The idea that muscles have memory is not a new one. For those of you wanting to know more about it, I found this https://www.popsci.com/what-is-muscle-memory/

For our purposes, let’s just say that the more we do something, the easier it becomes. This applies to a myriad of things – both positive and negative. The more you put off writing, the easier it becomes. You can go for days, weeks, months, years — dare I say — forever. No, I daren’t because I tend to despise the phrase ‘dare I say.”

At any rate – Pam (pictured above) invited me to join her Cardio Class (okay, technically I invited myself as I am apt to do — but the point is, I’ve been going. Mostly. She’s going more – go, Pam, go!). I’m enjoying the class. Today the instructor said we were like a really good Show Choir — which is fantastic because I had been imagining that it was 1986 and I was back in Show Choir. The point of this is — my muscles remembered. Sure, it was a lifetime ago — but once you learn to grapevine with a bunch of like-minded people, you don’t soon forget.

Which brings us back to writing. As always.

Today I came home and wrote a silly poem — in the style of Edward Lear. It’s ridiculous, but I enjoyed writing it. I enjoyed rhyming it. And my muscles remembered, if only for an hour — that they like to write.

But if I never do it — I will forget.

So if you are like me — God bless you — but if you are struggling to do the work: remember, a HUGE part is muscle memory. Sit down. Write something. Anything. Your muscles will remember.

Prompt: Pick one of your favorite writers and write something in their style. It doesn’t have to be very long. It doesn’t have to be very good. It doesn’t have to go anywhere. Just let your muscles remember.

But it’s rough, you know?

I tend to resist a lot of this. I tell myself I don’t need goals. That January resolutions just make me feel depressed in February. That picking a word only works if I can remember what the word is in July. (I remember 2019’s because I found a Post It note on my “office” wall with the word COURAGE scrawled across it while I was moving everything around to fit in some rabbits … but that’s another story).

Of course, resistance is futile.

This morning, despite my best efforts to avoid resolutions – I joined a very good friend at a group fitness class. As we were concentrating on which foot to lift, or kick, or tap – the instructor mentioned Collective Joy. You know – the idea that when people gather and dance together, they tend to experience more joy than those who are alone in their basement “office” dancing. She didn’t mention that last part, but I think we can go there.

It struck me that this is exactly what I’ve been missing: being part of the collective. 

Which is why, earlier this morning, I had already planned a writing chat for February at my local library. I just hadn’t quite put it all together under Collective Joy. But that’s what talking about writing with other writers is, at least, for me. That’s why I loved working towards my MFA, it’s why I love going to conferences, and why critique groups work. It’s the collective joy of the group.

So maybe that’s my theme for 2020: Collective Joy. Only time will tell.

Prompt: Think of a character in one of the books you’re working on. What groups does this character belong to? Wish to belong to? Excluded from? Quitting? Trying to quit? Write a scene where your character is entering a new group. Write dialog between the character and another character who is already an established member of the group. Now write dialog between the character and another character who is new to the group.

Happy Writing.

If you’re interested in chatting about writing, and you’re near Janesville, the details can be found on my FB page under the Events Tab. https://www.facebook.com/jswensonwriter/

This is so very true – HOWEVER – do not let the fact that you are stealing moments stop you either. Art shouldn’t be created in stolen moments – but of course it is, and likely, always will be. In a perfect world, we would not consider the theft of time the only way to do something that nourishes the soul. We would have time set carefully aside – no – blocked off in gigantic letters and highlighted in neon colors. Time that would be ONLY for ART. And we would feel so artistic during this time that we would create AMAZING things that our friends and family would all behold and say, “Oh, yes – this is why we never disturb her during her special Art Block.”

But, welcome to the real world. If you want to write – find the time and steal it back. Yes, it might be at 5 a.m. or maybe it’s somewhere between dropping a child off at school and running to an appointment.  These are your precious stolen moments. Grab ’em up.

