tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90899229132480932312024-03-19T07:57:05.312-04:00Mind-Full by Linda PhillipsJust think of the possibilities.....Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-27710996944226860752013-04-30T11:44:00.000-04:002013-04-30T11:47:34.381-04:00FORWARDING ADDRESS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm glad you stopped by so I can tell you that</h2>
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and I am waiting to greet you at my new home</h2>
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<a href="http://www.lindavigenphillips.com/">http://www.lindavigenphillips.com</a></h2>
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Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-13106487472160988522013-03-17T20:56:00.000-04:002013-03-17T20:56:06.437-04:00PLEASE EXCUSE THE MESS...<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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Maybe you can relate to this. You keep thinking you should do something about that drip in the upstairs bathroom faucet, but inevitably the thought occurs to you when you are flying out the door late for an appointment. So you forget about it, until one day you come home to a flooded bathroom or leaking ceiling because somebody left that particular sink plugged and well, you know the rest. <br />
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I've been thinking for quite a while now that I would like to expand this blog into a full-blown website with a few more bells and whistles. So yesterday I decided to try linking my blog with Google+ because Google made it sound so advantageous and easy, and then I went out the door without checking the results. When I came home I found that all the pictures on my blog had disappeared. I took it as a sign that it was finally time to REMODEL. (If anyone out there has had a similar experience, I would love to hear about it.)<br />
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So, pardon the mess while I move on down the road to a new location with expanded features and lots of exciting news about my debut book, CRAZY (tentative title) and WIP, THE SCIENCE PROJECT (working title), as well as a Mind-Full of musings about anything to do with reading,writing, and mental health. <br />
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Please check back soon for my forwarding address, and thanks for your patience!<br />
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Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-14986079062235345382013-03-06T11:29:00.000-05:002013-03-06T11:29:29.639-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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ON THE ROAD</span></h2>
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Well, that's a bit of a stretch......I'm not <i>really</i> on the road yet, but I have to admit I do spend some time daydreaming about when I will hit the trail to promote my debut book, tentatively titled CRAZY, around August, 2014. In the meantime, I'm keeping busy pushing ahead with the second book. I'll be talking more about that in future blogs. </h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More than one snowflake, Charlotte, 2010</td></tr>
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But today why don't you follow me over to my good friend Carol Baldwin's place <a href="http://carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com/">carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com</a> and listen in while she asks me a few questions. I'm honored to be her guest this week. She's been my best sounding board and writing buddy since 1998, and I'm sure you'll see from her blog how well-versed and talented she is in all things to do with the written word.</h3>
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Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-54146850828026121572013-02-20T18:01:00.001-05:002013-02-20T18:01:56.968-05:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">HOORAY FOR WNBA</span></h2>
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In a continuation of my last blog, I want to say "hats off" to another great organization that is helping me along on my writing journey. At first glance you might not guess from its name, <a href="http://wnba-charlotte.org/">Womens National Book Association</a>, that there is much in it for writers, but after all, where would a book association be without its supply line? <br />
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In my brief association with this organization I have witnessed a wonderful synergy within all the entities in a community that pertain to anything<i> BOOK</i>. On Feb. 19, I attended a perfect "bookstorm." The <a href="http://www.charlottewritersclub.org/">Charlotte Writers Club</a> and the WNBA combined meetings to present a panel discussion, <u><i>From Book Idea to Bookshelf: The Process and Business of Publishing.</i></u> It was open to the public and full of useful information for writers, readers, lurkers, visitors, and more. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Joyce Hostetter and Chris Woodworth (authors) meeting Lynn Bonner and Trisha Miller (guests)</span></div>
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Here are a few gems I picked up from some of the following panel members:<br />
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">We look for a story we love. Then we will google you and look at your site. For us the site isn't critical but it tells us how serious you are about your work. The author needs to be comfortable with the media process. Do great writing first then support it with your website. We look for a good personality fit.</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">The time frame from acquisition to publication can be as short as a year, but is usually one and a half to two years. With picture books, it can be two to four years</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Adams Literary always asks the author "what is next"</span> </li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Independent Editor <strong>Betsy Thorpe</strong>, Betsy Thorpe Literary Services</li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">Some typical turn down phrases editors might use are:</span></li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">not right for my list=we publish "this" but you sent us "that"</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">the shelf is too crowded=too many books of this nature are already printed</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">we already have a book like this on our list</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">too small=not likely too sell over 2000 copies </span></li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>Kelly Bowen</strong>, Publicity Director, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill</li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">Promotion might include book tours, local and national advertising, social media, and platform building (best thing author can do)</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">(Kelly shared some unique out-of-the-box marketing schemes here)</span></li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong>Amanda Phillips</strong>, MarComm Manager at distributor/wholesaler Baker & Taylor</li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">When an author is on TV or radio and their publisher lets us know, we usually see an order spike</span></li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Independent Bookseller <strong>Sally Brewster,</strong> owner of Park Road Books in Charlotte</li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">The sad fact is that there are more books than readers. Read more books!</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">We do sell consignment books (self-published) and we take 40% </span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Sally Brewster helps Kelly Brown demonstrate some unique marketing strategies. </span></div>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">I've had experience with lots of publishers, and my first two books were not agented</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">I am shy on Face Book, but I do guest blogs and always accept appearances</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">Volunteering at writers organizations (like Charlotte Writers Club and WNBA) helps make contacts</span></li>
<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: red;">I have a web site but I don't blog. I do what fits my personality</span></li>
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<li style="list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Independent Book Marketing, Sales and Promotion Consultant <strong>Susan Walker</strong></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">If you love to read, write, think about, order, caress or even sniff books, you probably should drop in on WNBA sometime. </span></span></div>
