Category Archives: Inspiration

Happy 2014!

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fireworks

Happy New Year! It’s that time again – a time for resolutions, new goals, a fresh start… whatever gets you excited to take on 2014. Whatever the new year means to you, I hope you make the most of it.

I’m not a believer in resolutions, or unrealistic goals that set me up to fail. I try to set 5 to 10 do-able goals for the year in 4 main categories: Me, Family, Writing, and Projects.

I have goals related to running (part of the “Me” category),  things I’d like to teach my kids, projects I’d like to try, and ensuring I make time for adult fiction reading and some writing craft books.

My big goals this year are related to writing. I really want this to be the “Year of the Agent.” (Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it?) My first novel is just a few hours away from being ready to send out for consideration. Watch out agents, here comes Amelia’s story! I also have some new ideas for my picture book manuscripts, so I’ll keep working on and submitting those.

What are your goals for 2014?

Thank you to all of you who have read our blog in 2013. We hope to keep posting interesting thoughts and information about the world of reading and writing. Best wishes to each of you for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2014!

Tomatoes, and beans, and cukes, oh my!

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Late August and early September has become one of my favorite times in the last few years. Yes, I’m happy to see my children off to school, but that’s a post for another time. I really enjoy this time because my garden is in full bloom.

Historically, I have not been good with plants. Okay, I’ve been downright awful. People would hesitantly give me houseplants, knowing they would likely never see them again. I am well aware of my black thumb reputation, but I decided a few years ago that gardening would be the perfect challenge for me. I could attempt to learn more about gardening, put it into practice, and try to turn something I was really bad at into something I was good at (or at least marginal).

I went to gardening seminars at the library, I read books on Square Foot Gardening, and I made a plan. I started out with a small 3 foot by 3 foot raised bed garden next to my house so that I was sure to notice each day if it was being neglected. That first year, I grew some lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs. Not bad for my first try – what I did grow was quite tasty and fresh.

Over several years, I built more planting beds, and tried more vegetables. Some worked, and some didn’t. I made it a group project, recruiting my kids to plant seeds, water plants, and harvest vegetables. We tried growing small watermelons one year, but they never got red. We planted a small group of new potatoes, and ended up with a bumper crop. So this year, we planted a whole box of potatoes!

The Cullinan Garden

It’s amazing to me how much vegetables can grow in one day. Each afternoon I check the garden, and new surprises are waiting for me. Eggplants have turned from buds to little shiny purple orbs. Tomatoes have turned from pale yellow to bright red. Long, fat green beans have grown ready to eat seemingly overnight.

Today I noticed that a few vegetables I planted next to each other have decided to grow intertwined with each other. Cherry tomatoes have grown to the left, super saucer tomatoes have grown to the right, and the pole beans in the middle are giving all of the tomatoes a loving hug, holding everything up along the trellis. I could try to separate them, but what’s the point? They seem to be quite happy.

So whether you grow vegetables, or flowers, or just try to keep up with the grass in your yard, enjoy these last weeks of sun and green before the cool colors of fall arrive. And if you are so inclined, intertwine your life with someone else’s (even if it’s just a hug or a show of support). You’ll be so much happier for it.

Thanks for allowing me this diversion. I’m hoping the lessons of my garden find their way into my writing. I’m hoping for a fruitful writing harvest soon!

Is Bigger Really Better?

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We live in a super-sized world. We innately believe (with a little product marketing help) that things are better when they are bigger, taller, more extensive, or more expensive.

But that’s not always the case. The Harry Potter books aren’t great just because they are long. To be great, they also have to be engaging, creative, and suspenseful. For a book to be superlative for you and other readers, it has to connect with you, regardless of how many pages it is. Do you remember special books that you loved, and read over and over again? I’m sure they had many characteristics in common, but I bet page count was not one of them.

I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when planning a trip to the zoo with my kids. I had originally planned to take them to the Bronx Zoo, which is a full day trip for us and isn’t cheap. It’s a wonderful zoo, and we have loved all of our other visits. But due to the threat of rain, I decided we would try our state zoo instead.

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It is much smaller than the Bronx Zoo, but it was perfect for that day and this time in my children’s young lives. We explored the whole zoo in 2-1/2 hours, seeing plenty of exciting animals including tigers, alligators, and a little bird who wanted us to take him home. It was surprisingly fun, and just the right size for two young kids and one tired mommy. It was a quality zoo, regardless of its size. And we connected with it, going back to see the tigers (our favorite) again and again.

We’ll certainly be back to the Bronx Zoo again some time, but I’m glad there’s also a place for the smaller, charming, quality experience.

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What’s the Rush?

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Earlier this week I read an article by Rachel Macy Stafford which really struck a chord with me.

In the article she talks about an “aha moment” where she realized what she was missing by rushing through her day, moving from one thing to the next on her list.

