by Rachel Toalson | Books
I recently picked up Writing the Intimate Character: Creating Unique, Compelling Characters Through Mastery of Point of View, by Jordan Rosenfeld, and absolutely loved it.
I’m familiar with Rosenfeld’s writing, since I also thoroughly enjoyed her book Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting Your Way Through Action, Emotion and Theme, which is on my list of best fiction writing books.
This book was all about creating intimate characters through point of view.
Here are three things I enjoyed most about it:
- The exercises at the end of every chapter, which give writers a chance to explore and practice point of view to see which one best fits a story (without committing an entire book to it).
- The examination of point of view, which I found comprehensive and informative. I know quite a bit about point of view, but there were a couple of them (the rule-breaking ones) that were even new to me. After examining each point of view and providing great examples of them, Rosenfeld also offered a justification for why a writer would want to use each one and what types of stories best fit each POV.
- The fantastic examples of rule-breaking books. I’m always a sucker for rule breakers, and Rosenfeld provided some great examples from books that took traditional POV rules and rearranged them. Each example made me want to try a more nontraditional way of telling a story, too.
Even if you know a whole lot about POV, this book will still be valuable to you (just beware of all the great examples—my reading list got about twelve books longer).
by Rachel Toalson | Books
I recently finished the audiobook of Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand In the Way of True Inspiration, by Ed Catmull, who is the president of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation. It was inspiring look at the creative processes behind both studios and also a window into Catmull’s own philosophies surrounding creativity. I found it entertaining, inspiring and empowering.
Here are three things I enjoyed most about it:
- In one section, Catmull talked about the randomness of the universe and how you can’t always predict which businesses will do well and which ones won’t. This, for some reason, provided a rush of relief. My husband was listening to it at that moment, and he laughed with the kind of laugh that said, “Oh, thank God.” All people, Catmull said, are subject to the randomness of the universe, and though you can do all you can to try to climb out of whatever the universe gives you, sometimes it’s the right time to take a new path.
- In another part of the book, Catmull talked about the importance of honesty and candor in creative organizations. At Pixar, the creative people hold a Braintrust meeting where everyone comes into the meeting room already on the same side and aligned under the same goal—to make better movies. So when someone says, “I don’t think this plot line is going to work,” it’s not because they’re being critical but because they’re being honest. I loved this philosophy and hope to employ it when I have a creative team of my own someday.
- Catmull shared about the ups and downs of Pixar in a very transparent way. It was comforting to know that the company had been on the edge of bankruptcy several times in its life. He talked extensively about failures and how much we can learn from them.
I can’t say enough about this book. Even though it was geared toward creative companies rather than people, I found the whole thing a helpful study in mindset, business and, of course, creativity. When I one day have a company of my own, this is the first book I’ll require that employees read.
The book mentioned above has an affiliate link attached to it, which means I’ll get a small kick-back if you click on it and purchase. But I only recommend books I enjoy reading myself. Actually, I don’t even talk about books I didn’t enjoy. I’d rather forget I ever wasted time reading them (but if you’re curious whether I’ve read something or what I thought about it and it’s not mentioned here, feel free to ask).
by Rachel Toalson | Books
My world was recently wrecked by Marcus Sedgwick’s Ghosts of Heaven.
It’s hard to describe this book using a few words, because it was so complex, so beautifully and interestingly done. It’s one of those books that will remain with you long after you turn the last page.
The book is divided into four stories that transpire in a spiral, one leading to another, leading to another, leading to another, leading back to the first. This concept was brilliant.
Each story had its own protagonist, its own point of view, it’s own style and tone. Sedgwick took his readers through ancient times, through witch hunts, through insane asylums and through space travel.
Here are three things I enjoyed most about it:
1. The historical elements.
(a) Witch hunts. I’ve always been fascinated by this time period in history, and Sedgwick portrayed it well.
(b) Insane asylums. How riveting is it to tell a tale of people who are locked in an insane asylum and maybe shouldn’t be there? I loved these historical elements. They brought depth and power to the book.
2. The changing tones. Like I said, each individual section of the book had its own tone. The first section was primal and sparse. The second had a Puritan feel. The third was told from the perspective of a hopeful doctor, who used larger words and less flowery language. The third was told in the future, where the language reverted back to a more simplistic feel. This technique gave each section its own individual personality, which moved a reader rapidly through it.
3. The cerebral nature of it. This was a mind-bending book. I’ve been trying to get my husband to read it, because he enjoys movies like The Matrix and Deception. This book has that kind of feel, which is why I say it will stay with you for a long time.
The book mentioned above has an affiliate link attached to it, which means I’ll get a small kick-back if you click on it and purchase. But I only recommend books I enjoy reading myself. Actually, I don’t even talk about books I didn’t enjoy. I’d rather forget I ever wasted time reading them. (But if you’re curious whether I’ve read something and what I thought about it, don’t hesitate to ask.)
by Rachel Toalson | Books
I’ve read The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread, by Kate DiCamillo, about four times so far (and I usually find a reason to read it again every year). It’s probably one of my favorite books of all time, and what I love most about it is that it is a perfect read-aloud book for my children.
DiCamillo uses a narrating technique that I’ve employed in the Fairendale stories—which is authorial intrusion (that’s the technical term). What it means is that the narrator talks to the reader, like in this example:
“Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.”
The Tale of Despereaux is written like an old fairy tale, takes place in a drafty castle, and has to do with a princess and a mouse. What’s not to love?
