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Thanks to Margaret for hosting Poetry Friday today! (My poem's at the end of this post.) .
Our topic is What are We Reading? I love this topic...I've learned so much about my blogmates, our readers and books.
Carmela, JoAnn, Jill, Laura and Esther have each checked in about the books they've checked out this summer.
My turn!
Here's what I've read recently: ~ THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green on my Kindle (loved it) ~ WE ARE CALLED TO RISE by Laura McBride ~ adult book (wonderfully written...but why are adult books so sad?) ~ TEA WITH GRANDPA written and illustrated by Barney Saltzberg ~ (SPOILER ALERT: I've bought copies to give to grandparents who Skype their grandkids)
What I'm currently reading: ~ DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth on my Kindle (not crazy about the writing so far).
But I am CRAZY CAKES for audiobooks. I live in Southern California, so maybe that explains it. Or maybe I should say I live in my car in Southern California. :-)
So here is my list of 3 WONDERFUL audiobooks in the order I read them. And yes, you can say "read them" if you listened to them. Because I said so.
Lincoln Hoppe is an AMAZING voice actor. I think I want to marry him.
Hang in there with this audiobook. At first it felt soooo slow...I wasn't sure I was going to keep listening. But, boy, am I glad I did. I mean, wow.
From the Random House website: "Reminiscent of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the intensity and purity of its voice, this extraordinary audiobook is a love story, a legal drama, and a celebration of the music each of us hears inside."
From Wikipedia: "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, published by Clarion Books, is a 2004 historical fiction book by Gary D. Schmidt. The book received the Newbery Honor in 2005 and was selected as a Michael L. Printz Honor that same year. The book was based on a real event. In 1912, the government of Maine put the residents of Malaga Island in a mental hospital and razed their homes."
“Schmidt’s writing is infused with feeling and rich in imagery. With fully developed, memorable characters. . . This novel will leave a powerful impression on readers.” ~ School Library Journal, Starred
Here's what the National Book Award website says: “In this stunning novel, Schmidt expertly weaves multiple themes of loss and recovery in a story teeming with distinctive, unusual characters and invaluable lessons about love, creativity, and survival.”
His main character, Doug Swieteck, first appeared in Schmidt’s Newbery Honor book, THE WEDNESDAY WARS.
Listen to an 8 minute NPR on-air interview of Schmidt about OKAY FOR NOW here.
There. Those are my Fab 3.
What I look forward to listening to next:
~ THE WEDNESDAY WARS by Gary D. Schmidt, read by Joel Johnstone. I think I may have this read years ago; I can't wait to listen to it. (I'm inspired by Esther and am reading a string of books by the same author...something I almost never do. Gary D. Schmidt is a brilliant and deeply affecting writer.)
LISTENING IN THE BACKSEAT by April Halprin Wayland Are we twisting, risking all, listening to what the writer wires us, what the teller sells us? Twisting, uncertain, wheeling...to the final curtain?
Did you know that many folks read books aloud for your listening pleasure on YouTube? Go to YouTube and search for a book title. For example, click here for a sampling of folks reading THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.
And...if you know any flat-out beginning picture book writers in the Los Angeles area, my six-week class, Writing Picture Books for Children in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program starts August 6th. (The student who benefits most from this class has never heard of SCBWI.)
poem and drawing (c)2014 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
posted by April Halprin Wayland...who's amazed that you've read all the way to here. Thank you.
0 Comments on 3 FAB AudioBooks & a poem for Poetry Friday! as of 8/1/2014 6:52:00 AM
Part memoir, part meditation on the creative process, part advice on craft, Dani Shapiro’s words enabled, empowered and equipped me to return to my writing and keep on keepin’ on. In sharing those words weekly with my summer Newberry Library Writing Workshop students, I watched them do the same.
I knew instantly from her confession early on in STILL WRITING that I wanted and needed to read Dani Shapiro’s body of work, both fiction and nonfiction.
“My words are my pickax, and with them I chip away at the rough surface of whatever it is I still need to know.”
I began with SLOW MOTION: A MEMOIR OF A LIFE RESCUED BY TRAGEDY, Dani Shapiro’s honest, heartfelt telling of her true story, “a life turned around – not by miracles or happy endings, but by unexpected personal catastrophe.”
Next I read DEVOTION: A MEMOIR, the story of her ongoing three-tiered inner journey to discover what makes a life meaningful.
