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Summertime can be busy and fun all at the same time. So fun in fact that we often don't have time to write. Here's a quick fix for that, though.
Let's take a few photos and write a few sentences or a short poem about it. Here's the catch, though, pick a photo topic for the week. For example, take photos of hands.
Hands? Yes, hands. The first week you might want to focus on hands. Then next week, maybe it's feet. We've all seen Instagram or Facebook photos of feet propped up everywhere. Maybe you want to take photos of eyes, or dogs, or flowers, or birds, or skateboards, or yellow cars, even. There are a lot of photo topics that can lead to a great line or poem.
*A family of hands, bracelets.
We are fishermen.
We are ancient. Modern. Old and new.
We are smooth and wrinkled. Grandfather
and grandchildren, mother and daughters, fathers
and sons. We are many. We are one.
Go ahead-- Pic a topic and take some photos and then write something about each photo.
Using your senses can make your writing come alive. Say you've just returned from a camping trip and want to write about how much fun you had--Where do you begin? Use your senses:
What did it smell like: Was there a campfire? Can you recall what the dirt smelled like?
What did the campsite look like? Were you in a desert setting or surrounded by big pine trees? Did you sleep in a blue tent?
What did the marshmallow taste like? Was your hot dog burned? Did you pick berries and if you did what did the salmonberry taste like?
When you went barefoot how did the ground feel? Did dry pine needles stick to your bare feet? How did the water feel when you waded into the creek?
Did the ravens wake you up in the morning with their early dawn cawing? What did you hear when you were camping? Did the campfire crackle? What did your cousin’s laugh sound like?
Often just when you thought you had nothing to write about examining your experience through the sense can trigger a poem/story/ or even song.
Go ahead try it: Think about sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Make sense of your experience.
The summer night is like a perfection of thought. ~Wallace Stevens
Summertime is a great time to write:
1. Keep a journal.
2. Write a poem or short story every week.
3. Keep a collage journal: Have fun cutting and pasting in your journal (in a Word document or in a scrapbook or old school notebook).
4. Click! Click! Keep a photographic journal.
5. Daily or weekly word limit prompts like
a). 6 word sentences b). 50 word stories
6. Daily found poem: cut and paste from your local newspaper every day, or even Facebook or Tumblr or your favorite news website. Rearrange the words and see what happens.
7. If you have a new summer job you can incorporate these ideas into a journal too. Topics: What are you learning on the job? New friends? Photos from your new job.
8. Maps and diagrams and lists: There are many ways to incorporate them into your writing process: Draw a map a week this summer. Maybe it's a map of your neighborhood; real or imagined. Perhaps a map of your favorite skateboard route. Maybe a diagram showing how to do something: How to make friends, or help your dad build a backyard tool shed. Write a list every day: "Things I love about my babysitting job." Maps, diagrams, and lists can be the beginnings of a graphic story/novel/poem.
9. Write a pseudo (fake) recipe or myth or news article every week. Be crazy with it. Make it very, very unreal or magical or absurd.
10. Write a letter every week to someone. Write to your grandmother in Alaska or your cousin in Los Angeles. Write to an imaginary person, someone from history, or even someone like a character in a book or film.
These are just some ideas. Whatever you do make it doable, though. Don't do too much. After all it is SUMMER! Don't' overwhelm yourself with daily writing if you know you won't do it. Sometimes several times a week or once a week is enough. Most of all-- Have fun writing.
Each fairy breath of summer, as it blows with loveliness,
One of my favorite activities is beachcombing. I love to collect seaglass. Collecting seaglass in Alaska means you have to deal with weather and bears.
