http://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2012/01/shut-up-write.html
AN E-GIFT
Niece Katie visited her dear friends Renée and Heinz in Graz, Austria, and sent this photo essay. And now, thanks to Renée, and Heinz, and Katie, and my web wizard husband, David, we can share the story with friends on the Redbird website, and blog, and Facebook.
Heinz will be famous.
"I was in Graz, as you know, and of course, had an amazing time. I took some pictures for you while I was there.
"Last year, "Shut Up & Write" was a hit gift for Renée....
"However, it was Heinz who carried it around with him everywhere - it followed him everywhere from ski trips to the kitchen table. And otherwise stayed at his bedside table.
"He loved it, except for it made him a bit depressed, because he had already completed the manuscript of his second book -Tödliches Nickerchen am Mondsee...and realized all the things he had done wrong.
"But, in the little book on top, [see pictures below] you can see his latest notes - he is already prepping his characters for his third book!"
"Yay Sophie! You're famous! :) 
"I actually was going to send you another picture yesterday, but I was afraid my enthusiasm might be pesty. Oh well, tough luck for you. Here it is. ;) It's my whole novel (as it stands now) in bubble diagram.
"Honestly, working through this process has been a life-saver. My novel is one that requires quite extensive world building, and I was getting so lost in all its moving parts. I started with the large bubbles on my board - bubbles for chunks of the story (like in the Sophie picture), then when I would sort a particular section out, I would transfer those bubbles to index cards that I stuck up with magnets in their proper order. Now I can easily see where I am missing key story points, and it's given me loads of insight about pacing, flow, plotline, etc, etc. My partner has been calling it Extreme Bubbling, Bubbling Gone Wild, and Girl in a Plastic Whiteboard Bubble.
"When I'm done, I'm going to take the cards and attach them together with an individual ring-binder clip so I can flip through my scenes as I need to refer to them. That way I can use my clean whiteboard for... oh, I don't know... character wheels? ;)
"Thanks again, Judy. Truly."
Writers, feeling at home
The Shut Up & Write workshop in the Redbird-Redoak classroomJan 7-8, 2012
"SNOW, SNOW. BEAUTIFUL SNOW."
My mother stands at the window, smiling out at the flaky stuff. I am four years old and already I've acquired the habit from her. Our sing-song voices share the joy, and it's years before I give it any thought.
This small moment in my life got bigger a few years ago, when Mom died and I was going through her papers. I'd given her a three ring binder to make notes of things she remembered or would want me to know. The pages were filled with penciled memories of pressing her brothers' pants for a penny, of dressing up in her big sister's flapper clothes, and helping out the fancy lady who lived next door. And on one page, an entry about her dad standing at the window, singing, "Snow, snow. Beautiful snow."
Until I read that, I didn't know our snow love was a generational thing. If I got it from my mother, and she got it from her dad, did he get it from his mother or dad? And did they get it from their parents? For how many generations have my ancestors been welcoming snow?
On other pages, Mom remembered sharing bowls of potato soup during the Depression, getting a job at the shoe factory, going to dances with her friends, and marching with the Gray Ladies on the Fourth of July. She told about the good looking guy who bought her a wedding dress, how he celebrated when I was born, and what it was like when he left. In her written memories, I found my younger mother, the one I was too little to understand.
It would not have been easy for my mother to write her memories. She was an avid reader, but having to quit school at thirteen left her self-conscious about her grammar and spelling. Words like 'ridiculous' turned into 'redicalus', and 'arthritis' into 'arthuritis.' On top of that, her hands weakened in those last days so that it was hard for her to hold a pencil. And yet she filled page after page with things she wanted me to know.
I think of Mom when I get tired of writing, when the words won't come and my fingers ache. I worry about grammar, vividness, point of view, accuracy, and grace, when I should be taking a tip from her and just getting the words on paper. I should write what I think, say what I want to say and fix it later--or not. Absolutely no one is going to die if the only thing I write today is a really awful first draft.
