VBT-Writer's on the Move Celebrates Its First Anniversary!

Well, it's a YEAR! That's right, we have been cross-promoting and helping one another for a year now.
To celebrate this accomplishment, we will have a SUPER-DUPER Anniversary Tour!
The number before the host's name is the day in November that he/she will post in the tour.

But, before I explain more about it, here's the schedule:


1 Dianne Sagan is hosting Heidi Thomas

2 Harry Gilleland is hosting Karen Cioffi

3 Karen Cioffi is hosting Martha Swirzinki

4 Kathy Stemke is hosting Brigitte Thompson

5 Nancy Famolari is hosting Deborah Weed

6 Margaret Fieland is hosting Elysabeth Eldering

7 Crystalee Calderwood is hosting Harry Gilleland

8 Katie Hines is hosting Heather Paye

9 Helena Harper is hosting Steve Tremp

10 Liana Metal is hosting Crystalee Calderwood

11 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is hosting Marvin Wilson

12 Gayle Trent is hosting Dianne Sagan

13 Mayra Calvani is hosting Carolyn Howard-Johnson

14 Marvin Wilson is hosting Gayle Trent

15 Linda Asato is hosting Mayra Calvani

16 Heather Paye is hosting Katie Hines

17 Steve Tremp is hosting Helena Harper

18 Elysabeth Eldering is hosting Linda Asato

19 Darcia Helle is hosting Liana Metal

20 Deborah Weed is hosting Nancy Famolari

21 Brigitte Thompson is hosting Margaret Fieland

22 Martha Swirzinki is hosting Darcia Helle

23 Heidi Thomas is hosting Kathy Stemke

Each day there will be prizes offered. All you have to do is leave a comment on the host's site on the day he/she is posting for their guest and you may be a WINNER!

The Winner will have a choice of ONE of 2 or 3 books of our members or other related gifts, OR a one day guest spot on THIS site!

Prizes being given away EVERY Day from November 1st through November 23rd!

OH! Wait a minute! That's not all! We are still having our Mystery Site Giveaway and the SUPER-DUPER PRIZE is a $25 (US) GIFT CARD to either Amazon, Target, or an American Express Gift Card. I'll know for sure by the end of this month.

Winners will be notified the day after each posting. The Mystery Site Winner will be notified Sunday, November 29th.

Come celebrate with us and have the chance of being one of the WINNERS of a great gift in the process.

Angeline is Excited for Halloween!

Guess what she wants?

My Life: Writing and Working

It's been awhile since I've posted here. All of my energy has been eaten up by working on my novel, looking for a job, and looking for an apartment.

My YA novel (working title Comfort Zone) is almost finished! I'm very excited but at the same time it feels a little anti-climatic. It has been such a part of my life for almost nine months that I don't know what to do with myself after it's finished. I know I'll move on to other projects and eventually return to it for revisions, but I'm still sad to see it end.

I've been sending out poetry and flash fiction again. I have some picture books that I want to send out too. And I'm writing all the time. Not just on my novel, but on random other things too. My passion for writing has never been higher.

My second year with AmeriCorps will come to and end next week, and I've been desperately looking for a "real job." I've applied for teaching positions, secretary positions, pretty much anything I could find that I'm half interested in, and all I've received are rejection e-mails (or no responses at all). I did, however, land a gig teaching one writing for children class at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts this winter, which is really, really exciting. And next week I have an interview for an internship with a literary agency, which I'm hoping leads to bigger things, but neither one of those positions is going to pay the rent.

In short, I'm at a crossroads in my life. I've been working desperately for months to figure out what to do with myself after AmeriCorps ends, and now that time is here, and I still don't know. I hope I can get a break soon. I've applied for an alternative teacher certification program that would start in June, so I have nine months of uncertainty ahead of me. Long enough to finish another novel, but not long enough to really get started at a decent job.

I know it's a tough world out there right now for job seakers, so I'm pursuing everything I can and hoping one of the opportunities works out.

What are your writing roots?

I had a really fascinating conversation yesterday with Mark about how long we've been writing. My writing roots sprouted in Mrs. Biseli's first grade class. Each week, we were given a small black and white picture at random, which we were to paste into our notebooks and then write a story based upon it. I absolutely loved it. I always had the longest stories out of everyone in my class, and my teacher would always compliment me on my name choices.


Although I started out writing short stories, pretty soon I had switched to poetry. Poetry got me through my difficult pre-teen and teen years. In my eighth grade reading class, we were encouraged to do creative projects like writing poems based on the books we were reading. I always went way over the top, using posterboard, colored paper and glitter as backgrounds for my work.


My love of poetry continued until I placed 2nd in a local poetry contest held in affiliation with the Blair County Arts Festival. That was the first time I ever had to read my poetry in front of people, and I was absolutely terrified. Around that time, I also had my first experience with Poetry.com. I didn't realize it then, but the poem I entered probably wasn't publication worthy, yet they "accepted" it and also nominated it for some prize. Once I realized that the company thrived on taking unsuspecting poets' money, I could never look at that poem the same way again. But the mere fact that I had won a poetry contest was enough to propel me into high school.