Here are some photos from my excursions:
No, you're not too young to change something, to change the world. Fifteen-year-old Alberta Schenck changed her world. In the 1940s, Alberta was working at a movie theatre in Nome Alaska and one of her jobs was to usher customers to their seats. She was supposed to sit people from the smaller villages in the balcony because the theatre owner said the villagers smelled. (their parkas and mukluks were made from seal skin). She was supposed to seat the "whites" on the left side of the theatre and Natives on the right side. Alberta didn't like that policy. Alberta, despite her age, chose to speak out and complained to her boss and manager. She wanted to change the policy that separated people by the color of their skin. Unfortunately, the manager promptly fired her. Alberta was moved into action and wrote an essay that she sent to the local paper, the Nome Nugget. In the letter Alberta said, “I myself am part Eskimo and Irish and so are many others. What has hurt us constantly is that we are not able to go to a public theater and sit where we wish…we are not allowed even to go to public doings…”
Unknowingly, Alberta would make a choice that would change history. A week after the letter was published, Alberta and a date, a white sergeant in the U.S. Army, went to the theater and sat in the “whites only” section. The theater manager demanded Alberta move to the other side of the theater. When she refused, the manager contacted the Nome Chief of Police and Alberta was arrested. Fifteen-year-old Alberta was taken to jail where she spent the night.
After hearing of Alberta’s arrest local Natives went to the theater and protested by sitting wherever they liked. Alberta’s father hired a lawyer to file suit against the Dream Theater and the Nome Police Chief. Alberta felt so strongly about her unjust treatment that she sent a telegram to Alaska Territorial Governor Gruening informing him of the incident. The Governor was upset when he learned what had happened to Alberta, as he himself was a proponent of equal rights for Natives. Following Alberta’s telegram, the Governor contacted the mayor of Nome and demanded he apologize publicly to Alberta. Alberta’s courageous act of defiance set into motion the final push for an anti-discrimination law.
Alberta's story convinced the Governor to back Alaska's anit-discrimination bill, which would eventually pass, but not without more people and more voices to say, "This is not right!"
So, you see, one voice can make a difference. One person can change the world. You can change the world
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
~Mahatma Gandhi
0 Comments on Be The Change as of 2/15/2013 11:11:00 AM
If you're a writer, make your character love something. Make them desire it. Then make them unable to have that one thing they want. This can drive a story forward. Loving something can also be one of your character's quirks.
If you are fond of trees you are Dendropilous.
You are Geophilous if you love living
in or near the ground.
Lygophilia: You love Darkeness
Philocaly: Love of Beauty
Retrophilia: You love things of the past
You love space as in Outer Space and astronomy: Astrophilia
You love lots of rainfall: Ombrophilous
You love stamps: Timbrophilia
Glossophilia: Love of Languages
Turophile: You Love Cheese
Logophile: You are a lover of Words
About ME: L.K. Mitchell is a fifth generation Alaskan who was born and raised on a small island in Southeast Alaska. She now lives in Sitka. Alaska. L.K. Mitchell is from a multi-cultural family and is adopted into her children’s Raven clan, the T’akdéintaan, a Tlingit clan from SE Alaska. Her Tlingit name is Yéilk’ Tláa, Mother-of-Cute-Little-Raven. She is a mother and grandmother and writes middle-grade and young adult novels in addition to poetry and non-fiction. She has won several awards for her writing. L.K. Mitchell facilitates writers groups for teens and adults.
0 Comments on LOVE is.... as of 2/6/2013 8:12:00 PM
Yesterday two people told me that they enjoyed my writing. One person was a stranger I met on Tumblr and the other is a friend. Some days we writers need to be told that our writing is worthwhile.
Here's one of my first pieces. Maybe my Grandma told me that my letter was wonderful and her encouraging words sparked something inside of me. Maybe I've just spent many years trying to write a straight line (Hopefully, though, my writing has improved).
So the next time you get the opportunity to thank a writer for a great book, do so. Write a letter. Send an email. Say "Like" on their Facebook page. SAY IT!
And if you're a writer, pat yourself on the back once in a while and say "Good Job!."
If you want to write a poem all you'll need are some magazines, scissors, glue, and paper.
First, don't think about the poem you're going to write. Just cut out all kinds of words from the magazine or catalogue.
Then get out your paper or cardboard and pick out a really cool word. Start with that. Glue on the first word.
Then think about words that fit and the words that don't fit. You can make the poem make sense or you can make the poem nonsense. Make the poem form naturally. See what you can come up with. You can rearrange the rest of the words and then glue them all on after you've made your poem.
Now that was fun!
