"Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly" by Gail Carson Levine

Writing. For those of us who enjoy doing it, writing can be magical. We can create our own little worlds on paper and fill them with characters from our own imaginations.  

When our hands touch the keyboard or our pen touches the paper, anything becomes possible.

But sometimes we get stuck. We don’t know what to write. Our characters don’t feel real. We get bored with the story.

In Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly award winning author Gail Carson Levine shares tips and techniques she’s learned in her career. She admits that she often gets stuck or bored or completely frustrated with her characters.

With fun examples and ideas, she gives you advice on how to get over these humps and discusses what stories are made of. From this book I learned what a good beginning to a story often looks like, tips on how to wrap up a story, and the best way to write a conversation.

But the thing that impressed me most about this book was that it wasn’t boring. It didn’t feel like a typical how-to book. It was actually extremely fun and enjoyable to read.

Really, though, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Levine’s always been able to grab my attention with her writing.

Through this book you might just learn how to grab your reader’s attention too.

Note:

Some of what Levine shares is just her opinion. Whenever you are listening to advice about writing, try to keep in mind that quite a bit of it is probably just opinion. Don’t discard the advice, however: listen and consider it.

Just know that writing is not like math. There is no exact formula, no “one” answer to a problem. Everyone has his or her own unique writing style.

With math, two plus two always equals four and if you dispute this people will think you’re crazy.

With writing, one person will tell you one thing and someone else will tell you something entirely different. Who’s in the right?

They might both be in the right. Their advice might be equally viable. In the end, you have to decide what your own unique style will look like.

Will you use the first person’s advice or the second person’s advice?

You decide. You’re the writer.     

Should your sentences by long or short?  

You decide. You’re the writer.

Should you use first-person point of view or third-person? Which is better?
You decide. You’re the writer.

Book Review of "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

The famous and eccentric millionaire Sam Westing has been reported dead. Sixteen potential heirs to his 200 million dollar estate gather in the old Westing mansion to hear the reading of his will and to learn which one of them will inherit his fortune. Sam Westing will not let the answer be found quite so simply, however. In his will, Sam states that his life was taken from him by one of the people then present in the room. Which one is up to them to find out. Here’s the catch: the only way to find out is to play “The Westing Game.”  Instructing them to team up as pairs of two, Sam has each team given a set of clues. They have a limited amount of time. Whoever discovers the answer first wins the fortune and wins The Westing Game. 

When I finished this story all I could say was, “This is the best mystery novel I have ever read!” Abounding with disguises, mind-boggling riddles, word games, and unforgettable characters, this will prove to be an exciting and memorable adventure. Perhaps it was its unique plotline that made it the only mystery to ever win the Newbery Medal.

Inspirations 4 Writing 

I don’t know about you, but reading this book made me want to write my own story that contained riddles and word games! Take this idea and see what type of unique story you can create. Perhaps it is a story about a clue that leads to a clue and so forth until you reach a treasure….perhaps it is about a puzzle that leads to an answer as in "The Westing Game." Perhaps….Well, I will let you fill in the gap. The possibilities are endless!

Book Review of “The Bronze Bow” by Elizabeth George Speare.

This book for young adults was awarded the Newbery medal in 1962 and is a long-time favorite of mine.

Daniel is a Galilean orphan in the time of the Roman occupation of Israel. The only family he’s known for five years is the group of bandits he has come to live with. They share his hatred of Roman rule. His father was brutally killed by the Romans and his mother died soon after. Daniel lives and breathes to revenge the death of his parents. He desires to free his country of Roman rule and daily nurses his deep hatred of the Romans. His sister Leah, though young and beautiful, is believed to be possessed by demons. When she was five, she witnessed the crucifixion of her father and was never the same. She grew up with a profound fear of people and from that day on she would not set foot outside of the house. Everyone believed her to be possessed by demons and left her well-enough alone. Daniel holds the Roman’s responsible for his sister’s wrecked life.

At this time a carpenter named Jesus is astonishing people with his wisdom. Carpenters are not supposed to know the law as thoroughly as this man does. But not only does he know the law, he explains things about God in a way that makes the common people understand him. When Daniel looks at Jesus, he sees a man who is popular with a large following. A man who would make the perfect leader in a war against the Romans. 

But Jesus has no hatred of the Romans. Instead, love characterizes everything he says and does. It will be a long road for Daniel before he begins to understand self-sacrificing love, and the command to even love one’s enemies.

This is an excellently written story that takes hold of the reader’s attention and opens up the heart and mind of its young protagonist Daniel. I liked how it stressed how one must not only have love for one’s family member’s, but also one’s enemies, a truth we might sometimes tend to forget. But an undertone remained in the book that sounded almost as if the author might be saying that because we ought to love our enemies, war is not a good thing. I don’t entirely agree with this. I don’t like war for the wrong reasons. War between nations is grim, but is unfortunately at times a necessity; a belief I mentioned in my previous review on “The Shining Company.”  In WWII for instance, the world could not stand back and let Hitler, whose mind was certainly intent on war for the wrong reasons, slaughter innocent Jews. We had to do something about it. But how does fostering hatred for the enemy help anything? It only robs you of joy and fills you with grief and bitterness, as it does Daniel. But the miracle of forgiveness for your enemies can be yours, through Jesus Christ. God does indeed care deeply for each and every one of us. War is a part of this fallen world we live in but I believe that God will someday restore this world to what it was meant to be.

 I could write much more on this discussion about the Bronze Bow, but I will force myself to finish now by saying that it is a great read and is entertaining as well as educational. Please read it for yourself and form your own opinions on its contents.

Story Starter Ideas: Reconciliation between enemies is a great theme for a story. Write a story about two nations or two individuals who are at enmity with each other. What is the disagreement between them? How does this conflict resolve itself? Will their be a bringing together of former enemies? How is this reconciliation accomplished?