Susan Taylor Brown

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Becky Levine

2009-12-10T07:12:31Z

This blog is for writers (or anyone) who love to read about the writing process and how writers do what they do. At Moving Forward on the Writing Path Becky Levine talks about everything from strengthening your characters to adding more conflict to your plot and more. When I'm struggling with a WIP I like reading about other writings who are trying to figure things out at the same time.

A couple of my favorite posts are Triangles-More Angles and Sharp Edges (what an easy way to increase the tension in a scene) and
Making Connections, Deepening Story.

Say hello to Becky for me when you stop by.

Of Dogs and Writing - without a worry in the world

2009-12-09T07:41:04Z

Last week Cassie had some more biopsies done. We think the problems that have popped up are related to her disease but just in case, we need to make sure. We had hoped to cut back her medication to every other day but suddenly the bumps came back. And then there's the issue of her coat that never came in. At two years of age she still looks trapped in puppyhood with a stripe of adult fur down her back and her sides covered in not quite puppy fur but not the long guard hair that you would expect on a dog this age. So it was back to the vet who shaved her in about five spots and sent her home to wait out the results. She has stitches in various spots on her body, all easily accessible for licking and scratching and chewing.

I kept expecting her to chew at the stitches and dreaded the idea of having to put one of those collars on her but the only one who seemed to be worried about them was me. Cassie ignored the stitches as though they didn't even exist. She's been just fine all week, doing what she does best, without a wasting a single moment of fun time by worrying at those stitches.

How many times in our writing lives do we make mountains out of the proverbial molehill?

I don't know about you but for me, I do it way to often. I think too much. I think too much before I write and after I write and while I write. I worry those words back and forth until I'm no longer sure what is fresh and original and what is just old and tired from me worrying on it so much.

One of the hard things that happens for some people (or at least for me) is that after we sell a piece of writing our minds are focused on the selling and not on being a writer, living the writer's life, and well, just writing. Wouldn't it be nice to not think so much?

Old habits are hard to break so I can't say that I am going to let go of all that worrying all at once. But I am going to call myself on it more often.

Less time worrying will give me more time to write, and more time to play with Cassie.

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Elizabeth Koehler- Pentacoff

2009-12-09T07:06:12Z

Today's entry in 31 Blogs (you might not know) is great for teachers, writers, librarians and kids! It's Reading, Writing & Elizabeth, the blog home of author Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff. Liz searches the web for writing contests for kids (and adults.) She also posts interesting writing prompts that are terrific for writers of all ages (and great for the classroom) so check them out in the sidebar.

A couple of my favorite posts are a haiku contest for all ages and KQED Radio Show’s Commentary, Video or Photo Slideshow Contest for California Youth. The KQED contest has a quick deadline, December 15th, so don't delay taking a closer look. KQED is looking for young people to share their Perspectives on two themes: “Coming Out” and “Friday Night.” Perspectives may take the form of a short commentary, video, or photo slideshow.

Tell Liz I said hello when you stop by.

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Sarah

2009-12-08T07:24:47Z

This one is for the writers out there. Sarah works in New York as a publishing assistant. I love looking at things from her side of the desk. A couple of my favorite posts are Unlikable Villains (in which she reminds us of the importance of keeping our villians villainous and The Secret Lives of Titles because I love anything that talks about coming up with the right title. If you're a short story lover you're in for an extra treat because every so often she publishes short that readers have sent in on her blog.

Give her a wave from me when you peek in her window.

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Wes Hargis and Ted Dawson

2009-12-07T07:06:49Z

Maybe the rest of you already know about this blog, Three Men in a Tub, but it was news to me. It's the sketchblog of Wes Hargis and Ted Dawson and is filled with stories about comics and comic books, art and artists and, not surprisingly, sketches of original art.

A couple of my favorite posts How To Draw With Tom Gammill are Elephant in a Tree (which could also be called My Life as a Tattoo.)

Them them I said hello when you stop by.

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Debbie Gonzales

2009-12-06T07:09:00Z

Austin author and educator Debbie Gonzales wears a lot of hats, and she wears them well. Her blog is a delightful mix of writing observations, tips, book discussions, and help for teachers. And then there's Simple Saturdays. Every Saturday she posts simple activities to be enjoyed by all family members. (On Fridays she posts the supplies you need for Saturday's simple activity.)

A few of my favorite posts are Sports Novels: The Voice of the Gamer and the Simple Saturday activity Autumn Leaf Potion

Tell Debbie I said hello when you stop by.

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - A Sweet Read & Jama Rattigan

2009-12-05T16:35:03Z

This blog had me at chocolate. I mean really, a blog that combines children's books with baking for kids? Yummy! This Florida teacher came up with a winning combination for blogging - she takes her favorite books from children's literature and then gives you recipes to go with the books. If the book doesn't have an obvious food connection, she makes up Recipes to Read by. The moral of her story is that food and books go together.

