BOOKS!
No, I haven’t published- yet even completed- a novel, but maybe someday.
The book writing process starts with this story. In third grade, the writing assignment for the day was to write a poem. It could be a poem about absolutely anything, and as a poem loving, creative nine-year-old, I was thrilled with this assignment, only it didn’t turn out as I initially envisioned. Completely stumped about what to write about, I sat at my desk, palming my forehead, and wracking my brain for any inspiration. After some time, my teacher asked how it was going and I told her that I was stuck. She explained to me the concept of “writer’s block,” and after a few more minutes of prying at the edges of my brain, I resigned myself to this fate. I titled the poem “Writer’s Block” and the content of the poem was this:
I don’t know what to write about.
As an adult, I have come to terms with how my creative brain works. When I start a project and get stuck, I start another project. And if I get stuck again, I start another project. I am currently working on four novels, but only two are receiving most of my attention. This process is not frustrating for me, but it is frustrating for my parents, who are my biggest fans, and when they ask when they get to read the next chapter, I often have to tell them, “I’m working on a different story right now.” Mom and Dad, because I have no idea if or when my first book will be completed, the process of planning and writing it is dedicated to you.
Check below for a summary and sneak peak of the two stories I am most invested in right now!
A Walk In Your Shoes
Lily know all there is to know about animals, the facts stored in her encyclopedia-like brain, ready to be summoned in the emergency situation of small-talk gone wrong. Unluckily, the one animal that seems to matter most to her survival, feels to her like the most elusive and baffling creature to have ever existed: the Homo sapien.
When Lily’s life takes an unexpected turn on a seemingly ill-fated bus ride, she soon becomes a member of an unlikely teenage trio. And with help, she might just be able to complete all three tasks set in front of her.
Survive the first day of high school.
Make a friend.
Solve the mystery of her brother’s death.
Because it wasn’t a suicide.
No way.
Ms. Feather’s Feeling Trees
“It’s okay to feel angry.”
Willow doesn’t believe Ms. Feather’s words. To Willow, anger means punching walls and kicking rocks. It means the color black and a heart beating so fast that it eventually bursts through your chest. Nothing about that feels okay.
“What you do with a feeling, how you experience it, exist with it, and transform with it, is what matters most.”
In typical teenager fashion, Willow rolls her eyes, but something in Ms. Feather’s smiling, crinkled face and her earnest tone tells Willow that she might have something to learn here. And now that she is navigating life, and this strange new town as an orphan, she is finally willing to take a chance and come head to head with something that terrifies her: change.
A story about managing emotions and discovering the meaning of family, Willow’s experiences, at least some of them, should resonate with all readers.