By: Bruce Black,
on 11/15/2015
There’s a lake about two miles away from our house, and, after sitting at my desk all day, I felt the need to stretch my legs. So, I put a notebook and a few pens into a shoulder bag and went for a ramble, as they say in the UK. At the lake a small dock, maybe 20’ x 15’, with two wooden benches and railing, overlooks the water. I had in mind to sit a while on one of the benches,
By: Donna McDine,
on 12/10/2014
*Middle-grade fantasy novel
*5th-grade boy as the main character
*Rating: Karmack by J. C. Whyte (MuseItUp Publishing) is a good novel about a bully who learns a bit about karma through the creature pictured here. Filled with humor, interesting characters, plenty of pranks, adventure, and a subtle lesson, children will enjoy this book immensely.
Short, short summary: Sully is the Big Cheese of the 5th grade. He got that way by being tough (a bully) and playing pranks on everyone from classmates to his teachers. He has a gang, and he has enemies. . .until one day, when he sees a little creature, Karmack (stands for Karma) playing pranks on him and his friends. He’s able to catch Karmack and question him about what he’s doing. Karmack’s basically there to even out all the bad things that Sully and his friends are doing. If Karmack doesn’t do his job, all of their bad deeds will add up, and some doom will happen to them. In the end, Sully figures out how to beat bad Karma, and he changes as a result of it. Although it sounds like this novel could be preachy, I don’t feel like it is. The lesson is there, but the characters and situations are interesting enough to get kids into the novel and discuss the lesson afterwards.
Buy this book from the publisher: MUSEITUP Publishing: http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museityoung/karmack-detail
So, what do I do with this book?
1. This is a great book to work on reading skills, such as character arc, character emotions, and character motivation. Sully goes through amazing changes in the book–you can discuss why with kids–and also list characteristics he has BEFORE he meets Karmack that might have led to him being able to make these changes.
2. Give students a journal writing prompt: If you could have a conversation with Karmack about your good and bad deeds, what would you say? Write a one-page conversation between you and Karmack OR a letter to Karmack. Are you “balanced”? Could you get “balanced”? What if you are leaning in a good way–more good than bad?
3. Before you read the end of the book with children, stop at the part where Sully says he put the mustache on the photo. Ask: Do you think he really did it? Why or why not? How did it get there? Why is it there? What’s going to happen now that Sully admitted it, but maybe didn’t do it? Ask students to use their knowledge of the story world to make some predictions. Then after reading the ending, see who predicted correctly. (As long as a prediction is logical, even if not correct, it works for this activity.)
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I have a special book to share with you today for chapter book/middle-grade readers (ages 8 to 12 or so) titled, A Cat Named Mouse: The Miracle of Answered Prayer. This book is inspirational or Christian fiction for kids with a heavy emphasis on prayer and Bible verses. It would be perfect for a homeschool family or group, parent/child book club, or a Christian school. Parents who are wanting to introduce or emphasize how prayer is answered and how Bible verses can be applied to our lives would also find this book helpful for their children to read or to read with their children. It has several illustrations. AND THE BEST NEWS OF ALL: I HAVE A COPY TO GIVEAWAY! IF you would like to enter the giveaway, please go below to the Rafflecopter form and do the tasks that you are interested in doing. Each task you do gives you more entries into the giveaway contest, which closes at the end of February. I’m using the Rafflecopter system because it is an easy way to keep track of entries! Thanks for trying it out with me.
A Cat Named Mouse: The Miracle of Unanswered Prayer is. . .
*A chapter book/young middle-grade realistic, inspirational fiction (based on a true story) for kids ages 8 to 12
*12-year-old girl as the main character (and a cat named Mouse!)
*Rating: A Cat Named Mouse is an enjoyable and fast read, perfect for a parent to read with a child. This book is important to discuss with children–there are a lot of Christian concepts and ideas!
Short, short summary: After being introduced to Annie and her family and their cats (as well as some neat practices they have such as their TALK UP tradition), Mouse, one of their cats, goes missing when a large animal tears down a window screen, scaring the cat who likes to sleep on the windowsill. The cat either falls out the window or jumps out the open window and goes missing. During this time, Annie and her family come up with many different ideas to get the cat back–one of them being prayer, another discussing how God has a plan. They also make signs and look for the cat. So, since it’s a children’s book, you can probably figure out what happens in the end–but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone! Annie is a wonderful main character with very loving parents.
So what do I do with this book?
1. It’s important to discuss the concepts with children that are presented in the book. One of the main things to focus on is that Annie and her parents use prayer to help find Mouse, but they don’t just sit by and hope God finds the cat. They are proactive also. Asking children to respond in a journal after reading a section will give them a chance to reflect on what happened before the discussion.
2. This is a great book to compare a personal story to what happens in the story. Children can either discuss something their family prayed for and the prayer was answered or a time something important to them was lost and then found with God’s help. If they think about this time in their own lives, they will understand the feelings Annie is having, too.
3. If you are reading this post between Feb. 18, 2013 and Feb. 28, 2013, then enter the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win a copy. (United States and/or Canada mailing addresses only please) If you have any problems, leave a comment or e-mail me at margo (at) margodill.com. Depending on your Internet browser, you may have to click the blue underlined words that say: RAFFLECOPTER in order to see the form and enter the contest! Remember if you enter a comment, make sure you check the box in the RAFFLECOPTER FORM, so you are entered to win. 
EVERYBODY who checks the free entry gets two free entries into the contest without having to do anything else.
This is a book I am EXTREMELY excited to tell you about for several reasons. . .
*Historical fiction, upper-middle grade/tween/younger YA (set during the Orphan Train days)
*Three main characters: a street-smart boy, an older sister, and a younger sister–all three have chapters in their voice
*Rating: Well, is it appropriate to give a rating to a book you helped to edit? For the Love of Pete is a very well-written book with an interesting story/adventure that will appeal to both boys and girls–perfect for the classroom and/or home school setting!
Short, short summary:
The book starts out with a bang! Iris and her sister Rosie have to flee their New York tenement when their mother is murdered. This puts them out on the street, where they meet a “street rat”, Pete (love this character!). The three come to rely on each other and become friends. When they are put on the Orphan Train and taken to Iowa, they hope to stay together–but adults have different ideas about where the children should be and with whom. However, you can’t squash a child’s spirit or determination, and Pete, Iris, and Rosie work hard to get back together again.So, what do I do with this book?
1. Compare a nonfiction book, such as Orphan Train Rider: One Boy’s True Story by Andrea Warren, to Ethel Barker’s book. What makes For the Love of Pete historical fiction? What true facts can you learn from it about the Orphan Train? Can you tell the author did research to make the characters experience the same things as the actual boys on the Orphan Train? (The back of the book does have a small section on the Orphan Train with a photo of boys living on the street.)