A couple of my favorite posts are Chocolate Obsession which is, as you can imagine, all about chocolate and You Don't Want to Steal My Dog where she has a delicious looking recipe for "pup cakes" that look like dogs.

Pair this delectable blog up with jamarattigan who rolls out amazing feasts of words and food (yes, I am giving you two for one today just because I can) and you will have food/book connections for just about any occasion. Jama's recent post on Thanksgiving with Arlo Guthrie at Alice's Restaurant made me hungry for words and music and her Friday Feast: A Taste of Tuscany will appeal to foodies as well as writers and poets.

Tell them both I said hello when you stop by.

Friday Five - Another random edition

2009-12-05T06:22:37Z

1. I didn't get a poem up for Poetry Friday but I've been darting all over the place reading great poems. This week's Poetry Round-up is at Wild Rose Reader. Favorite stops for me today were kellyrfineman who is one of a special group of poets who were challenged (and who rose to that challenge) to write villanelles as they were challenged to by the ever inspirational, liz_scanlon whose own villanelle makes me turn off the computer and try this villanelle stuff my own. Other villanelles can be found with Sara Lewis Holmes , Tanita Davis and Andromeda Jazmon. Another favorite stop was with laurasalas (one of the talented villanelle poets) not just to read her villanelle but to check out the poems from Thursday's 15 Words or Less challenge. And then over to The Miss Rumphius Effect (to read HER villanelle) and to check out this week's poetry stretch which was all about mythical creatures.

2. Which means this is possibly a good time to mention that next year I will be starting something call Poetry Push that I think will run on Tuesdays.

3. Recently I had the pleasure of reading my picture book, Oliver's Must-do List for the local television show Willow Glen in Motion. You can watch it with a child on your lap.

4. We have lists, lists, and more lists. At Chicken Spaghetti you can read a constantly evolving master list of "best children's books" lists!
and then MotherReader shares 105 Ways to Give a Book and Abby the Librarian gives us Twelve Days of Giving.

5. Yesterday I took my first collage class with the talented Lori Krein who inspired me to try something similar to her landscapes. Hopefully I'll finish it next week. I was inspired after reading about Melodye's creative journaling here and here. I have a vision in my head of doing one of my own but I'm not quite there yet. I wish I had a local coffeeshop to gather at with friends to do just that.

Teens 13-18 Good chance to win $1000 for book trailer!

2009-12-04T19:49:39Z

Only a little over a week left for teens 13-18 to get their entries in for the FreshBrain.org $1000 scholarship to create a book trailer for the middle grade verse novel, Hugging the Rock.

There are only a few entries so far and a nice chunk of money on the table so the chances of winning are looking good!

Deadline December 15th
Details: http://freshbrain.org/scholarship/freshbrain-video-book-trailer-scholarship

Please help spread the word!

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Brian Floca

2009-12-04T06:02:51Z

Todays suggestion for 31 Blogs (you might not know) in 31 Days is Author/Illustrator Brian Floca. In support of his latest book, MOONSHOT, Brian has a lovely series of posts about the space program and the anniversary of Apollo 11. A couple of my favorite posts are Radio Days and
Countdown Apollo 12

Tell Brian I said hello when you stop by.

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Anne Bustard

2009-12-03T07:27:19Z

Anne Bustard's blog, Anneographies, highlights picture book biographies tied to the subject's birthday. Isn't that a brilliant idea for a blog? Of course the first thing I did was go to my birthday to see if there was a picture book on one of my birthday twins, Ernest Hemingway or Robin Williams, but alas, July21st was blank. But many other days of the year were filled with some great picture book biography choices like July 16th, my son's birthday. (He just happens to share it with Ida B. Wells-Barnett) and August 27th, my daughter's birthday (coincidentally, it is also the birthday of former president Lyndon Baines Johnson.)

This is a great blog for teachers to bookmark for when they need ideas for those pesky bulletin boards.

Tell Anne I said hello when you stop by.

Of Dogs and Writing - Taking it Seriously

2009-12-02T08:09:37Z

There are two things that Cassie takes very seriously, food and sleep. She loves to eat but she REALLY loves to sleep. The whole process of settling in for a nap requires much pacing and groaning and moaning and sighing when, at last, she lowers her body to the floor and closes her eyes. She's pretty predicitable too. After dinner she plays for a while and then it's coma dog, crashed out in the library or whatever room we are in at the moment. This is good and bad. The good is that she's quiet and not bothering anyone. I can write or we can watch TV without popping up to rescue the ball out from under the couch 100 times. the bad is that she's a coma dog. By that I mean she won't wake up. Which wouldn't be a REALLY bad thing except that before we go upstairs so we can all go to bed she really needs to go outside and take care of business one last time.

