Monthly Archives: September 2013

Questions from Westview School

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It is time for another installment of questions from some very inquisitive young authors at Westview Elementary.

1. Are you a good drawer?

I enjoy drawing and painting.  I also really like to create with clay.  Most of the art I create is abstract, which means that it focuses on lines, color, and geometric shapes.  I’m not really great at drawing things the way they look in real life.

2. How many stops did take while you were making your story?

I have worked on my story very inconsistently over three years.  During the first year I got stuck on the first 50 pages.  I kept revising them and didn’t move forward.  I was also doing a lot of research in the beginning so I would write the history part correctly.  Summer months are very hard to write since my children are home and I need to keep them busy.  But over the last year I have made very good progress.  I have finished my story all the way through ( and then celebrated!) Then I revised it to look at the big picture,  Then I rewrote it taking out stuff that didn’t belong and writing parts that needed to be added.  Now I am in the middle of my next revision.  SO . . . I am hoping to not take any more breaks until I’m done, which I hope will be by the end of the year!!!!

3.  Is it fun to write all the time? Do you ever get bored?

abstract art

abstract art

I do enjoy writing most of the time.  I don’t think I get bored because it is a good challenge.  But sometimes I do get frustrated when I can’t get the scene the way I want it or when I know there’s a problem with the story, but I can’t figure out what it is.  I can also feel like there is a lot for me to still research, but when I break up one big job into many little jobs it doesn’t seem too bad.

4.  What’s the best font to use?

There are a few fonts that I like to use personally, but editors and publishers and agents prefer something basic like Times New Roman.

5. Have you ever been on an airplane?

Yes, I have.  I enjoy traveling and seeing new places.  My first time on an airplane wasn’t until I was in college, probably around 19 years old.

Thanks for the questions!

There will be more responses next Friday.

Until then,

Enjoy Playing with Words!

Number the Stars

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Number-the-StarsNumber the Stars by Lois Lowry is my all-time favorite children’s book ever!  It’s a historical fiction novel intended for an audience of 9-12 year old children.  It’s the story of Annemarie Johansen living in Copenhagen, Denmark during the Nazi occupation of World War II.  Her best friend, Ellen Rosen, is Jewish. When the story starts the Nazis stop merely standing ominously on street corners and prepare to relocate the Danish Jews.  The lives of the two girls are about to change drastically.  One will be forced to go into hiding while the other’s courage will be put to the test.

It is the winner of the 1990 Newbery Medal.  Though it rightfully received this award, it’s true accolades come from how it stands up to its toughest critics, children.  I have taught this book with two fourth grade and five fifth grade classes across a variety of ethnic groups and spanning the socio-economic bridge.  I have read this book with reluctant readers and avid readers.  The most challenging part of reading it was being told they weren’t allowed to read ahead!

Why children like it

The pace is quick.  The beginning of the story grabs hold of you and you don’t want to let go until the very last page.   The events of WWII are so unbelievable that the setting is both intriguing and mortifying.  The real stronghold is how relatable the characters are.  Annemarie and Ellen are very much like the children in the classroom, but are called to do extreme things.  And the themes of the story are the themes of most children’s lives: friendships put to the test, needing to be brave when it would be easier to run away, coming of age and learning the truth of the world around them.  I’ve had so many great conversations with my students because of the events in this book!

Through a writer’s eyes

Every time I have read this book I got something new from it.  And I’ve read it a lot!  (I am not one for rereading books, but this is a clear exception! – remember I’m a reformed reluctant reader).  This is a book that should be studied by every aspiring fiction writer.  It’s a study of doing it all right!  Characterization, plot, sub plot, intrigue, plot twists, symbolism, voice, show-don’t-tell.  What makes this an even more impressive feat is that the setting of this story, WWII, is one of the most written about topics.  What’s equally amazing is that it is all done in 132 pages!

Give Ms. Lowry a visit at http://www.loislowry.com and be sure to enjoy this book that I am glad was written!

School Visit: Questions of the Week

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kids with booksThis week I embarked on something that I didn’t think I would do for a while: visiting a school as a writer! And boy, did I learn a lot!  The fifth grade students at Westview School in Champaign were a great and patient audience!  (My timer was accidentally set to vibrate so I never heard the darn thing go off!) Nonetheless, I enjoyed the visit a great deal and hope the students got something from it too.  I was asked to speak on the writing process.  My adventure in writing coupled with my years teaching gave me the confidence to do this.

Just as I do with my kids at dinner or bedtime, I will share my highs and lows.