2. As mentioned, this book is told in three different voices–Pete, Rosie, and Iris. Ethel Barker does an amazing job with each voice, and this is a perfect example of voice to use with a six plus one traits lesson. You can read a bit of each chapter to the students, and without looking, they can tell you which character is speaking. Which voice do they hear? What makes that voice unique? Is it word choice? Sentence fluency? Which voice do they like best? Have a discussion about voice using this book as a starting point (since it has such a strong voice!).
3. This is also a great book to study characters, motivation, and feelings. Each character has their own motivation throughout the story (and it changes a bit as the characters develop). For example, ask students what is Pete’s motivation in the beginning of the book for helping the sisters. How does he follow through on this? Why does this motivation fit his character? As for feelings, how does Iris feel toward the end of the book? (Sad and determined) Why?
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I am currently creating a short guide (PDF or Word) that shows how you can use my book, Finding My Place: One Girl’s Strength at Vicksburg (ages 9 to 12) in 6 + 1 Traits of Writing lessons. The guide will be free for the teachers at any workshops I do at schools and if a teacher/home school parent buys a copy of my book. To give a little preview, I thought I would show an excerpt of each trait on the next few Wednesdays. So, here we go. . .
IDEA is one of the 6 + 1 traits of writing. It is important to start with a good idea when you write because it makes it easier for the words to flow and more interesting for the reader. Usually the first idea we come up with is not our best idea. We need to dig deeper to find a unique idea. You can do this with brainstorming, word webs, free writing, talking to a friend, or even research. For example with my book, I wanted to write about the Civil War for kids, but there are already a ton of books out there about the Civil War. SO, I had to dig deeper, and I did some research. Then, I decided to tell a story from the Confederate viewpoint, make the main character a citizen and a girl instead of a solider/drummer and a boy, and I set it during one specific battle that had extremely interesting elements, such as the citizens living in caves to protect themselves from the Yankees’ bombs.
In Finding My Place: One Girl’s Strength at Vicksburg, Anna, my 13-year-old main character, loves to write. She writes about events that happen in her daily life, poems, fiction stories, and letters. In one section toward the end of the book (page 134, chapter 21), Michael, Anna’s older brother, asks her to tell a story she has written. At first, she doesn’t want to because she doesn’t think it is a very good idea. Then when she does tell it, she realizes she never really ended the story. She started with the premise of a selfish orphan living with an elderly woman, who delivers food to his room. One day the food stops coming, and the orphan gets angry. He must leave his room to investigate.
Michael asks her what happened, and Anna replies, “Yes, she had a heart attack. I never really finished the story.”
Here’s where you can use the IDEA trait with your students and this premise. Give them 10 minutes to brainstorm an ending to Anna’s story. Give them a few questions to think about: What could have happened to the elderly lady? What did the orphan do next? Does the elderly lady necessarily have to be deceased? Could she be teaching the orphan a lesson? And so on.
After the 10-minute brainstorm session, have students discuss their ideas with a partner. Then have a class discussion, where you make a list of the different ideas.
When concluding the lesson, talk to students about a fiction story they have written and ask them to think about their ending. Are they satisfied with it? Could they use these techniques to come up with an alternate (and perhaps better!) ending? Work on these new endings during the next writing period.
For more information on FINDING MY PLACE and to read an excerpt, please go to this link: http://margodill.com/blog/finding-my-place/
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I’m welcoming Alex Boles, whom I met through my critique group (she’s the sister of one of our members) and who has a very exciting and important website and book! I encourage everyone to check out the website here and then the book through the Amazon link at the bottom of the post. I will let her tell you about the book and the website because she took the time to answer some questions! This seems to be teen week on my blog this week because this is another book and website PERFECT for teens! Here we go:
Margo: Hi Alex! Welcome to Read These Books and Use Them. How do you describe the Unwritten Letters Project? When did you get the idea?
Alex: The Unwritten Letters Project (ULP) is a website dedicated to allowing people to release emotions in a cathartic, non-violent fashion. It’s a place where anyone can write a letter to those who they haven’t had the chance to say goodbye to, didn’t have the courage or resources to say these things to them before or just release feelings, or confessions about themselves or their lives. ULP is more than just a letter-writing, interactive website. It’s a place where people can come to release emotions they didn’t know they were feeling and use it to cope and heal. Reading the other letters helps people to realize that we’re not alone in this huge world, and chances are, someone else has gone through or is going through something similar. If you can’t connect with the people close to you, maybe you can through someone’s letter from across the world.
I came upon the idea for the Unwritten Letters Project in 2009. I was a junior in college; and once the book version was released, I became the youngest (and some say first) undergrad to publish a book at Truman State University. The idea was inspired by a number of films and a class I was taking at the time called “Family Communication.” After reflecting throughout the course on how I would communicate my feelings growing up, I realized I tend to write how I’m feeling in journals or through creative writing. I created the website to see how many others use the same writing method of coping. If others used writing or could see how writing can be healing, then I figured the website could help a lot of people through difficult times and overcome hardships.
Margo: So, it started as a website! What were people posting to the website? What did you post?
Alex: Yes, the Unwritten Letters Project is in its truest form, a website. At the beginning, professors at my university would use the site for classroom projects and assignments. I used those letters to create the original base of letters and then began a self-ran marketing campaign to solicit letters from across the globe. Seemingly overnight, I was receiving letters from countries like Japan, Germany, and Great Britain–sometimes in their native languages adding to each letters authenticity. People would write about current love interests, lost love, friendship, regrets, passion, their own lives and wishes. I would receive letters about bullying, suicide, and self-harm. It seemed to open up to somewhat of a confessional, and people began trusting me with their deepest secrets. I feel very overwhelmed and lucky to be trusted by thousands of people just trying to heal.
Truthfully, I have posted a few of my own letters. I posted my own letters more in the earlier years because I had some old letters from my past that I wanted to let loose. Nowadays, I let the readers’ thoughts make up the website. It’s always been more about letting others utilize the website than what I can get out of it.
Margo: What a wonderful service you are providing other people! Why did you decide to make it into a book?
Alex: I decided to make the Unwritten Letters Project into a book because I wanted people to be able to get as much out of this project as possible. It’s a “coffee-table” book–something you read to feel comfort and hope. It’s something to read to realize you’re not alone, and things will get better. I wanted something tangible that readers could cherish and pass down to their children as something that helped them get through life’s hardest moments. I also wanted to use the resources I had while I had them. My college experience was amazing, and my university was very welcoming of ambition. They let me saturate the campus with my dream and embraced my enthusiasm for the project and its message. I was able to go in to classrooms to spread awareness, and the University Bookstore even hosted a book signing where the president and provost attended with campus and local media present. I realized I had an amazing support system through school, family, and friends and wanted to take advantage of the resources at hand, so that I could continue to spread the Unwritten Letters Project.
