How to Write Intriguing Male and Female Characters

Men and women are different. There, I said it.


Now let me go even further out on a limb. Chances are, if you’re female, you write like a girl, and if you’re male, you write like a guy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that … unless, that is, you’d like your writing to be read by members of another gender, or you’re trying to create characters of the opposite sex. If so, it might just help to have a better understanding about how the other half thinks, acts, reads and writes.


Linguists, sociologists, behavior specialists and functional brain researchers have documented gender’s effect on almost everything, so it’s natural that it plays a role in how we write and what we’re attracted to as readers. The ability to use language that has appeal outside your own gender can boost your success as an author; take the U.K. bestseller Holly’s Inbox, which has often been compared to Helen Fielding’s runaway hit Bridget Jones’s Diary. The name on the cover of the book? Holly Denham. Its real author? Bill Surie, who wrote for his female audience so convincingly that readers had no problem believing the story had been written by a woman. And then there’s J.K. Rowling, who is so good at transcending gender (and age) that her books are devoured by girls and boys (and women and men) by the millions.
If you haven’t considered the impact of your own gender on your writing, it’s time to start. By educating yourself about how men and women differ, you’ll be able to better understand your audience, broaden your writing’s appeal and make educated choices when it comes to language, story and style—no matter what you’re writing, or who you’re writing it for.




TALK THE TALK

If you’re writing a romance novel, you know your audience is primarily female; if you’re working on an exposé about steroid use in baseball, you assume you’ll have mostly male readers.


But when most of us sit down to write, we’re really just thinking that what we have to say will grab any reader who finds our topic interesting. We don’t usually pay enough attention to how something as simple as choosing our words can attract or turn off prospective readers.
At a recent writing workshop, I critiqued a manuscript on mind mapping. The topic usually fascinates me—but this piece used decidedly masculine language, from the chapter titles to the metaphors, complete with references to NASCAR, rocket launchers and drill sergeants. Because I didn’t relate to these examples, I wasn’t drawn into the manuscript. In fact, I felt almost excluded.


Gender-specific terms aren’t always immediately obvious; there are plenty of seemingly ordinary words and phrases that are much more likely to be uttered by one sex or the other. A woman is three times more likely to use the word “gorgeous,” for example. And when men do use it, it’s typically only to describe a woman—not a baby, a pair of shoes or a piece of chocolate cake.


So let’s start with some basic guidelines. No matter what you’re writing, if your intended audience is female, make sure to include plenty of personal pronouns—“I,” “you” and “we”—and descriptive terms. If your intended audience is male, on the other hand, trade in pronouns for articles—such as “a,” “the” and “that”—choose active verbs, limit adjectives and include concrete figures, like numbers. Observe the stylistic differences between these two statements: “I’m sorry we’re late; we had a flat tire on our way here,” and, “The tire blew when we hit 70 on the freeway.” Chances are you can tell right away which sex is talking in each one.


When you want to appeal to a mixed audience, review your writing with an eye for instances in which the language skews toward your own gender. When you find them, make revisions to include a balance of wording that caters to the other sex as well. Pay special attention to your analogies; if you’re writing an article on choosing energy-efficient appliances, for example, and you compare a refrigerator to a sports car, counter later in the piece by mentioning that the dishwasher purrs like a kitten. Or opt for gender-neutral analogies, such as this one from Wendy and Larry Maltz’s The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography: “Don’t think of [the six steps] like stepping stones across a creek, but rather sections of a bridge …”




WALK THE WALK

No matter what you write, one of the earliest decisions you’ll make is how to approach your topic. Gender should definitely play a role here. Whether they’re watching a movie, reading a novel or consulting a self-help article, men generally prefer to see something accomplished—a battle won, a dog trained, a disease conquered. Women often favor a focus on the relationships and emotions behind the story—what happens to the family left at home while the spouse is off fighting the war, what it’s like for the dog to learn to sit and stay, how to handle the strain of caring for an ailing family member. This helps explain why recent surveys show that women read approximately 80 percent of all literary fiction and most self-help books, while men are more likely to read history, science fiction and political tomes.
At a writing workshop I recently taught, I asked my students to write a paragraph about what it would be like to be an astronaut during liftoff. Once they were finished, I asked them to write another paragraph from the perspective of someone from the opposite gender. Both the males and the females writing from a male perspective emphasized the thrill of the ride (“I felt like I was straddling a 200-ton bucking bronco headed into the cosmos!”) and the sense of accomplishment of being chosen for the mission. The women and men writing from the female perspective focused on being separated from family and friends (“Will the kids remember to feed that cat?”) and having doubts about the whole decision to go into space.
Here’s an example from an exercise in a college English class in which students were paired up and asked to craft a story together by taking turns writing alternating paragraphs. With one particular team,
the gender differences became glaringly (and amusingly) obvious:

At first, Laurie couldn’t decide which kind of tea she wanted. The chamomile, which used to be her favorite for lazy evenings at home, now reminded her too much of Carl …Meanwhile, Advance Sgt. Carl Harris, leader of the attack squadron now in orbit over Skylon 4, had more important things to think about than the neuroses of an airheaded bimbo named Laurie with whom he had spent one sweaty night over a year ago … He bumped his head and died almost immediately, but not before he felt one last pang of regret for psychologically brutalizing the one woman who had ever had feelings for him …
Little did she know, but she had less than 10 seconds to live …

The female writer focused on the emotional issues she felt were vital to her heroine—even when to do so, she had to kill off Advance Sgt. Harris. The male writer, on the other hand, did everything he could to move the action along and cut out “extraneous” details.
The lessons are clear if you’re writing for a single gender, but what’s a writer to do to be more inclusive of both men and women? Where there is yin, balance it with yang. Janet Evanovich does this exceptionally well. Her most popular novels feature Stephanie Plum, a bail bondswoman who works in a male-dominated industry but does her job with a characteristically feminine style (relying on friends, trying to be a good daughter, taking care of her hamster, mulling over her intimate relationships, etc.). Employ Evanovich’s method: If you choose a female approach to a topic, bring balance by incorporating more masculine elements, and vice versa.




DRESS THE PART

Sociologists suggest that the female focus on nurturing relationships and the male compulsion to get the job done not only affect what we’re interested in, but the way we use language—and, naturally, the style that appeals to us on a page. Take these recent reviews of two movies meant to speak to very different audiences. For Motherhood: “If you are a mother, if you know a mother, if you have a mother, this is the movie for you”; “The best comedy about being a mother in modern America today. And a must-see for every father, too”; and, “Sweet, charming and frantically funny.” Notice how the language conjures up images of not just motherhood, but also friendship (“if you know a mother”), daughterhood (“if you have a mother”) and fatherhood. The adjectives let us know the movie will focus on someone women can relate to: an overworked mother trying to keep her sanity in today’s fast-paced world. Contrast this with reviews for Law Abiding Citizen: “A taut thriller”; “A breathtaking thrill ride”; and, “This is one fight to the finish you won’t want to miss.” The language here is sparse, action-packed and absent of real detail. What is the movie about? We’re not sure, but we know there will be car crashes and things blowing up.


Style differences are especially important to understand if you’re writing dialogue. One of the most difficult undertakings we face as writers is putting the right words into our characters’ mouths. Recognizing differences in the way the genders communicate can help you create more believable, engaging characters that will ring true for your readers. Linguistic research has found that women are more likely to state preferences rather than demands (“I would like a glass of wine”), start a sentence with a question (“What do you think about … ?”) and use apologetic language even when being decisive (“I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to lay you off”). Men, on the other hand, use more commanding and aggressive language (“Grab me a beer”), and are more likely to pepper everyday conversation with less accommodating phrasing (which can include things like sarcasm, put-downs or references to “taboo” body parts). Studies have also shown that men don’t divulge much personal information in everyday conversation, while women frequently do.


To help illustrate these differences, let’s look at two real-life writing samples, both on the topic of exercise. The first is from Amy Gallo’s “Whittle While You Work,” which appears in Self online: “This is our kind of on-the-job training! Daniel Loigerot, a Pilates instructor in New York City, designed these moves to help you tone all over in about 10 minutes using a resistance band and chair.” The second is from “Gut Check,” an unattributed piece on the Men’s Fitness website: “If you fail both tests, you need more core work. Simply perform the tests as exercises, three to four times a week—doing one to two sets for 50 percent of your max time for each—before you do any other lifts. Hartman also advises that you not use more than 20 percent of your body weight on any lift until you achieve a passing score. That may seem drastic, but your core will get up to speed quickly, and you’ll immediately be able to lift heavier.”


First, compare the style of the titles: “Whittle While You Work” to “Gut Check.” As you might guess, in the first piece, the style is soft and sounds helpful. In the Men’s Fitness article, can you feel the author goading the reader to be competitive? The reader may have already failed some tests; he needs to “achieve a passing score” so he can achieve his goal to “lift heavier.”
If you’re writing for a single gender—whether you’re penning an instructional piece or working on your novel-in-progress—don’t shy away from integrating these style differences into your work. They may seem subtle, but you’ll be surprised at how much careful attention to these preferences can boost your writing’s appeal to your audience.


Of course, we’re not all the same in our differences—I’d be willing to bet you’re thinking of plenty of exceptions to the above points right now. It’s true that not all women think and behave alike, and neither do all men. But just as young adult writers research the specific needs and behaviors of teens and tweens, and romance and sci-fi novelists work to understand what makes their audiences different from the rest of the reading world, all of us should consider gender issues before tapping out those first few words on our keyboards. When you do, remember these words, from Edward Abbey: “It is the difference between men and women, not the sameness, that creates the tension and the delight.” 

Read more...

Book Review: Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen

Women, in Austen's world, are restricted beings, and a large measure of the conflict in the plot comes from the inability of Elizabeth and Jane, at times, to act on their own behalf, rather than through the intermediary of their mother or some man. But the aesthetic power of this is heavily offset by the other consequence of Austen's world: Elizabeth's inability to act makes her a sympathetic figure, true, but it also means that her actions must be--by virtue of her world's logic--largely inconsequential to the plot. It's difficult not to see Darcy as the superior partner in what is ostensibly a relationship between equals: Darcy acts on Elizabeth's behalf, true, in resolving some of the most serious subplots and complications, but what does Elizabeth do for herself? Why, she decides that Darcy isn't so bad after all, and she consents to marry him.

In order to resolve the plot, she decides to consent. Is this the kind of strong action we expect from a character who is virtually our narrator, whose viewpoint we come closest to sharing? There's something unsatisfying about Elizabeth's ultimately limited range of actions, and there's thus something that jars us with the benevolent, "all's-well-that-ends-well" tone of the conclusion. There's something unsatisfying at the very heart of Pride and Prejudice, a necessary irresolution to its central conflict.

And yet this irresolution raises deeper questions: should the failure of Elizabeth's final actions to satisfy really be laid at the feet of Elizabeth, or at her world? Yes, it would be nice to see Elizabeth rise up, take matters into her own hands, and prove her equality with Darcy via direct intervention in Darcy's masculine sphere. But, given the restriction of female influence that has driven most of the plot to this point, could we really believe in such a resolution?

Austen's primary virtue is her precision. Could we really ask her to be so imprecise in her ultimately grim portrayal of the world faced by eighteenth-century women? Is it really proper to offset the dark streak that runs through the conclusion of Pride and Prejudice--the incomplete satisfaction of our hopes, our expectations--with a happy ending that satisfies us on a plot level, but that ultimately obscures a darkness, a dissatisfaction present in Austen's reality itself?

This, beyond the simple charm of the prose, is perhaps the greatest proof the status of Pride and Prejudice as a classic. It can't be reduced to the charge of "romance novel," which has occasionally been levied against it. Austen's sense of truth feels obliged--or Austen's patriarchal world feels obliged--to shoot an happy ending quite subtly in the foot. Pride and Prejudice, in the imperfection of its conclusion, rises from the mechanics of a pleasant plot to the level of great art.

Read more...

Finding the Drama in Daily Life

During an author interview conducted after the publication of her collection Babylon and Other Stories, Alix Ohlin shared this creative writing exercise, which she often assigns to her writing students to help them find the drama in everyday moments: 

Write a scene in which a man and a woman go into a mattress store to buy a bed. The couple can only talk about the bed, but must nonetheless reveal through the conversation the real situation between them. (For an example of how this kind of scene can work, read Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants.")

To begin, you might consider the many different stressful situations that develop between couples: divorces, pregnancies (as with "Hills"), substance abuse issues, transfers, etc. If you're having problems thinking of a conflict, start with a situation from your own experience. The situation doesn't matter as much as the conversation. The exercise will force you to think about how couples communicate, how much goes unsaid between them. At the same time, when you're done, your reader should have a very good idea of what is happening in the lives of these two people.

In doing this exercise, you may want to review the basics of writing dialogue first. For more insights on writing and teaching, read the entire interview with Alix Ohlin.

Read more...

Give your blog a SIMPLY FABULOUS MAKEOVER

This fall give your blog a simply fabulous makeover with these beautiful blog templates by Lena Toews.

Download

 

 

Download

 

 

Download

 

Download

Download

For other fantabulous freebies visit Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates !

Read more...

Happy Halloween, Earthlings!!

Tonight is the night when dead leaves fly like witches on switches across the sky. BOO! *sigh* Oh I just love Halloween..... This time I am planning to be a Teenage Witch for the costume party. What about you? Around Halloween I love reading ghost stories with tons and tons of elves, ghouls, gnomes, pixies and other fowl creatures, but not like the stories of stepen king....something more Caspery and childish. 

WISH YOU TONS OF BOOs & CANDIES.

Read more...

Review: Inside the Whale by Jennie Rooney

A broadly comedic novel featuring two characters separated by fate (in this case the second world war), with a plethora of attendant eccentricities, quickly turns into a deeply affecting story of thwarted circumstances and belated wisdom. It is the summer of 1939. Stevie and Michael are lovers until Michael joins the Royal Signals, disappears to Africa and doesn't return. Fast forward half a century, and Stevie cannot mourn the recent death of her husband or reveal a lifetime's secret to her daughter and granddaughter. Meanwhile, Michael lies in a south London hospital. Unable to speak, he writes down his story for a sympathetic nursing assistant. Rooney confidently moves between two narrators and shifting times, vividly recreating Blitz-torn London and the Africa of the same period. This book is seriously GREAT!!!

