Everyone and everything can be your teacher.

It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. But do not suppose your teacher will be a wise old monk in a saffron robe.

When you have the right understanding, teachers will appear in even the unlikeliest places.

Katie’s Adorable Son a.k.a “The Boy”

I am very excited to introduce today’s guest blogger for the Unlikely Teachers Series. I always see her around the Verla Kay Blueboards , so I was thrilled to hear about her upcoming release, ELIXIR BOUND. Please give a warm welcome to Katie L. Carroll!

Thanks for having me on the blog Sarah! Having a son (in cyberspace affectionately known as The Boy) has provided me with a whole new perspective on life in general, but it has also blessed me with a new perspective in my writing life, especially because I write for teens and kids. Here are some writing lessons I’ve learned from watching the first year of The Boy’s life.

Keep the Wonder Alive

The world is a wondrous place for the The Boy. We see a bus or a motorcycle drive by and we might cringe at the noise or shudder with the stench of exhaust. The Boy sees a bus or a motorcycle drive by and he shivers with excitement. He must be thinking What is that thing? How does it move like that? It’s so loud and fast! Take the wonder of a child to your writing. Make the world of your story a magical place (even if there’s no actual magic in it). New emotions—think first love—are a whole wondrous landscape for kids and teens to marvel at. Make your readers shiver with excitement at the elements you bring to the story.

Be A Proper Mimic

When The Boy hears a dog bark, he doesn’t say “bark, bark!” or “woof, woof!” He makes a noise that actually mimics the sound the dog makes. His bark is more a throaty “eh, eh.” He notices that bigger dogs often have a deeper bark and smaller ones have a higher-pitched bark and adjusts his own doggy noises accordingly.

I’m a very plot-driven writer and often struggle with voice. Notice the different voices of your favorite authors—the deep bark versus the high-pitched one. What words do they use? How do they string those words together? Try writing a paragraph or two in the voice of your favorite author. Then take a look at your own work and analyze it for a spark of voice. When you find a passage you really like, see if you can bring out your own voice in the rest of the piece.

Look At It With Fresh Eyes

The Boy often surprises me with how he interprets what is going on around him. I have a big family and we’re kind of infamous for the way we sing “Happy Birthday to You” (each of us to our own beat and pitch). Where the rest of us relish in the joyous noise, he picks up on the chaos of it and cries (we’ve learned to bring him into the other room when we sing). Each person’s perspective is a fresh one. What one person loves, another may hate.

Reflect that in your characters likes, dislikes, and opinions. I think this is so important to consider when you’re an adult writing. Just because you’ve heard or seen something a million times, doesn’t mean the kids you’re writing for have. That’s not to say it’s okay to fill your writing with clichés. Do the opposite. Kids don’t know always know clichés, but that also means they’re not going to use them. They have their own unique way of describing and experiencing things, and you should in your writing.

Look At It With Fresh Eyes

Nope, you’re eyes aren’t broken. There’s another lesson here. In the first year of life, pretty much everything is new. The Boy views the world with no prejudices or expectations. This is a great lesson for revising. You’ve finished the first draft. Great! Now put it away. Come back to it with fresh eyes with no preconceived notions about what you thought it was going to be. See what’s really there in the words you wrote as opposed to what you pictured in your head. Sometimes the actual story turns out to be very different from what you intended to write…maybe even something better.

Katie L. Carroll’s debut novel ELIXIR BOUND is available for pre-order from MuseItUp Publishing for your Kindle, Nook, PC, or other device.

ELIXIR BOUND

Katora Kase is next in line to take over as guardian to a secret and powerful healing Elixir. Now she must journey into the wilds of FawayForest to find the ingredient that gives the Elixir its potency. Even though she has her sister and brother, an old family friend, and the handsome son of a mapmaker as companions, she feels alone.

For it is her decision alone whether or not to bind herself to the Elixir to serve and protect it until it chooses a new guardian. The forest hosts many dangers, including wicked beings who will stop at nothing to gain power, but the biggest danger Katora may face is whether or not to open up her heart to love.

Katie L. Carroll began writing after her 16-year-old sister unexpectedly passed away. Writing was a way for Katie to help her sister live on in the pages of a story. It also made her realize that she wanted to pursue writing as a career. In addition to penning novels for teens and kids, she edits puzzle magazines, plays soccer, and collects signed copies of books. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and son. For more about Katie visit her website at www.katielcarroll.com.

Starry Night Over The Rhone

I recently stumbled on to this great site called Start Your Novel. And yes, I was procrastinating again. But hey! In my defence it was semi-productive. Anyway, Start Your Novel is John Magnet Bell’s blog and one of his recent posts, What can Vincent van Gogh teach you about writing?, reminded me of the Unlikely Teachers Series. So instead of me having to get off Ebay to write doing the post I had planned, I thought it would be fun to share someone else’s insights. So head on over there, check it out and tell me what you think.

Sorry if you thought that I was going to give you advice about starting your novel. I know my title was misleading.

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Okay, you wore me down. My advice? Get off my darn blog and start writing!

Marble. How cute is he!?