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Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-85315379320850263952013-02-01T20:09:00.000-05:002013-02-01T20:09:05.881-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS....</span></div>
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I'm working on the second book. Yikes! I never thought I'd hear myself say that. It's exhilarating and daunting and full of completely new territory all at once. In its young life, this WIP already has a history. It's not the manuscript I took to work on at <a href="http://free expressions">Lorin Oberweger's Free Expressions Workshop</a> last October. I trashed that one after the first round of critiques when it became clear that I would waste my time, money, and grand opportunity for professional input by continuing with this book that I knew in my heart wasn't working. <br />
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So, in the kind of crazy, frenzied blitz that can only be fueled by the electric atmosphere of a writers' gathering, I wrote two chapters off the top of my swirling brain. I salvaged the setting of a castle in Switzerland, but I boldly transformed my YA girl into a middle grade boy protagonist, switched the mood from haunting to humorous, and ventured out of my novel-in-verse comfort zone into prose. <br />
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I'm currently on chapter 7 and cruising right along......like a cat picking its way around mud puddles. I suppose it's typical to have doubts about the second book, but MEOWZERS, these are some pretty deep water holes I'm tiptoeing around. Will I be able to pull off prose when I've spent my whole writing life buried in poetry? Will my experience as a mother of twin boys and former middle grade teacher be enough to generate one viable middle grade boy's voice? Will I be able to sustain a humorous tone after having lived with such a somber first book for so long? <br />
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I really don't know if I can pull <i>any</i> of this off. But the great thing about being a writer is that we are a needy bunch (lol) which makes us extra good at giving and receiving help and support one to another. I am forever indebted to organizations like <a href="http://the institute of childrens literature">The Institute of Children's Literature</a>, <a href="http://SCBWI/">SCBWI</a>, the <a href="http://highlights foundation">Highlights Foundation</a>, and <a href="http://free expressions workshops">Free Expressions Workshops</a> for the excellent instructional input as well as the wonderful network of like-minded spirits I have gained. <br />
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As the Beatles told us long ago, "I get by with a little help from my friends." In the writing world, that means opening yourself up to the best support group available and staying open to the possibilities, even if it means trashing a finished manuscript. <br />
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<br />Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-42191018198505251672012-12-15T20:22:00.000-05:002012-12-15T20:22:06.868-05:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666;">SILVER LININGS AND MENTAL HEALTH</span></b></h2>
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The recent movie, <a href="http://silver linings playbook">Silver Linings Playbook</a>, based on the book by<a href="http://matthew quick"> Matthew Quick</a>, struck a chord in me. Why? Because my book CRAZY, coming out in 2014, happens to deal with the same subject--bipolar disease--and I was sufficiently entertained and duly impressed with how the movie handled this often delicate subject. <br />
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Patrick Solatano, admirably portrayed by Bradley Cooper, is released from an eight-month stay in the hospital with a determined, if not unwieldy, desire to get back on his feet. He faces a restraining order from his wife because he severely beat up the man he caught her in the shower with when he returned home unexpectedly. He now reluctantly must see a court-mandated therapist and take regular medication. If this isn't enough, he is ordered to live in his parents' house where his comically OCD father is running an illegal bookmaking business. <br />
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While the movie is billed as a romantic comedy, the humor depicts the often painful and embarrassing events surrounding mental disorders discreetly and realistically. In fact, many realities of mental illness pervade this movie: Pat's reluctance to take the medication he needs, the existence of similar traits in both father and son, the gravitational pull that often exists between two neurotic/psychotic people (Pat and Tiffany, beautifully portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence), the benefits of physical outlets (Pat and Tiffany develop a dance routine and enter a contest), and the inevitability of numerous setbacks and regressions along the road to recovery, or at least stability. <br />
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While the happy Hollywood ending is both predictable and oversimplified, I applaud this movie for its depiction of two resourceful people with mental baggage who have the guts to keep working towards better mental health. <br />
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I hope when my book hits the stands in 2014 readers will be reminded that better mental health can be a real possibility for those who keep striving towards that goal. <br />
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<br />Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-32834023828723537122012-11-24T21:55:00.000-05:002012-11-24T21:55:10.642-05:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD...</span></h2>
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Now that I have come down from the ceiling (directly related to having landed a book deal) and settled onto firm ground once again, I have had a chance to reflect on the journey thus far. The Beatles would affirm that it was "a long and winding road." </div>
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Perhaps my trek could be useful to some out there who have set out on a similar journey. For those who have already traveled this road, it might be interesting to compare notes. Here are just the facts, ma'am (relying on memory in many cases because, as you will see, the journey was long and arduous):</div>
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<ul>
<li>1994 - Sitting under a palm tree on Myrtle Beach, while my husband watched our twin boys, I wrote a poem called "Oceanography," a cathartic exercise in dealing with my mother's mental illness</li>
<li>1996 - "Oceanography" published in <i>The Texas Review</i></li>
<li>1994-2004 - Numerous poems dealing with the same topic were written and published in various literary magazines. </li>
<li>2004-2006 - A collection of twenty poems materializes, and writing buddy <a href="http://carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com/">Carol Baldwin</a> suggests that they need to be a book.</li>
<li>2007 - Work begins on the first draft, called <i>Breakdown</i></li>
<li>2009 - Attend the <a href="http://highlights foundation">Highlights Foundation</a> Writers Workshop at Chautauqua, NY and work directly with Patti Gauch, retiring senior editor of Philomel Books</li>
<li>2010 - Sign with Julia Kenny, agent at <a href="http://marksonthomaagency.com/">MarksonThoma Agency</a> in New York</li>
<li>2011 - Revision requested by <a href="http://william b eerdmans publishing company">William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company</a> on YA novel written in verse titled<i> CRAZY</i> </li>
<li>2012 - Receive 3 offers within 2 weeks, sign with Eerdmans for a 2014 publication date</li>
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If you are good at math, you already know this process spanned eighteen years. Eighteen years! I feel like this has to be some kind of record. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. But hopeful writers listen up. Life went on as usual for most of those years, with full-time teaching, full-time kid raising, and full-time being a minister's wife. I would have to say that the last year of waiting was probably the nearest I got to pulling my hair out, sitting on pins and needles, chewing my nails to the quick, being totally driven to distraction. Perhaps if it had been fewer than eighteen years, I may have been able to eliminate a few of those cliches! </div>
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But I write this to ENCOURAGE all writers out there. If I can wait eighteen years you can stay the course, whatever your course may be, and all the while keep believing in your work. </div>
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Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-51737354300544720802012-11-16T14:58:00.000-05:002012-11-16T14:58:33.406-05:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">
AT LAST....</span></h2>