I love being busy. I love the feeling of falling into bed at night feeling accomplished and bodily tired from the efforts of the day. My husband and I have spent the last 9 years renovating our 1975 Colonial home, so there have been many weekends and week nights full of planting, weeding, painting, hammering, tiling, and framing.

However, it is a daily struggle to balance spending time with my family, reading, writing, time for what needs to be done, and time for myself. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.

This article reminded me as summer winds downs to take advantage of every moment. To enjoy my children at this age. To feel the wonder of harvesting vegetables from my garden. To be open to the experiences that may never come again.

Those are the things that will drive my writing- not the loads of laundry and the dust piling up on my furniture. The chores and errands still need to get done, but they will certainly be here tomorrow.

Water, Water, Everywhere…

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During the summer months, my children enjoy exploring theme weeks. We plan some activities and at least one adventure around topics they are interested in. This summer, we are learning about different parts of Earth and space. We had a packed week along with some family friends learning about space: learning each of the planets (I still say Pluto is a regular planet, darn it), making rocket snacks, putting on alien temporary tattoos, and producing a space movie. This week we’ve been learning about the oceans.

Earlier in the week, we joined some friends at a local beach on a lake. It was lovely – much sandier than most lake beaches I’ve been to. The kids and I talked about how a lake is different than an ocean: salt water, tides, waves, etc.

Beach

Today we visited the real thing – the ocean. The kids were beside themselves with excitement. We spent the morning playing in the waves, making sand castles, and generally getting sand everywhere a body can hide it.

On the drive back, as I peeked at my two sleeping angels (As hyper as they are, they really do look like angels when they’re asleep. That is, if angels snore.), I thought about our adventures for the week.

So here’s the metaphor for this week: writing stories can be like water. Fundamentally, it is still water wherever you find it, but it feels different depending on what form it takes. Your story might be a picture book, or a middle grade novel, or a short story, but in each of these forms the story feels different, as the ocean feels different than a lake.

My first middle grade novel has just finished a big revision cycle, and once Joanna can read it, it’s off to some agents. Let’s hope some lucky agent likes oceans as much as I do.

Writing From the Heart

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This summer, amongst the nature hikes, bike riding, dips in the pool, and visits to the museum, my son and I are working on his writing skills. Last summer we worked on reading. We read together over and over – fiction, non-fiction, adventure, science, humor – until it clicked. One day, he started to love reading. He felt proud of his ability to read by himself. Not without challenging words here and there, but it was FUN.writing

This summer, I’m hoping for a similar aha moment. We’ve done journalling about the week’s adventures, but no excitement so far there. Now we’re trying letter writing.

Aidan gets to choose who he writes his letter to. Last week he chose Grandma and Pa. He could write whatever he wanted. So he wrote:

Dear Grandma and Pa-

I love my family, and I love you.

Love, Aidan

It was short certainly, but very sweet. No mixed messages or confused syntax there. Just “here’s how I feel.”

It remains to be seen if this will get him excited about writing. We’ll see how he does on his next letter. It does, however, inspire me to write a little today. Not for any direct purpose, but just to write. How I feel today. What I’m thinking.

I won’t be mailing it off to Grandma and Pa, but maybe knowing it’s really not going anywhere will make me more uninhibited.

Take a few minutes on this hot summer day to write. A poem, a story, a few lines. You might be surprised what’s on your mind. And where it takes you.

Fast or Slow?

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BMW

Photo by Katie Cullinan

Often, while out running errands, a car races past me and others, weaving in and out of traffic. I shake my head, secretly hoping he or she gets pulled over (especially if they drive down the shoulder!). Sometimes, right after this car zooms past me, traffic ahead slows down to a stop. I pull up right behind Mr. Speed Racer. So what did all that racing around accomplish?

On the other hand, I sometimes I end up behind slow cars, who seem to take forever to get where they are going.

There are risks and potential payoffs for both approaches. If you drive fast, you may get to your destination quicker. However, you run the risk of causing an accident, and possibly hurting yourself and others. If you drive slow, it will take longer to get to where you’re going, and you might be late, but you increase the chances of getting there safely.

Let’s extend this metaphor to writing (novels in particular). What is the right speed to write a novel? If you write extremely fast, you may finish your first draft quicker, but the risk is higher that the novel crashes and burns from unfocused sloppy narrative or plot. Writing very fast also only works when there are no barriers (like the traffic stopping unexpectedly). When was the last time you experienced no barriers in your writing (or anything else, for that matter)?

Writing slowly means taking much longer to finish your novel. You will delay the satisfaction of completing the manuscript, and you could possibly lose momentum.

Neither approach is ideal. I think I’ll write as a slightly sporty sedan. Maybe with a convertible top for when I’m feeling daring. I will take a moderate pace, and keep moving. I’ll save speed for those sunny days when a revision cycle is ending- just grammar and logistical cleanups. Then I can take my novel for a spin. By then, I’ll have travelled the route many times. I know it well.

