Type

Darcy Pattison — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:00:24 +0000

Do you ever type up someone else’s picture book or a chapter from someone else’s book? I do. I find that just reading a selection, even reading aloud, doesn’t get me into the language and rhythm patterns as well as typing the text does.

Words. Typing makes me focus on each word. This helps me understand the vocabulary typical of the genre I’m typing out.

Rhythm. Typing especially makes me focus on the punctuation which controls much of the rhythm. Does the text have dashes, parenthetical statements, asides, opening phrases or clauses, etc. How does it flow from one sentence to the next, from one page to the next.

Sentence complexity and variety. I get a feel for how long sentences run (Ex. mostly short with long for variety) , whether they are simple sentences, have many opening phrases or clauses. Are sentences simple, compound, or complex? Do they use “to be” verbs in predicate nominatives or predicate adjectives, or do most sentences have active verbs?

Reading level. Of course, I could do a formal check of the reading level. But typing out a selection helps me understand on an intuitive level the reading level. Are we reading block capital letters, or Latin-laced convoluted thoughts?

My intent with this exercise isn’t to mimic the selected text, but to study something about a particular genre, publisher, target audience, etc. Then, I can break any of the “rules” I’ve uncovered because I understand better why the author made this set of choices about words, sentences, rhythm patterns and reading levels. Now – off to writing.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Research Competition

Darcy Pattison — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:36:18 +0000

I am researching competition for a picture book idea. I know there are topics with very stiff competition and I want to avoid anything similar to what has already been done.

But this time, I am also researching how this particular publisher approaches certain types of books. I want to know if they do double page spreads, spot illustrations or full illustrations, and what kind of language is used. So, I’ve ordered a couple books to study.

When I get the books, I plan to read them quickly for an overall impression. Then, I’ll read aloud to see how the language flows. I’ll study the illustrations to see how much liberty the illustrator has taken with the text; in other words, how much do I have to provide for the illustrator and how much will they interpret.

I’ll also try to think about how I can add something new to the collection of books on a topic. If this topic is covered 20 times in current children’s books, I”ll need to be bolder in order to “stand out in today’s crowded market.” If it’s only covered once, I’ve more leeway, and won’t have to push quite so hard.

Tools for Researching Competition

Search. Search both Amazon (or Powells or your favorite online bookstore) and Google (or your favorite general purpose search engine) for books on your topic.
Specialized search. Be sure to also search GoogleBooks and any other specialized search engines you know about.
Library. Search the catalog of your favorite library to see if they have it available for checking out. Also search WorldCat.org to see what other books are available. (Hint: You can download a WorldCat plugin to put this search on your Firebox browser; there’s also a plug-in for your Facebook page.)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Fiction Notes » topic

Type

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Research Competition

Tools for Researching Competition

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison