How My 2020 Word of the Year Changed Me Forever

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Howdy, Campers and Happy Poetry Friday! My poem and the link to today's Poetry Friday's host is below.

The question TeachingAuthors have been batting around this round is, What did I learn in 2020 that will help me in 2021?

Esther, as always, rallies us with gusto offering one tiny prefix to see things anew; Bobbi walks beside us talking honestly about this crazy road we're all on; Mary Ann takes inspiration from a book that's part practical advice, part surprising memoir of a holocaust survivor, and Carmela shows how she is training her brain to be indistractable, offering solid tips and a wonderful found poem to go with it.

This morning I was thinking about how the first word I’ve ever chosen for a full year, CAPABLE, changed me in a year that has changed me. 

In 2020 I learned that I am capable of creating a 3-hour online class on writing poetry for children (next class scheduled for July 17, 2021). I am capable of learning how to comb my hair backwards on Zoom, I am capable of learning how White-centered my thinking and teaching are and discovering how to change this, and I am capable of developing a Zoom-friendly wardrobe (red is my best color on Zoom). To my surprise, I am capable of embracing teaching online. (I sometimes feel closer to people online than people in real life...I think of all my Zoom friends, family and students as my Flat Stanleys.)

photo from The Flat Stanley Project

I am capable of running again (yay!), taking care of two hatchling tortoises and not killing them (we named them Meredith and Derek...can you guess what we watched from March through December?), capable of finding a most excellent dog-friendly cat, and capable of dusting off my picture book manuscript and working on it for 10 minutes a day.

I am capable of ordering stuff online I never thought I'd be ordering online, doing without a lot of stuff I don't need, enjoying online yoga classes to buoy my spirits, exploring weird neighborhoods in Los Angeles with my dog and/or my husband.

I am capable of embracing the chaos, embracing the unknown, allowing myself to collapse into a puddle of tears, redefining who I am, being filled with hope again. I am capable of  learning to understand racism differently.  Basically, I am capable of persisting.

So thank you, 2020. You and my word of the year have changed me. I am more willing to look up a video on how to fix something, read the directions more than once, or simply not be angry at myself if I can’t figure out how to do it the first time around. Rather than try once, give up, and ask someone else, someone smarter and more capable than me to do it, I may set aside more time to figure something out, or pat myself on the back and say, April, you’re Capable. You can do this. 

Thanks to you both, I tried longer and I beat myself up less.

I'll tell you the word I've chosen for 2021. But first, I'd like to bid a formal adieu:

ACCOLADE (draft)

by April Halprin Wayland


Good morrow, Noble Knight.

Please ~ rest your sword by the door;

come hither.



I have called you here at sunrise

to honor your heroic year of service

in a most trying time.



Your work has taught our people

how to be safe, develop grit,

and—as your name suggests—become capable.



Because of your exemplary service

to the palace, to the castle town, and to the world at large,

this kingdom hereby confers upon you



the highest order of knighthood in the field of language:

the First Ever Word of the Year

or FEWY.



Please kneel.



Retire now in leisure

and know that your steadfastness and pluck

has changed us forever.

poem(c)2021 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
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My word for 2021 is FOCUSED, a concept Carmela's post covered beautifully. I can't wait to see where it takes me.

Do you have a word for this day, this week, month or year?  So many of you do--please share them!

Be sure to check out this week's Poetry Friday deliciousness at Jone's!

posted by April Halprin Wayland with love from a house full of animals

Here's our brand-new very dog-friendly kitty, Gato: 

Unsinkable

Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald
Doctor Who, Wikipedia.
Copyright BBC

Welcome back to Teaching Authors!

Unsinkable. That’s the One Word that my friend (I will call her Clara) gifted me on New Years Day. The word means full of energy. Not able to be defeated or to fail. Synonyms include soaring and free. Buoyant.

According to the practice, the One Word Resolution brings clarity by taking all your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single focus. This one word centers on your character and creates a vision for your future. It acts as a mantra or guiding principle for the new year. The idea is focused around having a central word or theme to guide your actions or what you want to embrace.

I have never considered participating in the One Word Resolution. How can a writer choose just one word?

“Fear Makes Companions of Us All.” – Clara Oswald

2019 had been a challenging year. There have been many transitions, negative and positive.

