National Poetry Month--I Don't Get It.

 It's National Poetry Month.

It's my turn to post, and National Poetry Month is my topic.

I  am the least qualified of the TA's to write about poetry.

I don't write poetry.

I don't read poetry (much).

Poetry intimidates me.

I don't understand most of it.

I am in awe of those who can take small moments, and turn them into a perfectly realized epiphany, complete with symbolism, metaphor and sometimes rhyme and meter.

Alas, I am not one of them.

What follows is in no way an indictment of teachers or teaching, past or present. I am just sharing how I came to fear poetry.

I had some Old School elementary teachers who believed that memorization was a way to exercise mental muscle. Every Friday, each student was required to deliver, from memory, a poem of at least eight lines (the longer the better). This showed up on my report card under the subject Oral Expression.  Seriously.

I am a great memorizer, and memorizing something with rhyme and meter was as easy as turning on the TV. Not only were there the Friday Recitations, there were pieces the entire class was required to learn. The opening of "Hiawatha." "Paul Revere's Ride." All four verses of  "The Star-Spangled Banner." (The other three don't scan nearly as well as the first.) I remember all of them.  (To liven up college frat parties, I would recite "Hiawatha" in under a minute. A real party animal.)

Yeah, I loved poetry.  Until I was asked to write it. For a grade. And it had to rhyme.

It was the only time I can recall hating a writing assignment. I couldn't rhyme. If it was haiku, I couldn't come up with the right number of syllables. I couldn't think in terms of "small moments." My mind was all about fiction. Big pictures. Epics.

In junior high, some warped being in the state office of curriculum decreed that seventh graders would spend six weeks with "The Courtship of Miles Standish" and eighth graders with "Evangeline." If there was anything worse than a short poem I didn't understand, it was a long, narrative poem that was BORING (to a twelve-year-old.) Somebody In Charge had a thing for Longfellow.

From "Evangeline," it was on to those pithy nuggets in my high school literature book. Amy Lowell's "Patterns."  "Auto Wreck" by Karl Shapiro. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" still gives me nightmares. I didn't understand the metaphors. I couldn't see the symbolism. The words sat on the page, leering at me, refusing to yield their secrets.  Never in my entire life, had I felt so incredibly dumb in a literature class.

I didn't get it. I just didn't get it!


I am pretty sure I was the only teenage girl who didn't write poetry. Novels, short stories, essays....yes. Poetry, no.

I have come to appreciate a few poets today. I love the work of my fellow TA's. I  love the verse novels of Karen Hesse, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Ron Koertge, Nikki Grimes, Ellen Hopkins. I love them so much that I have been trying to write my own verse novel.  For the last ten years.

I guess I am still intimidated by verse, rhyming or not.  Maybe some day...

But for now, Happy Poetry Month!

Mary Ann Rodman

Waiting Out the Storm Part 2: Acceptance to Publication and Beyond + National Poetry Week + International Children’s Book Day + Book Giveaway winner!

Wow! We’ve got a lot to cover today. First, a continuation of my previous post about Waiting Out the Storm.

After my manuscript was accepted, Candlewick Press generously involved me in the search for the right illustrator by sending me samples of possible illustrators’ work and asking for my opinion. I loved them all! Several illustrators turned the project down, though: one was too busy, one was working on her own books, one had recently illustrated a book with a similar theme. At one point, we discussed the possibility of making the characters animals instead of people. Finally, in April 2007, a year after the manuscript acceptance, Susan Gaber accepted the illustration project.

I pored over her portfolio online. Her work was gorgeous, luminous, perfect, and absolutely worth the wait.

And then I waited some more, trying not to be too anxious about what I knew had to be a time-consuming process. In the meantime, I revised the manuscript, cutting the text from 363 words to 311 in March 2008. The first sketch dummy was due that April, and the final artwork would be sent to the printer the following spring. My editor regularly sent me copies of updated art; I carried them around with me so I could show them off. When I received my first author copy of the finished book, I cried. Even though Federal Express had bent it in half, it was the most gorgeous book I’d ever seen.

As Jeanne Marie mentioned, the Washington Post gave Waiting Out the Storm a lovely review. I’ve posted it and several others (including a starred one from Booklist!) on my web site. I’m thrilled that Waiting Out the Storm is receiving such positive responses, and I’m thoroughly enjoying reading it to children in schools and libraries.

