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Starting a new novel, I always try to look at the structure of the plot, but this time, I’m especially looking at character issues, since that’s my weakness.

A Story of XXX becomes a Story of ZZZ

It’s always that tricky second act that’s hard. The actions for the beginning and ending are easy, especially for the story I have in mind. But the second act is the place where characters confront each other and lives change. How to plan for that in the plot? How do you keep from having a sagging middle?

Often, there is a midpoint where a story totally shifts in a different direction. For example, in the movie “The Lion King”, there’s a dramatic shift. Act 1 is where the father is killed and Simba is left an orphan and runs away. Act 2/1st half he’s living the good life, “Acuna matata.” Then, his father talks to him from the stars and Simba realizes he must return home and face his evil uncle. A story of carefree living becomes a story of taking up his father’s mantle and leading his pack.

In the movie, “The Professional,” a teen’s family is murdered and a neighbor — who just happens to be a hit man — takes her in and protects her. The midpoint comes when these two unlikely characters realize they care for each other. A story of violence becomes a story of love.

The change isn’t always a 180 degree shift; sometimes, it’s a 90 degree shift. It just means that the character’s goals change somewhat because the character has changed.

Facing the Past

The midpoint often means facing something from your past. A secret is revealed. A character faces some guilt. A truth must be dealt with. It must cost the character something to turn in a different direction.

Sometimes the midpoint change is a switch from emphasis on the physical plot to an emphasis on the emotional plot. The physical plot in my new story is one of endurance. That’s just built into the events. So, I’m asking myself how this can change.

A struggle to endure becomes a struggle to understand.
A struggle to endure becomes a struggle to accept.
A struggle to endure becomes . . .

Not sure yet, where it will go, but thinking this way is helping me find the story I want to tell. It’s already meant changing the parents of my main character in more interesting ways. I’ve found some secrets in the family’s past.

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I’m finally — after two major life events, a grandchild and my daughter’s wedding — ready to start a new novel. I’ve found two mentor texts that I’m hoping will show me something about how to proceed.

Novels to Imitate and Learn From

Educators often use mentor texts when teaching writing to kids. The idea is to choose texts that in some way model the type of writing you want as a result. This means you need a good vision for the end result, or the mentor texts you choose won’t help.

For my new novel, I know that I”ll have quite a few characters and that the POV will probably change often; each section might be quite short; that I might be playing with 3rd person and omniscient POVs. I’ve been looking around and found two that are interesting in this respect.

The first is the 1979 Newbery book, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. It features over a dozen characters; it moves in and out of omniscient and 3rd; it has very short sections. Interestingly, Kathi Appelt’s Newbery Honor book, The Underneath, also features multiple characters and she uses short chapters, changing POV often.

Permission and Hope. From these texts, first, I have permission to break the rule of only one main character, one main POV. That’s important. It can be done and done well. Which also gives me hope!

Direction to Start. I’m looking to these two texts as a direction for my first efforts. That does NOT mean I intend to write with a Raskin/Appelt voice. I expect to produce something quite different. Still, this is a place to start.

Reference and Teaching. I hope to learn how to move from POV to POV and keep the pacing fast, interest high, and reader involvement at the maximum. I think it will be helpful to refer to these mentor texts as I write the first draft; but I think it will be even more helpful as I work on revision later.

So, this week, I’m hoping to make a start, write a couple exploratory pieces, outline, work on character sketches. It’s a start.

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This writing tip comes from my mother. My mother wasn't a writer but she was very wise. My mother said, "If at first you don't succeed try, try again." That is perfect advice for a writer. Your first draft will not be your last. Try, try again. Your first submission should not be your last. Try, try again. You can be certain your first "rejection" will not be your last. Try, try again, and again, and again.

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Rich Prewriting Enhances Novel

I’m currently researching material for my novel.

Setting. I’ve sort of settled on a setting; often for me, the setting comes first. I’m looking at sequences of events, variations on those sequences, variations in how the setting might look at different times, some of the odd-ball jobs in this setting, etc. I’m looking for something that might ground the scene in the particulars of daily life. For example, is there a coffee shop nearby, or maybe a playground. (Or, is it plausible for me to invent one of those.)

Characters. While I’m thinking about setting, I have to ask myself what a native of this setting would be like: cheerful, discouraged, rambunctious, angry, etc. I might go so far as to go and sit near a similar setting and just listen to the conversations.

Plot. I’m wondering what could take place in this setting. In some cases, that means I need to investigate the logistics of something to make sure it can work.

Doing all that research is Prewriting. When I teach writing to kids, I insist on multiple prewriting activities. They sometimes do up to eight quick activities before they write. A rich prewriting environment means stronger first drafts. I’m figuring that if kids need eight prewriting activities, I need to do even more.

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The excitement of the first draft of a brand new manuscript reminds me of the initial stage of a relationship. New story = new boyfriend. Think about it -- the book consumes your every waking moment, all you daydream about is the scene or conversation that happens next, and you neglect basic things like dishes and laundry just to be with your characters for a few more minutes (please don't tell me I'm the only one with heaps o' laundry in my closet). Don't get me wrong -- revisions and edits have their own unique brand of charm -- but it's not the same thing.

So I've been cooling my heels waiting to submit revision number bazillion of my book to my critique group and -- something happened. It was a soft whisper in my ear, beckoning me closer. And guess what? Yeah, I've got a new boyfriend. Technically, an ex-boyfriend since I started this ms before my current book, but this ex really wants me back. He's been very persistent and I'm back in that excited 'first draft' stage. I know I'll settle into the routine of revisions when I finish the draft but for now -- I'm just going to enjoy my new love. What about you guys? Any new boyfriends out there?

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Searching for the Right Ideas

Brainstorming, created by advertising genius Alex Osborn, is meant to be a group activity, a way to encourage everyone to participate. It’s usually set up with rules that encourage ideas, even if they are wild, while discouraging any negative comments which might stem the flow of ideas. What it encourages is the flow of ideas, without concern for quality.

But what if you’re alone, or no one really knows what you’re working on and you want to keep it that way?

I’m still working on brainstorming my ideas for a novel and here are some things I look for:

Prompts. Randomness is good. By adding in random tidbits here and there, you have a better chance of creating something new and fresh. That’s where prompts come in. For example, Natalie Goldberg has many odd (in a good way) prompts in her book about writing memoirs, Old Friend from Far Away. It almost doesn’t matter as long as you try to relate each piece of writing toward the idea you have.

Tools: Beyond brainstorming, there are literally dozens of structured ways to search for new ideas. The idea-generation techniques may be intuitive or structured, systematic or random. I like this book as a reminder of various techniques: Thinkertoys: a handbook of creative-thinking techniques by Michael Michalko. Or for fun, try his ThinkPak card pack.

You know what I like best about this time when I’m starting a new novel? I’m never wrong. Right now, before anything is committed to paper, the new story is all possibilities and that’s so nice. No critiquer can tell me I’ve done something poorly. At least not yet.

Here’s to fresh, exciting, high concept and fun ideas.

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I'm in the middle of a first draft, and it's going well, considering. I have a bare-bones synopsis that's guiding me, so I know pretty much what needs to happen in each next chapter.

But I can only manage about one chapter per week. It's exhausting! It takes me a full day or two to write a 1500-word chapter. Then another day or two for tweaks. Then I need to let it sit for another day or two, so I can come back to it and see if it makes any sense, especially if it flows from the previous chapters, and if it's doing what I need it to do. I CANNOT move forward to the next chapter without doing all this first.

That takes pretty much a week. Then I can take it and read it at crit group, and hope they don't send me back for a complete rewrite.

Next week: repeat with next chapter.

It feels soooooooo slooooooowwwww...but I don't know if I can break myself of this habit, or even if I should. (Can you tell I'm NOT a candidate for NaNoWriMo?)

What's YOUR writing routine?

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NaNoWriMo and the Evolution of a Writer

Guest post by Beth Cato.

Follow her NaNoWriMo progress at her blog, Catch a Star if It Falls.

For years I dreamed of being a published writer, but I didn’t actually write anything. I had plenty of excuses – college, a full-time job, marriage – but I couldn’t stop that yearning to create stories. NaNoWriMo changed everything.

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo is described a a writing contest with no rules, no judges and no awards; winning manuscripts are deleted. The goal is to write 50,000 words during the month of November. Of the 120,000 writers who start, about 18% complete the 50,000 words. There are special NaNoWriMo rules for schools that participate.

NaNoWriMo offered a firm deadline and a supportive community, but most of all, it taught me discipline. If I could write 2,000-words-a-day during a November, I could do it all year long. If I dared to post excerpts of my novels-in-progress, I could work up the nerve to submit my work to agents and editors. But it’s been a gradual process, and it reflects my personal maturity as well as the maturity of my writing.

8 Years of Writing

2002

Too afraid to start a work from scratch, instead I wrote a fictionalized autobiographical piece about a disastrous family trip that took place when I was ten. About a week into the November, I posted on the NaNoWriMo forums and declared myself a failure. I was working ten-hour shifts four nights a week, and I was far too tired to write when I got home. My fellow writers encouraged me to keep going. I did. I forced myself to type 5,000-7,000 words on each of my nights off and I made my goal.

2003

I dove into my first original novel effort about a ghostly unicorn, an abused girl, and selkies. No outline, no real plot. I felt tremendously proud of achieving my 50,000-words, but when I re-read my work a few months later, and I was stunned to find it made little sense and my heroine had zero personality. Ouch.

2004

My husband was on full naval deployment and I was entering my second trimester of pregnancy. Writing was a bit tricky since I felt nauseous if I sat at the computer for more than thirty minutes at a time. I somehow fulfilled my 50,000-word goal for MOUSE, and the novel wasn’t even close to completion.

2005

With my husband gone again, an infant crawling underfoot, and under the burden of constant fatigue, I resolved to finish MOUSE. But when my husband returned home partway through the month, I stopped writing at 38,000 words. I didn’t have the energy to walk to the mailbox, much less type.

2006

I was not going to fail again. I did most of my writing via a laptop while my son watched his two favorite TV shows – Sesame Street and The Price Is Right. The story wasn’t done when we went on a Thanksgiving trip to California, so I brought the laptop along and finished the novel at my parents’ house. I did it. For the first time, I felt I had something that might be publishable.

2007

Queries for MOUSE led to agent rejections, but I wasn’t giving up on the dream. THE LOCKED DOOR followed the cross-dimensional adventures of a disillusioned Navy wife. I finished my 50,000 words on November 19th, and then completed the novel in January. I learned my lesson: now I was going to write and edit all year long, not just in November.

2008

After the concept for NORMAL came to me in a dream, I knew this plot would mean trouble. I began researching in May and read and bookmarked my way through five books on anatomy and emergency medicine. Full chapter outlines and character biographies guided my writing, and my word count exploded. In twenty-four days I churned out 74,000-words on my superhero urban fantasy, NORMAL. I finished writing the novel in January and February, and after receiving critical professional feedback, rewrote the entire thing in autumn 2009.

2009

I intend to start on a sequel to NORMAL. I may be a slow learner, but I’m getting better every year.

Lessons from NanoWriMo

What have I learned from slogging through this masochistic ritual
every year since 2002?

• Don’t give up.
• Write when you can. Think out plots while exercising, showering, changing diapers. Jot down notes.
• Set high word count. For NaNoWriMo, the basic daily word count goal is 1,666. Aim higher. I give myself a minimum of 2,000 words a day. It’s worth it to have a safety buffer in case of busy or sick days.
• No time to be stuck. There isn’t time to suffer from writer’s block. If you’re stuck, skip the scene. You can go back and flesh it out later.
• Quantity. NaNoWriMo is about quantity, not quality. First drafts stink. That’s what editing is for.

The tears, carpal tunnel, and sleep deprivation are worth the effort. Nothing compares to seeing that completed progress bar on the NaNoWriMo site. “I wrote a novel. I did it. I made the time. I’m an author.” Once you experience that high, you’ll understand why suckers like me keep coming back every year.

Related posts:

1. 3 NaNoWriMo Tips to Make Revision Easier
2. Writing AND Revising Your Novel
3. Nail Your Novel

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Review of

Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris

British author and writing teacher Roz Morris has a new book out just in time to help you with that first draft of your new novel. You know, the one you’re going to write in November for National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNoWriMo.

Hiccups in your Confidence and Motivation

Morris writes with great wit and wisdom about the writing process, starting with those awkward moments when you actually admit, “Yes, I’m, uh, writing, well, you know, something a bit longer. Maybe, a, uh, a novel.”

Writing always begins here, by acknowledging the writer as a person with the usual insecurities. Morris address this directly by providing you with some structure. No, structure isn’t for everyone, but for beginners, structure can be a comfort and save them a lot of time. Her process involves a series of tasks, breaking down the process into smaller steps:

• Task 1: Shaping your inspiration
• Task 2: Starting this specific novel
• Task 3: Focused research
• Task 4: A structural survey for you novel
• Task 5: Detailed synopsis
• Task 6: How to free your muse and turn off your inner critic
• Task 7: Before you look at your manuscript again
• Task 8: The beat sheet game
• Task 9: Revising your manuscript
• Task 10: Your submission process

Help for NaNoWriMo writers

Authors embarking on the month-long adventure of writing 50,000 words in November will appreciate the first few tasks. Morris gives you direction on how to thicken the plot, find inspiration, decide what does NOT belong in the book, accept random input, and generally get the overall story thought out.

Research (Task 3) can flesh out details further:

“Research might throw up all sorts of interesting situations. For instance, I was commissioned to write a novel about people selling kidneys in India. Reading about the poverty in the villages inspired the start of the story – a young girl decides to sell her kidney to get her family out of debt. Of course, once she’s in the clutches of the butchers, she changes her mind, poor love. Meanwhile, her family are desperate to get her back.”

Overall, Morris’ experience enhances the book. This is a process she is intimately acquainted with and daily practices. Even if you’re experienced, I recommend the book as a review for concepts you already know. Because I think you’ll also find some unexpected nuggets. And for more nuggets, read Roz Morris’ blog, Dirty White Candy (Yes, a strange name for a blog, you say. Morris explains it on her home page). Example of her posts: How to Make Readers Root for Your Character

NaNoWriMo Special!
For three weeks, until 21 October, you can download the e-book of Nail Your Novel for 99p! That’s a whopping £2 off the usual price of £2.99. So if you’re preparing a book for NaNoWriMo this will help you firm up your plans, fill your plot holes – so you are ready to blast off on 1 November with confidence. Just click on the pic!

Related posts:

1. Writing AND Revising Your Novel

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For the past week or so, you, Our Faithful Followers, have sent us your favorite books on writing for children and young adults. Now it's out turn (the Teaching Authors) to join the conversation with OUR favorite books.

I'm going to cheat an eensy bit here, because my absolute favorite book on writing is not about teaching OR writing for children. It is more of inspirational book, and geared for all writers, not just those of us who write for the 18-and-under crowd. I also have a favorite teaching book, so you are really getting a two-for-one-deal here.

My all-time-favorite-don't-leave-home-without-it book is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Now I realize that Bird is not everyone's cup of tea. Anne Lamott is one highly opinionated writer, and her opinions in this book include hers on American politics, women's reproductive rights and religion, in addition to writing. If you pick past her mini-rants, you will find a lot of common sense on writing. Or, more specifically, in dealing with all the "garbage" your mind generates in the way of negative self-talk as you wrestle with your own prose. (Naturally, Lamott uses a shorter and less polite term for "garbage").

Negative self-talk is one of my big time problems that can stall me on a project for months at a time. "Who do you think you are? Karen Hesse?" (or my idol of the moment) "What makes you think you are a good enough writer to take on this story?" "So what if I've sold a book (or two or four or eight?) I got lucky. I'll never do it again." These are only some of the gems my mental radio station broadcasts to me in an "all-talk, all-negative, all the time" format. Lamott tells you how to pull the plug on this station, and other ways to kill your Inner Negative Writer.