It’s no secret that I’m a cat lover, so I was thrilled when Craig W. Steele came to me with a post about his cat, Marble. Even though there has already been a cat post in the series, I just couldn’t resist. Without further adieu, I give you Craig and Marble! 

The feline approach to dispensing lessons about writing is unique. My cat, Marble, is a black-and-white shorthair who takes his role of mentor to this writer quite seriously.

Those flowers are mine!

Cat:  Several years ago, my wife, Kitty (how’s that for irony?), asked me to stop buying her flowers. Not that she dislikes flowers – just the opposite is true. However, we quickly learned that the kitchen table and countertops were no obstacles to Marble’s leaping ability while in pursuit of fresh flowers; true also of the fireplace mantel. We thought we’d won when we placed the next vase of flowers atop the refrigerator. But we hadn’t reckoned with his cleverness in using the adjacent kitchen work desk as a halfway platform in his quest for the top of the ‘fridge – albeit not without experiencing several very un-catlike, whole-body introductions to the kitchen floor. Eventually he perfected his technique and was soon happily munching the flowers.

Lesson: Perseverance pays off. No matter how great the obstacle, Marble continued improving his ability at leaping. No matter how many times he smacked the floor, he’d stagger to his paws and try again. How can I be dismayed by a plot line temporarily stuck in neutral or a little thing like another rejection when I have his “cattitude” as inspiration to continue leaping toward my goals?

Happiness is a clean litter box.

Cat:  Marble loves his litter box. He spends considerable time each day filling it with personal treasures and artfully burying and rearranging all the crusty globs and spongy cakes. And after it’s cleaned out, he happily begins the task anew.

Lesson: Don’t be intimidated by a blank screen or an empty sheet of paper. Treat either one as a clean litter box just waiting to be filled with treasure, artfully buried or rearranged as necessary. And take joy in your opportunity to do so.

No amount of whining gets me out of the basement until the door is opened.

Cat:  Marble spends the night in the basement, for the preservation of the house and our sleep. I’m first up in the mornings, usually an hour or more ahead of Kitty and the kids. Marble begins whining to be let out as soon as I step into the kitchen. Although he’s never been to school, he reproduces the fingernails-on-the-chalkboard screech perfectly. But he has to wait, because if I open the basement door, I know he’ll shoot straight upstairs, park himself outside one of the kids’ bedroom doors and start whining to be let in.

Lesson: Whining doesn’t overcome writer’s block. When I’m trapped in that basement, which often resembles a medieval dungeon, no amount of complaining, grousing, ranting or venting gets me out until the door opens. I used to just wait until my muse opened the door for me. But after listening to Marble, I’ve learned to take positive steps, detailed in many “how-to” books and articles, to turn the knob and open the basement door myself – after all, what’s the use in having opposable thumbs if I don’t use them?

What has your cat taught you?

Craig W. Steele is a writer and university biologist whose creative musings occur in the urban countryside of northwestern Pennsylvania where he writes for both children and adults. His poetry has appeared recently or is forthcoming in Stories for Children Magazine, Spaceports & Spidersilk, the Aurorean, Astropoetica, Stone Path Review, Popular Astronomy, The Lyric and elsewhere. He also has a new short story up at Stone Path Review.

I wish someone would make me a few of these. YUM!
Photo by Akili Cole

Chocolate, chicken fingers, and chili. These are some of my favourite foods. I also feel the need to note that it is just a coincidence that they all start with C… Anyway, cutting to the chase, this is what my favourite foods taught me about writing.

Just macaroni and cheese

Food: When I was a kid, I went on very specific food binges. When I found a food I loved, I wanted it and nothing but it (Okay, I am still a bit like that sometimes). I had an obsession with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for the longest time. I loved it! But after a while it just wasn’t the same. In fact, I actually started to dislike it!

Lesson: Too much of a good thing is hazardous. Most writers have a word that they latch on to and they bludgeon it to death by using it so much. Try not to worry about these words in your first draft, but when revising, search through your writing for words you overused and either replace or cut them.

Then there is body language. Just as words can be overused, so can body language. Characters should not be sighing, shrugging or smiling  on every single page.  Just like I started to resent macaroni and cheese after eating it everyday, a reader will get sick of repetitive words or actions. Mix it up and keep it fresh!

“Why on earth would I try that? It’s made of what!?”

Food: I know what I like to eat and I certainly know what my favourite foods are. Trying new food can be terrifying, making it easy to get stuck in a food rut.

Lesson: Don’t be afraid to try a new genre. Sure, it may be anxiety provoking and I’m not saying that you’re going to be good at it right off the bat. Heck, honestly I’m not saying you’re going to ever be good at it. But even if you’re worst fear is confirmed and you write something that is absolutely horrendous, at least you don’t have to wonder anymore. Plus, in my experience, trying to write something new can be the key to unlocking the creative flood gates. Even if I fall flat on my face with a new project, if it helps me with another project that I am more serious about, I consider the failure worth it!

Under the bed, in pots and pans and taped under the table.