You may recall in 2017, I separated from my dear agent. I had searched for years for the right agent, firing two agents along the way because they were not serving my best interest. Finally, finally I found the ONE. After five years, and the sale of my two historical fiction middle grade books, my agent decided to focus on picturebooks and so ended our relationship. Since then, despite many hopeful connections and queries, agents requesting revisions and promising possibilities, I have not been able to find a new agent.

Of course, I haven’t stopped writing. I did manage to sell my first graphic novel.

As Rachel Olsen, co-author of  My One Word: Change Your Life With Just One Word says, this word gives you a focus on how you approach all aspects of your life for this one year. It helps you determine the kind of person you want to become. A word can’t be broken. It serves as a reminder; a filter. It’s who you want to be instead of what you regret.

"Let Me Be Brave." – Clara Oswald

I have now transitioned into Medicare age, and am facing that dreaded process. It is not without it’s own wistfulness. I am the first one in my family to make it to this age. Both of my parents and my younger brother didn’t make it this far. I am the Last One Standing. 

 But I am still here.

And, of course, there are other challenges that comes with age. Loss of beloved friends. Loss of beloved companions. Disconnections and reconnections. Then there's Trump.

"Show Me the Stars." – Clara Oswald

I am teaching more classes at the MFA Creative Writing Program at Southern New Hampshire University. I have enjoyed several of Harold Underdown’s and Eileen Robinson’s Kid and YA Book Revisions online courses and workshops. It has kept my head in the game, and I have managed to finish two novels in the last two years and revised another manuscript, a potential series, now being reviewed.

All things considered, Clara did well in gifting me this word. Unsinkable. Thank you!

What is your One Word?

As you consider your One Word, here is my gift to you, Maya Angelou reading one of my favorite picture books, Life Doesn't Frighten Me.(illustrated by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Abrams Books, 1993)

-- Bobbi Miller

Starting the Year with Good News

Hello, all!

I'm happy to share some Good News in this, my first post of 2017:

I finally have a new novel coming out! 

My young-adult historical romance, PLAYING BY HEART, will be published by Vinspire Publishing this fall. The novel is set in 18th-century Milan and was inspired by the life of Maria Teresa Agnesi, one of the first women to compose a serious opera. The story grew out of my research for a biography of Maria Teresa's older sister, Maria Gaetana Agnesi, who is considered one of the first female mathematicians of modern times. (To learn more about her, see this website I created. You'll find a link on this page to a video featuring the music of Maria Teresa Agnesi.)

At its core, PLAYING BY HEART is the story of two sisters struggling to follow their true callings at a time when women had little autonomy. This is the same novel I blogged about in 2014. In that post, I shared about how the manuscript had done well in several writing contests, and even took first place in the YA category of the 2013 Windy City RWA Four Seasons Romance Writing Contest:

Isn't this the coolest plaque? Thanks Windy City!

Unfortunately, the editors and agents who read it all told me historical fiction is a "tough sell" in the young adult market. I set the manuscript aside and hoped the situation would change, as it often does in publishing.

Then, last March, I had the opportunity to pitch to an editor from Vinspire Publishing as part of the 2016 Catholic Writers Guild Online Conference (CWCO). The editor liked the pitch, asked to see sample chapters, and eventually offered me a contract. I'm currently editing the manuscript to prepare it for publication. (To read another Vinspire success story, see my Guest TeachingAuthor interview with A.J. Cattapan.)

While this post's title, "Starting the Year with Good News," happens to contain six words, it is not my six-word memoir for our current TeachingAuthor series. But my six-word memoir is closely tied to my good news, as you'll soon see.

Inspired by the forthcoming release of PLAYING BY HEART, I've decided to explore some new endeavors this year. These include:

