Wild Words: a Book Review by Kris Munroe

 

When you’re shopping for holiday gifts this month, set aside time to check out Wild Words: Rituals, Routines and Rhythms for Braving the Writer’s Path by Nicole Gulotta. It’s full of tips for overcoming obstacles and making the most of opportunities in your writing life.

Gulotta wrote the book while she was a first-time mother looking to continue writing while adjusting to her new responsibilities and time constraints. She realized that her life had seasons, and she started to identify them, accept them, even honor them. Her book is designed to help us look at our own life changes - whether it's a new job, a move or loss of a loved one - as an opportunity for new rituals and routines. She shows us how to identify our own patterns and helps us develop strategies to honor the rhythms of our lives.

Let’s dive into a few of her suggestions. Need more time to write? Gulotta recommends that you look at your life right now, both your weekday and weekend schedule. What open blocks of time do you have? When you get up, before you go to bed, at lunch, when the baby is napping, when you get home or stop work for the day? Pick one or more and use that time to start writing. But where can you write? Do you have an office or a desk? What about a local park or your car? Choose a location and start experimenting. Ask yourself, what’s working and what isn’t?  Don’t be afraid to change if what you thought would work, doesn’t. What if you’ve established a writing routine and your life changes again? The beauty of Gulotta’s suggestions is that they can be used multiple times. So, go back and look at your life again, work through the questions, and make changes. 

Now let’s look at the big picture. Gulotta recommends choosing a word of the year to help keep us on track and achieve our goals. Start by setting an intention and asking yourself: How do I want to feel? What do I need more of in my life? What do I need less of? Consider both your personal and your writing life when asking these questions. Several words may emerge so give yourself enough time to think about each word and the potential impact it might have on your life. Once you’ve chosen a word, commit to it. You’ll be amazed at how it can help keep you on track as well as identify blind spots in your thinking. 

I chose the word uncomfortable as my word for 2020. No, I didn’t have a crystal ball; I was acknowledging and trying to work through the discomfort that I feel when I sit down to write. It ended up having special meaning in my personal life as well; my mother was admitted to hospice care earlier this year and the word was a reminder to cherish this time with her, despite my discomfort at the progression of her illness.

I’ve only touched on the surface of this book. I loved that it contained suggestions for each stage of a writer’s life: generating ideas, first drafts, revisions, finishing a project, publishing, book tours. If a particular section or idea resonates, refer to the References list in the back of the book which contains suggestions for further reading. The best part: you don’t have to read the book in order; it still works if you go right to the section whose title intrigues you.

Kris Munroe, one of the SE-Mitten Shop Talk – Farmington Hills Co-Coordinators, has been a member of SCBWI since 2003. After a long career in human resources, she retired in 2018 and is working on a fantasy chapter book. She’s married and loves to garden.

• What about you? If you choose a word for your year ahead, please share with us in the comments! I just started thinking about it, so I could change my mind, but my top two words are focus and pivot, which might seem contradictory, but I have my reasons! When 2021 is underway, maybe I'll write a post about why I settled on one word or another. But first, we'd love to hear from you! ~Kristin Lenz

Coming up on the Mitten Blog: 

Hugs and Hurrahs! We want to trumpet your good news! Please email your writing, illustrating, and publishing news to Sarah LoCascio by Dec. 15th. Hugs and Hurrahs will be our final post for 2020. The Mitten blog team will take time off for the holidays and return in the new year to unveil our new blog banner and introduce our new Featured Illustrator.

Dec. 15th is also the deadline to donate to the Books with Barbers Fundraiser. To see the book wish list and instructions for donating, go here: https://michigan.scbwi.org/2020/07/30/equity-and-inclusion-e-i-team/

And lastly, here's a message from SCBWI-MI Mentorship Coordinator, Ann Finkelstein:

Hi Illustrators!

SCBWI-MI is here to help you with your New Year’s Resolutions. 
Resolution #1: Create a wonderful illustration. 
Resolution #2: Create another one.
Resolution #3: And another.
Resolution #4: And one more.

Now you’re ready to enter one of the illustration mentorships. 
Dow Phumiruk is the mentor for picture book illustrations. 
Brittany (Bea) Jackson is the mentor for middle grade and young adult illustrations. 

The winners receive a year-long mentorship (six exchanges of art and critiques) with Dow or Bea.
The submission window opens May 17, 2021.

The competitions are open to SCBWI members who live in Michigan (all membership levels).

Pretty much everything you’ll need to know can be found on the SCBWI-MI mentorship page of the website. 

For questions, contact SCBWI-MI mentorship coordinator, Ann Finkelstein. 
P.S. Stay tuned for interviews with Dow on April 30, 2021 and Bea on May 7, 2021.