Wallabies in the Bathroom

How many people have a wallaby toilet paper holder? Not many. They are cute animals. So why don't more of us have them?

Recently my husband and I rented a house for a few days in northern Michigan. We saw photos on the Internet of the family's big game hunting exploits. Stuffed heads (and complete animals—more than 70) hung on the walls. They were above eye level, and I could ignore most of them. I didn't look up much. My daughter is a vegetarian. Enough said.

In two of the bathrooms taxidermied wallabies held the toilet paper like a servant from bygone times. That gave me paws.

Once I got over the shock of a wallaby's adorable face, furry ears and vacant eyes—and avoided the little paws—I thought it might be an opportunity for inspiration.

I recently revised and finished a picture book for my four-year-old granddaughter I wrote and illustrated a long time ago. The illustrations were crayon drawings. The story had little plot, no conflict and no satisfying ending. I rewrote the story with a plot, conflict and an ending. With Photoshop Elements I turned the illustrations into a cute little story about a frog who escapes from an octopus. I know frogs and octopi live in mutually exclusive environments, but my granddaughter loved it.

Inspiration can come anytime, anywhere. A story began gestating in my mind. I have a vague idea of a picture book about a wallaby. But I'm not an artist. I'm a digital scrapbooker. I don't have a clue how to draw a wallaby. If I figure that out I can use Photoshop to separate the drawing into its disparate parts, then cobble them together in different poses. The wallaby in my story will never encounter a hunter, because that's too scary for little children. He will have an adventure, escape some difficulty and live happily ever after.

My granddaughter is enamored of princesses. How about a wallaby princess who wants to have adventures instead of being rescued by the handsome wallaby prince? Princesses can do anything: have adventures, slay dragons, rescue princes. A tale of star crossed lovers whose wallaby clans have been feuding forever? Or the wallaby princess who rescues the wallaby prince from the big bag wolf.

Right now I'm in Vermont on a mountain with my son's in-laws. No wallabies here. Last night while we slept I think the forest crept closer to the house. I'm going to pace it off to see if it really did. There's a premise for a creepy horror story: what happens when the trees encroach on the house? Hopefully, I won't be around when that happens. I'm leaving in the morning.

The point is that inspiration comes in many forms. We just need to look and truly see, and listen with our hearts.

Wait. There is so much wilderness here in the Green Mountains. What if a woman's car breaks down on a country road, and, when she goes for help, she meets a seemingly ordinary family who conceals a horrible secret. There's a creepy story there somewhere. Beware, this won't be a child's cautionary tale about a wallaby. You won't want to go outside in the dark after you read this one....

THE WRITER, THE QUILL, AND THE FLOWER

Even though winter is almost here, I still have flowers. The roses are on their way out, but mums and viola and snapdragons have taken their places. By spring, the roses will take over again and the cycle will continue as long as all things that bloom get what they need.

Writers are a lot like flowers. They produce under the right conditions, they need creative sustenance to thrive, and they grow best surrounded by other writers who offer good honest critique and encouragement.

In an effort to offer our membership those same amenities, The Quill will undergo some changes. While our monthly newsletter will continue to promote your successes in “Member Chatter” and provide timely information about our annual conference, as of January 2012, The Quill will no longer be strictly conference oriented.

But in order to make those changes, I need to hear your ideas on what you’d like to see in The Quill. What kinds of craft issues would you like to see addressed? What kinds of contests are you interested in? Do you know someone who is a contest hound who would make a great resource for The Quill? Do you know of someone who would be a great columnist but might need a little arm-twisting? Or would you be interested in writing a monthly column?

If you’re a gardener, you know there are always to-do-lists, and, for many of us, the holiday season is no different. After talking to several SCWW members, the general consensus is they’d love to see more Quill articles on ways to sell yourself and your manuscript, on craft and contests.

As you make your lists over the next few weeks, think about what you’d like to see in The Quill. How would you make it better? What could we add to The Quill that would help you blossom artistically and publish? Most importantly, what do you need to grow?

Please Email your ideas to scwwquill@gmail.com.

Many thanks, and have a wonderful writing season.

Kim Boykin

Quill Editor

Puff the Magic Dragon

Lots of people believe in magic of some sort: ghosts (check the statistics on this), the supernatural, aliens (maybe not the same as magic), the magic of sleight-of-hand—even as adults we often can't figure out how a trick is done. I always believed that we humans are more than we appear, that hidden inside us are wondrous abilities, indeed, magical abilities.

We all have the power to view the world in magical ways. Artists create images, sculpture, performance, music, and stories through which they share their magical vision with others.