Margo: How awesome! I went to TSU, too–way before you–it was still Northeast Missouri State University. (smiles) Anyway, what a great opportunity and what a great way you use that opportunity. So, how can teachers, parents, and counselors use the book with young adults?
Alex: Educators and professionals can definitely use the Unwritten Letters Project as a resource for learning or healing. It’s a great example of real life hardships and how people deal with, overcome, and react to these situations. Nothing is embellished or changed from the original letters. Every letter is pure raw emotion and real-life scenarios and actions. With so many fiction and fantasy novels becoming increasingly popular, we lose sight of reality and how people can really be affected by life’s decisions and our actions. Reading this book can remind us of our humanity. It reminds people that we feel, we’re alive, and we need to consciously make an effort to keep living our lives to the fullest each day. Because if we don’t, then we end up regretting the moments we didn’t have or wishing we would have done something when we had the chance.
Margo: WOW! That is powerful and so true and such an important message. Can people still post letters to your website?
Alex: Readers don’t post letters to the site directly. They submit the letters to a portal that sends them to a private e-mail. I then choose letters that are posted. I continue to receive letters on a daily basis and post as often as I can. I am definitely still accepting letters on the website. I encourage everyone to try writing at least one letter. I think you’d surprise yourself.
Margo: I hope some of my readers will consider it and use the website and book with their students/children. Do you have plans for future books?
Alex: I don’t have a second book planned for the near future, but I do have plans to publish more books with specific themes. As long as readership continues or improves, I will always run the Unwritten Letters Project. When the demand for another book increases, I will solicit publishers and agents. I’d like the second book to have a heavier following and possibly a blog/book tour if possible. Another book is definitely a possibility, but when it happens is up to the fans and future unknown publisher.
Margo: Thank you so much, Alex. I am just really in awe of what you are doing and think it is a wonderful idea and service. Readers, you can look inside the book on Amazon!
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Kaolin, the author of Talking About Race (publisher: Crandall, Dostie & Douglass Books, Inc.), contacted me about her book, and I thought it sounded so interesting that I told her to send it to me. And I’m so glad she did. This post is going to be a little different than my normal posts about books you can use with students (you could probably use this with teens and college-age students)–I am going to share the book with you and tell you how to use it, but I will show you examples straight from the pages of the book. I also want to share with you a little of the author’s story. So, here we go. . .
Kaolin was born Patricia Anne Graham, and she legally changed her name to Kaolin with no surname in 1991. She has had many jobs in her life: a waitress, a singer, a writer, and a teacher. She’s worked in adolescent programs with teens with disabilities and in politics. She has also worked on a tree farm. In 1994, she designed and taught a course titled, “Let’s Talk About Race: Confronting Racism Through Education,” which after many years became this book I’m talking about today.
The book is divided into seven chapters with a “writing interval” at the beginning. It is written for “white people working to achieve racial equality in their lives, and to readers of color who would like insight into psychological and social experiences white people encounter.” Personally, I find this perspective fascinating–as a white woman, I never thought it appropriate or even necessary to address the concerns and topics that Kaolin discusses in her book. But after reading it, I see that it is, and I saw myself and my feelings in the pages of her book–especially when I was younger. I can see youth groups, book clubs, college classes, and more reading and studying this book. It will start conversations that need to be had. I hope that I can discuss these issues with my stepson soon and with my daughter when she is older. And as the cover states, it does not just have to be white people–it can be all races working together.
As Kaolin states in her introduction about why she wrote it: “Because learning how to talk about racism is hard. Most of us ‘react’ to it first. . . The lack of thought that has gone into many white people’s position about racism is amazing to me. . . Talking About Race meets that need.”
She begins with recognizing racism with lists that describe what a racist believes and with a section that even addresses, “How do you know you whether or not you are a racist?” The next chapter is titled “Resisting Racism,” which can actually bring up many uncomfortable feelings–especially when children/teens are faced with racism from parents or other loved ones, and they don’t know how to confront these beliefs or even act around the person. Kaolin gives some ideas for figuring this out. She continues this theme in the “Defenses and Insecurities” chapter.
The book goes on through real-life examples and encouraging prose, as well as pages of thinking questions with room to write answers, to face racism head on and understand how it can affect people in a family and in a community. Kaolin forces people to also look at themselves and how behaviors can either promote or stop racism. It’s not a book intended for people to feel bad about themselves or members of their family. It’s a book written to get people talking and thinking and hopefully changing hurtful behaviors.
I highly recommend using Talking About Race with teens and college-age students. I think it is perfect for a home school group, a church youth group, a community group like Boys and Girls Club, and more. It’s well-done!
Here are a few of the questions from it that get adults and children USING the book:
Check it out on Amazon or at Kaolin’s website if you don’t believe me!
Today, I welcome my colleague and fellow WOW! team member, Chynna Laird, with her YA paranormal-suspense novel, Dark Water. Chynna has written a creepy, suspenseful book that also touches on some serious issues contemporary children/teens are dealing with such as a parent at war, PTSD, and death of a loved one. Chynna also has a copy to giveaway, so leave a comment for your chance to win! It’s YA, remember–and I know how many of us adults also love YA!
Margo: Welcome, Chynna, to Read These Books and Use Them. I am so thrilled to host you today and your first YA book, Dark Water. Can you tell us a little about your book?
Chynna: Thanks for having me here, Margo. Yes! Dark Water is a young adult suspense/paranormal. It’s about a sixteen-year old girl trying to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. The deeper she digs, the bigger the mystery seems to get. Here’s the book cover synopsis:
“Some answers are found far beneath the surface…”
Sixteen-year-old Freesia Worth has a mystery to solve—the disappearance of her mother at their family lake house. Her traumatized sister Sage hasn’t said a word ever since that day.
After almost a year, Detective Barry Cuaco has found nothing but frustrating dead ends. Soon he’ll have to let the case go. But Freesia isn’t making it easy for him. She needs answers. Now.
With the help of her secret crush, Rick, and a mysterious Goth girl named Mizu, Freesia learns about an ancient Native legend and a man known as the Watcher of the Lake.
Will Freesia finally uncover the truth? Or will the lake keep its secrets far beneath the dark water?
Margo: Spooky! I hope that Freesia can uncover the truth. (Winks) I read on your website that this was your NaNoWriMo [National Novel Writing Month in November] project in 2011. Tell us a little about the process of Dark Water going from a NaNoWriMo project to a published book.