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You know the old 1941 song made famous by Glen Miller, sung by everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to Beyonce. Its love song lyrics go like this:<br />
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<i>At last my love has come along</i><br />
<i>My lonely days are over</i><br />
<i>And life is like a song.</i><br />
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It goes on to say:<br />
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<i>I found a dream that I could speak to</i><br />
<i>A dream that I could call my own......</i><br />
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Writing a fiction book is a lot like entering a love relationship with a real, live person. You certainly have to get inside the character to the point that he or she becomes real, and you have to love that character through and through. That's the writing part. Then, you have to find an agent and/or a publisher who falls in love with that character. That's the hardest part. And all the while, you have to hang on to that dream that drove you to the writing and carried you through the desolate days, weeks, and months of waiting for someone in the world out there to connect. <br />
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This is my official announcement that my YA novel written in verse, CRAZY, will be published by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company sometime in 2014. Today I've been running around the house like a mad woman singing this song, because the tune is as seductive as a contract offer, and the words lilting enough to lift my feet right off the floor. <br />
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I have lots more of the process that I want share in the days and weeks ahead. But for now, I simply want to bask in the warm glow, give all the glory to God, and keep on singing AT LAST......<br />
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Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-81542149233026653742012-10-16T15:22:00.000-04:002012-10-16T15:35:51.159-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">HERE WE GO AGAIN......</span></div>
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So here I am on pins and needles (feels more like daggers and spears) once again because my yet-to-be-published book CRAZY is making an appearance at yet another acquisition committee. The first time around my agent wooed a larger, well-known house into "loving" my book onto the acquisition committee, only to leave me dangling indefinitely. Still dangling I am, while their last word many months ago was "everyone at BLANK HOUSE loves this book." Go figure.<br />
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At my agent's suggestion I have spent the past several months knocking on smaller doors without her representation and have landed once again on the chopping block, er acquisition committee. This time, along with the full manuscript, they requested a marketing plan and have used words like "interested in publishing.....looking forward to working with you." <br />
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Should I be excited or filled with dread? Should I bask in the fact that someone wants my manuscript (or do they)? Will this time be any different than last time? <br />
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These questions swirled in my head this morning when <a href="http://augustascattergoodblog.blogspot.com/">Augusta Scattergood</a>'s blog found its way to me (thanks to my good friend and writing buddy <a href="http://carolbaldwinsblog.blogspot.com/">Carol Baldwin</a>.) The post is titled Celebrate Everything, and in the writer's world, that means even rejections accompanied by a personal note (as opposed to no note at all or a stock phrase: Doesn't fit our list.) <br />
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Thanks, Augusta, for reminding us that every step along the way has value and is worthy of celebration if we just pause to consider how far we have come. <br />
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Bring it on, Acquisition Committee #2. I'm ready for whatever you have to say (but please, could you make it snappy?)<br />
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<br />Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-28293822049913655702012-09-11T09:59:00.000-04:002012-09-11T09:59:23.463-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Self-publishing or Not, That is the Question....</span></div>
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Recently I had the privilege of speaking to a group of writers at the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/writers-590/events/64233192/">Charlotte Write To Publish Group.</a> They invited me to talk about my experience acquiring an agent, so I gladly stepped up to the plate and gave them the full monty. I traced my humble publishing history from Sunday School supplements to write-for-hire curriculum, to adult poetry, to my yet-to-be-published YA novel, <i>CRAZY</i>.<br />
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I talked about the time and money I have poured into professional critiques, workshops, and conferences to fine tune my manuscript. I described my 4-month quest to snag an agent. I detailed the grueling year-and-a-half of rejections, close-calls, near misses, agonizing waiting and elevated blood pressure. And I bravely divulged that my agent and I have come to the recent conclusion that I should launch my own search targeting small, independent presses who do NOT wish to see an agented piece of work. The writers listened politely and showered me with intelligent questions in the end. <br />
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Then I sat back and listened to them share their stories, and one after another they unveiled their self-publishing or subsidy publishing journeys. Someone passed around a shiny finished product, another shared pieces of his glowing Kirkus reviews, and yet another outlined the ease and efficiency of getting her book edited and uploaded. I listened politely, asked intelligent questions, and left with my head spinning.<br />
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This morning I woke up with a gross WHY headache. Why am I doing this to myself when I could take half the money I was going to spend for yet another workshop, go to<a href="http://CreateSpace.com/"> CreateSpace.com</a> and within hours be on my way to published bliss? In fact, with a little design savvy I could click my manuscript into the published realm before dinner tonight without spending a pretty penny. Why not? <br />
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Fellow writers who have gone this route, please hear me. I am not bashing you, your work, or the choices you have made. Quite the contrary, for the first time in my writing career, I am seriously asking myself why not? <br />
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My head is in a muddle, but I'd love to hear from clear thinkers out there on either side of this slippery slope. Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-29389725163527908112012-09-03T16:23:00.000-04:002012-09-03T16:23:17.703-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">AN ANGELIC OPPORTUNITY</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On this fascinating sojourn to find a publisher for <i>CRAZY,</i> my Young Adult novel written in verse, I find myself launching into new territory. Backing up a bit, I have worked with an agent for the past year and-a-half to no avail. While she loves my book and has found a publisher who also claims to love my book, no contract offer has been made, and the hope of one coming in any time soon is fast waning. The tight state of the writers' market these days, particularly for Young Adult fiction, is a whole topic for another day's discussion. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But getting back to the here and now, my agent has become a friend and advocate who has agreed to look over any contract offers I might land on my own and to help with foreign rights should this book ever make it to the shelves. So I find myself once again polishing up the queries and cranking out the submission lists, something I mistakenly thought I could abandon forever once I landed that agent. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My intention here is not to invite you to a pity party, but to join me in a new venture which is the exploration of e-publishing and alternative markets. As luck would have it, one of the first days out on this new trail I snagged the interest of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivvoM-5FR5A"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">Tod Davies</span></a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivvoM-5FR5A">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivvoM-5FR5A, </a>publisher of Exterminating Angel Press and its e-magazine by the same name. And no, neither she nor her site is about eliminating heavenly beings, and I'll leave it up to you to discover the origins of this unique name. She has invited me to share some of my work from<i> CRAZY.</i> If you will go to <a href="http://exterminatingangel.com/">http://exterminatingangel.com/</a> and click on EAP: The Magazine at the top, my piece called "Beth's Opinion" is listed in the column on the right. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if you "liked" it and I will love to receive comments here, since that option is not open on the site.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thanks for joining me on this arduous but ever-fascinating journey! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-9747687976554301182012-08-20T20:45:00.001-04:002012-08-20T20:57:23.122-04:00<br />
