Chautauqua Anybody?

I took the plunge and signed up for Chautauqua this summer. I'm hoping to wrangle a few graduate credits out of this summer workshop but, even if the administration doesn't approve, I plan to go and make the most of it.

As I read through the bios of the attendees, I experienced a little sinking feeling in my stomach. So many of them are established writers with a long list of writing credits - novels, contest wins, article after published article. Many of them are even college professors and so, what do I have to show for myself? I've won one SCBWI poetry contest (June Looms) and have had a handful of poems accepted for upcoming issues of magazines and ezines. Other than that? Nothing. I've subbed a few picture book manuscripts here and there and have even had a couple of comments come back but so far all I've had are rejections. And mostly form rejections. Truthfully, I haven't subbed much at all. I've been busy working on my middle grade fantasy. And since I work full time, it's slow going. Sometimes, I only write on the weekends. How ridiculous is that? And what business do I have going to Chautauqua?

And so I teeter back and forth between backing out and forging ahead. I think of George Zorn, my writing instructor in college, who encouraged me to apply to the University of Iowa's creative writing program. I never did, even though he told me he used my stories as examples of how to write a story. I thought he was joking but apparently not, or so I learned when I saw a copy of one of my stories in somebody's folder. Ha.

If anybody has been to Chautauqua and would like to share their thoughts and experiences, I'd sure appreciate it. It's not exactly a cheap venture but I've denied myself many things over the years. I should not feel guilty. Should I?

Quick, somebody tell me no! Please!!

Happy Mother's Day

I just want to take a moment to wish all you mommies out there a very happy Mother's Day. For me, this day is bitter sweet. My boys served me breakfast in bed which was great of them. Tonight they're taking me out for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe Joelle. I'm lucky to have two wonderful, healthy sons.

At the same time, I miss my own mom who died last summer in a car accident. I found an old postcard from her today on top of the fridge featuring Conway Castle in Wales. Funny, because lately I've been doing some research on castles as the beginning of my WIP is set in one.

Anyhow, above is an old photo of Derek, Dennis and I not too long after we brought Derek home. He was about 3 months old. We look so young.

Oh yeah, we were.

Pop-up Books

Who Says Books Are Outdated?

Ever notice that whenever a politician or a world leader wants to give his constituents the impression of being scholarly, smart and well read that he has his photograph taken or interview conducted in a library? Not in a computer room or before a Smart Board but in a room lined with lots and lots of those friendly, low tech books. And if he really wants to give the impression that he's literate, he'll actually hold a book in his lap. Not a laptop or a blackberry or some other electronic gizmo but a solid, rectangular book with a spine, a title page and all those famous, mundane bookish trappings.

And why is it that when people want to honor a former president, they build a library in his name? Again, not a computer lab but a library? Is it true that building a library in somebody's honor is the highest form of flattery? The best way possible to pay tribute to somebody's leadership and intellectual superiority?

So, I must ask myself, why is it schools are so willing to pump thousands of dollars into the latest technological marvels at the expense of their libraries? I don't get it.

Anyhow, here's one type of book that takes some engineering smarts. Check out the video above featuring pop-up master Robert Sabuda.

The Murky Middle and Other Stuff

I'm sloshing around in the murky middle of my novel. I wish I were one of those writers who could plot each chapter carefully and knew exactly what was going to happen next. But, that's just not the way I write. I like to make discoveries as I go along. And I like the surprise of those aha moments that send goose pimples up and down my back.

Often, writing is not that way. I write a little, then sit back and wonder if I'm making sense. Sometimes I like what I've written, but more often than not, I wind up revising and revising my latest installment. Long ago, my mom taught me how to knit. As long as I paid attention and remembered to count my stitches, my rows came out nice and neat and, if I stuck to the pattern, eventually everything would come together and I'd wind up with a scarf or a pair of mittens or even a hat. For me, writing is a little like knitting but without the pattern. So, I expect I'll wind up with a rather lumpy first novel that may not hang together all that well. If that's the case, I guess I can always pull out the stitches and redo things.

While I'm blogging, I just want to wish Megan Holden (from our Monday night running group) good luck today in the Boston Marathon. Last year, she qualified for the Olympic time trials with a blistering 2:44 and Boston is the race from which the women's Olympic marathon team will be selected. She's self coached, by the way. So, go Megan! We know it's an outside shot, but we're rooting for you.

Writing Award

Yesterday, my son, Derek, got a call from the editor of The Suffolk County News, the local newspaper he wrote a series of articles for about his experiences along the Appalachian Trail. He won second place in the NY Press Association's feature story division. Hooray!

In the beginning, he wasn't sure he wanted to write the articles. He didn't know if he'd have ready access to a computer or if he'd have enough to say every other week for five months or so. As it turned out, the people in the little towns along the AT were more than willing to share a computer with him and the people he met, the scenery, weather, moments of joy and frustration provided him with a wealth of writing material.

I know it's not the Pulitzer Prize but we are so enormously proud of Derek.

Is it Such a Smart Idea?

School districts have always been in a hurry to acquire the latest technological marvel. When I was kid (and I know I'm dating myself here), filmstrips and 16mm movies were big. School districts all wanted the latest audio-visual equipment. It made everybody think they were on the cutting edge of education. Then it was television, videos, computers, CD ROMs, DVDs and now? Now it's - ta da - the Smartboard!

Educators get very excited with the mere mention of the word Smartboard, as though students are going to become geniuses as soon as their little fingers come in direct contact with one. I realize that Smartboards are pretty nice. They're big interactive computers on large boards and kids love computers, right? They are undoubtedly good teaching tools. But why can't school districts wait until the price comes down a little? And why do they try to stock every school with a supply of Smartboards when we need basics like books?

I'm a little annoyed because, sigh, here they go again chasing down the next technological thingamajig when the sad little library they transferred me to is standing there with its half-empty shelves and my students are asking me for the latest Spiderwick Chronicles book, or if I have May Bird and the Ever After, or Skippyjon Jones, or some new Percy Jackson books (I don't have any). Aaarrgh! It's all so frustrating! If you want children to become better readers, you have to offer them more good books.

So, I expect that within five years or so, Smartboards will be languishing in the storage closet along with those outdated computers and dot matrix printers that also cost thousands of dollars while kids will still be checking out the books we purchased ten years ago, books that don't feature videos, play music, have flash drives or display pop-up ads. The truth is, books last longer and probably do more to shape lives than machines. Machines are tools. Books are windows on the world.