Search Results for: photo challenge

Thankful Thursday: I Love Libraries edition

 

Long before online libraries brought the literary world to our fingertips, the Orange County bookmobile made deliveries to my neighborhood. Every two weeks or so, the librarian would roll up to the curb and wave all the children inside. We’d squeeze together in the narrow aisle for story hour, and then she’d let us check out as many books as our little arms could carry. For lonely girls like me, that bookmobile was Heaven on wheels.  

 

In gratitude for that Bookmobile—plus all the bricks-and-mortar libraries I’ve enjoyed over the years—I’m participating in author Jennifer Hubbard’s I LOVE LIBRARIES blog challenge.*

 

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: For each individual who comments on this blog entry between now and 12:00 noon (PST) on 3/28, I will set aside $1.00—up to a total amount of $100.00—to help fill the library shelves at Girls Inc. of Orange County with books written by authors on my friends list. At a loss for words? Make a book recommendation. Or leave a note for participants in Girls Inc.—I’ll see that your messages are delivered.

 

Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold sm
 


Note: If a single person leaves 50 comments, that still only counts once! But you can rack up the total help spread the word by linking to this post and/or sending your friends here to comment. Note also: If you’re not a member of LiveJournal, please sign in as Anonymous (your comments will be temporarily screened). Tell me how you came by this entry…enquiring minds and all that.

*For a complete list of participating bloggers (and to link to other sites where you can help libraries just by leaving blog comments), take a peek at writerjenn’s post.  

ETA: I’m overwhelmed by–and very grateful for–everyone’s generosity! Since I’ve reached my goal, please consider adding comments to Sara Lewis Holmes’s I LOVE LIBRARIES blog entry. She’s supplying books to Flying Horse Farms, a camp for kids with serious illnesses. As well, you can connect with other I LOVE LIBRARIES campaigns here.
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Landing Gear

Megan planted herself in front of our yoga class, strong and tall as a Sequoia. “Come into Tree Pose with me,” she said. 

I tried to follow the teacher’s example, but my own body trembled and swayed like a Florida palm bowing to a hurricane. 

Amusement played in the corners of Megan’s mouth. She offered me some gentle guidance: “It’s difficult to find your way into the pose when your mind is focused on your internal chatter.”

I finally found my way into Tree Pose last Tuesday. I stood graceful and silent for a long while: mind, body, and spirit were one. Pure, unadulterated happiness. But when the teacher told us to release the asana, I was faced with yet another challenge. My arms flailed, and my legs buckled. I’d knocked myself off-balance again.

Megan’s voice was soothing, compassionate. Her eyes twinkled, and a smile danced in the corners of her mouth. “You’re always flying,” she said. “I invite you to work on your landing skills.” 

I wrote another chapter last week (rough but complete).  And then I realized my chapter summaries didn’t provide enough detail to guide me through the rest of the book to The End.

My confidence wobbled. I flailed and lost my footing.


But! I refocused and breathed my way through it.

 

First, I copy/pasted all my chapter summaries into a new document, and then I separated them with page breaks. Next, I added scenes and stubs to each chapter. Some, I’d already written; others came to me as I worked. I also added layers and texture. I’ve created a 78-page document (whoa, baby!) that is going to serve as my new-and-improved outline. Pure, unadulterated happiness.

 

I gotta be honest: It’s a hot mess. Many of the snippets are disorganized within their chapters. I’ve already noticed a couple of plot potholes, and the scene stubs are pea-gravel rough. But I now have a much better flight plan, and I can see the lights on the landing strip ahead. I know where I’m going, and I’m excited because I know I can get there.

Image credit: BuderimYoga and DancingTreeYoga

Friday Five

So much about the publishing world is a mystery, isn’t it? Just for fun, I’ve asked five “experts” to predict my writerly fortunes.

 


1. Will I make my debut book sale before I’m old enough to schedule my first colonoscopy?


Magic 8-Ball: Ask again later.
 

 


2. Will my dream agent and I form a partnership by the end of this month?


Fortune cookie: If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.