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AFTER THE HIATUS</h2>
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I'm back. It's been almost a year. I told myself I wasn't going to blog again until I had something substantial to blog about. So I retired from teaching. That may not be substantial to you, but it is major to me. Today, as a matter of fact, would have been my first official day back in the classroom. So I set the alarm for 6:00, in spite of the advice from other retirees who said I should never have to set the alarm again. I was at my desk by 8:00, well.... maybe closer to 9:00 by the time I read the paper. <br />
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The point is, I am now Writer-in-Residence-at-My-House, and I made it to work almost on time this morning. <br />
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I'm not at all sure about the substantial information I am going to write about, but I can tell you this:<br />
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I will be writing about writing<br />
and writing to make it right<br />
and righting as many wrongs<br />
as I can<br />
through writing<br />
and writing the right way<br />
if at all possible<br />
and sometimes maybe<br />
writing<br />
just to be writing. <br />
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You're brave to be hanging in there with me. <br />
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I'll see you at my next substantial post. <br />
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Writer-in-Residence-at-My-House,<br />
Linda<br />
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<br />Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-31982252418364939012011-10-08T15:57:00.000-04:002011-10-08T15:57:34.137-04:00CLIMBING TOWARDS SUCCESS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTN_MhOcayk/TpCNnk3N3VI/AAAAAAAAAL0/nENFkVEEGKw/s1600/climbing+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTN_MhOcayk/TpCNnk3N3VI/AAAAAAAAAL0/nENFkVEEGKw/s1600/climbing+wall.jpg" /></a></div>Every year at about this time, we take our sixth-graders on an overnight camping excursion to a nearby YMCA facility. For some this is a first-time experience, and a big part of our planning is dedicated to relieving the anxiety and answering all the questions about the unknown. This is especially important for our 26 students, all of whom have some form of a learning disability, usually dyslexia and/or ADHD, which is often accompanied by anxiety.<br />
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It's no small task putting it all together and pulling it off successfully, but the rewards are worth their weight in gold. These are some of the nuggets I came home with.<br />
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The group really struggled to line up according to their birth dates in an opening team-building exercise. One boy solemnly informed the facilitator that he was dyslexic and therefore unable to understand positional directions. The facilitator glanced somewhat desperately towards us teachers before plunging into the next task, which required that all the students line up on two long wooden blocks with one foot on each block. They were instructed to take ropes attached to the blocks in their hands, and work together to move both blocks across a field while still standing on them. The same dyslexic boy quickly took the lead position on the blocks and effectively got the team organized and moving towards their goal in no time. By the way, one of his directives involved instructing the students on the use of left and right feet!<br />
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In another team-building activity students had to take turns moving through a maze made of roped off squares on the ground. They were not allowed to talk until the whole team got through, and every time a student made a wrong move he had to go to the end of the line and start all over again. Slowly the students began to figure it out. The pay-off came in watching the quicker students gently and patiently use silent communication to coach the others to the exit.<br />
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Perhaps the greatest number of triumphs happened at the climbing wall this year. Student after student overcame various degrees of fear to meet goals they set for themselves. Some wanted to get to the edge of the first ladder, others to the top platform. One particular student who has overused the word "can't" in the classroom delighted us with a comical and self-assurred account of how he was overcoming "dangerous conditions" all the way to the top. I'll look forward to reminding him of his successful climb the next time I hear "can't."<br />
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My pockets are weighted down with golden nuggets today, each a small victory in a special student's climb to success.Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-45202226495555857622011-09-04T17:58:00.000-04:002011-09-04T17:58:51.002-04:00RADICAL INDIVIDUALISMThe ups and downs of the first full week of a new school year have come to pass and with it, a sigh of relief. At least now we can begin to establish a routine and settle into some semblance of normalcy. But that old word--normal--dogs me once again. Many of the students in the learning disabled population where I teach want nothing more than to blend in, to become like the rest of "them." Yet sadly, many arrive with fresh wounds having been inflicted by "them." <br />
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So ironically, I marched through the week finishing a book featuring one of the most radical nonconformists in young adult fiction, <i>Stargirl, </i>by Jerry Spinelli. Her real name was Susan Caroway, but one of the many names she created for herself was Stargirl, because "I didn't feel like Susan anymore." She arrived at unspectacular Mica High with an array of long hippie-like skirts, accompanied by her pet rat and a ukulele for singing happy birthday without an invitation to anyone and everyone. Put off at first, the students began to warm up to her random acts of kindness and her infectious enthusiasm. Largely due to her cheer-leading charisma, bottom-ranked Mica High was headed for the basketball championship for the first time in years when things fell apart. Stargirl not only cheered for both teams at games ("I root for everybody"), but when a star opponent became injured, she rushed onto the court to help him. Overnight the entire student body turned against her. They shunned her. There was no turning back, even when Stargirl made a brief and painful attempt to look, act, and sound just like "them."<br />
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While Spinelli doesn't sell himself as a Christian writer, returning an angry slap in the face from a jealous cheerleader with a kiss on the cheek is right out of the New Testament. If you don't go with the Christian theme, you might be tempted to swing to the other extreme, wondering why Stargirl didn't have a total and complete mental collapse, so unpredictably, out-of-this world crazy she seems. <br />
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So at the end of this long first week of school, I look at my sweet students and want to say "go for it!" Be who you are. Don't let "them" ever stop you or try to remake you into someone you are not. And I look at myself as a teacher and writer and wonder, how willing am I to step out there and be so different, so innovative, so creative beyond imagination, so other-directed that my own sense of normalcy becomes significantly redefined. <br />
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Radical individualism. If you've had a brush with it, I'd love to hear from you. <br />
