Marcia Thornton Jones's Blog, page 16

The More You Dig

 Dig deeper into your characters!
Dig deeper into your plot!
Dig deeper into everything!

That advice is all well and good, but...
The deeper you dig, the more you want to show off all the depth you’ve uncovered. There’s danger in that. And I fell victim with my first published book, The Gollywhopper Games.

In her notes, my editor wrote one sentence in the margins so many times, I was ready to buy her a stamp that read YOU need to know this, but do WE? 

She was right. You didn’t. But it’s hard to make the reader feel satisfied that you’ve explored everyone, everything, every idea  to the nth degree without spilling it all onto the page.

And so, I’ve learned to keep digging. Digging deep, deeper, deepest. But some thoughts are better left in my notes.

Jody Feldman is currently digging deeply into a character she’s trying to get to know much better. The question is, will that person open up? Or does Jody need to move on? We’ll see. 

DON'T DIG DEEPER by Jane Kelley

DIG DEEPER!!!!

That's the answer to many problems. Are you getting weary? Are you losing hope? Are you struggling to understand? Dig deeper! 

I think this advice comes from mining for precious metals and gems. The first people were lucky enough to pick some sparkly objects off the surface. Those that came later had to dig deeper to find any. And deeper and deeper -- until people toppled mountains and destroyed entire swaths of countryside in pursuit of wealth.

We are readers and writers. Mining is a metaphor for us. But I'll share a little anecdote about why it took me 4 years to write what was supposed to be a fun comic adventure. 

As with most novels, I spent a draft or two getting to know my characters. I dug deeper. I probed all my characters' angst. I found conflict among all the family members. I gave my confident adventurer doubts. Because, sad to say, that's what digging deeper meant to me. Finding muck.

Boy was I wrong! Luckily I had wise readers who said--why have you made your hero so unhappy? You ruined the main thing we liked about her. That she was confident. And what does her depression have to do with her adventure?

Absolutely nothing. 

So I went back and took out the punitive reasons for why she goes on her adventure. No more classroom bullies. No more repressive parents. No more annoying sister. She isn't running AWAY from her problems. She's running TOWARD an adventure. As she says, who wouldn't want to go exploring?

Finally, after more rewrites, the novel is what it was meant to be. You could also say that I dug deep enough to get all the way through the muck to come out into the sunlight on the other side of the world.

Jane Kelley is the author of many middle-grade novels. She has never found treasure in a hole, but she has found it everywhere else she looks.

 

Writers, the Time is Now to Go DEEPER

 

Irene LathamBack in 2011 I selected "Deeper" as my One Little Word. Here's what I wrote in my introductory blog post:

"This year I want something different. This year I want to go...DEEPER.
Deeper in my writing, in my relationships, in my spiritual life. I don't want to get all lazy and stop. I don't want to cave to the multitude of excuses that come with a life that chock-full.

This year I want to keep going, keep pushing, even when it gets itchy and tight and my stomach starts to lurch.

This year I will embrace the itch, create the burn, take more risks. This year I'm going deeper."

Now, nearly 14 years later, I am still committed to going deeper, especially in my writing. These days I am mining my memories and dreams. I'm not attaching myself to the surface idea. I am a lanternfish exploring the depths: the whys and what fors and what does it really mean? 
We only have so much time on this planet. Our lives are short! Which means we need to be mindful of where and how we are investing our energy. I don't want to waste a moment of my writing time. I want to pursue the projects that really matter to me, the ones that are most in line with my personal mission. 
Before I say yes to an opportunity, I ask myself: does this move me toward my mission? It makes the no's so much easier because I don't have to feel bad about them when I'm confident those opportunities weren't meant for me in the first place. 
Of course one must actually have a mission in order to use the mission as a tool for decision making!
Do YOU have a mission statement, a.k.a. "Artist's Declaration?"
If yes, great! I find I need to take a new look every year or two and tweak accordingly.
And if you don't yet have an Artist's Declaration, well...today is a great day to remedy that! Here's a free worksheet I made to help you create your own.

It boils down to the following question, posed so beautifully in Mary Oliver's poem "The Summer Day":

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?”

I can't wait to find out where "deeper" takes you!

Going Deeper with Some Fall Reading

Going Deeper with Some Fall Reading

On my blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, I've interviewed some great middle grade authors lately, and I thought I'd share a few!

James Ponti is back with a new series, beginning with The Sherlock Society. When I asked what he hopes readers take away from the novel, he said, "I always hope that readers have fun going along on the adventures in my books.I hope that it inspires them to look into things like the coral research or theEverglades. Butmostly, I hope they see an empowering version of themselves. I like writing kidmysteries because I like kids to read about people like them solving problemswith brains, teamwork, and empathy."

Taylor Tyng's new novel, Clara Poole and the Wrong Way Up, is the second in his series about Clara. Tyng said, "I wanted to explore how authorityfigures—positive and negative—shape our values and beliefs and how opportunityis given differently. However, I also wanted to create a discussion aboutequitable thinking that included a mentor with the right ideas but maybe thewrong methods, which drives Clara to question larger concepts of merit, legacy,and equality."

 

Sally J. Pla's new novel is Invisible Isabel. She said: "The title came before the story. I couldn’t stop thinking about the characterI’d doodled, about the idea of this sensitive, delicate little girl who feltinvisible from the world, who felt the world was too much for her sometimes,and that she needed to retreat, to hide herself from it. But who also longed,so deeply longed to connect, and to feel seen. WhenI thought what to name my “Invisible” girl, the alliteration of the name “Isabel”made perfect sense. Andthere she was." 

Happy reading, and best wishes for a wonderful new school year!