Chynna: Just before NaNoWriMo, I had this really creepy dream about an old Native man and a ghost he was trying to help. When I got up, I googled Native water legends, and my story came to me. I was so excited about this project, I actually finished it before NaNo was over! After that, I spent a couple of weeks editing and polishing it, then sent it to a publisher I knew who handles several books in the suspense/paranormal genre (Imajin Books). And then Dark Water was born!
Margo:How cool is that! Just goes to show you why we should listen to our dreams! If you had to compare your book to others on the market right now, where would it fit? How is it similar and different from these?
Chynna: I’d have to say that Dark Water is very similar to the works of Chris Grabenstein, Sharon Sala, and Charlotte Blackwell. They all have a wonderful talent of weaving creepiness and fun into their storylines. Dark Water
is a bit different in that I also mix in the issues I think that need to be talked about more. Of course, authors have to be very careful when doing this because younger readers do NOT like being preached to. When you write about these issues, you need to make sure that it is at their level and non-preachy. So I hope that I accomplished that. I think I did…Margo: Great, then let me ask: What are some themes you are exploring in this book?
Chynna: There are several issues I touch on in Dark Water. First, the main character, Freesia, is part of a military family. Her father was killed in a mission in Afghanistan. Another theme I touch on is Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Freesia’s younger sister, Sage, lives with it, and I give a sense of what it’s like to live with a sibling who has this disorder. I also touch on mental health issues, specifically Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Before she disappeared, Freesia’s mother was a clinical psychologist who worked with children and families coping with this very difficult disorder. Finally, I touch on how young people deal with the very painful situation of parental loss.
I love to educate and stimulate conversation about these issues by weaving the information within a good story. That’s the best way to digest it, I think.
Margo: I couldn’t agree with you more! That’s the entire reason for my blog. How could teachers or parents use Dark Water? Are there certain discussion points that would naturally occur after reading it?
Chynna: I think there would be several discussion points after reading it. Young people may have questions, for example, about what SPD or PTSD is. Teachers can open the discussion to researching and learning about these disorders, how it affects individuals, and what they can do to help raise awareness. Caregivers can use the book to teach tolerance as well as to connect with their children by encouraging questions or concerns. That’s the first step to understanding. =)
Margo: So true! Are you working on any more YA books? I know you’ve written a variety of books—a memoir, a parenting book, a children’s book, and more.
Chynna: Yes I am, actually. I am working on one project that is a YA contemporary (tentatively called Just Shut Up and Drive), a potential action/immortal series as well as a special surprise. ;D
Margo: That sounds great! Maybe one of these days I’ll find a publisher for my YA, and then we can be YA authors together! Anything else you’d like to add about writing for YA and your book, Dark Water?
Chynna: The only thing I’d like to add is that anyone wanting to write in this genre, or already is, should just do it. Research the genre, talk to young people reading these books, and put out the best you can do.
Margo: Chynna, thank you for your time and encouraging words.
Readers, don’t forget to leave a comment by Sunday September 2 for your chance to win!
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The Divorce Girl: A Novel of Art and Soul by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Publisher: Ice Cube Press
I’m excited to introduce to you–The Divorce Girl as part of the WOW! Women On Writing blog tour. What a great, great book. I was captivated on page one and couldn’t wait to get to the end of the book. I recommend this book to ANYONE! I have a print copy to give away–from the author. Please leave a question and/or comment about the book by Sunday, August 5 at 8:00 pm CST to be entered to win (US mailing addresses only, please.)
Here’s my review:
From the first page of The Divorce Girl: A Novel of Art and Soul by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, readers will discover that it’s a well-written novel with a lively, witty, teenage voice narrating the story. Mirriam-Goldberg captivates you on page one and doesn’t let go until the end of the book. She includes unique, well-rounded characters; unusual settings; and plenty of interesting subplots as well as an understanding of how the world and people work, especially during and after a divorce.
Mirriam-Goldberg is the 2009-2012 Poet Laureate of Kansas. Her love of words and ability to string them together to create a masterpiece shines through in this novel. Simply stated: “It’s a good book!” Although divorce is a subject that has been written about thousands of times in YA and women’s fiction, The Divorce Girl will still fascinate readers who will be drawn into the story because of Mirriam-Goldberg’s writing.
It centers on Deborah, a high school student in New Jersey in the 1970s and oldest daughter of Jewish parents, who announce that they are getting divorced with no huge surprise to her. Her parents have been fighting for years, and it became progressively worse after a baby sibling died of SIDS.
At first when the divorce is announced, Deborah’s father takes a special interest in her, leaving the two younger (surviving) children with their mother. Her dad takes her regularly to eat at a diner, where a Greek hostess, Fatima, works. It soon becomes clear that he has an ulterior motive to these dad-daughter dinners. But Deborah doesn’t seem to mind. She likes the attention from her father, who is talking to her as if she is an equal.
Because of the special attention from her father and the tensions that rise with her mother during the divorce proceedings, Deborah winds up choosing to live with her father and Fatima, which causes many problems within the family, including with her grandparents.
Soon, she realizes that her father isn’t quite the man she thought he was or that he presents himself to be in public; but she doesn’t feel like she has anywhere else to go. He works her hard, too—at home, cooking and cleaning, and at a weekend auction, similar to a flea market, selling large-sized clothing.
The good thing is Deborah loves photography and has quite a talent for it, and her father allows her to take a photography course. He also allows her to get involved with a youth group at the local, and somewhat liberal, temple.
These two outlets and the people there basically save her soul from destruction, as she lives with an abusive father and is estranged from her mother.
Although this book is written with a teenage narrator, the author state
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 5/25/2012
After successfully self-publishing a memoir made up of short stories, the writer gives in to the pull to write a novel. Everyone in her writing group and the majority of those in the writing club she joined when writing her memoir are writing novels.
A hysterical title brings her enthusiastic support to go for it. She starts out strong but before long the story coasts to a stop. No matter which way into the project she pushes, passion and the muse refuse their help.
An always journal writer, she has won awards and publication for her short non-fiction writing. Slowly, even the passion for journalling disappears.
Giving herself the gift of a month alone in the woods by a lake, she commits to spending the precious quiet time purging her journals. She tears out the passages that move her and toss the rest. Her plan is to put the best of the best in one journal, shelve it beside her other beloved books and be done with writing, perhaps forever.
Instead, the moving passages invigorate her. Suddenly, words are tumbling out of her about life and spirit and joy. Rather than surrender to the familiar pull to write, however, she stiffens. The words clunk to the page and lie there like a board. The idea of making anything worthwhile, publishable, meaningful stops her cold.
This writer thrives when writing and falters when silenced. In the pursuit of publication and writing for others, she lost what means most to her -- her writing.
