tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77850125108653230962024-03-06T04:15:53.170-05:00Carpe KeyboardThoughts and encouragement for writers.Discussions and lessons from Middle Grade and Young Adult authors.Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-71572132863035888772013-07-28T09:52:00.002-04:002013-07-28T09:52:39.992-04:00Sunday challenge: Better Beginning
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I haven’t dug out any of my writing craft books in months.
But today, I spent the first hour or so of my Sunday morning sitting on the
patio with Sol Stein’s book <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stein on
Writing</b>. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7xZ5V8mVUmwN1SEoN4-tSp-ipJ-gpz696fppxE0HF294sAPu8eAx2xFPva7niaaNB5mIXqrwJrvRho68RTXxih0U8yWT6oWstNeQa8vHiZa-z5JXFM7fX3o46_jOeOUU1kEmhAHeuHY/s1600/stein+on+writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7xZ5V8mVUmwN1SEoN4-tSp-ipJ-gpz696fppxE0HF294sAPu8eAx2xFPva7niaaNB5mIXqrwJrvRho68RTXxih0U8yWT6oWstNeQa8vHiZa-z5JXFM7fX3o46_jOeOUU1kEmhAHeuHY/s1600/stein+on+writing.jpg" /></a></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I dug it out because I’m struggling a bit with the opening
of one of my novel manuscripts. This one is my middle grade fantasy – which was
great fun to write – but has an opening that is a bit of a dud. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve stared at it. I’ve rewritten it. I’ve chopped it out
and hit “delete” more than once. Finally, I gave up on it for a while and
focused on the rest of the story, which was the right move at the time. Now,
however, I have a full manuscript draft – that still doesn’t resonate in the
first page. Problem, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chapter 2 of Stein’s book is called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Come Right In: First Sentences, First Paragraphs</i>. He begins: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Elia Kazan, brilliant director of stage and screen as well
as a late-blooming novelist, told me that audiences give a file seven minutes.
If the viewer is not intrigued by character or incident within that time, the film
and its viewer are at odds. The viewer came for an experience. The film is
disappointing him.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So between my love of film, my own late blooming writing life,
and the general good advice of this opening itself, I think I’d better listen
to Mr. Stein. (I guess I’m hooked by the chapter on how to hook readers. Hmmm.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stein goes on to say the ideal goals of the opening of a
novel are:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To excite the reader’s curiosity, preferably
about a character or a relationship.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To introduce a setting.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To lend resonance to the story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I also have the voice of a
writer-friend whispering in my ear about this same opening. She is the first “test
reader” to give me feedback on the story and her first piece of advice was to
work on the opening. She suggested it needs to start more in the middle of the action,
more “in” the story – which (brilliantly) fits with Stein’s advice.</span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LJWbTIh3-gyTOLHpmmBpUYl2-2kxk34NmtnZvEu9l59Zpc43jM7PuiXZCq8n7C0aY1OgAYRJKjeub_v5NuvXRhiZolpzomg2hNGGiFjCvJSm-7JEU_SvHZc2gHcdeXZH8SWQ09GtcMI/s1600/hook.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8LJWbTIh3-gyTOLHpmmBpUYl2-2kxk34NmtnZvEu9l59Zpc43jM7PuiXZCq8n7C0aY1OgAYRJKjeub_v5NuvXRhiZolpzomg2hNGGiFjCvJSm-7JEU_SvHZc2gHcdeXZH8SWQ09GtcMI/s1600/hook.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not exactly the hook I need, but <br />
you get the idea.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My challenge today: Make my middle
grade novel opening reach for those goals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Who do I want to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">excite the reader</b> to get to know? Stephen,
the prince who prefers poetry to swords? Hector, the tricky cousin who has
designs for the throne? Both of them are in the opening already with at least
an attempt at giving clues to their lop-sided relationship. Who is missing? The
heroine. Perhaps she comes into the story way too late. The question is: How
can I move her into page one?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Setting</b>? Castle. But where does the rest of the STORY take place
really? Outside of the castle. In the forest, in a secluded tower prison. Various
other places within the kingdom. Should I move my opening to one of these other
places in the story? Even if the castle is the seat of the king and therefore
represents the hero and heroine’s ultimate goal? Something to think about…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Finally – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">resonance</b>. The story, ultimately, is about being true to who you
are. Holding fast to your dreams and defending them when necessary. Having the
courage to stand up and speak up – and take action in the face of the unknown.
Is that what needs to resonate? Or is it, perhaps, the problem: Hector plotting
to take over the throne? This might be the hardest of the Stein’s three goals
to accomplish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m off to fill up my coffee mug
and try to wipe the opening “slate” clean. To try again. Wish me luck.</span></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-14566705438734707622013-07-21T19:35:00.001-04:002013-07-21T19:57:25.227-04:00We are warriors<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“Creative work is…a gift to the world and every being in it.
Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.”</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 3.75in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">--- Steven Pressfield, “The War of Art”</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 3.75in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, what’s up with creative people and the battles they fight
against resistance? I, for one, know it is pretty easy to give in and let the resistance take
over. Let procrastination be the winner – allow everything you know you <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">need to do</b> falter, wither and never see
the light of day.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But once you know what you need to do… Once you know <strong>your
soul needs you to create</strong>… that’s when the fight really begins, doesn’t it? Maybe
those of us who are creators and resistance fighters need to take some advice
from Lt. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace of the Battlestar Gallactica – my all-time
favorite fighter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we need to <strong>“…do
the same thing we always do. Fight ‘em til we can’t.”</strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let the fight begin.</span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NEq9EYhxOmaJvRVaBSfNp4GlpkfRWN9VgEV88ywZ0uV58exJWg5H-MlwTbZGNOtmARzJMxzC9I6VdiX9vQZHIeBw5cxOrxuQk3bU6ezzdPsVpnIb-CUPaw67RY9kFy5QwYxG4Mi5Sok/s1600/kara+smoking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NEq9EYhxOmaJvRVaBSfNp4GlpkfRWN9VgEV88ywZ0uV58exJWg5H-MlwTbZGNOtmARzJMxzC9I6VdiX9vQZHIeBw5cxOrxuQk3bU6ezzdPsVpnIb-CUPaw67RY9kFy5QwYxG4Mi5Sok/s1600/kara+smoking.jpg" /></a></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 140%;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001579/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character3"><span style="color: #136cb2; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><em><span style="background-color: white; color: purple;">Adama</span></em></span></span></a><em><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;">: Morning, Starbuck, what do you hear? <o:p></o:p></span></span></em></span></div>
<em><span style="background-color: white; color: purple;">
</span></em><br />
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 140%;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0755267/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character3"><span style="color: #136cb2; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><em><span style="background-color: white; color: purple;">Starbuck</span></em></span></span></a><em><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;">: Nothin' but the rain. <o:p></o:p></span></span></em></span></div>
<em><span style="background-color: white; color: purple;">
</span></em><br />
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 140%;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001579/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character3"><span style="color: #136cb2; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><em><span style="background-color: white; color: purple;">Adama</span></em></span></span></a><em><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;">: Grab your gun and bring in the cat. <o:p></o:p></span></span></em></span></div>
<em><span style="background-color: white; color: purple;">
</span></em><br />
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 140%;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0755267/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character3"><span style="color: #136cb2; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><em><span style="background-color: white; color: purple;">Starbuck</span></em></span></span></a><span style="background-color: white;"><em><span style="color: purple;">: Aye-aye, sir.</span></em> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-76084275310614004332012-10-20T19:08:00.002-04:002012-10-20T19:08:52.992-04:00Coming to the end…and grinding to a halt
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For weeks now, my MG manuscript has been on the verge of
being a finished first draft. Weeks. Seriously.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Instead of finishing it, I’ve cleaned toilets, baked gluten
free experiments, set up an entire year’s worth of horse show events on
Facebook for my daughter’s team, watched all of the new episodes of Castle on
my iPhone, and started a new Twitter account. I’ve consumed a lot of coffee,
helped assemble 725 nametags for TEDx Columbus, made a new friend, and taught
numerous classes for work. Oh… and now I’m writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i> instead of opening my book file. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSsXTCslXk0ieCOV_xx8hIjm8_9Z8SB41JxxHWLcO4Wje6trzMXrvnlIu2nGk023bhTpgERdfFIFpBXpP3oT1MWMB0LvGVH7MvGwt4BNU12eF-_YDdk04hny53G-hIVSl6N0sHGD1XAc/s1600/tunnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSsXTCslXk0ieCOV_xx8hIjm8_9Z8SB41JxxHWLcO4Wje6trzMXrvnlIu2nGk023bhTpgERdfFIFpBXpP3oT1MWMB0LvGVH7MvGwt4BNU12eF-_YDdk04hny53G-hIVSl6N0sHGD1XAc/s1600/tunnel.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes… I’m sitting on the platform at Procrastination Station
ignoring every train that whistles down the tunnel. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My writing partner once heckled me about getting distracted
so easily. We were in her basement trying to plot out our first novel and write
something – anything – that we could call a beginning. I could focus for only
so long, eventually trying to convince her to go see the new Star Trek movie.
She looked at me as if I’d grown an extra ear in the middle of my forehead. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So you see… I know I get distracted. I know I tend to lose
focus at the worst possible moments. But this is getting ridiculous. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m beginning to realize I might just be experiencing not
just writer’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">block</i>, but some sort of
writer’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">paralysis</i>. What will happen
when the plot curve is complete? As I wrap up the climax and falling action,
how will I know if it is, indeed, finished? And then what? In my head, I can
only see a dark tunnel, leading to who knows where – and not a flicker of light
at the end. I write the last few chapters. I go back and fix a plot hole I know
exists earlier in the book. And then… Then I have to do one of two things:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Put the whole thing aside for a few weeks and
ignore it. (I’m pretty good at ignoring it now, for heaven’s sake. So this
shouldn’t be intimidating…but knowing I have to set a date and come back to it for
editing and eventually finding an agent. This is what stops me in my tracks.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Find a reader or two. Readers I trust. Readers
who will give me critique, creative criticism…and who will hopefully find a way
to let me down gently if they see clearly what I cannot – if they know it is
just plain bad. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkhS250osBvaZbI_apAylOOXgzPzemTaNpEggPpm6NtCgA6xI_W8wzCxQQS1JWbXofHlv3UzbQ3UKZkBPATeuZjWiNLm0vTQrOBtJP4X4wwfSOj_F6LdOTN_FaKsSsPFPRwDUB36l6dk/s1600/shoebox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkhS250osBvaZbI_apAylOOXgzPzemTaNpEggPpm6NtCgA6xI_W8wzCxQQS1JWbXofHlv3UzbQ3UKZkBPATeuZjWiNLm0vTQrOBtJP4X4wwfSOj_F6LdOTN_FaKsSsPFPRwDUB36l6dk/s1600/shoebox.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So which one will it be? Virtual shoebox under my bed? Or
courageous leap into handing over my written baby to someone else to examine? </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe if I can make this decision, I can focus again. Write
those last few chapters. Carry my characters home.</span></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-72996702158254146532012-09-02T13:59:00.002-04:002012-09-02T14:00:23.659-04:00Rory's Story Cubes
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was wandering through the toy aisles at Target the other
day, waiting for my son to choose a birthday present for a friend. In the
section with the smaller, travel-sized games and card decks, I did a
double-take. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dnmVpdI8RPzMjJKGuOB4w6tGI11OzhVfvArUtbkbYTgzmRny9KPKigU-czOdxH-6ushe0mfiNqy9jsAivdJC5jg1bskRw-WL6qi1-NlxnuiYiKY_C1WRZSX9FsEMbLAkZMydxkftoL4/s1600/storycubes3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5dnmVpdI8RPzMjJKGuOB4w6tGI11OzhVfvArUtbkbYTgzmRny9KPKigU-czOdxH-6ushe0mfiNqy9jsAivdJC5jg1bskRw-WL6qi1-NlxnuiYiKY_C1WRZSX9FsEMbLAkZMydxkftoL4/s1600/storycubes3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you seen these? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If not – and if you are a writer, you
MUST go find them right now. No matter your age…if you love stories, like
writing, want to entertain your kids or yourself or just like to toss dice…this
game is a winner.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">9 cubes. 54 images. 10 million combinations. Infinite
stories.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Heck yeah!!</em></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Go on. Stop reading this right now. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Set your coffee cup down and shut your laptop. Get your
keys. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You’ll thank me later. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v3Eaq-UqP21IuuYOonBoFY-_vJZj_5umIooXpqSPoiaKHMWDkxDmbLJN3t6SAe_1xBRO-ezkc3ezcpQ5FNLO0J4DjJv9G5u0xaPJEZNxQIFOeKrAhsgR1BYlgSVfw-3FZv1pnSVB-ck/s1600/rolling+eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v3Eaq-UqP21IuuYOonBoFY-_vJZj_5umIooXpqSPoiaKHMWDkxDmbLJN3t6SAe_1xBRO-ezkc3ezcpQ5FNLO0J4DjJv9G5u0xaPJEZNxQIFOeKrAhsgR1BYlgSVfw-3FZv1pnSVB-ck/s1600/rolling+eyes.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Still here? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Seriously. Go… Then come home and play. Post your story in
the comments below. I dare you!</span></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-60919750166268510642012-08-22T20:08:00.000-04:002012-08-22T20:08:58.883-04:00The Cougar in My Head -- (or the Gift of Metaphor)
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I attended a <a href="http://articulationinc.com/workshops/influential-storytelling-1-day/" target="_blank">storytelling workshop</a> today for business
people. Fantastic experience, for a number of reasons, not the least of which
was this discovery: Other people don’t think automatically in metaphor.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">OK… I can hear you thinking, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Whatever</i>. She thinks she’s tough you-know-what, doesn’t she?!
