Ancient Japanese Proverb:
" Fall down seven times.
Get up eight times."

C'mon. Get up.

I've been asked to share more puppy photos. Couldn't resist these. 

Mindy Hardwick connected with me through my website where she found the Mentor Monday series. She told me about her experience as a mentor and I knew right away I wanted to share it with you. Her work is a perfect example of how the idea of mentorship can be expanded -- with very positive results. In addition to mentoring children at a juvenile detention facility in real life, her first novel, Stained Glass Summer, highlights mentorship as a theme. Our interview follows.


Readers can connect with Mindy on her website: www.mindyhardwick.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stainedglasssummer
Twitter: @mindyhardwick
Blog: www.mindyhardwick.wordpress.com

Please share a brief bio of you and your work.
Mindy Hardwick is a published children's writer whose books include STAINED GLASS SUMMER and WEAVING MAGIC (Forthcoming April 2012). STAINED GLASS SUMMER is a story about artistic mentorship in glass art. In the story, twelve-year-old Jasmine adores her photographer Father and wants to be an artist just like him. But when Dad abandons the family, Jasmine is sent to spend the summer with her Uncle on a Pacific Northwest Island. Soon, Jasmine is learning stained glass from island glass artist, Opal, and thinking she might just be developing a crush on Island boy, Cole. But, it’s not until Jasmine finds herself mentoring another young artist that she can truly let go of her Father and call herself an artist by her own terms.

Mindy facilitates a poetry workshop with teens at Denney Youth Juvenile Justice Center. She is the co-editor of four anthologies, written by the youth at Denney, and the editor of their blog at www.denneypoetry.com Mindy is included on the Washington State Arts Commission Teaching Artist Roster. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College and is a member of SCBWI. When Mindy is not writing, she is a mentor to a young lady through the Volunteers of America Children of Promise Program.

Why did you decide to become a mentor?
When I began facilitating the juvenile detention poetry workshop, I’d just left teaching. I wanted a way to stay connected to kids, while at the same time, share writing with them. A good friend of mine was running a poetry workshop with Richard Gold’s Pongo Publishing program. She encouraged me to seek out the juvenile detention center closest to me and ask if they would like to have a poetry workshop.

After I’d been running the poetry workshop for a year, I began to work on a young adult novel (WEAVING MAGIC, Forthcoming April 2012) in which my main character’s parent was in prison. During my research, I found the Western Washington’s Volunteers of America Children of Promise Program in which mentors are matched with young people who have a parent incarcerated. This mentoring sounded like something I would like to do, but I didn’t know if I could make the two year commitment. I printed the application and set it on my desk. It sat there for a very long time! Finally, the time felt right and I applied. A year ago, I was matched with a young lady who was eleven. We have a great time together and I’m so glad I am a mentor!

How many writers have you officially mentored?
Lots! I’ve been running the juvenile detention poetry workshop for over five-years. Each week, I meet with two groups of kids. There are about eight to ten kids in a workshop. Some of the teens repeat back through the detention center many times. Others are only at the detention center once. You can read some of the kid’s poems and find out about the poetry workshop at www.denneypoetry.com.

What strengths do you bring as a mentor?
I am a good listener, and fun! I also set good boundaries which is important when working with kids-at risk.

Have you been a mentee? If so, what from that experience helps you be the best mentor you can be?
I have been a mentee! When I left teaching, I met a woman at an American Association for University Women meeting. She and I connected, and she became my mentor. She taught and encouraged me how to run a successful business. Laura has also been a Big Sister in the Big Sister/Big Brother Program, and she encouraged me to become a mentor myself. I often go to Laura when I need a sounding board for my relationship with my mentee.

If you could mentor any writer throughout time, who would it be and why?
Any teen. I love working with teens. Their voices are so fresh, and they are so honest in their writing.

If you could be mentored by any writer throughout time, who would it be and why?
Cynthia Voigt! I loved her stories as a teen. I loved the courage and heart-felt honestly which resonated in her characters. I read and reread Dicey’s Song and Homecoming, and I think a lot of Dicey’s character is in my STAINED GLASS SUMMER character, Jasmine.