Here are three things that stand out most about this book, every time I read it:
1. The voice of the narrator. I absolutely love how the narrator addresses the audience and interjects her own opinions throughout the book.
2. The metaphor of light and dark and how every heart has light and dark in it. The redemption contained within this book always chokes me up.
3. The poetic movement. If you’ve read much of Kate DiCamillo, you’ll know that one thing about her writing is that she writes with poetry but in a way that kids can understand. I adore her style and the challenges she gives readers by using large, uncommon words.
I hope you’ll check out The Tale of Despereaux and enjoy its beauty and wonder as a family read-aloud.
by Rachel Toalson | Books
A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that was artistic, contemplative and beautifully written. There was no clear protagonist, which broke a few story rules, but the small stories within the story followed the same characters. It reminded me a lot of Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout, because both Olive Kitteridge and A Visit from the Goon Squad are broken into what seems to be separate narratives that weave around the same characters. I love this sort of creative novel.
There are many things I liked about this book, but here are the three things I liked most about it:
1. The points of view. Each chapter was written from another character’s point of view, and each one was distinctly original. It’s not easy to write from multiple points of view, because many times characters end up sounding a whole lot like one another. But Egan’s did not. I loved this distinction.
2. The verbs. Throughout the book, Egan chose unusual verbs to describe things. I found myself jotting down them down in my reading notebook, because they were so much better than the typical ones and showed a much clearer view of what was happening. Her verbs painted pictures of the action.
3. The similes and metaphors. Egan’s title was a metaphor, repeated by a couple of the characters: Time is a goon. The Goon Squad is a group of people who are passing through time, becoming musicians and parents and failures and all the things that time permits. The title of the book was a large metaphor, but there were also small metaphors and similes along the way. Take this simile, for example:
“‘Ow,’ Lou says. ‘Your quill is stabbing me.’ It’s a black-and-white porcupine quill—she found it in the hills and uses it to pin up her long hair. Her father slides it out, and the golden, tangled mass of Charlie’s hair collapses onto her shoulders like a shattered window.”
That’s a great image of Charlie’s hair.
Egan also experimented with some really interesting forms of prose. One chapter is written like a skewed news article. Another chapter is written in Power Point. Reading A Visit From the Goon Squad was like taking a walk, inside a character’s head, through time. Which, I suppose, is appropriate.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this book recommendation. Be sure to visit my recommendation page if you’re interested in seeing some of my best book recommendations. And, if you’re looking for some new books to read, stop by my starter library, where you can get a handful of my books for free.
*The books mentioned above have affiliate links attached to them, which means I’ll get a small kick-back if you click on them and purchase. But I only recommend books I enjoy reading myself. Actually, I don’t even talk about books I didn’t enjoy. I’d rather forget I ever wasted time reading them.
by Rachel Toalson | Books
One Came Home, by Amy Timberlake, is a Newbery Honor book that I found really charming, mainly due to its wonderful voice. It’s written in first-person, and the author infuses so much personality into the voice that I could not help being drawn in completely. Here’s an example of this personality from one of my favorite passages:
“I awoke, however, to a spider diving, arms wide, for my chin. The spider stopped short and hung—its knot of eyes staring. I blinked and it pivoted, pulling itself back up into the twigs of the lean-to. If that wasn’t unpleasant enough, I turned over and rolled face-first into the spider’s previous knitting. As I frantically wiped at my cheek, something popped several times in succession under my elbow, followed by a disagreeable wetness. I jerked upright into a seated position, and put my head into more spiderweb. When I was finally able to check my sleeve, I saw two caterpillars (or what was two caterpillars) soaking into the plaid.”
Georgie is the narrator of this story, and she is going on a quest through the wilderness to find her sister, Agatha, whom everyone believes is dead. Georgie, however, does not believe Agatha is dead. She embarks on a dangerous and humor-filled journey—with most of the humor coming from her own observations.
One Came Home was a compelling tale full of twists and turns, but what made it really stand out was the way it could make your heart race in one moment and make you laugh out loud in the next. It was country, historical, and fun. Georgie’s voice and character were demonstrated in everything—her descriptions of people, her descriptions of places, her accounts of what happened.
Here’s Georgie’s account of coming into contact with a cougar on her journey:
“My mind, on the other hand, jumped over the moon and ran off with the spoon. It listed what it saw by every possible name. It thought the list forward: catamount, cougar, American Lion, painter, red tiger. It thought it backward: Red tiger, painter, American lion, cougar, catamount. My mind pinched the list in the middle, folded it over, and thought it again: Painter, cougar, catamount, red tiger, American lion.
“It distressed me to discover that running vocabulary lists was my minds’ behavior during direst need.”
One of my favorite features of this book was that it was narrated by a strong, smart girl during a time in our history when women were not always seen as strong and smart. It was brilliant, weaving history with strong will and dedication. Georgie took on the world like a 13-year-old Annie Oakley.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this book recommendation. Be sure to visit my recommendation page if you’re interested in seeing some of my best book recommendations. If you’re looking for some new books to read, stop by my starter library, where you can get a handful of my books for free.
*The book mentioned above has an affiliate link attached to it, which means I’ll get a small kick-back if you click on it and purchase. But rest assured: I only recommend books I enjoy reading myself. Actually, I don’t even talk about books I didn’t enjoy. I’d rather forget I ever wasted time reading them.
