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Tag Archives: craft

Add This One to Your Syllabus

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by BoneSpark Blog in C.A. Explains It All

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Chicago, craft, debut novel, Disability rights movement, fiction syllabus, PEN/Bellwether prize, socially engaged fiction, Susan Nussbaum, voice

good kings bad kingsEvery year you work your way through a pile of new books, hoping to find something fresh to offer your writing students.  Rarely, do you find one that knocks you out of your seat like Susan Nussbaum’s debut novel Good Kings, Bad Kings.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about this one at first. I knew that it was about a group of disabled youth and that it had won the 2012 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.  I was worried that it would be depressing and/or overly political.

It was neither.  From the first pages, I was absorbed by the main characters, and I found myself reading it through in one sitting. [I apologize to all who may have been ignored during that time.]

The book opens with Yessenia Lopez, who is describing how a smack-down with another wheelchair-bound teen landed her at the infamous ILLC (Illinois Learning and Life Skills Center).  It then moves to a disabled staff member who describes herself as a “crip” working in “a place that’s swarming with other crips”. This is Joanne Madsen, who is a feisty data-entry clerk who will develop a love affair with another (able-bodied) staff member.

We hear from this man, Ricky Hernandez next. His story then leads into the next character’s, and so on, until seven speakers have been introduced, including two who more who are teenage residents and a self-absorbed recruiter whose job it is to fill the beds for the Health Solutions company that runs ILLC for the state.

While there is an underlying message about the ills of such institutions, it is more a story about the growth of the main characters, who all come to some interesting conclusions about their own abilities and the idea of dignity on an individual’s terms.

This is an issue near and dear to author Nussbaum’s heart, as she is a major voice in Chicago’s disability rights movement, and she just so happens to navigate the world from a wheelchair. barbara nussbaum

You might also know her from that city’s theater scene.  She is a successful playwright whose work brings disabled characters to the stage.

Her great skill with voice–one of the truly knock-out features of the novel–was clearly honed in the theater.  Another case of a playwright obtaining success with a novel (see Craig Johnson). I highly recommend that you add Good Kings, Bad Kings to your fiction syllabus as soon as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MFA in a Box: Self-Instruction in Fiction PART TWO

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by BoneSpark Blog in C.A. Explains It All

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C.A. MFA Crib Sheet, craft, Daisy Fay, fiction, House of the Spirits, Hunger Games, Layer Cake, MFA in a Box, novel, Outlander, self instruction, Time Traveler's Wife, Timeline, Year of Wonders

readgirl

If you missed PART ONE, then go back and catch up. If you’re on track, then dive on in to PART TWO of the C.A. MFA Crib Sheet:

 daisyfallende hungerglayerc

1. Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man     read for: Voice, dialogue

2. The Hunger Games                        read for: First Person POV, flow

3. Layer Cake                                    read for: POV, voice, pacing

4. The House of the Spirits               read for: Voice, subplotting

   outlandertimeline ttwife yearof

AND JUST A FEW MORE…

CHECK OUT:

5. Outlander                                  read for: Multi POV, subplot, structure

6. Timeline                                     read for: Hook, pacing, plot

7. The Time-Traveler’s Wife               read for: non-linear chronology, character

8. Year of Wonders                           read for: description, classical structuring

***If you would like to recommend a novel to study for craft, please leave a reply in the comments.

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Why You Should Be STUDYING the Walt Longmire Novels

23 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by BoneSpark Blog in C.A. Explains It All

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A&E, Cold Dish, craft, Craig Johnson, dialogue, fiction, Longmire, Lou Diamond Phillips, novel, Playwriting, Walt Longmire, writing

You’ve probably seen the promos for the Longmire TV series over on A&E. If not, you should be watching.  Crammed with great actors and Lou Diamond Phillips likes to tweet about all the yummie food that he whips up for the cast. Can’t wait for the cooking show LDP!

