14:14 PB ELEMENTS – A Boy and a Jaguar – CONFLICT
This first book I selected to examine for the elements of this year’s 14:14 Challenge was a treasure-find. Again, I am focusing this year on non-fiction, and this story, told in first-person point-of-view, testifies to the power of a young boy’s journey from disquieted childhood of doubt to an scientist’s passionate confidence.
A Boy and a Jaguar, by Alan Rabinowitz,
illustrated by Ca’Tia Chien
(c) 2014, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
(789 words, AR Reading Level 3.8)
And what does that journey take? Conflict.
This story element is center stage from page one. Young Alan, visiting the Bronx zoo with his father, wonders “Why is this jaguar kept in a bare room?” Conflict between freedom and captivity leads the story right into the boy’s own internal conflict. As he leans close to the cage to whisper to the jaguar, his father asks “What are you doing?” (implying a conflict between safety and danger) and with a page turn, the boy relates,
“I try to explain, but my mouth freezes, just as I knew it would. I am a stutterer. If I try to push words out, my head and body shake uncontrollably.”
Alan’s internal conflict with his inability is revealed.
The main character’s battle with his problem is emphasized by the layers of conflict that are described. His problem poses a conflict with the education system; his parents have conflict with teachers. His problem conflicts with his own self esteem: “Am I broken?”
But Alan’s goal to solve his problem begins with the two things he can do without stuttering: sing–and talk to animals. His five pets listen and understand. “Animals can’t get the words out, just as I can’t…” he realizes. So his goal to solve his problem expands–to help animals who are ignored or misunderstood.
Throughout this book, Alan’s heart-wrenching battle goes on, but with small victories. He learns to accommodate, and in college learns through an experimental program and intense concentration to speak without stuttering. Even with this, however, the conflict has roots in his life: “…nothing has changed on the inside. I still feel broken.”
The rest of the story I’ll leave for you to discover. One final conflict–a fifteen minute moment–seems to be the break-over point for Alan. And then, as if to place his journey of courage and success in bookends, the author brings back the safety-danger conflict with a final scene that I’ll admit, brought tears to my eyes.
I realized with the reading of this book that layers of conflict deepen the meaning of a story, and highlight or emphasize the main character’s personal conflict and risk.
How have you used conflict in your writing? How has conflict in any of your work been layered to emphasize troubles or problems the main character experiences?
(See a list of other reviewers posts in Christi’s latest post at Write Wild.)
The EYES (& ears & minds & hearts) HAVE IT.
I’m talking about last year’s inspections of a number of picture books that I and a few other kid lit writers voted (devoted) to share on our blogs. We said ‘AYE’ to the challenge and engaged eyes, ears, minds and hearts in picking and parsing some great picture books.
I learned a plethora of information about ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS that make picture books tick.
And tock.
And rock!
Patterns, Pacing, Word Play, Rhyme, Plot, Character, Theme, Conflict, Dialogue, Beginnings and Endings.
If you’d like to see what we discovered, go to this link for links to our reviews of 90+ picturebooks:
14:14 2014 PICTURE BOOK ELEMENT REVIEWS
Would you dare to join us?
I’m Going INSIDE…14:14 Picture Book Blog Challenge
I a
m hyped about the upcoming 14:14 Picture Book Blog Challenge issued by Christi Wright Wild at her blog. THIS CHALLENGE really taught me so much about picture books that I remember it as one of the best highlights of my writing year.
I remember as an 8 year old having seen an intriguing line-art diagram of the inner workings of a camera in Highlights, or possibly some encyclopedia.
I promptly, at the first opportunity (Mom must have been visiting next door) got out my Mother’s precious Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera. Using a table knife for a screwdriver and toothpicks and tweezers as other tools, I performed my duty as a scientific investigator and took the camera apart.
I mean…screws, springs, gears, brackets, lenses–and a long curvy strand of film–scattered across the grey formica surface of our chrome kitchen table. All the working parts in all their glory.
I learned a lot, in a real time hands-on way, how cameras worked, back then in 1961. (I learned other things associated with that experience that I won’t examine here.)
Do you want to learn how a picture book works? Christi Wild’s ELEMENTS of picture books, all 10, are the essential parts that makes picturebooks what they are. Taking on this challenge will put you inside fourteen picture books–dis-assembling, re-reading, and analyzing what makes them click.
There’s no better way to learn than to take apart what some talented writer has put together. I encourage you to join me and other writers during February. Sign-up for an inside view of picture books.
My Writing Revolution
Someone has helped me take an important turn in my writing goals. Looking back on 2014 and my writing dreams, I see that there are some ‘hopes’ that didn’t happen, but some ‘hopes’ that did. Failure or success? Success, of course. I recognize the familiar principle this person is offering me, because as a school business manager, I learned a few things over the years:
- Use budgets as guides, not straight-jackets.
- Consider policies as operating parameters, subject to amendment when necessary.
- Regard your goals with direction in mind, not just destination.