Thank you, Mindy!

I'm re-posting this great piece by Michael Hyatt who is a leadership expert. This caught my eye because sometimes we "creatives" get so caught up in creating, we forget to think about being successful. Michael shows us how to accomplish the success part, too. His website is: http://michaelhyatt.com.
 
Ways Successful Creatives Think Differently than Unsuccessful Ones

I have worked with authors for more than three decades. I have also worked with speakers, recording artists, and other creatives. I have had the privilege of working with the best—and the challenge of enduring the worst. Ninety percent fall somewhere in the middle.

What separates them is not talent. Surely, this plays a role. But it doesn’t fully explain why some creatives with marginal talent become successful and others with extraordinary talent never really make it. (I could name names, but I would get myself in trouble on both counts!)

Instead, I think the determining factor is to be found in how they think. Successful creatives think differently than unsuccessful ones. This is evident in seven ways.

1. Successful creatives think big. The best creatives think, “Go big or go home.” If they are going to go to the trouble of writing a book, preparing a speech, or recording an album, they might as well make the biggest impact they can. They aren’t naive about the amount of work it will take, but they still dream big. They are always asking, “What could we do that would exceed everyone’s expectations?”
2. Successful creatives take responsibility. The best creatives take responsibility for the outcome. They don’t expect someone else to make them famous or successful, though they realize they can’t succeed without others. They own their work and accept responsibility for how it is received by the market.
3. Successful creatives listen well. The best creatives are not know-it-alls. They understand that being good at one thing (e.g., writing, speaking, or singing) doesn’t mean they are good at everything (e.g., packaging or marketing). As a result, they listen to those who have more experience. Ultimately, this raises their probability for success.
4. Successful creatives seek help. While the best creatives accept ultimate responsibility for the outcome, they enroll everyone they can to help them succeed. They understand they can’t do it alone. As a result, they build a world-class team around them. They are constantly asking, “Who else can I enroll to help get me where I want to go.”
5. Successful creatives work hard. The best creatives are not lazy. They don’t assume that their work is done once the book is written, the speech prepared, or the album recorded. In a real sense, their work has only just begun. They don’t display a spirit of entitlement. Instead, they roll up their sleeves and do the work that lesser creatives are unwilling to do.
6. Successful creatives remain humble. The best creatives know that success is illusive and fragile. They know that they didn’t attain it on their own, nor will they preserve it on their own. This makes them grateful and humble. Though they face the same temptations to become arrogant, they understand the dangers and comport themselves accordingly.
7. Successful creatives give praise. The best creatives take all the responsibility and little of the credit. They are quick to give that away to the numerous people who helped them get where they are. These creatives are especially good at praising in public and shining the spotlight on others.

The bottom line is that you have more control over your success than you may think. However, you must develop a winning mindset and cultivate the habits of successful thinking. This is what separates the best creatives from all others.

Many thanks to Lee Wind for his post in the official SCBWI blog about our Mentor Monday series. He's passionate about mentorship as well. Check it out and add his blog to your follow list.  He and SCBWI have some great stuff going on http://networkedblogs.com/s8KIV.

Have you heard about this valuable perk from SCBWI and Publisher's Weekly? Members can subscribe to PW for $99/year ($150 discount!). I find the weekly print magazine to be very helpful if there is room in the budget for it. Here is the info:

SCBWI has partnered with Publishers Weekly to offer a significant discount to our members. SCBWI members can get a full year’s subscription to PW for $99—that’s $150 off the non-member price!
This includes:
•51 Issues of Publishers Weekly — Both print and digital editions for your convenience. •5 FREE eNewsletters — PW Daily, plus the ONLY trade eNewsletters devoted to Children’s Books, Religion, Cookbooks, Graphic Novels, and Comics.
•Unrestricted access to premium areas of publishersweekly.com — includes news, exclusive Web-only features, and access to the largest database (over 150,000) of professional reviews anywhere.
•Blogs — The inside scoop on the industry, children’s books, and more.
•PW Select — At last self-publishers get their due in this quarterly supplement. Unprecedented coverage of all elements of self-publishing, including exclusive PW reviews of qualified titles.
•Plus — Seasonal previews of new titles, expanded bestsellers lists, international show dailies, and more.
Special Children’s Announcement Issues for $25
SCBWI members who do not want a full subscription to PW can opt to receive just the Spring 2012 and Fall 2012 special Children’s Announcement issues from PW for $25, with no additional shipping cost.
Here is the link to SCBWI to get you started:  http://www.scbwi.org/Default.aspx

