Laurie Halse Anderson's Blog, page 16

WFMAD Day 19 – Anger is a writer's best friend

If you haven't read the post I wrote at 4 am this morning about the lawsuit recently filed that accuses authorities at a Republic, MO middle school of covering up the alleged rapes of a special needs student , please do so now.

We do not have a word in English that adequately expresses how angry I am about this.

But this is a WFMAD post. It is not the place for me to go all fire-and-brimstone on the hindquarters of adults who epically fail in their responsibilities to the children in their care.

One of the tricks to being a balanced, productive writer is to take the emotional fastballs that life hurtles toward your head and transform them into something you can use in your writing. If you want to write for teens and kids, the chances are almost 100% that you care deeply about them. This means you are going to spend a lot of time being upset at the way they are treated.

Anger, stoked in a righteous fire and smoothed with the hammer of integrity, becomes narrative energy.

Ready… Don't take any time to be ready. Tell the people around you to leave you alone for 15 minutes. Put on head phones. Make the stupid world go away. And don't give me any back-talk, OK?

Set… "Everywhere, everywhere, children are the scorned people of the earth." AND "I get angry about things, then go on and work." both quotes from Toni Morrison

Today's prompt: What pisses you off? What action, person, offense, crime, indignity, injustice, horror scratches your soul like a sulphur-tipped match on sandpaper? I'm not talking about the jerk who cuts you off in traffic, or a parking ticket, or a partner who leaves socks on the living room floor. I'm talking about dangerous anger. World-changing anger. Revolutionary rage.

Write about what makes you that angry. I double-dog dare you.

Extra bonus points if you get so fired up that you write about what makes your character that angry, too.

Scribble… Scribble… Scribble…

WFMD Day 19 – Anger is a writer's best friend

If you haven't read the post I wrote at 4 am this morning about the lawsuit recently filed that accuses authorities at a Republic, MO middle school of covering up the alleged rapes of a special needs student , please do so now.

We do not have a word in English that adequately expresses how angry I am about this.

But this is a WFMAD post. It is not the place for me to go all fire-and-brimstone on the hindquarters of adults who epically fail in their responsibilities to the children in their care.

One of the tricks to being a balanced, productive writer is to take the emotional fastballs that life hurtles toward your head and transform them into something you can use in your writing. If you want to write for teens and kids, the chances are almost 100% that you care deeply about them. This means you are going to spend a lot of time being upset at the way they are treated.

Anger, stoked in a righteous fire and smoothed with the hammer of integrity, becomes narrative energy.

Ready… Don't take any time to be ready. Tell the people around you to leave you alone for 15 minutes. Put on head phones. Make the stupid world go away. And don't give me any back-talk, OK?

Set… "Everywhere, everywhere, children are the scorned people of the earth." AND "I get angry about things, then go on and work." both quotes from Toni Morrison

Today's prompt: What pisses you off? What action, person, offense, crime, indignity, injustice, horror scratches your soul like a sulphur-tipped match on sandpaper? I'm not talking about the jerk who cuts you off in traffic, or a parking ticket, or a partner who leaves socks on the living room floor. I'm talking about dangerous anger. World-changing anger. Revolutionary rage.

Write about what makes you that angry. I double-dog dare you.

Extra bonus points if you get so fired up that you write about what makes your character that angry, too.

Scribble… Scribble… Scribble…

District that tried to ban SPEAK accused of covering up rapes

I was planning on writing an update about the book banning efforts of Wesley Scroggins in Republic, MO next month. The school board finally made its decision about which books it would remove, and since we are so close to the one-year anniversary of the mess, I had decided to write about it then.

But then I found out that the mother of a special needs girl has filed suit against same school district in which she claims her daughter suffered "multiple sexual assaults" and was raped by a classmate in school in seventh grade . The suit claims that the daughter told school personnel, who did not report the accusations to authorities, that her daughter was shamed into recanting and forced to write a letter of apology to the rapist, then was RAPED AGAIN by the same boy in same school the following year.

So I am writing about the Republic School District a little earlier than I had planned to.

(I have linked to the original complaint, the district's responses and other news coverage at the end of this post.)

