Puzzling Out the Story

 

I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy putting jigsaw puzzles together. In fact, my love of puzzles is part of why I became a lawyer. The most interesting legal problems are the ones where you have to sift through the facts and arrange them into a cohesive story that creates a picture of the law.

Novel-writing is like that, too. Every piece must fit seamlessly into the story to create a complete picture. Red herrings have their place, but pieces that don’t fit must be set aside. Sometimes it’s as if two jigsaw puzzles have been put into the same box. I must separate the pieces before I can start either puzzle. Or maybe it’s just a few random pieces that found their way into that box. Either way, if they don’t fit, they should be discarded.

This needs to be done with caution, however, because there are also pieces that don’t seem to belong but do. I may have to wait until the puzzle is almost finished before I know where they go. Still, the story isn’t complete without them. Nobody enjoys looking at—or reading—a puzzle with gaps.

Writing isn’t easy, and the ideas don’t always flow sequentially. But when the pieces finally fall into place, they create a beautiful picture.

That’s why I love to write.

Writer's Block or Idea Overload?

 

After six years of heavy use, my primary laptop had slowed down considerably, especially when it came to starting up and loading programs. So after taking it in for service and still not being happy with the speed, I replaced it with a new one. I love my ASUS Vivobox, and, contrary to some people’s experiences, I have had no problems with Windows 11.

But even the best laptop can’t keep up with my brain.

Last Monday, June 13, The Wall Street Journal published an article about a Tokyo café for people with writer’s block. Apparently the owner helps them set writing goals, and being in the presence of other writers in the same situation provides additional incentive. It’s a fascinating concept, but not one I’ll be making use of.

Writer’s block has never been my problem. I’m more likely to be cursed with idea overload.

I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas running through my head, and I can’t go to sleep until I’ve gone into the office and written them down. And I currently have three manuscripts and a series of devotions in progress. Right now I am doing one devotion a day while writing the first draft of Across the Isthmus. But when I finish that, should I do the second draft of Around the Horn or the third draft of Lonely Rock?

If you invent a laptop that can keep up with the computer God gave me, I’ll be your first customer.

For now, my new one will have to do.

To Pen Name or Not to Pen Name: That is the Question

 

Actually, I answered the title question before I published my first middle-grade historical novel in 2017. I use my legal name, Kathryn Page Camp, for my adult nonfiction. But when I started writing for children, I wanted something a little less formal, so I use Kaye Page. That’s the name I went by when I was the same age as my middle-grade readers.

A few years back I heard a conference speaker say that a writer should use a different name for every genre he or she writes. Personally, I think that is going too far. Taken to its logical conclusion, someone who writes romance and mystery and fantasy would use three names even though the audiences might overlap. I do think pen names can be useful for distinguishing between audiences, however, which is part of the reason I chose to use one for my children’s books.

So why does this issue come up now? I’ve been listening to an audio-book called Little Souls by Sandra Dallas. It’s an excellent book, and I would recommend it to adults, who are its intended audience. But if I had read it as a child, it might have given me nightmares. Although the vilest action takes place offstage, the issue of child molestation is front and center.

Here’s the thing. I first discovered Sandra Dallas as the writer of middle-grade historical novels. I read the four she has published so far and enjoyed them immensely.[1] Although she didn’t start writing children’s books until after my daughter was grown, they are the kind that I would have encouraged Caroline to read (not that she needed encouragement). So after reading one or two myself to make sure they were suitable, I would have let her purchase them based on the author’s name alone.

The description of Little Souls makes it clear that it has adult protagonists, which is normally the mark of a book written for adults. I don’t remember what Caroline was reading when she was twelve, but some twelve-year-old girls read books with adult protagonists, such as Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice. And although Caroline was mature for her age, Little Souls would have come as a shock.

This is in no way a criticism of Sandra Dallas, who may not have even thought about it. In any event, I have no evidence or even any reason to believe that anyone has been misled. I will continue to read her books and to recommend them, with the caveat that children should make sure they are the audience before picking one up

Still, I’m glad that I chose to use a pen name for my children’s books.

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[1] The Quilt Walk; Hardscrabble; Someplace to Call Home; and Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky. All four are middle-grade fiction and suitable for those readers.

Lines of Courage

 

I don’t normally do book reviews on my blog, but I recently read a new release by one of my favorite authors of middle-grade historical fiction.

Amid a spate of World War II books, Jennifer A. Nielsen has set her latest during the previous world war, beginning with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and continuing until Germany’s surrender. It follows two boys and three girls from five different countries: Austria-Hungary, England, France, Russia, and Germany. They are preteens when the war begins, and their lives intersect in unpredictable ways during it.

This is a book about war, and it shows the horrors in a way that will grip middle-grade readers without overwhelming them. Yet there are no enemies in Lines of Courage. The protagonists and the more prominent adults are each shown with their faults, but the story makes it clear that they are simply imperfect human beings like the rest of us.

As with Nielsen’s other historical novels, this one is well-researched and stays true to the historical facts. It teaches history in a way that most textbooks do not, showing us how history affected real people.

So if you want your children to learn about World War I, get them Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen.

I highly recommend it.