Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

Hold it loosely. Take the long view.

15 Comments

img_1623

When there’s enthusiasm for your book
before it meets the world,
hold it loosely.
When there’s only silence,
take the long view.

When your book gets great reviews,
hold it loosely.
When it feels like everything said is unkind,
take the long view.

When your book makes a splash,
hold it loosely,
When it’s quickly forgotten,
take the long view.

When your book makes lists or wins awards,
hold it loosely.
When your book has nothing
attached to its name,
take the long view.

When you receive praise
and are treated as someone special,
hold it loosely.
Don’t believe you’re any more important
than others doing the same hard work.
When you feel unnoticed,
Take the long view.
Don’t believe you’re any less important
than others doing the same hard work.

When you joyfully lose yourself in your writing,
when a reader connects with your story,
remember: this is the gift.

* A special thank you to Melanie Crowder, who recently reminded me of the importance of long view in the author’s life.

Why We Read

2 Comments

One of the great pleasures of reading, I think, is that each of us makes a subjective evaluation of each book we read. It is a powerful personal form of art. Moreover, our response to a book may differ according to the circumstance in which we read it. The book I read on a long flight may elicit a different reaction if read in the comfort of my reading chair. The book I loved when I was twelve is not necessarily the book I loved when fifty. But the love at each time is real. 
— Avi

Writing Links

3 Comments

Seth Godin writes about business, but I often find his ideas relate to writing, too.
Your Big Idea :: Seth Godin

“Craft tells us how we see the world.”
25 Essential Notes on Craft from Matthew Salesses :: LitHub

“Then there’s the reader’s experience of time—how the reader experiences the forward movement of the story…It’s like pacing, only from the perspective of the reader rather than the writer. That is, pacing is what the writer believes she’s doing; reader time is what the reader actually experiences. Kind of like the difference between cooking a meal and eating it.”
Character Time and Reader Time :: WriterUnboxed

The good old days!
Why You’re More Creative in Coffee Shops :: BBC

How every book begins: “You can’t be content with mastery; you have to push yourself to become a student again.”
Learning to Play the Fool :: Austin Kleon

“In my many seasons of terrible jealousies, the most wrenching occurred when I was in college, craving to get through and get on with my writing career. I watched a classmate achieve my dream. She published a novel, dazzled the literary world, and collected constant rave reviews. Every bookstore displayed towering mountains of her best seller.”
A Startling Remedy for Jealousy of Other Writers :: Read Write Thrive

Thanks to a young reader named Anna and her librarian friend, Carol, for bringing this one to my attention!
Writing for Theater and Film :: Theater Seat

Straight from the Source: Erica George on Writing Historical Fiction

2 Comments

Erica George is a writer of young adult fiction. She is a graduate of The College of New Jersey with degrees in both English and education, and is currently an MFA student at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She resides in scenic northern New Jersey, but spends her summers soaking up the salty sea air on Cape Cod. Many themes in Erica’s writing rotate around environmental activism and helping young people find their voice. When she’s not writing, you can find her exploring river towns, whale watching, or engrossed in quality British drama with her dog at her side.

What typically comes first for you: a character? An era? A story idea? How do you proceed from there?

I think that a character definitely comes first for me. For Words Composed of Sea and Sky, I knew that I wanted a contemporary poet on Cape Cod writing about someone from the past. I’ve always been fascinated by whaling (with complete and total disgust), and I thought it might be interesting to combine whaling with a mid 19th century poet, thus the relationship between Leta Townsend and Benjamin Churchill was born. Leta’s words are what matter most, and her discovery that she never needed to hide behind the name of a prominent male sea captain really is the arc of her story.

How do you conduct your research? 

Again, it all starts with the characters. First, I need to know what my historical characters must accomplish within their own stories. Once I know their storyline, I’m able to narrow down what historical elements I have to research. In the case of Leta, I was constantly researching the style of 19th century American poets. I researched the fashion of the 1860s. I needed to know what the etiquette was for people attending high society balls. For Ben, I did a lot of research about what it must have been like for a young man who spent his life whaling. I visited the houses (now museums) of actual whaling captains, I read books and firsthand accounts of whaling in the 19th century. I studied what whales frequented the shores of Cape Cod in the 1800s, and I’ve gone on more whale watches than I can count. I climbed the real Highland Light and learned about the life of lighthouse keepers. I think the more one can literally immerse themselves in the lives and history of their characters, the more authentic the story will be.

What kinds of sources do you use? The more specifics here, the better!

I start with the internet, just to get a surface level idea of what the time period I’m researching, or the specific elements being featured in the book. Once I know what I don’t know (which sounds funny, but it’s so true!), I can do a deeper dive into the research. At that point, I head to the library and take books out, or I find primary sources. One of my favorite sources I stumbled across was a reprint of a book written by a whaler to his son, describing his whaling journeys. Along with books, I love firsthand experiences. As I said earlier, visiting lighthouses and whaling captains’ houses across Cape Cod was instrumental in my research.

At what point do you feel comfortable beginning to draft? How does your research continue once you begin writing?

