What Keeps Me Going by Paul Greci

 

The morning of the Equinox Marathon

When I first started writing fiction 15 years ago, I didn’t consciously think about success. Instead, I was swept away by the writing process, and hoped I could finish a first draft of a novel. In other areas of my life, I’ve been pretty self-disciplined when it comes to learning new skills, and that same self-discipline helped me to keep writing.

Lately, I’ve had a little bit of external success in the publishing world. And, I contribute much of that success to internal factors: not giving up, putting forth my best effort, and growing a thick skin while facing hundreds of rejections over the years.

A friendly gathering of the thick-skinned (photo: Paul Greci)

  

It’s true that I worked hard to find an agent. And, like James discussed in his recent post (Handling Rejection), for me, that involved a lot of rejection. I had multiple rounds of agents reading four different manuscripts of mine over the course of four years before I found my agent, Amy Tipton.

I’ve been working with Amy for six years. Two years and two manuscripts went by before we celebrated our first sale, Surviving Bear Island. And then four more years went by before we celebrated our second and third sales.

Whether I have a book under contract to write or not, I’m still showing up to write and wearing my thick skin when it’s needed. I’m focusing on the story I’m writing, fascinated by the process, and that process involves confronting the fears, uncertainties and uneasiness that come and go in the course of creating a story. I don’t think that discomfort will ever go away, and when I think deeply about it, I don’t want it to go away. It is part of the equation that pushes me forward. It is part of the creative process.

Paul Greci is the author of Surviving Bear Island, a 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection and a 2016 Scholastic Reading Club Selection. Forthcoming in 2018 is the yet to be titled sequel to Surviving Bear Island published by Move Books. In 2019, Paul's first young adult novel, The Wild Lands will be published by Macmillan.

Book News by Paul Greci

Doing research for the Sequel to Surviving Bear Island.

I’m thrilled to announce that there will be a Sequel to Surviving Bear Island coming out in 2018, and another middle grade adventure to follow!!

From Publishers Marketplace: June 14, 2017 – Paul Greci

Children’s: Middle grade

JLG winner for Surviving Bear Island Paul Greci‘s untitled sequel, pitched as another Alaskan Hatchet and Far North-like adventure/wilderness/survival tale, to Eileen Robinson at Move Books, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2018, by Amy Tipton at Signature Literary Agency.

Thanks to my agent Amy Tipton for finding a home for more of my middle grade adventure stories!! We’ve been working together for six years now!

And, I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Eileen Robinson and all the other fine folks at Move Books!!

The Sequel is set in Interior Alaska where there are many free flowing rivers.

The sequel (title forthcoming) took about a year to write utilizing the early morning hours before my teaching day began, plus some of the previous summer.

The second book in the two-book deal is a yet-to-be-written middle grade adventure (which I’ll share more details about at a later date), so I read with interest Caroline’s post last Monday. This will be the first time I have a contract for a book I have not yet written.

I’ll have a little more news to share regarding my young adult fiction writing sometime soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Paul Greci is the author of Surviving Bear Island, a 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection and a 2016 Scholastic Reading Club Selection.

 

Persistence by Paul Greci

A persistent hunter. (photo by Paul Greci)

There are many examples of persistence in nature because persistence is part of survival. But as humans we have choices about persistence that don’t have to do only with survival.

Several years ago I had knee surgery to smooth out a slightly torn meniscus. With physical therapy I managed over time to continue to do long distance running and still run marathons. I’m certainly slower than I was prior to the surgery; but I’ll keep on running if I can because I love it. With age, injury, and wear and tear, it’s inevitable that the human body slows down, breaks down.

One thing I love about writing is that barring any major physical or mental impairments, you can keep improving forever.

My recipe for improvement has one simple ingredient: Persistence.

For me, persistence means:

1. Not wasting whatever amount of time I’ve created in my life to write, i.e. showing up.
2. And, to paraphrase Laurie Halse Anderson: asking how I can make what I’ve written better instead of looking at it and saying this is pretty good.
3. Even after I’ve done many revisions, be willing to do more. (In other words, keep applying point number two from above.)

I’ve heard a couple of successful writers proclaim the following myth: if you don’t have what it takes to write, i.e. talent, you never will. Quit wasting your time.

