Wisdom on Wednesdays: It's the Little Things

It's summer. And where I live in Southern Ontario, it's sweltering. And sticky. And we're all losing patience with one another.

It's on days like this that it's important to remember to appreciate the little things: a monarch butterfly kissing the flowers by the porch; happy children; a joke well-told.

Because really, when we look back, we realize it's the little things we love that shape our lives, and shaped ourselves.

What little things have you appreciated today?

Writing Craft: Parents in Picture Books, and WINNER!

First: the winner of TOOTER'S STINKY WISH according to RANDOM.ORG (shocking to see me use electronics like this, I know, but all those slips of paper just take too darn long to cut out) is:

Swaty!!!

*throws virtual confetti*

Congratulations, Swaty! You didn't have an email attached to your profile, so please email me (you'll find my addy right up there under my picture in the corner) so I can send you your prize. Be sure to do it soon, though - within the next two weeks at the latest - or I'll have to draw another winner.

ALSO: We hit 200 followers! WOO-HOO! I know I promised you an extra-special giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of that later this week. Probably on Friday, since I have a post planned for Wednesday, and Friday is a good day for that. But I might do shout-outs on Friday, so maybe there will be a special extra post tomorrow or Thursday. We'll have to wait and see. But it will be extra-amazing, so you don't want to miss it!

And now for today's topic: parents in picture books. Or rather, the absence of parents in picture books.*

Basically, they're usually not really there. And when they are there, they're not instrumental to the resolution of the story.

We all know that this is not the way things go in real life. We all know that moms and dads know what their kids are getting up to even before their kids do. (I can smell a plot hatching from a mile away, and I can see a lie coming before my son even opens his mouth. He thinks I'm psychic. I'm going with it.)

We all know that parents either stage things, or interfere with things, or subtly guide their kids. We all know that when we let our kids choose what to eat for breakfast, we're not really giving them real responsibility, because the choices never include things like fudge sundaes or jellybeans.

But here's the thing: the kids don't know that. 

Picture books, like all books for kids, are about giving them independence and power. If you want your picture book to be effective, if you want to connect with your child reader, it's a good idea to keep the adults out of the problem-solving process. Remember that this is the child's world we're entering, and in the child's mind, he is the ruler of his domain.

Can you think of good picture books that are examples of this? How about books that exemplify the opposite of this?

*Except in cutesy concept books about Mommy being magic or a special day with Daddy, but those books aren't the books we're talking about. There's nothing wrong with those books, but they're mostly concept books and that's not what we're tackling here today.

Friday Flash Fiction: Ali Cross' INDEPENDENCE DAY Blog-Hop!

FIRST: This is your last chance to enter the giveaway of TOOTER'S STINKY WISH, by Brian Cretney, illustrated by Peggy Collins, and signed by both of them! Go HERE to do it!


And now, today is Ali Cross' Independence Day Blog-Hop! (Ali is a ninja of awesome: always positive, always supportive, and lots of fun. To visit her dojo, go HERE.)  The challenge was to write a 250-word-or-less flash fiction piece for the prompt: "It's Independence Day, and something unexpected happens..."

So here's my entry:

***

This is it: my own personal Independence Day. The day I strike out on my own, forge ahead into the great unknown, cut the umbilical cord. I'm movin' out.

I reach for the last box of books, but Dad puts a meaty hand on my shoulder. "Let me get that one, son."

"That's okay, I can do it." I can do it all myself. Ever since Mom died, Dad's been watching me like he watches the sky on a day when the air is heavy with the anticipation of rain. He's been waiting and waiting for my dam to burst and let everything out, but I'm going to prove that I'm okay. I'm ready to go it alone.

But Dad already has his strong arms wrapped around the box. I follow him out to the car, slamming the door shut behind me. It flexes away from its frame as I kick the doorplate with my heel. "Hasta la vista, Baby."

I head for the rusty Mustang and my vision tunnels in on my dad, crumpling over sideways, the box crashing to the sidewalk, its contents exploding out and littering the ground. I run to him, grab his wrist, stare into his blank eyes, shake his chest. My First Aid training evaporates, and I am alone.

I can't do this myself.

***

So, that's my entry. I hope you enjoyed reading it. To read the others, just follow the links in the nifty linky-list below, and feel free to join in the fun by adding your own entry to the mix. Happy reading!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: On Finding Our Calling

I was struck last week by just how much my son loves making art.

He hates piano practice; it takes him easily three times as long as it should, because every time he gets assigned a new piece to learn he complains that it's too hard and moans and chokes and gets all worked up and says he wants to quit. Then he learns it and by the next lesson he enjoys playing again - at least, until the next new piece. We won't let him quit; we think it's good for kids to learn that sometimes, we have to work hard to get good at something. Besides, he doesn't really have to work that hard; he's actually naturally quite good at it. But it isn't his calling.

Ditto for dance classes, which we are letting him quit even though he said performing was better than he had thought it would be, because his expectations of what performing would be like were pretty low to begin with. And he dislikes the challenge so much, he doesn't even bother to practice between classes.