In college, I majored in English and took my very first poetry workshop. Despite some not-so-great teachers, I excelled in poetry. I felt as if I had found my niche. I had some awesome teachers there, too, who introduced me to poets like Nikki Giovanni and Ted Kooser. I also literally got to meet some well-known poets too. My poetry improved so much in those four years.

I applied to the MFA program at Chatham University in Pittsburgh toward the end of my senior year in college, and was blown away when I was accepted. I started there in August 2006. Chatham was my dream school. I enrolled in the poetry track. Although I have mixed feelings about the program now, I credit Chatham for helping me decide what I don't want to do with my life and what I do want to do with it. I took my very first class in writing for children during my first semester, and that's when my writing really started to come alive.

Almost three years later, I have my MFA in Creative Writing with a dual emphasis in Poetry and Writing for Children, have had my first picture book, and numerous poems, published. I can't believe how far I've come with my writing. I never considered writing for children before going to grad school. I also feel as if I have gone full circle- from a child writing short stories to an adult writing short stories for children. I am so passionate about writing for children and feel as if I can be myself through my stories and books for kids.

I have already written my first YA novel and I'm currently almost finished with my second. Writing for children has given me the opportunity to explore many diverse genres.

Now, my question to you: When did your writing roots begin?

Appearing on Robin Falls Kids Story Time!

On August 5th at 10AM Central, I will be appearing on Robin Falls Kids Story Time on Blog Talk Radio! You can listen in to the program on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/RobinFalls to hear me talk about the inspirations behind my picture book Angeline Jellybean. It should be a fun and exciting time for all writers involved!

Also, why don't you take some time to support me in the Take Steps for Crohn's Disease and Colitis Walk? You can find out more about Crohn's and Colitis as well as donate at http://tinyurl.com/qy9jlg

The Poet in ME?

I sometimes refer to myself as an ex-poet. I've had some people, mostly poets, give me strange looks and say that's not possible. Once you become a poet, you start thinking like a poet, and you can never think differently.

And I guess that's true. I have never stopped looking at the world differently than the average person. I still see the beauty in everything. I guess the difference is, I'm directing those thoughts into different places now. Instead of writing a detailed, descriptive poem about a young boy and his grandma riding a city bus, I work it into a picture book. I tend to focus my attention more on children than adults. I also tend to focus on the outside world, not inside my own head. My poems tend to be self-reflective, but my picture books and novels examine the larger picture. Of course, I still use my own experiences when I write for kids, but they are mixed with things I've seen or heard kids do while out and about in the "real world."

I wonder sometimes if my lack of poetic moments lately is because I'm not living enough. I'm not out doing things and experiencing the world as much as I would like. I spend most of my time teaching or writing.

When I talk about why I pushed poetry aside, a few reasons keep creeping up:

• The need to be someone other than "me" in my work. Persona poems couldn't do it. People still thought I was being me.
• The inability to please myself and an audience at the same time. The audience at that point was mainly professors and other students.
• The feeling of being confined in twelve or so lines. It's odd, I used to never be able to write poems longer than fifteen lines. Now, I can't seem to get away from writing whole novels worth of stuff. It's liberating.
• The realization that I probably will never make money off of, or even publish, a book of poetry. Sad as it is, it's true. Publishing poetry is one of the hardest things to do, and if I couldn't do it "right" then I wasn't going to do it.
• The feeling that I needed to fit a "mold." Poets are picky. As a poetry student, I was told to follow all kinds of unwritten, contradictory rules. It was frustrating, and it sucked creativity out of me. Writing for kids is much more freeing. Just think of all the areas you can experiment with: non-fiction, picture books, rebus stories, poetry, middle grade fiction, YA novels, chick lit, fantasy, povels, the list goes on and on.

So the fact that I haven't finished a poem in over year doesn't really scare me. That I'm moving beyond 6+ years of doing the same thing every day excites me.

Thesis Defense

Today, I finally had my thesis defense. And I passed! I only need to do some minor fix-ups, print three copies, and have them bound. But the process of going through the defense helped me realize that the novel still has a way to go before publication. I need to fill in some plot holes and make some minor characters stronger. I am leaving the manuscript sit until summer, at which point I will pick it back up again and begin revisions.

In the meantime, I'm aleady formulating ideas for my next novel.

Featured on Deborah Ramos' Blog!

Check out the interview Deborah Ramos did with me about my writing and my new book Angeline Jellybean at http://backyardsafari.blogspot.com/

Angeline Jellybean is available for pre-order!

Angeline Jellybean is now available for advance order from www.4rvpublishingllc.com/store-books.html ! You may order your books now, but please keep in mind they won't be available to mailing for 10-14 days.

Inspiration

Last weekend, I had the pleasure to see and meet two very awesome writers, Jan Beatty and Naomi Shihab Nye. It was my first "literary" weekend in awhile. On Friday night, I attended the Gist St. Reading Series to see Pittsburgh native Jan Beatty read her poetry. I've admired her work for a couple of years now and even own one of her books (which, unfortunately, I forgot to take for her to sign). When I left the reading, I had this strange desire to write poetry again, something I haven't done in months. It was like my brain had opened up and all of this creativity had rushed in again. I was thinking like a poet, seeing things for their hidden meanings once again.

Then, on Sunday, I met Naomi Shihab Nye at the Bridges to New Worlds Literary Festival at Chatham University. Her workshop was amazing! Naomi is such a friendly, down-to-earth, yet wise woman. Naomi is just like me-- a poet at heart turned children's writer. She is probably best known for her poetry, but her YA novel Haibibi is outstanding! I left the workshop on Sunday morning floating on a cloud, my signed copy of A Maze Me: Poems for Girls in my hand and another push to start writing more.

The point of my stories is this: we must live in order to write. When we stop allowing ourselves to commune with other writers, to share our work, to seek out inspiration, that's when we prevent ourselves from being constructive with our work. I feel as if I've allowed myself to get so busy with life that I've prevented myself from truly living the life of a writer. It took a weekend like this past one to remind me how great it feels to have this gift.

From start to finish, the cover of Angeline

Check out how illustrator Stephen Macquignon went about drawing the cover of Angeline Jellybean, step-by-step, in his blog: http://scketch2color.multiply.com/journal

Somes Scenes From Angeline

The Cover for Angeline is Here!

Let me know what you think.

Revisions

I dislike revisions. It's just not fun to me anymore. I'm not sure why. Right now, I'm attempting to do first revisions on my thesis, and it's boring me. I'm grumbling through it. haha. I'd much rather be writing something brand new. But, it is a necessary part of being a writer, not to mention these particular revisions are required for me to graduate with my MFA, so I have to do it.

If I'm acting this way with the minor revisions, I don't know how I'm going to get through any major restructuring that needs done-- and believe me, I know there has to be some!

Classes and other random things

So, I've decided to take a class with the Institute of Children's Literature on top of my six credits this semester at Chatham. The first set of materials arrived today and I'm really excited! The course is in writing for the magazine market, both fiction and non-fiction. I decided to take it because I've never had a class in writing for magazines before, and I really think it's the one area I need work in. Besides, I need a way to keep writing, publishing and making a little money while I'm waiting for my next children's book to be published by a big publishing house and become the next bestseller. ;-) I read over the instructions for the first assignment, and so far the course seems interesting and creativity-inducing.

I am about to embark on my very last semester as an MFA student. I need to finish my thesis and take one children's lit class, and then I will be done. It's kind of strange, and scary, that I'm only taking one class in the classroom and then I'll be expected to get a "big kid job."

In other news, I am writing again. I've started a brand new YA novel (just in time to have my life taken over by classes, therefore causing me to put the new project aside, as usual). I've also signed up for a workshop with Naomi Shihab Nye as part of a literary workshop at my school. Until recently, I wasn't even aware that Nye had published children's books. Kathy suggested that my thesis would be a good thing to submit, since Nye has poetry and YA experience. So, I did. . . and now in October we'll see how it goes.

I'm Having Issues

I've been told that the last rhyming picture book I wrote was not a picture book, but a poem.

I've also been told that my rhythm in this poem is all off. Everytime I think I understand how to fix it, I mess it all up again. Despite four years as an English major and two years in an MFA program I WILL NEVER GET IT!

Yet, I keep insisting on writing rhyming picture books, which is ironic because I despise adult poems in rhyme. I find "regular" narrative picture books boring and harder to write.
I cannot make myself work on this poem. Nor can I make myself write one word of anything else. But I'm so bored I don't know what to do with myself. So, I'm just sitting here staring at the computer screen and letting my brain rot. *sigh*

Thesis Update

I just completely finished the first draft of my thesis, 2 weeks early! I'm not completely happy with the second half, but hey that's why it's called a rough draft, right? I'm taking a break from it before I go back in and revise.

Saying Good-bye to Literacy AmeriCorps Year 14

Last night, the entire corps met for one last hurrah. We looked at photos taken throughout the year, ate ourselves silly, laughed and almost cried a few times. MaryRose made this awesome slideshow of our memories from throughout the year. I teared up while watching it. She also presented us with certificates and framed group photos. Sarah was there! She just got back from Bulgaria so we had some catching up to do. It was great, but at the same time extremely sad. I don't know what I'd do without AmeriCorps again next year. . . I guess I'll get the chance to find out after my second year of service over.

I miss everyone already. :-(

Save the Dates- Pittsburgh

Heather McNaugher, Assistant Professor of English at Chatham University's MFA program, will be reading this Sunday, August 17th at 2PM at the Carnegie Library in Oakland.

The Fall Festival of Children's Books will take place Friday October 17th from 9AM-5Pm at the Children's Musuem on the North Side.

My picture book, Angeline Jellybean, comes out in February 2009!

Jumping Jellybeans, it's me!

Check out my profile on Vivian Zabel's blog entry yesterday (8/9/08). http://vzabel.multiply.com/journal