A Brief Tear on the "Fun" of Writing

Did you watch the Emmys telecast last night? I didn't. I did, however, click on a few Emmy-related news links early this morning and came across this E! Online quote from Mad Men creator (and statue winner for writing) Matthew Weiner:

"When you get something like this, it makes writing look fun, but it's not."

To me, winning an Emmy — or, how about a pretty, pretty Newbery?!?!? — for writing does in fact sound super fun! Yet, as a writer, I know that the work that goes into most award-winning works is, ahem, a whole lotta WORK.

Fun can and should be had while working at any job, certainly. And I doubt any writer /*slash*/ thinking human being would unfavorably compare writing work to, say, physically difficult labor or otherwise emotionally unpleasant occupations (use your own POV/imagination here). Few writers have to work under downright smelly/filthy/scary/dangerous/extreme-temperatured conditions, after all.

When you are a writer (and yes, a kids' writer, even!), you have a job to do. You figure out how you will do it. You get started and actually finish. You meet your deadlines. You collaborate with your editor and your fact-checker and your agent and whomever else you need to keep happy. You, the plumber, the surgeon, the store clerk, the sales rep, the lawyer, the teacher, the animal trainer, the photographer, the chef, the baseball coach, the park ranger, the dentist, the personal assistant, the banker, the carpet cleaner, the engineer, the pastor, and everyone you know in every job you can think of have everything in common ------- you all get it done.

So. I feel obligated to point out and echo and beat to absolute death Matthew Weiner's sentiment. Even though I very much enjoy (and I do mean very.much.enjoy) being a writer who sometimes gets to create fun works, I felt the urge to blog that I never sit down to my desk . . . and I do mean NEVER . . . thinking, "This is going to be fun."

Instead I think things like "This should be easy" or "I have no idea where to start" or "I can't wait to try my new idea" or "Yesterday's writing was crap" or "I need some new research" or "It's time to interview my expert" or "I'm going to solve that plot problem if it kills me" or "Just 1,000 words to go" or "I wish I didn't have to do ANY of today's tasks . . . but of course I will, because that's my job."

And thus concludes my brief tear on the "fun" of writing.

September 8 Is International Literacy Day

It's International Literacy Day!

I read this morning that approximately 780 million adults worldwide cannot read or write. Notice that? I said "I read" it. Today my plan is to tap into the gratitude I feel about the life afforded me by the ability to read and write . . . and pass it on.

In that spirit, I just moved a long-standing to-do to the top of my list: It's time to (finally) load the car with the three boxes of extra books that have been hanging out waiting to be gifted, donated, and sold. I'll feel good, the basement hallway will look better, and — I hope — some of my very gently used (and some new) books will help strengthen a reader's skills or just brighten someone's day.

How will you observe the ILD? You might head to the library, buy a book, or read to/with/in front of your child. These are all things you can do any day, of course. But it's nice to get a nudge sometimes, don't you think?

Too Cool Not to Share

Pictorial Webster's: Inspiration to Completion from John Carrera on Vimeo.

My Fall YA Release

Have I mentioned how bad I am at promoting my books? I mean, here I sit with my own blog, and I have yet to mention in this space that I have four new books out this season. All were released in August!

(To be fair to me, I did mention the books on Facebook and LinkedIn. But, really, what self-respecting author doesn't take to the blog right away!?!)

The biggest — meaning, thickest — book is part of ABDO's Strong, Beautiful Girls series. It's called Frenemies: Dealing with Friend Drama, and it features fictionalized scenarios illustrating a number of the very real friendship issues that middle-school girls face, along with research-based advice for handling them.

My author copies are currently in transit, and naturally I'm looking forward to actually seeing the finished product. Funny thing is, I've already received (positive) feedback from an adult reader. So the book is out in the world, available for consumption . . . and yet . . . because I haven't touched it, Frenemies still exists only in abstract — and Word file — for me.

I'll be talking about the book at my local SCBWI chapter's Inside Story salon October 28. Can't wait for that, and I'll be sure to share more about the event afterward.

Back soon with a post about my other three releases!

Authors Guild to Host Google Book Settlement Teleconference

As many readers know, the Authors Guild has been tracking and reporting on all things "Google book settlement" for about a year — and this Thursday, August 13, they're hosting a free teleconference on the topic for authors and agents. It takes place at 3:00 pm Eastern.

Find more information and sign up for the call here. For links to all relevant issues pertaining to the case, click here.

The New CWIM Is Here!

My intrepid postwoman just plopped a fat 'n' fresh copy of Alice Pope's 2010 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market on my doorstep!

It looks great. No, I haven't read the whole thing. (It just came, remember?) And I probably won't. (Not a reasonable goal, really.) But I did want to pop in to give this edition a big thumbs up.

It's always a great resource for market info and insightful articles from industry pros. This year, though, I'm thrilled to see the new feature of access to an online database of all the markets listed in the book. I don't buy this resource every year (last edition purchased: 2003), but that little bonus makes me very, very happy — and it will likely turn me into an annual customer. (Smart move, publisher!)

