Research

I am beginning research on my Lorenzo Snow book. I just love reading and doing research. I love the library, the smell of old books and digging through them to find what I need. I'm always on the lookout for human interest stories in old manuscripts. When you find somebody that had a spiritual experience or found a connection with the past of some kind, etc. One that comes to mind in the Wilford Woodruff book is this: When Wilford was young he read the Bible often. He always prayed that he could see a prophet like the ones in the ancient script. Then when he was 90 there was a meeting in the Tabernacle of all the Sunday School children. They were about the age he was when he prayed to meet a prophet. As he spoke to them, his voice caught and he had tears in his eyes. He told them of his childhood wish. And now he was the prophet speaking to all of them. It was a great moment in his life. Finding incidents like this makes all the reading, time and research worth it. Why? Because you get a little glimpse inside the soul of the person you're writing about--in this case, the prophet. Happy writing and happy research. Christy

It's a Great Time to Bloom

I love this time of year. The weather is changeable, but on a day like today, I feel powerful. The sun is shining, there's not a cloud in the sky, and pretty things are popping open all over the place. If flowers can bloom, why can't I?

It's a perfect day for a bike ride, and then I will come home and pack for three days at LDS Storymakers Conference. What could be better, spring and a great writer's retreat.

There will be a tempting assortment of wonderful classes, starting with a rare treat. A small group of picture book writers will get to spend a few hours with the Incredible Rick Walton.  The four of us have already spend a few weeks critiqueing with him, and now comes dessert. I can't wait to meet him.

On Friday I will be timekeeper for Molly O'Neil, an editor for Katherine Tegan Books, an imprint of Harper Collins. She will be doing pitch sessions at the conference, and Lucky Me, I have one of the pitch spots. Finger crossed. I have spent a lot of time trying to decide which manuscript to take. I'm taking more than one, just in case.
 
I'll also get to meet old friends, make new friends, and sample the workshops. It's a smorgasboard. I know I'll come home with new ideas. No wonder I'm feeling powerful. It's a great time to bloom.

Linda Garner

Sharing Happiness

Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste. Charlotte Brontë I love this quote. I've been thinking a lot about journaling lately because my prophet books help kids learn to journal. I have all the journals of my great grandfather--and there are about 10 or 12 of them. They were written in the late 1800, and I love having them in my posession because they give me a connection to him. However, most all the entires are: "Went to collect for the Deseret News today." "Plowed the west lot today." "Delivered new seed catalogues." This information gives us some insight into his daily life, but I don't really know his soul. I don't write daily in my journal, but when I do I try to share my soul because I know those who follow me will come to understand who I am. Wilford Woodruff said that a journal is more precious than gold. I love this quote because I think it's true. My great grandfather's journals are more precious than gold to me, and I love them just as they are, but sometimes I wish for more. May we come to know how to share who we are with others through our writing. I try to do that weekly. Sometimes I'm not that faithful, but I try. Happy journaling! Christy

Why Not Today?

I visited an old friend this week. We haven't connected for a while.

There was no awkwardness. We embraced. The hug was long and meaningful. It told me that she had missed me as much as I had missed her.

We need each other. People need connections. We get caught up in the daily grind and we forget about each other. We lose touch. We don't always realize that something is missing. Life goes on.

Hold on to your connections. Make them sweet and lasting. Keep them strong. Tend relationships. Time trudges on. Opportunity evaporates. Desire dissolves. Memories melt.

Is there someone you haven't connected with lately. Do you need to mend a torn relationship, or just make the time to reconnect.

Time is never found. It is created. Things can change so quickly. A move, and illness, an accident could alter your reality, or someone elses. Someone you care about. Don't wait too long. Why not today?

Linda Garner

Pear and Pictures I love to watch my children and grandchildren interact with each other. It’s fun to sit back at a family gathering and watch relationships form and strengthen. I’ve been thinking about this because of two incidents that brought it to mind this week. My mother has a wonderful pear tree that bears the most delicious fruit. When her grandchildren were little, they loved to eat the pears fresh in the fall. Now the grandchildren are grown and have children of their own, and they live from the east coast to the west and many places in between. They still talk about Grandma’s pears and how much fun they had picking and eating them. Mother and I decided several years ago, when the kids were complaining about not being there for pear harvest, that we could still continue the tradition. Mother and I now pick the pears and slice them onto the fruit dryer. In a few hours they are ready to mail. I send them to all parts of the country, and in the next several days everyone calls up to say they are sitting on the sofa eating dried pears and loving them. (Everyone, except the missionary in southern Argentina. He didn’t get them yet.) Everybody loves the pears, but more than that, they love the connection with their grandmother. Our daughter has been scanning the old slides and downloading them onto an internet site so they are available to all the family. She put some of the pictures of extended family gatherings on Facebook and let the relatives know they were there. The cousins have had a good reminiscing about old times and catching up on family news. I know some of them haven’t talked since the last family reunion a couple of years ago. Did you ever think Facebook would be a blessing in your life? I didn’t, but I do now. Pears and pictures have brought us closer together. Think of some of the connecting catalysts in your own family. Share your suggestions

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

Spring break is over. So are all the dentist appointments (Hooray! I'm grateful for you dentist...but still).

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things (eating healthy, overcoming the monstrous laundry mountain, waking up on time...things like that).

But I am also drafting a new book! (Yay drafting!) But to be honest, it is so much harder than the last book I drafted. I don't know if I'm stuck in revision mode or what!

So I'm setting myself some little goals to get to. (I had a big one, but I decided I couldn't draft a whole book in two days. Just so not realistic.)

What about you guys? What do you do when you switch from revision to drafting? Do you have any tricks to pass along?

Okay, now back to drafting! *whipcrack*

Good luck with the writing/cleaning/living this week! Woohoo!

Rhyme and Reason

I enjoy writing in rhyme, but it can be tricky. There's nothing worse than bad rhyme. Okay, there are a lot of things worse than bad rhyme, but bad rhyme really stinks.

Avoid near ryhmes.

For example:

I try to sleep
but sleep won't come.
I wiggle my elbows.
I wiggle my thumbs.

Thumbs almost rhymes with come, but not quite.

Avoid forced rhyme. Forced rhyme uses words that sound right but don't fit the context of the piece. It sounds contrived.

For example:

My legs won’t behave,
Though I tuck them in.
They fling and flop
and it makes me spin.

Spin rhymes, but it doesn't add much to the piece.


It's also best to avoid rhymes that don't match the way we talk.

I wanted to sleep
In a tall oak tree.
My mom fixed that.
"No" said She.

I got my rhyme, but it doesn't sound good, because it's not the way we talk.

Rhythm and meter and stresses also play a big part, and that's what makes the process so complex.

There are rules about these things, but I think the best test is how does it sound when you read it out loud. If it sounds right, it's a good sign. You need to listen to other people read your stuff, because you know how it is supposed to sound. You can make it sound right. How does it sound when someone with no prejudices reads it.

I'm working on a rhyming piece with some really classy ladies, and one talented gentleman. It's eye opening. My hardest task was to deal with rhyming words that didn't stress the right syllable.

For example:

It works for giraffes
but not for me.
Sleeping animal style
is not easy.

Easy rhymes with me, but the stress in on the first syllable instead of the rhyming syllable.

Next I tried:

It works for giraffes
but not for me.
Sleeping animal style
is no guarantee.

The rhyme works better, but guarantee is not really a kid-friendly word.

I'm still stuck on this one. Nothing seems to work. If you have an idea, please send it along. Maybe your idea is the one I'm looking for.

Linda Garner