The outrages pile up one atop the other. According to the complaint filed by the mother, this girl (then in seventh grade) suffered from repeated sexual harassment from the boy in question. When he finally raped her, she went to school officials. They told her mother that they did not think the girl's accusations were credible. After that, they met with the girl a number of times, without the mother being present, to discuss her claims.

Apparently no one at the school contacted the police.

If I had written this storyline in a novel, my editor would have dismissed it as ridiculous. She'd say something like, "That would never happen in America today. School officials know that they are mandated reporters. They would have called the police the first time the girl spoke up."

They didn't. Instead, they made the girl write an apology letter to the boy she accused of raping her. Then they made her deliver it to him.

And then? They referred her to juvenile authorities for making up the whole story and suspended her for the rest of the school year.

(There is a big unanswered question here: did the police, acting on that referral from the school for false accusation, investigate? What did they find?)

When the girl started eighth grade the following September (2009), the lawsuit claims she was the victim of "repeated sexual assaults" for the entire school year. In February of 2010, the suit alleges that the boy took her to a secluded corner of the library and raped her.

The girl immediately spoke up again. School officials were skeptical and did not take any action. The girl was taken (by her mother, I believe) to the Child Advocacy Center for a SAFE exam (Sexual Assault Forensic Exam). The exam showed a "positive finding for sexual assault." Semen collected in the the exam was found to be a DNA match for the boy in question.

The boy was arrested and pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him. (The lawsuit does not the specify the exact charges or his sentence.)

What did the school do? The lawsuit says it suspended THE GIRL again for "Disrespectful Conduct" and "Public Display of Affection."

According to the local county prosecutor, Missouri state law lets the school officials off the hook for not reporting the incidents because the boy was not an adult. (The age of consent in Missouri is 17, but if the perpetrator is under 21, it appears that there is rarely prosecution. If any of you are trained in the nuances of Missouri sexual assault law, I'd love some more information about this.) But he also said the school should have erred on the side of caution and allowed a trained forensic professional to interview the girl and decide about her credibility.

I have no information about the kind of "special needs" the girl has. I believe that her disabilities, in there are any, would even further enhance the need of the school officials to bring in law enforcement the first time she spoke up.

What do you think?

1. Initial coverage of the lawsuit in the local newspaper

2. Excellent coverage of the story at Boing Boing .

3. PDF of the lawsuit against the Republic, MO school district, and the principal, counselor, and school resources officer of the middle school filed with the US district court.

4. PDF of the school district's response to the mother's lawsuit.

5. PDF of the Republic School District's public statement , issued Wednesday, on the matter.

6. CBS News weighed in on the matter, too.

7. Local television coverage.

WFMAD Day 18 – Getting By With a Little Help

In my humble opinion, Joe Cocker's version of this song is way better than the Beatles.

What does Joe Cocker have to do with your writing?

Your character needs some friends. We are often so focused on developing our main character and The Forces Of Evil Who Rally Against Her, that we neglect to use the vast potential that a friend can bring to our story. You can tell a lot about a person by the friends they keep, can't you?'

Ready… Your character is not the only person who needs friends. If you don't have someone you can trust (and to whom you are NOT related by blood or marriage) enough to share your writing with, now is the time to figure out how you are going to find that person. (If you are writing for children or teens, your best bet is to join SCBWI . If you're writing for adults, I don't have a clue. Sorry.) Once you figure out who that person is, schedule some meetings over coffee, or Skype, or on the phone so the two of you can commiserate and cheer each other on as you push forward on the writing path.

Set… "We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." Ernest Hemingway

Today's prompt: Develop a friend for your main character. Make sure that she's not a cliche; no "trusty side-kicks" please. How are they different? What irritates them about each other? Why are they loyal to each other? What secret do they know? How did they meet? Don't worry about how this friend is going to fit into your plot. The answer to that problem will come to you as soon as you've developed the character well enough.

OR

Write about the person who was your closest friend in elementary school. Open up the floodgates and let the memories flow.

Scribble…. Scribble… Scribble…

WFMAD Day 17 – Classical borrowings

Welcome to a blast from my past.

Fractured Fairy Tales was a feature on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, a cartoon that ran in the early 1960′s (and is now available on Hulu ).

