January 5, 2010

Jenna Moore: Prowess in the Pool and with the Pen

by Jason Bryden, Assistant Sports Information Director

November 14, 2009, was a normal Saturday for most Washington College students as there were no classes on this day. Some students went to the library to work on projects or study for an upcoming exam. Some students used the day off from classes to leave the campus for ventures from shopping to visiting friends and family. Some students used the day to just relax and watch whatever was on television. For Washington College sophomore Jenna Moore, it was a very important day as it was a day where she was going to be able to display her prowess in both swimming and writing. In the early afternoon, Moore helped the Shorewomen best St. Mary's (MD) in a non-conference swim meet and then later in the day presented her book “The Creators”, the first book in The Universal Wars series, in the Clifton M. Miller Library as part of the first annual Chestertown Book Festival. On this day, Moore not only exemplified what it is to be a Washington College student-athlete, but to be a student-athlete at Division III.

First on the docket for Moore was the swim meet against St. Mary's at 1:00 p.m. Moore was scheduled to be in three events, the 100-yard freestyle and breastroke events and part of the 200- yard medley relay team. Moore was victorious in the breaststroke and medley relay events, while placing second in the freestyle event. Moore helped Washington College post a 110-95 over its instate rival and extend its non-conference win streak in dual meets to 55. Following the meet, it was time to head across campus to the Sophie Kerr Room in the library where she would be presenting her book from 4:00-5:00 p.m.

“This was the craziest of days,” explains Moore. “I can't thank the people involved enough for making this work. The meet that day was a tough one, it wasn't even an option that I miss a single second of it, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I was fortunate enough that my presentation could be scheduled an hour after the meet was meant to end. My nerves that day were anxious and exciting. I was at the pool stretching, attempting to keep my head clear, but I kept sneaking glances at the clock. I poured out some of that tension into my races, concentrating on one thing at a time. The score was so close. It was important to me that I be there for my team. When the meet was over, and we had won, I had to have been running on pure adrenaline. (Following the meet), I just grabbed my clothes and ran back to my room to get myself together. I was pretty nervous at the reading. There were more people there than I was expecting, and I sold every single one of my books. It was so fulfilling. When the day was over, I was utterly content and utterly exhausted.” Moore added that “I'd do it again in a heartbeat.”

Kim Lessard, the head swim coach at Washington College, echoed the sentiment that this is the type of day that exemplifies the life of a Washington College student-athlete. “(Moore) is a great example of the student-athletes we recruit here at Washington College,” states her coach. “Swimming doesn't have to be their life, they are very well rounded and she is doing a great job of balancing her schedule.”

Lessard said Moore was great about letting her know about the opportunity to present at the Chestertown Book Fair as early as possible. Moore knew her team needed her for the St. Mary's meet and Lessard knew that to present at the book fair was a great opportunity for Moore and they both worked together to make it happen. Lessard said, “I was so relieved it all worked.”

“I don't remember a time when it (writing) wasn't an integral part of my life,” states Jenna. “I wrote my first poem when I was ten and I remember showing it to my mom who read it and promptly put it up on the fridge. I started to write a few short stories sitting in my grandfather's office whenever we went to visit and before long I just knew that this had to be my life. I think the need to pursue writing grew the older I became. I had so many thoughts jumping around in my head, so many ideas, and whenever I wrote they all settled down and just flowed together. Writing just became the driving force for who I am, kind of like breathing.”

Moore's journey as an author began to take flight in seventh grade when she wrote her first real novel. “I was sitting in algebra when the numbers started to blur together and I couldn't really pay attention to what the teacher was saying anymore,” says Moore. “I started writing in the margins of my notes, trying to get the entire story out in a few furious seconds. When I got home that afternoon, I just knew I had to get the story out. It's almost like a compulsion. Once I started, I could not stop. And once I finished one story, the characters still had more to say, so more stories followed.”

For this author, it was just the beginning.

The first book she started in “The Universal Wars” series was not “The Creators,” but rather the second book in the series. Currently, Moore is renaming the title of the book since “as I'm re-writing Book Two, I've decided that I'm not content with the previous name. It is going to be changed, but to what, is yet to be determined. I know that once the story is finished, the answer will come to me. The story and characters will answer for themselves.”

The third book, which was written after Book Two, in the series is titled “The Lost City” and is her personal favorite at this moment. “There are a lot of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, and it proves to really pull the reader in. It's pretty exciting,” says Moore.

