Published April 30th 2019 by Graphix
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
In this how-to book, complete with pages for readers to take notes and doodle, Telgemeier gives practical hints on the creative process. Using her own work as a starting point (and including illuminating excerpts from it), aspiring writers are instructed to look at their own background, interests, family, and neighborhood in order to find topics for their stories. There is an interesting section where the how-tos of drawing are laid out, complete with suggestions about paper and writing implements. Fans of this author will also appreciate the inclusion of her personal photographs and reminiscences that inspired her books.
There are always a few books by popular authors about how to write being published;
Ally Carter's Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book, Alexander's The Write Thing: Kwame Alexander Engages Students in Writing Workshop (And You Can Too!) (2018), and Walter Dean Myer's Just Write: Here's How (2012) come to mind, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if Jason Reynolds has a similar book in the works. Tweens who love to write LOVE to write, and these books are valuable in giving them direction and motivation.
Graphic novels are, of course, extremely popular, and a number of tweens love to draw, so this is a good mix of basic writing advice combined with artistic instruction. This book would make a great gift, since there are pages to be filled out, but because of the additional information about Telgemeier's work and life, it has a place in a school or public library as well. Now, if we could just keep patrons from writing in the library copy!
August 27th 2019 by Viking Books for Young Readers
ARC provided by the publisher
This step-by-step guide to the creative writing process clearly breaks down the enormous task of writing a novel into manageable pieces. From coming up with ideas to managing time and creating goals, Brave the Page offers support to students who want to tell their story to the world. Chapters include "Dare Machines"; writing prompts to get thoughts flowing and words onto the page. There are also pep talks by popular authors scattered throughout the chapters. There is practical information about setting up dialogue, what to do if you hate your idea, and lots of hints to help with the editing process.
There's a lot of information in this book, but it is delivered in an organized fashion. A really motivated writer should probably have a personal copy, since there are so many writing prompts. Books on how to write circulate better when they have a particular celebrity writing them or have a particular focus, and this will be a great book for participants in NaNoWriMo to consult.
My two favorite books still remain the 2013 Writing Children's Books for Dummies and Brooks, Regina L. Writing Great Books for Young Adults (2014).
No comments:
Post a Comment