My kids are on summer time. Nonetheless, when Daughter popped out of bed rubbing her eyes, after 9.30pm and for the umpteenth time , I wasn't thrilled.
Me, in Big Voice: What do you need now?
Daughter, in Tiny Voice: Umm... where are the library books? So I can practice my reading? [bats her eyelashes].
Me, in Regular Voice: They're piled on the desk.
Me, in Thought Bubble: Well played.
Showing posts with label chapter books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chapter books. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Three Day Weekend
Today's edition of he said/she said:
Son got in the middle of dispute between Father and Daughter, thus getting himself into trouble. I attempted to comfort him by telling him that I, as the oldest child, had that same tendency and used to get into trouble for inserting myself in parental vs. sibling disputes too. "So," I added with a sense of maternal sufficiency, "I know how you feel." Son's victorious reply: "So THAT'S where I get it from."
Good news from Australasia: acceptance of my first ever published fiction, a story called "Monty is from Mars," forthcoming in April 2010 issue of Explore Magazine, an Australian kids' mag published by an education publisher!
Finally, after enjoying Julie/Julia (the book, but of course with Meryl Streep the film was great fun too), and now reading Not Buying It (a year without shopping), am wondering what great venture I would task myself with for a year. I tried to read a book about a family who only ate what they grew for a year, but it was unspeakably exhausting to read if you just aren't a large scale (or competent) gardener to begin with. I then realized that I am in fact still in my first year of writing for children (begun May 24, 2009), so if I can get something amazing to happen before the end of May, I could reverse engineer a wittier blog and write a book about it. Don't worry; I think that was a joke!
Met in KC at Borders with my critter group yesterday, and it has been a big month for two of them, at least. They have launched new and exciting ventures in the web. One, similarly inspired by the Julie/Julia project, has gone live with a commercial blog meshing nursing/parent advice/humor called, appropriately enough: NurseMommyLaughs. Already she has pediatricians beating a path to her door! Another is growing Blessing Beans, a devotional website with spinoffs, and already has a trademarked product. And for a third, with whom I meet for chapter book critiquing, she says she has given up lucrative employment possibilities to carve out 90 minutes of writing time a day and stay home with her three children. Vacations have moved from Florida to nearby St. Louis instead, but she and her husband are bucking the trend of the Joneses they run with. So we're back to Not Buying It again! (But of course, I had to buy the book.)
Son got in the middle of dispute between Father and Daughter, thus getting himself into trouble. I attempted to comfort him by telling him that I, as the oldest child, had that same tendency and used to get into trouble for inserting myself in parental vs. sibling disputes too. "So," I added with a sense of maternal sufficiency, "I know how you feel." Son's victorious reply: "So THAT'S where I get it from."
Good news from Australasia: acceptance of my first ever published fiction, a story called "Monty is from Mars," forthcoming in April 2010 issue of Explore Magazine, an Australian kids' mag published by an education publisher!
Finally, after enjoying Julie/Julia (the book, but of course with Meryl Streep the film was great fun too), and now reading Not Buying It (a year without shopping), am wondering what great venture I would task myself with for a year. I tried to read a book about a family who only ate what they grew for a year, but it was unspeakably exhausting to read if you just aren't a large scale (or competent) gardener to begin with. I then realized that I am in fact still in my first year of writing for children (begun May 24, 2009), so if I can get something amazing to happen before the end of May, I could reverse engineer a wittier blog and write a book about it. Don't worry; I think that was a joke!
Met in KC at Borders with my critter group yesterday, and it has been a big month for two of them, at least. They have launched new and exciting ventures in the web. One, similarly inspired by the Julie/Julia project, has gone live with a commercial blog meshing nursing/parent advice/humor called, appropriately enough: NurseMommyLaughs. Already she has pediatricians beating a path to her door! Another is growing Blessing Beans, a devotional website with spinoffs, and already has a trademarked product. And for a third, with whom I meet for chapter book critiquing, she says she has given up lucrative employment possibilities to carve out 90 minutes of writing time a day and stay home with her three children. Vacations have moved from Florida to nearby St. Louis instead, but she and her husband are bucking the trend of the Joneses they run with. So we're back to Not Buying It again! (But of course, I had to buy the book.)
Friday, December 18, 2009
I Know You Are, But What Am I?
Son, to his sister: I'm bored.
Daughter: I'm bored too. But you're boring.
**
On the writing front there is much labor and sweat and persistence, all of which I understand to be key ingredients. I'm slowly working on the early chapters of a YA novel, and enjoying it a great deal. When I need a break from that, I'm exploring new types of magazine writing, like rebuses: fictional and non-. Thanks to one of my lovely crit group members from Kansas City, who brought a rebus that Highlights had purchased and showed us how they tick, I have had fun playing in those waters! There is craft in keeping to 120 words or so, telling a story, using age leveled vocabulary, and a set ratio of concrete (illustratable) nouns with some repetition. Try one! They're bite-sized wonders.
