Simple & Complicated

When I get stuck writing a novel, I like to turn to published middle grade novels for guidance. There is so much to examine in a book. Here are some things I’ve looked at to help my own writing:

• How many characters are there in the book?
• How long are the chapters?
• What’s the word count for the book?
• Is the problem presented in the first chapter?
• What’s the average sentence length?
  

What I’m pondering right now is how complex to make my plot and subplot. I wanted to look at books that are at both extremes, but I would love some help finding them.

When thinking of middle grade and young adult novels, what are some examples of books with very simple plots? What are some examples of books with very complex plots? Please post in the comments section.

Sled Dogs as Teachers

Teachers: need a fun topic to draw your class in? Especially during testing time?

This Friday (March 6) begins the Iditarod—one of the hardest, longest, and most well-known of the sled dog races that take place annually in the United States (there are over one hundred annual races, including ones in Arizona).

Being from Chicagoland, until recently, I had only heard the word Iditarod but knew nothing about the sport. After doing sled dog research for my book Famous Firsts (about the history of various sports in the U.S.), I was hooked (or ganglined!). I tried to learn everything I could about sled dog racing, including attending some local sled dog demos and an actual race in the Wisconsin Dells (highly recommended). There are great resources out there on the mushers and the races (but be prepared to want to mush yourself afterward).

Now, back to the teaching part. I’m personally bummed that I’m not currently teaching, as I’d love to get my class as excited about the Iditarod as I am. There are so many ways to tie sled dog racing into learning. The Iditarod’s official website has lots of resources for teachers, which I encourage you to check out: http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/. Here are some I’ve come up with as well:

• Learning about the state of Alaska, including the geography, climate, and culture


• Learning about the history of sled dogs (before racing) and how dogs and sleds were used to transport people, mail, and, goods


• Reading online biographies about the mushers (on the Iditarod website, they also have information on writing to mushers—another good curriculum tie)


• The physics of a team of sled dogs pulling weight


• Using math to figure out percentages and fractions for comparing various numbers, such as number of mushers from Alaska vs. rest of U.S.; number of mushers from U.S. vs rest of world; number of veteran vs newcomers; and number of women vs men


• Creating organized data charts for information, such as dropped dogs or speed each particular musher goes to each checkpoint


• History of the race


• Exploring what materials would be best to stay warm out in the cold (science)


• Reading about and creating a Venn diagram on different types of dogs used for sled dog racing (and it’s not just Huskies and Malamutes)


• Inventing equipment for sled dog racing


• Writing a short narrative from the perspective of a lead dog, a point dog, a wheel dog, and the musher


• The Iditarod will also be using GPS tracking so you and your class can follow the mushers as they go along the trail. Although the race begins this Friday, you have plenty of time to get your materials together for this unit as it usually lasts ten to seventeen days.
  

Another excellent race to follow with your class (next year) is the Yukon Quest, which occurs each February. It is a 1,000-mile race that travels from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse in Yukon, Canada. It also has great coverage on their website, as well as through Facebook. The link for their official page is http://www.yukonquest.com/.

Here are some great resources I have read/watched:

• Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod (a Discover Channel documentary) I would think kids would really enjoy this as well. However, it’s quite lengthy (I think close to 6 hours?). You could show during lunch and recess for those interested. Be sure to preview first to make sure suitable.


• Cold Hands, Warm Heart: Alaskan Adventures of an Iditarod Champion by Jeff King (4 time winner of the Iditarod and 1 time winner of the Yukon Quest)


• Iditarod Country: Exploring the Route of the Last Great Race by Tricia Brown (for kids)
  
• My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen (for kids)


• Dashing Through the Snow: The Story of the Junior Iditarod by Sherry Shahan


• Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen


• Honest Dogs: A Story of Triumph and Regret from the World’s Toughest Sled Dog Race by Brian Patrick O’Donoghue


• The Iditarod Fact Book: A Complete Guide to the Last Great Race by Sue Mattson
  
• Backstage Iditarod by June Price


• Mush! A Beginner’s Manual of Sled Dog Training Edited by Charlene G. LaBelle


• The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail by Debbie S. Miller (for kids)


• Coming out this month: The Lance Mackey Story: How My Obsession with Dog Mushing Saved My Life By Lance Mackey (3 time winner of the Iditarod and 4 time winner of the Yukon Quest)
  
  Here are the books the Iditarod recommends: http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/iditarod-books/

Photo at top of page by Paul Retherford Photography, LLC. http://www.PaulRetherford.com

Make-Up Round Up

Ladies…do you own enough old make-up to fill a landfill? I never want to throw away my old eye shadows, lipsticks, and powders in the off change they 1) come back in style 2) magically become flattering 3) don’t make me break out in hives.