So why was Book One, “The Creators,” the third book written in the series? Moore explains why. “Book One was actually the third book I wrote. In the series, I wrote books two and three first and then realized there was some pertinent information missing. So I went and wrote Book One to simply fill in the gaps.”

This was the book that got published for the sophomore. Her parents wanted her to go get the book published, but Jenna was not so sure about that and just laughed about the notion. However, her parents were serious about it and her father began to look at companies online to submit her work. He found the company Dorrance, called her and had her look at the company online on how to submit the manuscript for the story. Moore humbly said about submitting her work, “it took me forever to work up the courage to submit it. I never thought in a million years it would be accepted.”

Dorrance Publishing though liked her work and wanted to go ahead and publish the book and she could not believe it. “I'm pretty sure I went into shock,” says Moore. “And then I think I screamed and ran to show my parents the letter. It was such an incredible feeling. The whole process was surreal. Each step was like a step closer to fulfilling my ultimate dream. When the contract was sent, we actually had to contact the publishing company because I wasn't eighteen yet, so my parents had to sign it for me. The company was completely shocked when they found out how young I was. I was sent an edited manuscript that required my signature. That was pretty awesome. My signature was needed on everything the company put together, the editing, the formatting, and the final copy. I don't think it really hit me that this was happening, that it was real, until the cover for the book was finished.”

The surprises were not done however. “As a surprise, my parents bought this huge poster-sized copy of it. I hadn't seen the finished product yet, and then they presented me with this huge frame. The picture looked amazing, just the way I imagined it to look. And there, right at the bottom in big block letters, was my name. I could have died happy at that moment.”

The process to get the book published was not a quick one from sending the manuscript to getting the book published. She sent the manuscript in toward the end of her junior year of high school. Moore stated that “the entire process started my senior year and took about a year and there were a lot of steps that were taken, a lot of back and forth between the publisher and me.” The book did not really come out in publication until her first year at Washington  College.

For Moore, her family has helped make this all possible. She mentions that “I remember once I lost my notebook and the floppy disk (yes, floppy disk) that had all of my writing. I started crying and could barely breathe. My dad helped me search the entire house until we found it sitting out in the open – where most things you lose wind up being. When I hole myself up in my room sitting for hours just staring at a computer screen and forgetting about meals, my mom knows just how to get me to eat. My brother joked around with me about how I was weird for being able to just sit and write pages upon pages, but then he'd also look at me and say “I could never do that.” My family was always openly supportive. I don't think I would have had the desire to show the world my work without their enthusiasm and belief in me.” Her brother had a part in the first book as he designed the cover for “The Creators.”

Her mother's touch in being able to disengage her from the computer during her work came through in 2006. A piece of mail addressed to Moore arrived in her mailbox stating that there was a competition for a poetry contest called the 2006 International Poetry Society Contest and there was a website where you could enter the contest. “I was sitting in my room writing a little bit when my mom came in and, taking the dangerous route of interrupting me, gave it to me. I didn't want to enter. I enjoyed writing poetry, but I didn't think I had the same kind of talent for it as I did novels. My mom told me to enter, and when I put up a fight, she told me to simply do it. We looked through my collection of poems together and found one we thought would be good. I entered and didn't think any more about it. Then a letter came in the mail. I opened it and just stared for a while then I said, “Mom. I'm a semi-finalist.” She just smiled and said, “I told you.” Never argue with a mom, she's always right. The poem was placed in an anthology, and they sent me a copy. My poem was the first one in the book.”

When asked about her most satisfying moment as an author, Moore had a definitive answer and it was “putting the final punctuation mark at the end of my first novel. I couldn't possibly describe the feeling. It's like a feeling of complete ecstasy, a little relief, and even a little emptiness. But you get to look at what you've just finished and know that it's yours. I imagine the feeling is relative to what parents feels when their child says her first word. What you created is growing, is beautiful, and is just beginning.”

Moore is more than an author; she is also an accomplished swimmer and athlete.

Growing up, she played a variety of sports as a kid. In addition to swimming, which she began at the age of nine in a summer league for fun, she also competed in basketball, soccer and lacrosse. At the age of 12, Moore decided to focus on swimming year round.

“My coach thought I had the potential to be part of the National Team, but not until I made full commitment to the team,” says Moore. A four-year letterwinner in high school, she was a five-time YMCA National Qualifier and a four-time National Catholic Championship and Eastern Swimming Championship qualifier.