Purity

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They are beautiful gems, shining for a brief moment before dimming in the reality of life. They are rare, and transient, and precious. They are pure moments – moments unclouded by opinion, or rhetoric, or worries. They are the moments when time stops, and the wonder of nature and life take your breath away.

I have experienced some of these moments before, so I know they exist. But life hasn’t been quiet enough for a while for me to be open to one. I yearn for just a few minutes where life is quiet down to my soul. Where I can look at the sky, and remind myself of my small (and hopefully meaningful) place in the universe.

Sometimes I feel ungrateful wishing for such things. The noise in my life is often due to children’s songs or requests for more pushes on the swing. Honestly, there are many more annoying and stressful moments, but we won’t linger on those here.

Strawberries

This week, I caught a glimpse of a pure moment riding back from the strawberry fields on the bumping “Berry Ferry.” My kids and I were slick with sweat, covered in hay and dirt. And we were each grinning ear to ear, reveling in the feeling of accomplishment after picking two overflowing boxes of rich, ripe, perfect berries.

I close my eyes now as I think of it, hoping for the mental “click” as I attempt to imprint the memory on my brain.

These moments come rarely – not because they don’t exist, but because the reality of life is too loud. The news, the chores, the responsibilities, the traffic, the things we hate to do but must… it all intrudes. And when do catch a pure moment, like a butterfly on our hand, it doesn’t last long enough. I suppose that’s what makes them so precious and valuable.

Catching some pure moments is on my must-do list for this summer. They help to feed my soul, and my writing. I hope you can pause to find some of your own.

The Music of Life

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I’m sure each of us has a personal philosophy about music and its ability to enhance or detract from an experience. Film critics often discuss how a movie soundtrack either elevates or destroys the feeling of a film. Some people would not have gotten through college without some rock and roll in the background, while others preferred the silence of the library.

For me, different situations require different musical support. When I clean my house (which I detest), I play some music from my “Upbeat and Fun” playlist. And I play it loud. It seems to give me a little hop in my step as I wipe the same counters and wash the same floors, week after week. Extra bonus if my kids pop into the kitchen for an impromptu dance party.

When I am writing a first draft, I prefer to write in relative silence. No external distractions to take me away from the getting those thoughts out of my head and onto the page, as quick as possible. When I’m writing this blog, I do have a little wiggle room- not music exactly, but right now the swish of the dishwasher is proving to be quite soothing.

I was always the silent studier- probably because I know that I am easily distracted and I need to actively work to be focused. So it surprised me to find that there is some room for music when I write. Not in my first draft, granted, but during revision.

You may have read on this blog about my second middle grade novel work in progress – it is a time travel story set mostly in 1983. At one point in revising and expanding the story, I got stuck. So I put on some 80’s music for inspiration. And it worked! Many memories of my own experiences in the 80’s came back to me, and I had fun adding lots of vivid details to the story. Who knows if they’ll all make it to the final version, but it should be a more realistic and fun story.

This past week, music proved a happy little accident. I had made revision mark-ups to my first novel, and was sitting at the computer in the kitchen in the evening entering them. And my husband fell asleep in his chair in the next room. And snored. Loudly (sorry for giving up your secret, dear). So I put on my headphones and played some Justin Timberlake and Brian Setzer Orchestra to drown him out. Before I knew it, it was 11 PM and all my revisions were done. Yay!

So whatever part music plays in your daily life – inspiration, cheerleader, soul-soother – make sure to turn it on. Whenever the mood strikes you. And have fun!

Tending to Your “Flowers”

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I was working in my yard, tending my planting beds and garden recently, when a metaphor came to mind. Just like gardens, writing needs tending. Irises

My planting beds of flowers and plants, are like my writing craft. It requires a lot of work to establish the beds, giving them a strong beginning. I place landscape fabric down to decrease the amount of weeds that creep in. To make sure my plants are healthy, I refresh their mulch, prune the dead branches, and weed them occasionally. My writing craft needs refreshing too. I take a few courses and workshops each year to learn new skills.  I read writing blogs, and I check in frequently with my critique partner. Chatting with Joanna really helps me identify the good “plants” to keep, and what parts are the “weeds.”

My vegetable garden is like my writing work. Based on past successes with raised-bed gardening, I decided to significantly expand my vegetable garden with a new 12 x 12 foot fenced-in area at a sunny spot at the back of my property. I also wrote two more novel manuscripts this year to add to my works in process. Both need my ongoing care and nurturing if I want to see them bear fruit this year. I’m crossing my fingers for tasty sweet corn and huge tomatoes for making sauce (and an agent, if I’m lucky!)

What this all reminds me is that both plants and writing require regular maintenance and nurturing. Just as I find time each night to water my plants, I need to ensure I making time to continue working on my manuscripts. Perhaps then both will bloom!