Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the category “Writing”

19 Nov 2012
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R and R. Mmmhmmm


The "gravedigger scene" The Gravedig...

The “gravedigger scene” The Gravedigger Scene: Hamlet 5.1.1–205. (Artist: Eugène Delacroix 1839) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

After a couple of tough weeks of school there is nothing like a weekend getaway.  Grabbed a few foodstuffs, a couple of changes of clothes, and of course, school work.  But hey, at least I’d be doing lesson plans in a change of scenery.

 

First thing I did was nap.  Then I grabbed my Hamlet homework and dug in.  Even though I’ve taught Hamlet for the last three years, and really, really like the play, I know I have to up my game since I am know teaching it ala AP.  Deeper, richer, more insights–get some questions (try to know the answers).  I was delighted to find that my iPhone internet connection functioned which meant I didn’t have to pay the WiFi fee.  Heck, I didn’t even use my laptop this weekend.

 

I all kinds of Hamlet helps on the Internet.  One especially helpful site was called Shakespeare Navigators.  I drained my iPhone battery working the site so much and had to drive around to charge it up.  Gave me an excuse to go down to the Safeway (a good 40 minute drive) to stock up on essentials like Peppermint Bark Haagen Daz.  You know Christmas is around the corner when the Peppermint Bark comes out.  Fortunately MEPA met up with me on Saturday and brought my charger.  Whew.  A good personal assistant is more valuable than all the Haagen Daz in the freezer.

 

I tried to NaNo while R and R-ing and managed to get the posts up.  I didn’t manage to update my word count until I got home and looking at my statistics and posting three days worth of word count bloated my chart slightly.

 

Your Average Per Day: 1,934
Words Written Today: 4,967
Total Words Written: 34,827
Words Remaining: 15,173
At This Rate You Will Finish On: November 25, 2012
Words Per Day To Finish On Time: 1,168
There is no truth to the stat I wrote nearly 5,000 today.  Nope, didn’t happen.  I do like seeing I might finish early.  That would call for more Peppermint Bark.

 

 

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Posted in Blogging, Teachers, time management, travel, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , , ,
17 Nov 2012
1 Comment

Serendipity and Fricatives


A sign that designates no swearing in a city.

A sign that designates no swearing in a city. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Serendipity.  That happenstance which is unexpected and delightful.  Like finding that forgotten twenty dollar bill in your jacket pocket about the time you need a spare bit of change to enjoy an impromptu gelato and a movie.

Serendipity also happens in writing.  For instance, the other day my NaNo protag went on a side rant about swearing and she wondered (as I do) why certain sounds satisfy that need of relieving vexation.  Those sounds are called fricatives.

Opening my latest version of Children’s Writer I experienced that serendipitous moment upon reading “Punch, Bold, Colorful: Fricatives” by Vera Boyd Jones. Here is her opening segment:


My friend Brendan, a brand-new teacher, sat at my dinner table complaining that a novel for junior high readers was totally unrealistic.
    “There’s no way a juvenile delinquent would talk like that. His language would be full of words like  *!&**## and $^*&$* and %(^*#. (Substitutes are mine.) Your ears would turn blue if you heard the kids talk in our school hallways, and they’re not in trouble with the law.”
   “That may be,” I said in the tone I reserve for talking to young friends I have known since their birth and who should not be cussing in front of me, “but the first reader of a novel is an editor and once it’s in print, the next readers are reviewers and librarians, and they are not going to buy a kids’ book full of profanity. And I won’t even address the role of irate school boards.”
    “But it’s not right,” he said.
    “It’s not accurate, but that’s where substitute fricatives come in.”
    “Fricatives?”
    “Phooey. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of fricatives? Shoot, they’re such wonderful words.”