The heart of writing, the only thing that really matters, is that we communicate. For some things--a published work, for instance, we need to polish to perfection. But for the written gift, the messages written for children and spouses and friends, all we need is ourselves--our imperfect, word-scrambling, ordinary selves remembering a man looking out a window on a winter morning, singing, "Snow, snow. Beautiful snow!"
Things a writer gets to do if she's lucky:
- Read a great review of her book written by Elfrieda Abbe, publisher of The Writer magazine. Abbe calls Shut Up & Write! "... a combination of tough-love coaching and humor that inspires and shows you how to become the writer you want to be." (September issue. Top half of page 18 and 19.)
- Put gold winner stickers on the upper right corner of her books: "First Generation Indie Book Awards."
- Find out that her book is in the top 10% in its sub-category on Amazon.
- Get a message from Susan Pittelman: "I was talking with my hairdresser about your book (she has already bought three copies!!) and she told me that your book was in the top ten sellers at Next Chapter!"
- Find a note with a Pay Pal order: "Please send the book asap. I'm not returning the one I borrowed from the library until I get my own, and the fine is building up."
- Hear from a neighbor that her daughter's friend's mom, (did you follow that?) was talking to her therapist about writing. The therapist went to her bookshelf, removed a snappy looking red, white and blue book, and handed it to her.
- Read an email from Michaela Ross, who is now serving with the Peace Corps in Nicaragua. She's writing daily, and guess what book she took along with her.
If I have any sense I'll save this list to read in my dotage. (For fun, I just looked up "dotage" and found the usual dreary definitions, plus this one: "The first syllable in dotage rhymes with go: "DOE-tage." The verb dote means "to be silly" and also "to be infatuated," both of which can at times describe those in their dotage, including a renewed interest in romance that many may not have experienced since they were giddy teenagers, in love for the first time.")
Another something to look forward to.
Where is She Now?
This is a new list on my website that tells where I'm hanging out these days. Here are some of the highlights. (Details follow. This is just in case you don't read that far.)
I'll be introducing author Karen McQuestion at Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee on September 8th, leading the Women's Writing Retreat at The Clearing in Door County Sept 11-17, speaking about how to "Write Well and Get Happily Published" at the Wisconsin Regional Writers Conference in Stevens Point on Sept 24th, and teaching a Sunday afternoon workshop to benefit the Waupaca Community Arts Center on October 23.
In November, I'm teaching full-day session of one of my favorite classes, "Writing Family Stories," at Redbird-Redoak Writing Center in Milwaukee. Register with Redbird-Redoak http://redbirdredoak.com/?page_id=1296
I'm sleeping through the entire month of December, and then, in January, I'll teach a full weekend class of Shut Up & Write! This is the first time I've been able to get that on the calendar since last April, and I'm thrilled about it.
Another Room of My Own
When I gave up the beautifully painted (thanks to niece, Kristin) studio #205, I reserved another room at the Marian Center in case I really needed it. You'd think it would be enough to have an office at home in Milwaukee and an entire writers' hideaway in the country near Waupaca, but it turns out I also need a city space for private consults. So, I'm now in the little studio at the end of the hall on the main floor, the one with oversized windows, and cute bookcases outside the door. Look for me in room #211.
Lost Messages
I replaced old Blackie with a new Mac Air and misplaced a bunch of email messages in the process. It also seems that some messages I send, perhaps from my Iphone, are not arriving. If you don't hear from me and think you should have, rattle my cage and I'll do my best to connect.
Cartwheels!
Do you think it's possible to get everyone in the universe to pick up the September issue of The Writer magazine?
I mean, if they did, then everyone could read the really neat review the publisher, Elfrieda Abbe, wrote of Shut Up & Write! It runs across the top of pages 18-19, complete with a graphic of the book and the character wheel.
This character is turning cartwheels!
Spreading Wings
There's a moment before a bird takes flight that she settles down and becomes very still, then she lifts her wings and off she goes. I'm in that settle-down moment now, quietly feeling the twenty years that have led to today, and getting ready for the future. I think my friend Felicity Librie is in the same place... tons to do, wings to spread, but for this moment, we are still.
