For Writers

Subtext in MG

By on September 26, 2016   /   For Writers, Writing  

(For study purposes and maybe a potential future post, I am putting together a list of middle grade books that excel in the use of subtext. Please feel free to add any titles in the comments section that you feel belong on this list. Thanks!) 

We recently had a #MGLitChat on the topic of subtext. I signed up to co-host and was scared to death of this chat. My concern was embedded in the fact I felt I didn’t know enough about subtext and figured I needed to do a lot of research to be able to hold my own. Lo and behold, I harkened back to my own middle school days and didn’t study. Fortunately, I was able to play the comic relief to the intellect of my co-host for the night, Lee Gjertsen Malone. When the chat was over, not only did I feel a whole heckuva lot smarter, but I had a whole new appreciation for subtext, especially in middle-grade literature.

What exactly is subtext? The important part that is not there is what subtext is. The stuff which exists in space between what we perceive and is there without being told or shown it is there. I came across a cool quote from Ernest Hemingway about subtext:

“If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of the movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.”

With the iceberg image painted firmly in our reader and writer mind, we get a solid idea of what subtext is. The words we read in a story are the part floating above the water. The tips of the story icebergs act as the guideposts, while the space in between the guideposts, Hemingway’s 7/8ths, becomes the meaning and character and flavor existing below the surface which makes for a richer narrative. Subtext gives us stories that are more than they appear to be on the surface. Subtext gives us satisfying stories with more of everything.

The four basic types of subtext.

  • Privilege – The reader has information the characters don’t.
  • Revelation – Reveals a certain truth over time.
  • Promise – The story goes the way a story supposed to go and the way the reader expects it to go.
  • Question – As a story advances, the reader begins to ask questions about where the story is going.

K.M. Weiland did a recent Helping Writers Become Authors post and podcast about subtext. It is an excellent resource to assist the writer or the reader through the literary dark forest that is subtext. She presents five steps to work subtext into your writing.  

(1) Story subtext arises from the space between to known, fixed points. The writer builds a framework of dots and lets the reader connect the dots as they read. When the reader connects all the dots, a rich and full story picture emerges. The writer should tell the reader what they need to know, not tell them everything single thing. That’s not very entertaining.

(2) Story subtext must exist below the surface and (3) remain existing under the surface. The writer needs to know the whole iceberg in order to design the tip that paints the picture of the whole iceberg in the reader’s mind with telling every single detail.

(4) Story subtext is created by the dichotomy between the interior and exterior behavior. Once something rises to the exterior, it can no longer be considered subtext. In practice, it’s simply, as K.M Weiland says,  “avoid presenting characters and situations for exactly what they are”.

(5) Subtext exists in the silent spaces. Use your character’s silence to leave out things in order to make sure they don’t tell each other every single thing.

Maybe the most important thing we can do when working on the skill of subtext is to trust the reader. The reader will be able to put together the shape and scope of the submerged story information iceberg. The reader will be able to connect the dots and then put these connections together to reveal the story picture to themselves. Even a middle-grade reader is deserving of this trust and can rock at the art of subtext, as long as the subtext relates to the reader while remaining appropriate for the characters and the story.

Experiment with subtext in your writing. Learn how to spot it being used in your reading. Most of all, learn to trust your reader to connect the dots you place and see the pictures you intended them to see.

That is reading and writing magic.

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=730855

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=730855

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International Day of Peace: Middle-Grade Books that Promote World Harmony

By on September 21, 2016   /   Book Lists, Diversity, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers  

The International Day of Peace, established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly, is now celebrated worldwide every September 21.

international_peace_day_logoTo commemorate the message of the day, I’ve chosen to shine a light on a few middle-grade books that share themes of nonviolence, empathy, and dignity for all.

These books not only promote peace by highlighting the challenges of fighting against war, racism, poverty, etc., but they also underscore the importance of large and small acts of courage by individuals to create change and move toward a more harmonious world.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I’d love to hear about your favorite books on the subject in the comments section.

9780062377012Pax by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Pennypacker’s novel, Pax (literally “peace” in Latin) was recently longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Young People’s literature. The story highlights peace by portraying the costs of war through the eyes of a boy and his beloved fox, Pax. Time magazine writes: “Pennypacker’s elegant language and insight into human nature spin a fable extolling empathy above all. By the novel’s poignant ending, Pennypacker has gently made the case that all of us should aspire to that view—children and adults alike.”