0 Comments on Poetry Fun! as of 12/3/2012 3:17:00 PM
A movement (as in gymnastics) in which a person turns forward or backward in a complete revolution along the ground or in the air bringing the feet over the head; also: a falling or tumbling head over heels.
I used to love to do somersaults. But cartwheels? I wasn't very good at that. But I can spin a story or a poem. I can wrap the reader around my finger. I can make the reader's head spin. It seems like there is a lot of action going on whenever we describe writing. Of course "action" makes a good story doesn't it.
Does your story have a spin? Does it have a slant? Does it reel with delight? Does it jump around? Anyway you look at it a story should move forward. It should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Poetry is like that too, even if the poem doesn't contain a story. Poetry should have a great beginning, a delightful middle, and a satisfying end.
Most of all, writing should be fun. Go ahead. Try it. Take a spin!
Yes, it's almost Halloween so I'm going to talk about fear. BOO!
Sometimes it's fun to be afraid. Sometimes it's not so fun. Here are a few fears or "phobias" that you might find interesting. Some of these you might want to write about, talk about, or maybe, if you dare, whisperabout.
1.Galeophobia-Fear of cats 2.Ancraophobia-Fear of wind
3.Bibliophobia- Fear of books
4.Chronomentrophobia- Fear of clocks
5. Ephebiphobia-Fear of teenagers
6.Hyelophobia-Fear of glass 7.Kynophobia- Fear of rabies
8.Ligyrophobia- Fear of loud noises
9.Testophobia- Fear of taking tests
10.Siderophobia- Fear of stars
But despite all your fears, the one fear you should overcome
is the fear of reading and the fear of writing. Write it down.
Read a lot. Overcome your fears.
0 Comments on Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid as of 1/1/1900
Every day we learn new things and have new adventures—Life is like that. Going back to school in the fall is a new adventure. I loved having a new coat, a new pack of pencils, a new backpack. Those were the tools of a great adventure. Going back to school means learning new things and new words. Spelling and vocabulary tests were one of my favorite school activities.
Now, writing is my most loved adventure. Sometimes learning and practicing new words can be an adventure. Here are ten words that you might or might not know. First, read the word, then the description. Then try and say the word a couple of times. Now, all week I want you to put at least one or two of these words into practice.—Use the word. Did you know that a word can die off if it isn’t used anymore? Some of these words already have become extinct.
Can you put your hands together and form a gowpen?
Is your dad a cruciverbalist?
Did your older sister pull a rannygazoo on you?
Do all these crazy words seem likebafflegab?
1. Honeyfuggle: to deceive by flattery or sweet talk, to swindle or cheat.
2. Oojah: a useful device that doesn’t have a name like a thingamajig or a whatchamacallit.
3. Gowpen: a measurement of hands cupped togher; a double handful.
4. Bombilations: sound of rapid vibration; "the buzz of a bumble bee."
5. Cruciverbalist: Solver or fan of crossword puzzles.
6. Rannygazoo: Rare term for a deceptive story or scheme, pranks, tricks or other irritating or foolish carryings-on.
7. Bafflegab: unintelligible jargon.
8. Shemozzle: a state of confusion & chaos. It might simply be a muddle, or it could be a ruckus, row, quarrel or loud commotion.
9. Ugsome: something loathsome or horrible. The word “ug” originates from this word. (In old Norse ugga means to dread).
10. Frigorific: Causing cold, cooling or chilling.
Now say these words 3X really fast: Honeyfuggle, Oojah, Gowpen, Bombilations, Cruciverbalist, Rannygazoo, Bafflegab, Shemozzle, Ugsome, Frigorific !!!!
That wasn't so hard was it?
**************
Kids at school call Lance names like "brainiac" or "autie." But he's just a ten-year-old kid with Asperger's Syndrome. What would they call him if they knew he could grow wings on his back?
After returning from a vacation to the Tower of London, Lance is asked to join a clan of shape-shifting Ravens. The Ravens appoint Lance as "Keeper of Directions," which means he must learn how to decipher the prophetic "Book" that keeps the natural world in balance. But when he discovers the Ravens are in the midst of war preparations, he has second thoughts. What if he messes up and the Earth tilts on its axis and goes spinning off into space?
