And if you haven't entered to win signed copies of BEANBOY and AIRBALL, there's still time!
Now tell me who inspires and fires your writing!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
THE MAN BEHIND MY MADNESS
Actually, he's the one who keeps me sane. But if you ever wonder where I get some of my zany ideas, well... you're lookin' at him!
You can read all about my man-muse (can men be muses?) on a guest blog I did for author Kai Strand.
And if you haven't entered to win signed copies of BEANBOY and AIRBALL, there's still time!
Now tell me who inspires and fires your writing!
And if you haven't entered to win signed copies of BEANBOY and AIRBALL, there's still time!
Now tell me who inspires and fires your writing!
Monday, February 13, 2012
SHARIN' THE LOVE
This weekend I met author/illustrator Lisa Harkrader at a Kansas SCBWI event. Her book, THE ADVENTURES OF BEANBOY, is released tomorrow. To help celebrate the brilliancy of Kansas authors (she illustrated it, too, and the art is hilarious!) and to show my appreciation to you, my blog readers, I'm GIVING AWAY signed copies of THE ADVENTURES OF BEANBOY and Lisa's AIRBALL: MY LIFE IN BRIEFS.
Read all about the inspiration behind Lisa's latest book here.
How do you win? Simply tell me what super hero you'd like to be (one you make up or one that's "real") in the comments. I'll announce the winner next Monday.
Me? I'd like to be OctoMom (not THAT one!), so I could multi-task easier. How about you??
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
HOPPERS!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
BOOMWRITER!
Educators, writers, and parents, perk up your ears! I became a guest author for BoomWriter this week. BoomWriter is a website where a guest author starts a story (Chapter 1), the kids write their own Chapter 2 (they even work with an editor), and then the online community vote to see whose chapter wins. When an entire book is complete, the kids can purchase their own soft cover copy.
BoomWriter is in 600 schools already. Check out the website for more info!
Oh, my first story start is, I'M NOT A REAL ZOMBIE (BUT I PLAY ONE ON TV).
BoomWriter is in 600 schools already. Check out the website for more info!
Oh, my first story start is, I'M NOT A REAL ZOMBIE (BUT I PLAY ONE ON TV).
Saturday, January 21, 2012
BASIL AND THE BREAD
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Cultivating the Imagination
Ah! Those brilliant Bronte girls! Last night I watched an extensive documentary on the family, and was amazed at the level the Brontes lived inside their imaginations. The early loss of their mother and two older sisters seemed to drive them into imaginary worlds as a way to escape the pain of reality. Did you realize when they decided to write novels as a means of income, that they sat down and wrote AGNES GREY, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, and JANE EYRE in a period of two months!? Which proves how alive these characters and settings already were to the sisters. They wrote themselves.
My agent, Bree Ogden, has a great post on inspiration and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Read it here.
When I was a little girl, I was an absolute introvert. But I didn't need anyone to interact with outside of my mind. My parents had read to me early and much, and I had a whole landscape of characters I morphed into. Generally, I was a cat (my mother indulged me by pinning "tails" to my pants) going so far as to hiss and claw on all fours whenever we had company. My other favorite personas were mice (more tails) and bunnies (even more tails.) I recall spending one entire day as a fly, crawling backwards (I'd read they did that) and looking upside down at the ceiling, as if I were stuck to it. When I was bored at school, I would imagine my teachers and fellow classmates as their alter-ego animal selves, sometimes sticking to a certain species and sometimes creating a veritable mental zoo. Of course, as a teenager, my ultimate dream was to appear in CATS on Broadway.
I slept with my feet on my pillow, a la Pippi, became a spy with Harriet, and attempted, and very nearly ate, a fried worm. My mother even helped me fry it. She's the best. :)
As a freshman, I won an anonymous story contest by writing about a woman who hid her husband's head in a hatbox and kept it in her coat closet. That's all I remember of the tale, except that it was funny, and how I blushed when my classmates voted for it!
I would love to tap into the imagination of my young self again. As I listen to the worlds my kids create as they play, I try to summons that younger me. I still love to pretend, only these days I call it writing and acting. Too much imagination can get you into scrapes, (as Anne Shirley will tell you) especially when you can no longer separate the two worlds (ask Branwell and Charolette Bronte.) But what a dull place this world would be without those of us who never really grow up.
Lately writing has been such a refuge. I don't think I'll be able to churn out a decent novel in two months, but I've been surprised by my creative output. As a staff writer for a magazine, I have to submit several stories a month. I've been snatching at every idea that flits by, and quit being so careful. It's freeing.
So, how do you release/tap into your imagination, especially when reality bites?
Sunday, January 1, 2012
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