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The big finale.
Another dramtic start: Arthur has apprently had too much coffee and diet Coke. We still don't know if the missing assignments have been recovered. Perhaps it will all come to an exciting conclusion.
Last night's assignment was to take the same snapshots we used for our first piece of writing, and now use them to create a new piece with a different emotion than was conveyed the first time.
More good, concrete ideas from Arthur as we share our writing:
- It's important to know who the scene is important to;
- Watch for stock phrases like, squeal of delight and an exhausted sigh. What does it really sound like?
- When the words are generic, it can make the reader lose interest. When words are specific, it will make the reader sit up and take notice;
- Make sure the words you choose are the ones your character would use;
- When you get nostalgic you must push back to that time to make the writing stronger;
- The emotion informs how you're telling the story.
It's been a class so good, no one wants to leave.
(As for the exciting conclusion of The Case of the Missing Homework, it was found in the Lost and Found.)
Class began on a dramatic note: The box for completed assignments was somehow emptied out and put to use in the joke contest. (Oh, the cruel irony. The joke box, people! The joke box!) If anyone knows where these assignments went, please hand them to an SCBWI staffer.
We are discussing our written assignments--turning our sensory snapshots into 350-word pieces that convey a particular emotion. Each writer is reading his or her work aloud, and Arthur is identifying the emotion the language and imagery convey.
He's giving us good, concrete advice:
- Give us images that cut past sentiment (fresh, vivid ones);
- Keep the tone consistent;
- Make sure the language you choose supports the emotional target you're aiming for; and
- Observe things precisely to identify exactly the words you want to use.
Oh, and in case you were wondering...having Arthur discuss your writing is as scary and exhilarating as you might imagine. There are many sweaty palms in the room today.
Arthur A. Levine is a Vice President at Scholastic Inc. and the Publisher of Arthur A. Levine Books. He is also an author and has a picture book coming out coming out next spring (MONDAY IS ONE DAY). What's more, you can follow his new blog here.
Oh, Arthur! Is there anything you can't do? (Don't be jealous, friends, but Arthur did sing a little David Cassidy for us. He has perfect pitch and a very nice sort of disco-ish "hallelujah" move, which is why I snagged the classic photo of Arthur with his David Cassidy hairdo. See below.)
Anyhoo.
The class is focusing on how writers can put emotions on the page. Our blog posts and tweets over the next few days will recap class highlights, and will offer up some of the assignments so you can follow along. The David Cassidy soundtrack is recommended, but ultimately optional.
Our first assignment: to think of a place to which we have a strong emotional attachment. It doesn't matter if it's a positive or negative attachment. Now, with this place in mind, write down five snapshots. Images full of sensual detail. Visualize the place. Hear the sounds. Smell the smells.
Got it?
Good. Now we're on Step 2. Each of us reads three favorite snapshots. After this, we write down the three we most remember from the eighty-one read aloud. (What, you think we writers can't do math? Zing!)
For Step 3, we talked a bit about why the memorable ones stuck with us:
- they had emotional associations from childhood;
- they were vivid;
- they carried emotional weight (in one example, parents' faces were described as bearing bad news);
- they were direct;
- they contained memorable words;
- they conveyed emotional complexity; and
- they were sensory images.
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I'd love to be able to find the other Arthur Levine workshop posts, but there's no tag cloud, and when I entered "Arthur A. Levine workshop" in the search box I couldn't read the results (no contrast with the black background. It would be awesome if you could add a "related posts" plug-in...