Markus Zusak, the Book Thief

Holy cow. I love this book!

The narrator is a compassionate and over-worked Death, minus the scythe, who takes mental mini-vacations by observing the varieties of colors in the sky. While working he always tries to avoid looking at grieving survivors, but his eye is caught by the face of a girl he keeps bumping into: the Book Thief.

I loved hearing about the power of words. The evil words of one man sway millions to do insane things, and the hope-filled words of one girl lift a Jewish soul from his metaphorical grave, comfort her terrified friends and family, and strengthen her own resolve to rise above her surroundings.

Without comparing it to the unspeakable suffering of Jewish people during WWII, Zusak does a brilliant job of showing how difficult life was for regular German citizens. He shows that very few of them were the intolerant madmen they’re sometimes made out to be. Most of them were just scared, hungry, and looking for a way out of their problems. Many Germans believed that minorities were being targeted unfairly, but felt powerless to meddle with that.

**Spoiler Alert** If you haven’t read this book yet, stop reading now!

I am not necessarily a lover of sad books and sad endings. It’s unbearable that Liesel looses her home and so many loved-ones. However I believe the story would have felt untrue or contrived without some great and terrible ordeal to overcome. For heaven’s sake, Death is the narrator, what else can be expected?

The great thing is the depth of Liesel’s sacrifice directly reflects the height of her victory by moving on once the dust has settled.

I wish we could have seen more of her post-war life, but it speaks well that Death didn’t come near her again until it was her time to go. The more I think about that, the more fitting and perfect it is to end the story that way.

Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

This book proves that Henry James is a master at fleshing-out characters and weaving relationships. Each individual was so well-developed they felt more like my dear friends rather than strangers I eaves-dropped on. In fact, the slow moments in the book were due mostly to character and setting development nearly to the point of overkill.

This story contains little action, which in my view, can easily be sacrificed to the great characters and relationships, so that wasn’t a problem for me.

The big flaw of this piece was the sudden drop at the end. I know I’ve complained about this more than once lately, but this ending was by far, the most frustrating! After several hundred pages of build-up, with one beloved character in terrible trouble, and immediately after a life-altering event takes place between two other main characters, we are notified that our main character has figured out what to do, and there the book stops.

There is no hint about how any of these situations resolve (or don’t). The reader is left to drown in a puddle of their own assumptions. Worse still, there is no hope of Henry James (who died in 1916) producing a sequel to tie up the loose ends!

I have stewed for days, wondering about my dear friends who simply ceased to exist. Even though the ending of this book fully invites the reader to do so, I feel I have no right to draw my own conclusions as these people are entirely fictional, and I did not invent them.

*Grrrr* Unless you’ve no problem exercising your imagination upon the work of others, you may want to skip this one.

Tips and Tricks Tuesday: Post-Haste

The internet is full of blogs that started off well, but for whatever reason the author lost steam and abandoned the project. I believe this happens most often when the novelty wears off, and writing the blog ceases to be a source of entertainment. Totally understandable.

When the initial energy and excitement is gone, hard work is mostly all that’s left. And while there are rewards, few people are thrilled about spending 6 or more hours at the computer on a 500 word post. So what’s the trick? How do we maximize our time at the keyboard and maintain positive blogging energy?

Here’s my “best of” list from some smart people who know how to write fast:

• Set the stage. Michelle V. Rafter says, “Write when you’re on.” She claims 5am is her freshest time of day and reserves it for writing. She ‘un-plugs’ (internet, T.V., etc.) and removes all possible distractions.
• Focus your topic. Jim Estill starts with a list of points to cover; marinades them for a few days, gathering ideas and honing the focus of his piece; and then tosses the items that don’t fit. (BTW Jim’s article was fantastic, definitely worth your time.)
• Answer a question. Gill E. Wagner says turning your subject into a question to answer identifies what you need and don’t need to cover.
• Pick your format ahead of time. Alisa Bowman recommends spending your time on writing rather than format. Her article identifies 5 common blog-post formats.
• Write first; then edit. Get everything out of your head before you make changes. Breaking up the flow of your ideas requires you to spend time collecting them again.
• The shorter the post, the better. Internet audiences are known for their limited attention span. The blogosphere has no use for fluff and filler. Write about what’s interesting and avoid everything else.