Aside from being stupid-funny and guaranteeing that your children will regard you as ancient if you go all nostalgic as soon as you hear the theme song, they offer a wonderful structural device for writers.

Ready… If character comes easy to you, but devising plot is a problem, look to the classics of storytelling for a little help. One of the reasons that classics endure is because they resonate so deeply with readers they survive the tests of age. Don't be afraid to experiment with the structure of a known tale as you are trying to figure out your own plot. Adapt the elements to the needs of the character, instead of stealing and reproducing the story. It will be much more satisfying to put your own spin on the story.

Set… "Write even when you don't want to, don't much like what you are writing, and aren't writing particularly well." Agatha Christie

Today's prompt: Choose a fairy tale from this list . (Reread the tale quickly if you don't remember the story clearly.)

Now fracture the fairy tale. Insert a new main character; you, a character from your work in progress, a new character you just dreamed up, or a friend, neighbor, child or dog you know. Rewrite the tale quickly, but make the reactions of the main character true to who he is instead of making him simply be a puppet to voice the original text. Allow your story to drive off the map and head for destinations unknown. Have fun with this!!

Scribble… Scribble… Scribble…

WFMAD Day 16 – Early bird catches worm, etc.

August is half-over! MORE than half-over. When I came out of swim practice tonight, the sun was nearly set.

Screw your courage to the sticking point , friends! Dig deep and find the fortitude that will keep you writing until August fades away!

It's late and I'm beat and you're impatient, so let's hop to it, shall we?

Ready… Have you missed a couple of writing days this month? Are you joining us late? Do not waste ONE SECOND scolding yourself! You can't change the past. Focus on today. Plan for tomorrow. If you've been having a hard time squeezing out fifteen minutes a day for your writing, then set your alarm clock fifteen minutes early for tomorrow. I promise that the temporary discomfort of getting out of bed a wee bit early will be more than offset by the pride and joy in having written something.

Set… "God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest." P.D. James

Today's prompt: Remember that list of settings you composed yesterday? I sure hope you held on to it.

Pick the three settings that are the most interesting or terrifying to you. Write a few lines to describe a scene with your main character in this setting. Who would she come across there? How would they interact?

OR

Write down what place scares you the most. What chills your blood? Describe it in terrifying, chilling detail. Then explain why it freaks you out so much.

Scribble… Scribble… Scribble…

WFMAD Day 15 – The Genius of P D James

I would do anything for this woman.

Image credit David Sandison

This is P. D. James, one of the finest mystery writers, no, one of the finest writers alive. She just turned 91 and is still writing. (She didn't publish her first novel until she was 42.) She is my hero.

From an article in The Guardian newspaper ten years ago: "Curiously, James identifies indolence as one of her chief short comings. She is very bad in the afternoons, she says and tasks that bore her, like letter-writing and paperwork, are only grudgingly and belatedly attended to. For the past 10 years she has been helped in these labours by her assistant, Joyce. But for 25 years she not only worked full-time, attended night school to qualify as a medical record-keeper and cared – albeit with the aid of her parents-in-law – for two daughters and an incapacitated husband, but also rose every morning at 6am and wrote for two hours before work, all of which she puts down to necessity. "My most valuable trait is tenacity," she says, "but what got me where I am now is courage.""

Even better than her life story is her writing. I read her novels over and over again, enjoying her mastery of craft as well as her world-class storytelling gifts. She is particularly good at setting. Interestingly enough, that's usually where her novels start.

"My own detective novels, with rare exceptions, have been inspired by the place rather than by a method of murder or a character," she writes in her non-fiction gem, Talking About Detective Fiction .

Ready… Reserve one of P.D. James books at your library or buy one at an independent bookstore. One of her novels will teach more about writing than a million blog posts.

Set… "We can experience nothing but the present moment, live in no other second of time, and to understand this is as close as we can get to eternal life." P. D. James

Today's prompt: It's rare to think about setting first. Too often, we go for what is safe and predictable. If we have a teen protagonist, then we set the story in a high school. If it's a middle grade novel, there might be scenes at the mall, the skatepark, and a babysitter's house.

