Writing Process Blog Tour --- Tam

It is my turn on the Writing Process Blog Tour!  Deep thanks go to Kelly Bennett for asking me to participate. Kelly's answers to these questions are on her blog—be sure to check them out!  And here are mine…

What am I currently working on?

I am in the process of revising a middle grade novel titled Marble Boys, a story about two ten year old boys who have experienced tragedy in their respective lives—one in New Orleans and one in rural Vermont—and how they end up becoming friends and helping each other heal.  This book was just bought by Schwartz and Wade and will be published in August 2015.

I am also working on two picture books. One is about to go out on submission and I am revising the other one.  I like having both novels and picture books in process—I do well moving from one to the other.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Hmmm…I'm not sure how my work differs from others in their genres, but I can tell you that no matter what I am working on—picture books or middle grade or essays, even—I am exploring connections: the ways people connect (especially when they don't think they do), the ways they connect to the landscape, the ways they connect to their own selves.  It is true that most (maybe all) of my work has a touch of magic realism in it too.  My work is character-driven, contemporary, and full of hope.  And, finally, I am most compelled by multiple points of view (see my love of connection above) and often write from the hearts and heads of a few characters.

Why do I write what I write?

I love middle grade novels and picture books.  I just love them.  That middle grade time of life is so full of transparency it makes my heart ache.  With sadness sometimes but, most often, with joy.  Watching ten, eleven and twelve year old kids find themselves is a privilege—and getting to write about them is too.  I suppose I love the picture book crowd for the same reasons, actually—honesty and emotion—but also because they just feel like they own the stories that they read, they truly feel like they are in them, and they are! 

I write what I write because I believe in those kids.  I write what I write because I want to connect with those kids.  I write what I write because creating those stories makes me infinitely happy.

How does my individual writing process work?

Man oh man…this has changed over the years.  For a while I wrote painstakingly slowly, writing my stories in order—beginning middle and end—stopping and waiting when I would get stuck, and then starting again.  And then jumping into a revision and writing and imagining it and writing it all at the same time.  I have evolved from that process though. (Which is not to say that it is a bad process, but it doesn't work so well for me anymore.)  Now I write whatever scenes inspire me, in any order.  Often that is still page 1 followed by page 2, chapter 3 followed by chapter 4—but not always.  If I get a burning idea for the climax, I will write it.  If I know the ending, I will write it.  Then once I have a rough draft, I will do some outlining and character development.  I will try to take a break from the story too at this point.  (And work on a picture book or two!  Those are shorter processes, of course.  In terms of getting the story told, not in terms of getting the story right!)  I just learned a great exercise, which consists of telling my story to someone who doesn't know it well, and then listening to that person's reactions, confusions, ideas and questions.  I have also just learned how to plan my revision before diving into it. 

Let's see.  I work best in the morning.  I work best at On The Rise Bakery, my local restaurant/community center at the end of my block—preferably with a mocha latte on the table!

Truth be told though, I am still learning about my process.  So stay tuned!

And who’s next? 

I’m tagging the amazing Debbie Gonzalez AND the incredible Nan Marino! 

They will be blogging on May 26. Don't miss them!

Debbie's been a classroom teacher, a school administrator, an educational consultant, a curriculum designer, a former adjunct professor, a creative writing workshop instructor, and once taught PBS's Barney kids in a one-room off-set Montessori classroom. She earned  her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Art in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Deb currently works on about a zillion free-lance projects and is a proud contributor of ReaderKidZ, a website committed to fostering a love of reading for kids ages K-5. Debbie lives in magical Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband John and Tripod, her three-legged chocolate lab.

Nan Marino is a middle grade book author and young adult librarian. She lives in the  Pinelands of New Jersey with her husband and a large goofy dog.  Her most recent book Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace was named a 2103 NPR Best Book of the Year.

In the meantime, while you wait for Deb and Nan's posts, you can read other posts on this writing process blog tour at:

Frances Lee Hall  

Bethany Hegedus    

Michelle Knudsen   

Sarah Sullivan  

Thank you!

Tam

One Day I Went Rambling

As dedicated wanderers, we are thrilled to have, as our guests today, Kelly Bennett and Terri Murphy, the author and the illustrator of the delightful new picture book One Day I Went Rambling.

It's the story of a boy named Zane who loves to go rambling, even though his friends call him crazy and refuse to play along. After he finds a shining star, it doesn't bother him when his friends try to tell him it's just a hubcap. Undaunted, Zane uses his finds to create a secret project that piques his friends’curiosity. After watching him ramble around the neighborhood, finding magic in the ordinary, his friends are drawn into his imaginative game.

KTE: Welcome Kelly and Terri! Kelly, could you talk about the landscape that inspired you in writing One Day I Went Rambling? 

