A Letter to My Former English Teachers

Dear Former English Teachers,
        You may remember me...or not. I'm the one who wrote passionate, page long answers to your questions like "What is your favorite book?"and "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" and you'll be happy to know that I can tie To Kill a Mockingbird into just about anything (and I did, in an essay on the AP English Language test yesterday-I'm not allowed to talk about specifics). But enough about me.
        I'm here to talk about you. Collectively, you are the craziest, most passionate group of people I know. Some of you were odd balls, or just plain grumps, but I understand how teaching long enough can make you that way. You each have your quirks: one of you is afraid of hair (Journalism teacher), another of you used to teach 3rd grade math and made us play math games in class, and you, my current english teacher, are obsessed with Batman and John Keats (nicknamed Junkets). And I love you for it. Even the teachers I'm not particularly grateful for have taught me something, even if it's only, "Don't grow up to be like her." 
        And without you, ALL of you, I might never have discovered my love of language. The books we read in elementary school stay in my memory to this day. And the books after that, and the books after that. Harper Lee, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, Alice Walker. Their voices stay with me. I can hear the words running through my mind, and what I was feeling when I read them, and what I was feeling when you talked about them in class. Your voices run together into a collective voice, at times passionate and inspiring, and at times serious, asking the tough questions, telling me to think harder than I am. 
        You teachers don't get much recognition. Chocolate, maybe, at Christmas time, and lots of Barnes & Noble Gift Cards. But real recognition? For everything you do? Every day, you deal with math loving *shudder* middle schoolers *shudder*. I'm sorry I never told you how I feel. I hope my love of English was evident in my writing. I hope, even in those dark ages known as middle school, that you knew I cared. You were the ones who planted the spark. The spark that makes me sit down and write every day. The spark that keeps me up to all hours of the night, reading. The spark that makes every essay a personal challenge to outdo myself, and every question like "What is your favorite book?" a dissertation.
         So thanks for being there. For pushing me when I needed pushing, and praising when I needed praising. Thanks for showing up at awards ceremonies. Thanks for showing up, period. Because even if we seem like thankless slobs who can't even remember to do our homework, we will never forget you. And that's the truth.

-Laura

***

On a loosely related note, this is what our current english teacher wrote about John Keats on out final exam review sheet:

"In order to adequately prepare for the rest of your life, you must learn to embrace John Keats [know the glorious date of his birth, know that Fanny could never deserve the greatness of his love, and know that "When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be" is his most truly awe-inspiring poem!]"

Yeah, she's cool, right? And for those of you who are interested, here is my summer reading list:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Started reading it but never finished.)

How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (Same as above.)

Macbeth by William Shakespeare (Never read. Excited about this one!)

Finding Your Own Inspiration

(Before we begin, I just wanted to take time to acknowledge that this is my 50th post on The Blank Page!)

Today, I found this:

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

(Thank you to Bethany Suckrow for posting this on her blog. It's pure luck that I even stumbled across it, but I'm so happy that I did!)

This poem is truly amazing. Despite it's beautiful use of language (so simple, yet so meaningful!), I can't help feeling that it was meant for my eyes. One of the things that I've always found inspirational is wild geese. Don't ask me why. I don't even live in an area where I am able to see them in real life. But I find them the most majestic creatures, and just thinking about them makes my fingers itch. I want to write about flying. And autumn. And the crisp, cold air rushing beneath their feathers. And what it must be like to approach a deep blue lake in the evening, descending, slowing until it feels as if you can't stay aloft any longer, and then gliding seamlessly into the water below. 

But, as is the nature of inspiration, wild geese may not ignite the same passion in you. You may be inspired by summer rain, or the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, or something that, while I might find it interesting, may not give me the same electric shock that it gives to you.

The important thing is to find what inspires you. It might take a while. But if you hit a road block, don't give up. Keep growing and experiencing new things and eventually you will know where to look. And once you find it, chase it. Because what good is inspiration if you don't use it as such? 

ps. One of the best "goose books" I've read, besides The Goose Girl, is The Fledgling by Jane Langton. Don't be scared away by the fact that it's a middle grade novel. It is superb! (Actually, it's hard to put these two books in the same category. They are so different, but so good!) Also, going along with our goose theme, Fly Away Home is a wonderful film and right up there with my favorite movies of all time. (The music is beautiful, as well!)

pps. Feel free to share your inspiration in the comments!

Book Borrowing Etiquette

I'm a very generous person with my books. You ask to borrow one, and I will say yes in a heartbeat. But, as I'm sure we've all experienced at some point, there will always be people who test your patience with their inadequate knowledge of the rules that come with borrowing books. For all you lenders and borrowers out there, this post is for you. Follow these few simple guidelines, and the book sharing process will be a fun one!

