In which I consider the research authors do

If you are a teacher or librarian, and are a member of the International Reading Association:

I have a blog post up today on the ENGAGE blog, titled  "Let the Dominoes Fall: Following Research Where It Takes You."

I hope you'll stop by!

(Thanks to the people at the IRA for posting it.)

A cover! A cover!

Say hello, world, to the cover illustration for my newest novel for kids:

Coming in June 2012 from Margaret K. McElderry Books, it's a re-imagining of the Pied Piper tale...and yet, that only begins to describe the story.

There is so much I love about this cover, and I find something new to love every time I look at it. The boy (our hero, Rudi) looks exactly like I've always imagined him -- right down to the lederhosen! He's innocent, but brave; a reluctant hero who rises to every challenge (and there are many).

And the Fiddler: yikes, how menacing! Even more menacing than the rats. And if you look closely, you can see rats at his feet, too. Gives me shivers.

What I love most about this cover, though, is how very many details and elements of the story are included in this picture; and yet, it's not a mish-mosh; it's a cohesive picture, which itself  tells a story (without giving away too many secrets).

I can't wait to hear reactions from readers: What do you expect the story to be like, now that you've seen this picture?

It's all about the story

If you're a book person (and probably even if you're not), I bet you hear this statement almost every day, or something like it:

"E-books may be here to stay, but it's not the same as holding a real book in your hands."

Well, of course it's not the same. Then again, it's exactly the same.

When you read a book, you're not reading pages or paper or ink. You're reading words. You're reading story. And who cares if the words and story are rendered in pixels or on paper?

It makes no difference.

I'll agree that paper books are comforting. They are often very beautiful. But they are also heavy, bulky, and take up a lot of room in my bag.

I will always have shelves full of books. But not the thousands I have now. I imagine one day my book shelves will be filled with beautiful works of art that contain the stories I love best, first read on my e-reader.

Hay! Let's go to Wales!

Well, I'd like to go someday:

I could hike the Breton Beacons,

mmmm....

And I could go to the Hay Festival at Hay-on-Wye, home of "Britain's best-known literary festival."

Fresh air, beautiful scenery, and books. What could be better?

(photo from the Telegraph)

Come to a writing workshop

I'll be teaching a 3-hour workshop exploring point of view (POV) in YA and midgrade fiction.

WHAT: How does our choice of POV affect the stories we write? How does altering the POV change the story? In this workshop, we’ll first read excerpts from published novels to hear different examples of POV. Then we’ll individually try our hand at writing one passage from three different points of view: in first person; in third person “close” viewpoint, and in third person omniscient viewpoint. We’ll learn how POV affects narrative style, focus, and emotion when we write fiction. Attendees are invited to write something new, or to bring a work in progress.

WHEN: Saturday, March 12, 9am - noon.

WHERE: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

WHAT ELSE: Registration is $40 (such a deal!). Registration and program info is here. (Look for the "registration" download link.)

Any questions, please e-mail me:

stacy(at)stacydekeyser.com

Hope to see you there, with sleeves rolled up!

Can't we all get along?

Well, it’s official. My local Borders is closing. Lots of people are blaming e-books. And everyone seems to be taking sides.

People are either for the e-revolution or they’re against it. If you own an iPad, you’re a paper-book-hater who is taking the tater tots out of the mouths of indie bookseller’s kids. If you own a physical bookstore, Amazon is (still) your worst enemy, especially now that it threw a Kindle at you.

But do we have to choose sides? Why can’t I own an e-book reader AND continue to buy “real” books in bricks-and-mortar bookstores? It’s true that e-books can’t provide everything a physical book can. But a physical book doesn’t provide everything a Kindle can, either. It’s like being expected to own only one pair of shoes. I wouldn’t wear sneakers to a wedding, but that doesn’t mean I don’t OWN sneakers, and won’t wear them when it’s a sneaker kind of day. Why can’t it be the same way for books? There will always be a time and a place for paper books, but there is also a time and place for e-books. I can live with that.

Thank you, Margaret K. McElderry

I never met Margaret McElderry, but she gave me a lot, as a reader, as a writer, and as a woman.

She published The Borrowers, one of my very favorite childhood books.

She trained the two women who became my agents, and she taught them well, and now I'm the beneficiary of that knowledge and expertise.

She established the imprint that will publish my next book; an imprint that I'm already honored to be associated with; an imprint with the name of a real person still behind it; a name synonymous with the love of literature for literature's sake.

