After months of debating about the usefulness of a website when I'm not even published yet, I've gone ahead and created one. It may not be the best site, but I like it :) I've managed to set up the basics and I feel like it's something I can develop more as I grow in my career (or at least the career I hope to have!)
www.angelafristoe.webs.com
On my iPod:
Sound Strange by Captain Tractor
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Voice meets Content
I had an interesting moment today reading an expository piece by one of my students. The prompt asked the student to tell about where they would go on vacation if they could go anywhere in the world. Well, this particular student began with Yippee! Where would I go if I could go anywhere in the world? I'd go to...
This really got me thinking about how to teach voice in writing and how connections between voice and content play such a vital role in producing quality pieces. This particular student had been taught that by adding in an interjection it added voice. True - sometimes. They've also been taught to use a question paraphrasing the prompt to create a topic sentence. Good - but not great. And together it made me question if voice can really be taught.
Until I joined The Next Big Writer my reading was really limited to romance and classics I was forced to read in high school and university. Now I've had the opportunity to read so many different writers and styles that voice has taken on a new meaning to me. I look at some of the stories I've read (sexy vampires, love starved virgins, serial killers, warrior princesses from other worlds) and I realize that those characters and stories aren't just a collection of words on paper, they're the voice of the writer. So many of these novels I've read, I could never even imagine creating. Yet to the author, they're completely natural.
All of this leads me to wonder how far can you take the process of teaching writing. Not everyone who writes can write well, and I truly think that voice is what separates the good from the bad. A story can be well organized, descriptive, and grammatically correct yet do nothing for the reader. Another piece could be riddled with inconsistencies, and spelling mistakes yet the voice of the author draws the reader in so that nothing but the characters and tale matter.
What does this have to do with the student's writing? Well, I just wonder how this child got to the point where they thought it was okay to have a complete disconnect between their voice and their content. Obviously they've been taught, somewhere along the way, these 'rules' of voice and organization, and along that same road through school they've lost their own voice. It's possible they never had one, but this kind of teaching doesn't help develope one either. Is it good to use interjections to create voice? Sure - if they fit the content. Is it okay to use a question paraphrasing the prompt as a topic sentence - sure, if you can't think of anything better and you're out of time.
As a teacher, I wonder how to grade a paper like this. Content? Good. Organization? Good. Conventions? Good. Voice? Zilch. A student who studies and applies these learned 'rules' does his or her best. They've done what they've been told is 'good' writing. Yet, I can't imagine how much more formulaic it can get. It's like the five sentence, five paragraph structure I learned in high school. I didn't have to think about making connections, just filling in the blank lines. Does this really work? For some people undoubtedly.
Just as in art a child needs to learn how to draw a straight line, children need to learn the structure of writing. But like art, writing is subjective. Math has an answer. It's right or wrong, but with art and writing there are rules that are meant to be broken. Imagine if Picasso only painted realism, or if Shakespeare used the same number of sentences per paragraph in his plays. We can't teach a child to be the next Picasso or Shakespeare, but we can teach them to emulate the greats to find a style, a voice that suits them, that inspires them to find their own.
The rules are there, yes. Teach them, show them and then show them better. Or we may end up with a bookstore full of: Whee! One day my dog died. I felt sad and blue.
This really got me thinking about how to teach voice in writing and how connections between voice and content play such a vital role in producing quality pieces. This particular student had been taught that by adding in an interjection it added voice. True - sometimes. They've also been taught to use a question paraphrasing the prompt to create a topic sentence. Good - but not great. And together it made me question if voice can really be taught.
Until I joined The Next Big Writer my reading was really limited to romance and classics I was forced to read in high school and university. Now I've had the opportunity to read so many different writers and styles that voice has taken on a new meaning to me. I look at some of the stories I've read (sexy vampires, love starved virgins, serial killers, warrior princesses from other worlds) and I realize that those characters and stories aren't just a collection of words on paper, they're the voice of the writer. So many of these novels I've read, I could never even imagine creating. Yet to the author, they're completely natural.