Last week we had a little party at the studio. We spread the word as best we could without making it public, and oh so appreciated seeing those who were able to attend. See photos here.
Felicity will be in Racine for a few more weeks before moving to Palo Alto, CA, where her husband, Chris, accepted a new position. Felicity will miss us -- not as much as we'll miss her -- but she's looking forward to the opportunity, and the abundance of fresh vegetables. When she moved to London, Doug and Janie Jacobson, and David and I, made the trip there to visit her. What do you want to bet many more of her Redbird friends visit in California?
I will be re-settling Redbird Studio here at home in Milwaukee, and at The Bird's Nest in the country. Plans include writing, book appearances, teaching at Redbird-Redoak (which is moving into the former Redbird Studio), and leading workshops at The Clearing and elsewhere. Later this week, David will post a schedule on the website so you'll know where to find me.
Thanks to all who joined us to celebrate our new adventures, and to those who sent notes and assured us that we will, indeed, be seeing you.
With love,
Mailing Address:
PO Box 07234
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Phone (same as before) 414-481-3195
jb@redbirdstudio.com
www.redbirdstudio.com
The Chronicle Cat: Reading My Way Through Retirement
Rescuing Regina
Get a load of the book buying line at Sister Josephe Flynn's Book launch at Mount Mary College. I didn't count, but I think there were about 200 guests. We enjoyed a brilliant program of thank you stories, comments by Josephe and the Bakalas, a short reading and singing.
Dan Goldin from Boswell Books handled the book sales of RESCUING REGINA: THE BATTLE TO SAVE A FRIEND FROM DEPORATION AND DEATH.
I started reading my copy right away that night and had to fight myself to turn off the light and go to sleep.
Photos from the Writers' Wellspring class at The Clearing
David Blank wound them together into a nice show. Makes me smile to remember the week with such nice people.
Today is DOUG JACOBSON DAY!
He'll be interviewed on WUWM-FM (89.7) "Lake Effect" at 10am and 11pm, (also on podcast), and at 7pm, he will read and sign copies of The Katyn Order at Boswell Book Company, 2559 N. Downer Avenue, Milwaukee.
Before you go, read his post, "Get Published... Really!" at Shine
This is Doug's second WWII thriller. Read more about The Katyn Order and Night of Flames at his website
Get Published . . . Really!
(reprinted by permission of the author)
You can do it . . . really. That's the good news. The bad news is . . . it's a lot of work. But let's start at the beginning.
You have a story to tell. If you don't, then go out and play golf, or fish, or something until you do. You must have a story you want to tell, the one story down deep that's aching to get out. I said one story, and that's important. You can't write a second book until you've written the first, so don't let your mind wander off in too many directions. Stay focused. the reader will know immediately if you're not.
Night of Flames was a story I wanted to tell. I can go into all kinds of reasons, but that's not the mission here (remember the part about staying focused). I had the story and so, I started to write. I would like to stress that at this point in my life I had never written one piece of fiction, not even a short story. I wrote the entire first draft of Night of Flames (140,000 words) on my own without showing it to a soul (not a good idea, as it turned out). Only then did I give some thought to getting it published. The next thing that happened to me is the single most important piece of advice I ever share with would-be writers. Get help!
I got help. Quite by happenstance I learned about an organization in my home town of Milwaukee called Redbird Writers Studio. I contacted the founder of the studio, Judy Bridges, and paid her to read the first eight chapters. That part is important, the paying for it part. Having your spouse, or your friend, or your minister, read something you wrote and expecting solid feed-back is a waste of their time, and yours. You get what you pay for. What I needed (and so do you) is professional, un-biased feed-back. So, what did Ms. Bridges say? I'll never forget it. "Well, Doug, you've certainly done your homework. This is very interesting stuff. But, if you want anyone else to read it that you don't have to pay, and you're willing to spend another year or two, I might be able to help you."
I was crestfallen. But, in retrospect, those were the most important words of advice I've ever received. I signed up for Judy's six-week course called, Shut-Up and Write! Then I enrolled in a writers round-table where you meet in a group of 8-12 people, read what you've written then sit back and hear what they think. It's at first completely intimidating, then it becomes stimulating and eventually you begin to learn the craft. After five years, I still participate in the same round-table.