Read more...

Review: When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Review:    
Why do good things happen to bad people? For some of us, this is one of life’s big questions, bigger perhaps than those all-stars: What makes Iago evil? How can a country justify firing both missiles and schoolteachers? The undeserved job promotion, the bequest without cause, the random assigning of accolades or attention: when unmerited rewards are doled out to others, some of us are capable of descending into decades of moping.

 

More reviews from the Book Review's Summer Reading special issue. Thus it’s refreshing to read a book that causes us to ask that question’s obverse — the more traditional, Why do bad things happen to good people? Such a book is Sarah Winman’s wonderful, darkly comic first novel, “When God Was a Rabbit.” Starting in England during the 1960s and ’70s, then moving on to New York before and after 9/11, the book is primarily the story of its English narrator and heroine, Elly, and in particular her intense and loving relationships with her brother, Joe, and her very strange best friend, Jenny Penny. The misfortunes heaped on all three are outsize and seemingly never-ending. Job, in comparison, may have gotten off easy. 

The troubles begin when Elly’s grandparents die in a bus crash, sending her mother into a long and deep depression. Then Elly learns that she was the result of an unplanned pregnancy and starts to ask a lot of questions about her creator. 

“If this God couldn’t love me,” she resolves, “then it was clear I’d need to find another one that could.” This new divine entity is encountered some time later, after she tells her brother that she’s been sexually abused by their neighbor, Mr. Golan. “I’ll get you a proper friend,” her brother declares, as he holds her “in the darkness, as defiant as granite.” The new friend Joe finds for his sister turns out to be a Belgian hare, a pet she names “God,” who sometimes talks to her. Although Joe swears never to reveal Elly’s dark secret about their neighbor, it turns out to be mere prelude to total eclipse: the mentally disturbed Mr. Golan (who has lied about being a Holocaust survivor) commits suicide. And we’re only up to Page 27, kids!
Remarkably, “When God Was a Rabbit” never feels melodramatic or unkind to its characters. Much of this has to do with Winman’s mastery of tone: the narration is dry-eyed but glinting. Of Jenny Penny and her vagabond mother’s home, Winman writes, “They lived in a temporary world . . . that could be broken up and reassembled as easily and as quickly as Lego. Fabric hung from most walls in staggered strips, and around the door frame was a pattern of flowered handprints in pinks and reds that in the dingy light looked like the bloodied hands of a crime scene searching for an exit.” 

Winman simultaneously captures the occasionally overwrought self-consciousness of childhood and gently satirizes it. Young Elly quotes Nietzsche at the family dinner table and auditions for the school Nativity play with a monologue about needing money for an abortion and gin. The proceedings are also leavened by the fact that the supporting characters fare much better than the children. Elly’s parents win a lot of money in the football pools, allowing the family to relocate to a huge house in Cornwall. Elly’s lesbian aunt, Nancy, meets with much approbation, both as a film actress and as the family’s unofficial guardian angel.
Though “When God Was a Rabbit” is studded with era-specific references like the Tet Offensive and the shooting of John Lennon, Winman is, with the exception of a 9/11 plotline late in the book, ultimately less interested in historical resonance than in developing complicated relationships between believable characters. This is the kind of book in which a husband, on learning that his sister has consummated a longtime crush on his wife by kissing her, responds: “At last! At least we’ve got that out of the way.” Such moments give the book the feel of real life, which may cause the reader to be caught unawares, as I was, by its heart-rending conclusion. 

Winman has an authorial tendency to pick at life’s proverbial scabs. But while her plot traffics heavily in grim incident, she maintains a winning proportion of whimsy throughout. At the very least, she’s created the most amusing and emotionally satisfying work of rabbit deism to come down the pike in a long time. I give it five carrots.

Read more...

Review: The Help

 Synopsis:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

Review:

A new classic has been born. Kathryn Sockett's "The Help" will live in hearts and minds, be taught in schools, be cherished by readers. The three women who form its core, idealistic Skeeter, loving Aibileen, and sarcastic, sassy Minny, narrate their chapters each in a voice that is distinctive as Minny's caramel cake no one else in Jackson, Mississippi, can duplicate.

These stories of the black maids working for white women in the state of Mississippi of the 60s have an insiders' view of child-rearing, Junior League benefits, town gossip, and race relations.

Hilly is the town's white Queen Bee with an antebellum attitude towards race. She hopes to lead her minions into the latter part of the century with the "enlightened" view of making sure every home in Jackson, Mississippi, has a separate toilet for the help. Her crusade is, she says, based on clear hygienic criteria, which will save both blacks and whites from heinous diseases.