 

3. How about a sneak preview of my first book review?

 Bible Dipping: There the wicked cease from raging, and here the weary are at rest. Job 3:17


4. Is there anything I can do today to increase my chances of publication?

The Ace of Wands Tarot card: Your power today lies in initiation. You are a winner by virtue of your desire, belief, vision, and intention. You bring fresh inspiration into the world and are master of your domain. Your solution is found in creative transformation and you are empowered by your spark of life.



5. Any words of advice for me as I write this next chapter?

Scorpio’s horoscope: Your day is a bigger challenge than you may be used to, but of course you can rise up to meet it with relative ease. Try not to get too cocky about it, but make sure the right people know you’re still in the game.

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Let’s band together

Have you seen these purple bracelets? Just today, Oprah featured them on her show, but they’ve been popping up all over in the past couple of months. The brainchild of William Bowen (A Complaint Free World.org), these bands are a visible admonition to, as Gandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to wear a purple bracelet on the same wrist for 21 consecutive, complaint-free days. If you find yourself kvetching, gossiping or criticizing, you have to move it to the other wrist and begin again. 
“You will find that your entire life is happier, more loving, more positive and more abundant,” Bowen says. But wait, there’s more! He’ll send you a “Certificate of Happiness” if you quit yer whining for three weeks straight.

Sounds, um, challenging, doesn’t it? I’m not complaining, mind you, just musing. But hey, I’m game to try it, if you are. I’ve ordered 10 purple bracelets, and I’m going to wear one. I’m willing to mail out the other nine to LJ friends who want to join me in the challenge. We’ll blog about our efforts to fashion a complaint-free world, one purple bracelet and one day at a time. 

(Psst! If you’re not into public accountability, you can secretly order any number of them from the organization’s website.)

Act now! Quantities limited!

Last April, I blogged about the panel discussions I attended at the L.A. Times Festival of books. I liked a couple of sessions so much that I bought the DVD recordings. One that might be interesting to some of you is “Young Adult Fiction: Rites of Initiation.” I also have a very entertaining recording of Mitch Albom interviewing Frank McCourt. I’m happy to mail either one to you if you will, in turn, pass it on when you’re finished and/or make copies for other people who might also want to see them. First come, first served; I only have one copy of each.

(In cleaning up my office, I’m discovering all sorts of junk buried treasures! I seriously need to rent a dumpster hold a garage sale.) 

UPDATE: [info]artistq is the lucky first-round winner. She’s agreed, however, to pass them along to you when she’s finished. Interested? Send her an email at the address she’s provided in the comments.


Left to Right: John Green, Per Nilsson, Andreas Steinhöfel, and Markus Zusak

Can I get a witness?

Several of my writer friends are on pins and needles, waiting for word from editors, agents, critique partners…you name it.  

A close friend tricked me into reading GLASS CASTLES, austensibly as a diversion from my own waiting  “Here, read this instead of obsessing about submissions for THAT’S HAUTE,” she said, thrusting the memoir into my hands. “Seriously,” she added, “you need to write your own story next.”

The more pages I read, the more I’m thinking maybe, just maybe, I will write about my own childhood adventures as the daughter of a tent revivalist. There are good reasons to write such a book, and there are also drawbacks to taking on this challenge. I am not sure I want to put them into words right now, but I’m mulling things over and putting out a few feelers about the topic. 

[info]bostonerin

 offered to send me materials from an adult ed class on memoirs she teaches, but if you also have suggestions or feedback, I’d love to hear from you, too. I’m looking for outstanding memoirs as models, and I’d also appreciate your thoughts on the topic and recommended resources for writing in that genre. 

Image credit:

[info]lizjonesbooks 

created an artistic rendition of THAT’S HAUTE that includes this and other images from my childhood.

More Alike Than Unalike?

Maya Angelou once noted, “We are more alike than we are unalike.” Her words are a ray of hope in these troubled times. So over coffee this morning, I challenged myself to find similarities with leaders from across the political aisle. 

When I kept my focus on writing-related connections, I discovered two examples fairly quickly, despite an incomplete dose of caffeine.

1) President Bush’s press conference notes look a lot like my own draft outlines — absolutely unintelligible to anyone but me.

