The Writing Life: Using the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

If you’ve stopped by my blog lately, you’ve probably noticed that things have been a bit quiet. Between a sick kiddo and an exceptionally large amount of freelance work, my blogging time has been sadly limited.

I’ve also had little time to write—but I’ve been so busy "living life” that without realizing it, I’ve filled up with ideas and inspiration that are now itching to emerge on the page. I’ve been collecting bits and pieces over the past weeks: characters, settings, conversations, emotions and how I experienced them physically. I feel like my creative pond has been restocked, even though I wouldn’t have expected a time of stress and busy-ness to recharge or refresh my muse.

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Mining Real Life for Story Ideas

I've written previously about reading local news coverage to inspire plot, setting, and character for my last work-in-progress. Well, another amusing tidbit—filed away when I read it last fall—is making its way into my current book: “Woman Fights Bear with Zucchini, Wins”.

What more could a story desire?

Do you incorporate news items, overheard conversation, or intriguing-looking characters into your writing? What sources inspire you?

:) Cheryl

Photo courtesy of http2007 on Flickr Commons

The morning after…

The morning after the Eastern Traditional Archery Festival, the staff (and supporting kids and sisters) all gathered to eat piles of pancakes and share stories of the weekend…

…stories of the guy who towed his dog around in a garden cart, because it had recently had back surgery and there was no one home to take care of it, so rather than skip the festival he brought the dog along. Of course, the dog threatened to bite everyone who came within ten feet of him…

…stories of the guys who were going to jump the guard rail and climb down the bank to avoid paying the entry fee, and how the other people walking to the gate stopped them…

…of my brother reading what must have been a prank name entry in the end-of-show door prize drawings…

…of the group—the ??? Society—that gathered around midnight every night to chant and yell goofy slogans…

…of the tornado that touched down only a few miles away from where 500+ campsites were set up all over the ski resort grounds…

 

The point is that the best stories come out when you gather a group of people together like this, all of them exhausted from the event, pumped up on shared work and experience. It’s a special kind of storytelling that happens only in the aftermath of some challenge, whether it’s camp, a cross-country drive, or putting on a major archery festival.

I like it—and yep, I took copious notes :). (Names will be changed to protect the not-so-innocent….)

:) Cheryl

On Prairie Dogs, Seeds, and Elusive Ideas

I was out early this morning, early enough that frost still shimmered on the ground and the air still had a bit of bite, even though it’s supposed to get up to 60F here today. It was also early enough that the prairie dogs hadn’t yet ventured out of their burrows. Can’t say I blame them. Even if they are all delightfully fat and fluffy in preparation for winter, who wants to scratch through frost and ice to find breakfast?

Most prairie dogs don’t hibernate, although they do something similar when the weather’s at its worst. On milder days, though, you can see them scurrying about and sitting up on their haunches to make sure you aren’t planning to run up and say “boo.” All this activity means they have to eat.

That got me thinking: what do prairie dogs eat for breakfast in the winter? In the summer, you can watch them nibble at all the greenery in the area. They like to keep it nicely trimmed so no coyotes can sneak up on them. In the winter, though, prairie dog towns revert to dry dirt and scattered leaves.

I noticed, this morning, that the earth around and between the burrows was marked with hundreds of little holes. They were all between three and five inches deep, maybe two inches across; they made the dirt look a bit like a playground sandbox.

What the heck was that about? And then it came to me: the prairie dogs were digging for seeds, sifting through the dirt for tiny morsels of nutrition.

This post is getting long, so here’s the point: It strikes me that, as writers, sometimes we feel like we’re in a barren place. Either we’re at a loss for words or ideas, or we feel too tired or drained to put pen to paper; but I think we’re kind of like those prairie dogs. It might look like we’re sitting in the midst of nothing, but if we dig, if we search patiently, we’ll discover the tiny grains of meaning hidden in our everyday experience.

Happy writing—or digging. Whichever seems right.

:) Cheryl

Encyclopedia Fun for the NF Writer

As a kid, I loved encyclopedias--but as soon as I started writing professionally, I learned to shun them. After all, writers are supposed to use primary sources and hands-on research, right?

Well. Yes and no.

