Beware the Ides of March and unrelated--Marguerite Henry

Can't pass this day without thinking about Rome and Julius Caesar. Greek Mythology  and Roman lore are two of the staples of my Intro to Humanities Class at South Central College.

On a different note, Nikki and I took Alec to the Greenville Library yesterday. There is a terrific children's wing. We perused books, picked a bagful for Alec, and I came across this nostalgic section:

When I was in grade school, I read every book I could find that Marguerite Henry wrote.  My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Anderson, made us tell the class what we wanted to be when we grew up (Smile), and who would to teach us how to do it. I said I wanted to be a writer, and I wanted to learn from Marguerite Henry.

I got to hear Marguerite Henry read once at the University of Minnesota--she was the very first published writer I ever saw do a public reading--but I was too shy (believe it or not) to go  up and tell her she was my idol. I wish I could still tell her. Instead, I'll try to do her legacy justice.

Thank you, Marguerite Henry, for all your wonderful stories.

Another snow day....or rather another snowy day

Freya carries in a blanket of snow. I try to grab her with a big towel before she shakes.

Writing this morning before school. Going to try to hop on the trainer for a bit, too.

Rafi and Maddie, the characters in the novel I'm working on, have me hooked and all I want to do is write, but then comes a little thing like school.
 
Rafi is a Muslim and Maddie has grown up in a conservative Christian home. They are both fighting the frac-sand minds, and they fall in love. They're smart, so of course they talk about their religions. I'm worried about too much "talkiness" sometimes, but I guess I will have to read the whole thing aloud and see. It's sort of pouring onto the page.
All I want to do is write. I already said that.

Yes, this is the novel where both kids go to St. Peter High School. 

South Central Service Cooperative Young Writers' Conference

Yesterday (March 13), I presented at the SCSC Young Writers' Conference for 7-9th graders. I did the keynote opening program about "From Here to There by Way of the Zoo," subtitled, "Prairie-Dogging Your Way to a Story," using animal metaphors to talk about patterns of writing to completion, and how we can use odd things we find in everyday life to weave together a coherent whole story. I think it went well--at least the auditorium full of junior high students was attentive the whole time.

Somebody threw up, but otherwise it went smoothly. :)  At leas I had fun. That should count for something, right?

Then I did three sessions on creating a character out of thin air, using an exercise I do in Creative Writing class. Each student makes up a story element (character, setting, problem, twist), puts it in the appropriate bucket, and then draws an element from each bucket. Weaving these different elements together is always the challenge, but can make for some delightful storylines.  It was fun, and nearly every single student in each session had a great start on a story by the time they left the class.

I did meet a lot of wonderful young teens, many of whom are excellent writers!

Good week

Gearing up for some book events in July. New Ulm Public Library has a cool website. I'm there on July 15.

This is my birthday week, so on my birthday yesterday, I rode 55 miles -- Eeek. That's a mile for every year. Muddy, wet, rainy, windy, puddles, grit, but I did it.

Wrote all morning, then rode, then met my writing group for a birthday party/goodbye party for dear friend Jann who is moving to Fargo-Moorhead this weekend. Then Tom took me out. What a great birthday.

Now: back to writing.

Goofy Newfies.

So, this morning...it's raining and Freya went outside to do her business and came RIGHT back in before she finished. At least we know she's smart enough to come in out of the rain. When the rain let up, she ran way out into the cornfield to do it! Good dog! I was so proud of her...until I noticed her foot prints...uh, maybe this will accelerate my ripping up of the carpet in my house.

Yesterday, Gwen and Roger brought Buster Brown, their brown Newfy up to play with Freya. We had a blast. Dogs swam, retrieving things unto exhaustion. Here they are, shaking in tandem. There was quite a bit of slobber in the kitchen all at once.

Photos on blogger: I give up. I put them up in order; I rearrange them. The way they appear has nothing to do with how I posted them. It's not worth spending time rearranging. Back to working on my writing.

Finals Week

This is the time of year that feels impossibly stretched in a bunch of directions. I'm like a sheet of hide (though much, much, much, MUCH thicker), stretched in so many directions and staked out, pulled until I can't breathe. So what am I doing? Writing a blog post. Go figure.

Grading: grading research papers is certifiably one of the hardest jobs in the world. I'll put it up there against most. Okay, okay, I'm rethinking that. What about mining for gold or copper in Africa, coal mining in West Virginia, diving for pearls off the California cost in the 1800s, garbage collecting, sorting recyclables, and dishwashing...Okay, so I'll quit whining. In a minute.

Give me the minute, okay? It's tedious and you cannot lose concentration, have to read for content, argument, support, organization, documentation, lack of plagiarism, and grammar...it's not fun. Some of the papers are fun, though, and I always learn stuff while I'm reading them. It's just such a huge job. This year, I got some exceptional and creative ones, too...so I'll quit whining.

When I'm done with those, it's a few stacks of final exams. Then figuring and entering grades. Enough said. It'll take me until sometime tomorrow, and I've been at it now for a couple weeks.

Also: the weather warms up (not today; rain streaks my windows) and I want to plant the garden, tune up the garden tractor and mow my hayfield yard.

And: I want to plan a trip to see my kids. Planning takes time. And money.

And: sunshine (when it's out) and the open road beckon me. My legs are itchin' to put miles on my road bike...haven't ridden nearly enough this year (hence the reason the hide is so thick, as noted above).

And: I am leaving for Italy with 12 students on Tuesday. Have I started packing or planning? Are you kidding? Have I had time to breathe? I did read Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling (on tape--no time to read a book lately), and now I want to make some diagrams of the ceiling, so I know what all of the figures represent when I see it this time. That's a task for after turning in grades.

Finally: I want to write! Have these two stories broiling around in my head, and half in the computer, and I want to work on them in the worst way, but if I do, I won't get all this grading done.

So, why, you ask, am I writing in my blog? I have no idea. Maybe it's some latent procrastinating gene that I can't excise. Maybe I felt like I needed to still be connected to the world. I don't know. But now, I'm signing out of the social world and retreating back to my grading desk, perhaps never to return...

Crazy weekend.

Craziness. Friday, 46 students and friends/guests and I went to Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Ol' Spaghetti Factory, and to "Arsenic and Old Lace" at the Guthrie. A grand time was had by all, I think. Great play. Absolutely wonderful. So happy when I can take students to something so much fun that they want to repeat the experience.

Happy surprise: Liz Miller was in the middle of assembling her huge installation at the MIA. We got to watch for awhile. It's amazing, and I can't wait to see it finished...and it was the coolest of surprises.

Saturday, I went with Rachael and Lisa to the MN Book Awards, which was a delightful evening and although I really really wanted Swati's SPLIT to win, it just goes to show that everything is subjective, and great books don't win everything.

Sunday, I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the SW/WC Creative Writing Contest Awards Ceremony at Southwest MSU. Great kids, excited about writing and proud of their accomplishments. I got to put the medals around their necks. Talk about fun! The junior and senior first-place winners got scholarships to SMSU! What a terrific contest and event. The winners are all published in a slick-looking anthology. Lots of work, but those kids were loving it. Well worthwhile. Thanks, Marianne, for inviting me to come.

And Marianne and Jim and one of their students and I went out to Hunan Lion afterwards. That means I got curry twice this week. What a treat!

I'm a little tired today, but back to the school drawing board.

Mn DOT worker, Liz Taylor, Christopher Paolini, and oh, yeah, blog tour

Foremost in my thoughts is the Mn DOT worker who was lost in the flooding Minnesota River yesterday. Can't stop thinking about him and his mom...what more can I say...

Today, Liz Taylor died. Maybe this is the day I need to begin the story in the back of my brain reminiscent of National Velvet. I think I need to do that in her honor, even if all I get is a paragraph or two. (I have two other books to finish before I can throw myself into this one anyway).

So, Christopher Paolini has published the fourth book in his series. Inheritance. We'll all probably have to check it out.

Naughty Book Kitties is at it again, and it's his blogoversary, too.

Over and out. School calls. I answer.

Happy New Year!

It's really and truly 2011. Can hardly belive it.

Sara Frederick wrote a story for the Mankato Free Press Mankato Magazine about Chasing AllieCat, and I guess about me. I told Sara that I have realized I'm simply not a calm person, and place helps me center myself, be calm, and write. That's why my little farmhouse is such a good place for me to write. Freya loves it, too--always a boon.

Sara did a great job with the article. She's an amazing writer.

Anyway, one of my goals for the new year is to be calmer. Even when I'm stressed out or have too much to do. Calm. All I can do is try. Right?

Writing and riding my bike daily calm me. School too often takes those two things away. I'm going to work extra, extra hard this year to not let that happen, to keep writing and riding even during the busiest part of the school year.

On a much lighter note, I never published this photo I took in North Carolina when I was there for Thanksgiving. No time like the present, eh?

It cracks me up. If anyone can explain it to me, please do!