The Writer's Connection, SM
a publication of The Virtual Writing Coach SM


"The Creative Process of Writing is a Liberating and Therapeutic Experience"

www.virtualwritingcoach.com

January, 2010

In This Issue:

1. Preview
2. Publisher's Note
3. Stones Into Schools
4. Helpful Hints

1. Preview

The Writer's Connection explores the creative process of writing and the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and actions. We are an interactive community of authors and readers who share ideas to enhance our knowledge, skills, and experiences in writing fiction in any genre, but our emphasis remains mystery and suspense thrillers.

Published monthly, the Newsletter offers writing tips for authors, coaching suggestions, editing, and marketing information.

Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and represent only his ideas on producing your first manuscript, and are provided to the general public. Because we are an interactive community of writers, other viewpoints are welcomed and may be printed in future monthly newsletters with permission from Keith Barton.

2. Publisher's Note

January, 2010

Dear Writer's Connection Subscriber,

This month features Greg Mortenson's second book, Stones Into Schools, which gives continues his work in building schools for young girls in Afghanistan.

3. Stones Into Schools

Those of you who read Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea and my earlier review of that book, will enjoy even more his current sequel, Stones into Schools. This may sound impossible. Sequels typically never measure up to the original, but Mortenson has broken this rule to the max. He begins his story where three cups of tea left off describing how four schools for young Afghan girls has grown to 131 in the remote parts of northeastern Afghanistan - Pakistan - China border in the Himalayan mountains above the Hush valley. He begins his story of the young woman, Nasreen Baig who leaves her Pakistani village of Zuudkhan to travel to the bustling city of Rawalpindi. Nasreen attended the Central Asian Institute’s (CAI) first school in 1994 at the age of five and now at 18 having excelled in school leaves her mother and four siblings to become an OB/GYN nurse. This was unheard of until Mortenson built his first school for young Afghan girls to receive an education in a patriarchal society that still treats women as property and unworthy of an education, much less making a living for themselves.

Unlike his first book of being rescued in the village of Korphe after his failed 1993 alpine attempt at climbing the second highest peak in the Himalayas, K2, Mortenson focuses more on his personal struggle after the overwhelming success of Three Cups of Tea. In order to fundraise to financially support his CAI non - profit organization, he became the chief marketing director by making over 680 personal appearances in more than 270 US cities talking to 6500 people in high school football stadiums and less than 20 in a small town library. The effects of his travel schedule were devastating to his personal health which required two hospitalizations because of physical exhaustion. One must understand that Mortenson is a very self - effacing and selfless individual who hates the public and marketing; he’d rather be with his family in Bozeman, Montana, or the schools in Afghanistan.

This sequel offers much more insight into the post - 911 mentality and the author’s working with our military despite his attempts to never allow US military officials to wear fatigues into the Afghan schools. Notables such as Admiral Mike Mullin, Chairman JCOS, General David Petraeus, and General Stanley McChrystal are just a few of the men who read his first book, Three Cups of Tea, at the urging of their wives, and now the book is required reading at the Army War College and military colleges for young officers and those non - com patriots before their tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Checks began arriving after the success of his first book which remains on the bestseller list (#7) with Stones for Schools #8 and soon to be number one on the non - fiction list.

The author is an introvert and views himself as socially awkward, soft - spoken, ineloquent, and intensely shy. He does not enjoy speaking in public; yet, he realizes he is the engine that runs the CAI train and if more schools are to be built, he must continue to divide his time between writing, public speaking, his family, and the children of the war - torn country of Afghanistan. $20 can educate a first grader for one year, $340 for four years of high school, and $50,000 to build an eight - room schoolhouse and teacher salaries for the first five years. Multiply $50k by 131 and you can see the impact Greg Mortenson has had in this third - world country in the most isolated and harshest climate on earth. He quotes Yale economist Paul T. Schultz that an extra year of secondary school may raise the same girl’s lifetime wages by 25%, and infant mortality rates drop significantly after a single generation.

In the spirit of his upbringing by missionary parents in South Africa, the girl effect of his two books in Afghanistan are reminiscent of an African proverb heard in Tanzania during his childhood: “If you teach a boy, you educate an individual; but if you teach a girl, you educate a community.” Despite his close calls with the Taliban, most of the mullahs dislike the militaristic and gender differences espoused by their misreading of the Koran which preaches peace and community. Before any school is built Mortenson meets over tea (literally) with the village mullahs who have buy in to the school. He receives many more requests than he can handle and judicious choices are made with the help of his trusted advisors in Afghanistan. This book is a must read for anyone who loves education and the apolitical community approach to winning the hearts and souls of an impoverished people who have been held back by China, Russia, and the Taliban.

Greg Mortenson is an idealist who walks the walk with a third - world people who hold to the view that both boys and girls have a right to an education to lead them out of poverty and ignorance which can only lead to extremism and anarchy. The author has come a long way from the four - room schoolhouse he promised his now deceased mentor and friend Haji Ali, “a man who never learned to read and write, and who now lies in his grave under the apricot trees next to the barley fields of Korphe . . . who understood the virtue of small things.” (from the author)

Helpful Hints:

1. Read both of Mortenson’s books. It will change your life. What will you do this next year to make the world a better place?

2. Taking politics aside and your view of our military presence in Afghanistan, Mortenson’s CAI non - profit organization is a testament that humanitarian aid can improve the human condition and understanding between people. What other historical accounts can you think of that have done the same thing?

3. If you feel compelled to look further on what you can do to help the children of Afghanistan, I encourage you to visit Mortenson’s websites for the Central Asian Institute.


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Keith Barton, Ph.D.
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(c) Copyright 2003 A. Keith Barton, Ph.D.
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The Writer's Connection SM is dedicated to helping first - time authors create their first manuscript for publication and to offer an exchange of ideas and opinions from our readers who might be interested in becoming authors.

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Archives

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About Keith Barton, Ph.D.

Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist for over thirty years. He is currently enrolled in MentorCoach and is accepting new clients. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina, consultant to Fortune 500 companies in executive development, founded and managed Texas Community Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing group home services to persons with mental retardation, and for the past 13 years founded and runs a clinical practice in Northwest Houston. He writes part - time with the goal of completing one novel a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate interest in helping others become attuned to their creative powers of storytelling.

Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family therapy and health psychology. He has published articles, made presentations and conducted workshops about:

Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self - esteem
Communication skills
Marital/relationship enrichment
Wellness issues
The relationship between psychology and spirituality

Copyright by Virtual Writing Coach (SM) and Keith Barton, 2001 - 2008.