But she won't wake up. It's sleep time and she intends to keep right on sleeping until I can give her a good reason why she ought to get out of her comfy bed. That good reason is usually the sound of me tapping the lid of her cookie jar against the side of the jar. Like a doorbell, it gets her attention. With the promise of a cookie, she'll get out of bed and go outside.

One of my favorite times of night is our bedtime routine. After her last trip outside she trots off to my husband's office to tell him goodnight and then waits at the bottom of the stairs, for me to follow. We head up to the bedroom and she goes through the whole settling down process and then she rests her head on the edge of her bed and stares at me. I usually sit up with the light on and read for a while. When I finally turn off the light she moans as though she has been suffering 100 years waiting for the dark to fill the room. I love the sound of that goodni

Recently we decided to let her have a chair in the library. (Sorry, Cecila) It's been really funny to watch because she's a big dog who should be able to bound up into the chair easily but instead she climbs up, one foot at a time, like an old woman. And now she has a new routine. After dinner and playtime she naps in her bed in front of the fireplace and then after a few hours, climbs into the chair and goes back to sleep.

But she is still coma dog, intent on sleeping through any possible command I give her. Like I said, she takes her sleep seriously. She gives it 110%. And then some. She commits.

Some books are harder to write than others. Some come out as gifts and we stare at them, wondering where they came from. Others tease us with a few sentences or a paragraph or two and then it gets tough and we find it easy to walk away from the story. And sometimes walking away is the right thing to do. Sometimes a story needs a longer incubation time.

But not always. At least not for me. Most of the time for me it is a matter of taking it seriously. Making a commitment to tell that particular story with the same single-minded determination that Cassie applies to taking a nap. I might do a lot of pacing and circling and moaning and groaning before I get comfortable with it but the important thing for me is to put in the time, the butt in the chair and the fingers on the keys.

Lots of people want to "have written" more than they want to make the commitment to be a writer. You have to be willing to do the work.

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Elaine Marie Alphin

2009-12-02T07:23:27Z

Today's visit is to the blog home of the award winning author Elaine Marie Alphin. Elaine's books include, Ghost Soldier, Counterfeit Son, and The Perfect Shot. Elaine's posts might be sporadic but every one of them is rich in the details of her writing life. A couple of my favorite posts are Father's Day Stories which goes right to the root of her storytelling past and Inviting Readers to Read about the importance of creating doors through which we writers can invite readers to begin their journey.

Tell Elaine hello from me when you stop by.

31 Blogs You Might Not Know - Teri Sloat

2009-12-01T07:55:01Z

I stole this idea from Greg Pincus who, back in April of this year, gave us 30 Poets in 30 Days for National Poetry Month. Every day, for 30 days, he highlighted a different poet and by the end of the month I had a great many new poets to follow. What a great idea!

When I was trying to think of what kind of gift I could give my blog readers the holiday season I thought I could introduce them to some blog they might not know about but that I think are worth checking out. So I introduce the first (for me) of 31 Blogs (You Might Not Know) in 31 Days. Every day in December I will post a little teaser about a blog that perhaps isn't as well known as some of the other blogs we tend to frequent. There will be writers and poets and maybe an illustrator or two. I hope you enjoy the journey.

Many of you are already familiar with author/illustrator Teri Sloat's beautiful picture books (I'm a Duck, There Was an Old Man Who Painted the Sky, and many more) and her exquisite art. What you might not know is that she is a brand-new blogger.

Her blog, Painting the Sky is all about her creative journey. A couple of my favorite posts are Julie and Julia and the Invisibile Audience where she talks about the lessons she took away from the movie Julie and Julia and Walking Through a Story where she talks about her love of creation stories.

Say hello from me when you stop by.

The Maine Book Fairy Needs Your Help

2009-12-01T06:08:01Z

I'm posting this for a friend, Toni Buzzeo, who is a children's author living in the rural Maine town of Buxton. Each year, Buxton Toy Box registers financially challenged families and children in these families receive Christmas gifts through the program. Toni is the book fairy who ensures that all of these children (birth through 18) receive books! Toni is looking for author copies of any of your books or audiobooks you might want to donate. She will gladly reimburse your postage! (No ARCS, please.)

Please contact Toni at tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com

Thanks!

Over 200 Movies about the literary life

2009-11-28T20:41:14Z

I've been building this list for a long time and thought I would share it with friends. It's a list of over 200 movies about authors, poets, editors, screenwriters - basically anything to do with the writing business. I don't claim it as a complete or perfect list so please feel free to add titles or corrections in the comments. The links will take you to IMDB.