--Deborah Kalb

 

News

 

The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets selected by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mercè López (Carolrhoda/Lerner Publishing) has been selected as a Junior Library Guild title...and Publisher's Weekly gave it a ★ STARRED REVIEW.

"...an anthology packed with a broad spectrum of human emotion and experience. "

Pre-order now, or get your copy wherever books are sold Oct. 1, 2024!

 

 

The Body in Writing (Holly Schinder)

Okay, so not 100% the topic of the month (embodiment) but it has been on my mind lately: representations of the body in lit. It's a combination, I think, of my age and the fact that I've gotten back into my art. 

On age: As a reader, it irks me that every single time a writer wants to describe someone as looking young for their age, they say they have naturally kept from going gray. Everybody goes gray. They just do. I'm 47, and I have plenty. 

On illustration: Now that I'm working my way through character creation in illustration, I wonder: Isn't there a way to depict a smart character without putting glasses on them? Some other visual cue? 

 

We all make split-second decisions about people when we meet them--and so many times, those decisions are informed by what we've been taught to think. Stories teach us--whether that's in word or pictures. 

More and more, it feels as though it's on all of us creatives to chip away at those stereotypes by finding those new ways to depict characters. 

It feels like an enormous responsibility each time I pick up a pen--but one that I can't wait to take on. 

~

Holly Schindler is the author of The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky

In The Beginning, There Was...Nothing

 by Charlotte Bennardo

The theme for this month is 'embodied'. 

I have nothing.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as: "To give concrete form to (what is abstract or ideal); to express (principles, thoughts, intentions) in an institution, work of art, action..." (Oxford English Dictionary)

I can work with that.

 

Writers take an abstract, a thought, a bit of conversation, a picture, an ideal, a principle, an intention, and create a work which gives it form- the novel, short story, or poem. This work has now embodied something abstract into something concrete, physical, relatable, shareable. 

Almost makes you feel divine; we give life, creation, to something that has no form. 

So I'm going to go be divine and go create worlds, characters, histories, and stories for everyone.  

You're welcome.

Charlotte writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy, Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. She has two short stories in the Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) and Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) anthologies. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned and is working on several children's and adult novels, along with some short stories. She lives in NJ with her family and her floofy cat. When they trimmed the backyard tree, the crazy squirrel couple had to move out, but she is happy to report she has a new squirrel tenant along with a rabbit (Bad Bunny).

The Imagination Editor: Smack Dab in the Imagination by Dia Calhoun

 I'm working on cutting a verse novel manuscript by at least twenty-five percent. So, I've been wondering, how does the visual idea of negative space in visual art work in writing? How does the imagination kick in to determine what doesn't need to be there? Usually, I think of the imagination as additive rather than subtractive.

Thinking of Greek and Roman ruins helps me with this. The pillars and walls still standing suggest or imply the entire structure. That's one reason why ruins are so beautiful and haunting. I must make leaps through the vacant (or negative space) to complete the structure.

What can I remove from my manuscript that will give the reader that same experience? If I take out too much, there is no place for the leap to land. If I leave in too many pillars, the thrill diminishes. Of course, some of this depends on the age of one's reader and the commercial vs. literary.

And how do I change the types of leaps to create variety? Zooming the camera lens--from detail to cosmos? POV switches? Emotional changes? Time shifts?

I'm trying to encourage myself to be ruthless. Yes, I know, as you do, that "less is more." But it's hard to erase what I've painstakingly built. I had to build the entire edifice to see what I had. Now the art comes in like a dozer--topple the pillars.

Perhaps this is one reason we writers need the earthquake of critiques.

Just the Good Stuff Today

I had intended to write a long-winded poetic waxing of the trials and tribulations in publishing, about the years it takes to learn the story engineering process, how one could do everything right and still not see any positive results. How perseverance, rather than talent, is often the determinate factor in finding success. That failure is not fatal, but rather a learning experience. I even thought about including some nifty cliches, such as don’t count the days; rather, make the days count. And the other one often spoke when it comes to lifting the spirit: don’t wait for opportunity, create it. You know, when you feel like quitting, remember why you started. (insert emoji eyeroll).

But then, I thought I just want to get to the good stuff. The rest can wait for another day. I thought to share this sooner but it is only now made official.

 Thank you for letting me share my good news!

-- Bobbi Miller

DOWN THE TREACLE WELL: A Book Review of a Retelling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

 

I recently had the pleasure of discovering a wonderful middle grade book that tells a new version of the classic tale of ALICE IN WONDERLAND by Lewis Carroll. This version takes place in the 21st Century...mostly. Until the protagonist    and his brother get swept back to Victorian England and meet none other than Lewis Carroll himself.

 

Here's the book trailer link:

 Down the Treacle Well (Book Trailer) (youtube.com)

 

 Here's my review for this entertaining book:

 

DOWN THETREACLE WELL by Ellis Nelson

This is aninventive and engaging retelling of the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. Thisversion has twelve-year-old Ben and his younger brother Kyle down the rabbithole on a time travel trip to rescue Alice from the Queen of Hearts, who isholding her prisoner. Alice made the mistake of trying on the Queen’s crown andnow faces treason, with the Queen planning to cut off her head. Led by Mr.Dodgson – AKA Lewis Carroll - keeper of the Alfred Jewel - the trio wanderWonderland in search of Alice.

 If they are lucky enough to find her, theythen must make it back to the rabbit hole with the jewel to get back home toVictorian England. Whether or not Ben and Kyle will make it back to their homein the 21st century remains a mystery. Will Ben and Kyle’s unusualpowers help them return home safe and sound? Read this fast-paced page turnerto find out. 

 

I think this one is a kid-friendly story that will become a classic in the fantasy/time-travel genres.