I'm an engineer, all left brain organization and detail (or is that right brain?) but I found out I could learn something new. I learned how to create a scene, I learned about POV, I learned how to create dialog that actually sounds like people talking. And I re-wrote, and re-wrote, and -re-wrote, until I had a story that other people would actually read.
Getting it published? Believe me, that part is equally tough, but don't even think about it until the first part - the writing - is as good as you can make it. In my case, I did an extensive search on Writer's Market, sent out dozens of query letters to literary agents, and filed all the rejection postcards. I never did succeed in getting an agent. So, I started focusing on mid-size publishers who would accept un-agented queries. And, I got lucky. McBooks Press, in Ithaca NY, is a mid-range publisher specializing in action-oriented historical fiction. At the time they were looking for stories with a strong female character. I said in my query letter that I thought I had just what they're looking for, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Final thoughts: First of all, the query letter and the synopsis of the story are harder to write than the book. Write them in the present tense, keep them short and tight, and focus on the characters. It's these brief documents that will determine whether you get a chance or not, so take your time, review them with your writer's group and re-write, re-write, re-write. Second, and most important, do NOT get discouraged. This is a tough business. File the rejections and keep going. You'll get there, and you WILL be published.
Feeling Lucky
In sixth grade at Chardon Elementary School in Chardon, Ohio, I won a puppy. It was a five week old Shepherd whose mom had been hit by a car, and whose owner thought a good way to deal with a box full of orphans was to raffle them off in the schoolyard. To be fair, he did ask if our parents would let us keep the dogs. I bet every one of the winners said yes to that. I know I did.
I took "Leto" home and hid him in my bedroom. This would not have worked in most homes, but in Chardon we lived in a country mansion my stepdad got for cheap because the antique furnace ate coal by the truckload. My blue and purple bedroom was way down at the end of the hall, past the linen room, where no one could hear me or the pup. We got away with the hiding for a few days. On Monday, a school day, I had no choice but to fess up.
I wrapped Leto in one of my brother's sweatshirts and took him down to the kitchen to show Mom. She screamed bloody murder. What was I doing with a rat? She was just about to kill me when Leto whimpered. Next thing you know she was holding him, and I got to keep him for a day, then two, then months until the day Dad came up from the furnace room, black with coal dust, and said, "I've had it. We're moving."
Leto couldn't come along to the city so I found a nice home for him with a nearby farmer. When it was time to leave, I tucked my brother's sweatshirt in alongside of him and cried 'til I was blue in face.
This sounds like a dreary story, but it it isn't because everything about winning that puppy made my life richer, from the warm feel of him, to the deliciousness of hiding him, to watching Mom go soft, to knowing I took good care of him and that the farmer would do that, too. To this day, when I think of that day in the schoolyard, I feel lucky.
More good luck
A few weeks ago, I opened my email to this message: "I am writing with great news! Your book has been named a Finalist in the How To category of the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Congratulations." It took me a few minutes to grasp that this is a really big deal, that Shut Up & Write! is a FINALIST in the prestigious NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS. Hey, that's my book! I not only get extra press with this, I get to put official INDIE BOOK AWARD stickers on my book!
Then Anne from Next Chapter Bookshop in Mequon emailed and said Shut Up & Write! is one of their top sellers! She said they were running out and can I please deliver more? Can I? Yes yes yes yes yes! Thanks to Anne for asking, and to Robert Vaughan for making the delivery.
And now, both Baker Taylor and Ingram agreed to handle distribution of Shut Up & Write! to all book stores and libraries. I'm particularly pleased with this since they do not always handle indie books. It will take a few more weeks before we show up on their listings, then SU will be easier than ever to order.
And I get to put gold stickers on these puppies!
More Champagne
Next week I celebrate a return to home port. When I moved from San Francisco to Milwaukee, one of the first places I went was to Woodland Pattern Book Center. I stared at the stacks and thought, I love this place, but I'll never fit in here because I can't write poetry worth a damned.
