The results are out for
It is that time of year again. Time for Kaitlyn Sanchez and Lydial Ludkidis' annual writing challenge #FallWritingFrenzy: in 200 words or less, tell a story or poem for kids.
This year, I picked the #14 photo as inspiration.
Here is my entry!
Petrichor
Word Count: 198
I turn
back at the foot of the waterfall where crisp tendrils of mist dance and swirl
around me.
Leaping
from their dive and plunge,
dew drops
splash and spray onto the stones and neighboring leaves;
shining
like diamonds in the day's fading light.
My skin
rises, meeting the change of atmosphere with a shiver.
My
breathing slows as I drink in the earthly flavors that float in the in-between—
under the forest’s
arms and canopy,
above the
viny ground cover and sponge of moss.
Evening
shift in the dappled and thinning light,
stretching
its deepening shadows around me.
I breathe in,
delicious delicate
dark greens,
earthy
browns,
and greys.
I breathe
out,
the warmth
of words unsaid,
and wishes
yet to be made.
Then,
between
breaths,
everything
under the sky holds still as the air crackles alive around me.
Leaving
the forest, my heart faces home,
soil
crackles underfoot,
and parched
trees above my head lap at the sky.
Hungrily, everything
devours the smell of petrichor with its heavy promise of rain.
In the
distance,
echoes
from the waterfall that had drowned my ears are replaced by the patter and pelt
of fresh rain.
Autumn has
come home.
For more information about Kaitlyn or Lydia you can find them here:
Kaitlyn: @kaitlynleann17, @kaitlyeann17.bsky.social, @kaitlynlean17 http://kaitlynleannsanchez.com
and Lydia: @LydiaLukidis, @lydialukidis.bsky.cocial, @lydiallukidis7 https://www.lydialukidis.come
Tea House-
There is a platform sitting in the woods that used to house
a hot tub. It was there when we moved in 7 years ago. The hot tub was removed
several years ago, because we never used it. I do love a good project. I do
love creating things, and I yearned for a place I could tuck myself away to write,
to read, to draw, to stare out a window at the world inside the forest.
So, this year, we decided to make it happen. The dream
started small, simple and inexpensive from a new build perspective. I would
build it using a metal gazebo roof and frame, with my dad’s help. I had this
thought for quite some time; I’d researched and priced out the gazebo I liked
best in my price range. Done, right?
Well, no. I ended up
asking a friend, a contractor friend for construction details so I could get started, and
well, as many construction ideas go, it snowballed.
Since my dream started 2 years ago, the platform has remained empty, but soon. (fingers crossed) Very. Very soon, something special, a jewel
for creative time, will be sparkling in the forest.
I am going to start posting progress reports. But first let’s begin with inspirations, then
first drafts, then gathered/milled materials, followed by installation photos, and then… and then… the final product.
Well, honestly, it might take me a little time to finish the inside just
right (I have decided to wait to get it all perfect inside, those updates will
follow, I promise, as they manifest.
So, “A tea house?” you ask.
Yes. I love tea. I love sitting alone in the woods. I love Japanese
Maples. I love Japanese and Korean Tea House architecture, and I love writing.
So… why not have a spot that honors and folds in all of these? I already
created a forest garden of Japanese Maples, so now it’s time to add PNW/Japanese/Korean
architecture as a house to tie everything together.
It is really easy to go down the rabbit hole of photos on the internet when an idea like this is burning within. Here are some of interior and exterior photos that inspired me and eventually my craftsmen milling and building my dream for me.
All of these have helped me design and inspire my Tea House and every choice I have made for lighting, wall shelves, table, chairs, etc. The craftsmen have taken over the construction details, including milling cedar from their land and sourcing reclaimed windows! It has been a mountain of work, but everyone is excited about this project and what might be created from its creation for any future Tea Houses!
Once we decided to jump all in, the Craftsmen got to work and sent me all of these as things moved forward.
Now, I wait. The cedar milled on the site of my craftsmen has dried, been cut, and is now getting put together. I am hoping that this coming week, before my 50th birthday, I will see a building taking shape. I will post updates.
I love Tara Lazar’s @storystorm. I’ve been participating in it for years. It’s an easy thing for me to do, as I never lack ideas. One year, I challenged myself to write a minimum of 12 first drafts from my 31 ideas. I succeeded. It felt great.
Adapting
the challenge was a great idea and really helped me for the year. It’s been a
couple of years since I did that adaptation, and I am wondering how I can
create an adaptation for myself this year to help keep me going, because that
is my biggest challenge these days. The slog and rejections are all
taking a toll on me. I know I am not alone in that feeling.
Things
about Storystorm that are amazing… the daily blogs from various people who have
succeeded, some full of inspiration, others full of useful information, the
community, and of course the gift of granting our creative selves the time to
have ideas.