WRITERS
84 Charring Cross Road (1987)
A Murder of Crows (1998)
Agatha (1979)
Alex & Emma (2003)
Almost Famous (2000)
American Dreamer (1984)
The Answer Man (2009)
As Good As It Gets (1997)
Ayn Rand -- A Sense of Life (1997)
Balzac: A Life of Passion (1999)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Becoming Colette (1991)
Becoming Jane (2007)
The Best Man (1999)
Best Seller (1987)
Big Bad Love (2001)
Boy Meets Girl (1998)
Breakfast of Champions (1999)
Carrington (1995)
Celebrity (1998)
Celeste (1981)
Chapter Two (1978)
Cheaper By the Dozen (2003)
Children of the Century (1995)
Cross Creek (1983)
Croupier (1998)
The Dark Half (1993)
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Devotion (1946)
Door in the Floor (2004)
Double Take (1998)
DreamChild (1985)
The End of the Affair (1999)
Eternity and a Day (1998)
Factotum (2005)
Father's Day (1997)
Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule (1995)
Finding Forrester (2000)
Finding Neverland (2004)
The Flower of My Secret (1995)
Freedom Writers (2007)
The Front (1976)
Gaby: A True Story (1987)
Get Bruce! (1999)
Gothic (1986)
Hamsun (1996)
Harriet the Spy (1996)
Haunted Summer (1988)
Hav Plenty (1997)
Heartburn (1986)
Henry & June (1990)
Her Alibi (1989)
The Hours (2002)
Impromptu (1991)
Infamous (2006)
In Love and War (1996)
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
Iris (2001)
Isn't She Great (2000)
Jack London (1943)
Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Joe Gould's Secret (2000)
Joshua Then and Now (1985)
Julia (1977)
Julie and Julia (2009)
Kissing a Fool (1998)
The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997)
Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles (1998)
The Libertine (2004)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
Love and Death on Long Island (1997)
Making of Daniel Boone (2003)
The Man From Elysian Fields (2001)
Margot at the Wedding (2007)
Mark Twain Tonight (1967)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Misery (1990)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
Miss Potter (2006)
Morvern Callar (2002)
Mother (1996)
My Brilliant Career (1979)
My Dear Secretary (1949)
My Left Foot (1989)
The Mystery of Rampo (1994)
Naked Jane (1995)
The Night and the Moment (1995)
Nora (2000)
Paperback Romance (1994)
Pola X (1999)
The Prize (1963)
The Proprietor (1996)
Purple Violets (2007)
Quills (2000)
The Raven (2006)
Reprise (2006)
Romancing the stone (1984)
Rowing With the Wind (1988)
Sade (2000)
Saint-Ex (1996)
Secret Window (2004)
Shadowlands (1993)
The Shadow Dancer (2005)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Shining (1980)
The Singing Detective (2003)
The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Stone Reader (2002)
Storytelling (2001)
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Surburban Girl (2007)
Swann (1996)
Swimming Pool (2003)
The Technical Writer (2003)
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)
Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
The Third Man (1949)
Throw Momma from the Train (1987)
Time Regained (1999)
Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
The Trip (2002)
Where Sleeping Dogs Lie (1991)
The Whole Wild World (1996)
Wild in the Country (1961)
Winter Passing (2005)
Wonder Boys (2000)
Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
World According to Garp (1982)
World's Greatest Dad (2009)

POETS
A Fine Madness (1966)
An Angel at My Table (1990)
Barfly (1987)
Beat (2000)
Beautiful Dreamers (1990)
Before Night Falls (2000)
The Belle of Amherst (1976)
Between the Lines (1977)
Blood In, Blood Out (1993)
Blue Car (2002)
The Business of Fancydancing (2002)
Byron (2003) (poet)
Color of Pomegranates, The (1968)
The Dark Side of the Heart (1992)
Dead Man (1995)
Dead Poet's Society (1989)
The Edge of Love (2008)
Fighting Words (2007)
Gu cheng bielian (The Poet) (1998)
Heart Beat (1980)
Henry Fool (1997)
I, the Worst of All (1990)
Il Postino (1994)
In Custody (1994)
Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date (1985)
Love Jones (1997)
Mindwalk (1990)
Mirage (2004)
Moulin Rouge (2001)
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
Nostalghia (1983)
Pandaemonium (2000)
Pinero (2001)
Poetic Justice (1993)
Regeneration (1997)
Runoilija ja muusa (1978)
Satan's Brew (1976)
Slam (1998)
So I Married An Axe Murderer (1993)
Sylvia (2003)
Tom & Viv (1994)
Total Eclipse (1995)
West of Brooklyn (2006)
Xiang ji mao yi yang fei (2002)

SCREENWRITERS
Adaptation (2002)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Cabin by the Lake (2000)
French Exit (1995)
Hit and Runway (1999)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
The Lonely Lady (1983)
Midnight (2006)
The Muse (1999)
Out of Order (2003)
Paris When It Sizzles (1964)
The Player (1992)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)

PLAYWRIGHTS
Author! Author! (1982)
Barton Fink (1991)
Beaumarchais, the Scoundrel (1996)
Deathtrap (1982)
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000)
Prick up Your Ears (1987)
The Producers (1968)
The Savages (2007)
Tema (1979)
Wilde (1997)