In the years since then, Anne Kingsbury - the beloved director - and I built a long and helpful relationship. Now, I'm honored to appear in the new Woodland Pattern Prose Series. I will read from Shut Up & Write! and share the stage with fellow writers Amy Lou Jenkins, Maura Fitzgerald and Sara Rattan.
This is going to be fun!
Easter Eggs
I'm enjoying a lazy morning in mid-Wisconsin - nothing moving on this country road except a few cars . . . people headed to work while I sit and watch them, grateful that I can work in my chair, in my bathrobe. Can you call this work?
I opened a new carton of eggs for breakfast. This is no big deal when we're in the city, but it is when we get "One Dozen Ungraded Farm Fresh" Kowalczyk Farm eggs from Remington Quality Foods in Manawa. These are special eggs, gathered from "Pasture Raised, Free Range, Grown Cage Free," chickens and tucked into gray cardboard nests by people who obviously care about their work.
How can you tell? Start with the label. It's a pale green, 4-1/2" wide banner glued around the belly of the carton. Slit it with your finger so you can take it off and look at the back, where you'll find a hand stamped message. This one says "Easter Greetings." Below that, there's a stamp of three dancing rabbits. Below the rabbits, a heart, and then the words: "Thank you for your Business!"
Who the heck has time to hand stamp the label on every dozen eggs packed at the farm? I could call and ask, but I'm not going to because I like imagining a room full of Kowalczyk kids deciding what messages to send this day, lining up the blank labels and whacking them with inky rubber stamps. They are having a fine time.
My daydream may not be accurate, but I'm not messing with it, especially since opening the carton provides yet another delight. When you lift the lid, you see that the eggs themselves have received special care. 
This dozen is placed brown-white-brown-white in one row of six and white-brown-white-brown in the other row of six. Another dozen might be placed in a row of six browns over a row of six whites. I do not know how the Kowalczyk kids get the colors to come out even - I don't even know if there are any Kowaczyk kids! - but every dozen is specially presented, and this makes me smile.
So here's what I wish you for this season. Whatever your holiday, wherever you live, I wish you a dozen Kowalczyk eggs - specially labeled, specially presented to make you smile.
Holy Cow!
While writing Shut Up & Write! I pictured people reading it, scribbling in the margins, carrying it around in their bookpacks. I imagined it displayed in bookstores, but never saw the spine sitting upright on a library shelf. Then David checked the Milwaukee Public Library site and said that all of the system's copies were either checked out or on hold.
Bookstore sales are also going nicely, especially at my favorite indies. And soon bookstores and libraries nationwide will be able to order through Baker & Taylor or Ingram.
This is all good news, but the personal connections are the best. A few weeks ago, I received an email from a British writer, Derek Chamberlain, who asked me to review the manuscript for his novel, Ordinary Angels. He found me when a friend of his from Milwaukee, Paula Haubrich, sent him a copy of my book.
I read part of Derek's book, made some affirming comments and some suggestions, and sent those along with a note in which I mentioned that my great-grandfather was from Buckinghamshire.
Soon, a letter arrived in an air mail envelope - four pages of information about my relatives, dating back to the 1400s. The last line of Derek's accompanying note: "What an eminent family you are descended from!!"
Eminent, maybe, but they could not have had the fun of writing a book, having it fly across the sea to someone so interesting, who sent a letter flying back to me - all in less than two weeks.
I mean, like, Holy Cow!
A New Nest
A few years ago, I inherited my Aunt Claire's home in mid-Wisconsin. It's a cedar-sided country ranch built into the side of a hill, surrounded by trees, corn fields, bluebirds, and my favorite downy woodpeckers. Claire's vegetable gardens are grown-over, but we still have asparagus and grapes and fat Wolf River apples. And we have Uncle Marvin's workshop sitting on the edge of the woods, the little Ben Franklin stove idle in the corner, waiting for someone to build a fire.
David and I have been torn between wanting to live in the country house and loving the city; between thinking we should sell the place and being too attached to let go of it. For a little while we thought it might be fun to get some chickens and goats, but that quit being a good idea when we thought about having to go out and milk the goats in winter.
