Jeanie Franz Ransom's Blog, page 4

Summer Break With the Biscuit Brothers

 

This summer, my “office assistants” Luke and Nemo, aka “The Biscuit Brothers,” got to join the family for a week’s vacation in Michigan. While Luke loved playing in the lake, Nemo preferred sitting on his Little Mermaid beach towel!

A Blast from the Past — Stories from My Second-Grade Self

I was visiting a school last spring when I mentioned to a couple of teachers that I still had some of the stories I’d written when I was a kid. “You should use them in your presentations,” one teacher said.

The other teacher agreed. “Kids would love to see what you wrote when you were in school.”

What a great idea! I thanked the teachers and made a mental note to visit the basement where I’d stashed my old stories and poems in a box. I seemed to be remember that most of what I’d saved was from middle school and high school, but I hoped to turn up something that would strike a chord with the younger grades, my usual school-visit audience.

But before I ever looked for the  box, I had to go down to the basement in search of something totally unrelated — I don’t remember what. As I pulled stacks of papers and boxes off shelves that hadn’t been touched for years, I saw five yellowed pieces of lined paper stapled together. It was the kind of paper used in elementary schools a LONG time ago, and it was filled with writing. MY writing! From second grade, no less!

I have no idea how this one snippet from my writing past ended up where it did, buried under stacks of my husband’s books and papers, but I’m glad I found it. This year when I visit schools, I’ll not only get to share my current books, I’ll be able to show kids stories from when I was in school and just learning to write. I can’t wait!

 

Resources for Young Writers

For several summers, I ran a week-long writing camp for kids in grades 4-8. It was as enjoyable for me as it was for the kids. The kids were so enthused about the stories and poems they wrote.

But at the end of the week, there was the inevitable question, either from a participant or a parent: “How can kids get publlished?” Let’s face it. There are only a handful of kids — mostly teens, young adults, and the offspring of well-known adult authors — who ever get their books published. Most people — including yours truly — don’t sell a book until they’re adults.

But that doesn’t mean that adult authors spent their childhoods twiddling their thumbs and counting the years until they could publish a book. More than likely, they were writing stories, poems, and spending a lot of time reading. Practice, practice, practice. That’s the key to becoming an adept writer who is more likely to get his or her work published.

However, there isn’t any reason why kids who are interested in becoming authors can’t start learning about the submission process — and even submit their stories and poems. It can be hard to find resources for kids interested in getting published, including markets for their work.

Fortunately, with the growth of online publications, there are more places where young writers can submit their work.  Here’s a link I found that lists forty resources: http://educationportal.com/articles/40_of_the_Best_Websites_for_Young_Writers.html–

If I come across other resources for young authors, I’ll pass them along. And if you know of a good resource, please feel free to share the information in the comment section, or email me via the contact button.

Come Play the Game!

Summer is a great time to play that classic childhood game known as “tag.” Now some children’s authors have given “tag” a new twist, and are calling it “Blog Hop.”

Here’s how it works: I was “tagged” by author Peggy Archer to answer questions about my writing on my blog, then I”tag” three other writers to do the same on their blogs next week.

You can learn more about Peggy by reading the answers she wrote on her blog, peggyarcher.com, after she was “tagged.” Feel free to leave a comment and tell her it’s from me.

I hope you’ll take this opportunity to learn about different writers — I know I’m having fun finding new authors to follow, as well as finding out new facts about some authors I already know. So, let’s get started, shall we?

Blog Hop Interview Questions for Jeanie Franz Ransom:

What are you working on right now?

I just did the final round of revisions for The Crown Affair, the sequel to my picture-book mystery, What Really Happened to Humpty?. Now I’m starting on a couple of new picture books, and finishing up my first middle-grade novel, What I Didn’t Do on My Summer Vacation. In and around that, I’m getting a mailing ready to send to school librarians next month about author visits.

What experiences have influenced you?

I feel like being a lifelong reader has influenced me. It’s true what they say: writers are readers. The experience of having my third-grade teacher read one of my poems to the entire third grade definitely affected my decision to become a writer. I still remember how proud and excited I felt when the teacher praised my writing in front of everyone. I wanted to feel that way again, and I’ve been fortunate enough to do so many times over the course of my writing career. The experiences of being a parent and of working as an elementary school counselor influenced me to switch creative gears from advertising and magazine writing to penning children’s picture books.

What’s the hardest part of being a writer?

I have two challenges, and they’re definitely related. The first is that I have an abundance of ideas, which is both a blessing and a curse. I have difficulty locking down an idea, and tend to flit from one to another like a human hummingbird. The second is what I refer to as “The Big D,” otherwise known as discipline. If you want to get published, you have to have the discipline to write even when you’re not in the mood. You can’t be a published author if you don’t finish your manuscript and send it out into the world for others to read.

Who are authors you most admire?

I really admire Kristin Nitz and Stephanie Bearce, members of our three-person critique group, the Rendezvous Writers. Kristin and Stephanie each write novels. As a picture-book author, I’m in awe of anyone who can write more than 1,500 words, let alone something that’s tens of thousands of words. These two ladies have written several middle-grade and YA novels, and I truly admire them for their ability to follow through on huge projects. Anyone who can start and finish a novel is definitely someone I admire.

That’s it for my turn, so I’m tagging the following authors to answer four questions about their writing next week. Hope you are enjoying your summer, and that you’ll enjoy “Blog Hopping” with us!

Valerie Battle Kienzle, July 15, www.sugarberryhome.blogspot.com

Charlotte Mielziner, July 17th, sidebysidek9.com

S.D. Keeling, July 18th, sdkeeling.com

 

I’ve Joined the Club!