From: The Secret World of Arriety (Based on the book: The Borrowers)

For the Borrowers:
Borrowing books from friends and acquaintances is one of the best ways to expand your reading repertoire.  It's better than the library because, unless you have a rather uptight friend, you can take your time reading the book, and you have someone to discuss it with when you're finished. Despite many borrower's good intentions, things can happen that will strain your book sharing relationship and put your future chances of borrowing from that person again at risk. Below are a few things that could go wrong, and how to avoid them.

• Make sure you know the lender's expectations: Does he or she need it back soon? Is it a book that is particularly special to them? What was their reaction when you asked to borrow it? Did they give it to you to read without you having to ask for it? These are all important things to think about. If the the lender seems reluctant to let you borrow the book, make it clear that you will take good care of it and possibly even set a date at which it will be returned to them. If they asked you to read it, they want to share it with you, and while you should make it one of your first priorities, you have a little more wiggle room as far as the length of time you hold on to it. If they really don't want to lend it to you, don't push the subject. That is one case when going to the library is the better option.
• Take good care of the book: Even if it seems like the lender couldn't care less if they never see that book again, you never know how people will react to you damaging their property. Books can get damaged in unexpected ways (I have to be very careful about putting books in my school backpack), so keep an eye out. This also includes not losing the book. That's just not right.
• Set some sort of time limit: You may be a slow reader. I get that. I know I am! Most of the time people don't mind if you don't return book within a few weeks and some can get away with keeping them much longer than that, but that doesn't mean you can read it and forget about it. As soon as you are finished, contact the lender, say thank you, tell them what you thought of the book, and discuss a time at which you can return it. They will be impressed by your initiative to follow up.
• Don't borrow too many books at once: Lending books is often a very personal act. When you give someone a book, you want to share that reading experience with them. It can be discouraging to the lender if they ask if you've finished it yet and you say, "No, I've got too many other books to read." Borrowing several books from several different people just adds to your stress level and their disappointment at you not having read it yet.

To some people this post might seem a little over the top. "Why are there so many rules?!" they would say, "It's a book. It's not that big of a deal." And in some cases, that's true. But some things are just polite, and the right thing to do.  Borrowing books is like being a good neighbor. You share each other's joys and sadnesses, and if someone comes over asking for a cup of sugar or your copy of The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale*, you let them have it, knowing they would do the same for you.

ps. Stay tuned for my next post about Book Lending Etiquette!

* Guess who I had the pleasure of meeting recently? More on that later!

On Being Interesting

So, guess what everyone....I have a twitter account! Some people would shrug that off as if it were nothing. "Oh," they say, "Well, I've got a Facebook and Tumblr and Flickr and Twitter and Pinterest and Blogger and Google+..." The list goes on. And maybe they are the type of person that will say anything on the internet, that doesn't care if their status updates lack substance (A prime example being: "I'm booored. Text me!"), but I'm not that kind of person. I want people to take something away from my words, or at least empathize with them, or at least think about them.

When I first started this blog, I was terrified that no one would want to take writing advice from an unpublished author (And a teenager, no less). Why would anyone want to hear about my life when they could read the thoughts of their favorite authors, go behind the scenes of their favorite books? And while that fear still haunts me at unexpected moments, like the first time I opened my twitter page and freaked out, having no idea where to begin and wondering why anyone would want to follow me, I've learned that, for the most part, the internet is not that different from real life. Be yourself. Share what you love, and learn from people who love the same things you do. Find a community. Have a laugh,  and make new friends.

 Now, I wish this post could be a success story about my rise to fame as an aficionado of the social media world. But my (inevitable and glorious) internet celebrity-dom is still a work in progress. Already I have learned so much from fellow bloggers (I mean, Nathan Bransford's post about re-tweets?! I wouldn't have known what that was a week ago, much less the best way to utilize them!), and for the people that have commented on this blog in the past or are one of my followers on twitter (I have 5! Can you believe that!), thank you! You are truly, undeniably awesome.

Oh, and by the way, you can find me on twitter at @laurapoet33... Just sayin'. :)

Saturday Thoughts: Books, Books, and More Books!

Here's what I've been thinking about, as of late:

Books I Want to Read

What I'm about to do is really just for my own peace of mind. Here is a list of all the books I want to read in the near future. This list is my last resort before I go totally crazy from keeping these titles in my head ALL THE TIME. I have to put them somewhere so I can think straight! (Oh, and as far as time goes....I have none! Looks like I'll be  taking my own advice about making time to read.)

Top Priority:

(These are the books that are just waiting for me to pick them up. Talk about guilt!)

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Just borrowed this from a friend! Excited to finally see what the hype is all about.)
• The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald
• Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green
• My Name is Memory by Anne Brashares
• The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen

Medium Priority

(Books that I really want to read, but that require trips to the library, and time -that's a biggie)

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
• Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
• The Sharp Time by Mary O'Connell
• Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale
• A Good American by Alex George
• What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
• Wild Roses by Deb Caletti
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

In Limbo

(These are books that will probably be read simultaneously with other books, or in little pieces when I have a spare moment)

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Collected Stories by Flannery O'Connor
• Collected Stories by Alice Munro
• The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories by Carson McCullers
• Unaccustomed Earth by Jumpa Lahiri

Well, there you have it. I will be keeping you posted on my progress and hopefully doing reviews of most of these. What books are you dying to get your hands on? 