All of this leads me to wonder how far can you take the process of teaching writing. Not everyone who writes can write well, and I truly think that voice is what separates the good from the bad. A story can be well organized, descriptive, and grammatically correct yet do nothing for the reader. Another piece could be riddled with inconsistencies, and spelling mistakes yet the voice of the author draws the reader in so that nothing but the characters and tale matter.
What does this have to do with the student's writing? Well, I just wonder how this child got to the point where they thought it was okay to have a complete disconnect between their voice and their content. Obviously they've been taught, somewhere along the way, these 'rules' of voice and organization, and along that same road through school they've lost their own voice. It's possible they never had one, but this kind of teaching doesn't help develope one either. Is it good to use interjections to create voice? Sure - if they fit the content. Is it okay to use a question paraphrasing the prompt as a topic sentence - sure, if you can't think of anything better and you're out of time.
As a teacher, I wonder how to grade a paper like this. Content? Good. Organization? Good. Conventions? Good. Voice? Zilch. A student who studies and applies these learned 'rules' does his or her best. They've done what they've been told is 'good' writing. Yet, I can't imagine how much more formulaic it can get. It's like the five sentence, five paragraph structure I learned in high school. I didn't have to think about making connections, just filling in the blank lines. Does this really work? For some people undoubtedly.
Just as in art a child needs to learn how to draw a straight line, children need to learn the structure of writing. But like art, writing is subjective. Math has an answer. It's right or wrong, but with art and writing there are rules that are meant to be broken. Imagine if Picasso only painted realism, or if Shakespeare used the same number of sentences per paragraph in his plays. We can't teach a child to be the next Picasso or Shakespeare, but we can teach them to emulate the greats to find a style, a voice that suits them, that inspires them to find their own.
The rules are there, yes. Teach them, show them and then show them better. Or we may end up with a bookstore full of: Whee! One day my dog died. I felt sad and blue.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
First draft of query for Liar
I thought I'd post this here, mainly to give myself the encouragement to continue working on it. This is my first draft of the query for The Gifted: Liar.
Lies. Everyone tells them and at seventeen, Phoebe Maddock was never very good at telling when someone was lying. It’s supposed to be her gift. Her sisters, Chloe and Lily have been using their gifts since birth. But for Phoebe it just never happened. Then her best friend, Tonya tells a fib so small it seems inconsequential. Even if Phoebe had managed to ignored the severe cramps, there was no way she could pretend she didn’t hear the whisper of Liar in her head.
That’s when things get complicated. Sure, it’s nice knowing that her crush is hot for her and it’s even nicer knowing that her dead mother did love her, but when Tonya’s lies continue, Phoebe begins to suspect that her friend is hiding something far worse than a date with a guy she met on line. But in lies, intention is everything and Tonya’s lies are a cry for help that Phoebe can’t ignore.
The Gifted: Liar (Paranormal YA, 70,000 words) is the first novel in a trilogy following the Maddock sisters.
On my iPod:
36-24-36 by Violent Femmes
Lies. Everyone tells them and at seventeen, Phoebe Maddock was never very good at telling when someone was lying. It’s supposed to be her gift. Her sisters, Chloe and Lily have been using their gifts since birth. But for Phoebe it just never happened. Then her best friend, Tonya tells a fib so small it seems inconsequential. Even if Phoebe had managed to ignored the severe cramps, there was no way she could pretend she didn’t hear the whisper of Liar in her head.
That’s when things get complicated. Sure, it’s nice knowing that her crush is hot for her and it’s even nicer knowing that her dead mother did love her, but when Tonya’s lies continue, Phoebe begins to suspect that her friend is hiding something far worse than a date with a guy she met on line. But in lies, intention is everything and Tonya’s lies are a cry for help that Phoebe can’t ignore.
