Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

title as theme September 28, 2011

Filed under: Grace Awakening,Reading,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 8:41 pm
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When my high school English students are struggling to figure out the theme of a novel they are exploring, I always suggest that they take a good look at the title.  Most of the time, the title distils the essential element of the story.  This is certainly the case in each book of the Grace Awakening series.

Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks this way.  According to Poynter, in 1962 songwriter Johnny Mercer was asked whether lyrics or music begin the songwriting process for him.  He replied,

First — the title. That encompasses the grand idea, the crux of the obsession, the thought; it all goes into that … that’s what hits first, that’s what’s way back in your mind brought together in sharp focus; the title hits like a bullet, and if it’s right, then you have it, all of it, ready to go, in a succinct package — all the crazy, unconscious groping has merged into something real. … A title sends me. Is it the title that comes first? Or is it all of the inside of you that has produced the title, and suddenly you recognize it, and you think there it is — and from there you go. When a title occurs — I have begun.

I have to say that when I began Grace Awakening, I had the feelings conveyed in youthful poetry and some nostalgia.  I started writing about the feeling and imagining a scenario that went with it, but it wasn’t long before Grace introduced herself, and once she had, the title arrived soon after.  The feeling scene that started the book was edited out rather early on, as Grace herself pulled the story in a different way than I originally intended, but from the first week, Grace awakened to herself, and her dreams held the key.

 

 

Review of Matched by Ally Condie September 27, 2011

Filed under: book reviews,Commentary,Reading — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:14 am
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First let me say that I LOVE the cover of this book. I thought it was absolutely fantastic, and although I’m still trying to figure out exactly what the symbolism is (I get the green dress- but why the bubble?), I think it is a very powerful image.

I enjoyed this book. On Goodreads there are a lot of angry statements that it’s a rip off of The Giver.  I appreciate the many comparisons to The Giver, but the oft-repeated statement that it’s a copy are unjust. While there are some similarities, I see more in common with Orwell’s 1984, Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, or the 1970’s move Logan’s Run. It’s dystopian literature. There are only so many ways to interpret the theme! A few concepts are going to overlap. I don’t hold that against Condie.

I like the protagonist, Cassia. I like her feisty nature and her thoughtful approach. She knows she’s good at things, and she isn’t humble about it. I like the logical development of her awareness and her conscience. I do think the impetuousness is going to cause trouble. It’s inevitable, otherwise there wouldn’t be more books coming, right?

I like Xander. I like the strong security of him. I like his unquestioning devotion. I understand the attraction of Ky, with his mysterious past and strange knowledge, but personally, I would say good-bye, think fondly of him, and stick with the steadfast spirit of devotion that Xander provides willingly. (That’s a Bright picking Jim kind of choice, I realise).   I wouldn’t walk into the trouble that Cassia is going to get into because of Ky. But then, I don’t live in a dystopian novel.

Thankfully.

 

sending off smiles September 26, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:33 pm
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There is a young man in our community who works at the McDonald’s drive-through.  When you buy your meal on his shift, you take home a smile with your meal.  His exhuberence for his job makes everyone who comes into contact with him a little happier.

What a great example of how a positive attitude can impact everyone around you.  Some people would say working in a fast food drive-through is a crappy job and you’re justified in grumbling.  Lance knows that all work has value, and that spreading a smile makes any job worthwhile.

You can choose to be happy with your job and take the opportunity to spread a little joy.  Consider it vocational service.  It will make your work day fly by, it will improve the lives of your co-workers and your clients.

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Read the local news story here.

 

hourglass September 25, 2011

Filed under: book reviews,Reading,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 5:27 pm
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I belong to a YA reading group on Goodreads.com that had Hourglass by  Myra McEntire as its monthly book in August.  I really enjoyed this story of a teen who is fresh out of the psych hospital for hallucinating.  She wasn’t hallucinating though, she was seeing through time bubbles.  I love Emerson the protagonist- she’s sarcastic, feisty, and tortured.  I enjoyed the time travelling component that came up toward the end of the book.

The characters in this book were well crafted and became very real for me. In fact, they became so real that as I read Hourglass, I had a new experience. I kept hearing echoes of my own characters, and I kept thinking how well Grace and Ben would love to hang out with Emerson and Michael. I could see them all taking on the bad dudes together. How cool would it be for Emerson and Michael to go back and visit Grace and Ben in one of their past lives? (There’s a project for some fan-fic writer).

I had never had that experience before, and it was quite fascinating.  Emerson is tougher than Grace, but she shares the same bent for sarcasm and healthy doubt about the male in her world.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Very entertaining read, Myra McEntire! Thanks a lot!

 

show up! September 24, 2011

Filed under: Commentary — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:09 am

In the movie, Calendar Girl, three young men go on a road trip to Hollywood, in order to meet Marilyn Monroe.  It is a wonderful summer of growing and learning that is summarized in the end by the observation that

Nothing ever happens if you don’t show up.

