Posted on by hildaweisburg

Be Flexible and Thrive

With so much stress and challenges in our lives, many of us feel as though we can barely do what is necessary to survive. But what if thriving is possible? What would it take? What would it look like?

Believe it or not… it might look a lot like Taylor Swift’s career. Not the role model you were expecting, perhaps, but this is a woman who has learned how to take setback, upsets and insults and use them to not only become more resilient, but build an amazing career. And as librarians, we are lifelong learners, which means there is something to be gleaned from the success of others.

Kevin Evers, Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review, spells out what he learned from Taylor Swit in this article, The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift’s Rise to Mega-stardom, giving five key insights from his new book, There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift. Here they are, along with my usual comments:

  1. Seize opportunities others ignore –  Taylor was told that the audience she wanted to write for at the beginning of her career – teenage girls like herself – were not a viable market. She ignored this and pushed forward because it was her passion. Where are these places within the library? How about looking at who else is under fire. It’s not just librarians, but teachers, too. What can we do to support them? Parents are often confused or feel out of the loop – where can you include them? Consider a parent volunteer group.  Keep them informed about library happenings with a LibGroup. Have a way for parents and teachers to contact you so it’s easy to make you a part of their process.
  2. Know what people are “hiring” you to do –  Taylor’s fans don’t just want her music – they want connection. Your students don’t just want books, they want a safe place to explore their growing questions. Teachers don’t just want the internet, they want support to reach their benchmarks. Administrators don’t just want good numbers and test scores, they want to know that their goals are understood and supported.
  3. Be people-obsessed –  Swift is practically obsessed by her fans and always looking for new ways to reach them. For us, these means we need to really see” the people we support. Read body language and let teachers, administrators, and parents know you see their worry and their enthusiasm. Do this with students as well. Give meaningful compliments and feedback and be open to receive it. This is how you build relationships and create trust. When people feel your caring and see it is honest, they become supporters and advocates.
  4. Be productively paranoid – This is actually a business term that “refers to the ability of a leader to anticipate future change and challenges even when things are going very well.” Good or bad, nothing stays the same. Be ready to pivot. Stay on top of what is happening in technology and business. For example, AGI, artificial general intelligence, might be only five years away. It imitates human intelligence. How might that impact you? Since we don’t know, you need to keep watching for its development. What are administrators talking about? I belong to ASCD (Association for Supervisors and Curriculum Developers). Their journal EL (Educational Learning) is a gold mine of topics of concern to your principal and superintendent. The articles are a great source of information to keep you prepared for their next focus.
  5. Be a radical adapter –  The recording industry had “rules”, but Swift noticed the changes coming with streaming services and changed the way and frequency she released music. What’s changing in the way our services are being delivered and what our students and teachers need. This is another place to be looking at and understanding (not ignoring) AI. In a book I am writing, I discuss going into your “outside” community. Introduce yourself to local business owners and managers. They are voters. They also are a potential source of resources for your projects. Some may be able to help with construction projects or sponsor an author visit. You give them credit which promotes their interests as well.

It’s amazing to realize where workable ideas are. We can always look for and find ways to keep our library programs and messages on the cutting edge and learn from successes and struggles of others. As a leader always be on the alert for how to do things better. Today, take these ideas from Taylor Swift and make your library thrive.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

Lead With Grace

Grace as a leadership tool? Yes!

The word “grace” is usually associated with religious practices, but it goes beyond that and used properly, it can deepen your leadership ability. One of the many definitions of “grace” given by Merriam-Webster is “the quality or state of being considerate or thoughtful.” With that in mind, it is easy to see grace-based leadership as a natural outgrowth of the recently popular concept of servant leadership, which is about leading from a place of being clear on who and how you wanted to serve.

While the business world struggles to incorporate either or both of these leadership styles, they are natural to school librarians and the work we do. Even as the pressures on teachers and librarians grow, bringing grace into our lives (treat ourselves) and our leadership (treat others) is very powerful and has the potential to have a huge impact..