Can you do it now? Go pound away for a solid 30 minutes, and then move on with your day already!

Happy Holidays

I look forward to writing to you soon after the new year.
Merry Christmas all!
-Lyn

Tips & Tricks Tuesday: Your Story

Fellow bloggers agree: blogging about writing is great. We put into words of all the ideas that rattle around in our heads and meet and learn from successful people in the writing profession, all while practicing the craft. But as valuable as this experience is now, in a 100 years when things have changed dramatically, there will probably be little value to the things we are discussing here.

On the other hand, any kind of a record of everyday life, however mundane it may seam, may prove invaluable to posterity and future historians. So while you’re feverishly working away at your profession, don’t forget to leave a little something about yourself behind.

Three ways to keep a journal:

• The time-honored tradition of pen and paper. For some, this is the ideal way to compose anything, and certainly the portability and convenience cannot be beat by even the smallest of laptops. A planner, a palm, or even your slightly-used pizza napkin will do in a pinch.
• Blog. There are tons of user-friendly, free services out there now. (blogger.com, aeonity.com, wordpress.com) These services, especially Blogger, are great for allowing you to insert pictures, videos, and all kinds of stuff. Plus your mom and those that love you will love having access to you. Of course these services also allow you to control who can view your blog.
• If you need writing prompts than you might try LDSJournal.com. This service was started with members of the LDS faith in mind (journaling and record-keeping is a big deal to them). No worries though, this service could be beneficial for anyone, and an LDS membership isn’t required.

  They offer a question of the day to get you going, and they also have a great “all about me” section with questions about your childhood, education, vacations, and other personal history prompts.

  The down-side (or maybe the upside, depending on your view) is that security is tight, and casual, viewing-only access is not allowed. Also I have yet to figure out how to include photos and videos.

However you do it… do it! Get going and earn your immortality today.

Tips and Tricks Tuesday: Demo Skills Without Upsetting Clients

Linnea Dodson addressed this problem among tech writers. Trevor Dolby touched on this problem in the editing world. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much digging to find a dozen more people wondering the same thing: As writing and editing professionals we all need a portfolio, right? So how on earth do you fill a portfolio without imposing on the confidentiality of your clients?

You can stuff books full of tributes, accolades, and honors, but how much does that really say about your ability to do a job? As mechanics of English, we need to show our prospective employers the tools in our drawers and not just the papers hanging on the walls.

Luckily Dodson and I have some decent ideas.

For tech writers she suggests the best place to go for help is home:

• Rewrite the warning labels on your medicines or the legal fine print at the bottom of your sweepstakes ads. Put a before and after in your portfolio to show that you can decrease word-count and increase readability.
• Write how-to’s for your appliances.
• Include a training guide for something you do everyday. Note: while you should have a little fun with this activity, Dodson warns, “‘Juggling in 10 Easy Steps’ may not fit every company to which you apply.”

Dodson makes a point easily aimed at editors too. Why can’t they do the same thing? Perhaps their clients don’t really want their befores and afters shown off. No problem:

• We all edit constantly. If you see something that’s already been published but could use some touching up, go for it. Just be sure to give appropriate credit where due.
• Help out your friends and family, and with their permission, change any personal information and include befores and afters of their projects.
• Pull out a dusty piece of your own work and give it a good re-hashing.

Get creative. Identify what you want to display, and then figure out how to do it. Unfortunately this is work you probably won’t be paid for, and it needs to be your best, but with some imagination it doesn’t have to be painful.