Food: If you’re like me, when it comes to your favourite food, you aren’t very fond of sharing. I have to admit that I am a bit of a squirrel. If I buy myself chocolate I will often stash it away. When it comes time to eat my treat, I hate finding out that it is already in someone else’s tummy.

Lesson: Set aside some time everyday that is specifically for writing. It can be as little as 10 minutes and you can write as little as 3 words. The idea is that you are writing. Try treating writing time like your favourite food. I try to stash my food away from hungry bellies and I also try to schedule my writing time away from interruptions. It’s not a perfect system. Just as someone may occasionally stumble upon my snack stash, interruptions do happen. Life is busy, we all know that. There are a million and one things that could be done instead of writing, but if you’re serious about honing the craft, set aside the time needed to get it done.

What’s your favourite food and what has it taught you?

Another show that’s part of my guilty pleasure is Phineas and Ferb.  I think that this show is the most genius and entertaining thing to hit the world of children’s television in the past decade. I would be more excited to meet the show’s creator, Dan Povenmire, than I would be to meet a high-profile celebrity like Madonna! Here are a few things I love about the show and what they taught me about the craft of writing for children.

A decade and a half

Phineas and Ferb: The show’s creator, Dan Povenmire,  pitched the show for 14-16 years before it was picked up by a network. 14-16 years!

Lesson: Perseverance is something that I have touched on before and this is a great example of how it can pay off. Povenmire believed in his work and look what happened! Anyway, I’m sure you know about perseverance, so another great lesson to take from this: Be professional and take your work seriously. If you don’t take yourself seriously, how do you expect anyone else to, especially someone that is investing both time and money to publish your work? Think of it this way, even if writing is just a hobby to you, for editors and agents, it’s often their main source of income.  No editors or agents because you went or plan on going the self-publishing route? You are still expecting readers to invest time and money to read your work.

The characters are well-defined

Phineas and Ferb: Candace is high-strung, always trying to bust her brothers. Perry looks like an ordinary platypus, but he’s a secret agent. Ferb hardly ever talks etc.

Lesson: Give your characters something that makes your readers want more. Give your characters  a mission, a catch phrase, or a personality trait that helps define them and makes them memorable.

Great repetition

Phineas and Ferb: “Whatcha doin’?” – Isabella

“Where’s Perry?”- Phineas

“Oh, there you are, Perry.”- Phineas

“Ferb, I think I know what we’re going to do today.”- Phineas

Above I have listed some phrases used in almost every episode of Phineas and Ferb.  I love hearing these catch phrases and I’m not even a kid! They add familiarity and consistency to each episode, along with a certain element of fun.

Lesson: Kids love repetition. In writing, repetition doesn’t have to be a catch phrase, it doesn’t even have to be in the dialogue, it can be anywhere in your text. Keep in mind that even though repetition can be great, it should not be excessive, it should not obstruct flow, and it should not be placed in the work just for the sake of using it.  Repetition can help make a piece of work shine, but only if it isn’t forced.

What have children’s shows taught you?

Why yes, I do believe that is a plastic prop horse in the right corner. That alone should explain why this is my "guilty" pleasure.

Guilty pleasures. We all have them. Mine is watching the Family Channel… even when there are no kids around. Yes, I’m probably way too old to indulge in shows like Hannah Montana, but isn’t a children’s writer really just a kid that had to take on life’s responsibilities? Plus, if I learned some great stuff about writing along the way, doesn’t that count for something? 

Shhh! It’s a secret

Hannah Montana: In the world of Hannah Montana, hardly anyone knows Miley’s secret, but in the real world, the entire audience knows her obvious shocking secret. Miley is Hannah Montana! *gasp* Hope I didn’t ruin it for anyone.

Lesson: Readers, especially kids, love to know a “secret” that your story’s characters have yet to learn. Letting readers sink their teeth in to a juicy tidbit is great way to create irony, humour and tension. If properly utilized, this is a great device to create a page-turner.

Get wiggy with it

Hannah Montana: Wig off, she’s Miley. Wig on, she’s Hannah. Yes, slightly unbelievable, but in the show this small change makes a world of difference.

Lesson: Small changes can yield big results. This could be applied to both writing skills and WIPs. For example, I know that one of my writing downfalls is punctuation. Not an easy thing to admit, especially since I feel like you’re going to scan this post for mistakes now, but it’s the truth. Hey, the important thing is that I’m working on it. By identifying the weakness, reading about how to fix it, and practising, I have already noticed a difference in my writing. I also take pride in knowing that the more my punctuation improves, the more seriously my work will be viewed.

For WIPs, the small change rule also applies.  Sometimes adding or cutting a scene or just reorganizing plot points can have a profound effect on the work as a whole. The great thing about changes and technology? If it turns out the change didn’t improve your work, just go back to your previous draft! No harm done.

Best of both worlds

Hannah Montana: That blonde wig allows Miley to live the life of a superstar AND the life of a normal teenager.

Lesson: Consider using a pseudonym. Chances are you aren’t going to need it to separate your normal life from your superstardom (Even though one can dream), but here’s a few other reasons to use a pen name that you may not have considered.

