Close Reading

Recently, I read a book for fun. A very long book. I had a hard time getting into it because nothing happened for the first 15 chapters/144 pages. When something finally did happen, it happened to a secondary POV character, not the protagonist. The protagonist was still just wandering around eating leisurely lunches and being bored.

Side note: Your MC may be bored; your readers should not.

For awhile, all I saw were the mistakes in this book. I thought, “Why didn’t someone take the time to polish this a little, to clean it up enough for it to be a good book?” I was tempted to look down on the author as inexperienced (in spite of the fact that he is published and I am not--have I ever mentioned that I can be prideful? ;-) ).

But then, I began to notice little things that the author did well. And then more things and more. The author crafted a complete world; he moved his characters through developmental phases; he used description that paints vivid pictures. He let the reader glimpse the inner workings of a character through a few short phrases.

Yes, I have been to creative writing school; I have a degree. But as yet, I am unpublished. I need to remind myself that training is not everything. Experience counts. Also, when reading a book, I need to look at the things done well in addition to the things which could have been done better. Both will teach me how to improve my own writing.

Critical Thesis: Hypertext Narrative

I realize it has been far too long since I updated. Toward the end of last semester I began to really struggle with getting everything done. I often thought of updating, but I couldn't if I wanted to get everything else done on time.

I'm now in my third semester of graduate school, which is the critical thesis semester. I'm writing my thesis on hypertext narrative and children's literature. I've spent several hours today at a coffee shop writing the thesis. I think it's going fairly well.

I read a book for my thesis that just screamed hypertext narrative. If you want a taste of what a young adult hypertext narrative might be like, get a copy of Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins. I would suggest reading the book in a random order. Just pick a chapter and start reading. I read the book in order until chapter 16. Then I read randomly, picking chapters here and there, keeping track of which ones I had already read. I loved reading the book this way. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, except for the ending, which I felt was forced. If the book had been written as a hypertext narrative, it wouldn't have needed an ending, so maybe that's why it was forced. Try it and see what you think.

Anne M.

Favorite Books of the Semester

I just sent off my end of semester materials. I’m officially done with my first semester of graduate school. (I’m still waiting for my mentor’s response to my packet, though.)

I’ve already begun reading for next semester. I’ve been reading books by the faculty members to help me get a feel for their writing styles. I also have a huge reading list ready to go.

My classmates and I have been sharing our favorite books from the semester, so I thought I would post mine here:

Picture Books:

• A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry
• Flotsam by David Wiesner (wordless PB)
• Cook-A-Doodle-Doo by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel
• Nothing by John Agee

Chapter books:

• Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
• Saying Good-Bye to Grandma by Jane Resh Thomas (dealing with death)

Middle Grade:

• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit (has a prologue)
• The Boggart by Susan Cooper
• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (frame stories)
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (mystery)

Young Adult:

• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (omni POV)
• Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Non-fiction:

• One-Room School by Raymond Bial

Poetry:

• Call Down the Moon: Poems of Music edited by Myra Cohn Livingston

Craft:

• The Power of Point of View: Making Your Story Come to Life by Alicia Rasley

I hope that you enjoy! Oh, and I try to never spoil the end of a book without clear warnings. :-D Let me know what you thought of Brisingr, Carolyn!

Planning for Next Semester Already?

I’m about halfway through with my last packet, and I have two weeks until I have to stick it in the mail. I’ve read a dozen picture books, two novels, two MG non-fiction books, and some other bits and pieces. I’ve also written about 20 pages of my science fiction novel as well as 20 pages of a new contemporary piece I’m working on (yes, I work in pages rather than word counts). Not too bad.

Aside from school, my writing has been going okay. I’m still having trouble with the POV of my sci-fi novel, but I really like my new contemporary story, Aside from the short story I wrote earlier in the semester, this is my first attempt at a contemporary piece. I submitted it for my workshop piece, so we’ll see how that goes.

I’ve been trying to decide what to work on next semester. I’m thinking of working on my contemporary piece, but I’m not sure what else I’d like to work on, if anything. I’m also debating what craft areas to focus on. I’d tried to work on POV this semester, but I’m still struggling. I started a book list so that I can have something ready for my semester plan. I’m so lost when it comes to famous kid’s books. I always just read what looked fun to me, which means no Charlotte’s Web, no Phantom Tollbooth, no Wind in the Willows, no Where the Wild Things Are, etc.

I also have to start thinking about my critical thesis for the third semester. Hmmm. Not so much fun. I had thought about doing something on hypertext, but I’m not sure if that’s feasible.

I should get back to writing my bibliography for this packet. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!