She was a role model for women-- someone who followed her passions and didn't let anyone tell her she couldn't, and as a result was very successful and very influential.

Thank you, Margaret K. McElderry.

Kindle as a writer's tool

As a Kindle owner, I was relieved to hear that Kindle books would soon have page numbers. Mostly because I hate those weird "location number" digit-strings jabbering at me from the bottom of the screen.

So I downloaded the new software, and...

...none of the books I own have page numbers. Of course.

But I discovered two nice things instead:

Thing One: The new software did erase the nasty location numbers, leaving only the "percentage read" number in the lower left corner. My screen looks much less cluttered (and, somehow, makes the % number more meaningful, maybe because I'm not trying to figure out some kind of equivalence between the % and the location numbers). Suddenly, I don't even miss page numbers. I know where I am in my book with a quick glance at the lower left corner.

Thing Two: And then it occurred to me that, as a writer, I can follow along in any novel and see at a glance how that novel's structure is revealed by its % numbers. Here's how:

I'm a fan of Linda Seger's book, Making a Good Script Great. In it, Seger explains the basic structure of a movie script, which can also be applied to novels. It's a 3-act structure with distinct milestones: turning points, a midpoint, climax, and resolution. Seger maintains that each of these milestones should come approximately at a certain percentage of progress through the script/novel, and if the writer sticks (more or less) to this structure, the story will flow well, without lagging. For example, the climax should occur at approximately the 90% mark.

Back to my Kindle. I'm currently reading All Clear, a time-travel novel by Connie Willis.* I was plowing along well past the 50% mark, the plot was picking up speed, and all the many pieces of the puzzle began falling into place.

I glanced down at the % number, and where was I?

80%

The story built, the plot threads continued to tie together, and then came the surprising and impressive climax. Which was at...

89%

That's when I realized that the basic plot structure of this (very complicated) book could still be boiled down to a tried-and-true, foolproof plan. A plan that was laid bare by my Kindle in one little number. And a plan that I can replicate when I write my own novels.

True, you can figure out pretty much the same thing with a physical book, by counting page numbers or even by comparing the thickness of the pages left as you read. But somehow, that little number in the lower left-hand corner makes me feel like that book's author is whispering a secret into my ear.

*Fans of Willis may know that All Clear is actually the second part of a complete story begun with Blackout. So you could probably identify milestones based on the entire 2-volume story, but I've discovered that All Clear has its own structure, and milestones that still fit the 3-act structure outlined in Seger's book.

About That Ending

One of the best things about having a book published is hearing from readers. The question I’m asked most often about Jump the Cracks is: “What happens after the book ends?”

At first this question surprised me, and I wasn’t sure how to answer it, because (of course) I think the ending is perfect the way it is. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that it’s a great question, because it means you got so wrapped up in the story that you kept thinking about it after you finished reading. I like that.

But I suppose, since so many of you have asked, you deserve an answer. What DOES happen after the pages of the book close? Does Wills grow up happy? Who raises him? Will Victoria ever see him again?

I have a confession to make: Originally, I wrote a different ending. An ending that answers all of those questions, without any doubt. I tied the story up in a neat little bow.

And then I changed it.

Because the thing is, when you’re writing a story for readers who are smart enough to think about what they’re reading, it’s not fair to do the thinking for them. So I changed the ending for a couple of reasons:

1. A “neat” ending wouldn’t have fit the story. After all, Jump the Cracks is about a bunch of imperfect people trying hard to do their best (well, most of them, anyway). It wouldn’t have made sense to end the story with everyone suddenly perfect and doing all the right things.

2. The open ending allows each reader to imagine his or her own perfect ending—whatever that might be.

Think of it as one of those “You decide” stories.

Are you a sucker for a happy ending? The possibilities are there, at the end of Jump the Cracks, for a perfect, storybook ending. All you have to do is fill in the blanks.

Or maybe you like your stories gritty and more true-to-life. The possibilities for that type of ending are also there, in the story. Just fill in the blanks.

It’s completely up to you. You are free to imagine what happens after the book ends. And whatever you imagine, that is the right ending.

Launch Party!

Welcome to my updated blog, as part of my new author website! Lots of good things are coming in 2011, including work on my latest novel, a midgrade fantasy, coming from Margaret K. McElderry Books in 2012. In this space I'll post the news as it happens: title, cover, and production fun.

Thanks for visiting, have a look around my lovely new website, designed by artistic genius Donna Farrell.

The Archives

Looking for an earlier blog post? You can search the archives here for posts prior to 2011.