Things I Love Thursday

I love getting letters like this:

Dear Mrs. O'Connor,

 Hello, I'm a fifteen year old freshman living in land-locked Indiana and I am in love with your novel "Moonpie and Ivy". This book really inspired me. The setting is a place I can relate to, the land set up is similar to my grandparents. I first read that book at my grandparents when I was in fifth grade. I saved money just to buy this book. Every year since, I have read it during the summer or whenever I need an escape. I also love the attachment Pearl has to her aunt who becomes a mother figure almost, because Ruby is off who knows where. 

Now the reason I am writing this is because I am trying to write a novel myself but don't quite know where to start. I have ideas but they never seem to last or take off from the ground. Recently I have been writing a journal and keeping notes on things I see, hear, and experience. How did you get inspired to write "Moonpie and Ivy"? How do you get an idea to take flight and actually become something? What tips do you have for an author to be? Anything helps.

Writing Tip Tuesday

You can have the most fabulous opening ever.

You can have the most riveting story ever.

You can have the most wonderful characters ever.

But if you blow the ending....well, then, it's like serving brussel sprouts for dessert after the gourmet dinner.

Here's a story about an almost-blown ending.
(Warning: If you haven't read Moonpie and Ivy, this post will most likely mean nothing to you.)

I don't like fairy tale endings. I like realistic endings. But I also know that the ending of a child's book should at least be hopeful in order to be satisfying.

Here is the original ending of Moonpie and Ivy (prior to revision):

Then she lifted the shoebox and dumped the postcards out the window. They fluttered in the wind like butterflies, then drifted slowly to the ground, leaving a colorful trail on the dark road behind her.
I LOVED that! Those butterflies...that colorful trail on the dark road....

Lucky for me my editor is more brilliant than me and is not easily moved by fluttering butterflies and colorful trails.

She called me and told me no, no, no. That ending isn't right. First of all, she can't throw those postcards away. She needs them (i.e., kill the butterflies).

Second of all, metaphorically speaking, the dark road isn't behind her. The dark road is ahead of her (i.e., kill the colorful trail).

In addition to that stroke of genius, my editor made one small suggestion that gave the ending exactly what it needed: hope. She suggested that Aunt Ivy give Pearl her phone number.

That phone number gave Pearl a connection that she desperately needed - and left the reader feeling better about things and not so hopeless about Pearl's plight.

Here, then, is the revised ending, as it was published:
She opened the scrap of paper and squinted at it in the glow of the dashboard lights. "Ivy Patterson" was scrawled in big, hurried letters. Underneath, circled in red, was a phone number. Pearl closed her eyes and said the numbers in her head again and again and again and again. She put the envelope back in the shoebox. Ruby droned on and on. "Wait till you see..." "You're gonna love..." "I was thinking we could..." But Pearl wasn't listening. She hugged the shoebox, thinking maybe she could already feel that hope starting to grow inside her. Then she whispered Ivy's phone number over and over while she stared out at the dark road ahead.

Here are some of the reviews:

"O'Connor provides no magical happy ending for Moonpie and Ivy, but it is a hopeful one."

"What I most admire here is the author's courage with the plot, particularly the ending..."

"...the ending was very brave, tinted with hope but with the weight of reality hanging heavy within. I admire that [she] didn't tie it up with any pretty ribbons."

And two reviews from children:

"I hope you all have a chance to read it because I thought it was great even though at the end it's very sad. At the end I loved it"

"The ending, although not happily-ever-after style, left me feeling good."

So there - saved by an editor.

Teacher Guides

My friend and fellow author, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, has a great new blog up featuring her amazing teacher guides.

Tracie has done guides for two of my books: Moonpie and Ivy and Greetings from Nowhere.

Down in the dumps

It was bound to happen sooner or later....

....one of my books at the book exchange at the local dump. But, hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing, right? I mean, they didn't throw it away....just recycled it for some other lucky kid.

It was a copy of Moonpie and Ivy.

I had inscribed it:

To Melissa - Who may not like Moonpies - but might! 2003

Kind of a strange inscription, huh?

I'll have a Danish with my coffee....

The Danish editions:

Moonpie and Ivy (Danish title = Postcards from Pearl)

Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia (Danish title = Bird and Harlem)

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

Waaaaah!

Pardon me while I have a good cry.

One of my novels has gone out of print.

This is a first for me.

I'm partial to all of my books, of course.....but I have a special place in my heart for this one.

R. I. P.
Moonpie and Ivy

Writing Tip Tuesday

I love recurring story devices - something that is used repeatedly throughout the story.

These can serve some or all of the following purposes:

• Help tie the story together
• Help develop character
• Show the inner thoughts of the character
• Add to the overall style or theme
• Give cohesiveness to the story
• Help move the story along
• Give the reader something to anticipate

I've written eight books and I've used a recurring story device in five of them!

Moonpie and Ivy:
The main character writes postcards to her mother (who has abandoned her). I ended every other chapter with the postcard. I've had teachers tell me that when they read that book to their students, the kids loved the postcards. They looked forward to them.

The postcards helped the main character express her feelings, which changed and evolved as the story unfolded. Some examples:
Dear Mama: I hate you. Love, Pearl Dear Mama: Ivy asked me to stay here and be her daughter and I said yes. Goodbye. Love, Pearl

Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia
The characters were studying for a spelling bee by using the dictionary. I used letters of the alphabet throughout the book. For example, "By the time we got to 'L'..."

This was a great device to help move the story along and helped the reader keep track of where we are in the story as they studied for the spelling bee.

Taking Care of Moses
The main character draws pictures at the end of every other chapter.

These helped show the character's feelings.

How to Steal a Dog
The main character keeps a journal that starts out as a "how-to" manual but turns into an expression of her feelings about what she has done. This served to show the evolution of her guilt over her actions and her need to do the right thing.

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis [WIP]
The main character's grandmother teaches him a new word each week. He recalls the vocabulary words throughout the story and uses them as they apply to a particular scene. This serves as a thread throughout and helps develop the character.

A shout out to Tracie

Children's author and reading specialist, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer offers over 200 - that's TWO HUNDRED - free teacher guides (including one for my book, Moonpie and Ivy.)

I thought that deserved a shout out....

You go, Tracie!