NEWSPAPERS & JOURNALISTS
Absence of Malice (1981)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
All the President´s Men (1976)
Call Northside 777 (1948)
Citizen Kane (1941)
City in Fear (1980)
Continental Divide (1981)
Deadline U.S.A. (1952)
Down With Love (2003)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
The Front Page (1974)
Funny Farm (1988)
His Girl Friday (1940)
It Happened One Night (1934)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Libeled Lady (1936)
Meet John Doe (1941)
The Paper (1994)
The Parallax View (1974)
The Pelican Brief (1993)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Platinum Blonde (1931)
Reds (1981)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Salvador (1986)
Shattered Glass (2003)
Saving Sarah Cain (2007)
Street Smart (1987)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Teacher’s Pet (1958)
Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)
Year of Living Dangerously (1982)

I haven't seen all of these movies (not even half) so I can't vouch for quality, only subject matter. :) In many cases there are multiple versions of the film. I've only linked to one. Enjoy!

Poetry Friday - An Original Poem

2009-11-27T09:03:14Z

I had hoped to have a new poem up today but I didn't quite finish it. So I went looking through my archive for something to share and came across some poems that were cut from my book Hugging the Rock. If you've read the book you may remember a pivotal time for Rachel, the main character, when she goes grocery shopping with her dad. In an early version of the book I had this poem of Rachel shopping with her mom to show the differences. But in the end it was too much of a flashback and didn't add anything new to the story.

GROCERY SHOPPING WITH MOM

At the grocery store
mom stops to talk to everyone.

She scoops up new babies
sings them lullabies
nuzzles their peach fuzz heads.

In the produce aisle she spouts advice
races off to give her coupons to the old man in the wheelchair
then slips a quarter into the rocket ship
for a skinny kid in a baseball cap.

She tosses boxes of cereal
into the cart
then dances away
chasing a guy blowing a harmonica.

I put four boxes back on the shelf
and trail after her.

In the pet food aisle
mom talks fast
her hands pointing everywhere
and nowhere
until the guy smiles
cups the harmonica
close to his mouth
and plays a sweet tune.

The guy tucks a bag of dog food
under one arm
and they both walk off
still talking.

My mom marches beside him
right through the checkout stand
and out the door
and never once looks back at me.

I wait over an hour
watching the ice cream melt
and drip onto the loaf of bread
and a jar of pickles
wondering what is
in me
that makes me
so invisible
to her.

--- Susan Taylor Brown
All Rights Reserved

The round-up is at Becky's Book Reviews today.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-26T17:06:06Z

I am thankful for a great many things today - family, friends, health, ability to be home writing - but I wanted to speak specifically to a single recent experience.

Earlier this week I went on a retreat with a few writer friends and a few writer/artists strangers who are now friends. We gathered at the beach mostly with solitary intentions and yet, it seemed, the magic of where we were and the creative energy of those gathered had other ideas.

We came with no agenda, no speakers, nothing that absolutely had to be done.

Groups of two and three started to form. Individual work turned into freeform group writing fun. Books and art were shared. Gifts were acknowledged, praised. We were validated as professional creatives. Meals stretched for several hours as we lingered over coffee and tea. We sat by the fire and talked long into the night. We laughed (and some of us cried) and took a great many pictures.

Our backgrounds, our journeys to be writers, were of course very different.
Our passion however, was very much the same.

I am so grateful for the time spent with these fabulous and talented women. You have to understand that it isn't because someone took me aside and said a particular thing to me. It isn't because of anything we saw or ate or did. I think it might be because of what they didn't do.

They didn't say "do this." They didn't say "don't do that." They just listened. And accepted.

It rocked my world from the inside out.

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you. Thank you for all the times you read my blog. May your bellies and hearts be full of everything you need.

Time is running out - $1000 book trailer contest!

2009-11-25T22:59:14Z

Time is running out for teens 13-18 to enter the $1000 book trailer contest! Please help spread the word to teens and teachers and librarians. The deadline for submissions is December 15th.

There is a lot of money on the table, $1000,
and only a few entries so far.
Don't miss your chance!

Please feel free to copy and paste from this post or if you want to link directly to the FreshBrain sign-up page, you can use this tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/rocktrailer

Download a reproducible flyer to post
in your library, bookstore, classroom. PDF Word

VIDEO BOOK TRAILER SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST
OPEN TO KIDS 13-18

Create a video book trailer for the novel "Hugging the Rock" by Susan Taylor Brown.

Put together a cast and act it out, create an animation, or use photos with text set to music - it's up to you. Be creative. Have fun. Make people want to read the book.

