Talk. Write. Show. Don't Preach! Writing for Young People

 

The first play I saw in a theater as a child had a princess in it. Much as I wanted to like it, I was soon bored. I had already been fascinated by movies like The Wizard of Oz, shown every year on Thanksgiving. Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West were far more fascinating.

Other movies, plays and stories drew me in with dinosaurs, ghosts, horses and adventures. I wasn’t a writer then, but I knew that certain stories were thrilling — and others, not so much.

Safe stories with plots that appeared to go wrong for a minute or two and then righted themselves, seemed fake in ways I couldn’t have explained at six or seven years old. I knew when something happened that seemed genuine — and that is always what I look for, since.

I've written a number of plays for children, and each theater has its own, fairly large audiences. Subjects ranged from historical to folk tale adaptations with hints of magic and fantasy to a young teen satire. I also wrote a three-book, middle-grade historical series about the Beat Generation in 1958.

I decided to set the Beat Street series in the 1950s because I thought Beats sparked what we later called the hippie era and a new way of looking at art. I didn’t always know I wanted to be an artist, but I had a feeling that artists were more like me than doctors, lawyers, or CEOs. And part of me knew that, as someone who loved making up stories, I was headed for a creative life.

Early on, I learned that telling a story to children is like telling any other story: we need to show, not tell; share, not preach, and most of all, create stories and plot lines to captivate readers and audiences, no matter how old or young they are. Yes, there are things we don't want to show to a three-year-old. At the same time, we don't want the three-year-old to be so bored she wanders off--or worse, falls asleep.

Read more here.

 

Love and Fight Scenes with your Characters: How do you Make Them Interesting?

Are you writing a love story? War story? Action story? Sooner or later, you’re going to have to describe that love (or intimacy), fight or battle. I’ve never written a battle scene, as my experience with them doesn’t exist, but I have written fight scenes, and had a little fun with them.

I have not written love (meaning intimacy/love/sexuality) scenes in a book, though I have in plays. I’ve tried to do both love and fight scenes in a way that’s focused on the story and isn’t there just because I think it’s time to have such a scene. But I won’t lie to you. I think love and fight scenes are extremely hard to write.

There are too many of them, for one thing. A lot seem like ones you’ve read a thousand times before. Fight scenes may be easier to change up, but both are about physical connections that tell the same story repeatedly.

So how do you make these scenes interesting? Why would they be interesting if we’ve seen them so often?

Read more on Medium.

Photo by Oziel Gómez on Unsplash

Frankenstein's Dad Had Nothing on His Mom: Exploring the Fascinations of Author Mary Shelley

As a former camper and counselor-in-training in northern New Jersey, I liked most of the activities offered up to me. One in particular, though, stands out: overnight campfire -- sleepovers and the ghost stories that went with it. 

While they were always fun and I loved hearing and making up ghost stories, none of them compared to the classic TV horror movies I watched when growing up (think Svengoolie). My favorites were the Frankenstein movies, though Dracula and the Wolf Man caught my eye, too.

Then, I learned something about Frankenstein that endeared the movie (and later book) to me even more: the story was created by a young woman who wrote it after being challenged to write a ghost story. She was the only one in her circle who did — at the ripe old age of eighteen.

Her name: Mary Shelley.  She was married to the poet Percy B.  Shelley and had what seems to be a difficult, tempestuous marriage. When I first discovered one of the most enduring horror stories in the world had been created by Shelley, I wanted to learn everything I could about her — and can see I’m not alone here on Medium. Like many of you, I keep trying to figure out why she continues to pique my curiosity.

Read more on Medium.

Photo by Dad Grass on Unsplash

Awards: What They Do (and Don't) Mean for Creative Artists

MIA in action last week - as I scurried out of town to boycott the snowstorm. When my husband and I landed in Sarasota to celebrate his birthday, I discovered a surprise: my book Crooked Lines: A Single Mom's Jewish Journey was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Awards competition.

What does that mean? During the past few years, I've received a number of book awards and am very honored to say so. 

I feel lucky and blessed to have received The Wishing Shelf Award for The Beat on Ruby's Street and the Firebird Award in the Parenting and Family category for Crooked Lines. 

My play A Body of Water was also chosen by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture on the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in America as a play that "breaks new ground."

It's important to note here that while awards recognize the blood and sweat authors and playwrights put into our books and plays, they don't necessarily translate into sales or increased audience size. What they do mean is that certain designated readers who put the time into reading large numbers of books or scripts are choosing your book as one of the best. That, to me, is worth celebrating.

