For Writers

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

By on January 11, 2016   /   For Kids, For Librarians, For Teachers, For Writers, Writing  

It’s a question kids ask all the time. Sometimes I think they expect you to answer: “Oh, I just consult The Big Book of Book Ideas,” or maybe “I shop online at the Idea Store. All authors do.”

Once the playwright David Mamet was asked that question, and he answered: “I think of them.”

But that’s a bit snarky as an answer to kids who are genuinely curious about the writing process.

So here’s what I say instead. I tell kids I get my ideas from three main sources:

1) Random Things Around Me. I look at people. I pay special attention to body language. (That’s where the first chapter of TRAUMA QUEEN came from: observing one girl’s self-protective posture when she showed up to her middle school school for Pajama Day). I also eavesdrop a lot–at Starbucks, on trains. I listen in on phone conversations (Hey, if a cellphone conversation occurs in public–loudly–it’s fair game!) I even keep a small notebook in my pocket, so I can jot down snatches of conversation. I’m a big fan of dialogue, so much of my writing I get through my ears.

2) Emotional memories. Kids often suspect fiction is autobiographical. I explain that while my characters usually reflect something of my own temperament and interests, I never merely transcribe events from my own life. (My life isn’t that interesting, truth be told.) But what I do use is memories of how I felt as a kid–when I was bullied. When I developed a crush. When my mom embarrassed me. When my friends made me laugh. Sometimes it’s painful to revisit certain middle school emotions, but doing this helps me create relatable characters.

3) My imagination. I write realistic fiction. It drives me crazy when I hear kids saying that they prefer fantasy “because it’s more imaginative.” I tell them that actually, realistic fiction requires MORE imagination than fantasy, because if your characters are in trouble, you can’t just summon a dragon or chant an incantation or transport your character to another dimension. You have to solve their problems in a way that obeys the laws of the real world–a world that’s basically a triangle, with Family, School and Friends as its three points. And here’s the tricky part: you have to create a triangle that’s somehow fresh and surprising, because otherwise, why would your reader bother to read your story?

Creating a fresh, surprising, emotionally resonant narrative within the confines of that triangle isn’t easy. Sometimes it take several imaginative leaps before you get it right.

But you know how you tell that you’ve done it? When the reader assumes your story is really just autobiography.

Barbara Dee’s sixth novel, TRUTH OR DARE, will be published by Aladdin/Simon & Schuster in September 2016.

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Quotable Middle Grade

By on January 8, 2016   /   For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers  

barlettsI’ve always been a quote collector. When I was a teenager, I asked for, and received, a copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations for Christmas. I still have it. And I still open a page at random to see what quote jumps out at that moment.

I also write down quotes and phrases that I come across (whether they’re in Bartlett’s or not). The first time I remember doing that, I was nine, and the quote I copied into my notebook was, “You have two numbers in your age when you are ten. It’s the beginning of growing up.” It came from Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, which was a book in one of my favorite series. Those words felt so big to me at age nine. They held the promise of big things to come. In less than a year, I would “start to grow up.”

My friend Sara Aronson showed me a way to take my quote collection to the next level. Instead of recording her favorite quotes in a Word document (which is what I had been doing before she and I had this conversation), she records them on note cards. I may or may not be remembering what she does with her note cards right, but what I’ve been doing with mine is dealing one out to myself every morning before I start writing. This was today’s:

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It’s amazing how often I’ll pull a quote that is exactly what I need to hear on a given day.

Many of my quotes are, of course, taken from middle grade novels. Here are some of my favorites:

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I really should take that one out of my deck and post it above my computer where I can see it all the time. It’s a good one!

Here’s another good one. (Who am I kidding? ALL the quotes in my deck of quotes are good ones!) And because I’ve seen it so often, I tend to repeat to myself whenever I’m feeling down:

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I happened to pull this Kate DiCamillo quote shortly after I moved to Seattle in the spring of 2013. Like I said, exactly what I needed to hear that day. I’d left a lot of really good friends in Iowa. But I “opened my heart” and Kate was right: people came!