But not so for art. No matter how hard it is, he keeps re-doing it until it's just the way he wants it. He enjoys the process.

I am not a great writer. This does not mean that I never will be, but I recognize that I am not now. I am good, but not great. But when I am immersed in the act of writing, that doesn't matter.

Finding your calling isn't about being naturally good at something.

Finding your calling is not about enjoying the result of having learned something and gotten good at it.


Finding your calling is about enjoying the process of learning something so much that it doesn't matter how bad you are. It's about enjoying the act itself so much that no matter where you begin, you will keep doing it until you get better. It when we love not the results, but the process, that we know we have found our true calling.

Have you found yours?

Writing Craft: Rounding Out Your Characters, Part Five

FIRST: Have you entered my giveaway to win a copy of TOOTER'S STINKY WISH, signed by BOTH the author Brian Cretney AND the illustrator Peggy Collins? GO HERE to do it if you haven't.

And now back to our regularly scheduled Monday programming.

So far, we've covered rounding out our characters by:

- Giving them hobbies and passions that then inform their internal thoughts and their dialogue;

- Giving them verbal tics and/or interesting, unique patterns of speech;

- Giving them specific personality traits and interests, but global problems;

- Giving them strong internal conflict to grapple with.

But I'm no expert, and I'm sure there are a bazillion ways to round out characters that I haven't thought of or tried. So, what's one way you like to round out your characters? Maybe we can all pick up some new tips from each other.

Happy Monday!

The "The Blog Is Back" Giveaway!

You guys stuck with me while I was on a brief it's-summer-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-kids hiatus, and to make it up to you I promised you a giveaway today. So, here it is! Because when I make a promise, I deliver.

SO. Remember when I told you my crit buddies Brian Cretney and Peggy Collins had a picture book coming out a while back? Well, I went to the amazing TOOTER'S STINKY WISH launch party - seriously, they had a children's band and a real live (de-stinkified) skunk and everything - and I GOT THEM BOTH TO SIGN A COPY OF THEIR BOOK! A book signed by both the author and the illustrator is a rare thing, folks. And I am offering it to you! Just because I like you, and you guys rock.

So, here's the skinny on the stinky.


1) Be a follower.
2) Leave a comment on this post by MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY, JULY 15TH for one entry.
3) Tweet, blog, Facebook, etc. for one extra entry each (up to three extra entries), but please leave me the links in the comments.

And that's it! I'll randomly pick a winner out of a hat and announce it in my post on Monday, July 18th. And if I get more than 50 entries, I'll throw in an additional prize of a stuffed skunk. A toy one. Not a real one. That would be gross, and not a very good prize at all. But a toy skunk is nice and soft and cuddly, and you know you want one, don't you?

Also, if I hit 200 followers, I'll do another giveaway! Which will be so awesome and amazing, it will make your monitor explode. I promise. Because I have planned my 200-followers giveaway, and I have some amazing books waiting for you.

Happy contest-entering!

Wisdom On Wednesdays: Let's Go Outside

FIRST: my sincere apologies for the recent absence of internet presence, and deepest gratitude for your patience with me and for sticking with me anyway. The first few days of summer vacation are always a little hectic back here at my place, while the kids and I figure out a new sleeping/working/yardwork/playing/getting-the-heck-out-of-the-house schedule that keeps us all happy and semi-well-rested I'm back now, and to reward you all on Friday, I'VE GOT A GIVEAWAY COMING UP! So remember to come back, okay?

NOW. This week's wisdom. I saw on the news last night that doctors are prescribing walks in the park as stress relief.

Do you know what this says to me? This says that a number of people have become so disassociated with the real world that they don't even remember how nice it can be to go for a walk.

As writers, it's easy to get sucked into the computer bubble. We write on our laptops, whose screens, let's face it, are sucky in natural lighting. Then we read blogs: agent blogs, writer blogs, editor blogs, writer beware blogs... And we blog, too, and Tweet, and MyFaceSpaceCreate-friend, because that's how we keep in touch with agents in New York and San Fransisco and writers in England and Australia and Iceland and all over North America. We're supposed to do these things. It's how we educate ourselves about our industry, and it's how we develop and maintain relationships with people who do what we do and understand why we do it. That's important stuff!

And let's not forget our critique groups, which are both essential and increasingly internet-based. It's a wonder any of us get out at all. It's a wonder we haven't all developed the bio-luminescent glow of a deep-sea creature.

And yet! And yet, getting out of our houses and into the fresh air is important. It's important for our physical health, for our mental health, and for the creative process. I've had more manuscript ideas and epiphanies since my kids got out of school and forced me out into the real world than I've had in the past year, except for last summer, when I had just as many.

So, for the sake of your sanity, your blood pressure, and your manuscript, go outside and take a stroll. Do it often - every day is good, but more than that won't hurt. We're all in danger of being the guy I saw tonight on the news, but I bet our work-lives and our life-lives will both be better if we don't let it happen.

See you Friday!