A Way with Words

I adored my editor Frances Foster for many reasons. Her humor, her smarts, her genteel manner. She also had a lovely way with words...always eloquent, tactful, and respectful.

In my ongoing quest to purge my office of STUFF, I came across some correspondence that showcased her way with words perfectly.

Back in 2000 (FIFTEEN YEARS AGO!!! How can that be?),

Frances received a letter from an elementary school media specialist about the use of the word "hell" in my book Me and Rupert Goody.

It reads, in part:

I am faced with a real problem. Several times in the book, the character of Uncle Beau uses language that parents of elementary age children would find offensive. More and more, I am finding that this is an issue with well-written books for children this age. If the inclusion of such language were an integral part of the story, that would be at least justifiable. In this book, it is gratuitous and could easily have been deleted.

What will I do with the book? I cannot recommend it to students at my schools. The language is unacceptable - and it occurs only a few times! I am passing the book on to the middle school where students - and their parents - might not be offended. I regret having to do this as the story is appropriate for fourth and fifth graders.

What can you do? I would suggest that, when you edit books in the future, you become aware of such gratuitous language and suggest to authors that they, too, become sensitive to the inclusion of such language. No one is opposed to freedom of expression but let us be more sensitive to what language is necessary and what is not.



Frances responded in the most perfect way. Her letter reads, in part:

I can certainly appreciate the sensitivity of your position as a media specialist. We may, however, disagree on whether or not certain language is integral to a story. I don't think it's so easy to separate language from characterization, and in my opinion, there is nothing gratuitous in O'Connor's depiction of Uncle Beau. His every word and gesture make him totally believable. I suppose the occasional "hell" could have been edited out, but it seemed so utterly true to Uncle Beau's voice and character.

Are you aware that School Library Journal gave Me and Rupert Goody a starred review and a Best Book of the Year ranking? It was also named an ALA Notable Children's Book. Those recommendations, of course may not carry any weight with parents, but they do suggest that not everyone has found the language unacceptable to fourth and fifth grade audiences. 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

P.S. If it had been an e-book, the librarian could have used this Clean Reader App (eye-yi-yi) .

Memory Lane

Ever since I sold my first book a million trillion years ago (okay, okay...1991), I've kept scrapbooks of book-related stuff.

I call them my Ego Books because during those times when I'm feeling insecure and inadequate, like a has-been and a loser (You know you've been there, right?), I can whip one out and thumb through it and I sometimes feel better about myself. (Saves me a ton of money on therapy.)

I read the nice letters folks wrote and see how blessed I am to have lovely, supportive friends and to have achieved some wonderful goals, I'm back in my groove.

So I recently decided to look through them.

Here are some of the highlights from the first one, which is 1991 to 2000.

This is my very first acceptance letter. It was for a biography of Maria Montessori. I remember that day so well. I was over the moon excited:

 This is a letter from David Freaking Small, y'all!! He did the cover art for my first novel, Beethoven in Paradise. I wrote him a note thanking him, and he wrote me back. I love that he told me how lucky I was to have "that great lady, Frances Foster" as my editor and FSG as my publisher.

This is my very first review of my very first novel (Beethoven in Paradise). It's a little hard to read because it was faxed to me. (Remember fax machines?) It's a Kirkus POINTERED review, which back in the day, was their version of a starred review. (Anybody remember those pointered reviews?):

This is a note from my son telling me I did a good job. Awwww. Better than a starred review!

This is a letter from Cynthia Freaking Rylant, y'all!!! We corresponded after I sent her a copy of my second book, Me and Rupert Goody:

This is Cynthia Freaking Rylant telling me that my novel "was lovely." Swoon. (I cropped out her signature cause I don't like to post that on the internet, but trust me, it's her. In fact, she signed it CYNDI RYLANT.

And this is from School Library Journal. Me and Rupert Goody was named a Best Book of 1999. I was beyond thrilled for that!

So, those were good years and I am blessed.

Characters with disabilities

I'm proud to be included on this list of books for middle school students that show characters with disabilities in a positive light.

Me and Rupert Goody won the Dolly Gray Award in 2002.

Books with characters with disabilities

I'm proud to have a book (Me and Rupert Goody) included on this list:

40 Positive Children's Books with People with Disabilities as Characters

Me and Rupert Goody

I received the Korean edition of Me and Rupert Goody last week.

The jacket is made from some kind of funky material that feels almost like leather.

Under the jacket is a different, very shiny cover. (I wonder what she's saying....)

It's so foreign to me

I thought it might be fun to post some pics of the foreign editions of my books.

Here are some French editions. Kids often ask me why the French publishers use photographs on the covers.

My answer?

I don't know. (Heh....at least I'm honest.)

If anybody knows, please, enlighten me.

Me and Rupert Goody

Moonpie and Ivy

Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia (French title = The Spelling Bee)

Beethoven in Paradise

Writing Fairies Continued

I thought of another example of how the Writing Fairy pays a surprise visit to your story and throws a monkey wrench into the flow - which turns out to be a good thing.

In Me and Rupert Goody, I was writing along and all of a sudden a sentence popped into the story about Rupert repairing a hotplate for Uncle Beau.

I hadn't planned that.

I hadn't thought about that.

I had absolutely no idea where that hotplate came from or, more important, why the heck it was there.

AND THEN.....

......the climax of the story turns out to come when Uncle Beau's store burns down.

Why did Uncle Beau's store burn down, you ask?

BECAUSE OF THE HOTPLATE!

Dang, that Fairy is pretty smart.

(P.S. I fixed that link to Sara Lewis Holmes's blog entry that was referenced here, in case you missed it.)