So, to all the other (many) award winners out there, congratulations--for shutting yourself into dark rooms and bright days, for paying attention to the world around you and for spending hours at your computers, trying to get the words right.

Of course, writing is it's own reward and all that -- but how wonderful it is to be recognized. Thank you, awarding organizations and readers, for making that happen, too.

Parting Gift

I was laid off last month, and yes, it happens all the time, and people say it's making room for something better. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, who knows? We can always spin things to look the way we want them to.

But.

Here's the thing.

When you are laid off, it can be hard for your co-workers to talk to you -- and sometimes even harder than it is for you to talk to them. In the past few weeks I felt a little like a character in an Edward Gorey cartoon -- and I wasn't really sure what to do about it.

And then, for no apparent reason, completely unexpectedly-- a co-worker wrote me a letter.

"Hi Jenna,

While I know we don’t work together much (or if you even know who I am), but I wanted to send you a quick note to tell you that I will miss the stand-ups you do. You always bring such joy, fun and light to the presenting as well as the scripts (I think you help write them as well). 

I’m so sorry to see you go, but I know you will do well with all the gifts and talents you have.  I still want/need to check out your book.  I’ve read the reviews and it sounds like it’s amazing!!

Good luck on your future endeavors – you will be missed.  J

--Lynsey 

Then she actually ordered the book and asked if I would sign it. And when I said yes, she drove to my house and I came outside and signed the book. Part of me wanted to burst into tears. Just knowing she cared enough to buy the book meant everything. 

So when things happen and you have no idea what to say or do or even think, maybe just a note from a co-worker who buys something you created is the universe's way of telling you, Hey, girl. You will be all right.

Today - now - this minute -- I really want to say thanks to my (now former) co-worker. What you said and did this past week was more significant than you realize, in a thousand ways.

And you know what? I promise. I will never forget.

 

New Year, New Notebook? Motivating Resolution

My notebook is a mess. If I'm being honest, I've had five notebooks over the past few years and they've all been a mess. 

It hasn't always been that way. I used to have notebooks where you could just turn the pages and if it was chaotic, at least there was a title for every new thought - idea or asterisks or some way to just page though and see what I was thinking. 

Then, something happened and who knows what drove me down this stupid path? I was here, I was there, I was anywhere, but I didn't have my notebook with me because I got tired of lugging it. So instead of writing IN my notebook, I scribbled something on a piece of paper and shoved it into the notebook when I got home.

Now if I want to page through, I have to make sure dozens of little paper notes don't come flittering out of the main notebook. And the last third of my notebook still has all these blank pages, begging for me to write in them. (Only writers can hear a blank page when it begs, and it's not pretty, I promise you).

So what do I do? The only solution, as far as I can see, is to bring that notebook with me everywhere again--my rule for most of my life (which I also made my character Ruby do in The Beat on Ruby's Street and which I did myself when writing Crooked Lines: A Single Mom's Jewish Journey. But I'm just not doing right now,  so I can't make this a new year's resolution. 

Use the note feature on the phone? I do, and it's not a bad solution. I like paper, but at least I have my phone with me, most of the time. 

Meanwhile -- here's another resolution I might be able to keep, a more motivating one.

Be Not Afraid is the name of a book written by Jan Pawel, or Pope John Paul II (formerly Karol Wojtyla). I call him Jan Pawel because the Polish people do and after writing a play on the Solidarity union, I preferred the Polish title. Jan Pawel also wrote one of my favorite plays, The Jeweler's Shop.

I'm sharing this because whatever your religion (or non-religiion) might be, I'd still recommend a glance at these books -- for the writing alone. I'd also recommend them because they talk about courage and love--two things everyone needs more of. Which brings me to that resolution thing -- to be less afraid in 2023.

I think I had enough fear in the past three years for a lifetime--and there's more where that came from and lots more before that. So, my hard-line goal (because resolutions always break) is to get less afraid - a little less every day. How does that sound? Am I asking you? Not really. I'm telling me instead.

Little by little. Walking, driving, talking, writing. Little less fear every day, including fear of lugging around that notebook.

That's all she wrote this morning.

Happy New Year.

Sci-Fi Journeys: Where They Start and Land

Today I’m extremely excited to share an interview with one of my favorite writers (and former college roommate) Janet Stilson. Janet writes stories in the sci-fi and fantasy genres that illuminate conditions that are present in the world today. Among her feature film scripts is JAGUAR TRAIL, a story of suspense shot through with a climate change theme. It won the competition for the Writer's Lab for Women, sponsored by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. It was also selected by Stowe Story Labs. 

