Laurie Halse Anderson's Blog, page 13

Welcome to the Fifth Annual Write Fifteen Minutes A Day Challenge©!

 

The rules of the WFMAD Challenge are simple.

Commit to write for 15 minutes every single day this month.
Write, just like you promised yourself.
There is no Rule #3. Life is already too complicated. Two rules are easy to remember. The point is to get you to write, not bog you down with silly regulations.

 

How Does This WFMAD Thing Work?

Every day for the month of August, I’ll post a quote about writing or art, and a writing prompt. I’ll probably ramble a bit, too, though expect to see less of that this year than in years past. After the ups and downs of the last year, I’m finally back in the writing groove, and that’s where my focus needs to stay. (That, btw, is why I haven’t been blogging or hanging out much on social media sites recently.)

The prompts are written without assuming anything about your experience or abilities. I believe that pretty much anyone can write about pretty much anything if they give themselves permission to do it, and put in the requisite time and attention to craft.

Many of the prompts are written so that you can respond with your personal feelings, memories, or experience. Feel free to respond, instead, from the viewpoint of a fictional character. Use a character from your Work In Progress. Make up a new one every day, if you want.

 

Where Do I Sign Up?

No sign-ups, although in years past, writers have double-dog-dared their writer friends to join them in the Challenge. I suggest a high-stakes bet with your friend, if you choose to do that.

 

Do I Have To Respond To Your Prompts?

Goodness, no! Write what you want, write what the little voice in your head is whispering. But if you are stuck, try out the prompt.

 

How Can You Tell If I Am Doing It?

I can’t. It’s between you and your Muse, unless you tell your friends or leave a note in the Comments section of my blog. (I must admit, I like it when people do that.) Sometimes people post their day’s writing in the Comments section. (I like that, too.)

You are accountable only to yourself, ever, for the amount of time you choose to spend writing. Or if you blow it off. This is a good place to begin the daily discipline, and to get in the habit of that accountability. Here you are with friends who understand the struggle. Feel free to tell us all about your writing challenges, or ask me questions in the Comments section.

 

Is This Connected to NANOWRIMO?

Nope, but I am a big fan of that project and strongly encourage all of you to sign up for it this year.

 

Will You Read What I Wrote?

Thank you for asking, but I have to say no. There are not enough hours in the day for what I want to do right now. Sorry.

 

  Can I Use Your Prompts In My Class?

Yes! Please cite me properly, that’s all I ask. If you get a moment, I’d love to know what kind of feedback you receive from your students. (Permission is only given for classroom use. The prompts, like all of my blog writing, remain my property.)

 

Why Are You Doing This?

Because the arts flourish in community. When kindred spirits gather they raise each other up. The differences between someone who has been published and someone who hasn’t are not nearly as dramatic as you might think. I still struggle to make time everyday to write. I still choke at the thought of the blank page.  I never write as well or as thoughtfully, or as fast as I want to. But I love writing. I’d be scribbling stories if I had never been published. It is the writing – surrendering to the magic – that is the best part of my day. It balances me, and makes me feel alive. I want to share that with you.

 

Ready? Set your timers to 15 minutes and get going.

 

“If the angel deigns to come, it will be because you have convinced her, not by tears, but by your humble resolve to be always beginning; to be a beginner.”

Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Today’s Prompt:  What things do you allow to get in the way of your writing? Be specific, detailed, and brutally honest.

 

Scribble… scribble… scribble…

Yep. This. This beautiful piece of paper right here.

Are you serious about your writing (for children)? Are you ready to take it to the next level? I will be teaching a Children’s Book Writing Intensive Workshop in Vermont this October, along with my friends Tanya Lee Stone and Sarah Aronson. If you are interested, contact Leslie Cahill, whose email address is on the flyer. Space is limited so register today!!

“Severe and chronic trauma (such as living with an alcoholic parent, or watching in terror as your mom gets beat up) causes toxic stress in kids. Toxic stress damages kid’s brains. When trauma launches kids into flight, fight or fright mode, they cannot learn. It is physiologically impossible.” John Medina

Read the entire article about a high school principal who changed the way his school disciplined kids and saw, as a result, shocking improvements in pretty much everything.

And then please pass on the link.

I was sent a link to an unexpected surprise today.

Mark Flowers has written a complete and fascinating (to me at least) analysis of the relative literary merit of all of my novels, both YA and historical fiction.

I’m stunned by this and honored. Never thought of having anyone look at everything I’ve written at the same time. I don’t want to judge or argue his comments; his opinions are well-thought out and valid. I would like to offer my POV about PROM, but that would be a good blog post for later in May. For now, let’s just say the motivation for PROM was very different than for my other books. And if you really enjoy my darker YAs, it makes a lot of sense that PROM isn’t going to be your cup of tea.

Go and read his piece and post comments there or here or everywhere.

*Title taken from SNL’s Coffee Talk sketch.

How awesome is this guy?

He is a photographer who has been taking pictures of himself dressed like that for nine years. Why? To raise money for breast cancer, a disease that his wife is battling.

See more pics, read more info, and laugh, and help.

Vernon Minor, Superintendant of Republic, MO school district, has resigned, three months after the school board voted not to extend his contract.