1. Trying out a new software app for my e-newsletter. I sent out my first 2017 e-newsletter two weeks ago using MailerLite. I love all the great features I can take advantage of with MailerLite, but I'm having some compatibility issues with my website. I hope I can work those out. If you're a subscriber but didn't get the newsletter, please check your Spam folder. If it's not there, please email me via my website.
2. Expanding the content of my e-newsletter. In addition to publishing news and info about my writing classes, the newsletter now contains creativity tips. I hope the bonus materials will inspire my readers in their own creative endeavors. You can click here to read the first issue online. If you'd like to subscribe, see the right sidebar of my website.
3. Learning to use Twitter to connect with fellow writers and readers. I've been on Facebook a long time, and even have an author page there, but I've resisted Twitter because I didn't want another social media distraction. I finally broke down and activated the Twitter account I created years ago. You'll find me @carmelamartino. 
4. Presenting at an online conference. Last summer, I gave the presentation "Coping with Your Inner Critic" at the Catholic Writer's Guild Live Conference (CWCL). On Friday, February 17, I'll repeat that presentation for the 2017 Catholic Writers Guild Online Conference (CWCO). Fingers crossed that the technology will work the way it's supposed to! By the way: I recently learned (via Twitter!) that Vinspire Publishing, which usually accepts only agented submissions, will be open to pitches again at this year's CWCO. If you have a manuscript you think might fit their list (be sure to check them out first), consider attending the conference. For a detailed schedule and presenter bios, see the links on this page.
5. Trying out voice recognition software. I've been struggling with a painful wrist injury for months now that has been slow to heal. I recently bought Dragon Dictation in the hope of reducing my keyboarding. If any of you already use it, I'd love to know any tips/advice you have.
6. Making new writing friends. Since PLAYING BY HEART crosses multiple genres, I'm finding it helpful to connect with writers in a variety of organizations. I recently attended a local Romance Writers of America (RWA) chapter meeting. I'm also looking into the Historical Novel Society and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). If you belong to any of these organizations, or have others to recommend, let me know.

Given all these new endeavors, I'm a little worried about getting distracted from my writing. And that leads to my six-word memoir, which is my personal intention for 2017:

Staying rooted while sprouting new branches.

Here's to a successful year for us all!

Don't forget--it's Poetry Friday. This week's roundup is over at Violet Nesdoly/Poems.

Remember to always Write with Joy!

Carmela

6 Word Memoir ~ Fearlessly Looking Forward To The New Year!

Howdy, Campers ~

Happy New Year from all of us at TeachingAuthors! We are kicking this year off with a tip-of-the-hat to Smith Magazine's Six-Word Memoirs http://www.sixwordmemoirs.com/  More on this in a bit.

Thank you, Linda, for hosting Poetry Friday today. The link to PF is below, as is my small poem.

"The first and great commandment is: Don't let them scare you." ~ Elmer Davis

When I was young, my blood froze if I saw a spider across the room. I experienced sheer terror at the thought of a spider. When I was in college, I lived in a student co-op, with six guys and six girls. We were like a large family whose parents were gone for a very long weekend. We cooked and had dinner together each night—my kind of heaven. One of my first chores was to clean the downstairs bathroom. This was the University of California, Davis, originally an ag school, surrounded by fields and vineyards. So the Davis Student Co-op was filled with ...spiders. Of course it was. And the downstairs bathroom was apparently their party room.

How could I admit my phobia to my fellows? I could not. Instead, I made a sign that said "Charlotte," pasted it just under the big spider in the corner above the sink, and used a rolled up newspaper to send the rest to spider heaven. 

Charlotte?
credit: https://morguefile.com/creative/ardelfin

Every week I'd talk to Charlotte. I grew fond of her. With Charlotte's help, my phobia disappeared.

Fast forward to my life these days. I am afraid of a boatload of things--but not spiders. For example, I am afraid of earthquakes. So I volunteer with CERT, Community Emergency Response Team. We learn to rescue people. CERT turns neighbors into team members so that in an emergency we band together. This doesn't mean I've lost my fear of earthquakes, it means if there is one, I have a job to do, and a community of people who will help me do it.

More fears: I am a TeachingAuthor who is afraid of teaching...and of writing. Of teaching badly. Of writing something mediocre. 

I am learning to walk through these fears with the help of others who have gone before me, including our tiny village of TeachingAuthors ~ and all of you, our readers. Thank you.

This year? I am afraid for democracy. 

Sometimes 

I am terrified.

Fear, I'm told, is the opposite of faith. I have faith in my own resilience, in the basic goodness of the universe, in a village of courageous and smart friends and fellows along the way.

So, I've decided to copy many of you who, like Irene Latham, choose One Little Word (OWL) to guide them each year. My word for 2017 is Fearless. Every day I tell myself I am fearless and everyday I believe it a smidgen more. I love the whole community of words that I could have chosen, including unflinching, unafraid, defiant, gutsy, and audacious.

In fact, SixWordMemoirs.com is having a contest right now about hope in the new year which ends January 13th: Basically, "Tell us how you keep hope alive in six words." You can read the rules here.