About the Author (ME): L.K. Mitchell is a fifth generation Alaskan who was born and raised on a small island in Southeast Alaska. She now lives in Sitka and Kodiak, Alaska. L.K. Mitchell is from a multi-cultural family and is adopted into her children’s Raven clan, the T'akdéintaan, a Tlingit clan from SE Alaska. Her Tlingit name is Yéilk’ Tláa, Motherof-Cute-Little-Raven. She is a mother and grandmother and writes middle-grade and young adult novels in addition to poetry and nonfiction. She has won several awards for her writing. L.K. Mitchell is also the co-director of a non-profit called Raven’s Blanket, and she facilitates writers groups for teens and adults.
0 Comments on HONEYFUGGLE as of 10/10/2012 4:28:00 PM
MAGIC is the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation, ceremony, ritual, casting spells, or other techniques that assure human control over the supernatural or natural world (or so says Webster/Wikipedia).
But I live in Alaska so MAGIC takes on a new meaning every day. Here are some magical things happening in my backyard:
MAGIC is:Blue Ice on the glacier. The blue color is caused by the absorption of both red and yellow light (leaving light at the blue end of the visible light spectrum). The absorption spectrum of ice is similar to that of water, except that hydrogen bonding causes all peaks to shift to lower energy - making the color greener. This effect is augmented by scattering within snow, which causes the light to travel an indirect path, providing more opportunity for absorption.
MAGIC is:Salmon returning to the same stream where they were born. Salmon can tell directions in the ocean by the earth's magnetic field acting like a compass. When they find the river they came from they start using smell to find their way back to their home stream. They build their "smell memory-bank" when they start migrating to the ocean as young fish.
MAGIC is the Brown Bear's gift of life: Delayed Implantation. "Female bears have evolved "delayed implantation" whereby the blastocyst does not implant into the uterine wall until late fall, just before a grizzly mother enters her den for the winter. Within a week of conception (during the spring) the blastocyst enters a state of dormancy. In late fall the blastocyst will implant into the grizzly mother's uterus if she is fat and healthy enough to support cubs during the winter hibernation. If she is under severe stress, and under nourished, the blastocyst will simply be reabsorbed into her body."
MAGIC is the Bald Eagles' flight: The skeleton of a bald eagle only weights around a half a pound. "A Bald eagle has more than 7 thousand feathers, but all of them put together weighs less than 21 ounces (586 grams). If you took 30 of these feathers in your hand, they would weigh less than a penny."
WHERE DO YOU LOOK FOR MAGIC? WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKYARD? WHAT DO YOU SEE? WHAT DO YOU FEEL? Write about it.
WHERE DO YOU FIND MAGIC? Maybe all you have to do is look in the mirror.
0 Comments on Magic: Alaska Style as of 9/19/2012 10:20:00 PM
I gu.aa yáxxwán is a Tlingit warrior cry that means, "Be strong, be brave." This was originally a battle phrase, though now it’s said whenever someone is encountering a difficult situation. But what does is mean to be brave?
Webster’s says that brave is having or showing courage. Then what is courage? Courage is the mental or moral strength to venture, to persevere, to withstand danger, fear or difficulty.
Here are a few definitions of BRAVE:
BRAVE:Ralph Lazo, a Latino teenager, joined his Japanese American friends in an internment camp in the 1940s during WWII.
BRAVE: A group of teenagers sued their school district to have a controversial book Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden returned to school libraries after it was burned (Kansas City, 1995).
BRAVE: Gerda Lerner, as a teenager, protested Hitler’s efforts to eradicate Europe’s Jewish population. She joined the underground resistance. She and her family were eventually caught and exiled, fleeing to the United States.
Bravery takes many forms. Sometimes people are brave without fanfare, without anyone noticing, EVER. Being brave sometimes means doing the right thing, making the right choices. Bravery can even mean writing about something that’s difficult to discuss. As a writer, I am often faced with a decision about whether or not to write about a subject. Sometimes I don’t want to use a difficult or controversial word. Sometimes I think that I shouldn’t write about a subject because I’ll upset people. When this happens I have to think about my reasons for doing so, then take a deep breath and put the pen to the page. I write in a journal first, then maybe after it’s been written down for a few days, I might type it up on my computer. Sometimes I look at a poem or story and say to myself, “There, I said it, now what?”