I give her permission to simply show up and allow for the words to be imperfect. Forget the end result. Simply write. Nearly instantaneously, her voice changes from lethargic to shiny and full of promise.
Give yourself the permission to write for writing sake. Stay in the moment of the words. Forget what comes next, if anything comes next. For now, simply write and marvel at the miracle of writing words that come from you as if from nowhere.
To familiarize yourself with the Universal Story and basic plot tips and tricks:
1) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master (The companion workbook is coming this summer and available for pre-order now ~~ The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories)
2) Watch the Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay?
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Start Journaling and Change Your Life in 7 Days
by Mari L. McCarthy
Today, I welcome back Mari L. McCarthy, whom I just love. She knows everything about journaling, inspiring writers, and encouraging everyone to do their very best! In the winter, I took her 28-day journaling challenge; and I found that journaling can really help you get out all those worries, so that you can concentrate on the important matters like your WIP. Journaling is for everyone–teachers, parents, writers, librarians, and students.
Mari is back with a new book and new Start Journaling and Change Your Life in 7 Days Challenge, which will be June 4-10. It’s free to do the challenge–you just have to purchase the workbook, OR you can purchase the workbook and do it on your own at any time. For more information about this, go to Mari’s website: http://www.createwritenow.com/start-journaling-workbook
Today, Mari has written a wonderful post about taking some time to play around with your creativity. She gives you several ways to do this. If you are a teacher, you could have your students do these, too.
And we are having a giveaway! Please leave a comment below or a question for Mari by Sunday night, May 6, and one winner will be chosen by random.org. The winner may choose either an e-copy of Start Journaling and Change Your Life in 7 Days, the spiral-bound version, or one of Mari’s signature t-shirts (see photo). So, let’s “hear” what Mari has to say and leave a comment below!
Just Playing Around
(GUEST POST BY Mari L. McCarthy)
How long has it been since you played? I’m referring to the kind of playing that you used to do when you were five. Playing nonsensically, just following your nose, moving, imagining, making noise, being silly and crazy without thought or inhibitions. Making up your own rules, focused myopically on your story, you are no longer yourself; you’ve become the narrative unfolding.
The older we get, the less time we spend playing. It’s sort of sad. Thank goodness, there’s journal writing to help keep us young.
If it’s been far too long since you had a bunch of fun just playing around, pull up a journal and start being foolish.
• Scribble, for instance. Put the tip of the pen on the paper and let it move. Follow, do not lead it. No thoughts or objectives. No rhyme or reason. Just line, shape, marks on paper.
• Get a charcoal stick from the art supply store or a marker with a broad-to-fine tip and play with light and dark, thick and thin, line and space on the page.
• Doodle, drawing the cartoons, sketches, and stick figures that occur to you randomly, without precedent or meaning.
• Paste bits of this and that together in your journal to make a collage. This may be scraps of anything around you, whether 2- or 3-dimensional; it may be souvenirs from a walk in nature, or a selection of images from magazines or photos.
• Make up a story in your journal: a fantasy, mystery, romance, or melodrama. Describe exotic characters, adventures, and intrigues.
• Write a stream-of-consciousness list of words–both real and imaginary words. Let them spill out one after the other.
• Create
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Congratulations to dollsstory for winning The Smiley Book of Colors in last week’s giveaway. I am excited to host another author and book giveaway today–it’s a “basketball” book in honor of March Madness (Anyone still have a good bracket?). The book is called Transcendental Basketball Blues, the author is Mike Pemberton, and it is YA/crossover historical fiction, although it’s set in the 1970s (so it’s not that far back in history!). Mike has given me a copy to giveaway, so please leave a comment below by Sunday night, April 1 for your chance to win. I’m also doing a little different post this time because I was also lucky enough to interview Mike for my Sunday Books column in The News-Gazette, (Champaign/Urbana, IL newspaper), and I am posting the feature article here. This way you get to know Mike and his book a little better. . .
When Mike Pemberton, author of Transcendental Basketball Blues and Hoopeston, IL resident, was cleaning out his garage ten years ago, he found some old creative writing notebooks and newspaper articles from when he was a sportswriter. He told his wife, “I’d forgotten I wanted to be a writer.”
But unlike many people who have the same forgotten dream, Pemberton did something about it. He decided to pursue a master’s degree in English from Illinois State University and started writing short stories, which were soon published.
While pursuing his master’s degree, completed in May 2011, he came up with the idea for his first novel, Transcendental Basketball Blues. A young adult novelist, Chris Crutcher, inspired him with his book, Whale Talk. In it, Crutcher used sports to “framework” more serious teen issues, such as child abuse, racism, and bullying.
In graduate school, Pemberton also learned about nineteenth century philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, and his beliefs on transcendence. Pemberton meshed sports and philosophy together to create his basketball story.
“In the novel, athletic and musical moments of transcendence serve as common ground for the basketball playing Jack and [his mother] Mary Lou, a classically trained musician, and help them navigate through the wreckage left in the wake of her manic episodes,” he explained.
The story is set in the 1970s and focuses on main character, Jack Henderson, a “star basketball player.” Everyone thinks he has it all; but when he starts high school, his mother disappears and is diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. She is often escaping her life when she doesn’t take her medication. The book jacket states, “By Jack’s senior year, love of music and basketball intertwine as mother and son seek solace within the transcendent moments yielded by their twin passions.” These would be music and basketball, respectively.
Pemberton decided to self-publish his novel after receiving rejections on the manuscript from agents and publishers. However, he also received positive feedback, but they ultimately said the time period was not working for them. They were worried about how to market and sell the book.
Then he read an article in the Wall Street Journal about some authors having a lot of success with self-publishing. He decided to stop the query process at that time, paid for a copy editor, cut ten thousand words, and rearranged some chapters. He went t
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I am excited to be giving away Stranger Moon and doing it with Rafflecopter for the first time! I would love it if you tried out Rafflecopter with me by doing as many of the tasks as you can below and then getting all the possible points to win this AWESOME book. The contest goes until Sunday, March 11 at midnight (so enter on Saturday or before), and it is open to anyone–(Canada and U.S.–you can get a hard copy; overseas–you can get an e-book). So, here we go. . .
Stranger Moon by Heather Zydek
*Middle-grade novel, contemporary fiction
*12-year-old girl as main character
*Rating: I loved Stranger Moon! I think middle-grade readers will, too. It has several boy characters that are friends with Gaia, and it has bugs (LOL), so I think it will appeal to both boys and girls. If you have a child being bullied, this book is great conversation starter.
