The Journey

I am reading this hilarious book about a girl who inherits the magic wand of a fairy godmother and must travel to the land of Genua . . . three rather stupid witches who knew the godmother are sure she meant for them to have the wand. But since the will is clear, the three convince the girl to let them accompany her because she has very little life experience and certainly none at granting wishes. Full of satirical humor and a wonderful lesson on finding yourself in the midst of everyone else, Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett parodies The Hobbit.

There Is Always a Way

It happened every day. I would sneak my notebook into Starbucks during any moments of free time I had. Armed with a shot of caffeine, I would stare directly at my paper and sink my pen into its flesh. I wanted something to appear in style. I wanted to write a story just as wonderful or perhaps better than my first book. But I remained blocked.

In my high school days I brushed off the idea of free-writing because I wanted to "write something good." This worked for a while: I won an award for "Most Original Short Story" from Write On! Books; gained experience interviewing; wrote and sold a speech for a private event; and found a publisher for Of Cabbages and Kings or The Letters of Abby Prince. Then about a year after I graduated from Mountain View Academy in Seattle, I experienced an intense artist's block and felt extremely depressed.

My journal entries diminished (though I am grateful they survived). I didn't know what to research. Maybe my academics and extracurriculars had been so effective that I felt constantly motivated and my pen stayed fresh and juicy. So I decided to take my frustration out on a counselor I knew. I am glad he listened. Then he had this killer advice that he said may work for me.

"In the old days, teachers rapped on your knuckles with a ruler if you wrote badly."

I laughed. Although I took creative writing and studied The Gregg Reference Manual in high school, I couldn't envision someone actually being punished for temporary failure.

Larry whipped out a pen and started scribbling on some pages I had pulled out. "Is that an I or is that an I?" He said.

"Erm," I got stuck. "Actually, they're both I's. Cursive I's.

Larry shook his head. "Only one is acceptable. See? Some researchers believe that the kinesthetic flow of your hand when you form letters in cursive actually stimulates that creative part of your brain. That may be why old-fashioned schools were so strict on kids for their penmanship."

Wow, this was definitely different.

"Just try it. Like, you can change the thoughts you're thinking just by writing. And cause new ones. That's the theory."

So I did. I wrote a page on why I was writing, and discovered that I could pour out my own words more smoothly in cursive. Was I free to write because I knew no one could read my handwriting? Actually, I think it was a combination of two things: somebody believed my work was worth the effort and that I was literally an artist. I had awakened a raw creative power with the kiss of the pen and paper.

Writing is still a process. Sometimes it is difficult for me. But one promise I made to myself is that my writing will always be original. Even at the risk of writing something lame or unpublished, I will choose my own words consciously but liberally. I can edit and ask for criticism, but I know my story is mine.

Crafting A Query

I wrote my query letter to a publishing house and within two weeks the Executive Editor requested a complete copy of the manuscript. Success is achievable for first-time authors, and a query letter is simple to write. The proper format is that of a business letter, so prove that your writing is bold, brilliant . . . but brief.

First Paragraph
Why did you write the story you want readers to crave? Cover only pertinent information to show at once that your manuscript works for the addressed publisher. Kudos to you for reading their submissions guidelines and several recent publications.

Second or Body Paragraph
Reveal your storyline a bit more and include the genre and word count of your manuscript. If this is a children's book, editors need to know what age group or grade for which the story was written. Offer to send the partial or complete manuscript if they are interested.

Third Paragraph
The last paragraph is a mini "resume" of your writing credits and a thank-you for their time and consideration. Note that you have enclosed a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) for their response.

Professionalism by definition is the standard, practice, or method of a professional. Distinguish yourself from amateurs by executing correct grammar and spelling in a short query letter. Not only did The Place in The Woods ask to read my manuscript, they decided to publish it. Debut novel coming soon! Yours could be, too.

Italian Core

I am studying Italian to improve my writing. The excellent thing about learning the Italian phonetics as a first step is that pronouncing and spelling its words becomes a lot easier than I thought it would be.

The Italian alphabet claims twenty-one letters and recognizes five foreign letters. Because only c and g are exceptions to English pronunciation, Italian is easy for me to read.

"Pronounce each letter individually," says Dennis, one of my istruttori from Italy.

Very few pronunciation rules govern the juxtaposition of letters, so Italian sounds just like it looks and vice versa. I love it when I can spell a word properly just by hearing it!

Rather than just memorizing travel-phrases like "Bathroom, please!" I can begin to hear and see how Italian syllables are formed in the palate and which prefixes and suffixes show what parts of speech. For example, if I know the meaning of the verb scrivere (to write), I can constructively deviate into tenses: scrittice (f. writer), scritto (written), and so on into creating grammatically correct sentences.

I am excited about learning Italian the same way I learned American English as a child: through phonics, writing, and practicing with educated people who are native to the language.

Break Out with Kyle Rutley

One thing I enjoy about my community is that people become still when they listen to your words. Casually sprawled in chairs, walking briskly down Main Street, hands holding coffee in recycled cups, writing or sketching, the wine-lovers, college students, and Christ-Followers are deeply mature and artistic.

Like the Italian proverb about a baker who sold the smell of his bread to a beggar for the sound of a coin on the sidewalk, the atmosphere of wealthy intellect is intoxicating. I can't stop writing. There are people here who want to pour out their own words, too.

For this reason, Kyle Rutley and I have started a constructive writing group called Break Out with the knowledge, support, and resources of college teachers who are also passionate over the rearrangement of words that already exist within each individual.

Kyle Rutley is a photographer who studies medicine and is writing a modern textbook called A Case For Masculinity.