In her blog article, Short fuses, high stakes: An argument for grace-based leadership, Julie Winkle Giulioni says that Grace-based leadership is  “the ability to meet people where they are — with patience, understanding and compassion — while still upholding clear expectations and accountability.” She then offers six practices to incorporate in your daily interactions. Giulioni is speaking to the business world, so I have tweaked these to match our world. Keep in mind these apply when working with all of your audiences: students, teachers, administrators, volunteers, parents, and more:

  1. Make space for humanity – Due dates matter but so do people. Pressures abound. Recognize these feelings as you deal with students, teachers, administrators – and yourself. Things will be late, mistakes will be made. It’s part of the process.
  2. Assume positive intent – Jumping to conclusions is easy, particularly in stressful times, but it only exacerbates the problem. There usually is a reason for someone’s anger/frustration/challenge. Be curious as to what is driving the negativity rather than making judgements. Come from a place of “they’re doing their best” and you’ll have a different perspective and response.
  3. Respond rather than react – It is natural to respond with hostility when someone directs a negative emotion at you. Remember to pause and breathe. It will lower your temperature and blood pressure, allowing you to give a more reasoned response and give you a chance to do the first two steps (space for humanity and assuming positive intent).
  4. Honor multiple realities – We know from the political climate, we aren’t going to be able to convince someone who holds an opposite position that your belief is correct. As librarians we serve the whole school community, even (may especially) those we don’t agree with. Find a common ground among your differences.  It is part of how your build relationships.
  5. Offer “soft landings” for hard truths – This is particularly helpful with students as Giulioni says to frame “feedback respectfully, focusing on behaviors and results.” It also applies when you need to explain to a teacher or administrator why you want to tweak their plan. People don’t want to hear ‘no’. Find a better way to share what you have to say.
  6. Hold people capable, not just accountable – Part of your feedback should recognize the other person’s abilities and strengths. It’s also knowing they have a “Why” for what they did or didn’t to that is as important to them as yours is to you.

Giulioni adds these three suggestions on how to Grow in grace which I am quoting directly:

  • Use curious language (“Help me understand…”) instead of accusatory language (“Why did you…”).
  • After a mistake, lead with support first (“What do you need to get back on track?” or “How can I help?”) before jumping to blame.
  • Share your learning moments openly. Modeling self-grace normalizes growth and reduces fear.

And when practicing grace, remember to offer it to yourself because you deserve at much as everyone around you. Leaders need to be gentle with themselves just as they offer this to those around them.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

Hope is Powerful

What did you think when you read the title? Did you agree or is it something you generally don’t believe. Hope, while considered positive, is often thought of as a passive thing and reserved for something you don’t think will become a reality.

But consider your Vision Statement. Is that something you hope for? And yes, it isn’t currently your reality, but if you don’t believe it is possible to achieve, you will never reach it. The truth is, as cliché as it might sound, if you believe it, you can achieve it.

So how do you make hope happen? Strategy.

Hope, according to studies, is characterized by Goals, Pathways (the way to to goal), and Agency (capacity to get the goal), In her article, What Leaders Misunderstand About Hope,  Paula Davis provides strategies for using these in four parts. I have added my interpretation for our education world.

Provide role clarity – You aren’t leading a team, as Davis discusses, so the clarity is for you. What is your supposedly unachievable goal? Why is it so important? Who will benefit? Who are your potential allies? This will help you focus on a path, however slow, to reach your goal – your Vision.

Use micro-goals to build momentum – When the end is so far away, it is hard to believe you will get there.  Keep your hope alive by looking for milestones and for small wins to celebrate. When I am walking, I frequently have micro-goal to keep me moving. It is sometimes as small as getting to the next driveway. Consider this sample Vision. “The Library Media Program cultivates independent, lifelong readers fosters critical thinking skills, teaches the effective and ethical use of information sources, and promotes equitable access to all forms of information media.” What have you done that shows your students are actively doing leisure reading? What learning experiences have you taught that shows students are using information sources ethically?  These are your micro-goals.