Recently, during a spring cleaning phase, I decided to organize my toiletry pantry. I pulled together all the old make-up I had stored away for years and years. I had enough to beautify a small country. Unfortunately, there was a reason each project had ended up filed away. It was useless.

After slapping my own wrists for being so wasteful, I decided it was time to pitch it. Ideally, it would be reused, as, after reducing, it is the most important of the 4R’s. Luckily, I was able to give away a small portion to people I knew, but I still had a truckload of products that were too old for human application.

What to do? After searching online for how to recycle toiletries, I discovered that the company Origins will take used make-up containers (eye shadow containers, lipstick tubes, compacts, etc.). Since Origins preferred the containers to be clean, I began emptying out my eye shadows and powder trays. I must say, the lipsticks were a nightmare to clean out. After using almost an entire roll of paper towels on one lipstick, I felt it would be more ecological to just give the tube to them with the lipstick still inside.

Origins was thrilled with all my empty containers. They actually gave me a huge tub of lotion, they were so excited. It felt great to clean out my pantry and not dump everything into the garbage where hundreds of years from now they will still be discovered intact.

Although I was happy with the outcome of the situation, I did learn a good lesson: don’t buy navy eye shadow in the first place.

Here are two good links on recycling make-up and toiletries:
Origins Recycling Program: http://www.origins.com/about/index.tmpl?page=recfaq
Ideas for how to recycle toiletries: http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/search/?cx=partner-pub-8628783556283904%3A3g3qh3-7knu&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=tolietries&siteurl=www.recyclethis.co.uk%2Fabout#913
(Of special note is how one person reused the ball from deodorants to make earrings.)

Baby Green Jeans

Once my daughter was born, I found the thrill of the resale shop. Who knew reusing could be so much fun? My favorite place to go is Once Upon a Child.

When I first went, I was only interested in buying clothing. I was pleasantly surprised to find all the various name brands there for less than the retail stores. However, what was also important to me was that these gently worn—or never worn—clothes weren’t ending up in a dumpster. Baby clothes get worn for only a couple months before they’re outgrown, which can be quite a waste. I know there are items in my child’s closet that never even got worn due to being out of season or got lost in the shuffle. It’s good to know someone else can get use out of them.

Next, I discovered that Once Upon a Child had a super toy selection. Most of the toys are plastic, which I was able to easily clean up. I found the coolest toys there—most were ones I hadn’t even seen at the regular stores. Again, thinking of buying new items that use all those resources and energy…and how the old ones would sit for hundreds of years in a landfill just turned my stomach. Why would I do that if I could get the same ones at a resale shop? And for less money? No contest for me.

My last discovery was that they also sold large toys (scooters, walkers, etc.) and baby furniture. Besides the fact they cost less than new items and help the environment, THEY’RE ALREADY ASSEMBLED. Enough said.

So, if you have a little one or know someone that does, consider buying from a resale shop. Save the green by being green!

The Birth of a Character

A while back I mentioned what it took to switch a male character to female (David to Dana). As I ended that entry, I said how, before I could rewrite the scenes, I needed to know who Dana was.
There are many exercises for developing a character. Typical ones include answering such questions as:
What movies does your character watch?
What’s your character’s favorite color?
What could be found in your character’s backpack or purse?
What does his/her bedroom look like?
What bands/types of music does your character listen to?
Does your character have any hobbies?

(There are about a million sites with lists to help you think about your character. Here are two good ones: http://www.tarakharper.com/k_char2.htm and http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/106 )

All these questions are helpful, but I didn’t even have a clue how to answer these questions because I still couldn’t picture my character. I decided to get inspiration from the Internet.
As my character was a female sled dog racer, I typed in “junior sled dog racer” into google images. Nothing helpful. Probably for protection purposes, there weren’t many photos with children’s faces. Okay, I thought, if I couldn’t find a young sled dog racer, what other topics could I try that would serve my character’s personality (which I didn’t know much about yet)?
I knew this girl was outdoorsy and into animals…4H? I punched it in. Bingo!
I found a terrific picture of three outdoorsy girls holding a pile of weeds. As I studied the picture, two of them were potentials for being Dana. They were very different from one another—a new dilemma. I decided to rewrite my boy scene from each of the two girls’ point of view based on the way they look. One of the girls looked very outgoing and carefree (based on the fact she had no bangs, tousled hair, and a huge (metal) smile on her face. The other girl seemed serious and shy, although she may have a confidence about her when doing something she loves (this girl was thin with long bangs, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a half-smile on her face).
After reading my two passages, I decided to go with the carefree girl—she would make for a more interesting character. What worked out well was that the serious girl would work as my main character, Ana. I now had a picture of my two characters together! Perfect!
So, with a picture of a couple of girls in a 4H garden group, I could continue writing my novel.

