Writing is a lot like Painting: Robert Henri at the Georgia O' Keefe museum

"If you paint children you must have no patronizing attitude toward them. Whoever approaches a child without humility, without wonderment, and without infinite respect misses in his judgement of what is before him."

---Robert Henri

Indeed the same is true of writing for children.

I was at the Georgia O'Keefe museum in Santa Fe in January. The travel exhibit of the work of Robert Henri had much to inspire as did the work of O'Keefe.

So much of what Henri says about painting resonates with the writer.

The artist should be intoxicated with the idea of the thing he wants to express. (Robert Henri)

Do whatever you do intensely. (Robert Henri)

You will never draw the sense of a thing unless you are feeling it at the time you work. (Robert Henri)

Pretend you are dancing or singing a picture. A worker or painter should enjoy his work, else the observer will not enjoy it. (Robert Henri)

For more of Henri's quotes about painting and art and life that will also apply to the writer in us all see:

http://quote.robertgenn.com/auth_search.php?authid=171

A Writer never stops: Silverton, CO

Last weekend found me in Silverton Co. for the last of the season's snowshoeing. The trail was rutted with snowmobile tracks and the snow slushy. But this tiny town nestled in the San Juan mountains offers plenty for the writer's imagination.

It is impossible for a writer to "turn off" even when poor conditions challenge tired muscles .

Silverton smacks of the wild west and is all about setting. Every nook and cranny offers up colorful local detail. I would love to imbed myself here and write. For now I settle for photos and soak up place. After all it is all about location, location, location.

A strong setting here but what about character? I find my self wondering who is the child who lives here? Who explores the abandoned buildings? Who built and plays with this unique wagon?

In a town this size there can only be a handful of children the same age. Perhaps these sleds are enough for you and all of your friends.

Character. Who are the mother's, wives, women who erected this Christ of the Miners to look after the husband's, boys, sons, men who risked their lives in the mines?

And what about plot?

A hike to the grave yard suggests a number of plots and subplots with twists and turns all along the way.

It's all there. Mine explosion, Soiled Doves(think prostitute) a benevolent Madam, suicide and alcoholism....the imaginings begin and the writer never stops plotting.

Tucson book Festival: Captains log: March 7, 2012

8:45 AM:

Leave Chinle in a dust

storm. Visibility poor.

8:52 Ganado. Left home with only half a tank of gas...still have a half of tank of gas.

I stop for gas.

Gas costs $3.59.

My dilemma. Map quest says turn left, GPS says go straight.

TMI.

I turn left.

9:16: I am in the middle of a snow storm even though the sign says, "High Dust Warning".

Note to self: should have followed the GPS directions.

9:41 Snow stops.

Signs for Wide Ruins.

I muse: This is the name of Famous Navajo rug design. Wish I were home weaving.

9:41- 11:32: Not much happens. I eat a lot of junk food.

11:32 Tank is down a 1/4.

Must stop for gas.

$4.19? Really????

Really!

11:32-2:21 Not much happens. Eat junk food.

Stop at every gas station .

Use rest room...often.

Low on coffee. Switch to diet Pepsi

Stock up on junk food.

More driving. Maybe I should have flown.

There really are places like:

and

They sell Gas!!!!

Next hour and a half: Mountains forever.

Good thing I have gas....and water...and junk food.

No rest rooms.

Many signs that say: Watch for falling Rocks.

Ya think?

Much time to contemplate. Should I drive fast so rocks will not fall on me? Or slow so I do not hit rocks?

GPS keeps recalculating my arrival time: Do they keep moving Tucson?..it takes longer and longer to get there.

Sometime mid afternoon: Cactus!

And Wildflowers.

4:15-ish: Tucson. Schools and Book Festival. Stay tuned.

Four Kids...Four Continents

When I used to tell my children I could be a rich and famous author if I didn't have so many kids, they would roll their eyes. "Mom, without us you wouldn't have anything to write about." They told friends, "Watch what you say. It can and will be used in a book."

Now my four children are all in different time zones. I don't even know what day they are living, forget what time it is. Their phone numbers are 12 digits long.

That curly-haired blond who does not believe home could be anywhere but Africa can only be Peter, the star of When Africa Was Home. He lives in Taiwan and my only grandchild, Ethan, is there too.

When I wrote First Grade King, Christopher said, "Mom! You can't steal my ideas like that!"

Chris was born in the Peace Corps in Malawi, the child who said he did not belong in this family "I don't do all this living abroad stuff." He currently lives with his wife Laurie in Mozambique. THEY are in the Peace Corps. I like the circle of life theme.

Rachel currently holds down the fort in Pittsburgh. But she knows for certain who the star of One Thing I'm Good At Is. I don't expect her to be there forever but it's nice to have one kid who is only two hours off my time. If I could only remember two hours which way.

Jon keeps asking when that book about him will come out. Editors are slow to snap that one up. In the meantime I keep writing. There's that first chapter with the the kid locked in the bathroom in high school. Problem is now he is down under in New Zealand. It is already tomorrow there.

All this makes things feel a little upside down for this writer mom. Am I really loosing all my material?

Of course I live in the Navajo Nation now...BTW, the rest of Arizona is in a different time zone than the rez. There is much to write about here but it is not going to make me rich or famous either.

Talk about leaving the nest. My chicks are migrating. For now the world is home. But it seems I got more writing done with four kids underfoot than I do when most of them are on the other side of the world.