I’m a very dedicated plotter! I start by writing a very general synopsis of the book, then move on to outlining chapter by chapter. At this point, hardly anything is researched. I might leave myself notes within the outline in order to remind myself of what needs to be researched in order for the book to make sense. Once I know where the story is going, I begin drafting, again leaving myself notes throughout to remind myself during revisions what needs more detail or which facts I’m still uncertain of.

What is your favorite thing about research?

My favorite thing about research is stumbling upon a fact or a story that I didn’t expect! I go into the writing process with a general idea of how the book is going to go, but there are always bumps along the way. It’s one of the most exciting things to find a historical fact that alleviates a plot hiccup, creates an exciting twist, or helps a character complete their journey.

What’s your least favorite thing about research?

My least favorite thing is when I come across a topic that I can’t seem to find enough detail about. For example, there’s a ballroom scene in Words Composed of Sea and Sky, and I had no idea what the proper etiquette was for ladies and gentlemen at a ball in New England in the 1860s. There are plenty of online resources describing Victorian ballroom etiquette, but did that pertain to America or just England? I knew the rules to Regency ballroom etiquette, but were they the same some fifty years later? Probably not. At that point, I choose to include the details I’m certain about, knowing that ultimately, the reader is more interested in the story rather than every rule of the ball (I hope!).

On Writing

1 Comment

Having the chance to try and build another world and to occupy it, even if only for a little while, that’s a gift. It’s a challenge to become a photographer of whatever world it is that you’re attempting to recreate, irrespective of whether it’s one that you’ve lived in or maybe one that you’re not so intimate with. But it’s fun. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t do it.
— Bryan Washington

The Notebook Series: Over in the Wetlands

2 Comments

I keep a notebook for each book I write. I thought it might be fun to share some of those pages with readers through a series of posts. Today’s post, the second in the series, will focus on my first picture book, Over in the Wetlands.

In going through the notebook I kept for Wetlands (the same one I used for May B.), I was reminded it wasn’t my first attempt at loosely patterning a manuscript after the traditional Over in the Meadow rhyme. Before Over in the Wetlands came Over in the Bosque. (The bosque is a wooded area found along riverbeds in the southwestern part of the United States.) My manuscript focused on the Rio Grande Bosque, a cottonwood forest that runs from southern Santa Fe to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, a winter haven for sandhill cranes.

But I digress! That poor little manuscript never went anywhere, but it lead me to Wetlands, so it served its purpose.

As happens when I write a rhyming picture book, a lot of my notebook is devoted to rhyming words and patterns.

I have absolutely no idea why I thought the rhythm pattern I’ve written above was something that would work. That’s what a notebook is for — experimenting, playing, making lots of mistakes, and finally figuring it out!

I knew a hurricane played a key role in the story (I describe it as the book’s antagonist or “bad guy” when I go on school visits), but I wasn’t sure how to work the storm in. We had a new puppy while I was revising, and one night when she woke me up to be let out, the hurricane’s words came to me in a form that was much more direct and active than anything I’d tried before:

the hurricane stirs, the hurricane crawls.

It’s always interesting to me to see what early ideas make it into the final book — or how one idea inspires the next:

The bayous don’t wind in the final, but they do run. Where the mist creeps ’round became where the silky mist weaves. The cypress don’t stand but they rise.* Where the sun sinks red became where the stillness sighs, / turtles glide under ruby skies.

I really like where the moon rests low. It feels familiar and is a sentiment / image I’m partial to. Have I’ve used something like in another book I’ve published…? I don’t quite remember!

Read the post about May B. here.

*Where the cypress stand is a little joke. Get it?

Classroom Connections: Your Mama by NoNieqa Ramos

1 Comment

age range: 4-7 years
theme / form: a celebration of mothers and daughters; picture book
NoNieqa Ramos’s website

Please tell us about your book.

As a PB and YA author, the process of being reviewed can be an emotional roller coaster! When a review comes in that speaks to the heart of your project, you have to savor it and celebrate. I am so proud of my starred review from School Library Journal, and I will share what they had to say about my picture book debut, YOUR MAMA (April 6, 2021), here:

“In a glowing tribute to mothers, here is one hip parent who spends quality time with her child. Illustrated banners throughout the tale begin with the words “Your Mama” and continue with a description which is pictured on the pages, such as, “Your Mama So Sweet,” “Your Mama So Strong,” and “Your Mama So Funny.” The rhythmic text is lively while vibrant, detailed illustrations reveal the many activities mother and daughter share, such as baking, road trips, birthday parties, and singing along with the car radio. “She got friends at work, at church, around the ‘hood. Life is good.” English text with a smattering of Spanish words fit with the illustrations of a brown-skinned Latinx mother and young daughter. This mama brings verve to everything she does, whether sewing costumes for her child, attending Parents’ Night at school dressed in a flowing orange dress, or taking her girl to the library. With long, wavy black hair; large gold hoop earrings; and heeled knee-high boots decorated with red roses; this mama has as much energy as her child.