You write different genres. Will the readers of your romance book be disappointed to pick up your new sci-fi book?

You write for different age groups. Do you want a middle grade reader to pick up your new adult novel?

Work and/or your community would not take kindly to what you write. If you work at a daycare or live in a conservative town, do you really want everyone to know you write erotic novels?

Your name is long or hard to pronounce. If your last name is Snicklebottomisma, will readers have a difficult time remembering or pronouncing your name?

You wrote a novel based on real life. If it’s an embarrassing and/or painful story, do you really want everyone to know who it’s about?

Of course, there are a lot more reasons, but those are a few common ones.

What has your guilty pleasure taught you about writing?

A shoulder to cry on

SATC: One of the biggest lessons from SATC is the value of friendship. They may piss each other off sometimes, but at the end of the day, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha are there for each other.

Lesson: Writer friends can be indispensable, especially when the rejections start to roll in. Sure, friends that aren’t writers are a good shoulder to cry on, but there’s just something about someone who’s been there and experienced the same pain that helps you feel better. Some great places to make writer friends are conferences, SCBWI, critique groups and writing forums.

$$$$$$$

SATC:  It’s always bugged me a bit that Carrie makes all those frivolous buys (mainly shoes) that cost major moula when she lives on a freelance writer’s salary. Add that to the fact that she eats out every day and how often she goes out for drinks, it makes her lifestyle unbelievable. Of course, without those things it just wouldn’t be SATC, however, the portrayal of a writer is greatly skewed.

Lesson: If you surveyed all the published writers in the world, I can guarantee that the majority would say that they weren’t in it to make a truck load of money. Maybe they use it for a little extra income, but most will tell you that they do it for the love of the craft. Having a fire burning inside of you that forces you to write, having characters dancing in your head itching to tell their story or using writing as a creative outlet, these are all sufficient (and common) reasons people write. Sure, there are a million more reasons, but my point is that if you are looking to get rich, you are in the wrong business. It is difficult to make a living as a writer, let alone get rich from it.

“This isn’t the kind of thing I can get over.” – Aidan

SATC: Carrie cheated on Aidan with Mr.Big causing the demise of her relationship.

Lesson: Carrie’s relationship ended because she broke a rule, she was unfaithful to Aidan. They say to learn from your mistakes, but this time, let’s learn from someone elses. Follow the rules! Yes, some rules can be broken in writing, but what I’m talking about is submission guidelines. They’re there for a reason so read them and follow them closely. The majority of publishers will take your submission less seriously if you don’t follow their guidelines and some will even trash your manuscript altogether. The road to publication is bumpy enough, why add extra potholes?

What has Sex and the City taught you?

Cleaning is often a daunting task, especially vacuuming. After I accidentally sucked up a sock as a kid and made the vacuum smoke, I am especially not fond of those suckers! (Bad pun intended) Who knew that we could learn some great writing lessons from vacuuming? The fabulous Laura Wynkoop did, that’s who!  Please give her a warm welcome.

I don’t know about you, but  household chores aren’t exactly on my list of favorite things to do.  Sure, I love the way my house looks when  it’s clean, but I often wish there was someone else to do the dirty work for  me.  After all, I’d rather be  writing.  Or researching.  Or revising.  Or checking Facebook.  Wait, ignore that last one.  At any rate, when I get to the point  where I can’t stand my house, I’m forced to get off my computer and start  cleaning.  And as I grab my Dyson  Upright out of the closet, I realize that vacuum cleaners can teach us a lot  about writing.

1. My vacuum cleaner  sucks.

Vacuum  Cleaner:  This is probably  pretty obvious, but vacuum cleaners are meant to suck.  It’s what they do.  And if you’ve got a Dyson, they’re  guaranteed to never stop sucking (they’re not paying me to say this, I  swear).

Lesson:  At times, your writing will suck.  And that’s okay.  I once heard Libbra Bray say, “Embrace  the suck.”  It’s perfectly fine to  make mistakes because that is how you  learn.  Nobody writes a perfect  first draft.  Or second draft.  Heck, I know writers who feel like their  twentieth draft still sucks.  But as  long as you keep writing, keep learning, and keep working hard to improve your  craft, you’ll one day find that you’ve written a draft that, amazingly enough,  doesn’t suck.

2. I love freshly vacuumed  floors, but I don’t love vacuuming them.

Vacuum  Cleaner:  Freshly vacuumed  floors look awesome—they’re tidy and dust bunny-free, and they have those  mesmerizing little wheel tracks across them.  But as much as I love the way they look,  I don’t exactly love vacuuming them.  It’s hard work!

Lesson: Author Dorothy Parker once said, “I hate  writing.  I love having written.” I know many writers who share this  sentiment, because, let’s face it, writing is hard work.  It’s especially hard if you’re a  perfectionist, and/or you have a really tough inner critic.  It’s important to not make this job  harder than it already is.  Learn to  open your mind and let the words and ideas flow.  Tell your inner critic to go away until  it’s time for revisions.  Forget the  rules.  Forget about getting  published.  When you free yourself  to write what YOU want to say, you’ll find you’re having a lot more fun.

