by hatfield13

Feeding the Muse

I’ve been a mighty quiet blogger lately — not because I’ve been busy writing…but because I’ve been busy NOT writing.  Laurie Halse Anderson calls it “filling the well,” taking time to do things that aren’t writing, things that feed our souls in different ways.

For me, that included visiting with writer friends at the New England SCBWI Conference in Nashua last weekend.  I attended fantastic workshops presented by

[info]dlgarfinkle

, who talked about the ins and outs of writing a series,

[info]carriejones

, who explored the concept of improvisation as a writing strategy, and

[info]tanyaleestone

and Charlesbridge editor Yolanda Leroy, who teamed up to present two fabulous hours on writing nonfiction. 

The day after the conference, we left for a trip to Florida’s Gulf Coast to visit family and do more well-filling.  It was a wonderful week of long, morning coffee conversations and play time on the beach.

E and I spent a whole afternoon finding just the right sparkly shells for our sand-mermaid’s fin and gathering enough seaweed for her hair.

We all loved the fabulous and far-fetched sights of Sarasota’s Ringling Circus Museum…

My husband swears that if I’d been with the circus in the early days, I would have been the woman being shot out of the cannon.  Do you suppose he means that as a compliment?

My favorite part of the trip was the morning we spent in the Everglades.

This week it’s back to school and back to the drawing board, with a middle grade novel revision that I started tackling on the plane trip home.

My muse is happy tonight, full of play time and nature and Nana’s chocolate chip cookies (no, wait…it’s me who’s full of those). 

21 Replies on “Feeding the Muse”

  1. You were down HERE in our back yard? We could have had a crit group meeting with everyone here! Oh no, I guess we couldn’t…Candice was on vacation out of the state too.

    I loved the Everglades, too, when I went…got some fabulous pictures, but that was several years ago.

  3. Went on vacation…sounds like fun!
    Glad you’re just getting around to posting about the conference…I just posted yesterday too.
    Mona

  5. Kate Messner

    How old were you when you decided to become a writer?
    Did you like dressing up like the people in Spitfire?
    Do you like living in Platsburg on Lake Champlain?
    How did you come up with the cover of Spitfire?
    When you tried the hard tack did you like it?

    Trisha
    Grade 6

  7. Kate

    Just had to answer your comment. I so agree that she’s the nicest….and the most fun to be with.
    Love, her mom

  10. I was so glad to see you at the conference, Mona! Thanks again for organizing dinner – and congratulations…I can’t imagine a more deserving caretaker for Rosemary!

  12. Re: Kate Messner

    Well, hi there, Trisha! I bet you’re another Ogdensburg friend.

    I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was seven years old, though I also wanted to be some other things along the way, like a tv reporter and teacher, which I’ve done, and a marine biologist, which I haven’t done. I do like walking on the beach, though!

    I thought dressing like the people in Spitfire was great fun, though I wouldn’t want to eat that kind of food all the time.

    I love living on Lake Champlain. Love it, love it, love it. I think it’s because the lake changes all the time and there’s always something new to discover.

    The cover artist actually designs the cover of a book, and the author doesn’t usually have a say in it. However, for this book, that artist was my mom, so she let me peek even before it was done.

    I don’t care for hardtack much, but I sure think it’s interesting to try. Thanks for your questions!

  13. Hi, Bobbi!

    I wanted to be an author because I’ve always loved reading and writing my own stories. It took me lots of hard work and practice to get a book published, and I still work very hard at revising my books to make sure they’re the best they can be. Thanks for your question!

  18. I dont really like writing but people say i am kind of good at writing, like it is neat,but do you ever get bored of writing?

    I know you said that you love to teach and love to write but have you ever wished that you did something else?

    I know that making those powder horns are hard to make in all but have you finished them yet I know that you were just here not to long ago so you might not have but
    I was wondering if you have finished them yet?

    You have been writing for quite some time and I was wondering how old you were when you starting writing.And if your first book was Spitfire or was it another book but it didnt get published?

    Tiffany,6th Grade

  19. What kind of books do you read now?

    I hate to burst your bubble but I don’t really like reading, we were forced to read your book, but I actually enjoyed the book after I had read it!!

    Do you like hard tack?

    Have your kids ever thought about becoming a writer?

    Do you want your kids to become a writer?

    Would you read your kids writings?

    Did you have to make alot of changes to your books?

    Do you get mad when people say bad things about your writing?
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 :):)

    Taylor
    Madill Elementary
    Sixth Grade

  21. What kind of books do you read now?

    I hate to burst your bubble but I don’t really like reading, we were forced to read your book, but I actually enjoyed the book after I had read it!!

    Do you like hard tack?

    Have your kids ever thought about becoming a writer?

    Do you want your kids to become a writer?

    Would you read your kids writings?

    Did you have to make alot of changes to your books?

    Do you get mad when people say bad things about your writing?
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 :):)

    Taylor
    Madill Elementary
    Sixth Grade