Jones  goes on to discuss the role of hard consonant sounds (p, f, b, d, k, sh, etc.) in our most colorful (and frowned upon) language.  Fricative, itself, is a great fricative.  Substituting naughty words with imaginative and consonant-rich ones is a solution to being tsked in the classroom.  Chris Crutcher, a popular YA author, cares not for substitutes and runs through as many of the real thing as possible (it seems) in his writing.  He’s proud of it too.  I’ve had him as a guest in my classroom and the students are split between liking the realism of his language usage and being uncomfortable with reading it.

For now, Vera will stick with her frick-atives.  After all, if I’m self-conscious saying them, how can I possibly have my characters utter them?

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Posted in creativity, education, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , ,
15 Nov 2012
4 Comments

It’s Friday? Right? Soon?


To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is nothing like a tough week to make you wish for the weekend.  I’m one day too soon in my wishful thinking it’s Friday. I shouldn’t be feeling so tired since I’m not teaching every single day as usual.

That’s because November is an odd month in that it is so fragmented.

There is actually only one week that contains one fully functioning school week what with quarter break, parent-teacher conferences, professional learning communities, and Thanksgiving holiday.

Like Vera’s dad says, “How do they expect you to get any education if you aren’t in school?”  Vera didn’t have an answer either.

Speaking of Vera, the NaNo blog is going reasonably well.  Today marks 29,860 words.  I already pre-celebrated with my Haagen Daz.

Even with having to invest my evening into the nightly word count, I’m still managing to get some reading done, even if it’s by audio on the way to work.  Anyone else out there read Washington Square by Henry James?  I’m really thinking Morris is quite the cad.  Catherine deserves much better.

I’m also rereading To Kill a Mockingbird for my ninth grade novel unit.  I’ve lost track how many times I’ve reread the novel.  I love introducing this classic to my students.  It is always so gratifying to hear students pop into class, “I finished the book over the weekend!” and this is from kids who couldn’t even turn in their first quarter book report with offerings like The Outsiders to choose from.

Well, the weekend is almost here. Thursdays make me appreciate Friday that much more.

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13 Nov 2012

Bibble, Bobble, Wibble, Wobble


Poor Vera–her state of mind and mood often is a reflection of mine.  After my push week of PTCs and then a weekend of flu my creative verve is very much swerving like a tipsy ballerina on a wet dance floor.  To elucidate, my words are slipping all over the place.

Out of the 2,406 words I posted today I really only like this snippet: Books can be the best friends in the world.  I can find them waiting for me on a shelf no matter where we move to.

You see, Vera, my NaNo protagonist has the misfortune of having a set of parents who tend to move often because her mother Sylvia likes a change of scenery.  This means a lot of adjusting and readjusting for Vera.  Which means making friends is not easy for her.  However, she finds solace in books.  Like me, Vera long ago discovered all kinds of friends are waiting to be made at the library.  They are there waiting patiently on the shelves, just waiting for someone to discover them.

So my Thirteenth NaNo post is a bit of a bobble, a slip of a wobble, yet the main dance move, the main step is in place and that is books are always there for you.

Happy Pages (and I’m 22,000+ invested in NaNo–drat, where’s the Haagen Daz when you need it?)

Posted in Blogging, Libraries, Reading, Writing and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
11 Nov 2012
1 Comment

Life Imitating Art Imitating Life


Cover of "The Last Action Hero"

Cover of The Last Action Hero

Yesterday I thought I would be enjoying my extra day off, the perk for having worked two twelve hour days.  Instead , I was doing the porcelain hug–yup, the flu bug caught up to me and bit me rather nastily. Lipton soup, napping, and the wonderful ministrations of my MEPA (most excellent personal assistant) righted me from prone to errands.  I had to get my Saturday library run in–plus I expanded my horizons with a chocolate taste-testing lesson from ET, my librarian compatriot.

With a bag of AP Cyrano journals to grade I needed a movie to keep me company–my MEPA had a previous engagement with the roof. It’s an oldie but goodie: Last Action Hero. I checked it out again (third time watching it) because Ahnold plays Hamlet.  “Hey Claudius, you killed my fadder.  Big mistake.” I’m readying for Hamlet in AP and thought it would be appropriate to show how far Shakespeare’s influence reaches.