Sometimes I publish, sometimes I don’t. But there is a feeling of satisfaction because I know that I overcame a major barrier for writers: fear. I want to be a brave writer. You can be brave too. Keep a journal. Be active in school activities or your community. Sometimes being brave is overcoming an obstacle that plagues you every day. I’m a really shy person so sometimes I have to be brave every day. Bravery isn’t necessarily about the big things. It’s about overcoming the little things. Then when a big difficult decision comes, we have learned how to be brave.
So tomorrow, may you wake up brave. Stay home and be brave. Go out and be brave. Write bravely.
The first memoir was written about 40,000 years ago. It was a simple handprint on a cave wall.
I wonder what made the person dip their hand into red ocher and press their hand to the rock? Were they trying to say “I am here. This is me.” Did they not want anyone to forget them?
The handprint doesn’t tell the whole story of the person, just as memoir doesn’t. It tells a piece of a complex life.
It was likely that the first piece of art I ever made was a handprint. My mother, like I did for my children, put my small hand on a piece of paper and traced my hand for me. Later, I had enough dexterity to trace it myself.
Making a handprint is another way of saying: See me. Me. I am unique. I am like no other. That is what I try to say in my writing. This is my experience, different from yours. My experience is often neither bad, nor good but different. I see the world different from you; different from six billion other people on the planet. My hand print is unique.
As a child, I went from tracing my hands to forming letters, sounding out words, putting strange squiggly and straight lines, and dots into places ona page. They formed words, then sentences. Then when someone first read my simple sentence, I realized that I was understood.--Yes, the bike is yellow, the flower is blue, and I have a cat named Chocolate.
If you dipped your hand into paint and pressed it to a cave wall what would your handprint say?
Nearly everyone loves candy. But not everyone can eat candy. In my case, candy is good in moderation. But I'll have to admit candy is a fascinating subject to write about. If you're a writer, maybe your character has a sweet-tooth. Maybe your character's favorite sweet is bubble gum or M & M's®. My great-uncle loved Juicy Fruit® and Wrigley's Spearmint® gum. Maybe your character loves Fairy Floss. Try writing candy into your story.
Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolly lollipop (lyrics by the Chordettes)
1. Lollipops can be used to carry medicines.
2. The first candy was likely made from honey.
3. The world's largest candy bar is 3 ft high and 21 feet long and weighs 12,000 lbs.
4. Cotton Candy was invented in 1897 and was originally called Fairy Floss.
Yes, ordinary things can be extraordinary. For example: an UMBRELLA. Umbrellas are ordinary. Your umbrella sits in the corner by the front door folded up next to your shoes. Depending on where you live sometimes the umbrella gathers dust. I live in a rainforest in Southeast Alaska so umbrellas come in handy. Strangely, though, I don't often see them because when it's rainy, it's sometimes windy. And we just pull our hoods up. But I do have an umbrella.
Of course some people use an umbrella to shade themselves from the sunshine. To me that's a strange concept.
Think about the ordinary. Think about the extraordinary in the ordinary. Umbrellas are a unique design.
UMBRELLA: brolly, parapluie, rainshade, sunshade, gamp, bumbershoot, or umbrolly
LED light up umbrella
If you need a writing prompt, walk around your house and make a list of a couple of ordinary things . Then write one line about the ordinary item: the television remote control, the spatula in the kitchen, the clothes dryer, a stuffed animal, the brown jacket, a fork, a tube of lip gloss, a notebook. Now, make the ordinary item extraordinary. Tell something about the ordinary item. Why is is extraordinary to you or to someone else? How has that item contributed to the world?
In written records, the oldest reference to a collapsible umbrella dates to the year 21 A.D.
Large screen, built-in camera, motion sensor, GPS, digital compass. Photo-sharing and 3D map navigation.
0 Comments on Extraordinary Ordinary as of 1/1/1900
Fireworks are featured in my middle-grade novel Keeper of Directions. Fireworks were invented in China. A legend tells us that a cook spilled saltpeter in a fire and POOF a flame ignited.