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And what about this final line from Charlotte’s Web:

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How about you? What are some of your favorite quotes from middle grade novels?

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Take a Reading Holiday

By on January 6, 2016   /   Book Lists, Fiction, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, Nonfiction  

Whether you’re a writer, a teacher, a librarian, or a student, there are times when the reading you have to do takes away from the reading that you want to do. So I decided to devote my two-week Christmas Break to reading all the things that had been calling to me from my endless to-be-read list. Turns out I’m not alone. Here are some of the great middle-grade books Mixed-Up Filers read during the last two weeks of 2015. Maybe they’ll inspire you to take a reading holiday of your own in 2016!

From IndieBound: Pram Bellamy is special–she can talk to ghosts. She doesn’t have too many friends amongst the living, but that’s all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.

Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help. But this spiritualist knows the true nature of Pram’s power, and what she has planned is more terrifying than any ghost.

“New York Times” bestselling author Lauren DeStefano is beloved by critics and readers alike, and her middle grade debut is lyrical, evocative and not to be missed.
From IndieBound: In the tradition of Sharon Creech and Wendy Mass, Corey Ann Haydu’s sparkling middle grade debut is a sister story with a twist of magic, a swirl of darkness, and a whole lot of hope.

Silly is used to feeling left out. Her three older sisters think she’s too little for most things especially when it comes to dealing with their mother’s unpredictable moods and outbursts. This summer, Silly feels more alone than ever when her sisters keep whispering and sneaking away to their rooms together, returning with signs that something mysterious is afoot: sporting sunburned cheeks smudged with glitter and gold hair that looks like tinsel.

When Silly is brought into her sisters’ world, the truth is more exciting than she ever imagined. The sisters have discovered a magical place that gives them what they truly need: an escape from the complications of their home life. But there are dark truths there, too. Silly hopes the magic will be the secret to saving their family, but she’s soon forced to wonder if it could tear them apart.

 

From IndieBound: With a voice as distinctive and original as that of “The Lovely Bones, ” and for the fans of the speculative fiction of Margaret Atwood, Karen Thompson Walker’s “The Age of Miracles” is a luminous and unforgettable debut novel about coming of age set against the backdrop of an utterly altered world.

 

From IndieBound: This stunning debut novel about grief and wonder was an instant” New York Times” bestseller and captured widespread critical acclaim, including selection as a 2015 National Book Award finalist.

After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy must have been a rare jellyfish sting-things don’t just happen for no reason. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory–even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy’s achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe…and the potential for love and hope right next door.

From IndieBound: The Trunchbull is no match for Matilda.

Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she’s just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It’ll take a superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves and Matilda may be just the one to do it.

From IndieBound: Of especially naughty children it is sometimes said, They must have been raised by wolves. The Incorrigible Children actually were. Thanks to the efforts of their plucky governess, Miss Penelope Lumley, Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia are much more like children than wolf cubs now. They are accustomed to wearing clothes. They hardly ever howl at the moon. And for the most part, they resist the urge to chase squirrels up trees. Despite Penelope’s civilizing influence, the Incorrigibles still managed to ruin Lady Constance’s Christmas ball, nearly destroying the grand house. So while Ashton Place is being restored, Penelope, the Ashtons, and the children take up residence in London. Penelope is thrilled, as London offers so many opportunities to further the education of her unique students. But the city presents challenges, too, in the form of the palace guards bearskin hats, which drive the children wild not to mention the abundance of pigeons the Incorrigibles love to hunt. As they explore London, however, they discover more about themselves as clues about the children’s and Penelope’s mysterious past crop up in the most unexpected ways.

 

From IndieBound: Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he’s tracked down by an uncle he barely knows-a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years. When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision. Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die…

What did you read over the school holidays? Have you ever taken a reading holiday?

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