I have an interest in adult fiction with child characters, mainly because working out the difference between a piece of writing published for adults with child main characters and a piece of writing published for children with child main characters is a bit mystifying to me. So today I spent some time reading Composite Body by Tony Tulathimutte, which was published in the the Winter, 2011 issue of Cimarron Review.
Composite Body is about a fourteen-year-old boy whose divorced mother moves the two of them in with a man he barely knows. The adults plan to marry, and the man has a teenage daughter. Teen faced with becoming part of a blended family is a traditional (and, yes, some might say stereotypical) YA scenario. In fact, not too long ago I read an entire YA novel with a similar situation, Notes From the Blender by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin. Both works also involve the teen male main character bonding with the teen female main character who fills a stepsister role, either actually or potentially.
How is the adult short story different from the YA novel?
1. Voice. Joe, the narrator of Composite Body, has a very straight, lay-it-out there voice, while I described Declan, in Notes From the Blender as being a "teen outsider, wiseass cliche, but...funny in a funny-that-works sort of way." Nothing about Joe and Composite Body could be called funny.
2. The relationships between the main characters. Joe and Lorraine become anorexic together. Lorraine is frustrated by her unsuccessful attempts to become an actress. Joe joins her in starving once she tells him that food is pumped into you by others and creates flesh that covers who you really are. If you get numb on the inside from not eating, "then you can make people feel cold just by looking at them, and nobody can do anything bad to you, no matter how bad they want to.' She let go of my hand. 'Just by looking.'
That was when I joined her. We were going to be honest, and we were going to keep everybody and every nasty thing the hell out of us." Nasty things might include Lorraine's father, his mother's fiance, who slowly becomes a darker and darker figure.
Declan, on the other hand, is hot for his soon-to-be stepsister and has to come to terms with them having a more sibling-like relationship.
3. The outcome. The YA book has a more positive outcome than the adult short story. That is expected of books for young people. YA is expected to have a climactic epiphany of new maturity, maturity, I'm assuming, being considered a positive thing. I'm not sure that I totally understand the ending of Composite Body, but I'm thinking that poor Joe identifies way, way too closely with his almost stepsister. I didn't see anything positive there or anything that suggested that Joe is more mature as a result of his experience, just far more troubled.
Though I found Composite Body more believable than Notes From the Blender, I wouldn't say either work is superior to the other. They are different in terms of what they are--adult short story vs. YA novel. And I'm afraid that reading Composite Body so soon after Notes From the Blender has done nothing to address the issue of why one author went one way and the others another with what is very similar material.
Author Gail Gauthier's Reflections On Books, Writing, Humor, And Other Sometimes Random Things
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Time Management Tuesday: The Unit System
Okay, this is a thought-provoking idea for managing actual writing time.
In her article, A Writer's Daily Habit: Four Steps to Higher Productivity, Ellen Sussman describes using the "unit system" to manage her actual work time. She divides her time into units of an hour. She works for 45 minutes of that hour, and then spends 15minutes doing something that's not work related. The benefits, she says, are:
1. During the 45 minutes that she's working, it's easier to stay on task when she knows she'll have a break in another X minutes
2. During those 15 minutes that she's not working, her "unconscious thought" can often continue working on a writing problem. (She's talking about breakout experiences.)
Sussman's unit system is based on research done by Dorothy Duff Brown on using time while writing graduate theses. The end of 2/5 Practical strategies for pain-free academic writing and the beginning of 3/5 Practical strategies for pain-free academic writing (videos of a college-level class on academic writing--the sound is bad) cover the unit system. Evidently there is research--somewhere--that indicates that people develop a feeling of productivity for 45 minutes but that it decreases afterward. Theoretically, then, if you can keep reproducing that first 45 minutes over and over again through your workday, you can maintain a higher level of productivity then if you keep your butt on the chair and struggle for a full eight hours at a clip.
The lecturer in the videos suggests determining how many units you want to do in a particular work day. That sounds useful because if your time is being eaten away by family responsibilites or a day job, you may feel that trying to work for an hour or two here or there just isn't worth it. But, hey, if you can plan and knock off one or two units of work, that feels like an achievement.
The lecturer says that having a preplanned stopping point is also supposed to make for more efficient working, that people work harder when they know when they're going to stop, particularly as they get closer to their deadline. (Anyone else read The Feminine Mystique, in which Betty Friedan said that housework expands to fill the time available? It may be true for everything--if I have unlimited time to write a chapter, it could take me much longer to do so then if I have only four work units.)
While all this makes a great deal of sense, I wonder if it also contradicts what little I know about writing in flow. Not that I write in flow that frequently. However, if I could do a unit or two over the weekends (a time when I almost never work), maybe flow would come more easily on Monday or Tuesday.