Thinking in metaphors…Bah!” OK -- so maybe I don’t automatically convert events or
people or circumstances into metaphors <em>all day long</em>, but I do find myself
making comparisons often in my writerly brain. It helps me sort out reality, I
think. Handle and parse and prioritize.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I was taken by surprise when, during this class, we were
asked to come up with a metaphor for a particularly sticky work situation. For
me, it was harder to decide on the situation than it was to find the words to
make the comparison come to life. I settled quickly on comparing my difficult
situation to feeling like a sheep climbing a mountain, while cougars leapt out
at me from behind random boulders. Not the most elegant (or eloquent) of
metaphors, but for a 30 second exercise, it worked.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s the thing – others in the class couldn’t do it. Or
they struggled a lot. A LOT. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many couldn’t
wrap their heads around how to describe something by catching the essence and
comparing it to a seemingly unrelated item. Something I guess I’ve taken for
granted in my own “toolbox” in my head.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the class was over, I stood chatting with the speaker,
<a href="http://articulationinc.com/about/ruth-milligan/" target="_blank">Ruth Milligan</a>. (Ruth is the curator for <a href="http://tedxcolumbus.com/" target="_blank">TedX Columbus</a> and my newest storytelling-geeky
BFF!) She had some great insight: People who don’t <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">read</b>, struggle with that metaphor exercise. This makes great sense to me.
It was, as they say, an “a-ha moment.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I read about a novel every week. I write a lot for my day
job and my dream job. Thinking in metaphor is part of my bread and butter. But
like any skill, if you don’t tend it –if you don’t practice creating metaphor
or recognizing good ones – that skill will wither and die on the vine. (See
that? Metaphor right there! I’m too cool….)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6B15luh4fXuT2l02kkr_IYrJjTaUYLH19dNy0JFebzWIRwOGaqbuFyyROVQq_wxQgmt9zHyMLdZevifHbPgDmzA5c_GUlDEo7uiPoOqNl2TBl0DOxZOYCMSADj_r4mbNhrwwC7AwfPI/s1600/magicians-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6B15luh4fXuT2l02kkr_IYrJjTaUYLH19dNy0JFebzWIRwOGaqbuFyyROVQq_wxQgmt9zHyMLdZevifHbPgDmzA5c_GUlDEo7uiPoOqNl2TBl0DOxZOYCMSADj_r4mbNhrwwC7AwfPI/s1600/magicians-cover.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coincidentally, I’ve been reading a lyrical novel called <a href="http://levgrossman.com/" target="_blank">The Magicians by Lev Grossman</a>. Simply lovely language. There is magic, love,
regret, action, spell casting, shape shifting, and sprinkles of Oz, Narnia,
Hogwarts, and almost every other classic fantasy story mixed in. Quite a
brilliant ode to the genre. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are some quotes from Mr. Grossman’s work that I’d
marked in the novel simply because I thought they were beautiful. Some are
metaphor or simile, but some are just lovely use of language. And considering
my self-discovery today about practicing with recognizing and using metaphor,
it seemed like a good thing to share with all of you. Here goes:</span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“Martin stalks away into the dense Darkling Woods, weeping
wimpy English schoolboy tears.” – page 75</em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
<em>
</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“A gang of wild turkeys patrolled the edge of the forest,
upright and alert, looking oddly saurian and menacing, like a lost squadron of
velociraptors.” –page 79</em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
<em>
</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“Are you kidding? That guy was a mystery wrapped in an
enigma and crudely stapled to a ticking fucking time bomb. He was either going
to hit somebody or start a blog.” – page 107 </em></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></em> </div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“Once in a while, an entire sub-sub-category that had long
been thought safely dormant would take wing with an indescribable papery
susurrus.” – page 128</em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
<em>
</em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“It had a clean, industrious air of a room that had just
been vigorously swept with a birch-twig broom.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>-- page 150</em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
<em>
</em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>“His head felt huge and diffuse and empty, like a puff of
cloud hanging above his shoulders. The cloud began to drift away. He wondered
if he was going to pass out.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>--page 285</em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I mean, seriously? Lost squadron of velociraptors? Papery susurrus? Puff of cloud hanging above shoulders? Hit somebody or start a blog? This is great stuff! The kind of writing that makes me smile, dog-ear the page just a tiny bit, then go back a day later to find that magical (forgive the pun) sentence or phrase, just so I can smile about it again. (And I'll give any writer bonus points for <em>susurrus</em>. One of the best words. Ever.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you found any great metaphors lately? Do you think they
are hard to write? Or do you, too, tend to think in them more often than
others? Maybe it’s a writer thing. Maybe we are lucky enough to be wired to think
in metaphor, poetry, and description. If so, it’s a gift I never realized I had…until
today.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-70185706680591826702012-08-12T10:05:00.000-04:002012-08-12T10:09:00.503-04:00Inspiration at a time of need...<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you ever wake up one morning and decide you need a good
dose of inadequacy in your life, have I ever got a tip for you:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTaCzkypBk5cbN4UvCF9QvjmE8RnShnXmWFVOP13Gqs8EMRTNtv-YpD9IfXTDpQW6Ncg0mgkWUcD4mkDp1BBBBwJx3PFeY4pwjch0s7apfpgMwEgE2fxTt9vYJ-rBLoTKo38hJ8Rlv48/s1600/sunnesplendourcov115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPTaCzkypBk5cbN4UvCF9QvjmE8RnShnXmWFVOP13Gqs8EMRTNtv-YpD9IfXTDpQW6Ncg0mgkWUcD4mkDp1BBBBwJx3PFeY4pwjch0s7apfpgMwEgE2fxTt9vYJ-rBLoTKo38hJ8Rlv48/s1600/sunnesplendourcov115.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Try picking up the beautiful book <u>A Sunne in Splendour</u>
by <a href="http://www.sharonkaypenman.com/" target="_blank">Sharon Kay Penman</a> – reading it in big gulps, gasping for breath as you fall
in love (and hate) with Kings and Queens, with courtiers and knights in shining
armor and their stories. Then…only after the last page is read and you’ve
closed the back cover…pick up your current work in progress. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*Sigh*</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nothing like consciously trying to NOT compare yourself to
other writers, right? Oh yes… my middle grade fantasy seems oh so lovely now
that I have King Richard III and his court charging through my head. In Ms. Penman’s
lovely, lyrical voice. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*Sigh* again.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">OK – Seriously. I’m not the first writer to float on this
kind of wave of inadequacy, right? So if you are there with me (or ever have
been there) – here are some words of inspiration from a couple of world-class
storytellers. And here’s the great part – they DON’T WRITE BOOKS! So no
comparing your current work with anything they’ve done, ok? Just not right.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Enjoy – and keep writing!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(Word to the wise -- Mr. Stanton uses some rather adult language...)</span></div>
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<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="270" id="flashObj" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=1640916526001&playerID=1054655355001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABvb_NGE~,DMkZt2E6wO3_sfth6vHgTpNZZSEwcydt&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=1640916526001&playerID=1054655355001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAABvb_NGE~,DMkZt2E6wO3_sfth6vHgTpNZZSEwcydt&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="480" height="270" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-20553102410493911202012-08-06T20:57:00.000-04:002012-08-06T20:57:21.271-04:00The Young Henry Jones Jr. -- A Perfunctory Prologue Lesson<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwRswCYMAdhV2VCJ3e_3YplX-9HFzKFGX4ipXKc8dsgxG53ZMis266IiOqiKySs9UdTqUsR6OxhtRfFpeVDOrktFipyTiSyCn_SIounopUAN8VxF9mEYoDglAVTtT3kUz12ztpwr4A2o/s1600/indy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwRswCYMAdhV2VCJ3e_3YplX-9HFzKFGX4ipXKc8dsgxG53ZMis266IiOqiKySs9UdTqUsR6OxhtRfFpeVDOrktFipyTiSyCn_SIounopUAN8VxF9mEYoDglAVTtT3kUz12ztpwr4A2o/s1600/indy1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My hero.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saturday afternoon. Too hot outside for gardening or … well,
pretty much anything. So I sat down with a cold drink, some chips and salsa,
and one of my all-time favorite movies: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(Confession time: I want to write like these movies. All
action, adventure, ridiculous life or death scenarios, and a hero in a cool
hat. But I digress…)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You know the movie, right? It starts off with a bunch of
Scouts taking a trail ride in the desert…where we quickly realize we are going
to be treated to a glimpse of Indy’s boyhood. Whoever cast River Phoenix as the
young Indiana Jones was brilliant, in my humble opinion. (Digressing again,
aren’t I? Sorry.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This flashback beginning bit doesn’t make the plot of the
Last Crusade move forward; however, at this point in the movie series, these cinematic
prologue does a couple of things: it pulls us into the fictional world of
Indiana Jones, while at the same time giving us information about HOW and WHY
he is who he is.</span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RrltOfrnV6wv-dYCKgOFNwpKv1n0M2ap8lPMJzHNxJ0mPVdX_p3qloFAHiEnykqne2HdcfaNlOjrPd07JLbfs_gxRCjgvZBe2bCj5jDQvEZ9qVrDpJXJhCw7o-EcRbEGQkMWkCK9GcU/s1600/young+indy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RrltOfrnV6wv-dYCKgOFNwpKv1n0M2ap8lPMJzHNxJ0mPVdX_p3qloFAHiEnykqne2HdcfaNlOjrPd07JLbfs_gxRCjgvZBe2bCj5jDQvEZ9qVrDpJXJhCw7o-EcRbEGQkMWkCK9GcU/s320/young+indy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahhh, youth.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Remember: this is the third movie, so by now, Indy is a
well-known and well-loved character in pop culture. We all know a lot about
what he does and we have come to expect him to behave in certain ways. In fact,
we know him so well, we don’t even need to see his face. All we need to see is
that hat. Better yet, the hat paired with the whip. Or hear his theme song. No
actual Indy required to know you are about to have a Raiders of the Lost Ark
type experience.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And the second thing (the real beauty of the boy scout prologue)
– now that we know about the adult adventurous Indy, a glimpse backward shows
us how he came to be. That prologue gives us an enormous insight into his
character in just those few minutes. The climb into the cave, sending a friend
for the police, stealing the priceless artifact (Coronado’s cross) out from
under the professional treasure hunters, the chase on horseback and the circus
train, all culminating at his Father’s doorstep. Seriously…we find out how he
gets his first hat, why he carries the whip everywhere he goes, why he hates
snakes. We get a peek into what drives his love of history and why he lives to
bring priceless artifacts to museums for safekeeping. We even find out how he
gets the rakish scar on his chin, for heaven’s sake. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ekAgG4GRzaKhl9DhiXfc7Owg9nAFuOytrjm5DIAkd6s9IkKYh-JSLi5dj4jft1CtI1OQdgBs8PPHVIG-7_Y_Zg9auxn5-L2DKBO4A2cVrDDXBvAGZjnnVwQqjR2ZFaoGBuwoWd1Ar70/s1600/indy3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ekAgG4GRzaKhl9DhiXfc7Owg9nAFuOytrjm5DIAkd6s9IkKYh-JSLi5dj4jft1CtI1OQdgBs8PPHVIG-7_Y_Zg9auxn5-L2DKBO4A2cVrDDXBvAGZjnnVwQqjR2ZFaoGBuwoWd1Ar70/s1600/indy3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The nearly unbelievable situations started at a very young
age for our hero. Of course they did! This is the world of Indiana Jones,
people! Where a bag of sand might save your life or trigger a booby trap. Where
knowing that being penitent means to “kneel before God.” Where diving into a
magician’s box on a moving train might be the only way to save Coronado’s
treasured gold cross. And where struggling with a bad guy on the roof of a
moving train can only be stopped by nearly being impaled by a rhino’s horn!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This movie prologue ties us back to what we already know
about Indiana Jones before the newest story even begins. It reminds us of his
faults, his flaws, and his desires – and sets us up for the conflict (which we
already knew back when we bought the popcorn): a search for an historical
artifact of unbelievable value – and Indy’s attempt to do what is right above
all else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So here’s what I’d like to know: What is the best prologue
example you’ve seen in young adult or middle grade novels? What about prologues
in your writing? Do you use them or not? Why or why not?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While you’re thinking that over… I’ll pop more corn and
settle in for another chapter of Indy and his hat. Gotta love that hat.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTZmHmEoi4qMSyVGSZRiA2qY1MFJHnsolm0SO6S2LgGeL4cIlQCQRVYbEfxMvNlO2wMbdvsXZ8EBsku2yVRwlB8fYAsxJF7Sfw685A5AIFo2U2-7qGyiY2JY6t9dAYLf5XWRDfY5sU1Q/s1600/indy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTZmHmEoi4qMSyVGSZRiA2qY1MFJHnsolm0SO6S2LgGeL4cIlQCQRVYbEfxMvNlO2wMbdvsXZ8EBsku2yVRwlB8fYAsxJF7Sfw685A5AIFo2U2-7qGyiY2JY6t9dAYLf5XWRDfY5sU1Q/s320/indy2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-82946466803863375552012-08-06T10:55:00.002-04:002012-08-06T10:55:16.180-04:00And the winner is...Congratulations to <strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Ben</span></strong>! Thanks for visiting Carpe Keyboard, Ben...<br />
<br />
Now here is your challenge. Go to <a href="http://www.brenthartinger.com/">www.brenthartinger.com</a> and take a look at all of Brent's published books. Select the one you would like to receive and send the title, along with your mailing address to me at <a href="mailto:karisscott@hotmail.com">karisscott@hotmail.com</a>. <br />
<br />
I'll then forward your info on to Brent! <br />
<br />
Happy reading!<br />