Another feature film script, IMAGINARY CHILDREN, is adapted from Janet’s own short story of the same name. It was published by Asimov’s. The esteemed sci-fi literary magazine also featured Janet’s narration of the story in a podcast episode.

IMAGINARY CHLDREN is also based on a portion of Janet’s novel, THE JUICE, which envisions what media companies might be like decades into the future and the people who roam their corridors. It was published by Dragon Moon Press in February 2021. Janet has studied media companies deeply as a journalist over many years. Her articles have appeared in many fine publications--and that’s where our interview begins.

1.      While the years I’ve known you have proved you can write just about anything, it seems to me the genre that attracts you most (at least lately) is science fiction. Or has it always been the case? Either way, what is it about science fiction that calls you? I've gravitated to sci-fi in the more recent past as a direct result of my other life as a journalist. As a reporter and editor, I specialize in the media business. Over the years, I've had a number of conversations with media executives about where their business is headed -- the upcoming shows that they're debuting, the technology that they're going to be introducing, and other new ways they are making money.

   I've been programmed, by that work, to question what the future will be like. And it's absolutely fascinating. I love seeing what others envision in their sci-fi. 

2.     The Juice offers an exceptional mirror into the divide between rich and poor and how it is growing, not only in our country but around the world. Have things gotten better or worse, in your view, since The Juice was published? The Juice” was published about a year and a half ago. And more recently, I do see reason for hope, that there is enough momentum, among people, for a less racially, sexually and economically divided world. But I also see such deep chasms between the haves and have nots. The ability for people to get unbiased information from news sources within local communities and on a national and international basis is becoming more difficult. And that condition exacerbates the divide. I think democracy is in a very, very vulnerable state right now. And I'm immensely grateful to the legions of people are pushing back against that.

3.     Would you agree that science fiction is a political art and if so, how does it lend itself to politics? Or can it be completely apolitical as well? I definitely think that it can be apolitical. The sci-fi stories that I gravitate to the most are grounded in issues that are present in the world today, but they can be at a very human level and have little to do with politics—only tangentially.

   Can you share what seeded The Juice for you? What propelled you to start writing it? That relates to my work as a journalist, and all those conversations about the future. It got me thinking about what media organizations are going to be like a few decades into the future. How they will entertain us? How might they influence the way we behave, our opinions, and the information that we receive -- even more than they already do today? “The Juice,” isn't an indictment of the entertainment and news industry. It's full of people involved in media who are well-intentioned, or funny, or who have heart -- and some who are not so savory. So this isn't a book that's entirely dark and foreboding. I like to think of it as a roller coaster ride.

4.     Have you ever thought of science fiction as a close relative to horror? To me, it can share some pretty frightening visions of the future. Have you ever had a vision for a science fiction book that could also be a horror story? I absolutely think that sci-fi and horror are connected, and the blending of the two genres can be riveting. There is a version of a subplot within “The Juice” that I played around with in the horror genre in film script form, so I know that it could definitely go in that direction if I had chosen to do it in the novel. And I wouldn't be surprised if I get more into the horror genre moving forward. 

5.     My favorite writers keep me reading long past the time when I should have stopped—especially when I’m trying to get to sleep. Who are two of your favorites and why? I'm a big fan of Kazuo Ishiguro, who wrote “Never Let Me Go” as well as “Klara and the Sun,” among other books. I so admire his ability to write achingly poignant stories that don't involve huge sci-fi worlds, when he's writing in that genre. I'm also immensely impressed by Neil Gaiman. His imagination is just extraordinary. I just finished “American Gods” and the sequel novel “Anansi Boys.” And I had to immediately turn around and start reading them again!

6.     So many people say reading is a lost art, no one reads anymore, and reading has been supplanted by TV and movies. Do you agree, or do you still think books play an important role in our society? If so, what do books give us that other art forms do not? I think that book reading is very much alive. There are very rich and vibrant communities of book lovers on social media. And I'm pleased to have captured some of their attention. But I haven't researched the number of avid readers today versus whatever the number was 10 or 20 years ago. So that's just my seat of the pants observation. Also, Hollywood is obsessed with original intellectual property (IP). They need novels and short stories in order to make TV shows and films. So, there's that element to consider as well. 