More details can be found at the Freshbrain.org website: http://tinyurl.com/rocktrailer

SUMMARY OF RULES
- U.S resident only between 13 and 18 years of age (as of the close of the contest)
- 30 seconds to 2 minutes in length and in a standard video format (.wmv, .mov, .avi, .mp4)
- Your own creation, NO copyrighted material
- Include a brief description of the process you followed
- Deadline for entries is 12/15/09

JUDGING
Judging will be based on the following criteria. Please see the official rules for more details.
- Creativity (50%)
- Consistency with the book (25%)
- Fit and finish (25%)

AWARDS
- The winner will receive a $1000 scholarship!

Buy a book, help raise money for young writers contest

2009-11-25T22:29:40Z

Help the Mt. Diablo branch of California Writers Club raise money for their Young Writers Contest for middle grade students. If you shop at ANY Barnes and Noble Bookstore from Nov. 28 through Dec. 4th and present their voucher (http://tinyurl.com/yf3ypfx) they will receive 10 - 25% of the amount of your purchase to help fund their yearly writing contest for middle grade students.

For the first time this year, you can also use the ID on the voucher to shop online at the Barnes and Noble web site or any other B&N store in the nation.

Of Dogs and Writing - What did you bring me?

2009-11-25T08:52:37Z

Whenever I come back from being away from home, (whether it's hours or days doesn't matter) Cassie has to give me the one over with her nose, gathering up all the scents from where I've been. Usually it's a quick sniff because I haven't been gone too long. And of course anything that comes in the house with me needs to be sniffed out as well. Sometimes I'll take an old toy with me and put it in my purse so she can sniff it out and be reunited with an old friend.

She'll be doing her sniffing routine and suddenly smell something that she knows, without a doubt, belongs to her. There's such joy for her those moments. She races to her rug with little yips of excitment and then waits, tail wagging like crazy, for me to give her the toy. Once she has it, whatever it is, she runs off to the library to toss it in the air a few times then pounce on it, pinning it to the ground with her paws.

I have something that belongs to her and she wants it back. She doesn't wonder if it is hers. She KNOWS. And once she has that toy back she gives it all of her attention, lavishes it with loving enthusiasm and then, once that reconnection is confirmed, she gives a loud sigh of contentment, dropping her head to the floor to rest upon the toy.

I just got home from a few days away at an informal writing retreat with a group of woman that have had a tremendous impact on my life. Some of that impact was apparent right away. Other pieces will make themselves known over time. And that's as it should be. Not all gold is mined from veins close to the surface. Sometimes you have to put in the effort to dig it out.

When I came home I had a plush toy waiting to be "reunited" with Cassie. I tucked in the pocket of my sweatshirt before I got out of the car. My husband let Cassie out front to meet me and she did her normal Cassie inspection, sniffing me up and down and all around. Then suddenly, she found the toy in my pocket. When I told her she could have it she gently tugged it free and then carried it back toward the house, her tail held high with pride, as if she had just scored a great kill in the forest.

And I guess she had.

By the time I got into the house she was contentedly resting in the library, one paw over the stuffed toy, the other tucked under her chin. She raised her head as I came in the room and then, in that way that big dogs do, she smiled her thanks to me.

Over the years, pieces of me have gone missing. Confidence has faded around the edges of my dreams. Chunks of self-esteem have been lost on the road to survival. My sense of self has been buried under a mountain of "would-ofs," "could-ofs," and "should-ofs."

I want these pieces of myself back.

But I can't expect to pull them out of my pocket unless I promise that I will accept these pieces of me, (however battered they might be,) with joy, that I will lavish them with love and kindness, that I will believe again, in my right to claim what's mine.

I want to smooth the jagged edges and polish them until they shine. That's where the real joy comes from - taking something not so pretty and believing in it enough that suddenly, it transforms right before your eyes, into a thing of beauty.

Of Dogs and Writing - waiting for lightbulbs

2009-11-18T17:57:36Z

In addition to her basic commands Cassie knows a few tricks like shake, crawl, take a nap, tell me a secret, wave goodbye and peek-a-boo. The fact that she can do these things doesn't make me a brilliant trainer. It just makes me a good waiter.

Teaching a dog a trick requires a lot of patience. One you figure out what you want to teach the dog to do you have to break it down into steps and then link it together. And then you use up a lot of treats and a lot of time waiting for the light bulb to click on. Even with smart dogs like Cassie it takes time to get consistent results.

When teaching her something new I start off filled with proud mama enthusiasm about how wonderful it is going to be to show off the trick to my firends and how smart Cassie is so of course she'll pick it up really quickly. And then the training starts. Suddenly I'm thinking, "She's never going to get this. She's never going to make the connection between the words take a nap and the fact that I want her to sit, then lay down, then lay on her side, then put her down and close her eyes until I tell her she can wake up. Not going to happen."

