Inspiration, Two Ways

With all the talk of inspiration going on around here, it’s obviously no surprised that I’ve found myself thinking about what primes the ole’ pump the past week or so. What’s inspiration, you ask? Well, you know, It’s…that thing.  The stuff that helps you get stuff done.

On second thought, maybe we should consult Google for a proper definition. The way I described it above a) was entirely too reminiscent of Larry the Cable Guy, and b) is vague enough it could be said of both Red Bull and Elmer’s School Glue and still be equally true. Which puts that phrase in solid running for Most Generic Phrase of 2016.

Anyway…Google says:

in·spi·ra·tionˌinspəˈrāSH(ə)n/ - noun

1. the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

I should probably add that there was a (2) part to that definition, which you can check out if you’re inclined to follow ye old link here, but it’s really just something about respiration. And, honestly, outside of a corny joke about writing MG being just as important as breathing, respiration is just not that important right now.

Well, other than that we all should keep doing it. That’s pretty important.

So, the process of being stimulated to do or feel something, huh? I have to admit, sometimes I feel like I’ve gotten off lucky in that regard when it comes to making stories. For some writers I know, inspiration for new stories is like planting a garden.  It’s takes good seeds, just the right amount of water and sunlight and warm cozy soil, a bunch of back-breaking work, and possibly some conversation with an Italian grandmother to get things growing properly. That is, they have to have Eureka! moment with a good story conceit, and ample time to poke and prod and nurture and coax it, just to grow a story out of their head.

(Does anyone else suddenly have a mental image of Jack’s beanstalk growing of an author’s ear? Poor author.)

What, then, makes me lucky in that regard? That is, in the story growing one rather than the ear-beanstalk one.  Sure, I am lucky in the ear-beanstalk regard too, but no more than the other 100% of the human population on Earth not capable of growing plants from their auditory organs.

Where was I? Right. Lucky.  I’m luckier than some because I’m pretty strictly a Science Fiction and/or Fantasy writer.  Which means that I can basically write stories about anything I can’t do in my every day life.  And let’s face it, there’s a lot I can’t do. I can’t conjure Fireballs, I can’t make trips to Alpha Centauri at faster than light speeds (or even at any speed, for that matter), and I can’t commune with the spirit of a long dead relative king at my family’s ancestral home in Glaxonsmithclinederry on the Pond or wherever. We’re basically from Cincinnati. We’ve kind of always been from Cincinnati, and, heck, one set of my grandparents never even owned a house. So, um, no ancestral home here.

Oddly enough, there are actually some family ghost stories, but that’s probably a post for a different day.

As for getting inspired by new story ideas, though? The honest trust is that I could probably write down at least one new idea a day, if not more. For instance, I actually got a idea earlier today about IT and voodoo and time traveling that I can’t wait to pick apart a little bit.  And you know where that idea came from? A tweet from a friend. Well, and apparently autocorrect. But that shouldn’t surprise anyone; mark my words, autocorrect will be the inspiration for 97% of the world’s creative output by the year 2037. It’s already generates roughly 43% of Buzzfeed’s content.

The really thing about inspiration, though, is that it’s got more than just one facet when it comes to writing. Sure, Inspiration of Ideas is a delightfully compelling subject, and the sources of it can be wildly diverse among writers. But if you ask me, even more interesting is the question of the Inspiration of Work, because it’s one that each and every one of us who writes anything must answer almost daily if we’re going to get anything done. What things inspire us to sit at a keyboard or a desk, and stare at the screen or notebook until the words finally come wriggling out, like baby turtles hobbling across the sand?

For me, it’s the love of seeing others discover the characters and worlds in my head. It’s the pride of knowing that I set out to make a story real, and did my level best to accomplish it. But I’d be lying if I tried to argue that high ideals got all my books written. There’s also the practical matter of the reward of M&Ms that marks the end of a solid sitting of work for me, too.

And if you ask me, you can never have too much practical inspiration. Something I’ll leave you to consider while you’re thinking about what inspires your work and your ideas.

Pud’n

Top Five Reasons You Should Read The Remarkable Journey Of Charlie Price, by Jennifer Maschari

 

1.     Passageway: (A Secret One!)  As Charlie and his sister Imogen grieve the death of their mom, they find a hatch under the bed that takes them to a parallel world where Mom is alive. (Talk about an amazing premise!)