A Sunday Morning Walk

This morning I was woken up by my mother and my dog at 7 am. This is not an unusual practice in our family. I can remember my mom coming into my room on summer mornings before the sun was up and urging me get up or I would miss out on something that day had to offer. I can remember a time when 24 hours seemed like an eternity, when waking up at 6:30 was difficult, but I did it because I didn't want miss a single minute of summer. Now, 24 hours feels like it's never enough for everything I have to do, but this morning, when I opened my eyes in the half darkness and was practically jumped on by my dog, I was suddenly brought back to those days in summers past when I would dress groggily in shorts and a t-shirt, slip on some tennis shoes, and go for a long walk down Alder. This morning was just the same.


Alder is our favorite street to walk down. It's the closest thing we have to alley, a wide expanse of road with no curbs, lined by lush, un-manacured foliage and interspersed with garage doors and glimpses of people's backyards. Spring is in full swing now, and this morning Alder felt more like a jungle than a barely used street in our usually pristine neighborhood. The air was humid but cool, and all around us were the sounds of bird calls: woodpeckers, mockingbirds, doves, cardinals, blue jays, purple martins. Overhanging trees lush with new green leaves rose from behind chain-link fences and stretched lanky arms out over the street. Even today I caught myself thinking, "This is where the fairies live."


Sometimes I feel like when you reach a certain age people start pushing you to grow up: teachers expect more from you, college becomes a major topic of conversation with every adult you meet, your friends get summer jobs and show off pictures of their new cars on Facebook. And that's good. Great actually. Fun. Exciting. And yet, walking down Alder, I couldn't help thinking about a time when I played with dolls, and spent hours on the swing in the front yard, and went on expeditions in search of fairies. Part of me knows that I'll never have the same freedom I had when I was little, the same feeling of skipping through life without a care in the world, but I know somewhere inside me is that little girl with the wide eyes and the insatiable imagination. And all I really need are a few more Sunday morning walks to find her again.

How to Use your Friends in your Writing

After lots of internet searching about characterization, I've found that there seems to be somewhat of a consensus about basing character traits off of people you know. I'm sure most writers have done this at some point. (I mean, what better way to make your characters real than by giving them actual human traits from people you know?) But, for some reason I never thought that this applied to friends. Maybe I felt like friends were forbidden territory, that somehow I would drive them away if they ever knew that *gasp!* their habit of twirling their hair around their finger had suddenly been transplanted onto a fictional character that is nothing like them. "How," I imagined them asking, "could you take my little habit and attach it to that evil character?" or worse, "Is that character supposed to be me? I can't believe you think I'm that horrible!" Suddenly my brilliant resourcefulness as a writer would be demoted to backstabbing and shaming my friends. So for a while, friends were off limits for me as far as characterization went.  


But, why should they be? In many places I've read that writers write characters they would want to be friends with in real life, so why not use my own friends as inspiration? It was silly of me to think that they would stop being friends with me because of a minuscule reference to them in my writing, but I understand that my fears were not completely unrealistic. When drawing traits from people who are close to you, it's important to know when you are crossing boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. The following tips will (hopefully) help you learn to use your friends as a source for inspiration, without damaging your relationship.

• Don't just transplant your friend into your story. Chances are, trying to put your friend (all his/her idiosyncrasies, strengths, weaknesses, and moods) into one character will not turn out as well as you planned. While incorporating human traits is important, if fictional characters were quite as complex (and moody, and indecisive) as real people, they would actually be less relatable for the reader.
• Do pick and choose traits. By using only a few of your friend's traits and incorporating them with other traits, fictional or otherwise, your character will most likely better fit the story you are trying to tell and be less obvious to your friend that they were your inspiration.
• Be careful about directly pointing out friend inspired characters..to your friends. While you may love your character to death, your friend may not see it that way. In fact, they may only notice the traits you added that aren't like them. Only you can be the judge of how your friend will react, and if you do decide to tell them, make sure you are clear about how characterization works.
• Use good traits. As a general rule of thumb it's better to show off your friend's good side through your characters, rather than bashing them with a character riddled with their weaknesses. Sure, maybe they won't notice. But if they do...well, then you're in trouble.
• Make sure you have a good match. This may seem obvious, but don't try to use other people as inspiration unless they actually fit the character. For instance, don't put your friend's tendency to rescue animals in need with your antagonist, unless that trait fits his character type/personality. 
• Use your better judgement. In the end it mostly comes down to common sense. If your friend were to discover this trait in one of your characters, would he or she be angry, or honored? In the end you are the only one who knows your characters as well as you know your friends, and you have to decide how both will benefit from your burst of inspiration.

I hope this was helpful! I may not be the most experienced person on this subject, so if you have anything to add, or if  your think I missed the mark completely, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!