This aphorism is an understatement.  Of course, it is certainly possible that ‘something’ will be happening, but if you don’t participate, you not going to derive any benefit.  We need to show up in our life.  We need to be present in the every day adventures, meeting people, learning something, giving something back to the world.  But nothing happens if we don’t show up.

Be.

 

junk or genius September 23, 2011

Filed under: Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:24 pm
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I asked Joan Reeves of http://SlingWords.blogspot.com  if I could share a note she recently posted on a conversation at LinkedIn.  There is some excellent wisdom here!

 All writers reach a point where they think the WIP (work in progress) is pure garbage. If you have finished the first draft, rejoice! Set it aside for a while. Then you can come back to it with fresh eyes. Novels are not so much written as they are rewritten.

If you have not completed the WIP, then give yourself permission to write crap and keep plowing ahead until you get to the end. A bad page of writing can always be fixed. A blank page is just that–blank.

Don’t let self-doubt stop you from writing. When you have a manuscript in progress, do NOT make any assessments or judgements about the writing. That comes later. Just get it finished.

I particularly like the line, “a blank page is just…blank.”   Something is better than nothing.   Thanks for the advice, Joan!

 

ridiculous love September 22, 2011

Filed under: Pondering,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 9:30 pm
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“It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.”

-Agatha Christie

This quote came through my newsfeed the other day, just as I was working on a scene in Grace Awakening Myth, when Grace is appearing quite ridiculous, and Ben is thinking how paralyzingly adorable she is to him.  If you’ve missed it, the third and fourth books of Grace Awakening tell the same story as the first and second, only from Ben’s point of view.  Because he is spending a lot of time in the mythical realm, it is quite a different story, and it explains a lot of the mysteries in Grace Awakening Dreams.

As you remember from Awakening Dreams, Grace spends a lot of time falling apart in front of Ben, while he smirks at her.  Those are the moments he is finding her particularly adorable.  This happens a lot in the first half of the book, of course.

I love those nerdy moments that happen in my household, that make me flood with affection for the nerdy people I love.

How about you?  Are you frequently stricken with affection as you observe the ridiculous in action?

 

latest press September 21, 2011

Filed under: Commentary,Grace Awakening,Writing — Shawn L. Bird @ 6:14 pm
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I was recently interviewed for the local paper.  I ended up being interviewed by phone, and the interviewer did not have opportunity prep by visiting the blog and reading up on what the book was about.  I tried to explain succinctly, but her questions led to complicated places.  Had I been writing the responses for her, I could have been quite clear on the facts.  As it was, paraphrases were just off enough to twist the meaning.  The resulting interview was basically accurate, but had a section that was significantly off what I thought I’d told her.

I learned something from this experience. The journalist will miss something critical in your longish story! Typing and listening simultaneously is difficult. I must remember the Keep It Simple principle!

Aside from actually getting my website address incorrect, the biggest problem was that she missed that I was actually quoting from the poem for a bit there, and she wrote a quote as if I was speaking.  

Specifically, the article says,

Based on a poem she wrote the year she turned 12, Bird says the book started as a story about the power of her first crush on a musician

 That part is fine but then this 

“I think in another life we were lovers and belonged together,” she says.

 is a paraphrase of the quote from the poem that I recited for her which included, “I think we were loves once. In another life you and and I belonged.”  Since it is not in the context of the poem, it gets a completely different slant.

“When you have one of these strong stories, you have to imagine it has been around in the universe before.”

must be a paraphrase of “I think a lot of people have the feeling when they fall in love that it’s so profound that it must have been in the universe forever.”

Regular readers of the blog who’ve read about the development of the story, the poetry, etc, will spot these issues right away.  Other people will just raise their eyebrows.  I was rather alarmed.

Yeah.  Like I said.  A learning experience.  Keep it Simple. Simple. Simple.  Phone interviews are apparently dangerous!

Live and learn.

PS. If you’re curious, the interview is here.

 

 

day of peace

Filed under: Pondering,Rotary — Shawn L. Bird @ 12:47 am
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Today is International Day of Peace. Some people think that peace has to exist within the context of its contrast to war. Real peace goes beyond that. Nearly four hundred years ago the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza observed,

Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.

I like this concept.  We work for peace in our world, by being peaceful with our family and our neighbours.  We have to live peace in our daily relationships.

When challenged by those who are not inclined to peaceful existence, or whose boastful, aggressive ways deliberately obliterate peace wherever they are, we demonstrate either our mastery over this concept, or our struggles.

Peace is an attitude.  Maintaining it can be a daily personal battle.

 

use it September 20, 2011

Filed under: Rotary invocations — Shawn L. Bird @ 11:48 am
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Nazarene preacher W. T. Purkiser said,

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”

So let us be thankful for our meal, our lives, our friends and our many blessings, and then let us use each to fuel positive change around us.

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(c) Shawn Bird 2011  Free use within Rotary.  Please credit Shawn when you share this in your club. Please also leave a comment to document your club  and when you intend to use it, for your members’ information.  With thanks