The Art of Braiding

The art of braiding stories--not hair--is today's topic. A few days ago I reached for the book Crafting Novels & Short Stories. Instead of beginning at the, well, beginning, I opted to skip the norm and go for a different approach. I sliced open the pages of the book and landed smack dab in the middle. Now, that's shakin' things up a bit! Chapter eleven, written by Heather Sellers, explained this concept of weaving the element of braiding into our stories.

The author suggested imagining three photographs lying on your desk. Being an avid photographer, I enjoy the countless photos that line the walls of my home. Each one tells a different story. There should be at least three strands of stories in your novel but never underestimate your reader. They are intelligent, and they will follow your story line. She says, "You can't be confusing, but you can't spell it all out, either."

Three seems to be the magic number here. Three was my junior high volleyball number, is the number of children I have, and is the age of our youngest, cutest and only daughter. Like the layers in an onion, a novel should peel away, revealing other story lines. Sellers says if a story lacks braiding, this is the reason why stories fall flat and lose steam about half-way through the novel. Layering in a novel allows the writer a chance to tell a tantalizing tale or two or three. Don't forget each story line or braid should contain the same elements found in a single story: characters, plot, crisis, resolution. Don't make the elements seemed forced. And always add the element of surprise or discovery!

It's important to remember that conflict comes in two packages, external and internal conflict. External conflict derives from circumstances or things that happen to us, like a car accident, broken curfew, license revoked. OK, maybe I mentioned those three things because my fifteen-year-old son is about to get his driving permit!!

Anyway, let's not forget internal conflict, things that are happening to us on the inside: worry, fear, guilt, or lack of trust. (I am in no way referring to my internal conflict as I sit in the passenger seat while my eldest son drives me around town.)
Don't forget to incorporate braiding into your next novel, and I won't forget to wear my seatbelt.

The Three M's of March

The three M's of March are March Madness, manuscripts, and Monopoly. Did you think I was going to give you some savvy, sage writing advice? Don't worry, it's coming. This blog entry resembles a pep talk in the middle of March Madness. Let's take Basketball, for instance. Coaches prepare their teams and pump encouraging words into their players to prepare them for the game. Some coaches speak a little louder than others. Deep down, coaches are incredibly powerful motivators even when they tell you the things you don't want to hear.

If I had attempted a writing career ten years ago, I would have failed immediately. Now, that I am a little older, my level of patience is much greater (so I keep telling myself). I owe thanks to my husband, our two teenage boys and our three-year-old daughter. Thank you, family, for making my life crazy, chaotic, fast and furious. My pathetic pittance of patience has been stretched and flexed over the years. Being a wife, mother and former full-time teacher, I think I deserve the Pulitzer Prize for patience.

You can't get around the fact that writing is patient work. Learning the craft of writing stories, manuscripts or whatever you are writing takes time. Researching the best books and the greatest authors takes time.Then the revising rolls in: revising, editing, revising. This part can take LOADS of time, like my never-ending laundry pile. With two boys in sports, my laundry mat is open 24/7.

Then comes the waiting game or the send off, when you send your manuscripts off to publishers, contests or magazines. I did name my blog "The Writing Game" for a reason. Remember the game of Monopoly? You have to stick with the game if you are going to win. You have to survive landing on boardwalk with two hotels. But the moment you do win, it's an epic, Monopoly win.
-Coach Hawes, signing off. Go write some books or just play some basketball;-)

Books for Boys

When I taught fifth grade several years ago, my classroom was overrun with boys, thirteen to be exact! Needless to say, there was never a dull moment. Thinking fast, I grabbed a book one day and began reading to my students. I always positioned myself a few steps ahead of them. I began integrating storytime into our daily routine. Sound childish? Not on your life! It worked like a snake charmer. The boys especially looked forward to story time.

Now, for the challenge of finding good books for boys. I ran to the library, scoured the bookstores and scanned lists online. I became a book junkie, a book hoarder. I read during my lunch break, at the doctor's office, at the park with my kids.

One day in the classroom I hit pay dirt. One of my male students approached my desk and asked me quietly, "Mrs. Hawes, what are you reading?" Then more questions came, "What books do you recommend?" "Can I borrow that book when you're done?" It was contatgous, like the flu virus in winter. Storytime became the most anticipated part of the school day. We started with Richard Peck's The Teacher's Funeral and laughed our heads off. Frank Peretti's Hangman's Curse came next, and we slithered in our seats at the explosion of spiders. Next, we read two classics by Gary Paulsen, Hatchet and Lawn Boy and learned that anything was possible.

Of course, when I read to my mostly male audience, I always ended the book at the perfect place of supense. (They informed me they were never going to speak to me again.) Sadly disappointed, they returned to their homework, wishing tomorrow would hurry up.By the end of the year, the reluctant readers had raised the bar for themselves and were now reading for recreation. Mission Accomplished.

The two upper middle-grade fiction novels I just completed fall into the category of Books for Boys. Having two teenagers, I still strive to find the perfect well-written novel full of action, adventure and suspense for my boys to read. While the books I've written will appeal more to boys, I believe girls will be attracted to them as well. I want to say a big thanks to that crazy classroom full of boys!

The Last Entry--Sasquatch Spotted on Saturn?