Track progress – Notice what you’ve achieved along the way, the bricks that are building this path. For me, keeping a success journal reminds me of what I have achieved and inspires me to continue. If it helps, celebrate these successes by sharing them. Include it in reports to your principal and show them the progress being made. Share it with your PLN. The more widely you share it, the better you will feel and the easier it will be to believe your hope will become a reality.

Find mastery experiences – Davis says when you learn new skills, it changes what you believe you are capable of doing. Learning by doing is a powerful contributor to success and builds hope. Look to webinars offered by your school library professional associations or from some library specific social media can give you the opportunity to grow.

These are stressful times for librarians, in out of the library, and it’s hard to hold onto hope. Make working on getting closer to your Vision a priority remembering that hope can boost productivity. Seeing what you can accomplish may stir what was a dying ember of hope back to life. Remember to track and celebrate your achievements, even when small, and keep your administrator informed so they see you as the leader you are. I don’t hope – I know you can do this.

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To-Do’s to Make You A Better Leader

Librarians are lifelong learners which is key to supporting and growing our programs. We learn about the latest tech and the newest books for our students. We learn about the ways they take in information and how we can support them to be critical thinkers so that they keep an open mind and are also constantly learning.

What we don’t often focus on what we need to learn to become better leaders. The vision of AASL is “Every school librarian is a leader; every learner has a school librarian.” It is incumbent on us to be the best leader we can be. The better we become at leading our school community, the better we can do all the other things that are our high priorities.

To lift your leadership to the next level, consider using David Durand’s Four Daily Habits That Separate Giants From the Pack. Here are his recommendations with my modifications for our education world:

Daily habit 1: Bring your thoughts to life with action

If you think it, write it. In the course of your busy day, you may have a passing thought of a possible change that would address a problem or increase the reach of the library. Lock on to it. As soon as you have time, record it digitally or manually.

Review your list regularly to identify which of your ideas needs to or can become a reality. Start the planning process with action steps, including start and by-when dates. If it is a big project, such as developing a new strategic plan, begin with your Mission Statement, then look at who will be involved, what needs to be done, and how you will assess it.

Daily habit 2: Find concrete reasons to believe

It’s too easy to say the idea is “pie in the sky” and will never happen. Yes, it might not work. But you will learn much along the way if you try. And what if it does work?

Durand say, “Giants find reasons to believe, and they do it daily. They set a goal and begin building a realistic case for how and why they can and should accomplish it.” You have seen what leaders in the field have done. If they can do it, so can you. You might even contact them for advice or ask if they would consider being your mentor. Trying is the only way to know for sure.

Daily habit 3: Break your morning down into 3 daily tasks

  • First task: Get your head right – Focus. What mindset will forward your Vision and Mission today? Remind yourself of it during the day to maintain you focus.
  • Second task: Guard the culture – Your library culture which should stem from your Mission usually is related to the idea that the library welcomes everyone. It is a safe haven and a place where learning happens. Embody it in all your interactions.
  • Third task: Do the thing that moves the needle most before anything else – Know your priorities. It’s easy to get sidetracked. Know what comes first and get it done. At the end of the day you will be able to see you accomplished something that moved the library forward in some way.

Daily habit 4: Keep primary responsibilities primary, or you will unconsciously complicate secondary responsibilities

Durand warns to keep the third task in mind. You have many responsibilities but there will always be interruptions in your day. Keep your focus (First Task) and be sure the first thing you do is what needs to come first, or you are likely to have a day filled with only secondary tasks. You may be preparing monthly report and start designing the infographic you will use. However, as you work on the content (your primary responsibility) you realize the infographic needs to be tweaked or redone.

Just like librarians, leaders are always learning. When you look for the ways you need to learn and grow, you become the librarian and leader your students, teachers, district, and administrators need.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

Lessons in Leadership – From Drawing

Being a leader—and always learning to be a better leader—is an essential part of our job. In today’s world, we need to embrace AASL’s Vision, “Every School Librarian is a leader; Every learner has a school librarian.” When we aren’t leaders, our learners are more likely to lose their school librarian.

The stress school librarians are facing while trying to do their jobs is taking away their joy, replacing it with fear. It’s time to turn the page. We must be interwoven into our school community and the outside community as well. We must become like Velcro, totally attached. Someone who would be unthinkable to eliminate.

After spending too much time focusing on work and losing touch with what was most important, Joshua James, co-founder of 8 Bit Content, made the conscious decision to spend more time with his family and children. And while coloring… he learned important lessons about leadership. In his article, 5 Leadership Insights from Drawing with My Kids, James provides us with an idea of not only in how to be better leaders, but how to restore balance in our lives. These are his insights, with my thoughts on how we can best manifest them:

  1. Perfection Is the Enemy of Progress – James noticed that for his children “their best work isn’t the one with the most perfect lines or flawless details. The drawings they’re most proud of are the ones they finish.” We can’t be perfect. Neither can our students. Consistency and growth bring progress. You will smooth out the wrinkles later. Everything we complete, everything that goes well, if not perfectly, is a win. If you need help to see your progress, keep a Succes Journal to record all your wins, big and small.
  2. Frustration Is Part of the Process – Sometimes it feels as though you will never get it right. But that… is part of the process, part of learning and leading. James says, “How we respond to this frustration is critical to how we lead. By taking a step back, reflecting, and giving ourselves space to reframe a situation, we can model healthy coping strategies for our staff and students.” Being emotionally resilient means we are patient when needed and can adjust our perspective. We allow it in our students. We must allow it in ourselves.
  3. Plans Don’t Always Go as Expected—and That’s Okay – In my experience, if it’s a large plan, it will rarely go completely as expected. I end up learning – and growing – along the way. It’s getting to the desired outcome that matters. As Ursula LeGuin famously said in The Left Hand of Darkness, “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Learning doesn’t occur in a straight line. We face a block, we pivot, we find a new way, a work-around and learn something new along the way.
  4. Unplug to Be More Present – We are attached to our devices and our to-do lists. If you are doing that at work and home, you have a higher chance of burn-out and overwhelm. On top of that, you are also likely to become short-tempered and miss important subtle messages we get from students, teachers, and our family. Make time to get away from your devices. My salvation is taking walks. Yours can be anything you enjoy. Block it into your schedule. You will be a better leader and person as a result.
  5. Surround Yourself with Passionate People – Being around his children, sharing what they loved was a game changer for James. While we work to have good relationships with everyone (teachers, students and administrators) because all are served by the library, you need to connect with people who are feeling positive about what we do and why. We don’t need to buy into the views who only see gloom and doom. Reach out to your PLN not to mention friends and family. My life Vision includes “living with passion and purpose.” I choose to be close with those who are passionate about what they do. It motivates me further, enriching my life and well-being.

Bring balance into your life. Reconnect into your passions and your purpose. Remember why you became a librarian and what you want to achieve. As you internalize these five lessons, you present a more positive face to the world, making it easier to build more connections and become that Velcro to your school and outside communities.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

Leading a Great Meeting

Did the title confuse you? Are you thinking, “Why do I need to know this? I don’t lead meetings. I go to them?” That might seem true, but you may be leading more meetings than you are aware of. Or are you thinking, “There’s no such thing as a great meeting?” That, sadly, is true all too often, but you can set a different tone.

The first thing to keep in mind is not every meeting is called a “meeting.” Do you have a training session for library volunteers? Perhaps you do a 10-minute talk for a grade level when they come into your library or a subject area review. In many aspects, these are meetings and how your deliver them is important. The more focused you are, the more impact you will have, and the more you will be seen as a leader in your community.

Even if you don’t do any of the above, you attend meetings. Are you aware that there’s a way of leading from the middle? I do it all the time. It is also a great way to get your feet wet as a leader on a larger stage.

Lolly Daskal proposes 5 “P’s” in explaining How to Lead More Effective Meetings and Get Better Results. When you are leading from the middle, these P’s will help you recognize why a meeting goes well or poorly. You can also use them to quietly steer that meeting in a more productive direction.