Why I Write: Kids appreciate a good book

Ok so maybe the teacher assigns the thank you note. But kids are honest and they tell you what they like and don't like.

I recently visited Chinle Middle School on the Navajo Reservation.

You know you have made an impression when a student takes out pencil and paper and begins to draw, inspired by your presentation, before you even leave the classroom.

Even when the thank you is a group effort you know the book was appreciated and the effort of a school visit worth every minute.

More about Resolutions for a Better Writing Life

In my last blog about New Years resolutions I made it simple...

Eat less

Write more.

But in my experience it takes a few weeks into the New Year, after the holiday settles, to reflect and consider the challenges of the coming weeks and months. For example I am still eating more because we have been on vacation. Writing less with the same excuse...vacation time.

However upon further reflection I realize I forgot to add, "Read More" to my list of resolutions. BUT does reading count as writing time? Probably, if it is for research but then the definition of research can be broad...is just reading in the genre for which I am writing count as research? Possibly.

Another resolution I have considered adding to the short list is: LESS FACE BOOK time. While reading FB is well...yes...reading, it is also huge time suck thus detracting from writing time.

The only reason I joined FB in the first place, 4 years ago was to keep track of my last born who was off to India. He setup the account for me suggesting this was the best way to see his photographs. In the end he was never near an internet that allowed for him to post photographs and I ended up with...well let me check....166 friends by current count. I mean I had to friend my other three children, daughter-in-laws, real friends, distant relatives, virtual friends. After that things got out of control.

The real problem is that I spend and average of 23 1/2 minutes of valuable writing time stalking my son. Recently his posts do not automatically show up on my newsfeed. This is alarming because I suspect he may have changed his settings to eliminate his mother from his private life...or is this just the result of all the new FB formatting? Add several minutes of nervous reflection since I must consider, whether ANYONE is receiving or reading MY posts. A writer is supposed to have many friends reading and responding to posts which in theory should make said writer rich and famous.

I feel the need to check up on my youngest daily because once in a while he implies he has no friends which leads me to believe he may be unhappy or somehow maladjusted...so I check his wall. He has 524 friends and there are 967 photos of him. This looks pretty good to me so I can relax...except there are people out there with say 1070 friends. Still in my mind there is a problem with too many friends so I'm OK with this. He must at least be average on the friends scale. He has after all more friends that his mom has.

But then I can't ignore that fact that there are many comments on FB referring to my son as Party Dad. What does THIS mean? Should I worry? I spend too much writing time trying to find out if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

On the other hand I note many pithy posts referring and sending the reader to obscure memes (I learned this word from my son... while stalking him on FB). I feel like this is a good thing putting him on the intellectual scale above much of the FB posts I see out there.

Still...I must worry about his time management skills. Would he be less anxiety ridden about the upcoming finals if he spent less time ranting about how he hates pennies and posting articles about discontinuing the penny. I might agree with this but wonder what will bring good luck if we get rid of pennies...and perhaps I should pay more attention because I do not think anyone has written a children's book or a poem about the demise of the penny.

So....in 2012 I still resolve to Eat Less and Write More. I hope to read more too. FACE BOOK? Unfriend everyone or make new friends? My son is off to New Zealand, you can bet I will have to stalk him down under..and maybe write that book about pennies. A word to all his friends...watch what you post in the New Year.

To Write a Picture Book

My latest picture book, Facing Fear(working title) is about Enrico. His family calls him Kiki. He is a ten year old Mexican American, born in the US, to undocumented immigrants. This project has me interviewing FBI agents, news reporters, teachers and young Mexicans, and passing through secondary border checkpoints.

I traveled to ElPaso, TX last weekend where I talked to kids at the fence. They were in Juarez and I was in Texas. La migra (border patrol agents) in armored vehicles watched patiently from four directions.So much more goes into the writing of a book than ever gets on the page. This is as true for a picture book as it is for any other work.

How can I tell this story in 800 words? Why won't Kiki's father let him travel to the tournament with his soccer team? Why is his sister so angry with him? Why do they have to hide at Tia's house overnight?

How will I capture the struggle the fear, the hope, the love in 32 pages?

On the Move

We are in the crazy state of cleaning, sorting, throwing away and selling(big garage sale a success). AND PACKING.  

Steve and I move to Chinle Arizona on September 1.  We expect to arrive on September 7 and hope that are movers have arrived then too.

Our new contact info:

karen@karenlynnwilliams.com

Mailing address: PO Box 1932 Chinle, AZ 86503

House Street #: 2085.1 Codetalker's Lane

House Phone #: 928 674 8296

I can still be reached at: kwilliams@chatham.edu and kwilliams@setonhill.edu.  I will continue to teach on line for these programs. 

Updates to come soon.

Moving to the Reservation-the writing life continues

In mid December Steve and I took a world wind trip criss-crossing the Navajo reservation in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado.  It was a short but amazing adventure to visit several sites to choose where we will live and work beginning September 2010.  After wonderful receptions at Chinle, Fort Defiance, Ship Rock and Crown Point we have chosen to move out to Chinle Arizona. This is an exciting change we are looking forward to that will allow us to keep our home in Pittsburgh and maintain connections here as we explore new territory and put down roots in a new world. 

Pretty barren and isolated...not much there. 

 

Unless you look for it.

And some pretty amazing natural sculptures now and then.

I am thinking this might be my writing hang out.  Wonder if they have internet?

My garden might look like this.

Some Free Range Friends.

And who can beat this?