Kool Aid on the Floor and Crayons in the Dryer--Emotions to Draw From

It's messy work, being a mom. This afternoon I was in the throes of discovering a melted green crayon in the dryer had speckled and streaked and ruined an entire batch of whites when the 8yo and the 6yo entered the laundry room baring gifts of red-soaked dishtowels.

"What's that?"

"She dumped it. We told her not to."

Red Kool-Aid. All over the newly mopped kitchen floor. Thanks, 3yo chica. Making my day, here.

At least they were trying to remedy the situation. I do have pretty darn good kids.

But life does get in the way of writing a lot of the time. My goal was to edit another 20 pages today. I'm doing the hard stuff, cutting from 95,000 words down to 85,000. Whole paragraphs and scenes are getting the ax. It's painful.

Yeah, it's painful enough to see my words, my creation circling the drain--I didn't need destruction swirling around me too.

Then again, it's these moments that give me experience to draw from. One of the things we have to do as writers is to imbue our characters with strong emotions (frustration and despair included.) And even though I hope I never write a story about a haggard mom slogging her way through the drudgery of housework, I can tap these experiences, notice how I feel and put it into words. Then I can transpose these feelings (no matter what source they come from) onto my characters and into their situations.

So, it's not all a loss. Not entirely.

I guess.

Red Kool Aid is my nemesis. (Even though it tastes fabulous. Especially Tropical Punch.)

Click Here for How to Get Red Kool Aid Out of Carpet

The Terrible Secret (and the hidden candy)

The other night at my writers group, it was my turn to give the lesson. We have a short 5-7 minute writing lesson at the beginning of our meetings, before we share for critique. I pulled out a book I bought a while back, Conflict, Action and Suspense by William Noble. It's part of a really great series called "Elements of Writing," published by the good folks over at Writers Digest. I've read several of the other entries in this series, by such authors as Orson Scott Card and Jack Bickham.

The great tip from Mr. Noble was on adding suspense to the novel by giving a character what he called "The Terrible Secret." He asked a class full of writing students whether they had a secret they'd never, ever divulged to anyone. Almost everyone raised a hand. He asked who wanted to write about it. All the hands went down. "Good," he said. "Then you have a secret you want to protect." That helps you know how a character would feel (and how far a character might go) to prevent the secret from becoming known.

Two things happen with a secret (and it must be TERRIBLE. It can't be a quest-related secret. It has to be something AWFUL.) If it is divulged at the beginning of a story, it will set things in motion, and the whole story can evolve due to the letting out of the secret. If the secret is kept, the suspense is higher and the threat of what will happen if the secret is made known will keep things taut. Your story can be about the great lengths a character will go to in order to keep the secret under wraps.

I'd read this before, but not at the beginning of a "plotting time" like I am now with my new story. I have a woman in my story I haven't gotten a great bead on yet, but I LOVE the idea of giving her a terrible secret she will almost do anything to keep. It adds dimension to her character, and it will give the story a lot better conflict.

And we LOVE conflict! Conflict makes the story happen!

So, I'm in conflict with myself, as well. I still LOVE sugar, but I have to think of ways that seem less like baked goods and candy to get it. And the cold cereal thing is making me feel guilty, too. So....my latest way of getting a sugar fix is...hot cereal!


I love hot cereal. So much. Beyond expression. I eat cracked wheat to make a 1950s housewife proud. But for a candy fix, I'm talking about the candy version of hot cereal: the kind in the packets, already sweetened with fruit and spices. That stuff is fantastic! There's maple, brown sugar, a version called cinnamon roll (!), another with peaches, one with strawberries. All just candy disguised as oaty goodness!

Apple cinnamon is my favorite. I just buy the WalMart brand, and it's fantastic, probably filled with LOADS of sugar, but I've decided to be in denial about it, and I'm refusing to read the label. I'll let pre-packaged oatmeal keep it's own Terrible Sugar Secret.

Captain America (Dialogue Tension) and Hot Tamales

We went to see Captain America last night. I know, Tuesday night date night--awesome! While I was on my roadtrip, we got behind on movies and had to get back on track with the summer blockbusters.