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<br />Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-14453116183374807352011-08-13T12:03:00.000-04:002011-08-13T12:03:30.802-04:00RENEWED PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Summer as we teachers know it is drawing to a close. In order to make the journey back to the classroom more palatable every year, I go through a systems check to assure myself that I did, indeed, accomplish all the items on my hearts-desire list for one more summer. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Inside painting: check; closet purging: check; deep cleaning: check; renewing a bicycling sport: check; seeing my first book published: negative. As Jan Karon would say, "there's the rub." After ten months of being shopped around by my agent, my book, CRAZY, has yet to find a taker. I've had close calls, and wonderful affirmations by reputable, big-name publishing houses, but in an increasingly tight publishing market, my book is risky. Written in verse, set in the sixties, dealing with mental illness, it lacks all the earmarks of blockbusters these days such as dystopian themes, werewolves and sexual innuendos. Those, of course, are all the reasons why my agent loves it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My woe-is-me outlook took a wonderful upward turn when I attended my 45th high school reunion at pristine Lake O' the Woods in Oregon last week. To begin with, you can't walk in a grove of ponderosa pine and douglas fir, paddle on a lake at the base of a snow-capped dormant volcano, and watch bald eagles cruise overhead without experiencing the blessings of this life, and the insignificance of our own petty concerns. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And then there is the human element. My best girlfriends and I picked right up where we left off years ago, sharing laughter and tears, heartaches and triumphs, now peppered with inevitable health issues. Twenty percent of our class of just over 400 is now deceased, and many, we learned, were facing serious or life-threatening health concerns. But hope and a zest for life prevailed, and we fed off of each other's thankfulness and determination to live life to the fullest as long as we can. One friend said she works on "gratitudes" each day, and in our short weekend together, it became a theme. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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No, I didn't accomplish all my goals this summer. But I think I came away with a greater appreciation of who I am and where I am in life's journey. As I lay in wait for this sunset picture, dragonflies danced around my head, fish jumped just off the dock, and bullfrogs rehearsed for the nightly concert. There's a whole lot of living going on each day before that sunset, and as a teacher, writer, wife, mother and grandmother, I promise not to waste a moment going forward. <br />
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Renewed perspective on life: check. <br />
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Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-18337521792976055682011-07-16T15:19:00.000-04:002011-07-16T15:19:07.379-04:00SWEET DREAMSIt's half over. Exactly one month from today. I avoid looking at the calendar because that's just way too in your face. I try to ignore the way the clock seems to be racing on its own time-warp schedule, getting louder and more menacing as it tickety-tocks my carefree days away. But there is one reminder, regular as clock-work about this time every summer, that is totally out of my control.<br />
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The inevitable back-to-school nightmare syndrome! <br />
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It was that typical first day when the little darlings arrive so fresh faced and eager, unaware that their fully rested and rejuvenated teacher has already been launched into overload by too little time in her room, too many new programs to learn, and too little sleep the night before.<br />
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I arrived late and discovered that I had left something vitally important in my car. Whatever it was, I simply couldn't do first day without it. I raced back to the parking lot, just on the edge of the campus that resembled a cross between New York City and Disneyland, only to find that I simply could not remember the way back to my room. Who knows how long in dreamland it took me to find my way out of the maze but thank heavens for quirky coincidences. I spotted my fellow teachers at the football stadium along the way and suddenly remembered it was the opening day assembly. My luck continued when my colleagues, gathered in a tight cluster in a dark corner at the foot of the stands, assured me they had covered for me, and my class was in good hands. No admins in sight. Whew!<br />
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"Where are my students?" I inquired with relief and a good bit of curiosity.<br />
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"Students? What students? We're just here to watch the game. Have a beer!"<br />
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Wow, I thought. School start-up has really improved. This is going to be a great year.<br />
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I somehow found my way to my room and was further delighted to find not one, but two brand new state of the art computers. I must be dreaming, I thought. I remember only putting in for a new power cord on the wish list. Suddenly someone down the hall said they saw a cloud of locusts moving across the campus in our direction.<br />
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The students have arrived!<br />
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By now my computer elation had morphed into panic when I realized my room had no electrical outlets, indeed no electricity, and I had forgotten to prepare a lesson plan. <br />
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Give me a few more dreams like this one, and I'll be powered up for another great year!Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-76530705387551636212011-06-22T22:27:00.000-04:002011-06-22T22:27:01.897-04:00SUMMER FUN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>It's finally here. Summer. I'm free as a bird for a precious cluster of weeks and I don't want to waste a minute. <br />
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First, I tackled the to-do list, starting with the windows inside and out, upstairs and down. My husband and I chuckled over our choice of bonding time as we shouted and pantomimed directions through the brightening panes. Somehow he thought he could get by without the aids (hearing) that day, sort of like one of my students showing up for a field trip without the meds. I forgave him when the sunshine practically burned a hole in my spotless windows much like horseradish kickstarts a stuffy nose.<br />
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Next it was the floors. Down on all fours Cinderella style until the original colors began to emerge. Out out, "darn" spots, I commanded. Lady MacBeth couldn't have washed away the sins of the year any better, and Anne Lamott would have been proud of my tile-by-tile technique which reaped some fertile plot points and colorful character ideas as my mind drifted way beyond the floor. <br />
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Don't get me wrong. My idea of summer doesn't translate into a self-imposed hard-labor camp. It's just that teachers and writers both tend to let things really pile up during school and writing projects, and it makes us feel extremely efficient, well-organized and productive to stir up a bunch of dust once a year (maybe twice) before settling into the fun stuff.<br />
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And what about that fun stuff? First I took one giant leap for woman-kind (at least for this kind of woman) and invested in a smart phone. I began to experience the length and breadth of my leap when I ran into one of my sixth-grade students at the phone store who escorted me around the displays with sales tips that put the customer service rep (and me) to shame. This is supposed to be fun? I secretly vowed to go home and cram like a freshman before finals lest my smart phone outsmarts me.<br />
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But the fun event that tops all so far this summer is the resurrection of two nostalgic 3-speed bikes: my husband's 1966 Rudge and my 1972 Raleigh. This culminates several years of debate about whether or not anyone could even work on such antiques, and assuming they could, how cost-effective it would be compared to buying new bikes. It turns out the process was much easier and less expensive than buying a smart phone, and the learning curve just a matter of practice and review. <br />
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1973 - Queens, NY<br />
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2011 - Charlotte, NC<br />
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Now if I can just stay upright and use the GPS on my Droid to find my way home, I can truly say I am at least as smart as a sixth grader!Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-76787991350821508372011-05-29T16:02:00.000-04:002011-05-29T16:02:26.268-04:00NOSE IN A BOOKI've not had a spare minute to blog the past month because I've had my nose in a book. The one I just finished writing, that is. It's my second novel and I've been on a self-imposed fast track, staying up late and getting up early and all of this during the last frantic six weeks of the school year. Why? It has to do with trying to get pregnant. No, wait. I'd better back up and explain.<br />