Shaking Off the Cobwebs

Last night the dog and I took a stroll, and with every few yards of progress, I batted and spit my way through yet another crop of tightly spun cobwebs. (The pooch seemed unaffected.) A heatwave had emptied our neighborhood parks and sidewalks for a good week or more, leaving the spiders with free rein. (Note that over the weekend, I also discovered webs — and the teeny little spiders that crafted them (!) — in the drying rack next to the kitchen sink. My explanation, and I'm sticking to it: Very few windows in my built-for-the-Northwest house have screens.)

It's still quite warm for our climate, but the heat is much less oppressive now, and the promise of markedly cooler temps starting tomorrow has been dangled. I'm so giddy about the downward trend that I decided to work away from my home office today. Last week, the heat and constant sleepiness were distractions, problems to overcome, heavy burdens to bear/loudly whine about. Today, though, with things looking up I worried that a livable temperature might make me too tempted to either (a) catch up on neglected-due-to-heatstroke household things that I can easily do tonight or (b) answer the siren call of a pretty summer's day, resulting in the need to work on WORK tonight, when I have firm plans to not do any of the aforementioned "household things."

So, I went for a bracing wake-up walk and then whisked myself off for a Workday Wi-Fi Crawl. Free wi-fi implied. It was a terrific change of pace and perfect for the editing work featured as today's main to-do.

At 7:30, I headed to a nearby coffee shop for emails and such over a latte. Most other patrons were headed someplace else, so I scored a comfy chair next to a handy table. Cool! Midmorning I switched to my nearest library branch to do some work-related library-ing before settling down for several hours of quiet, focused editing.

Hungry by midafternoon, I tried a never-busy dive lunch joint I knew to offer wi-fi (to which I've always said, "Who would use that here?"). Worked out fine! Then, to finish out the crawl, I grabbed a cold tea and headed to a shady, wi-fi-equipped park close to home. I sat at a picnic table facing a lake and was surprisingly productive there, too. Nobody was swimming or even stirring until around 4:30 — and by then it was time for me to get home.

Tomorrow will be business as usual, as usual. I truly do prefer to work in my office at the big-girl's computer. (That doesn't sound quite right, but neither does "adult computer." I'm comparing my large, tricked-out desktop machine to my small, just-functional-enough laptop, okay?) But today sure was lovely. The change of scenery/pace cleared my web-filled brain and renewed my weary spirit — and I look forward to tomorrow's nothing-special workday with — yes, I think it's true — happy anticipation.

E. B. White on the Meaning of It All

I picked up a remainder copy of Peter E. Neumeyer's The Annotated Charlotte's Web last weekend, and I'm so glad I did. It's a fascinating look at E. B. White's creative process, with extensive descriptions of various references from within the story, snippets of White's detailed spider research, and samples of his correspondence with famed children's editor Ursula Nordstrom.

Combine all that with the kid-lit masterpiece that is Charlotte's Web, and — as a reader — I'm in piggy heaven. I'm terribly happy as a writer, too, of course. (Fellow Smackdowners take note: Mr. White took this little piece of work through eight full drafts, with plenty of editorial input and acute bouts of writerly angst.)

Get a load of this hilarious White quote, uttered after reading a critical analysis of his novel:

"It is an extraordinary document, any way you look at it, and it makes me realize how lucky I was (when I was writing the book) that I didn't know what in hell was going on."

One of the earliest lessons I learned as a rabid-for-story English-lit major some 25 years ago was that there are as many possible interpretations of any given work as there are eager-for-As interpreters. What makes a great story great is, quite often, mere simplicity. And Charlotte's Web has that in razor-sharp farm implements. (Plus, you know, universally relatable themes, engaging action, genuinely adorable characters, and jaw-droppingly gorgeous language pulling it all together.)

As much as I love deconstructing a wonderful piece of literature . . . just to see how it ticks or try to assign "meaning" . . . I love, love, LOVE it even more when a magnificent talent like Mr. White (ever so gently) calls foul on the pretension surrounding the practice.

He wrote the story he was interested in, and he — simply — kept at it until all the parts fit to make a sparkling, cohesive whole.

THE END.

Publication News: Persuasive Podcasting Lesson

My most recent contribution to the ReadWriteThink database of research-based, educator-vetted lesson plans went live today. It's a five-session Grades 6–8 lesson called "Creating a Persuasive Podcast." Students will hone specific research and writing skills while also learning the basics of working with podcasting tools.

Click here to take a peek!

Does Summer Always Go This Fast?

Of course it does. Faster every year, as we all know.

When summertime was still "coming up" this year, I thought of it as this long, sunshiny stretch of found time to have more fun (in general) and get more personal writing done (in particular). Although I am as predictably shocked as everyone else that mid July is upon us — and mildly panicked that the season will slip through my fingers before I even notice — if I take a truly objective look at my activity schedule and extra, non-work-related writing output, it's clear that I've been succeeding at actually finding a little time . . . and using it, too.

The trick for me on days like this hectic wish-it-was-a-May-Sunday Monday, I think, is to take a moment to deeply appreciate that summer fun has actually happened, fully acknowledge that personal writing HAS progressed (thanks, SRS, for adding some oomph!), and remember to eagerly anticipate whatever may come from any of it.

Bloggy break over. Back to work now.