7.     Are you working on anything new? If so, can you share anything about it with us?

   Right now, I'm working on a sequel novel to “The Juice” that I'm having a lot of fun with. I can't tell you a lot about it at this juncture, because I'm still laying down the paint, so to speak. But I'm very excited about it and can't wait for you to read it! Thank you for allowing me to share some of my thoughts.

Who's Superstitious?

 Are you superstitious? Lately, I've been thinking about all the ways I am, and wondering how many of us there are. My new book, Crooked Lines, touches on this in my chapter on mezuzahs (prayer scrolls affixed to the door posts of Jewish homes).

I decided to look more deeply into this by starting with Maimonides, a medieval Jewish philosopher who was also one of the most prominent Jewish scholar of his time. I figured if anyone would be able to clarify how Jews should feel about superstition, Maimonides would.

According to his writings, people's beliefs should be based on reason, what their five senses tell them, and the traditions of the prophets. Were the prophets superstitious? How would we find out?

In the end, I think, what most people will tell you is Judaism frowns on superstition, which is linked to things like witchcraft and the supernatural. So why did I grow up hearing about so many Jewish superstitions -- like the belief there is an evil eye (presumably of a demon) that can cause irreparable harm? And what do you do to protect yourself? 

1. Wear a red string around your wrist to ward off evil.

2. Spit three times when you hear good (or bad) news.

3. Tug on your ears when you sneeze. Again, this is a protective thing.

4. Sneeze on the truth. Apparently, some Jewish people believe if you sneeze while you're talking, what you say will come true?

5. Make sure to close open books, especially holy books. (I do this).

6. Put salt in your pockets and in the corners of a room. This one is my favorite, though I've never done it. The idea is that you scatter salt to keep the demons out. 

7. Never put a hat or shoes on your bed - again, to avoid evil spirits. (I'm sure I've done this once or twice, at least). 

There are more - I just don't think I can keep sharing them because I don't want to get any more superstitious than I already am. I do love ghost stories -- but deep down, I think, these superstitions are really the same as ghost stories -- fun to talk about, but not to believe.

At the same time-- I understand why people engage in them -- and my mother was extremely superstitious (which is probably how I learned to be). Now, I'm curious. What do you believe and what do you share with your kids? Here's what I found on superstition, overall:

How do superstitions affect your psychology and well being?

The science of superstitio

Thirteen superstitions from around the world

Photo by Lachlan on Unsplash

medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages.

Review of Heart Spoken by Elizabeth Cottrell

Five stars

You may know my book was published by Koehler Books - which houses many talented authors. From time to time, I want to introduce you to a Koehler author, and hope to do more of that in the coming year. Today, my focus is on author Elizabeth Cottrell's new book, Heartspoken.

***********************************************************************************

Book Review: Heartspoken

I used to love writing notes and then stopped as many of us did the more we digitalized our lives. Elizabeth Cottrell makes the case that we've lost not only the personal touches between us, but our own personalities in this digital age. Her prescription: come back to writing real notes that convey real emotions. A counter-revolutionary and at the same time revolutionary thought that has my vote.

In gentle, warm and personal prose, she sets out to encourage and show readers how they too can create affecting, moving and inspiring notes - and how just that simple act can create lasting connections. I'm so happy I read this - and have certainly taken it to heart.

I say this not only because of the fact that most of us don't write personal notes any more, but also because we've lost so much social time with friends and family -- even neighbors - due to the pandemic. Some of us are still not venturing out due to immunosuppressants or other reasons.

That's where notes come in -- and I know for myself, I am always excited to get one in the mail. The older adults I know certainly are as well, especially if they live in larger buildings. 

After years and years writing her own notes, Cottrell knows how to write briefly while touching on what matters most to the peole she wants to reach. As such, she is sharing an important skill with all of us-- in a book that will entertain and motivate you.

******************************************************************************

About the Author

Elizabeth's circuitous career has taken her from published leprosy researcher to stay-at-home mother, to community activist and leader serving on nonprofit and corporate boards, to ham radio operator, to freelance writer/editor and blogger at Heartspoken.com. Above all, she is a connector and encourager whose expertise and passion for note writing is coming at just the right time to a world made keenly aware by pandemic that we humans are hardwired for connection. What better way to connect when we're forced to stay apart physically? Elizabeth is the right person at the right time to help readers find their own heartspoken voice and learn to harness this powerful tool for nurturing their most precious relationships.

First Review of Crooked Lines

 

I've been away this week visiting family and celebrating my birthday - and honestly, that's taken up all of my head space so I didn't have time to write very much, and I'm sorry. I had all kinds of ideas and then I was so excited to see everyone, every thought I had floated away.

