More links to get you through Thursday:
Wait, it’s a video with John Green that’s not a vlog brothers video? Can’t wrap my brain around it. Great interview though!
I especially like John’s comments on creating moments that are a gift to the reader and thinking of their experience. It’s cliche to say that you should write the book you want to read, but I think it’s good to remember the future reading experience as you write.
Also, it sounds really silly but I was excited to see John interviewed here because it’s so normal to see him in other videos. I thought “Look at him! Just like a real person! He’s famous outside of my little world!” It’s like seeing your friend from high school get interviewed and act like a professional. Except John and I aren’t actually friends*.
*John, let me know if you want to be friends**.
**If you want to be enemies, that’s cool too. I am a cold and heartless nemesis.
How did I miss the Downton Abbey Reading Challenge? This sounds awesome, especially now that season 2 is over. The reading list is extensive. This would certainly cover you until season 3 started.
The only thing that can make this better? If Dame Maggie Smith narrated all the audio book versions.
When I was little I loved Madeline. She was French; she had an adorable hat; she wasn’t afraid of tigers; she got her appendix out. What more could a girl want?
So of course I was psyched to see this interview with the author John Bemelmans Marciano of Madeline’s latest adventure, Madeline at The White House. He’s also the grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans, author and creator of the Madeline books. What a fantastic lineage! Marciano talks about taking up the Madeline series:
“Q: Taking on the Madeline series is a big job, were you nervous continuing the series and how did you go about it?
A: Most definitely. At first, I tried to search for a style that was consciously different from my grandfather, artwise, but as I’ve gone on I’ve returned more to the look of the originals, and realized that in ways that are important, my own style comes out. What’s most important is that the spirit and honesty of the originals are kept going.”
I love that mention of the “spirit and honesty of the originals” continuing for a new generation. I’m sure that’s very hard for an artist to maintain while also making sure to utilize their own creativity. But it’s also a reason why these characters are so beloved and lasting.
Also really cute–this video of Marciano reading his book at the White House Easter Egg Roll last year:
This makes me want to break out my old Madeline books!
A few more fun links for today:
Thought of the day:
This is life in a nutshell. And I think it’s good to keep this quote in mind in fiction, too. Generally, people don’t have major revelations and change all at once. It’s something that needs to happen gradually, over the course of the story, so your character isn’t the same person he/she was when you started out.
(image: Design Crush)
Love this literary map of the UK and Ireland:
Shall we visit William Wordsworth, C.S. Lewis, or John Keats first?
(image: Geoff Sawers, The Literary Gift Company)
By now you’ve probably heard about This American Life retracting Mike Daisey’s story about the Apple factory in China. As with previous, similar cases of articles/memoirs being found less than accurate, it’s brought up a lot of questions about what it means to be honest as a journalist and as a storyteller. One argument I particularly liked comes from John Warner at Inside Higher Ed. Warner talks about how we all lie/fabricate details to some extent, but lying doesn’t always make for a more compelling story:
“The thing is, that these lies, these distortions, these fabrications, these untruths don’t make for a better story. They make for an easier one, a story with fewer thorns to swallow on the way down, a less complicated story….Maybe I’m just suspicious of these “better” stories because to me, the best stories are the most complicated ones, the ones that refuse to resolve in easy ways. Those are the stories that are most true because resolution is something that always remains just beyond our grasp.”
I love this focus on truthfulness as a necessary part of storytelling and life. If, as writers, we endeavor to connect with readers on a basic, human level, shouldn’t part of that connection be based on how complicated normal life can be? Sometimes there is no villain. Sometimes the hero has other motivations. Sometimes the resolution isn’t so satisfying. But that’s all part of the real human existence. I’d rather get the full, complicated picture than be condescended to as a reader.
Even though Warner’s article mostly talks about journalism and nonfiction books, it’s a good idea to keep in mind for fiction writers, too. While we get to make stuff up (flying ponies do exist!), we also need to remember that being alive is complicated. Existing in the world means that you may encounter people who don’t always conform to your ideas about who they should be, or you may struggle with your own feelings about a particular event. These complicated interactions need to be a part of fiction just as much as they need to be a part of nonfiction.
Make sure to read the rest of the article as well. Do you think truth plays an important role in fiction?
Lisa Yee shares all the secrets about being a super successful author:
It’s that easy!
What’s a Friday without the Friday Fifteen? Here’s the latest and greatest in fifteen-word reviews:
1.The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Feels like a modern, funnier version of The Outsiders. Used drawings without feeling gimmicky.
2. Blue Angel by Francine Prose
Expected to like this a lot more than I did. Never felt invested.
3. Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
Read for class in fourth grade. Fun, but not as memorable as Number the Stars.
4. True Grit by Charles Portis
Compelling western, quietly moving. A great YA crossover book.
5. Babe in Paradise by Marisa Silver
Excellent collection of stories. Silver knows how to raise the stakes for her characters.
6. Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary by Pamela Dean
Meandering story about clever sisters and a mysterious neighbor. Confusing and plotless, but I enjoyed.
7. Color War! (Camp Sunnyside Friends #3) by Marilyn Kaye
Only one of the series I read. I preferred the BSC Special camp book.
8. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond
Lesson: generosity makes you weak. Don’t trust anyone! (At least anyone that’s a mouse.)
9. Opened Ground: Selected Poems, 1966-1996 by Seamus Heaney
Fantastic selection of Heaney’s work. Perfect for readers new to Heaney or poetry in general.
10. Succulent Wild Woman by SARKI was 18 and liked journaling with colorful pens.
11. Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness #1) by Tamora Pierce
Essential reading for girls in middle school. First of the Tortall books.
12. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Snark and social commentary–I’m an automatic fan. Loved the explanation of Easter.
13.The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Great MG combination of family saga and ghost story.
14. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Probably inspired a lot of book clubs to try to create their own group names.
15. I Spy: A Book of Picture Riddles by Jean Marzollo, Walter Wick and Carol Devine Carson
Like when I’m searching on my desk for the one thing I need.