One reason I like LAH so much is the irony, paradox, parodies, and outright clichés. Here it is in a nutshell if you haven’t seen the movie: Arnold  is playing Jack Slater who is Arnold playing Jack Slater, who is the  quintessential action hero.  There are a bazillion inside jokes and cameos. Maybe this movie gave me the idea for my NaNo novel. Who could resist writing a novel about a girl writing a novel during National Novel Writing Month?  I couldn’t.

If you are writing your NaNo, hang tough, because this is the week people start to find the going tough and drop out of the word count race.  You can do it.  You can do it. You can do it.  Yes, you can.

See you on the other side of 50,000.  It’s one word at a time making each sentence reach into paragraphs into pages.

And with that,
Happy Pages
CM

 

Posted in creativity, Movies, reviews, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
08 Nov 2012
3 Comments

Push Day


image: southcentralusd.org

I’m madly trying to get my day eight NaNo post done before I trot off to school for round two of PTC. Yesterday was a twelve hour day split between half teaching the other half conferencing with parents.  PTCs are not my favorite part of my schedule, yet I do enjoy meeting with parents and getting to know them and encouraging them about their student.  I’ve been on the other side of the conference table and I know what it is like when a child is not doing the best possible in class. Hearing words of praise, encouragement, suggesting a plan of action, and even sharing student work helps strengthen the teamwork bond because while I’m not sure about needing an entire village to raise a child, I do know it helps when the parents are contributing members of getting the child through school.

So while I’m putting in another day at school “Vera” my NaNo character gets to sleep in.  Lucky. Today she’s contemplating what she should do for her novel.  She better get on it soon, daylight’s burning.  But don’t mention Daylight Saving Time–she’s kind of sensitive about that subject. If you feel like popping by and seeing how my NaNo is doing, that would be great.  www.veranano.wordpress.com

Well, off to school. Today should be a bit easier with half the day in curriculum meetings and the other half conferences.

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to school I go.  I like my work, I shall not shirk, Hi ho, hi ho.

image: freewebs.com

 

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Posted in education, Teachers, Writing
06 Nov 2012
6 Comments

DST and a Tough Week Ahead for Me


First page of Benjamin Franklin's anonymous le...

First page of Benjamin Franklin’s anonymous letter to the editors of the Journal de Paris, April 26, 1784. The letter is a satire proposing various methods to awaken Parisians early in the morning in order to save money on candles, and presages the idea of daylight saving time. The letter is untitled and appears in the “Économie” section of the journal. The original letter was in English but this, its first publication, is a French translation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No matter when I go to bed I automatically wake up around 5 am.  Good thing I’m a morning person.  This usually is not a problem for me because I actually enjoy getting up early and having the best part of the day to myself. I find myself embracing the cadence of morning. However, I do not embrace 4 am, which DST has reinstated since Sunday.  I can push the clock back an hour, not so easily my body clock.  Daylight Saving Time and I do not see eye to eye.

Which brings me to notion of how art imitates life.  Currently I am involved in NaNoWriMo and have even gone as far as inflicting sharing my daily NaNo entries with readers as a separate blog.  Consider this an invitation: www.veranano.wordpress.com.  The main character has many of my tendencies, dark chocolate breaks, being one of them.  “Vera” also dislikes DST as much as I do.  In fact, she turned her rant against Ben Franklin, the inventory of Daylight Saving Time, into a scathing persuasive essay called “Death to DST” (or words to that effect) as an English assignment.  I’m hoping she’ll get a good grade on it.