--KariKaren S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-44651101977400245022012-07-30T08:36:00.000-04:002012-07-30T08:39:05.612-04:00Talking with Brent Hartinger, author of Geography Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnbg6CWFNHpnHVtFv7YORPNudOYRMiUYE19qStHUZueBYnmSZ_Y5P34ccwD0Qkb8uNhpPVUrywD757S3ye7SaCvIi8p_K22FCgaKXPu1MnakKPuBhKKlLOXkvHEy3SfyE1ep_Donx5Fo/s1600/brenthartingerbeach-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDnbg6CWFNHpnHVtFv7YORPNudOYRMiUYE19qStHUZueBYnmSZ_Y5P34ccwD0Qkb8uNhpPVUrywD757S3ye7SaCvIi8p_K22FCgaKXPu1MnakKPuBhKKlLOXkvHEy3SfyE1ep_Donx5Fo/s320/brenthartingerbeach-1024x768.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’d like to welcome Brent Hartinger, author of <u>Geography Club</u> and more in the Russell Middlebook series. </span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mr. Hartinger’s first book was published in 2003. Since then, he has gone on to publish many more “page turner” YA novels -- not to mention his ongoing work in play and screen writing, counseling and teaching.</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’ll steal a line directly from <a href="http://brenthartinger.com/" target="_blank">his website</a> here: </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brent’s many writing honors include being named the winner</span><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">of the Lambda Book Award, the Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award, a GLAAD Media Award, the National Best Book Award, and a Book Sense Pick (four times).</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Pretty amazing, right? I’m honored that Mr. Hartinger was able to take time to do the following interview for us all at Carpe Keyboard. Welcome, Brent!</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">***</span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Carpe Keyboard: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read about <u>Geography Club</u> in a recent article on Huffington Post. The article wasn’t about the story – but about how you have sold the movie rights. Congratulations! What is it like to get a call like that? To know your novel is going to go to the big screen?</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Well, it's incredibly validating. I mean, someone wants to spend millions of dollars making of a movie based on a story that you just invented out of thin air? How can that not be incredibly flattering? I was at the movie shoot the night they shot a scene in a stadium with a thousand extras. Looking at all the actors, and the cranes and cameras and all those extras, I thought, "I wonder if this is how the Pharaohs felt when they were watching them build the pyramids!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But "the call" you're talking about isn't exactly what you think. It's been such a long, grueling process getting here, such an emotional roller-coaster. The rights to the book were first optioned right after the book came out in 2003. For the next ten years, producers came and went, directors came and went, financing came and went. Contracts were written and rewritten as options expired. Every possible scenario you can imagine, it happened. My hopes had risen and been dashed dozens of times. And I've gone through the movie thing on other projects too, other books and screenplays and plays.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLr4J-R9ZTuaR8pz6Hok4vKIAdgKYjlu_nRPBmftdrsDMEb17UFBkRFeHbm6CFs61m6AxURIhkaiJVfRBcyi2lTsHW62plMYAPrGosptx_5pP4_BFR7-DizQuvJ3mlSeAlyIHwAYCVU1E/s1600/geographyclub-hc-c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLr4J-R9ZTuaR8pz6Hok4vKIAdgKYjlu_nRPBmftdrsDMEb17UFBkRFeHbm6CFs61m6AxURIhkaiJVfRBcyi2lTsHW62plMYAPrGosptx_5pP4_BFR7-DizQuvJ3mlSeAlyIHwAYCVU1E/s320/geographyclub-hc-c1.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So when another producer -- the fourth -- finally invoked their option and purchased the rights a year or so ago, I was still thinking, "Well, the money is nice, but the movie probably won't ever happen." Like I said, I've gone through this before, had many promises and assurances made to me, and it NEVER ended up happening.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Then it finally really did. Until the day the movie wrapped, I was thinking, "Something's going to go wrong!" Just last week, I thought to myself, "I hope the director and the editor are making copies of the footage in case their computers crash!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But at this point, I think we're finally good. And I'm over the moon about it. Just couldn't be happier with the production or the script or the cast. And to top things off, they've treated me like royalty. For ten years, I was living every horrible Hollywood cliche, but with this movie, it's been the opposite, in a wonderful way, of what you always hear.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CP: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Russell and his friends' dialog and actions rang so true. Your characters never felt forced or fake – but like we were peeking into the lives of actual teenagers. Was that voice hard to come by? When did you realize you could write in the voice of a teenager?</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It's an excellent question, but it's funny how I never thought like that before I had been published and reviewed. I never thought about it all. I just knew I'd worked with teenagers a lot, I knew I like teen books, and I knew I related to teenagers in a really basic way. Even today, whenever one of my adult friends complains about their teenager, I almost always secretly side with the teenager -- even without hearing his or her side of the story!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I do remember being frustrated by all the dour, depressed, and sarcastic teen voices in YA literature. To me, that's a cliche, that's how teens act on bad TV -- how adults THINK teens sound, because that's the teen they see. But that's only how teens act around adults. When they're around their good friends, most teens have a great time. Sure, it's hell sometimes, but I had some of the best times of my life as a teenager, even as a closeted gay teenager. Why don't more adults remember how incredibly fun and freeing the teen years can be? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anyway, it was really, really important that my book include more than just teen angst. That's the key to the teen years, IMHO: the low-lows, but also the high-highs. It's the extremes, the worst of times, but also the best of times. That's why good teen stories are so appealing, those extremes, why they make such good, universal drama. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZOX3-lF2VnjW_Rffw9AGjdBeBaat8xeWhar3YVtj6RrmJibtV_3TaUg0i1WNB-w2NxoaANWWSPaKbIDVWrxfYyUuLdZsEbMd57mL0yJEdonzd6I-wP5GQrtzBx_mONbhT9b0ujvD3h4/s1600/BH_GrandandHumble-704x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZOX3-lF2VnjW_Rffw9AGjdBeBaat8xeWhar3YVtj6RrmJibtV_3TaUg0i1WNB-w2NxoaANWWSPaKbIDVWrxfYyUuLdZsEbMd57mL0yJEdonzd6I-wP5GQrtzBx_mONbhT9b0ujvD3h4/s320/BH_GrandandHumble-704x1024.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now, of course, I'm much more conscious of whether my book teen voice sounds "authentic." I'm much more aware of craft in general. That's good in a way, because I think my voice really is better now, better crafted. But on the other hand, it was nice to be so innocent. In a way, I think that innocence contributed to the authenticity of my first few books.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CP: In my own writing life, I’ve read lots about the character’s arc or the character’s journey. Russell takes quite a journey of his own in this book – of self-discovery, crushes, difficult decisions (and a few bad ones). Did you map out a character arc for him either before or during writing? Or do you use a more organic method?</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I'm an outliner. My books usually end up being pretty different from my outlines, but I always know how the story is going to end before I write a word.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When I first started writing, I really resisted the whole idea of outlines and structure. I used to say I thought it was too confining, but I think I was really just lazy. I wanted to get to the fun and easy part, which is writing those first three chapters, before you have to deal with the dreaded second act, what the book is ABOUT.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Then I started writing plays and screenplays, and I realized that structure is essential, just ESSENTIAL, for what I consider to be compelling storyline. I know some people can do structure intuitively, but I still think most people can't. Alas, I think a lot of people, even some readers, just don't care that much about plot or structure. But it's so important to me, and it's, frankly, annoying that more critics don't seem to respect the beauty of truly well-crafted plot. Language, they appreciate, and character and voice. But plot? It's like they couldn't care less. Oh, it's nice if the ending is inevitable, yet completely unexpected -- the hallmark of a good ending -- but it's certainly not required or anything. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />For me, it IS required. It's one of the essential elements of storytelling. For me, a book with a thin plot is like a book with cardboard or cliched characters. Character and plot are BOTH essential. Maybe it goes back to my thinking like a teenage boy, but I am IMMEDIATELY bored with meandering, sloppy, or non-existence plots, even if they're beautifully written.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now I know everyone sees the world differently, and viva la difference! But this is one of those differences that I truly have a hard time understanding, because it's so far from my experience. I'll read a plot-less book or see a plot-less movie, and I think, "Why isn't the whole world as bored as I am with this thing?"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But for the record? My fascination with plot? I totally think that's part of the reason why my books have attracted the attention of Hollywood producers. Movies are ALL about plot. So it's nice to know there's one place where being a "plot" guy really, really helps. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Basically, plot won't win you any awards, but it sure helps pay the bills. And it gets you lots of appreciative readers.</span><i><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CP: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Geography Club</u> tackles some sensitive topics… did you see reservation from the young adult publishing community about representing a novel about gay teens and their stories? </span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ha! Boy, did I ever! I wrote the first draft of the book in 1990, and I spent the next eleven years trying to sell it. I heard from so many editors how much they loved it -- three even took it to acquisitions. But they, and I, were always told: "It's too controversial. A book about gay teens won't sell. Libraries won't buy it, and bookstores won't stock it."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And the thing is, they may have been right at the time. It was a VERY different world back in the 1990s. There was a few other gay teen novels, and a couple, like <u>Hard Love</u> by Ellen Wittlinger, were even really good. But I think if my book had sold, it would have come out, sold a few thousand copies, and disappeared into the ether.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So it's probably a good thing that it wasn't until 2001 that an editor at HarperCollins, Stephen Fraser, bought it. He had to fight tooth-and-nail, and the advance was almost nothing. But when the book came out in early 2003, the world was ready. By the end of the first week, we'd gone into a third printing.</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CP: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When do you carpe your keyboard? What are your writing habits?</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF1YxMesAJEB0lJDIBlO221tGPVvnn4cg9qYYsn4rSKlYwslSFrVh_iWoRnS8GxPAsgs1ma1-CSSE7NstCSitshDSkV-S7PxqJhDoX1Mm4CnuSz68UEYy5i6r5nDGV_Sr2E6cQlZ3kGU/s1600/BH_TheLastChanceTexaco-704x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF1YxMesAJEB0lJDIBlO221tGPVvnn4cg9qYYsn4rSKlYwslSFrVh_iWoRnS8GxPAsgs1ma1-CSSE7NstCSitshDSkV-S7PxqJhDoX1Mm4CnuSz68UEYy5i6r5nDGV_Sr2E6cQlZ3kGU/s320/BH_TheLastChanceTexaco-704x1024.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Well, I am so not one of those writers who writes every day. I wish I was, and I respect that, because I think writing is ALL about dedication and discipline. But I hate writing. It destroys me, just consumes me. I love having written -- I feel an incredible sense of pride and accomplishment. But while I'm in the middle of it, I become obsessed. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't think of anything else. I have this weird quirk where once I start something, I have to finish it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It sounds nuts, doesn't it? It IS nuts. I might even be a little manic in that respect -- although, thank God, I never get depressed. But I'm glad I am the way I am, because it's served me very, very well. When I'm working, I am incredibly productive. But when I'm not working, which happens from time to time, I am soooo not working. I'm busy reading and playing video games and watching movies and going on hikes and bike rides. I don't even think about my books. Never. I don't get ideas, I don't keep a notebook. I totally have to turn it on. Everyone has their own process. By this point, I'm very familiar and very happy with mine.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CP: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about your editing process? Can you tell us how you go about moving from a first draft into editing? And how do you know when you are ready to share a manuscript with the outside world?</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It's an excellent question. I think the biggest mistake new writers make is not structure or outlining their stories. But the second biggest mistake is not revising, not knowing what to do with a first draft.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFB6H_RddnKktpEm1XWgfsXRhbaWR1nQPyE3hAxAuyYp71IUgxqvku6B_LdWYmmRfF830GmZIr4CIGv9IRfmEPWFm_louGuRlD7JHJ6GGCWG8AcVavriGAIJFAtdjVj6aTt5UqjCy9UX4/s1600/hartinger+pressroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFB6H_RddnKktpEm1XWgfsXRhbaWR1nQPyE3hAxAuyYp71IUgxqvku6B_LdWYmmRfF830GmZIr4CIGv9IRfmEPWFm_louGuRlD7JHJ6GGCWG8AcVavriGAIJFAtdjVj6aTt5UqjCy9UX4/s1600/hartinger+pressroom.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My first drafts suck. They really, really do! Even working from an outline, there's always some massive contrivance, and some huge plot revelation that isn't working at all, character arcs that aren't developed, writing that's sloppy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So I show my partner, and he tries to help me see all the flaws I'm usually very resistant to see or even admit. It can get snippy and nasty. But I eventually see the light. Then I rewrite. Then he sees the book again, and I rewrite again. Then it goes out to a handful of readers, and I initially resist but ultimately accept their feedback too, and then I rewrite again. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Then it finally goes to my editor (if it's under contract) or my agent (if it's a spec book that we're trying to sell). But that, of course, is just the beginning of the "actual" editing process. I'll usually do at least one more draft with the editor. But I have been told by quite a few editors that my submissions are pretty "clean." I think that's because I've already rewritten the book four times before he or she even saw it!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here's the thing: we're all terrible judges of our own work. We all think we're geniuses. We're not, but we just can't see it. We know what we're trying to say, but it's not necessarily reflected in our words. On one hand, I'm excited by the rise of indie e-publishing. But on the other hand, I'm frustrated, because I'm seeing all these people publishing the first or second drafts of their books. The books could have been good if they'd finished the writing process, but they didn't. They got impatient.