For her to flourish as a swimmer and a writer; she needed a college that would allow her to do both and for her Division III was the ticket.

“Division III is awesome in that academics come first, and the activities are flexible enough to support other endeavors,” states Moore. “I was recruited by a couple Division I and Division II schools but the first thing I had to look at was always what the school had to offer in terms of English and writing. Division I and II also put more pressure on sports. If I were to go to one of those schools, swimming would have become my number one priority. When going into college I knew that I did not want swimming to be that top priority. Division III gives me that sense of team, allows me to compete with other talented athletes, but also provides enough allowance to fit into a class schedule I want to take, or to participate in an English Department activity. It gives me the best of both worlds.”

Now that Moore knew that a Division III institution was right for her, what made Washington College the right choice? The entire package, if you ask her.

“How could Washington College not be the right choice? The writing programs are excellent, and the teachers are phenomenal,” says Moore. She added that “there are so many opportunities here that I couldn't find anywhere else. Being a liberal arts college, it has a little bit of everything, which is great when you can be influenced by your surroundings and what is going on every day. The support for the individual is incredible, and I needed a place that was intimate as well as encouraging. The moment I walked through the Lit House, I just knew I had to be here.”

Even though Moore, an English major with a minor in creative writing, has had a book published before her 20th birthday, she knows there is definitely room to grow for her to achieve her dreams. She says that the professors here at Washington will allow her to gain that growth by challenging her, yet supporting her.

“The professors here are absolutely phenomenal,” says Moore. I can't possibly say enough about them. They make you go outside your comfort zone, encourage you to look at your strengths and emulate them, and then to accept that you have weaknesses. I may think I have a great character, and my professor might think the character is a little flat. Then the suggestions for what I could do to improve the character come. That's the best thing. There is always a suggestion, there is always help. Not just creatively, but also in writing a paper. A professor will never simply say that something is weak. Instead, there is discussion about how you can take part of your writing that is really strong and use some of it in the weaker places. The professors challenge you to look outside yourself, to surround yourself with influence, to step outside of your comfort zone. That's the biggest thing. They teach you how to flourish.”

Two of her professors both enjoy having her in class and think highly of her.

“Jenna is bright, energetic and focused,” says Dr. Corey Olsen, an Assistant Professor in the English department. “She has shown great initiative and courage in getting her book published and getting her work out to readers, a step so many young writers don't take. As a reader and admirer of fantasy stories, I think Jenna has real potential as a writer of fantasy, and I look forward to her future efforts.”

Dr. Jehanne Dubrow, an Assistant Professor of English focusing on creative writing says that “Jenna believes in the value of hard work and she has big goals for herself.” Dubrow uses a Robert Browning quote to describe Jenna and her writing career. - “A man's reach should exceed his grasp.” Dubrow states that Moore understands this concept.

Dubrow, an author of three books, says that “as a working writer myself, I can tell you that writers never stop learning, never stop pushing themselves, no matter how many publications they have under their belts.”

Dubrow has seen Moore's work improve since her arrival in Chestertown “as a result of her attention to revision. She recognizes that first drafts are never final drafts.”

When asked about what Moore's best quality is when it comes to writing, Dubrow says, “Jenna's writing is appealing because she is interested in the  beauty of strange things.”

Moore is also one of the top swimmers on the Shorewomen. As a freshman, she became Washington's third-fastest swimmer ever in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, fifth-fastest ever in the 100 freestyle, and sixth-fastest ever in the 200 breaststroke. She is also a member of four school-record relay teams, one of which is a conference record. At the 2009 Centennial Conference Championships, she won gold medals and All-Centennial first team honors in the 200 and 400 medley relay, a silver medal and All-Centennial honorable mention in the 200 freestyle relay, and the bronze medal in the 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay. The 200 medley relay team recorded a time of 1:49.64 which is not only the school record, but the conference record.

What is Moore's top moment in the pool so far during her time at Washington? While there are so many great moments, one stands out for the sophomore. “Probably my favorites are the relays at (the Centennial) Conference Championships last year,” declares Moore. “We rocked. We were all so pumped. We all swam amazing. We weren't supposed to win, let alone set records. And we came from behind, which adds an extra layer of sweetness to the situation. The whole place was erupting. The entire team was up and screaming. It was such a rush.”

