Christmas in July - from Twitter Faeries

The Wing Collector, Etsy.com, 8x8 print

Twitter's become a valuable source for many things writerly - and World Cup - for me this summer. Because I've added a recent tweet window to this blog, I keep in mind the tweets I'd like to expose to other writers and readers.  Rather than cute kittens and celeb photos, these days, (although I still fall for a kitten or two) I quote, retweet, and twitter independent authors, publishers, book promoters, and publishing houses by the dozen.  There are so many resources flipping by I can't keep up with reading them all; but, knowing they pop up where others can read them too has kept me adding and following at regular speed.  So, when I experienced a private - special only to me - tweet, I was reminded at an insecure moment about why I became a children's book author - the magic!  I don't think authors of children's literature in particular become authors because there are already scads of children's books on the shelves - both old and new - which may never fade in popularity, or because they think those books can be outdone.  I think it is because there is an odd joy in spreading the magic experienced - building a storyline, adding believable characters, taking them through a believable world, and sharing a cause or a message.

Twitter sent me a message this morning to the effect that one of my tweets had not gone through - I was instructed to resend, but under this mistake was a tweet with no author which read:

"I found a Christmas faery in the bedclothes. She told me to tell you she's going to bring down the stars."

I wasn't sure where that tweet had come from, at first, so I reread it, and then I remembered it was mine. The unsent tweet had landed in Drafts, and this faerie tweet was a draft I had written last December.  I'm starting another novel in July and this little tweet held such a random, hidden sparkle of magic, I almost wanted to write about Christmas in July.  More importantly though, it reminded me why I write children's books - the magic! Its sudden appearance whispered keep going without making any sort of sound at all. When 150 characters provoke an imaginative world, an action-packed mission, and believable characters who want to accomplish their goals - even if it is to bring down the stars - I think I can find the will and the steam to keep going.