I loved Captain America. For one thing, it was great to see a superhero that wasn't flawed. He was chosen to become super for his integrity and values, and he remained true to them in courage to the end. It was refreshing after years of anti-heroes.

I love going to the movies for a lot of reasons. One is the popcorn. So salty, so fabulous. My friend Tina told me (possibly it was a comment on this blog!) that popcorn mixed with Hot Tamales candy is fantastic. I can't imagine she's wrong. I bet it's great. Cinnamon, sugar, salt, butter, heat. Yeah!
Are there too many references to hot things in this blog?


Which reminds me, the guy who played Captain America also played the Human Torch in Fantastic Four a few years ago. (Not my favorite film. All they did was stand around and complain they had super powers. Come on!)

As I was listening to the movie's dialogue, I noticed some great things about it. One, no phrase was wasted. Every single line served to reveal character of the speaker. It either explained some kind of background, some values he/she held, or some dream he/she had. Well done, screenwriters!

Another thing it did well was convey tension. Each line had conflict. Every sentence challenged another character's feelings or beliefs or ego. The romantic lines were especially good--no mushiness, all tension and strength.

I know, I know--a show like that shouldn't be a primer for how to do dialogue. We should refer to Woody Allen's older works or something. But this was good stuff, and I'm excited to get back to editing this morning and take a lesson from Captain America.

I think we all could.

Reading Aloud and Raspberry Freezer Jam

I got a nice review on Goodreads this morning. Made my day!

I'm doing a new kind of editing. Well, new to me. I've been on a road trip, as the only driver, and I've had my teenage son read me my draft as we motor along the highways of America. I need to cut about 40 pages (yipes!) to get the draft down to a reasonable length (85,000 words, from what I can tell from research and asking around--that's in the good length zone).

It's working really well. It's very different to read and just listen, and not have the words in front of me. (Instead I am dodging roadkill and triple-trailer semi trucks.) But as he reads I can hear different things that don't sound right, find redundancies, spot boring and wordy places, and passages that are convoluted become painfully obvious.

Every time I've edited in the past I've had a hard copy or at least a computer screen copy in front of me, and I've almost always been the one doing the reading aloud when read-alouds were on the menu of the session. This is a totally different experience, and I have to say it's really valuable.

Isn't my kid a great sport? Yes, he IS! (Plus, to my great delight he's been begging to read the draft and is enjoying it.) Oh, and he made me take out a word he hated. That's good.

My candy of choice this week isn't candy per-se. It's raspberries. As we drove into one of the mountain valleys, we came across a roadside stand (see previous entry). A teenage girl was selling flats of raspberries for $34. I know, it's a pricey habit, but they are pure gold. Especially when I turned them into jam. The recipe called for 3 cups of mashed fruit and 5 1/2 cups of sugar. Am I keeping to my no-sugar resolve? Not so well. But I tell myself that it's fruit so it doesn't count. And it's seriously the best thing in the world. I adore homemade raspberry freezer jam. It only takes about 20 minutes to make a huge five-and-a-half-cups-of-sugar batch and it will make me happy for weeks to come!

These aren't my jars or my recipe, but mine looks just like this!

JOY!

Cracking a Code -- and White Chocolate Popcorn (recipe!)

Sometimes I come across information that works almost like a Rosetta Stone. It opens things up to understanding the way things work in writing and helps me look at almost every piece of writing with new eyes. The book The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes is one of those things. *(ooh, baby. i just saw it's available on Kindle.)



At the writers retreat last week I was lucky to get asked to present one of the workshops. My friend Colleen had introduced me to this super useful book a couple of years ago, and I decided it was the thing to share with the women in the pines. She stumbled across it mis-shelved in Bookmans, as thought it were meant for her and only her to find. (Cue mysterious music here.)

The three authors of this book have analyzed and boiled down millennia of literary works. They categorized eight types of heroes and eight types of heroines based on classic and modern literature. Their contention is that all truly memorable heroes/heroines are classifiable into one (or two, if they are layered types) of these archetypes.

