On my shelf this week:
The Way to Write for Children: An Introduction to the Craft of Writing Children’s Literature, by Joan Aiken
The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant To Do, by Jeff Goins
God Help the Child, by Toni Morrison
This week I’m diving into a children’s writing instruction book, just to hone my craft, reading a philosophical figure-out-what-you’re-supposed-to-do book (even though I already know what I was made to do) and reading the newest from one of my favorite authors—and I must say she had me hooked on page 1. Toni Morrison is a master storyteller. I would like to be her when I grow up.
Best quotes so far:
“The first book that a child reads has colossal impact.”
Joan Aiken
“Because children don’t criticize, don’t enjoy criticism, and read wholly for the plot, it is therefore the writer’s duty to keep the narrative in a children’s story as smooth as possible, not to interrupt it with asides to the reader, authorial comments, or any other hindrances.”
Joan Aiken
“A calling is what you have when you look back at your life and make sense of what it’s been trying to teach you all along.”
Jeff Goins
“What it takes to become great at your craft is practice, but not just any practice—the kind that hurts, that stretches and grows you.”
Jeff Goins
“I don’t think many people appreciate silence or realize that it is as close to music as you can get.”
Toni Morrison
“What you do to children matters. And they might never forget.”
Read any of these? Tell us what you thought.
