Carolee Dean's Blog, page 21

HOT PLOTS - MACBETH by William Shakespeare

                             Macbeth and the Tragic Hero’s JourneyI’m often asked if the hero’s journey plot analysis works for all types of stories, such as those involving tragic heroes, so I thought I’d try it out on one of the most famous tragic heroes in literature – Macbeth. Macbeth is often taught in high school English courses during junior year, making it a pertinent story to analyze.
A tragic hero is a character who starts out with great promise. He is usually of noble heritage and held in high esteem by his peers, but a tragic flaw causes a fall from grace. At some point in the story, the tragic hero realizes he has made an irreversible error in judgement that will lead to his doom, but he faces his demise with honor.

To read my plot analysis of Macbeth, visit the Spellbinders Blog.

HOT PLOTS - Romeo and Juliet

This week I'm over at the Spellbinders blog talking about The Secret Language of Stories and analyzing the plot for Romeo and Juliet. Students all around the country read this timeless story their freshman year of high school. If you fit into one of the following categories, this article may be of interest. Go to the link at the bottom of the page if...

1. You work with freshman and want some tips on how to help them understand the plot of the play.
2. You are a freshman and you can't see the forest (plot) for the trees (iambic pentameter).
3. You want to experience the nostalgia of times past and journey back to your high school English days.
4. You love Shakespeare.
5. You hate Shakespeare but you've always wondered what all the fuss was about.
6. You are a writer and want a better understanding of plot structure.

First go here to find the tab on my blog called The Secret Language of Stories to read how I analyze plots. Then head on over to the Spellbinders blog and check the article.

Author Chris Eboch on Voice

On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, author Chris Eboch led a discussion on voice during our monthly SCBWI meeting at the Alamosa Reading Room (the latest addition to Alamosa Books).

She discussed the difference between character voice and author voice, pointing out that the author's voice is that unique style observed across a variety of different characters.

Editor's often say they are looking for authors with a strong voice, but what do they mean?
Chris said the secret is to create a voice that is distinct, consistent, and clear.

When people read examples of writing that shows a strong voice, the excerpts are often poetic and beautifully written, but it's important to note that not all strong voices are poetic. Chris prefers a style where she gets lost in the story even if the voice is harrowing or crude rather than literary and poetic.

After asking each audience member to write a list of some of their favorite books, she said to look for similarities between books.(i.e.stories with sense of humor, a lot of action, sweet picture books, or angsty young adult romances.) She suggested writers look at their own writing for styles they revisit and trends they lean toward.

She concluded by asking - Are you writing what you love? If so, that's a good sign.
That was the best advice of all!

Chris Eboch will be offering a workshop on voice. See the Details below.

FINDING THE ELUSIVE VOICE with Chris Eboch  Saturday, February 1, 20141:00 to 4:00 p.m.Fellowship Reformed Christian Church4800 Indian School. Rd. NE Registration materials are available at www.scbwi.org.  Follow the links to the New Mexico home page and click on Events or contact ra@scbwi-nm.org.

THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson was at Alamosa Books on 1/10/14 on tour with her latest novel, The Impossible Knife of Memory. Laurie is a warm and endearing person as well as a fabulous author. She is probably most well known for her groundbreaking young adult novel, Speak, but she has also written numerous contemporary and historical novels as well as picture books and the middle grade series, Vet Volunteers.
Laurie confessed that she had a hard time learning to read and received assistance from a reading specialist in elementary school. Then she caught the reading fire and started reading everywhere. The library became her refuge. 
I found this aspect of her story fascinating since I work with struggling readers and am always wondering how to inspire them to love reading. 
Laurie said she has a dream of a literate America where every one reads for fun, surmising that if you still read for fun at eighteen then you will also read for information and learn to think for yourself. Unfortunately, every time we hand kids a book they can't connect with we kill that spirit. 
Reading canonical literature, written by old, dead white dudes, made English her least favorite class in high school. She understood the value of the classics later in life, when she had the perspective to appreciate them, so she sees their worth, but she also believes we must provide teens with stories they relate to. 
She suggested teachers read From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges Between Young Adult Literature and the Classics by Sarah K. Herz. One recommendation she shared from that text is to use YA fiction to teach literary devices while tying the teen novel thematically to canonical literature.  Many teachers using Speak in the classroom tie it to The Scarlet Letter.

