Coming and Going

Today MAY B. goes out on submission.

Today we head to Michigan for Thanksgiving.

I'll be off-line this next week. All the best to all of you. Have a fabulous holiday!

What Children Think of the Writing Process

I've been writing since before my children were born. It's not always easy for them to understand exactly it is that I do. When I taught, my job was pretty straight-forward: the three of us would drive to school together, I'd wave to them while they played at recess, I'd bring a pay check home.

Now, I'm working outside of the classroom. I've yet to make any money. I've yet to sell a book. I'm sure it's a little confusing, to say the least.

My third grader keeps asking, "Why is everyone so excited you have an agent? You've been sending stories to publishers for a long time."

Once, years ago, he asked me what story I was working on. When I told him, he answered, "Still? Aren't you finished with that yet?"

So yes, I'll spend years on the same book, and yes, I've been sending things to publishers for ages. Good observations there, Mister. The difference is now I hope to be getting somewhere with this fabulous new support system.

When I asked my first grader if he understood what an agent was, he told me "an agent helps with stories." I thought this rather insightful for my squirrely guy.

To some extent, my boys get the fact I'm working, though not in the traditional way I used to. And even if they don't understand everything I do, reading, writing, and publishing have become a part of our family conversation. They both love to write stories on stapled scrap paper or in notebooks they buy with their allowance. My third grader can't decide if he'd like to be a scientist or an author someday. "You can do both, you know," I tell him.

Maybe someday, when I sell something (sooner than later, right??), everything will make a little more sense around here. For now, though, I'm proud of my boys' interest in stories, the way my husband praises my hardwork in their presence, and the conversations the process has brought about.

How Do You Measure Up?

I've been thinking a lot lately about the ways we, as writers, see ourselves. Not how we see other writers, how we actually view ourselves.

Be honest for a moment. It's hard to see your own work without comparing it to another writer's, isn't it? This can be really good: we can learn from others' work and make our own better. We can compare our style, topic, or even voice (though this last one might not be the smartest idea) to another author's, helping better explain our writing.

These comparisons can lead to a lot of heartache, too. If you're anything like me, you've thought along these lines before.

What if others don't see my work as...

• Commercial enough: Will it ever sell? Will it appeal to a lot of people?
• Literary enough:  Will it be respected? Will it only appeal to a few?
• Strong enough:  Will it only draw the dreaded rejction "too quiet"?
• Hip enough:  Am I trying to be cool and not getting it? Are my characters really authentic?
• Long enough / short enough?  Do I fit within my genre's range?

And the biggie...

• Good enough?  What if others are being kind in their critiques, not sharing what they really think about my work? 

Then there's comparing your own work to itself...

What if:

• I only have one story in me? / I'll never write anything as good as this story again?
• I'll write and write and never sell?
• I haven't found my voice yet?
• All of my work is a joke?
• I work and work and never improve?

You get the idea. I think I can say with a degree of accuracy that writers can be insecure. It's hard to gauge our skill, ideas, or style in the midst of creation and often, even after. The world is largely quiet in response.

A healty dose of comparison can be good, keeping us on the right track. Too much comparison will keep you from writing the stories you have to tell, even those really, really bad ones.

Writing is risky. There is no guarantee others will like it or even you will like it. You might end up looking foolish, untalented, perceptive, or great. Comparisons can only get you so far. It's only when you're willing to move away from the security of comparison (because even though it can be discouraging, it can also feel very safe), you'll be able to tell the story you need to, in all its wonderful (or terrible) glory.

Bookshelf Top Ten

This idea comes from Kath's [Insert Suitably Snappy Title Here] blog. She's created a top-ten list of books on her shelves. I thought it would be fun to scan my shelves and make my own.

Caroline's Top Ten (in no particular order):

1.  Possession -- AS Byatt
2.  Katherine -- Anya Seton
3.  What's Bred in the Bone -- Robertson Davies
4.  The Count of Monte Cristo -- Alexandre Dumas
5.  Angle of Repose -- Wallace Stegner
6.  The Selected Journals of Lucy Maude Montgomery, volumes 1-5 (I'm cheating here, I know)
7.  Shadow of the Almighty -- Elisabeth Elliot
8.  The Power of One -- Bryce Courtenay
9.  Into Thin Air -- Jon Krakauer
10. The Phatom Tollbooth -- Norton Juster

Have you read any of these? Any on my list on your list, too? Add your list in the comments or make this post a link to your own.

Navigating Children's Literature

Join me over at Steady Mom to read my guest post, Navigating Children's Literature -- Some Definitions.

Why We Read

I've traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I've been where no one's been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books.
- Anonymous

Fun Surprise

As I was checking Sitemeter a few minutes ago, I noticed someone had come my way via the Chicago Courier News. Strange, huh? Well, I clicked over and found a post about my after-school book clubs (originally posted in October for Books on the Nightstand)!

This afternoon: Off to discuss THE STOLEN LIFE by Jane Louise Curry.

From the back cover:  The year is 1758 and Jamesina Mackenzie has been living quietly in the Scottish highlands surrounded by her grandfather, aunts, and uncles. However, her father's death forces Jamesina to go into hiding. Disguised as a boy, she is sent to live with neighbors, but even this deception cannot keep her safe.

She is kidnapped by "spiriters," men who kidnap young people to sell as bond slaves to planters and farmers in America. Still in disguise, Jamesina must make her way through a strange new world -- a world that takes her from a Virginia plantation to the mountains of Cherokee country and finally to a reunion with the family and friends she thought she'd lost forever.