Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

The Notebook Series: Blue Birds

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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 third in the series, will focus on my second verse novel, Blue Birds.

Twenty years before Jamestown, another English settlement tried to take root in Virginia and failed. This colony of 117 men, women, and children, started on Roanoke island, 150 miles southeast of Jamestown. All we know about the colony and its inhabitants took place over a five-week period in the summer of 1587. 

The colonists had been promised land in the Chesapeake Bay, perhaps not far from the place that eventually became Jamestown. But throughout the voyage, their leader, Governor John White, fought constantly with ship captain Simon Ferdinando. By the time they arrived in Virginia, Ferdinando was done. He left the colonists at Roanoke, refusing to take them any farther.

This was not the first time the English had visited Roanoke. Explorers had come to the island in 1584, and interactions with the Native population had been positive then. But by the time the colonists arrived in 1587, the English were no longer welcome. Those intervening years included the burning of a Native village because of a missing silver cup, the Roanoke’s growing frustration as English soldiers who’d built a fort on their island insisted the tribe provide for them, and English diseases that decimated many of the Native peoples. Then escalating mistrust between the Roanoke and English led to English leader Ralph Lane’s pre-emptive attack on the tribe, killing Wingina, the Roanoke chief. When, days later, the English left, they knew there was no chance at reconciliation.

The colonists who arrived in 1587 knew nothing of those intervening years. The stage was set for tragedy, and tragic things happened on both sides. I wanted to show this historical truth in Blue Birds, but I also wanted to breathe into the history my own version of hope: Two imaginary girls (Alis, who is English, and Kimi, who is Roanoke) destined to be enemies but choosing friendship instead.

17 English women and 11 boys made the journey to Roanoke. No young girls where on the 1587 manifest. But with both the Dare and Harvie families having babies a few days apart, adding Alis to the Harvie family felt practical. She could serve as a nursemaid to both children.

This was an interesting discovering. Early attempts at a poem in Kimi’s voice…

…and its final form in the book.

The poems in Blue Birds are narrated three ways — poems only in Alis’s point of view, poems only from Kimi’s point of view, and poems told in both girls’ voices. As the book progressed and changed, I made a number of “quilt charts” to help me see how that narration played out. Notice the book’s early name was Secret Sharer, a title I’m still partial to.

A silly aside: Of all my books, none has influenced my office space more than Blue Birds! Below is a piece of fabric I drape over a chair the dog likes to lounge in.

Read the post about May B. here.
Read about Over in the Wetlands here.

Classroom Connections: Ten Thousand Tries by Amy Makechnie

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age range: 8-12 years
genre / topics: contemporary fiction; soccer, family illness (ALS)
Amy Makechnie’s website

A heart-tugging and uplifting story about never giving up—on the soccer field, on loved ones, and on life.
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Please tell us about your book.

GOLDEN “Macaroni” Maroni is determined to become master of his eighth grade universe by channeling his hero: international soccer superstar, Lionel Messi. But first he’s got to survive middle school, win the soccer championship, and prevent Lucy Littlehouse from moving away. If he can do that, then maybe he can prevent Dad from losing to the three worst letters in the alphabet: A-L-S. Golden’s going to make it happen – even if it takes Ten Thousand Tries!

What inspired you to write this story?

My son, who in 8th grade, wanted TO BE Lionel Messi more than anything in the world. Like Messi, he was small. He was also incredibly determined to be bigger, stronger, and faster – characteristics that unfortunately have a tremendous impact on a boy’s middle school experience. At the same time, another teammate of my son’s had a father (Eric) recently diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.) As the boys were trying to be “the man,” we were also watching a father become smaller, weaker, and slower. It really made me think about societal “ideals” and what the most important things in life really are (not our bench press stats).

Could you share with readers how you conducted your research or share a few interesting tidbits you learned while researching?

Eric was a really good friend of mine. Before he had full-time and more qualified nursing care, friends would take turns “watching” and caring for Eric. We made smoothies, held the straw to his lips, took walks (he controlled the wheelchair with his thumb), talked about life, played board games. I watched Eric go from being a really athletic, strong man, to sitting in a wheelchair and not being able to move anything except his eyelids. It was both devastating and one of the most holy experiences of my life. I remember saying, “Someday, I’d like to write about this.” Eric was able to haltingly say, “thank – you.”

What were some special challenges associated with writing Ten Thousand Tries?

