Turn Your Reading Passion Into Better Writing

Years ago, when I first decided I’d like to write books for children, I attended a program about Oklahoma history. One speaker mentioned Bass Reaves. Bass escaped from slavery in Texas, crossed the Red River arriving in Oklahoma Territory ready to begin a new life. He learned the lay of the land and survival techniques from Native Americans. Eventually, he became a United States Deputy Marshal under Hanging Judge Parker and always found the outlaws who dared to hide from him.

I fell in love with Bass. I quickly decided I was the perfect person to tell his amazing life. I even found an editor who was somewhat interested in my attempts to capture his story.

Then one day, the editor sent the email that broke my heart. She explained she would not be publishing my manuscript. I was devastated! My heart was broken. I don’t remember her exact words, but I read – there is a new Bass book and it’s so much better than your feeble attempts. I still feel the pain! I remember attending an American Library Association conference and there in the distance was BAD NEWS FOR OUTLAWAS – THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF BASS REEVES, DEPUTY U. S. MARSHAL, Written by  Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Bass in all its glory. I quickly changed directions and walked down another aisle. It was such a painful moment in my writing life. I’m tearing up now as I think about it.



My husband thought my reaction was over the top. “Write something else,” was his remedy. The editor emailed, “Send me something else.” SOMETHING ELSE! I had nothing else. My writing life was over and it had just begun.
Well, it took time (years) but I recovered and I continued to write. Then one day I bought a copy of BAD NEWS FOR OUTLAWS. It’s fabulous! A page-turner! No wonder it received so many awards. It is a thousand times better than my feeble attempts.

Recently, I met Vaunda at a conference and told her my pitiful story. She hugged me and my world righted itself.
I also typed it and I could see, feel, and understand why I loved it and what made it successful. I began typing other books that moved my spirit.

I challenge you to type a favorite book or even a page or two of a longer work. What makes you cry, smile, or laugh out loud? Why was it hard or easy to put down? What made you decide it would have a place of honor on your bookshelf?

Think about your responses. You might discover a technique that will lead to stronger writing.

Posted by Gwendolyn Hooks

Writing as a Reader

I have spent my whole writing "career" (so to speak) writing the books that I wanted to read as a kid.  As the years have gone by, I'm mostly still writing for the eight-year-old I used to be... thirty-odd years ago. 

Now my six-year-old daughter is gaining the maturity to enjoy the books that first lit the creative spark inside of me.  This is a huge and exciting development in my writing life (and hers, too, I'm sure).  I've had plenty of kids give me feedback on my work, but these were not kids who lived with me, kids I knew nearly as well as I know myself.  My nearest audience is no longer a hypothetical "kids out there"; nor, more importantly, is it a younger me.  It is someone who does not dwell inside my head, someone who was actually born in our current century.

More than anything, watching my daughter this summer has re-reminded me of the power that we as writers hold in our fingertips.  A few weeks ago, she returned from a play date, having viewed a commercial for the movie DIARY OF A WIMPY KID.  Two hours later, she started to shake and cry. "The cheese part scared me!" she sobbed.

Weeks later, she can conjure up tears at the most subtle reminder of cheese, commercials, movies, diaries... Someday perhaps she will be a Method Actor.  Today, she is my tender, sensitive girl, who will laugh, who will cry, who will remember a clever turn of phrase from something she read eons ago.

Kids, we all know, are not little grown-ups.  Their reactions are anything but predictable.  Yesterday she said to me, "Does R.L. Stine write things that scare kids?  I hate R.L. Stine!"  (As though she knew him personally.)  In five years, she will probably adore R.L. Stine.  But right now, my daughter is a living and vivid reminder of the awesomeness of the task we set for ourselves as those who write for children.  Wow, what an opportunity.  Wow, what a responsibility. --Jeanne Marie