That’s what I’ll be discussing tonight at the Ridgedale Library, which must be directly on the line between Minnetonka and Hopkins, because it seems like the address is both places.
7pm Ridgedale Library 12501 Ridgedale Dr Hopkins, MN
I’m not against either gross-out humor or jokes about bathrooms. I’m an advocate, really. I’ll do some reading and discussion of the evolution of boy readers (from experience, not from research as I’m not an academic like that). I will also tell jokes about underpants.
Here’s the third of five Figment videos on writing craft. In this one, I’m discussing the scene/summary thing. Here’s the truth: I’d like me to shut my stupid pie munch while I’m “acting” out the characters. That said, I think it’s still useful. Here’s the link over to Figment. Or, watch the video right here. Woo!
They do come in quite handy. The great Sheila O’Connor teaches something similar in her fiction classes. That’s where I got it!
Interested in an example? This is my “Bobby Bedroom” exercise.
Describe your character’s bedroom…
Bedroom: Bobby doesn’t make his bed (I think he used to). He has no posters on the wall, because he’s taken them all down (used to have Star Wars poster). He still has models he’s made out of legos and there are pages and pages of a very violent comic book he’s been drawing lying all over the floor. Bobby’s bedroom his carpeted with dingy brown carpet. The ceiling is low. He has no bed frame on his bed. There are five different musical instruments on the floor of his room: a recorder, an accordion, a ukulele, a trumpet, and a full drum set. All of these instruments are covered in dust. He clearly doesn’t play. Bobby’s curtains are pulled shut, the blinds are pulled down.
Who is Bobby? He’s a former Star Wars geek kid who is interested in music. He recently pulled down the Star Wars poster in a fit of rage. He almost smashed the legos, but couldn’t bring himself to do it, because the took so long. He often stares at the instruments on the floor, but he doesn’t have the energy to practice them. He’s so tired. He’s so tired, because he gets up so early. He’s not serving himself at all. He’s paying something back, because he and one of his Star Wars geek friends did something bad. This is the first scene in the story… the bad thing. Do it in scene no summary or exposition…
Bobby is a normal kid who is riddled with guilt. He is a good kid, though. He chooses to try to make amends for the bad thing by treating an old lady well, but making her breakfast. He has no energy left for the things he loves (plus he wants to punish himself).
Problem of the story: find out how Bobby will fix the horrible mess he’s in. How will he make this better (or worse)? What will he do to stop this trouble?
If you’d like to take a look at the post on Figment.com, check it out, here!
I’m not exactly sure how Net Galley works. According to their site, though, 59% of librarians check out e-resources before procuring books. I’m all for librarians having access to the materials they need. Believe it. Indeed. And, so, I’m happy to say, that, as Nothing Special rolls on it’s way to being a real book, one stop along the way is that it has become available to bloggers, teachers, reviewers and librarians as an e-resource. Where? At Net Galley.
This is a pretty good deal. I can’t do a ton of mailing of review copies. The publisher doesn’t want to spend a zillion dollars on hard copies. And, now, people have these e-reader machines that make PDFs look almost like books (although they still smell like phones and not books — I make no judgements! I love my phone!). And so, if you want to do some gadget-driven e-reviewing, by all means, check it out! Go to Net Galley and make your request!
I’ll send you a picture of myself reading the hard copy ARC (and perhaps smelling it) if you’d like.
Smells like paper. What the crap is wrong with my hair? I had no idea.
Geoff Herbach. I am the author of Stupid Fast and Nothing Special, among a bunch of other stuff. When I'm not writing, I teach writing at Minnesota State, Mankato.
