Cynthia Rylant---I Feel Great Hatred for You

        I would include a photo of Rylant so that you would recognize her and could then spit in her face but alas, I could not find one on flickr.  So, you will just have to stalk her and hunt her down like a wild animal at some writer's conference...

       This is one of her books I use just about every year to teach writing craft to my third graders:

                                           
      Many years ago I went to the "Write to Learn" conference in Missouri.  Katie Wood Ray  spoke (the main reason why I was lured there).   Her book, Wondrous Words is such a classroom bible to me, I've loaned it out to someone and don't really need it, because her lessons are so fused to my being.  (And if you're the one I loaned it to, please return it. You've had it plenty long!)

      Anyway, back to frothing at the mouth...

       Katie recounted that she had a chance to interview Rylant.  Katie loves the work of Cythia Rylant, bubbles effusively over her books, and was eager to learn how Rylant revises, what her writing process is like, how she drafts, and so on.  I can imagine Katie Wood Ray sitting there, holding her breath, waiting for the heavens to open up and the beautiful light rays to shine down...It would be like God speaking.

      And this is what Rylant said:

I don't really revise. I guess I'm lucky...The words come out right the first time.

       I hate you, Cynthia Rylant...