Once in a while, someone in your sphere offers an interesting glimpse into their or your own psyche through some sort of exercise. Be it Rorschach’s ink blots or some open-ended question, these exercises can sometimes offer you moments to slow down and really ponder an issue.
1) Pick up the book nearest you
2) Open to page 123
3) Find the 5th sentence
4) Post the following 3 sentences
5) Tag five others (I skipped this one. I don’t tag people.)
The book nearest me at the time was The New Nation by Joy Hakim. It’s the fourth book in the series A History of US, which is part of my eldest daughter’s course on American history. It is an excellent series, by the way; thoroughly researched and written just for the child’s ability. Page 123 speaks of Sequoyah’s attempts to understand written language and create just such a working system for the Cherokee nation, in the hopes of preserving their history and knowledge, as well as learn to speak from a distance, through the use of correspondence.
Here are the sentences following the fifth: “A white man would take words, turn them into shapes, and scratch them on a slate or draw them on a piece of paper. Then another man could look at those shapes and say the first man’s words. Was it magic?”
It took Sequoyah more than a decade to succeed in creating a writing system for the Cherokee language. What an incredibly lofty goal, to create “talking leaves,” yet what an amazing success to have a written language, something we perhaps don’t often consider amazing.
May we all cherish the gift — in every language.
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.png00Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2008-02-13 20:16:382009-05-23 20:32:29A Fun Exercise
For me, a new year brings the hope of new possibilities. I ponder new goals and feel renewed ambition.
I’ve found that some people dislike the idea of New Year’s resolutions, seeing them as contrived and unattainable. I suppose some resolutions are. I tend to devise smaller, more attainable goals for myself and take tiny steps each day to achieve them.
It was in this way, last year, that I got so much writing done. This year, I will work on finishing the manuscript for my picture book, and, by year’s end, I expect to have made substantial progress on my next novel.
I’m very grateful to my family and friends, who’ve encouraged my fiction writing this past year. I hope to enjoy as much encouragement in 2008, even as I hope to encourage others.
Many blessings to you all in 2008.
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.png00Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2008-01-01 09:58:032008-01-01 10:15:17A Year of Purpose
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting children’s book author Janet Halfmann, at a signing for her new picture book, Little Skink’s Tail, which just came out in August of 2007. You’ve likely seen some of Janet’s books; she’s written nearly 30, mostly non-fiction picture books of an animal or nature theme, some of which she’s generously donated to the Milwaukee Public Library system for the enjoyment of generations of children.
Janet was willing to share her time to talk of her career and experience, for which I am truly grateful. She was also a former newspaper reporter and currently lives in South Milwaukee (my old stomping grounds), so we had lots to talk about.
Janet meets the public again — this time, her target audience — for story time at the Racine Art Museum on December 15th, from 1 to 3 p.m. You can check out Little Skink’s Tail at http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/SkinksTail.php.
As I’ve been researching litery agents, one of the things that I’ve been pleased to see is their purported interest in nurturing agent/author relationships, in addition to promoting projects.
I’m glad I’m seeing that so often because I think that long-term vision is vitally important. I was blessed with a really good agent, on the television side of things, who didn’t just scout the next gig. She and I worked to hone skills. With so many years of writing ahead, I want an agent/author pairing that’s promising for the long run.
It’s just not right. You think you’re done with a story. You’re proud. You’ve accomplished something. Then you go back to bask in your achievement.
Only, you realize it needs something.
So you tweak.
Then you move a paragraph.
Then you change the storyline.
Next thing you know, you’re in a full re-write.
I must admit, this is rather foreign territory to me. In news, the explanatory copy and sound bites/quotes have a general sensical order, to be expressed clearly and in few words. Even if I had hour after hour to rewrite, which I don’t, the order of events doesn’t change drastically. What happened, happened in a certain way. I can change how I approach or back into the story, but getting too creative in the mere minutes that I have to tell a story can hamper understanding.
Writing fiction, though, isn’t at all like that. The story’s yours, obviously, so you can order events however you’d like.
And you do.
Ad nauseum.
I’m finding that when I have no deadline, I keep going back and “tweaking” a story, and I wonder if I’ll ever be happy with it.
Do you walk away? Do you say “good enough is good enough?” Or do you keep tweaking because you have no deadline? In the end, the goal is the best piece of writing you are capable of producing. The problem is, that line keeps moving as your writing experience evolves.
http://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.png00Silviahttp://www.silviaacevedo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/logo_1024x156.pngSilvia2007-09-26 14:05:042007-09-26 14:12:22Tweaking… and tweaking… and tweaking…
Why is it that adult writers have such a hard time letting go of details? Why do we slow down the free flow of ideas — even in a first draft — to get bogged down trying to find just that perfect word?
I was so pleased watching my daughter write a story this evening. After fifteen minutes of hearing the scratch of pencil on paper, I saw her walk up to me, notebook in hand, to get my take on her story. She was quick to say it was a first draft, unfinished, grammar not taken in account, etc. I suppose she expected me to start correcting misspellings.
I wouldn’t have dreamed of it. How wonderful to see her write! How liberating to see her just go with it!
Sure, young children generally have neither the grammar skills nor the vocabulary to write flawless works with words concise enough to match every nuance. That doesn’t make their effort and especially the “imperfect” execution less wonderful. In fact, many of us adult writers could learn from their example. We could just write and worry about the fixes later. No need to sink into that quicksand of “correction.”