#HopeIn6Words
by April Halprin Wayland

Breathe.

Hold hands.

Move fearlessly

forward.

photo credit: https://morguefile.com/creative/thelesleyshow

What is your Six Word Hope in this New Year?

Check out a host of Poetry Friday hopes at Linda's TeacherDance

posted by April Halprin Wayland with a heart full of hope (with help from Eli, Monkey and Snot.)

3 Software Tools for the New Year

Today I'm wrapping up our series on people/places/tools that help our writing by sharing three software tools I like to use. I don't have a poem today, but at the end of this post, I've provided a link to this week's Poetry Friday roundup.

1. Scrivener 

Some time ago, I mentioned that I was giving Scrivener a try. Some call Scrivener (from Literature & Latte) a word-processing program, but it's so much more--it's a powerful software tool for drafting, editing, and organizing all types of writing, including fiction, nonfiction, scriptwriting, and poetry/song lyrics. After taking advantage of their very generous 30-day free trial (which counts only actual days of use and not calendar days), I went ahead and bought a copy. Scrivener has many terrific features, but my two favorites are the Outliner mode and the Corkboard. Here's a snapshot of a sample corkboard from the Scrivener website.

Gwen Hernandez, author of Scrivener for Dummies (Wiley & Sons), shares what she thinks are Scrivener's Top Ten Features here. She includes the ability to set and track writing targets on her list, and I definitely agree!

If, like me, you're on a tight budget, before purchasing, be sure to do a Google search for discounts on the regular price, which is currently $40 for the Windows version. You can often find a deal. For example, Literature & Latte often sponsors a special on Scrivener in conjunction with NaNoWriMo.

2. Timesheet Time Tracker 

I've kept logs of my time spent on writing-related tasks for years, usually recording the data in a table in a Microsoft Word doc. For some of my freelance assignments, I put the data into an Excel spreadsheet that allows me to total the time automatically. With the new year, I decided I'd like an app that would not only allow me to track my time but also give me statistics on the percentage of time I spent per day/week/month on different activities. I researched my options by reading online articles on the best free time-logging apps (like this piece) and online reviews, and then tested a few of the recommended apps. I'm currently using Timesheet Time Tracker by Florian Rauscha. I found it easy to learn and use. I especially like that you can color-code both projects and tags. Here's a sample screenshot from their Google Play page:

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the Timesheet app, but the labels on the statistics charts are sometimes difficult to read, even on a 5" smartphone screen. I'm thinking an app that I can also use on my Windows PC may be better, so I've just downloaded Toggl to give it a try. (I read about it in this article.) Do any of you readers have a time-tracking app to recommend?

3. Habitbull 

While downloading new phone apps, I searched for one that might help me track some goals I've set for the new year and came across Habitbull. You can use it not only to record whether or not you meet a goal, but also to specify the number of times you do something or, if you're a writer, the number of words written in a day. I like that Habitbull includes the option to set reminders. And it lets you color-code, too! Here's a screenshot I found posted in this article on how to use it. (Note: the article is from 2014, so the instructions might not all apply to the current version.) 

 

How about you, Readers? Do you have any software tools you can recommend to improve our writing productivity?

Here are links to the other posts in this series, in case you missed them:

Esther started by telling us about Shaun Levin’s My Writing Life.
April shared a great 49-second video tip that's part of a series from UCLA Extension Writer's Program.
Bobbi wrote about mentors and inspirational writers.
April gave us a writing workout tied to the video tips she'd mentioned in her previous post.
JoAnn posted about the "pep talk" she received from reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic.
And Carla discussed some of her research tools.

Although Esther will blog about something new on Monday, I'll be back on Wednesday, 1/27, with a Wednesday Writing Workout that follows-up on today's post.

Don't forget to check out this week's Poetry Friday roundup over at A Teaching Life.

Happy writing!
Carmela

49-Second Poetry Prompt Guaranteed to Change Your Writing

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Howdy, Campers--Happy New Year and Happy Poetry Friday! Today's host and my (very odd) poem are below.

To start the new year--and we hope yours is copacetic thus far--we, at the brand-ndew corporate headquarters of TeachingAuthors, will each be offering a book, a tip, a tool--something which helps us read / write /create. 

