Stephanie Verni's Blog, page 28

Three Important Tips Writers Should Always Remember

[image error]Two of these tips I want you to remember are from writers—Mark Twain and E.B. White; the other one above is from Steve Jobs.

There’s always “stuff” going on in our heads as we write: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes when our writing is thriving and it’s good, we feel fantastic. Other times when we’re feeling bad, we start to believe we are writing the worst story imaginable. And then, there’s the ugly stuff: thoughts we’ve heard people say to us, discouraging comments that have been made, or a general sense that people turn their noses up at what you are striving to do.

These are all real things, and they happen.

So, today’s quick Sunday post is to remind you to keep your head up. Do your best work. Focus on the positive things that are being rolled into your stories. Don’t let your energy get sucked dry by the opinions of others.

Remember, it’s important to be a good writer, but even more important to be a good editor. Your stories will come together. All it takes is the time to write, the dedication to completing the project, and then a good red pen to make the fixes.

Hang in there. You can do it.

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Stephanie Verni is the author of Beneath the Mimosa Tree, Baseball Girl, Inn Significant, The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry, and an academic textbook Event Planning: Communicating Theory & Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt, that she co-authored with colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus & Chip Rouse.

Anxious for Spring

[image error]Usually by the time March rolls around, I’m more than ready for spring. Unfortunately, for those of us in Maryland, spring really doesn’t begin until late April or early May. It’s been that bad for the last few years that I’ve still be in my tall boots on May 5.

Today, I took a little time to get outside on my porch. I took a few photos of the porch in winter. It’s chilly, but I sat in the sun if only for a few moments and pictured spring…pictured it coming…and pictured bringing my laptop out to the porch to work. I have a beautiful office inside my home, but there is nothing better than being outside, screened in so the bugs don’t get me, listening to the birds chirp, and writing.

Spring, I’m rooting for you to come early. Give us a break in 2019, and let the flowers begin to bloom and warm us up a little. We’d really appreciate it.

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And Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson

[image error]Yesterday, we learned that Orioles great and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson had passed away. He was 83.

I was lucky enough to get to know Frank during my time at the Orioles. His humor, willingness to be helpful, and energy was a positive force within the Orioles organization.

When you learn someone has passed away, you take a moment to be pensive. To truly understand how quickly life goes by, and that a little appreciation for people, places, and things is important in life.

If you’ve read my blog at any point in the past, you know that I write quite sentimentally about my time working in baseball. I consider it a privilege to have worked and retained friendships with so many wonderful people I met during my time there. I have friendships that are over 30 years strong after working with the ballclub for 13 years. You tend to become like a family. You grow up together. You care about people, and although many of us have left the ballclub and have had children and changed careers, we do our best to keep in touch. We strive to have reunions. There’s a level of respect and collegiality that will never go away, and when we see each other again at a gathering to catch up, it’s as if not a day has gone by.

I decided to roll my love for baseball and the people I met along the way into a fictional novel back in 2015 called Baseball Girl. I’ll never tell if the character of Zeke Watson or Freddy-the-Fly is loosely based on a combination of Frank and our late beloved bullpen coach, Elrod Hendricks (wink, wink). When you decide to write a story, you steal aspects of people you have met and allow the characters to develop on their own, but you can insert elements of people into your fictionalized version of a story, and in particular, a story like this that is set in pro baseball. When I say the book is loosely based on my life working in baseball, it is just that. It’s elements and aspects and nuances, but it’s all borrowed from the people and situations I came across in baseball. It was a wonderful time of my life.

Frank Robinson’s accomplishments were many. I could try to list them all, but the Baseball Hall of Fame does a much better job. You can click the link for more details about his outstanding career.

As for me and many of the people who knew him, we loved his snarky sense of humor and the way he kept things real. It was wonderful to see the tributes on Facebook last night.

So here’s to you, Mr. Robinson.

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Keep Your Head Down

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I’ve learned a few things from being an independent author and as someone who loves to write and tell stories, and it’s this: Just Do Your Thing.

When I saw this quote from Michael Connelly, I paused, and then posted it on my Instagram page, where I post often about writing (and some fashion, too!). It’s encouraging and it is meant to keep you focused on the story you are telling. Don’t try to make your story like someone else’s story. It’s your story, the one you are meant to tell. If love stories or fairies or wizards or futuristic robots aren’t the hot button in publishing right now, but it’s a story that you believe has validity and should be told, then just write your story. Prior to Harry Potter, there wasn’t much interest in wizards, but J.K. Rowling proved that a well-told story about a boy wizard had the means to connect with millions of people. The likelihood of reaching that kind of fame with our writing is slim, and so we just have to believe that what we are writing matters. And that it will matter to someone.