You can learn a lot from encyclopedias. For instance, one hot summer, I learned how to play poker: "Indian" poker, five card draw, seven card stud. I taught my younger brother and sister, then proceeded to win all their pennies. (I'm not sure my parents knew....)

My recent time using an encyclopedia introduced me to another great feature: anything that packs that much information (the history of the known world and universe) into that little space (a dozen or so volumes or, more likely, a few CDs) is a great source for article ideas. Take a look at your local encyclopedia's entries for the history of mathematics, the credit care, or zoos to gather tidbits for your next writing jaunt. Or check out the article on poker--hey, there have got to be other kids out there who want to learn how to play!

Or not :)

Cheryl

What we'll do in the name of writing....

Disclaimer: This is a sort-of continuation of Thursday's post, so if you're confused, don't blame me :).


That said...here are ten ideas for how you might stretch yourself this summer:

1. Spend a week traveling in a country where you don't speak the language. (Obviously, but I had to recommend it.)


2. For the fantasy writer: learn pottery, archery, sword making, paper-making, or another craft that might be useful to your fantasy character.


3. Jump out of an airplane (with supervision and a parachute, of course.)


4. Learn to ride a horse, sail a boat, or raise emus.


5. Provide a home for an assistance dog-in-training.


6. Learn to sail a boat.


7. Volunteer somewhere you usually wouldn't. Like China or Haiti.


8. Take lifeguard training.


9. Sleep outside under the stars.


10. Hike the Appalachian trail.

And in case you're not convinced, take a look at Dick Francis's books. Each of his characters has a different profession and half the book involves learning about it. Or check out Alane Ferguson's Forensic Mystery series or Elizabeth Wrenn's Around the Next Corner. To various degrees, these awesome writers all lived their research. When we let ourselves meet life-changing experiences, we gain the insight to write about characters who do the same.

:) Cheryl

How Cheryl writes an article...

Here are the eight steps I use for writing a nonfiction article. Use them at your peril:

1. Find Idea. (Mood=Ridiculously optimistic) (Actions=brainstorm a million beautiful words)


2. Begin Research. (Mood=Wow! This is so cool!) (Actions=spend hours collecting and reading articles, get distracted by every available nuance of every available topic)


3. Write Outline. (Mood=Man, this will be a cinch!) (Actions=daydream in tub)


4. Write 1st Draft. (Mood=Danger! Danger! What the heck was I thinking?) (Actions=Polish nails, repaint living room, write new blog posts)


5. Rewrite. (Mood=Man, this is really, really terrible) (Actions=Pick off nail polish, write more blog posts, check flights to Australia)


6. Rewrite more. (Mood=Maybe this will work...probably not, but it's definitely possible) (Actions=Rearrange commas, read manuscript aloud, get excited by discovery of perfect introduction idea)


7. Rewrite still more. (Mood=Hey, this is actually getting somewhere!) (Actions=Rewrite more)


8. Give article final polish. (Mood=Relief) (Actions=resist sending it off before critique group review)


9. Dream up next projects (Mood=That wasn't so bad! Hey, I should write these other 20 books and articles. Tomorrow. Before breakfast. It'll be a piece of cake!)

~Cheryl

How to Make a Magazine Sale

Last week I promised more on how I sold my first article--and how, maybe, you might do the same. I followed my advice from last week: studied my target market, kept my eyes open for cool ideas, and wrote my article with a similar sample article close at hand.

Now for the specifics. I had just started the Institute for Children's Literature writing course. That meant I had a pile of great reference material and not enough writing to do, because the first few assignments were too short and simple to offer much challenge. (It's a fantastic course, I just didn't click with the first (read beginner) assignments.) So, being me, I read ahead.

I learned that nonfiction is easier to sell than fiction, so I spent time studying sample articles collected in one of the ICL publications. I particularly loved one from Highlights: "Watching a Bee Keeper" by Joan Davis (http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/accountability/testing/eog/g5/ReadingSamples/Gr5WS6beekeeper1615.pdf). It was written in an appealing conversational style. Its story-like format draws in the reader--guerrilla educational reading.

I thought I could write an article like that--if I had a topic.

The next step took a bit longer: I kept a lookout for news that would catch hook a second-grader. I found what I needed when I passed a herd of goats chomping weeds along a nearby bike path. A story!