The new corporate offices of TeachingAuthors.com

Ready? Hang on for the wild ride (or better: a wild write): Esther started us off in her post telling us about Shaun Levin's Writing Map, MY WRITING LIFE. Fascinating concept, sure to set your teeth on fire.

Today, it's my turn. As regular readers know, I've been an instructor in UCLA Extenstion Writers' Program since the invention of goat cheese. Recently, UCLA Extension Writers' Program invited its instructors to offer a writing tip in under one minute. The videos that have been filmed so far can be viewed here; more will be added as they're filmed, including mine--coming soon.

What's so cool about these is that when you're feeling parched, dried-out, and California-drought-ish, wondering what in heaven's name to write, or why the heck you think you can write, simply watch one of these babies and try the tip.

I especially like this 49-second tip by poet Rick Bursky. Could you do me a favor and watch it right now? Because what comes next assumes you've listened to him.

Okay--you've watched Rick? Thank you kindly.

So today's poem is the third draft of a poem inspired by his tip. It may not be for kids, it may not be much, but I was grabbing things from all over the internet and deep in the darkest corners of my brain, and man was it fun to write!

CHANGES
by April Halprin Wayland

Once upon a time, there was
a train came down the track faster than it was supposed to
its feet shoulder-width apart, 90 degrees to the target
but Froggy didn't feel like getting
a lawyer for Teresa Giudice, who was freed at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Ah, changes!
Ah, the ghastly smell of salmon which spoils so quickly in the refrigerator!
Ah, Old Dresser Redo, DIY Cloud Pillows, Easy Floating Shelves.
How we each, in our own little worlds,
carrot and stick,
the atmosphere of Mars,
water overflowing sidewalks of Hermosa Beach,
how we each change the world.

It's raining again
and there are mouse parts all over the house.
What has been your lollipop moment?
Have you thanked that person?
And they lived happily
A New, Easier Method To Use A Printer For Ink Image Transfers!
ever after

poem (c) 2016 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

TeachingAuthors hope our tips and tools will jump-start your writing year, Dear Reader. 

May this be your Year of Yes!

Watch for a related post on our Wednesday Writers' Workout on January 13th ~

Thank you, Tabatha, for hosting PF today at The Opposite of Indifference ~

posted by April Halprin Wayland with help from Eli, who was tearing up Mouse as I wrote the poem.

Eli swears he didn't do it

Dear Tomato & New Year at the Pier: Food and Forgiveness for Poetry Friday

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Howdy, Campers--happy Poetry Friday (link at the bottom) and happy home grown veggies to all! (Did you know that August 2-8th was National Farmers Market Week? Or that August 22nd is National Honey Bee Day and September 7th is National Acorn Squash Day?)

We're blogging about going back to school this round. Esther starts us off with a review of Kate Messner's book on revision, a useful and inspiring book; JoAnn writes about using repetition and how to Write a Poem Step by Step, and you can win her book of that very title by entering the latest TeachingAuthors' book giveaway (which ends tonight at midnight) Then Carla shows how to approach the familiar How I Spent My Summer Vacation essay as a non-fiction writer, and Mary Ann tells us the story behind her wonderful book, First Grade Stinks!

Now it's my turn. I'm here to suggest two very different books for this time of year. One about food, one about forgiveness...and the new year.

As the daughter of a farmer and the sister of a sustainable agriculture journalist, I was proud to be included in Carol-Ann Hoyte's latest anthology, DEAR TOMATO ~ an International Crop of Food and Agricultural Poems.  (Great title!)

This collection,with photographs by Norie Wasserman (wonderful cover!) includes poems about small gardens, free range chickens, bees, farmers' markets, fair trade, food banks, a poem that mentions Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, and more.

Any of these would be a wonderful topic for student poems, stories or a class discussion about food and farming.  And the remarkable Renee LaTulippe, at No Water River, has created what she calls "poet-a-palooza" about Dear Tomato. which includes videos of some of the poets reading their poems from this book. Many of the poems are by friends from the Kidlitosphere, including B.J.Lee, Mary Lee Hahn, Charles Waters, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Bridget Magee, Buffy Silverman, Stephen Withrow, J. Patrick Lewis, Elizabeth Steinglass, and I'm sure I've missed some others. This is the book I've been giving my neighborhood gardeners with whom I trade homegrown veggies.  

Here's one of my poems from the book:

           HOE OBSERVING THE FARMER

           by April Halprin Wayland
            .

