Lucky March: My Lucky Charm, The Children's Moon

Hi folks, I am feeling pretty lucky right now. I do what I love. I have a roof over my head. I'm the mom of four astonishing young people. I'm married to the love of my life. I have two cats. I have time to read and work in my yard.  And in happy news, I have been a busy writing bee for the last few months. Two big projects of mine have almost been brought together. Do you ever feel like you have sprouted wings and after some serious trial and error, wow, you are flying?

My work stuns me. I am an imperfect artist and writer. I'm messy. The edges of my work are always a little rough, primitive, if you will. I'm a folk artist in a time of slick, mass market production.  And yet these stacks of papers that I have produced bring tears to my eyes.  I find joy in the imperfection.  I hope that my scribbles and doodles will finally turn something up that will make some sense of this world for someone and bring some needed light and laughter into the dark the corners. Here is my promise: I will keep trying.

I had an awesome moment recently. I began querying last week and I have already received my first rejection.  I read the rejection (a classic form email), marked the rejection in my file, and moved back to what I was working on. Then I noticed the milestone! I HAVE ELEPHANT SKIN! I didn't even feel a twinge of discouragement. If you follow my blog, you might know this is a double triumph for me. I've been sort of crushed by a bout of depression for two years and the clouds have moved on. I feel lucky, blessed, favored, and among the angels, all rolled into one.

Finally, I saw my lucky charm today, the moon in the day sky. I always feel lucky when I see the moon in the day sky. The daytime moon is often called the children's moon because it's accessible to children when they are outside playing. Today's daytime moon, a pale half-round in the Texas blue sky, reminded me how lucky I am to write stories for children, to have never lost the sense of child-like wonder within, and to spend my life moving from conversation to conversation with like minded souls. Here's a question: What does the  children's moon say to you?

Glad you have dropped by. I hope good things, deep luck, and true dreams find you this week.  I will be back next with the end of Lucky March.  

Here is a doodle for you. Magic Carpet Ride.

Here is a short Irish Blessing for your pocket. 

May your fire never go out.

Lucky March: Serendipitous Moments

Hi folks, I'm continuing my series called Lucky March. I'm about a quarter Irish, and this month I'm writing about about random circumstances that end up sending good fortune your way. This week I'm writing about those serendipitous moments that change everything. These lucky moments can come at any time and any place. Often they will come when you are least expecting them.

Here are a few things that I have noticed about lucky moments. Lucky moments are rare. You must be ready to leap. Lucky moments do not check your schedule to make sure your are emotionally available. Just embrace the luck even if you have tears on your face. Lucky moments often come with a ton of kismet, deja vu and que sera, sera. Call it fate, harbinger, or providence, these lucky moments will send shivers down your spine and pull out the neat threads that stitch together your understanding of the universe. Psst, you will be better. Finally, sometimes you might totally misread your luck. Just because it doesn't feel lucky at the time doesn't mean that it wasn't lucky. 

I hope these thoughts on luck help you. Regardless of how your good luck comes, I hope it finds you this week.

I had the opportunity to ask two brilliant children's writers about lucky moments on their journey this week. One is Alison McGhee.  Alison's lucky moment was a dark and blizzardy night when she'd lost her suitcase at the airport. (not exactly feeling like a lucky moment), but her missing suitcase lead her to Kathi Appelt, a friend to treasure and a writing partner. So there you go -- luck that a suitcase went missing!

Kathi Appelt also shared a lucky moment story. Many years ago, she wandered into the only independent children's bookstore in BCS (Jacque's Toys and Books). A conversation began and by the end of the conversation Kathi had a new job that transformed her understanding of children's books forever. Yay for lucky conversations. Don't be too busy to chat, friends. Luck hunkers down in good conversations. 

I find great value in revisiting the moments that change everything. 

I know this week is short, but I am CRAZY busy! I hope you contemplate luck, and if you are like me, you realize that luck is just godspeed. That said, godspeed to all of you. I will be back next week with more lucky March.   

No doodle this week. I am having a cover crush. Please consider checking out Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee's new book: MAYBE A FOX.   

Here is a traditional Irish blessing to tuck in your pocket. 

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

Lucky March: Luck of the Irish

Hi, folks! Welcome to the next series. I'm about one quarter Irish, hence the luck of the Irish is with me as a writer. ;) Luck is all about random circumstances that end up sending good fortune your ways. Do you want some luck of the Irish in your life?  Here is a sure fire plan.

The whole luck of Irish meme was started by miners in the gold fields back in the day. Those Irish miners kept finding gold. It's a good thing they didn't stay in Ireland. I've learned a thing or two like my Irish ancestors. Stay where you are, and things will never change.  Do things the same, and things will never change. Don't ask for help, and things will never change.

A few years back I took a novel revision class with Darcy Pattison. In this class Darcy offered an exercise, identify the weakest chapters in your book and then revise to make them awesome. As we all know, luck is really about dropping yourself in opportunity rich places and then reaping the benefits. I've made it a practice to choose the three weakest chapters of my book when I have a solid draft and revise them. I make the better. How?  I make better stuff happen. I dig into the emotional core. I cut the fat. Ooh, I was punching the sky when I finished my revision notes.