I’m now a member of Goodreads, both as a reader and an author. I’m excited to be part of a book-loving community, and look forward to recommendations, conversations, and questions from fellow readers and writers. Hope our paths cross sometime soon. Happy reading!

“Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal” in Parents Magazine

I was surprised to learn that tattling is a perfectly normal – albeit annoying – stage of child development. Kids tattle for a variety of reasons – to get attention or to get another child in trouble, for example – but unless they learn – and practice – conflict resolution skills, tattling may become a habit.

It’s also important for kids to learn the difference between tattling and telling,which is the basis of my book, Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal: A Tale of Tattletales (Magination Press). I receive lots of comments from classroom teachers and school counselors about how they use the book – and how it’s helped. I even visited a school in Columbia, Missouri, where the book has been incorporated into the curriculum. The phrase,“Don’t squeal unless it’s a big deal!,” is also part of the school pledge students recite daily.

Now I’ve gotten word that Parents magazine included my book in their April 2013 issue as a resource for dealing with negative behavior. Several other titles are listed, so if you work with young children, have young children, or both, you may want to look for this issue at your local library.

Start a Family Book Club This Summer

My husband and I always have loved to read. So it’s no surprise that our three boys are readers, too. Every summer, each one of us has his or her nose in a book, especially when we go on vacation. But this summer, for the first time, our boys are in different places, and we decided that reading the same book would be a way to keep us connected.

It was easy to agree that we’d each read the same book. The hard part was agreeing on a book. But since summer has already started, we decided we needed to get started with something. Now we’re each reading Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann – in paperback for two of us, and on the Kindle for the other three. When we do manage to get together this summer, we’ll talk about the book, but, as most book clubs go, the discussion probably will go in all kinds of other directions.

Our kids are older – 24, 21 and almost 17 – and their favorite book genres are literary fiction and the classics. My husband and I lean more toward mysteries and suspense. But we decided to let our kids take the lead in choosing the title for our first family summer book club. They’re more likely to read something that they’re interested in, and my husband and I will have the opportunity to learn from our kids – as well as to stay connected. Even though two of our sons are a hundred miles – or more – away from home now, we can still be together whenever we read, because we’re all on the same page, so to speak.

My three readers: Brian, Matt and Alex

Your kids are never too young – or too old – to start a family book club. If you’ve read The End of Your Life Book Club, you already know that. Choose something that’s either available in multiple copies at the library, or that you can get in paperback or on an e-reader – you don’t have to spend a lot of money, but it’s important that each family member has his or her own copy of the chosen title.

If your kids have a big gap in age – or in reading levels – encourage your children to read aloud together. You also could turn your book club into meeting to read the book out loud to one another.

It doesn’t really matter what book you choose as your family’s summer book club selection. What’s important is to make each family member feel involved, from researching and suggesting possible titles to deciding on a time or place to meet to talk about the book. (Weekly, monthly, at home, in the park, etc.)

Of course, participation in the family book club should always be optional. Reluctant readers and those who proclaim that books are “boring” (more often than not, they go hand-in-hand) may say they’re not interested. But once they see other people in their family reading – and getting together to talk about reading – they may change their minds, especially if you let them choose the next book selection.

There are so many great books out there – too many to read in a lifetime of summers – but you only have to choose one to start your family book club. I’d love to hear about your experiences – and recommended titles. After all, there’s still plenty of summer left for my family to read!

Do Kids Tattle in Japan?

Apparently, they do. The Japanese translation of my book, “Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal,” arrived in my mailbox while I was out of town. It’s not the first time “Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal” has been translated into a different language. Which makes me wonder…

Do children in other countries experience many of the same issues as kids in the United States? They must. My book about divorce, “I Don’t Want to Talk About It,” has been picked up by several different foreign publishers. I’m sure there are many more books like mine out there, helping kids understand their world a little better.

If you’ve had a self-help book for kids or the adults in their lives published in another language, I’d love to hear about it. Even better, I’d love to see it. Email me a photo and I’ll post it on my blog.

The world is a big place. But when you get right down to it, kids are kids.

Challenge Yourself!

On a trip to Iceland last summer, there were lots of new things to try, from rotten shark dipped in something called “Black Death” to walking on a glacier blackened by ash from a recent volcano.

Each time we were presented with something new to try, our guide encouraged us with what would become our mantra for the trip: “Challenge yourself!”

And I did. Until halfway through our river rafting excursion, our guide said we were making a stop to do a little cliff-jumping. I don’t think she really expected many of us – maybe not any of us – to climb up and jump off into what was literally ice-cold water

But as we watched a few brave souls – a very few — from other tours take a turn at the cliff jump, I decided I was going to climb up and “just take a look.” Our guide smiled. “Challenge yourself!” she said. What an understatement.

You see, I am scared of heights. And not just a little bit. A lot of bit. So for me to look over the edge of a cliff, let alone leap off of it, was pretty much the ultimate challenge. It had to be safe, or they wouldn’t let us do it, I thought. So I did.

About halfway down, I thought, “This was a really bad idea.” Shouldn’t I have hit the water by now?

Then I did. And for just a few seconds, I was in over my head.  Then I popped up, swam back to the boat and my smiling guide. “You did it!” she said. I had. And strangely enough, I wanted to do it again.

I doubt I’ll ever get over my fear of heights. But one thing I don’t doubt. I won’t stop challenging myself to try new things, whether on vacation or at home or in my writing. In fact, I started writing my first middle-grade novel soon after my Iceland adventure. It’s a real stretch to write thousands of words when you’re a picture-book author. But if I can jump off a cliff, I can write this book.

And how about you? How will you challenge yourself this summer? Whether it’s biking twenty miles, reading a stack of books, or writing your own novel, I’d love to hear from you!

Sunshine Sheltie

Rain, rain, go away. We can’t go out to write today