Since I came back to work last month, I've been revising/editing and researching markets. I haven't been doing the hardcore writing that is far more difficult for me. So I haven't had an opportunity to try the unit system under the most serious work conditions. I did use the "work until 1 and you can take a break" argument once, though, and it worked. I'm definitely going to be trying the unit system in as organized a manner as I can muster. In fact, as soon as I finish this post, I'll be taking a break to put some wet clothes in the dryer because between the Internet research on Dorothy Duff Brown and writing this thing, I've worked well over 45 minutes.
Has anyone else tried the unit system? Any luck with it? Does anyone else want to try it and report back?
In her article, A Writer's Daily Habit: Four Steps to Higher Productivity, Ellen Sussman describes using the "unit system" to manage her actual work time. She divides her time into units of an hour. She works for 45 minutes of that hour, and then spends 15minutes doing something that's not work related. The benefits, she says, are:
1. During the 45 minutes that she's working, it's easier to stay on task when she knows she'll have a break in another X minutes
2. During those 15 minutes that she's not working, her "unconscious thought" can often continue working on a writing problem. (She's talking about breakout experiences.)
Sussman's unit system is based on research done by Dorothy Duff Brown on using time while writing graduate theses. The end of 2/5 Practical strategies for pain-free academic writing and the beginning of 3/5 Practical strategies for pain-free academic writing (videos of a college-level class on academic writing--the sound is bad) cover the unit system. Evidently there is research--somewhere--that indicates that people develop a feeling of productivity for 45 minutes but that it decreases afterward. Theoretically, then, if you can keep reproducing that first 45 minutes over and over again through your workday, you can maintain a higher level of productivity then if you keep your butt on the chair and struggle for a full eight hours at a clip.
The lecturer in the videos suggests determining how many units you want to do in a particular work day. That sounds useful because if your time is being eaten away by family responsibilites or a day job, you may feel that trying to work for an hour or two here or there just isn't worth it. But, hey, if you can plan and knock off one or two units of work, that feels like an achievement.
The lecturer says that having a preplanned stopping point is also supposed to make for more efficient working, that people work harder when they know when they're going to stop, particularly as they get closer to their deadline. (Anyone else read The Feminine Mystique, in which Betty Friedan said that housework expands to fill the time available? It may be true for everything--if I have unlimited time to write a chapter, it could take me much longer to do so then if I have only four work units.)
While all this makes a great deal of sense, I wonder if it also contradicts what little I know about writing in flow. Not that I write in flow that frequently. However, if I could do a unit or two over the weekends (a time when I almost never work), maybe flow would come more easily on Monday or Tuesday.
Since I came back to work last month, I've been revising/editing and researching markets. I haven't been doing the hardcore writing that is far more difficult for me. So I haven't had an opportunity to try the unit system under the most serious work conditions. I did use the "work until 1 and you can take a break" argument once, though, and it worked. I'm definitely going to be trying the unit system in as organized a manner as I can muster. In fact, as soon as I finish this post, I'll be taking a break to put some wet clothes in the dryer because between the Internet research on Dorothy Duff Brown and writing this thing, I've worked well over 45 minutes.
Has anyone else tried the unit system? Any luck with it? Does anyone else want to try it and report back?
Monday, February 06, 2012
John Christopher
Sheila Ruth is doing a White Mountains post at Wands and Worlds in honor of its author, John Christopher, who died recently. This Tor obituary describes him as a writer of "cozy catastrophes," a term I'd never heard before. They sound like early, upbeat apocalyptic novels.
I will follow Sheila's lead and post some links to John Christopher posts I've done over the years.
Invasion Novels
Bringing You The Past
Are You A Tripods Fan?
I will follow Sheila's lead and post some links to John Christopher posts I've done over the years.
Invasion Novels
Bringing You The Past
Are You A Tripods Fan?
Connecticut's 2012 Nutmeg Nominees Announced
The Intermediate and Teen lists for the Nutmeg Award were announced at the beginning of this month. It doesn't look as if the 2012 winnters have been chosen yet.
It's Not Walter Dean Myers' Fault If "Lysistrata" Isn't Taught At Your Middle School
Did anyone else totally miss that we have a new National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and that it's Walter Dean Myers? Did anyone else totally miss the pissing match over his appointment?
I spent quite some time working on a post regarding how elitist I found Alexander Nazaryan's argument in Against Walter Dean Myers and the dumbing down of literature: 'Those kids' can read Homer. But I decided that would be pointless, because I realized that Nazaryan, himself, has missed the point regarding Myers' new position.
Essentially, Nazaryan's objection to Myers' appointment as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is that he finds Myers' work "painfully mundane, with simple moral lessons built into predictable situations." However, Nazaryan didn't suggest an alternative children's writer whose work he found less mundane, simplistic, and predictable. Instead, he suggested students should be reading Homer, Virgil, and Sappho. These are authors who young people may read, but they are not writers who wrote specifically for young people.