            He knows a hoe.

            Never letting go.

            Holds me steady in his grip,

            lifts me up to rip against the weight of air.

            Then he pulls me back, bearing down,

            yielding to the power of the ground.

            Holds me steady in his grip,

            never letting go.

            He knows

            a hoe.

poem (c)2015 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

my father and mother on the farm

The second book, relevant this time of year is:

The Jewish New Year--Rosh Hashanah--is on September 13-15th this year, so now is a good time to read my picture book, New Year at the Pier--a Rosh Hashanah Story  illustrated by Stephane Jorisch. Here's Dial Books for Young Readers' summary:
Izzy's favorite part of Rosh Hashanah is Tashlich, a joyous ceremony in which people apologize for the mistakes they made in the previous year and thus clean the slate as the new year begins. But there is one mistake on Izzy's I m sorry list that he's finding especially hard to say out loud.

Humor, touching moments between family and friends, and lots of information about the Jewish New Year are all combined in this lovely picture book for holiday sharing.

Winner of the Sydney Taylor Gold Medal for best Jewish picture book of the year

Here are four ways to use New Year at the Pier with kids--and adults:
1) Use it to explain to students where absent schoolmates may be during the Jewish New Year.
2) Use it to open discussions about how to apologize and forgive.
3) Use it to show how other cultures celebrate New Year.
4) Give it to someone you’ve wanted to apologize to for a long time

Click here for more activities,and for New Year rituals around the world.

 And remember to enter our latest book giveaway (which ends tonight at midnight!)

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Reading To The Core--thank you!

It's been nice chatting with you today--thanks for allowing me to share ~ April Halprin Wayland

Book Giveaway & Writing Workout for Rosh Hashanah--What Writing Sins Will YOU Cast Away?

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The post below is refreshed and reprised from September 2013...the book giveaway of Barbara's picture book (about a slice of Golda Meir's childhood--and what an amazing leader she was even then) is NEW and ends September 26, 2014.

Howdy, Campers!

It's not Saint Patrick's Day, but we're lucky, lucky, lucky to open our doors and welcome Guest TeachingAuthor Barbara Krasner, who I interviewed last Friday, and who offers us her NEW picture book, Goldie Takes a Stand! A Tale of Young Golda Meir, to give away and a dynamite Wednesday Writing Workout for the New Year.

Feeling lucky? Enter our latest book giveaway!
Details on this post.

Here's Barbara...

...and here's the Writing Workout she's cooked up for us:

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, comes early this year and I’m glad. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on the past year and think about the coming year even before the leaves fall. I’m giving you a Rosh Hashanah challenge in three parts.

Part One: Rosh Hashanah, literally translated as head of the year, is a perfect time to think about the beginning of your manuscript. How many times do we hear that if we can’t grab the agent/editor/reader within just a few seconds, he or she will just move on to something else?

Ask yourself the following questions:

•    Do you have a compelling title?
•    Does your first line grab the reader? (My all-time favorites are from M.T. Anderson, “The woods were silent except for the screaming,” and from Kate DiCamillo, “My name is Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.”)
•    Have you presented the main character on the first page?
•    Have you presented the problem within the first page, the first chapter?

These questions apply to fiction and nonfiction alike.

What are YOUR first lines?

Part Two: The Rosh Hashanah holiday includes a practice called Tashlich, casting off our sins. The practice is exemplified in April Halprin Wayland’s New Year at the Pier (Dial, 2009), winner of the Sydney Taylor Gold Award for Younger Readers,  and the mother-daughter team of Susan Schnur and Anna Schnur-Fishman’s Tashlich at Turtle Rock (Kar-Ben, 2010).

My question to you: What writing sins will you cast off this year?

When I think about this for myself, I think about:
•    I will cast off my lack of organization – I will organize all those papers into folders with easy-to-read tabs and file the folders
•    I will cast off watching reality TV (TCM movies only) – I need more time to write
•    I will cast off working on a gazillion projects at once – I will focus on one genre at a time, and right now, that’s poetry, and okay, picture books
•    I will cast off reading several books at once – I commit to reading a book fully before moving on to another.

You get the idea. What will you cast off?

Part Three: Here’s a prompt you can write to: Recall a Rosh Hashanah (or New Year) scene from your childhood and write about it. Who was there? Where were you? What action and dialogue took place?

Thank you so much for your three-part Rosh Hashanah writing challenge, Barbara, and for mentioning my book (blush)... shana tovah!

posted by April Halprin Wayland

Focusing Fifteen Minutes a Day, and a Downton Abbey Poetry Reference

Today I continue our One Thing for 2014 series, in which we talk about one thing we want to do more (or less) of this year to support our writing. I'll also provide information about a contest for young writers. And at the end of today's post, in honor of Poetry Friday, I'll share a snippet from a poem I discovered in an unusual way--via this week's episode of Downton Abbey.

My One Thing for 2014:
I could really relate to what Esther said on Monday about putting other responsibilities ahead of her writing. I've been wanting to start a new novel for awhile now, but I've allowed myself to be distracted by other responsibilities, including freelance work and finding new teaching venues. I figured I needed long blocks of time to tackle something new. Then, last September, I participated in Laurie Halse Anderson's Write Fifteen Minutes a Day (WFMAD) Challenge and I discovered something important: you can get A LOT done in 15 minutes! And often, that 15 minutes magically stretches out into 30, 40, even 90 minutes. Unfortunately, I fell back into old habits during the holidays, putting off my FUN writing (as April calls it) to focus on other things again. Unlike Esther, I've been doing plenty of writing, including drafting a work-for-hire project, crafting query letters, and revising my YA historical romance (which, I'm happy to report, recently won the YA category of the Windy City RWA 2013 Four Seasons Contest). I just wasn't working on the new idea that was calling to me.

image from doctor_bob at morguefile

So my One Thing for 2014 is to Focus Fifteen Minutes a Day (FFMAD) on my new project. I've been actually setting a timer and keeping a record of my time spent. While I did miss a day this week, I am making progress. My new mantra: Slow Progress Is Better Than No Progress. And now that I've put my goal in writing for all the world to see, I hope to be even more consistent. J

So what's your One Thing for 2014? A few of our readers have been sharing theirs via the comments and emails. Perhaps if you share your intention with us, it will help you follow-through, too.

A Contest I Learned about this Week:
This week I learned about the Listen to a Life contest, sponsored by the Legacy Project. Students ages 8-18 are invited to:

"Travel through time as you interview a grandparent or grandfriend about their life experiences – you may be surprised by what you learn! Then, submit a 300-word story to send a message around the world and into the future." 

Teachers, why not encourage your students to participate? Entry deadline is March 28, and the contest is open to residents of U.S. and Canada. For details, see their How to Enter page.

A Poem for Poetry Friday, Courtesy of Downton Abbey:
I'm a big Downton Abbey fan. I have to admit that this week's episode was a real downer. (Episode 2 of Season 4.) However, one highlight was a brief reference to a Christina Rossetti poem. If you haven't seen the episode yet, you can watch it online. About 27:40 into it, Maggie Smith, in her role as the Dowager Countess of Grantham, says the last two lines of the sonnet "Remember." Not recognizing the poem, I went in search of it, and found it on the Poetry Foundation website. You can go there to read the whole poem. I'll share only the last 6 lines here.

               from Remember
              by Christina Rossetti
          . . . 
          Yet if you should forget me for a while
                   And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
                   For if the darkness and corruption leave
                   A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
          Better by far you should forget and smile
                   Than that you should remember and be sad.

Now it's time to check out all the other great poetry in today's Poetry Friday round-up over at Keri Recommends.

Happy Writing!

Carmela

POV: Greg Pincus' Wednesday Writing Workout & One Thing for 2014

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Howdy Campers! 

It's time for TeachingAuthors' first WWW of 2014!

Starting this year, we're cutting back a bit: we'll be featuring WWWs just once or twice a month. Why? It's our collective New Year's Resolution so each of us has more time to...W R I T E.

In fact, in our cozy TeachingAuthors's treehouse lounge this month,we're each sharing One Thing for 2014 to support our writing. Just One!  What a fine idea.

JoAnn talks about "developing fresh ideas while kneading, baking, and eating fresh bread" (yum!) while Esther plans to spend the first hour of her writing day (at least) living inside her own heroine's story--before she edits her students' work.

Me? I resolve to...wear more fun earrings--not just the default pearl studs I've worn forever.

Wait--what? A resolution about my writing?  Oy--it scares me to make a resolution about my writing.  What if I never actually do it?

But maybe I can make a teeny resolution.  Just One Thing.  Baby steps.