 Today, I am desperate for one more entry in my PiBoIdMo notebook. (I like to think of it as an idea notebook for middle-grade/YA novels.) One final book idea to go and my list will be complete. The 30 ideas in 30 days challenge for Picture Book Idea Month has been an incredible journey. The days are flying fast, but this morning I came to a screeching halt. The blank entry stared at me and snickered. Was that a sneer?!
I slammed my notebook shut. Take that! I went to checking e-mails. On the front of Yahoo's homepage, I scanned over the Top Ten list of breaking stories. Lists. I love lists. I make lists for the grocery store, for my day, for just about anything in life.
The Top Ten list looked at me and smiled, and I stared blankly back. One at a time, the random bits of information popped off the page. 
#3    Big Foot/new DNA found
#5    Family of 5 die in a house fire in rural Ohio in a 130 year old farm home.
#8    Some famous actress gets manslaughter
#10  Huge Saturn Vortex found
      If there's not a story there (or two), then I've got my head stuck in the sand. Can't you just see Big Foot running loose on a farm while teaming up with a Hollywood has-been? Then their brains get sucked into Saturn's huge Vortex! Oh, how will they ever make it out alive?
     OK, but really something could possibly work in that myriad of messy ideas. Ever read Monster by Frank Peretti? Fantastic Sasquatch book where Big Foots are genectically engineered and accidentally let loose into the forests of the Northwest.
    Christmas is coming and, there is bound to be a list in your hand some time this season. And if you are a writer, I dare you to look through the Top Ten breaking stories. You might be surprised. There's a wealth of book ideas just ripe for the picking. Happy Listing!

TOP SECRET

     I just drank another medium mocha cappuccino, in other words, creativity in a cup! November is NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. When I taught fifth grade several years ago, my class participated in NaNoWriMo. My students were excited to write their own novels and then share them with the class.
     Although I didn't actually sign up this year for NaNoWriMo, I did participate. I also joined PiBoIdMo. Are you laughing yet?! It stands for Picture Book Idea Month. Those crazy writers! you are probably saying about now. Even though my passion for writing is geared toward middle-school age, I found myself intrigued with all the wonderful authors and illustrators that posted so far this month. With my notebook in hand, I jotted down wonderful ideas for middle grade fiction novels and more ideas for advanced picture-book biographies of great Americans.
     One of the aritcles posted discussed stealing ideas from your children or from someone else's children. Hey, we gotta do what it takes! When several ladies from my critique group suggested we exchange middle grade fiction novels, I was thrilled!  I grabbed my ideas and wrote furiously the entire month of October.
     I had just finished a conversation with my oldest son, when a flash back from this past summer hit me, BAM! My head spun, making me dizzy. I just cranked out a 20,000-word novel. I fight it for a few seconds. I argue with myself, but I give in--the new idea is powerful, exciting, and hopefully never been done before. I grab my computer and start cranking out another novel. (The book idea is in Top Secret mode right now. Sorry!)
    One week later, my novel is finished and my nails are nibbled to nubs. Actually, I only chew on one nail. Thanks to NaNoWriMo and PiBoIdMo for the inspiration. And a special thanks to my oldest son, S. Austin Hawes, (Isn't that a cool name?;-) for the spark that ignited this brand new novel.

A Yellow Tree Surprise!

     The autumn afternoon brightens my paper. I try to pen the colorful scene in my backyard, but the  rusty red leaves keep falling on my paper. Two yellow trees in the distance, late to lose their leaves, display the perfect fall attire. The twin trees are such a nice surprise. I love discovering a surprise in a story. I also enjoy hanging onto suspense in a mystery. Combine those two elements, and now you're talking! Autumn is the perfect season for surprise and suspense.
     Researching other writers and thier development of these two elements is a whole lot fun. Who doesn' t love a good adventure or mystery? Remember reading Mark Twain's novel, Tom Sawyer? My youngest son is reading the classic for English. No one does it better than Mark Twain. His simple town with a simple mystery creates a ton of suspense and surprise. That simple town based on his childhood home is really Hannibal, Missouri, where I reside.
I pass Cardiff Hill where Widow Douglas lives in the novel. I can still see Injun Joe seeking revenge in the dead of night, and Huck Finn hunkering down scared to death.The Mark Twain cave south of town depicted Tom and Becky lost deep in the labrynth of connected tunnels. Then Injun Joe jumps out of the shadows, surprise!
    Chase and I made puppets (for his English class, of course) of the characters in Tom Sawyer. Injun Joe even looks scary dressed up in felt on a popsicle stick! Try looking for the two elements of surprise and suspense the next time you read a classic novel or a current book hot off the press.

Fantastic Fridays

     When Fridays roll around, I seriously don't know who is more excited about art class, me or my students! I was introduced to art at a young age. Staring at my mother's oil paintings hanging over the couch, I used to imagine I was sailing on her painted ship or holding that cute cuddly painted kitten. She let me peek into her art books showing me the correct way to sketch a tree or shade an object. I fell in love with art and with trees. I should have a bumper sticker that says, "I love to draw trees!" Just ask my art students. In the fall we tackle pointilism trees painting bright bold dots for leaves. Amy Carr, Candadian born artist, is an inspiration with her water color tree resist paintings. Next we try our hand at constructing a Gustav Klimt curly tree with metallic paints, not to mention all the fun things we do with leaves!

     I tend to think in terms of snapshots and color. My children think I'm crazy for stopping by the side of the road, "Look at that!" I pull out my camera and snap the perfect picture of a  trio of trees each dressed in their own fall color. "Mom's getting Willow Care for Christmas," they say. I'm pretty sane (I keep telling myself that;-).

    I have a wonderful group of 3rd-6th graders this year. It's important to make art fun and to make art a great learning experience for them. As a child, I was never without a pencil and paper in my hand. My addiction to writing words and drawing pictures first started with my Grandmother, Mary Curtis, a sassy, saucy, southern bred woman full of spunk and pizazz! To quiet me and my sister in church, she would reach deep into her purse. At first, I thought she was going to pull our a whip! She smiled kindly handing us tiny pencils and brand new shiny notepads. I fell in love.