I read a whole lot to my boys. Every day at lunch, I read to my twins and my littlest one from two picture books and a chapter book. Every night before bed, my entire family gathers around stories—two more picture books and another chapter book. But a surprising time when I read to my boys is during their baths. My boys are still young, so I know this won’t happen forever, but I’m always looking for opportunities where I can read more to my children. Bath time happened to be one of those.
It actually came about when my 9-year-old, who is probably one of the greatest lovers of story I’ve ever known (besides myself, of course), asked me to start reading a book to him while he took a bath. So I did. And then the 6-year-old and 5-year-old asked me the same, once they saw me doing it for their big brother.
Right now I’m reading Chicken Boy, by Frances O’Roark Dowell to the 5-year-old, Rain Reign, by Ann M. Martin, to the 6-year-old, and The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier, to the 9-year-old. These are all books I’ve read already. I like to read books I’ve already read to my boys, because sometimes you don’t know about the content. Sometimes it’s too mature. Sometimes it’s not quite engaging enough for one kid’s particular personality. Every now and then I’ll read books with my boys that I haven’t read yet, but it’s usually only after I’ve done some research on the book’s content and feel, or if I know the author.
I’ve already talked before about Rain Reign, as well as The Night Gardener, so today I’d like to talk about Chicken Boy.
The first thing I noticed about Chicken Boy was the voice. The story is told from the perspective of Tobin McCauley, who is a little bit of a tough guy. He has a crazy grandmother, juvenile-delinquent siblings and a dad who doesn’t take much interest in his kids. He doesn’t really have any friends, because he doesn’t think he needs them, even though he knows, deep down, that he does. But then a new kid comes to town and wants to befriend him. The problem is, this kid cares a whole lot about chickens, and Tobin doesn’t really care about anything.
It’s a story of friendship and identity and what it really means to be loved.
Tobin’s voice is one of the most engaging I’ve ever read in middle grade literature, with sentences like this:
“I thought about Granny’s chickens. You couldn’t pay me money to believe them birds had ever though a thought or felt a single feeling other than a hankering to peck in the dirt for bugs. I’d seen red-tailed hawks out in the woods, and I could imagine they had all sorts of noble ideas. But chickens? Forget it, son.”
At times the story is funny, at times incredibly sad. But what its readers will remember most is the story of a boy who found where he belongs in unexpected places—and came to understand that the person he thought he was, based on his family history, and the person he actually is—a better one than he imagined—are worlds apart.
Learning
A couple of months ago, I began a course called “Your First 10,000 Readers,” which is offered by a successful indie author named Nick Stephenson. He only offers the course about twice a year, so it’s actually not open right now, but it will be in the future. It’s a fantastic course for those who want to make a career out of their writing, whether they want to publish their own work or become traditionally published. The course’s greatest asset is what it teaches about marketing books.
This is one of the areas where I struggle most. I’ve talked about how much I dislike trying to sell myself, but the reality is, if I want to make a living out of my writing, I’m going to have to get over it. My writing has value. I believe that. And if I believe it, then I have to be willing to share that value with other people, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me feel. I’m not selling my work. I’m selling an encouraged heart or a bit of entertainment or some laughter. Those are all valuable things.
So in the weeks leading up to my book launch, I’ve been scouring this course, trying to learn as much as I can about the proper way to set up an email list when you’re a writer and the right kinds of funnels to have in place and the best way to pull off a launch. I have pages and pages of notes that I’ve begun incorporating. I can’t say enough about the 10,000 Readers course. I’m looking forward to seeing just how it changes my book launches from here on out.
Personal
At the beginning of this year, I decided that I wanted to learn a little more about photography. So this year I’ve been practicing more photography—not so I can go professional but because I write so many blogs and love using my own pictures. Sometimes I still have to use free stock images, but most times, especially on my humor parenting site, I use all my own photos.
Photography has done this amazing thing to me. In the mornings, when I’m trying to rush boys out the door to get to school on time, I’ve begun picking up the camera and snapping shots. Photography has a way of slowing down time. Maybe because it’s still shots. You have a moment captured in time, but the moment before you snap the picture, you’re staring through a lens, watching for the best angle or the best facial expression or the best lighting. Even when we’re rushing, I’m taking time to look and see and snap. It’s been amazing.
I haven’t learned much about photography yet. I’m sort of reading a couple of books on it, but I don’t always have the time to study. But what I’ve enjoyed most is not just having these photos I’ve taken myself, but it’s also having the reason to stop and study and see.
Writing
I mentioned recently that I tend to write on a bunch of different projects at a time. I did that, originally, because I have so many ideas, and I wanted to make sure I could get to them all. The problem is, even as I’m fleshing out these book ideas, I’m still coming up with more. So I’ve decided to do something different.
I keep this purple binder near me at all times, which is filled with all my fiction and nonfiction books ideas. I jot down another idea as I have it, and then I let it be. I don’t get started. I wait until the current project I’m working on is finished. What that means is that I’ve gone from working on three book projects at a time every week to working on only one. This has helped me to focus more on the story, because not only do I have the time to really walk around in my world and observe my characters, but I also have the focus to bring their story to life in a greater way. I found it challenging every week, when I was working on multiple projects, to change between the different worlds and tenses and points of view. Some of my books are written in first-person. Some are written in third-person. Some are written in past tense. Some are written in present tense. I found places in my manuscripts where I was getting confused on all of that. So focusing on one at a time has helped me to really dig down deep and get to the heart of the story.
And, as a bonus, it’s helped me actually write those stories faster.
Right now I’m working on a story about a boy with an autistic brother who has to choose between claiming his brother as his brother and being the popular kid at school, for once in his life. I can already tell it’s going to be a good one.
Watching
I tend to be a creature of habit. So every week, on our “date night,” because we don’t get to go out often, Husband and I sit and watch “Once Upon a Time” on Netflix. Husband is a binge kind of person, but I tend to take my one or two episodes every week. The series has gotten interesting, and I enjoy seeing what new fairy tale characters they’re going to introduce next. We’re still in Season Two, but I can already tell that the writing has gotten worlds better than it was, which, if you’re a nitpicky person like I am, you’ll find worth celebrating.
