Road Trip Wednesday #176: National Poetry Month

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Stef Wade

April is National Poetry Month. Let me tell you – I love that poetry gets an entire month. I’ve been affected and impassioned by poetry since a very young age, with different poems inspiring me at different times. One poem that will stick in my mind forever is “If” by Rudyard Kipling. We memorized this poem in eighth grade, prior to graduation and our grand entrance into high school. (Yes, I still know the entire poem by heart) Writing young adult fiction brings me back to this time in my life with this poem being the background for making my way into the world as an adult.

If
Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Poetry Friday: Frustration

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Stef Wade

Happy Friday!

For my very first installation of poetry Friday, I’m kickin’ it old school with my very first published poem, printed in my college literary journal, The Marquette Journal. It’s a little serious for a Friday morning, but I hope you enjoy!

Frustration
Was it reality in the form of a dream?
Or a dream in the form of reality?
Everything I desire,
unattainable
Every emotion,
unshared.
While I seek wisdom
I gain futility.
Where I find my trust
I replace it with lost feelings of loneliness
and greed for the ideal.
I rationalize myself yet defer all regulatory thought
and dream only of imaginary futures;
Balancing imagination with truth
And truth with love
And love with desire
Leaving only hollowness in a space-less mass.
I retain gaps between heart and mind
Idea and action,
To consume not only what my eyes believe
But what my heart deceives.
My feet stand firm above the pettiness of nonconformity
and negatively driven ambition.
Yet my heart lies unvoiced
anticipating broken silence.
Time leaves nothing
Yet time never leaves.
It only ticks in the night as I try sleeping.
Its taunting presence nerves my ill resting mind
as sleepless hours drain the night of beauty.
The monotony of each breath drowns the impulse for drawn out fantasy.
The desire for connection stagnates
until the inertia of the next moment
forces opposite direction.

If there are any poets out there, I’d love for you to share, or link to your site! Have a great day!

YA Highway Road Trip Wednesday #175

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Stef Wade

I’m a big fan of the site YA Highway and it’s author’s completed works (hello, Divergent series). Each Wednesday, they host a blog carnival with different writing or reading related questions. I’ve participated a bit on my old site, but will now share in the carnival on my shiny new site every Wednesday!

Road Trip Wednesday question #175: The Veronica Mars Kickstarter success makes us wonder, what YA book would you raise $2 million to see a movie version of?

For starters, let me first say, I would never raise 2 million dollars for any movie to be made. For cancer research, yes. For a movie, no. However, taking this question as “What YA book are you dying to see made into a movie?” My answer is this:

Those of you who know me, probably know my passion for poetry. I love that Ellen Hopkins has so successfully created poetry turned novel. If the poetry of Crank could be woven into a motion picture, I’d be the first to line up and see it. Crank is a story based on the author’s daughter’s personal story with her addiction to crystal meth. The story itself is a pretty standard addiction story, but the poetry and prose of the novel pulls you deeply in on an emotional level. With the right director, actors and most importantly, screenplay – this could be quite an original movie.

Runners up include: Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret? By Judy Blume and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Evolution of a Young Adult Author

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Stef Wade

stef wade

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Stef Wade and I am a writer. You may know me from my work on cooking and home blog Haute Apple Pie, you may be a fellow writer, young adult novel enthusiast, encouraging friend or perhaps we have the same DNA. Whatever your reason, welcome to stefwade.com, my own little creative corner of the internet.

For those of you visiting from Haute Apple Pie, don’t worry! I will still be hanging out in my kitchen, blogging about my latest recipes. For those of you who prefer take out or store your shoes in your oven, this site probably suits you better.

I do not plan to constantly blog about myself, but I do want to give some background so you can better understand who is writing these words and why. I was born in Chicago and grew up in the northwest suburb of Des Plaines, nestled along the train tracks. My hometown later became the inspiration for my novel, SOMETHING TO PROVE, which I am currently looking to publish.

From the very moment I put pen to paper, I knew writing was my passion. I’ll never forget the one-sided worksheet given for my first second grade creative writing assignment. My large, bubbly words extended far off the front, on to the back and to the extra sheets sitting at the front of the room. I was angry when time was up and we moved onto math. I had more to say.

Early on I dreamed of being a writer and later turned my writing dreams toward more “practical” areas, leading me to a degree in advertising, advanced degree in business administration and a career in marketing. While writing about corrugated cardboard boxes sounds sexy, it only quenches your thirst for creativity for so long. After giving birth to my son, I knew I had two callings. First: to be the best mom I can be. Second: to be the best writer I can be.

Through the turns and turmoils, I thoroughly enjoyed my adolescence and loved my junior high, high school and college experiences. Channeling that time is easy and accessible for me. Because of this, I’m drawn to young adult fiction and have chosen the path of a young adult author.

So here I am! Looking to make my dreams come true. I have a completed young adult contemporary fiction novel titled SOMETHING TO PROVE, for which I’m currently seeking representation and publication.

As for stefwade.com, this is a place where creativity abounds, including inside looks at my latest works, special novel “extras,” poetry, young adult news, good reads, creative writing exercises and more. Whether you are a reader or a writer (or both!), I invite you to join me in my journey. After all, it’s the friends you make along the way that make journeys worth your while.

Thanks for reading!