{"id":576,"date":"2017-07-10T03:07:50","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T03:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/storymamas.com\/wp\/?p=576"},"modified":"2017-08-01T02:41:49","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T02:41:49","slug":"perfection-in-finding-perfect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storymamas.com\/wp\/2017\/07\/10\/perfection-in-finding-perfect\/","title":{"rendered":"Perfection in Finding Perfect"},"content":{"rendered":"

We had the Opportunity to meet with Elly Swartz, creator and author of the book Finding Perfect,<\/i> and the not yet released Smart Cookie<\/i>, coming out January 2018. All three storymamas agree Finding Perfect <\/i>is a book that will stick with us forever. Elly chatted about her book, her journey as an author and what you might expect to find in her refrigerator.<\/p>\n

THE BOOK<\/b><\/p>\n

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Finding Perfect<\/i> is a story about Molly who has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It is a story about her difficult and emotional journey trying to navigate through middle school with this disease no one knows she has, including herself.<\/p>\n

One of the many reasons we fell in love with Finding Perfect<\/i> was because it\u2019s a book filled with \u00a0emotion through Elly\u2019s words and her development of characters. Elly describes her book using three words: heartfelt<\/b>, authentic<\/b> and informative<\/b>. As non-writers we can only imagine how difficult it must be to write a book with such feeling and emotion, but Elly explained that it wasn\u2019t really an easy or hard book to write, just that it was emotional. Many times she would be writing through tears because the emotions her characters were experiencing were her own. While she doesn\u2019t have OCD, she has friends and friend’s children who do have OCD, and she explained in order to create authentic characters it is important to allow the emotions in your own life to guide your writing. While writing this book she would go back to the places in her own life where her heart was hurting. She went to the difficult or dark places in order to create authenticity.<\/p>\n

Elly\u2019s hope after writing this book was for it to become universally relatable, and in our opinion, it completely is. As readers, teachers, and mothers, we were able to connect and feel for Molly throughout the book. This is one of those books that makes you gain a better understanding of not only someone struggling with OCD, but also feel empathy for those struggling with any type of anxiety or stress, which is a part of everyone’s life. Children and adults are constantly looking for how to connect with others and when there is a disconnect it can be very scary. Elly explained that there are moments when we all think, \u2018What\u2019s going on with me? I\u2019m so scared to find out, scared to actually know and scared to tell anyone there is something going on.\u2019 We all have to overcome hard and difficult things that can feel scary and Elly wants to make sure kids know they aren\u2019t alone in that journey. She wants kids to know nobody’s perfect and no one\u2019s life is untainted by difficult moments.<\/p>\n

THE AUTHOR<\/b><\/p>\n

When Elly writes she usually has a morning routine that goes something like this\u2026<\/p>\n

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  1. Walk the dog<\/li>\n
  2. Workout<\/li>\n
  3. Shower<\/li>\n
  4. Get dressed<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cPut her brain on\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    But when she\u2019s really in it, there are times she doesn\u2019t get out of her pajamas, has her coffee, and the next thing she knows she has missed lunch because she\u2019s in the zone.<\/p>\n

    However, just like other writers, Elly can sometimes get stuck. When she does, her trick is to go somewhere she usually doesn\u2019t associate with her writing, like a coffee shop or to head to the doctor’s office an hour early. This way she says no one sees her and no one sees what she\u2019s doing and there is no pressure.<\/p>\n

    After talking with Elly for over an hour we learned she is a very dedicated and persistent person, in all the best ways possible. Fifteen years ago her writing journey began, she had read Mick Harte was Here<\/i> by Barbara Park with her then 4th grade son, and while reading, she felt so many emotions; she was so moved that she decided she wanted to be a storyteller. She started writing, writing, writing. Young writers would be very surprised to know that her journey to getting Finding Perfect<\/i> published was a long and hard one. Finding Perfect<\/i> wasn\u2019t her first book, it was actually the 5th book she wrote and it took 8 years to write. Talk about persistence! Even after getting the book sold she spent four years working with a pediatric specialist to make sure her story was authentic and relatable. She wanted to get it right and it was imperative to do so out of respect for the OCD community.<\/p>\n

    Interestingly though Elly has had many other jobs as well as being a writer. She\u2019s a lawyer and for twenty years she wrote and edited law books with her father-in-law and her husband. Six years ago she started a business to help families navigate the college entrance process. She has a love for helping kids in such a pivotal time in their lives. But she\u2019s been writing all along.<\/p>\n

    ADVICE<\/b><\/p>\n

    One would think with the very long, and what sounds like a difficult, journey to publish her first book, she would give up, but no. Like we said, she\u2019s extremely persistent. She has a very strong support system and that helped when she wasn\u2019t getting published. Even with the rejection she said, \u201cI love writing more than I hate rejection.\u201d She would give herself 48 hours to be mad or sad but every time she\u2019d end up back in her chair writing. Elly compares writing to the switchback trails in hiking saying, \u201cyou see a lot of gems along the way that you wouldn\u2019t have seen if you went straight down\u201d. During the fifteen year journey of writing this book she was fortunate enough to be a part of a writing community where she learned a lot about herself and met some of her closest friends who helped her writing along the way.<\/p>\n

    When we speak to our students during their own writing, some advice Elly gives is to use your senses in your writing because it helps create authenticity. How does something taste, feel, smell, etc. But they don\u2019t have to be huge moments, they can be \u201cthe little slivers in life.\u201d Use what you have; the emotions you\u2019ve experienced to write. Even as simple as the best pizza ever!<\/p>\n

    THE FRIDGE<\/b><\/p>\n

    Inside of Elly\u2019s fridge you can find:<\/p>\n