What I WOULD like to share is my first review of Crooked Lines: a Single Mom's Jewish Journey. It was published four days ago in the American Jewish World:

https://www.ajwnews.com/writer-jewish-questions/

"... A reader needn’t be divorced or even Jewish to connect with Zark’s thoughts and experiences; many are universal.

For example: “For the first year of my son’s life, I was done wanting to be an award-winning playwright or write novels or musicals. All I wanted to do was to sleep. I did not succeed.”

Nor need one live in the Twin Cities area, although that adds enjoyment.

“It was late August and I was packing up everything I own to move across town to the bottom half of a duplex,” Zark says. “My son, age 4, would live there part of the time with me and part of the time with his dad in our old house,” she says.

“I was moving to St. Anthony Park, hardly known for its Jewish traditions.” But she brought two sets of dishes to continue keeping kosher and confronted the new experience of buying a mezuza.

Single, “my invitations dried up. … I discovered that Jewish Minnesota can be a notoriously close-knit community.” (Amen.) She writes movingly about efforts to get invited to a seder. 

The pieces in Crooked Lines are brief, insightful and easy to read...

Zark is surprisingly revealing about the difficulties of being a working single mother; needing to learn more about Jewish traditions; deciding which to observe and how; and choosing a second husband."

--American Jewish World writer Neal Gendler

Crooked Lines will be published September 5, 2022. You can preorder at jennazark.com. And if you're a single mom - or dealing with intermarriage - or losing your parents -- I'd love to hear your story, too.

Octopus Prize

Friends who know me well know I'm a headline hunter, hungry for headlines that don't necessarily make me stop and read-- but DO have a chance of sparking a conversation (and even better, a brief one.)

First prize headline this week:

Octopuses torture and eat themselves after mating (and scientists finally know why)

Don't we all? (Torture and eat ourselves, not knowing why)?

Other headlines catching my eye right now:

Why the Depp-Heard trial is so much worse than you realize

Nope. No. I already realize. Can't read.

Is Garlic Getting Easier to Peel? A Slate Investigation

Does this mean it's time for Tik Tok?

4 Healthy Eating Habits Tom Cruise Follows To Feel Great at 59

1. Money 2. Money 3. Money 4. Money

But the Octopus Prize for all headlines this week goes to

Putin losing power, Russia officials think Ukraine war is lost 

I'm in. Completely.

Octopus photo: Ed Bierman

That Voice

Being a playwright/author has made me think a lot about monologues -- mostly in plays but also in books. My latest book is more or less one long monologue--and to me, the most important part of any monologue is the voice. 

What does that mean, exactly? I think it's about inviting readers into the world of the author -- and making the voice you hear when you open the door as unforgettable as possible.

In plays and movies, that voice tends to be a monologue. A good one will take hold of you right away and refuse to let go. So for fun, today, I thought I'd choose my favorite monologue -- and invite you to do the same.

It's spoken by the flawless Robert Shaw as the character of Quint in Jaws, as he talks about being on the U. S. S. Indianapolis. After delivering the Hiroshima Bomb, the ship was attacked by Japanese torpedoes.

The monologue comes on the heels of Quint and his two companions on a boat, joking and laughing. When Quint begins talking about the Indianapolis, the air changes and the other men listen silently. He descends slowly into his memory of the men on the boat being forced into shark-filled waters during WWII. Their mission to deliver the Bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima was so secret, no one was sent to help them when their ship was hit by a torpedo.

Quint's words tunnel into our heads as we watch him recall what it meant to wait for the jaws of a shark to close around him. He finds a friend's body gone below the waist, and continues to describe the "doll's eyes" of the shark until the grip of its teeth caused the eyes to roll. Quint ends the monologue by saying, "Anyway. We delivered the Bomb."

This isn't about Quint telling us what we should think of his character. It's showing us who he is through the language--using his voice to evoke the emotions that drive him. 

My other favorite speech is actually plural, including dialogues AND monologues in the recent series Midnight Mass. There was so much about this series that captivated me, and though I loved Erin's speech about God, I can't choose only one piece. 

What do you think? Do you have a favorite monologue?

Meanwhile, yes, I did say "my latest book" when I started this post. More to come next week.

😊 

Shark photo: Michael Ravodin

Drafting the First

At around 2 o'clock yesterday, while it poured incessantly outside, I arrived at the end a first draft of book three--the last of the Beat Street series. Friends that had to listen to me whining throughout this process deserve a great big thank you for putting up with me. 