This week is a good week for that extra hour of sleep, although getting up earlier seems to nullify the bonus time. Yes, this week is the official beginnings of second quarter and with it comes Parent-Teacher conferences.  My school runs them two nights and gives teachers Friday off.  We are very much ready by then for a long weekend. We teach all day on Wednesday and then PT until 7 pm–basically a twelve hour day.  Thursday we meet as departments and then meet with parents from 3:30 until 7 pm once again.  It’s part of the job, yet it is grueling.  I actually like meeting with the parents and discussing their student, except there is usually a buffalo herd of moms and dads hanging out in the hall waiting their turn.  I try not to drink too much water because breaks are far and few between.

DST, NaNo, and PTs–it’s one of those weeks of sucking it up yet needing to find time to breathe.

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03 Nov 2012
5 Comments

Yes, it’s NaNo time…


VIA Nano Chip Image (top)

VIA Nano Chip Image (top) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

November is a great time for writers.  The weather is chilly enough to no longer tempt outdoor activity, there is a coziness to the house with the crackle of the fire, and NaNo is on.

Two years ago, when I finally decided to leap into NaNo I managed to meet the 50,000 word challenge with a day or two to spare.  I’m still editing that manuscript.  Writing quantity instead of quality is whole different way to write.  I tend to edit as I write and editing is a luxury when it comes to the National Novel Writing Month.

There are a plethora of blogs about NaNo and how it works, so I shall not perpetuate redundancy.  Instead I will bravely leap once again into NaNo; however, this time it will be with a bit more panache.  This time I have created a separate NaNo blog site and will air my daily writings. Warts and all shall be bared to those interested enough to witness the daily grinding process of trying to produce 1,600 words daily.  I take NaNo founder Chris Baty’s words to heart, “No plot? No problem?” I am hopeful my daily outpourings will not be merely NaNonsense.

I will have a link in my column www.veranano.wordpress.com as well as periodic updates on the process.  I still hope to keep up with my Cricket Musings.

If you are NaNo-ing, please let me know.  The solitary tapping of the keyboard is much more comforting knowing I tap not alone.

 

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01 Nov 2012
2 Comments

Whatsa matta with myah Zemanta?


If you’ve been blogging for a bit you are no doubt aware of Zemanta, the wonderful widget which suggests photos and articles based on your text.  It’s a quick way to instantly add some bling to your blog and doubly nice since the credit tag is part of the package.

You stop and mutter, “What the–? because the photo has NOTHING to do with your text.

Case in point–I hoped to insert some raging Gothic images for my Gothic romance post and laughably Zemanta offered me:

  • the AP press insignia (I guess because I mentioned AP literature texts)
  • Luise Pop (no clue)
  • Jungle girl (huh?)
  • various renditions of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Height (understandable  since I mentioned these)
  • We alone (excuse me?)
  • Old car 2, sold Lake Utah (don’t think so)
  • Salt and Pepper Prawns (what?)
  • Eden with Ruby Slippers (no thanks
  • David Hockney’s  “The Road Across the Worlds” (whatever)
  • “Robert O. Harris” (wrong Harris)
  • “Another One Rides the Bus” a Queen parody (ha ha–way off)
  •  Laoghane Harbour (Gothic romance in the      tropics?)

Have you been there? Scrolling from the plausible into the oblique?

So I ask: Whatsa matta with myah Zemanta?

Is my text too vague?
Are my topics too oblique?
Do I not inspire the photo picking Zemanta elves to brilliance and relevancy?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate Zemanta. It’s handy, and it’s dandy. It’s just a bit perplexing.

Troubleshooting my concerns I did some researching for answers.

  1. typing in specific searches sometimes dials in more relevant photos, but  truthfully not much
  2. going to help sites doesn’t always clarify–as in this answer for the question:      How do you come up with recommendations?

We analyze your post through our proprietary natural language processing and semantic algorithms, and statistically compare its contextual framework to our preindexed database of content.

In plain speak I think they are telling me that they try to match up photos to my text depending on my content and depending on their photos.