But ALSO look for those special blocks of time that you might otherwise give to a volunteer project or to the laundry. Use that neon highlighter and BLOCK IT OFF. I used to do this with great intention — and it worked. I knew I had two hours a week to write – and like clockwork – I showed up, butt in chair – and I wrote for a good forty-five minutes of that two hour block. I needed the whole two hours though – to simmer – to think – to daydream – and to write. In the past few years, I’ve allowed that time slot to evaporate – which was a HUGE mistake on my part. I’m taking it back. But, in the meantime, I’m stealing my moments wherever I see them. 

In all honesty, I’ve never really allowed the mundane housework stuff stop me too often. Dishes will wait. Laundry will pile. Crumbs on the floor build character, and if your child eats one, all the better. According to WebMD (a trusted and valued source of backing up my thoughts on this topic) “the young immune system is strengthened by exposure to everyday germs so that it can learn, adapt, and regulate itself, notes Thom McDade, PhD, associate professor and director of the Laboratory for Human Biology Research at Northwestern University.”

So, really, you’re not only stealing moments to create your art – you are helping prevent any number of childhood illnesses. You’re welcome.

Prompt for today: Think about the cleanest house you were ever in as a child (or adult if your want – it’s your prompt). Describe that space and the person(s) who kept it clean. How did it make you feel? Now imagine something terribly messy happening in that place and the reaction of everyone involved. 

So WHY am I back? Because I’ve missed you and this form of writing. I’ve spent nearly a decade chasing after contracts – and catching a few. And I’m proud of the books that have ended up in the world — and the books to come. I have a book due out in 2021 and 2022 one from Sleeping Bear Press and one from Paula Wiseman Books.

Of course, I’ve stopped holding my breath. Books simply take their time. That’s a hard lesson to learn in this world of immediate gratification and instant self-publishing. Oh, believe me – I’ve been tempted at times to upload a file and TA-DA a book. I’ve edited quite a few of these types of books over the years — and have decided that, for your good, my good, the good of the world and the reading public — it is best that I wait for the traditionally vetted product. The whole simmering (for years at times), rejections (for years at times), interest/contract stage (for years at times), editorial & illustration process (you know what goes here), and then finally – this amazing book that represents the creative talents of a small community of people — that is pretty darn cool. Plus – I REALLY, REALLY need a good copy editor. You likely agree with me if you’ve read many of my blog posts. Blogs are a different beast – errors and all – and the closest to immediate publishing gradification I will allow myself. 

What to expect in future posts: a bit of this, a bit of that – thoughts on storytelling, writing, reading, raising adult children, finding writing space for yourself (and not feeling guilty about it), prompts, encouragement, and a little conversation in this sometimes dark, but always spectacular world. 

Color of your first bike.

Favorite lunch when you were seven.

What your childhood home looked like.

It’s the whole write what you know idea. It’s pretty standard advice. It’s pretty good advice. It’s sometimes the hardest advice to follow.

Why is that? I haven’t a clue. We all have interesting lives – no matter if you grew up in a small town of 150 folks or in the middle of NYC. I think the problem is that we do not always think that our lives are worthwhile.

Did you save the world when you were ten? Invent something that has revolutionized society? Found the answer to poverty? Fixed the energy crisis? Made contact with alien cultures? No? Then hmmmm… this is going to be a bit harder than I thought.

No, actually it isn’t.

Writing what you know means putting authentic voice to universal experiences in your own unique way. HUH?

Did you lose someone you loved when you were a kid? What did feel like? How did the people around you react to the death?

Were you the smart kid? The dumb kid? The shy kid? The smelly kid? The popular one? The invisible one? The hungry one? I want to know. I know who I was when I was seven – and I was someone else at twelve – and yet a different person at sixteen. I can relate to your story, I want to relate to your story.

Did your parents have a happy marriage? A less-than-happy one? Were they even married? Did you know your parents? What did they do for a living? Did you have enough money? Food? Too much money? Food? Did your grandma like your father? Hate him? If you tell me, I will connect on an emotional level – I have parents, grandparents, brothers, aunts, uncles, best friends, enemies … I promise you, if you tell me about it, I’m interested.

Did your dad ever, out of the blue, bring home a goat? (Pam????)

Okay – you get the picture. You have stuff. It’s your stuff. It’s interesting to me because it might remind me of myself or teach me something new. I really don’t know.

When I was working on my M.F.A. a new student came into my workshop session. She had written a rather uninspiring picture book — it’s not that it was bad — it’s just — it had no heart. It seemed like any number of picture books, but it had no detail, no voice, nothing that made anyone care. I clearly remember the instructor asking this woman where she had grown up. Turns out, she and her family left her home country due to war, violence, poverty — she grew up moving around to find safe places, sometimes in refugee camps. We all sat there listening to this in awe and wonder. Why hadn’t she used any of this in her book? Not even in the vocabulary. Was it too painful? Was it too close to her heart? Maybe. But what she said was, “I didn’t think anyone would find that interesting. I haven’t seen it in any books.”

Um. Yeah. Like I said – I’m interested in YOUR story. To you, it’s old news. To me it’s amazing. Write your story. You know it by heart.

 Now – the trick is – use your emotional memories – they are yours … but unless you want to write memoire, create some fictional folks to live through the emotions you’ve already experienced. You lost your dog? Maybe your MC lost her best friend. You moved to a big city when you were ten? Maybe your MC moves to a farm. You get to use your stories — but you don’t have to stick with what actually happened. Use what works, fix what doesn’t. This is fiction afterall.

Write on, people. Write on.

You know, there are some truly amazing librarians and library volunteers out there — and my visit to Clinton this morning proves it. Miss Shawn (holding BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! & Fred the Bear) wears many hats in her small library — including engineer — “All About the Storytime Train! Chugga Chugga Choo! Choo!” she calls and the kids line up and chug chug chug into the storytime room. After stories – she might have to rearrange the room for a teen group (as she did today) … and then back to checking book in and out — but she clearly loves her job. And I love librarians like her! 

Here we see Lucy (below) — she came to the book launch in Janesville and couldn’t wait to read the book by herself — so she plopped right down and started reading. I feel that way sometimes too!!

And where would a library be without volunteers? (pict. below) Here’s one of Clinton’s best volunteers — with Fred (of course!).

What fun we’ve had — and I can’t wait to meet more friends this summer as I visit IL, OH, and WI … BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Here’s a few photos from Saturday’s event (photos by David Wm. Loveland Jr.)

Don’t worry if you missed the storm — I’ll be at many WI (and OH) libraries in the next few months.

Menasha Public, Menasha, WI – June 18

Clinton Public, Clinton, WI – June 19

Wright Public Library,  and 3 other OH Public Libraries – July 8 – 9

St. Francis Public, St. Francis, WI – July 16 – a.m.

Wauwatosa Public, Wauwatosa, WI – July 16 p.m.

Cudahy Public, Cudahy, WI – July 18

Oak Creek Public, Oak Creek, WI – July 24

Beloit Public, Beloit, WI – Aug. 7

Eager Free, Evansville, WI – Aug. 21

So, you’re sitting there knocking your head against the table. You’ve been there for two hours and all you’ve managed to get on the page is ADD SOMETHING GOOD RIGHT HERE AT THE END OF CHAPTER 2 – or –  FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS THAT THIS CHARACTER WANTS …

You’re frustrated. Your laundry is a mile high and you really should be at the grocery store right now or your family will end up with breakfast for dinner (again). But still, you sit there. And after some time … the words flow. Maybe not perfectly. But at least it’s something. Later you ask yourself WHY. Why do you spend so much time with what feels like so little to show for it (some days). This is why:

So, back to work. Families are waiting for your book.

Ah, glad you asked.

You see — it’s not the story that makes the difference — there are many, many rainy night stories. And there are stories of animals crowding into too small places. And there are even stories of brave young boys with bossy sisters. Yes, yes. These are great stories … but what makes one story stand apart from the others is the method by which the storyteller/writer (me, you, your neighbor Shirley) relates the story.