The truth is, I hate first drafts.They require plotting, which means walking through dark tunnels to find your way into the story chapter to chapter (scream)! In the previous two books, I doubled back every few chapters to fill in the gaps and refine the writing.

I started book three eight months ago and forced myself to keep going and going until it was all done. Because the not-so-hidden rule of first drafts, as my dear friend Janet reminded me, was that they're hideous, nasty beasts. The good news is once you plot them out, you can go back and fix them.

That part's a lot more fun.

The one good thing about writing a first draft without thinking on it too much is your subconscious will eventually take over, just like Freud said it would, and when that happens you bump into all sorts of interesting situations and mostly people. And then you begin to see the connections and that's when the real work begins.

This is true whether you're writing a play, screenplay, novel or memoir--I'm convinced.

The other thing that happens after the first draft is you get to slow down and enjoy meeting the people you created. You may even be able to find layers in your previous books, though it's likely you can't do much about them at this point.

What I start with, on draft two, are the reasons I wanted to write this story in the first place. Book three is the hardest one for me, because the story is more personal than the other two, and sometimes a painful one.

I'm not going to say more than that because-- you know. I need to keep writing it. But I thought it was fitting that it poured all day yesterday when I moved through the last chapter. Except then something interesting happened, because I thought it would end painfully it didn't. In fact, it ended on a hopeful note.

I guess that's yet another thing to like about first drafts. They can surprise you -- in a good way -- when you're expecting to go one way and take a left (or right) turn. And maybe that's the point of writing (or one of the points)? 

There's only so many directions you can go. Our job is to find the one that makes the most sense to us.

Imagined City

 

Christmastime. 1958. San Francisco.

That's where I'm spending time these days, though I wasn't there in 1958. My most recent trip to San Francisco was with my husband a few years ago. I also spent a lot of time there in college (visiting a boyfriend) and studying at American Conservatory Theater.

I imagine the city looked like a whole different place in the 1950s, and I'm also imagining it was cleaner, or brighter, or with even bluer skies. I probably have an idealized version of the 1950s in my mind and all those black and white photos from the past don't help.

A wonderful friend from the city gave me a video walking tour this year. It was on a beautiful day and the city looked beautiful as always. I think of it as the most radiant city in America, and always will. 

The reason my friend gave me the video tour is the same reason I'm spending time there; it's where book three of the Beat Street series is set. My lead character is looking forward to going. Her hopes and dreams for the trip are huge on the train ride out.

Some parts of the trip exceed her expectations; others, not so much. But on this late July day, with jungle-hot tropical weather permeating everything, Christmas in San Francisco sounds perfect at 66 degrees. 

The other thing I like about the city is that the weather doesn't seem to change much--though I hope climate change isn't making it hotter. Here in the Midwest, we've had at least 20 days of 90-degree weather and the air feels as heavy as a weighted blanket most days.

I'd wanted the summer to be about COVID ending and life getting "back to normal" and hadn't seen the whole Delta virus mess coming. I hadn't anticipated such heat and the smoke from fires in Canada and out west sending smoggy days our way.

Spending time in the San Francisco of my imagination helps me leave some of the extremely upsetting things happening in the present day. Helping my lead character through the minefields of her life is easier, at times, than dealing with my own.

If I could just make the fires stop and the weather calm down and the virus go away--I'd be a whole lot more powerful than I am. Since that will never be the case, I'm left with my imagination and a middle-grade novel that's just beginning to come together.

Christmastime. 1958. San Francisco.

Sometimes you just need somewhere you can go.

The Subject is Geography

When I was in elementary school, geography was almost as boring as math (though in fact, nothing really came close to math for being boring). 

Now, I wish I had the time to study geography every day. Working on a book set in San Francisco makes me wish I had a clearer idea of the terrain in North Beach. In fact, every story I write is rooted in geography--and I think every story ever written does, too, even when it's set entirely in someone's head.

Because every story has it's own surroundings. Miners in West Virginia, North Dakota or Texas are going to see very different land and encounter very different looking country than say, college students in Manhattan. We are all shaped by the places we live and see every day. 

My drive to work in January is going to look very different than your walk in Florida from your home to a nearby golf course, or from the City Lights bookstore in San Francisco to an apartment near the Coit Tower. 

We all know there's a vast difference between waking up in a slum or waking up in a penthouse on Park Avenue in New York City. Sitting by a fire sipping hot chocolate during a Minnesota winter is a whole lot different than trying to navigate through a storm in South Carolina. 