3. Vacuum cleaners don’t  get everything the first time.

Vacuum  Cleaner:   When you’re  vacuuming your carpet, sometimes you have to go over the same spot several  times.  And even then, you might  have to bend down, pluck something sticky from the carpet fibers, roll it into a  tiny ball, and throw it back on the floor so you can properly vacuum it up.

Lesson:  When it comes to revisions, you’re not  going to clean up everything in the first round.  You’re going to have to go over that  paragraph, or that sentence, or that word time and time again until you’ve found  the best way to fix it.  And  sometimes, you’ll have particularly sticky areas that need to be completely  reworked until they’re just the way you want them.  At that point, set your manuscript aside  for a few days or weeks (or even months).  When you pull it out and go over it with fresh eyes, you’ll be amazed at  how much more effectively and objectively you can clean up your work.

What has your vacuum cleaner  taught you?

Laura Wynkoop lives in Southern California where you’re much more likely to  find her writing than cleaning.  She has been published in a variety of  children’s magazines including Boys’ Quest, Fun for Kidz, Highlights for  Children, Jack and Jill, Turtle, and many others.   She also edited and contributed to a middle grade poetry anthology  that was published by Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books.  For more  information, you can visit her website at www.laurawynkoop.com.

1.“OMG! Look at her shirt, it is sooo yesterday.”

Fashion: What’s in today is out tomorrow. The trends in the fashion world are famous for moving at lightning speed and if you try to keep up, both your head and wallet will probably explode.

Lesson: Don’t try to ride the trend wave. Paranormal is really hot right now, but in the next year or two, it may very well be passé. By the time you write a novel for this trend, find a publisher (Providing you find one at all, since I assume many editors probably gag at the just the mention of a vampire) and wait out the year(s) until the company publishes it, chances are the trend will be long gone and readers will have latched on to something new. J.K Rowling didn’t try to ride the trend wave and she ended up creating a trend tsunami. Statistically, you probably won’t be the force behind the next trendy topic, but isn’t it nice to dream?

2.“That is so cute. Where is it from?”

Fashion: If people like what you’re wearing, they’re going to want to know where you got it, so they can get their own.

 Lesson: If people read something they really like, may it be an article, an essay, a book etc., chances are they’re going to want to know where they can get more.  This is where the tangled web of social networking comes in. Do you have to be one every single networking site? Absolutely not. Read up on and/or try out a few different networking sites, see what you like best and then pick a couple. At the end of the day, it’s your writing that counts, not how many social networks your on. At the very least, make yourself a blog and/or website, so that when people are looking for more of your fabulous work, they have a solid starting block for their search. Even if you don’t have any work out in the world yet, a blog is a great way to connect with other writers, create an online presence and practice your writing skills. If you’re interested in learning more about website platforms, this post may interest you.

3. “I love this! It’s totally my style.”

Fashion: A girl with a tomboy style isn’t going to want to buy the sparkly dress. We buy what we want to wear in accordance to our personal style.

Lesson: You buy what you want to wear, so why not write what you want to read. It’s that simple. Think of yourself as an inventor. Inventors usually create something to fulfill a need in their life. Be an inventor and create a literary piece that fills the void in your reading life. If you’re knowledgeable and passionate about you’re work, it will come through in your writing.

What has fashion taught you?

Ruth's adorable dogs

It is my pleasure to present the first guest blogger in the Unlikely Teachers Series. I love her articles and couldn’t wait to see what she wrote for the series. To say the least, she did not disappoint. Please welcome Ruth Schiffmann.

Take it away, Ruth!

As a writer, I’m always relating everyday occurrences to the business of writing. So I was happy to find here at Sarah’s blog, that she does the same thing. After all, everything is more enjoyable when we can pull meaning from it.

Dogs: I love my dogs. Really, I do. But there are times when they make me want to run screaming to some place where dog breath is not the dominant fragrance and my every move isn’t measured by the speed at which they wag their tails. Each evening, when I sit down, the crinkle of the leather sofa gives me away, and they come running. After the obligatory head scratching and belly rubbing, I throw my hands up and announce that I’m done. But they continue to beg, guilt, and manipulate me with those eyes while clawing their way into my lap.

Lesson: Don’t be annoying. If I can get so easily put off with my two adorable doggies, (who I love. Really, I do) then imagine how annoying we can be to editors or agents who don’t even know us, (or how loveable we are.) When waiting to hear on a submission, the last thing I want to be is a nuisance. I assume stated response times are estimates and if a follow-up is in order, I always try to error on the side of patience.

Dogs: Every morning as soon as they’ve eaten, both dogs run for the door. The Portuguese Podengo is in such a hurry to get outside, that he repeatedly rams his head into the screen door in the few seconds it takes me to open it. This happens Every. Day. At this point, I’m thinking he’s brain damaged from all of that head bashing.