Despite the fact that the maids prepare the food, care for the children, and clean every part of every home, privy to every secret, many of the white women look at their black maids as an alien race. There are more enlightened views, especially those of Skeeter, a white, single woman with a college degree, who aspires to more than earning her MRS. Skeeter begins collecting the maids' stories. And the maids themselves find the issue of race humiliating, infuriating, life-controlling. Race sows bitter seeds in the dignity of women who feel they have no choices except to follow their mamas into the white women's kitchens and laundries. Aibilene says, "I just want things to be better for the kids." Their hopes lie in education and improvement, change someday for their children.

There is real danger for the maids sharing their stories as well as danger for Skeeter herself. The death of Medgar Evers touches the women deeply, making them question their work and a decision to forge ahead, hoping their book can be published anonymously and yet not recognized by the very white women they know to the last deviled egg and crack in a dining room table.

The relationships between the maids and the white children, the maids and some kind employers, including "white trash" Cecilia Foot, illuminate the strange history of the South. The love Aibileen shows for Mae Mobley matches the love Skeeter felt as a white child from her maid-nanny Constantine. 

This is the best book I have read in years. But I would have liked to have seen characters that were a bit more multi-dimensional. The maids depicted here were for the most part without failing, their white female employers almost universally despicable. As a male reader, I couldn't help but notice that the few men depicted were pretty miserable people, from the stereotypical wife-beating husband of Minny to the mostly one-dimensional husbands. The one standout was the senator, who was an entertaining character that leapt off the pages and added some variety.

Then again it is compulsively readable while teaching strong truths about the way the United States evolved from a shameful undercurrent of persistent racism to the hopes and dreams of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. Ultimately, will the next generations children learn (and be taught) that skin color is nothing more than a wrapping for the person who lives within? 

Read more...

Review: The Sky Is Everywhere

"One boy helps her remember . The other lets her forget."

Summary -

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey.

But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

Review - Nelson's debut novel is a largely introspective exploration of grief and how that affects your choices, actions and those around you. In the aftermath of her sister's death, Lennie starts living a different life - one without Bailey, one without colour and purpose. Lennie's existing rather than living letting her friends fall away, her music and even her relationship with her grandmother.

Death, grief, secrets and guilt are all strong themes throughout this novel which makes it an emotional read. That being said, the numbness that cloaks Lennie seems to permeate onto the reader at times. Nelson beautifully shows the movement of Lennie's feelings, memories and loss within poems that periodically appear but some are more effective than others.

The edge of the book comes in the relationship that forms between Lennie and Bailey's boyfriend, Toby. This pairing might come from left field for some readers as they had previously had very little relationship to speak of. In their united grief they find a connection, one that shows itself in an overtly physical way. Loss manifests itself in many ways and both characters have chosen to punish themselves while touching on the person they miss most. It's a complex idea, one strongly rooted in their ability to voice their emotions instead choosing to expend them physically. It's dark and hot and tinged with much sadness.

The light and shade of grief and all the emotions that colour it were truthfully conveyed throughout. The addition of Joe and his preoccupation with Lennie and their attraction for one another contrasts well with the primal connection she shares with Toby. The author has presented an emotional tug of war that Lennie can't voice or even choose, it just is. The boys are both layered and interesting without being "bad". They are distinct from one another and each offer her something different, immediate solace or the promise of forever. Both are flawed in that their previous relationships have strongly impacted their dealings with Lennie. It's an interesting conundrum - I do wish there had been further exploration of Toby's dilemma as it is by far the most complex of the three. There is no bad person in this triangle, only strong emotions, grief and compulsion.

Lennie is serious, contemplative and very aware of the beauty that exists around her in sight and sound. She is wallowing her grief and in some respects its the romantic in her that permits hers the missteps that she makes. She makes mistakes, she allows herself to make choices that would not have occurred before her sister's death. She's not a dynamic character but she possesses a soulfulness that you don't often read.

Nelson's language and depiction of grief is beautiful, thoughtful and at times complex. Lennie is a nuanced character who subtly and quietly navigated her loss. The language was slightly problematic at times as it felt forced when the majority of the wording was so effortless. Some of the transitions between Lennie's feelings, particularly the strength of her attraction versus that of her love could also have been smoother. Nelson's attempted something complex and subtle and she's largely been successful.

The Sky is Everywhere is an all encompassing study of grief, the strength of a sisterly bond, the power of attraction and love and ultimately the importance of being true to one's self. Jandy Nelson has debuted onto the YA stage with a sensitivity and sensuousness that conveys a multitude of feelings from grief to desire to love. An absorbing read.

I never liked any YA novel, but this was an exception. It's a must read for all.