It’s voice. It’s P.O.V. (point of view). It’s word choice – it’s the rhythm of the language. All of these choices add up to a story that is different from the last story you read/heard. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! opens with the lines:

“One stormy night, I jumped into bed.

Safe with a book and my bear named Fred.”

I might have said:

“At bedtime, I jumped into my cozy little bed – with my best friend – a teddy bear named Fred. And of course, I picked out a good book — tonight I wanted to read about thunderstorms — because it was a thunderstormy night.”

So, I have given the same facts – but right away it seems like a different story. In fact, knowing that our main character is jumping into bed with his/her best friend might make us worry that we’re heading into YA territory … until we find out it’s a teddy bear! (hahaha… sorry… but I was worried for about thirty seconds while reading that line back to myself…).

I guess that illustrates the point that HOW we tell the story – word choice, sentence length – how and when the information is doled out to the reader … all of these choices we make affect how the text is read.

Later in the book I used the text:

“We four nestled and listened to rain. Split, splat, splat, splop, a stormy refrain.”

I might have said:

“The rain pounded on the roof and against the windows. Thunder bounced around, rattling the books on the shelves. Cat, Dog, Guinea Pig, and I snuggled into my little bed and listened as the storm continued to storm.”

Again – the same information is stated in the text — but I used twice as many (or more) words to get there. I didn’t have to list all the characters in my text “we four” told the illustrator everything he needed to know – and I must say — the art on this spread melts my heart every time I see it. David Walker understood completely what “We four nestled” should look like on the page.

Now – if you look at the illustration you’ll see 6 things in the bed – but Fred (being a teddy bear and not alive) and Blankie (being a blankie and also not alive) are not counted in the running text. Kids don’t seem to mind this — and actually enjoy going back and saying, “There are four friends, plus FRED! That’s five – oh, and blankie — that’s six!”

Again – how to count characters was a conscious thought for me — in fact — it’s something I went around and around with as I crafted the text. How many are in the bed? And what counts and what doesn’t? Ultimately, I counted only the little boy and the “real” animals/people. It was a style choice. It was a storytelling choice. It’s a discussion point for kids and readers. And it all boils down to — How are you telling your story? What word choices will you make? Whose P.O.V. is this? And how many words will you use?

Personally, I enjoy reading books with rhythm and rhyme – I like reading sentences such as:

“Boing in,” I said. “But then, no hopping. With five this bed is tip-flip-flopping!”

But, that’s me. That’s my voice. That’s what I love to read aloud. What do you like to read? What’s your voice? Who is telling your story? And what words do you want to use to tell it? I can’t answer those questions — only you can.

Now, scoot. Off you go. Don’t you have a book to write?

1)What is the title of your next book?

Boom! Boom! Boom! to be released by Farrar, Straus & Giroux on May 28, 2013. Illustrated by David Walker.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

It was a dark and stormy night … when BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! my dog, my children, and every other pet and person in the house ended up in my bed. As soon as things calmed down I ran to my computer and started to write my silly, rhyming book about a stormy night, a brave little boy, a lot of frightened friends – and a bed a bit too cozy!

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Picture book/rhyming/cumulative – fun!  It’s a storytime read aloud for preschool to 2^nd grade.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a
movie rendition?

Let’s see – how about Johnny Depp as the heroic young boy and Lady Gaga as his impulsive sister? The animals can be cast as themselves … including my teddy bear, Fred.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A stormy night, a brave young boy, too many frightened friends – and a too cozy bed!

6) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

The first draft flew from my fingers in hours – the subsequent drafts took years.

7)What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

My book would go well with any other rhyming, bedtime, counting, noisy, sibling, animal book!

Now – who to tag next – I’m tagging a few of my favorite authors – check out their webpgs. for more EXCELLENT books!

Ann Bausum– award-winning non-fiction

Elizabeth Fixmer – fabulous historical fiction – 1960s civil rights!