2) Secretary Rumsfeld’s verbal gymnastics bear striking similarities to the mental twists and turns I take while forming chapters from my notes:

“As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know, but there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”  Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

Yes, I know my reach across the aisle was a stretch. Regardless, I’m going to keep my emphasis on the positive today, looking for examples that support Maya Angelou’s encouraging words. First, I’ll pour myself another mug of coffee. I’m hoping that’ll help. 

She Who Stands for Something

When I was a little girl, my mother gave me her own version of the lemming speech. (You know the one: “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you follow them?” ) Except hers was more a challenge than a question. “If you don’t stand for something,” she warned, “you’ll fall for everything.”

This watercolor and poem hangs on my wall, a symbolic representation of that axiom. Unfortunately, the colors are muddied in this image, but the poem’s message is clear:

She Who Stands for Something

She chooses the purity
Of truth over popularity
…everytime.
Possessing the moral courage
To make her action consistent
With her knowledge
Of right and wrong,
She knows that the choices she makes today
Will shape her into the woman
She will be tomorrow. 

This woman’s life defines
Such words as love,
forgiveness, charity,
Service, compassion and godliness.
For she knows who she is
And what she believes. 

Her integrity is founded
On unswerving principle.
She is beyond reproach,
And her courage is unsurpassed.
As she carries the banner of truth,

Everyone knows
She stands for something. 

Today, the California Assembly passed AB 2165 on a 71-1 vote, including a provision for expedited delivery to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk. I’m feeling grateful and a bit overwhelmed by the symbolic value of this final vote. Like most people, I’m sometimes unable or unwilling to speak my truth. But on this issue, I’m very glad I took a stand. 

*Image and poem used with permission of artist and author Suzy Toronto. Take a look at her beautiful artwork and inspiring poetry here.

Food for Thought

The Los Angeles Times’ Festival of Books laid out a banquet of ideas for readers and writers alike — food for this book-lover’s soul. Here are several tasty tidbits I picked up from four sessions I attended, served up by the writers I heard. 

Frank McCourt in Conversation with Mitch Albom

Left to Right: Frank McCourt, Mitch Albom. McCourt’s on the big screen.


Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes, Teacher Man):
“Before you read a Faulkner sentence, wave goodbye to your family.”
“Students’ eyes tell you if you’re reaching them; on the other hand, for a writer, it’s only you and your words, at your desk.”
Mitch Albom: “I got numerous rejections for Tuesdays with Morrie. Several editors told me I didn’t know how to write a memoir, and [one editor] told me I didn’t even know what a memoir was.”
 
Young Adult Fiction: Rites of Initiation

Left to Right: John Green, Per Nilsson, Andreas Steinhöfel, and Markus Zusak

 

On writing:
Per “made up a lie that has become the truth” about his roots as a writer. He said he started writing so he could tell his kids who he was as a 12-year-old –- how he’d spent his time “walking aimlessly while daydreaming about being a hero, an idol, a secret agent.”  As well, he wanted his son to know how he coped when he “collided with the real world,” when metaphorical “lampposts sprang up out of nowhere.”
Andreas wrote three chapters of a novel at age 16. He quickly figured out that it was “terrible,” but “that realization proved I could be a writer, that I had a keen editorial eye.”
John says “I’m good at two things: telling lies and sitting. And that’s what a writer does.” John also said that 
*Looking for Alaska, in its Dutch translation, is called The Great Perhaps. That title wouldn’t work here, John says, because “Americans are not in the business of abstraction.” 
*Defining YA is dangerous business. It’s really a matter of where publishers think books will sell. Unfortunately, sometimes publishers underestimate kids. They’re not fools. They’re not going to take any rubbish.” 
*”It’s a false premise that every idiot can write for an undeveloped person. Writers need to have a good story.” 
*“YA novels grapple with important issues. They’re different from books written for adults in that they’re usually not layered in irony; [instead], they’re written in a simple, unadorned, serious, and thoughtful way.” 
Markus said, “The books I love transcend categories. That’s what I’m striving for.” He also said that “People never come up and say “I love your junior/fantasy/crossover young adult book. I don’t care what they call it; I just hope they compliment me on the story.”

