Showing posts with label Discussion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discussion. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Important Fiction

Last night, a discussion with a writing partner brought to the surface something my brain has been chewing on for a long time. Writing something important.
I just finished reading Pictures of Hollis Woods, a Newbery Honor Book from 2003, and it felt important from page one. But what makes a book important? Is it simply writing that evokes an emotional response? Or is it a story that creates an accurate picture of some aspect of the human condition? Or is it a work that causes the reader to make a change?
What makes a book important is highly subjective. The same story will touch different readers in different ways. Holes did not feel highly significant to me. An entertaining tale full of poetic justice, yes, but important? Not for me.

Writing a fiction book with a message that matters also seems like a tightrope act. With a well balanced act, the reader would not be able to look away, but would be unaware that they were learning anything. Too heavy on one side and it becomes a lecture that you wish had ended ten minutes ago. Too heavy on the other and it becomes a farce.

Could I write something important? Do I even want to? Hmmmm.

If you could write something important, what would be your message? If that's too personal, tell me about a book you have read that made a difference to you.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Newbery Medal

There are almost 400 books (I think it's something like 381--not that I counted) on the list of medal and honor recipients of the John Newbery Award. The award was initiated in 1922. Some quick calculations tell me that I have only read 54 of them, or a mere smear 14%. Only 22 of those were medal winners. I wonder if it's possible to read them all? And how long would it take?

For our next exercise, pick a Newbery book you haven't read yet and borrow it from the library (or better yet, find one your library doesn't have yet and donate it when you're done), and read it. Pay attention to the first sentence, the first paragraph and the book's special voice. Why do you think it won? What did that book contribute? Holler when you're finished and tell us what you thought.

For discussion, pick a favorite Newbery and share it with us. There is a convenient list on the ALA site, or Here on Wikipedia.
The girls and I all like The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh, particularly the audio version read by John McDonough. It is a delightful story that charmed its way into our family and stayed with us.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Words to Avoid List

One of the pages of my writing notebook is dedicated to words and phrases that I am not-ever-under-any-circumstances-whatsoever allowed to use in my writing. Some of these avoid-at-all-costs items come from manuals and other instructional writing. Others reach out and slap me when I'm reading for fun. So far, the list isn't very long, but it's growing.
  • Got should only be used when you are trying to portray a character's ignorance, and only through dialogue. I've got to stop using it.
  • "The fact that is an especially debilitating expression. It should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs." (Strunk & White, The Elements of Style)
  • It was (fill in the blank with an adjective) than he/she/they had ever seen/imagined-you practically trip over phrases like this in descriptive passages of fiction. "The castle was more beautiful than she could have dreamed." "The mountain was taller than anything he had ever seen." Each time I read them it jolts me out of the story and makes me want to holler at the author for being so lazy.
Do you have any words or phrases that you would edit out of a story if you could?

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Local Color

Our home is in a small farming community. There are a couple dozen houses spread out over miles of country road. One of the main roads is Helmar Road and the church on the corner is Helmar Lutheran Church. So, the residents out here say they live in Helmar, even though our addresses are all Newark. There is even a joke that one of the residents is the Mayor of North Helmar; and when there is standing water in the field in Spring, it is Lake Helmar. Someone even put a boat on it once.

All of the little idiosyncrasies that uniquely identify a place is sometimes called local color. It might be particular shops, restaurants, or natural elements. Other, less tangible things like tastes, smells or sounds might play a part. Think about New Orleans and what makes it special. I've never been there, but I think if I woke up in the French Quarter, I would know where I was instantly.

Portraying local color in writing is not as easy as it might seem. Doing it well requires a light hand and avoidance of cliches. It takes more than just describing a landmark, or throwing in an accent and letting the reader fill in the rest. Speech patterns, phrases, and customs work together with other elements to paint a picture. Do the ladies all wear hats to church on Sunday? Does everyone drop their "R"s? Say things like "Oh, Buckets"? Think nothing of taking their dog into the store with them? Wear Wellies? How can you show that and not just tell us?
Three books pop into mind when I think about local color done well.
  1. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
  2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  3. A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck
Do you have any favorite books that depict the flavor and color of a particular place or region?

Think about where you live. What quirks identify your home town as unique? Are there words in your lexicon that you hear nowhere else?

*I'm going to research the local color in Dayton next week. I hope you enjoy the guest posts that I have lined up.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Spiderwick Chronicles

I was pleasantly surprised when I read the first five books of the Spiderwick Chronicles last week. Stories full of magic and fantastic creatures can easily become too dark to allow my children to read them. However, I have already given the girls leave to read these if they want.

From a teacher/parent viewpoint, The Spiderwick Chronicles represent a very successful approach to the reluctant reader. The first five books are one unified story, but broken down into manageable chunks. Each individual book encapsulates one conflict, which is resolved before the last page turn. However, the larger, unresolved conflict continues to rise from book to book, forcing the reader to continue. A 300 page book might be too intimidating for a struggling or reluctant reader, but these little books can't fail at drawing them in.

From a writing standpoint, one final edit would have cleaned up a couple of pesky bugs I noticed, but other than that, it was great.
For me, a book is really good when I reach the last page and realize that I didn't even notice the writing at all. (Can that be said of Kate DiCamillo's writing? Hmmm.)

Now for the dilemma.
It is always shocking to hear what parents will allow their children to read(or are completely unaware that they are reading). Just because a child is reading on a higher grade level does not mean the content is appropriate for them. But, that is a soapbox for another day. Or not.

My children make me read everything that I write to them. They are my most adoring fans and my severest critics. I tailor my stories accordingly.
That leads to two questions for discussion:
  1. If you have children, what guidelines do you use to determine what your children are allowed to read?
  2. Does an author have responsibilities to protect their young readership? If so, what are they?

*The photo is a trading card created by "Kreepy Kelli", using a hand carved rubber stamp. Isn't it amazing?