April is National Poetry Month. (Read all about it here.) Our own April is celebrating by taking part in the Poem-A-Day Challenge, writing a poem every day and posting them all here.  (Good luck, April! As my husband says, break a pencil!) Feel free to post your own encouraging comment.

Finally, today, April 2, is International Children’s Book Day—a fitting day, I think, to announce our raffle winner. Ticia was chosen at random from the qualifying entries. She will receive an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm. Congratulations, Ticia, and thanks to all who participated!

JoAnn Early Macken

Time-out!

First off, I love teaching.
Students. Teachers. Student Teachers.
Children. Adults.
Writers Young and Young-at-heart.
I live-and-breathe seeding and feeding my students.

But you know what?
Sometimes the teacher needs (re)seeding and feeding, too.

Chalk it up to Winter winding itself down, but, oh, how ready I was this meteorologically-uncertain month of March to sit and learn at the feet of another.

How lovely of the Illinois Reading Council Conference to provide the perfect faculty March 18th through the 20th in downstate Springfield.

Starting with my fellow Teaching Authors, of course, in our most energetic Writing Workshop the conference’s first day, closely followed by the participating teachers-turned-students in my Reluctant Writers hands-on writing project.

Next on my agenda?
Author, educator and friend Dr. Steven L. Layne’s SRO presentation, “Steve’s Top Writing Tips for Grades 3-8.”
How refreshing, how affirming, to hear another teacher bring his passion to the writing practices I live and model.
It was Steve’s spot-on delivery, though, that had the Presenting Author in me making mental notes.
Steve’s door greeter personally handed each entering teacher a bookmark that pictured all of his book covers as well as his website.
Next, Steve himself walked the room’s center aisle personally introducing himself to as many attendees as possible.
And, not to worry about the hand-outs that accompanied his organically-ordered and organized talk. Just visit his website, click on Resources, then “Hand-outs.”
We sat back, engaged, eager to learn.
Teachers left ready and tooled to teach writing.
I left especially inspired to implement Steve’s presentation practices.

“Eat, Prey, Lick: A Story about Love and Furballs” might not seem like an appropriate after-dinner talk for a roomful of teachers gathered to honor Prairie State Award Winner Laurie Lawlor.
But trust me: as presented by Judy Byron Schachner, author of the popular Skippyjon Jones books, it was.
Again, I mentally ooh-ed and ah-ed-ed listening to Judy tell her story via her books. She was brutally candid, revealing, authentic, humorously intertwining her children’s real-life stories, their fantasies and pets, her family’s story, the lives they shared.
One PowerPoint image remained on the screen as Judy made her way across her career and the ordered book covers that attractively bordered the bottom of the slide.
Could/would/should I do the same one day?
Whichever the answer, Judy’s presentation was an award-winning How-to.

It was my Friday visit to the Abraham Lincoln Library, to research the subject of my current picture book biography, that reinforced why I became a teacher.
I was a student first, albeit long, long ago, a student who loved the act of learning.
And there I was, a former fifth grade teacher, serendipitously surrounded by Springfield’s Isles School Fifth Graders also using primary documents to research the lives of Illinoisans who lived in Lincoln’s time!
Their zeal, spirit and acquisitive minds buoyed me.
My subject turned out to be ten-year-old Kelsey’s, too.
I shook my head, smiling, taken by the wonder: I was sharing texts, newspaper accounts and court documents with a fellow student and (hopefully) future reader.

I trained home to Chicago that night, recounting my learning.
By the time I reached Union Station, I realized I’d been sufficiently re-seeded and appropriately fed to successfully take on Spring and its offerings - school visits, Teacher Workshops, Young Author Celebrations, the manuscripts of my talented writers.
Thanks to my much-needed, well-timed Time-out, I’m once again a TeachingAuthor!

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.
Don't forget to post a comment by 11 pm Thursday to win a free copy of JoAnn Early Macken's gorgeous Waiting Out the Storm!  Click here for details.

Write, Revise, Repeat

Congrats to our own JoAnn Early Macken on the fabulous review of Waiting Out The Storm in The Washington Post this weekend.  (She might be too modest to mention it, but I am not!  She also happens to be in excellent company.)  If you'd like to win a copy of this terrific read-aloud for young kids, post a comment here by 11 pm Thursday, CST.

Thanks to Mary Roy for the following question:

"I am writing a children's story for the first time. I've published articles in local magazines and special sections, but not yet a book. I am starting at ground zero with this story. I feel that I probably need a class. For certain I need direction, and that's really what I'm asking for. Where should I start? How do I develop the basic story into a charming book for children?"

Mary, this is a question that bears repeating and is something I still ask myself all the time.

One good place to start is this post by Esther Hershenhorn.

I will echo her sentiment that one of the most important things to do is read, read, read.  Study what's out there.  Has a topic similar to yours already been covered in a published work?  How did other skilled writers solve the same problems you face in your own writing? 

I like to visit the bookstore (support indie bookstores!) and see what's new -- what books are being marketed heavily, which ones are facing outward, etc.  It is always fun to find a friend's book on the shelf and give it a little marketing boost by making its place more prominent. :)

Bear in mind that what is trendy today (hello, vampires) will almost certainly be well on its way out by the time anything you write now could be published in, say, two to three to four years. 

I also go to the library.  They might not have the best selection of what's new, but they almost always have the classics.  Check out the works of Esme Raji Codell and Anita Silvey for books every children's author should know.

Google is also my friend, and I often search on http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.indiebound.com/ for card catalog-type information so that I can get a general sense as to what books are "out there." 

Do you know whether you are writing a picture book, a middle grade novel, or a YA?  Do you have characters in mind?  Plot?  Beginning, middle, end?  I find it hard to begin writing until I have a somewhat solid sense as to all of the above, even though these elements may change significantly in the writing process.  There are so many ways to go about fleshing out a story -- of course you have to find what works for you.  You already have good writing habits, or you would not be a published author.  You will likely find that many of these habits apply to writing fiction as well.

When I write mystery novels and soap operas, I outline.  In fact, all TV writers and screenwriters outline (or write treatments, as they're called).  Many novelists, on the other hand, like to be surprised by the twists and turns that ensue along the way.  There is, of course, no right or wrong way to do it -- just do what works for you!

GET A DRAFT.  That is the most important thing you can do.  Then, finally, the real work begins -- revising.

You mentioned that you think you might need to take a class.  Many of us have our MFA degrees in writing for children.  Assuming you don't want to do something quite so hardcore, you can try to find a class at a local college, where non-credit courses in writing for children are often offered.  Online courses are another great idea. There are a number of excellent courses taught through UCLA Extension and http://www.mediabistro.com/, for example.

Workshopping your manuscript is important.  That said, "clicking" with your teacher/mentor is crucial to a productive experience.  Writing is, obviously, highly subjective.  If you get feedback that doesn't speak to your heart, you don't have to take it; but if you find yourself getting the same feedback from multiple sources, then of course it's time for another look.

You may be able to find a local critique group through SCBWI.  If you find one that you like, you're golden. :)  If you find one that you hate, a break-up may ultimately be in order.

Revise, revise, revise.  How will you know when your pride and joy is ready to submit?  You might not.  You are too close to your own work.  Seek input from other seasoned writers.  Attend conferences.  Hook up with editors.  Network.

Good luck, and please keep us posted. 

And if anyone wants to start an online group, let me know -- I am desperate to find one! -- Jeanne Marie

Waiting Out the Storm, Part 1: Inspiration to Acceptance

My brand-new picture book Waiting Out the Storm was released by Candlewick Press this month. Yippee! My generous fellow Teaching Authors offered to organize a series of brand-new-book interviews like we did for April’s New Year at the Pier (starting here) and Esther’s S is for Story: A Writer's Alphabet (starting here). But spring is a busy time for me—especially this year! School visits and teaching fill up my days and nights in March and April. So I’ll write this week about the beginning of the process and continue the story in next Friday’s post. In the meantime, you’ll have a chance to win an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm. See the Giveaway Guidelines link below. I’ll post the winner next Friday.

Waiting Out the Storm began as a need to do something in response to the terrible events of September 11, 2001. Like many other writers during that time, I had trouble focusing on my work. I was wordless. I couldn’t stop thinking about the children affected by the tragic events, and the only thing I thought I might do was try to offer some comfort. But how?

I couldn’t write about terrorism. Not only did I feel it was not appropriate for the audience, but I knew I wasn’t equipped for such a task. A thunderstorm seemed a common childhood fear that symbolized a vague threat but that parents could explain and reassure children about. I’d write about a storm.

As for each of my books, personal experience went into the creation. Years before in Florida, I’d heard our friend Susan call her baby son “Buttercup.” I'd saved the memory of that delightful name, and I used it in the book. I researched animals, played with rhythm and rhyme, and kept trying to focus on my goal of providing comfort to children during a difficult time.

