faculty member here and I was sitting three people away from her when the announcements were made. The Coretta Scott King award came as a total surprise to her. She did know about the Newbery Honor, but of course, couldn't let us know until it was announced. She and her editor have already planned all the New Orleans restaurants they'll be going to -- to EAT.

My friend, Jenni Holm, (author of Babymouse) was one of the other Newbery Honor Winners.
Nobody had ever heard of the book that actually won -- Moon over Manifest / Clare Vanderpool.. I'll have to read it.
if you've read it, feel free to tell us about it.
-wendieO

Vermont College Notes

There will be bits and pieces about my Vermont College Residency adventure for the next few weeks. And they will be in no order.

After our class (all four of us) gave our presentations about our critical essays, our advisor offered a few words and presented us with our Vermont College Writing for Children and Young Adults Picture Book Concentration Certificate.
When I was handed mine, I had the greatest urge my to grab the mike and begin to thank everyone.

"I want to thank my family for helping me through this.
Thank my advisor.
Thank Vermont College for accepting me to the program.
Thank my class for being so supportive and all around great people.
Thank the Class of 2010 for including us in all their events, even though two of us were leaving after getting this Certificate.
And I especially want to thank L.L. Bean for the jacket, boots, fleece sweaters and blankets that helped me survive the minus 27 degrees F. here in Vermont."

Here are some links to other students at Vermont College this January-- who managed to blog their adventures during the time they were there. One is a graduate who came back as a graduate assistant and the other is a school teacher. Watch her blog carefully -- she purposely made grammatical errors for her students to find.

I think others blogged (is that a word) about the adventure. I'll post their links whenever I find them.
-wendieO

If you were wondering about results of the bubble experiment, the surviving bubble lasted for half a day, then gradually collapsed.

Nonfiction Monday will return in the next weeks or so. Meanwhile, click here to visit all the other blogs who are participating.

I'm still here in Montpelier, Vermont -- at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults. I'm sad that my time here is almost over. Such a short time (less than 2 weeks) to shove masses of writing information into my brain.

We were warned not to blog about the lectures because the copyright to the lectures is owned by the people who gave them. (although some of the lectures are available on CD from the college website and I plan to purchase a bunch of the previous year's lectures, myself.) However, I can write on my blog about my own lecture.

Tomorrow the Picture Book Certificate group will present. That's my group. The four of us have each been alotted 15 minutes of the lecture time. We did two run-throughs today and I have to tell you, I am blown away by the quality of the other people in the class.

My own lecture will be about the Picture Book Biography -- History, Future, and How to write them. (We each worked on a critical essay about some part of the picture book world and then had to present our findings.)

Since I always like to post writing advice on this blog, during the next few weeks, I'll be posting tid-bits of my lecture here.

Oh, and we are having a heat wave -- it got above zero degrees yesterday and today it even got into the 20s. And it snowed again. I'm getting used to living in boots and fuzzy fleece sweaters.
-wendieO