Mindy Hardwick's Blog, page 55
March 27, 2012
Stories from Childhood
I've been working on blog interviews for upcoming WEAVING MAGIC (April 27, 2012). The interviews will be posted in late April and May, and I will post more information as they go live on various blogs. One of the questions that comes up on almost every interview I've done for both STAINED GLASS SUMMER and WEAVING MAGIC is What is your favorite childhood book? Or what book inspires you? When I answer the question in blog interviews, I usually respond with Cynthia Voigt's Homecoming and Dicey's Song. I've always loved Dicey's strong, survival spirit and felt Dicey and Jasmine would be great friends. As a writer, I've studied the way Cynthia Voigt wrote sequel books for Dicey and spin-off books with her other characters. (Something I'm working on with the characters of STAINED GLASS SUMMER)
But, if pressed to answer which childhood book(s) inspire my imagination and creativity, I'd have to say, Mrs Piggle Wiggle Stories by Betty MacDonald and The Borrowers by Mary Norton. Some of my favorite Mrs-Piggle Wiggle stories are:
1. The Radish Cure…" I haaaaaateeeeeee baaaaaaathssss"
2. "The Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedders Cure" "Bobby, Larry and Susan play parchesi all night!"
3. The Whisperer with Evelyn, Mary and Cornelia and the Whispering sticks!
I was recently reminded of these stories in an on-line Writing the Children's Chapter Book class that I am taking with Anastasia Suen. The first part of the class required the reading of eighteen different chapter books. Yes…that's eighteen! Chapter books I've read included: Ivy and Bean Series, Clementine, and Katie Kazoo: Switcheroo. As I was reading and brainstorming ideas for my own chapter book series, I kept feeling as if there were some favorite chapter books that I had tucked in the back corners of my mind, but had never really forgotten. Those stories were the ones that made me believe that a magical lady who dolled out whisper sticks might just live down the street from me, or that when things went missing, there were small creatures called The Borrowers carrying on lives in the walls of our house.
I love writing my realistic, contemporary stories for tweens and teens, but, I think there is also a chapter book writer in me who loves those early stories about imagination and magic.
What are the stories from your childhood which inspire you?
March 24, 2012
Teens Helping Others
When I wrote Stained Glass Summer, one of the big themes I explored is teens helping someone else. In Stained Glass Summer, Jasmine learns to be a mentor to five-year-old Sammy. So often, I read YA books where the teens are self-absorbed, and only care about boyfriends, friends, and make-up. Part of being a teen, IS about things such as friends, boyfriends, and clothing–BUT not all teens think only about these things. In fact, my experience running writing workshops is that teens have a lot more empathy and concern about people and causes outside themselves than are reflected in a lot of YA novels.
And, to prove that point of teens helping others, I've seen two great examples. The first took place a few weeks ago when students at Snohomish High School Students organized a day to all wear purple to show support for an eight-year old girl who was accidentally shot by her classmate. The school where the young lady was shot is not in the same District as Snohomish High School. Purple is the eight year old girl's favorite color. But, I think what is significant about this Day of Purple is the students at Snohomish High School understood about school violence because last Fall, one of their classmates was stabbed in the bathroom. Three football players confronted the attacker, and a boy the girl knew from her geometry class held her in his arms until the paramedics arrived. The girl survived the attack. When asked about the day of purple, one teen said this: "It was a really good way to show we have healed and we could support other schools as well," Lindsey said. "We hope it will brighten her day a little bit and put a smile on her face."
To read more about this day of purple click here
The second example of teens helping others is a video that teens in a Wisconsin High School made for a contest musician Lady Antebelum is holding. The contest asks teens to create a video which demonstrates why Lady Antebelum should speak at their prom. The teens at D.C Everst High School in Wisconsin made this video not for themselves, but for the students at Henryville High School in Southern Indianian. Henryville High School was recently hit by a tornado. D.C. Everst High School is hundreds of miles away from Henryville and not connected to them at all. To watch the video:
March 21, 2012
The Lucky 7
Fellow writer Linda Benson tagged me in The Lucky Seven Meme which sounded kind of fun. Here are the rules:
1. Go thou to page 77 of your current MS
2. Get thee hence to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they're written. No cheating!
4. Tag 7 authors
5. Let each and every one of them know
So, without further ado, here are 7 lines, starting with line 7, from page 77 of my new young adult romance, which will be released on April 27, 2012, called Weaving Magic.
