Jennifer R. Hubbard's Blog, page 24
December 14, 2015
The authors, the legends
I was trying to remember if celebrity-authored picture books were A Thing yet when I was growing up. I don't think so; I can't recall any celebrity children's books back then.
I would've found it odd to link authorship with a recognizable celebrity, since I'm not sure I even thought of authors as contemporary people. Fairy tales and myths and Aesop's fables seemed to be stories repeated for generations, with no single recognizable author. They just sort of materialized. And I viewed most books for children similarly: Make Way for Ducklings and Charlotte's Web and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass also seemed to have always existed. I was aware that some books had authors' names on them, but those authors didn't seem like real people. "Dr. Seuss" sounded like a made-up character (and indeed, it was a pseudonym); I had never heard of such a name as "Roald" (Dahl) before (and neither had my classmates, which was why they persisted in calling him "Ronald"). E.B. White hid behind those mysterious initials. Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain (another pseudonym!) and L. M. Montgomery were more accessible--their works carried more than a whiff of autobiography--but still, they had lived a long time ago, way back in olden times. Once Upon a Time.
As I got older, I became aware that authors were real people, many of whom were even still alive. And yet, they didn't seem like people you could run into at the grocery store or the bus stop. If pressed to imagine where they lived, I might have guessed they all lived up on a special mountain somewhere, or in cabins out in the woods. Well, maybe not Judy Blume--the suburban setting of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was so familiar she might have been living in my own neighborhood. Except I was pretty sure she wasn't, because again, authors didn't live among boring people like me.
To me, authors were celebrities in their own right. They didn't usually appear on TV, but their names were IN PRINT. On shelves in public places such as LIBRARIES and BOOKSTORES. What more proof of fame could one need?
Of course, now that I am an author, all of this is hilarious to me. I am not remote or legendary, and I don't even get to spend most of my day writing.
With authors on social media and doing school visits nowadays, I doubt that children today think of authors as distant and mysterious, the way I once did. That's okay. But my old imaginings are good for a chuckle!
I would've found it odd to link authorship with a recognizable celebrity, since I'm not sure I even thought of authors as contemporary people. Fairy tales and myths and Aesop's fables seemed to be stories repeated for generations, with no single recognizable author. They just sort of materialized. And I viewed most books for children similarly: Make Way for Ducklings and Charlotte's Web and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass also seemed to have always existed. I was aware that some books had authors' names on them, but those authors didn't seem like real people. "Dr. Seuss" sounded like a made-up character (and indeed, it was a pseudonym); I had never heard of such a name as "Roald" (Dahl) before (and neither had my classmates, which was why they persisted in calling him "Ronald"). E.B. White hid behind those mysterious initials. Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain (another pseudonym!) and L. M. Montgomery were more accessible--their works carried more than a whiff of autobiography--but still, they had lived a long time ago, way back in olden times. Once Upon a Time.
As I got older, I became aware that authors were real people, many of whom were even still alive. And yet, they didn't seem like people you could run into at the grocery store or the bus stop. If pressed to imagine where they lived, I might have guessed they all lived up on a special mountain somewhere, or in cabins out in the woods. Well, maybe not Judy Blume--the suburban setting of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was so familiar she might have been living in my own neighborhood. Except I was pretty sure she wasn't, because again, authors didn't live among boring people like me.
To me, authors were celebrities in their own right. They didn't usually appear on TV, but their names were IN PRINT. On shelves in public places such as LIBRARIES and BOOKSTORES. What more proof of fame could one need?
Of course, now that I am an author, all of this is hilarious to me. I am not remote or legendary, and I don't even get to spend most of my day writing.
With authors on social media and doing school visits nowadays, I doubt that children today think of authors as distant and mysterious, the way I once did. That's okay. But my old imaginings are good for a chuckle!
December 12, 2015
Room for surprises
In writing, some of us outline extensively and some of us wing it. In life, some of us plan and others are more spontaneous.
(I tend to plan most of my life in great detail, but write in a more free-form way. Go figure.)
But in either case, it's always good to allow room for surprises. For the unexpected twist, the unforeseen opportunity. Because you never know.
(I tend to plan most of my life in great detail, but write in a more free-form way. Go figure.)
But in either case, it's always good to allow room for surprises. For the unexpected twist, the unforeseen opportunity. Because you never know.
December 10, 2015
Cleaning house
For a long time now, I haven't made a big deal about the turn of the year. January 1 never brought many changes, and I didn't want to add resolutions to my overcrowded schedule. For several years, my only resolution was to try to do less, to slow down, in the new year.
2015 has been a year of changes--to be honest, most of them unwelcome. It's been a year of letting go of many things, including expectations.
But the upside of that is that there's now room for new things in my life. I'm thinking about 2016, about writing goals and personal goals. Not in a to-do list way, not in a way that will instantly fill my schedule back up. I'm thinking about what else I'll be letting go of, and what new things I'll be trying. I'm checking my priorities.
Mostly, I just want to face 2016 with a spirit of openness, willingness. I don't want to plan everything out now; I just want to be available for opportunities as they come. I want to continue to make room for what matters most.
What are you looking forward to in the new year?
