writing

Learning from Fiction

There are lots of ways we learn through the written word.  Textbooks are the most obvious, though not always very effective in and of themselves.  Nonfiction books can be a great way to learn about almost anything you can imagine–cultures, history, technology, or just the lives of interesting people.

We can learn through novels as well.  Hard-working authors who do their research can infuse factual tidbits seamlessly into the plot, and we can learn through a character’s choices and their evolution through the story.

It recently occurred to me that there’s a key difference between the nonfiction and fiction approaches to learning, though.  Nonfiction generally sets out to teach–that’s the whole point, to be informative.  In fiction done right–in my opinion–it’s up to the reader to learn, and what they take from the story can vary.  The parallels they draw will depend on their own worldview and experiences, and that’s what makes it so fun–that feeling of finding your own meaning.

What happens, however, when someone sets out to write a novel with the nonfiction writer’s intention of teaching in mind?  Does it still work?  I’m not sure.  I haven’t tried it myself.  Do you get a “moral of the story” or after-school special feel as a result?  If so, that could be a problem.  I can’t speak for all teenagers, but my students are master cynics.  If they sense a story’s been contrived to teach them something, brace for imminent eye-rolling.

Does it come down to ensuring Story trumps Message?  Is it more a matter of not talking down to your audience?  Or are those two related?  Something to think about as I dig through the latest YA works to find books to recommend to those charming cynics.

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A Touch of Good News

A few good things that have happened lately:

• I made the “Literary Agent Showcase” round on WEbook’s PageToFame contest.  (See, here’s proof!)
• While we’re talking about PageToFame, “Assumptions” made it out of the Shorts round.  (Still waiting to see what that means.)
• “Significantly Other” was published by Crossed Genres.  (Not bad for my first “serious” attempt at at a short story.)
• I survived IEP Intensive.  (Not related to writing, other than being the reason I couldn’t do much writing for the past month.)

Otherwise, I’m still in the agent hunt, still working on Book #3, and jotting down some pre-writing notes for a brand-spanking-new idea.

I’m also counting the weeks until Thanksgiving break.  For the record, it’s at five.

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YA Work and the Big Bad

One of the basic elements of storytelling is conflict.  Most sources list between four and six main conflict types.

• Man vs. Self–the identity crisis
• Man vs. Man–“duke it out” (physically or otherwise)
• Man vs. Society–the rebellion
• Man vs. God/Fate–big-time underdog
• Man vs. Nature–the disaster scenario
• Man vs. Technology–“Good morning, Dave.”

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That Aristotle Guy

Oops, kind of a long stretch since the last post.  At first, there wasn’t much to say.  Then there was, but it was more of the same (four fulls and a partial out at one point = more waiting).  Finally, it was getting back to the day job, where almost everyone on campus had to relocate due to renovations.

The inspiration for today’s post comes from the day job, in fact.  We had a professional development day yesterday, most of which wouldn’t interest any of you.  During a presentation on critical thinking skills, though, came a moment of epiphany … and it wasn’t while my colleagues and I were trying to build a tower out of marshmallows and toothpicks.

Our presenter includes some quotations on a few of her slides, and one particularly caught my attention:

In addition to the implications for educating my little rabblerousers, it struck me as a nice summation of my philosophy on accepting critique.  You have to be able to entertain a thought, even unpleasant ones, without (necessarily) accepting it.  Once you entertain it, you can make that decision whether it has merit you should act on or not.

This is especially applicable to me recently, as three of my four fulls came back with rejections.  One was a form rejection, so there’s nothing for me to take from it.  Another was a detailed message that felt like the agent just didn’t get it–we all view things through our own lens, and hers seems to be polarized at a right angle to mine.  The third was a brief but personal message that raised an interesting question.

It’s that last one that has me thinking the most.  Perhaps I’ll expound on it in another post.  My book doesn’t follow a certain part of the YA sci-fi/fantasy formula.  I know that, and in many ways it was my whole point.  So I’m trying to entertain the thought planted by that agent without accepting it, at the same time looking for what I can take from it.

Meanwhile, I’m forging ahead–working on Book Three, receiving good news on another front (see if you can spot it in my Twitter feed, post forthcoming), and wondering if I’m ever going to hear back from Agent #1.

Oh, and keeping up with the day job.

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Audience ID

Know your audience.  Sounds simple enough.  It occurs to me that there are two types of audiences, though—the general audience that’s likely to enjoy the book, and the narrower audience that’s likely to think the book is the best ever.

At its broadest, my general audience is teenagers.  Throw in adults who like smart YA work, too, and there you go.  To get a little more specific, I think my novel appeals especially to girls who like math or science, and/or have a bit of tomboy in them.

While at Best Buy with my sister yesterday, I found a succinct description of the sub-population who would most enjoy my work:

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While Waiting: Part 2

A few months ago, I posted a list of things to do while waiting on an agent.  Agent #1 still has the full, and now two more agents have it as well.  (My latest attempt at a query letter actually has legs!)  So, more waiting.  Here’s what I have gotten/am getting done, and it’s nice to see some of these are progressions from the first list.

• Finished Book 2 in the series and Book 3 is well underway.
• Wrote two “real” short stories that I’m working on submitting.
• Packed up my classroom to be relocated this fall when they renovate half our building.
• Helped my dad with yard work, woodworking projects, and whatever else he needed a slave for.
• Got elevated to Round 3 in WEbook’s PageToFame system.
• Worked with my sister to design two covers, seen here (just for fun, and in case I end up self-pubbing).
• Hung out with my awesomely awesome friend for a weekend (rare treat since she now lives 2000 miles away).
• Read a lot of books (Darkest Powers trilogy, Mortal Instruments trilogy, first two books in The Hunger Games trilogy … is Mockingjay out yet?)

A lot of that looks like work.  Here are some additions for the To Do list:

• Figure out how and when to get together with the inimitable T.L Tyson (in my country, hers, or another one altogether … doesn’t matter)
• Possibly find time to visit my cousin in Mississippi (though the humidity might scare me off)
• Plan a trip to Rochester, NY to visit the friend mentioned above, plus anyone else I knew back in grad school that’s still there.

Hmm, all of that involves travel and interacting with humans outside of cyberspace.  That might be a clue.

Anyone else have fun ways of keeping your mind off the waiting game?

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