Mia quickly shook her head. "I didn't mean it like that," she said. "I meant I could help you with Christopher."
Help me with Christopher. Why did Mia think I needed help with Christopher? I prided myself on not needing help with anything. Was it something I said? Something I did, which made Mia think I might need help? I'd worked so hard at the romance book club not to talk about Christopher. I hadn't joined in with the other ladies talking about their husbands and boyfriends. I pretended things were just like they always were with me.
So, there you have it. You can "Like" the Weaving Magic Facebook Book Page and add it to your Goodreads list!
And for the next seven writers to partake in this fun tag game, I choose:
1. June Kramin
2. Kim Winters
3. Jennifer Spray Doering
4. Rhay Christou
5. Dianna Gunn
6. Kim Baccellia
7. Rosemary Gemmell
Don't worry, if you don't have a page 77 in a finished or unfinished manuscript, you can always use page 7. The Lucky 7! Ready, Set, Go!! Have Fun!!
March 19, 2012
New Poems on the Teens Behind Bars Blog
A couple new poems are posted on the "Teen Poems from Behind Bars" blog. Both poems are from the "Truth and Lies"Writing and YA Literature Workshop I presented in January. The first poem, "Choices" is written by a young lady who read Sue Silverman's powerful memoir, "Because I Remember, Terror, Father, I Remember You." After reading the memoir, this young lady came back to class the following day with her eyes bright. "My Mom didn't believe me either," She said, and then handed me her poem, "Choices."
The second poem, "Power" was written by a young man to his girlfriend. There is often a misconception that teen boys don't want to read or write love poems, however, I find the boys to be just as willing as the young ladies to express their emotion through poetry.
Here are the links to the two poems:
To read more about some of the YA books and memoirs that we used in the "Truth and Lies" workshop go here.
Also, on a very good note, we received notice that we got a grant for another workshop in May. But the best part of this story was the grant we applied for, we did not get it, however, a private donor in the community stepped forward and funded our request. These grants (usually in the amount of $500) allow me to work with the kids for a week's time on a daily basis. I've found that being able to meet with the kids every day for five days really allows us to dive into some great writing and reading discussion. The grants also allow us to buy 15-20 young adult and memoir books which go along with the theme of the workshop. The books remain at Denney School and are reused in subsequent workshops. I'm so thrilled to see our workshop book library grow, and to be able to bring these powerful memoirs and YA's to the teens as a part of the poetry workshop.
All the books we've used so far are listed here on the Denney Poetry Blog.
A special thank you to all of our workshop sponsors including: The Greater Everett Community Foundation, BECU School Grants, Tulalip Tribes, The Blanche Miller Artist Trust, The Everett School District Foundation.
March 17, 2012
Jasper Jones
My YA bookgroup is reading Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey this month.
Jasper Jones is a 2012 Printz Honor Award Book.
I was really excited to read Jasper Jones for many reasons. I first heard about Jasper Jones on the blog, Guys Lit Wire. This is a great blog which features reviews about books for teen boys. When I read about Jasper Jones, I immediately put it on my to-be-read list. But, sometimes it takes the YA Bookgroup choosing a book on my list to get me to move it to the top!
One of the reasons I was really excited to read this book is because I've just finished designing two new classes for educators. Books for Boys and Writing with Boys. I'm teaching both through Seattle Pacific University SPIRAL Program as distance learning classes. Educators can register for the classes beginning later this spring. So, I wanted to see if Jasper Jones was indeed a "good book for boys." And I am happy to report it is an outstanding book for boys. In fact, I immediately added it to the list for the Denney Juvenile Detention Center Poetry and YA Literature workshop.
As a writer, I'm always trying to analyze the craft of the story and ask, Why do I think this is a good (or bad) book?