In contrast, James Scott Bell, in his book, Plot and Structure, referred to this as the Big Lie. He spent several years of his life believing the Big Lie before he realized that he could learn how to write fiction. Now, as you probably know, he’s published over twenty books. 

Needless to say, I agree with James Scott Bell!

What does persistence look like for you?

Paul Greci is the author of Surviving Bear Island, a 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection and a 2016 Scholastic Reading Club Selection.

Bears, Rainbows, and other Natural Wonders by Paul Greci

 

Male Grizzly Bear. Photo by Paul Greci

I took a lot of photos in 2016. Below are a few from this past year. 

I use the natural world as an inspiration for my writing.

 You know the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

As a writer, I think that a picture can produce or inspire a thousand words.

Sometimes I keep a photo up on part of my desktop when I’m writing, or I’ll click back and forth between a photo and my manuscript. For my characters, sometimes I use photos to help me create moods, tap into emotions, and inspire actions.

 

Grizzly Sow and yearling. Photo by Paul Greci

Double Rainbow at the Alaska/Yukon Border. Photo by Paul Greci

Black Bear. Photo by Paul Greci

Moose cow and calf. Photo by Paul Greci

 

Southeast Alaska Coastline. Photo by Paul Greci

Porcupine. Photo by Paul Greci

This is the last Project Mayhem Post of the year. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday.

Paul Greci is the author of Surviving Bear Island, a 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection and a 2016 Scholastic Reading Club Selection.

Writing a First Draft by Paul Greci

Tomato Seedlings

Right now I’m about three quarters of the way through a first draft. I’ve been writing most mornings before I go to work, usually putting about 750 to 1000 words on the page. (I've also been harvesting our garden, but more on that later.)

For every manuscript I’ve written the drafting process has been somewhat different, but I do try to keep a few things in mind when I’m working on a first draft.

----Stay uninhibited, i.e., don’t let my brain get in the way of my heart.

----If I have an outline I use it as a guide—not a detailed map. Give the story room to grow.

----If I know the ending I’m writing toward, and hopefully I do, I want to stay open to different ways of getting there.

-----I give myself permission to do “some” research as I see needed to get information to move the story forward. I don’t want to get bogged down, but if I need to know something that’s going to influence the direction of the story, then I usually stop and do the research instead of just making a note.

-----I reread the chapter I’ve written the previous day and make changes that jump out at me before writing the next chapter.

Like the photo of our baby tomato plants above, writing a first draft is like tending seedlings. There will be plenty of time for weeding, thinning and pruning (and hopefully harvesting) later, but right now it just needs water, sunlight, soil, and room to grow.

Part of our tomato harvest.

 What are some of the things you do when writing a first draft?

Paul Greci is the author of Surviving Bear Island, a 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection and a 2016 Scholastic Reading Club Selection. 

Writing: A life-long Journey by Paul Greci

Photo by Paul Greci

A couple days ago I ran in a 16-mile race, the same race where I injured my calf two years ago. My goal this time was to complete the race without getting injured, which I achieved by paying attention to my body and not pushing myself beyond my current capabilities.

I was just happy to be running, knowing that I won’t be able to run forever.

One thought that popped into my head as my feet slowly but steadily carried me forward was this:

Baring any debilitating mental or physical conditions, or extreme political persecution, I can keep writing for as long as I live—if I choose.

I know a 90 year-old man who is working on a revision—that’s a choice he’s making—to continue a writing journey he’s been on since his teenage years.

And it really is all about the journey. You don’t know what treasures you will find or when you will find them.

In the United States the average human life expectancy is about 78 years. (However, there are no guarantees. I’ve had a sibling and close friends pass away in the prime of their lives.)

My friend and talented writer, Eva Saulitis, passed away this year. She was in her early fifties. It was a sad, sad, day for all who knew her.

Eva’s last book, Becoming Earth, she wrote as cancer took over her body.

From her publisher, Red Hen Press—“In this posthumous collection of essays, Eva Saulitis meditates on mortality, the art of living fully, and her advancing illness and nearing death, confronting the waiting question without fear or sentimentality: how are you going to live when you know you are going to die.”

 I can have writing be part of my life for however long I want. For me this idea is freeing. I am on a path that can extend all the way to the end of my life however near or far away that may be.