I'm from Wrangell, Alaska, a small town on a small island in SE Alaska. Every 4th of July, Wrangell conducts the best celebration in all of Alaska. The downtown is blocked off for the celebration. We have a parade, street games, food booths, and a huge fireworks display.
Here's a collection of You Tube videos from various sources depicting Wrangell's fireworks and parade.
1. Galaxies can dance. They collapse and rotate and radiate and expand. Our galaxy is spiral and it rotates. Stars move in orbits around the center of our galaxy.
2.Water dances. It swirls, and whirls, and spins, and laps, and flows. All water on the surface of the planet: lakes, streams, ponds, creeks, rivers, is heading to sea level because of gravity.
Since my middle grade novel Keeper of Directions features Komodo dragons, I invited author Mindy Mejia to give us a glimpse of these fascinating creatures. Mindy conducted significant research to write The Dragon Keeper, a novel for adults. A big welcome to Mindy Mejia, author of The Dragon Keeper forthcoming in September from Ashland Creek Press.
Get to Know a Predator
Komodo dragon Photo by Philip Mejia, 2007
Although Komodo dragons are an ancient species, they’ve only been known to most of the human world for a little over a hundred years. Stories of dragons and water monsters drifted over the Pacific seas for centuries, but it wasn’t until 1910 that non-native humans received reports of the Komodo dragon living on a few small islands in the Lesser Sunda archipelago of Indonesia. Needless to say, we were intrigued. These giant reptiles roamed the land and swam the channels between islands, hunting water buffalo, deer and wild swine; they were the undisputed alpha predators of their ecosystem. They barely paid attention to Western explorers in early encounters; their apathy toward the sound of gunshots led the explorers to believe that Komodos were deaf. There’s even a story that when they tried to ship the dragons across the sea to Western zoos, a few Komodos smashed their way out of the cages and jumped off of the ships.
Mindy & Jeff, one of the Komodo residents at the Memphis zoo. Photo credit: Philip Mejia, 2007.
These first encounters taught the Western world to respect the power and mystique of the Komodo dragon. Komodos can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh an average of 200 pounds. Like all reptiles, Komodos are cold blooded and need to thermoregulate with the sun. They will hiss, much like a snake, to show aggression. Komodos have jaws built very similar to a shark’s, with 32 serrated teeth that are designed for cutting flesh. Each tooth is actively shed and replaced up to 3-4 times per year. Even more deadly than their teeth, though, is their poison. Komodos possess a virulent mix of bacteria and venom. They deliver a sin
0 Comments on Get to Know a Predator as of 1/1/1900
Sometimes I weave something real and precious into my stories. In my young adult novel Keeper of Directions there is a reference to a medicine bag. The medicine bag isn’t a significant part of the story, but as it turns out, it is a significant thing in my life. Small but meaningful. But isn’t it the details that make a good story? It’s the details that make a good life.
* * *
I stood at the airport waiting for the plane to land. Beside me a young girl played a traditional deer skin drum. Along with a few friends we sang the Tlingit song "Tsu Héidei Shugaxtutaan:Together we will open the container of wisdom.” Behind us the crew and members from the US Coast Guard Cutter Maple and Air Station Sitka stood in uniform waiting for the man’s arrival.
Tsu héidi shugaxtootáan yá yaakoosgé dakeit haa jeex' a nák has kawdik'éet'.— Kichnáalx.
We will open again this container of wisdom left in our care.—George Davis
On the plane, a man in a camouflage uniform sat in a window seat watching the treetops for bald eagles. The jet landed and th
13 Comments on Medicine Bag, last added: 5/28/2012
This post was peaceful, and educational all rolled into one. Thanks L.K and may your Memorial Day day be filled with family, song and story such as you have given us today.
First, thank your husband for me for his service! Second, great post!!! I love the medicine bag idea, and how awesome that you get to have that connection with your husband when he's away. Your book sounds very cool!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful post and participating in this thought provoking hop. I have signed up to follow and look forward to the journey. dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com
Wow, what an amazing story, L.K. I love the idea of the medicine bag and it being sacred to the wearer. Thanks for sharing, and all the best to your husband.