Looking at my writing in this light, I’ve decided the year has been a success. The two most critical components of success are movement and direction. Arrival is the by-product.
Julie Hedlund is leading a small group of writers in a ’12 Days of Christmas’ challenge to help us firm up our writing direction for 2015. Today she reminds us that New Year resolutions often fail because they are based on what we didn’t do rather than what we did do in the prior year. She has prompted us to write down (and post) our writing successes for 2014. Here are mine:
- I joined and participated in the 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge, completing only 4 drafts in the year, and submitting to only four agents. Four, in my math, is always better than zero.
- I maintained a focus on non-fiction in 2014, which I believe helped fine-tune my writing dreams.
- I succeeded in 14 picture-book element examinations in 14 days in Feburary with Christi Wright Wild. (Hoping to do that again, I learned so much!)
- I attended a wonderful non-fiction conference in October, NF 4 NF, learning from new NF heroes Pam Miller, Peggy Thomas, Kristen Fulton, Kristi Holl, Steve Swinburne, Lucas Miller, and editor Kelly Loughman at Holiday House, as well as befriending new NF writers.
- I completed PiBoIdMo 2014 in November with a total of 46 non-fiction and fiction picture book ideas, attempting two per day.
- I learned from new on-line writer support groups, such as the charter Neffers (see NF 4 NF above), KidLit 411, ReviMo, and WOW nonficpic.
- I set up an alternate reading and writing space with a unique shelf-piece I found in Texas that serves as idea headquarters. (see photo)
- I discovered and began listening to a new Picturebooking podcast by Nick Patton.
- I set up an illustration station with an old drafting table loaned to me long ago by my brother-in-law, which also serves as a great picture-book dummy layout space.
- I waded into new writing waters with illustration—and devised new characters Peck, Cap, and Ringo. (more coming later)
- I participated in wonderful webinars and hangouts with numerous writers/authors/illustrators.
- Won two pending workshops: the Lyrical Language Lab with Renee’ LaTulippe (to be taken in January); and Non-Fiction Archaeology with Kristen Fulton (to be taken in March).
So…this is the basis for my goals for 2015, what I’ve learned and completed this last year. It all appears to be successful movement and successful directions. Now these awesome expereinces will be now the groundwork for 2015 and my continuing, unfailing writer dreams.
My New Math
I’ve completed, once again, the PiBoIdMo challenge.
For 2014, with calculated intent, I’ve added a batch of ideas for picture books. They now wait to be prodded and picked and refined into picture book drafts.
This was the fourth year I’ve participated, and I find I’m still picking ideas from lists as far back as four years ago. A number of ideas have been polished into full fledged stories. Thanks to Tara Lazar and her marvelous guest authors, editors, and agents, not only do I have ideas, I have knowledge and insight and skills that I haven’t had before.
If you’ve read previous posts, you might know that I shifted focus to non-fiction last year. I tweaked a February 14:14 challenge on reviewing the elements of picture books to write reviews on non-fiction works. In October I declined attending my state SCBWI conference to be able to attend the NF 4 NF non-fiction conference in Texas.
So in November I adopted a new strategy for PiBoIdMo. I tailored the challenge, daring myself to come up with TWO ideas per day: one non-fiction PB idea, and one fiction PB idea.
Dosn’t 30 + 30 = 60, you say? Yes, I fell below my personal challenge of 60 ideas. And yes, the goal to complete the group challenge was 30 ideas. And YES, I have 16 more ideas than if I had accepted the norm.
I learned this year that the sum of an equation depends on the addends in the equation. The addends PiBoIdMo offered, plus the addends I dared to include, gave me a better sum than the ordinary.
Make the challenges you accept your own challenges. Dare to tweak and modify and add to keep the challenge relevant, and practical for you. Divide a challenge into meaningful parts. Hey, subtract, even–sometimes less can be more.
I now know that how I add ideas to my writing journey isn’t going to be common core anymore.
I like my new math. I think I’ll keep writing with it.
I’m Writing…
“Writing time” is rare for me it seems…but with the encouragement, and insight, and help of my NF4NF peers, I am learning to regard writing as more than just BIC.
Pat Miller, at the recent Non-Fiction 4 New Folks seminar in Texas, gave participants a ‘bookmark’ that reminds us to ‘keep writing.’ She was careful to define that as whatever we are needing in our writing life to move forward with our goals.
That bookmark is reminding me to get my butt in my writing chair.
YES, butt-in-chair is critical…necessary…elemental to the writing experience. But so are the following:
SIC- Self in Community – engaged in the writing community as a source for the pressure and affirmation we need from one another to write well, write better, write from ourselves in a way that others can read us.
BIR- Brain in Research – Learning both facts and truths about our topics and settings and causes-and-effects so that our stories can maintain for non-fiction authenticity and accuracy, or for fiction a strong suspension of disbelief.
HIW – Heart in Writing – Discovering, if we don’t yet know, why we want to write. This can be empowering and freeing.