An essential purchase, this contemporary, high-spirited salute to motherhood is a warm and welcoming valentine to family and love.”

What inspired you to write this story?

I wanted to celebrate the relationship of mamas and their daughters, and in particular, shine a loving light on Latinx mamas and women who are severely underrepresented in literature and media. This picture book is a love letter from a Puerto Rican daughter to her mama, shouting out her mother’s sweetness, kindness, humor, resilience, and strength.

How can a teacher use your book in the classroom?

Brilliant illustrator Jacqueline Alcántara, our publisher Versify, and I collaborated to create an educator’s guide, which will be available on my website www.nonieqaramos.com in the coming weeks. This guide has a poetry lesson on writing rhythmic verse and a coloring page. Educators can center books like YOUR MAMA around Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and during Women’s History Month to discuss the powerful force mothers, and specifically Latinx women, have been in history, the arts, and music. Children can write their own  love letters and odes to their mamas, tias, abuelitas, madrinas, and any special woman in their lives. 

I’m an educator with over fifteen years of teaching experience, so I Iove getting back into the classroom! Teachers can invite me to their schools virtually to do book talks and writing workshops for all ages!

Who are some powerful women in the Latinx community you’d like to shout out?

I’d like to celebrate Aida Salazar, award-winning author of THE MOON WITHIN and LAND OF THE CRANES. She is one of the original creators of Las Musas, the first collective of women and nonbinary Latinx MG and YA authors to come together to support and amplify each other’s debut or sophomore novels in US children’s literature. Her arts activism includes her #PeriodAwareness and #PeriodJustice initiative for #WomansHerstoryMonth. Please follow @aida_writes and @latinxluna on Twitter and Instagram to decolonize and celebrate our wombs and our menstruations with stories and community. Check out Las Musas for a plethora of powerful Latinx leaders and creators https://www.lasmusasbooks.com/!

Quick Lit: Poetry Edition

7 Comments

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Shawn was zipped into a bag
and rolled away, his blood added
to the pavement galaxy of

bubblegum stars. The tape
framed it like it was art. And the next
day, kids would play mummy with it.

Will’s brother, Shawn, was murdered. Will’s certain he knows who did it, too. Will knows the rules: no crying, no snitching, you better seek revenge. He steps into an elevator, ready to find his brother’s killer, but the one-minute ride changes everything.

A Newbery Honor Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, a Printz Honor Book, a National Book Award finalist, the winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award, an Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction, the Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner, just to name a few.

This book is gut-wrenching masterpiece. Perfect down to the very last (unforgettable) words.

This Poem Is a Nest by Irene Latham

What Hope Is

a cup
of stars

Irene Latham has taken the concept of found poems and put her own spin on it: She’s written a poem she calls a Nest and then has created Nestlings from it — poems whose words all started in the original poem.

One of the things I love about poetry is its limitation and how that limitation creates so much opportunity. You can see that right here in what Irene’s done. There’s great backmatter to walk teachers, students, and aspiring poets through creating their own Nestlings, too. A Kirkus Reviews Best Book, an NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Notable Poetry Book.

I adore Irene. She is a talent and a generous soul, and I feel like she’s out there doing bookish things no one else is. If you haven’t read Irene’s work, please remedy that now!

New and Selected Poems, Volume One by Mary Oliver

The water, that circle of shattered glass,
healed itself with a slow whisper

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I’ve committed to reading poetry every night this year, and I started with New and Selected Poems. It’s got the poems most of us think of when we think of Mary Oliver — “When Death Comes,” “The Summer Day,” and “Wild Geese” (or at least the poems I think of!) and many more that were new to me. I love her reverence for nature and keen observation on what it means to be a person. Little lines jumped out at me, like these:

how the mind clings to the roads it knows, rushing
through crossroads, sticking

like lint to the familiar.

and

Who ever made music of a mild day?

Alone by Megan E. Freeman

When last year I learned a middle-grade verse novel about a girl surviving on her own was releasing in 2021, I immediately hunted down the details and contacted the book’s author, Megan E. Freeman. I had to have her on the blog! Regular readers here will remember her post from February.

Thirteen-year-old Maddie wakes up to discover the rest of her town has been evacuated in the night, and she’s been left to fend for herself. Certain the others will soon return, Maddie copes with caring for herself, faces numerous disasters and challenges, and clings to hope, trying to make sense of her “wild and precious life” (there’s that Mary Oliver again).

Could my life be any wilder?
Or more precious?

Thought provoking and courageous.

I wrote a book. I love it.

20 Comments

In January I was two poems in on a verse novel I’d started the September before. I knew I had some time to play before my second-round edits for Miraculous came. There was research to do and a story to find. I took it day by day.

The writing felt like coming home. Oh, yes. I had my hangup moments, but mainly it was joy.

And guess what? The draft is done. I finished near the end of March. I’ve never written a novel this fast or squeezed out an entirely new book between edit rounds. Friends, I’m so excited about this book! It’s a middle-grade historical verse novel I’m calling Fire Finder.

More (I hope!) soon…