I'm happy to present an interview with author Sharon Ledwith on Pocketful of Charms. ENJOY!
The following questions arestolenborrowed from my “Authors In The Limelight” posts on my blog,Sharon Ledwith: I came. I saw. I wrote.They are the same questions I ask other young adult authors brave (and kind) enough to allow me interview them. I thought I’d turn the tables on myself and put me under the spotlight. So here we go:
How long have you been writing, Sharon?
Honestly, I have to admit I was a late bloomer. I didn’t start writing seriously until 1995. That’s when I t
14 Comments on Authors In The Limelight: Sharon Ledwith, last added: 4/30/2012
Hey, Vivian, thanks so much for having me! I believe you're the first to interview me. I really appreciate the little 'extras' you've added to this post! Many blesses to you and your clan. Cheers and best wishes with your move!
Hi Sharon, you sound like an impressively organized writer, and the novel sounds great! Atlantis is an excellent hook, I reckon. Good luck with the book. :)
Enjoyed the interview and love the premise of your book. Great blurb/excerpt :)
Anonymous said, on 4/30/2012 5:44:00 AM
Love the interview, Sharon! From one time travel author to another, it looks like you've struck gold. Love the whole feel of the story. I have no doubt you will have many happy readers! :)
Gosh, you're talented, Sharon. I wish I had beautiful dreams like the one that led you to this novel. I wish you all the best, and I can't wait to read your story.
What great questions. :-) It sounds like we'll be seeing lots more titles from you in the near future. Congratulations on your publishing success, Sharon.
Jacqueline Hart said, on 4/30/2012 8:29:00 AM
Loved the interview ... it sounds like the real you. Can't wait for the release!
When you hear the word “writers”, do you picture individual authors,each working on separate projects?
Here in Carpenter Country, where we write, a different imagecanters into view - one of individual authors working on the same project. We’reHL Carpenter, a mother/daughter team. We’re writers who write together.
If you’re thinking you could never write with someone else,we understand. We felt the same way in the beginning. Sharing what you’vewritten, especially when the words come from your heart, is hard. What if theother person doesn’t like what you have to say, or worse, doesn’t understandand thinks you should change what you’ve written? That would be like changingwho you are or what you feel.
You don’t ever want to do that.
Neither do we. Fortunately, we discovered we can stay trueto ourselves while writing collaboratively. How? By letting each other be whowe are. For instance, when we create the first draft of our stories, we nevermake corrections to each other’s work. Instead, we take turns writing chapters,always moving forward.
After we have the story captured from first scene to last,we go back to the beginning and blend our words together. Harmony results as ourseparate voices merge into one.
How well does the process work? You’re reading an exampleright now. If you didn’t know, would you suspect more than one author wrote thisblog post?
We’re not saying collaborating is for everyone or that teamworkis always easy. What relationship is? Even when two people commit to the samegoal, disagreements can flare.
For us, flare-ups happen as we revise the initial draft. Sowe have a rule: No matter how attached either of us is to a particular word orphrase, when we disagree, we re-write the section in dispute.
2 Comments on TEAMING UP TO WRITE, last added: 4/19/2012
Great post,gals!I would find it such a challenge to be part of a writing team! Kudos for you two! Wishing you all the success with Sky Horse! See you on the bestseller's list! Cheers. BTW - Vivian, I can't believe I wasn't following you! I am now! Will tweet and share.
Sharon, you are such a supportive person! We are overwhelmed at the outpouring of generosity by other Musa authors who have taken the time to promote our book and offer good wishes. Thank you, and thank you, also, Vivian. Helen and Lorri
Since the 1970s, the US has honored National Autism AwarenessMonth in April. This time allows the opportunity to educate the public about autismand issues within the autism community.
I am having a drawing for a FREE YA/MG ebook, Keeper of Directions, that features a main character with Asperger's Syndrome.
The rules are simple:
1. Read this post. 2. Go to the "Add a Comment" Link on the bottom of this post. Make a brief comment. 3. Put your name & email in the comments box.
*One entry per person, please.
You can also read through my other blogposts to find out all about L.K. Mitchell's Pocketful of Charms.
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Thank you for you being you and sharing your words! Shared and tweeted!