First, Do Harm By Doing Nothing, NaNo Update... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb # 33

            I am about a quarter of the way into Jodi Picoult's newest novel, Small Great Things. The premise is an interesting one. An African American nurse is told by her hospital administrator to not touch or tend to a newborn baby (the parents are white supremacists). When the baby goes into cardiac arrest, the nurse hesitates to do CPR, the baby dies... and now the nurse has been arrested.

           It's fascinating so far, and makes me contemplate what I would do if I was in the same situation...

           As far as NaNoWriMo, I'm behind (I'm at 4,024 words) but hope to get some writing done today with my students. On Tuesday I'll share how my classes are doing with NaNo...
     

And now onto back-of-the-book blurb fun:

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A frothy romance? (Ugh.) A tall tale? A coffee table book on statues? You choose the genre.
• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Currently, Lisa's too busy to host Book Blurb Friday anymore. She's become so successful as a novelist, she's finishing up her fourth one. (I think I have that number right... or is the fifth, and the fourth just hasn't hit the shelves yet?
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb (as silly as it is):

Two Wild and Crazy Women        

          Florence and Cicily had finally made it to their dream destination: Italy. They’d saved up their pennies for the trip by living on cheap canned ravioli so when they finally were able to wing their way across the Atlantic, they wanted to experience it all.

        And they wanted to fit in. Flo and Cic were determined to live like the eye-talians do.

        Since they’d heard that most Italians traveled through town without a car, they rented Segways. With their fanny packs strapped into place, and their cameras hanging down at the ready, the ladies were sure they looked like a couple of fun-loving Italians.

         Will they blend in? Will they end up big as barns as they eat their way across Rome? Will they bring home a couple of nice Italian boys? Join Florence and Cicily on their rollicking, bittersweet adventure. (141 words)



And for those usual suspects who like to work ahead and who play along, here's next week's book cover:

Hit the Road, Sioux (And Don't You Come Back No More No More No More No More)

        I got some news on Sunday that made me feel like I was in the middle of a theater, watching a horror film. Like I had looked up, and saw the shadow of someone stabbing me...

       My school is closing at the end of this school year. At least that's the recommendation that is being handed to the school board.

       Of course, teaching requires flexibility. Every class is different. Every day is different, and every year is different. That's wonderful if an educator has a rough year, because they think, Next year might be a great one.

        However, I don't want different next year. I want the same thing next school year that I'm experiencing right now.

       I'm in a wonderful place. Superb kids. A close-knit school family and a tight neighborhood community. My principal's super supportive. My teaching partner is a gifted teacher and an incredible person.

      So now I get to have the fun (again) of applying and interviewing. (Don't worry about me. I have one pair of high-heeled Crocs I save for things like job interviews. I'm a shoe-in for some job. I'll land on my feet. Or my Crocs, I mean.)

       If you have any job stories--stories about you making a change and thinking it was a bad one but it ended up being a positive experience--I'd love to hear them.

       Broken hearts want to know...

Students on Fire... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb #32

         Next Tuesday my students--6th, 7th and 8th graders--will be starting NaNoWriMo. A few of them are not happy. (These students would be happy if they didn't write another word for the rest of their lives.) Some are willing. And some are on fire.

      Here are some of their kernels/story ideas:

• a swarm of mosquitoes, armed with rusty needles... they're attacking and killing humans
• a teenaged girl with an eating disorder
• a teen who's in a coma
• a time traveler who tries to prevent Bruce Lee from dying
• a story of two WWI soldiers

     One 8th grader said, "I'm so excited we're doing this. I've always wanted to write a book." Others got into drawing what their main character looks like. Many of them are digging into the research and creating files labeled "NaNo." It's exciting.

    It's exciting because I never dreamed of writing a book. Never one for such lofty aspirations, I wanted instead to be a journalist. A poet. The next Emily Dickinson... without all the never-famous-until-she's-dead thing.

     When I was 13 and in 7th grade, I made people laugh with my school newspaper feature articles. That was heady stuff--getting people to chuckle over my words. But these kids. These kids are already dreaming of writing a book.

     I love it.

     So think of me in the next month as I'm writing before school and after school with my students (but probably doing more suggesting and prodding than I am writing). And keep your fingers crossed for me that I'll be able to at least get something started for NaNoWriMo. I'm embarking on a historical fiction project (which is NOT what I normally do). The only hint I'll give (and it's a big one) is that it centers around a Tulsa event in 1921...

    And now onto back-of-the-book blurb fun:

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A frothy romance? (Ugh.) A tall tale? A coffee table book on statues? You choose the genre.
• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Currently, Lisa's too busy to host Book Blurb Friday anymore. She's still recovering from her daughter's wedding... still poring over pictures where she looks mahvelous and everyone else looks lovely and happy as well.
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb (as lame as it is):

     

The People Who Inspired the John Mellenkamp Song:  Does Authority Always Win?

The statue had been commissioned to trumpet the importance of censorship across the land. The hunk-of-a-man, made out of a huge hunk of granite, had part of his face covered in bandages, the sculptor’s nodd at subtlety. Our words, our opinions:  they should be judged and if deemed unfit, should be shushed. Our stories: censored.