Over the next months, I performed hours and hours of research, visited the goat ranch, interviewed the goat herder, wrote the article, and polished, polished, polished. I compared it, paragraph by paragraph, with the “Bee Keeper” article. I compared the amount of time I spent on description versus education. I looked at sentence lengths, word choices, point of view. I gave it to my critique group. Finally, I rewrote the article twice based on much-studied comments from Highlights’ editors.

Want to break into the magazine market? Find a publication you love and study, study, study. When you learn what the magazine likes, you’ll be able to write for them.

:) Cheryl

Today's News: A Voice!

My recent travel to Peru inspired a new book idea--but a book that's completely different from what I usually write: YA rather than midgrade, with a touch of romance, and without even a hint of fantasy. I had a great character, great story concept, great setting--but I couldn't get the voice. And I couldn't sleep, because this story wants to be written.

So at 3:00 am or so Saturday morning, I pulled out one of my journals from high school and started to read. Wow. What a roller coaster! I remember a lot about being a kid, but reading the day to day account pulled me back into the memories and emotions. And yesterday I spent three intense hours in a coffee shop writing the first few chapters. I've got the voice. Weird and wonderful.

Have any journals from your childhood? If not, beg, borrow, or blackmail your friends into letting you read theirs. (Never read someone else's without permission, though. That earns you an eternity without books or paper....) And rediscover your voice.

~Cheryl

Me at 16: "I may be 'sweet sixteen,' and I've had my first kiss (even if it was the grossest and most disgusting thing imaginable,) but all of my experience with 'love' has been more disappointment than anything else."

Thoughts on Culture: Similarities and Differences

Culture: "the characteristic features of everyday existence... shared by people in a place or time" (from Merriam-Webster Online.)


One of the things we do, as children's writers, is help kids connect with people from other cultures. But how? Here are some of the similarities and differences you might consider in other cultures:

1. Children's games: Children in Peru play with dolls and toy cars, chase each other through the market, and talk to their stuffed animals, just as they do in the U.S. And yet, I bet they have some games new to the average gringo. Games make great articles!


2. Children's behavior: On a hot day, a ten-year-old hides a water balloon behind his back to sabotage a friend--just like one of the kids on my block. A 2-year-old drags at his mother's hand in universal 2-year-old language. But I also saw something new: kids having a shaving cream battle.


3. Family fun: Preschoolers and their mothers feed crackers to the geese and fish, just like I used to do with my youngest. Friends laugh over cold drinks--although the drinks are more likely to be Inca Cola (above) than Coke.


4. Daily life: In Lima, elementary-aged children walk between cars stopped at a traffic signal, juggling tennis balls or selling pins or simply asking for coins. In Cuzco, Chechuan children earn money by posing for tourists' photos. In the U.S., brothers fiddle together on the downtown mall, collecting dollars in their cases. Similar. Different.


5. Transportation: In Cuzco, few people own cars. Instead, they ride public "combi" routes with names like Batman and Robin, or take one of the ever-present taxis. Cars are expensive; but public transport is inexpensive and readily available.

When we weave details of culture into our stories--whether cultural similarities or cultural differences--we celebrate the humankind in its many forms. And, on a practical level, the details make for richer, more believable writing. What things do you take for granted in your own culture? Take notice. And then write.

:) Cheryl

Transformative Travel

One of the most valuable things I gained--both as a writer and as a person--from my recent trip to Peru was completely unexpected. The trip changed me. It changed the way I see the world, the way I see myself, and the way I see the faith and love and peace and joy. Why is this important for my writing? Because as writers, we portray our characters as they grow and change. The best way to capture the emotions of transformation is to go through it ourselves.

In Criss-Cross, the 2006 Newberry Medal winner, a character says:

"I think...that it's a good thing to get out of your usual, you know, surroundings. Because you find things out about yourself that you didn't know, or you forgot. And then you go back to your regular life and you're changed, you're a little bit different, becuase you take those new things with you."

That was my experience in Peru. I returned to the States with a better handle on my values, with a bit thicker skin, and with a new clarity of purpose for writing. I also returned with a passion to write this self-discovery into a novel. Change, self-discovery, growth: these are the things a reader identifies with in a character.