These are
all amazing things. But I need more right now, to not give up. I need to
have some sort of paradigm shift to help me reframe what a “success” looks
like. Because I may NEVER get another book published.
So, what
could I possibly do?
I started
writing short stories last year, alongside my picture book drafts. That helped.
Maybe instead of focusing on picture book ideas for Storystorm I will work on
ideas for short stories and focus on that instead… but that’s not it.
That won’t help me with a shift, there is still the very real feeling of STUCK
with this adaptation, so what else?
-IMPORTANT
TANGENT-
I feel
alone. As I am sure many writers do. It’s not an entirely valid feeling, given
that many of us have critique groups, the SCBWI, etc. And yet, the feeling of
loneliness permeates my experience. Why, I have often wondered… I think for me,
it’s because the stories I am writing focus on underrepresented Neurodivergent
voices, and I am constantly being told, “great writing, interesting story… I
can’t sell it.”
In my
head, that translates to, “these voices aren’t important.” This is a gut punch
I just can’t bring myself off the floor from.
So, what
can I do to help myself and others who feel this way get up off the floor? Can
I adapt Storystorm again somehow to help me (and others) move into the new
year? Maybe…
What if
instead of just reading the posts for each of the 31 days. I reach out to other
writers in the ND community and offer them encouragement. Published or
non-published, what if I take a moment and thank them for writing
underrepresented voices?
My head,
my heart likes this idea. And so, even though I am getting a late start with
Storystorm this year (because life…) I am going to move forward with this idea
and maybe somehow it will help set up my year in a different, more positive
way. Because supporting others often heals.
I'll start
today with Vanessa
Brantley-Newton. She has a book birthday today, and just seeing her joy in
presenting it this morning made my heart sing. She is an amazing ND
creator who inspires others with joy and love, and her kindness for the #kidlit
community is unwavering. I will send her a note and maybe that will heal my
heart today.
If you are
an #underrepresentedvoices #kidlit writer and need a note of encouragement,
send me a note. I will gladly take a moment and connect with you.
Good Luck
all, for StoryStorm 2026. Thank you to @taralazar and all of the presenters
this year and past years. Supporting the #kidlit community is a beautiful
endeavor.
This entry may not make sense to anyone outside of my head, but I need to write it out, so here it is...
The Publishing Deep Dive- Learning the treasure of returning to the surface, empty-handed.
by Laura N. Clement
I’ve been working on my writing craft—going to conferences,
doing classes, meeting with critique partners, submitting to contests, agents,
and publishers—for over a decade now. It’s a rough and tumble existence that
has seen many attempts fail, many coping mechanisms created*. I have written
many things, from novels, short stories, to my love of loves Picture Books (EGG,
my only published book). I have seen many friends and acquaintances succeed,
and many flounder turn bitter, or walk away. It is a battle of the heart, mind,
and soul to write with the idea of publication in mind.
The other day, I was on a walk thinking about K-Dramas** (my
guilty/non-guilty sanity-saving pleasure), and I had an epiphany. Being a
writer (with publication in mind) is like being a Haenyeo***. Writers
prepare their craft, much like a Haenyeo prepares their diving gear and body.
We both breathe deeply, then push ourselves under and into uncharted or
familiar, unpredictable territory in search of treasures.
Much like the Haenyeo’s diving deep, as a writer, I am often
surrounded by darkness, whether it be imposter syndrome, innumerable layers of
edits, rejections, writer's block, or LIFE eating up creative time. It is my
deep need for sustenance (creative creations) that sends me back, time and time
again, in search of treasures, but it’s not easy, holding your breath…
Every so often, I find a treasure (a positive review, a
critique, a contract offer, a new idea fleshed out and shiny) and grant myself
a return to the surface in triumph, but not often.
As a writer I feel like heading back up to the surface for
air as a reward… but often I find I get stuck, my lungs screaming, light
dimming, and panic settles in as I flail.
I applaud the Haenyeo who return to the surface for air,
time and time again, empty-handed. They do this so they can continue to dive and live their daily lives with their loved ones. They know that the journey back
to the surface, even empty-handed, is a treasure all its own and that maybe
next time they will fill their basket.
I wish, for all writers, that the abyss of the seemingly
endless publishing ocean wasn’t so dark. That, treasures were more plentiful,
and trips to the surface for air, with treasures in hand, came more often, but
they don’t. So, thinking about Haenyeo, as a writer who is often empty-handed,
especially now as the ocean seems so dark, I want to be better at gifting
myself more trips to the surface to breathe. Knowing that in doing so, I create
the opportunity to return to land and see my loved ones and, dive again.
*Rejection Garden
** Two of my favorite Haenyeo K-Dramas
And
***Korean freediving women, known as Haenyeo, are traditional
divers from Jeju Island who free dive to harvest seafood without a breathing
apparatus.