When I first picked up the book, I found myself resisting the idea. I thought, I'm not going to use this--I want to create *unique* characters, not stereotypes. HOWEVER, reading on, I realized stereotypes and archetypes are not the same thing. Archetypes have more to do with general personalities, backgrounds that shape their views, and what motivates the heroes in a similar category. Their example (one of them) was that both Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek and Professor Henry Higgins of My Fair Lady were both the CHIEF archetype. They both made quick, decisive choices, were used to being right and being obeyed, etc. However, if Henry Higgins sat at the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise, what a different show it would have been.

So archetype does not equal stereotype.

Another aspect of this is that a character can be a CORE archetype (same all the way through the story, like Superman is always the WARRIOR; he doesn't change), or he can be a LAYERED archetype (like Rhett Butler is both the CHIEF and the BAD BOY), or he can be EVOLVING, like my character Buck the sumo wrestler who goes from being the walked-on BEST FRIEND to the WARRIOR who fights for the girl and won't let evil go unpunished.

When I shared the sixteen archetypes with the women, at the end of each explanation, they were able to identify and shout out examples from film and literature (and a few from family and church members they knew, haha) with ease. They're all around. And I think these ladies who wrote it are onto something really useful. The book also includes how different archetypes interact, how the clash/mesh/change when thrown together.

Another friend up there, Donna Hatch, said she uses the Enneagram to help her nail down personality types for her writing, and I can see that being useful as well. But she said she liked this because it takes the hero at that particular moment in time, including his background and what got him to this point--not just the set of personality traits he was born with.

Here's one of the motivational posters my friend Melinda Sanchez came up with and placed around the cabin at the retreat. The theme was "Gone With the Pen," and the ANWA board presented a fun skit using Miss Scarlett (SEDUCTRESS)and Ashley Wilkes (LOST SOUL, I think?) and Miss Melanie (NURTURER) and all the good (archetypical) characters from Gone With the Wind.



And now, back to the snack table. My contribution was this thing my sister brought me when we went to D.C. together a year or two ago. Her neighbor made it. At first I couldn't tell what it was that made it so fantastic, but it's SUPER simple. Now my daughter's teachers request it on the day it's my turn to send the snack. I have to make an extra bag just for them.

WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN
4 bags microwave popcorn
4 cubes Almond Bark (or the white Candy-Quick)

Pop popcorn. Pour into large bowl. Melt white chocolate. Drizzle over popcorn and stir. Cool.
A-ma-zing.

The Value of a Writers Group--& Fueling Her Mind With Sugar

            I just got back from a fantastic ANWA writers retreat. We stayed in a cabin (with electricity and Internet service!) for three days and ate and laughed and had workshops and wrote. One of the women there completed the first draft of her novel. I got a phenomenal amount of work done on what I’m writing right now, and I really appreciate the women who worked so hard to organize the event. It was, simply, great.

            I’m finding there’s real value in belonging to a writers group. When I began writing novels, I didn’t have anyone to bounce ideas off (besides my dear husband), or to read sections I’d labored over, or to ask questions about the business. It was like going through a tunnel with nothing but the LED of a cell phone to light a few steps.

            Then my publisher recommended I join this group. I’d heard of it, even been invited once before, but I didn’t think I had time. My children were small, and they were demanding. I wanted all my hobby time to be devoted to actual writing, not a meeting—but when he told me I should, I did.

            And it’s been super.

            Now, when I get stuck, I have a sisterhood to turn to. (We’re all LDS women.) I don’t have to corral strangers into listening to passages of my work. I remember one afternoon I bugged my across the street neighbor and asked her to come over and listen to my novel for two or three hours. Bless her heart, she did. Thank goodness, after joining ANWA, I can stop that madness. And keep some of my friends!

           Instead, I have like-minded people who are willing to share that burden. In return I’m happy to help critique others’ writing. It’s been very instructive to see others’ writing process, and I’ve been able to glean much insight from their beautiful words—and their friendship. I'm not muddling through in the dark anymore. Other with more experience hold up their lights for me and help me move forward. Now it's like about TWO HUNDRED and FIFTY little cell phone LED lights going through that same tunnel all at once!