Read more...

REVIEW: Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

REVIEW

Sacred Hearts, author Sarah Dunant's latest, is an engrossing, fascinating story about cloistered nuns set in 16th century Italy in the fictional convent of Santa Caterina. Inside the walls of this world apart, a community of women works, prays and lives out its life. While many women heard the call of God and followed, many were placed without their consent, by families unable or unwilling to pay a marriage dowry in a time and place where women had no options apart from marriage.

As the novel opens, a young woman named Serafina has just arrived; gifted with a rare singing talent, and one of those confined against her will, she rails against what she believes to be imprisonment and pines for her lover, a music teacher. Serafina is ministered to by Suora Zuana, the convent's de facto doctor and a middle aged woman cloistered since the death of her father years ago. Zuana is charged with helping the young novice to adjust by Madonna Chiara, the powerful and skilled abbess, who has her own hands full with the political and religious turbulence of the counter-Reformation and a rival within the convent, her second-in-command Suora Umiliana.

What follows is an immensely satisfying novel, full of rich characters, suspense, intrigues and twists and turns. Dunant drew me in from page one and held my attention throughout; her style is nimble and graceful- readable and intelligent without being too dense or heavy. She paints a picture of a largely contented community of women, full of people who may not have chosen the veil but who have found a way to make a life within its limitations. Chiara is as skilled and wily as any politician and Dunant shows a place where the women are encouraged to use their natural gifts for the betterment of all, whether they be gifted singers, artists or diplomats. There is also mystery and mysticism, and somewhere, real faith on display as well. It's a book about religion- and about a particularly oppressive form of religion- that manages to critique it quietly, with respect for those who embrace it. Sacred Hearts is a beautifully written novel that captures what we fear- and was fascinates us- about a life we will never know, and a world that no longer exists.

Read more...

REVIEW: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson

 Share

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson. Originally published 1938. This edition 2008 by Persephone Books.


I picked up Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day after seeing the movie of the same name. The movie was delightful- sunshine on the screen. The book is sunshine on the page.

Miss Pettigrew is the story of a poor single woman, Guenivere Pettigrew, in 1930s England who is having trouble finding work. She ends up, quite by accident, in the employ of one DelysiaLaFosse, a gorgeous, bubbly young actress who needs someone to keep her head on straight and her boyfriends at bay. As we watch her bumble her way through a thicket of romantic entanglements, we wonder, which man will Delysia end up with? Will Miss Pettigrew be cast out on to the streets? What will become of either woman?

First of all, if you've seen the movie and you want to read the book, be aware that there are some differences between the two. The filmmakers took license to create dramatic situations in the movie that don't exist in the book, and certain characters that barely merit a mention in the book are major players in the movie. The book also has some drug references absent from the film. But you'll recognize it nonetheless- the premise is the same, and Miss Pettigrew and Delysia, Delysia's dilemma, and the romantic entanglements, and the story's slapstick humor and pacing, remain the same.

The story is told hour by hour from Miss Pettigrew's point of view, and recited in a delicious, delightful period voice that captures the heady chaos of Delysia's and Miss Pettigrew's life. As the hours tick by, we see Miss Pettigrew change from a shy mouse who feels like an impostor and believes herself unworthy of love, to a more confident woman who just might be ready to change her life. Delysia learns that she deserves more too, and these transformations- and the sweet friendship between the two women- are what makes this Cinderella story so wonderful. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a delight from start to finish. As I came to the end I actually teared up a little at Miss Pettigrew's happy ending. You will, too!

Read more...

REVIEW: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, 

by Sherman Alexie. Published 2007 

by Little, Brown and Company. 

 

Alexie's book is the story of a young boy known as Junior who's growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation. He's got some medical problems and he gets bullied a lot; his parents are unhappy; his older sister runs away. But he's got some things going for him, too- he's determined to get a good education and manages to get himself transferred to an all-white school off the reservation, where he excels at basketball and learns to believe in himself.

I loved this book. I loved it. I laughed and cried with his struggles, his victories and his defeats. Junior'sAlexie tackles some tough issues- racism, poverty, addiction, discouragement and the deep pessimism that comes when you feel like the whole world is against you. Things don't always go well for Junior and he doesn't always win but he does his best and he does well.

The Absolutely True Diary is a book I wish I could give to every kid I know and everyone who ever was a kid. It's brilliant and beautiful and wonderful. I loved Alexie's writing, which, although clearly enough for a teen audience, doesn't condescend or talk down and shows craft and skill enough for any adult to appreciate. Ellen Forney's comic-like illustrations, which pepper the story, are cute and sweet and darkly funny. I burned through it in about three days over the summer when I was home sick and can't think of a better way to spend time than reading this lovely gem of a book. dysfunctional family is every dysfunctional family, and his problems are the problems of every kid who ever felt like he didn't fit in or that nobody understood him (or her). He pushes his way through the pain of racism, defeatism and adolescence with a tenacity that was so affecting for being so real.