But because many of my decisions in life are fueled by enthusiasm, I go ahead and try. I lure her with treats. I give command words. More treats. More waiting. A lot of near misses. And then...then I start to see the light bulbs going on. The first time I give the command "take a nap" and she goes through all the motions correctly I get all excited and scream YES! so loudly that she pops up and starts jumping on me. So I slow down again. And eventually she gets it. When she does it correctly she gets a treat. We race into my husband's office and she performs again. And again. And now it's a regular part of her routine.

I recently finished an eight week workshop that I used to jumpstart some stalled places in Flyboy. Once a week I turned in ten pages of my WIP to be workshopped by the editor, Jill Sanatpolo, who was leading the class, as well as fourteen other classmates. Once a week I read fourteen other stories. Once a week I got tons of feedback on my book. Now that the class is over I'm faced with trying to assimilate all that feedback. These were smart writers and smart critiquers and a smart editor so I have of questions they've asked me about the story, suggestions for improvements and brainstorms that I had asked for around certain plot issues.

I spent yesterday looking at all the feedback and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of it all. First I merged everything into one giant file. Bad idea. All those comments in the margins made me feel even worse. Finally I decided to just break it down, week by week again. I created a new master file and took just one person's feedback, merged it and then went step by step through every comment. Then I took a second person's feedback and did the same thing. I know there are people who could read all the feedback, make a few notes, and then boom, move forward, but I don't work that way. I have to see it all, touch it all. I have to comb through the sentences again and again and again until finally the light bulbs start to click on and I can feel myself begin to "get" it. By the time I got to the third person's feedback I was starting to feel that little tingle that tells me something is connecting. The comment from one person and the question from another person trigged a different idea for me. I jotted down a few sentences. Then another. Then another. When I looked up again I'd written a few new paragraphs.

This is my process. A lot of trying. A lot of waiting. Waiting for light bulbs to turn on and shine a light on the path I need to take.

Of Dogs and Writing - Get a Little Closer

2009-11-11T07:50:54Z

Cassie goes almost everywhere with us but depending on which car we take it's like traveling with two different dogs. In my car, a Honda coupe, she sits directly behind me on the back seat. She's happy as can be, looking out the back window or just laying down to wait for us to get wherever it is we need to go. But when the three of us go out, like on our 45 minute drives to Santa Cruz, we usually take my husband's car, a Toyota Four-Runner. We have a doggy gate in the back and Cassie races to the car and jumps in, always anxious to go along, until the car starts and we move down the road.

Then she turns into a barking machine, non-stop from San Jose to Los Gatos to Santa Cruz. Constant barking. Loud barking. Frantic barking.

It's been over a year that she's lived with us and nothing seemed to make a difference. Recently, after a long trip filled with barking in the Toyota I took her on a short trip in the Honda and noticed again how I didn't have any problems with her. I suggested to my husband that we take out the doggy gate and put down the seats so she could come up closer to where we were.

Filled with hope, we invited Cassie to go for a ride. She jumped in the backseat and then walked all the way up to the front and sat down. We started the car and headed down the road.

Silence. Total silence.

This past week we've done several more short trips, around the block a few miles downtown, and each one is just the same. A quiet dog happily going along for a ride. It's not a permanent solution but I think now that we know what the problem was, we'll be able to work on acclimating her to riding in the back. Heck, the view's better back there anyway with more windows. But for now, it's all about getting up close and personal on our family outings.

Some stories are like that, staying in the background, barking at you, begging for attention. They're never satisfied until you bring them up front with you, as close as they can get. But sometimes we're afraid to bring the stories too close. Afraid of what the story might show the world about us or perhaps afraid of the story might show us something we don't want to see.

I never expect that kind of writing to come easily to me. I scream at the computer and throw a few barking fits of my own. I've finally learned that I can't do that kind of deep, emotionally honest writing in one sitting. But I can do it in short bursts, like a trip around the block.

The best stories, the ones that stick in our hearts and minds, are the ones that reflect life as it is, not as we wish it were. The ones that bring us up close and personal.

Finding My Father

2009-11-09T08:31:41Z

If you've read my blog for any length of time you've probably learned a few things about me.

1. I love writing poetry and books for kids, my dog, my native plant garden, Santa Cruz, and chocolate.

2. A little over a year ago I was laid off from my day job and have spent the last year adjusting and enjoying being a full-time writer.

3. I'm filled with all kinds of doubts and insecurities about who I am, what kind of a writer I'm supposed to be, and if I am ever good enough whatever task is waiting right in front of me. (In other words, I worry a lot about things I should quit worrying about.)

But probably the single thing that tells you the most about me is that I have never known my father. His name, yes, but that's all. I've never met him or anyone in his family. The only pictures I've ever seen were of him as a gawky young man in a white suit at their wedding. He was gone before I was born.