So whatever creative stuff you are doing, go to the gold fields.  If you are searching for gold, you know where those fields are. Gear up and prospect. First study the land. For you writers, read, read, read. Lose the dreams of get-rich-quick. Band together with other prospectors. You need writers who work hard and show up.  Dig in. Luck finds the tenacious. It does.

So there you have it, a road to the luck of the Irish. I will be back next week with more Lucky March.

Here is a quote for you pocket. A traditional Irish blessing:

May the blessing of the rain be on you—the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.

May the blessing of the great rains be on you, may they beat upon your spirit
and wash it fair and clean, and leave there many a shining pool

where the blue of heaven shines,

and sometimes a star.

Creativity: Hope for the Neurodiverse Tribe

Hi folks,  Did you grow up being called the weird one? Was the teasing because you were "a different" that was off the charts? Are you a member of the neurodiverse tribe?

Here's the deal. The neurodiverse outlier faces a tough world. She is labeled (lazy, procrastinator, excessive talker, disorganized, rebellious, poor listener, challenging), shamed (you don't try, you don't care, you're disrespectful, stupid, weirdo) and failed (F for you). I am speaking from experience here. Shake hands, I'm a member of the neurodiverse tribe.

Here is a picture of my life. I'm intelligent but you may be interested to know that I am minimal student. I've failed so many classes that I have lost count.  Note, just because I failed didn't always mean I didn't learn the subject. It generally means that I was stressed out about the tests and projects. I couldn't answer the questions fast enough, or I had a tough time managing my schedule again (i.e I'd forget I had that class until it was too late -- stupid rules). Note: I make As if I'm really crunching on a subject.

I find that it is best for me to learn one subject at a time, with school it is always five at a time or more. I avoid school because there is no place in the world that will kick the confidence out of me like a school room. Now to make you laugh, I love to learn. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. I want to know stuff. I read like crazy. I'm always learning new stuff. I do Khan Academy lessons for fun. The internet is my friend. There is a picture, video, or blog for that. Beyond that I like to read books, attend lectures, and go to places. I am always tucking stuff inside me.

I have the same problem of all the neurodiverse: I lack this so called "self control." Let's be clear about self control -- I arrive late often. I have trouble keeping my sleeping schedule on 8 to 5 system. I tend to make As in subjects I like. I get super focused and tend to forget things. I burn up about one pan per month. The sink overflows sometimes. Note, I'm not lazy, I'm just not working according to the "rules" whatever they are. Yes, this makes people very angry: I'm traumatized like every neuro-diverse person on the planet.

Now for the creative angle. Creativity is hope in the neurodiverse (Pandora's) box. I'm a creative soul. It seems to ooze out of my pores. I sometimes wish that I could be here with Vincent Van Gogh. We could commiserate about people not getting us.  Creativity is currency for me. I think in ways that other people don't. My mind will not give up. Even if I give up, my creative soul will come to my rescue. Creativity is a geyser within like Old Faithful. It keeps spewing stuff regularly. No efforts from me needed. It makes me optimistic against all odds. It lifts me up when I can't lift myself. Remember that if you are neurodiverse.

I hope this brought some happiness to your creative soul. I believe a day will come when the world make room for the neurodiverse tribe. We will stop trying to drug it or fix it and just accept that some of us march to the beat of a different drummer. Then we will make room for the differences.

Next month, I will be back with a new series.  Yay!

Here is a doodle. A Troubling...

We are NOT average people – we are not satisfied to just do what we are told, or to do the same job for the rest of our lives without loving what we do. Arriane Benefit

Creativity: Get Out of the Box

Hi, folks! I'm continuing my series on creativity. This is 3 of 4. I had a fun program at Covenant Presbyterian Church and thank every one who came out to participate.

Here is my official definition of creativity: out of the box thinking that defies norms, redefines the status quo, and stands the test of time.

So what is this box? And how do you get out of it? The box. This box is plain cardboard and it doesn't hold anything but uniformly-shaped items. The box is all about norms, status quo, and the fad thinking of the moment.

Do you ever challenge yourself? I mean it. How do you challenge yourself? Here is an experiment. Let go of a closely held belief and play the other side. You are a devout Christian. Let it go for a minute and put yourself in the shoes of someone who does not have this belief. What about a dyed in the-wool-Democrat? Let go of your thinking and inhabit the mind of a Trump supporter for a minute. Your eyes will open wider and see more. You might find the creative answers to some troubling questions.

Do you ever pull up your tent stakes? Have you camped in your life? Life is a temporary situation. You are just passing through. Have you gotten comfortable? Regardless of how safe and sound you feel, you are dwelling in temporary housing that is very flimsy.  One way to get out of your nice safe box is to pull up your tent stakes.  Go somewhere. Open yourself up to new kinds of people. Go hang out with those tax collectors. Stop vilifying people who are not like you and hang out with them until you see their humanity.

Do something that will never fit in a box. Break some rules. Consider options that just don't fit you. Stretch yourself in new directions. If you are a mountain climber, take a evening and be a video gamer. Whatever is outside the box of your life, do that. Go somewhere unexpected. Make a friend that you would not in a million years be friends with. Cook something that just sounds weird. Volunteer in a way that makes you shake in your boots.  See what happens.

Yes. Get out of the box.  The choice will infuse your life with creativity. I hope you come back next week for the last of this Creativity series.

Here is a doodle for you.

Whenever you find yourself on the side of majority, it is time to pause and reflect.  Mark Twain.