Just like on my run where I didn't get injured, I don’t have to be in a hurry. I just have to be present.

Paul Greci is the author of Surviving Bear Island, a 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection and a 2016 Scholastic Reading Club Selection.

When Dawn and Dusk Merge by Paul Greci

 

The sun at its high point in the sky taken from my deck.

It’s that time of year up north where dawn merges with dusk.

By Solstice the length of our day will be about 3 hours and 40 minutes (10:58 to 2:40).

Luckily, I’ve come to love all the low-angle lighting that accompanies winter.

Sometimes the forest is pink.

  
My writing time is typically 5 to 6:30, then I need to get ready for work.

That darkness, at its best, is like a creative blanket wrapped around me.

At its worse it’s a yawn factory.

Taken from my driveway.

Obviously, you don’t need a long winter to be a writer. I guess what I’m saying is that by embracing what you have, you free up your energy to put into what is in front of you whether that is writing, or child care, or teaching, or anything really.

On the surface, it sounds simple, but I think it’s an ongoing challenge in mindfulness to be present enough to fully engage with what’s right in front of you. At least, it is for me.

Taken from my deck.

As a special education teacher I often have to go from meetings with parents, teachers, or administrators, or writing student goals right into teaching. Being able to turn off the previous task, even though it is often unfinished with a deadline attached to it, and focus on the students in front of me is key.

I try to approach my writing-time the same way, by closing the shutters on what is coming next in my busy day.

 For whatever reason, winter brings this reflective side of me to the surface. The black windows I see when I look beyond my computer screen keep me focused, and the dawn-dusk lighting for the rest of the day, helps to keep me in a reflective space.

On the power line just up the hill from our house.

What do you do to access your creativity and stay in it? And/or, what do you do to make it more likely you’ll be more present with what is in front of you?

 In book news, Surviving Bear Island is now available in an EBook and the Hard Cover is having a Second Printing.

 

Reading Out Loud to the Older Crowd by Paul Greci

Last month I was invited to read a chapter of Surviving Bear Island at the Alaska Literacy Council’s Annual Conference. As I dug into the themes of the conference I discovered that a big focus was the value of reading out loud to students of all ages. The keynote speaker, Steven Layne, had just published a book, In Defense of Read Aloud, exploring the benefits of reading out loud.

When I started teaching English at an alternative school program for at risk teens in the mid 1990’s, I had a classroom full of reluctant and struggling readers and writers in 9^th through 12^th grades, and I built my instruction around reading out loud.

I read whole novels, short stories and essays to my students and designed writing assignments around our readings. With some of the fiction I read, I’d often stop at a particularly suspenseful moment have the students write the next part of the story and then invite them to share what they’d written.

I did every assignment along with my students and it was then that I discovered that I liked writing fiction.

So, I thought it was fitting that I got read a chapter of Surviving Bear Island out loud to a conference focusing on the value of reading out loud, since the book’s creation is rooted in reading out loud.

Reading out loud to my older students helped some of them to connect with the written word and lessened their resistance to engaging in independent reading.

One of my most memorable read aloud experiences as a teacher was reading Anthem by Ayn Rand. I was team teaching with a very talented social studies teacher who suggested the title. While I read the book and did some writing exercises with the class, he put it in historical context for the students, and then played the Rush album 2112 for the class and did a few lessons on the lyrics as they related to the book.

Do you have any memorable read aloud experiences as students or as teachers?

Taking the Long Road by Paul Greci

 

Rainbow Ridge (photo by Paul Greci)

For me, book idea to publication took about ten years. Surviving Bear Island was the first book I wrote, however, I wrote four other books during the years that I kept rewriting Surviving Bear Island. And, yes, I kept (and keep rewriting the other four books as well).

I didn’t keep hard numbers on queries and submissions but the rejections ran wide and deep.

I did keep pushing myself as a writer. I read countless craft books, carved out writing time from a schedule that involved a full-time teaching job and a bicycle commute (which in an Alaskan winter is quite time consuming).

Did I have dry times where my writing life was pretty much a desert? Yes.

Do I still have dry times? Yes.

Do I write everyday? I have in the past but I’m not right now.

Am I working on a new book? Yes.