Okay...deep breath.  I'm going to focus on writing what's fun to write, whether it makes sense for my career or not: picture book, adult article, poem for kids or adults. 

And now...it's Wednesday--time for our guest author WWW!

In case you missed it, author Greg Pincus stopped by for a fabulous chat a few weeks ago about his debut novel, The 14 Fibs of Gregory K  and promised to come back with a writing exercise for you...and here it is!

No!!!! Anything But That!
A Prompt from a Different Perspective
Writing Prompt Thingee
by Greg Pincus

Playing with different perspectives can be a lot of fun as a writer...  but putting yourself into another person's mind can also be daunting.  One way to simplify that is to eliminate the other person and instead take the perspective of something inanimate. 

So... look around you right now. What do you see?

An apple? A pencil? A window? The floor?

morguefile.com

Whatever it is that you saw has a purpose in our world (a window can be to see through or serve as for decoration, for example) or is used by humans in some specific way or another (we walk on a floor; we eat an apple).

The writing workout is to write from the perspective of what you saw... and tell a story that will prevent a person from using "you" in the way we usually would.

For example, here's me as an apple...

morguefile.com

...who doesn't want to be eaten:

You can't see it, I know.
But a worm's just below
My glistening skin.
So when you bite in,
You won't get a crunch
But rather you'll munch
That poor worm's guts and pieces
And the gunk it releases.
Yes, I expect if you ate me
You'd expectorate me.
So please leave me be.
Go try cookies and tea.

poem © 2014 Greg Pincus. All rights reserved

morguefile.com

While this is a poem of simple couplets, the prompt can work as the way to start a  persuasive essay or as a way into perspective taking in poetry or fiction or, really, any sort of writing.  Unless, of course, the object you see is an essay and it tries to convince you NOT to write an essay. Then, well, who knows what happens?
Thank you, Greg--this sounds like fun!  I can hear my earrings talking to me now...

Readers: what object is calling you?  What is your One Thing for 2014? Fess up!

posted by April Halprin Wayland.

Of Geese and Ganders and New Year's Resolutions...

The truth is,
I don’t need to spend hours kneading dough to think of that One Thing that would make a difference in my writing life this year.
I know it and I’ve known it throughout 2013.
I must begin each day living inside my stories.

                                                          (Morgue Files, Jim Munnelly)

There’s no getting around it.  Once I’m caffeinated, and even sometimes before, all of me writes best in the day’s early hours.
Usually at my desk, in my writing room,
or on the couch,
or in my bed,
but always, at my keyboard.
That’s my M.O.
It works because I work best first thing in the morning.

This past year, IMHO, I continued to do my best work in the a.m.

I eagerly arose to dig into stories, except and alas,
they were the stories of the writers I teach and coach.
Which wasn’t all bad, because, to my delight, as my teaching and coaching plate overflowed, so did my Gratitude Journal.
In 82 lifetimes I’d never come to know the fine people with whom I've worked.
My writers allow me to give everything I’ve got.  They keep me sharp.  They make me smart.
But I was so caught up living inside their stories first, investing in their characters, their plotlines, their hopes and hearts, all in the name of telling their good stories well,
sadly my Heroine sat last in line, waiting.  

She was patient at first.

But this past year, as I wrote notes and narratives and follow-up emails for and to my writers, as I shared tools and shortcuts and hard-gained wisdom, she whimpered and whispered, then heaved heavy sighs.
She scratched at my insides, poking, pinching, finally punching come Fall.
“You promised me you’d tell MY story to the World!” she scolded.  “You can’t break your promise!”

So this year, I’m keeping it.

I’ve now spent at least the first hour of the past thirteen days living inside my Heroine’s story.
I'm re-reading first drafts, re-viewing revisions, re-visiting notes and my Writer’s Journal. 
I’m creating a GPS of sorts for my final revision - singling out Turning Points, re-weaving subplots, ordering scenes, layering plotlines, reconsidering motives, short-handing themes, summarizing the story, readying my pitch.
I’m working hard, doing everything I tell my writers to do.
And THEN I go on to live inside their stories.

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

 

                                                   (Morgue Files, emlyn)

I’ve even returned to an earlier writing practice I used with each of my books: falling asleep with my story on my mind so it’s there in the morning, waiting with the sun.

Here’s to new days and (hopefully) new ways!

Esther Hershenhorn