Every year about this time, I enjoy watching TV's coverage of The Little League World Series. These teams of eleven through thirteen year old boys are exposed to national and international fame through the world of baseball. It is an exciting time for everyone connected with all the teams who are good enough to make it through their own division championships and journey to Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
I identify with the moms and dads. There is nothing more dramatic than watching your child - son or daughter - compete at a high level for their age group in the sport of their choice. Matt lettered in track and field in high school. Courtney lettered in softball, basketball and track and played as a summer leaguer/travel ball-er in softball. For many years we occupied camp chairs or squirmed on metal bleachers to watch our kids compete. I remember it as a time of shared empathy for disappointing losses and racing pulses and wet palms for close wins. Great companionship, too, among parents and players. We were fortunate not to run into mean players who bullied and intimidated teammates; or negative parents whose children could either not preform well enough for their approval or who could, alternately, do nothing wrong (!); or the crazy fan who screamed obscenities at refs.
And FUN. Road trips (how long does a bathroom stop take when teenage girls are involved?) Ballpark eateries (hotdogs, hotdogs, hotdogs). The smell of HOT - sunscreen, dust, and sweat! The sounds - crack of the bat, shatter of glass when the ball finds a windshield, the sound of cleats on sidewalks, and the encouragement of parents' from the stands! And especially the thrill of seeing your child - hitting a homerun, throwing out a runner at the plate, catching that pop-up - then turn and give you that heads-up that reads HAPPY.
"Good Eye! You can do it! One More, One MORE! Three up, three down! Batter, batter!" I went to a few local ballgames this year. It doesn't matter whether the players are six, twelve or seventeen years old. You hear the same chants, the same phrases, the same yells from the field and from the stands! Some things just don't change.
Last fall, Goodlettsville, TN (near Nashville) won the southern division and went to Williamsport, Pa to go all the way to the top. They won the US Championship, but fell to Japan in the final game. A great showing! This year it is the South Nashville team (Brentwood) who won the division and are competing in the LLWS. At the current time they are fighting for survival against Washington. A loss is elimination. A win sends them one more step up the ladder toward the final game. I'm following them on Twitter and watching them on ESPN, hoping they'll make a comeback and win!
But whether they do, or whether they don't, I still love that they made it this far. I'm so happy for their experiences, and I still get choked up when I see the parents so excited for their kids.
And I remember! <3
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
GREAT Expectations
Today is July 21st, and Kate is overdue (so some say). At any rate, it is edging past Buckingham Palace's "middle of July" due date for Kate and Prince William. I am amazed at the World Wide Web Frenzy on the arrival of this small babe. But not really. Even if it isn't worth the hype, the birth of Baby Cambridge - any birth - is exciting. The Royals are a story, even if you are not a Royal fan.
Matt was a week early, but Court was way overdue. I remember well the feelings of frustration when friends kept asking, "Are you STILL HERE?" "WHAT, NO BABY YET???" As if there was something I could actually DO about it. (Humorous now, but not so funny when I was THISSSSS BIG and couldn't see my toes.) And that "abuse" was just from my friends and family. Imagine what it would feel like if questions like that screamed at you from newspaper headlines all over the world and on every manner of social media! Not fun in the best of circumstances.
Just before my first baby was born, a friend who was already a mommy, warned me, "You know THIS is the easy part, right?" THIS being the state of pregnancy. No, I didn't know that. I couldn't conjure it up, couldn't look past the physical discomfort, to understand how it would feel to be so responsible and to have so much love for one little baby boy who didn't sleep through the night for two years. But I had great expectations and much anticipation and thought I was ready. I can relate this to Kate. Though she'll have a nanny and all manner of help and no financial worries, she'll still be mommy to a baby girl or boy (they say they don't know the gender yet). She'll still know what it feels like to fuss over her baby and wonder why he's crying or what should be done if he feels warm or ... any manner of things. And she'll have other things to contend with; like, for one, having to leave him with someone else while she goes off and does Royal Things for long stretches of time. Like, for another, having a camera living large in your face and no privacy. I imagine it feels like having two 24/7 jobs. But, royalty aside, Kate is still a young woman who is expecting her first child. She's awaiting the birth with great expectations (pun intended) and anticipation; she's nervous and she's happy. To misquote a beloved movie that's set in Kate's country, She's just a girl, loving a boy, and ... having her first baby.
And then there's Courtney and her career as an author. Great expectations, nervous anticipation, there, too. We're all awaiting the book birthday of "Faking Normal" on February 25th, 2014. It does feel a bit like giving birth. Combine the time spent penning the first draft, editing and revising, time spent pitching the book and acquiring the dream agent, more editing and revising, submission time and finally selling the manuscript to a publisher and More editing and revising. THEN it's all about Hurry Up and Wait. The road to publishing is a slow one - way longer than nine months - and people outside the book community rarely understand how long it takes or why. So you answer a lot of questions about WHEN it will be available on book shelves and you see incredibly amazed expressions appear on peoples' faces when they hear the answer (18 to 24 months from the sale date).
Basically, it is, "So, you've written a book and can I read it tomorrow?"
And every author has to wonder/worry how it's going to fare. Will it sell? Will people love it? Will it measure up to the hype? What if they hate it? (and along the way, WHAT am I going to write NEXT?) It's your baby and you love it; you want it to be perfect. I wonder if authors ever think that WRITING the book was the easy part (and it's hard to write a book) ... once they are touring, signing copies, and promoting book sales, even while they're starting the next novel. And worrying when the book will "sell through" and start paying royalties.
Soooo ... great expectations and great anticipation. Happiness and nerves. Writing books and having babies may be all too much alike.
Eventually, Kate will give birth, the internet and Twitter will heave a huge sigh of relief, and then we'll settle down to Watching the Royal Baby Grow.
And "Faking Normal" will be released to book stores all over the country. Finally.
Trust me on this one. It lives up to its hype. It is worth the labor pains. You will want this book.
Matt was a week early, but Court was way overdue. I remember well the feelings of frustration when friends kept asking, "Are you STILL HERE?" "WHAT, NO BABY YET???" As if there was something I could actually DO about it. (Humorous now, but not so funny when I was THISSSSS BIG and couldn't see my toes.) And that "abuse" was just from my friends and family. Imagine what it would feel like if questions like that screamed at you from newspaper headlines all over the world and on every manner of social media! Not fun in the best of circumstances.
Just before my first baby was born, a friend who was already a mommy, warned me, "You know THIS is the easy part, right?" THIS being the state of pregnancy. No, I didn't know that. I couldn't conjure it up, couldn't look past the physical discomfort, to understand how it would feel to be so responsible and to have so much love for one little baby boy who didn't sleep through the night for two years. But I had great expectations and much anticipation and thought I was ready. I can relate this to Kate. Though she'll have a nanny and all manner of help and no financial worries, she'll still be mommy to a baby girl or boy (they say they don't know the gender yet). She'll still know what it feels like to fuss over her baby and wonder why he's crying or what should be done if he feels warm or ... any manner of things. And she'll have other things to contend with; like, for one, having to leave him with someone else while she goes off and does Royal Things for long stretches of time. Like, for another, having a camera living large in your face and no privacy. I imagine it feels like having two 24/7 jobs. But, royalty aside, Kate is still a young woman who is expecting her first child. She's awaiting the birth with great expectations (pun intended) and anticipation; she's nervous and she's happy. To misquote a beloved movie that's set in Kate's country, She's just a girl, loving a boy, and ... having her first baby.
And then there's Courtney and her career as an author. Great expectations, nervous anticipation, there, too. We're all awaiting the book birthday of "Faking Normal" on February 25th, 2014. It does feel a bit like giving birth. Combine the time spent penning the first draft, editing and revising, time spent pitching the book and acquiring the dream agent, more editing and revising, submission time and finally selling the manuscript to a publisher and More editing and revising. THEN it's all about Hurry Up and Wait. The road to publishing is a slow one - way longer than nine months - and people outside the book community rarely understand how long it takes or why. So you answer a lot of questions about WHEN it will be available on book shelves and you see incredibly amazed expressions appear on peoples' faces when they hear the answer (18 to 24 months from the sale date).
Basically, it is, "So, you've written a book and can I read it tomorrow?"
And every author has to wonder/worry how it's going to fare. Will it sell? Will people love it? Will it measure up to the hype? What if they hate it? (and along the way, WHAT am I going to write NEXT?) It's your baby and you love it; you want it to be perfect. I wonder if authors ever think that WRITING the book was the easy part (and it's hard to write a book) ... once they are touring, signing copies, and promoting book sales, even while they're starting the next novel. And worrying when the book will "sell through" and start paying royalties.
Soooo ... great expectations and great anticipation. Happiness and nerves. Writing books and having babies may be all too much alike.
Eventually, Kate will give birth, the internet and Twitter will heave a huge sigh of relief, and then we'll settle down to Watching the Royal Baby Grow.
And "Faking Normal" will be released to book stores all over the country. Finally.
Trust me on this one. It lives up to its hype. It is worth the labor pains. You will want this book.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
A Camp for Young Writers
I scribbled stories and illustrated them from the time I could hold a pencil. I did it just because it spiked my imagination and with no end in mind. No one told me (as proud as my parents were) that writing was something grown-ups could do and even make a living doing it. To me, writing was something AUTHORS did - far-away people who were just somewhere "out there." They wrote books that magically showed up in my library for my pleasure. I had no idea what the process was and no idea how hard it was to shape a book from the beginning chapter all the way through to the ending paragraph and, certainly, I had no idea who these authors were. I don't remember ever thinking about authors. I doubt it entered my mind that they had perfectly normal lives in addition to writing books.