High: Learning new technology!  Thank you, Donna Moores for introducing me to Prezi!  Love it!!!

Low: The darn timer!!!!!

High: Favorite part of the presentation was when the students helped me create an impromptu story to demonstrate goal-conflict-disaster followed by reaction-dilemma-decision (and of course that decision creates the next goal!)

Low: lack of concrete examples that the students could relate to (next time – get a list of books in advance that the children are familiar with)

High: Take home questions that I will answer ON THIS BLOG!  There were a ton of great questions that I didn’t have a chance to answer (ahem, use an actual kitchen timer next time!), but will answer a few every Friday until they run out.  There are two questions, however, that will not be answered here: What’s the title?  What are the names of my main characters? As I am keeping most information about my actual story fairly private while its still in creation, I would rather not post that here.  But I will tell Mrs. Moores. 🙂

So here are the first five questions (names will not be posted for security purposes).

1.  What inspired you to write a story?

I have been fascinated by the Great Chicago Fire for a long time.  The more I’ve researched, the more compelling it has become.  It’s a story that should be told and there are not many children’s books on this topic.  When I was in high school, an English teacher was very complementary of the things I had written.  That coupled with my own pleasure of reading and writing gave me the courage to go for it.  Thanks Mr. Pusateri!

2.  How hard is the process when you don’t think you have any more ideas?

This is similar to writer’s block.  When you are feeling stuck go back and look at the conflict.  Did you have the steps? Does the main character have a goal? Does conflict get in the way? Does a disaster occur that knocks the main character off track? (Disasters don’t have to be big, just a big deal to the character.)  How does the character react to the disaster?  What emotions come out?  Is there a dilemma?  What choice does the character make?  His decision will lead you to the next goal.  Then you can figure out who or what will get in his way.  (more conflict, more disaster).  So, in short, conflict keeps the story going.  If you are stuck CHECK THE CONFLICT.

3.  Why would you walk away if your still working on it?

While I was busy writing the verbal vomit (rough draft) I would write for forty-five minutes and then do brainless activity (like laundry, dishes, take the dogs for a walk) for fifteen minutes.    I did this to give my brain a chance to rethink what I had written and think about where to go next.  Writing is mentally exhausting and it is good to take breaks.  But if you are on a roll, keep going.  Once I finished my whole rough draft, got all the way to the end of the book, I took a month off of writing.  I read a lot, but I didn’t look at my story at all!  I did this so I would be able to look at it through fresh eyes.  Since you are writing a short story, you won’t need to take so much time off.  A good night’s sleep should be enough to give you a fresh look at it.

4.  How long does it take to write it and publish it?  Also, how much time does it take until the book is in the stores?

Different writers take a different amount of time to finish.  Since this is my first book and I’ve had to do extreme research it is taking me three years of working on it inconsistently.  Some writers do this for a living and are very quick.  I’m hoping to get faster for my next books!  Finding a publisher can be tricky – so I will answer that question in a future post.  But once you find a publisher it takes between one and two YEARS before it’s on the shelves in bookstores.

5.  What is a good beginning sentence?

Authors battle this same question every time they start new! First of all, take the pressure off of yourself.  It’s okay if it’s garbage at first.  Just start with what comes to your mind.  You can always go back and change it once you see how your story is coming to life.  But there are some things to think about.  What kind of story are you writing?  Is it action? Then you may want to get your character moving from the start.  Is it a mystery? You may want to give a hint that all is not right in your main character’s world.  Do you want to shock your audience?  Do you want to ease your audience in by painting the setting?  Remember you are the creator of the world your main character lives in.    So consider the type of story you are writing and how you want your readers to feel from the very first sentence.  That should give you direction.  Then give yourself peace of mind because you can always change it!

Also look at how some of your favorite books were started.    I guarantee those authors questioned their beginning and probably changed it a few times too.

Great questions Westview!  I will answer more next week.

Until then,

Enjoy Playing with Words!

Because of Mr. Terupt

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mr. teruptWriting a book from many perspectives is a challenge I am not sure I will ever be equal to.   How do you move the story forward? It seems like you could get stuck in a scene for a while when you have more than one perspective.  How do you get the reader to care about each character, to IDENTIFY with each one?  If the reader isn’t feeling connected to the characters, they will close the covers or torture themselves to get to the end.

Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea conquered this challenge.  The reader follows several students through the course of the school year and connects with each one.  Many stereotypical classroom personas become characters, and their actions and thoughts ring true.  I was able to relate to each character myself or connect the student to someone I once went to school with or taught.  When one character’s actions result in a grave injury, the reader doesn’t experience just one set of emotions as it effects the entire class.

This story addresses conflicts children deal with on a daily basis, but it also shows how they cope together, or independently, when tragedy strikes.  Every child can relate to this cast of characters and adults will appreciate how genuine the characters are.

I have read other books that have multiple characters.  Most of those books have been a drudgery to get through.  But not this.  This one got it right.  Therefore, Because of Mr. Terupt is a book I am glad was written.  You are good, Mr. Buyea.

Five things children look for in a good book

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boy reading to snakeMy favorite part of the school day was most often literature circle.  There was something very special about talking about a good book!  It connected people to each other, even students who didn’t always see eye-to-eye.  It gave them a chance to vent about their own lives when a character went through something they could relate to.  It was always therapeutic, informative, and bonding!

While children’s interests are as varied as their personalities, there are some elements that are consistently attractive to children.

1. Humor – Children love to laugh and they should! How many times has a child told you a joke that made absolutely no sense, but they burst out laughing anyway?  So make sure you include moments of humor.  Even if you’re writing a serious drama of a dark world, you must include moments of levity.  So what’s funny? That’s up to you.  Keep a little notebook handy and write down the things that amuse you.  What cracks you up?  Books reveal much about the author.  The humor you include must be funny to you in order for it to be funny to others.  Did you ever see a comedian delivering a joke he didn’t think was funny?  It just doesn’t work.

2.  Intrigue – Keep them guessing! Cliffhangers, twists, how will the character ever get out of the mess they got themselves into?  As adults we may think the plot is predictable, but that’s because we have read so much and we are not easily fooled.  And if you can pull off the unexpected and surprise your reader you have them hooked! I bet you will even figure out how to fool the well-read reader because you are that good.

3.  Something to talk about – Let’s face it, kids love to gossip!   The worst thing that can happen, has to happen IN EACH SCENE.  Don’t make anything easy for your MC and kids will be talking about it.

4.  Identification – Your reader needs to relate to the MC on basic struggles, so they care about the big struggles.  Most children have limited experiences to build from, but the core of children is the same.  They want to be loved, accepted, have friends, succeed, not embarrass themselves, privacy, have fun, to be safe, and more! That’s a lot of basic stuff to work with.

BUT, you still have to . . .

5.  Suspend reality – Your MC has to do things a typical child will never have to do.  Who wants to read a book that is as ordinary as life? We read to experience things we never could, to go places that are out of reach (some that don’t exist on this plane or in this time period), to be someone so very different (yet similar).

It’s so easy, isn’t it?

What’s missing from this list?

Next time I’ll compare historical fiction to documentary novel.  Which one are you writing? Are you sure?

Until then,

Enjoy Playing with Words!

Setting Goals

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Summer break is over.  Kids are back in school and a new schedule is created.  Now that my youngest is in preschool three mornings a week, I look forward to have “sacred writing time.” Yes, everything will be trying to bite away those precious minutes, but I must protect that time.  Three mornings is not a significant amount of time, but when compared to no time that I had during summer, I’ll take it.

So now that my schedule is established.  It’s time to set goals!  Over the summer I chiseled away at my first rewrite of my MG (middle grade) novel and put it in the hands of my critique group.  Now what?

  • LOTS OF RESEARCH – though this won’t be the kind that fills the pages,  it will add minor details that will hopefully make the story vivid.
  • HONING MY PROCESS – what to do between the first rewrite and the second.  What the second rewrite will look like.  And beyond.
  • HUNTING FOR AN AGENT! – I actually have my first three chapters sitting with an agent now.  She said she would get back to me in one to three months.  ONE TO THREE MONTHS!  I know that’s pretty standard, but every time I get an an email I’m looking to see if it’s from her!  Oh the torture, followed by the most likely end (REJECTION!).  But here’s hoping!
  • ATTENDING CONFERENCES AND what’s the word . . . oh ya, NETWORKING!
  • GETTING A PLAN FOR MARKETING MY BOOK – yes, I am very hopeful!
  • ALLOWING MYSELF TO STOP WRITING – at least this book.  How will I ever think this story is good enough to stop editing it and start on my next project?

So these are my goals over this next school year.  Consequently, these are likely topics of future posts as well.  I will also continue writing book reviews and sharing some great quotes to think about and inspire from writers who have been there and done that.

Any particular topic you would like to see written about in the coming months?

Next time I will continue where I left off before the craziness of summer consumed me: writing books worthy of today’s youth audience.

Until then,

Enjoy Playing with Words!