Friday, February 22, 2013

Welcome Guest Author Beverly Stowe McClure

Tween Ghost Story



Please welcome children's author, Beverly Stowe McClure, to the Girls Succeed blog. Beverly is a wonderful storyteller. Today she tells us the story behind her career as an author. 





ME, A WRITER? HA, HA!
by Beverly Stowe McClure

If anyone had told me I’d be a writer someday, I’d have thought they were crazy. When I was young, I hated to write. Even though my eighth-grade teacher sent my poem “Stars” to a high school anthology and it was published in Young America Sings I had no desire to write more poetry or anything else. It was a class assignment. Nothing more.

Fast forward a few years. In spite of my rocky relationship with books, I managed to graduate from high school, got married, and had a family. I also had a boring job. (Not the kids; they’re never boring.) So, this non-reader, non-writer decided to go to the university and take courses to help me find the perfect job, which meant more reading and writing. Yeah, what was I thinking? Anyhow, four years later I graduated Cum Laude (who would have thought it?) with a Bachelor of Science in Education. This was one of the best decisions I’d ever made in my life. Soon I was teaching in elementary school and loving it.

Reading great Newbery books with my students, hearing their reports on these books and how enthusiastic they were about the stories, sometimes even dressing like the characters to give their reports, opened my eyes to what I’d been missing: Reading was fun. I also read to my sons because I wanted them to do well in school and to discover new worlds,  travel to new countries, and meet new people.

Somewhere along the way, I started wondering if I could write a book for children. I’d never know if I didn’t try. The problem was I had no idea how to begin. Sure, I’d written tons of papers in college, but books were different. So, I signed up for a course with The Institute of Children’s Literature to learn the secrets of writing. My first attempts were magazine articles, most of them based on art projects or science activities we did in my fifth-grade classes. And, surprise, surprise, some of them actually sold. A TV guide magazine called Happiness bought my article on fire safety in the home. Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Ladybug, Focus on the Family Clubhouse Jr., and other magazines published my work. I was on my way. But I still had not written a book, my original goal.

So, I took a second course at The Institute of Children’s Literature and with the help of a great instructor wrote my first novel for young adults. It still sits in a box, unsold, but I’ve improved (I hope) and now have nine books, including a picture book, early reader, two tween novels, and five novels for young adults published. If I’d never taken the first step by deciding to try something new, to make a change in my life and write the magazine articles, I’d likely still be working at a boring job. But I did, and I‘m thankful.

Why do I write for young people? I love children and teens. I love their innocence and their quirkiness. I love their honesty. I hope my work might make a difference in some young life. We don’t know the path our lives will follow. I never dreamed of being a teacher or a writer. But I’ve been both. Listen to your heart. Listen to those little voices in your head, telling you their stories. Write their words. Send them off to a magazine or book publisher. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results. I’m so glad I listened.

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ABOUT BEVERLY

When Beverly Stowe McClure was a child she hated to read. Even though her eighth grade teacher sent her poem “Stars” to the National High School Poetry Association, and it was published in Young America Sings, an anthology of Texas high school poetry, she hated to write. Nevertheless, she managed to squeak through high school, where she played the clarinet in the band and was a majorette, and graduated.

Then she got married, had three sons (one an angel in heaven), and attended Midwestern State University, where she read more books than she had ever imagined. What was she thinking? Finally, she graduated cum laude with a teaching certificate and had a fourth son. She taught children in elementary school for twenty-two years. And along the way she discovered that reading was fun and writing was even more exciting. Forty years after her poem was published, she sent an article on fire safety in the home to Happiness magazine, and it was published. She was on her way.

Beverly and Jack have five granddaughters (one also an angel in heaven), two grandsons, two great-grandsons, and one great-granddaughter. They live in the country, with two cats that adopted them and a variety of wild critters that stop by for a visit. To relax Beverly plays the piano, enjoys discovering ancestors in her genealogy research, and takes pictures of wildlife and clouds and sometimes people. She teaches a woman’s Sunday school class. And she writes most every day.
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25 comments:

  1. Thank you, Bev, for sharing the story behind how you became a writer. Amazing how you grew from no interest to pumping out entertaining books for kids. Wishing you continued success in your writing.

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  2. Thank you, J. Q. for inviting me to tell my story. My life has been a wonderful adventure with a cast of characters that sometimes caused trouble and sometimes were nice. They made me laugh. They made me cry. They taught me that most problems can be resolved, if we try hard enough. I hope my readers love them as much as I do.

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  3. Oh, I forgot to mention. Your blog is lovely, J. Q. So colorful and inviting.

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  4. Thanks, Bev. Very colorful indeed! LOL..So many characters and adventures when you are a writer. The whole world opens up for you to use your imagination to pen those stories. Anything is possible.

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  5. Beverly is such an awesome person. So glad to see her being featured here today. : )

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  6. I agree, Susanne. She is such a sweetheart doing double duty here AND on the J.Q. Rose blog too!!

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  7. Aw, ladies, you make me blush. I'm just doing what I love to do. Thanks for stopping by, Susanne.

    I put a link on my blog to here.

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  8. Beverly, you're amazing. Glad I stopped in to this delightful blog. I also took classes at the Institute of Children's Literature and loved it.

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    1. Thanks, S. I try. :) The Institute is good especially for someone who hasn't a clue where to start.

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  9. Hi Bev, always good to hear more of your inspiring story. You rock!

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    1. Thanks, Catherine. Yes, I have a nice "rocking" chair. :)
      Kidding. It's nice to be told I rock.

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  10. Kids are very honest. I love that, too. I really enjoyed hearing more about why you write, Beverly.

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    1. Yes, Kelly. Kids don't try to impress anyone. Adults might take a few lessons from them. And they aren't mean about it, just let you know what they think. :)

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    2. When I sent the ms for Girls Succeed to girls focus groups, some of the comments were eye-opening. One girl told me I should "spice it up a bit." You can bet I re-wrote that chapter!!

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  11. what an inspiring story - so glad you gave writing a try and found your passion!

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    1. Thanks, Jessie. I'm loving writing, even the edits, edits, edits. :)

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  12. Beverly, what a wonderful and inspiring story. Thank you for sharing. Can't wait to hear more. :)

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  13. Beverly, what a wonderful and inspiring story. Thank you for sharing. Can't wait to hear more. :)

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  14. What a great story and testimony Beverly! Just goes to show you a person can do most anything in life, they put their minds to. I remember reading those Newberry Award winning books when my children were younger. Congratulations to you for making a difference in many young lives, I'm sure:)

    Sara

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    1. Thank you, Sara. You're absolutely right. Just have to decide what you want to do, then do it. The Newbery books are inspiring. I hope young people enjoy my work.

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  15. So happy to have so many visitors to my fledgling website. Thank you, Beverly, for sharing your story.

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  16. Lovely to hear your encouraging story, Beverley, and I agree about the pleasure of writing for children and teens.

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  17. I love it that kids inspired you to write and now you inspire kids.

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