RTW- Happy Poetry Month

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered.

This Week's Topic: April is National Poetry Month! Share your favorite poem(s) or poet.

Years ago, after I got out of college and then thought "Hey I want to be a writer when I grow up." I started with poetry. 

I really like the Dylan Thomas poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. I'm sure I read it in college but I rediscovered it when it was used in the book Reached by Ally Condie. 

My great grandparents were Welsh so Welsh writers and poets interest me. In rediscovering our family tree my uncles met a cousin who is 90 years old named Dylun Thomas. There are pictures from a visit with Dylun standing next to a plaque talking about Dylan Thomas the poet. I think that Dylun likes that people do a double take when they hear his name.

This year for National Poetry Month I get to celebrate by working backstage on Nice Fish at the Guthrie Theater. Nice Fish was written by Mark Rylance and a Minnesota poet, Louis Jenkins. When I first watched a run thru I was amazed at how poetic the play sounded. 

Podcasts for Writers

A few months ago I made the decision to get an iPhone. I already had an iPod touch but I sort of felt like I was always carrying around two devices all the time. Also when I bought the iPod I failed to realize just how little 8gigs actually was. After about a year of iPod ownership I was often having to make decisions about what I wanted on my device because I didn't have enough memory.

Since joining the 21st century I've been listening podcasts. I'd listened to podcast before but mostly as a way to practice my Spanish, which is extremely rusty.

Lately I enjoy listening to writing related podcasts. Listening to writing related podcasts have been a good way for me to think about writing and projects I'm working on even when I'm not at my desk, writing away.

The first one I've been listening to is Sara Zarr's podcast, This Creative Life. She interviews authors, illustrators, and other creative types to talk about their craft and how they approach it and how they balance work and life. I think one of the great things about this series is hearing that there are as many different approaches to writing (or other arts) as there are writers.
So yes I highly recommend This Creative Life.


When I started running out of episodes of Sara Zarr's podcasts I knew I needed to do something so I searched iTunes for writing podcasts which is how I found The Narrative Breakdown. This podcast is hosted by Cheryl Klein and James Monohan. The podcasts talk about the craft of writing using examples from popular books, movies, and TV shows.

Do you listen to podcasts about writing? What are your favorites?

RTW- Let me be your guide

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. 

This Week's Topic: If you could visit any country with a fictional character as your guide, who would you pick and where would you go?

I thought this would be an easy answer since the book Anna and the French Kiss made me want to travel more I thought I would pick France with Anna as my guide but after thinking about it I decided it would be cool to visit Prague with Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. 

I've always heard people say that Prague is a sort of magical city and reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone reminded me of that. Looking at these pictures the city looks beautiful and inspiring. 

Source: yourpictures.in via Peggy on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

Baseball, beaches, and circuses

Happy Opening Day! I love baseball season. One of my favorite things to listen to while I write is a baseball game. 

I just got back this weekend from a wonderful vacation in Florida. 

In recent years I've had the wonderful experience of having my parents be someplace warm. My dad was in California for a while and then Mexico which gave me the opportunity for some warm weather getaways.

My mom was working in Florida this winter and I decided to make the most of that by going to a Spring Training game. It's been on my to do list for a while and this year it worked out perfectly. We caught the last home Spring Training game for the Twins at Hammond Stadium.

Other highlights of my trip included a visit to the John and Mabel Ringling Circus Museum and a trip to Fort Meyers Beach.

Miniature circus was a highlight for a diorama lover like me

Port Charlotte Sunset

Fort Meyers Beach Pirate Ship

Twins Spring Training Game

On my way home I just couldn't breakfast at the Harry Carey's at Chicago Midway Airport as the perfect ending to my baseball Spring Training vacation. 

I hope that the beginning of baseball season means that spring is on its way soon.

I always bring notebooks with me when I travel and now I bring and iPad as well. I always think that vacation will mean that I'll have lots of time to write but I never end up writing as much as I think I will.  I can only hope that I am absorbing all my vacation experiences as writing fuel for later. 

What about you, do you write when you travel?