After I wrote Inn Significant, I had a few people write to me and tell me that the novel helped them get over the death of someone they loved–it helped them feel not alone. I loved hearing these kinds of comments, and for me, if even one person benefits or is entertained by my stories, I’m content.

Write because you love to write. Tell your stories because you love to tell them. And by all means, don’t pay attention to the “noise” out there. Just keep writing.

Fashion Friday, Week 1

Let me preface this with this statement: I just like fashion; fashion should be fun.

Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved clothes.

The semester has begun, and I think I’m going to attempt the challenge of a “no repeat” semester. Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t wear the same thing, it just means that if you do wear the same thing, you can’t wear it in the exact same way. Accessories, shoes, variations must come into play.

I’m gonna give it a whirl.

In my previous life as a fashion consultant, one of the things I preached was that you weren’t allowed to buy something unless you could wear it 3 different ways or with 3 different things (minimum).

So…what the hell. I’m going to see how far I can take this thing. (And to those of you I ask to take my photo, I’m sorry in advance, but I have to document it for this blog.)

Here’s what I wore this week.

Enjoy the weekend and the Super Bowl! And if you get some time, pick a book and read (preferably one of mine!)

Book Review: A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

[image error]Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth

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After reading Christina Baker Kline’s wonderful book Orphan Train last year, I knew I had to read her newest book, A Piece of the World, based on a woman named Christina who was supposedly a muse of Andrew Wyeth’s and the subject in his painting Christina’s World (pictured above).

Knowing little about art except for my visits to museums and the course I took in college we lovingly called “Art in the Dark” where we looked at famous works of art in a lecture hall, yes, in the dark, I was eager to learn more about this subject. Of all the skills I wish I had, being able to paint or draw would be on the list. It’s such an incredible way to express your creativity. Additionally, as I draw inspiration for my own novels from people I have met along the way in my life, a muse is someone who can’t be neglected, and so I suggested Kline’s novel as our book club book.

Kline’s ability to tell a story about a woman that evokes feelings of empathy, sympathy, and earns our protagonist accolades for being exactly who she was is pretty remarkable. When I read the Author’s Note at the back of the book and then all of Kline’s acknowledgments, it’s easy to understand just how many hours upon hours of research she did to make this book of fiction as realistic and true to what she could glean as possible. Historical fiction has quickly become one of my favorite genres, and Kline weaves in the story of Wyeth and his paintings while simultaneously telling us the history of Christina, her brother Al, her other brothers, along with her mother, father, and grandmother, and the large farm they operate and live on in Cushing, Maine. Christina also has an ailment that keeps her from living a normal life. Throughout the book, readers will empathize with Christina’s plight, and yet be angry with her decision not to seek medical treatment for her ailment early on in the novel. But what’s remarkable is that through dialogue, we also get a glimpse of who Christina is through Andrew Wyeth’s eyes, and through his eyes as [image error]he paints her.

If you are someone who likes to hear from a character who is simple yet complex, tough yet vulnerable, and guarded yet exposed at the same time, Christina Olson is a character you won’t likely forget. Kline allows Christina to tell the story the whole way through, while also allowing her to admit her defeats and mistakes, showcasing a character who employs a full range of emotions.

In the very beginning of the novel, we meet Betsy, who is in love with a young Andrew Wyeth, and it is Betsy who introduces Wyeth to a middle-aged Christina. We, as readers, are treated to the relationship that develops between the two, as well as other relationships Christina has with other characters within the book. I enjoyed the alternating passage of time through back and forth narration from a young Christina to a young woman and then to a middle-aged woman.

I don’t want to give too much else away, but if you enjoyed Kline’s storytelling in Orphan Train, I think you’ll enjoy A Piece of the World and finding out what may have inspired Wyeth’s famous painting. Now, when I look at the painting, I see it so differently, and notice how frail the figure of the woman is depicted in the art.

Fiction & Fashion.

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I’ll keep this brief.

FASHION

A few years ago a former student of mine challenged me to do a “no repeat” fashion challenge whereby you couldn’t repeat the exact same outfit during the semester on campus. That means, Monday through Friday, each day it has to be different…it cannot be the EXACT same.