Short, short summary: It’s summer break, and Gaia is searching for a Luna moth after she finds a Luna moth wing pressed between the pages of an old insect guide. When she convinces her friends to go with her to search for the moth, they encounter a strange woman in the woods who EATS bugs. She freaks them out, of course, but she also peaks their interest, and they go on a hunt to find out whom she is. In the meantime, they pick up another misunderstood classmate, encounter the bullies– THE EMMAS, and deal with their own issues. Gaia has a father who pays NO ATTENTION to her since her mother died, and she is tired of feeling like she’s invisible in her own home. So, as you can see, there’s a lot going on in this book. As more information is revealed about the mystery woman, readers can try to guess her identity. Once it’s discovered, they can debate what they would do with the info. The author does a great job of moving the story forward and tying up all these subplots in the end.
So, what do I do with this book?
1. This is a terrific book to open up conversations with children about how they are feeling at home, about bullying, about friendships, and so on. Use the characters in the book. How did you feel when Gaia and her friends got into the big fight? What do you think about the Emmas? and so on.
2. Your young readers may or may not be into insects. If they are, then ask them to find out about Luna moths on their own. If they aren’t, what are they passionate about? What would they spend their summer vacation searching for? Have them write a journal entry about this and compare themselves to Gaia.
3. The characters in this book are complex and well-developed–they are perfect for character studies. You could teach character motivation, character feelings, and even problem-solving (how characters solve problems in the story). Allow students to choose their favorite character and then write a letter as if they are that character. They could also write a journal entry.
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway below! Please email margo (at) margodill.com if you run into any problems.
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I am happy to announce that Krysten H. won the copy of Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin. Thank you to everyone who left a comment and got excited about this new YA book and debut author as well as her informative post! If you didn’t win, consider purchasing the book for a teen in your life.
Today, I am going to preview a book I am SUPER EXCITED to share with you, but I’m not going to actually share it with you until Thursday. Can you wait that long? Plus, when I do share it, I am also going to be hosting a giveaway for it–you can win it as an e-book or as a hard copy. I will be giving out ONE. The book is. . .
Stranger Moon by Heather Zydek
It’s middle-grade and published by Moth Wing Press.
It has adventure and humor. It has kids that still play together and like to be outside. It has secret clubs and bullies and strangers. I don’t want to tell you too much because I plan to reveal the plot and how you can use it with kids on Thursday. But I will provide a link to it on Amazon, and I am telling you that it is amazing. You will love it and your children/students will love it. I plan to give it 5 stars on Amazon, so stay tuned–you could win it!
To find out more about the author, visit: www.heatherzydek.com
Mark your calendars and come back on Thursday, 3/8 to enter the giveaway for this book!
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I am so happy to launch my good friend and great author, Margaret Norton’s, blog tour today for her book, When Ties Break. Margaret Norton is a writer, speaker, personal life coach, and It Works! distributor. She blogs about her life at http://healthy-n-fitgranny.com. Her first book, When Ties Break: A Memoir About How to Thrive After Loss, is available as an e-book for just 99 cents on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with grand kids, reading, traveling, photography, and dancing.
**And even more exciting, Margaret is giving away fabulous prizes to go along with her Celebrate 60 blog tour and re-launch of her book. Here are details: **
Leave a comment on this post to enter into Margaret’s Celebrate 60 blog tour contest. Margaret is celebrating her 60th birthday by giving away three grand prizes: a 30-minute FREE life coaching session (by phone—for U.S. residents only), her memoir in paperback (for U.S. residents only), and her memoir in e-book (for anyone!) format. Each blogger participating in the tour will randomly select one winner from all the comments and enter that name into the grand prize drawing. Margaret will contact the three grand prize winners for their choice of prize the week of 2/27 and announce winners on her blog on March 2.
***For extra entries into the contest, please tweet about the contest, using the hashtag #Celebrate60 OR tweet about why you love being the age you are! (Don’t forget to use the hashtag.) Anyone who tweets with #Celebrate60 will get an extra entry into the contest for the three grand prizes. Any questions? E-mail ME, Margo, Margaret’s publicist, at margo (at) margodill.com .
Now here’s a guest post from Margaret herself!
Never Give-Up on Your Dream to be a Writer
Several years ago, at the age of 58, I published my first book. It was the first thing that I had written – except for church bulletins, family Christmas letters, and business correspondence – in 35 years. During my book tour, I did a signing in the town where I attended high school and had lunch with my best friend from the 9th and 10th grade. My contact with her had been sporadic through the years for various reasons. As we spent time together and talked about school events, memories came flooding back. She told me that in the 9th grade I had wanted to be a writer.
Wanted to be a writer? How did I forget that? What happened to that dream? How did I get so far off course? My working life included a combination of owning my own businesses, working for non-profit agencies and 17 years trying to climb the corporate ladder. There was very little writing and very little encouragement to develop my creativity. I married young, had a family, and then divorced. And repeated that several times. Life got in the way. I needed to earn enough money to raise my family and sought jobs with the highest income potential rather than following my heart. My life came to an abrupt crossroads in 2004 after the death of eight individuals connected to me.
Write to heal is what my therapist suggested. During the first few months of 2005, I poured all my thoughts onto paper. Why did bad things happen to good people? One thing led to another. I found myself going all the way back to my childhood,
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*Young adult, historical fiction novel
*Teenage, African-American cowboy as main character
*Rating: I’m so glad I found Deadwood Jones at my local library! It’s a great book about a very interesting topic and will really appeal to boys.
Short, short summary:
(FROM BOOK JACKET–sorry, busy weekend!): When Prometheus Jones wins a horse with a raffle ticket he got from Pernie Boyd and LaRue Dill, he knows things won’t go smoothly. No way are those two rednecks going to let a black man, even a freeman from the day of his birth, keep that horse. So as soon as things get ugly, he jumps on the horse, pulls his cousin Omer up behind him, and heads off. They hook up with a cattle drive out of Texas heading for Deadwood, South Dakota. Prometheus is a fine hand with a horse and not so bad with a gun, and both skills prove useful as the trip north throws every twist and turn imaginable at the young cowpokes. (It’s a good, old cowboy story! )
So, what do I do with this book?
1. Allow students to keep a reading response journal while reading this book. There are many issues in it–from the treatment of black cowboys/slaves to traveling West at a young age–when students come upon a passage they feel strongly about, they should write about their feelings in the reading response journal–BEFORE discussing them. Many times, the discussion will be stronger if reactions to the novel are written down first.
2. Compare/contrast the author’s note in the back of the book with what happened in the novel. Did Helen Hemphill do a good job of sharing the “truth” in this historical fiction novel? Students could also do their own research about cowboys if so desired.
3. How does the author paint a picture of the “Wild West” with her words? What type of word choice does she use? Study strong word choice selections as part of a 6 + 1 traits of writing lesson.