Which brings me to this point. Authors have a fan base today. Teen readers want to know about the men or women who write their favorite books. They want to know more about their favorite characters. Some of them want to write as well. The world wide web has made it possible to zoom in on authors, to humanize them and make them interesting and available to all readers. It has also helped to demystify the writing process for children and teens. Teachers in today's classrooms enjoy using authors as a valuable resource to promote writing and reading.
Recently, Courtney C. Stevens (author of Faking Normal- Feb, 2014), Kristin O'Donnell Tubb (author of Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different, Selling Hope, The 13th Sign) and Rae Ann Parker (The Devil's Backbone) participated in a Young Writers' Camp. Afterward, the following was published in the local paper.
The teacher reported a students' thoughts after the session with Courtney and Kristin ended. Something like: "Ms. Thomas, you sure have interesting friends!" I only wish I had had experiences like this when I was a pre-teen and older.
Which brings me to this point. Authors have a fan base today. Teen readers want to know about the men or women who write their favorite books. They want to know more about their favorite characters. Some of them want to write as well. The world wide web has made it possible to zoom in on authors, to humanize them and make them interesting and available to all readers. It has also helped to demystify the writing process for children and teens. Teachers in today's classrooms enjoy using authors as a valuable resource to promote writing and reading.
Recently, Courtney C. Stevens (author of Faking Normal- Feb, 2014), Kristin O'Donnell Tubb (author of Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different, Selling Hope, The 13th Sign) and Rae Ann Parker (The Devil's Backbone) participated in a Young Writers' Camp. Afterward, the following was published in the local paper.
Herald Citizen July 15, 2013
Camp helps students
develop writing skills
Students at Algood
Middle School had a chance to work on their writing skills and get creative
this summer at the first ever "Mini Mags, Memes and Memoirs: A Summer
Writing Camp."
Teacher Sara Thomas led the week-long camp for students in fifth through ninth grade.
A parent who has two children at the school knew that one of Thomas' hobbies is writing and asked if she knew of any summer camps going on for students interested in writing.
“I didn’t, but I had always wanted to do one,” Thomas said. “I just started talking to different teachers and was very blessed because many people volunteered to help.”
Twenty-one students enrolled in the camp, and a number of language arts teachers volunteered to teach daily lessons to the campers.
“We focused on creative writing, something that unfortunately there’s not as much time during the regular school year to focus on,” Thomas said. “We get to do a lot of writing and some of it is creative but this is specifically for creative writing, to get those juices flowing.”
The students also had a chance to hear from published authors Thomas knows through the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Kristin Tubb spoke to the students about writing and her process and shared details about books she has written.
Courtney Stevens is an author whose first book will be released in April and she talked with the students about stretching beyond their comfort zone to create interesting stories and characters.
Campers also had a Skype session with Author Rae Ann Parker who talked about the process of doing research for her books.
“It is special when you get to have authors talk with the students,” Thomas said. “They have loved the opportunity to be enriched by so many different people.”
A favorite activity for the students was creating their own mini magazine. Each student got to select a piece of their own writing to go into the magazine.
Every day brought activities related to art or creative writing.
“It was very open, but every day we had some time to write whatever they wanted to,” Thomas said.
Every student said they wanted to take part in the camp again next year, and Thomas has already started plans to make it happen.
“I would like to expand it because I have had so much positive feedback,” Thomas said. “I would like to be able to include all of the middle schools next year.”
Teacher Sara Thomas led the week-long camp for students in fifth through ninth grade.
A parent who has two children at the school knew that one of Thomas' hobbies is writing and asked if she knew of any summer camps going on for students interested in writing.
“I didn’t, but I had always wanted to do one,” Thomas said. “I just started talking to different teachers and was very blessed because many people volunteered to help.”
Twenty-one students enrolled in the camp, and a number of language arts teachers volunteered to teach daily lessons to the campers.
“We focused on creative writing, something that unfortunately there’s not as much time during the regular school year to focus on,” Thomas said. “We get to do a lot of writing and some of it is creative but this is specifically for creative writing, to get those juices flowing.”
The students also had a chance to hear from published authors Thomas knows through the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Kristin Tubb spoke to the students about writing and her process and shared details about books she has written.
Courtney Stevens is an author whose first book will be released in April and she talked with the students about stretching beyond their comfort zone to create interesting stories and characters.
Campers also had a Skype session with Author Rae Ann Parker who talked about the process of doing research for her books.
“It is special when you get to have authors talk with the students,” Thomas said. “They have loved the opportunity to be enriched by so many different people.”
A favorite activity for the students was creating their own mini magazine. Each student got to select a piece of their own writing to go into the magazine.
Every day brought activities related to art or creative writing.
“It was very open, but every day we had some time to write whatever they wanted to,” Thomas said.
Every student said they wanted to take part in the camp again next year, and Thomas has already started plans to make it happen.
“I would like to expand it because I have had so much positive feedback,” Thomas said. “I would like to be able to include all of the middle schools next year.”
The teacher reported a students' thoughts after the session with Courtney and Kristin ended. Something like: "Ms. Thomas, you sure have interesting friends!" I only wish I had had experiences like this when I was a pre-teen and older.
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