Monthly Archives: June 2012

“The Aurora County All-Stars” A Summer Fun Home Run

30 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in Baseball, Book Reviews, Deborah Wiles, Middle Grade

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The Aurora County All-Stars, by Deborah Wiles

House Jackson, age twelve, star pitcher and team captain of the Aurora County All-Stars, has a secret. For the past year while he was sidelined with a broken elbow, he spent every afternoon at the bedside of a mysterious old man the other  kids call Mean-Man Boyd–and he doesn’t want anyone to know. Now House is finally ready to play ball again, but his team’s biggest (and only) game of the year might be canceled, thanks to the very girl who caused his broken  elbow. It’s almost too much to bear. But in the standoff that ensues, House finds a courage he didn’t know he possessed–and discovers that just about everyone in Aurora County, Mississippi has a secret. [Book Jacket Synopsis]

A Line Drive Out of the Park – Fun For All Ages

This story is about baseball … but that’s just the surface. Underneath lies a rich tapestry of friendship, betrayal, courage, family, and acceptance that is spun through with the deep mystery of life–the symphony true. I am in awe of a story that seamlessly weaves profound themes (Walt Whitman, no less) with baseball, a old Pug dog, ballerinas, and small town eccentricities … served up with with laugh-out-loud humor.

When House is finally able to play ball again, full-of-herself Frances (Finesse) Shotz waltzes back into his life to ruin it again. She insists the ball team must perform in  her pageant (for the town’s 200th anniversary) … wearing costumes! The team is horrified, but the rest of the town sides with Frances and their one-and-only ballgame is doomed. Life couldn’t get more unfair. You’d think a best friend would be sympathetic of his team captain’s predicament. But Cleebo puts the responsibility back on to House:

You have to approach your problems! You never approach your problems, House. You don’t talk about ’em … and that’s what gets folks in trouble … they don’t approach their problems.

House is pissed, but his friend’s words force him to dig deep and find the courage he needs to tackle his problems head on. And the results are nothing short of staggering. House’s belief in Walt Whitman’s symphony true saves the baseball game, and the pageant goes on in all its flamboyant glory. But more important, House sees the way to forgive his best friend’s betrayal and forget the unintentional wrongs of the past. The trials of friendship and family will resonate with readers of all ages, as will the lessons of acceptance and forgiveness.

If you’ve read Deborah Wiles’ other books set in Aurora County, Mississippi, (Each Little Bird that Sings or Love, Ruby Lavender) you’ll continue to be delighted by the rich and quirky characters she brings to life with such ease. If you haven’t read them, you’re still in for a real treat with The Aurora County All Stars!

Do you have a favorite Middle Grade summer read?

Writer’s Cave-atitis … THE Cure!

29 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Dancing, Muppets

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The mystery of an age-old disease … solved!

The disease starts innocuously enough. That’s the rub. You’re hunched over your keyboard hour after hour, day after day determined to make that deadline.

The walls of your writer’s cave close in on you. The deadline approaches faster than is relatively possible (what did Einstein know about time anyway?). The pressure builds until things get so intense that you don’t know whether to light your hair on fire or run up the walls, full-on Matrix style. Because if you don’t, your head will explode.

Yeah, been there. Write long enough, and we all go there eventually. It seemed like a hazard of our trade. Then  I discovered that this sickness has plagued mankind from the time the first ships dared to sail out to sea. But back then, they called it Cabin Fever. And it was the Muppets who found THE cure!

No hoax, folks! I wouldn’t mess with you. Honest! [Image credits: Muppet Treasure Island]

Here’s all you have to do:

  1. Click the START arrow on the following video and crank up the sound FULL VOLUME.
  2. Wear any extraneous fruit (uneaten, of course) lying around your writer’s cave as head ornamentation.
  3. Jump around, shaking your pirate booty in rhythm to the music (or however you damn well please). Let loose! No one’s watching (we hope).
  4. Use any and all solid objects as implements of percussion.

Dancing Penguins ~ Jolly Holiday Style

22 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Animation, Dancing, Funny Videos, Tap Dancing

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Because Fridays are always better with a Happy Dance!

Or … maybe … because my previous post on Animated Storytelling is the perfect excuse set up for posting a dance sequence that ALWAYS makes me laugh ... The dancing penguins sequence from Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins”!