The purpose of the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is stated very simply at its website. "The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature raises national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people." I repeat, "...national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature..." If Alexander Nazaryan believes the classics should be taught in the schools, he should feel free to go ahead and promote that. But it is not the job of the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature to do so. He used Myers' appointment as the springboard for his essay, but, in reality, it's totally unrelated to what seems to be his real subject, teaching the classics.
I spent quite some time working on a post regarding how elitist I found Alexander Nazaryan's argument in Against Walter Dean Myers and the dumbing down of literature: 'Those kids' can read Homer. But I decided that would be pointless, because I realized that Nazaryan, himself, has missed the point regarding Myers' new position.
Essentially, Nazaryan's objection to Myers' appointment as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is that he finds Myers' work "painfully mundane, with simple moral lessons built into predictable situations." However, Nazaryan didn't suggest an alternative children's writer whose work he found less mundane, simplistic, and predictable. Instead, he suggested students should be reading Homer, Virgil, and Sappho. These are authors who young people may read, but they are not writers who wrote specifically for young people.
The purpose of the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature is stated very simply at its website. "The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature raises national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people." I repeat, "...national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature..." If Alexander Nazaryan believes the classics should be taught in the schools, he should feel free to go ahead and promote that. But it is not the job of the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature to do so. He used Myers' appointment as the springboard for his essay, but, in reality, it's totally unrelated to what seems to be his real subject, teaching the classics.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Rave Review For "The Fault In Our Stars"
Time Magazine gave The Fault In Our Stars by John Green a really stellar review. And I read it while using our...brand...new...stationary bicycle! No one else has used it yet!
Though, of course, it's the review that matters. I get that.
Though, of course, it's the review that matters. I get that.
This Could Actually Be Helpful Writing Advice
The title What Makes A Book Sell? at Jill Corcoran Books sounds as if the post is going to be all about marketing. It's not.
Scroll down to the numbered items. "Brainstorm concepts and pitches before you commit to a new book." Again, because that line includes the word "pitch" it sounds as if we're talking sell, sell, sell here. However, I read an article in a SCBWI Bulletin recently that suggested doing the same thing before getting started on a new writing project. Being able to concisely describe your idea--to yourself--helps you to define what you're going to do. I wonder if it wouldn't be a helpful technique for an organic writer in terms of getting a plot started.
Also, this post included another interesting line: "Almost no one expects musicians to get good on an instrument without years of lessons, books, years of practice. There is a similar learning curve for writing." How many new writers realize that? How many people who want to become writers realize that? I certainly didn't back years and years ago. I thought every para I wrote was brilliant and publishable. Thank God others didn't.
Scroll down to the numbered items. "Brainstorm concepts and pitches before you commit to a new book." Again, because that line includes the word "pitch" it sounds as if we're talking sell, sell, sell here. However, I read an article in a SCBWI Bulletin recently that suggested doing the same thing before getting started on a new writing project. Being able to concisely describe your idea--to yourself--helps you to define what you're going to do. I wonder if it wouldn't be a helpful technique for an organic writer in terms of getting a plot started.
Also, this post included another interesting line: "Almost no one expects musicians to get good on an instrument without years of lessons, books, years of practice. There is a similar learning curve for writing." How many new writers realize that? How many people who want to become writers realize that? I certainly didn't back years and years ago. I thought every para I wrote was brilliant and publishable. Thank God others didn't.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
All Picture Books
I'm still doing it, I'm still visiting the NESCBWI member blogs.
I just got back from hitting Shop Talk, The Eric Carle Museum's Bookstore Blog. As you would expect, this is a blog heavy on picture book coverage. It is also, very appropriately, heavy on illustrations. Nice ones. Eliza Brown posts "puzzlers," in which she puts up illustrations from picture books choosen because they share some sort of theme and lets commenters try to guess the titles. A particularly stunning one was the puzzler on maps.
I just got back from hitting Shop Talk, The Eric Carle Museum's Bookstore Blog. As you would expect, this is a blog heavy on picture book coverage. It is also, very appropriately, heavy on illustrations. Nice ones. Eliza Brown posts "puzzlers," in which she puts up illustrations from picture books choosen because they share some sort of theme and lets commenters try to guess the titles. A particularly stunning one was the puzzler on maps.
Battle Of The Kids' Books
Last year was the first time I was able to get into School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids' Books, because it was the first time I'd read more than one of the contenders. This year I've read none of them. Though I do have Allen Say's Drawing From Memory waiting for me upstairs.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Yes, There Are Still People Who Feel Fiction Should Teach Something...Anything
There is, and has always been, an adult faction in the children's literature world that greatly admires fiction that is instructive. Evidently there are adults in the general population who feel the same way.
Stories Don't Need Morals or Messages at Salon.
Stories Don't Need Morals or Messages at Salon.
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