The novel FAMILY HISTORY followed.Living up to its flap copy, it was indeed a “stunning and brutally honest novel about one family’s harrowing recovery from devastation.”Rachel Jensen’s story of the family crisis brought about by her adolescent daughter’s pain grabbed me from the get-go and wouldn’t let go.
I can say the same about BLACK & WHITE’s Clara Brodeur and her story which explores the stuff and limits of the mother-daughter relationship.
All of the books mentioned, whether memoir or fiction, totally absorbed me. I adore reading stories about families, about creative souls, about the human condition.I worried.I cared. Each book spoke to me - the mother, grandmother and former wife, the daughter and sister, the human being, but also, the writer and teacher.Each book was literally un-put-downable.Dani Shapiro writes elegantly, truthfully, her camera lens focused on only what’s important to the characters and their internal and external actions.Her superb craft in seamlessly weaving important back story details into the forward-moving story is to be envied, as well as studied.
And study it I did, because that’s how I learned my craft long ago, when I knew zippo about how to write for children: I read the bodies of work of Charlotte Zolotow and James Marshall and MarjorieWeinman Sharmat, when I longed to write picture books, of Betsy Byars and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Lois Lowry, when I longed to write a novel.I read them first as a reader, second as a writer.And I spent time learning their writer’s stories too.
I now subscribe to Dani Shapiro’s blog- which is how I first discovered STILL WRITING, thanks to Carmela’s Facebook sharing of Bruce Black’s April 18 sharing of the blog post “On the Long Haul” on his blog Wordswimmer.
Fortunately, the summer’s not over and neither is my reading. Dani Shapiro’s novels PICTURING THE WRECK, FUGITIVE BLUE and PLAYING WITH FIRE are currently on hold for me at my local Chicago Public Library branch.
I clipped these words by Barbara Kingsolver from my Sunday Chicago Tribune.
“I learned to write by reading the kind of books I wished I’d written.” How true, how true.
Happy (Summer) Reading - and - Writing!
Esther Hershenhorn
P.S.
If you’re in the Los Angeles area and want to write picture books, check out my fellow TeachingAuthor April Halprin Wayland’s upcoming class – Writing Picture Books for Children. It's Wednesday nights from August 6 through September 10.
0 Comments on The AUTHOR I'm Still Reading… as of 7/28/2014 11:06:00 AM
Hello Readers, I hope you're all enjoying summer (well, at least those of you in the Northern Hemisphere!). These are definitely not "lazy, hazy days" for me. I spent much of our blogging break working on lesson plans for upcoming classes, including a children's writing camp that begins today. (If you'd like to see my summer class offerings, check out my website.) Today I'm kicking off a series of posts in which we TeachingAuthorstalk about a book we recently read or are currently reading. Thanks to the lovely Linda Baie over at TeacherDance, I know about a meme in the blogging community called "It's Monday, What Are You Reading?" hosted at Teach Mentor Texts. I'm happy to have a blog post that qualifies for the roundup!
The book I'd like to discuss is John Green's The Fault in Our Stars(Dutton). Even though this bestseller has been out since 2012 and has been made into a "major motion picture," I didn't get around to reading it till this month. I might not have read it all if it hadn't been selected as one of our Anderson's Bookshop's Not for Kids Only Book Club titles for August.
I'm happy to say that even though I don't typically read or write contemporary young adult novels, I enjoyed this one. I was especially struck by two things right at the beginning:
A. The Author's Note:
In case you haven't read it (or somehow missed the page) the book includes an unusual Author's Note before Chapter One:
Author’s Note
This is not so much an author’s note as an author’s reminder of what was printed in small type a few pages ago: This book is a work of fiction. I made it up.
Neither novels nor their readers benefit from attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea that made-up stories can matter, which is sort of the foundational assumption of our species.
I appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
This note struck me for two reasons:
It reminded me of a question I'm often asked. Since my novel, Rosa, Sola, is based on events from my own childhood, readers often want to know how much of the novel "really happened." I think many who ask it are disappointed by my answer: None of it "really happened" because my life events happened to me, not to Rosa Bernardi. I don't think I could have written the story if I hadn't been able to separate myself from my character.
Green's note made me think more deeply about the nature of fiction and our purposes in reading/writing it. The note also reminded me of something I read years ago--that fiction is about Universal Truths, or "truth with a capital T." As a writer, I sometimes get so caught up in plot and craft, etc., that I can lose sight of the Truth.
If you'd like to read more about what Green meant by his Author's Note, see this page on his website.
B. That a story about cancer and death can be humorous:
From page one of The Fault in Our Stars, I was intrigued by the narrator's wit and voice. It begins:
Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.
I have to admit--after first reading this sentence I wasn't completely sure Hazel was being sarcastic. After all, this was a book about a girl with cancer. But it soon became apparent that cancer hadn't killed her sense of humor. That surprised me, as did other things about the book. I'm not going to risk spoiling it for those of you who haven't read the novel yet by telling you what those other things were. I'll just say that I enjoyed the book more than I expected. And, reading as a writer, I learned from it.
I wonder how many of you, our readers, have read Green's book. I'd love to know what you thought of it. And if you have any "summer reading" recommendations, do share them with us.
Happy writing (and reading)!
0 Comments on We're Back! And Talking about What We've Been Reading as of 7/14/2014 8:19:00 AM
The above June illustration was created and sent in by Roberta Baird. Roberta is a full time illustrator from Texas. She specializes in whimsical artwork for children’s picture books and related industries. When not illustrating, she paints murals and sets for the theater and writes her own poetry. Her first book I See the Animals Sleeping: a Bedtime Story, was published in June of 2011. You may remember Roberta, she kicked off 2012 on Illustrator Saturday: http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/illustrator-saturday-roberta-baird/
Reading as a Writer Workshop taught by Ann de Forest
by Yvonne Ventresca
Ann de Forest provided a session on “Reading as a Writer” during NJ SCBWI’s June conference. “Books that we read can be our teachers,” Ann explained. Part inspiration and part hands-on workshop, she noted that as writers, we should “read with an eye to craft.” She mentioned that author Laurie Halse Anderson recommends that for (approximately) every ten hours spent writing, five hours should be spent reading, with only an hour on the Internet. To achieve that ratio, writers can cut their time online, and experiment with reading on a schedule.
Ann suggested creating a separate notebook with sections to maximize our learning from reading and she handed out tabs we could label and use in a blank notebook for that purpose. Section one is a Reading Log to track titles and authors of books read. (The Goodreads site can also be used to track goals, books finished, and books to read in the future.) Section two, about one-third of the notebook pages, is for Responses. These reactions can be written while reading or as a book review at the end, summarizing what the book taught you about writing. Section three is for Craft/Technique and is used to analyze how something works. For example, you could examine how an author handles action scenes or dialogue in a story. You can study the entire book, outlining it on a macro level, or can dissect it on the micro level, analyzing certain sentences. Section four is for Quotes. This section is less analytical and more about immersion in the prose through copying it down in the notebook.
During the workshop, we did two exercises. First, we individually copied a passage from a book (either a paragraph we liked or chosen at random), rewriting it by hand. Workshop participants found this interesting because it brought a new element to the act of reading. Some of the phrases seemed almost magical the first time through, but through the act of copying, were boiled down to regular words (nouns, verbs, etc). Next, we broke into small groups and looked for passages that might help with a specific writing challenge, such as how to write effective description. In a brief time, many of the participants were able to find concrete and instructive examples of how to approach the writing element they focused on.
Overall, Ann’s workshop provided useful techniques to improve writing through the act of reading. Even if you didn’t attend her session, you can try these at home. Her ideas elevate the dynamic of reading to a new level for writers.
Thank you Yvonne for taking the time to share Ann’s workshop with us.
Ann de Forest (@Ann_de_Forest) said, on 6/27/2012 9:11:00 AM
Yvonne (and Kathy too!),
This really captures the essence of the workshop. It was so much fun. Truly interactive, with everyone participating and contributing tips and insights.
Thank you so much for spreading the word. All writers begin as readers, and reading continues to sustain, train, and inspire us! Read on…Write on…
All best, Ann
I recently heard an author say that if you don’t have enough time to read then you don’t have enough time to write. More than anything this made me feel better about all the hours I spent with my nose in a book instead of at the computer, hands posed over the keyboard.
Several years ago I had the first draft of my first manuscript and was invited to a reading at a literary agent’s home by a friend. I was a little nervous about going because I wasn’t quite ready to share the manuscript but the reading was amazing. It was a first time novelist and she read and then took questions at the end. Someone asked about the writing process and she confided that just before publication her publisher asked for major rewrites and additions and she was—of course—on a very tight schedule. She said her way of dealing with the pressure was to go to a secluded spot with only her computer and some Shakespeare.
When she felt completely stumped she said she’d read Shakespeare until she fell asleep and then, without fail, when she awoke she was able to continue down a line or begin a new one.
When I first started training as a creative writer I was heavily influenced by the texts I read: Joan Didion and James Frey in particular. My own writing would take on their cadence, the beat of their voice. Because of this I wrote for a long time without being able to read during the creation of text. I wrote my memoir, Lost Edens, without any books at my side. Now, though, I’ve started to embrace what I heard that author say recently: if you don’t have enough time to read then you don’t have enough time to write. I read voraciously in a wide variety of genres. If I’m overly concerned that I might be susceptible to another writer’s rhythm like I was early on, then I read a romance novel or academic articles. The trick is just to read (something, anything!). Understanding the craft of writing and understanding what is possible can only be done if you’re immersed in the outcome.
I read that Stephenie Meyer had a soundtrack of sorts that got her through the creation of the Twilight series. The music helped to inspire her. I think my next book will definitely have not a soundtrack, but a shelf of books that got me through the bumps in the road.
* * *
Jamie Patterson is a 33 year old writer, teacher, runner, and dog owner who spent most of her twenties trying to please everyone she encountered and help everyone she met. She has a Master’s degree in Language and Literature. A former spokesperson for the American Red Cross and the Girl Scouts, Jamie is now a frequent flier based in Minneapolis, and an academic editor with Walden University. Lost Edens is her first book. Visit and Blog with Jamie and and join her fans on Facebook. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 Comments on Friday Speak Out!: Reading to Write, Guest Post by Jamie Patterson, last added: 11/18/2011
I love what you said about reading Shakespeare and then falling asleep. When I need inspiration, I read David Whyte or Mary Oliver poems, and then ... fall asleep. They never fail to inspire something new for me.
Here on the TeachingAuthors blog, we've been discussing the classic children's books we never read till adulthood. The series was inspired, in part, by Esther's interview with Leonard Marcus in honor of the release of The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth last month. When Esther first told me about the new book, I felt a twinge of guilt--I'd never read the original Phantom Tollbooth. So I suggested this topic to motivate me to finally read Norton Juster's masterpiece. If you're wondering what classics and must-reads you may have missed, be sure to check out the links in the Writing Workout below.
I wasn't reading yet in 1961 when The Phantom Tollbooth was first published, but that was no excuse for my not reading this classic. When, as an adult, I became interested in writing for children, I began reading voraciously in the field. Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, which Mary Ann blogged about on Monday, was one of the many children's books I came to as an adult that I fell in love with. (Unlike Mary Ann, I'm somewhat of a Math geek, which made me love L'Engle's book all the more!) Yet, despite a number of fellow children's literature enthusiasts telling me that Tollbooth was one of their all-time favorites, I never made time to read the book, until Esther's interview with Leonard Marcus inspired me to do so a few weeks ago.
I'm happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The wordplay and puns are great fun, but the Math geek in me was especially happy to see the book's celebration of numbers. I was also impressed at how Juster wove important themes about the value of education and action into such an entertaining read. One of my favorite paragraphs (among many) was:
"You must never feel badly about making mistakes," explained Reason quietly, "as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons."
I believe the combination of entertainment and enduring themes contributed to making The Phantom Tollbooth such a classic. I'm grateful to Leonard Marcus for bringing this book back into the spotlight. In case you missed the short video in which Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer, and Leonard Marcus discuss the book's creation, I've embedded it below, or you can watch it at YouTube here.
Are there any classic children's/young adult books you missed reading as a child or teen? If so, please share their titles in the comments below. And if you need suggestions of children's/YA books now considered "must reads," see the Writing Workout below.
Reading, for writers, is like an apprenticeship. You, the writer, study the craft of the great masters, and then you try to mimic the master’s style until you get the hang of it and evolve into your own style. You can also learn what not to do from not-so-masterful writing, but in any case, you are learning about writing every time you read.
Reading, for avid readers such as me, can become an expensive hobby. It can also become a back-breaking hobby, which I learned after moving about 20 boxes of boxes out of a third-floor walk-up apartment into a different third-floor walk-up apartment this winter. That detail is kind of beside the point, except that that incident is what prompted me to finally invest in an e-book reader.
Do you have an e-book reader?
If so, you need to check out this column from eBookNewser that directs you to free e-books across multiple platforms (Kindle, Nook, etc) every day! That’s 365 free e-books per year! Sometimes 366!
The free e-books are either public domain classics like Frankenstein or Pride & Prejudice, books that are available for a limited time from places like Barnes & Noble or Amazon, or they’re books by self-published authors through Smashwords or Lulu. The site includes books from multiple genres so they’re something for everyone in the free e-book archive.
If you are impatient and/or greedy and want more than one free e-book per day, then check out these sites that offer databases full of free e-books:
Amazon also has the top 100 free ebooks. Lots of classics. Sometimes, there have been cookbooks. I've downloaded several and liked what I've read. I'll have to check out some of these other places. Thanks!!
Congratulations to teacher Karen Brooks of East Bridgewater, MA and parent and children's book reviewer/blogger Pat Zietlow Miller of Fitchburg, WI, our TWO TeachingAuthors Book Giveaway Winners of Patricia Reilly Giff’s first two Zigzag Kids series titles – Number One Kid and Big Whopper (Wendy Lamb Books, Random House).
We appreciate the many readers who entered our Book Giveaway, sharing their identities, passions and interests.
And, in keeping with my fellow TeachingAuthors’ sharing of model texts this month, how could I not offer up yet another Patricia Reilly Giff gift, the first page of her Newbery Honor middle grade novel Pictures of Hollis Woods (Wendy Lamb Books, Random House).
Here’s the novel’s front flap copy in case you’re unfamiliar with this beautifully-written story.
“Twelve-year-old Hollis has been in so many foster homes, she can hardly remember them all. Hollis Woods is a mountain of trouble. She even runs away from the Regans, the one family who offers her a home.
When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they'll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won't let anyone separate them. She's escaped the system before; this time, she plans to take Josie with her.
Still, even as she plans her future with Josie, Hollis dreams of the past summer with the Regans, fixing each special moment of her days with them in pictures she’ll never forget.”
I often share t
2 Comments on Our Book Giveaway Winners (plural)! - and - Another Patricia Reilly Giff Gift, last added: 9/3/2010
My favorite book is Charlotte's Web. I loved it as a third grader, and I love it today. I cannot think of another book that makes laugh, cry and think . . . sometimes in one paragraph. Any book that can do all that for me, over a period of . . . well, a lot of years . . . is my definition of a masterpiece. E.B. White's seamless writing is a delight to read . . . and hard to pull apart for examination. One thing that struck me as a child, was his use of lists as description. He does it in several places, particularly in describing the contents of Wilbur's slops. My favorite "list"is this one, after Charlotte's first web message.
The Zukerman's driveway was full of cars and trucks from morning till night--Fords and Chevvies and Buick roadmasters and GMC pickups and Plymouths and Studebakers and Packards and DeSotos with gyromatic transmissions and Oldsmobiles with rocket engines and Jeep station wagons and Pontiacs. ---pg. 83-84.
White could have ended the sentence at the word "night", and still had a perfectly serviceable sentence. But, no, he wanted to show the reader how many different kinds of people, through their various vehicles, came to see the wonder of the web. I am sure E.B. White never gave a thought as to whether he was writing a "timeless" story to be read sixty years later in a world without Studebakers, Packards and DeSotos. Even reading it for the first time in the early 1960's. those cars were as dead as the dodo for me. That small detail never bothered me. What struck me was White specificity in using those brand names. Without knowing what it was called, I was introduced to the concept of specific writing. While revising, I spend hours and hours picking over my word selection. Rather like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates, ("you never know what you'll get") I never know how a specific noun, verb, adjective and occasionally, an adverb is going to feel in a sentence. I insert the word, and read the sentence out loud. Often, a word that sounded just fine in my head, tastes like a lemon cream center when spoken. I hate lemon cream chocolates. Unlike, Forrest, who was perfectly content to let life surprise him, I punch holes in my words, looking for the one with the maple fudge center. I love maple fudge chocolates. The perfect word, that specific detail, will melt slowly and sweetly on my tongue, like my favorite candy. Looking for that one word--the one that can describe that moment, that emotion, that person--is the reason I write so slowly. I can select, "chew" and reject words for hours on end. As Mark Twain said "The difference between the right words and the wrong word, is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." When I have bitten into my nineteenth lemon cream, sometimes I use the listing method, writing down all the possibilities I can think of. Sometimes, I end up using the entire list, as White did. More often, listing frees my mind to produce that one word. For instance, in my picture book, Surprise Soup, I stalled out in the scene in which Kevie actually makes soup. I don't cook. Period. I couldn't list cooking techniques or tools. I could, however, list the sounds of cooking, since that is as close as I get to a kitchen. Listing sounds -- splishety splash, chippety chop, scrubbety scrub-- got me back on track. In writing, finding that maple fudge chocolate is everything.
4 Comments on Writing Is Like a Box of Chocolates, last added: 8/24/2010
MA, Every time I read CHARLOTTE'S WEB, I learn something new about the craft of writing. I guess I'm due to read it again, because when I read the end of your second paragraph: "after Charlotte's first web message," my first thought was, "When did Charlotte use the Internet?" :-)
As I'm revising my latest ms, I've become more aware than ever of how important individual words are in getting the details right. I also make lists of words or descriptions as I revise, it's a great strategy!
I like the list idea. There are several spots in my story where I could incorporate it. But first I'm going to the store because for some reason I'm craving chocolate. There goes my diet. Pam Matar
Josh was about to take a step toward the door when Flamel's iron hand clamped onto his shoulder. "Don't move," he murmured. "Wait. Look. Notice. If you keep those three words in mind, you just might survive the next few days."
Nicholas Flamel's words to 15-year-old Josh stop him from entering what we soon learn is a booby-trapped hallway. In reading these lines, I was struck, in particular, by the three one-word sentences:
Wait. Look. Notice.
So I paused to consider why these sentences caught my attention. Here are a few of the reasons I came up with:
The short sentences have an arresting effect on both Josh (causing him to physically stop) and the reader (causing us to wonder what danger lies ahead).
As dialogue, they fit the personality/speech patterns already established for the character Nicholas Flamel.
They increase tension.
They create a pause in the fast-paced action.
Interestingly, I'm usually annoyed when I read a series of one-word sentences, as in:
Don't. Even. Think. About. It.
I understand the intent, but I still don't like such sentences. This is another reason why I paused after reading the above excerpt from The Alchemyst--I wanted to understand why, in this case, I wasn't bothered by the one-word sentences.
Perhaps the difference between these two sets of sentences is more obvious to you than it was to me at first:
Wait. Look. Notice.
are true sentences, each made up of one-word imperative statements. On the other hand, grammatically speaking,
Don't. Even. Think. About. It.
are not true sentences. (For a basic explanation of why, see this page.)
I think it's interesting that the difference bothered my internal grammarian even though my conscious mind couldn't put my finger on the reason why at first. Have any of you ever had a similar reaction? If so, please post a comment telling us about it.
Flamel's instructions: Wait. Look. Notice. happen to also be great advice for writers. I hope you'll put this advice to practice in the following Writing Workout.
But first, I have another one-word sentence for you: Remember! That is, remember that you have only until 11 pm (CST) this Friday, August 20, to enter our giveaway drawing for Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t), written by Barbara Bottner and illustrated by Michael Emberley. Read April's interview of Barbara for details.
Anyone who knows me - as a Writing Teacher and/or Writing Coach, knows I consider every book published (traditionally or otherwise) a Teacher-in-Waiting. All one has to do is read like a Writer. (Picture my smiling face here.)
I’m proud to say I came to this consideration from personal experience, an experience I shared in the September/October 2008 SCBWI Bulletin article “The Book That Changed Me.”
Really and truly, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat’s and Kay Chorao’s picture book I’m Terrific (Holiday House, 1977) changed my writer’s life.
I discovered I’m Terrific with my almost-three year old son on the New Books shelf during a Moms-and-Tots visit at my Wilmette Public Library. The cover grabbed our attention. The smallish bear was obviously self-contented and we liked the soon-to-be-awarded gold star in the robin’s beak. By story’s end, Jason Bear’s tale had struck a chord in my toddler’s heart. But….the tale and the telling had struck a chord in my heart, too: the first-ever picture book I was writing looked and felt the same.
I spent days reading and re-reading I’m Terrific, only minus the toddler and wearing my Writer’s Cap. Admittedly, I was first looking to learn the how-to of the picture book format. I began by typing out Sharmat’s text as it appeared on the pages, leaving triple-spaces for each successive page turn. I indented where the author indented, placing characters’ words within quotation marks. Dialogue, I sensed, contributed immediacy and energy, and that fine balance between narrative and dialogue moved along the story. I noticed repetition of both phrases and sentence structure. The sentences themselves offered noun-verb clarity, yet my fingers felt the rhythm of Sharmat’s playful words. Jason Bear’s three friends - Raymond Squirrel, Marvin Raccoon and Henrietta Emily Bear, appeared within the building scenes, always in the same order, creating the expectation necessary for young listeners. Jason’s Mama claimed the transitional scenes. Each scene called for a new and different setting. A star-studded Jason spoke the story’s final words. “Thank you,” he said, once his friends dubbed him terrific.
Next, I revisited Kay Chorao’s soft, penciled illustrations. I covered the text and read the story visually, as my toddler son did. The pictures said it all, amplifying characters’ actions, re-actions and emotions.
Finally, I cut apart one of my carbon-ed (!) text copies, paragraph by paragraph, then re-pasted the words to the pages of the blank 32-page book I’d created. I left space for the front matter, then room for the accompanying illustrations.
Just like that, I suddenly got it! A picture book story is told across fourteen double-page spreads, creating, sort of, a play’s three acts! And within each newly-set changing scene, the characters speak their thoughts and feelings as the action worsens! And, Yes: everything comes together at the end, tied up with a bow! There wasn’t one part of Jason’s story hanging out, un-tethered.
The Good News is, I didn’t stop there, with my how-to education of the picture book format. I kept on going, reading my way through all of Sharmat’s work, meeting Lucretia the Unbearable, Dudley Possum and Thornton the Worrier. Each of Sharmat’s books introduced me to a new publisher, perhaps one for my stories – Harper, Dutton, and others now gone or since renamed. Soon I was studying their catalogues, holding and reading each publisher’s offering
5 Comments on Reading like a Writer....., last added: 6/10/2010
Esther, What a coincidence--Stephen Swinburne’s Wiff and Dirty George is on my to-read pile as well. I saw it on display at my library and couldn't resist. And special thanks for sharing Kay Chorao's beautiful autograph to you!
I've loved the Nate the Great books ever since I read them with our kids many years ago, but I never knew Marjorie Weinman Sharmat wrote so many other books! Thanks for letting me know--I'll search for more of them next time I go to the library.
Hi there -- I just discovered your blog and love it. I'm the social media editor for tiger tales -- a publisher of colorful, whimsical, sweet board and picture books. I hope you (all)will check out our facebook page and consider becoming a fan! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Wilton-CT/tiger-tales/183496001305?ajaxpipe=1&__a=4 Happy Reading, Elizabeth Bennett tiger tales
I had no idea John Grisham had written a young reader's book. I love his books, so I will have to add that to my reading list, it should be an interesting read.
Happy Almost-Summer! This week our neighborhood book club started discussing beach reads (would that we were going to the beach). I'm wrapping up my teaching for the semester and thinking I might actually find a few extra reading hours to spare. I can't wait to see the reading recommendations posted by YOU. For more suggestions, check out the new links in our sidebar to the Bank Street book lists.
I freely admit that I am a fickle reader. I read a dozen books simultaneously. Unless I am truly riveted, I may make it to the midway point, the two-thirds point, but it's relatively rare that I reach the end. I was an avid consumer of fiction in elementary school, but somewhere along the way (too many deadly-dull (to me) "classics," too little time, and a very SLOW reading speed), I turned into a picky one. I'm not quite a reluctant reader, but I am a reluctant finisher. Is there a single soul out there with a similar reading style?
My reading-as-a-writer M.O. is haphazard. No highlighter or studying or writing workouts for me. Basically, I need a plot that I love and a style that feels natural -- not pretentious, not too "spare," not to "voicey-voice." If the writer seems to be trying too hard, I will have to try too hard to get through the book. A book with the above criteria is the one that gets me to the end and sticks with me, often forever.
In combing through my books-to-finish piles scattered about the house as well as the home page of my wonderful new Kindle (more on the Kindle in another post), my summer kidlit reading plan consists of the following:
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass Sophie the Awesome by Lara Bergen Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher (I am behind the curve on this one, but wow, what a book!) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (another wow!) It's Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder The Kane Chronicles, Book One by Rick Riordan The Seventh Level, by Jody Feldman The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone (super-wow!)
Then there's the ultimate reader/writer/parent book for me: Book Crush: For Kids and Teens by Nancy Pearl
I also look forward to the treasure trove of easy readers and picture books that my kids will be bringing home all summer long.
