The Alimond Show
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Dianne Wright: Running Through Life and How Art and Writing Shape Our Stories
My name is Diane Wright Diane Rigby Wright, and I am a writer and an artist. I've published two books. Now I'm working on my third, which actually I have a couple in the works, but the one I'm most proud of right now is my goal to run a race in every state, and I've run races in 30 states at this point, and I live in Winchester Virginia.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Now give me a quick overview of your journey from the start.
Speaker 1:I've always loved poetry and art and I actually wrote my first book when I was 12 years old and I kind of put that on hold. During the time I was a parent raising my children, and now my husband passed away six years ago, so I've been on my own to do what I love to do, which is write and make art. I'm also an Airbnb super host and I've been doing that for seven years and that's amazing. And finishing my goal of running a race in every state. That's important to me too.
Speaker 2:I love that. All right, we're going to get started on your story. Specifically, you spent some years as a middle school teacher. Yes, how did that experience shape your passion for writing children's?
Speaker 1:books. It takes a certain, a special person to love middle school kids. They're different every day. You never know from one day to the next if they'll love you or hate you. I love the energy of middle school and it gave me the sense of how important it is to know who you are, because if there's any group of people who is unsure of who they are where they're going, it would be middle school kids. So the time I spent with them has allowed me to become more grounded in myself and in who I am, and recognizing all the gifts that I've been given.
Speaker 2:I love that. What inspired you to write Avoid Angry Alligators? And how did you land on its Dr Seuss rhyme and playful style?
Speaker 1:Angry Alligators. And how did you land on its Dr Seuss rhyme and playful style? Well, first of all, I love Dr Seuss, I can quote Dr Seuss and I realize it's very important that the messages we give to ourselves and what we say to ourselves. So I'd like to share a brief excerpt of Avoid Angry Alligators. Of course, avoid angry alligators, my friend. Good advice to you I lend. Beware brown bears in the wild, but teddy bears are quite mild. Celebrate constantly, like a charming cheetah, I know, and you will have happiness from head to toe.
Speaker 2:I love that you memorized your whole book too, haven't you?
Speaker 1:Yes, I memorized my whole book. And then my next book, called my Ride, is about my life's journey. Growing up outside of suburban Boston was a great experience Going to see Red Sox games and growing up in a neighborhood with lots of other kids to play with. I feel like I had a very idyllic childhood. However, when I was in high school and moved to Manassas, virginia, in 1971, I felt like I had incredible culture shock and it took me quite a number of years to get over that. However, I'm happily living in Winchester, virginia, now.
Speaker 2:Amazing. How do you hope that your story encourages children to see kindness and empathy in everyday life?
Speaker 1:I am concerned that children and even adults, or maybe more so adults, are more preoccupied with their machinery, with what's going on in cyberspace, than what's going on in their own head. And by doing my own illustrations for Void Angry Alligators, I feel like I kind of stepped out on a ledge. It's like, yeah, I know I'm not the greatest artist, but I have important words to share with you. And for the P section of Avoid Anger Alligators I said please and thank you are important words to say idea of life is good alive, yeah.
Speaker 2:That's interesting, life is good. Because you think that maybe that message isn't clear for everyone.
Speaker 1:Well, when I got to Z, I wanted to end on a high note and I said Zany Zebra suggests you try tomorrow on for size. It's your next best day. You'll soon realize.
Speaker 2:I love this conversation with you. Your book isn't just about alligators, which, by the way, show the audience our fun alligator head here that you have. This is just so fun, like, like the best Amazing.
Speaker 1:Okay. So in order to promote my book, I found out about the Southern California Children's Book Fair and my book was accepted and I actually presented Avoid Angry Alligators on stage provided by the San Diego Zoo.
Speaker 2:So I traveled to Costa Mesa, california, to share my message. I love that and we talked about this a little bit. But it's not just obviously about alligators, it's about anger, empathy, positivity. Why do we need to teach these important lessons at such an early age, versus when we get older?
Speaker 1:So things that you learn when you're young, stick with you. I have I was a bluebird, which is what you do before. You're a campfire girl, and I have this constant reminder of finish what you begin and I was wondering why does that resonate with me so much? And then I looked up the Bluebird Code of Honor and that was part of their thing and I thought what great advice. So the things you learn when you're young, stick with you.
Speaker 2:That's interesting for us to look back at. Why are we the way we are? And see where did that come from? You're right, a lot of it probably has to do with the childhood.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's huge, One of the things I have written on my refrigerator. I have all sorts of messages to myself, but are you listening to the voice inside that's talking to you, and are they old tapes that you should no longer be listening to? I?
Speaker 2:love that. Speaking of which, what role does humor and rhyme play in helping kids remember these lessons?
Speaker 1:Anything is more enjoyable if you bring humor into it, and so this is somewhat humorous. I live on Myrtle Avenue and I call myself the queen of Myrtle Avenue, and in my book Avoid Angry Alligators. When I got to Q I said what you must know to be queen is be kind to all and never be mean.
Speaker 2:I love this. How do you hope that not just kids, but parents, grandparents and teachers will use your?
Speaker 1:book as a tool for teaching emotional learning. Since I did the illustrations, what I would love to see happen is to give the students or the audience, the couplet or the little poem, and then what kind of illustrations would they come up with If they were going to draw a charming cheetah that can give you happiness from head to toe? What would that cheetah look like? When I did the D page and I said desire daily delights, I drew a picture of a wizard, because you have to believe in magic.
Speaker 2:I love it. Can you walk us through your creative process? How did you go from an idea to a fully illustrated rhyming storybook?
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm glad I brought this prop. These are the prompts for drawing a picture every day in July. And yeah, I do. I love to make art. So I had the pictures for Void Angry Alligators before I wrote the words, and then I matched up the pictures with the words. Here's a familiar character, and the prompt for this day was bubble.
Speaker 2:You got SpongeBob. I love that. So is the daily challenges. Is that something that you use in some type of curriculum? Is it somewhere people can?
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, yes, Anyone can go on the Internet. It's called Doodle Challenge. There's another one called Doodle Wash and I go ahead and print it out, but I look forward every morning to what picture I'm going to do it out. But I look forward every morning to what picture I'm going to do. So today the picture was circus and I did a lion tamer and a lion and a circus tent.
Speaker 1:And when I am creating art it's a meditation. I'm sure my brain waves are very smooth when I'm working on art, but that's because I've learned to silence my inner critic. I do art lessons now with adults and it's so heartbreaking the way they get discouraged right away. I can't do that, I'm no good. But you give a five or six-year-old piece of paper and crayons. They got to tell them they aren't worried about whether it's good or bad, and I would love to see adults embrace that.
Speaker 1:So I am doing a bring the art party to your house right now, where we do a either sunrise or sunset, depending on your mood, and we start out with the ocean and where the ocean will be, and the ocean is about half of the picture where the ocean will be and the ocean is about half of the picture where the ocean will be.
Speaker 1:I want you to put all the things you want washed away by the ocean or buried way underneath the bottom of the ocean, just things you don't need to carry with you anymore. Just put them there and write those words down, words like shame or guilt or embarrassment, mistakes, anything that has that negative feeling. And then you're going to draw the sun about in the middle of the paper. But just half. The sun is just coming up, it's just rising or setting, and coming out from the sun, the rays are the things you love. That's your heart. The sun is your heart. What brings you joy. You write those words and then you paint the picture and you paint over the words in the ocean and then you paint over the happiness. Or you can leave them if you want them to show, and I've done that art lesson with two people very successfully.
Speaker 2:I love that. I think that's such a beautiful way to bring out and bury or wash away the things that you don't want, right? Yes?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and what's so interesting about doing this lesson I've done it with two adults is you don't want overthinking, you want their first impulse. What do you want to bury in the ocean? And people will come up with things right away. But after about a minute then they're kind of searching and it's no longer. I think it loses validity, but it's so interesting. I always start with the ocean and then, when we get to the sun, the things that make you happy. People can usually come up with things right away, what they love usually come up with things right away, what they love, what brings them joy, and that's the balance. I want to point out that you know you always do have something to be thankful for and something to feel joyful about.
Speaker 2:Yeah that's beautiful. Okay, so let's move on to a little bit about legacy and your business here. Okay, how are you hoping to grow your author journey? I know you've got more books, but are you doing more speaking? Are you visiting more schools? What does that look like for you?
Speaker 1:Well, I do speaking engagements through Gig Salad and I have a regular speaking engagement in Hagerstown with the Ark and I look forward to that. Each month I'm increasing my portfolio for the storytelling I can do Greek mythology now I love doing the story of Pandora and talking about hope and just sharing my light and love with the world.
Speaker 2:Tell me a little bit about the books that are coming up as well.
Speaker 1:Okay, I've got. I started a book about my grandmother. I knew my grandmother for most of my life. She passed away when she was 95, so she did live a long life. She came from Ireland, she was born in Ireland, and so when I had an opportunity to go to Ireland, of course I wanted to see where she had lived, and I knew she lived near Dublin. Of course I wanted to see where she had lived and I knew she lived near Dublin.
Speaker 1:When I was in Dublin I wanted to find out if I could get genealogical records, and it was such a blessing that day they said oh, usually the genealogist is completely booked up, but she has an opening right now if you'd like to talk to her. And she spoke to me for about an hour and she could pinpoint where my grandmother had been born, where she lived. She reminded me something my grandmother only told me one time that her brother had passed away when he was 11. And it was just phenomenal.
Speaker 1:So I started writing a book about my grandmother's mother and father because the genealogist pointed out to me that my grandmother's parents didn't get married till October and my grandmother was born in December of that year. So I thought what is it like to be pregnant and not be married and wonder if you will have a partner to raise this child. So I included that in my book and I'm about halfway through it, and then my book about running a race in every state I have great stories about. I wanted to do the Key West half marathon in Florida that particular day. The weather was rough, but I finished the half marathon. I had good good time, but I was so disoriented I walked an extra three miles to get back to my car from the end of the race.
Speaker 1:However, that's the best way to avoid being sore so it all works out same thing when I ran a race in Las Vegas, flew back, could not remember where the car was parked, walked around the airport parking lot for about an hour, but that's what keeps you from getting sore.
Speaker 2:That's right, also that lactic acid.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly.
Speaker 2:If children could remember only one thing after reading your book, what do you hope it is?
Speaker 1:Why is for you Be proud of what you think and do?
Speaker 1:beautiful and, before we wrap things up, I would love to know about this contest that you won oh yes tell me about that okay, ariel ford is an author, she's written several books and she wanted to promote her book, the Love Thief.
Speaker 1:And she said if you will buy my book, I will enter you in a contest to win a trip to India. And I love entering contests and I love reading. And I received an email from Ariel Ford that said Diane, you're a winner, call me right away. And I called the number and I spoke to Ariel Ford for about an hour and I knew we were kindred spirits when she told me when she was a child growing up in Florida, she believed that if she stood long enough in the canned food aisle of Winn-Dixie, the spaceship that had brought her to Earth would come back and pick her up. I get it. You know I haven't had that experience, but that feeling of maybe I don't belong here, I didn't come from here, it resonated with me so strongly. So in the press release it says congratulations to Diane Wright from Winchester Virginia, an author, teacher and creator of the charming children's book Avoid Angry Alligators.
Speaker 2:How was that trip?
Speaker 1:Oh, I won't go till February 22nd. Where are you going? And history mystical experiences a personal meeting with Sadhavji, one of India's most revered spiritual leaders, a front row seat at the magical Ardi ceremony on the banks of the Ganges. Time to reflect, shop, laugh and maybe fall in love again with life, yourself or even someone new.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's, so special.
Speaker 1:Oh, love is wonderful. And you use the word love quite freely, which is wonderful. Yeah, it puts positive vibes out.
Speaker 2:You are a very positive person. I can feel it right. When you came up those steps before you came in, you just had that glowing.
Speaker 1:I wake up in the morning and I think I have the best life.
Speaker 2:You have to right Because you have to believe.
Speaker 1:What choice do you have? Why not? How does it work for you if you wake up and think, oh, another day.
Speaker 2:Exactly, that's my thoughts, exactly, but you can't force that on anybody. I don't think so. Exactly, that's my thoughts, exactly, but you can't force that on anybody. I don't think so. I think it's hard to take somebody who doesn't naturally feel that like it's a process and it probably started since childhood.
Speaker 1:Oh, I agree, it's a journey, it's not a destination. Yes, and I've tried with my monthly pictures to get two friends involved. I said, hey, here's the list for September Do a picture every day. I just checked with one of my clients, one of my students. She hasn't done any of them. And here we are, september 3rd and yeah, I just have so much fun with it and I enjoyed so much. I want to share that with others. But if they aren't willing to make that commitment of doing one picture every day, they won't see the benefit.
Speaker 2:What is that? You can lead a horse to water.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, but you can salt his oats. That's what I'm trying to do with the picture prompts. And actually on the Friday the 5th, my two clients and I are getting together to share our five pictures from September. My two clients and I are getting together to share our five pictures from September. So if they haven't done any, that's on them. I can't hold that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can hold the space for them, but you can't force them to do it.
Speaker 1:Yes, thank you. I just am giving the invitation.
Speaker 2:What did you call it? Salting, the Salting their oats, salting their oats.
Speaker 1:Make them thirsty to go to water, that's right. Make them thirsty to go to water, that's right.
Speaker 2:Is there anything else you would like to share before we wrap this up?
Speaker 1:No, it's just been a pleasure being here, and thank you for making it so friendly and easy.
Speaker 2:Of course, thank you for sharing all of your positive energy with us and the audience.
Speaker 1:Yes, you're welcome.