I kind of laughed at this because, well, really?

But now, I’m thinking about it.

I love dumb challenges. I love fashion. So, I’m in consideration mode. I’m making no commitment yet, but I’m mulling it over, especially since I’ve done the 31 days of FROCKTOBER to raise awareness for ovarian cancer, so how hard could this really be? The hardest part will be documenting outfits each day. I hate bugging people to take my photo.

FICTION

As far as the fiction part of this blog post, I’m reading some good stuff (just finishing A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline…thumbs up), and I’m in a real groove with my writing.

I feel like I’ve hit my stride in my new work in progress, and the characters are starting to come alive for me. They’re coming into their own, and I’m having fun creating them. It’s tough, as writing is always tough, but I just love it. I love telling stories.

As much as I love fashion.

Nope.

I love telling stories more than I love fashion.

Do you think I should try the fashion challenge? I’m already knee deep in the fiction challenge.

Thoughts welcome.

As for the novel, I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Year 19 and the Spring Semester

[image error]It’s hard to believe sometimes that 19 years have passed, but then I remember I have a freshman in college. I’ve been teaching at Stevenson University since 2000, when I was pregnant with my first child. I remember getting the job and being excited to be teaching at a four-year institution. I’d been teaching at well-respected community colleges in the area, and had loved my time with them. But teaching at Stevenson University (then Villa Julie College) was something I wanted to try.

I had come to crossroads in my life. I had been teaching as an adjunct since 1993 and had left a full-time job in Baltimore at the newspaper in town. While I learned a lot during the year I was at the newspaper (having spent the previous 13 years at the Baltimore Orioles), I was ready for something new. And, at the time, my husband and I were trying to have children. A conversation along the River Thames in London prompted me to quit my job and focus on teaching and starting my own business. When we returned from our two week vacation, I set up shop and began my small communications company in November. Within two weeks, I had three clients. That income, combined with my adjunct teaching, allowed me to be an entrepreneur and teacher and was the moment I began to do what I love.

I first taught Advanced Journalism I and Advanced Journalism II at Stevenson. My then department chair and I revamped the courses into three new classes years later, when I began to teach more and our program began to grow. In 2008 when my second child was in school all day in kindergarten, I learned there was a full-time opening in Business Communication, and I jumped at the chance to be there. I interviewed for the position—a somewhat intimidating experience—and, biting my nails, I waited to hear if I got the job.

When I received the call that I was hired, my life changed again. I worked more, had to go back to school for an M.F.A., and loved my new role as a member of the Business Communication faculty.

I’m still there. Now a full professor.

Yes. Nineteen years later, and I still get just as excited by the prospect of a new semester as I did back then.

I guess you can say I love it, and the spring semester always gives me a sense of renewal and energy. After a long winter break this year, tomorrow begins another chapter, and for some students, the last semester of their undergraduate experience. I’m excited for them, and as well, am excited to meet some of the freshman class and mingle with our sophomores and juniors.

I can’t wait to see what we all learn together in Spring 2019.

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Fiction Friday: An Update

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I’m not exactly sharing a fictional story today, but I’m sharing with you the crazy writing journey I’m on at the moment as I write my fourth fictional novel.

In December, after National Novel Writing Month ended, I was 45,000 words into a new story, one that I had set in the hills of the Cotswolds in England. After a conversation with my family about how the work was going and picking their brains a little one night over dinner, I decided to relocate the story to St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

I know.

Big change.

I’m a Maryland girl (see my mug below thanks to my mother), so why not highlight our beautiful state once again? Changing the setting meant changing so much of the story. All the places had to be converted, the dialogue, which sounded “British” had to be reworked, and the characters’ names needed to be changed. I spent my winter break working on this manuscript (along with other things, I should say), so it took me a while to convert this work. Now that I’ve completed that transition, I’m glad I did it. It afforded me the opportunity to write a story that could also incorporate elements of my previous novel, Inn Significant, into it, which makes me happy because there were many readers of that novel who wanted a sequel. While this book isn’t necessarily a sequel, it is a story that includes characters from that novel. So, the project has sort of evolved into something a little more meaningful than what I originally planned.

