Outside of a Dog

Kindling Words West 2008

GHOST RANCH ABIQUIU NEW MEXICO was the inspirational location of the first Kindling Words West which lasted a full five days and five nights with an extra night (or two) in Santa Fe.  This photo is typical of the scenery we were able to view everyday from our outstanding location in the desert.  The elevation was about 6500 feet and the air was thin, hot during the day, windy most afternoons, and cold at night.  The ghost ranch was once home to Georgia O'Keefe.  Before she arrived, apparently a large group of mean horse thieves lived in the area. Box Canyon was perfect for their 'hot' ponies.

Hiking was one of our main forms of entertainment because we had no TV's, no phones in the rooms, no clocks anywhere, and no locks on the doors.  Anywhere!  The library was open 24/7 and guests were on their honor, having to fill out a form and then return the book when they were finished.  Food was pretty darned good, healthy for the most part, and tasty, too.  Special dishes were always available for vegetarians, which made it nice for the vegetarians (like me.)  Our housing was varied and extremely spread out, ranging from very rustic with shared bathrooms (i.e. the Corral Compound) to pretty nice and quite fancy (i.e. the Tumbleweed building on the bluff--quite a climb to get there, too--see the photo below)

I loved the schedule because there was only one workshop per day for the writers and another for the illustrators.  The instructor for the authors was Tim Wynne-Jones and for the for illustrators it was Mary Jane Begin. The workshops lasted one hour per day and the rest of the time we were free to write, meditate, walk through the lovely labyrinth (which had red ants in the middle so don't sit down!) meet with our peers.  At night there was plenty of time to party.

My favorite activity was to attend the art workshop on the last day.  Everyone was invited, authors, too.  I was pretty burned out from writing, writing, writing.  Mary Jane provided supplies and I sat a group of writers (so we wouldn't feel intimidated by the oodles of talent in the artist's corner.)  This is what I came up with, an 'interpretation' so to speak, and very therapeutic, too.

I recommend this adventure to serious authors and illustrators who are not completely squeamish (previous camping experience might come in handy.)  I plan to return next year and every year thereafter!

Sandra Alonzo 

Gallop-O-Gallop, Dial Books 2007                                Riding Invisible, Hyperion Books 2010

Researching publishers

Amazon is always a good resource when researching any publisher. Just do an advance search and plug in the publisher's name. If they're a big publisher, it's better to select a limited number of years back you'd like to view. Five years or so if usually enough to give you an idea of the type of books that house publishes.

It's helpful when, say, you're researching picture books and you want to find out if they do lots of animal books, or books with cumulative structures. I'll often copy a chunk of a book's info page, including the cover art, then save it into a text file. I sometimes do that when I'm researching publishers who might be a fit for one of my manuscripts. You might not want to pitch to publishers who have produced a book which is TOO much like your current book, (say, a rhyming book about dancing kumquats), but if it's a publisher who does rhyming books, or books about anthropomorphic... er... fruits, you've got a better shot.

Sometimes it can be frustrating, finding a publisher which is a good fit without being TOO good a fit. In my crit group, we all laughed (instead of crying) over a rejection one of us received from Viking which said, "It's great, but we already have a book about blueberries."

Uh. Yeah. That would be Blueberries for Sal. Published SIXTY YEARS AGO. Seems like they could take a chance that kids who read it have moved on. Maybe when a book becomes an icon like Sal, publishers steer clear of ever touching such a subject again. Who knows.

But on the whole, it's a good thing to find houses which have previously published books similar to your own, and Amazon is a quick(-ish) way to do it. Once I've copied a few similar books into that text file, I store it in a folder with the manuscript, titled "Target markets for XYZ (title of the book.)"

Kim Norman

Turn over a new leaf...or water lily

I had not written a word in 6 weeks. Then I went on a great trip to Paris with my husband to celebrate our anniversary. Surrounding myself with impressionist paintings started me thinking artistically. Walking the paths around Monet's farmhouse and studying his gardens plunged me into creative reverie. Now home, I've made some resolutions. I had never tried the 500 words a day habit. So many people have suggested it. After two days of major procrastination, I sat down. I wrote and then checked how much I had accomplished…2,127 words! And it was easy. Now I have been doing it for four days and every day I have exceeded the goal. It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment and this story I have been wandering around is finally moving forward. After I have done my 500 words each day, I feel free to do other things without that nagging thought…I should be writing. Now I feel like I am accomplishing my writing goals AND I can enjoy the rest of my life.
Maybe these pictures from Monet's gardens can inspire you too!
Becky Hall

Joe's right... Happiness IS a big box of books!

Or, even better, TWO big boxes of books! They're heeeeeere.

Ordered 100 books in preparation for my book launch party on June 14th. So kind of my boss and his wife to offer to hold this party for me. It will be in the beautiful outdoor gazebo of The Smithfield Inn, covered & cozy no matter what the weather. (But we're hoping fo r a gorgeous June evening, of course!)

Time to start addressing invitations!

Kim Norman

What makes me a writer anyway?

I have a habit of berating myself for not writing. I get in a
whirlwind over my day job, my family or whatever else is happening in my life.
Then I ask myself: How can you call yourself a writer? So then the
question I come to is: What makes me a writer? And what IS writing after
all?

This summer I got in the anti-me mode but then my writing group friends
reminded me that I was editing a book. I was engaged in an uplifting
revision process with my editor all summer long. It was intense work. We
reviewed every word in my new book. This was writing.

In my day job as an elementary school library media specialist, I
compose monthly newsletters. I email the faculty with book reviews. I design
and write up curriculum with grade level teachers. I send my parent
volunteers notes. This is writing.

I had a crazy fall and became frustrated with my lack of writing. My
stepfather died on September 8, and a week later I received a call from
my sister telling me my mother was dying also. I flew east and sat at
her bedside for the next week. I came home to Salt Lake City complaining
that I had not written much. Then I reviewed my journal. In between
amazing talks with my mother, I had filled my journal with memories of my
childhood, thoughts about death, her comments about her life. This was
wonderful writing!

Writing takes many forms. If you are like me, we need to take a moment
and remember that it all adds to our children's writing. Maybe someday
I will write a book about a mother's death, or children in a school
library or any of my life experiences. What makes me a writer is that I
experience the world through words. I record my thoughts. I search for
the perfect word to describe a feeling, a scene, or an action. I solve
my problems through writing. Yes, I also create stories and write
nonfiction for kids, but that is not the only thing that makes me a writer.
Maybe when I am not feeling like I am writing, it is really that I am
not creating new stories. Could that be what is confusing me? Surely, I
am a writer.

Becky Hall
A is for Arches, a Utah Alphabet
Morris and Buddy, the Story of the First Seeing Eye Dog