 
On writing about death:
Per: “When you’re 16, you think about things, and you carry your 16-year-old the rest of your life. If you think about your own life, you can’t avoid thinking about death.”
Andreas: “It’s a great way to get rid of characters you don’t need any more. Every death means there’s a new beginning in store.”
John: “It’s extraordinarily likely that everyone in this room will die. Historically, it doesn’t look good for us. At 16, I was aware of mortality and frailty of this state we’re in. In the face of death, we can find and sustain hope.”
Marcus: “There’s no bigger story than death, so it’s natural that we end up there as writers sometimes.”
 
The challenge of plotting and character development:
Andreas: “I love chapter headings almost as much as John loves famous last words. I make long lists of chapter headings until I feel I’m ready to write.”
Per: Writing about contemporary teens “isn’t difficult” because “it’s about having an active imagination. I’m not writing about American Idol; I’m writing about feelings. Characters and situations come out of an active imagination.”
John: “My favorite part of writing is having written. When characters are alive for me, there’s nothing like it. I keep trying to get back to that feeling.”
 
Devil in the Details: Quirky Nonfiction

Left to Right: Veronica Chambers and June Casagrande

June (Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies) gave advice to punctuation challenged writers: “Only communicate via text message. No one will know you don’t know the difference.”
Martin (Oops: Twenty Life Lessons from the Fiascos that Shaped America): “Write from the inside out, rather than the outside in. Figure out what you want to say about the topic, and then begin to write.”
Veronica (The Joy of Doing Things Badly): “Consider first writing an article for a magazine, so you can show audience interest in your topic when you decide to write a book.”
  
Creating New Worlds: Young Adult Fantasy Writing

Left to Right: Margo Lanagan, Adam Gopnik, Cornelia Funke, and Moderator Denise Hamilton

Random thoughts:

Unanimously, the panelists recommended T.H. White as their favorite YA fantasy author. They gave their highest praise to White’s Once and Future King.
 
All four agreed that the publishing industry has a slight air of condescension about YA novels; however, the positive side of writing for this genre, they said, is that authors can develop an intimate relationship with a particular age of readers.
 
These panelists emphasized the importance of developing originality in voice and plot. They warned against the dangers of “patterning” that writers might pick up in a formal writing program.
 
On writing:
Adam’s son, aged 9, is his test audience. His response to the first draft of his dad’s latest book? “It’s cool, Dad, but could you just bring the cool bits a bit closer together?” This is a constant challenge a writer faces, Adam said; it’s what an editor might say. So that bit of advice from his son guides Adam’s writing to this day.
*“To be a successful writer,” Adam says, “you must translate the mental task into a physical task. Don’t ask, ‘Can I write magical books?’ Instead, ask, ‘Can I sit for __ hours and get ___ words down on the page?'”
*Adam says “It’s important for me that my books teach kids that the dignity of logic is greater than the glory of magic.”
Cornelia: “Fantasy allows a writer to take common problems and clad them in something else. This allows readers to see them much more clearly and perhaps deal with them in a more effective and interesting way.”
“YA fantasy fiction is sometimes entertainment engineered by publishers who want something written to formula.”
Margo: “A certain amount of composting of life that has to go on before you’re ready to write.” You’re a more effective and interesting writer, she says, if you have a variety of experiences that are not writing-instruction related. “If you rely too much on critiques and programs of instruction,” she suggests, “your writing becomes circular and stale.”

And from today’s LA TImes: “[If] publishers looked to their own childhood memories rather than a spreadsheet, they’d recall that young readers, more than any others, want to be transported and shown not just other lives but whole worlds utterly different from their own. Witness the wild popularity of fantasy and science fiction among the very same kids who display the very same sensibility in their choice of video games. What could be more dispiriting than going into your room in search of escape, solace or pleasure, opening a book and reading a story about someone just like you hemmed in by the same four walls?”

A Rosa Resolution

Rosa Parks arrives at the Montgomery, AL courthouse for her trial in the racial bus boycott. (Photo Credit: AP News)

When Reverend Al Sharpton spoke at Rosa Park’s funeral, I was touched by his tribute to her courage and legacy – and I was inspired by the challenge he laid out for the rest of us:

When we leave here, we ought to make a Rosa resolution. You ought to make one commitment in her name to yourself. You ought to resolve that you are going to do something that makes a difference because we’re here because she made a difference.