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We've all probably heard about women who try and try to get pregnant and eventually give up. They then try adoption, and within a short period of time, they finally get pregnant. Suddenly they have more of a blessing than they bargained for, but that's a whole other story. Well, my first novel has been out there seven months now, trying and trying to get published to no avail. That's with the help of a beloved agent doing her level best to push it. So I decided to throw all my energy into cranking out a second book, with the hopes that that will somehow magically increase my chances of getting the first one published, or maybe even both. <br />
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I know the metaphor is a stretch, but I can't help it. Writing books makes you weird like that.<br />
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So I decided to give myself a day off, get completely away from it, do something normal for a change. Here's how it went.<br />
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An authentic voice told me to go shopping because the mood in our fridge was empty. That set up an inner conflict due to the absence of a theme for dinner. After a dialogue with my husband I was able to weave several strands together, nicely layered, that set the tone for the entire week. The plot thickened when the setting on our street became snarled with traffic, and two shallow characters held us all up with an outer conflict, commonly called a fender bender. My journey ended with a climax when the grocery clerk overcharged me and I had to query her about the validity of her facts. When I said her numbers weren't right for my list, she lost it, and I fled the scene. My synopsis of the afternoon didn't hold my husband's interest.<br />
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Maybe I should just get started on that third book........Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-90017618315978578582011-04-25T08:22:00.002-04:002011-04-25T08:29:26.940-04:00POETRY IN MOTIONOur first grandson is due any day now, and I can't help but reminisce about his father, our son, and speculate about who this precious little boy will become in life. <br />
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The memories. I still chuckle when I think of some of the antics of Thomas and his twin brother, Jonathan. Sometimes, quite honestly, I'm embarrassed to admit how they got the best of me, or how inept I was at parenting. The day one of the parishioners (they are PK's) shook her head in distress and asked if they were "normal." Another day, waiting my turn in line at the bank, the teller shuffled the requested cash and muttered tersely, "do they ever shut up?"<br />
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In spite of my parenting foibles, I am proud to announce how wonderfully they have turned out. And ironically, they both put those talkative tendencies to great use. Tom is an inspiring and eloquent Bible teacher, and Jon is a prolific and creative composer and songwriter.<br />
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Now bring on my first grandson! As my husband always said during the most boisterous times, "be glad they are not dull." <br />
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In honor of poetry month, and the inventive possibilities that lead to an adventurous and inquisitive life, I offer this poem I wrote some years back for my science students.<br />
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</div><h2>BLAST OFF</h2><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mrs. Quiggly, how fast will my rocket soar---?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Not now, Robert, we're on our way out the door.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Line up, class, with rockets in hand</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Launch day is here, it will surely be grand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mrs. Quiggly, if I choose an elliptical path---?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Robert, when you interrupt, you inspire my wrath.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Now class, listen carefully and follow directions</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Take just a minute for final inspections.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mrs. Quiggly, do you think Newton made a mistake---?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Robert, Robert, what on earth will it take?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Gantry over here and fuel over there</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> In a matter of minutes, we'll conquer the air.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mrs. Quiggly, I've got it, I figured it out---</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Robert, that’s enough, without a doubt.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">HAVE A SEAT BY THAT TREE</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">AND WAIT QUIETLY FOR ME.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Now then, class, to the launch pad</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> If you've not paid attention, you'll wish you had.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">VAROOOOOOOOOOOOM CABOOOOOOOOOOOOOM</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">YEAOOOOOOOOOOOOOW CAPOOOOOOOOOOOOOW</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Mrs. Quiggly, Mrs. Quiggly, come qui, qui, quickly</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Robert's upside down in the tree,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and he's looking awfully funny to me.</span></div>Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-73664358902949001162011-04-02T14:55:00.000-04:002011-04-02T14:55:44.552-04:00MAKING GOOD CHOICESOne of the favorite catch phrases of any good teacher or parent is "make the right choice." It's always a triumphant moment when our children or students make a wise decision independently, but more often than not, a teachable moment or a gentle review of the options enhances the learning experience. <br />
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Co-authors Leah Butler and Trudy Peters have joined forces to launch a series of picture books with the decision-making acumen of six through ten-year-olds in mind. Leah and Trudy, former magazine publishers, didn't let moving to separate cities stop them from their shared goal of writing for children. They have co-founded Spencers Mill Press with the ambitious goal of creating a 26-book series much like a set of encyclopedias, with one book for each letter of the alphabet. Each story deals with a different moral, ethical, or personal dilemma that children in this age group face on a daily basis. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iterUjaPGNM/TZdf_nCifNI/AAAAAAAAAHI/dShZMrmWIYU/s1600/desc_andre.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iterUjaPGNM/TZdf_nCifNI/AAAAAAAAAHI/dShZMrmWIYU/s320/desc_andre.gif" width="210" /></a></div><br />
To date, two books have been completed; <i>Andre's Choice: In a Land of Opportunity</i>, and <i>Owen's Choice: The Night of the Halloween Vandals.</i> With the help of beautiful illustrations and a firefly named T. Winkie O'Toole, the protagonists are thrown into ethical dilemmas such as vandalism, bullying, cheating, changing schools and telling the truth. Through an interactive format the reader has the opportunity to choose how the book will end and consider the consequences of that choice through a set of follow-up questions.<br />
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In an era when too many books blur the borders between right and wrong, who can argue against teaching the right choice at an early age? <br />
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Leah spends time reading in various schools around Charlotte, and can be contacted through their website <a href="http://spencersmillpress.com/aboutus.htm">http://spencersmillpress.com/aboutus.htm</a>. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-12508439101730548572011-03-17T11:41:00.001-04:002011-03-17T11:42:26.281-04:00SERIOUS ABOUT A DOG NAMED SIRIUS<span id="goog_2040460995"></span><span id="goog_2040460996"></span>My four sixth-grade reading comprehension classes recently read Joan Hiatt Harlow's historical novel, <i>Star in the Storm,</i> set in Newfoundland in 1912.<br />