Between September 2002 and June 2003, I submitted the manuscript five times. Even though the rejection letters included positive comments, they still stung. One said it “felt too sentimental.” Another called it “not quite special or unique enough.” Ouch! I still cringe when I read them.

What did I do next? I put the manuscript away. I must have been discouraged. I kept writing, though. I  submitted other manuscripts.

I pulled out Waiting Out the Storm again to submit to our 2005 SCBWI-Wisconsin fall retreat. There, I had the great fortune of receiving a critique from a Candlewick editor, who gave me suggestions for improving the manuscript and said she’d be willing to look at it again after I revised it. I felt so hopeful!

With help from my brilliant writing group, I revised the manuscript over the next few months and resubmitted it in January 2006. We returned from a canoe trip that April to find a message on the answering machine from the editor, who said she’d like to offer a contract. I'll always remember the thrill!

For a chance to receive an autographed copy of Waiting Out the Storm, read our Book Giveaway Guidelines. Then enter our drawing by posting a comment to today's post that includes your name and e-mail address. I'll continue the story of Waiting Out the Storm and post the winner next Friday.

JoAnn Early Macken

Recap of Our Live, In Person, Teaching Authors' Workshop

Last Thursday, five of the Teaching Authors were gathered together as April posted live from her hotel room at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield, Illinois. As April reported in that post, earlier in the day:

"Two magical, amazing and very smart professors from DePaul University--Roxanne Owens and Marie Donovan--introduced us and moderated our workshop, called Flabby to Fab-y: Writing Workouts to Shape Up Your Curriculum."

In case you weren't there, here's a recap of our presentation, which focused on the theme of exercise (inspired by our Writing Workouts): For the first half of our double session, we discussed common questions related to the five stages of writing:

Warm-up:   How do you prepare students (and their classroom) so they live and breathe and see themselves as WRITERS? (Esther)
Stretching    How do you help students generate/find ideas? (April)
Strength-training   How do you help students shape their ideas into compelling stories? (JoAnn)
Cardio          How do you help students find/create voice for the story? (Mary Ann)
Cool down   How do you motivate students to revise? (Carmela)

 Here's Esther, describing how to create an environment for growing young writers.

Then, for the second half, we offered "Personal Training" small group sessions with individual TAs. The attendees practiced hands-on activities to address these questions:

Esther:   How do you help motivate/engage reluctant writers?
April:      How do you help students discover topics that are meaningful to them?
JoAnn:    How do you help students create believable, well-rounded characters?
Mary Ann:  How do you teach students to incorporate specific details into their writing?
Carmela:    How do you help young writers “go for the burn,” inspiring them to connect with their writing on a deeper level?

 Here's JoAnn, discussing characterization with her small group.

We sure made those attendees sweat! But, judging from the feedback we received, they really did feel "Fab-y!" afterward. Here are a few of the comments:

"Excellent presentation!"
"They should offer this again."
"Thanks so much! You've given me a step-by-step process I can take back to use with my students."
"I can't believe that was two hours--the time went really fast."
"You're all so enthusiastic; your passion for writing really comes through."
"You were obviously having fun."

We really did have fun, as you can see from the photo below.

From left to right: Mary Ann, Esther, JoAnn, Carmela, and April.

We're hoping this will be the first of many Teaching Authors' workshops. To facilitate that, we've added a new link at the top of our Web page, just below our logo. If you click on "Workshops and Visits," you'll see information regarding how to arrange a presentation by one or more of the Teaching Authors at your school or conference. Do check it out!

There's also another new link at the top of our Web page labeled "IRC 'Top Ten Questions.'" That takes you to a page featuring the questions we addressed in our presentation, along with links to corresponding Writing Workouts. (Sorry, I haven't had a chance to post the full ten questions yet, but hope to get to it soon.)

If you receive our posts via email, I hope you'll visit our Web site to see these new pages. And if you're a new visitor to our blog who would like to receive emails of our posts, please see the box in the sidebar labeled "Receive Our Posts Via Email." You'll also see other subscription options below that, including via Google and Facebook.

Finally, if you attended our IRC presentation, please post a comment here telling us what you thought of it. We'd love to have your feedback!

By the way, if you're wondering who won our last giveaway, see my post from Monday. And don't despair if you weren't our winner--you'll have a chance to win an autographed copy of the most recently published Teaching Author book on Friday.

