Sad times

I was in an elementary school recently that had a Lock-Down drill.

Cops inside and out.

No one allowed in or out of the school.

Kids locked in their rooms with lights off, shades drawn.

Isn't it sad that we would even have to contemplate such a thing?

How to Steal a Dog

In Korean!

Reading Timelines

I love these.

They are timelines that kids made focused on books that were important to them at various points in their lives.

If you are a writer...

...this is NOT good.

That bandaid on the left looks itty bitty and harmless. But it is there for an incident involving a fingernail and the word MAJOR OUCH!

That ridiculous looking thing on the right is there because of, um, [deep breath, deep breath] ARTHRITIS in my thumb.

For a writer, this is NOT GOOD.

Writing Tip Tuesday

Today's tip is short and to the point.

Once again, I quote from Jack Prelutsky, in Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children (Zinsser):

Children love to be surprised.

Enough said.

Corny fun

The weather was absolutely amazing this weekend so my husband and son and I decided to have a good old-fashioned family outing.

We went to a Cranberry Festival.

It was a corny little small-town affair.
All American family fun.

There were dog shows:

I met Hello Kitty:

My son and I reaped the rewards of my husband's vast experience playing darts in bars:

There was lots of delicious junk food:

I ate an Italian sausage sandwich for the first time in about 20 years:

There was lots of corny stuff:

And the inevitable team spirit:

A good time was had by all!

Score!

The latest addition to my collection:

End of an era

It is with a heavy heart that I discard my Ultimate All-Time Favorite Slippers in the Universe:

And begin the long, lonely road to breaking in the new ones:

If I could turn back time

August 2; 6:31 a.m.

October 2; 6:31 a.m.

(Note the speed....and I was not sitting in my driveway - I was on the interstate.)

Correction: My husband has just informed me that that is the tachometer...not the speedometer. Who knew? Heh.... (Why do they have to make cars so dang complicated.)

Cool geek

My favorite Geek Writer Bird-Sitter Water-Sipper Person-Who-Reads-More-Books-Than-Anyone-in-the-Universe has a cool post here.

Writing Tip Tuesday

In an essay by Jack Prelutsky entitled: In Search of the Addle-paged Paddlepuss (included in an anthology entitled: Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children; edited by William Zinsser), he says:

One of the main differences between a poet and a non-poet is that a poet knows he is not going to remember what happened. Therefore he is smart enough to carry a notebook and write it down....Another secret of writing, along with taking notes, is keeping your eyes and your ears open, keeping your mind and your heart open, and being aware of what's going on around you.

I think it's important for writers to pay attention to the extraordinary in the ordinary - to notice the small things around us that the average observer might not notice or note to memory.

And when you notice those small things, WRITE THEM DOWN.

Now, granted, I have to write down, "Get up in the morning," but, still....I try to write down the little things that catch my attention.

Example: While visiting my friend, Dolores, last week, she told me that when she was a little girl, she loved going to visit her aunt in Vermont. One of her most vivid memories about those visits is what her aunt always served her three things - one of which she loved and two of which she hated.

The three things were:

• Creamed corn (the thing she loved)
  
• Tripe
• Moxie

No matter how often she told her aunt that she hated tripe and Moxie, her aunt still served them to her when she came to visit.

Now, I don't know about you, but I find that pretty interesting.

And as much as I'd like to think that I will always remember that, I wrote it down.

Some day, I will need to draw from my well of extraordinary things and there will be that list.

Wow!

From a fifth grade boy during a writing workshop last week:

The sun-warm sand sifted through my fingers like the frayed end of a silk scarf.

Great expectations

Since I'm getting ready to start a new year of school visits, I was thinking about:

Basic Expectations

What should a school expect from an author?

What should an author expect from a school?

On the most basic level.

Here's what I came up with:

What a school should expect from an author:

1. The author will be prompt. (Prompt means early enough to meet the contact person, set up any equipment, use the restroom, and be ready to start at the designated time.)
2. The author will bring all necessary equipment. (That means any equipment that the author has not asked the school to provide, such as laptops or projectors.)
3. The author will have a well-planned, well-timed presentation. (That means staying focused on the subject and not finishing earlier or later than scheduled.)
4. The author will understand and respect the school environment. (That means the author isn't frustrated by tight schedules or less-than-perfect facilities.)

What an author should expect from a school:

1. Someone at the school will be there to greet/escort her - or at the very least, someone in the office will be aware of the scheduled visit and the location for the presentation. (And if the author has specified that she is arriving 30 minutes early to set up equipment, someone is there 30 minutes early.)
2. Any previously requested equipment will be set up and ready. (And someone will be available to help in the event of an equipment glitch.)
3. Students will know who she is and be familiar with her books.
4. Students will arrive at the presentation on time.
5. Teachers will remain with the students.
6. Teachers will take on the responsibility of disciplining students, if necessary (and not leave that to the author.)
7. Some authors (not me) expect to sell books.

Pretty basic, huh?

(Yeah, I realize that there are more expectations on the author's side, but, hey, I'm an author. Heh...)

Of course, there are lots of other things on the part of both the school and the author that go beyond the basics that make an author visit the best that it can be:

Like here
And here
And here
And here
And here

Rusty

My first day back to school.

I can totally relate to Grace Lin's nervous feelings about the first day of school.

I always have that I've-forgotten-how-to-do-this feeling - even though I've done it 3342 times.

But once I get started, it all comes back to me like I never missed a beat.

And these fifth graders got me off to a great start. Check out these samples:


... the rusty hinges making a larger complaint than usual. [showing the setting of an old attic]

The garden in her heart had found winter. [showing, not telling - the feeling of sadness]

...the calm waters interrupted only by the dolphins. [showing the setting of the beach on a summer day]

So....it's back to breakfast in my car.

(Yes, those are grapes and Cheerios...I know, kind of pathetic, huh?)

Feeling the love

Well, shucks....I got THREE I-Heart-Your-Blog awards!

In the immortal words of Sally Field, "You like me! You really like me!"

Thank you to the talented author/illustrator Grace Lin.

Thank you to the amazing book-loving team of Karen and Bill.

Thank you to the ever wonderful Empress Geek Girl, Sarah Miller.