Friday Mash-Up: Ode to Banned Books

First to the biz - A very warm welcome to Elliot Grace who had a beautiful article on his blog this week about where inspiration sometimes finds us.

My daughter received a mini-education on banned books from the local librarian this week. She came away incensed; especially since some of her favorites showed up on the list. She actually had a lot to say on the matter. You know, the righteous indignation of teens on the precipice of adulthood. First amendment, parental responsibility & the minority vs. the majority were just a few of her arguments. I can't say I didn't agree with the ideas she presented; however, her supporting evidence came out a bit spotty. Ah well, all that righteousness clouding the wheels.

Anyways, I found myself on the incendiary plane of the Speak Loudly debate. My daughter loved this book. And, through this & a few others, she found a love of reading that will carry her throughout her life. That is after all the goal is it not?

So, I perused the list of the bamned & a shock wave befell when several of my childhood favs appeared.

Of Mice & Men
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 10th Grade panorama of the river scene got me an 'A+'
Brave New World
Blubber
Are you there God? It's Me, Margaret
Forever

Judy Blume & a highlighter defined my middle school years. I have very vivid memories of the secretive huddle, the giggles & the enlightenment (not that we would have admitted it or even understood!). In that short span of years, Blume, whose 'Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing' spoke volumes to me, sparked a new generation of readers.

I also saw several others that define different periods in my own children's development. Captain Underpants has never been my first choice in a literary lunch box, but my son loved them. And, they inspired him to turn pages. What more can a parent ask for? TTYL & TTFN are the signposts of the techno-communication era - and that is the current generation. My daughter & most of her friends will have fond memories of these.

Roni Loren did a review of 'A Wrinkle in Time,' one of her favs. Several people joined Laurie Halse Anderson in defense of 'Speak.'

Books are an emotional pin-prick to the soul. What is on the current reading list is indicative of where readers are - emotionally, spiritually, educationally, etc. Books shape & define our world view. They entertain. They rake us through the poignant range of possibilities. All books speak - LOUDLY.

Have you hugged a banned book today?

Happy Writing,

Patti

Training Days

When I began considering what I wanted to accomplish this week, I had no idea that I would be writing this particular post, but here she be.

My son is playing JV soccer this year. He is not the best ball handler, the fastest runner or the most aggressive. But, he is the best listener, hardest worker and most hungry.

Listen Carefully - Feedback is the currency by which we all live. My son's coach stopped us after the last game. He asked if our son had played before; mostly because he was pretty rough during those first few weeks of practice. He then told us, "If the rest of these guys listened as well as him, the team would be sooooo much better." As a parent, this gave me warm tingles. Holy cow! He listens, really? Uh, yeah, to other people.

When the coach gives instruction, when the goalie redirects him and when the rest of the team congratulate him - he listens with ears, brain and heart. He takes everything, rolls it into his personal program & piles it all together. He gets better every practice & every game because he doesn't filter it through his ego. As writers, pushing ourselves into the big, bad world, we have to chuck our ego at the portal. Think of it as our personal offering to the writing gurus. If we don't, we will fall flat with the first bit of criticism that comes our way & we will miss the gems of wise advice falling from the sky.

Hard Work is a REQUIREMENT - My son gets up every morning before school & goes on a run with us. He isn't always pleasant. Heck, I'm not always pleasant either! But, we do it. It started because he needed the endurance training piece. It has continued because we all see the benefits. Besides, I find it wakes my brain better than coffee. So sad.

After one game, a couple of the guys told our boy, "If you worked this hard in practice, you would be soooo much better." He agreed. Don't get me wrong, there was a litany of excuses. "Yeah, I know, but.... (insert excuse here)." However, this little realization has pushed him to work twice as hard as everyone else. His ball handling, speed & aggressiveness have all seen marked increases.

I know that I too need to increase in all of these areas. Craft handling, churning words & pursuing writing with the zeal of a panda at the bamboo preserve. These are my personal challenges.

Seven Courses, Please - Hunger. My son doesn't want to be the albatross of his team. He sat here a few nights ago telling us that his goal was to beat so & so. In all of my motherly wisdom, I said, "You are your own best & worst competition. The only person you need to beat is you." Isn't it great when we realize how valuable our advice is - to ourselves! (Refer to point number one here.)

So, he sat down last night & reviewed our tapes of every game. He pinpointed where he could improve, what worked for other players & how he could incorporate it. He learned from reviewing his own work on the field. Another course of study for his game play.

I have read darn near every book I can get my hands on when it comes to craft. I read copious amounts of work - both on & off the bestseller list; classic & contemporary. I have joined a critique group. I have a marvelous critique partner who pushes me outside of my box. I blog religiously - to learn & be learned. I read all of your blogs.

What does all of this have to do with writing contests? Do I want to be a one-hit wonder - yeah, no. Do I want to be prolific - you bet your sweet potato! How do I accomplish this - listen, work, eat.