As I kid I used to bug my mom all the time for information about him but she never really said much. No one in the family talked about him and when they did, they never painted the prettiest picture. But here's the thing, I didn't want them to tell me whether the picture was any good or not. I wanted to see for myself. Still families do what they can to protect what they feel needs protecting and by the time I was in the 4th grade and someone asked me if I was Tommy Webb's daughter I said no, without hesitation. I had been trained well.

When you have a hole like that in your life it's like a scab you can't let heal. And people who don't have the same kind of hole often find it difficult to understand why just can't leave it all alone and move on. I can't explain the why. I can only claim the hole. It's grown smaller over the years but it's still there.

Last week I wrote about the distance we need between real life and our stories before we can write about them. In the past I've written about feeling safe enough to write the truth of your story. I believe we should always strive to write with emotional honesty, even when (or especially when) that seems like an impossible task.

That's where Flyboy comes in. Every question I've ever had about my father, about my worth as a person, about how I felt something missing when there was no reason to feel that way because my life was just fine the way it was....all of that has been pouring into Flyboy for, well, over 25 years now.

Characters and plot, I've got them. But to take that emotional plunge into the ice water of my past...I just couldn't make myself do it. I give myself a lot of sleep suggestions about my books, hoping my subconscious will take me where I need to go.

Four years ago I had a dream about my father. In my dream I went to answer the front door and there was a man there, kind of old, his short beard was gray but he had some black hair on his head. He wore a suit that had seen better days. He handed me a box, a white box, like one you might get clothes in or a little bigger. It was tied with string, not a ribbon. I asked him what was in the box. He shook his head. I asked him again to please tell me what was in the box. Nothing. I don't know why I didn't just open it myself but I didn't. Then he walked away. I asked him to wait. He kept walking. Then I asked him who he was. He turned around and said, "I am your father." And then I woke up without opening the box.

Last week for some random reason I decided to check for my father on Classmates.com. I knew where he had gone to high school so I kept hoping that he might show up there. It was a far-fetched hope since people in his generation aren't as into the Internet as I am. Once I had gone there and found nothing I went through my normal little routine, putting in his name, the town he went to school in and the state where he was born. I'd never gotten anything back with that combo before but it was a familiar search I had done many, many times.

This time was different. This time an obituary popped up. I read it and burst into tears then almost as quickly I chastised myself for crying over someone who had never wanted me.

I've pieced together a story from my mom over the years. My father Tommy Webb was born in Arkansas and went to high school in Vallejo, California. His family eventually moved to Concord, to Bonifacio Street, into the little duplex across the street from where my mom lived. He worked at a service station in Walnut Creek, back when they had guys who pumped the gas for you. My grandmother's name was Tina. She was pregnant with my uncle Robert at the same time my mom was pregnant with me. I had an aunt Kitty who was two years older than I am. There was another aunt Janette. That's about it. Except for the not so pretty stories that I'll keep to myself because, as my mom told me today. He could have changed. Turned his life around. People do it all the time.

My father died in Missouri. In January. This year.

In January I was still recovering from being laid off, trying to piece my new life together, trying to figure out how to create a life that nourished my creative soul. I was whole but with rough edges that still needed smoothing. I think if I had found him then it would have been too much. Much too much. Sometimes distance is a good thing. Even if it means we never get the chance to say goodbye.

His obituary mentions my aunts and my uncle. Where they live. It also says he has two sons and a daughter. My half-siblings. And lots of grandchildren. Aunts and Uncles. Bothers and Sisters. Nieces and Nephews. Family or not. It all depends on your point of view. The kind of picture you want to paint.

The obituary does not, of course, mention me.

I keep thinking about that dream I had. How odd to think that my father, who never paid a dime of child support, might give me a gift I've always wanted. Answers to questions that have haunted me for years.

The Internet makes things easy sometimes. Really it took no more than a few hours of searching to locate most of the family. They're not active online. No websites or blogs or Facebook profiles. But mailing addresses. Phone numbers. I have some of them now.

It's a chance. A chance to see at least part of the picture for myself.

Friday Five - A random link edition

2009-11-06T17:17:41Z

Friday Five

1. Tara Lazar had a great idea for the month of November - help picture book authors come up with one new idea per day. She's invited some friends to come help with PiBoldMo with guest blogs. Today it's my turn. Pop on over and take a peek at where I get some of my ideas.

2. Becky Levine has a thoughtful post on her first attempt to write a picture book. I think it's worth you stopping by.

3. Sherwood Smith (aka sartoris ) has a great post on Writers and Creativity.Her posts are the sort I always have to read several times because they make me think.

4. Have you been following the fun of the Exquisite Corpse Adventure? You might be surprised to see which top tier kidlit authors are a part of this online writing project.

5. Over at thru_the_booth you can read about Author Debby Dahl Edwardson and her approach to writing with sensory details. Debby's new book, Blessing's Bead, an artic tale that will take your breath away, will be released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux next week. Spend some time over at the TollBooth. They've been talking about sensory details all week.