Does the world of children’s literature really need another tale about a rabbit? Or, another book by Eileen Beha? What do I have to say that hasn’t already been said before? What story can I tell that hasn’t already been told before? These were the kinds of questions I was asking myself on Day #12… Read More
So, why write a story for young readers about an Eastern cottontail rabbit rather than a tale about an animal that is far less common and may be more interesting? The reason is simple: I’ve had a love affair with rabbits ever since I saw the movie Bambi for the first time. Not only that,… Read More
What does a photo of myself at eight years of age … displayed on a plate from the set of dishes that my Great-Aunt Ida used daily on her farmhouse harvest table … have to do with the novel Watership Down … have to do with a bowl made by Malcolm Stanley, a well-known potter… Read More
On this 15th day of National Novel Writing Month, I’m sending myself a pictorial bouquet of flowers. Why? First, because I’ve met my goal of writing 22,500 words in 15 days! Second, I’m celebrating the fact that I’ve been accepted as a visiting scholar at the St. Benedict Monastery Studium Program in St. Joseph, MN.… Read More
Day #16 of National Novel Writing Month actually began shortly after my NaNoWriMo class at The Loft on Thursday. After allowing myself the freedom to essentially free-write by hand for fifteen days, I decided It would be best to pause and regroup at this midpoint. I needed go back to my original, typewritten drafts of… Read More
Today, Day #17 of National Novel Writing Month, I’ve given myself a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. I did a recount of my word count to date. Currently 22,811 words on my work in progress. If I add in the words I’ve written in these “special edition” NaNoWriMo Facebook posts, total words written since… Read More
I began Day 18 of National Novel Writing Month having a Skype call with my 3.5 year-old granddaughter, Ofelia. She wanted to show Ralph and me two things. First, her substantial collection of bird feathers, which she would be taking for “Show and Tell” to preschool on Monday. The second was what she called, “My… Read More
On Day #19 of National Novel Writing Month, I decided to work on a scene that I knew would probably end up as one of my favorites in my children’s-book-to-be. In this dramatic and game-changing scene, Nettie Rabbit will face humiliation and rejection by her potential buck rabbit suitors. In order for the scene to… Read More
Sometimes, when I think of all that’s stored in my brain, I imagine this intricate organ resembling a keepsake box, filled with personal artifacts; experiences fraught with memories, with no pattern nor order at all. If you were to sit down with me someday, I could explain the significance of each of these seemingly insignificant… Read More
In a post earlier this week I encouraged myself and other writers to “play,” in a more childlike way, in order to break open the imagination. What I have liked to do, ever since I was a child myself, was to play with words. And nothing serves that purpose better than my Webster’s New Universal… Read More