 

2.     Plot: Charlie and Imogen spend time with Mom again, eating her delicious spaghetti, playing Scrabble, and going on scavenger hunts. Everything seems perfect. But when they return to the real world, their memories of Mom seem to be fading. Charlie and Imogen’s faces are also fading from family photographs. Mysteriously, Charlie and Imogen are drawn to the “other” world, where “Parallel Universe Mom” seems to be surviving on their memories, devouring all that their heart once held true about their mother.

 

3.     Pacing: This 290-page middle grade really flew. When “Parallel Universe Mom” says, “I’d love for you to stay down here, Charlie. We can all be one happy family again,” and Charlie retorts, “Something is going on here that is not normal, and we need to get out,” I HAD to keep reading! Because why isn’t "Parallel Universe Mom" eating meals with her kids? And why do Charlie’s memories of Mom keep fading when he returns to the real world? Is it possible that Charlie’s friend, who has been missing or possibly abducted, has been sucked into this alternate reality, where he’s spending time with his recently-deceased grandma?

 

4.     Pup:  I love dogs. And let’s just say that there is a particular dog who is more than a hero in this story. He's a star. 
                                           

 

5.     Prose: This book begs to be read aloud. There is remarkable attention to descriptive detail and lovely, lyrical prose. Here is my favorite passage:

“And now, at twelve years and a month, okay meant that he and Imogen were together, that Dad would finally become a dad again, and that they would never forget Mom. Charlie knew that the memories of her might fade—even the brightest stars blinked out—but there were parts of Mom that were still a part of them.”

This is a middle grade unlike any other I have read. It’s a tear-jerker, a heart-wrencher, and a friendship and family adventure rolled into one.

Anne Ursu called this book, “Brave and bighearted.”

I call it an amazing middle grade debut!

 

 

Careful: Inspiration is sneaking up on you!

Fellow Middle Grade Minded Blogger Jamie Krakover recently wrote a wonderful post on inspiration and how asking "What if?" can be an amazing catalyst for our imagination.

That got me to thinking - How do I get inspired? Where are my ideas coming from?

For me, the process seems to take three routes: the esoteric, the stumble-upon-it, and the story I need to tell.

The Esoteric

These are the ideas that are completely random. In my mind's eye they are swirling all around and seem to light on me like a butterfly.

via GIPHY

In her book Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert argues that ideas are a "disembodied, energetic life-form", forever searching for someone to bring them to fruition (in whatever creative field you are engaged in, from knitting to writing to painting to gardening to whatever).

While this may sound crackers to you, there have been many occasions when an idea has simply "appeared", often almost fully-formed, begging for me to write it. Sometimes the result is good, sometimes not-so-good. In all cases, the not-so-good stories were because my heart wasn't quite in it. I still need to learn when to abandon an idea that doesn't quite do it.

Still the book I just finished (and am too superstitious to discuss yet!) arrived one afternoon without fanfare, but with great persistence. It followed me on my walks, it niggled at me in the shower, it directed me to a certain book, which when I opened it, led me to my character. And then it had the good grace to help me write it, including providing me with the elusive voice on page one. Sure, it needed revising and editing and all that good stuff, but I can only describe it as a gift. And truthfully, I felt more like the scribe, getting it all down, something I had never really experienced before.

The Stumble-Upon-It

I love the stumble-upon-it inspirations. These are the ideas that are gracious enough to present themselves in such a way that they are completely intriguing.

via GIPHY

One amazing source of ideas is old newspapers (and I'm talking really old here). Last year I was looking for the obituary of my great-uncle, who died tragically in the early part of the twentieth century, when a story about a presumed murder caught my eye. (The murder was presumed because there was not yet a body). Suddenly I found myself going to the next day's paper on the microfiche, then the next. Each day's content was more fantastical than the last. The old adage that you wouldn't believe something could happen if you read it in a book was true in this case.

It also happened that the reporter could spin a yarn. In fact, it's my experience that old newspaper reporters wrote their stories in the most florid and excitable tone, a tone just begging to be fictionalized. While I have yet to write the book, it continues to percolate in the back of my head.

Another idea I am currently exploring presented itself to me via Twitter. There are a few random historical and news sites I follow on twitter and when one of them popped up with a plaque from an historical site in England awhile back, I knew it was the name of one of my next novels. Since then, I've been researching and putting together an outline. This made me feel very cocky about my use of Twitter and has obliterated the guilt I sometimes associate with it, since it can be my way of avoiding real work...

via GIPHY

The Story I Need to Tell

It's a Mystery, Pig Face! definitely falls into this category.

I'd always wanted to write a fun adventure story in the vein of Enid Blyton, Arthur Ransome, Harriet the Spy and that ilk.

