Writer’s Blog

Getting Your Story on the Right Track

Photo by Jason Dunnivant

Having trouble revising? Maybe you should hop on a train. Over the years, I’ve done my best work while riding the rails. Why? Maybe it has something to do with literally being on a track?

Yesterday as soon as I settled into my seat on the 7 a.m. train from DC to Philly, I pulled out my notebook and got to work. I’ve written about 390 pages of a new novel that I love, but that has been suffering from…what?…well, I would have fixed it had I known.

My two main characters have strong, clear voices, but the other people in the novel seem like puppets or props instead of real characters. So, as the train sped along, I wrote the major themes and things that happen in the first part of the book on the right side of a piece of paper, and on the left side I began to write down the major themes and things that happen (including the main character’s epiphanies) in the second half of the book. I began to notice that many things in the second half were a mirror opposite of things in the first half. This was exciting. So I actively looked for changes I could make that would echo this. BAM! I could see the problem: two crucial minor characters did NOTHING for the theme or plot of the book; and because of that, they were pulling the story off track. When I started playing around with how these characters could become the extreme opposites of each other, all the elements of the story came together and it zoomed. I was in the quiet car, so I couldn’t stand up and scream my Hallelujah, but I wanted to.

I’m thinking that the next time I get stuck, I should buy a round trip ticket anywhere.

A Principal Who Reads is a Great Role Model

During skype sessions–virtual visits that connect me to students via computer webcams–the teacher or librarian in charge often arranges a chair in front of the school computer’s webcam and calls up students to sit in the chair one by one to ask me questions. It’s always fun for me to see each child’s face appear on my screen.

Imagine my surprise when, during a skype session with 4th-6th grade students at Grande Reserve Elementary School in Yorkville, IL, a grown-up suddenly appeared on my screen.

“Wow, you’re a big kid,” I said, and all the students laughed.

“I’m the principal,” Sylvia Torto said with a delighted smile. She had a question for me about what my favorite books were, and then she excitedly shared the title of one of her favorite books, urging me to find it and gobble it up.

What a fantastic moment: A principal was taking time out of her busy day to join in the conversation and express a genuine love for reading. That’s a role model every school needs.

Principal Torto’s suggested book? Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald. Luckily for me, she put a copy in the mail along with a thank you for the session. I loved it.

Helping Young Writers at the Start

When it comes to writing, some kids have a hard time getting started. In this article (first published in the Arizona Reading Association Journal), you can read my suggestions.

Helping Young Writers at the Start

Connect with Writers

When I was at a book signing at the fantastic Downtown Book & Toy Store in Jefferson City, MO, a young woman introduced herself. She said that she was interested in writing for children and wondered if I’d be willing to share any advice.

We talked about the importance of humor and about keeping a writer’s notebook and about reading and writing. She was taking an important first step by simply introducing herself to me and asking me questions.

If you’re interested in becoming a writer, take every opportunity you have to meet other writers and to ask questions about process. Go to book signings, workshops, and lectures. Don’t be afraid to begin the dialogue. –Mary Amato

Filed under: writing tips

Question about the power of story

TheWriter-large

Kids write the best fan letters. “It made me feel verry alive.” That’s how a fourth grader from Middletown Elementary School described the experience of reading. From time to time I find the same comment, though not always spelled the same way, in my fan mail, and it always makes me stop and marvel about the power of story. Why does reading a story about someone else make us feel alive? Want to explain your theory?

Illustration by Eric Brace for Please Write in This Book by Mary Amato

Filed under: The Power of Story • writing tips

Plotting your way

Index cards

I often use index cards to keep track of my plot. I try to write short statements related to the action of the story on cards. Sometimes I spread them on the floor to “see” my plot. Sometimes I tape them to a display board.

In addition to using the cards for plotting purposes, I also use them to keep track of important bits of information, such as my character’s school schedule. These are the cards for the novel Invisible Lines. I have a new set of cards for the book I’m working on now.

Filed under: Invisible Lines • writing tips

Kids deserve a rich vocabulary

Sometimes adults ask me if I am conscious about word choice when writing for children: Do I deliberately choose a “small” word so that it doesn’t go over the reader’s head?

I shoot for the best word, no matter how small or large.

I believe that there is an organic process of learning language, which is called exposure. How do we learn “big” words? By hearing or seeing them used in context. I still recall the thrill of learning the word “salutations” when reading Charlotte’s Web. Imagine if E.B. White had deprived me of that thrill?

Kids are remarkable creatures and can handle just about anything.

While walking to the outdoor pool last week, I passed two boys, about seven years old, sitting on a fence, legs dangling. One boy’s flip-flop sandal fell off his foot, and he turned to his friend and said, in absolute deadpan, “I just lost my dignity.”

Filed under: vocabulary • writing process • writing tips

Question about writing in school

Writers at work

Why don’t our schools embrace creative writing more consistently?

Last week, at the suggestion of a mom, I offered a three-day creative writing workshop for middle schoolers. The seven kids who came to my studio with notebooks and pencils were on fire. The quality of the writing and critiquing was thrilling.

After the class, a mom told me what I feared: During her daughter’s sixth gradeyear there was only one opportunity to write a short story. Why? Is it because it’s hard to “grade” creative writing? Is it because making people laugh or cry through your writing isn’t on a standardized test? What do you think?

And what kind of support can I, as a writer, offer to teachers out there who want to do more? Any ideas?

Filed under: children writing • creative writing • school

Previous Entries

Getting Your Story on the Right Track

A Principal Who Reads is a Great Role Model

Helping Young Writers at the Start

Connect with Writers

Question about the power of story

Plotting your way

Kids deserve a rich vocabulary

Question about writing in school

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