Moore has been on the radar of Washington College head swim coach Kim Lessard for a long time. “I had met Jenna through age group swimming and she expressed interest in Washington College,” says Lessard. “She seemed very excited about the writing program (at Washington College) and we were excited about her swimming talent.”

Moore is not just a one-sport athlete, but a two-sport athlete at Washington College as she is a member of the women's crew team. She joined the team following spring break last season. “I've always had a affection for it, and a bunch of my friends here at WAC were on the rowing team,” says Moore. “After swim season ended last year, I was pretty content doing nothing for a few weeks and then cabin fever started to hit. I talked with my friends about the possibility of joining the team the following year, as the crew team was already well into their season and had just returned from their big training trip. Instead, I found myself at practice that very afternoon, and, well, the rest is history.”

Moore competed on a club crew team in her first two years of high school before transferring to another school which did not have crew, so she just dropped the sport. She described her time in high school crew as an exciting time. “We had a lot of fun doing it. We would run down in the Baltimore Inner Harbor, smelling the bread factory early in the morning (the worst kind of torture!) or rowing out to Ft. McHenry and trying to not get run over by water taxis.”

Moore has stated that both her athletic and academic mentors are very understanding of each other.

“The coaches are very supportive,” state Moore. “The coaches read my book, were so proud that I had accomplished it. One of them even came to my reading in November. That kind of support is something you don't find very often. Likewise, my professors are always asking me about how my sports season is going. I can vent to them about some frustrations I may be feeling, and they are always willing to listen. Sometimes, they even come to my meets to watch. It's really neat to see how your mentors are there for you in every way they can be.”

Her crew coach, Dr. Mike Davenport, used a combination of athletics and career goals to get a point across during practice showing support, yet challenging her at the same time.

“I remember one time at crew practice and the team was having a really rough time, mentally, during an erg test,” says Moore “Coach Davenport went down the line, asking us what we wanted to do with our lives. “Jenna,” he said, “what do you want to be?” I told him I wanted to be a writer, and he responds, “What happens when you get rejected? Are you just going to stop writing because someone tells you that you can't?” He applied this sentiment to rowing. Just because we think we can't do something, should we let that stop us?”

When asked about how supportive her teammates have been, Moore has nothing but praise for them.

“My teammates are incredible,” declares Moore. “My November presentation, half the room was filled with my teammates. It made me feel so good that they were there for me. It was really important to me, and they were there. It was in a way relaxing, when they walked through the door. I needed that extra nudge of encouragement from them. They also have the most fabulous way of telling everyone that I've had a book published. I'm pretty shy about promoting myself, or saying to someone that I've just met that I'm published. It feels good to know that they are proud enough of me to brag for me. At some points, it's kind of humorous too. We were playing a game called Banana Grams in the airport. It's basically Scrabble but you're making crosswords with letters you have. I was helping out here and there, and I would usually get the questions “Is this how you spell this word?” or “Is this a word?” My teammates make it easier for me to be able to do both sports and write, and find a wonderful balance between the two.”

How has she juggled all of these commitments? Moore maximizes her time and uses all of her resources to make the most of her time.

“It's hard. There are always going to be sacrifices where you don't want them to be,” says Moore. “I have to look at the day step by step. My commitment to my team is going to take precedent. Sometimes though, when we're warming down in swimming or having a stretch out kind of set, I let my mind wander and start thinking about where I want to take the plot, or how certain characters want to interact. I have my phone on me all the time, so right after practice I'll make a draft text message to remind me of the idea I had or the line of dialogue. I try to write whenever I can, but my normal writing habits don't work well with practice schedules. My favorite time to write is starting at around eight at night, sometimes earlier, and to just keeping going until the steam runs out. I don't notice my fingers hurting or my neck screaming until I stop. But with morning practice, or a meet, it's impossible to write like that. So I have to be content with snatches of time, or hole myself in the room all weekend.”

Lastly, Moore talked about what she hopes is her future in writing.

“Haha. What isn't my ultimate goal? All I really want, all that is really important to me, is for people to enjoy what I write. I'd like for them to enjoy it enough that one day I can be sitting at home writing, and get a call from my agent wondering when the next book will be finished, telling me not to forget the signing I have coming up in the bookstore down the street. I would absolutely love for the cover of my book to have “New York Times Best Selling Author” on it. And maybe, someday, someone would like to throw the option of a major motion picture my way.”