I also had a re-occurring dream of creating a writer's hideaway.
The decision: We'll have both! - Redbird Studio and our apartment in the city, AND The Bird's Nest writer's hideaway in the country.
We are now remodeling the lower walk-out level of the nest, with a private bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchenette. There's a fireplace made from bricks my uncle salvaged from a courthouse in northern Wisconsin, and a desk he made from bird's eye maple. The key to Marvin's workshop hangs on a hook near the door.
It won't be long before we start welcoming guests. And someday, when I'm old and gray, I'm going to sit in a rocker and instead of spitting tobacco and telling lies, I'm going to read everything that was written in The Bird's Nest.
Talk about a bright spot
Last Monday, I participated in a program for kids who are aging out of foster care and was completely blown away. It was held at "Kids Matter Inc" on Martin Luther King Drive, where it is "Rebuilding Childhoods. Fostering Futures." The agency is bright, clean, cheerful, artistic, efficient, realistic and smart as all get out.
Kids Matter is funded primarily by private (smaller) donations and volunteers, which means it doesn't have to alter what it does to "get the grant." They advocate for kids in foster and kinship care (a new term to me that's entirely apt) by being their friend/supporter/attorney/escape hatch/person-who's-really-there-for-them.
On this particular evening, members of the Junior League planned an event to help kids who are aging out of foster care get a face-to-face look at various careers. (They also help the kids do the paper work for college applications and financial aid, but that's another story.)
They set us up for speed dating, kids in a long row facing our row of people from various careers. I represented careers in writing. You would have loved listening to the interviews -- kids asking questions based on crib sheets the volunteers prepared in advance. What's my favorite thing about my job? What's a regular day like? What's the thing I like least? What path did I take to get there?
One boy said he hates to write, has ADD and is missing part of his brain called the something or another that I "probably never heard of." He spoke so fluently that I said, "Well, the lack of that part of your brain is obviously not bothering you too much." He grinned and said, "Yeah, I'm smooth."
A couple of the kids are interested in writing, mostly poetry, mostly as sides to income producing jobs. I gave them a printout of the chapter of Shut Up & Write! covering what it takes to be a writer, and filled gaps with tips sent to me by some of my writer-friends.
The best part of the evening was seeing these young people be so engaged with adults they never met, feeling pretty strong about themselves and active in planning their own futures. It was a self-selected group, of course, but overall a bright spot on the horizon.
What a bunch of lucky kids
Hi Judy. I am wondering if you know of any studios like yours in Baltimore? I am trying to get into a writing course to help me as I continue to teach my lower elementary classroom about writing...I need some help.
I hope all is well, I love getting your newsletters!
Hi Carrie,
It's great to hear from you. What a bunch of lucky kids to be in your class.
To tell you the truth, I know of nothing in the Baltimore area that's like Redbird... nothing anywhere, in fact. But here are some things I did while working with the young ones that you might find useful.
Read Shut Up & Write! and translate the material into kid talk. For instance, the whole idea of using senses and making writing more free and vibrant can be translated to letting them:
---- select an object (I let them pick rocks at the lake shore)
---- give it a name (brings it to life)
---- say where it lives (anywhere in any universe)
---- say what it wants (a game, a little brother, to be a basketball star)
---- say why it's hard to get that (costs too much, got stuck with an icky sister, too short)
Draw four lines on the board that they copy at the top of their papers and fill in.
Name? _______________
Where? _______________
Wants? _______________
But?_________________
Next, introduce them to a friendly reader. I used my stuffed gorilla, Alfred, who loves everything I write.
Give them a blank piece of paper, ask them to close their eyes and imagine
-- their character
-- in its setting
-- trying to get what it wants
-- dealing with the obstacles
Obviously, you adjust the language you use to suit the kids.
Have them free write. Start, go fast, don't correct, don't stop. Sloppy copy.
Let them read the sloppy copy aloud.
Have everyone applaud for each reader.
Get them to say what's good about each piece. (No negative at this point. This is important. They learn from what works.)