9781442485068Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Baskin’s novel tracks the stories of four children of different backgrounds before and after the tragedy of 9/11. While the characters have their own individual stories, they all share the fact that their lives were impacted by the event. The ending (spoiler alert) shows the characters, one year after the tragedy, at the memorial service in New York City. It’s a powerful scene demonstrating the courage of coming together in love and peace. Publishers Weekly writes: “Baskin focuses on how her characters emerge wiser, worldlier, and more sensitive to others’ pain after surviving a profound and tragic piece of history.”

9781629146133Just a Drop of Water by Kerry O’Malley Cerra

In Cerra’s book, also about 9/11, Jake’s life is turned upside down when the father of his best friend Sam is detained by the FBI after the attacks. Jake’s mom doubts the innocence of Sam’s family, who is Muslim, forcing Jake to choose between his best friend and his parents. When Jake finds out that Sam’s been keeping secrets, too, he doesn’t know who his allies are anymore. In the end, Jake must decide: walk away from Sam and the revenge that a racist classmate has planned or become the hero he’s always aspired to be.

9780316043069Sugar by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Ten-year-old Sugar lives on the River Road sugar plantation along the banks of the Mississippi. Slavery is over, but laboring in the fields all day doesn’t make her feel very free. Thankfully, Sugar has a knack for finding her own fun, especially when she joins forces with forbidden friend Billy, the white plantation owner’s son. When Chinese workers are brought in to help harvest the cane, the older River Road folks feel threatened. But as Sugar befriends young Beau and elder Master Liu, they introduce her to the traditions of their culture, and she, in turn, shares the ways of plantation life. Sugar soon realizes that she must be the one to bridge the cultural gap and bring the community together.

9780888999597The Breadwinner Trilogy by Deborah Ellis

This volume contains Ellis’s three novels, The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey, and Mud City. The Breadwinner is set in Afghanistan, where 11-year-old Parvana lives with her family in a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul. When her father is arrested for the crime of having a foreign education, the family is left with no money or resources. Forbidden to earn money as a girl, Parvana must transform herself into a boy and become the breadwinner. In Parvana’s Journey, her father has died and the family has scattered. Parvana, now 13 years old, is determined to find them. Again masquerading as a boy, she joins a group of wandering children, all refugees from war, who exist mainly on courage. In Mud City, the focus shifts to 14-year-old Shauzia, who lives in the Widows’ Compound in Pakistan and dreams of escaping to a new life in France. Ellis’s look at the human cost of war is also a story of hope and survival.

9780547577098Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

As the German troops begin their campaign to “relocate” all the Jews of Denmark, Annemarie Johansen’s family takes in Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen Rosen, and conceals her as part of the family. Through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.

9780545464406Seeing Red by Kathryn Erskine

Red has just lost his father to a fatal attack, and everything is different in his life. And when Red comes to realize the racial injustices connected to his Virginia family and community, he’s faced with some hard challenges. Publishers Weekly writes: “(Erskine) frankly explores the difficulty in fighting a corrupt system, but also stresses the difference one individual—even a child—can make, providing hope that justice can prevail.”

9780547577319A Long Walk to Water (Based on a True Story )by Linda Sue Park

 A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.

9781600606571Poems to Dream Together/Poemas Para So by Francisco X. Alarcon, illus. Paula Barragan

A young boy dreams that “all humans / and all living / beings / come together / as one big family / of the Earth.” As we travel through the boy’s colorful universe, we learn about his family and community working together and caring for each other and the world in which they live. Neighbors help repair adobe homes. The boy and his family share old photographs, tend their garden, and pamper Mama who “works day and night.” Tribute is paid to those who toil in the fields, and to Cesar Chavez. Most of all, we see how dreams can take many forms, from the fantastic imaginary ones that occur while we sleep to the realistic ones that guide our lives and give us inspiration for the endless possibilities of the future.

9780805089967Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts about Peace by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Illustrated with handmade quilts, these poems explore various notions of peace. Some, written from a child’s point of view, explore themes of fighting with a sibling and bullying on the playground. Other poems, using personification, are narrated by a house in turmoil and peace itself. The collection compels the reader to act with compassion, respect, and hope. Back matter highlights famous peacemakers such as Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, and Jimmy Carter, as well as a few lesser-known advocates.

9780525477341Paths to Peace: People Who Changed the World by Jane Breskin Zalben

Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Cesar Chavez, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Nobel Prize winner, Dr.Wangari Maathai, are some of the people Zalbren chose to represent different eras and parts of the globe. Many started down their path to peace during childhood, and all challenge us to think about improving the lives of others. Also included are art notes, a glossary, a bibliography, further reading, and an index, making it an excellent resource for teachers and students.

What are your favorite books that promote peace?