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A slobbery, lovable "Newfie" dog named Sirius stole the show and the hearts of my students when he became the key player in the rescue of over 100 people from a sinking steamer off the coast of Newfoundland. The rescue is based on a real event that happened not long after the Titanic sank in nearby waters. The author did a grand job of keeping the reader on the edge of his seat, wondering if Sirius's owners would find a way around a new law that would ban all non-sheepherding dogs from the island. Twelve-year-old Maggie did everything in her power to hide her dog, unaware that it was her father's bold attempt to break away from greedy Howard Rand's fishing monopoly that drove the campaign against Sirius. When Rand's own daughter and grandson were among the rescued, he used his influence to assure Sirius a safe haven with the family and community who loved him.<br />
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After the students finished reading the book and discussing it and its colloquial vocabulary at length, each class was assigned the task of collaborating to write three or four chapters in play form. This involved brainstorming the main characters, events, setting, dialogue and action for an assigned section of the book. It was not as easy as it looked, especially considering that we have a shortage of girls in our school. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Xnz7NCPQOtM/TYIqBa-JxxI/AAAAAAAAAGc/TPCw0BSHvOc/s1600/P1030459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Xnz7NCPQOtM/TYIqBa-JxxI/AAAAAAAAAGc/TPCw0BSHvOc/s200/P1030459.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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As the students began reading their parts in a readers theatre format, they created simple props and stage design. By sheer coincidence, we were scheduled to visit a very serious play about Anne Frank this same week, which ironically had a few actors playing more than one part with very simple stage design. It was exactly what we needed to see to tie up the loose ends on our production.<br />
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After a week of rehearsing separately, the four classes came together for the first and only performance, and it went off without a hitch! Thank you, Joan Hiatt Harlow, for writing such an endearing story, and thank you, students, for putting such heart and soul into a fun learning experience.<br />
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</div><div></div>Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-46378085837250025562011-03-06T16:34:00.001-05:002011-03-06T20:08:45.027-05:00SCIENTIFIC NOTATIONS<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A couple of good friends publish a newsletter full of everything literary, and this week they really struck a chord with me when they featured an array of appealing science books for kids. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As a sixth grade science teacher, I know my students could easily get engrossed in <a href="http://www.branzei.com/syl/index.shtml">Sylvia Branzei</a>'s book <i>Grossology</i>. I mean, who wouldn't want to know that the Latin word for a zit actually means "fat maggot" because early doctors thought zits were really homes for maggots under the skin? And I can't think of a single student who wouldn't eat up (maybe that's not the right phraseology) gobs of scientific trivia about everyday secretions, scabs, smells, barfs, burps, and well, there's more......</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you are a parent or teacher looking for ways to spark scientific interest, check out Carol Baldwin's and Joyce Hostetter's web site, <span id="goog_534596551"></span><a href="http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410739467">Talking Story<span id="goog_534596552"></span></a>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Along the way, I've done my part to write some pretty bad poetry (I'll try anything once) to liven things up in my science classes. One year I gave the following poem to the students at the beginning of the year without the science terms underlined, and if they could underline and define them all by the end of the year (and catch the play on words), they would have completed "the circuit" to everybody's satisfaction! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> SCIENTIFIC NOTATIONS</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Welcome to Ms. Quiggly's class</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Where "pun" ishment is for you,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Only if you fail to see</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The scientific point of view.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Now here's the year, at a glance</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A "sci" nopsis if you will.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Pull in your chair, take in some air,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Science IS a thrill.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">First of all, don't <u>cell</u> yourself short,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(There's not a<u> fungus</u> among us).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Careful now, don't <u>protist</u> too much</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lest all the<u> monerans</u> run for the bus.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We deal in <u>classified</u> information here</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But the rules of the <u>kingdom</u> are free. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Always line up in single <u>phylum </u> and</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In this <u>class,</u> keep your eyes on me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In order to make this year go well</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And be part of the <u>family</u>,<u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You don't have to be a<u> gen(i)us</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Just a<u> species,</u> like you and me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">During the year, without a doubt</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You'll find out what the<u> matter</u> is.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Clearly, these will be lessons of <u>substance</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Worth <u>atomic weight</u> on the quiz.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We'll get reactions both <u>physical</u> and <u>"com"ical;</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Test the<u> law of "conversation"of mass.</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I'll learn your <u>properties</u>, as you will mine,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You'll know the<u> state</u> of your fate, fast.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You'll find an <u>element</u> of surprise (or 111 of them)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Laid out on the table for free.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Periodic</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ally, the atmosphere will be <u>positively charged</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With nary an <u>electron cloud</u> to see.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ionic</span></u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ally, you'll win some and lose some</span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But I'll not <u>compound</u> your troubles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Instead, we'll find a <u>formula</u> for success</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A <u>solution,</u> <u>saturated</u> with results, (or maybe bubbles).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Within the<u> space</u> of a few weeks</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Your knowledge will increase <u>astronomically.</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You'll meet <u>red giants</u> and <u>white dwarfs</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">An expert of the <u>universe</u> you'll be.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You'll get a <u>big bang</u> out of this class</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Your <u>pulsar</u> just might get too quick.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">No falling into<u> black holes</u>, if you please</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Avoid becoming a <u>lunar</u>-tic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Develop good study <u>habitats.</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You'll stay off my <u>endangered species list.</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I <u>prey</u> that you will find your <u>niche</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Of course, in this <u>community</u>, I insist.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I promise to <u>conduct</u> an <u>electrifying</u> class</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Well <u>insulated</u> from all <u>static</u> distractions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You must, however, do <u>watt</u>-ever you can</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">To complete the <u>circuit</u> to my satisfaction.<b></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-62229669994594644182011-02-21T17:35:00.000-05:002011-02-21T17:35:30.441-05:00FROM CHAOS TO CALMI recently attended a wonderful lecture at the <a href="http://www.thefletcherschool.org/rankin-institute/">Rankin Institute,</a> the outreach component of The Fletcher School where I teach. Granted it was a school night and had the importance of attendance not been impressed upon the faculty, I may have passed. But five minutes into Behavioral Consultant <a href="http://www.sharonkweiss.com/">Sharon Weiss</a>'s presentation on her book, <u>Chaos to Calm: Structuring for Success at Home, </u>I found myself wishing I'd had access to such advice in the middle of the terrible two's with our twin boys many years ago.<br />