For those interested in reading a wonderful novel in poems this summer, enter April's book giveaway here.
Please share your own reading recommendations if are so inclined, and happy summer to all! --Jeanne Marie
8 Comments on Reading, Writing, Rhythm, last added: 6/8/2010
Great list, JM. I've read only two from it--A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT and THE 68 ROOMS.
Mandy said, on 6/8/2010 3:52:00 AM
Yes, there is another single soul out there like you. And I thought I was the only one. I always felt guilty that I could never finish a fiction book. I thought that I wasn't really a reader. My friend Michelle is a speed reader so she has read hundreds upon thousands of books. I need great book rec. so they can hold my interest.
Hi Jeanne Marie (also my sister's name:) I'm with you, I start many many books but if they don't capture me by at least the first third I start another. I always try to give every book at least three chapters, but there are too many books on my list to spend my time trying to fight my way through one that just hasn't captured me. I am currently reading The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas, a very sweet ya. I also plan to re-read The Hunger Games & Catching Fire in anticipation of the final book's release on August 24th. Thanks for your list. I also am late getting on the Thirteen Reasons Why train -- need to hop on this summer I think!
JM, Im so glad someone else is a multitasker reader. At any time I have at least one book in progress in all the bathrooms, plus all other logical places, including the car. (No, I don't read in traffic, but I DO read in places of unavoidable delay..dr, offices, lines for anything, my daughter's four hours a day at the skating rink. I am looking forward to hearing about your book lists, since,,,cringe...I haven't heard of any of them. I love how the variety of our reading lists reflects the diversity of our readers. (My list in my post next week) Nice job, JM, MA
by Jeanne Marie Grunwell FordMy childhood days conjure memories of chocolate ice cream and Cheetos fingerprints smeared across dogeared pages. Books accompanied me to baseball games; they lulled me to sleep (or kept me awake); they helped pass the time on long winter days while I snuggled under a blanket fort or on endless summer days poolside. In short, reading was sheer pleasure. At some time
0 Comments on Reading Like a Ten-Year-Old as of 5/20/2009 4:01:00 AM
Posted by Carmela Martino Most writers I know are avid readers. I have been for as long as I can remember. I read so much as a child that my mother often scolded me, saying things like, "You spend too much time sitting around with your nose in a book. Get up and DO SOMETHING!"But I was doing something. I was learning how to be a writer. Without even realizing it, I was studying how writers use
4 Comments on Children's Book Week--Reading as a Writer, last added: 5/11/2009
We are a not-for-profit educational organization, founded by Mortimer Adler and we have recently made an exciting discovery--three years after writing the wonderfully expanded third edition of How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren made a series of thirteen 14-minute videos on the art of reading. The videos were produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica. For reasons unknown, sometime
Thank you for including this Writing Workout. I had a similar experience last year when I re-read Writing For Story by Jon Franklin. I was in the midst of revising my first picture book. I had read the Franklin book years ago when I was a working daily journalist, but I found his technique difficult to apply to the run-of-the-mill legislative meeting stories I wrote most days. I had decided that
Thanks for your feedback, Sarah. And great point about comparing fiction and nonfiction treatment of the same material by the same author. I had a similar experience reading Tobias Wolff's memoir <I> This Boy's Life</I> and his novel, <I> Old School</I>, which is based on events from his life.
Regarding the Adler/Van Doren book: I should have mentioned in my blog post that I've read only two of the four books listed: <I> How to Read Literature Like a Professor </I>and <I>Reading Like a Writer</I>. The other two are on my to-read list because they look helpful, but I haven't gotten to them yet.
Ann de Forest provided a session on “Reading as a Writer” during NJ SCBWI’s June conference. “Books that we read can be our teachers,” Ann explained. Part inspiration and part hands-on workshop, she noted that as writers, we should “read with an eye to craft.” She mentioned that author Laurie Halse Anderson recommends that for (approximately) every ten hours spent writing, five hours should be spent reading, with only an hour on the Internet. To achieve that ratio, writers can cut their time online, and experiment with reading on a schedule..jpeg?picon=893)
4 Comments on Wait. Look. Notice., last added: 8/20/2010
Yvonne (and Kathy too!),
This really captures the essence of the workshop. It was so much fun. Truly interactive, with everyone participating and contributing tips and insights.
Thank you so much for spreading the word. All writers begin as readers, and reading continues to sustain, train, and inspire us! Read on…Write on…
All best, Ann