The Cold Dish What you probably don’t know is that the books the show is based on are a fabulous read in themselves.  And I’m not just saying that so you can add to your already mountainous reading list.

Well, I am saying add them to your mountainous reading list.  But what I really want you to do is approach them with an eye to honing your craft.

Besides being an ex-cop turned cowboy, Craig Johnson, brain-father of the Walt Longmire mystery/western novels, is also a PhD in..get this..PLAYWRITING.

Yep. And what do we know about playwrights??????

They are exceptionally well-tuned to language, and dialogue in particular.

Johnson handles his with the ear of a master.

Oh. Light bulb moment. Well, who couldn’t help but learn from that!

Let me give you a taste from one of the novels.  This passage comes from the first chapter of The Cold Dish, which is Book #1 in the series, and it just so happens to be one of my favorites:

   We looked at each other, his expression carrying the self-deprecation that usually held some hidden meaning. “Beer, Tonto?’ he asked as he handed me an open Rainier and continued past with what appeared to be a tire iron in the other hand. I looked through the poolroom into the bar proper and could make out about eight people seated on stools, outlined by the fluorescent glow of the beer coolers. Big night. I took a sip and followed him to the far end of the room where he seemed to be preparing to tear apart the wall. Leaning against the offending structure he slipped the flat end of the tire iron behind the weenie-wood that made up the interior of the bar.

“You forget to pay your REA bill again?” He paused for a second to give me a dirty look and then put all 220 pounds into the tire iron and propelled the four-foot board from the wall, with nails still attached, to clatter at our feet. I bent from my vantage point to look at the ringshanked holes in the plaster surface that lay underneath the removed board.  Henry’s face was, as always impassive.

“Damn.” Without another word, he slipped the tire iron beneath the next board and popped it to the floor. Same result. “Damn.”

I figured it was time to ask, “Are we redecorating, or are we looking for something specific?” He gestured to the wall with a hand that pleaded and threatened at the same time.

“Fuse box.”

“You covered it up with boards.”

Another sidelong glance. “At least I have walls.”

Henry was one of the chosen few who had been to the cabin. His statement was hard to refute. “I’ve been thinking about getting an imitation sheepskin cover for my recliner.”  This got a long look.

“Are you drunk?”

I gave the question thought. “No, but I’m working on it.” He grunted a little laugh and popped off another board, which added to the considerable pile which was collecting at our feet.

“Damn.” He placed the tire iron in the next board. “Cady call you?”

“No, the brat.”

“Huh…she called me.” He popped the board loose to reveal the gray cover of an ancient fuse box. “Yes.”

WOW! You can read more of the surrounding passages on the Amazon preview. But you’ll probably want the boxed set.

Take your time, work through the series, and I promise that you’ll pick up more than you would from a whole stack of writing books.  I know that I have, and I don’t even like mysteries.  Huh.  Must be all the great characters.  Yes, it is so.

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80’s Pop Culture Enters the Feminist Dimension

20 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by BoneSpark Blog in Poetry Lab

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Barbie, craft, Denise Duhamel, Feminism, Hello Kitty, poet, poetry, poetry lab, pop culture, She-ra, writing exercises, writing prompts

Princess of Power

She-Ra, Princess of Power

Hello all,

Today’s poetry lab is inspired by work from two poets who are not afraid to mix pop culture with feminist ideals: Sandra Faulkner and Denise Duhamel.

After reading three of their poems (see links below), try to come up with one of your own in the same vein.

I am drawn to She-Ra, Princess of Power, as my starting point, but feel free to use any pop icon of your choice. Remember to weave in a feminist flavor.

THE POEMS:

When Hello Kitty Registers for the Working Cats Conference, Security Confiscates Her Catnip NOTE: Poem is at the end of the book blurb

Buddhist Barbie

Hippie Barbie

Do you know of any other poets who have used pop culture in interesting ways in their work? Then post in the comments.

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