The Gifted: Liar (Paranormal YA, 70,000 words) is the first novel in a trilogy following the Maddock sisters.
On my iPod:
36-24-36 by Violent Femmes
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Delay Tactics
The Evolution of Janie - third round of revisions in process
Songbird - first round of edits in process
The Gifted: Liar - first draft in process
The Gifted: Witness - outline in process
The Gifted: Heal Me - outline in process
Last Day - still in concept development
My final realization? I've managed to find every delay tactic in the book or in my case the internet! I turn on the computer with every intention of finishing something, but first I need to check FaceBook, email, tNBW, PerezHilton, TMZ and then I need to check them again. I open a file to work and I'm suddenly aware of the fact that I also need to check out MNS Entertainment and QueryTracker and let's not forget about Agent Query Connect. I had such great goals at the beginning of the year, heck even at the beginning of February they were still there. So, what happened to my drive? I feel like I'm in neutral, gently rocking back and forth in the wind hoping that I'll inch forward to the edge of the hill and plummet down into overdrive. Is today that day? Maybe. We'll see. I have to check my email first.
On my iPod:
She Ain't Pretty (She just Looks that Way) by The Northern Pikes
Songbird - first round of edits in process
The Gifted: Liar - first draft in process
The Gifted: Witness - outline in process
The Gifted: Heal Me - outline in process
Last Day - still in concept development
My final realization? I've managed to find every delay tactic in the book or in my case the internet! I turn on the computer with every intention of finishing something, but first I need to check FaceBook, email, tNBW, PerezHilton, TMZ and then I need to check them again. I open a file to work and I'm suddenly aware of the fact that I also need to check out MNS Entertainment and QueryTracker and let's not forget about Agent Query Connect. I had such great goals at the beginning of the year, heck even at the beginning of February they were still there. So, what happened to my drive? I feel like I'm in neutral, gently rocking back and forth in the wind hoping that I'll inch forward to the edge of the hill and plummet down into overdrive. Is today that day? Maybe. We'll see. I have to check my email first.
On my iPod:
She Ain't Pretty (She just Looks that Way) by The Northern Pikes
Friday, February 26, 2010
Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award
I made the first round of cuts! Whoo! I didn't even realize how anxious I was until I woke up yesterday morning expecting the results. When they didn't show and no email came I started thinking I hadn't made it. The only thing that kept my same flame of hope alive was that there didn't seem to be anyone who'd received an email. After ten hours of constant check the list was finally up. I think I opened the file about ten times before I actually believed it was my name and my book title. Together.
The first round was the pitch round. I made it so I know my premise isn't crap and that essentially my query isn't crap either, although I have improved on it since submitting my pitch. Being rejected in round one just means you need to work on your pitch, find a way to distinguish it form the rest of the pack. I was kind of hoping to be eliminated in round one, that way I could tell myself that it's just my pitch they don't like.
Going into this second round, I'm scared to face the reviews of people I don't know, who I haven't established a writing relationship with. It's a month until the next elimination and I'm determined to put the contest to the side. To not worry about what the reviewers will say or whether I make it or not. But for now, I'm going to basking in the glory of having made it through round one! :)
On my iPod:
I'm in Love with a Girl by Gavin DeGraw
The first round was the pitch round. I made it so I know my premise isn't crap and that essentially my query isn't crap either, although I have improved on it since submitting my pitch. Being rejected in round one just means you need to work on your pitch, find a way to distinguish it form the rest of the pack. I was kind of hoping to be eliminated in round one, that way I could tell myself that it's just my pitch they don't like.
Going into this second round, I'm scared to face the reviews of people I don't know, who I haven't established a writing relationship with. It's a month until the next elimination and I'm determined to put the contest to the side. To not worry about what the reviewers will say or whether I make it or not. But for now, I'm going to basking in the glory of having made it through round one! :)
On my iPod:
I'm in Love with a Girl by Gavin DeGraw
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