KB: One Day I Went Rambling began with the limitless landscapes of imagination. Imaginations are like Star Trek Transporters. Simply holding an object can trigger images vivid enough to instantly transport us to other worlds and other times—other landscapes. Some: the way holding a shell can return you to the sunny cove on that day you found it, are reality based and maybe for that reason, understandable. But others, for example how our minds might transform that same shell into a unicorn’s horn or a mermaid’s telephone; a tree burl into a portal to a fantasy kingdom, are unpredictable and magical.

KTE: Wow! The landscape of imagination is such rich fodder. Tell us a little about how it plays a part in your story.

KB: In creating Rambling, I sought to couple that transformative power of objects with the notion of “found fun.” Children are masterful figure-outers (I’m sure there’s a proper term for it, but not in my dictionary). It’s how they learn. Children come into a world filled with objects without operating instructions, so by necessity they spend a lot of time figuring things out, which takes creativity, inventiveness, and imagination. As a result, given time and opportunity, children can transform pretty much anything into something else—and any place into someplace else.

Building on this, I created Zane, a boy whose idea of fun is to find some object, imagine what it might be, crank up his mental transformer and beam himself off on adventures prompted by that object. Thus granny’s billowing slip is yanked from the clothes line and reinvented as a pioneer’s covered wagon top, and long strand of wilted vine becomes a cowpoke’s twirling rope.  The challenge was to select objects that triggered different, distinct, visually interesting landscapes in Zane’s/my mind first, then in the illustrator’s, and ultimately in the readers.

Ahoy Mates, time’s a-wasting.

Climb aboard! Let’s sail away.

We’ll explore the world together,

Finding adventure along the way.”

The story ends with an invitation for readers to play along: “Hey! What’s that?” You might call it my litmus test. If I’ve done my job well, readers crank up their mental transporters and beam themselves off to other times—other landscapes.   

KTE: I’d say you’ve done your job extremely well—I’m ready to hop on board! Terri, as the illustrator,could you tell us about a landscape that inspired you while visualizing the images for this story? 

TM: Thank you for the unusual prompt to describe the landscape of One Day I Went Rambling. It was fun to think of the book in these terms.

There are a variety of landscapes in One Day I Went Rambling as the action takes place over several days, but the predominant one is cityscape. The thing I found so exciting when I first got this manuscript was that Kelly never mentions where all the action takes place. She relates the objects the kids find, like a cowpoke's twirling rope, a spanish dancer’s fan, and sparkling stone...then leaves it up to the illustrator to imagine where these may be found. I felt like I was on a delightful ramble myself when I first sketched this out.  Ultimately Zane adventures take him from the backyards of his inner-city neighborhood, to front stoops, to garage sales, the zoo, the  beach, and back to the neighborhood.

There is a certain gritty beauty and dignity in older less-affluent neighborhoods. The sidewalks may be cracked and the weeds overgrown in places, but a child’s imagination can turn these into roadmaps and an alien landscape strewn with treasures waiting to be discovered.

KTE: Kelly and Terri, thank you so much for stopping by today. I think your visit will inspire a lot of people to go out rambling.

Kelly Bennett writes books for children, both fiction and non-fiction, mostly picture books. She creates stories that celebrate imagination, families, friends, pets… all that goes into being a kid. You can visit her at www.kellybennett.com

Terri Murphy is an illustrator for children’s media who finds more opportunities to connect with kids and books as a youth librarian.  She also runs art workshops for children and adults and in her spare time likes to ramble with a sketchbook or camera in hand. Visit her at http://terrimurphyart.com

I'm Not in Kansas Anymore

Well, I was never in Kansas. But I was in Vermont. Only yesterday. And now I’m in Texas. Austin, Texas. (It is an hour earlier here, but I still managed to be a day late with this blog entry. Sorry about that.) I’ve never been in Austin before. I’ve actually only ever been in Texas once, and we were driving through the very northern tip of this big state and I was sick with a fever, lying down in the back seat of the car, for the duration. So maybe that doesn’t really count anyway.

I’m here now, though! And I am thrilled about it! My agent is having a writer’s retreat with her clients this weekend and I am lucky enough to be able to participate in that, and right now I am attending the Texas Library Association’s conference, and visiting with my amazing friend Kelly Bennett, and, boy, am I lucky on top of lucky to be doing that too!

Austin smells different than home. It smells like flowers opening and cedar and sage. The air is thick and just a little bit moist, like a sponge, and it soaks up the scents and holds them there for you to walk right through. Birds are chirping and the sun is shining and a lake saunters along the city. And here’s a cool thing: bats live inside the bridge that spans the lake. Lots of them. At the height of their season, which is July, there are more than 750,000 bats—all mamas and their newborn babies—who live there. And they all fly out whoooooosh at dusk. Incredible.

Kelly has been teaching me all about lovely Austin. She is a brilliant guide and an even better friend AND a phenomenal writer. Her new book Dance, Ya’ll, Dance is a gorgeous tribute to dance hall dancing and to Texas. It has been pure joy hanging out with Kelly here. And there is more to come. Soon I will connect with my fellow agent-mates and talk writing process and the mysterious publishing world and life as a writer.

Whoooooooosh indeed!

Tam Smith