And have set up a new ms exchange with another SCBWI Kansas City-ite, to swap chapter book drafts. Am enjoying the critiquing there too.
Oh, and have another piece published in the regional quarterly newsletter of the Kansas SCBWI, In the Wind, called "Breaching Decorum," about selective register leaps in children's picture books (December 2009 issue).
I spend some weeks mailing out a lot of pieces. I remember back to working on the doctoral dissertation. One piece of advice that was helpful from another grad student (in computing!) was to do at least one thing a day toward the cause. If that meant buying post-it notes, then so be it. Usually one thing lead to another and another, of course, but sometimes it didn't and post-it notes were the only thing accomplished in a day. Nevertheless, like knitting it came together one stitch at a time. The same mentality (without the luxury of time) worked for the Bluebeard book, the second one written around teaching full-time and having babies and raising them. Some days, only one email got sent out "toward the cause." So now it is with the kidlit writing and editing and mailing. Some days, I just want to play with my binders, put them in order with dividers, and create systems to manage the different genres and communications going back and forth. It never feels like wasted time.
So, before going in to work to complete finals grading, I'm going to work for an hour or so on my novel! Have a great weekend all.
Daughter: I'm bored too. But you're boring.
**
On the writing front there is much labor and sweat and persistence, all of which I understand to be key ingredients. I'm slowly working on the early chapters of a YA novel, and enjoying it a great deal. When I need a break from that, I'm exploring new types of magazine writing, like rebuses: fictional and non-. Thanks to one of my lovely crit group members from Kansas City, who brought a rebus that Highlights had purchased and showed us how they tick, I have had fun playing in those waters! There is craft in keeping to 120 words or so, telling a story, using age leveled vocabulary, and a set ratio of concrete (illustratable) nouns with some repetition. Try one! They're bite-sized wonders.
And have set up a new ms exchange with another SCBWI Kansas City-ite, to swap chapter book drafts. Am enjoying the critiquing there too.
Oh, and have another piece published in the regional quarterly newsletter of the Kansas SCBWI, In the Wind, called "Breaching Decorum," about selective register leaps in children's picture books (December 2009 issue).
I spend some weeks mailing out a lot of pieces. I remember back to working on the doctoral dissertation. One piece of advice that was helpful from another grad student (in computing!) was to do at least one thing a day toward the cause. If that meant buying post-it notes, then so be it. Usually one thing lead to another and another, of course, but sometimes it didn't and post-it notes were the only thing accomplished in a day. Nevertheless, like knitting it came together one stitch at a time. The same mentality (without the luxury of time) worked for the Bluebeard book, the second one written around teaching full-time and having babies and raising them. Some days, only one email got sent out "toward the cause." So now it is with the kidlit writing and editing and mailing. Some days, I just want to play with my binders, put them in order with dividers, and create systems to manage the different genres and communications going back and forth. It never feels like wasted time.
So, before going in to work to complete finals grading, I'm going to work for an hour or so on my novel! Have a great weekend all.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Do Over
OK, Starbucks rescheduled for Monday at 5.30 (come on out, locals!). The storms continue each evening through the weekend, so Monday seems a good bet. Now, if a plague of locusts come through on Monday in otherwise clear skies, I might be prepared to consider that an omen. There's probably a card for that, and if there is my MIL would have it for me. The all-time best present from her was a dinner table kit for Passover, for the kids (allegedly). It was called (really, are you ready?) Ten Plagues in a Box. Plastic bugs, spotty cow masks (!), fake blood (!!) dark glasses with which to simulate blindness (!!!) and a jigsaw puzzle featuring Death of the First Born (!!!!!!!!!!). The best dinner table entertainment. Ever.
Started on a new chapter book yesterday. Couldn't get to sleep last night for mulling it over, so that's a good sign. The last couple I started got bogged down without enough forward momentum, but this one is intriguing and I think I've got the forward motion as well. The kids' swim lessons in the morning are affording me writing/thinking time under a tree at the aquatic center. Teaching in the afternoon is even kind of cool this month. Goal for today: two more chapters. Or one, and some excellent plot points. I have lots more writing time in the summer than when school goes back in the fall. Teaching works that way!
Started on a new chapter book yesterday. Couldn't get to sleep last night for mulling it over, so that's a good sign. The last couple I started got bogged down without enough forward momentum, but this one is intriguing and I think I've got the forward motion as well. The kids' swim lessons in the morning are affording me writing/thinking time under a tree at the aquatic center. Teaching in the afternoon is even kind of cool this month. Goal for today: two more chapters. Or one, and some excellent plot points. I have lots more writing time in the summer than when school goes back in the fall. Teaching works that way!
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