Lesson:  Don’t bang your head against a wall. When I’m stuck on a project, it’s pointless to make myself work on it just for the sake of working on it. Instead, I pull up another project. Even if it’s not one I’m in any hurry to finish. Even if it’s one that I’m not going to get paid for. Even if it’s just writing a post for my blog. Because getting words down on the page for something is better than bashing your head against the door, (or desk) for nothing.

Dogs: My dogs get antsy, prancing back and forth and perfecting their low, gravely growls, before I even hear the mail truck. They come charging down the stairs to gape at the door before I hear my daughter’s car in the driveway. They stand in the doorway to the bedroom if I’ve stayed up past my normal bedtime. Their senses are heightened and they know what’s going on, often before I do.

Lesson: Trust your instincts. Researching markets is a must, but when you’ve gathered all of the writers’ guidelines and checked the publisher’s editorial calendars, sometimes what it comes down to is an unexplainable “knowing” where to send a story or article. Develop that. Value it. And trust it.

Do you have cute, cuddly, or irritating dogs? What have they taught you about writing?

Ruth Schiffmann is happiest when she’s writing with her dogs quietly curled up at her feet. More than a hundred and fifty of her stories, articles, essays and poems have appeared in publications both online and in print. She’s currently working on a picture book and a contemporary YA novel. To read more of her work, visit www.RuthSchiffmann.com  or follow her blog at http://outonalimbshywritergoessocial.blogspot.com.

My wrist tattoo when it was first done. "Dream Big"

A tattoo is a huge decision. Unless you have a few thousand dollars sitting around for removal, it will be with you forever.  A few years ago, after a close friend passed away, I decided to get my first tattoo.  I designed it myself and  took about half a year to decide on the final design.  Was it painful? Moderately. Was it worth it? Definitely! Did I learn anything? Let’s find out.

 ”Wait, isn’t that supposed to be sterilized?”

 Tattoo: You don’t just want anyone to tattoo you, you want someone reputable that will A) Do a good job and B) Use sterile equipment. The last thing you want is for your new body art to compromise your health.

 Lesson: Getting your work in print or made in to an e-book is a big accomplishment, but uneducated decisions can lead to big problems. Just like contaminated tattoo equipment can compromise your health, a bad publisher or agent can compromise the health of your writing career. Sometimes, even with research, unexpected and unfortunate things can happen, but by making sure that you are subbing your manuscript to reputable places, you have the best chance of staying out of trouble. A great place to start is CWIM and Guide to Literary Agents. I like to think of it like this: Time spent researching now saves lots of time and heartache in the future.

“Wait, what? My friend’s mother’s sister’s tattoo artist ALWAYS works with music on.”

 Tattoo: How tattoo artists like to work varies from artist to artist. Some are chatty, some like to work in silence, some like to work with music on etc.  

 Lesson: How you plan, how you execute and  how you revise your writing  isn’t going to be the same as everyone else. Never dismiss someone else’s creative process, it’s a great learning experience, but know that there isn’t just one way to write. For example some people like to write an extensive outline before they write, while others are pantsers. Find what works for you. It’s not the way you do it; it’s the fact that you’re doing it.

 “Ouch! #%*!”

 Tattoo: Everyone perceives the pain of getting a tattoo differently. Some say it feels like a small scrape, while others say it feels like a knife being dragged through the skin. If you are about to get a tattoo, you should expect some degree of pain. My tattoo did hurt, but the final result was definitely worth it.

 Lesson: This industry hurts. Sometimes like the small scrape and often like the knife. Writers and illustrators have to learn how to develop a thick skin. There are tough critiques, rejections and deals that fall through. The good news? If you can withstand the pain and keep striving to reach your goals, it will be worth it. I have never heard a published author or illustrator say that the hard journey wasn’t worth it. Have you?

 What have tattoos taught you?

Just Friends

I love sitting down and watching a good movie. A few of my favourites are Just Friends, Head Over Heels, A Walk to Remember and Patch Adams. I have about 100 more, but I don’t think you want to read a whole post about my favorite movies. So instead, here are 3 things movies taught me about writing. (Okay, maybe a bit more than 3)

Titanic, My Sister’s Keeper, The Notebook.

Movie: These movies all touched on the difficult subject of death in a different way and none of them had an ideal happy ending. However, in my opinion, they all had a satisfying one. (Okay, except My Sister’s Keeper. I had read the book beforehand and was really ticked off when I saw they changed the ending.)

Lesson: A few lessons can be taken from this. The first is that the ending doesn’t have to be happy, but it does have to be satisfying. Don’t be afraid to make your character’s suffer and know that it’s okay if they are still suffering at the end of the story. In my experience, it can be scary to give a story the unhappy ending it demands as opposed to the happy one you could write. But it’s also been my experience that the story is much more satisfying when you give it the ending it is demanding, even if it isn’t your characters living happily ever after.

You don’t have to be afraid to write about difficult subjects, but you do have to handle them with a great amount of care. Do your research and make sure you have your facts straight. The last thing you want to do is offend someone.

Look for a fresh approach. The market for cancer books is highly saturated and it is getting harder to sell a story with cancer as it’s main story line. If you are about to write or are writing something on a topic that had already been overexposed (*cough cough* vampires and werewolves) make sure you have a fresh approach.