Q: What do bubble wrap bubbles, pieces of an empty toilet paper roll, and a rubber band from a teenager's braces have in common?  
A: Items that do not digest in puppy bellies. Need I say more? 

When Laura Backes, publisher of Children's Book Insider (CBI) Newsletter, co-founder of the popular CBI Clubhouse website, former editor at several houses including Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and current freelance editor asked if I'd be interested in doing an interview for an article spotlighting CBI members with debut picture books, I calmly typed, "Sure. I think I could do that" and then screeched a little bit.  Laura professionally critiqued two of my early manuscripts (oh, how embarrassing) and I've always admired her style. The interview and full article in the December 2011 issue can be seen here: http://cbiclubhouse.com/.

This website and CBI Newsletter are incredible resources for people in the children's book community and I encourage you to check them out and sign up.  Quickly.

January is National Mentor Month!  (Insert fanfare!) Do you know someone who could benefit from your talent and/or experience? Remember my mantra? Everyone has something to give, even if they are new to the world of children's book writing.   Let's celebrate by visiting the official website for National Mentor Month at http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/about_nmm/, making a decision to mentor someone somehow, and telling me about it at carrieapear@aol.com. Just type, "I'm a new mentor/mentee" in the subject line. I'll tally the number of new mentor relationships that are born and report on their progress in this blog. 

I'll go first. I've just begun mentoring a totally cool lady in Marquette who among other amazing things, has skiied to the Geographic North Pole and Antartica. She's ready to tell her stories to children and needs help getting started. One thing I know for sure? This relationship will be an adventure for me. 

Now...Rev your engines and start mentoring!!

As part of the Mentor Monday series, I wanted to talk about receiving critiques. Yes, it is hard to give effective critiques (which is a topic for another Mentor Monday) but it can be just as difficult/confusing/frustrating to receive them.

If the critique is positive, you might think: 
Did the reviewer spend enough time with the manuscript? Did she/he miss or gloss over the real problems?
Maybe he/she doesn't want to hurt my feelings by saying the real truth about it?
Does the reviewer have enough experience/industry knowledge to know if it is technically well-written? Sellable? Appropriate for the intended market?
(It couldn't be that the manuscript is actually good, for gosh sakes).

If the critique is not positive, you might think:
Did the reviewer spend enough time with the manuscript? Did she/he miss the Newbery goodness of it all due to lack of sleep or their own distractions?
Is professional jealousy an issue? (dare I say it?) 
Is this a reviewer who feels negative comments are necessary for my growth? Or just feels he/she needs to say something negative...
Maybe the reviewer is reacting to something other than the writing -- the genre or style, perhaps? (The problem couldn't be the writing. Heck, no. Not the writing.)

Either way,  you might think:
How much can I rely on this feedback and use it to move the manuscript to the next level?
What do I take from the critique and what do I leave? (This is an important decision whether the reviewers are in the same stage of writing and being published as you or further along. ) 

How do you respond to critiques? A colleague shared her typical reaction:   
1) Denial.
2) Avoidance.
3) Denial.
4) Grudging admission that my colleague's comments may offer valuable insights.
5) SLOW percolation of ideas.
6) Aha moment.
7) Revision (and significant improvement, thanks to those insightful critiques).
8) Gratitude for everyone's patience.

Ah, yes. Patiece with the process is key. That's my take home point for today.  What's yours?

How can a 59 day old, 5 pound creature rule the world? (Or at least our household.) Mix one part Tasmanian devil, one part Olympic pace sprinter, and one part manic chewing machine with razor sharp teeth and you get KONA - a minilabradoodle force to reckon with. Be afraid.