Names (and Fan Mail, continued)

Amid this latest batch of mail are

handmade postcards:

on one side a scene from one of my books

and on the back a note to me.

Love these

 glimpses into the head of a reader

to see what he or she sees.

In this mail pile

are hundreds of signatures:

the expected Sarahs and Mikes and Davids

and Kates and Johns and Jills and Abbys

With spelling variations:

Natalie, Natalee, Nataley

Rachel, Rachael, Raychil,

Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Caitlin, Katelyn

And these more rare, but beautiful names:

Alaina, Alondra, Amiya, Angelica, Abraham, Ameer, Ariel, Aristan, Arda, Alaura, Alouette, Ariana, Aejah,

Brooklyn, Chaun, Camden, Cole, Caleb,

Delia, Della, Delaney, Devron,

Emmanuel, Eunice, Eva, Estefania,

Gabriella, Gianni, Hadia, Haley, Hunter, Isela, Izzy,

Jade, Jayden, Jazzmyn, Jerred, Jesse, Joman, Jevarius, 

Kara, Kadamma, Kazuma, Kaleb, Karlee, Kei, Keani, Khyrea, Kira, Kori,

Leighton, Lariah, Lily,

Mei, Maximillian, Marika, Mallory, Morgan, Mackenzie, Macalistair,

Nellie, Nile, Nora, Oshen, Olivia, Paris, Peyton, Paige,

Rainey, Roya, Radhika, Rose, Reeve, Rahul, Rocene,

Sydney, Sofia, Sierra, Sami, Shayna, Shareka, Serena, Sidalie,

Trinity, Tristan, Tatem, Tate

Uziel, Vega, Veronica, Whitney, 

Xavier, Yzsabella,

and

 Zizy.

I've long been intrigued by the ways in which

we are shaped by

or perceived by

our names

and

cannot move forward 

with the writing of a story

without names.

I've already chosen two from the above

for a future book.

Those names will not only shape

the character

but also suggest

the plot.

So if you're ever stuck

in beginning a story

try choosing two random names

and let them

(the characters with those names)

go at it.

xx

Fan Mail

Sometimes mail becomes stuck in the cogs

of the mighty publishing wheel.

Sometimes it falls off a desk

or sticks to someone else's mail.

Sometimes the handwriting on the envelope

is illegible

and it has to wait for a code-breaker to decipher it:

Is this for Ms. Cleary or Ms. Cushman or Ms. Creech?

How else to explain that the most recent box of mail

forwarded from the publisher

(a small portion of which is shown above)

contains letters written as far back as 

September, 2011?

Ack!

I feel badly that readers have had to wait so long for a reply.

I need fortification as I tackle the pile:

This batch comes from these countries:

USA, Belgium, Canada, England, Israel, Japan, Taiwan

and 38 states 

from Alabama to West Virginia

and from towns with such great names as

Big Spring, Eagle, Minnetonka, Washougal, White Salmon

 Little Chalfont, Brussels, Coquitlam, Taipei

and these streets

King Albert Avenue, Cokes Lane, Ivy Flower Loop

Grassy Lick Road, St. Pippin Road, Sugar Avenue

In my next post, I'll treat you to

wonderful names

of readers 

a beautiful

collection

of

beautiful

names.

xx

Choices

Friday, 26 June, 2009

I have a love-hate relationship with fan mail, which arrives in lumps like this (above), usually a day or two after I've finished answering the last batch. Once I calculated how long it took me to open each letter, read it, answer it, address an envelope, close it and stamp it, and then I figured in the cost of the paper, envelope and stamp. I forget the result, but it wasn't encouraging. I bless everyone who sends an S.A.S.E. Sometimes I kiss the S.A.S.E.

But it would be bad form to whinge too much. I am fortunate to have readers, to do what I love to do, and to make a living from it. I am grateful for all the incredible teachers out there who fire kids up over books. (I am not always so grateful for the ones who ask students to tell me what they did not like about the book.) And as every writer knows, sometimes you get those letters that take you to your knees. My most recent favorite is from a girl who, as she read one of my books, nibbled at the corners. She read the book many times, each time nibbling more. She literally ATE the book because she loved it so.

Today the sun is shining; the dock beckons. Lie on the dock or answer mail? Maybe this compromise: dock first, mail later.