Interview with "Dancing With The Pen II" Contributor Charlotte Owens

Today we continue our Dancing With The Pen II blog tour with an interview with young writer Charlotte Owens, whose story "Grammy's Life" and essay "Nature Walk" are featured in the book. Order a personalized copy of Dancing With The Pen II: a collection of today's youth writing here or on Amazon here.

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction? 

Hello. My name is Charlotte Owens. I am an 11-year-old 6th grader from Richardson, Texas. Writing is where I shine the brightest, but my other hobbies include drawing, softball, and volleyball.

Describe your pieces that were published in Dancing With The Pen II. How did you get your ideas? 

My first piece is titled "Grammy's Life." It was written shortly after the passing of my great grandfather, who I loved very much. Writing this tale helped me to express my grief. My second piece, "Nature Walk," was written after I left my busy household for a breath of fresh air. This was a prompt given to me by Dallas, which I found to be one of my favorites. I found peace in my quiet neighborhood and put it into words.

Have you been writing for a long time? What do you like about writing? 

I have been writing for quite a while. I've always loved books and found great joy buried within. When I was 6, I asked my mom while in the car if I could type up a story on her laptop. Thinking it was going to be a short story, she gladly let me do so. However, it ended up being 50 full pages of nothing but writing. That's when I realized that I loved to write. I think what interested me most about it was the freedom it gave me to express my thoughts and feelings through the minds of my characters.

What does it mean to you to have your piece included in this book? What was it like to get the news? 

I was thrilled to get the news that two of my pieces were to be published in Dancing with the Pen II. However, when I received a copy of my own, my family was not there to celebrate with me. I was at summer camp when it arrived in a package. I began flat-out crying. Happy crying!

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams? 

As for advice for other authors or young people going after their dreams, keep doing what you're doing. If you work hard and believe in yourself, it will pay off in the end. Believe me, I know. Getting my stories published has given me a great head start, but I know I can do more. You will meet people that will give you wonderful opportunities. For instance, Dallas Woodburn has been a huge influence and inspiration in my life. I think we need more people in the world like Dallas!

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors? 

As for my favorite book, I believe it would have to wind up somewhere in the Harry Potter series. Whenever I open up one of those immensely thick books, I feel as if I've landed in a whole new world. A magical place I would never want to leave. (This is one of the reasons I was so thrilled the eighth book came out!) J.K. Rowling has a brilliant mindset, and I will always look up to her.

What inspires you? 

What really inspires my greatest writing is when somebody changes my point of view and my eyes are open to new thoughts and ideas. For example, when a young idol such as Albert Einstein, Eminem, or Walt Disney had been turned down by others, they eventually rose above it to make it on top. They pushed through the negative and turned into something bigger than anybody could imagine. That's what I call inspiring!

What are you working on now? What’s next for you?

I am currently working on a story based on the amazing tale of Jeff Banister retold with my own twist. I find him to be an amazing man with such a dauntless childhood.

What's next for me? An adventure of inspirational events that are sure to turn into wonderful books!

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Charlotte Owens is an eleven-year-old sixth grader living in Richardson, Texas. In her spare time, she loves drawing and writing short stories prompted by her writing mentor, Dallas Woodburn. 

Links: 

Order Dancing With The Pen I & Dancing With The Pen II directly (personalized copies available!) or via Amazon.

If you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!

You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook. We're featured on Goodreads, too!

Interview with "Dancing With The Pen II" Contributor Arielle DeVito

Today we continue our Dancing With The Pen II blog tour with an interview with young writer Arielle DeVito, whose poem "senescence" is featured in the book. Order a personalized copy of Dancing With The Pen II: a collection of today's youth writing here or on Amazon here.

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction? 

My name is Arielle DeVito, I’m 17 and I’m a rising senior. I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, and when I’m not writing or reading, I play the flute, figure skate, paint, sew costumes for myself and others, and bake a lot of cupcakes.

Describe your piece that was published in Dancing With The Pen II. How did you get your idea for the piece? 

My poem “senescence” was published in Dancing with the Pen II. The idea from the piece actually came from my wanting to write a four-part poem based off the four elements -- senescence was originally intended to be for the “earth” part. But when I finished it, I realized that I preferred it as a standalone piece, and that it didn’t follow the element theme as much as I’d intended.

Have you been writing for a long time? What do you like about writing? 

To be honest, I can’t remember a time that I haven’t been writing! I’m fairly new to poetry, but I’ve always been writing stories. I like writing for a lot of reasons, including because I get to share my stories with other people and because it can help me figure out what I’m thinking and feeling.

What does it mean to you to have your piece included in this book? What was it like to get the news? 

It was really exciting! Being published has helped me realize that there’s a possibility that I can actually follow this dream and make writing into a career for me. When I found out, I immediately called up all my friends and my English teacher to tell them, and we just all freaked out a little bit.

Do you have any advice for other writers, or for other young people going after their dreams? 

My advice would be to get started following your dreams now. Things might sometimes seem far-off, but there’s always something you can do to work towards them. In my case, this was starting to submit my writing for publication and making time to free-write for at least ten minutes a day. Little things you can do are just as important as big ones!

Can you share a few of your favorite books or authors? 