Help! I Have an Idea but No Paper!

Writers: Have you ever had the idea for the next bestseller when there was no paper or computer in site? If you’re like me, you told yourself, “This idea is so great, I definitely won’t forget it.” Of course, five minutes later, it’s gone.

I thought I’d offer some creative ideas for holding onto your thoughts for later use.

“Help! I’m Trapped on the Highway with a Great Idea in my Head!”: I have found keeping a hand-held tape recorder on the passenger seat can really come in handy. I actually completed a whole freelance assignment on my way to Indianapolis once using it. Tip: I always date my entries. This helps 1. When I transcribe them, I have some idea of when they’re from. 2. Because I use an old-fashioned audio tape that I rewind and reuse, there are old entries that will still play after the new ones. This can get confusing. By dating the entries, I can tell when the older ones begin. If you don’t want to invest in a tape recorder, you can also call your home or cell and leave a message with the idea. Of course, regardless of how you do it, always use safe driving practices. No idea is worth injuring yourself or others.

“Help! I’m Trapped in the Car with my Napping Baby and no Paper!”: This is my newest writing challenge. If my baby falls asleep in the car during designated nap time, I let her sleep until she wakes. This often means arriving at my destination but having to sit in the parking lot for forty-five minutes to an hour. After twiddling my thumbs a few times, I learned this was a great opportunity to get some writing done or even just brainstorm. Now I don’t leave home without a chapter of my manuscript to work on and/or blank paper. (I also pack a book I’m reading as research.)

“Help! I’m Trapped in a Meeting but my Mind is Feeling Creative!” I used to get my best ideas during meetings, conferences, seminars, and workshops. I used to jot them down in the margins of my meeting notes--never to be seen again. Now I try to keep a second piece of paper beneath my notes that I flip to to write my ideas/thoughts. It also looks like I’m taking wonderful notes on the speaker’s topic.

“Help! I’m Out and About and Have no Paper on Me!” This has happened to me while sitting in the bleachers of a basketball game. Women, rummage through your purse; men, try your wallet. There’s bound to be an old receipt, business card, or something similar. Otherwise, look around your location: are there any pamphlets or flyers? How about napkins? (Isn’t that what J.K. Rowling used to write Harry Potter?) You can even write on your hand if you’re desperate. If you have a smartphone, you can also call or email yourself.

“Help! I’m Trapped in the Shower with my Idea!” Sorry, no clue to help you with this one. Any suggestions?

“Help! I’m in Bed Already and too Lazy to Write Down my Idea!” Here’s where I usually try to convince myself I’ll just remember it in the morning. No way. Try keeping paper by your bedside. I have become quite good at writing in the dark. All you really need are some key words that will jog your memory later.

One last tip: If you’re with someone else in your unfortunate paperless situation, see if they’re willing to help you out. Sometimes my husband won’t remember what I told him, but will 1. remember that I told him to remember something or 2. remember one word, which is often sufficient.

If you have a handy tip, please share.

Gender Issues

I haven't blogged in quite a while, so I thought I should kick off my return to blogdom with a bang: how I changed David to Dana...

While reworking my entire work-in-progress novel for a third time, I had a revelation. After getting asked over and over by my fellow critiquers if my girl main character had feelings for the boy sidekick character, David, I thought about whether this sidekick really needed to be a boy. By changing him to a girl might help some of my plot problems. I decided to go for it: David would become Dana.

At first thought, all I would need to do was a quick find/replace of the word "him" to "her," "he" to "she," etc. But, as I reread the scenes with Dana, I realized that changing a character's gender wasn't going to be that simple.

As David, the sidekick character was nonchalant, active, and outspoken. As a boy, these characteristics weren't anything that stood out. However, once the character became a girl, the traits made quite a statement about her personality. For instance, when David guzzled his milk, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. But when I changed the character to a girl (Dana), she no longer could get away with guzzling the milk without the reader drawing conclusions about what she was like.

As I shared the problem with a writing listserv I belong to, the topic caused quite a stir. Many people felt that we need more strong, tomboyish girls in children's literature. Although I agree, I also worried about creating a different stereotype. You see, this character races sled dogs. By having her be a "tomboy," I was afraid I was then giving the impression that a girl has to be masculine to be a musher. I didn't want that either. I went back and forth as to how "feminine" Dana should be. I wrote scenes both ways: with Dana as what might be considered a traditional female character and with Dana as what would be considered a tomboy. I was still torn.

I went back and forth with advantages to both traits for this character. Unfortunately, I had to decide for myself who this character was before I could begin my David to Dana transformation. Regardless to what I did, it was definitely going to be more than a matter of changing some "he's" to "she's"...