Inspiration

A Wind in the Door – Madeleine L’Engle

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

A permanent fixture in my children’s book bookcase is the classic, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. For whatever reason, I recently plucked the sequel to this book, A Wind in the Door, from among the many YA, MG and adult books that I snared from the county’s annual library book sale, awaiting to be read. And once again, a moment of synchronicity.

To me, L’Engle, who passed away in 2007, is a metaphysical teacher. Some see her writing as having a Christian bent; I, however, find it much broader. Her use of the fantastic to engage readers in the greatest battle of all time  – good vs. evil – is spectacular. Two children, Meg Murray, our heroine, and her friend Calvin O’Keefe are called to join the battle, beginning so innocently as Meg’s ailing younger brother, Charles Wallace, announcing that there is a dragon in the twins’ vegetable garden.

Proginoskes, however, with his many wings, each inhabited by many more eyes, is not a dragon, but a cherubim. “I suppose you think I ought to be a golden-haired baby-face with no body and two useless little wings?” says he.

Throughout this novel, the reader is asked to question what is and what is not real, to consider the powers we have, among them the ability to communicate with one another without words, and to understand the ultimate power of love. Love changes everything is L’Engle’s message. Indeed, it can save one small child and the entire universe. But there’s a fight to be had for it. One needs to trust in oneself and in the good of others, even though they’ve lost track of it themselves, to not judge by appearances, to believe that animals can be teachers and guides, and to be willing to travel in galactic space as well as the inner space of mitochondria.

And L’Engle does all this in a completely magical yet utterly believable way.

As soon as I finished A Wind in the Door, I knew I would go right back in and read it again. Then a re-visit of A Wrinkle in Time. Then I believe, I will order the other 3 books in her “time” series.

For more information about Madeline L’Engle, who has written so much more than these few mentioned books, visit her web site. Or to understand her in a nutshell, read her acceptance speech of the Newbery Award she received for A Wrinkle in Time.

Bliss Boulevard

/ still a dreamer

As I was returning from an early morning errand today, I passed a street sign that I had never noticed before … Bliss Blvd.  I looked at it with a kind of longing. That’s where I want to live. Wouldn’t you?

It’s a small side street and easy to miss as it comes up immediately after one turns left onto a well-travelled route, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it meant, that after all these years of passing it, I just noticed it today. I do always take these kinds of things as signs, and not the literal ones. So why did I just see this today?

From numerous nights of poor and/or interrupted sleep, I’m on edge. Things of minor importance become of disproportionate significance; routine but unexpected noises make me jump. And things that may normally cause me some worry cast an even greater shadow. I know sleep will help. But what I also know I need to do in these times is to just let go.

Letting go of worries often means letting go of the illusion of control. The only thing we truly have control over is our own thoughts. The rest – people,  animals, events – on both personal and global scales – is nothing we can control. Sometimes we can only stand by and watch things unfold. Sometimes we can influence things in a positive, (or negative), way. However, others are on their own path, and we don’t ever really know,  though we may glimpse it, what that path is for them – the joy, the pain, the confusion, the triumphs – but it is their path.  Ideally, we can bring to others the best of ourselves and then let the rest go.

So, I thought today, in this sleep-fractured state, that I would pack up a little black bag of worries, control, fear and all that negative crap, and surrender it on my way to a more blissful destination. I’m sure there’s a better night’s sleep to be had there and an easier time of it. And I have children’s books to write and illustrate. I’m headed for Bliss Blvd. Isn’t that where you’d like to be, too?

Writing from the Heart

/ still a dreamer / 1 Comment

I was having a conversation with one of my writer friends the other evening, both of us commiserating about our pre-Conference stress. The conversation moved on to her most recent accomplishment, finishing her YA novel for an editor who had requested it and the resulting feelings. She mentioned that she thought why it was so difficult for writers to complete their novels was that they were grappling with some kind of personal issues which were playing out through the novel and its characters.

That rang true, and I reflected back on an experience of my own. I was reading one of my recent picture book manuscripts to a dear friend of mine over the phone. She loved it and started to laugh. “What’s so funny?” I asked. “Gee, could it be any more autobiographical?” she answered. This hadn’t occurred to me, perhaps because the MC was an animal or perhaps because I was just too close to it. But then I started laughing, too! She was right!

What’s the one piece of advice we consistently hear from editors/agents? Write from your heart, write what you know. And no matter how clever the disguise, how can we possibly leave ourselves out of the equation? Now it may be more obvious in some MS than others, but in looking at our own writing, there are certainly themes, unresolved issues, challenges, dreams … our heart. If we allow ourselves to write from our truest self, we write from our heart.

And that’s the very best thing we can bring to the table.

Ahhh, To Be Published!

/ still a dreamer

As the big annual NJ SCBWI June Conference approaches, I am one among many who is beginning to stress out. I’ve had discussions with several friends, not all fellow writers and illustrators, trying to determine what exactly it is that gets us all so wound beforehand. Editors and agents have been wonderful and helpful at the various conferences and mentoring workshops we’ve attended; there is a convivial and supportive attitude among all participants; it’s a vast learning opportunity. So why so stressed, kiddo?

One of my friends felt it was performance anxiety which tends to hit creatives especially hard. I can buy that. I was thinking perhaps it’s because we all go with such high hopes. Pick me! Publish my story, and yes, thank you for accepting me as its illustrator, too. Who doesn’t bring her dreams wrapped carefully in an elegant velvet scarf or tucked jauntily into her portfolio, waiting for the moment to reveal what some unsuspecting editor or agent has been just waiting to be wowed by – the best story and illustrations ever!

I was following a few links to blogs about children’s books before I wrote this – what some editors and agents say they’re looking for, great hooks in your stories, and then on to the blog of Jay Asher, who wrote Thirteen Reasons Why. I haven’t read the book, but I believe a friend of mine has. What struck me in visiting Jay Asher online was that first, he had his own blog … which detailed his book signings, event participation and school visits. Then I see his book has its own blog AND his MC has her own blog. Holy Moly!

I was both daunted and excited. Could this happen to me? Of course, it could! And the joy and wealth of experiences it will bring to my life when I get there are just glittering on the horizon.

Breathe in. And exhale. And again. Ahhh, to be published!

Quote from Gilda Radner

/ still a dreamer

While searching for a suitable quote for a job I was working on, I came across the following. As an aspiring author and illustrator of children’s books and a fan, it struck a chord with me.

I always found Gilda Radner to be a fabulous and funny comedienne. She died too young at 42 from ovarian cancer.

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.”
~Gilda Radner