A Fly on the Wall

Highlights from the Richmond Children's Writers September Meeting

Our September meeting was fantastic! Everyone is back from vacation and ready to rock and roll. Here are a few of the more interesting things we discussed:

We all like wacky picture books, but how wacky is too wacky? Can a picture book be too far out? Take this book for example: Dinosaurs Love Underpants. Dinosaurs are a perennial kid favorite, true. And underpants, as discussed in our August meeting, can work for a kids' book. Having said that, Dinosaurs Love Underpants, for me, was just too wacky. But . . . it is a published book, which is nothing to sneeze at. Just goes to show that one person's too-wacky-for-me is another person's book deal. We had some wacky submissions this month, and predictably, those stories drew a variety of reactions from the group.

After reading a chapter from a young adult novel, we discussed this concept:

"The wind howled" is stronger rather than "She heard the wind howling." This is due to fact that in the second sentence, the main character is inserted between the reader and the action. The first sentence makes the reader feel he is the one who is hearing the wind howl. That translates into a more engaging text, which is another way of saying the writing is stronger. Fiction writers would do well to take a good look at sentences phrased with "She saw" or "He felt" or "I heard" or any verb that tells what the main character is perceiving, and rewrite it in a way that allows the reader to experience the sensation as directly as possible.

A submission from a different young adult novel led us into a discussion about novel writing technique. Writing fiction is a complex task, and requires finding the right balance of a lot of moving pieces. Each scene has to move the story forward. It has to do at least one or two other things too, like develop character, set the scene, infuse a mood, build tension, and such. But the primary job of a scene is to move the plot forward. All those other things can be worked in. Each chapter, each scene, has to accomplish several different things at once.

If there were a goddess of multitasking, I imagine she would look something like this.

We will conclude with the September writing prompt:

Write a wacky action scence that weaves in two other elements (choose from character develoment, setting description, mood, or tension). Bonus points for including either dinosaurs or underpants.

Now, write away!

Fly On the Wall

Highlights from the Richmond Children's Writers August Meeting

The first manuscript we critiqued this month was a resubmission after significant rewrites. We all noted how much stronger the story was now. This time around, the comments were much different. They had to do with very minor things like formatting issues, tightening a little here and a little there, and whether there might be a better choice for the main character's name. When a manuscript is close to being ready to submit, the type of feedback from readers will begin to change. The suggestions become very nit-picky, very micro. This can be frustrating, but it is a good sign. It means the big story elements are strong and there is nothing left to suggest but very minor changes.

The next manuscript is an excerpt from a young-adult novel that is set in a fantasy version of the Middle Ages. Many of us felt that the emotions and the tension in this section of the novel were well written and very compelling. One comment was that the story needed to be more grounded in the setting. That is, the vocabulary, the clothing, and the details should anchor the story soundly in its setting. This requires extra thought and research, but in a story like this one, it is absolutely necessary.

Next topic: Underwear. Some members of our group think this is a super fun topic for a picture book. Others are not so sure. It's a matter of personal taste. The world is made up of all kinds of people, including some who will enjoy a brief story about undies, and some who would rather read a story about frogs. 

The mixed reaction from the group can be a learning point in itself. It doesn't mean the manuscript is not marketable, but you might have to work a little harder to find the right editor or agent to send it to. Moral of the story: It's important to find just the right fit for underpants. 

The next submission is not really a critique, but a discussion. One of our members has a great idea for a nonfiction children's book, but she is looking for a way to present it in a kid-friendly way. She brought some examples of how this topic has been treated in other books for kids. She floated a few ideas and we discussed the possibilities. This is an area in which she is very knowledgeable and passionate. We all agreed that if she can find a way to capture that passion, young readers will respond to that.

Lastly, we discussed another excerpt from a novel. Parts of the scene were very visual, and we liked that. However, there was one thing in particular, a certain reaction by the protagonist, that seemed out of character. Given his background and his family situation, would he really react that way? These kinds of inconsistencies are hard for the writer to see, but once pointed out, they become glaringly obvious. That's why we need writing buddies!

For your writing pleasure, we offer a fun little writing prompt made up of elements taken from our manuscripts this month:

Write a scene in which a character in a historical setting makes a choice of underwear that is inconsistent with what he or she would normally choose. What motivates that choice?

Now, write away!