The Impossible Knife of  Memory, Laurie's latest work, is about a girl, Hayley Kincain, and her father who have spent the last five years on the road, trying to outrun their demons and their memories. They return to her father's hometown to try to have a normal life, but the only method her father can find to deal with his PTSD is through drugs and alcohol.
The story was inspired by the experiences of Laurie's family and her father's bouts with alcohol and PTSD. She shared that during World War II, he helped liberate the inmates of Dachau, one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. Her father was working on a college campus during the Vietnam Nam era and it caused his experiences at Dachau to come back to him with a vengeance. He fell apart and lost his job. They lost their home. She said her father now has dementia and sometimes can't remember her mother but he wakes up screaming, remembering Dachau.
The power of memory..Laurie ended her talk by stating that one of her aims as an author is to produce literature that connects with the spirits of young people. Anyone who has read her work knows she had definitely accomplished that mission. 
Thank you for another fabulous story!

Outlaws and Friends and the Inside Story

LAST WEEK I was over at Alamosa Books for the Inside Story, an international event bringing local authors to bookstores all around the world.


Above is author, Lois Ruby, talking about her latest ghost story, Rebel Spirits. To her right is Kimberley Griffiths Little, Uma Krishnaswami, Me, and Lauren Bjorkman.

And here am I, talking about my latest ghost story, Forget Me Not. I'm sharing the poster featuring my favorite poem from the book... a 2Pac - Poe mash up.

After the event I had a chance to catch up with another local author, Vaunda Michaeux Nelson, standing to my left.

Speaking of Vaunda, THIS WEEK I'm over at The Spellbinders Blog with my analysis of her book, Bad News for Outlaws. I've used my twelve step story system to discuss the plot of the book. It's a Coretta Scott King Award winner.

NEXT WEEK Vaunda and I will be giving a plotting presentation for NaNoWriMo on Saturday, November 16 at 2:00p.m. at Esther Bone Library in Rio Rancho. It's free and it's open to the public, so come on down!!

FREE eBook Version of Tyger Tyger

Go to the Haunted Hearts post over at Spellbinders to read the November feature article by author, Kersten Hamilton, and find out  how to get a free eBook version of the critically acclaimed Tyger Tyger. This offer is available through the iTunes store through November 5!

Stop #2 of the FIERCE READS TOUR

 Wednesday afternoon Kimberley Griffiths Little (far left) and Caroline Starr Rose (far left) hosted a dynamic panel of authors at Alamosa Books for the Fierce Reads Tour. (Left to right - Jessica Brody - author of Unremembered, Leigh Bardugo - author of Siege and Storm, Jennifer Albin - author of Altered, and Ann Aguirre, author of Horde).
Authors shared their thoughts on writing books as a part of a series vs. creating stand alone stories. Jennifer Albin told how she wrote the first draft of her first novel during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Her husband had lost his job, they had gone bankrupt, and she used the computer in the library to create her story because she didn't have a computer of her own. She rewrote and polished her story to perfection, of course, but it all started with that NaNoWriMo first draft. Selling the Crewel World series to Macmillan Publishing changed the course of her life. She continues to promote NaNoWriMo.
That should serve as inspiration for everyone taking part in this November's challenge which starts tomorrow!! To find out more about this terrific FREE online writing event, visit nanowrimo.org.
There will be a special interview with the Fierce Reads authors in the December 2 issue of Spellbinders. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, go on over to Alamosa. There are still plenty of autographed copies of these amazing books.

Cyber Bullying

This month I'm over at The Anti-Bully Project with a contest to win a free copy of Forget Me Not.Here is an excerpt from my article...A student breaks out in tears in the middle of class, talking out loud to someone who isn’t there. Psychotic break? No, his girlfriend just sent him a text saying she’s breaking up with him. The teacher doesn’t even know he’s texting until she sees the phone, carefully concealed between his lap and his desk.A mother is driving home from the grocery store with her teenage daughter when the girl’s eyes grow wide in panic. One of her classmates is in ICU with a traumatic brain injury from a car accident.She read the post on Twitter.A twelve-year-old girl in Florida jumps to her death after being stalked and bullied on social media. (http://nation.time.com/2013/10/16/a-florida-tragedy-illustrates-rising-concern-about-cyber-bullying-suicides/#ixzz2iSNw8oYC)Technology has changed the way people communicate, the way they get information, and the way they bully.According to an article in the online magazine, Time U.S.(http://nation.time.com/2013/10/16/a-florida-tragedy-illustrates-rising-concern-about-cyber-bullying-suicides/#ixzz2iSNw8oYC) experts link the rising suicide rate among young adults (those under 24) to bullying via social media.To see the rest of the article and enter the rafflecopter contest, visit The Anti-Bully Project.

THE INSIDE STORY - Local Authors at Alamosa Books

Saturday, November 2 at 2:00 at Alamosa Books - Five New Mexico authors will be taking part in an international SCBWI event called The Inside Story.

