I've never been a big mystery fan, preferring instead to read fantasy, contemporary and historical fiction. However, this doesn't mean that I don't recognize the advantage of borrowing some techniques from mystery writers when it comes to plotting. I recently finished reading two wonderful but very different novels - Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, and So B. It, by Sarah Weeks. The former is a young adult fantasy about a young female warrior named Katsa with an extraordinary talent or "grace" for killing, the second a middle grade novel about twelve year old Heidi, living with her mentally impaired mother in Reno, and her desire to learn something about her muddled past.
Although the two novels have little in common, except that they're both well crafted, beautifully written, engrossing reads, they share one common bond; in both books the authors create an air of mystery that keeps the reader turning the page.
In Graceling, Cashore leads the reader into her novel by immediately setting up an enigma. Who kidnapped harmless Prince Tealeaf and why? What could anybody possibly want from the father of the most peace loving king in the land? Soon, Cashore introduces yet another mystery; who is the handsome, graced fighter who confronts Katsa in the courtyard? Yet a third mystery concerns neighboring King Leck and the mystery surrounding him and the apparent abuse of small animals and young girls. Little by little, over the course of the novel, the missing pieces fall into place until we have a complete picture and each of the mysteries is solved. Cashore's writing is vivid, her characters well drawn but the mysteries she establishes early in her book are what pull the reader along to the end.
In So B. It, Sarah Weeks also sets up several mysteries. Heidi is 12 years old but because her mother is mentally disabled and only has a vocabulary of 23 words, there are gaping holes in her life and family history. For instance, what is Heidi's last name? When is her birthday? Who is her father? Her grandmother and grandfather? Where did she come from? Then there is her mother's word, "soof". What does it mean? One day while organizing a closet, Heidi comes across a camera containing a roll of film. When she has the roll developed, she finds pictures of her mother with other people. Could the woman standing next to her mother be her grandmother? Are any of the other people in the photos her family? Maybe they can help her fill in the missing holes. The only clue Heidi has is the pictures were taken in a group home in Liberty, New York. So, off sets Heidi in search of the missing pieces of her life and the meaning of the word "soof". Slowly, over the course of the novel, Weeks reveals the answers to the mysteries she established in the early part of her story. To ensure the reader keeps turning the page, she saves the most compelling information for last. The ending brought both a few tears and a sense of satisfaction to a well-crafted novel with believable characters.
You don't need to be a "mystery writer" to create intrigue and suspense and compel the reader through to the end, but certainly as writers we each have something to gain by weaving a little mystery into our stories and novels.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Poetry of Prose
I try to squeeze in as much reading as I can when I can but between my job, trying to maintain some sort of an exercise routine and trying, also, to write and work at art projects, it ain't always easy. Anyhow, I recently finished reading The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt. It's truly one of the most lyrical and beautifully written books I've ever read so it came as no surprise to me when it won a Newbery Honor Medal this year. My only surprise was that it didn't win the gold medal for it truly deserved it. There was some discussion about this book holding little appeal for children, about the language being inaccessible, but every one of my students who has read it has finished it and absolutely loved it.
For anybody who hasn't delved into this book yet, it's the story of a dog and a cat and her kittens who live beneath the house of a cruel man in a backwoods bayou. The story of a giant crocodile, two young lovers and a giant shape-shifting snake are also seamlessly woven into the story. At the end, all the stories come together. And that's all I'll tell you about the ending, except that it was emotionally satisfying. All I could say was, wow!
Kids, I've discovered, love beautiful language - words that roll off the tongue and paint a vivid picture for them. I love to read aloud stories that captivate their imagination and slowly reel them in. This year I have a squirmy bunch of fifth graders and as I started reading The Underneath aloud to them, they were moving around in their seats, whispering, flicking little wads of paper, etc. Slowly, they stopped to listen and as they did, they stopped squirming and tuned into the story. I knew I had them. At the end of the period, they groaned. Somebody even asked if she could come in during her lunch period to hear more!
I've read novels written in poetic prose before, but not recently and none that I remember for children (although Cynthia Rylant's books come close at times). A lot of books today are written in free verse. Sometimes it comes off sounding a little artificial, though, and I think the story would have been more effective if it had been written in narrative form.
Some outstanding free verse novels that work well for me include Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust (one of the first written in this style), Susan Taylor Brown's lovely novel, Hugging the Rock and Sharon Creech's book, Love That Dog. I'm sure there must be more.
Practicing the art of crafting poetry can lend your prose more beauty. But, more on this another time. Anybody else out there practice writing both poetry and prose? If so, I'd love to hear about it.
For anybody who hasn't delved into this book yet, it's the story of a dog and a cat and her kittens who live beneath the house of a cruel man in a backwoods bayou. The story of a giant crocodile, two young lovers and a giant shape-shifting snake are also seamlessly woven into the story. At the end, all the stories come together. And that's all I'll tell you about the ending, except that it was emotionally satisfying. All I could say was, wow!
Kids, I've discovered, love beautiful language - words that roll off the tongue and paint a vivid picture for them. I love to read aloud stories that captivate their imagination and slowly reel them in. This year I have a squirmy bunch of fifth graders and as I started reading The Underneath aloud to them, they were moving around in their seats, whispering, flicking little wads of paper, etc. Slowly, they stopped to listen and as they did, they stopped squirming and tuned into the story. I knew I had them. At the end of the period, they groaned. Somebody even asked if she could come in during her lunch period to hear more!
I've read novels written in poetic prose before, but not recently and none that I remember for children (although Cynthia Rylant's books come close at times). A lot of books today are written in free verse. Sometimes it comes off sounding a little artificial, though, and I think the story would have been more effective if it had been written in narrative form.
Some outstanding free verse novels that work well for me include Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust (one of the first written in this style), Susan Taylor Brown's lovely novel, Hugging the Rock and Sharon Creech's book, Love That Dog. I'm sure there must be more.
Practicing the art of crafting poetry can lend your prose more beauty. But, more on this another time. Anybody else out there practice writing both poetry and prose? If so, I'd love to hear about it.
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