tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post3562763898281769188..comments2024-03-22T01:00:38.320-04:00Comments on I.N.K.: Letting Content Dictate FormLinda Salzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17217322360480267856noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-84688743447969258762010-10-26T00:19:48.235-04:002010-10-26T00:19:48.235-04:00Deborah - sharp observations, as usual.
My mente...Deborah - sharp observations, as usual. <br /><br />My mentee at RUCCL made a big impression on me, but (as I will discuss in more detail in an upcoming post on my blog, already in queue!) in the opposite way you're discussing here. <br /><br />She wrote a nonfiction pic book manuscript about a person I presumed would not be particularly compelling. And the first draft she showed me (the one she'd submitted when applying to the conference) was a fairly straightforward chronological narrative that confirmed my concern. <br /><br />But then she showed me a revised version she'd done since then - having realized her initial approach wasn't working - and I was blown away. Same writer, same subject, but when framed through a smaller lens (now a storyography rather than a biography), it shone.<br /><br />I was excited to see a concept transform from unlikely to irresistible, and this mentor had nothing to do with it. :)Marc Tyler Noblemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10732005290440645718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-22659617868553470592010-10-20T09:53:33.046-04:002010-10-20T09:53:33.046-04:00Love this post, Deborah!
Yes indeed-e! Content ...Love this post, Deborah! <br /><br />Yes indeed-e! Content dictates. Don't you find that the book you end up writing is vastly different from the one you thought you were writing? That often happens to me. Yes, content rocks!Susan Kuklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06468988943704460257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-63398025055931958912010-10-20T08:19:21.642-04:002010-10-20T08:19:21.642-04:00Very helpful post, Deborah.
"I told my '...Very helpful post, Deborah. <br /><br />"I told my 'mentee' that for a picture book of 1,000 words or so, she might have fifty pages of typed notes from her research." <br /><br />No wonder my picture book manuscript is stuck in the mud. I checked and I have only 15 pages of research notes. Argh!rebeccahirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06576126020370212901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-22173229500648594372010-10-19T17:59:22.166-04:002010-10-19T17:59:22.166-04:00Deborah,"Is this a story with a beginning, a ...Deborah,"Is this a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end? Do I have to write this story? Am I the only person to write it?" These questions posed by John McPhee and quoted by you resonate with me, especially today as I am struggling with several new ideas.In addition, the best picture books for children are perfect marriages between image and text, whether they be fiction or nonfiction.Jan Greenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07465907336433326017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-86813279616499829542010-10-19T16:50:04.697-04:002010-10-19T16:50:04.697-04:00Good post! A related issue (for me, anyway) is voi...Good post! A related issue (for me, anyway) is voice, and I think the answer may be the same: let the content dictate.Gretchen Woelflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350500006005970433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-16405140584718384552010-10-19T09:30:43.591-04:002010-10-19T09:30:43.591-04:00My friend Martha Hewson caught a typo in my post. ...My friend Martha Hewson caught a typo in my post. Fixed it. Phew. Sorry everyone. I need an editor in everything I do!Deborah Heiligmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02894150394598699172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-42531221705114897852010-10-19T08:06:42.198-04:002010-10-19T08:06:42.198-04:00Great, insightful post, Deb. For some great exampl...Great, insightful post, Deb. For some great examples of books in which art, design, and text fromatting are all perfect in synergy with the content, look at Lucy Long Ago and Team Moon both by Catherine Thimmesh. These books do a great job of bringing together complex and wide-ranging info into interesting and informative packages.<br /><br />Your post exemplifies one of the characteristics of what I call the Ner Nonfiction. Auhtors need to think about the visuals presenation and design from the beginning of the project and strive to be innovative in the presentation of the material. It's a great time for nonficiton.Melissa Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04322048827106827307noreply@blogger.com