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Writing is rewriting. I'm not the first one to say it, but it's true. It's literally the difference between an amateur and professional. Every professional writer I know knows that the first draft is just the start of a long, complicated, difficult, horrible process.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Oh, are we done already? Thanks! Loved the craft questions. I wish more people would ask me about that! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And feel free to have your readers check out my website <a href="http://brenthartinger.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://brenthartinger.com/</span></a> or follow me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/brenthartinger" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">https://twitter.com/brenthartinger</span></a> or Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/brenthartinger" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://www.facebook.com/brenthartinger</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">***</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #262626;">Mr. Hartinger has generously offered up a book – your choice of any of his published novels! – as a giveaway for Carpe Keyboard readers. So… you know the rules. Leave a comment below, contribute to the discussion of Mr. Hartinger’s work and his interview. I’ll put your name in the proverbial (and in this case, literal) hat for the drawing!</span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #262626;">I’ll draw a winner on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monday, August 6</b> and announce it here on CP. </span></span></i></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-19852756781718170812012-07-18T09:56:00.000-04:002012-07-18T09:56:43.786-04:00Winner of Seize the Story… and Summer Reads<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Last week, I posted an opportunity to join a conversation about the art of writing dialog. The luck y winner of Seize the Story (drawn from those who commented on the post) is…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nancy Barth!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Congratulations Nancy and thanks for reading Carpe Keyboard! Please email me at </span><a href="mailto:karisscott@hotmail.com"><span style="font-family: Arial;">karisscott@hotmail.com</span></a><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;"> with your mailing address and I’ll send the book to you asap!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">***</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">So – what are you reading this summer? Anything great? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Right now, my shelf has a bunch of library books piled up and I’m plowing my way through with the summer sunshine and some cold (cold!) iced tea to help me along. Here’s what I have lined up this month:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8sliAfaGHGJOj_MkX8TIXWsiHSHu4VBYnE1anf-R7oSJCZ5m-l5xtxKWUhbcGC-hR-UyTgelnn7-q-UemOy9zggsao_xeAm91-zyzais3lJrID2NqIglzo5LyURSn2UZ6c8N_ZH8o24/s1600/million+suns+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8sliAfaGHGJOj_MkX8TIXWsiHSHu4VBYnE1anf-R7oSJCZ5m-l5xtxKWUhbcGC-hR-UyTgelnn7-q-UemOy9zggsao_xeAm91-zyzais3lJrID2NqIglzo5LyURSn2UZ6c8N_ZH8o24/s320/million+suns+cover.jpg" width="218" /></a><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">A Million Suns by <a href="http://www.bethrevis.com/" target="_blank">Beth Revis</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtqLHlldJFg3FJlHsNp1B0l3s0CfBVe7DNy1Zxpc54CibxWI7K3052lwaOV5HGMp0F-xjyuEnwJULn8L3Wgdr_DtjegWmmiJSlvbJDf0Ty8_b0e6DXXnhB9Z3ei4JlDM0FyCxlnpNFG4/s1600/city-of-lost-souls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtqLHlldJFg3FJlHsNp1B0l3s0CfBVe7DNy1Zxpc54CibxWI7K3052lwaOV5HGMp0F-xjyuEnwJULn8L3Wgdr_DtjegWmmiJSlvbJDf0Ty8_b0e6DXXnhB9Z3ei4JlDM0FyCxlnpNFG4/s320/city-of-lost-souls.jpg" width="224" /></a><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">City of Lost Souls by <a href="http://www.cassandraclare.com/" target="_blank">Cassandra Clare</a></span></div>
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<img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-2-3eYOdqrjUfMtTv2oYDiUV94BZ1VapGJxE24kh2LIXRy-GzqWK7RTg1i9447cb9eAHaC9PZRhh2GYcSwlooJlis-lGc_Y09M37II4iP72K-B8Ch_EZVxPrvXYjKGcg-KUzzWhpdsyI/s320/fearjacket.jpg" width="210" /><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;"> Fear by <a href="http://www.harperteen.com/feature/gone/" target="_blank">Michael Grant</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmdjLFHf6TRThpL4iTunbxTOwcjH393T-g3MaGlhW9jBvT8VafArYuQ0kPRZD4DLR1df3cZ5ppTUNCZ-HM__T2uEuF3nam2tcmIkMgqnb2WvmmGFs5BjN0aVVEk3jwrtfsI0c_PdWcQI/s1600/geographyclubfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmdjLFHf6TRThpL4iTunbxTOwcjH393T-g3MaGlhW9jBvT8VafArYuQ0kPRZD4DLR1df3cZ5ppTUNCZ-HM__T2uEuF3nam2tcmIkMgqnb2WvmmGFs5BjN0aVVEk3jwrtfsI0c_PdWcQI/s1600/geographyclubfront.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Geography Club by <a href="http://www.brenthartinger.com/" target="_blank">Brent Hartinger</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Turns out – all of them are parts of different series, which is coincidental (I didn’t specifically go looking for series books to read) but not surprising in today’s YA market. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Have you read any of the above? What did you think? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">I’m a fast reader, so will have these finished in a flash. Any suggestions on other YA or middle grade novels I should look for?</span></div>
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<br /></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-57639145003888260482012-07-11T14:35:00.004-04:002012-07-11T14:35:38.995-04:00The Dialogue Albatross<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Dialogue is my albatross. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36wUyBkVAEY5aljGUIJfcN-WRy3JjbrYfHY6dG_yVgLCqMlHwrWeXld2-AcmLLPDUzulAxcoau2KSTSRC4C8DNi3Ka_pCZKx-lWyJv79XCFSRawYSuSYyUknxO4vZtiWJKM-Rod_T_bg/s1600/albatross-l-stare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36wUyBkVAEY5aljGUIJfcN-WRy3JjbrYfHY6dG_yVgLCqMlHwrWeXld2-AcmLLPDUzulAxcoau2KSTSRC4C8DNi3Ka_pCZKx-lWyJv79XCFSRawYSuSYyUknxO4vZtiWJKM-Rod_T_bg/s320/albatross-l-stare.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My own, personal albatross. I think I'll name him Henry.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Seriously. Words contained between double-quotes feel like they are slung around my neck right before I plunge into the watery abyss of writing. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Sometimes, when I feel like I’m successfully treading those artistic waters -- writing without pause, feeling like the crazy plot living in my head might turn into a story – the dialogue emerges from the depths. The damned spoken words, neatly packaged in those double-quotes wrap themselves around my neck and tug me under the surface until, desperate for air, I gulp mouthfuls of cold, salty writer’s block and sink below the surface.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Is there a life vest for writers? Do they sell those on the internet? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">But I digress…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">I was prompted to write today about dialogue because of the book I’m <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reading</i> at the moment. It is a YA novel – a first novel for this author – published a few years ago. An adventure story full of possibilities. A journey, a kidnapping, murders, magic spells, mysterious symbols and dusty libraries. What’s not to like, right?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Well… I’m nearly finished with the book and I’ve decided I need to study this writer’s dialogue. Like me, I think she must find writing dialogue a mostly painful experience. Or that is how her characters speak: as if their writer was struggling for her life, trying to find something (anything!) for them to say to each other that might (maybe!) sound like spoken words.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Her characters say things that sound out of place, especially considering the emotion or tension of the scene. I’m hesitant to provide direct quotes here as examples because I believe strongly in supporting writers on this blog – not being a scratchy, prickly critic. Instead, I will say there are lots of exclamation marks when her characters speak. And they are often “overheard” saying things like, “So, what’s been going on?” to each other in the middle of a journey to the villain’s lair. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">But that’s the rub with dialogue, isn’t it? Trying to make talking sound like real talking is so very hard. Dealing with those moments when, in real life, we would make idle chit-chat, can kill a scene. That albatross could peck out your eyes as quick as a wink as you try to show <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tone</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">volume</i> with punctuation. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Desperate to find a life preserver, I googled “unrealistic dialogue” and found some helpful thoughts from other writers. Check these out:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Clare B. Dunkle’s blog -- </span><a href="http://www.claredunkle.com/Design/writedialog.htm"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial;">http://www.claredunkle.com/Design/writedialog.htm</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">From The Guardian’s Book Blog -- </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/mar/18/unreal-art-realistic-dialogue"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/mar/18/unreal-art-realistic-dialogue</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Oh – and one more observation about dialogue from my erstwhile YA author: Don’t try to introduce coinkidinky plot devices via dialogue. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">For example, if the world in which your characters live is full of horses and wagons, ink-drawn parchments, and no technology more sophisticated than a wheelbarrow, please don’t suddenly have a character exclaim, “Why are these letters on this parchment printed so perfectly? It’s almost like they were printed by…a machine!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">To which a supporting character suddenly replies, “Oh yes! We discovered that document 30 years ago and we think it was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">printed</i> … on a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">machine</i>!”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">Yeah. Don’t do that. It’s a teensy bit jarring to the reader. Even with the albatross of my own slung haphazardly across my shoulders, I hope I can stop myself using bad dialogue as a vehicle for coincidences that pull together an otherwise holey plot. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial;">What about you? Any difficulties with writing dialogue? Or have you read any particularly great (or horrible?) dialogue lately? Please share!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3TTlE5tJJrxMaGA5Ctn_2ot7VQqnjhsu85tDVIkuQOnNUv68UpVaNyf3Od6AV35s2xvqaCBztbZcUcbPLtL3F3NPJjTjpGs99s1SUfuQQPcuS-3xO5dSB_0DhredEIMgzKReoGFqTy24/s1600/seize_the_story_new_cover_143ht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $ca="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3TTlE5tJJrxMaGA5Ctn_2ot7VQqnjhsu85tDVIkuQOnNUv68UpVaNyf3Od6AV35s2xvqaCBztbZcUcbPLtL3F3NPJjTjpGs99s1SUfuQQPcuS-3xO5dSB_0DhredEIMgzKReoGFqTy24/s1600/seize_the_story_new_cover_143ht.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>In the spirit of constantly honing our craft – leave a comment below to enter your name for a chance to win a brand new copy of <u>Seize the Story</u> by Victoria Hanley. </strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>It is a handbook for teens and writers who write for teens – with a whole chapter on ….drum roll, please… writing dialogue!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just leave a comment below with your email address included. On Wednesday, July 25, 2012 I will randomly draw a name and email the winner.</strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;"><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(As usual, if you don’t respond to my email message within a week, the book will go back on my shelf for another drawing at a later date.)</span></strong></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-21629409099939646962012-07-02T19:17:00.002-04:002012-07-02T19:17:28.112-04:00Influences, schminfluences<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do the books you are reading leave
their footprints on your works in progress? When you write, do you sometimes
look back over the last few paragraphs or chapters and think, “Gee…that sounds
sort of familiar…” and then realize you just rewrote a scene from your current
favorite read? And your characters are now helping themselves to some other
author’s plot? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">OK…maybe I’m the only one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But seriously, when I go from
reading the last book in the <em>Song of Ice and Fire</em> -- <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of
Thrones</i> series, then crack open my middle grade fantasy WIP – and see bits
and pieces of my own little game of thrones going on, it makes me pause. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGp5o_1vp3nJKcVrApmIOAgaKZttk6GugM54yFcmd7ok7dZatMeRKezZJWFXYFfc7Mnrv-baxUBDcW4cSOXoLLq6O5YPI3qqnJMqJeNot2j3fnB2gPzLf4qvqlUQy74k75i4oYHUIK9OE/s1600/dancewithdragons+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGp5o_1vp3nJKcVrApmIOAgaKZttk6GugM54yFcmd7ok7dZatMeRKezZJWFXYFfc7Mnrv-baxUBDcW4cSOXoLLq6O5YPI3qqnJMqJeNot2j3fnB2gPzLf4qvqlUQy74k75i4oYHUIK9OE/s1600/dancewithdragons+cover.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First of all, don’t get me wrong.
My 12 year old characters are not lopping off each other’s heads or marrying
their own cousins, hatching baby dragons or even shape-shifting into huge, wild
wolves when they dream. (Forgive me, <a href="http://georgerrmartin.com/" target="_blank">George R. R. Martin</a>! But I’m not really
stealing your stories!!) There is, however, an element of a tug-of-war over a
throne, cousins vying for the King’s attention, eccentric characters and even a
dragon coming to life in my manuscript. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So after editing 40 pages last
night, I stopped with fingers poised over the keyboard and said, “Oho!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">OK…I didn’t say it out loud. But I
thought it – loudly – so that should count for something. <br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Oho!,” I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thought</i>. “THIS might be why there are only so many plots in the
world! Writers steal from each other. And I bet everybody knew this but me!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(Oh, come on. You totally have
moments where you talk to yourself like that. I know you do. Just admit it.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQy8x7-B8WMUvcjnpmMYvmBK27u-8GrGTkq-g8P-bP77Yfe9Ye8RHAJT97i93uRyO3SSx7WamgDsOFaYrSTXNepQdjCfBakpbMFYOu1U1T3S754iwd_Slqlk5aLCaqg7a2GLPdt5Asq1w/s1600/westsidestory+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQy8x7-B8WMUvcjnpmMYvmBK27u-8GrGTkq-g8P-bP77Yfe9Ye8RHAJT97i93uRyO3SSx7WamgDsOFaYrSTXNepQdjCfBakpbMFYOu1U1T3S754iwd_Slqlk5aLCaqg7a2GLPdt5Asq1w/s320/westsidestory+poster.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“West Side Story really IS Romeo
and Juliet rewritten!” I mused. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My thoughts continued to meander,
eventually focusing again on my own characters, their story and their world.