Every day, the places we live or visit or run away from find their way into us. Eventually, the places we grow up in or live in for most of our lives come to define us--not the other way around.

That's why the writer's job is to get really familiar with the geography of his or her story and to live there if at all possible. If not, you have to at least visit and walk around--though living somewhere gives you a much better vantage point.

Besides placing ourselves in a certain place, we also need familiarity with the time in which we're writing. The dust bowl period would have shaped people very differently than the people living in the same places where the dust bowl happened today. (Hopefully, climate change won't cause another dust bowl).

I think all of our physical surroundings are changing and that is going to change our stories too-- plus the stories we tell our children. In the last few years, we've seen more, hotter fires, more floods, tornados and earthquakes.

Geography still isn't done shaping us.

The thing we have to remember, though, is we can also be in charge of how the geography around us looks and works. To me, that means this moment is very precious in getting geography right. That means not politicizing the setting you live in and figuring out how to keep it alive so you can live well in it. That's why I think geography's essential (and the opposite of boring). Not only to my stories, but to us all.

Resonating Quotes

 

Someone asked me this week if there are particular passages or sections of books that stay with me. Though I like to think of reading a book as a river that brings me from my own world to another, I do tend to land on sections that stick in my mind and that I return to now and again, just because. 

I thought I'd share a few with you today to see if any resonate. 

"When the gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers." Though Oscar Wilde may have been one of the first people who said this, I heard it first watching Out of Africa and then again in The West Wing. I have a few things/situations I really want and have gotten a few of them, too. In one case, I did experience a punishing aftermath and in the other case, things went well and even gloriously. 

It's an interesting thing to think of, though, gods chittering away somewhere scheming to punish you. Of course, we sow the seeds of our own destruction--but like humans everywhere, need to blame it on someone else.

"Beware my lord of jealousy. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on." Shakespeare's Othello play wouldn't pack the punch it has were it not for it's villain Iago, whose plot against his master is so carefully devised it's impossible to resist--so meets its target precisely. 

The green-eyed monster is a persistent disease and I've been stricken by it too many times not to know it preys on insecurity and must at all costs be avoided. Shakespeare, on the other hand, knew how tall an order that was--and frames it as beautifully as a bull's eye.

"The cake it Otello." This is not from a book, but instead is what a Russian friend said after eating cake with me at a wedding. He put his hands around his throat to show how the cake was choking him and I loved it so much, I put the moment into a play. 

Writers.

"Becoming drunk is a journey that generally elates him in the early stages—he's good company, expansive, mischievous and fun, the famous old poet, almost as happy listening as talking. But once the destination is met, once established up there on that unsunny plateau, a fully qualified drunk, the nastier muses, the goblins of aggression, paranoia, self-pity take control. The expectation now is that an evening with John will go bad somehow, unless everyone around is prepared to toil at humouring and flattering and hours of frozen-faced listening. No one will be.”

Ian McEwan's book Saturday is in my top-five list of favorite books and I hope this passage will encourage you to read more. His description of a relative instantly made me think of someone I knew, but more to the point, every word is a gem and that's true of the entire book and most everything else he writes. So-- there.

“I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home; and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; and the angels were so angry that they flung my out into the middle of the heath on the top of Wuthering Heights; where I woke sobbing for joy. 

That will do to explain my secret, as well as the other. I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he's handsome, but because he's more myself than I am. What ever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire." 

I included part of this quote in another blog about my favorite quotes on God, but couldn't leave it out here. Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights has always been a kind of mirror for me, echoing so much of the way I feel about love, God and living that I can hardly stand it. Yet if I'm being honest, I need to say I haven't lived this way, but love the romantic heights and depths in which the characters travel so effortlessly. And the first few sentences are exactly, truly, deeply how I feel about death.

Do you have any favorite quotes that are still in your mind after months or years of putting down a book? Send your thoughts in the comment section or contact me via my website at jennazark.com.

Reading #Burnout

How much do you read every day? I'm not talking about books you read for enjoyment. I'm talking about news, texts, social media, emails, letters and everything else that comes your way, including ads.

I'm asking because I've been in a reading burnout for years, and I don't think I'm alone. While I love picking up a book at the end of the day, I'm often tired of reading all the other stuff on my phone and email--and I know some of it's actually important. 

Example: I got a text yesterday saying my Go-Phone provider is changing to 3G and my phone has to be "adjusted" -- whatever that means. While it's the last thing I feel like dealing with right now, at least it's useful information.