Here are the 5 P’s to keep in mind:

Purpose – What’s the agenda? How many faculty meetings have you attended where the agenda is “This is our time for a faculty meeting”? Remember Purpose = Mission. In other words, it is what drives what is to happen. Everyone should know this in advance. If you are leading the faculty meeting from the middle, restate what seems to be the purpose. Be succinct. Ask it as a clarifying question.

When actually leading a meeting, be sure to inform all attendees of the purpose and do your best to send the agenda well in advance. Ask for any additions. When the meeting starts everyone will be prepared, but you should also restate the purpose as you begin.

Preparation –When leading from the middle, take time to review the agenda in advance . If one isn’t sent, try to anticipate the topics most likely to be raised. What do you have to contribute? Do remember that at most faculty meetings, the dominating purpose of attendees is to get out fast, so be succinct and don’t talk too often.

You would never be unprepared for a meeting you lead, but knowing the content of what you want to present is not enough. Think of why it is important for those coming. What should they do as a result? Also, where might you expect pushback? If so, how will you manage it? Knowing how people feel about meetings, consider Daskal’s question, “Is this meeting necessary?” You might be able to handle it another way.

People – Who is coming? Are they the ones who should be there? Obviously, in a faculty meeting, the principal wants everyone there, but is that why people tune out during parts (or all) of it?

Knowing who to invite is particularly important if you are setting up a library advisory board. In this climate, having one is an important source of strength and builds advocates. You want a broad cross-section but not an unwieldy board. Community members, business owners, parents, teachers, and students are all potential members, but which ones will best serve your purpose?

Process – Daskal advises thinking of the “specifics of how things will get done.” In the faculty meeting you are attending, does the principal make clear what is to follow as a result of the meeting? Are there any tasks to get done? Is there a date when they are do? When appropriate, ask for clarity to help you and the rest of the faculty.

When you are leading, follow Daskal’s advice about keeping track of what is discussed. Send it to all attendees afterwards. Be clear who has taken on what task. Where will they report on it? If you are using Google Docs or some other format, be sure all attendees know how to access and use the technology. Not everyone does.

Progress – All too often, there is no connection from one faculty meeting to the next. If there were any accomplishments or changes, they are not presented. Whatever the original purpose, if there was one has been totally lost. Completion needs celebration.

For your meetings, find ways to celebrate and acknowledge what was achieved. Give credit to participants – and don’t take credit for yourself. Your work will be recognized by others, and those who get credit will be willing to work with you in the future.

Although not a “P,” Daskal says in conclusion, “Lead from Within.”  I completely agree. Trust yourself and your knowledge.

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ON LIBRARIES: Launching – and Completing – A Successful Project

43895764 – web start up flat style. rocket flight, promotion seo, laptop and launch, vector illustration

No matter where you are on your professional journey, starting out or established leader, there are times and opportunities where you need to take risks and move out of your comfort zone. Frequently this means creating and tackling a project.  Smaller projects, which tend to be shorter term, could include a “one book, one school,” a book club, or starting a Makerspace. A big project might be genre-fying your fiction (and possibly your nonfiction) collection, turning your library into a Learning Commons, or building a new library wing. How do you manage these long-term projects while you are still doing your regular job?  Planning is the key.

Whether the project is big or small you will likely have moments (maybe many of them) of trepidation, concern and even a few occasions of “What was I thinking?!” In a new blog I have been following, Belinda Wasser of RocketGirl Solutions presented seven ideas on How to Launch a Big Project.  These steps work for small projects as well as large ones and are a great way to keep you on track or help you return if you get off course.

no elephants were sacrificed for any of the projects mentioned!

Here are the seven—along with my comments:

  1. Set the end date before you begin. Wasser says it motivates you. I believe it keeps you on track.  Keep in mind the places where you don’t have control over all the parts when it comes to a large project.  For example, contractors don’t/can’t always adhere to the original schedule, and things do go wrong.
  • For small projects, if you don’t have an end date, you are likely to let daily tasks get in the way and the project will not only never be completed, it will start to feel overwhelming and tedious. You won’t meet your goal if you don’t schedule the time to keep moving your project forward.
  1. Break the project down into its parts and create a plan. I have written about my technique of telescoping, microscoping, and periscoping when doing a big project. In telescoping you look down the road to the conclusion of the project as Wasser says for the first step. I also recommend you set additional internal dates for the different parts of the project.  On a day-to-day basis you use microscoping to focus on the current step. Every so often you go to periscoping, popping up the periscope to see what’s next to see if everything is on schedule and what you will need to do next.
  • For small projects, you still need to know the parts but periscoping will be less of a necessity. If you are relying on others for components of your project, such as getting approval for something, be sure to stay on top of it, nicely reminding that person of the “deadline” and the important part their role plays.