Good Advise for Bloggers In Clear Blogging by Bob Walsh

We are currently reading from Clear Blogging by Bob Walsh (Apress 2007) in my Web 2.0 class. I’m learning a TON from this book. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to be a serious blogger. Here’s a few ideas from the book (and a few from our class) that I thought might be useful to all who blog:

• Own Your Words. Keep a cool head and don’t get carried away. I can’t find the exact quote, but Walsh says something like: Never publish anything you wouldn’t want your grandma or boss to read, because odds are they will read it.
• Keep an idea list. In an un-published draft page or elsewhere, keep a running list of post ideas. Sometimes we have more good ideas than we can possibly write about at the moment, and sometimes we sit at the keyboard with nothing to say. An idea list will help even things out.
• Keep a “my bad” list as well. Notice words that you tend to misspell or mistype. Paying attention to these words will help you correct problems.
• Use tabs, labels, or categories. Help your readers find more of what they love. Add tabs, labels, and/or categories to each post to organize your site. Your readers will appreciate being able to find things efficiently.
• Show your favorites or “best of.” In your sidebar or somewhere else, display a list of links to your “favorites” or “best of” posts. Your audience will appreciate seeing the work you are most proud of.

If you want to increase traffic to your blog, here’s some good ideas:

• Consider a focus. Blogs are a great for keeping a journal or log about your activities and interests. But if you want to attract an audience, choose a specific focus. People who are also interested in whatever you are focusing on will be more likely to re-visit your blog.
  
• Consider your audience. Place yourself in the shoes of those who you’re writing for. What do they want to hear about?

• Stick to a schedule. Your readers will appreciate knowing when to expect your content to change.
• Spend some time on your post titles. The title is the first thing your readers see. They often make the decision to read or not based on the title of the post. The title should be interesting and describe what the post is about.
• Be thoughtful about your tagline. (the subtitle of your blog) Use words that people search for. Your tagline, the titles of your posts, and the first few words of your posts are what search engines will crawl. If you have the words people search for in those areas, you will be placed higher in search result lists.
• Include your biography and a picture of yourself. People interested in your words will want to know about you. If you’re willing to disclose part of yourself it lends credibility to your words.

BE CAREFUL!!
Blogs can feel so personal. It’s just you and your computer, right? WRONG! Remember, unless you take specific steps, blogs are a public space.

• Keep your safety in mind. Little details can lead to identity theft, kidnapping, and other problems.
• Know your rights. Occasionally lawsuits are filed over the content of a blog. The EFF have posted a very readable legal guide for bloggers on their site. It’s worth checking out.
• Consider adding a disclosure policy. If you don’t want to be held responsible for any ignorant comments people make, apparently our sue happy society requires that this be spelled out somewhere. If you endorse products or advertise for anything on your blog, you might visit disclosurepolicy.org for a sample disclosure policy spelling out the intent of your endorsement.

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Carol Matas’ In My Enemy’s House

**spoiler alert** It was like reading an outline! Nothing was fleshed out at all. I appreciate when a writer describes the situation so well that you feel like you’ve stepped into the action. It’s nice when they lead you to certain feelings and emotions through creative, detailed language.

I never once got lost in this book. The language was full of, “I went here, I did this, I felt this.” It was like talking on the phone not visiting another world!

As readers we all hope for the best for the protagonist of a story. But I can’t imagine any reader appreciating the way that every time the main character tried to manipulate a situation, it worked out exactly as she had planned. So annoying!

Also, the whole book is leading up to a reunion of our heroine and someone important. (Anticipating this moment is the only thing that kept me reading.) As soon as she located this person, the book abruptly ends. We don’t even get to be there!

No wonder I found this book on a clearance shelf!

Jason F. Wright Recovering Charles

I truly appreciated a first-hand look at post-Katrina, New Orleans, without the biased, self-serving spin of the media or political figures. The story was charming and carried me along beautifully until the last chapter.

Wright spends the whole book weaving us into a very conflicted dysfunctional family. His main character has spent years trying to come to grips with his emotional baggage. Then, at the very height of all the drama, in a “pulled the rug out from under you” kind of move, he wraps it all up a few contrived pages. The ending felt very artificial, not at all natural for this character he so carefully dissected through the previous 200+ pages.

But it was still worth reading to gain what is hopefully an accurate perspective of this sobering event.