Godzilla Movie Marathon... Now With Haiku!

Well.  I did it, guys.  I faced the inevitable reality that Summer Reading is coming close and the thought that I should probably start planning events yesterday.  I looked at a chapter from the CSLP manual yesterday, that has to count for something, right?  Right.

I'm in charge of bringing the Chapter Six: Science Fiction & Fun into life for the annual Summer Reading Program workshop hosted by the Ramapo Central Catskills Library System on Monday, so the next few posts are going to either be directly related or additional ideas building on the science fiction theme.  How on earth did the manual contributors miss a chance for a Godzilla movie marathon?!  First of all, the new Godzilla movie is scheduled to debut in May 2014, just before Summer Reading kicks off.  Second of all, have they seen Godzilla Haiku?  Have you?  No?  Check these guys out:

If you have a creative writing group I would like to first inform you that I'm super jealous because I've tried to start one at my library more frequently than Gretchen Wieners tried to make "fetch" happen and it still won't stick. BUT if you have alchemical processes working in your favor and have a successful writing group (or would like to start one) might I recommend making your own Godzilla haikus?   You can find stills of the old Godzilla movies and have the teens write their own.  There are many ways you could execute this and as it has been a while since I've had the opportunity to profess my love for bulleted lists, I will do so now to demonstrate the possibilities: 

• Passive Program: Create a bulletin board of 3-5 Godzilla still frames asking for Godzilla haikus.  Provide smaller examples from the tumblr so teens have an idea what you are looking for. Create a haiku printable (doesn't have to be too fancy) and provide a submission box so no one can read the poems already entered.  Label each Godzilla screenshot with a number or letter so that teens can easily communicate which picture corresponds with their poem, fully knowing at least one teen will mess up and yet another will ask you relentless questions no matter how easy you attempt to make it.  Once you have enough submissions, slap those haikus over the appropriate image with meme font, also known as Impact in white with a black outline.  If you do not have Photoshop, might I recommend using Ribbet?  
• During the Movie Marathon: This one is less exciting, but you are more likely to get a bunch of results. You can print out the Godzilla screenshots with lines underneath them so the teens can write them in as they watch the movies.  While you are almost guaranteed more haikus this route, you will miss out on the opportunity to use the completed product as a marketing tool for the movie marathon. 
• Teens as Content Creators: The ideal situation involves using Web 2.0 apps, like Ribbet, to allow the teens to create the content themselves.  You can either offer them some sort of SRP club credit for creating it online and emailing it to you or you can have a program using library computers that allows them to do it in a group all together.  The latter suggestion would not work in my library, so I am aware that it might not work for you.  I'm talking in ideals here people! 
• Contest: Using any of the above ideas or combination thereof, you can make a contest for the best Godzilla haiku.  Teens are competitive. Having a prize at the end of the haiku tunnel might help some reluctant poets enter the mix. 

NaNoWriMo is my nemesis

November is my favorite month, hands down. First of all, if not for this month I would have a birthday in some less fortunate month that is not November. Secondly, excessive amounts of pumpkin are everywhere. Everywhere. Plus there is something to be said about fabulous shopping deals around every corner. Ahhh November.

But there is one aspect of November that fills my stomach with dread and occasionally puts a scowl on my face. If the post title didn't give it away, this is brought about by the fact that November is National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo mocks me with it's overly productive participants:

"Haaaai Kristi(e), how you doin' gurrl? Me and thousands of mah BFFLs are hangin' out gettin' 2gether writin' up some 50,000 word novels and junk. How's your novel doin'? Oh you got 2 flashcards with character names and whatever written down? That's fine gurl that's fyne. Maybe we can all get some coffee next year or sommen. Take kare of urself!"

I'm aware that if NaNoWriMo were to actually become anthropomorphized it would speak properly, but you must realize that my nemeses always have poor grammar when we get together for tea in my head so that no matter what they say I always speak more eloquently. Duh.

Anyway, I bring all this up because John Green makes a fabulous point in one of his more recent Vlog Brother posts: Anything produced during NaNoWriMo is complete and utter garbage. You hear that NaNoWriMo?! You and your BFFLs are GARBAGE! Even John Green won't be able to come up with some gold in a month. You can stop making me feel bad about the non-existent novel I'm writing, tyvm.

That said, anyone actually participating I wish you the best of luck! Because while the novel you write may end up smelling worse than a city dumpster, it is the foundation for a fabulous novel once you put in all the time and effort revising. Don't take my word for it, either. Try on what Editorial Anonymous has to say about revisions and rejections for size.

Writing and librarianship

Being a writer is hard work (duh).  There are many things one has to consider and even if the stars align and the plotline is in order, the remaining legwork can be tremulous and quite annoying on occasion.  For example, I have only one chapter outlined in a young adult series and despite knowing where the books are going I am hesitant to call myself a writer because of this minimal effort.  Perhaps this is because the only real writing endeavors I've had as of late is from my heyday as a creative writing major (which, as I've found, is the major of choice for librarians so I don't even know if I count this).  Even when I was in a regular workshop setting my professors' reactions to my desire to write for a younger audience led me to believe my grade would be lower than if I wrote supposed real fiction so I never even got to practice the type of writing I want to do.  How the heck does any of this encourage me?  Oh wait.  It doesn't. 

Thankfully, I have the interwebz!!  Despite never directly asking for help, especially not from the one and only Laini Taylor, help comes again and again.  First came the discovery of her amusing and inspiring blog Not a Robot many moons ago and now she wrote a post that serves as a bucket of ice water waking up my lifeless inner writer.  Thanks Laini!  :)  I can't wait for the hell that is library school to end so I actually can do things I enjoy in my spare time instead of tedious homework assignments.  

Wondering why I'm spending all this time talking about Writer Kristi(e) when we all know that this is a forum for me to spew librarianship and fandom at you?  Because part of being a good librarian, even if one has no desire to write, is understanding how books come to be.  Yes, enjoying an author's work is fine and dandy, but I find that the more I know about the writing process the more I enjoy the books I read.  Just some food for thought.  And while you nibble on that, check out this video posted on Tales From An Open Book to get a humorous look into the life of a book.  

BONAS JONAS: 

• Tales From An Open Book also posted this gem about what happens when people pretend that books are similar to Twix bars.
• Something Awful decided to rewrite the classics, need I say more?