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While Ms. Weiss's message was geared towards parents of children with learning disabilities and/or ADHD, she leveled the playing field with this golden nugget of advice for all parents. "If you treat the ADHD child as if he does not have ADHD, it can be a disaster. If you treat the child who does not have ADHD as if he had ADHD, it can be nothing but beneficial."<br />
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With that said, she went on to emphasize the obvious, but perhaps not the easiest points for parents to absorb or accept<br />
<ul><li>behavior in a child starts with you (the parent)</li>
<li>focus on the here and now, realizing that progress is an incremental process</li>
<li>if your child truly does have a disability, keep a disability perspective, recognizing that the behavior is often part of the disability</li>
<li>be proactive: teach to a behavior before you need it </li>
<li>provide increased structure and predictability</li>
</ul>Concerning structure and predictability, Ms. Weiss advised parents (or teachers) to ask themselves three important questions: 1)what do I want the child to do instead of what he's doing 2) how can I put it in a visual format so he doesn't rely on my telling him what to do, and 3) what will make it worth his while? I loved the practical application of checklists, schedules, timers, calendars, clocks, and charts. She gave wonderful examples of students, most likely the older ones, learning how to negotiate "earned" minutes towards a reward, a favorite being time with anything that has a screen these days. To be most effective, the child should have input on the designated reinforcer and it should not be available at any other time or for any other reason than to reinforce the behavior.<br />
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Whether we are parents or teachers of children with or without learning disabilities, we've probably all obstructed a child's transformation at one time or another by taking on the child's responsibility, setting unrealistic expectations, being inconsistent, or relying on punishment or too many rules. These pitfalls lead to power struggles, and power struggles are no-win situations.<br />
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As a teacher and a parent, I know that success at home usually leads to success at school and a healthy and happy child. I strongly recommend this book to any parent or teacher who is experiencing more chaos than calm in his or her current setting.Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-53305485950236548192011-02-06T15:46:00.000-05:002011-02-06T15:46:27.903-05:00YA Books in VerseI have a very demanding friend who pushes me around a lot. I mean, some years back she said I ought to get more involved in the writing scene so I ended up helping her out managing the SCBWI critique group here in Charlotte. (If truth be told, we had a third party who brought us together, but that's another story!) Then, when I dropped out of that so I could spend more time writing poems, she said I really ought to write a novel in verse. So I did. Now, she's busy critiquing a manuscript for the <a href="http://www.write2ignite.com/">Write2ignite</a> conference and she said I really ought to compile a list of novels in verse that she can share with this budding author, and besides, it would fit nicely on my blog. Some people have a lot of nerve, don't they? And all I can say is, some people like me would stay stuck in a rut without such dear, genuine friends who are willing to goad them along with loving encouragement and sound suggestions. You can check out all the cool things my gutsy good friend Carol is up to at <a href="http://carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com/">http://carolbaldwinblog.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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So getting back to the task at hand, here are a few good sites to visit for listings and/or reviews of YA novels in verse. I know there are others out there, and I will welcome suggestions and additions that anyone has to offer.<br />
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<a href="http://www.connectedyouth.org/books/index.cfm?booklist=verse">http://www.connectedyouth.org/books/index.cfm?booklist=verse</a> A short list of novels in verse with brief summaries, produced by the Austin Public Library Connected Youth project. The site is worth perusing for the other lists it has compiled, including Picture Books for Teens, and Short and Sweet: Teen Books Under 150 pages. <br />
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<a href="http://susanwrites.livejournal.com/31126.html">http://susanwrites.livejournal.com/31126.html</a> Author, motivational speaker, and writing instructor Susan Taylor Brown has compiled a list of 132+ YA books in verse. This is a list without summaries, but the site is rich in resources for poetry and poets.<br />
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<a href="http://www.readinasinglesitting.com/2010/10/18/list-young-adult-novels-in-verse/">http://www.readinasinglesitting.com/2010/10/18/list-young-adult-novels-in-verse/</a> Read in a Single Sitting, a book review site dedicated to fun, fast reads offers another short list of YA books in verse with brief summaries. This site also has a variety of lists for both adults and young adults.Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9089922913248093231.post-76072597870367767972011-01-23T20:17:00.003-05:002011-01-23T20:51:15.105-05:00LAUGHING ALLEGRA WILL MAKE YOU SMILEWorking with learning disabled students is like solving a variety of intricate jigsaw puzzles on a daily basis. Thankfully I'm part of a team-teaching group, but honestly, some days our collective wisdom is insufficient towards solving the puzzles that embody particular students. So I have great appreciation for the parents who get past the almost unavoidable denial and who launch a relentless quest for the pieces of the puzzle that will unlock a bright future for their child. <br />
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Parents on this journey need all the support they can find, and one of the most inspiring and supportive books I have read is <i><a href="http://www.newmarketpress.com/title.asp?id=646">Laughing Allegra</a></i><a href="http://www.newmarketpress.com/title.asp?id=646">,</a> by Anne Ford, Henry Ford's great-granddaughter. The book opens with Allegra's final competition in the U.S. Figure Skating Association's Adult Nationals at the age of 30. In a nail biting moment, Anne Ford asks, "How can she do this? How can she stand the pressure?" You find yourself asking the same questions as the author recounts the delays and irregularities in Allegra's development from infancy through young adulthood. Anne Ford is forthright in describing friends and family who tried unsuccessfully to share early observations and concerns, countless schools that offered suggestions but not admission, the struggle to find appropriate friends, the search for the right doctors, the difficulty being in such a high-achieving, high-profile family.<br />
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The message in this book is clear. No amount of money or status can buy a child's way out of the entanglements of learning disabilities. But the determination and commitment of parents to become their child's advocate and cheerleader will reap incomparable results. <br />
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In addition to the from-the-heart account of Anne Ford's heartaches and pain as a parent of a learning disabled child, she has offered valuable appendices with lists and resources on topics such as "Mothers and Fathers Understanding Each Other" and "Your Legal Rights." Through her personal experience and years of chairing the National Center for Learning Disabilities she offers wisdom on everything from helping your child gain financial independence to preparing the way when you are gone. This is an inspiring read for all parents, regardless of whether or not they have a child with learning disabilities.Linda Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10838197966070322540noreply@blogger.com4