Jasper Jones is a great book because:
1. Character. I'm a big fan of character driven stories. I don't care what the plot is, as long as it comes from the character, I'll usually enjoy the book. But this is not so easy, and this is where nine times out ten, a book falls apart for me. The plot just doesn't evolve from the characters. Not so in Jasper Jones. Jasper Jones is a character driven story with a high stakes plot. A dead body has been found and only two boys know about it–main character Charlie and Jasper Jones. The body is found in Jasper Jone's special hide-away and he knows the whole town is going to accuse him of the murder. After all, he's the town's scapegoat and hard-knock kid who everything gets blamed on. Right here, I was hooked. Jasper Jones is the kids I know at the detention center. He's the kid who has to struggle to survive. The outlaw. But, this isn't Jasper's story, and this is what, I think, makes this book so powerful. Every character has a story. Not just a walk-on part because they are a secondary character. Every character is grappling with something in this story. And yes, the main characters are Jasper Jones, Charlie and Elza, but there are other characters who reveal themselves to have secrets too. Secrets that get revealed as the story goes along. I think what sets a good story apart from a great story is the ability to bring to life all the characters–not just the main character. This takes layers and layers of revision and work, and it's a real treat to read a story with strong secondary characters.
2. Dialogue–One of the thing which can make or break a YA or MG book is the dialogue. It's all too easy to write "adult dialogue" coming out of kid mouth. Not so in Jasper Jones. In Jasper Jones, there were large chunks of the book where Charlie is talking to his best friend, Jeffrey, and I felt as if I was listening in on a very "boy" conversation complete with lingo and dialect.
3. Setting-Setting is another place that often falls apart in YA stories. All too often, the setting in YA is trite. It's a suburban high school, usually somewhere on the East Coast or in Atlanta. It's a beach town over the summer, and then none of the description rings true to what it really feels like to live in a beach town. Ever been to the Oregon Coast beaches in the winter? It's not really a "beach town" in the winter. Jasper Jones takes place in a small town in Australia. Craig Silvey is Australian, so maybe the book's setting is a familiar one to him, but it wasn't to me, and I loved reading about it.
Jasper Jones is easily one of my favorite books that I've read in a long time. And as a writer, it's always inspiring to read a book that reminds me why I wanted to write for kids and teens.
March 16, 2012
Submission Opportunity for Teen Writers
A new anthology is looking for personal, real life stories written by and about kids, preteen and teens. This looks like a great opportunity to submit a personal story for an anthology. They do not accept poetry and all submissions need to be sent electronically.
We are looking for humorous, heart-warming, wistful, and inspiring stories written by individuals 25 years old and younger. Your story must be between 500 and 1,200 words, neither more
nor less. We will accept stories that have been previously published if you now have the rights that will allow us to reprint it. As a contributor to books in the OMG! My Reality!
series, you will receive:
1. One (1) copy of the book.
2. A T-shirt featuring the OMG! My Reality! logo and the
wording "I'm a published author!"
3. A share of the book royalties. For one year following
publication, you will collect a small percent of the royalties
paid to the co-creaters. Split among 60-plus contributors, the
amount will likely not total more than $50-$100 per contributor.
It could be more; it could be less.
Submission Guidelines can be found here
Writing and Art Workshops
I've been working on designing two new workshops for school groups, library groups, and small kid groups such as a book, writing, or craft group. Both workshops are inspired by my tween novel, Stained Glass Summer. And both workshops would be great for small groups of girls in summer camps, girl leadership workshops, or girl book groups.
Tell Your Story: Poetry and Art Journal Workshop for Girls Ages 10-14
You are the hero/heroine of your life. What story are you telling? In this workshop we'll explore how our hopes and dreams, treasures and secrets, monsters and scars can inspire poetry and art journaling. Learn new ways to write poems and how art journaling can help you express more of your story. Bring your favorite photos, quotes and poems. This is a great workshop for small groups of girls involved in team building, leadership, girl empowerment, and book groups. Parts of this workshop can be modified for class size workshops.
Artist Characters:
In this workshop, we'll look at how art can inspire us to create a character. We'll dig into the nuts and bolts of character building including crafting a character's physical and psychological traits. We'll write character sketches of both the protagonist and the antagonist—all through the lens of an artist. This workshop draws on Mindy's character, Jasmine, in her novel, Stained Glass Summer. This is a great workshop for schools wanting presentations to different age groups. The workshop can be adapted to meet the needs of all age of learners including educators and writers.
To find out more about my other workshops for classes, schools, and small groups, check out my workshop page on my website here.
If you are interested in scheduling a workshop, please contact me at: mindy @ mindyhardwick dot com
Fees can be negotiated and there are lots of creative ways to find local funding for school visits! Workshops can also be scheduled for a group of kids who each pay a small fee to attend.
