Caroline Martin
asked
Jeff Vandermeer:
Mr. VanderMeer! I read Wonderbook from cover to cover and loved it. I'm a high school teacher with 7 years experience, mostly AP Literature & Composition and British Literature. I will be teaching Creative Writing for the first time in the fall. The students will be sophomores, juniors and seniors. Any advice on how to promote creativity without having the kids go wild for shock value? Thanks for any and all help.
Jeff Vandermeer
Hi, Caroline! It's wonderful that you're a high school teacher. I help run the Shared Worlds teen SF/F writing camp and have a little bit of insight into this subject. I actually tested parts of Wonderbook at Shared Worlds. I found that the Story Lizard image and the Story Fish were good images to spark discussion. As for promoting creativity, I think some of the LARP stuff by Karin TIdbeck in the back of Wonderbook might be of use. But also the folktale exercise. I can also share a couple of more if you email me at vanderworld at Hotmail.com. I'd also be curious on things that have worked for you, and if you do teach anything out of Wonderbook I'd love to know how it goes.
More Answered Questions
Sheryl
asked
Jeff Vandermeer:
Regarding POV in Wonderbook: What is the best way to solidify an omniscient objective POV in the mind of the reader as they enter a story – without making the narrator a defined presence or character in his own right? I find that readers sometimes latch on to the first character to speak or act and respond as though the story was written in third person limited. Thus, POV shifts read as inappropriate head hopping.
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