Perhaps we have forgotten the power of believing. Sometimes reminders of our own magic come from unexpected places.

My daughter and three-year-old granddaughter stayed with my husband and me for six weeks while my daughter, an actor, performed for Atlantic Stage here in Myrtle Beach. While they were here, I learned something about magic.

Since my daughter worked most nights I put granddaughter to bed. t so, and two bedtime songs. Needless to say, I quickly ran out of songs.

One song became her favorite: “Puff the Magic Dragon.” I printed out the lyrics because I didn't remember them. But something was missing from the story. Remember: Jackie Paper stopped believing in Puff, so Puff didn't come play with him. It was too sad. Children believe in magical things. So I added another verse:

If you believe in magic and miss that rascal Puff

Then he will come visit you if you believe enough.

Just say his name out loud and he'll come out his cave

And be your friend forever and never, ever leave.

After I had sung the song a thousand times, I discovered something. I found truth, which could also be called magic.

We writers must believe in our own magic: our ability to tell stories. The magic only happens when we believe we can do it, and we take time to pursue the dream.

My wish for all you writers: let the dragon into your lives. Believe in yourselves and your power to create. Learn your craft, network, write, revise and submit.

There are many magical moments in this year's Petigru Review. Thanks to all who submitted and shared their magic with the world. It is available on Amazon.

What's in a chapter name?

Membership in a voluntary association, unlike a marriage, requires no vow of fidelity "for better, for worse." If SCWW is to thrive, it must strive to earn the loyalty of its members against the clamor from other organizations and causes that contend for our time and attention.

Having strong local groups is one of the ties that bind us. Not all our members belong to a chapter. Many of our "unaffiliated" members reside outside South Carolina, but there are some within this state. Perhaps we should look at why we have chapters and what we expect from them.

It seems reasonable to expect three primary things from the state-chapter relationship. First, a local chapter should provide a safe environment in which to meet with fellow writers to share experiences and learning. Second, a local chapter should endeavor to advance the craft of writing in their communities. Third, a local chapter should seek out ways to improve our organization at the state level; conversely, the state should do the same for local chapters. In other words, a strong state association and strong local groups should operate by Covey's ryke if "Win-win or no deal." This brings three questions to mind.

My first question to our membership is: What should SCWW do to help our local chapters function effectively? If we have members who don't feel at home in any local chapter, why do they feel this way?

Second question: Are there ways in which we can extend the best parts of the "chapter experience" to those who live outside South Carolina?

Third, do we have the right kind of chapters? Presently, all our chapters are geographically based. Is our present chapter structure the right one for our membership? Do we need to create virtual groups or interest groups for those who write in genres such as steam punk, sci-fi, and historical fiction, which may have not have much interest at the local level?

I'd be interested in knowing how our members would answer these questions. If you think there's something we can do to strengthen both our chapters and the state organization, please get in touch with me.

Steve Gordy
Chapter Liaison

Behind the Scenes

Thanks for stopping by to visit the SCWW Blog! I’m glad you’re here and I hope you find this blog entertaining and informative. If you ever have a question about SCWW, our annual October conference or anything else related to SCWW, please stop by here or go to our website: http://www.myscww.org. If you can’t find the answer to your question, please feel free to email any board member. Our email addresses are on the website.

As you know, we are an all-volunteer board. Most of us spend the majority of our time either working to pay the bills or writing to feed our souls. The hours we spend doing the business of SCWW are those “extra” hours that come at the end of a 40-hour work week or at the end of a day spent writing. We volunteer the hours we do because we are devoted to making this the best organization for writers that we can.

So, right now there is a lot going on behind the scenes; the new and improving website, the conference, tracking down grants to help with SCWW costs in a tough economic year and trying to build membership to name just a few.

The conference is high on my list of things to do. We’re working hard to line up faculty members and vendors. We’ve talked with the nice people at the Hilton. There are so many things that go into planning this three-day event and we are trying to get everything just right.

Last year we made some adjustments to our exhibitor area and I think the changes worked quite well. Traffic flowed much better and the vendors who joined us had front-row seats where they got to see and interact with the attendees.

We’re excited about some new additions to our vendor/exhibitor list and hope to continue to add to that list. If you’re interested in getting an author table or a vendor area, get in touch vial email at kiagoins@yahoo.com.

Stay tuned here for more hints and suggestions about the conference and all things related to SCWW, the art and craft of writing as well as the business of writing. And as always, if you have a question or concern about SCWW, please feel free to contact me: scwwveep@gmail.com.