I recommend this blog post, What Kids Have Taught Me About Writing, by children’s book author Kathleen McCleary. Those of us who read a lot of writing by children produced in schools — and I certainly speak for the staff here at Stone Soup — get tired of reading writing by children that is so obviously constrained by creative writing formulas. “Stop!” I sometimes want to shout, “can’t you ask children to write something that means something to them?” At Stone Soup we are very focused on personal experiences — writing from the heart. Not being teachers ourselves I think we probably make the mistake of discounting the value of creative writing formulas. What Kathleen McCleary talks about in her blog post is the constructive use of writing games. She mentions the “ahah moment” creative writing game by way of one example. As the “ahah moment” fits in with my own bias towards writing based on experience I actually find her description of a fill-in-the-blank project the most challenging to my own thinking. And, the most inspiring. On the face of it, what could be more dull? “Once upon a time _______. And every day ________ ……” but then, the example Kathllen offers is a story that does, indeed, take one’s breath away. A writing class taught by a novelist is probably not quite the same as one taught by you or me. It is impossible to know what inspiration Kathleen herself brings to her students in the way she framed the assignments. But what I take from her post is that if you can free up children’s creativity, if you can tap into their deep imaginative layers, then the game becomes a challenge, like the strict sonnet form in poetry. When one masters the formula (rather than be mastered by it) brilliant literature is the outcome. What Kathleen McCleary sees as the wonder of it is what all of us who are closely involved with children’s creativity see, whether it is in the realm of writing or art or music, when the stars align for children they seem to effortlessly create material that most adults would have to struggle for. This, then, from Kathleen McCleary’s blog, Writer Unboxed. Simple can be powerful. One of the exercises I do with kids is 7-sentence story, in which I ask them to write a story by filling in these blanks: “Once upon a time____. And every day____. Until one day____. And because of that____. And because of that____. Until finally____. And ever since____.” Last summer, a quiet, 14-year-old boy wrote this story, in less than 10 minutes: “Once upon a time, the sun fell in love with the moon. And every day she chased him across the sky but he always slipped just out of sight and set as she rose. Until one day she caught up to him in what the humans called an ‘eclipse’ but she called a ‘miracle.’ And because of that, she discovered that she and the moon could not ever stay in the sky at the same time, except for eclipses. And because of that, every day she felt lonely and sad as the moon set and she rose. Until finally an eclipse came again and she and the moon met once more. And ever since she has been hoping and waiting for another so they may be together again.” It gives me goose bumps every time I read it. It makes me want to be a better writer. It makes me grateful I get to work with young people.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
It’s All in the Details (engaging the senses)
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, we chose “Leprechaun Rain” as the featured story from our March/April 2015 issue. This is not a complex story. Emma lives with her parents and grandmother on a farm in Ireland. Some of the family’s sheep are missing in a storm, and Emma sets out to find them. When she does, everyone returns home safe and sound. Even a simple story can be special, if the author fills it with little details that make the characters and places come alive. Author Hannah Ogden has done just that. Four of our five senses are engaged as Hannah describes what Emma sees, hears, touches, and smells in the first part of the story. The only light in Emma’s room comes from a flickering candle. Rain hammers on the roof. Thunder cracks overhead. The old farmhouse feels especially cold because of its gray stone walls. And when Emma’s dad comes in from the storm, his clothing smells of wet wool. Hannah includes vivid details in the second part of her story as well, when Emma encounters a band of fairies and leprechauns in the forest. A green haze rises up from their bonfire. The leprechauns wear green, while the fairies wear every color in the rainbow. The fairies’ song sounds like light rain falling on grass. The air is filled with the sweet smell of lilacs and fresh grass, of freshly baked bread and springtime. The lost sheep are there too, and Katie comes up to nuzzle Emma’s arm. These details make us believe this part of the story, even though it is fantastical. Yes, Emma did fall and hit her head right before she saw the leprechauns and fairies, but of course they are real, right? In addition to the details that engage our senses, Hannah has added another little detail that makes her story shine: a special understanding between Emma and her grandmother. They are together twice, once in the barn and once at the very end of the story. Both times, they seem to know what the other is thinking. In the barn, Grandmother Josephine assures Emma that the sheep will be all right in the storm. But when Emma looks into her grandmother’s eyes, she knows they tell a different story. At the end of the story, Emma keeps her encounter with the fairies and leprechauns a secret from her parents. One look at Grandmother Josephine, and Emma realizes her grandmother knows her secret. This bond between Emma and her grandmother brings a very human element to the story. Sometimes two people just click, they understand each other without speaking. The two fictional characters seem more like real people because of their deep connection. And speaking of making things real, illustrator Isabella Ronchetti has picked up many of the little details of the story in her beautiful illustrations (one of them used as the cover for our new edition of The Stone Soup Book of Fantasy Stories). We see Emma’s cold attic room with its stone walls, lit only by a candle, in the first illustration. Emma’s anxious face, with her light freckles and wild black hair, fills the page. In the second illustration, we see the magical clearing in the forest, the ring of toadstools, the colorful fairies dancing around a bonfire, the gold coins on the ground. Even the characters in silhouette are detailed. We see the leprechaun’s beard, hat, boots, and flute. We see Emma and Katie in lifelike detail too. We applaud both author and artist for using detail to create great works of art. Bravo, Hannah and Isabella!
Celebrating the Melting Pot
The United States is made up of people who immigrated here from all over the world. Some came a long time ago, some more recently. All of us are Americans, who have “melted” together into one culture. But many of us have kept the traditions of our ancestors alive, especially when it comes to foods and holiday celebrations. And that’s what makes our culture so rich and interesting! “Being Lucia,” by Molly O’Toole, the featured story from our January/February 2015 issue, introduces us to the Swedish holiday St. Lucia’s Day. Like Christmas and Hanukkah, St. Lucia’s Day falls near the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year), and it shares a love of light with the other winter holidays. St. Lucia’s Day has its own song—the St. Lucia song—and its own treats—homemade Lucia buns. When a daughter turns thirteen, she plays the part of St. Lucia. She wears a white dress with a red sash, and a wreath with seven candles in it. She serves Lucia buns and coffee to the adults in the family, while her siblings walk behind her, singing the song. Author Molly O’Toole and illustrator Ravela Smyth have done a wonderful job of recreating the beauty of the holiday and the excitement a young girl feels when she gets to be Lucia for the first time. Notice all the ways in which Molly shows her main character’s anticipation. She “springs out of bed,” her stomach is doing “flip-flops.” It’s like “waiting in line at the amusement park; waiting for hours and hours. But finally you get to go on the ride, and it’s the most amazing and exhilarating roller coaster that you will ever go on in your whole life.” And at the end of the story, we’re right there with Elizabeth as her “eyes fill with tears” and she feels as if she is “melting away into the bright candle surroundings, and everywhere is light.” Did your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents immigrate to the United States from another country? Has your family kept some holiday traditions alive from the old country? Think about what those traditions mean to you, then put pencil to paper (or keyboard to monitor). Give the reader the details he or she needs to feel what you feel, your excitement and joy, as your family celebrates in its own way.