Contests provide pinpointed feedback. Contests push us to stretch our writing marks. Contests are good with mustard - not really. Well, I could always use more fiber in my diet, so maybe. However, supplementing the writing diet with contests provides a different spice & hopefully some perspective & forward momentum.

So, my question to each of you: How do you apply the listen, work, eat trichotomy to your writing & contest life?  

Happy Writing,

Patti

The Write to Contest

Writing contests scare me. They do. The thought of be judged in such a way that makes my stomach pitch, my innards trail & my words feel superficial. However, I have decided to plunge into the piranha. I am finding that the benefits far outweigh the dings to my psyche. So, I figured I had better talk myself into it by first looking at what those benefits are.

Confidence - Putting yourself out there creates the building blocks of armadillo skin. And, writing contests allow you to construct the confidence you need to pursue your writing career. Not only that, you have to consider that we tend to labor in relative seclusion; our ideas & stories hiding away in our hearts, on our PCs or in the hands of beta readers, critique partners & critique groups. As we begin to widen the arena, we build confidence & skills. And it sure doesn't hurt to win, place or show either.

Tuning your guitar strings - Whether it's writing to a deadline, a topic/idea, or a word count; your writing is being honed through the contest exercise. Every word counts; every construct has to be solid. Contests allow you to whet the stones. They also permit you to showcase what you have learned. If you don't tune the strings, the melody will never be attuned to the words. Words & music - that symbiotic relationship to which we all strive.

Cue the audience - Contests allow for a variety of audiences to be entertained. In this regard, you are able to think outside of your normal pencil box. Genre, theme & audience differ from contest to contest; therefore, you are learning to stretch your writing muscles in order to compete on many levels. Runners don't run a marathon on day one and neither should we. Practice runs, endurance tests, speed bonuses. Don't forget the water stop.

Pub Cred - You know when you're sitting at your monitor, churning out those pin-prickling queries? You get to the credentials clause & what? Contests provide the gap in your bio - whether it's honorable mention or the golden ring. Sliding in with some bonafide credentials means you will be taken more seriously. And, who doesn't want some of that cake? I'll take two, please!!

Writing contests provide a multitude of benefits. Practice, honing, nails - I feel a carpenter metaphor somewhere in there. So, here's the question: What benefits do you believe are most important? And, are you considering any contests this year & next?

Happy Writing,

Patti

For Why Dost Thou Blog?

A blog is a medium for reaching those outside of our own microcosm. Communities are formed around an area of interest & we are all an integral part of that evolution. We all read & hear about blogging as a chink in the platform armor. And that plays a vital role in our reasons for tripping the keyboard blogosphere. But, there are other reasons that we engage in the rote of this medium.

Building Blocks - Research, write, report. Rinse & repeat. There are so many topics to cover under the heading: Writer, that each of us brings a unique perspective, a new piece of information, even new methodologies. We build conglomerations of information dispensed in our own individual voices. We are creating a wealth of knowledge that translates into the cyber realm. And that is how we, as individuals, build a credible body of online work.

Shtyle - Everyone has their own style. It permeates every facet of our lives. The blog allows us to experiment with different elements of our writing which culminates in an overall style with which we are comfortable. Holy cow, that was a long sentence. Not my standard cup of black & swirly. But, I do get a chance to play with the different elements.

Under Construction - Maintaining an online blogging presence provides a road map to readers, writers, editors, agents, magazines, etc. If you blog it, they will come. Whether it's your WIP, a book promotion, or just getting your name out there, blogging provides a stage that brings people together. Blogging provides the map, you determine the scenic detours.

Now, jog in place - Practice. Blogging keeps me on track. I write everyday because I blog M-F. Spurring the writing process is one of the greatest blogging benefits. I find myself wondering about my next blog even before I am finished with the current one. And, because this is an interactive environment, the feedback we receive lets us know what works, what doesn't & sometimes what we need to work on most.

Connect the dots - The writing blogworld is our version of the juicy tidbits bar. Did you hear about this book? This author just got picked up by who? Contests, what contests? New agent, you don't say? Are you attending that conference? What did you think about...? We connect to one another in this realm & it is where a vast majority of our own information comes from. Our work is performed in the most sokitary of manners; therefore, it is vital that we reach out & virtual hug someone. Reading other blogs, commenting on them, or just laughing alsongside - these are the digital warm fuzzies that we need to remind ourselves we are not alone. No writer is an archipelago.

These represent a small fraction of the reasons we blog. Each of us has a myriad of reasons for engaging this corner of cyberdom. Some days I find it cathartic; others I work on the educational aspect. And, sometimes I do it to allow my crazy gnome out of the garden. However, the most important aspect for me is the fact that I am constantly learning, growing & most importantly writing.

What are some of the greatest benefits you see form blogging? What, if any, do find to be detractors?

Happy Writing,

Patti