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“You enter the extraordinary by way of the ordinary.” ~Frederick Buechner
Workshop: An Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults
On the surface a how-to seems almost
self-explanatory but it’s amazing how easy it is to forget a key detail. This
is rich territory for any age but especially for ages five and up as these
subjects combine details and information with curiosity and possible future inspiration.
How-to pieces go beyond arts and craft
projects to exercise, finances, organization skills, doing chores, and sharing
talents.
Keep it truthful. Keep it simple. Keep it
accurate. Keep it doable.
Truthful. Make a connection with your reader.
Are you sharing from a love of your information? Did you totally mess up the
first time you tried to make this topic yourself and have a funny story to
tell? Is it something important to know how to do but can also be dangerous if
done incorrectly—like a teenager learning to change a tire? Don’t make light of
any complications, but be sure to give solutions. Share=Connection.
Simple. Precise. Concise. Step-by-step
instructions. Take time to explain a word that might be unfamiliar or
confusing. Don’t make assumptions. Give a detailed list of requirements both in
material and time and potential cost.
Share=Understanding
Accurate. Point out the potential glitches.
Is there stage where they will need help? For the very young enable them to
understand waiting time. Are there any potential dangers that older teens or
adults need to be aware of? Food allergies or something can become slippery.
Protect eyes or need gloves?
Share=Safety
Doable. Personalize again. How much fun? How
many more times? What possible projects can come next or expand or new ideas to
follow up on. Make other possible connections.
Share=Accomplishment
How to Build a Kite can connect to arts and
crafts, a family outing, a party, building skills, types of tools, and
supplies.
How to Fly a Kite can connect to skills
needed and festivals and history and types.
How to Know Where to Fly a Kite can lead to a
study of wind and environment.
How-to can also be woven into narrative
stories either from the viewpoint of a fictional character, a personal memory
of your first time trying it out, or as an interview.
The goal is for readers to be excited to try
it for themselves and not just see a list that they hold and say, “Do I have
to?”
Action Steps:
1.
Make
a list of any how-to side subjects that might connect with your article from
last week.
2.
Then
choose one and see how many parts or angles you could develop.
3.
Choose
two and write them up: one as a brief sidebar, and one as a whole article
itself.
4.
Look
up some possible magazine markets to submit to. Remember that magazines
sometimes work a year ahead, so submitting an article in the fall for the
following summer, or vice versa, is not unusual.
Share: The title of your article.
Read deep, marcy
Workshop: An Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults
“Surely a kind of fascination or a deep
desire to learn more about a subject must
be there from the start.” Jane Yolen
Nonfiction easily warrants a workshop all to
itself but as most fiction techniques also apply to this genre in this section
we’ll look at the aspects that are assigned to it more specifically.
The well-known guidelines for solid
nonfiction are still the basic who, what, when, where, and how, but the
undergirding purpose is why.
Curiosity—Communication—Connection.
These elements are the main criteria
regardless of age. Both for the
reader and from the author if the
material is to have any impact beyond straight factual information. Think of how many times your thoughts
have glazed over during a boring meeting that is solely fact based, even when
you know it is information you need.
As babies move into understanding language
they often point constantly to people and objects even before they can shape
words in a desire to know. Toddlers have the capacity to drive the most patient
adults to exhaustion with their why questions.
Nonfiction sings when curiosity begins a
dialogue of interest. When an author has a connection with their topic and a desire
to share, then trust is built.
So what do you do when assigned a topic of no
interest to you or you feel is already boring. Think of someone hearing the
topic or word or definition for the very first time and perhaps the only time
they will ever hear any information on this subject. Then look for the spark of
communicating truth in a voice that shares. Maybe with humor, or your own
reluctance, or a surprise you discovered, but share one-to-one.
And it must be accurate so as an author you
need to do the digging. If this is the only information on this topic they will
ever hear, it must be the truth. Otherwise trust disappears and boredom
replaces interest not only in this particular subject but possibly in others as
well.
To paraphrase a comment by Jane Yolen,
beautifully written information books have changed lives because though they
are informational in the broadest sense the authors have written them out of
the deepest commitment and passion.
I think that magazine articles and blog posts
can meet this standard as well if the authors are sharing from their hearts.
Action Steps:
1.Make a list of all the subjects that have been of interest to you growing
up?
2.Which ones did you discard and why?
3.Which ones do you still find fascinating? Why?
Share: What main passion do you want to
share?
Read deep, marcy
Write with Impact
 “The imagination is
our way into the divine Imagination, permitting us to see wholly—as whole and
holy—what we perceive as scattered, as order what we perceive as random.”
Austin Farrer (as quoted in Reversed
Thunder by Eugene H. Peterson)
Mythic is often acknowledged, or accused, as imaginary with
the emphasis on made-up impossibilities, or fantastical and unbelievable
stories for entertainment. But mythic imagination is actually visionary—a
strategy of seeing from a new perspective. It dares to ask the what-if
questions to the nth degree. It risks failure over and over again in the
attempts to make whole broken parts.
Mythic imagination permeates story and science, exploration
and cuisine, language and geography. It is priceless, peerless, and passionate.
It dares to dream beyond the reality it can see and touch
and feel. Galileo studied the heavens, improved the telescope, created an early
version of a thermometer, and set his world upside down in arguments by
proposing the earth and other planets revolved around the sun. For that he
faced a trial for heresy.
Three Persian astronomers, or wise men, followed a star
across a thousand miles to welcome a newborn king, born in a stable.
Known primarily for inventing a working light bulb, Thomas
Edison also invented the phonograph and a motion picture camera. With world
changing fantastical consequences. Madam Curie is famous for her studies on radium
and Albert Einstein for the “speed of light”. He is acknowledged as a genius
even though as a teenager he struggled in a school that demanded rote only learning.
One of his quotes states, "The
important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for
existing."
Mythic imagination explodes with possibilities. It ignites wonder. It
sparks creativity.
Share: What
reality would you like to see re-designed? How would a new perspective change
its focus?
Write with Impact
 Albert Einstein said, “When
I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the
gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing knowledge.”
Einstein called his imagination “a holy
curiosity.”
Mythic mystery absorbs this concept of holy curiosity
combined with awe.
“Manna—what
is it?” Israel asked, mystified by the flaky fiber carpeting the earth,
surrounding their camp.
“Bread from
the Lord,” Moses replied. Gather as much as each needs, an omer apiece only,
one day at a time.
They did not, could not, recognize
the substance. They struggled to comprehend it, classify it, cook it. Food from
heaven. Fare of the angels.
Mythic mystery creates a sense of yearning ‘awe’ that
ignites a heart hunger. It combines a search for answers as well as a
willingness to just absorb the beauty and questions left behind.
Science has given us detailed explanations of why the sun
rises and sets. Yet the causes do not affect the unique beauty of each one
spreading its palette of design across the heavens every day.
Jane Yolen refers to folklore as “constantly transforming and being transformed, putting on chameleon
like, the colors of its background.” So despite the familiarity, the story
is always new and unique.
The lure of a mystery is present in all genres due to the
main story question. If we are hooked at the beginning we will read, even
through dull sections, determined to find the end’s answer. Chapter endings,
scene endings need to leave us with that pause of ‘will she or won’t she
succeed or fail’. The books and movies that keep us wondering breathe that
mystery thread with both multiple possibilities and/or multiple questions.
When we add and weave a mythic thread of mystery’s awe into
our stories, then we can also leave a lingering sense of yearning and a ‘holy
curiosity’ that fuels our soul language as well. We write with deeper impact
and significance. Like a light breeze causes us to pause, mythic mystery leaves
a catch in our throat.
Share: What aspect
of nature continues to fill you with awe?
Read deep,
marcy
 Questions are hardwired into us from the time we grasp
communication. Spend a day with a toddler and the main conversation is
surrounded around “Why?” And knowing the answer can still be insufficient.
“How” often comes next.
The mystery genre takes the desire to uncover motives
ranging from a cozy pleasant afternoon adventure of “who, when, and where” to complicated psychological puzzles.
The mystery writer must plan out every detail to hold the story’s interest.
However other genres need the curious just as much. The clues become imbedded
in the plot.
Wrong turns, false trails and coincidental characters are
the enticement that we follow like breadcrumbs to find the answer. “What” will happen next?
When we create with mystery regardless of genre, we add an
additional layer of depth to our storyline. Even if we know, or think we know,
the outcome we’re more than willing to engage in the adventure. We are ready to
discover the path that gets us from here to there. And the more tangled the
better.
For example, in the movie Penelope, the diligent journalist Lemon follows his clues
thoroughly. All his primary facts are right. However since his assumptions are
slightly off kilter they not only mislead him but also his co-characters and the
audience. In addition the error creates a long thread of subplot points adding
to the story tension and resolution. At each junction the lure “why” creates
more curiosity. When finally the beginning situation is revealed all the
threads unravel into a clear understanding.
Journal Prompt:
It’s not only mysteries that can provide red herrings.
