Wishes Are For Children

I want one of these.

That is my wish.

That’s today’s post.

Maybe when I see this quilt in my house I will once again be inspired to write.

Do You Write?

Writing has been one of the loves of my life. When I was very young, I no doubt overrated my ability as a writer. Therefore, I tackled each writing task I was assigned with great confidence. I was convinced that my poems were better than those of other students and that my stories provided great enjoyment for my teachers. Since no one offered a contradictory view, my faith in my ability kept me writing.

Throughout my career in education, I promoted writing activities that I hoped would foster a love of writing in my elementary, middle level, and university students. My elementary students learned to write personal accounts, short stories, and defend their beliefs. My middle-school students were introduced to sixteen poetry styles and used a self-directed poetry center to improve their poetry writing skills. Students in my college classes, much to their distress, also were required to complete numerous writing assignments including, for some, interactive student/instructor journaling.

I hope that during my thirty years as an educator I passed along some of my enthusiasm for writing to my students. Two of them recently published, so now my bookshelves hold books written by former students. That seems an indication to me that they learned to love writing.

When was the last time you were involved in purposeful writing? Ten years ago, author, John Riddle, founded “I Love to Write Day.” This day is celebrated in schools, bookstores, libraries, and community centers across the United States as children and adults discover and rediscover the joy of writing.  If it has been a while since you wrote something, check out the “I Love to Write” web page at: http://www.ilovetowriteday.org/  Get involved in the fun on November 15!

Clipart by OCAL

Gummi Bears and Writing

Sometimes I feel inspired to write; sometimes not. Writing a dissertation is a good example of a time when I felt compelled, but not inspired to write. That dissertation is what I now refer to as my “Gummi Bear Project.”

It would seem that a looming deadline should mean scheduling writing into one’s day, thus making it a priority.  Not so for me!  Deadlines cause a little voice inside of my head to whisper, “You can do that later.” Because of my response to the quiet suggestion of the little voice, writing that I do against deadlines almost always takes place in the wee hours of the morning.  This is where the gummi bears come in.  When I’m writing during hours when I should be sleeping, I consume lots and lots of chewy food. After trying many things that messed with the computer keyboard and my waistline, I finally discovered gummi bears.

During the seemingly endless hours of reviewing research and writing “stuff” for my committee, I had probably tried every brand of gummi candy on the market. I also knew which stores to visit in case of a mid-night emergency. So, in light of the many pounds of gummi bears I have consumed, I am a self-proclaimed expert on gummi bears. From my experience, I declare the best of the best to be Haribo^® Gold-Bears^®. I still crave them while I’m typing.

I know, I know! They are little animal-shaped lumps made with sugar, glucose, corn syrup, starch, citric acid, gelatin, flavoring, coloring, and a few other things thrown in just for good measure. Empty calories!  I also know there are some who contend that gummi candies may harbor prions, cause tooth decay, and contribute to obesity. But, if you ever see an open package of Haribo Gold-Bears® beside my computer, be warned: I’m meeting a deadline. And, just so you know, my mood may be a little bearish. I just might attack in order to protect my food supply!

Emotions and Writing – My Observations

This morning I purchased another book. This is my new addiction now that I have a Kindle. It was a magazine review of this book that got my blood pumping and created within me a desire to find out what a little boy could possibly know about a murder. So, at the Kindle Store, my fingers pressed the right keys, thus causing the title to appear on my Kindle home page. As with all addictions, I was helpless to control this process.

Reading what others have written has always been part of my life, and, if the story is well-written, I’m soon experiencing the emotions and feelings of the characters. During my childhood, my mother read to me almost every night. One of my favorite stories then was Peter Rabbit. As Mom read to me, I became caught up in the emotions of Peter, an adventuresome bunny, who just couldn’t seem to be good like his sisters. When Peter had a close call with the angry farmer, my heart beat faster and I felt anxious about his safety, even though I had already heard the story many times.

I have to believe that Beatrix Potter, as she wrote, felt what that little bunny felt each time he was discovered by, and then slipped away from, the farmer. I believe that’s what made her such a great author.

A few months ago I read Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and as I read, I experienced the emotions of being in Hank Morgan’s life-threatening situations. It would be unimaginable that Twain was passive and distant from his characters. I think he had to “be” the people he wrote about in order to make them and their situations real to me.

I’ve heard writers say they can’t understand why they often get questions from readers such as: “Did you pattern the main character after your life?” or “Were the things that happened in the story your experiences?”

From the many novels I’ve read over the years, what I have learned is that the answers to those questions are probably both “yes” and “no.” No, in that the character is not the author or even like the author, but yes, because the author managed to crawl inside the skin of the protagonist and live as one with that character, thinking the thoughts, experiencing the emotions, and feeling the pain as each scene unfolds on the pages of the book. I suspect that it is when the heartbeat of the protagonist and the heartbeat of the author become one that the emotions and actions of the story become real. Thus, the reader of this “real” account is transported through time and circumstance to live inside of the story.

While I was writing my novel, only a select group of people was allowed to read my story. Those who were allowed to read it received the manuscript along with instructions to be honest. As with most authors, the first readers were family. You would have to know our family and the security we have within the ranks to understand the brutal honesty from my nearest and dearest.

Following circulation to kin, I expanded my readership to include trusted friends, critiques by fellow members of my writers group, and, finally, I ventured out into the waters of writing contests.

From each of my readers, I received comments and beneficial evaluations, but one I have come to cherish is one I received via a phone call. The reader simply said, “I laughed and I cried.” It was then that I knew I had become one with my protagonist and the feelings she had were the feelings shared by the reader.

Anxiously awaiting the November release of Child of Desire!