But the town folk, a quiet, hard-working group, got disgruntled. Their hard, sideway glances at the towering statue… their muttered complaints… They didn’t believe in anything high-falutin’ but they also didn’t believe in anyone telling anyone else what to say, or how to say it.

One morning, the early-rising newspaper readers ventured out, and instead of the daily headlines, they found a toppled head. A headless statue, now without a brain.

The way the town covers up the true culprit turns one man into a hero… and another into a man whose life is endangered. (150 words--whew!)

     And for those two or three who like to play along, here's the photo for the next week:

• 
  

5,000 Words in the Hole

        My students (some of them) think I'm crazy. Some of them are excited--they can't wait. And some are planning on using a reeeealy big font, along with using series of "very very very very very very verys" and "really really really really really really reallys" (they think I won't notice)... even though I've told them over and over it's not the number of pages that matter but instead, the word count.

       My middle-schoolers are going to do NaNoWriMo. They're lucky. They can make their own goal (not gonna happen, since many of them will choose 0 as their goal). They're not saddled with the monstrous 50,000-word mountain to scale. (I've set a 5,000-word goal for them, hoping it's challenging but also attainable.)

      I've told my classes, "You might start with a kernel of an idea, and then get stuck wondering What is going to happen next?  However, if your characters are fleshed-out, your characters will start telling the story. They will drive the plot for you."

     A writing friend, Kim, outed herself. She came out of the closet. She admitted on her blog that she's a closet writer, but has decided to do NaNoWriMo this year. If you're curious what she's going to be working on, go back a post or two. Her project is chilling. Seriously. Serious as a serial killer... a female serial killer.

     She wrote in her most recent post, "Fake it until you make it," and that's what you have to do when writing a novel. You have to take that leap. You have to take that step off the cliff, having faith that on the way down you'll find your wings and can start soaring.

      What are your goals in November--writing or otherwise? Ambitious minds want to know...

A New Poet's in Town... and Back-of-the-Book Blurb Friday # 31

          If you ever wonder what the youth of today are up to, you might be surprised.

       At least one teen is blowing the minds of adults. And she's doing it with the confidence and skill of someone way beyond her years.

       Bisa Adero is St. Louis' first Youth Poet Laureate. She's a junior in high school. And she's amazing.

      On Thursday, Miss Adero graced a couple of hundred young writers with some slam poetry. Unfortunately, she only has this one video available--where she's speaking in a foreign accent (and making it sound genuine)--but hopefully that will soon change.

       Keep an eye out for Bisa. She's going to be doing speaking engagements and performances all over during the next two years, and has a book deal.
       

          And what is this book blurb stuff? Here's the particulars: 

• Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book.
• You choose the genre. A frothy romance? (Ugh.) A tall tale? A coffee table book on statues? You choose the genre.
• Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this project  and this past summer, her third novel Love to Win debuted. Currently, Lisa's too busy to host Book Blurb Friday anymore. She's exhausted from too much fun. She's still basking in an overabundance of joy. Her daughter got married, Lisa's got photos--check 'em out.
• Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. 
• Link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. You don't have to buy him a drink or anything. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is.
• Check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
• And have fun with it. Think of it as a way to take a break from the truly important writing you do... like a bit of a warm-up.

      Here is the book cover and my blurb (as lame as it is):

Some Like ‘em Big and Stiff

Never married. It was the ladies’ loss, not his. Of course.

Paul’s dog, an overgrown blue-heeler named Babe—that’s all he needed as far as companionship. His joy came from simple things: physical labor (like cutting down trees) and hearty meals (like pancakes that were so huge, he joked they were six-feet across).

But then when Paul was in town one day, he met a woman. As usual, he looked down his nose at her… and expected her to fall down and worship at his enormous feet. But this lady was different. She stared up at Paul, muttered, “You’re one huge jerk. You’ll no longer work. You’re bad to the bone… Now you’ll be still as stone,” fluttered her fingers in his directions and strode off.

In her wake was left Paul, who was now a statue.

Will the spell ever be broken? Or is Paul stuck there forever? (148 words)




And for Val and Pat and anyone else brave enough (or bored enough) to play along, here is the photo for next week:

Who has wowed you lately? Astounded minds want to know...

Courageous? Stupid? Ever Hopeful?

           It takes courage to be a writer. It's either courage or stupidity. I vacillate between the two...

          It takes courage to not accept offers from writer friends. "We would be glad to look at your manuscript," they say. I'm worried that I'm just seeing the trees and not the forest. I'm afraid my friends will say, "That's a lovely birch," and "What a fabulous pine,"  and won't say--out of kindness--that the forest is a tangled mess of vines and rotting stumps.

          It takes courage (or stupidity) to send a manuscript to a fierce writer. An unflinching critic. A poet who knows the difference between something that's decomposing and something that's green and growing.

         It takes something--courage or stupidity or eternal optimism--to keep writing. To keep submitting even though the odds are not good. (Chicken Soup gets thousands of submissions for each anthology... and still I submit.) To keep revising and talking about the craft and believing in a piece.

         It's something. I'm just not sure what it is...