I’m also incorporating into the first-person narrative, once again (at least as of now), both a woman’s and a man’s perspective as I did in my first novel, Beneath the Mimosa Tree. I enjoy that challenge of thinking like a man, and thankfully, have my husband to bounce ideas off of when I write in that character’s voice. We talk a lot in my classes about finding the right “voice” in your writing, and that can take a lot of honest digging and finessing. Switching back and forth in voice also takes patience, because I find I am constantly editing and reworking it so it sounds authentic to that particular character.

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The theme of the new novel? Well, it revolves around two main themes. (1) Women friendships and what they ought to be, and (2) Finding love again despite being hurt by it.

I’m not at all sure when this novel will be done or what I will do with it upon completion. Supporters of mine want me to find an agent and publisher. Others say “just self publish again.”

I’m up in the air with that decision, but all I can tell you, is that this creative and maniacal sort of state of innovation and writing is where I thrive the best.

Hope your writing projects are coming along, my fellow writers.

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Stephanie Verni is the author of Beneath the Mimosa Tree, Baseball Girl, Inn Significant, The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry, and an academic textbook Event Planning: Communicating Theory & Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt, that she co-authored with colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus & Chip Rouse.

8 Tips for Living With a Creative Person

[image error]Photo by Craig Adderley 

People often say I don’t cope with reality too well. I’d like to beg to differ. I think I have a pretty good handle on people, reality, and situations. Sometimes I just choose to ignore them for the betterment of my health, that’s all.

But when it comes to being a creative person—a writer, nonetheless—I feel confident that I can offer advice to people who have to live with our types and be pretty helpful in offering tips for how to live with the likes of us. Whether you reside with a musician, composer, poet, painter, artist, author, photographer, blogger, social media influencer, or any other creative type, here are some tips for coping with the often maniacal behaviors that come with the territory of being a creative person:

When we’re in the throes of a project, just bring us tea. We don’t necessarily want to talk about the work, take a break, make dinner, or throw the laundry in, we just want to finish whatever it is we’ve begun in that setting. A cup of tea (or your creative’s favorite beverage) helps calm the nerves and helps us refocus.
If we begin to brood about something that’s not working, just ignore us. This type of behavior really means that we want to work it out for ourselves, and if anyone else is listening, that’s fine. You can feel free to offer assistance, but sometimes, we’re just working through something on our own and will brood until we get it right.

[image error]Working late into the night…and early morning.
When we agonize over the smallest thing, just know it’s not small to us. Whether it’s a sentence I’ve written or a decision on how to transition to the next scene, I can agonize and write and write and then agonize some more. I’m sure musicians do the same over melodies, painters worry about composition, photographers worry about lighting. Agonizing comes with the territory, and some of us handle agonizing better than others.
Remind your creative to take a walk—it helps. When my family says, “Let’s go do something” or “Let’s go for a walk” after they’ve seen me hunched over the keyboard for a while, I tend to take them up on it. I know I need to “step away” for a bit, and it’s always refreshing. I come back to the table with a clear head.
Understand that our deadlines are real. Whether it’s a deadline imposed by an editor, art director, musical director, employer, or ourselves, when we have a deadline, we often wear that “deadline driven” face. You know the one. The one that has a furrowed brow and pursed lips. Striving to meet self-imposed deadlines or deadlines set by someone else helps move us toward completion of a project. Please understand that we have to complete it by that date or we could end up like Sylvester below.[image error]
Frustration comes with the territory; be a cheerleader.  There will be moments when you will say, “Why do I live with this insane person?” That’s normal, and don’t worry, we say it about ourselves. Living with ourselves isn’t easy, so we can only imagine what it’s like for you. Nonetheless, it’s our only option. So, sometimes we get frustrated; that’s when you can step in and be a cheerleader and tell us it’s all going to be okay, that patience and persistence will win out and that whatever it is we produce is going to be just as it should be. We need our cheerleaders.
Stay the course and accept that it’s a way of life. I hate to say it, but when one project ends, there’s typically another one looming and getting ready to launch. This is the way of creative people. It’s not “one and done.” There will be many things we create, so just come to an understanding that it’s a way of life. And it’s probably going to continue until the creative decides that he or she has had enough.
We know that our success is your success. We could never do the work without the support of our family and friends. When we complete something and find satisfaction in it, we know it’s because you’ve allowed us the time and space to do it. We can never say THANK YOU enough.

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Stephanie Verni is the author of Beneath the Mimosa Tree, Baseball Girl, Inn Significant, The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry, and an academic textbook Event Planning: Communicating Theory & Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt, that she co-authored with colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus & Chip Rouse.