TIC – Training in Craft – How to write well for your readers is where a writer’s skills, knowledge, and passion combine to become the art of his or her heart.
Expression doesn’t happen automatically for writers, it’s learned and practiced and done.
So I expect, to paraphrase the old Sammy Fain song, that “[I’ll] be seeing [you] in—-all the old familiar [writing] places.”
Once Conceded—Twice (or Thrice) Deleted: Treats AND Tricks
It’s like trick, and treat.
You know. You discover some deep insight on someone’s blog, and you’ve got to ‘follow’ them. You laugh out loud at another writer’s experience, and you ‘like’ their humor. A new picture-book author impresses you with their success so you ‘subscribe’ to their writerly wisdom.
All good stuff. Encouragement. Inspiration. Information.
The problem is, once I ring that doorbell–meaning once I subscribe, follow, or befriend, I am conceding to a social-media-stream of kid-lit community insight.
And soon I am overwhelmed by repeating waves of alerts, posts and notifications.
My facebook feed stutters. Really. Because many of my favorite news-feeders (and I can’t do without them) post to three other pages I liked, and to two other groups I joined. So each priceless bit of wisdom they freely give appears multiple times.
My mailbox is full. Not only facebook ‘notifications’ of those same feeds but also notices of ‘posts’ I have followed on a number of blogs, as well as podcast arrivals on my phone.
Don’t read me wrongly. I genuinely treasure the ‘reciprocity’ that my kidlit heroes and my kidlit peers practice. I know how valuable our free and open connections are. Where would I be as a children’s writer without what I’ve learned and the opportunities I’ve discovered through our digital connections?
But wow. I often grow weary from deleting repeating posts and notifications, and wading through what I’ve already read more than twice, or thrice, or more.
Can I ask…how do you handle the onslaught? It’s like getting a bucketful of candy every day. Just what, and just how, do you throw some of it away? What tricks do YOU use to handle these delicious sweets?
Thirty Somethings
As an ‘older’ citizen in the kid-lit community, I have learned to enjoy rubbing elbows with, on average, a ‘younger’ crowd.
I have no idea what the ‘average’ age is for members in Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge, or the mean age of those disciplined writing souls committed to Meg Miller’s on-going periodic ReviMo revision sessions. I couldn’t begin to even guess at the median years represented by members in Kristen Fulton’s non-fiction-picturebook WOW group, subscribers to Sylvia Liu’s and Elaine Kiely Kearns’ KIDLIT411, or listeners tuned in to Katie Davis’ Brain Burps About Books.
But I do know, in Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo Challenge, we’re all thirty-something for a month!
Thirty (plus) days of inspiring and informing posts on writing picture books for kids.
Thirty (plus) days of insights into the kid-lit world through comments from a sharing and dedicated community of writers.
Thirty (plus) ideas for when a spark for a story is ready to plug in. That’s thirty “somethings” with the potential to shine in my writing future.
So with bright excitement I’m participating again in one of the best challenges for writers I’ve ever discovered, Tara Lazar’s 2014 Picture-Book-Idea-Month, all through the month of November. (The pre-posts have already begun, so check them out to get your ideas glowing.)
Easy Listenin’ Kid Lit…
Hey. Check out this new podcast I’ve discovered about picture books, called Picturebooking, by Nick Patton.
I had a new app on my laptop and phone. While searching to add a podcast to the one other kidlit podcast I love (see Brain Burps About Books, by Katie Davis…link next door), I discovered Picturebooking.
These are two totally different podcasts.
While Katie’s podcast revs me up, Nick’s calms me down. What engages me so with Nick’s pocast? Maybe it’s including his baby daughter in the process, maybe it’s the slow and easy, simple focus of his approach.
At any rate, I like it. It’s filled a spot.
Not Katie’s spot, mind you. I need Katie’s full-of-life go-get-it cheerleading style in my writing life as well. For an old guy needing motivation, spurring on, and a swift kick in the but every other episode to keep me moving, writing, and marketing, Katie, my friend, is the key.
Meanwhile, I also need the stroking, calm, encouraging affirming smile that comes across through Nick’s moments when he shares himself as a writer, through interviews with generous published guest writers, and directly to me, the listener.
Wow. What a balance.
PICTUREBOOKING PODCAST BRAIN BURPS ABOUT BOOKS PODCAST
AND, check out the CONTEST going on now.
Nothing is Better than a Cuddle with a Kid You Love…
…and I know the perfect book for it. Julie Hedlund’s My Love For You Is the Sun is now available at various outlets, and is a premier work of picture-book writing, picture-book art, but more than that, a work of love. Inspired by Julie’s childhood this book is an expression of grace and gratitude that will become an avenue for your love for the children in your life.
With metaphors illustrated by the marvelous rich colors of Susan Eaddy’s clay art, page by page the dimensions of a parent’s care and affection are unfolded and revealed. These are feelings that every parent–and every child–will recognize and understand.
This book says it all, and I can’t wait for my copy to arrive.
SevenAcreSky 