Writing Tip Tuesday

Setting.

You need it.

Duh.

But I have two things to comment on with regard to setting.

1. Don't get so caught up in the story that you forget setting. That's easy to do. I know. I've done it.

But the reader will appreciate a little reminder once in a while.

Key words here: once in a while.

You don't need to shove setting down the reader's throat - but a little sprinkled here and there serves to keep the image of the setting in the reader's mind while other stuff is going on.

Remember the weather.

Remember the smells.

Remember what time of year it is (so...what are people doing, seeing, hearing, etc.)

2. If you don't have a VERY clear image of the setting in your mind as you write, the reader won't either. AND - that image must stay consistent throughout the story (unless the weather changes, or whatever.)

Here's what I do to help with that - I DRAW the setting.

Now, bear in mind that I am the WORST artist ever. I'm talkin' stick figures here, folks. So my drawings are embarrassingly pitiful. But they are for my eyes only (although I did send one to a copyeditor once and could practically hear the snickers....).







Personal experience:

In Me and Rupert Goody, I drew a sketch of the inside of Uncle Beau's store. I needed to see where the old couch was, where the cash register was, where the door to his room was, etc.

In Taking Care of Moses, I drew a sketch of Randall's neighborhood - where his house was, where the church was, etc.

In How to Steal a Dog, I sketched the town - where the school was, where Carmella's house was, where the abandoned house was, etc.

In my upcoming novel, Greetings from Nowhere, I sketched the motel, numbering the rooms and marking which characters were in which rooms, where the swimming pool was, where the flagpole was, etc.

Those little sketches were a valuable tool to keeping the setting consistent and for helping me to remember to drop in some references to setting from time to time.

They helped me see if the movements of the characters were logical and if all the action "works."

They are also much appreciated by copyeditors (even if they snicker).

The post wherein I explain chicken hair

Yesterday I showed you a photo of me discussing chicken hair with a group of students. (See below.)

Let me explain.

Like all writers, I often read or hear something that I file away, sometimes subconsciously....a name, a phrase, an object, etc.

One time I read an article in People Magazine (oh, yeah, like you don't read People Magazine) about some guy - I don't even remember who he was or why he was in the magazine - who described himself as having "chicken hair."

Now, how could I not file that one away, right?

Quite some time later, that phrase reappeared in Me and Rupert Goody:

[When Jennalee has come to visit Uncle Beau in the hospital after he has been struck by lightning...]

"Don't cry, Jennalee," Uncle Beau said in such a soft, sweet voice I thought I'd die.

"You gonna be all right, ain't you, Uncle Beau?" I said, inching closer to his bed.

"Course I'm gonna be all right," he said. "Hell, that lightning just recharged my batteries, is all. Liable to make me better than I was before. Might've ruined my hairdo, though. Look at this." He ducked his head toward me. "Gave me chicken hair."

Smoky Mountain High

The Smoky Mountains = My Heart's Home.

I recently met my Smoky Mountain Soul Sister, Kerry Madden, online. We realized we have a lot in common, particularly our love of the beautiful Smoky Mountains. We both write books for children set there.

Her latest is Louisiana's Song, which is the second of a trilogy. I haven't read it yet because I'm currently reading the first in the trilogy, Gentle's Holler. I'm loving loving loving reading about those places I'm so familiar with. She captures the setting to a tee. Her love of the mountains comes right through the pages of that book. (And you gotta love a dog named Uncle Hazard!)




I can't wait to read the others.

(My book, Me and Rupert Goody, and my upcoming novel, Greetings from Nowhere, May 2008, are also set in the Smoky Mountains.)

I grew up at the base of those mountains and have many wonderful childhood memories about my time in them. I went to summer camp there. I've sat in the backseat of my family car as it zigzagged back and forth and around and around those mountain roads. I've hiked along those mossy, fern-lined trails. I've had picnics beside the flowing mountain creeks.

I've jumped from rock to rock in those creeks and waded in the clear, icy water.




















My parents loved those mountains, too. My mother spent the vacations of her youth there.













Even my grandparents spent many happy times there. Here they are in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (with an unknown person):













In the background of the above photo is one of those little mountain motels. Greetings from Nowhere is about one of those motels.

My best friend, Cyndi

One of my favorite blogs is Shrinking Violets, Marketing for Introverts. There was recently a post nominating Cynthia Rylant as the Coolest Introvert in Children's Literature.

I TOTALLY second that vote. I adore Cynthia Rylant. She's my literary crush, no doubt about it.

I consider her my ultimate, all-time, tip top, A-one inspiration of all time. Missing May spoke to me like no other book. Her voice. Her sense of place. Her heart.

So when my book, Me and Rupert Goody, was published, I sent her a copy and told her how much she had inspired me. I told her that she had continued the chain of creative spirit. (Good line, huh?)

Well, guess what?

She wrote me back! I mean wrote - as in by hand - on pretty pink note paper.






I've blurred the signature cause, well, this is the nasty ole internet and all. But trust me, she really wrote me. She said all these nice things about my book. Like, she thought my novel was "lovely." I mean, who else could use that word in a normal sentence and sound normal?

Oh, and she liked the goodness of the characters' hearts. Isn't that just so Cynthia Rylant?

And get this, here was her favorite line in the book (I'm not making this up): "I ain't eating another pinto bean as long as I live."

AND she signed the note CYNDI RYLANT.

Not Cynthia.

Oh no - not for me, her new best friend.

It's CYNDI (that's right, with a Y and an I)

And check out that little heart. I mean, come on!

So, Cyndi, if you're out there: Keep up the good work (and call me - we'll do lunch.)