Make a list of 10 different settings where you would NOT expect to find your main character. Be as detailed as possible; instead of saying bus station, say "the Greyhound station in Albany slumped in the shadows under the highway overpass; fifty shades of gray paint flaking slowly to the dirt."

The goal is to stretch. Put your character on the moon if you want. Just describe it well. If the description does not come easy, think in terms of small detail. We'll talk about this more tomorrow!

Scribble… Scribble… Scribble…

WFMAD Day 14 – Hero's Journey, Part 2

(Start your day out right by debunking a few grammar myths !)

I have a theory about creativity. It has everything to do with growing.

We go through many, many adolescences in our lives. The first one (from roughly age 12 – 19) is the most dramatic. Once you survive that, you might never want to endure another one. But if you continue to mature as you age, you will go through minor "adolescences of the spirit" at least every decade.

The Hero's Journey (aka Joseph Campbell's Monomyth) gives us a terrific frame of reference that can help us understand these comings-of-age.

The Call – you feel that your current life is not enough. You feel restless, dissatisfied. A crisis or series of crises may crop up, forcing you to reexamine your priorities and life path.

The Threshold (guardians, helpers, mentor) – You reach the jumping-off point, but you come across guardians, who seek to block your path. You must overcome these threshold guardians. You will often find helpers and a mentor to help you do this. These new friends are kindred spirits for your journey.

The Challenges – You stumble on your new path. You get lost as you try to rewrite your life or adjust to your new circumstances. Your challenges often reflect your greatest weakness. They cause you to thinking about scurrying back to the old you.

The Abyss – Welcome to the lion's den. Get ready to slay your demons. This is the icky part. You doubt yourself. You hate yourself. You are convinced you're a fraud, useless, stupid [insert your favorite pejorative word here]. You self-sabotage. You belittle your dream. You make really bad decisions in an effort of avoid facing the things you must face in order to grow.

The Transformation – You conquer the fears that tried to kill your spirit in the Abyss. You have revelations about who you are and what you want out of life. You make peace with who you were when you were younger and less enlightened. You shed your old skin and emerge from your tests as a stronger, wiser, more fulfilled version of you with a renewed sense of purpose.

The Return – You return back to the patterns of daily life with your new knowledge and desires. You'll likely face some resistance from the people around you – they have to adjust to the new you, and your relationships will look different because of your expanded self-knowledge. You seek a way to integrate your refined sense of self with all aspects of your life.

ARE YOU READY??… Find a photo of yourself as a teenager. If you don't have one, spend a few minutes on Awkward Family Photos looking for a gawky, uncomfortable teenage that reminds you of yourself. Feel the pain!

Set…

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

Today's prompt: Write down the six-step version of the Hero's Journey as I outlined it above. Then fill it in with your story – your personal story. Write out your own heroic journey, with special attention to your desire to write.

Scribble… Scribble… Scribble…

New Food Guidelines

Here is pretty much all you need to know about food.

The graphic was designed by Adam Fields, who has some interesting food thoughts on his blog.

WFMAD Day 13 – Hero's Journey, Part 1

(Today's goal for me – write blog before painting.)

Do you know about the Hero's Journey model of storytelling? It was popularized by Joseph Campbell in his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Briefly, Campbell found common mythical elements in many stories across countless cultures. (Note – the chart I've linked to needs to be read counter-clockwise.) Not all stories follow this pattern, of course. Some follow parts of it, others blaze their own path.

It's fun to see how some of our most beloved stories can be analyzed for their Hero's Journey elements. Like The Fellowship of the Ring , for example. Or Harry Potter (be sure to click through to subsequent pages). Or Bridge to Terabithia!

You see where I'm going with this, right?

Ready… watch this video about the Hero's Journey, as seen through the television series, LOST.

Set… "If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That's why it's your path." Joseph Campbell

Today's prompt: Compare the structure of your current Work In Progress to the Hero's Journey. Any gaps, holes, questions that need to be answered?

OR

Write out a fast and messy idea for a quest story. Character needs (fill in the blank) ______________, and has to go through (another blank) ____________trials and tribulations to get it. Have fun! Be absurd! The point is to think about this structure as a possible framework to hang part or all of a book on one day.

Scribble… Scribble…. Scribble…