This question always gets me, because I love so many different books and authors! As a child, I think I was most influenced by Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and of course the Chronicles of Narnia. Recently, I’ve really loved reading books by Neil Gaiman, Malinda Lo, and Marissa Meyer, as well as reading poetry by Billy Collins, Sarah Kay, and Jamaal May.

What inspires you? 

I think I’m inspired by the world in general, but especially by the amazing people who surround me and the stories I read or hear from others.

What are you working on now? What’s next for you?

Right now I’m working on editing the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo a few years back and just continuing to write poetry. I think next I’d like to work on more short stories and maybe a sequel to the book I’m editing!

Anything else you’d like to add? 

Just a huge thank you for being included in this book, as well as good wishes for any other young writers trying to get themselves out there – I believe in you!

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Arielle DeVito, native to the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, is an incoming twelfth-grader who can often be found lurking in libraries and comic book stores. A passionate writer since the age of six, she also enjoys reading anything and everything available, sewing historical costumes, and baking (usually cupcakes).

Links: 

Order Dancing With The Pen I & Dancing With The Pen II directly (personalized copies available!) or via Amazon.

If you have a few minutes and could write a review on Amazon, that would be fantastic!

You can also follow Dancing With The Pen on Facebook. We're featured on Goodreads, too!

Savoring the Anticipation

One of the most striking and moving aspects, for me, when reading the beautiful book a picture is worth... (Arch Street Press) is getting to hear the unfiltered voices and perspectives of these young adults, smack in the middle of growing up. They write with insightful reflection about their pasts, and their words ache with excitement for the future when they share their goals and dreams -- graduating high school, attending college, having a family and home of their own.

In her essay, Betania Robles writes:

"I would like to say that at the moment I am at the awkward stages of being a teenage girl. Some days I'm happy and some days I'm extremely sad and depressed, and sometimes both at the same time. I don't know if that's normal but I am pretty sure those weird feelings will pass by as I grow up. I'm pretty goofy. I love boy bands and random things like that, and the Internet has to be one of the best inventions ever. It has caused me much happiness and provides me with things that the outside can't. I also love reading; it is like I enter a stranger's world and I learn and feel their feelings. That is truly amazing. Call me ridiculous, but I'd rather read than go outside sometimes, and because of books I believe in true love."

Reading Betania's essay took me back to my own teenage days -- the newness of adventures, the excitement of the wide-open world, the daily dramas and jokes and loves. In all of the narratives in the book, glittering details about these teens' present lives stuck out like treasure: close-knit friends at school; chaotic dinner tables with their parents and stepparents and siblings; favorite teachers and subjects; the neighborhood and community they have always known. I wanted to reach in through the book and tell the young authors: this time of your life is beautiful, too! Savor it. It will fly by faster than you can imagine.

* * *

In three and a half weeks, I am getting married. Life is a whirlwind of tasks, questions, and to-do lists. I wake up in the middle of the night to scribble notes to myself that are only sometimes legible in the morning: song for recessional? cupcake labels? check with minister about kiss timing. My brain is flooded with details and planning and more details. I feel constantly abuzz with nervous energy, my stomach a flurry of butterflies.

And at the same time, I have never felt more ready for anything in my life.

I cannot wait to marry my sweetheart and officially join our lives together. Yet I am savoring this anticipatory time, too. In the midst of the chaos and craziness, I stand in the middle of our one-bedroom apartment, crammed with wedding gifts and decorations and half-completed craft projects, and smile with giddy contentment to be here, now, in this glorious mess and in this perfectly imperfect moment. There is something delicate and beautiful in these final days before we hold hands and leap together into the unknown.

* * *

When I was in college, I lived in an apartment with three of my best friends. Every year, we threw a big holiday party the weekend before winter break. Our anticipation was born right after Thanksgiving. We spent hours planning the party: sending out invitations, shopping for refreshments, deciding on party favors and music. We cut out paper snowflakes and hung them from our ceiling; we strung up twinkle-lights; one year we even managed to get a “Charlie Brown” Christmas tree on super discount at a tree lot, and we decorated it until it was more tinsel than tree. I would be so excited for our party that time seemed to drag on as I tracked its glacier-slow approach on my calendar.

And then, suddenly, it was the day of the party. There was always a flurry of last-minute preparations: baking cookies, making peppermint hot chocolate, wrapping presents. Every year, the party itself passed in a blur of friends and laughter, dancing and singing, photos and hugs. Within three or four hours—the blink of an eye, it seemed—our party was over. We’d wave goodbye as our last guests headed out the door, and then my three best friends and I would be left standing in our empty apartment with a mess to clean up.

It’s hard not to feel a little sad in those moments, when all the anticipation is over, and life resumes to normal. It can feel like the magic is gone. But, looking back, my favorite memories from those holiday parties are not the parties themselves, or even all the anticipation and preparation. The memories I cherish the most are from the mornings after the parties, when my roommates and I would eat scrambled eggs—ignoring the dirty dishes and overflowing trash can for a little while longer—and talk all about the amazingly fun event we had just hosted.

Because, yes, there is joy in the anticipation. There is joy in the savoring. But there is also joy in the telling, the retelling, and the remembering.

"The world is shaped by two things: stories told and the memories they leave behind." — Vera Nazarian