17 Again

 Movie: I was with a friend when I watched this and we both thought it was a very funny movie. However, we laughed at completely different times. A nerdy character in this movie would make all these nerdy references that flew right over my head, but my friend thought they were absolutely hysterical.

 Lesson: Not everyone has the same type of humour. Something that you think is hilarious in your writing, may have someone else scratching their head. This is where getting to know your target audience really comes in to play. It won’t completely solve the issue, but  if you can get an idea of who you are writing for that means you can get an idea of what they will find humorous. I’m not saying to know exactly who your audience is, but by the end of your first draft, you should have a rough idea.

Salt, The Big Bounce, The Perfect Getaway

 Movie: All three of these movies had fresh twists and surprises that I didn’t see coming. They kept me engaged and made me want to keep watching.

Lesson: Keep your readers guessing. I personally hate to read a book where I’m only a few chapters in and I can tell you how it ends. However, it doesn’t always have to be the ending that’s surprising. It could be a plot twist anywhere at all, an action of one of your characters, your word choice, your literary devices etc. Keep it fresh!

What’s your favourite movie and what has it taught you?

Foundations

 From an early point in my teen years, I have struggled with acne prone skin. I even have some lovely scarring from when my acne was at its worst. While going through different courses of medications and treatments in an attempt to make the unsightly bumps vanish, I’d like to think that I have become somewhat of an expert at covering them up, along with the scarring. With this expertise has come a lot of foundation experimentation and a lot of wasted $$$.

  This is what foundation has taught me about writing.

 1.You come across the horrendous, the mediocre and the wonderful.

 Foundation: I have come across the foundations that have made me orange, cakey or even a few that have caused my skin to breakout further. I have come across the ones that are okay, but either don’t have the coverage I hoped for or they aren’t the right color. Then, finally, the wonderful day came when I found a foundation that was the perfect color, had superb coverage and didn’t make me look like a clown. That day was great, but it took a lot of bad and mediocre foundations to get there.

 Lesson:  You have a lot of ideas, but not all of them are going to be good. You often have to sift through a lot of bad ideas before you find a really good one. (To get some good and bad ideas, I highly recommend PiBoIdMo in November)

 This can also be applied to your manuscripts. Chances are you aren’t going to find the perfect foundation right off the bat and chances are you aren’t going to write a publishable story right away.  Don’t worry, not all is lost. Just as I have learned what foundations work for me from trial and error, you will learn what works in your writing the same way.

 2.Doing reasearch and reading reviews before you buy pays off. 

 Foundation: When you are looking for foundation or any other beauty product, reading reviews from consumers pays off. (I personally really like Makeup Alley.) Initially, it takes some time, but in the long run it will save you money and cut back the time you spend searching through foundations at the store.

Lesson:  Take the time to research books that are similar to your work. This will give you an idea about what is already out there and if/how your story stands out.

 Also, just as it is a waste of money and time to blindly pick a foundation, it is the same regarding blindly sending your work out to agents and editors. By taking the time to research what types of books they take on, if they have any current needs, any other preferences etc., you are saving yourself time and money.

 3.The same foundation will not work for everyone.

 Foundation: A foundation that has heavy coverage that is meant for acne prone skin will probably look dreadfully flaky on someone with dry skin. On the other hand,  a foundation meant for dry skin, won’t have holding power on oily skin.

 Lesson: For work that is already published, your work won’t be right for everyone. This  means not everyone will like it. Try not to concentrate on the bad reviews and look at all the good ones. Yes, easier said than done.

 For WIPs, pay attention to what people say when they criticize your work and don’t take it personally.  It’s hard to rip apart your baby, but it’s necessary. It’s like if you were wearing a mediocre foundation and the critic is trying to point you in the direction of an amazing foundation. Wouldn’t you want the amazing foundation instead? By listening to what critics are saying, you can create your best work and have a better chance of getting published. However, it is important to know what advice to take and what to leave. Sometimes you may be wearing a mediocre foundation and the critic is pointing you toward another mediocre foundation or even worst, a horrendous one. Just as it is your skin, it is your name on your finished work. Make sure you’re proud of what you have created.

What has your foundation taught you?

End Note: The wonderful foundation I found was La Roche Posay Corrective Fluid. It’s a little pricy (30$), but imo, it’s worth every penny!

Perry Being Mischievous

Welcome to the series, “Unlikely Teachers.” This series will include posts by me, as well as guests, about things we have learned about the craft of writing or illustrating from unlikely places, people or things. If you are interested in being a guest blogger for this series, please feel free the drop me a line here.

 To kick off the series, lessons from my cat, Perry.

1.“Unless you give me my tummy rub, I will not go away.”

 Cat: Nothing will satisfy Perry when he wants a tummy rub, except for, you guessed it, a tummy rub. He will stalk your every move, meow at you and swarm around your feet until you give in. You can give him food or try to distract him with a toy, but he’s on a mission and won’t settle for less. He wants that tummy rub.

 Lesson: Don’t settle for less. This can be applied to many things related to the writing and illustrating.

