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Solving your writing problems since 1998! |
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Stopping
Readers in Their Tracks
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If you love books, you can probably think of several
occasions when you've been stopped in your tracks by a
unique turn of phrase or a magical description. "How
did the author do that?" you wonder. "It's so
simple, and yet so profound." Authors get involved in the big picture when creating a book, and rightly so. We need to think about aspects of character, plot, setting, conflict, development and resolution. We must view the overall structure to ensure that it's sound. But once that story's down on paper and we know it's not going anywhere, we can start concentrating on the words. The forest is planted; now take a look at the trees. Think again about those track-stopping experiences you've had when reading. What else do you remember about the book? If occasional groupings of words overshadowed the story, then the author was struggling to sound writerly at the expense of the plot. However, if individual words and phrases melded seamlessly together to create a satisfying experience from beginning to end, then the words and the story had equal weight. As a children's book writer, how do you entice readers with your words, the essential building blocks of any type of writing, without overshadowing the other elements that make up your book? The answer: Keep it simple.
Skilled authors use everyday language in new, exciting
ways. One of my favorite picture book examples is from
Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. Max is
sailing across the ocean to meet the wild things for the
first time. Instead of telling us the ocean is "very
big" or Max travels for "a long time,"
Sendak takes advantage of young |
"...and he sailed off through night and day
and in and out of weeks
and almost over a year
to where the wild things are."
It's a poetic description of time, and fits perfectly with
the poetic tone of the rest of the text. Memorable
description happens when the writer pairs disparate images
to create a new picture infused with emotion. The feelings
make the place seem familiar to the reader. Here's the
opening paragraph from Paul Fleischman's middle grade
novel
The Borning Room: Four small walls, sheathed with pine,
painted white. A window. A door onto the kitchen, for
warmth. Two chairs. A bed, nearly filling up the room,
like
a bird held in cupped hands. Standing by the bed, squire
beside his knight, a table bearing a Bible and a lamp. I'm
certain you've stood in many such rooms. Even if the
reader
has never stood in such a room, she can see it. The words
Fleishman uses are accessible to every reader, and invite
her in. The text is not complex--most second graders can
read it easily--yet it is rich and interesting. The
unadorned language reflects the straightforward nature of
the narrator.
The Prologue of Natalie Babbitt's novel Tuck Everlasting
begins with a metaphor that sets the stage for the tale to
follow. Babbitt likens the first week of August to the
seat
at the top of a Ferris wheel: ...The weeks that come
before
are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow
a
drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August
is
motionless, and hot. She goes on to describe that time,
her
verbs building the tension: sunsets "smeared with too
much
color"; lightning that "quivers all alone."
And then the
kicker: These are strange and breathless days, the dog
days,
when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry
for after.
Surprising the reader is good, and Babbitt jolts the
reader
out of his dog-days reverie with that last sentence.
Joyful
images of Ferris wheels and hot summer days are abruptly
replaced by the promise of a story about bad decisions.
This, then, is what you want your reader to notice about
your writing. Not the individual words, not the fancy
descriptions, but the overall feeling of being taken for a
ride through the story. Pay attention to your words, but
don't let them take control. The only way to keep the
words
from overpowering the story is to always keep it simple.
# #
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider,
the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more
information
about writing children's books, including free
articles,
market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit
Children's Book Insider's home on the web at
http://write4kids.com
Copyright 2005, Children's Book Insider, LLC
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