About this project

My name is Sharon Birch. I live in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I go to work every day and try to accomplish things that serve a purpose, that accomplish something, but I don't always suceed. I draw and paint and write because when I am finished with a project, an actual physical object exists, and I like that. I devour middle-grade and young-adult fiction as well as graphic novel-type stuff, because it's just a lot of fun. I love the relationship between the text, the illustration, and the book design that I find in much of the newer middle-grade books. I tell myself at least once I week that I should give it a try. I did complete a short tale for the 2009 National Novel Writing Month challenge -- although I kind of had to add in short green people and time travel to reach the fifity-thousand word mark, so I am not sure how sucessful it was! I have some background in art, and have been working on honing my illustration skills over the past few years. You can get a glimpse into some of this process through my blog -- http://digital-garden-gnome.blogspot.com/ .

My proposal is simple -- I want people to back my effort at a writing book by helping fund the costs of taking a writing class. Those of you who know me may be thinking "why the heck doesn't she just buck up and pay for the class herself if she wants it that badly?" The reason is YOU -- if you contribute to this project, then you are my audience. You become the hungry wolves at the door. You become a source of motivation that will help me overcome the inevitable feeling of laziness that I suspect creeps into every writer's attempts to produce the next great American novel. If you are expecting some outcome, I'll be more likely to produce something of value. Although, it won't be the next great American novel -- it'll be something in the genre I like to call "heavily illustrated middle-grade adventure fiction" and will not only include my words, but my pictures as well (the working title is "Klondike Bertha" and it's about a girl who heads off to -- you guessed it -- the Klondike in 1897) . I have my head wrapped around the process of illustration and feel comfortable that I can do that part -- but I need some nudging in the right direction when it comes to the story. The class I want to take is called Writing Children's Fiction and is $390 for a 10-week class and I am seeking backers who will cover that cost.