Each author will talk for 7 minutes about the "Inside Story" behind his or her book -the inspiration - the people and circumstances that influenced the story. An audience Q & A will follow. There will be prizes, a chance to win an author phone call, and an opportunity to be in Lin Oliver's next book!
The Alamosa Authors are:
Uma Krishnaswami - The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic (Atheneum Books) ages 8 and up
The delicious sequel to the multiply starred The Grand Plan to Fix Everything, BFFs Dini and Maddie continue their dizzying journey to bring order to the chaotic life of the starriest star in all of Bollywood, Dolly Singh.



Lois Ruby - Rebel Spirits  (Scholastic) ages 10-15A contemporary girl falls in love with the ghost of a Gettysburg Battle soldier. Nathaniel died during that battle, but not from enemy fire: he was murdered! And now, as they fall in love, he wants Lori to help him solve the mystery so his spirit can rest in peace. 




Lauren Bjorkman - Miss Fortune Cookie (Holt) ages 12 and upErin expresses her true self through her advice blog, Miss Fortune Cookie, until her ex-best friend takes her advice with disastrous results. Fate will come looking for you. Don't bother hiding.






Carolee Dean - Forget Me Not (Simon Pulse)  ages 14 and upA verse novel exploring cyber bullying and teen suicide at a school where the dead never leave, but rather gravitate to locations around the school based on how they died - reminiscent of Dante's Purgatory.








Kimberley Griffiths Little - When the Butterflies Came (Scholastic)  8 -12 When dazzling butterflies begin to follow Tara around after Grammy Claire’s funeral and she's delivered a box of keys and letters, Tara knows that her grandmother has left her a final mystery to solve. On the beautiful islands of Chuuk, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all.




Saturday, November 2, 2013 - 2 pmAlamosa Books    8810 Holly Ave. NE, Ste. D   Albuquerque, NM 87122   (505) 797-7101
For more information about The Inside Story, see the article in Publishers Weekly.

Lisa McMann and THE UNWANTEDS at Alamosa Books

 Lisa McMann spoke at Alamosa Books last Tuesday, September 10, as part of her tour for The Unwanteds: Island of Fire, the Third book in The Unwanteds series published by Aladdin (an imprint of Simon & Schuster). Also available were the books from her Wake Trilogy, a haunting series for older teens published by Simon Pulse (also my publisher - yay!). Alamosa created a beautiful display of Lisa's books.


Lisa told the Alamosa audience that The Unwanteds is special to her because it was inspired by an experience with her own children. They came home one day with a letter from school saying the arts classes were going to be eliminated because of budget constraints. This was devastating news to her highly artistic children. She told them, "It sounds like you kids are being punished for being creative." That comment started a line of What If questions that led to The Unwanteds and the world of Quill where crazy rules, built up over time, prohibit any sort of artistic expression.

In Quill, thirteen-year-olds are placed into three categories: Wanteds go to college and have the chance at an education, Necessaries are trained to serve in menial jobs, and Unwanteds, those deemed dangerous because of their artistic tendencies, are sent to a death farm. Fortunately, the man who is supposed to be putting kids to death has secretly been saving them and training them in his own magical world.

Lisa talked about the creative process and reminded us that if you are creating a magical world you must have a lot of rules for governing that world. Her kids had a great time helping her come up with the rules for the spells in The Unwanteds books.

One of the highlights of Lisa's talk was when she shared how she got started as a writer and her inspiration for the Wake Trilogy. She had won a short story contest and it provided her enough money so she didn't feel pressured to find a job when her family moved to Arizona. She decided to take the time to write a novel, but it wasn't as easy as she thought. Finally, after a year and a half and no book on the horizon, she immersed herself in movies, going to the theater five times in one week. Then she reread books she used to love to read. A piece in one of the movies gave her the idea for her first novel which she wrote in three months. She then spent another three months revising it.

She didn't sell that book or the second book either, but one night she had a dream about being able to see inside her husband dreams. That's when she envisioned Janie, a seventeen-year-old girl who gets sucked into other people's nightmares against her will. Lisa worked feverishly, eighteen hours a day for seven days, until she completed the rough draft for Wake. She said this isn't hard to do if you have the entire story in your head, especially if the story is short. Wake is about 40,000 words.

I'm not so sure I agree. I would have a hard time sitting that long without some serious yoga. Lisa said after completing that quick first draft, she spent another two months rewriting the story. She found an agent fairly quickly who introduced her to the wonderful team at Simon Pulse.

Lisa's experiences were inspirational and informative. Many of the audience members were from our local SCBWI chapter. Lisa was gracious enough to pose with the other authors for the photo below. Oh, and it looks like somebody's granddaughter sneaked inside the photo, too. Perhaps she's an author in training?