Happy writing!
Carmela

Our Latest Giveaway Winner

We Teaching Authors are still catching up from being away at the Illinois Reading Council Conference last week. I'll report on the conference on Wednesday. Meanwhile, while we were gone, our Guest Teaching Author Johanna Hurwitz selected our latest giveaway winner:

Cheryl S of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Here's Cheryl's winning question, and Johanna's answer:

I have sketched out the main characters for my novel in my mind, but have yet to name them. I have determined the conclusion and have chosen the title. What do I do next? Where should I begin? Should I begin with a story outline? Should I concentrate on fleshing out my main characters? Should I mention that there are subplots?

Wow. You have a lot of questions and a lot of work ahead of you. Many writers prepare an outline before they begin writing. However, there is no rule. You already know your conclusion so you just have to think of a beginning and work towards that ending. Personally, I don't use an outline. I like to be surprised by my story just as if I was a reader. That's the way I work - I compare it to taking a trip and knowing where I want to go but leaving the map at home. That means I might get lost, I might waste time. But there will be surprises along the way and that's what makes writing fun for me.

Why don't you give your characters their names? (You can always change them.) They will seem more real to you once they are named. Then sit down and write. Nowadays with computers it is so simple to flesh out characters or make changes at any point. When I began writing (in the Dark Ages), I literally had to cut and paste my stories together and retype over and over. You are spared that but there is still a lot of work ahead of you. Start now or you'll never finish.

Good luck - you've already won a free book! (Cheryl will receive an autographed copy of I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Jokes, Tricks, and Switcheroos, edited by Johanna Hurwitz and featuring a story by me, Carmela Martino.)

Thanks again, Johanna, for sharing your wisdom with us. And thank you to all our readers who entered our contest. If you didn't win this time, never fear. You'll have another chance to win a new autographed book on Friday, when we celebrate the release of the latest TA book: Waiting out the Storm, by JoAnn Early Macken.

Happy Writing,
Carmela

Howdy From the IRC Conference!

Out and About!

Guess what?  Teaching Authors are PORTABLE! 

Today, five Teaching Authors gave a wildly successful workshop (I can say that, right?) at the Illinois Reading Council's 42nd annual Conference, and now we're schmoozing with teachers, attending banquets, and generally having a wild time.  Woo-woo!

Two magical, amazing and very smart professors from DePaul University--Roxanne Owens and Marie Donovan--introduced us and moderated our workshop, called Flabby to Fab-y: Writing Workouts to Shape Up Your Curriculum. 

As "personal trainers," we warmed-up, stretched, strength-trained, cardio-ed and cooled down the attendees...and then awarded them tres cool certificates of completion to hang on their walls with pride.

And yes...we really did teach them one actual physical exercise!  In the break-out sessions we taught hands-on writing exercises.

 

Spring in Springfield, IL is fabulous--wish you were here!

Out and About in the Clover-dash-Shamrocks!

I’m Out-and-About and in clover today, wheeling to Springfield, Illinois to join four of my five fellow Teaching Authors for our Workshop tomorrow afternoon Thursday at the 42nd Annual Illinois Reading Conference.

(And, for the record, I care little o'bout the variety of the three-leafed plants that surround me – red, black, white or otherwise, all of which can be classified as Shamrocks. My Chicago River’s flowing green today!)

Visit us Friday to view photos of our singular workshop we’re co-presenting with Dr. Roxanne Owens and Dr. Marie Donovan of DePaul University’s School of Education – “Flabby to Fab-y: Writing Workouts to Shape Up Your Curriculum.” Thanks to you, our readers, we’re able to focus on the Top Ten Teaching-Writing Issues Teachers Face Daily and ways Young Writers can stretch, flex and bend.

You can exercise, too, of course, by checking out this year’s Children’s Choice Book Awards list, a joint project of the Children's Book Council and the International Reading Assocation.  Each year publishers submit hundreds of titles for consideration by five teams of some 12,000 young readers from across the country. Share the voting opportunity which began Monday, March 15, with your students, children, grandchildren, library patrons - AND/OR - use the list to acquaint yourself with titles children already enjoy. We children’s book writers need to know The Best of the Best as determined by – drum roll, please – our readers.

Finally, please remember: 11 pm today Wednesday is the deadline for our current book giveaway of Johanna Hurwitz’s I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Tricks, Jokes, and Switcheroos.

Keep those insightful questions comin’!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Esther Hershenhorn

*Credits for photo
http://www.lycoming.edu/
http://www.rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress/