booandbunny

There was a point where I really didn't want to finish writing about each day of the week, but I made myself. I had promised myself I would because it was offering me a new way to look at every day ... and a few ideas about how to break out of some ruts. Wednesdays continue to get better and better because my imagination is waking up more and more and I’m just handling things differently … thanks to new connections and reconnections. Thursdays might be busy, but I write a story in my head for each person I pass who leaves an impression (positive or negative) on me instead of letting them get me down or get me grumpy. Some of these are actually finding their way to paper. How long had I been holding them back? It seems I’ve been concentrating so hard on the work I can sell that I forgot to flex the writing muscle and use it just for fun.

But then I heard something from Mr. 4 that I had forgotten about. I taught him to say it a long time ago, when his brother and sister would make him more of a prop in their stories than a fellow main character.

“You’re not the boss of my imagination!” he blasted one of them and they didn’t quite know how to take it.

“No one is.” I used to say to him. “It’s your imagination, and as long as you make happy stories where no one gets hurt you can use it any way you want.” (Maybe I overthought this, but boys do add that element of violence to a lot of their games.)

So I’m trying now to stop bossing my own imagination around. Instead of racking my brain about where I might be able to sell this or that piece, I’m just going to write. No more I can’ts. Set it free and it might breathe on its own, the way an old favorite does.

Megg, my favorite books as a kid were Charlotte’s Web, all the Quimby’s and some other Beverly Cleary, all the Laura Ingalls Wilder and, of course, Judy Blume. Wilbur, Ramona, Laura and Margaret are actually in the bookcase behind me, should any of the kids want to read them. I also loved A Wrinkle in Time.

In the past eight years I’ve fallen in love with picture books, but still find myself drawn to particular authors: Rosemary Wells (Max and McDuff stories) Cynthia Rylant (who I plan to write more about soon) Eric Carle (Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar), Dr. Suess (mainly Horton, The Lorax and Oh! The Places You’ll Go), Mick Inkpen (Kipper!) and Valerie Gorbachev (Peter’s Picture is one of his).

I also try to keep up with (and ahead of) my voracious young readers, who read well beyond their age. Valerie Tripp does much of the American Girl historical fiction and they are wonderful. For J.K. Rowling there is no fresh way to describe just how much I love her work. Rylant has a whole series of stories created for older kids and then there are timeless works such as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. (I was the nerd who read both! Does anyone else remember tuning in to Parker Stevenson and Sean Cassidy on TV?)

I think it’s a shame more people can’t just plop down on the floor of the library as I got to today with Mr. 4 and dig until they find something worth exploring. There are fresh messages waiting for you in the pages of those old favorites, thanks for asking!