I definitely wanted to “get it right” on many fronts. For one thing, I was writing from a middle school boy’s perspective! My son helped me a lot (“no mom, you can’t say that.”) In the book, one of Golden’s best friends is Asian, and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t just there as the token sidekick with nothing else to offer. His name is Benny and I LOVE Benny. The experience of living with ALS needed to be accurate. I teach Anatomy and Physiology, so that helped with the science, but I also had Eric’s wife, Heide, read the final manuscript. And of course, I didn’t want this to be too sad! So while I couldn’t treat the subject of an incurable disease lightly, I also had to find a way to bring in the humor and silver linings – and there are so many. Middle school humor is the best, so crossing my fingers I’ve done right by my middle school peeps.

What topics does your book touch upon that would make it a perfect fit for the classroom?

Educators can use this book to talk about what it means to be a good teammate, both on the field and off — in our families and friendships. Ten Thousand Tries is being released in July 2021 to coincide with the Olympics (MESSI!) and the start of fall sports. This could lead to great conversations about athletics, who our heroes are, and why. Teachers could use this book (and Guinevere 🙂 to introduce medicine into their classroom, particularly from a brain perspective. Who knows, maybe it will inspire a student to be the one to finally find the cure to ALS, a disease that 5,000 people will be diagnosed with this year in the U.S.

Thanks for reading!

Thank you, Amy. I’m looking forward to it.

On Writing

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One is improvising when one writes, and you pick up in the same way a musician starts to improvise and detect the inner structure of what he’s playing — that’s the way it works in the writing of a novel. You pick up the beat.
— Robert Stone

Quick Lit: What I’ve Been Reading Lately

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The Removed by Brandon Hobson

This is a book I borrowed from my neighbor. The author teaches writing at New Mexico State — I had no idea! Told from four different points of view (three family members and one ancestor), the story centers on a Cherokee family in the days before they plan to commemorate the anniversary of the death of one son, a date that corresponds with the Cherokee National Holiday (which marks the signing of the Cherokee Nation Constitution of 1839). Ernest, the father, has been suffering from Alzheimer’s, but his condition (miraculously? coincidentally?) improves as the family cares for a young man in foster care — a boy who uncannily reminds both parents of the son they lost.

What is real? What is imagined or hoped for? What is part of the physical world? What is part of the spiritual? I had no idea where this book was headed and found it really fascinating.

All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker

A week after Olympia’s dad disappears, her mom takes to her bed and doesn’t get out again. Ollie’s dad has left a mysterious note under the orange juice jug in the fridge, saying he has something important he needs to do and that Ollie should destroy the note immediately. Where has her father gone? What is the secret her dad’s art-restoring partner is keeping? Who is the mysterious man that keeps calling the studio? And what is Ollie supposed to do with a missing father and practically absent mother?

This book is written so beautifully, I tagged multiple pages of quotes to keep in my ongoing list of Good Writing Examples. It also deals compassionately with a parent’s depression. The 1981 New York setting tinged with mystery made me think of Harriet the Spy (probably because 1981 was around the time I would have read that book). The art restoration made me think of Robertson Davies’ What’s Bred in the Bone. I especially loved the tender relationship between Ollie and Apollo, her dad’s business partner. Recommended!

Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life by Susan David

I put this book in my library’s Overdrive queue after listening to a podcast where psychologist Susan David spoke about “toxic positivity,” the push to avoid hard emotions that we sometimes place on ourselves and others. David believes we should examine our anger, fear, and sadness and try to understand what those emotions are telling us rather than pushing them away or getting stuck in an overwhelming brooding cycle (me!). It’s in facing our difficult emotions and experiences with curiosity and compassion that we can live most fully.

I appreciated the literary connections David made to our life experiences. She described some typical thought patterns as unreliable narrators (so helpful!) and paralleled facing our flaws and weaknesses to the journey any character must undergo for growth and change (and, let’s face it, for a story to really take place). This book should be required reading for every human being!

Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett

This intense, heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful, beautifully written memoir reminded me a lot of Educated. It opens at Synanon, a one-time rehab center turned cult where children are taken from their parents at six months to be raised as Children of the Universe. Mikel’s mother leaves Synanon when Mikel is five and his brother Tony is seven, taking the children with her. Much of the story is Mikel’s attempt to understand family and his place in the world. It’s not an easy read. There’s addiction and emotional abuse and family patterns that are hard to break, but there is triumph, too. Mikel finds his home and his healing through music. (Writers will appreciate how he talks about the creative process. I especially connected with the idea that music is given away to the audience and no longer belongs to the artist.) He’s a few months younger than I am, meaning all his cultural references were completely familiar. I’ve thought about this one for days after finishing.

Hold it loosely. Take the long view.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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