3. Schedule regular meetings. I’ve found librarians rarely do this even for a large project, but if you think it can help your progress, do it. This may be especially important if your project is outside of your library, such as for your state association (Zoom anyone?). Regardless of whether meetings will help, keeping people up to date on the state of the project is important and you should send reports to whomever is involved, particularly the administration.

  • In meetings and in reports, focus on the positives.  Report on any problems that are surfacing and how you plan to deal with them, including who will be helping you to take care of it.

4. Be decisive. At some point (or several) during a large project, you will have to make decisions. It often is about making some changes to the original plan. It’s challenging enough to take on a big project.  When confronted by the need to alter it in some way, the tendency is to try to get the perfect solution, and you can spend time getting a lot of advice.  That is what General Colin Powell calls “analysis paralysis.”  You don’t have time to waste.  Give yourself a short deadline for coming to a decision and go with it. Small projects (fortunately) rarely have these decisions.

  • You might change a vendor or product for your starter makerspace or decide to have a theme book club requiring you to have books for participants to choose from. But the decisions shouldn’t take much time.
  1. Be prepared to spend extra time. You already have a full schedule, and there isn’t much you can do when this happens. You will have to fit in extra time for the project. This doesn’t mean you stay late every day or bring home an inordinate amount of work. An idea can be to create a list of responsibilities you can delegate temporarily so that when this happens, you have a plan. Also, remember to allow for downtime with friends and family during the process or you will be drained and exhausted when it’s complete.

    The person turns hourglass isolated on white
  • Small projects need little extra time, but since it can come up be mindful of them.
  1. Don’t forget the budget. Vendor sites and vendors themselves can give you a good idea of some of the costs. Use social media to ask those who have tackled this type of project to tell you how they budgeted, what were some unexpected costs, and how they handled writing RFPs (Request for Proposal).
  • With a small project, many of you will be spending money out of your own pocket. You might buy makerspace supplies or treats for the book club.  While this may be unavoidable, look for other funding sources such as your home school association or small grants.
  1. Visualizing the end. Just as the Vision for your library program serves as an inspiration, visualizing what you will have when you are done will keep you going on the tough days. It will become easier to hold the picture as you come closer to the end. Share the steps with others.  Take pictures of the progress and create a display and/or post on your website.

And one more step from me. Celebrate. Be proud of your achievement, large or small.  You have expanded the library presence and improved student learning through your vision and courage.  It’s what leadership is about.

 

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WRITING LIFE: I Am the Architect of My Life

horoscopeWhen I was growing up, I assiduously read my horoscope in the newspaper.  Heading up the daily forecasts for the astrological signs was the phrase, “The stars impel; they do not compel.”  Reading the words every day, I absorbed the message without thinking. I have recently recognized in many ways the phrase has shaped my life.

I was in a good situation working as a librarian in a school district for 22 years. I was respected and was secure in my job.  Then my supportive school superintendent announced she was going to retire in two years, giving the Board of Education the chance to find her replacement.  I looked into what might occur if I stayed.

I had an antagonistic relationship with my principal, but always had the backing of the outgoing superintendent. Without that, my professional life was going to be more confrontational.  I also suspected (correctly as it turned out) that he would become the superintendent in the near future. I immediately started job hunting and found a new position.

My colleagues were shocked.  Educators don’t choose to leave a district where they have tenure. I regretted the loss of my sick days and nothing else.  I finished up my library career working in a wonderful district where I had an even better situation and was completely happy.