Am I still rewriting my other manuscripts? Yes.

I am taking the long road. Sometimes the road is a screaming downhill and I write 25 pages in a day. Other times, no matter how fast I want to move I’m basically crawling along or standing still, and that’s okay.

The choice I’m making is to stay on the road. It’s a fascinating place to be whether I’m moving or not.

Thanks for stopping by.

Some Different looks School Visits can take

In a few hours I’m doing a school visit to a middle school. I’m doing one presentation for 7^th graders and one for 8th graders. These presentations are for students who signed up to attend because they are interested in hearing an author speak.

Then I am doing a meeting/presentation with the school’s young writers group—a group of 8 students who voluntarily meet twice a week for a writers workshop with one of the school librarians. They have each sent me a sample of their writing, which I’ve read and responded to.

I think it is pretty cool that this school, Tanana Middle School, values writing and stories enough to make part of a visiting author's time meeting with a small group of writers.

At my own school I’m keeping it pretty low-key, i.e. not using my job to promote my book. I’m quietly making the rounds and doing short presentations for teachers who ask and am doing that on my own time.

The Intermediate Resource Teacher is using Surviving Bear Island with a group of five fifth graders. I started them off by giving a short presentation and then reading them the first chapter and now they each have a copy of the book and are reading it as a group.

A third grade classroom was doing a book-making project and I visited them and we talked about what is involved in publishing a book.

What type of author visits either from a student, teacher, or author perspective have you experienced? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

Thanks for stopping by.

Surviving Bear Island School Visit by Paul Greci

 

Signing a book for the Jackson Intermediate Library

Yesterday, I did my first Surviving Bear Island school visits. I visited two schools where I was student back in the 70’s, John Marshall and Andrew Jackson Intermediate Schools for grades five to eight in South Bend, Indiana.

I felt very taken care of at both schools. The visits were set up on really short notice and the school staff did a fantastic job of being prepared. And the kids were just awesome and full of questions about writing and about Alaska.

The Welcome Board at Marshall Intermediate

My brother, who lives in the town I grew up in, facilitated setting up the visits.

As a teacher my way of preparing for my presentation was to over-prepare, i.e. have more to do and share than there is actually time for. I also asked the teachers to have their students come with questions about Alaska and/or writing.

Reading at Marshall Intermediate School

I don’t have any words of wisdom to offer about how to do a school visit. Since I am a long time teacher I feel pretty comfortable in a school. If I had to add anything in addition to being over prepared it would be to be present with the students and staff and be flexible in your own presentation so you can switch things up to go with the energy of the situation. I’m sure I have a lot to learn so if you have some school visit tips I’d love to hear them in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by.

Surviving Bear Island comes out March 25^th and is available to order at Independent Bookstores, Barnes and Noble and Amazon right now.

Surviving Bear Island: Four Details

Below are a few brief things about Surviving Bear Island. A little history and a look toward the future.

1. Surviving Bear Island, my debut novel, a survival story set in the wilds of Prince William Sound, Alaska comes out March 25^th (Move Books). Having completed the first draft of this novel 10 years ago, and then countless drafts since then, I feel incredibly fortunate to have found a home for this book. As my agent was trying to sell a different manuscript we started working on getting Surviving Bear Island ready for submission.

2. When I wrote Surviving Bear Island I didn’t envision it being illustrated. In fact, I first wrote it as a young adult novel and then six years into the revision process, it morphed into both first person and middle grade. One thing the illustrator James Madsen said about Surviving Bear Island is: "This book in particular has been one of my favorites because I grew up an avid outdoorsman and there’s no where I’d rather be than in the mountains or around wildlife."

I feel fortunate to have my book matched with an artist who has spent a lot of time in the outdoors. In the past fifteen years James has illustrated more than 75 books. Below is one illustration from the book. James also did the cover.

James Madsen

3. Surviving Bear Island is a 2015 Junior Library Guild selection. Again, I feel incredibly fortunate that the Junior Library Guild is putting their energy into getting my book into school and public libraries.

4. As of a couple days ago you can now pre-order Surviving Bear Island on Amazon.

As Surviving Bear Island nears publication I'm working on two books. One is an MG adventure set in Interior Alaska. The other is a contemporary YA novel.

Thanks for reading!