But I suddenly felt like I had a better grasp on why they were doing some of
the things they were doing…why I had written parts of the story a certain way
and what I should think about changing, expanding, and deleting as I was
editing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What novels have inspired you? What
influences can you trace in your own writing? Poets? Essayists? Novelists? Playwrights?
Do you see Shakespeare’s plots or a shimmer of Emerson’s words in your pieces?
Maybe Stephen King’s tension or characters that remind you of someone from a
Norah Ephron screenplay?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So maybe my MG novel will be the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of Thrones</i> for the elementary
school set. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">HBO, here I come!!</span></div>
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<br /></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-35448530658555633902012-06-26T20:21:00.001-04:002012-06-26T20:21:53.536-04:00Getting into the groove...again<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This summer, I will regain my love of writing. I will write
more, more, more. I will open the dreaded manuscripts and read my old heart and
soul. I will be gentle with myself. I will write to put words on paper – to open
my heart to the page – to get thoughts that circle and circle inside my head to
journey outward. I will allow myself to write crap. I will allow myself to read
old crap I’ve written without judgment. I will edit and change and read and
probably slap my own forehead in frustration – but I will write. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL7y38wUvXAGMh3p2ZAsnSAtU2YS5b3xnjVPerFDS8AcZsYZITIsjdsjTuWEd7GJ7BdOMMA4e9n-W6UAE_KMlyo4aaCfpt5Uxsa5HPmA75AFsX2xVJzTJVINerCKFD_FANdkt8mfvi0c/s1600/typing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL7y38wUvXAGMh3p2ZAsnSAtU2YS5b3xnjVPerFDS8AcZsYZITIsjdsjTuWEd7GJ7BdOMMA4e9n-W6UAE_KMlyo4aaCfpt5Uxsa5HPmA75AFsX2xVJzTJVINerCKFD_FANdkt8mfvi0c/s320/typing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I will let the stories that float in my mind come to life. I
will nurture characters, flesh out their worlds, build their conflicts and tear
them down again. I will measure success not in finished paragraphs, but in the
number of days I create the time and space to write – even if it is only a few
words scribbled on an old receipt or a limerick on a restaurant napkin. I will
make the time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This summer, I will believe that I should write. I will
silence the evil monkey mind – the one that sits on my shoulder and whispers in
my ear the dirty secrets about how I can’t, shouldn’t, will never be able to
write. I will, with a flick of my finger, send that monkey flying from my
shoulder. At least I will try. I will acknowledge that the evil voice has many
cousins who will continue to try to keep me so unsure and off balance. But in
that acknowledgement, I will not acquiesce. I will fling all of them – the cousins,
siblings, aunts and uncles of my monkey mind – all of them from my shoulders. I
will believe that I should write. I will believe that I can write. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdmhshqBIHAXzly_tPhAYn8gKYnDgtF-ozBxERVCgGig0rhYE6UZFMzd0FwRFLCrfdrE7FK2cLLVI8vVX2tqg8jNXle0yXzLLhPXE0X70-Gvjrpol04iPWs5azrwhtnK-FM2PRn2QE_M/s1600/writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdmhshqBIHAXzly_tPhAYn8gKYnDgtF-ozBxERVCgGig0rhYE6UZFMzd0FwRFLCrfdrE7FK2cLLVI8vVX2tqg8jNXle0yXzLLhPXE0X70-Gvjrpol04iPWs5azrwhtnK-FM2PRn2QE_M/s320/writing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This summer, I will go back to the form of literature I love
while embracing even older lovers. I will seek out new books by young adult
authors and old middle grade classics. I will also let myself sink into
Shakespeare or Austen or even read trashy romance novels or geeky science
fiction – as long as I remind myself to learn from each and every author.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will seek out the reasons why I love
characters or hate settings. I will focus on plot curves, conflicts and
resolutions, character arcs and symbols. I will think about how beautiful a
well-crafted heroine appears on the page. I will recognize the warts and
wrinkles and puss-filled carbuncles of poorly written prose and acknowledge
that maybe…just maybe…I could write more elegantly, even though they got
published and I haven’t yet. Yet. Yet….</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This summer, I will get my groove back. I will write again.
I will stretch again – in body and mind. I will talk books, go to critique
groups, find new writing friends and ask for advice from old partners. I will
remember what it is to be a writer. </span></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-44373108951006250322012-03-13T19:54:00.000-04:002012-03-13T19:54:01.099-04:00Our Story...Our Point of View<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m sure you’ve been in a hurry before, driving in heavy
traffic, and perhaps been a bit too eager to merge onto the crowded highway.
Did you think thoughts like, “Why won’t anyone let me in? Don’t they know I’m
late for my meeting/operation/UN Summit?” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m also sure you’ve been the schmuck stuck in traffic on
the freeway when someone in a hurry tries to merge in front of you… (Although
God knows why they don’t SLOW THE HECK DOWN – no meeting/operation/UN Summit
could be THAT important!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">See? Same story, different POV.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0w5TBolULtLZZd_T56ZfkGqkkeB8AxsSUYEq3c3Pv3STt1YjB0arvhsrpW1zaMcocQwXi_FyjSJ5RDqbwqv0UvOqxzqoVJUI7hQdUFmGRNITs6eTL1I_hwuhC97SfYFdFZFY7jcuKfE/s1600/point+of+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0w5TBolULtLZZd_T56ZfkGqkkeB8AxsSUYEq3c3Pv3STt1YjB0arvhsrpW1zaMcocQwXi_FyjSJ5RDqbwqv0UvOqxzqoVJUI7hQdUFmGRNITs6eTL1I_hwuhC97SfYFdFZFY7jcuKfE/s1600/point+of+view.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today, I was visiting a friend in the hospital. This friend
is knowledgeable about medical issues and procedures, therefore had intricate,
complex questions for each of the doctors and nurses who came into her room.
She was anxious about a specific procedure – involving the insertion of a metal
filter into a major vein in her body to prevent blood clots from moving into
her lungs or heart. She focused on two examples of negative results she’d found
while doing research, and looked for assurance that the suggested procedure was
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">absolutely</i> necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t want to rush into taking action
that was “too invasive” when there might be good odds that she could risk not
going through with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From my point of view – sitting in the oh-so-comfortable
plastic chair in the corner of her hospital room, balancing a Styrofoam cup of
room temperature water on my knee and trying not to notice the antiseptic smell
wafting through the room – most of these conversations seemed … well …
unnecessary, quite frankly. I heard “filter to catch BLOOD CLOTS” and I found
myself nodding in agreement. Granted, they weren’t my blood clots…but
seriously? Even I know that the words “blood clot” and “heart” shouldn’t every
occur in the same sentence, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have no medical background, unless giving birth twice
counts. So if someone told me that they could insert a filter to prevent blood
clots from moving into my heart – I’d say, “How fast can you put that thing in?”
Seriously. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Odds? I’m not a gambler.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Questions about risks? I might ask a few basics, but would
be ignorant of many that my friend was clearly concerned about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Seeking absolutes? I don’t think I would. I think I’d have
to trust the medical training and professionalism of the experts around me. My
POV doesn’t include experiences and knowledge about veins, blood pressures,
thrombosis and embolism. Just not in my vocabulary, really. (I’d still be stuck
on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">clots</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">heart</i>.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was frustrating to sit and listen and try to see things
from her POV, when what I wanted to do was grab her by the shoulders, shake her
a little, and say, “WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, WOMAN? Let them put the darned filter
in!!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On my drive home from the hospital, I found my “writer self”
wondering how different all of our stories would be if we could suspend our own
POV and see things – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> see them –
from someone else’s angle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the different
drivers in rush hour – or different women in a hospital room -- how often do we
each interpret our own story to make ourselves the hero? Or the victim? Or the villain?
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a piece
aired on my local NPR radio station recently that talked about how Americans
tend to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>see the world –their own place
in it, their stories – differently than many other cultures. We are the driver
in a rush – with a good reason to be rushing. But we can also easily re-write
the story so that on another day, we become the driver frustrated by others
rushing into her lane. We accept both as truth without stopping to see that we
have rewritten the same story to have a different meaning based on where we sit
within it. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Apparently, we Americans are very attached to our own POV,
and make very little attempt to see things from someone else’s POV. So
attached, in fact, that we will change the truth of the story to accommodate our
different role, depending on the day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It makes me wonder how my WIPs would differ if I swapped my
main character for another in a story. Why did I choose to write my YA novel
from the girl’s POV, anyway? Maybe I should try a scene or two from the boy’s
point of view – just to see what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his</i>
truth in the story really is.</span></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-37185823115244888042012-02-19T20:20:00.002-05:002012-02-19T20:20:27.188-05:00Flashbacks? Useful or no?Question for you, CK readers: How do you feel about flashbacks in fiction? Useful? Not? Overused, perhaps? Or used for the wrong reasons?<br />
<br />
If you use them in your own writing, why? What purpose do they ultimately serve to your plot? For me, I'm fussing with one in particular -- trying to use it to establish part of a character's personality and show the beginning of a relationship. The seeds of a love story, so to speak, planted with a battered guitar on a hot summer driveway.<br />
<br />
Here's a brief excerpt I've been playing with... narrated by Sydney, a teenager on the run with her boyfriend in one of my WIPs. <br />
<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><strong>Neil's Guitar</strong></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil didn’t know I was watching. I
didn’t move, just opened my eyes enough to see him sitting in the wingback
chair by the window. His quiet humming hadn’t wakened me. Not really, anyway.
The song had woven its way into my dream and brought me to the surface enough
to realize Neil wasn’t beside me in bed anymore. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Instead, he sat across the room,
his eyes closed. The fingers of his left hand played the chords in the air,
close to his chest; his right made vague strumming motions against his thigh.
It was a piece he’d written for me as a gift. It was soft and gentle, soothing
and haunting. It raised goose bumps up and down my arms every time he played it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It killed me that we’d left his
guitar behind. He’d been lugging it around – almost everywhere he went – since we
were both kids. He picked it up at a garage sale one day when Gran made us go
with her on one of her “Sale Tours” around town. Gran took forever at those
sales. She’d wander around, picking up this chipped coffee cup or that dented
serving tray, remembering out loud some time when she’d had supper with the owners.
It took ages. So I’d hunt for piles and boxes of tools or car parts, and Neil
would hover at the end of the driveway, staring off into space, biding his time
until we could leave. He’d never complain – he loved Gran too much to do that.
But this one day, he got out of the car and made a bee-line for a battered,
black guitar case. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It still had stickers on it from
the previous owner. Seventies bands and peace signs and one that said “Make
Love Not War” in tie dyed letters. One of the latches was broken. But inside,
Neil found his treasure. An old acoustic guitar, missing a string, but still
remarkably in tune for how long it had probably been sitting in a closet. He
picked it up and held it to him like a baby. And he strummed and fingered the
notes for the opening of Stairway to Heaven. He was thirteen years old and he’d
never told either Gran or I that he played.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I watched him from where I was
crouched by a banker’s box of old paperbacks. Gran watched him from the top of
the driveway, even waving off Mrs. Cutshall who wanted to reminisce about when
she last used the limp tablecloth Gran held absently in her hand. Gran nodded
once, and started bargaining with Mrs. Cutshall quietly. I turned back to watch
Neil, who had settled down in a rickety old ladder back chair, lined up with
several of its mates along the edge of the yard. He’d moved on from old rock
classics, to…strangely…children’s songs. He was playing All Around the Mulberry
Bush for some of the little kids, now gathered in front of him. They clapped
and danced when they recognized the song. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even then – the slow smile that
spread across his face as he held that old guitar made me hum inside. Made me
feel warm. Made me want to touch his cheek or smooth the hair out of his eyes.
Even then, I was in love with him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gran marched down the driveway
toward him. “Pack it up, Neil.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Is it time to go already?” He tried
to look bored again as he laid the instrument back in its case. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Next sale won’t wait forever. And
don’t put that back. Bring it along, now.” She pointed at the guitar.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil stood, holding the case to his
chest with both arms. “Bring it?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Well, sure. It’s yours.” That’s
all she said. Just walked back toward her Chevy and left Neil to stare after
her, wondering if he’d understood. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“C’mon, dude,” I’d grabbed his arm
and tugged him down the driveway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, sitting here in this dingy
little motel, all I wanted was to give him that guitar back, battered case and
all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He came to the end of the piece and
stopped humming. I’d been watching his fingers as they formed the chords, but
when they stilled, I realized he was looking at me. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Did I wake you?”</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I shook my head.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He didn’t say anything, but looked
out the window and cracked his knuckles, rubbing his thumb over the calluses on
his fingertips. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I love that piece. Takes my breath
away every time.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He looked back at me with his
slight smile. “I’ll breathe for you, babe.”</span></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-81851276628078599592012-01-21T18:39:00.000-05:002012-01-21T18:39:23.261-05:00How Many Plots?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been reading about lots of journeys lately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Call them quests or pursuits or escapes if
you will – but they all boil down to a beginning point and a period of
travelling to get to the end, right?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_5yWVj5Sok1dIyR3JvseqsGhyphenhyphenvKmFp4HyILFQINU1h27e4MVimtQflY2e-mql3bA9twUVcEpLUoKYRor4D9_wqvWH1kP3lFn_w_r-RLJkFhGP_IpDSGllgu_1dqzaVZE2rs2nWNzOVI/s1600/20plots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_5yWVj5Sok1dIyR3JvseqsGhyphenhyphenvKmFp4HyILFQINU1h27e4MVimtQflY2e-mql3bA9twUVcEpLUoKYRor4D9_wqvWH1kP3lFn_w_r-RLJkFhGP_IpDSGllgu_1dqzaVZE2rs2nWNzOVI/s1600/20plots.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In Ronald Tobias’s book <u>20 Master Plots and How to Build Them</u>,
he reminds us that Rudyard Kipling thought there were exactly 69 distinct plots
in the universe. Aristotle, on the other hand, through there were precisely
two, from which all other plots could be derived. Writer Carlo Gozzi originally
suggested there were 36 different plots, but Tobias suggests his list could be
realistically pared down to 18 distinct plots in use by writers and
storytellers today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m no expert – and would not propose a different number than
those above; however, lately….well, lately it seems to me all of the stories I’ve
come across have been about journeys. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tobias’s chapter on the Quest plot outlines three different
acts of the story: </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Act One – the Question. A force moves the hero
to act, either out of necessity or by desire.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Act Two – The Path. The journey that connects
Act One to Act Three, the spice, the flavor for the story.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Act Three – The Revelation. The hero obtains or
is denied the object of her search.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Off the top of my head, I can list lots of my favorite
stories that fit neatly into this pattern. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Raiders
of the Lost Ark</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Star Wars</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> True Grit</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Wizard of Oz</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Shane</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Outlander</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Treasure of the Sierra Madre</i> (or any other treasure hunt story). I
could go on and on… I’m sure you could, too. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If pushed, I could start to break down some of these stories
and categorize them differently. Tobias’s book offers 19 other options – like adventure,
pursuit, revenge, rescue, riddle, temptation, metamorphosis, forbidden love,
and sacrifice. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Is Dorothy on an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">adventure</b>
in Oz? Sure. Does Mattie convince Rooster to help her find <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">revenge</b> for her father’s murder? Absolutely. Does Anakin Skywalker <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">transform</b> from a little boy into one of
film’s best villains while on his journey? Yes.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So while I’m stuck in a difficult patch with my own Work In
Progress (see those capitals? After all the months of work…it deserves to be
capitalized! Trust me!), I’m looking to other authors and other journey stories
to help me find my way. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkDgghQDi7sNO7fCa8bc7ZuOaydrDa7fJ-9z_g166RwHQe0GPz9o9eY0F4HghavAx6DWJPRjDy2Kt32cGQGYFHtxoaazcom8i9Y1cHIZoivkATA5rdAP1C-Rjcqgjxj08QqPWrzw4Aa4/s1600/acrossuniverse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkDgghQDi7sNO7fCa8bc7ZuOaydrDa7fJ-9z_g166RwHQe0GPz9o9eY0F4HghavAx6DWJPRjDy2Kt32cGQGYFHtxoaazcom8i9Y1cHIZoivkATA5rdAP1C-Rjcqgjxj08QqPWrzw4Aa4/s1600/acrossuniverse.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Beth Revis brought me <u>Across the Universe</u> – a journey
across not only space but time. In it, our heroine must travel across the
universe frozen like a human popsicle. When she is awakened after centuries (but
still decades before the space ship’s landing) her journey takes an unexpected
turn – and Revis uses her Act Two to give us one of the most claustrophobic dystopian
settings in YA literature. I’m not sure Revis finishes the journey in this
story and am interested to find the sequel so I can see the end. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(On a site note: Interesting to me that many YA stories
lately are outgrowing a single book. In this one, I felt like I got Act One and
Act Two (in part) before the last page…)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76OCSHMBrCeZ-v6eOpo3pSGJzc-CWL7fPslIJjIWWaiw_dQC_ACypovO_2_utTBHXnu-ycWvWYXM97jj6i3dcAzJD9MWznp44sj1la86EnD6FBgJ0JqJpsZ5xewCEBq9e4HbIsI4YcIo/s1600/NightCircus_final__2-328x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76OCSHMBrCeZ-v6eOpo3pSGJzc-CWL7fPslIJjIWWaiw_dQC_ACypovO_2_utTBHXnu-ycWvWYXM97jj6i3dcAzJD9MWznp44sj1la86EnD6FBgJ0JqJpsZ5xewCEBq9e4HbIsI4YcIo/s320/NightCircus_final__2-328x500.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In Erin Morgenstern’s <u>Night Circus</u>, we have crossing
journeys. <em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Le Cirque des Rêves </span></em>is open only at
night and arrives in a new location without warning or advertisement. For
decades, Le Cirque is the stage for a hidden competition as two magicians
compete. No sure of what they are competing for, these
orphans-turned-world-makers travel through cities and towns but also journey
down internal paths of understanding and love. Is this a straightforward
journey plot? No… There is nothing straightforward about Morgenstern’s book.
But who wants to read about a trip that moves from home to far away and back
again without some adventure? </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Food for thought for this writer, to be sure. Does my WIP
need to have all three acts solidly completed in one book? I think so…although
if my story leads me elsewhere, maybe I should follow. Does my WIP need to
stick strictly to a physical journey? Absolutely not. I think it needs to
combine some of Tobias’s suggested plot types – merging adventure, escape, maturation,
and quest together into one complete story.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But can I do it? Can I tell this story? Are there list of
rules I need to follow – “acts” I need to be sure to structure and character
development points I need before I can move my characters’ journey forward? I
think the answer to all of those questions is yes… as long as I don’t let
myself get strangled by the rules. Right? </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe that first rule of writing (WRITE!) should outweigh
all structure and plot rules and regulations. If only for a while…until the
story grows a little on its own.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the meantime, I’m going to <s>queue up a good Indiana
Jones movie</s> go work on chapter 23. Wish me luck!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-1436794030395945792011-12-27T15:47:00.001-05:002011-12-27T15:48:05.091-05:00Outlines and Re-writes and Edits, Oh My!<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I haven’t been using outlines when I write lately. One of my
WIP manuscripts is completely un-outlined. If I dig around in my files, I
probably have an old plot treatment of some sort that I haven’t looked at in
years. But no working outline. Each chapter is occurring as I sit down and
write. Kind of organic, really.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My other WIP manuscript has a sort-of outline attached to
the end of the manuscript. Literally…a few blank lines after the last sentence,
you would find a bullet list of the events in the plot. I ended up jotting down
the high-level plot points on this one because I found myself getting swept up
in the fantasy of this story. There are magic, dragons, and journeys through
dark forests in this book and I’d MUCH rather write all that description than
stick to the action. So – to keep myself honest, I figured having a cheat sheet
of the actual EVENTS that needed to take place wouldn’t hurt. I can definitely
say it is handy for keeping me on the right track and keeping my action moving
along the plot curve. This way, I hope I won’t forget any crisis points or
events that will help my characters change the way I need them to as their story
unfolds.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxflW-ZYDDoxupv3UFvpZOQLWTaizaivbLdOpi214QzkFa_aUVuGg2t3LWEN505-9KOVv4_j72yGQxnNlKKUSz3_YgrX1k0xEcfdDUJ8C7ZNLpzTmA-0EhG0o4VY86oGWnlZWfAXBcE6Q/s1600/cousework-writing-service.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxflW-ZYDDoxupv3UFvpZOQLWTaizaivbLdOpi214QzkFa_aUVuGg2t3LWEN505-9KOVv4_j72yGQxnNlKKUSz3_YgrX1k0xEcfdDUJ8C7ZNLpzTmA-0EhG0o4VY86oGWnlZWfAXBcE6Q/s320/cousework-writing-service.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But…even though I do refer to those last pages of my
manuscript when I sit down to work, and even though I just told you it is
helpful…there is something so<em> planned</em> about it. Something the opposite of
organic. Something sort of…well….limiting.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I will say that some hybrid form of outlining (not the roman
numeral type from school, but still…) was absolutely necessary when I wrote a
novel with a friend. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keeping a full
story straight as you move it from your head to your laptop or paper is hard
enough, let alone when that story is growing and emerging from two writers
simultaneously. It was sort of a magic trick – writing with a partner. And I
like to think of our ever-shifting outlines and notes and conversations about
what coulda/shoulda/oughta happen next or last or sometime in the book were
organic in their own right. But we did write those “coulda/shouldas” down so we
were both on the same page (pun definitely intended).</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think I like organic, but might need outlines and notes. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s the other thing I should confess – the organically
growing manuscript? It’s been organically growing for years. Really. Years. The
outlined one with dragons? Moving much faster. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So maybe the outlines are not only a good tool for keeping
the details straight – but offer some sort of impetus, too. An urge. A nudge.
If something can be outlined, it can be written, right? </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What about you? Do you use outlines? Do you take notes,
write up other “tools” like character sketches or plot diagrams when you write?
</span></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-59046522668412736522011-12-06T19:16:00.001-05:002011-12-06T19:23:10.647-05:00The Drummer BoyI've been stuck with my writing lately -- but was challenged by a friend to write a Christmas story and share it with other writers I know. So...as a gift to myself this holiday season, I've taken time for myself. Time to write when I've been not giving myself that time lately at all. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIiMQfMzHfS0NlgFADRRLC8Cdhlzl2rDYlWAgW5B8mjd41nfrDXgvSMLitnD5ytKPIXIr4_JUmRCINccrN2fw_y2m91NSpHarucDAlAm0DBaGu3lM6XmqBn-LY-Z05Dodb0qdnTfPYw8A/s1600/christmas+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIiMQfMzHfS0NlgFADRRLC8Cdhlzl2rDYlWAgW5B8mjd41nfrDXgvSMLitnD5ytKPIXIr4_JUmRCINccrN2fw_y2m91NSpHarucDAlAm0DBaGu3lM6XmqBn-LY-Z05Dodb0qdnTfPYw8A/s1600/christmas+tree.jpg" /></a></div>
It is just a first draft -- the beginning of a simple story, but I'll share it with you. I've always loved the Christmas carol "The Little Drummer Boy." Even as a little girl, I loved the pictures in my head when I heard that song -- pictures of a small boy who wanted so desperately to show his love for his new king that he gave the only thing he had: his music. <br />
<br />
So -- as inspired by my favorite Christmas carol... a first, unfinished (much work still to be done) draft of The Drummer Boy. Merry Christmas.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“He’s arrived!” </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Father heard the shout and stopped walking. The night
was black as ink, but I was still out with Papa and the goats. I gripped Papa’s thumb tighter so I wouldn’t
lose him to the voices in the dark.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Who’s there?” Papa called.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The figures, dressed in robes that glittered with moonlight,
waved from the other side of our little sea of moving goats. When they walked
toward us, the animals scattered in two directions, moving out of the way and
bleating their unhappiness.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I worried about gathering them back up, but Papa kept a hold
of my hand and watched only the men coming toward us in the darkness.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Blessings to you, on this beautiful night,” the tallest man
said. He smiled at Papa and laid one warm hand on my head. He ruffled my hair
just a little when he took his hand back. This man was not a shepherd, not in
clothes that captured the moonbeams and a beard combed soft and full. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Papa bowed his head in greeting. “Kind sir, what brings you
through our valley tonight?”</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Haven’t you heard? The babe we’ve waited for has come.”</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Papa didn’t say anything, but his hand tightened on mine
again. I looked up at his face – the face usually full of laughs and smiles and
kisses – and saw something new. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Papa?” I asked. “Papa? Do we have another baby?”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Papa did not answer. He looked at the visitors, one after the
other. “Say it again? Tell me again.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The tall man smiled again and laid one hand on Papa’s
shoulder. “It’s true. We are on our way to welcome him. The world will be
different now that he has come.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I tugged on Papa’s finger. “Papa? Who is coming? Is Mama
having another baby?”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The visitors all chuckled. Their rumbling laughter sent me
hiding in the folds of my father’s dusty robe, but I peeked out of my safe
haven and sent a smile to the closest stranger. He smiled back and winked one
eye.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Where?” Papa let go of my hand and let me cling to his
clothes. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Not far. Only another day’s journey from here, we think,”
one of the men replied. “We are bringing gifts to celebrate his birth.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I want a gift!” I said, boldly, from my hiding place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Laughter rumbled from the men again. “Oh, my boy! He is a
gift for us all, this new baby.”</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“But who is he?”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The king.” My father’s voice was soft.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“He is our new king,” the tall man said as he kneeled down
in the dust. He held out his hand, each finger encircled with a wide gold band
and jewels that reflected the stars. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I looked up and Papa nodded at me with a smile. I reached
out and took the stranger’s hand. He pulled me closer, until I was tucked right
up against his chest, looking out over our herd with him. One long arm pointed
up to the sky over my shoulder. “See that star? That is a sign from God that his
son has some to lead us all.” I could feel his voice against my back. He
smelled of wood smoke and something spicy. I leaned into his warmth and
followed his gaze up to the bright star. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“God’s son?” I whispered. Papa had told me God would send us
a king some day and that king would teach us to love one another. He would
bring all of God’s love down to us and keep us safe. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Can I give the new baby a gift, Papa?” I asked from within
the tall man’s embrace.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Papa’s eyes changed. He looked out over our goats and the
dry ridge where we lived. He looked back over his shoulder to where our tents stood,
a small fire burning on the horizon. Finally, he looked at the men surrounding
me – at their rich robes and jeweled hands.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“We do not have as great a gift as these men, son. We do not
have a gift worthy of a new king.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“But your welcome will be gift enough,” one of them said. “His
parents will know you come to welcome him. That will be enough.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Papa shook his head just a little and looked at me as I
stood still tucked in the man’s glittering embrace. “We may not have a gift
worthy of a king, but I insist we welcome you for a rest and a meal. Come, son –
show our new friends the way home.”</span></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-4538109252680922642011-11-23T12:23:00.001-05:002011-11-23T12:28:29.462-05:00Inspiration, Dedication, Tremulation...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What inspires you to write?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve had a few weeks away from my keyboard lately. I could
blame it on my daughter’s new equestrian team or my son’s football games or my
new job…but if I’m honest with myself, I think I have been my own biggest
hurdle.</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yHww-2KotkVYDIh_BDOZpUHa6dx6IjVohSQ94P8gIp7lB7rTjLGqRV3sTRDt9ghLb8N9iu3WTZsD1QqXZQL6619i33IblwyIG0zKuP6HHOarZNm5C51RmNnxGzDadEoL7-7b4mxxgd4/s1600/GRANDCANYON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yHww-2KotkVYDIh_BDOZpUHa6dx6IjVohSQ94P8gIp7lB7rTjLGqRV3sTRDt9ghLb8N9iu3WTZsD1QqXZQL6619i33IblwyIG0zKuP6HHOarZNm5C51RmNnxGzDadEoL7-7b4mxxgd4/s320/GRANDCANYON.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you are a writer, do you ever go through times when
sitting down and putting fingers to keys, words to screen or paper, just seems
too painful? It all seems hard…and in a way, an open door to failure? </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Harsh? Maybe… but I’m also my own biggest critic, so why
does it not surprise me if I turn out to be my own biggest obstacle?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have two WIPs going on right now – one a middle-grade
fantasy and the other an edgy contemporary YA novel. I was on quite a roll with
the fantasy there for a while, but got stuck in an invisible rut that has grown
into the Grand Canyon where stories go to languish.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I need to get my creative juices flowing again. I need to
find the energy and the strength to write stories again. I need to write. Then,
perhaps, life will find a balance again.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what do you do when you need inspiration? I used to
belong to a writer’s group where we sat together and wrote “writing practice” a
la Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. We’d come up with phrases or even
words, set a timer, and write until the clock reached zero. Once in a blue
moon, we’d bring along pictures as prompts, just to change things up a little.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe I need a little old-fashioned practice to get across
that grand canyon. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Any other ideas?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZoyp8Ih0myX7laA3TjuR_TB8-xcevYqs9LKGr_YLRDwAMKMuBQ_A-cJZokYJS45BLo0JBUtbC9vkCowyMf9etuokuzC3pMntWUmoY_tiiU78vCZn7C0RdON2eWd0CF26AaSx5YEGMpY/s1600/writing+rules.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizZoyp8Ih0myX7laA3TjuR_TB8-xcevYqs9LKGr_YLRDwAMKMuBQ_A-cJZokYJS45BLo0JBUtbC9vkCowyMf9etuokuzC3pMntWUmoY_tiiU78vCZn7C0RdON2eWd0CF26AaSx5YEGMpY/s1600/writing+rules.jpg" /></a></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-71635776846953062232011-10-23T11:55:00.002-04:002011-10-23T11:56:34.426-04:00Spook-tastic<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not much for horror stories. For example, the year I made
it through about a third of The Exorcist with my hubby…I couldn’t go down into
the basement for MONTHS. He literally had to rig a light switch in our kitchen
that would turn on lights and a radio <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in
the basement so I could go throw in a load of laundry. In broad daylight. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yep. Not good with horror stories.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had an encounter with an Ouija
board when I was 16, which probably explains my fascination and terror when it
comes to stories that have to do with spirits and evil and the like. (By the
way, vampires don’t count. Especially sparkly ones. Just in case you wondered.)</span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold","sans-serif";">The
Ouija Board Story, Part 1: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was home alone one weekend and a
friend brought over the board. We joked and teased each other about it, but
ended up lighting candles and turning off all of the lights. I don’t remember
what questions we asked or what the answers were from the board – but I do
remember that every candle in the room was extinguished simultaneously for no
good reason. (Gives me goose bumps just to type that.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Copperplate Gothic Bold","sans-serif";">The
Ouija Board Story, Part 2:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Later that weekend, I was still
home alone. Just me, my dog, and the cats. A huge thunderstorm whipped up and
the power went out. No TV, no lights, nothing.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I huddled in an overstuffed chair
in the family room (my back to the rest of the house) trying to read a book by
flashlight. Strange bumping sounds started up in my basement. The dog perked up
her head, looked past my chair into the kitchen….and whined. She was not a
whiner, this dog.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The bumping in the basement was
erratic. The dog started growling. My heart in my throat, I finally worked up
the courage to peek around the edge of my chair toward the kitchen and the
basement door. The light over the kitchen table – which should have been dark
since the power was out all over town – was glowing red. By this time, my hands
were shaking so badly, I couldn’t hold my book still anymore. The occasional lightening
lit up the entire house with bright white light – but the glowing red in my
kitchen was steady. Every time I looked behind my chair, that light was glowing…and
sometimes swinging just a little bit. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was bolted to my chair,
terrified to move. To get to my phone, I would have had to pass the open
basement door and walk right through the kitchen. The dog continued to growl
and whine and I continued to shiver until the power came back on. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I turned on every single light in
the house, pulled the basement door shut and blocked it with a heavy chair, and
tried to get some sleep. (What did I think the chair was going to do? Stop some
evil from coming up from the basement? GACK! But it somehow made me feel
better.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 207.0pt;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BupVmkMPZmqNODNWPs1JVrUxxao_BDXSIBlQseKkrGuE6ehVfURFBut8Q0yov-5VfyfNV2mVWOFaUffa8N1rY_4utZAHK8TQZWYKhcLKD6KWrniRT6RcxJcBJLKaIWXDW2nXfpolvmI/s1600/maradyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BupVmkMPZmqNODNWPs1JVrUxxao_BDXSIBlQseKkrGuE6ehVfURFBut8Q0yov-5VfyfNV2mVWOFaUffa8N1rY_4utZAHK8TQZWYKhcLKD6KWrniRT6RcxJcBJLKaIWXDW2nXfpolvmI/s1600/maradyer.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I picked up <u>The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer</u> by Michelle
Hodkin a few weeks ago based on the cover. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little did I know, an eerily familiar scene at
the beginning of Ms. Hodkin’s story would suck me right in. Teenage girls
huddled around an Ouija board… And I’ll just tell you this story gets much
spookier than a glowing red light over a kitchen table! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Keep a flashlight handy. And maybe a generator. Just in
case. You definitely want the lights on when you’re reading this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you read any good October Spooky Stories lately? </span></div>Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-64451746709583053432011-10-08T16:49:00.002-04:002011-10-08T16:50:01.856-04:00A writers' challenge -- and a chance to win a free book!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoqqsVmurPhQIlzVaOph4BX66Bg-VpEb7jvf99G8XjKzxDP4EUUoheWnQE1j3YAxOzFLzHFDohNqUMjNx-dwcO7PmVoNx8UMY3dsy2Vd9UfJ-4XQ8PjdY-6VIWLbR30cWCu-rvaD2BaZQ/s1600/pen+and+paper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoqqsVmurPhQIlzVaOph4BX66Bg-VpEb7jvf99G8XjKzxDP4EUUoheWnQE1j3YAxOzFLzHFDohNqUMjNx-dwcO7PmVoNx8UMY3dsy2Vd9UfJ-4XQ8PjdY-6VIWLbR30cWCu-rvaD2BaZQ/s1600/pen+and+paper.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have a challenge for you: Go dig around on your laptop or
under your bed for something you wrote a few years ago. For some of you, it
might be only a few months ago. Either way, dig it out and take a look.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are the rules:</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be kind to yourself. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be willing to chuckle at your own writing.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Look for what you were already doing well.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Identify why you are better now at certain
aspects of writing craft.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thank your mentors.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dabble in editing the piece. But be sure to save
your edited version with a new name so you can preserve that writing time
capsule. You may need to go back and look at it again some other day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is a great thing to be able to look back for the sake of
seeing how far you have come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But don’t
gaze that direction for too long. Appreciate your progress – then continue your
journey. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2nx8WeqaJpFlqPgMLL1geMi8b5yod5F8XiZH1t5keLyw6g5d4C8xgaBXD8aS18u0V263UBNhm8i10-jRCMN0a-STJnyH44uLBv-1AF6sdUsHLNlipPJvPrOf0ThNtGjeXyXlk04DlM0/s1600/seizestorycover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2nx8WeqaJpFlqPgMLL1geMi8b5yod5F8XiZH1t5keLyw6g5d4C8xgaBXD8aS18u0V263UBNhm8i10-jRCMN0a-STJnyH44uLBv-1AF6sdUsHLNlipPJvPrOf0ThNtGjeXyXlk04DlM0/s1600/seizestorycover.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Write something new.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Leave a comment below to enter a drawing for a free copy of <u>Seize
the Story</u> – a writing craft book for young adult writers. Tell me how the
challenge worked for you – or comment on what you’ve learned about your own
writing recently. I’ll draw the winner on Sunday, October 16<sup>th</sup>. </span></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-76319484926465805902011-09-29T19:22:00.000-04:002011-09-29T19:23:09.458-04:00Talking with Meg Rosoff, Author of How I Live Now
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you are a regular Carpe Keyboard
reader, you know I had a minor addiction to post-apocalyptic YA fiction a <a href="http://carpekeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-can-we-learn-from-end-of-world.html">few weeks ago</a>. One of the novels I read during that genre marathon was Meg Rosoff’s
<u>How I Live Now</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9M_HfOcoTzSO-L-fKG7grrNZFlzRTzY8wR5SVuaPpZEblq8cOaIWFYZOJi332mwS8f_96ftvLTKlMSwpxb6vmUUmjqf6EpUmqhAXUoBTu3QFdSi37_tNEz_4YJZugP2XzH0LIIBKXt4/s1600/how_i_live_now_2-129x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9M_HfOcoTzSO-L-fKG7grrNZFlzRTzY8wR5SVuaPpZEblq8cOaIWFYZOJi332mwS8f_96ftvLTKlMSwpxb6vmUUmjqf6EpUmqhAXUoBTu3QFdSi37_tNEz_4YJZugP2XzH0LIIBKXt4/s1600/how_i_live_now_2-129x200.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ms. Rosoff generously agreed to a CP
interview. We discussed one of her many novels as well as the writing life she
leads. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Welcome, Ms. Rosoff!</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Carpe Keyboard:</span></b><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> I thought <u>How I Live Now</u> was a beautiful story
about family, loss and love. I was particularly interested in the shift in
Daisy’s voice from the bulk of the story to the last section where we find out
she’s been recovering back in NY from her war experiences. Voice for YA fiction
is such a tenuous thing – and difficult for many writers to feel that they have
captured an authentic young person’s voice.</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How did the shift come about as you
wrote this story? Did you plan all along to show Daisy’s changes and growth
that way? Or was it more organic and her voice changed as you got to the end of
the story? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Meg Rosoff: </span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I don't really plan my books, so the voice develops in
a completely organic way. The shift in voice was useful to indicate that time
had passed, and Daisy had changed considerably from her younger self.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why did you
choose to have Daisy fall in love with her cousin? At first, I was taken aback,
as an adult reader, when I realized how much Daisy and Edmond were in love. On
the other hand, their situation and circumstances made their love story seem
plausible. Did you have any negative feedback or concern from your agent,
editor, or readers about this unconventional love story?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I'm fairly astonished that people endlessly commented
on the cousin aspect of the relationship and not the fact that Daisy and Edmond
were 15 and 14 at the time they were having sex. Almost no one (in the US
particularly) worries about Daisy and Edmond being underage, but lots of
readers freak out that they're cousins. Marriage between cousins is a
traditional method of keeping dowry in the family and not "marrying out"
-- it's not illegal in most places (UK and most US states as well) and I was
really surprised at the reactions by some readers. It never occurred to me that
it would bother anyone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So much of <u>How
I Live Now</u> was about family. Family to Daisy meant a distant father and an
antagonistic step-mother…until she met Penn and her cousins. It was as if, in
the midst of this time of war, Daisy uncovered a fundamental truth about family
in a way that changed her life. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Were you
writing Daisy’s story to send a message specifically about the importance of
family? Were you inspired by your own life experiences or other stories to
focus on meaning of family with this book?</span><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I don't write books with agendas or to send messages.
I'm interested in love, the complexities of relationships within families,
adolescence, identity and coming of age, so that's what I explore in my
writing.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What tools
do you use when you write? Do you outline? Plot on index cards? Write character
sketches?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">None of the above. I plunge in and see what happens.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When do you
carpe your keyboard? What are your writing habits?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I write almost every day, for most of the hours of the
day -- when I'm not walking dogs or riding horses or (occasionally) paying
attention to my daughter and husband. Some days/weeks/months i don't accomplish
very much. I'm a very fast writer, so once I know where I want to go, I get
there. Plot gives me a lot of trouble, and all my downtime is spent figuring
out where to go next. I also waste a vast amount of time on facebook and
wandering around on the internet or blogging (</span></span></i><a href="http://www.megrosoff.co.uk/blog/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0066cc; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">http://www.megrosoff.co.uk/blog/</span></span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">)<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Any advice for hopeful writers who want
to “break in” to the business?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Ha! Everyone's saying the book is dead. I don't think
it is dead, but it is morphing into something a bit different. The best advice
I can think of for getting published is to write something really really good.
Publishers are (still) gagging for good books.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4i2cL0XV9lZmUdHW3LspvkAA1gS5ZFhI7MhxwJwD50EVY8WgmYIqFZzpgDPpzQcnzAEBnt3zKrxl__mJcdFP9srEp39geTIJ_NCgCeCjWXAoFIzyo5_jbg9DFUSOsHXi_zPZmtvij5M4/s1600/there_is_no_dog_uk-125x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4i2cL0XV9lZmUdHW3LspvkAA1gS5ZFhI7MhxwJwD50EVY8WgmYIqFZzpgDPpzQcnzAEBnt3zKrxl__mJcdFP9srEp39geTIJ_NCgCeCjWXAoFIzyo5_jbg9DFUSOsHXi_zPZmtvij5M4/s1600/there_is_no_dog_uk-125x200.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Check
out Meg’s <a href="http://www.megrosoff.co.uk/blog/">blog</a> and her website to learn more about her other stories. You can
read up on her latest novel, <u>There is No Dog</u>. Sounds like a great one! </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks so much for
spending some time with us, Meg. </span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-84432031655734613752011-09-25T09:18:00.001-04:002011-09-25T09:19:32.986-04:00Yellow tears and skies the color of milk<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love fall. I love the colors associated with it – the ruby
leaves, the khaki colored soybean fields ready for harvest, the blue, blue sky
set against the still emerald grasses. When I was a kid, I used to love keeping
tabs on the big crabapple tree that stood outside my bedroom window. I watched it
shift from its deep green robes of summer to the confetti celebration of fall before my
very eyes.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe this is why, as I’m reading Markus Zusak’s Prinz Honor book, <u>The Book
Thief</u>, I’m falling in love a little bit with his use of color. Somewhere in
my head, I’ve always known that writing about any of the senses – the
experience of color included – grows flesh on writing. But Mr. Zusak’s colors
don’t just build virtual flesh. His use of color changes tone. Punches you in
the gut. Whispers secrets in your ear. Sneaks under your skin and raises the
hair on your arms.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIYmdOeTp864c3hkojfqGWY0KRSbG_az0UkIFj7JluJxa8Rxx2J2qgO-_q90vQJwfcW2m7Sq3Y6QP0DhdaQMWHaac2js-pqAgRrf-j0HJBc_n_ByoRQEi-TnC6w7u6WuKmPAhmcuAYt50/s1600/bookthiefcover.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIYmdOeTp864c3hkojfqGWY0KRSbG_az0UkIFj7JluJxa8Rxx2J2qgO-_q90vQJwfcW2m7Sq3Y6QP0DhdaQMWHaac2js-pqAgRrf-j0HJBc_n_ByoRQEi-TnC6w7u6WuKmPAhmcuAYt50/s1600/bookthiefcover.gif" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mr. Zusak writes of yellow tears and skies the color of
milk. He shows us “orange and red embers” that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“looked like rejected candy” after a horrible
bonfire. Liesel, our heroine, sees the “skull-colored part” in Hitler’s hair at
a rally. Even light illuminating a man’s deathbed is “gray and orange, the
color of summer’s skin.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are some others:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“A star the color of mustard was smeared to the door.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Still, with red tongues and teeth, they walked down Himmel
Street, happily searching the ground as they went. The day had been a great one
and Nazi Germany was a wondrous place.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The book was hot and wet, blue and red – embarrassed – and Hans
Hubermann opened it up.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you found examples of color used to bring such power to
writing? Do you consciously work on including color – and other sensory details
– in your writing? </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Think in emeralds and rubies, sapphires and brass today when
you sit down to write. Color your sentences with the deep red of blood or the
glow of orange from a jack-o-lantern’s eyes. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Or can you color other senses? Can the sting of a bee feel a
certain color? Can the scent of mildewed and rotting leaves smell a certain
color? What about the heat of the sun on the back of your neck or the sound of
rain dripping against a cold window pane? </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Write today. Write with all of your senses – and use the
colors of fall as your inspiration. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-73600623590439723202011-09-11T12:27:00.000-04:002011-09-11T12:28:21.907-04:00Landing softly on a hard day<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On this anniversary of 9/11, I find myself searching for
something soothing. Something that will ease the ache of the horror I remember
vividly – even though I was a thousand miles away from the Twin Towers and felt
like a spectator, powerless and destroyed at some level, watching the events
unfold on television.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Without realizing it, I choose a book last night that help a
bit. Natalie Babbitt’s <u>Tuck Everlasting</u> – with its lovely language,
gentle plot, and wonder at the power of time and the grace of being able to die
– provided a soft place for me to land on this Sunday morning.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPKkXjsLZ4uOX_Tw7sGQnNmokK56famYQsCpTbL2V3TEfbZq1HWjTLqzCEnMMVM1JYXrrpBaaGE3Ub0DtEWKCuIDPUfvqMH2VAsAp0v16NUsMX2jOCOpRX3KDOj95Ajqg8TmpGAJRGUU/s1600/tuck+everlasting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPKkXjsLZ4uOX_Tw7sGQnNmokK56famYQsCpTbL2V3TEfbZq1HWjTLqzCEnMMVM1JYXrrpBaaGE3Ub0DtEWKCuIDPUfvqMH2VAsAp0v16NUsMX2jOCOpRX3KDOj95Ajqg8TmpGAJRGUU/s1600/tuck+everlasting.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ms. Babbitt’s settings are part of what drew me into the
story. The contrast between the Foster house and the Tuck’s home – along with
the sense of strict order versus jumbled ease… life strangled versus life going
on – is powerful in a way I’m sure I didn’t fully grasp when I read this book
as a child. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is the first glimpse we get of the Foster’s house: </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“…a square and solid
cottage with a touch-me-not appearance, surrounded by grass cut painfully to the
quick and enclosed by a capable iron fence some four feet high which clearly
said, ‘Move on—we don’t want <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i>
here.’”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Later…we see the Tuck home: </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“So she </b>[Winnie]<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> was unprepared for the homely little house
beside the pond, unprepared for the gentle eddies of dust, the silver cobwebs,
the mouse who lived – and welcome to him! – in a table drawer.”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">She goes on to mention <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“dishes
stacked in perilous towers without the lease regard for their varying dimensions”
<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“every surface, every
wall, was piled and strewn and hung with everything imaginable, from onions to lanterns
to wooden spoons to wash tubs. And in a corner stood Tuck’s forgotten shotgun.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In fact, the entire first few pages of chapter 10 (in case
you have a copy handy) is one of the best, most comfortable descriptions of a
house possibly in all of children’s literature. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For some reason…the controlled chaos, the clutter, and the
well-loved, well-lived feeling of that house reminds me of my house when I was
a kid. No one ever accused my mom of having a perfectly clean house. (Sorry,
Mom!) But it was far better, in my mind, to trip over dogs and toss shoes in a
pile and move books from almost every flat surface (even to draw hearts and
write my name in the dust on the dresser tops) than it was to visit the house
down the street, where the living room furniture was quite sadly covered in
clear plastic sheeting and no one was allowed to step on the carpet.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And it probably is also worth noting that I might have found
this story soothing today in part, because I think Mae Tuck reminded me of my
own mother. Round and soft, full of hugs and ready to feed anyone who walked
through the door. Mae even feeds that mouse living in her table drawer with
flapjack crumbs after dinner…something my mom would have done in a heartbeat.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At any rate, I am glad to have found some sense of peace in
this story, on this day. </span></div>
Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785012510865323096.post-16196883098426885602011-09-06T19:29:00.002-04:002011-09-06T19:31:22.872-04:00What Can We Learn from The End of the World?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJziCFaMLOL22iJPTyks8VvN_JwBYOdrWYHzupJBa3aj3yabvevMVFPAl0GnTJs6XoFsTpma5AZGicWFaGrGhlHRcaSeYulGTPQC0OkXjC0aFFcq-eSNjpaJt4rryVL7EajL1Cau7d9m8/s1600/ScorchTrialspng.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJziCFaMLOL22iJPTyks8VvN_JwBYOdrWYHzupJBa3aj3yabvevMVFPAl0GnTJs6XoFsTpma5AZGicWFaGrGhlHRcaSeYulGTPQC0OkXjC0aFFcq-eSNjpaJt4rryVL7EajL1Cau7d9m8/s320/ScorchTrialspng.png" width="229" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I walked away from the public library with a stack of novels
from the YA section last week. Only upon checking out, did I realize I had a
theme going on: After The Apocalypse. Each novel was about young people
struggling to survive and make sense of life after some horrible event (plague,
total natural disaster, unknown set of events) almost eliminated civilization
as we know it.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As you might imagine, four novels of the same theme over the
course of less than 2 weeks was a little much. By the last one, I had started
to see similarities I probably would have missed if I’d read these books over
time with other stories in between.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For example:</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Love story. All of the stories had an element of
YA romance involved. (Apparently, love survives even when white bread and hot
showers do not!)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Young heroines play a major role – and they are
TOUGH. (‘Nuf said. Girls rock.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Boys, after the apocalypse, still have strong
arms and chests worth resting your hand on. (If you’re a tough girl who really
wants to have a boyfriend in the midst of learning how to survive.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Food is really important – and when you’re
hungry after a plague or other disaster destroys everything, you’ll eat just
about anything.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Villains don’t all end up dead when the end of
the world as we know it comes. Where there are good guys, there are also bad
guys.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A journey must be taken, with very little food
or water, over treacherous landscapes (deserts, post-earthquake or post-tsunami
wreckage, behind enemy lines, etc.).</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the meantime, I also learned a little bit about technique
from each of these authors.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9M_HfOcoTzSO-L-fKG7grrNZFlzRTzY8wR5SVuaPpZEblq8cOaIWFYZOJi332mwS8f_96ftvLTKlMSwpxb6vmUUmjqf6EpUmqhAXUoBTu3QFdSi37_tNEz_4YJZugP2XzH0LIIBKXt4/s1600/how_i_live_now_2-129x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9M_HfOcoTzSO-L-fKG7grrNZFlzRTzY8wR5SVuaPpZEblq8cOaIWFYZOJi332mwS8f_96ftvLTKlMSwpxb6vmUUmjqf6EpUmqhAXUoBTu3QFdSi37_tNEz_4YJZugP2XzH0LIIBKXt4/s1600/how_i_live_now_2-129x200.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From Meg Rosoff and <u>How I Live Now</u> – <span style="color: #c00000;">Changing voice in the story is a powerful way to create a
distinction between a character’s mental state at different times in their
story.</span> Ms. Rosoff’s style for most of this novel is very “stream of
consciousness” and rather rambling. (Took some getting used to, honestly.) But
the end of the story – clarity is revealed. You discover something about the
heroine through not only her words, but how she communicates. Her whole voice
coalesces into something new, which fits in with who she has become.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvyZmeFC4H9Cu_Xw2th_s5A_sUN8cGR-e6TmHi5RjOCp9YfpsVwmqExuacr7GhbArxAgTMxa3PhHh-gQKT2IVs7k88MWPoJD81__sHrhkFkb-qP07cdqlXOZEFc9VHxPTqyUSvIwOEp4Q/s1600/Ashes-Ashes_smcover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvyZmeFC4H9Cu_Xw2th_s5A_sUN8cGR-e6TmHi5RjOCp9YfpsVwmqExuacr7GhbArxAgTMxa3PhHh-gQKT2IVs7k88MWPoJD81__sHrhkFkb-qP07cdqlXOZEFc9VHxPTqyUSvIwOEp4Q/s320/Ashes-Ashes_smcover.png" width="209" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From Jo Treggiari and <u>Ashes, Ashes</u> – <span style="color: #c00000;">Don’t rely too much on formula or your reader will be
able to predict too much of your plot.</span> Unfortunately, I knew early on
who the “betrayer” was, who the “perfect guy” was, and who would be the
game-changer in this journey. Although I thought Ms. Treggiari had great, gory
descriptions of butchering a turtle. (Ick!)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From James Dashner and <u>The Scorch Trials</u> – <span style="color: #c00000;">How to make the second book in a series even faster and
riskier than the first.</span> I didn’t think he could live up to the pace and
fear-factor of <u>The Maze</u>, but Mr. Dashner ratcheted up the speed, the
terror, and the consequences of everyone’s actions in this one. Breakneck pace.
I felt like I’d run a footrace through the Mojave Desert by the time I reached
the last chapter. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ58P3F8GCPVcmlEfH4uXxgJnSG_VxbDhaWaDR7iAayZeIAYK738U13rDJgJv8o-HGGc-bfFsrfK-m_G_NsMnRy0XhL_-5XiB-Ca-q3_Cy-TbWAhh0aqbPsH3K0yWXi-asijBT3Jcssog/s1600/dead-tossed-waves-175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ58P3F8GCPVcmlEfH4uXxgJnSG_VxbDhaWaDR7iAayZeIAYK738U13rDJgJv8o-HGGc-bfFsrfK-m_G_NsMnRy0XhL_-5XiB-Ca-q3_Cy-TbWAhh0aqbPsH3K0yWXi-asijBT3Jcssog/s1600/dead-tossed-waves-175.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From Carry Ryan and <u>The Dead-Tossed Waves</u> – <span style="color: #c00000;">Even zombie stories deserve poetic language. </span>Like
The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Ms. Ryan continues to use lovely language to
describe a horror of a world where zombies infect humans and society has been
reduced to small pockets of villages connected by fenced-off paths through the
forests. In eerie scenes, Ms. Ryan’s storms bring not only the threat of flood
and water to this post-apocalypse word – but the threat of the “downed dead”
rising from the ocean floor, to awake and seek out victims again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you ever picked a “theme” for a week or a month? Ever
focused on a specific genre over and over until you see patterns emerge? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe next week, I’ll pick another literary deep dive. What
should I choose?</span></div>
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Karen S. Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116824802269613088noreply@blogger.com5