A Fun Exercise
/3 Comments/in A Writer Writes /by SilviaOnce in a while, someone in your sphere offers an interesting glimpse into their or your own psyche through some sort of exercise. Be it Rorschach’s ink blots or some open-ended question, these exercises can sometimes offer you moments to slow down and really ponder an issue.
Such is the case with the 123 Meme exercise that blogger Michele posts at http://writingthecyberhighway.blogspot.com. It’s simple. The rules are:
1) Pick up the book nearest you
2) Open to page 123
3) Find the 5th sentence
4) Post the following 3 sentences
5) Tag five others (I skipped this one. I don’t tag people.)
The book nearest me at the time was The New Nation by Joy Hakim. It’s the fourth book in the series A History of US, which is part of my eldest daughter’s course on American history. It is an excellent series, by the way; thoroughly researched and written just for the child’s ability. Page 123 speaks of Sequoyah’s attempts to understand written language and create just such a working system for the Cherokee nation, in the hopes of preserving their history and knowledge, as well as learn to speak from a distance, through the use of correspondence.
Here are the sentences following the fifth: “A white man would take words, turn them into shapes, and scratch them on a slate or draw them on a piece of paper. Then another man could look at those shapes and say the first man’s words. Was it magic?”
It took Sequoyah more than a decade to succeed in creating a writing system for the Cherokee language. What an incredibly lofty goal, to create “talking leaves,” yet what an amazing success to have a written language, something we perhaps don’t often consider amazing.
May we all cherish the gift — in every language.
A Year of Purpose
/4 Comments/in In The News /by SilviaFor me, a new year brings the hope of new possibilities. I ponder new goals and feel renewed ambition.
I’ve found that some people dislike the idea of New Year’s resolutions, seeing them as contrived and unattainable. I suppose some resolutions are. I tend to devise smaller, more attainable goals for myself and take tiny steps each day to achieve them.
It was in this way, last year, that I got so much writing done. This year, I will work on finishing the manuscript for my picture book, and, by year’s end, I expect to have made substantial progress on my next novel.
I’m very grateful to my family and friends, who’ve encouraged my fiction writing this past year. I hope to enjoy as much encouragement in 2008, even as I hope to encourage others.
Many blessings to you all in 2008.
Author Janet Halfmann Talks Shop
/2 Comments/in In The News /by SilviaJanet was willing to share her time to talk of her career and experience, for which I am truly grateful. She was also a former newspaper reporter and currently lives in South Milwaukee (my old stomping grounds), so we had lots to talk about.
Janet meets the public again — this time, her target audience — for story time at the Racine Art Museum on December 15th, from 1 to 3 p.m. You can check out Little Skink’s Tail at http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/SkinksTail.php.
The Agent/Author Relationship
/1 Comment/in Presenting the Prose /by SilviaAs I’ve been researching litery agents, one of the things that I’ve been pleased to see is their purported interest in nurturing agent/author relationships, in addition to promoting projects.
I’m glad I’m seeing that so often because I think that long-term vision is vitally important. I was blessed with a really good agent, on the television side of things, who didn’t just scout the next gig. She and I worked to hone skills. With so many years of writing ahead, I want an agent/author pairing that’s promising for the long run.
Tweaking… and tweaking… and tweaking…
/1 Comment/in A Writer Writes /by SilviaIt’s just not right. You think you’re done with a story. You’re proud. You’ve accomplished something. Then you go back to bask in your achievement.
Only, you realize it needs something.
So you tweak.
Then you move a paragraph.
Then you change the storyline.
Next thing you know, you’re in a full re-write.
I must admit, this is rather foreign territory to me. In news, the explanatory copy and sound bites/quotes have a general sensical order, to be expressed clearly and in few words. Even if I had hour after hour to rewrite, which I don’t, the order of events doesn’t change drastically. What happened, happened in a certain way. I can change how I approach or back into the story, but getting too creative in the mere minutes that I have to tell a story can hamper understanding.
Writing fiction, though, isn’t at all like that. The story’s yours, obviously, so you can order events however you’d like.
And you do.
Ad nauseum.
I’m finding that when I have no deadline, I keep going back and “tweaking” a story, and I wonder if I’ll ever be happy with it.
Do you walk away? Do you say “good enough is good enough?” Or do you keep tweaking because you have no deadline? In the end, the goal is the best piece of writing you are capable of producing. The problem is, that line keeps moving as your writing experience evolves.
Free Flowing
/1 Comment/in A Writer Writes /by SilviaWhy is it that adult writers have such a hard time letting go of details? Why do we slow down the free flow of ideas — even in a first draft — to get bogged down trying to find just that perfect word?
I was so pleased watching my daughter write a story this evening. After fifteen minutes of hearing the scratch of pencil on paper, I saw her walk up to me, notebook in hand, to get my take on her story. She was quick to say it was a first draft, unfinished, grammar not taken in account, etc. I suppose she expected me to start correcting misspellings.
I wouldn’t have dreamed of it. How wonderful to see her write! How liberating to see her just go with it!
Sure, young children generally have neither the grammar skills nor the vocabulary to write flawless works with words concise enough to match every nuance. That doesn’t make their effort and especially the “imperfect” execution less wonderful. In fact, many of us adult writers could learn from their example. We could just write and worry about the fixes later. No need to sink into that quicksand of “correction.”