Read more...

Review: Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

The Bottom Line

Stephen King's On Writing provides insight into how a writer is formed and how one persists over time. King's ideas on craft and technique are astute and down-to-earth.

  

Pros

• Stephen King's approach to writing is down-to-earth and often funny.
• Highly readable with much useful advice on writing.
• King is passionate both about writing and about conveying what he has learned about it.

Cons

• There are better-written books on writing, but his insights are always worth reading.

Description

• One of the best, and most well-known, books on writing in recent years.
• Insightful and down-to-earth.
• Worthwhile for both beginning and professional writers.

Guide Review - Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Though Stephen King may not be the all-time best writer out there, he is certainly one of the most prolific, and for that alone, this book warrants attention. The first section of the book is exactly what the subtitle leads one to expect: a memoir of one writer's life, from childhood experiences that shaped him as a writer to the experiences that hindered him in adulthood, in particular King's struggle with alcoholism.


Though King credits his prolificness to good health and a stable relationship, I imagine that his down-to-earth approach to writing also helps. This healthy attitude toward craft comes through in the second section of the book, which includes advice on everything from grammar to choosing an agent. My favorite bit of advice, and somewhat surprising considering his prodigious output, was,  

"Put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around."

The toolbox metaphor that pervades this section further speaks to his humble approach to his calling.


It's obvious from reading On Writing that King loves to write and feels lucky to have done it for a living all of these years. This joyful approach to writing, and his real insights into craft more than make up for a sometimes-clunky writing style.


 You will find an even better review here by Mameve Medwed.

Read more...

Verb Workout

1. Sit down with a stop watch or set the timer on your microwave and see how many action verbs you can write down in two minutes. Now, use your dictionary and/or thesaurus to find at least three synonyms and three opposites (antonyms) for each one. Memorize them all.

2. Find a passage from a book or magazine story you’ve recently enjoyed and re-read it, marking (or making note of) all the verbs you can find. Analyze the passage critically, taking notice of such things as active vs. passive voice; action verbs vs. linking verbs; the specificity of the verbs (does the author use a lot of adverbs or do the verbs paint a clear enough picture all on their own?).

3. Now look at that same passage on another level: Note any images that particularly touch you or spark your imagination. Can you identify what is affecting you? If so, try duplicating the technique in your own work (at this stage, imitation is a perfectly legitimate way to start finding your own voice as a writer).

This Creative exercise is from Ements of Creative Writing I: Grammar And Mechanics

Read more...

Storyteller Exercise

This writing prompt is based on one in Julia Cameron's book The Right to Write. Fans of her better-known book The Artist's Way, will enjoy this exercise, which exercises the subconscious.

Instructions
Imagine that you're sitting against a tree. A storyteller is sitting on the other side of the tree. On a piece of paper, list five stories you would like to hear. Choose one of the ideas, and write down what the storyteller says.
Use the exercise as an opportunity to free associate. The goal is to let go of your conscious mind as much as possible and force you to listen to your subconscious. Think about what it was like as a child to have someone tell you a story. Try to recreate that experience with your imaginary storyteller. What kinds of stories did you like to hear as a kid? What stories do you like now?
If you're having trouble getting started, you might begin by describing your storyteller. Does she look like a librarian or like a gypsy? Maybe he has a long beard like a wizard or a tramp. Who would you like to have tell you a story?

Read more...

Review of Oxford American Writer's Theasaurus

The Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, billed as "the first thesaurus for writers, by writers," attempts to adapt and augment the standard dictionary-style thesaurus to better serve writers. Additions include excerpts from Garner's Modern American Usage, an overview of basic grammar, and lists of words, in spectrums and toolkits, to help you choose the best one.

Essays from Contemporary Writers

The biggest difference between the Writer's Thesaurus and others are the mini-essays on selected words written by eleven contributing authors, including David Foster Wallace, songwriter/musician Stephin Merritt, Francine Prose, and Zadie Smith. Whether or not these essays add value to the standard reference book will depend on the reader. Fans of the writers will be curious to read their take on certain words. Teachers and librarians, trying to persuade students to use books rather than the Internet, will recognize the value of having famous — even celebrity — writers on board. How better to seduce young people into using a reference book than by including indie musicians and trendy novelists?

Older versus Younger Thesaurus Users

However, for older writers, these essays will be interesting, but gratuitous. Most people only buy one thesaurus in their lifetimes; over the long run, pieces like these only take up valuable pages. While the Writer's Thesaurus has the same number of synonyms as the gold standard Roget's International, the entries are shorter and the price higher. (The Writer’s Thesaurus only comes in hardcover.) As for the usage notes, experienced writers will probably have picked up a usage book in the course of their educations. Young writers, on the other hand, might appreciate having everything between two covers. Given the current pressures on the book industry, these features are smart for marketing; whether or not they’re as valuable for the consumer is another matter.

