Name That Novel #13

Contemporary, bestseller, an American saga and a very poignant take on human nature -- our flaws, our strengths, all of it set in the vast wilderness of Wisconsin. That said (a generous serving of clues, I must say) see if you can guess the title and author:

**I am giving some other hints, which I hope will bring in a winner. This story is about a mute boy who communicates well with dogs, and he goes on a long journey into the wilderness. The book came out in 2008, I believe.

"This will be his earliest memory.

Red light, morning light. High ceiling canted overhead. Lazy click of toenails on wood. Between the honey-colored slats of the crib a whiskery muzzle slides forward until its cheeks pull back and a row dainty front teeth bare themselves in a ridiculous grin.

The nose quivers. The velvet snout dimples.

All the house is quiet. Be still. Stay still.

Fine, dark muzzle fur. Black nose, leather of lacework creases, comma of nostrils flexing with each breath. A breeze shushes up the field and pillows the curtains inward. The apple tree near the kitchen window caresses the house with a tick-tickety-tick-tick. As slowly as he can, he exhales, feigning sleep, but despite himself his breath hitches. At once, the muzzle knows he is awake. It snorts. Angles right and left. Withdraws...."

There you are. Now, let's see what you can do with it. :-)

Okay, I don't think anyone is going to guess this one. So, drum roll please! .........

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

Description... How much is too much?

Description and Details... I often need to tell my students before, during, and after a writing assignment to include details... supporting details, sensory details, vivid, colorful, meaningful DETAILS! Of course, you need to understand that writing is like a tooth extraction for my wonderful kids. They want to know exactly how many words they need...right down to the last letter. No more, no less. Yet, for those of us who enjoy the written word, we create our beautiful masterpieces with those many, many words and phrases...maybe too many. I was reading in Stephen King's On Writing -- one of my favorite references on the subject -- where he states, "good description usually consists of a few well-chosen details that will stand for everything else" and "that it's as easy to overdescribe as to underdescribe. Probably easier." He continues to explain that what comes into your mind first, what you see first... those details are the most genuine and best to use. He's not big on physical description of characters, but rather description of time and place, i.e. the setting. I agree for the most part. Who cares what kind of handbag and shoes someone is wearing? Unless the shoes are going to be an important clue to a murder, for instance, it's unnecessary. I'd much rather hear about the character's character than the color of his or her hair. And as King puts it, "get on with your main job, which is telling the story" and don't bog down your writing with weighty details that bore your readers.

So, what do you think? Do you agree? What "details" do you tend to include in your writing?

Reading & Writing...the Connection

How many of you agree that readers make better writers? I find with my students there appears to be a connection. And it's frustrating in that so few of them are readers. Oh, of course they may dedicate themselves to their studies and class texts, but reading as a choice? Seldom happens. To find words of encouragement that work?...equally as frustrating. I tell them to think about what interests them. There are hundreds, thousands of books out there that could be about that interest. Reading feeds and expands the imagination, I tell them. It opens up a world of information, experiences. We all learn by example. To learn about styles of writing, we read. And we learn. We imitate. A little from this author, a little from that one, and then eventually we create a style we call our own. At least that's how I see it. What do you think? Share your thoughts.

In Your Opinion

I read an article online today concerning corporal punishment in the public school system. The statistics give pause to seriously think about the disparity throughout the U.S. For instance, did you know that 29 of our states have banned this type of punishment in public schools? Read for yourself and then give me your opinion. Should we allow it at all? Does it work? What about in your area's schools?

http://www.rr.com/view/content/story.cfm?storyId=5634946&view=NEWS&sSect=LP3-T2VGEN&trProv=NE_AP_19

Back to the 3 r's.....here we go again!

Less than 5 weeks...4 weeks... now, make that 12 days and counting. The think mode has to change, reset the alarm clock, write your lesson plans, buy your materials...ready, set, go! And you are off to another great year. You hope. Great expectations and enthusiasm are abundant, and probably will last...oh, let's say....umm....maybe for the first month, maybe even until the winter holidays, or at least until that first unmanageable student, that first hard-to-please parent, or... what gets to you the most? What is your biggest challenge? And let's address the flipside... what do you look forward to the most? What helps you get through and really make it a great year? Afterall, it's been said often enough, you get what you expect. So, after looking at the problems we have--and we should recognize those--we should find ways to correct them, or at least make them better. ( I refer to all the unmanageables, the hard-to-please ones, etc. They aren't going away!) So, what do you think? All suggestions on the table.