March 13, 2012
YA Literary Magazine Open to Submissions
If you have a polished YA short story, excerpt from a novel, or novella, consider submitting to Sucker–A YA Literary Magazine.
The reading period is open now. February 1, 2012-May 1, 2012.
Click hereto learn more about what they are looking for.
Also to read about their new developments in taking the Magazine to e-book format here.
WORD COUNT: Submissions should be no more than 10,000 words (and even that's pushing it).
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: Only one submission per author per issue. NEW POLICY!
FORMATTING: Standard manuscript format is required, 12-point font (Times or Times New Roman), double-spaced with one-inch margins all around. Please put the page number, your last name, and title of entry in the top right corner of each page. Attachments are required and MUST be labeled with the title of your piece. Please send your work in a Microsoft Word document. NO PDFs. Please do not send your work in the body of your email. Send submissions to: suckerliterarymagazine at cox dot net. Subject line in ALL CAPS: SUBMISSION.
YOU MUST INCLUDE A COVER EMAIL WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
A brief summary of your story/novel excerpt (3 sentences).
If your piece is part of a larger body of work, include a few sentences about that.
A brief bio (no more than forty words, please.).
If your piece has been previously published, include the name of the publication and year
To find out more about Sucker Literary Magazine and how to submit, check out their website here.
March 12, 2012
100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts
Today is the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts! And you can read some great blog posts and articles about the Girl Scouts
Reflections on Being a Girl Scout
Girl Scouts Website—Take a look around. Girl Scouts looks a lot different today than it did. They even have a blog! And a Studio where you can go behind the scenes with Children's Writers.
Juliette Gordon Low's History Website—Someday I'd like to get to Savannah and see this in person!
I was a Brownie, Junior Scout, and Girl Scout through high school
Some of my favorite memories of Girl Scouts include:
Mom as Brownie leader.
Dad and brother coming out to rescue the Brownie Scouts in a storm/flood while we were camping at a big lodge. Dad was awful scared of the woods.
Cooking with Dad to earn badges—I remember cutting up a LOT of green vegetables.
Summer camp at Camp Cedarcrest. There must have been a huge thunderstorm with floods every summer I attended, and more than once, I remember being evacuated from the back camp ground to somewhere safer.
The little brown stuffed bear that got tucked into my suitcase so I wouldn't feel homesick at two week camp. The same bear traveled on trips with Dad. The bear never worked too well, and I always got homesick
Getting my temperature taken over and over and over again at Camp. For whatever reason, I always ran a high temperature and when we first checked into camp, we had to be checked. I never passed, and would spend the first three days of camp sitting in the nurses station getting my temperature rechecked until finally they would let me go.
Tipping the canoe and discovering that yes, you could breathe and talk in the air space under that canoe while in the water
M and M's at camp and worrying that raccoons would creep into the tents with wood platforms and eat the M and M's.
Eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because the camp food was not good. The peanut butter sat in green plastic bowls on the tables.
Horseback riding at camp—it was always hot, hot, hot, and there were always flies everywhere. Mmm…maybe why I don't like horses to this day.
Becoming a Senior Scout and going to events at the "older girls' houses who always lived in really nice houses along Spoede Road in St Louis with large, large well-manicured lawns and pools.
T-peeing our leaders houses—this was a huge event once we got our driver's licenses.
Girl Scout Cookies! Mom bought tons of boxes and froze them. But they never seemed to make it in the freezer long. To this day, I still buy a whole bunch of cookies—and try to freeze them……
Were you a Girl Scout? What are some of your favorite memories?
March 10, 2012
Kids Design Glass
The Kids Design Glass exhibit at the Tacoma Glass Museum showcases 52 glass sculptures designed by children who participated in the Kids Design Glass Program. All of the "creatures" were crafted by professional artists in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop.
A child draws a design—generally a fantastical creature—names it, and writes a brief explanation or story about his or her creation. The Museum's Hot Shop Team selects one design every month based on its aesthetic merits and transforms the two-dimensional drawing into a three-dimensional sculpture. As the designer, the child directs the artists as they make two sculptures—one for the child to take home and the other for MOG's Kids Design Glass Collection.
The following video showcases one young man who participated in the program. It's a powerful video about how art can change someone's path.