I also always wanted to write about the neighbourhood I grew up in. Like kids everywhere, we were always hoping to stumble upon a mystery. If we couldn't find one, we were more than happy to make one up. This didn't always end well. Thus Tracy and Ralph and Pig Face's adventures were born.

Two years ago I wrote the first draft of another MG novel during NaNoWriMo about a boy coping with a family loss and a discovered grave. I haven't returned to that book yet, and I suspect when I do it will be almost completely overhauled, but I needed to write it at the time because it was a family story that had been worming its way into my imagination for many years.

So that's my take on inspiration and ideas. If I could sum it up in two words it would be: PAY ATTENTION! Inspiration is always sneaking up on you. You don't want to miss it.



via GIPHY


Now I'd love to hear your take on ideas and inspiration - do share!

Why I Write Middle Grade

Why do I write middle grade? Oh, I can think of a few reasons… ;)

·        because I love to read middle grade books.

·        because I was a voracious reader when I was a MG-aged kid.

·        because I believe if kids love books at this age, it can change their lives.

·        because kids are awesome.

·        because Kate DiCamillo. (Need I say more?)

·        because it was an accident. (My MG novel, ROOT BEER CANDY AND OTHER MIRACLES, started out as YA; the story wasn’t working at all, until I realized my main character wasn’t seventeen…she was eleven. Oops.)

·        because accident or not, it was the most fun I’ve ever had writing.

·        and finally, because MG books help us all believe in magic … and if I can be a teeny tiny part of that magic for someone, I’m in. I’m so in.

Welcome to the #April12thMGshelf book-cover-dance-crew mashup of extr

Sorry for that, folks. Apparently I hit my character limit on the title above so now you'll never know exactly what I was going to say. But rest assured...

It would've been cool.

It would've been amazing.

It would've Blown. Your. Mind.

Very much like the four books I'm going to spotlight today!

*humbly accepts award for most seamless segue ever*

By now you've all heard about our #April12thMGshelf event. I've been lucky enough to pal around online with three brilliant middle-grade authors—Melanie Conklin, Shari Schwarz, and Laura Shovan—for a while and fall in love with their equally brilliant books. We each share an April 12th release date and for this leg of the event tour, I'm sharing a little bit of these stories with you in one of the art forms I love best.

DANCE.


First to the stage we've got Melanie Conklin's Counting Thyme.

When eleven-year-old Thyme Owen’s little brother, Val, is accepted into a new cancer drug trial, it’s just the second chance that he needs. But it also means the Owens family has to move to New York, thousands of miles away from Thyme’s best friend and everything she knows and loves. The island of Manhattan doesn’t exactly inspire new beginnings, but Thyme tries to embrace the change for what it is: temporary.

After Val’s treatment shows real promise and Mr. Owens accepts a full-time position in the city, Thyme has to face the frightening possibility that the move to New York is permanent. Thyme loves her brother, and knows the trial could save his life—she’d give anything for him to be well—but she still wants to go home, although the guilt of not wanting to stay is agonizing. She finds herself even more mixed up when her heart feels the tug of new friends, a first crush and even a crotchety neighbor and his sweet whistling bird. All Thyme can do is count the minutes, the hours and the days, and hope time can bring both a miracle for Val and a way back home.

This book is all about family, hope, and perseverance. It's heartfelt. It's honest. It's just plain beautiful. So, naturally, the routine I chose for Melanie's book had to be one that I felt showcased the raw emotional power of dance. And what I decided on was "Fix You" featuring Robert and Alisson from So You Think You Can Dance.

Next up is Shari Schwarz's Treasure at Lure Lake.

An epic adventure—that’s all Bryce wants this summer. So when he stumbles upon a treasure map connected to an old family secret, Bryce is determined to follow the map, even if it means risking his life and lying to his grandpa while they're on their wilderness backpacking trip. Bryce must work together with his difficult big brother, Jack, or they...and the treasure...may never see the light of day again.

This book took me back to my childhood when I first read My Side of the Mountain. Combine Shari's ability to yank you out of your seat and put you deep into the forests of the Rocky Mountains with the treasure-map goodness of The Goonies and you've got one special book. So for this story, I knew I had to choose a routine that blended fun and adventure. And what better one than a Sonya Tayeh routine that bridges the gap between fury and beauty?

Now welcome Laura Shovan's The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary.

Eighteen kids,

one year of poems,

one school set to close.

