Thought for the Day:
“Read, read, read. Read everything— trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it, just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window.”
~ William Faulkner ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
It seems to me that genre blending is becoming more and more common in middle-grade fiction. I haven’t tried it, but maybe some of you will, so HERE is a good article from Writer’s Digest by Leslye Penelope called 5 Ways to Blend Genres Without Losing the Reader.
I think it is Donald Maas who preaches about having tension on every page, but the caveat is that there has to be a reason for it. HERE is a great Narrative Nugget by Janice Hardy about adding a particular kind of conflict.
The revision process is a difficult one, but where is the end point? HERE, Erin Entrada Kelly has a terrific post called How do you know when you’re done? It’s a quick read and a good one.
I know I was MIA last week, but something fun came up. There is an old Art Deco theatre in Sacramento called The Crest. I think it was built in 1913, and the owners have worked hard to keep it in its original beautiful form and to host special events there. They wanted to honor the passing of the great Dolly Parton, and they had a double feature showing The Best Little Whore House in Texas and Steel Magnolias with a dinner break between them. My daughter and granddaughter invited me to go with them. It turns out I had never seen either movie. Hard to believe, I know, but it’s so. Many years ago, I saw Steel Magnolias at a tiny off-Broadway theatre before it was a big hit, and it was so good that I guess I didn’t believe a movie could live up to it. I was wrong. It was a wonderful movie. It had a great cast, and while everyone was terrific, Sally Field’s performance was extraordinary. Best Little Whorehouse was fun, but nothing special. That said, I got to spend a whole day with my daughter and granddaughter. Bonus! Then this week I got to watch some of the most exciting tennis I’ve seen this year. The U.S. Open does not disappoint. That doesn’t mean I always got the outcome I hoped for, but the tennis was great.
I’m continuing my reading of Gary D. Schmidt’s fiction in order, and last week I read ANSON’S WAY. This is quite different from anything else I’ve read of Schmidt’s work. Young Anson Granville Staplyton has reached an age when he is to join the Staffordshire Fencibles, as men in his family had for generations, to defend the British Empire. He would join as a drummer and serve in the regiment commanded by his father. They were to control the rebellious Irish in and around Dublin. It is the 1700s, and the laws are quite strict, and punishments are dire. Even though Anson’s father is careful to show him no favoritism, one of the young sergeants takes Anson under his wing and gives him a surprising amount of freedom to move around and see the Irish people, how they live, and how the strict British laws affect them. Anson sees some truly terrible things and many people being badly treated and hurt. He also makes some surprising friends, ones he can’t really tell his father about. It gives Anson an interesting perspective on “the Irish problem.” When Anson’s father is badly injured, a nefarious character in the Fencibles is promoted to command while his father is on the mend. Anson puts himself in some real danger trying to spare his friends from the worst efforts to punish the locals.
This is a great story that young people will find fascinating. I haven’t run across any other middle-grade books that deal with this time and place. It will give young American readers a bit of history they aren’t likely to know otherwise. The writing is, as usual, gorgeous. “The sun rose, and the country grew barer. Cabbage rows and fields of winter wheat yielded to bogs stretching out flat except for the strange and almost frightening rocks that thrust themselves out of the green mire like men strangling for breath.” (page 29) Holy smoke, that’s good! “Farther and still farther, to where the rocks thinned out until they might have been giant playthings left behind on the moor, while the birches looked on and groomed their lovely hair.” (page 148) The characters are finely drawn and perfectly believable. The story is riveting. This book is a real treat for those who love historical fiction.
Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 