Choose a conversation your protagonist has with someone important to her. Now
take each line of conversation and choose a way it could be misunderstood. Do a silly, comedic version and a serious
confrontational version.
Choose the one that best fits your theme. Plot out a
sequence of decisions that could result from that error in communication. Can
you incorporate them as tension points in your novel?
Share: Share a
movie or a novel that when the twist came you couldn’t believe you didn’t
recognize it. And it fit perfectly into the story.
 Thresholds as Connectors Do we open the locked door at the end of the spider-coated hallway? Are we ready to hear the words written in the old manuscripts found buried under the house? When Eve saw that the tree God had forbidden, “was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave it also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Pandora couldn’t contain her curiosity and opened the box. “Out flew every kind of disease and sickness, hate and envy, and all the bad things that people had never experienced before. Pandora slammed the lid closed, but it was too late.” Both these women were well warned before they succumbed to temptation, but what about the times there are no clear directions. We have good reason to hesitate before the unknown. When do we need courage to resist a threshold, because the consequences are beyond our control and could bring great suffering, or risk stepping into the unknown to bring light into darkness? If Lucy had not opened the door at the back of the wardrobe and discovered Narnia, she and her siblings would not have been instrumental in breaking the White Witch’s spell. By willingly entering the Beast’s palace, Belle breaks the curse. Hercule Poirot follows every lead possible until he can bring a culprit to justice. Often the clues needed to solve a mystery, bring about justice and bring the truth out begin with ordinary things and familiar words. The investigator needs the insight to see them in the right light and respect warnings when given. “..stop and look around and step forward with courage and cognizance across otherwise invisible Thresholds into Discovery.” Tim Wynne-Jones Journal Prompt: Look at the literal thresholds in your character’s daily world and choose one to explore as a figurative threshold. Think of ways they could become a life-changing threshold for your character: doors, windows, cupboards, gardens, railroads, or books.
 Curiosity begins before it has language to express itself. Watch an infant seeing his environment, or a toddler discovering a ladybug. Then as language expands the questions come buzzing incessantly for answers. Where are we going? How does it work? What makes the sky blue? Why? Spending a few hours with a mystery novel or movie refreshes us and feeds our natural curiosity. Not only do we take a break from our normal schedules, but also we can exercise our imagination and our deductive reasoning together. An enthralling mystery nurtures all our senses. Often we only need a title to draw us in. The movie caption, as in The Secret of Moonacre, tells us what we are to discover. Or does it? What is the secret? The answer is quite simple but the path to it is long, with twists and turns emotionally and physically. It is covered over by layers of misinformation and misunderstandings. Why did her father leave her only a battered old book? Why can she see the story when she opens it? Why does her uncle lock it away from her and refuse her access? Why is everyone so angry? The questions swarm like bees. One answer opens another and then another until she is running to escape the onslaught. And yet, she must find the answer now for herself. Her curiosity pulls her deeper and deeper.
Journal Prompt: A few weeks after an elderly relative has died, your character receives a special delivery envelope. Inside is a key, a locket, a note from her relative that says, “I’m sorry”, and an oilskin pouch containing a map of his summer home and a ink-smeared fragile letter, that is at least fifty or more years old. What happens next?
What makes the Titanic so noteworthy among so many sunken vessels? Mystery feeds our curiosity and our desire for knowledge. Whether the mystery is a crime, or a search for science, or to understand a new language, it sparks an interest. We become motivated to listen, to study, and to invest ourselves in the outcome. Mystery with mythic impact pulls us into both story and illumination. Characters and readers dig deeper to discover truth. In the novel Elidor, Alan Gardner uses disbelief to bridge, first, the children’s entrance into the land, and then, Elidor’s entrance into their own world. The characters repeatedly insist these things can’t be happening, that there must be an explanation, or it was a dream. With each major transition in the story the disbelief, the impossible, is emphasized. Dealing with the impossible heightens the action, as well as the mystery. Roland, the youngest, alone continues to insist on examining the odd occurrences and trying to find a solution. Over and over the children try to ignore, forget, disbelieve the strange circumstances surrounding them, but with each impossible occurrence they are forced back into their relationship with Elidor. At the end, what cannot be explained or necessarily believed is real. And sometimes the questions raised still simmer, as in the Titanic. Questions continue to keep its tragedy of interest a century later. Journal Prompt: Write your own possible reasons for questions surrounding the pendant. 1) What reason did her fiancée really have for purchasing it? 2) Why did Rose keep it hidden all those years? 3) Why did she throw it into the ocean, and not give it to her granddaughter or a museum? Write your ideas from a character perspective, and a plot perspective.
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