Paper 'stuff' has a way of piling up around my writing area. I try to stay neat but it seldom works. On certain days and when I'm in a certain mood, I sweep it all into a box and set it out of sight so that I can tunnel forth on the project at hand. Other times none of the mess bothers me and my mind is like a flashlight, focused straight ahead on whatever I'm writing.

I do have some things though that I purposely add to my sacred space. If I glance up, I see pictures of my family, all of which are my greatest cheerleaders. When I feel discouraged and the words refuse to spill out in the right order, I usually hear one of them say something like, "Take a walk and come back in fifteen minutes ... but COME BACK!"

I like to sip and write, so there is often a cup of hot coffee or herb tea close by. It's always in the same lovely ceramic mug that was given to me by a special friend. The mug rests next to a little stuffed penguin named Percy. He represents the main character in a children's story I wrote a long time ago about a little boy who turns into a penguin. Percy's job is to encourage me to resubmit this crazy-sounding story after one editor told me she felt that Percy "had a home" (just not at their place!). 

Possibly the most unique item that surrounds me when I write is an old perfume bottle, still two-thirds full. It belonged to my grandmother who was a most significant person in my life. When I feel in need of comfort or motivation, I lift that little bottle from the shelf above my computer, close my eyes and breathe in slowly and deeply. I sense her presence and her encouragement ... and then I'm back to work!

Sharon is a consultant, trainer and seminar leader in the areas of grief and bereavement, creativity writing as therapy, journaling and writing for personal and spiritual growth. She teaches classes in Creativity and Gifted Education as adjunct faculty for the University of Wyoming and has a private counseling practice in Laramie, Wyoming. She is author of When Someone Dies, a loving book of comfort for children and adults who have lost a loved one. Visit her website.

Born:  September 13, 1916
Died:  November 23, 1990

"Had I not had children of my own, I would have never written books for children, nor would I have been capable of doing so."

~ Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Wales.

~ His Norwegian parents, Harald and Marie, named him after the explorer Roald Amundsen, a national hero in Norway.

~ Roald’s mother died when he was very young. An older sister also died of complications from appendicitis.

~ In 1911, Roald’s father married Sofie Hesselberg. Four years later, Harald died, leaving Roald in the custody of his stepmother. She was so determined to carry out her husband’s wish, that his children receive an English education, she sold all her jewelry to pay for Roald's tuition at Repton, a private school in Derbyshire. 

~ Roald hated schools in Wales and England, and those who ruled them. He was appalled by the fact that masters and senior boys were allowed to wound other boys. These experiences greatly influenced the stories he later wrote. 

~ At eighteen, Dahl didn’t want to go to college, he wanted to travel. He joined an expedition to Newfoundland. Then back in England, he took a job with the Shell Company which sent him all the way to Tanzania. 

~ When World War II broke out, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Greece, Syria and Libya, where he was shot down. While recovering from his head wounds, he had strange dreams that later found their way into his stories.

~ After the war, Dahl began to write about his RAF adventures. The Saturday Evening Post bought his short story, "A Piece of Cake," and paid him $1,000 for it. 

~ Encouraged, he continued to write. His collection of short stories, Someone Like You and its sequel Kiss Kiss were highly successful. His story The Gremlins was later made into a film. 

~ Sometime Never, a story of nuclear war, was published in the US in 1948 by Scribner's, and in England a year later by Collins. It bombed horribly. 

~ In 1953 Dahl married the successful actress Patricia Neal. At the age of 38, while pregnant with their fifth child, she had a stroke. They divorced in 1983, and Dahl married Felicity Ann Crossland. 

~ In 1961, Dahl penned James and the Giant Peach. It was first published in the United States, but took six years before Dahl found a publisher in Britain. 

~ In Dahl's autobiography, BOY:TALES OF CHILDHOOD, he remembers one of the few happy moments at school when each boy received a plain gray cardboard box from chocolate manufacturer Cadbury. The boys were asked to eat and critique the twelve new candy bars inside. Dahl took this assignment very seriously, and used to dream of working in a chocolate company’s invention room. This was the inspiration behind one of his most popular novels, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

~ In 1983, Dahl's book The Witches won the Whitbread Children's Book Award. The judges described it as "deliciously disgusting." 

~ During his career, Dahl received three Edgar Allan Poe Awards and the World Fantasy Convention Lifetime Achievement award. 

~ Dahl died of leukemia at his home, Gipsy House, in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, at the age of 74. He is buried in the cemetery at the parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul.  

Roald Dahl's Official Website
Roald Dahl Children's Gallery  
Roald Dahl Foundation. 

When kids tell a story—eyes wide, hands flapping—their scenes almost always begin with the words, "And then ..." Without even thinking about it, these little ones know how to logically lead from one action to the next as easily as they know how to mess up a room.  

Of course you, an adult writer, have the perfect right to skip over anything you choose. It's your story. But do make sure you leave a clear path for your readers to follow.

EXAMPLE:
For hours Annabelle had tossed and turned, rehearsing the conversation she would have to have with Charles. When the first glimpse of sunlight entered her room, she dragged her naked body from bed. 

"Get up," she said to Ethel, running out into the parking lot. "We got to catch him before he leaves."

CLEANED UP:
For hours Annabelle had tossed and turned, rehearsing the conversation she would have to have with Charles. When the first glimpse of sunlight entered her room, she dragged her naked body from bed. 

After she dressed and combed her hair in a ponytail, she went to wake Ethel. "Get up," she said. "We got to catch him before he leaves."

EXAMPLE:
There wasn't a cricket to be heard. Only the distant yelp of a nervous hound left behind by its sniveling owner. But there was enough moonlight to hang a man, which was what they'd do if they found us there. 

I started a fire in the parlor. Willie searched the rooms upstairs to make sure we were alone. His heavy boots pounded the wooden floor, like ten men were up there hammering shingles.

"Will you shut the hell up?" I yelled. "You gonna have the whole damn Yankee army on our hides."

He grunted, slammed a door, then tossed his cold coffee on the fire, adding a loud sizzle to the night. That distant dog stopped barking as if he'd heard it.

Things got really quiet after that.

CLEANED UP:
There wasn't a cricket to be heard. Only the distant yelp of a nervous hound left behind by its sniveling owner. But there was enough moonlight to hang a man, which was what they'd do if they found us there. 

I started a fire in the parlor. Willie searched the rooms upstairs to make sure we were alone. His heavy boots pounded the wooden floor like ten men were up there hammering shingles.

"Will you shut the hell up?" I yelled. "You gonna have the whole damn Yankee army on our hides."

I heard him grunt. And slam a door. Eventually he came back downstairs and had a half cup of coffee. The other half he threw on the fire, adding a loud sizzle to the night. That distant dog stopped barking as if he'd heard it.

Things got really quiet after that.

Uncertain of a piece of your writing? 
Send it to us and we'll clean it up in a future issue.