Then "let" them re-write the whole piece, starting from scratch, using the original to remind them of ideas. The kids, like grownups, usually balk at this so it takes some energizing, but once they get a chance to read the second versions out loud and feel the reactions (be sure to applaud again), they're sold.
Here's the thing. When I worked with the kids I had all day to do this because schools brought whole classrooms to me for a full day event, sort of like going to the zoo. The principal of one school was particularly dedicated to helping his inner city kids develop more practical writing skills and found development money to bus all of his students to the studio. We set up a year-long program to cultivate a school "writing team" that got to come to the studio for special days -- pizza included. By the end of the second year kids were yelling to each other in the school halls, "Hey, I get to go to Redbird!"
Given the current attitude toward schools and teachers, you probably won't have enough time or money to pull off the whole program, but you can do part of it. At least:
--- let them imagine
--- make them write
--- applaud
--- make them rewrite
If I had all day I'd keep yakking and telling stories that might help you, but I have to get on with my show for the day.
Good luck to you, Please let me know how things work out.
And I repeat. Your students are so lucky to have you. Thanks on behalf of all of us who will benefit from the care you are showing.
~ Judy
~ Carrie
Personally, from middle through high school, I think the article writing is extremely helpful because it teaches the skills needed to live in this world, like to pass the SAT test.
~ Judy
The Button Box
I am basically lazy. If I could eat well, look beautiful, and be loved without having to move, I would sit on my butt all day.
This morning, I sat and went through Aunt Claire's button box. Black, beige, red and navy blue, art deco, rhinestone studded, plastic and pearl. One little bag is filled with black glass beads, another contains hand painted ceramics. These enchanting treasures make me wish I had been more careful when I sorted Aunt Claire's clothing. I should have looked at, snipped off and saved more of the buttons.
The buttons that are not in the box, the ones I didn't save, are like all the ideas for stories I was too lazy to write.
I can make an argument for laziness. My dad, who designed and manufactured electrical equipment, said it creates efficiency. He sat in his green leather chair and figured out how to do things the easy way, and people paid him for that.
But no one has paid me for a story I didn't write.
You know where that leaves me, don't you. With no choice but to put the lid on the button box and, eek, ouch, oww, okay, okay, okay... Shut Up and ....
A Sweet Surprise...
I knew I'd be happy to have my book finished and beautiful and well received. I did not know how much fun it would be to stand up in front of a room full of people and share the excitement.
We've had three readings so far - at Redbird, Boswell Book Shop and Next Chapter Book Store - each one a major success thanks to our gracious hosts, engaged audiences, and the writer-friends who read with me. (see names in the "news" below) No question about it, we were hot.
The next event (in addition to the Shut Up & Write class) is an evening conversation about writing at Muskego Public Library on Thursday, January 13th. And then an afternoon visit to the Waupaca Community Art Center on Sunday, February 20th.
I keep telling myself to cool it, that this book is legacy, not product, and I don't have to run all over the place trying to sell it. But then a friend -- sometimes a voice from long ago -- says, "Hey, how about this?" and I'm off and excited.
One thing that adds a little serenity to our lives is that David designs websites, so we can just pick up our His and Hers computers and take off. Okay, the truth is that packing isn't that simple once you add the books, handouts, snow shoes, yarn, and at least one semi-decent looking outfit. The point is that David carries the stuff so I don't have to worry.
If I'm lucky, I'll see you somewhere, sometime, this year. All you have to do is tell me you love the book and I'm yours.
Hallelujah! It's a Book!
I am now officially thrilled. Shut Up & Write! is coming off the press and it's time to plan the parties. This is a big event for me, for the other writers whose stories appear in the book, and for all those who taught me what I needed to know to write it.
When my husband read the stories in the book, he said, "I keep wanting to read more of what these people wrote." I think others will feel the same, so I've invited a few of the writers to read with me at each event. I won't let them read too long, however. I'm not that nice.
We have three events planned, each with a special flavor. The first is at Redbird, the second two at favorite independent bookshops. I hope you can join the celebration at any or all of them. Please mark your calendar. All events are free and open to the public.