Today's challenge: Do something out of the ordinary. Put yourself in a new situation, one that forces your to be brave, to be self-reliant, to discover new aspects of yourself. Nurture your own transformation. What can you do in the next six months that is radically different from your normal life? Learn to skydive? Join a soccer team? Take a weekend trip over the border? Heck, take a quick trip to Lima? Commit. Stretch yourself.

Then write about it.

And hey, let me know what happens!

:) Cheryl

Ten Tips for the Traveling Writer

I hope the past few posts inspired you to mine your travel experiences for writing inspiration. If so, here are a few tips for getting the most writing benefit from your next trip:

1. Collect character ideas. Keep your eyes open for interesting characters in the airport, on the street, on the tour bus--and take notes. Travel lets you do more people-watching in an afternoon than most of us do in a week. Take advantage of it!


2. Collect stories. Gather the tales of those you meet to weave into your own storytelling. (And thanks, Omar & Rosi, for the tale of a llama named Checho....)


3. Collect nonfiction article/book ideas. As you meet new people and places, keep your eyes and ears open for things that will interest a child, such as cultural differences and cool science facts.


4. Collect setting details. When you travel to a new city, climate, or country, take note of the things that are different. Pay special attention to sensory details, what you smell, taste, hear, and feel, as well as what you see.


5. Collect "what ifs?" Travel puts you in new situations as well as well as in new places. Use the opportunity to imagine new plot twists and conflicts. Maybe one will spark your next story!

Travel usually means very full days with little time to write, so don't take along big projects! Instead, plan and prepare for small blocks of time with purse-sized notebooks, airplane-safe pens, and a journal or three for end-of-day notes. With a little preparation, you will return with a wealth of writing inspiration.

:) Cheryl

Catching snowflakes--again from Peru

I don't record everything in my life--I don't keep a diary, per se--but I like to write about things that are new or interesting or surprising as I travel day to day. Here in Peru, life flies so quickly that I have no chance of recording everything that piques my interest. I feel like I'm catching snowflakes in a blizzard: my problem isn't finding flakes, my problem is that there are too many for me to touch them all. I guess it's a good problem!

What does a children's writer do in Peru? Practical writers would photograph children's games, take notes on holiday celebrations, or seek out legends to retell. Maybe I'll come back to do those things. Right now, this children's writer is too busy catching snowflakes to be practical. Let me share a few of the images and ideas I've snatched from the storm:

• Lucuma: a Peruvian fruit, round as an apple, green as a gourd, with the golden flesh of a pumpkin and the delicate taste of summer in the mountains. Lucuma ice cream melts on the tongue with a flavor I've tasted nowhere else. If you travel to Peru, you must try it--but be forewarned. Its taste will linger with you the rest of your life, calling you back to Peru.


• Mangoes: Juicy Peruvian mangoes taste nothing like their cardboard cousins in the States. Imagine mangoes, but sweeter, with flesh that melts in your mouth, scented with the spice of an overcast evening.


• Language: After spending a week surrounded by the music of Spanish, the strangest things happen. I begin to say “Gracias” instead of “Thank you.” I begin to catch words and phrases in the rapid-fire talk surrounding me. I become so used to communicating with my new friends that I forget that they don't understand English perfectly. The same happens in reverse, too. Tonight, one woman translated English into Spanish for me; another asked me a polite question en Español and waited expectantly for my answer.


• Place: Here I saw a wildfire race up the mountainside and burn itself out minutes later; a plain gray bird singing like a nightingale; a dandelion-yellow ice cream cart piled high with treats; men working in the sun, trimming flowered shrubs with machetes.
  

Catching at snowflakes: I don't know when I'll make sense of everything I'm experiencing here, but I know that I won't be able to rest until I do. You know how I know? I have a new story brewing, a story that takes place in Peru—and most astonishing of all, it's not even fantasy!

:) Cheryl

Wednesday's News!

I just received a contract from Highlights for Children for one of my favorite craft articles! I made the craft with my kids nearly a year ago, but hadn't ever boxed it up for submission until a month or so ago. (I didn't want to inundate them with crafts!) Thank you, Highlights, for encouraging me to spend afternoons creating projects with my kids.