Two yellow bulldozers

crouched outside,

ready to eat the building

in one greedy gulp.

But look out, bulldozers. 

Ms. Hill’s fifth-grade class 

has plans for you. 

They’re going to speak up 

and work together 

to save their school.

This was the very first novel in verse I ever read. And it was the perfect one to start with because not only did Laura get me cheering for these kids on their quest to save their school, but she did it while allowing me to get to know every kid in the class. It doesn't get much more fantastic than that. So the routine I chose was an equally fantastic group contemporary piece all about lifting each other up when times are tough.

Finally, Brooks Benjamin's My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights.

LIVE IT.

All Dillon wants is to be a real dancer. And if he wins a summer scholarship at Dance-Splosion, he’s on his way. The problem? His dad wants him to play football. And Dillon’s freestyle crew, the Dizzee Freekz, says that dance studios are for sellouts. His friends want Dillon to kill it at the audition—so he can turn around and tell the studio just how wrong their rules and creativity-strangling ways are.

WORK IT.

At first, Dillon’s willing to go along with his crew’s plan, even convincing one of the snobbiest girls at school to work with him on his technique. But as Dillon’s dancing improves, he wonders: what if studios aren’t the enemy? And what if he actually has a shot at winning the scholarship? 

BRING IT.

Dillon’s life is about to get crazy . . . on and off the dance floor.

Okay, so this one's mine. And I love it so much. It's upbeat and fun and is all about friendship and being yourself and finding the moves that fit. Since my book is about dance, I decided to pick a fun routine that I feel the Dizzee Freekz would love to perform. Enjoy!

Now here's your chance to win all four of these books! Be sure to use every entry you can and don't forget to check out the other #April12thMGshelf posts below, too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

— Sub It Club: March 22nd, Topic: Path to Publication

— Kidliterati: March 29th, Topic: #April12thMGShelf Talk Books, Writing, and Inspiration

— KIDLIT411: April 1, Topic: Friday bonus feature

— MGM: April 4, Topic: Brooks Benjamin pairs videos with our books

— Mixed up Files: April 7, Topic: Interviews

My Experience At A Middle School Career Day Fair

So I had a really cool opportunity last week.

A friend of mine works as a Middle School counselor and she invited me to present at their career day. My response: Um, yes!

So I had weeks to prepare... a really cappy looking tri-fold poster for my table. I posted some cool inspirational quotes from Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and others.

 

And even a cover photo of a book recently published by a thirteen-year-old boy (because INSPRIATION!)

It was quite fun to make, which is a good thing because pretty much no one looked at it. Which was probably okay, because even though my quotes were cool, the over all presentation was... pretty lame. (probably looked like I made it in Elemtary school. I should stick to digital presentations.)

I was super excited and not all that nervous... until I got there. Pulled up right next to a cop car, which of course is expected at career day BUT STILL. All I need is to ding his car (the silly things you worry about)... But also, I started getting real nervous that I was going to be super lame.

Like, being an author is really cool. But Police officers, doctors, veterinarians... those are the kinds of careers that career day is about, right? They have cool uniforms, and stories. And dude, did so many of the other presenters have COOL displays. Like full on professional banners and hanging signs and... just cool stuff, okay? I looked super extra lame. *twiddles thumbs*

(no, I have no clue what this is, but it looks cool)

 

 

But soon I noticed that the over achievers weren't swollowing me whole, and other lame-os (I say lovingly) with the same tri-fold poster things with self printed text and pictures, were right along side of me.

There were around 50 presenters so lots of options, not just firemen and doctors. There were realtors, and teachers , photographers, construction workers, and lots of tech jobs I have no idea what they really do (seriously, there was one table that just said "Squirrel" and nothing else. No clue) and so many more.

Now, how this particular fair went down was that the students had to pick at least three career tables to visit and ask interview questions. 95% of the questions were pre-set, and were pretty irrelevent to my particular career. Like, "What kind of career advancements are available?" Uhhhh....

So the students crowed into the gymnasium and I was lucky to get one student come up to me right away. But she quickly asked me a couple questions, which I answered awkwardly, then she left and ! was alone... *cricket cricket*. There were like tweleve girls crowded around the photography table (that's 100% where I would have been at this age, to be truthful.) *twiddles thumbs again* I wasn't the only one standing around, though, waiting eagerly for students to find me interesting. Many students passed and didn't stop.