My g-mail account, meanwhile, at least tries to sort things into useful or primary information, social emails and promotional ones. Then there's my Outlook email at work, which doesn't sort at all. 

I can hardly stand sifting through all of it, but sift I must. I have decided surveys on how my experience was using a product or going to a hair salon or doctor should be illegal, at the very least. Seeing them is an instant DELETE for me.

We all know what a time-trap social media can be, let alone news channels. Snail mail still has to be opened every day or it piles up. So how do we deal with all the endless and mostly unwanted information bombarding us? 

I try to do a quick triage every time I look at email with the aim of discarding superfluous copy. That helps a little, but not much. My husband hardly ever looks at email, but he's in the trucking business, so doesn't have to. Writers aren't as lucky.

I'm starting to wonder if this could be a new business opportunity? Get paid to sift through people's emails. Of course, you'd still have to read your own, but at least you'd get paid for most of the burnout. I'm not at the point where I'd hire someone, but I may get there some day, who knows?

At this point I am truly tired of not getting walk time or bike time or just plain me time because I'm stuck inside reading information I don't need from people I don't know or even want to know.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Now that's an email I will read.

Burnout photo: Erica Firment

Plumber Dilemmas: a Beat Street Giveaway & Fool's Errand 99 cent sale

In the early years of my marriage, I found a how-to book for do-it-yourself plumbing and excitedly gave it to my newlywed husband. My hope was that he'd open it and read voraciously about plumbing.

I have no idea why I was thinking this, except I'm the kind of person who believes wholeheartedly in magical thinking. Maybe that's because I write fiction, but it rarely (if ever) works in real life.

Nonetheless, I wish my wish had happened when I look at the bathroom sink these days. It's now at the point where you have to wiggle it to one side or another to shut off. If you don't, it will drip, drip, drip forever. Husband has told me in no uncertain terms he does not know how to fix it, though he assumes it needs a washer.

That means inviting a plumber to our house, in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of a surge of said pandemic, in the middle of winter. It means trying to open the window while the plumber is working in the bathroom, which probably won't be much fun for the plumber. Or me, if he/she leaves.

While I'm thinking of this, I start thinking about my Ruby character in The Beat on Ruby's Street, who describes drip, drip, drip of her bathroom faucet when a social worker is visiting her home. I started writing about Ruby, an 11-year-old growing up in 1958 as the child of Beat Generation artists, because her life was the one I wanted to live--drippy faucet and all. 

I was the child of suburban parents in 1970s New Jersey who had very little interest in artists or bohemia. I think my choice to become first an actor and then a writer was not what they wanted for me, they did learn to tolerate it. But for me, trips to Greenwich Village were the equivalent of my heaven--and meeting a real, live artist and his wife at the same age Ruby did sealed the deal.

I even remember the artists' names--Peter and Carol. He painted and she danced and I was in love with both of them, or at least their lives (which were also in suburban New Jersey, by the way). I think that was the start of Ruby's journey, or at least, of my journey in writing about Ruby.

This week, I'm offering you the chance to read The Beat on Ruby's Street for free, and to get Fool's Errand (part two of the Beat Street series) on sale for 99 cents. Quick summaries are below - but you have only a week to take advantage of these offers, which start Saturday January 16 and end Saturday January 23. Click on the pheading link below for the giveaway:

The Beat on Ruby's Street Giveaway:

Gold Category Winner for the Wishing Shelf Award and Finalist in the 2019 Minnesota Author Project! The last thing eleven-year-old Ruby Tabeata expected to happen on her way to a Jack Kerouac reading was to be hauled to the police station. It’s 1958 and Ruby is the opposite of a 1950s stereotype: fierce, funny and strong willed, she is only just starting to chart her course in a family of Beat Generation artists in Greenwich Village, New York. Ruby dreams of meeting famous poets while becoming one herself; instead, she’s accused of trying to steal fruit from a local vendor and is forced to live in a children’s home. Join Ruby on her journey as she finds unexpected friendships, the courage to rebel against unjust authority and the healing power of art in this unique historical middle grade novel. Fool's Errand picks up where book one leaves off -- when Ruby’s best friend Sophie and her mom Annie flee so Annie won’t be forced to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. The Committee persecuted countless artists for decades due to misplaced fear and hysteria. Fool's Errand 99 cent-sale may be found at the following seller links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Apple Kobo

If you do read one or both books, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. 

And if you know any plumbers who don't mind working next to open windows in the dead of winter, can you let me know that too?

Cover art: Gwen Gades