Conclusion

If you don't own either a thesaurus or a usage book, or if you're a fan of one or more of the contributing authors, then the Writer's Thesaurus is a worthwhile investment. The entries for synonyms are as good as most thesauri, and you'll enjoy having everything in one place. For writers who seek the best thesaurus, don’t need a usage guide, and don’t mind veering from the standard dictionary format, the classic Roget's International will be more satisfying in the long run.

Read more...

Review of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

 When I picked up The Artist’s Way a year ago, I very much resembled the skeptics Julia Cameron describes in her opening chapter. And like them, I found that despite my cynicism, her technique worked, helping me unpack the life experiences that led to that particular moment of writer’s block and build new habits to overcome it. 

A recovering alcoholic, Cameron provides a 12-step program to help readers through a process of “creative recovery.” Readers study one chapter a week and then respond to questions such as “Time Travel: List three old enemies of your creative self-worth. . . . Your historic monsters are the building blocks of your core negative beliefs.” In addition, the 12-week course supplies readers with daily and weekly assignments — morning pages, artist dates, and exercises — that help them to develop creative habits.

 

This book is an absolute must for beginners.

(You can find the book  here)

Read more...

A Question Asked

Today I am going to share a question that Kristen has asked and answer it as well.

***********************************************************************
Raisa B. H.
                 I seriously want to write perfect prose but I just dont know where to start from. Some say grammar is more important for lush prose. Others say a huge vocabulary is more important.But I think my main problem is that I cant express myself, how I feel or what I see or smell or hear. Can U tell please tell me how I can overcome this problem and be able to express myself properly?

Kristen
***********************************************************************

Hello Kristen,

You should be praised for trying to perfect your prose.  Yes, grammar and a good vocabulary are very important, but many people who have excellent grammar and an extensive vocabulary, are not good writers.

One suggestion is to obtain books by fine writers, read their prose and then try to imitate it.  For example, read a paragraph and get the idea into your head.  Then put the book away and see if you can rewrite the paragraph.  It does not have to be word-for-word, but the ideas should be very close.  In this way, you can use your vocabulary or extend it, and then when you compare your paragraph to the original one, you can see if you have used correct grammar.  Do this every day, and soon you will be writing better prose.  You could also buy a current magazine that has well written articles.  Again, read a paragraph and try to imitate the idea and style.  You will begin to imitate the usage and phrasing.  All of this takes time, but the amount of time you invest will pay off.  Soon you will be writing on your own without needing to imitate.

Another idea is to find a native English speaker and ask that person to read something you have read and make suggestions or corrections.  This person should be willing to work with you and not just say, "That sounds good to me."

Let me know if these suggestions help, and good luck.

Read more...

Capture A Dream

Dreams are strange and wonderful things. We have only tantalizing hints at what function, if any, they perform, what service they provide. They could be as simple a thing as the semi-conscious mind attempting to turn flashes of memories into sense, into stories. Or they could be more complex, as if your mind were turning over thoughts and ideas on its own, unbidden by you, working out problems, thinking of outcomes. Perhaps, at the extreme of possibilities, when sleeping the mind enters or opens to different quantum states and see into the infinite dimensions and parallel universes. The least likely possibility is that dreams are prophetic.

Dreams are often fragmentary, strange, and unsettling. And they are the place where writing begins.
The telling of stories, the act of experiencing them, is so fundamental to humans that it’s literally built in. Some say that movies are dreams made real, but I say that movies are pale things in comparison to dreams. Someday, perhaps, when fully immersive virtual reality is perfected, we might spend time, fully conscious, inside dreams. But for now we must rely on our fading memories of what we dreamt.

For the writer, paying attention to dreams, recording them, playing with them, is a potential gold mine. When you write, you strive for unleashed creativity and it’s very difficult to achieve, but in dreams that’s the natural state, the place where you begin. It is very useful for writers to jot down their dreams, to capture what they can of the experience of dreaming, and record not just the events of the dream, but the emotions, the experiences, and the turning points. When you wake, what did the dream make you feel? That may be as important as the dream itself.

I am personally very poor at capturing and recording dreams, but I intend to get better at it. I don’t think I can immediately wake and capture a dream, but I can try and let dreams echo around until I have the time to sit down and make a few notes. You can do the same thing.
For today’s writing assignment, record a dream. It could be a dream from last night, if you can remember it, or it could be one that stuck with you, even one that reoccurs. Try and capture everything you can about it, the events, your dreaming thoughts and emotions, and what it made you think and feel upon  
                                                                                    waking.

Read more...