Dorian Cirrone is the co-regional advisor for the Florida Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She has written several books for children and teens. Her most recent middle-grade novel, The First Last Day (Simon and Schuster/Aladdin), is available wherever books are sold. You can find her on Facebook and on Twitter as @DorianCirrone. She gives writing tips and does occasional giveaways on her blog at: http://doriancirrone.com/welcome/blog/

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Your local Indie Bookstore: a national treasure

By on September 16, 2016   /   Book Lists, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers  

No matter what your role in the life of middle grade readers: parent, teacher, writer, librarian or some combination of the above, the local independent bookstore can be your ally in getting good books into kids hands in a way that sustains and upholds the community in which those children live. Indies are great at finding that new voice and highlighting a rising star on the literary scene. Here’s their big secret–the booksellers actually read the books. And they know what their community values and is looking for.

Here are two examples from my own experience. One of the first booksellers I ever met was Laura DeLaney from Rediscovered Books in Boise, ID. She came up to me at a regional trade show three months before my first slide-image-1book Heart of a Shepherd came out. She said, my community includes Mountain Home Airbase. I’ve never read a book that speaks to the military family experience like this one. I’m going to sell 100 copies of your book. And she did.

Just for reference, most MG titles at a bookshop sell between 0 and 3 copies at any given location.

fiveThe second example comes from the genius booksellers at Paulina Springs Bookstore in Sisters Oregon. They get a ton of tourist traffic in the summer and they sell mostly hiking and fishing guides although they are a terrific literary bookstore. They decided to put my Heart of a Shepherd and Hearts of Horses, an adult novel by Molly Gloss, in the trail guide section. And then while tourists were over there picking up maps, they’d say, here are two quintessential books about rural Oregon. One for you and one to read aloud to your kids around the campfire.

heartofashepherdcvrAs a result of these two booksellers, and a bunch of others like them, my debut book, a heartfelt story about a ranch kid whose dad was deployed to Iraq, a title that was not a lead for my publisher and wasn’t even picked up by the big chains, earned out its advance in 10 months and went to 4 printings in it’s first year. Even more astonishing than that, it’s still selling, slowly but steadily, seven years later. All of that happened because indie bookstores saw something a little out of the ordinary that they knew would speak to their customers. Obviously I’m hugely grateful. But I’m also astonished that the power of Indies was still able to make a difference in 2009, one of the roughest years independent bookselling has ever endured.

Whether you are an author or a librarian or just a parent looking for a good book for you kids, here are some things you can do to make the magic of independent bookselling work for you.

  1. Visit your local bookshop regularly and get to know the booksellers. They can be a great source of information about both undiscovered gems that will be perfect for your child or your students and also that overhyped book that just isn’t all that special. And they are genuinely interested in what you are looking for in books for yourself and for the children in your life.unknown
  2. Go to readings. Online bookshops don’t bring great authors to your community, but a local bookshop can and they might even help you set up a school visit for your students if an author you love is in town. Let your local bookseller know you are interested so that they can keep you in the loop.
  3. Place school or book club orders. Most shops offer a teacher discount and will gladly work with you on ordering books for your classroom or library. Oh and guess what? When you order through a shop you don’t have to pay shipping.
  4. Are you a little tired of all the glittery, non-book, junk items that unknown-1come along with your Scholastic book fair cases? Your local bookshop can probably host a school book fair. Every shop has a different policy, obviously, but talk to your local bookstore about hosting a book fair in the shop. They can usually apply the teacher discount to everyone who comes to the fair or give the school a credit afterward to get free books.
  5. Local merchants are the ones most likely to support local fundraisers so if your school is doing an auction this year (and honestly who isn’t?) I bet your local bookstore will donate to your cause. Not only that, their employees live in your community and pay taxes there, and they pay business and property taxes in your school district.
  6. unknown-2Lost a treasured favorite? Wondering when a book that would be perfect for a whole-class read is coming out in paperback? Give your indie bookshop a call. They can look things up in a publishers data base which is not available to the general public.
  7. Feeling a little stale in your own writing? Need some encouragement? Go listen to an author talk about her new book. Authors are generous. Eager to share what they’ve learned about the writing process and the labyrinthian world of publishing. I host author events at the indie bookstore where I work several times a month and I learn something every time, even when the author writes something that is a thousand miles from my own genre.
  8. And one more thing. Buy a book. Because if you want that bookstore to still be there when you are a published author, if you want your kids and students and grandkids to know the particular peace of walking into a bookshop where they are free to browse what ever strikes their interest and not just what’s the latest hot property, then give that shop your patronage as regularly as you can. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but when everybody does a little, it goes a long way.
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