2015 has been a year of changes--to be honest, most of them unwelcome. It's been a year of letting go of many things, including expectations.
But the upside of that is that there's now room for new things in my life. I'm thinking about 2016, about writing goals and personal goals. Not in a to-do list way, not in a way that will instantly fill my schedule back up. I'm thinking about what else I'll be letting go of, and what new things I'll be trying. I'm checking my priorities.
Mostly, I just want to face 2016 with a spirit of openness, willingness. I don't want to plan everything out now; I just want to be available for opportunities as they come. I want to continue to make room for what matters most.
What are you looking forward to in the new year?
December 6, 2015
A taste of autumn
This passage from May Sarton's Journal of a Solitude pretty well describes the landscape here right now:
"I look out at trees leafless now except for one maple, where high up against the blue there is still branch after branch of translucent warm gold. The leaves sift down one by one like notes in music."
"I look out at trees leafless now except for one maple, where high up against the blue there is still branch after branch of translucent warm gold. The leaves sift down one by one like notes in music."
December 4, 2015
Secret side projects
Once you start writing for publication, an expectation and a pressure can develop, to find a market for everything you write. (This is obviously and especially true if writing becomes your main source of income.) This expectation and pressure can be invigorating. I know that I found it inspiring when I got my first book contract. I was extra motivated by the increased certainty of an audience.
At other times, the expectations of an audience--whether a real or hypothetical audience--can interfere with the process, tilting a writer away from the story she's telling and toward approval seeking, second-guessing, belittling.
Lately, I've found it useful to pursue separate categories of projects: some intended for publication, others just for me. With the latter, I don't have to please anyone but myself. I don't have to be perfect, or even finish. I can try anything, explore anything. It's utter freedom, and reminds me why I write in the first place.
At other times, the expectations of an audience--whether a real or hypothetical audience--can interfere with the process, tilting a writer away from the story she's telling and toward approval seeking, second-guessing, belittling.
Lately, I've found it useful to pursue separate categories of projects: some intended for publication, others just for me. With the latter, I don't have to please anyone but myself. I don't have to be perfect, or even finish. I can try anything, explore anything. It's utter freedom, and reminds me why I write in the first place.
December 2, 2015
Antaeus touches the earth
We all need sources of comfort, ways to refill the well. Creating is an act of affirmation; it takes energy, belief, a sort of optimism. Speaking up takes energy, especially when it takes so much for a single voice to be heard in this large world. That energy needs replenishment.
What is the wellspring you draw on? From where do you draw your strength?
What is the wellspring you draw on? From where do you draw your strength?
November 29, 2015
Late November
Right about now, Bardcat's post, of William Cullen Bryant's poem, "Autumn," seems perfect. Bardcat couples this poem for the "last long weekend in November" with a stunning photo that vividly captures the way late November looks here in the northeastern US.
I love this whole weekend: the peace and quiet, the drawing in, the last flares of bright beauty in the trees, the start of the holiday season.
I love this whole weekend: the peace and quiet, the drawing in, the last flares of bright beauty in the trees, the start of the holiday season.
November 27, 2015
Armchair adventures, and more thankfulness
Today was my day to post at YA Outside the Lines, where I discussed armchair adventuring, books, survival, and basic gratitude. A sample: "Now I am trudging and paddling through a frigid wilderness, but I can shut Albanov’s book any time I want and raid a well-stocked refrigerator."
November 25, 2015
Thankful
I'll admit 2015 hasn't been my favorite year. It's been full of challenges, several of which I'm still trying to figure out how to meet.
But I am also lucky, and there's plenty for which I'm grateful, and this is a good week for me to remember that. Tomorrow is the ultimate Thankful Thursday. Wishing you a happy one, with many blessings to count.
But I am also lucky, and there's plenty for which I'm grateful, and this is a good week for me to remember that. Tomorrow is the ultimate Thankful Thursday. Wishing you a happy one, with many blessings to count.
November 22, 2015
Easing back into writing
Many of us go through times where we've had to step back from writing. Maybe life interfered. Maybe the well ran dry. Maybe we had to abandon a project and didn't know where to go next. Maybe we got restless.
Whatever the reason, it's sometimes daunting to step back into writing. It's like resuming physical exercise after some time away. We may need to warm up to it, especially if we're still feeling uncertain about where our writing will go next.
At such times, I like to try short pieces, exercises, and new genres. I reread old work, especially half-formed ideas and half-finished projects, to see if any embers there ignite. I start and stop. I try not to expect too much or be too hard on myself. I let the process catch me in its rhythm again. I remind myself of how much always ends up on the cutting-room floor. I keep an open mind, so as not to close out any options too soon.
Whatever the reason, it's sometimes daunting to step back into writing. It's like resuming physical exercise after some time away. We may need to warm up to it, especially if we're still feeling uncertain about where our writing will go next.
At such times, I like to try short pieces, exercises, and new genres. I reread old work, especially half-formed ideas and half-finished projects, to see if any embers there ignite. I start and stop. I try not to expect too much or be too hard on myself. I let the process catch me in its rhythm again. I remind myself of how much always ends up on the cutting-room floor. I keep an open mind, so as not to close out any options too soon.