3. I did  learn images come from Wikipedia Commons and Flickr among other stock photo providers.
4.  Overall, I usually find one or two photos that are pertinent. The rest? I just figure the Zemanta elves were messing with me.  As for the articles? No problemo; they match up–mostly.

Anyone else think the Zemanta elves are laughing at them?

Zemanta Offices

image: flickr.com
Zemanta offices. Hello? Anybody home?

Image representing Zemanta as depicted in Crun...

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Posted in Blogging, creativity, technology, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged
24 Oct 2012
5 Comments

Just Another Gothic Girl


English: Gothic girl.

English: Gothic girl. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT THE GOTHIC TO WHICH I REFER

I have admittedly strayed from my AP book list and I am in the midst of coasting in my reading tastes: the gothic romance novel. oh yeah.

I’m not talking your acceptable-found-on-the-list novel like Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre. Nope, I’m talking about the forgotten books by a forgotten author that needs rediscovering.  Maybe I will start a resurgence of Dorothy Eden readers. You  never know.

Intrigued by what constitutes a gothic romance novel I Googled to find a most excellent site called Virtual Salt, which is written by Robert Harris, former professor and general busy guy.  He’s got an exciting menu of topic choices on his website and it is a recommended stop by.  I chose “Element of the Gothic Novel” and will definitely be borrowing from and referring to his article once I get to Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre in AP Lit.

Currently I’m cheat reading and have discovered amidst the buried “E”s when I was last shelf shopping,  Dorothy Eden, who had once upon a time a long writing career spanning from the 1940s into the 1980, being known primarily for writing these smashing gothic romances with heroines exhibiting contemporary tendencies.  I’m deep into my second one and these are exactly what I need,  having come off of a grading campaign of freshmen poetry notebooks.

Here is Gothic Romance Elements 101 in a Nutshell.  For in-depth article investigation I encourage you to investigate Robert Harris’s site.

A Gothic Romance needs to have the following:
1.  a castle
2. inexplicable events
3. suspense
4. a damsel in distress
5. overwrought emotions
6. metonymy of gloom and horror *

*refresher for metonymy: it’s a type of metaphor.  For instance, in movies to get some immediate gloom and horror tone going the script will throw in some approaching footsteps and of course you gotta have the sudden torrential downpoour complete with thunder and lightning.

Here’s what Dorothy Eden fare I’ve dined upon so far–the title alone, let alone the cover art, indicate a GR is within the grasp.

The Shadow WifeI couldn’t improve on Amazon:

There was something about the tall, dynamic Dane that disturbed Luise Amberley. But he was so attentive, so charming, that she silenced the small warning voice within her and yielded to his passionate persuasions. The wedding ceremony was hasty, almost furtive, but Luise was too wildly infatuated to care. Even his insistence that their marriage be kept a secret did not seem unreasonable. Otto Winther was, after all, a Count…a man whose ancestors were royalty in Denmark. Not until they left the small seaside resort where they had met and arrived at Maaneborg Castle did Luise become aware that something was wrong. It was not merely the coolmess of the welcome. There was an atmosphere of desperation and danger. They were hiding something. And Luise was determined to find out their secret, no matter what the risk. She did not want to remain a SHADOW WIFE.
It’s actually much better than the description. Considering the publishing date was 1967 I found myself surprised that the following being mentioned: a)computers b)open love affairs within a marriage c)abortion.  Plus Luise is no fainting Melba.  She does not easily whimper off or get locked up in a dungeon.  She reminds me a lot of Jane Eyre, one of my all time fave heroines.
I’m in the middle of Winterwood and once again I will let Amazon do the honors.
 WinterwoodSee the castle?  See the damsel in distress?  Gloom and suspense?  And you know that inexplicable event is about to happen.
Enough of the blogging.  I must return to my saga of the socialite forced by circumstance to become governess to the wealthy family consisting of handsome husband, aloof wife with a myriad of light illnesses, and two spoiled children.  I did mention the dying, extremely rich aunt, did I not?
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