WHY I'M INSPIRED BY… @sarahockler

Weeping is not the same thing as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it's over, you feel like you don't have any bones left to hold you up. 

-Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer p. 28

 

Like the stars, fading with the halo of the vanishing moon. Like the ocean, falling and whispering against the shore. Nothing ever really goes away - it just changes into something else. Something beautiful.

-Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer p. 289

 

REFLECTING ON READING

Through grade school, high school, college and grad school…at writing conferences and seminars…on author websites and educators blogs…one encounters the old saw that if one wants to be a good writer, they have to be a good READER.

Sometimes hearing that lesson gets annoying.  Even if I enjoy reading, being TOLD to do something kind of takes away my ownership of the act--even if I choose the books (which I don’t, always, since I read a lot for work). Two of my sons are dyslexic and telling them to be “good readers” is fraught on so many levels. One of those boys is a terrific writer, too, but reading a novel takes him an epic amount of time. So, it’s asking a lot.

Here’s the thing, though: Reading does help me as a writer. It helps me appreciate beautiful words strung together. It helps me grasp concepts like pacing, and develop strategies for presenting dialogue, that are nearly impossible to understand without good examples. When I’m not being nagged, I do love reading.

I love that feeling of racing to the end of a great book all the while dreading that last page because then it’ll be over and you’ll have to say goodbye to those characters who are breathing in your heart.

I love the way men and women all around the world put fingers to keyboard (or pen to paper) to tell their stories, leave a mark on the world, share an idea. I love to bear witness to that act by turning pages.

For the next 10 Mondays, I’ll be posting a series called WHY I'M INSPIRED BY… in which I share quotes from authors whose work I admire and from whom I have learned (and basically behave like a shameless fangirl).

Feel free to join me by leaving a comment and I’ll pop by your blog and say hello!

Waiting on Wednesday: Pretty in Pink

This fun-tastic meme comes courtesy of Breaking the Spine. I haven't participated in awhile, but I thought I'd give a little WoW cover love to some gorgeous jackets in creamy and rosy hues.






 Info here



Craft Chat: Researching Your Fiction

I'm deep in the muck of a new manuscript. I KNOW my protagonist and, on my best days, really hear his voice in my head. The imaginary people and places splash onto the page sometimes faster than I can type. What gets me stuck? FACTS!

I discovered when I was writing THE SOUND OF LETTING GO that there was a LOT I didn't know about trumpets, Youth Orchestras, and especially autism. To write the best work of FICTION I could manage, I needed information to be sure my scenarios were plausible, my characterizations and descriptions authentic. What did I do?

• PRIMARY RESEARCH: Sought out and interviewed teen trumpet prodigies, psychiatrists and psychologists who treated people with autism in residential settings, parents and siblings of teens on the low-functioning end of the autism spectrum.
• READING: I read non-fiction books about autism, musical prodigies, family therapy strategies. I read fiction about and by folks on the autism spectrum.
• ONLINE EXPLORATION: I scoured the Autism Speaks and Autism Society websites, connected with some amazing people, including the director of the Sibling Support Project.
• VERIFICATION: I had my manuscript vetted by readers who worked in the autism field to make sure my finished product held up.

In the service of my new w-I-p, I am now interviewing police officers, and reading a lot about all kinds of things (secret for now). Although it takes time and effort, in the end, having a solid grasp of the facts frees me to write my very best fiction.

For a wonderful and poetic musing on this topic, check out Caroline Starr Rose's ODE TO A RESEARCH NOTEBOOK here!