I wonder: will I keep submitting craft articles when my kids are too old to enjoy them? Maybe they won't ever be too old. My middle schooler still joins me when I cover the table with craft materials. In a year or two, though, I'll have to borrow friends' children for craft testing. My own will soon be too old to be valid testers. Hmm. Could be fun!

:) Cheryl

PS--The photo shows two of my craft testers with "Guardian Dragon" crafts, which appeared in Highlights November 2006 issue.

Write what you know?

I'm taking a brief departure from talking about how to stay motivated to tackle another topic: what to write. We've all heard the advice to write what you know. It's good advice--it steers us toward writing we can do with passion, detail, and accuracy--but I'd argue that it's incomplete advice. We shouldn't necessarily write what we know, because the chances are that lots of other people know the same things. Instead, we should write what only we know.

Here's what I mean: editors often talk about "overdone stories." In the nonfiction realm, stories about animal life cycles, animal rescues, and wildlife rehabilitation centers have been done and redone--making them very difficult to sell. In the land of fiction, you're going to have a tough time selling a book about a magic school unless you have a very unique twist. When I bid on jobs as a freelancer, there are lots of jobs I can do--but only a few where I will stand out of the crowd. I think the same applies to children's writing.

In the business world, it's known as playing to your "core competency"--a term which, I'm told, is a 3-pointer on buzzword bingo. Core competency is your area of expertise, which fits the "write what you know" idea. And successful businesses make sure that 1) they are better than anyone else in this area, and 2) they are unique in this area.

As you write today, ask yourself these questions:

1. How does this piece differ from others on the same topic? How can I make it unique?


2. What can I bring to the writing that ONLY I can bring to the writing? What knowledge or life experience or passion or details can I offer that no one else can offer?

Those are the things that will make your writing stand out of the crowd.

:) Cheryl

Working with Kids--Inspiration Galore!

Last week, I began volunteer work in my younger son's 4th grade classroom. I get to meet one-on-one with students and discuss their writing with them. My job is to help them narrow their topics and find areas where they can be more specific, show rather than tell, or add more details to their stories. It's a blast! I love connecting with these kids and, hopefully, helping them to get excited about writing.

It's also incredibly inspiring for my own writing. Each week, I get a first-hand glimpse into these kids' lives through their writing. Here are some of the things 4th-graders write about:

• Pokemon games (including which Pokemon they've collected, how they've evolved, and which are their favorites)


• An older brother who pulled someone down the stairs by her legs, and the tickle retaliation that ensued


• A "best trick" contest that involved jumping off the sofa into a gargantuan pillow pile


• A lost and found pet mouse


• A hose-squirting water battle that turned into a fist fight


• Sneaking down to the beach at a vacation house--and getting caught by parents


• A little sister who filled her swimsuit full of sand

Sometimes it's easy to forget that things that seem unimportant from our "grownup" viewpoints are big and real to kids. Kids are learning everything for the first time: how to solve problems, deal with lost pets, be best at something. They throw their whole hearts into life. Games, brothers, parents, fights--these are important.

I set out to help, and in return I've received a gift. Maybe that's the way life works.

:) Cheryl

Speaking of Pets...

We have eight baby mice in our house, looking for homes. Anyone interested in a pet mouse? The mice are an easy sell to the kids in our area, but the moms haven't been as easily won over. I think my kids appreciate me more, since none of their friends' mothers will allow pet rodents in their houses!

These little mice must be on my mind, because in that space between waking and sleeping last night, I had a half-awake dream about mice and dragons. I can't stop thinking about the possible connections. What if dragons were mammals, more similar to bats than to lizards? What if a young mouse found a young dragon and thought it was another mouse? After all, bats look a lot like mice with wings. What if an elderly, near-sighted mouse had a young dragon in the house and thought it was another (strange-looking) mouse?

And that makes me wonder why the young dragon is alone. How does it get along with its mouse friends and adopted family? What problem do they face, that brings them to my attention?

I spent my lunch break sitting outside in the shade, daydreaming about them. I want to know who they are, what happens to them.

I have other writing work to do, first--some science editing, finishing the nonfiction picture book--but for now, the mouse and the dragon continue to tumble about in my mind. I wonder what will come of it!

:) Cheryl