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*Middle-grade historical fiction with Christian themes (WWII)
*13-year-old girl as main character
*Rating: Last Page in the Diary will really appeal to girls who like historical fiction and like writing in their diaries. It is a great book to use in a home school or Christian school setting as so many tweens deal with this question: “How can God let bad things happen?” This book is especially great because it also teaches about history!
Short, short summary:
(From the Guardian Angel Publishing website (sorry! I am pressed for time tonight.): “Thirteen-year-old Patricia (Pat) Kelly bargains with God. If He will bring her best friend Mike (Yoshi Mizuki) home from a desert (Japanse Internment) prison camp and make things like they were before the war, maybe she can start trusting Him again. The war ends, but hate and persecution continue.” (There’s also a part of this book written in journal style!)So what do I do with this book?
1. If students do not know much about the period of history this book covers, then have them research different things mentioned in the book, such as Pearl Harbor Day or the Japanese Internment Camps. Students can write reports, do Power Point presentations, create posters, or some other way to share information with students.
2. Have readers ever felt the way Pat or Mike do in the novel–either with their relationship with God or as a victim of bullying/racism? These are great journal writing topics and discussion topics for tweens. Through the characters in this book, tweens may feel more comfortable talking about and/or writing about these issues and comparing/contrasting their experiences with the ones in the novel.
3. If students were involved in an essay contest, what would they write about? And why? You can even hold your own essay contest if you want to. . .:)
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By: Elizabeth King Humphrey,
on 9/11/2011
When I saw on the WOW! calendar that I was scheduled to post today a mix of emotions flooded my brain. What to do? What to write? How to pay homage (in a blog post on writing) to those who lost their lives ten years ago.So much has been written. Much by people who experienced the pain and agony firsthand. And, as we note today's somber anniversary, many published offerings have become available as time has passed. Courageous tales. Heartbreaking stories. Thorough accounts. As this significant anniversary approached and the airwaves filled with news stories about survivors and commemorations in every corner of America, bookshelves were readied for additional fiction and nonfiction offerings. For writers and readers, there are lists and reviews of must-read 9/11 books, 9/11 novels worth reading and discussions of whether there are any great 9/11 novels to read. I'm not going to add to the reviews. I'm not going to add to the commemorations.Today is one of those days that, as a writer, it is essential to take some time to journal. Even if you never spend time journaling, take time today to gather and reflect on your thoughts and observations. Write, not with a goal toward publication, but in the interest in capturing your life and your surroundings. Of just being a writer.Try to set aside a few quiet moments today, pen and paper in hand, and just write. And know that you are not alone.Elizabeth King Humphrey writes and edits from her home in Wilmington, N.C.
(C) Copyright wow-womenonwriting.com
Visit WOW! Women On Writing for lively interviews and how-tos. Check out WOW!'s Classroom and learn something new. Find jobs on the Freelance Job Board. Enter the Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest. Open Now!
I am happy to host, Linda Hubalek, today. She’s stopping by as part of the WOW! blog tour. She is giving away one copy of her historical fiction book, Trail of Thread, as an e-book, which can be read on a Kindle. If you’d like to win a copy or even just say, HI! GOOD JOB! SOUNDS INTERESTING!, please leave a comment after the post. This book has been used in classrooms! It’s a great resource. Contest ends Sunday, June 5 at 8:00 pm CST.
Planning for a Trip and Move…in 1854
Guest post by Linda Hubalek, author of Trail of Thread
Pretend your husband—or father—decided to leave the home you’ve always known, and you’ll be traveling through several states to a new territory he heard about. It’s the nineteenth century, and you may not even have a paper map to guide your family to this new, free land—but he is determined to start a new farm in some wild land behold civilization.
My ancestors, John and Deborah Pieratt—with six young children along—left Kentucky in 1854 to move to the new Territory of Kansas. Their journey was the basis of my book Trail of Thread, which is written in the form of letters that Deborah wrote and mailed back to family in Kentucky. Deborah describes what she saw and what their family experienced on their three-month journey.
The family had to carefully plan first so they would be prepared for the journey, and for the wilderness land they would eventually homestead on.
Here is an idea to use with the book:
Pretend you want to prepare for this journey as a class or family project.
When you’re done researching the trip preparation and route, look for stories from old newspaper clippings of what was going on in the Territory of Kansas during 1854-1865. The Pieratts settled in an area and time frame known as the Bleeding Kansas conflicts, due to the tension mounting about the slavery issue that exploded into the Civil War. (You can read more about these conflicts and how it affected the family by reading the rest of the Trail of Thread series, Thimble of Soil and Stitch of Courage.)
I brought the Pieratt’s story to life in the pages of Trail of Thread. Now can you plan your own trip in 1854?
Follow Linda on Twitter
Visit Linda on Facebook
Contact Linda at linda (at) lindahubalek.com
Don’t forget to enter the contest!
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My good cyber buddy, Clara Gillow Clark, is having her second annual Spilling Ink writing contest for children in grades 4 to 8! Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter is a great resource book for your classroom or your home–it’s a young writer’s handbook. On her blog, Clara says, “Spilling Ink is a humorous and inspiring book of advice, questions, and writing prompts for young writers.”
Basically,the contest goes like this: Write 200-300 words on one of these writing prompts:
Writing Prompts from Spilling Ink, the Book:
Writing Prompt #1: I DARE YOU Rewrite a scene from your life. Think of something that happened today. Something that wasn’t perfect–maybe something that was even downright mortifying–and rewrite it as you would have wanted it to happen. (Tip from Clara: Remember that scenes have a beginning, middle, and end!)
Writing Prompt #2: I DARE YOU Think of two people you admire. Now think of the thing you admire most about each of them. Combine those two qualities into one person and write about that person in the following situation: She or he is walking down the street and a strange man hands your character a small sealed carton and says, “Don’t let anything happen to this!” Then the man sprints away. What does your character do next?
Writing Prompt #3 from Wendy Townsend and Clara Gillow Clark: Is there a pet you wish you could have? Is it a wild animal? Maybe a goldfish, cat, dog, white mouse, a lizard or a snake? Perhaps, your pet is imaginary? You really really want this pet. Write about all the ways you might go about getting this pet. Now write a scene where you put that plan into action.
After you (students/kids) write your piece, you e-mail it to: [email protected] by May 1. You can win cash prizes, books, and a publication opportunity on Clara’s blog. For all the details, check out the post here.
If you are interested in Spilling Ink, click on the link below:
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I am happy to host author Nava Atlas today and her book: The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life. She has written a wonderful post on how juggling motherhood and a career has been a struggle for centuries! Her book is amazing because she poured through letters, journals, essays, memoirs, and more to find quotes from 12 classic women authors to create a book that is an inspiration for writers everywhere. This would be a perfect book for a high school English teacher or college writing teacher. I use my copy when giving presentations and for daily inspiration. Read what these authors had to say about motherhood. Then click on the Amazon link below to find out more about the book!