On March 21, I’m headed to Sacramento to fulfill my own Rosa Resolution.

I’m going to climb the state capitol steps; I’m going to haunt its corridors. I’m going to speak to State legislators about a matter of great personal significance, while also suggesting a better path forward for the people of California. I’m going to speak with a passion born of tragedy, outlining the importance of passing a bill I’m proposing.

You might reasonably assume that no school would want the black eye that comes of playing violent, convicted felons on their teams. Surely, no coaches would want to put themselves in this situation, given that they’d potentially endanger other students and college staff. And given the moral codes of conduct and eligibility requirements to which college coaches and athletes are bound, it logically follows that dangerous criminals would be scrubbed from team rosters.

But I know now that none of these assumptions are true. That’s why Assembly Member Jay La Suer (San Diego) agreed to author this legislation, and that’s why I’m making this trip.

This legislation has its origins in a traumatic personal experience. Namely, in late 2004, my son was a victim of a vicious and unprovoked assault by several members of a community college football team. He suffered significant injuries, for which he required major surgery and ongoing medical attention. Thanks to San Diego investigators and the District Attorney’s office, three of the thugs involved in the assault were identified, prosecuted, and sent to jail on felony convictions. And thankfully, my son has healed.

Nevertheless, we remain appalled by what we learned about the coach’s conduct in the aftermath of that felonious crime.  We are still upset about the hands-off, dismissive attitude we encountered when we approached the statewide commission on athletics, asking for their advice and proposing changes.

The actual assault occurred off campus and, speaking in purely legal terms, the college bore no responsibility for the actions of its athletes beyond their participation in school-sanctioned events. But when approached by a detective about the assault, the coach came to the defense of his players, telling the detective that the “spoiled white boys [victims] probably deserved a beating.”

Two of the three felons were arrested on campus, in front of the whole football team. This is a fact, confirmed by the football coach and the criminals themselves, in sworn testimony and other settings. The criminals eventually pled guilty to felony assault. This is not in dispute. But as they awaited their sentencing, at least two of the thugs were allowed to remain on the football team, playing game after game without penalty.  Coach Jordan’s team actually won the National Championship that year, carried to victory on the backs of convicted felons!

When confronted by the news media, the coach first denied playing at least one of them, and then said, “Maybe if they were my star quarterbacks, I would have paid more attention,” and “I guess I figured if they weren’t in jail, they were all right [to play].

To my shock and dismay, I discovered that Jordan wasn’t alone in his cavalier attitude. When we approached the statewide commission on athletics about the incident — questioning the coach’s conduct and his athletes’ ongoing eligibility–officials said that it was “up to each institution” to enforce the association’s moral codes of conduct and to monitor their rules for athletic eligibility. A spokesperson for the NCAA told me essentially the same thing.

This culture of complicity apparently made it easier for Coach Jordan to shrug off the charges leveled at his athletes, and to abdicate any personal responsibility. In citing this incident among others, the Los Angeles Times suggested that this wink-and-nod behavior is supported by a sports culture that promotes winning at any cost. But I refuse to accept the status quo, going forward.

And so it is that I’ve made this Rosa Resolution: I’ll work with legislators to create a law that governs athletes’ eligibility in similar circumstances. I’ll help pass a law that requires coaches and educational institutions to shoulder their responsibilities, instead of shirking them.  In taking the matter beyond my front doorstep and to the steps of the state capitol, I’ll do what I can to help protect all citizens from situations like the one my family experienced.

Assembly Bill 2165 would prohibit student athletes from participating as a member of any intercollegiate team, or as a participant in any intercollegiate athletic event if, after enrolling in a public California college or university they (a) are prosecuted as an adult and (b) are convicted of a violent crime, such as murder, kidnapping, robbery, battery against a sports official, assault with a deadly weapon, rape, burglary, or attempted murder. I’m going to work tirelessly, fighting with all my might to ensure its passage.

I hope my Rosa Resolution is one that would make her proud.

 

Edited to Add: WE DID IT!!