 

            The retreat was divine. Besides camaraderie, we also shared FOOD—I’m talking, snack table from heaven. There were homemade chocolate chip cookies, cream-filled black licorice, M&Ms, chocolate covered popcorn (my addition), Red Vines, peanuts, some amazing Gorgonzola cheese crackers, lemon cookies drizzled with chocolate, candy bars, more candy bars, and more candy bars.

            I think candy fuels the writer’s mind. Am I wrong?

Characterization (and 600 Otter Pops and counting)

I've been studying up on how to improve characterization in novels. In a book by Dwight Swain (a much loved writing teacher), I found a really great tip.

He said that if you want your character to come to life you need to imbue him/her with emotion, emotion strong enough to be felt by the reader. I'm not great at this--I tend to keep things in the character's head, rather than letting feelings get visceral--so I got excited when he suggested a way to do this. Here's what he said:

Mine your memory banks to a time when you felt an emotion similar to the one your character is feeling. It doesn't have to be the same circumstance, of course, just the same emotion: lust, greed, hatred, fear, humiliation, joy.

Just remember a time when you felt that emotion. Get down into it, relive it in your mind. His example was to think of a time when you were mad enough at someone you wanted to kill them. Once you're back there mentally, pull out your pen and write down all the feelings you have--the gut feelings, the setting of the jaw, the sweating of the palms, the qivering of the knee, the twitching of the eye, raised pulse, rapid breathing throught the nose--all of it. Get it down on paper.

Then you can use the description of that emotion and apply it to the character and situation you're writing about.

I took what he said and made a list of emotional powerhouse moments in my life, and then examined what categories of emotion they fell under (geez, there were quite a larrrrrrge number of moments that fit under the heading "embarrassment." I wonder why.) Then I started writing them out, putting those moments onto paper. It was interesting (and a little awful) to relive them, but now I've got this great database to turn to for future reference.

I'm hoping it will improve my writing, and help the reader to connect better with the characters I'm trying to express in my work.

Meanwhile, the main feeling I have this week is HEAT. It was 121 degrees in my car when I got into it this afternoon, after I burned my little fingers on the door handle. This is why we just finished our SIXTH box of (100 count) Otter Pops of the summer. Mind you, we're only four weeks in. I can see another 10-12 boxes in our future if we're going to survive.

But come on, how bad can an Otter Pop be? They're only 25 calories. They're fruity (and the ones from Costco even have real fruit juice in them) and they refresh, and they're most of all COLD. In this heat, we need it. The whole state is on fire, why not have an Otter Pop to fight back?

I left on an errand the other day and the kids asked, "How many Otter Pops can we have?" I actually heard myself answer, "Only ten."

Little Orphan Orange, Alexander the Grape, Louie Blue Raspberry, Sir Isaac Lime, Strawberry Short Kook, Poncho Punch.

Ahhhhh. I'll have five of each.

Front Page Article! And Candy I Don't Like

Sooooo. I write a column, book reviews, from time to time for our local paper. It's fun, and the editor is a good friend, and there's no pressure. She just lets me write whatever, whenever. About four or five columns a year, mostly YA books. That kind of thing.

Well, I submitted my article and review of Wes Hargis's interview for the Yankovic illustration job, and she liked it. A lot. Enough to slap it on the front page of the Sunday paper.



I know, I know. It's a small time paper, but it's the only one for miles around, and hey. I'm glad for Wes. I hope it makes a hundred people go pick up copies of his book.

Just kind of a cool thing. I mean, how often does a book review columnist get a front page slot? Feeling groovy. This calls for another handful of Wheat Thins. (Boo. I miss candy.) My cousin Lisa posted on Facebook the following: "I bought the kind of 'candy I don't like' to fill up my candy dishes around the house so I wouldn't eat them. Then I found out there was no such thing." Amen, sister.

The Vicious Cycle of Shopping and Editing

            I’ve been substituting one compulsive behavior for another. Now, instead of candy I’m shopping online. Not buying, unfortunately, because that much shopping is just NOT in the budget, but browsing. And browsing online is fun. Very fun.

            The world is at my fingertips. I can shop for expensive chandeliers and cheap vinyl toilet seat covers and bounce house castles and rocket fuel (been there, done that) all from the convenience of my lounge chair.

            Last week it was swimsuits. It’s so much less demoralizing to shop for swimwear when they’re only visible on strangers who have flawless, retouched skin and bodies. In fact, it makes swim shopping fun. And I found a place that has a guarantee even if I wear the thing and decide it makes my arms look wonky. Yes! It’s painless.

            Of course online shopping does tend to make me want to buy things. When I was loading up my pretend shopping cart full of Target merchandise I probably won’t buy (leaving my hopes up high), it dawned on me: the reason I was shopping was to avoid editing. BUT, the reason I was editing was so I could eventually have a little more spare change so I CAN shop. Ultimately, I guess I want to sell my latest piece of novelized cotton candy, and if I do, it would help me get from filling the shopping cart to actually getting to the checkout.

            Duh. Well, at least that motivated me to get back to work. With that realization I moved forward and rewrote a whole problem chapter and got a new chapter-to-fix-a-plot-hole started.

            Whatever it takes.

            My sister in law is making an English trifle tonight for our multi-family culture night. It will have orange and raspberries. Dang. I think I’ll eat just one bite. Maybe two. I do love a good trifle. She had a deep insight: lots of English food seems to be soft and squishy and mushed together. Trifles, puddings, etc. They do eat an awful lot of puddings. Fine by me. I love a good bread pudding. Mm. With vanilla cream sauce. Squish that!

And the Winner Is...

A hearty congratulations to Crystal Dotson of West Virginia!

She has won a copy of my book Delicious Conversation for her correct answer in the 3rd Annual Summer Treasure Hunt--Dig for Clues and Win contest.

The book has been mailed and is on its way to her house as we speak.

There are lots more prizes throughout the rest of the month, so be sure to check out the link above and enter and win!

Weird Al Yankovic Illustrator, Wes Hargis Interview (Yes Way)

I suddenly feel super duper cool by association. Why? Because this week I lucked out and got to interview a local cartoonist, Wes Hargis, who happens to be the illustrator of "Weird" Al Yankovic's first book for children.

Yes, that Weird Al. Seriously! The Saga Begins! I'm Fat! All the great songs! And now a children's book. I picked it up at the local copy shop where Hargis had copies for sale. Cool, I thought. I like Weird Al, and what a lark that a guy from my po-dunk (nobody get hurt feelings. You have to admit anywhere that's more than 2 hours from the nearest airport is po-dunk.) town has brushed greatness.

He's done more than brush it. He's illustrated it. Probably with colored pencil is what it looks like. And it's great stuff!



So, I asked Wes (can I call you Wes?) to tell me about the book (though I've read it to my kids more than a dozen times. They love it.)

JG: Tell me about the book.

WH: "It's basically about Billy, a highly enthusiastic kid who can't wait for show and tell so he can tell the class about all the things he's been thinking about for his future career. He high-jacks the class. He's going to get everything off his chest that he wants to say, regardless of how much it annoys his teacher, Mrs. Krupp, the other main character."

JG: What was the process like?

WH: There was a long process to get the relationship right between Billy and Mrs. Krupp. There were a lot of different incarnations of Mrs. Krupp. It took a while to get where we finally landed, which was modeling her after Aunt Bea from "The Andy Griffith Show." It took several months to figure out how Billy was going to look. Initially he was a bit goofier, with big eyes and goofy teeth. He had to be crazy but not too crazy. Mrs. Krupp had to be warm, but still show a little bit of frustration.

JG: What was it like to work with Al Yankovic? Or did you actually get to work with him. I hear sometimes there is very little interaction between the author and the illustrator.

WH: Right. Usually once the author's work is handed off and fine-tuned, it's up to the editors and the illustrator at that point. I had the option to work with the author, but I didn't. I had the benefit of looking at the text before knowing who the author was. I, like a lot of people in my age group, love this guy. They wanted me to take a look at it from my perspective. I just loved it. You can't look at this text without thinking as an illustrator how you'd juggle it. Things like Twinkies Au Gratin and Toast on a Stick, I tried to include them all. There was so much funny stuff in there, I couldn't get them all.

JG: Did you meet him? Publicity tours, etc.?

WH: Just once. We exchanged a few emails, but he's so down to earth. He has a daughter. The emails were all just family chit chat.  That's one thing the people at Harper Collins were amazed about. He was so down to earth and mellow. Not at all what you'd expect from a world phenomenon.

A lot of people ask me what it's like to work on a celebrity book, but this isn't your average celebrity book. Al is first and foremost a writer. His parody song lyrics are so tight. This is a book by a talented writer who happens to be doing his first children's book.

He did a concert in Phoenix, where we met him for the first time. It's said you can take someone of any age to one of his concerts. He has the most amazing fans they're so devoted to him. There's this story about him I heard a long time ago. He was offered a lot of money many years ago to do a beer commercial. He turned it down because he worried about how that might effect some of his younger fans.

He lets people feel comfortable with that nerdy part of yourself. Now our culture has moved in a direction where nerds are cool. Al is the world's most renowned nerd. Someone like me who was a little nerdy from the get-go can feel good about it.

JG: What was tough about the project?

WH: It was my first time drawing children. Primarily I'm a cartoonist for Wick newspapers. This was new, drawing Billy, plus a whole cafeteria full of children's faces, and keeping track of them all. That was a challenge.

JG: Are there any "real" people in your illustrations?
WH: My two boys pop in and out of some of the characters, especially Billy. Oh, and my brother is the basketball player with the stinky armpit. His number was 34, just like the illustration. He was, and still is, a great ball player.

JG: Is this your first children's book?

WH: I did a book called Jackson and Bud's Bumpy Ride. It was a really good experience for me. It's a story about a guy, Horatio Jackson, who took a car across the U.S. in the early 1900s on a $50 bet. There was a PBS special on it. It's a cool story. I'm not a particularly accurate illustrator, so they took a risk choosing me, someone more of a cartoony artist. It was a great way to learn and get ready for some other projects.

JG: What do you think it is that makes this book click?

WH: Al's magic. There's this really sweet moment where Billy starts telling Mrs. Krupp about his grandfather. Then there's a page where Billy is sitting on his grandfather's lap, and he becomes more than just this funny kid, and turns into a kid we can really sympathize with. It's a sweet moment when Billy gives Mrs. Krupp a picture. Al accomplishes this transition so gracefully. It's the magic.

JG: What's up next?

WH: I have a project in the works for another children's book. I'll still keep my cartooning job to pay the light bill between illustrating projects. I draw for papers in Las Vegas and Tucson. I love doing that.

JG: Thanks a bunch for talking with me! I've never actually visited with an illustrator before. It's the great unknown to me.

Seriously, folks. I ask you. How cool is that? Now run out and get yourself a copy of this fun book! Your kids will really enjoy it!

And to finish with candy, I must say, there's a cherry pie sitting in my kitchen waiting to be eaten. Or et, as the book I just finished reading would say (a Zane Grey.) I can't stop thinking about what Twinkies au gratin must taste like. How fantastic could that be? Cheese and sugar go surprisingly well together. Cannolis, anyone?

Summer Treasure Hunt--Giveaway!

Hey! I'm so excited to be a part of the 3rd Annual Summer Treasure Hunt: Dig for Clues and Win! There is a prize to WIN every single day in the month of June. My day is TOMORROW, and a lucky reader/player can win a copy of my most recent book, Delicious Conversation, mailed directly to his or her mailbox (within the U.S.). Cool, right? Plus there are a lot of other neato prizes, books, iPod covers, cool stuff. The authoress organizing the event is a friend of mine, Joyce DiPastena, a fine writer and a lovely person.

http://jdp-news.blogspot.com/2011/05/3rd-annual-summer-treasure-hunt-dig-for.html



Here's a link to her blog with all the rules and stuff. I hope everyone will play and blog hop and WIN. And any of you newbies to my blog, please feel free to follow and to comment and stuff. I always feel validated and special and stuff when I get new followers and nice comments. Mean comments, well, I probably don't need a lot of those.

Meanwhile, I'm still not eating sugar, but I am chewing gum. A LOT of gum. I bought a zillion pieces of sugar free Extra Dessert Delights Key Lime Pie. It's so much like candy I hardly notice I'm off sugar.

Guilty admission: cold cereal is getting too much of a free pass in this time of Lentish denial. I think I ate half a bag of Malt-O-Meal Blueberry Frosted Mini-Spooners (the knock-off of Mini-Wheats) yesterday. That's a lot of spun wheat, I tell you. But that blueberry flavored frosting on top of each wheaty bite was so yummy. I had to force myself to resist today. Maybe the kids will eat the rest of the bag at breakfast tomorrow and my temptation will have passed.



Now, where's my green gum?

Other Sweet Things

Since I'm off candy (with the exception of a few handfuls of cold cereal now and then, which, as you well know by now, IS candy), I have to look for other sweet things to fill my life.

One is listening to my kids play the piano. When I was growing up I always suspected my practicing was a grating irritation to all listeners, as I'm certain it probably was. When I signed my oldest up for piano lessons, I heard that old favorite "Here we go, up a row, to a birthday party," about a kabillion times--almost as many as I heard "From a Wigwam."

Strawberry Shortcake Flavored Mezzo Piano Candy, totally Japanese

Then my mother in law told me something in passing. She came by and asked the Wigwammer to please practice and she'd like to listen. She said to me, "Piano practice by children is one of the sweetest sounds I can ever hear."

That struck me. While I couldn't necessarily agree initially, it seemed I could probably change my attitude. So I did. And now, with three kids in lessons and one more ready and begging to start, I have to say I absolutely LOVE to hear them play. It's hard the first days after a lesson to hear them struggle, and to sense their frustration, to see them draped over the bench and hear the moaning of despair at a new song. (This week's despair was induced by "The Streets of Laredo.") But it improves! And it's great! And the oldest did his first solo in sacrament meeting at church on Sunday and I realized it was all worth it.

Mozart Piano Candy Bar. Who KNEW?

I think writing must be like that, too. At first the product is a mess. It's frustrating. It doesn't seem like it will ever come together. Some projects make me moan and drape myself over my desk and wish I didn't have to do it. But when I power through and keep working at it, sometimes the result gives me a twinge of joy and it's all worth it.

And there's another application, that whole "change your mind to change your situation" thing. I guess that could apply to many areas of life beyond piano noise, including editing. So, hey! I LOVE editing. It makes the whole project shine! It's fun because you get to dig right in and make things better, things that just need a little polish. Or a lot. Doesn't matter. Editing is worth it. It's a great time!

There. Now I should get back to editing. Sweeeet.

Seeds Grow in Dirt (My Mother's Day essay, oft told)

It was a rotten year and a half for housework.


My New Year’s resolution was to keep my house utterly clean. I washed walls, I organized closets, I dreamed of shininess.

Then, my oldest son had a problem with school. And pregnancy happened—never my finest hours. Within a short time I was a pregnant, home-schooling mom of four kids under ten with a perpetual headache. A major accomplishment for the day was setting out the cold cereal at mealtime.

The year went on. Home-school continued, and the baby arrived, and everyone knows how productive those first few months aren’t with a newborn. If her little white nightgowns were clean, I felt like queen of all housework.

Meanwhile, grime pockets formed behind doors, dust bunnies grew and had bunny families—several generations of them. The top of our old piano started to collect so many items it could open an antique store of its own. At a low point, there was a two-week period where someone broke a different item made of glass every single day. For some reason I got called to the Relief Society presidency, just to add to the chaos.

Months passed. Baby learned to crawl. My year teaching a bright, much happier, 4th grader wound down. The two preschoolers started to be a little less prone to break glass. But the house languished, nay, wallowed in its filth, especially the formerly light blue carpet. In fact, one spring afternoon after Little League, I had an argument with Zane, who insisted our carpet is grey. “Light blue,” I claimed half-heartedly, barely remembering the true color myself.

Summer came. All five kids tracked in roughly 75 pounds of dirt from their treasure pit in the sand pile and about a million squished leaves from their fort under the nectarine tree. My girls had birthday parties for their teddy bears that for some reason involved crumbling blueberry muffins into oblivion on the grey carpet, possibly in an attempt to turn it blue again. I got drafted to be the interim Webelos leader and actually sanctioned large messes in the house. Cousins came over and incited a game as destructive as it sounds: Toy War. We went through our twelfth 100-count box of Otter Pops and our second vacuum cleaner motor (due to renegade thread while the oldest three kids learned embroidery.)

When mid-August rolled around, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Stephen went back to fifth grade, and he found a niche in learning there. Zane opted out of soccer, so we now only had one uniform to find on Saturday mornings. Rachel started kindergarten, and Catherine dropped out of preschool after a month to stay home to paint and do coloring books with mom. Baby Zuzu could now walk around by herself, looking for stray popcorn kernels to gnaw on with her two teeth.

Things got quieter around home.

With a sense of newfound power, I conducted a yard sale, which made it so we could park inside our garage again. Miracle. Next I looked to tackle the house.

That first morning, however, I caught a glimpse of our kitchen sink, the drainer side. Whoa. How long had it been? A while, for sure. Gingerly I lifted the drainer.

Oh. My. Goodness. What was that green thing?

I pulled out the clean, drying measuring cups and lifted the rack from the sink. Yep, something was definitely growing there: a two-pronged leaf sprout, about four inches tall.

With a squeal of horror I plucked out the sink stopper and found the little white root ball and what looked like the yellow-brown transparent hull of a popcorn kernel around its base. Or maybe it was one of Gary’s gardening projects. Or an escaped food-storage black eyed pea?

No! How could I have let the sink cleaning lapse long enough for a seed to germinate and sprout—plus grow four inches? I wanted to cry. What a terrible housekeeper. My kids could probably get some kind of disease from filth this rampant! My word! A seed grew in my sink!

Then a thought stopped my self-berating rant.

Hey. Seeds grow in dirt.

In the past couple of years my most precious seeds, all five of them, had grown an awful lot in this dirt.

Now, I certainly hadn’t been a perfect mother by anyone’s definition. I hadn’t kept a cheery temperament every single day. I hadn’t nurtured my children in every way possible. Without question, I had not created an “antiseptic environment” for my little ones to play and learn in.

But they grew.

I know they say cleanliness is next to godliness. Whoever “they” are, they’re mean. That’s too much pressure. Seriously. Instead I find myself thinking maybe other things wedge their way into the lineup beside godliness. Maybe doing-the-best-you-can-motherhood is one of them. After all, God helps all things to grow. Maybe that’s what motherhood is all about.

Now, it’s not that I will henceforth refuse to scrub my tub or decide never to replace that ailing vacuum. But God formed Man out of the dust of the Earth. Perhaps I ought to be aiming to do that, too—to form men and women out of these sweet little seeds they are now, and remember that most seeds require all kinds of light, and water (that’d be Saturday night baths), and at least a little dirt. Because seeds grow in dirt.

Creative Happiness (without sugar)

I know, it's absolutely unrealistic to be doing this, but I stopped eating sugar.

Me.

After years of refined sugar as a staple food in my diet, I've spent two weeks without it. Including Easter candy. Really.

Today I could really use one of the leftover Bit O' Honeys or Milk Maid caramels, though. The best would be Brach's Royals. Those caramels with the little flavor-fillings? I *love* them. LOVE them. Raspberry or butter rum or vanilla. If it weren't for this ridiculous resolve, I'd probably eat a whole pound of them as I type this. Brach's Royals can be ingested almost like breathing.

Instead, I'm getting started on a new writing project. Editing of the old ball and chain (that's how I always feel about the novel that's finished and still needs polishing, polishing I rarely complete) remains, but I'm ready to get that fun energy of writing something brand new.

There's a certain buzz that comes from creative pursuit. A verve that gets added to my life. I get it when I cook something delicious, or if I figure out how to arrange flowers, or paint something (furniture, I mean. I'm not ready for actual painting yet. My kids are too small for me to have a painting hobby just yet.) Anything that brightens or brings something into being that wasn't there before gives me that lift, that rush.

Here's an excerpt from a talk given in 2008 by Dieter F. Uchtdorf along those lines. It fits how I feel about writing, even if I'm not writing something that will change the world. It changes and brightens my own, and hopefully brings a sweetness (if only brief to someone else.) I find this talk so inspiring.

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.


Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy.4 Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.


You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us.5 The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.


If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.”

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.