But before long my wallflower identity dissapeared when a few more interested students showed up. Then a few more. I was by no means super popular, but I had someone interested in me/my career pretty regularly, with only a couple gaps. Actually, the fair was split into three periods, and the first was the most lacking in interest (maybe because EVERYONE hates mornings. Truth.) I had a couple small crowds (like 5 kids tops) later in the day.

Still, most of the students asked the stock questions, never venturing to ask their own. I did my best to explain the reality of being an author with those questions. "There are no qaulifications! You don't need any kind of degree," (I did mention MFA a few times) "there aren't even age requirements. Anyone can be an author, if you're dedicated enough. It's hard and it takes a long time, but if it's what you want you can start working towards that goal right now." I even explained that you are paid per project that sells, so it can be very irregular. Most published authors also keep other jobs.

Most of the students were just simply curious, which is totally fine. I didn't expect to come across many super motivated young writers.

I was mostly impressed when I came across a young person who asked me real questions. Who understood that their worksheets didn't really fit this career and that was okay. They got enough to fill in their assignment, but asked out of the box questions.

But I did find a couple legit writers out there. One who already has a book up on Wattpad (which I just started using myself. Cool site.) one who said she's working on her first book and really wants to be published one day. A handful who write poetry and/or short stories. One young girl surprised me with "So do you think it's hard to self-publish?" (I'd decided to only talk about traditional publishing for the simple fact that if I talked about both options things would get super complicated super fast. I did chat with her about it a little, though, since clearly she had a bit of background knowledge.) Apparently, her mother was an author and offered to help her self-publish her book if she ever finished it. So a potentially soon-to-be published author in my midst!

(I had no idea this picture was being taken and I feel like I look like a dork, but what are you gonna do?)

It was fun to chat with some of these young writers and readers. Some who only ever write short stories, some who write novels, some who just LOVE to read. They were all awesome.

It was really a cool experience, and I didn't feel insecure at all by the end (next time I'll just go without the cheesy poster. They just talk to you anyway.)


I also had a quick interview with a local journalist and he quoted me in his article about the event (also where I got the pictures, I didn't take any myself). Check it out here (yes, he miss-spelled my name 3/4 times. Again, what are you gonna do? #authorlife) http://www.thesuburbanite.com/article/20160325/NEWS/160329777

　
Final note: Why didn't they have this kind of thing when I was in school!?!
　

　

What if?

Let's talk about inspiration for a second. We all need it. Yet, we all get it from different places. And sometimes we never know where or when it might strike. But until the MG Minders decided to tackle this topic over the next few weeks, I never really thought about where my inspiration came from.

 

And as much as I'd love to say Buzz speaks the truth, unfortunately that's not always the case. Okay, sure there's tons and tons of ideas, in fact I have over 150 email drafts in my inbox where I store my spur of the moment thoughts. However, most of those ideas are just a single thought, they don't have characters, plot, or depth to them. They aren't unique, and they don't carry much weight.

Every once in a while an idea will strike and take hold, or in some cases if I'm very lucky, it'll take over. We all love when the words start pouring out of us, but I'm getting ahead of myself. How do we actually get to the point where the ideas just come. Where does that spark of inspiration come from?

The short unhelpful answer is EVERYWHERE. But it goes much deeper than that. Sometimes, I honestly don't know. Sometimes there's a word or a phrase that some says or I something I read online that will set me off, other times it's an article or something on TV or in a movie. Most frequently though, the inspiration comes from within me. It's engrained in my very nature.

Confused yet? I know, it surprised me a bit too. But when I really sat back to think about it, every manuscript I write has a large piece of me in it. I often don't even realize it's happening. Let me explain.

In addition to writing in my free time, I'm also an aerospace engineer. It's not only something that pays the bills, but it's something I really enjoy. I love science and math. I also love science fiction and fantasy. And those ideals are so closely tied together. In my day job, I'm constantly surrounded by technology and research. The wheels in my brain are always spinning within the real world, and the world just out of reach. I'm always asking myself questions about what is, what could be, and what seems impossible. But the one question I find myself asking most frequently when it comes to my writing is 'What If'.

Even when I feel completely lost, that one question has become the source of a majority of my inspiration. It starts with that spark that I mentioned earlier, someone says something, that article, that TV show, etc. but it's that 'What if' question that keeps me moving forward. My thoughts and ideals, the things I dream could be real one day, and the things that are just out of reach that terrify me. Those are the inspirations behind my work.

How far can I push that idea? What would that world look like? And how would a character react and survive in that situation? Those are the ideas and thoughts that help drive my stories.

So the next time your find yourself stuck...

Where do you get your inspirations? What drives your stories?