Don’t settle on your first metaphor or simile, often those are old and tired. Stretch your imagination to think of a fresh and exciting one.

Don’t settle for things that don’t seem right. Don’t expect a six figure contract, but if something doesn’t sit right with you, find someone to clarify and don’t be afraid to speak up.

Don’t settle for less from yourself. It’s easy to get excited and send off work before it’s 100% the best it can be, but you owe it to yourself to take the time to make sure it sparkles.

 2.“I will groom my fur until it shines.”

 Cat: Perry, like most cats, is adamant about cleaning himself. He will groom himself until every single piece of fur is in place and it shines. Time consuming? Unbelievably. Lucky me, this also means the occasional hairball spit up on the carpet. (Which, ironically, he just did as I wrote that sentence. *sigh* )

Lesson: This is a good way to approach revision. It’s a lot of hard work and it’s often time consuming, but in the end, it will be worth it. I’m sure you will encounter your own hairballs along the way, but a great finished product can yield a reward or even many. Groom your manuscript or art until everything is in place and it shines.

 3. “That piece of popcorn under the couch is mine, no matter how long it takes.”

 Cat: In my house, there are a lot of popcorn eaters and often a piece or two will find its way under the couch. Once Perry sees a piece, he will not stop until he reaches it.

 Lesson: Don’t give up. If that piece of popcorn under the couch is your dream of publication, keep reaching for it. Sure, you will inevitably pull out a few pieces of lint and dirt along the way (rejections), but it will be worth it. Your hard work and dedication will make that piece of popcorn taste even better.

What has your cat taught you?

It’s often said that those with whom we have the most conflict, annoyance, and challenges are our greatest teachers. Those individuals who really just scratch at us for reasons we just can’t articulate only to realize a bit down the road–if we’re lucky–that what was really crazy-making was the reflection of our own weakness. Reflections are not the only source of learning and teachers as reflectors/deflectors are not the only teachers. We also come across those individuals who are boiling pots of karma and although avoiding those individuals is often the best choice there are also instances in which taking a detour is simply not an option. What to do when you find yourself pitched into another’s boiling pot of karma?

There’s a particular person in my life who fits this bill. For the sake of young innocents painfully and unwillingly embroiled in the wrath, I am desperately searching for ways to create peace in the pot and to protect us all from the violence. Negotiation is consistently rejected: emails are ignored, phone calls refused, and even in the midst of a face-to-face meeting the pot simply refuses to even look in my direction. I’ve tried japa, prayer, and meditation–and I do believe they’ve helped a bit–but the pot is still boiling and spitting at anyone or anything that steps near. I’ve tried, and I’m still trying, to cultivate compassion for the pot because it must MUST be suffering terrifically to produce such vitriol, such negativity, such violence. The pot’s energy is so filled with rage that a necessary phone call (even if I’m only in the room while another is conversing with the pot) causes my heart to pound thunderously as if it’s summoned all force to blow through my ribs and out of my body.

What to do? How to deal? What little practice can possibly tame this shrew?

Searching, I came across a podcast by Swami Tyagananda-ji about Karma Yoga. In it he says:

“We ought not to hate anyone. This world will always continue to be a mixture of good and evil. Our duty is to sympathize with the weak and to love even the wrongdoer. The world is a grand moral gymnasium, wherein we have all to take exercise so as to become stronger and stronger spiritually. So, eliminating hatred from the heart is one of the central practices of Karma Yoga.” (download the podcast here: Karma Yoga)

What happens when we experience muscle failure?

The exercise is to consistently practice to respond kindly, to make a relentless effort to forgive, to continue to cultivate compassion even in the midst of an attack. And, personally, I will fail but I will try and try more as long as it takes. However, the suffering that it most painful is that which is felt by the little ones and it just breaks my heart that karma knows no age. If I were to be struck by God embodied in a tremendous bolt of lighting I would hope to walk away burnt to such a Divine crisp that I could immolate the suffering of others–particularly the kids’.

I am practicing with full force to get struck with that bolt of pure love but I’d settle for the pot to stop its boiling.

Om eim klim Kali-ye svaha.

Hari Om tat sat.

Today I worked all day with my guys at Boston Health Care.  For those of you who don’t know, I work at a group home where I also reside.  Normally I work directly with the guys Monday-Friday from 6AM-9AM but today I filled in for the weekend staff. 

During the weekdays I am in such a rush to get these guys out of bed, showered, shaved, fed, medicated, etc. that I don’t have a lot of time to enjoy their company.  Today I did, and it was a beautiful day.  

I have the pleasure of working with four men–their ages range from late twenties to late fifties.  You know, I don’t think I have ever felt so completely accepted by someone as I do with these guys.  It doesn’t matter if I’m having a bad day or a good day, feeling optimistic or just plain “blah”–they accept me just as I am. 

I sense no judgment or even a desire to tweak my idiosyncracies.  I walk in the door, and they are happy to see me–always.  I guess that’s called unconditional love. 

I think I’ve always had the most unlikely teachers. 

Smoke gets in your eyes.