Classic Authors on Motherhood and the Juggling Act
by Nava Atlas
When discussing the challenges faced by women authors of the past in The Literary Ladies’ Guide to the Writing Life, one of the questions I’m asked with startling regularity is why it has always been so difficult to master the work/life/motherhood balance. It was grueling for Harriet Beecher Stowe in the nineteenth century; and while it may have been somewhat easier for Madeleine L’Engle in the twentieth, it was just as guilt-inducing. For those of us who write today, there are still no easy answers.
I’m not one to bandy about gender stereotypes, but it’s hard to dispute that in traditional relationships women still bear the greatest share of childcare and household management. This is tricky enough in situations where both partners work, and even more so in instances where the woman’s work is something she actually likes and that gives her creative gratification. The impulse is always to put others first—if not our kids, then our parents, or our partner, or our community. How dare I take this time to write, our guilty mind frets, when there’s so much to do, and when so-and-so needs me?
In times past, if a woman wanted to give her all to her writing pursuits, she often had to forego family life. Fewer than half of well-known women authors of past generations were mothers. Of the twelve authors I focus on in this book, only four were mothers (Harriet Beecher Stowe, Madeleine L’Engle, L.M. Montgomery, and George Sand), and that’s a fairly accurate reflection of how the profession was in the past. Now, more women writers than ever want to enjoy a fulfilling creative life as well as a family. It’s comforting to learn that women authors of the distant and not-so-distant past, like most of us, muddled through as best they could, and dealt with daily disruptions and longer interruptions. And yes, they felt guilty, acknowledged it, and wrote anyway. They just couldn’t help it.
Harriet Beecher Stowe was the mother of seven children. Despite the rigors of raising a large family, attending to household duties, and doing paid writing to help with expenses, she burned to write the anti-slavery story that would become Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She expressed her desire for a private place to write and for more domestic help. She also wrote of her guilt, as in an 1841 letter to her husband: “Our children are just coming to the age when everything depends on my efforts. They are delicate in health, and nervous and excitable and need a mother’s whole attention. Can I lawfully divide my attention by literary efforts?”
Stowe was devastated when her toddler son died of cholera, but later, she claime
By: MP,
on 4/11/2011
(C) Copyright wow-womenonwriting.com
Visit WOW! Women On Writing for lively interviews and how-tos. Check out WOW!'s Classroom and learn something new. Find jobs on the Freelance Job Board. Enter the Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest. Open Now!
You’d Be So Pretty If …
Chadwick’s book is about a very important topic: how we can help our daughters accept their bodies, even if we don’t have a perfect body ourselves. What a wonderful and empowering message to give adolescent girls and their mothers.
When I started reading the book, I couldn’t put it down until I read it from cover to cover. I found Chadwick’s approach of the subject very honest and forthright. I wish every adolescent girl and mother could read this book. It would really help to strengthen their relations with each other.
The dominant themes and ideas in the media reinforce the notions of beauty and health as super thinness. In fact, if you’re not thin, you’re not healthy. But this attitude is far from right. In fact, it has created a neurosis among women in our society that has been passed on from generation to generation. Somehow, women always feel that they aren’t thin enough or beautiful enough. They look for any kind of outside approval to validate themselves. And this is precisely where we all go wrong.
Beauty is based on our internal barometers of ourselves much more than an external assessment by others. Beauty is based on self-love and self-acceptance, and it should have very little to do with what society says about us or how we should ‘ideally’ look.
We are deeply influenced by our mothers. It would be great if mothers would simply show their daughters unconditional love and acceptance, regardless of how thin they are. It would also be wonderful if mothers would show girls how shallow and fickle the media is and that they should not allow their self-esteem and self-love to be victimized by the media.
We all need to help our daughters love themselves more. Perhaps by taking a few small steps towards showing them the importance of self-love and self-acceptance, mothers can take that first small step towards stopping the cycle of self-hated that has been ravaging our adolescent girls for a long time.
Check out more about Irene and adolescent girls at http://adolescentgirlsblog.wordpress.com/
By: Margo Dill,
on 11/11/2010
Mari L. McCarthy is the founder of www.CreateWriteNow.com, home of Journaling for the Health of It™ and the Journal Writing Therapy Transforms You blog. She guides writers (and we are all writers) in starting and keeping a daily Inner Healing Journal Practice that helps them solve problems, cure their dis-eases, and heal their life. A singer/songwriter, she is currently working on her third album--a smooth jazz rendition of favorite Broadway melodies. Passionate about goals and successful in accomplishing them, like getting the beachfront home she lives in south of Boston, she enjoys raising roses and her consciousness.
WOW: Welcome, Mari, we are thrilled to have you on The Muffin today. What is Journaling for the Health of It™?
Mari: Journaling for the Health of It ™ is a daily pen-to-page Journal Writing Therapy Practice where writers (and yes, we all are writers!) write freely about what they are thinking and feeling. JFTH helps writers get perspective on their life; understand why they think, feel, and behave the way they do; reduce stress; heal emotional wounds; and improve physical health. And… cure writer’s block!*
WOW: What great benefits! Sounds like EVERYONE should do it. How did you get started with journal writing therapy?
Mari: About twelve years ago, I had a Multiple Sclerosis (MS) exacerbation, where I lost feeling and functionality on the right side of my body. I discovered Julia Cameron’s "Morning Pages" and thought that would be a good, logical, organized, left-brained approach to teach my left hand how to write legibly. Shortly thereafter, I started remembering bits and pieces of my childhood; I started to hear rhymes and began writing poetry for the first time. I was starting to discover the real me, and it was nowhere near who I had been thinking I was. One day the phrase "Journaling for the Health of It" showed up on my pages, and I decided to create a business around therapeutic journaling and share it with the world.
WOW: Sounds like it was meant to be! How can journal writing therapy help a woman writer?
Mari: It helps women writers learn more about the person who really lives in their body. We carry around so much what I call “crazycrap” – erroneous messages we ingested as children (no wonder we have so many health challenges); and therapeutic journal writing helps us purge those voices and messages and live our life from the inside out. Using a journal at your computer when you are working on a writing project helps get through the stress, blocks, and assorted other women writer challenges.
WOW: This all sounds great and like it can really help someone's writing career. So, what are the journal writing services you offer?
Mari: I offer telephone or Skype private journaling therapy workshops dealing with "page fright" or writer’s block or whatever life issues women writers are attempting to deal with. I also offer special unlimited e-mail and telephon
I so agree that writing helps!
For this year, I wrote in my blog at
http://pm27.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/decade-since-911-hearts-to-the-u-s/.