Bird by Bird introduced me to the single most earth-shattering notion of my entire writing life; "permission" to write crummy first drafts. (Again, Lamott uses a far more colorful word than "crummy" to describe a first draft.) Perhaps this is just common sense to most of you, but the news that I did not have to hunt for just the right word or character name, or blitz through a transition scene, already knowing that it wouldn't work....just to get to the END of a first draft..why this was the best news ever! If given "permission," I will meander through a first draft, picking over my word choices like Forrest Gump with a box of chocolates. I will hunt through my "name books" for days, choosing and rejecting character names. All of which are good things to do...but not in a first draft. First drafts are for banging it out, getting it done, reaching the other side of the river. 

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Does Format change a story?

Format. Yes, it makes a difference. How you present information or how you present a story make a difference to the text. For example, I’ve been wanting to write a nonfiction book about a topic and tried writing a proposal for a middle grade book. It didn’t seem right. But then, I decided to try it as a non-fiction ABC book and it has worked well. That format – short snippets of information about 26 subjects – covers the topic very well. Yes, I could include much, much more information; isn’t that always true about a topic you’re passionate about? But this covers the right amount of information for the early elementary years. Just enough, but not overwhelming. The format is right.

Notice that this format change also meant a change in the age of the intended audience.

I’ve taken stories and tried them as a graphic novel, as a middle grade novel and as a YA novel. I’ve taken an early chapter book and divided it into six equal-length chapters, and then divided it again into multiple short, uneven-length chapters (such as Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little). The story doesn’t change, but it feels very different. There are books which I find I can’t read, (Heaven’s Eyes by David Almond) but when I listen to the audio version, I love it. I wonder if stories will feel different when read as an ebook?

Audience and format can change the content, the voice, the tone, or the overall feel of a story. What format do you envision for your story? How does that affect what/how you write?

Related posts:

1. Michelle Nagler, Bloomsbury
2. Manuscript Length

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Happy New Year! As any student will tell you, the new year doesn't begin January 1; it's the first day of school. Today it's heading toward another 95 degree day here in Atlanta, but it's "the new year"; the first day of school.If you've read First Grade Stinks, which is based on my daughter's struggles to adjust to a new teacher, you might guess that "Happy New Year" is not the way we greet the

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Hey, folks, welcome!

Here's the announcement: World rights to Conrad Wesselhoeft's YA debut ADIOS, NIRVANA, about a teenaged poet-musician who survives the first anniversary of his twin brother's death with the help of a dying blind man, the best group of thicks a guy could have, a demanding school principal who wants him to play the "pussiest song in the world" at graduation, and one very special guitar, for publication in fall 2010, to Kate O'Sullivan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's, at auction.

From left to right. Back row: Louise Spiegler, me, Conrad Wesselhoeft. Front row: Susan Greenway, Cathy Benson, Megan Bilder.

(Note: this is not my only wonderful group. I'm blessed beyond measure when it comes to the writing journey.)

Now for all the Smackdown folks. You never finish books. You only abandon them. I always feel like a worn-out, wrung-out dishrag when I'm finished with a revision draft.

As promised, here are some tips to handle flaw types.

Typos- It's a good idea to keep a list of your most likely typos so that you can keep an eye out for them.

Stuff that doesn't make sense: You are working too fast. Slow down and give yourself extra time to think as you move forward.

Deleted stuff: Never really delete anything. I keep an extra file called the dump. Any time I delete, that bit goes into the dump and occasionally I do go dumpster diving.

Stuff I've got to move is orange. I use symbols to make moves, like "o, p. 22" and on page 22 you will find the 'o'. That is the destination.

Stuff that is awkward or needs better wording is yellow. It's called a thesaurus, folks. Use it and often.

Stuff that I need to add to is green. If it is short, I just write the addition on the manuscript. If it is longer, I often keep some lined paper nearby and freehand a needed paragraph and staple it to the page.

I hope one of these tips helps you.

Now for the first drafters, what happens when you are stuck? Yes, sometimes a draft grinds to a halt. This is the most disheartening thing ever. I've found a few things that can help this. You can try rereading the manuscript from the beginning. Print it all out and don't take a pen. Just read. This can jump start you. Another thing to try is to skip ahead. Jump to a section where you are sure what to do and get to writing. Here's another thing to try. Pull out the Hero's Journey checklist and start marking off your story points. Is something missing? The last one is stick the manuscript in a drawer for a month. Let you unconscious mind work the problem out. It will sometimes. Hope this get you out of any miry patches.

This week's playlist hit: Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey singing "When You Believe". I hope it inspires you to keep going forward whatever stage you are at.

No doodles this week, hopefully my computer will come back someday and my tech stuff will be set right.

So here is your quote for the week. Have faith, folks.

Faith is like radar that sees through the fog. Corrie Ten Boom

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Need help on the first draft of your novel? Here are some great resources.

• Planning or Outlining: Many revision techniques found here can also be invention techniques for those first drafts. As I’m working on my first draft of a new novel, I’m finding that many of the same techniques are helpful.

  For example, spreadsheet plotting works equally well as a revision technique or as an outlining technique for the first draft.

• Subplots: I searched through all my how-to-write books for tips on subplots and finally found a whole chapter in Robert Kernen’s book, Building Better Plots. He does a great job of laying out options. I’m choosing to contrast with a slightly comic (I hope!) subplot.
• Characters: While there are many great character books around, I still go back to John Vorhaus’s The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You’re Not. I know it’s about comedy — and it does help you be funny. But I read it mostly because it helps me develop characters better and faster than any other resource. Since I’m hoping my subplot will be a bit of comic relief, I’m using his plotline for that subplot, too.
• Narrative Arc: CD player in my car. One of the best things I’m doing right now is listening to a long series as a Books-on-Tape. Right now, it’s Garth Nix’s Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen trilogy. I read them long ago, but hearing them one right after another brings the overall narrative arc into much better focus. I did this a couple years ago with the Dark is Rising series and it was fascinating, too, to hear them all in relatively a short space of time.
• Emotional Arc: In Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot , Peter Dunne lays out two great charts of how the emotional arc intersects the narrative arc. I have a column in my plotting spreadsheet for the emotions of the scenes, so I can monitor the emotional arc while I’m planning, too.

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Need help on the first draft of your novel? Here are some great resources.

• Planning or Outlining: Many revision techniques found here can also be invention techniques for those first drafts. As I’m working on my first draft of a new novel, I’m finding that many of the same techniques are helpful.

  For example, spreadsheet plotting works equally well as a revision technique or as an outlining technique for the first draft.

• Subplots: I searched through all my how-to-write books for tips on subplots and finally found a whole chapter in Robert Kernen’s book, Building Better Plots. He does a great job of laying out options. I’m choosing to contrast with a slightly comic (I hope!) subplot.
• Characters: While there are many great character books around, I still go back to John Vorhaus’s The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You’re Not. I know it’s about comedy — and it does help you be funny. But I read it mostly because it helps me develop characters better and faster than any other resource. Since I’m hoping my subplot will be a bit of comic relief, I’m using his plotline for that subplot, too.
• Narrative Arc: CD player in my car. One of the best things I’m doing right now is listening to a long series as a Books-on-Tape. Right now, it’s Garth Nix’s Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen trilogy. I read them long ago, but hearing them one right after another brings the overall narrative arc into much better focus. I did this a couple years ago with the Dark is Rising series and it was fascinating, too, to hear them all in relatively a short space of time.
• Emotional Arc: In Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot , Peter Dunne lays out two great charts of how the emotional arc intersects the narrative arc. I have a column in my plotting spreadsheet for the emotions of the scenes, so I can monitor the emotional arc while I’m planning, too.

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So, I was really, really, really looking forward to coming home from class tonight and reading Sons of Empire. But it wasn't waiting for me on my doorstep. Publication is getting pushed back to August. UGH. Don't the good people at Vertigo know that I was counting on that to hold me over until Love Is a Many Trousered Thing comes out in early July? Which was in turn holding me over until THE BIG ONE?

sigh

Well, to commemorate my misery, here's a post of graphic novels and similar...

Jack of Fables Vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape by Bill Willingham

Jack is a new Fables spin-off series. Jack was too big for Fable Town and was living the high life in LA, but now he's been kidnapped and forced into retirement by Mr. Revise-- the head librarian. Mr. Revise doesn't like Fables that are too big for their britches and holds them in his compound until the Mundies forget them, thereby stripping them of their power. This is where Mother Goose now lives. But, we know Jack, and nothing can hold him.

If you like Fables, you'll like Jack. It's along the same lines with the same new spin and smart humor.

I also want to add that I spent the entire book trying to place Sam the maintenance main. It wasn't until the end, when he did his thing with the tigers, that it clicked.

Miki Falls: Spring Mike Crilley

I don't read a lot of manga. It tends to not be my thing, but there was a question about this at work, so I picked it up. Now I can't wait until Miki Falls: Summer

So, it's Miki's first day of her senior year in high school when she meets the new boy in town, Hiro. Hiro pushes everyone away and doesn't want to make friends, or fit in. Miki knows there's something behind his tough exterior and wants in. Slowly, she starts chipping down his walls, only to find a really deep, big secret.

I was kinda blase on this until I found out what the secret was. Which I can't say, because that would totally ruin the book. But it's a really interesting concept that has me enthralled. Definitely on the girly side of things, I'm hooked.

Chicken with Plums Marjane Satrapi

I fell in love with Marjane Satrapi's work this spring. Chicken with Plums is a short book looking at an Iranian musician's final days. After his wife breaks his tar during an arguement, Nasser Ali Khan can not find a new one he likes the sound of. Eventually, being unable to find a new instrument to play, he loses the will to live, and decides to die. In the eight days until his death, Satrapi (his great-niece) chronicles his dreams and hallucinations, illuminating his past and the future of his family.

The same elements that make Satrapi's previous works great are at play here, with the element of mystical realism, and heartbreak. Her art tends to be stark, which adds to the bleakness that Nasser Ali, and the reader, feels as he waits for Death to come to him.

You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When It Monsoons - The World on One Cartoon a Day Mo Willems

Those of us who are hep to kidlit best know Mr. Willems from such fantastic titles as Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, and Leonardo, the Terrible Monster. That last one is one of my favorites for storytime-- especially that temper tantrum bit in the middle. I really get into that one.

Anyway, back in the day, before he started writing hilarious children's books that adults enjoy almost as much as children, but on a whole different level, back when Willems was just a recent college grad not entirely sure what to do with this life... he took a trip around the world. Instead of keeping a traditional travel journal, at the end of each day, Willems drew one cartoon. His cartoons tend not to cover the big tourist things, or the splendor of a country, but rather those little moments that make travel so awesome and perfect. Most cartoons had a caption and Willems has added modern day captions and commentary as well.

Some of my favorites were from December 9th, "While ordering lunch, make a mental note to learn the Thai word for 'chicken'" or July 3, "Old enough to smoke, young enough to play hide and seek."

Dave Barry's introduction is also hilarious and sets the book up perfectly.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl Barry Lyga

Donnie's the geeky scrawny kid who's always getting picked on in dodgeball with the gym teacher never noticing, or caring. His best friend is a super-cool jock, so they can't hang out together at school (even though I got the feeling this is mor Donnie's imagining of an unspoken rule that his friend really didn't care about). His mother is pregnant and won't let anyone come over to the house, and he hates his stepdad. The only real comfort he gets is from reading comic books and drawing his own. Then, one day, the goth girl, Kyra enters his life and everything changes.

Boy meets amazing/weird girl who changes everything has been a trend I've noticed a lot in YA books recently. Maybe this is the boy equivelent of the girl story of girl cruches after hott popular guy and never realizes until the end that her best guy friend is her prince charming after all...

I liked this book. Donnie's voice is sharp and authentic. And Lyga's love of comic books shows through, which is why I'm including it in this post, even though it's not a graphic novel.

Also, I have 17 books checked out from the library and another 6 borrowed from other people. So, the first part of my "read what you own, doofus" challenge is to, well, read those 23 titles. I'm halfway through the biggest, slowest going one, Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France.

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