We can let life happen to us, accepting it and complaining about it.  Or we can take charge. Make our own choices and risk being responsible for them. It may be scary but it’s empowering.your-own-choice

No one gets through life without bumps, challenges, and often very worrisome events.  Some have it worse than other, but all of us at some point or another feel as though the anvil that always landed on Wiley Coyote had been dropped on our heads.  You can’t control the anvil.  You can control what you do about it.

Complaining, blaming the universe, or others for your woes may free you from the responsibility of stepping out of your comfort zone to do something about it, but it won’t make you feel any better.  And living that way will only make you feel worse.  To be in charge of your life you must make conscious choices.

With those choices comes risks. We tend to avoid risk becomes it comes with the potential for failure.  For having your choice or plan not working.  What will you do them?  The answer is – make another choice.  Take on another risk.

More often than not you will find your risk paid off.  Sometimes not in the way you thought, but still bringing you benefits you wouldn’t have thought of.  And it’s empowering to be in charge of your life.

Taking greater chances is part of being an adult – and actively participating in your life. Parents tend to shield children from problems.  The cocoon of childhood is a safe place to grow.  But inevitably one must grow or be a child forever.

I lead everywhere in my life.  As I grew through adolescence and early adulthood, I never thought I was a leader.  But when confronted with adversity, I chose to step up.  Becoming accustomed to making hard choice prepare me for taking on new challenges.

proved-imaginedEventually, I put myself forward in areas that had important meaning for me.  Each step led to bigger ones.  One day I looked around and discovered I was being recognized as a leader. And it was exhilarating.  I like who I am.  I regularly face new challenges – and fears.  The fear doesn’t go away, but I trust myself and those around me to get through whatever it is.  I, too, have become the architect of my life.  And it’s a wonderful building.

 

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ON WRITING: Getting Started

the scariest momentThe title of this blog on the fiction writing portion of my life refers both it being my first post on the subject and to the subject itself – How my career as an author came into being and what I learned along the way.

You may know I have been writing for school librarians since 1979, and some of you know Woven through Time, my YA fantasy, came out in 2013 and then was re-released by my new publisher Mundania earlier this year. What you don’t know is that since I was in grade school I have wanted to write a novel. I know many of you have nursed the same desire, and I want to let you know your dream can become a reality if you really want to make it happen.Woven_Through_Time - cover

For so many years, life got in the way of my sitting down to tell a story, at least that’s what I told myself.  The truth is, I let it slip into the dim recesses of my brain.  I convinced myself it was an unrealistic childhood fantasy. I didn’t have the talent or skill set to write creatively.  My writing was about process, things I knew and wanted to share with colleagues.  Fortunately, my daughter didn’t buy those stories I told myself, and when I retired and could go to a week-long program of writing workshops put on by the International Women’s Writing Guild, she encouraged me to join her.  I did and Woven through Time was the result.

It began easily enough.  I chose a five-day workshop on novel writing and we got started on it immediately.  Surrounded by a class-full of women all ready to write, I found I did have an idea I wanted to develop.  I was going to write a fantasy about three generations of women beginning when the first was in her teens and going through her life until her granddaughter reached her teens.  I would be looking at three stages of a woman’s life –maiden, mother, crone ­– and so Sava, Aimah, and Nara were born.

I didn’t know that my passions and strong beliefs would emerge without my focusing on them.  All I wanted to do was tell a good story.  The “woven” in the title referred to the abilities all three women had in weaving beautiful cloth that predicted the future.

easy noIt took a while before I realized “woven” also refers to the threads that give meaning to the life. One of the strongest threads in my life is the passion I have for family. For me it has been an unconditional bond that remains true throughout the years. A second thread is the vital role honorable men play in protecting and supporting those they love. Another is the power women have when they are joined in a common purpose.  A related one is the importance of female friends in a woman’s life.  I came to this last one late in my own life, and Sava is amazed when she discovers it for herself.

There are more clues to my life buried within the story. Some I probably haven’t found yet. The book certainly isn’t a memoir, yet I discovered that once I started writing, what came to the page told the important parts of my journey through life.