This is the district that banned Speak, Slaughterhouse Five, and Twenty Boy Summer after a local man, Wesley Scroggins, complained about the books. In addition to book banning, Minor faced a number of other challenges during his tenure in Republic.

Speak was later put back in the classroom, I believe. (Can anyone with first-hand knowledge confirm this for me?) The other two books are in a "secure" spot in the library. Here is my original blog post written when the books were first challenged.

What do I think about this latest turn of events?

I think that the people who live in that school district have probably spent a lot of time discussing the controversies. I suspect that the school board members have heard from many of their fellow citizens. I hope that this change in administration will help the district move forward. I hope that teachers and librarians will be able to do their jobs without fear. That students will be able to read freely, and think, and discuss any and all topics, even the ones that can frighten and challenge adults.

Details about the resignation

What do you think?

 

In the last couple of weeks, I've had a lot of interaction, via social media and email, with people who are struggling with eating disorders.

The time has come for us all to get righteously angry.

Myself, I have moved past anger to that steel-eyed, axe-sharpening, calm place of volcanic rage.

I am NOT angry at the girls and boys and women and men who are waging daily battle against the eating disorders which are trying to destroy them. I love those folks. I want to help strengthen them and offer whatever support I can, both to them and to their families.

 

 

 

(Why photos of babies? See the bottom of the post.)

 

 

 

 

No, my fury is leveled at the industries that make money off of vulnerable people by promoting unhealthy, unrealistic, Photoshopped body images. And I am hereby calling out everyone who thinks that promoting pro-ana (pro-anorexic), pro-mia (pro-bulimic), and thinspiration sites and behaviors is a good thing.

Borrowing a quote from Mamavision's wonderful site, "Anorexia is a disease, not a fricking lifestyle." (Learn who ANA and MIA and ED are, if you haven't heard about them before.)

It is time to speak some hard truth. Are you listening?

ANA wants to kill you.

MIA wants to kill you.

ED wants you to die.

I am not exaggerating. Not even a little bit. More people die from eating disorders than from any psychiatric illness. (Sullivan, P.(1995). American Journal of Psychiatry, 152 (7), 1073-1074.) Want to learn more? NEDA has a great collection of statistics.

People struggling with eating disorders (ED) spend a lot of energy convincing themselves and others that ANA and MIA are enchanted phantoms or fairy godsisters who will help them lose weight and then – magically – everything will be better. They will feel beautiful. Accepted. Loved. Worthy. Accomplished. Important. Cherished. Happy. They starve themselves because they are starving for the powerful sense of security and belonging that every human being deserves.

How does this happen?

It often starts when kids stumble into the howling desert wasteland we call adolescence. Her (his) body changes. Hormones start to drive the brain train. Insecurities fester. Pressure and stress boil. Kids look around for guidance. Advertising hammers home the bullshit message that if they just lose some weight, all of their problems will disappear.

It's a lie. An evil, obscene lie. Advertisers want to make you feel worse, not better, because if you are feeling kind of crappy, it's easier for them to con you into buying stuff. They hire genetically thin models, pressure them to drug and starve themselves to emaciation, and THEN they Photoshop the images of these models until they resemble aliens.

Starting to understand my wrath?

People suffering from eating disorders are often malnourished. The chemicals in their bodies are all messed up from starvation and/or purging. Their brains don't have enough fuel to run on, which makes thinking clearly and making smart decisions even harder. This is why they need our loving support, not our criticism or disdain.

 

 

I reserve a nuclear fireball of hatred for the tabloid asshats who fetishize the supposed weight losses and gains of celebrities, and thus, help fuel the eating disorders of millions. Burn, you toxic scum. Burn slowly. Burn and then heal a little bit, and then remember all the lives you screwed up and the pain you caused and rip your scabs open so you can burn anew. Until the end of time.

Yeah, I'm pissed.

Getting angry is a good start. Being proactive is the next step. What can you do?

* Share this blog post.

* Check out proud2Bme.

* When you hear people talking about their love for ANA or MIA, don't judge. Just quietly say (or write) "ANA is lying. MIA is lying. Don't let them hurt you."

* Consider the Body Beautiful app.

* Get more information at the National Eating Disorders Association's website. They are doing the work of the angels there and can provide you with all kinds of resources. Their PARENT TOOLKIT is especially helpful.)

* Read and share "I Am Not My Eating Disorder," on the To Write Love On Her Arms website.

Please keep speaking up about real beauty and strength, and our responsibility to be caring and compassionate with each other, so that we can help all the wintergirls and winterboys thaw and start truly living again.

 

 

Why the photos of cute babies in this post? Because that's how we started out. That's how you started out. No one would judge, belittle, or criticize a newborn about her appearance. We all deserve to be loved for who we are, not how we measure up to some imaginary standard. Love yourself and love the people around you.

 

** All images in this post were purchased and licensed from the photographers via istockphoto.com. Do not use them for commercial purposes, please.

 

"When you are not writing, you're going to be sad. You are going to feel inadequate. You are going to feel untalented. You are going to feel incompetent. It's crucially important to understand that the impulse to write is a reaching out to God."

—David Milch, creator of Deadwood and so much more, in a presentation at the WGA Theater, 2001