Things have been CRAZY in my world lately, much like poor Bear in @briangehrlein 's new PB THIS IS NOT A SLEEPY BEAR BOOK, out today! Nov. 11th.
I wish I could have been more active in promoting it for him, but I am here now, and I have to say it is really a fun read with great illustrations.
Do you need something new for your bedtime reads? Or naptime? Or really any time? Then check this out! Because there's not ONE...
Yes, it is THAT time of year again. This year my entry comes in at 100 words on the dot.
You can find the link to all of the fabulous entries HERE
Good Luck, everyone! As always, it was a fun writing prompt.
If you just want to read mine- here you go...
Mama’s Spell for Finding Home
By Laura N. Clement
Word Count:100
Tickling under,
over,
and in between leaves,
Raven stretched her coal black wings wide,
swooping,
darting,
she melted into the swelling shadows
hunting for worms.
Fog silently crept in…
Suddenly,
Raven wanted to be safe and warm at home on this,
All-Hallows’ Eve night… but the sky had grown dangerous.
Lost,
alone,
Raven shivered,
then remembered her Mama’s,
Find Your Way Home Spell…
If in the air you cannot see,
underfoot,
the ground will be.
Just take a step,
one at a time,
to bring your heartbeat,
back to mine.
Full of courage Raven hopped into the darkness, until…
…Mama!
Lydia Lukidis is at it again with her #FallWritingFrenzy, and I am totally here for it.
IT ALL
STARTED THE DAY I WAS GIFTED A BOOK OF POETRY
Word
count: 200
Turning
crisp new pages,
I explore
line after line,
word after
word…thoughts stir, and feelings float up…and off the paper.
Sometimes,
they fly away like sparrows.
Sometimes,
they drip like the soft, cold Autumn rain and seep deep into my skin.
Within
this melancholy hug of delicious words,
I put on
my shoes,
And set
out to adventure with feet crunching over frozen grass.
My
shoulders bend under the dark,
deep
shadows as
my eyes steal a glimpse of the blue sky
before the
heavy jewel-toned forest folds around me.
I
breathe…beneath the thick branches of lumbering Pine,
the
falling needles of the statuesque Spruce and Fir,
and the
lazy sway of a willow tree tickling the breeze around the little whisper of me.
One by
one,
the poet’s
words tumble from me… I stop…and in the shallow breath of my stride… I listen…
…there,
with me,
alight on
invisible wings are her words,
woven with
care, they fly freely in the crisp air,
and play
with the robins,
the
sparrows,
even the
grossbeaks.
The day,
with Mary
Oliver,
turns into
a poem.
The walk,
turns into
a fold of time…precious…pure… and alive.
And my
heart soars,
and plants
roots.
Photo 7 was my inspiration.
I have a voice for my needs,
my wants,
Woke up to find out my little story about a hide-and-seek with a squirrel made the coveted Honorable Mention list on #50PreciousWords
It looks like there are some really amazing stories on that list. Great job, everyone. It's not easy writing a full story (beginning, middle, end) in 50 words, so hats off to you all!
Thank you to Vivian Kirkfield and all the judges who took the time to read all of the stories!
HONORABLE MENTION CATEGORIES:
ANIMALS
Peek-A-Squeak Squirrel Hide-And-Seek by Laura N. Clement
If you want to read the story, check out the previous post.
Vivian Kirkfield is at it again with her #50 Precious Words and even though things are exploding all around me, I sat down with my #storystorm list and found one I could use! This entry is light and funny, and I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you @vivian.kirkfield for putting this together again. It was nice to step out of my chaos and into a little writing!
Peek-a-Squeak Squirrel Hide-and-Seek
By Laura N. Clement
Stuck,
Inside,
sick,
I toss and turn, bored.
Wiggling my toes at the window I see something jump…
…fly from the tree…
…land on my windowsill…
…I shriek…
…It peeks…
…I hide…
…it squeaks…
…I peek…
…it hides…
…I giggle.
Over,
And over again, we play until…
…I…fall…back…to…sleep.
Just finished wrapping up
OK, I have submitted my entry for PBParty! I picked Sunday Morning Dim Sum. You can only do the first 70 words and the manuscript has to be a minimum of 200 words. Many of my SEL manuscripts are under 200 so many of the ones I wanted to submit didn't meet the requirement. I am happy with my submission, none-the-less.
I have sent off a lot of submissions to agents and editors and not surprisingly, I already have a handful of rejections for 2025. But ONWARD, right?
Next up will be PB Rising Star I have gotten so close twice now. Maybe this year will be my year?
Also, don't forget, on Feb. 24/25 is Disabled Fairytales Symposium. I will be the first presenter.
Another cool note, pinning it here for later, is a great site I found that lists some really great SEL books.
30 SEL books! I emailed them with a few they don't have listed, but honestly, it's a great collection of wonderful books, some of which I didn't know about.