I especially love the penguin who toboggans off-screen, and then – try as he might – can never get back in sync with the group. I think that’s because I frequently feel like I’ve gone barreling off the map and am forever out of step with everyone else!

What movie always makes you laugh, and why?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins” ~ Jolly Holiday

Animated Storytelling

17 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in Animation, Characters, Story

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What animation taught me about storytelling…

I came to writing fiction through animation. Yep, I’m an animation geek, and proud of it! And as circuitous as my journey might sound … it’s not.

Good animation tells a story by showing emotion, the same as fiction. This image of Thumper (from Walt Disney’s “Bambi”) is a perfect example. You can tell Thumper’s been reprimanded by his slumped posture, his paws held behind his back, his ears laid back, and his head tilted downward.

Likewise, in this next image (also from Bambi) it’s obvious the two skunks are infatuated with each other by  their posture, how they hold their hands and look at one another. Good storytelling immerses you in the lives of the characters, so that you feel what they are feeling.

The Walt Disney Studios developed the 12 principles of realistic character-driven animation back in the 1930’s. Those principles are still considered “standard” today. The Illusion of Life, by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, is an insightful read on the history of how these principles were developed.

Writing with Emotional Impact

Writing fiction is not the same medium as animation (duh!), so the techniques a writer must use to immerse an audience are slightly different from the keys to invoking emotion in animation. But not so different. Really. I ask myself the following questions when I begin a  scene. These questions are surprisingly similar to the questions an animator must resolve when animating a scene:

  1. What is the character thinking, and why?
  2. What is the character feeling, and why?
  3. How does the character express their feelings, and how does that vary with the different people in the scene?
  4. What is the arc of the character’s reaction to the circumstances?
  5. What are the character’s strengths and faults, and how do they manifest as a result of the circumstances?

When I understand what’s motivating a character and why, I can figure out how the character will react and what their feeling. I keep a copy of the Emotion Thesaurus handy to prevent myself from using worn out descriptions, or reusing the same ones over and over.

The Bella Note “Spaghetti Scene” in Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp is  probably the best-loved scene in animation of all time. It became famous, because we relate to the characters’ feelings (even though they’re dogs). We feel their love for each other through their nuanced looks, expressions, and gestures. Magical storytelling in action! You can watch this remarkable scene here.

Bella Note Lady & the Tramp

Live or Die … by Your First Line

01 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in Elizabeth Fais, Story, Writing

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Your life depends on one sentence … what would you say?

A little drastic. But you kept reading. Right? Which was the point. First lines matter. A lot. Especially for a young audience. Texting and tweeting has narrowed the overall attention span to 140 characters. Or less.

Which means you have to grab your reader on the First Line, hook them by the First Paragraph, and hold them captive by the First Page.

Richard Peck’s essay on the importance of opening lines (November 2006, Horn Book Magazine) changed my writing. He said that, “The most important secret of writing . . . you are only as good as your opening line.”

I thought that was kind of harsh at first. Then, I spent a lot of time going to bookstores and libraries and reading ONLY first lines. And I came to see that he’s right. The books that had amazing first lines I ended up reading.

A great opening line shouldn’t be just about shock-value. It should set the tone of the story, reveal character,  conflict, and theme. It’s the promise of the premise … in encapsulated form. Not easy to do. at all. I know (from first-hand experience). But when a first line is done well, it has an awesome effect on a reader! Something I also learned first-hand. Which is why, I now work on the opening line of a story until it has the grab-em-and-keep-em hook of a smash-hit movie trailer.

Gotta Love those “Firsts”…

From all those “one line stands” I fell in love with more than a few books

All from reading … one … single … sentence.

And if it can happen to me, I am sure it happens to young readers. When they read an opening line that takes their hand and leads them into a world of imagination and wonder.

Here are a few of my all-time favorite opening lines:

  • “If your teacher has to die, August isn’t a bad time of year for it.” THE TEACHER’S FUNERAL by Richard Peck.
  • “I come from a family with a lot of dead people.” EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS by Deborah Wiles.
  • “When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news.” STORMBREAKER by Anthony Horowitz.
  • “I witnessed the kidnapping of Betty Ann Mulvaney.” TEEN IDOL by Meg Cabot.
  • “Being dead became fashionable approximately forty-five minutes after Samantha ‘the Divine’ Devereaux came back from summer break.” DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK by Marlene Perez.
  • “My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.” BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE by Kate DiCamillo.
What first line hooked you into reading the entire story?