Free Expressions Takeaway Part III: Building Imaginary Worlds

I used to think world building just pertained to creating a science fiction or fantasy world. And although it is generally associated with those genres, all novelists must create believable, fictional worlds in which reader immerses themselves.  

For example, even though Half-Truths takes place in a "real" time and place-- Charlotte, NC in the 1950's--I must show the sights, sounds, smells, textures, emotional tone, and sociological and political atmosphere of the two areas of the city in which my story unfolds. There is historical data which helps me construct this world such as this 1939 article from The Charlotte Observer:

It is my job as a novelist to weave this information into the fabric of the world I am building. What will it mean to my white and black characters that there is a separate hospital for Negroes? A lot. 
Here are a few takeaways from Brenda Windberg's class on world  building:

• Consider the psychological and political world of your character. There is always someone who has power and people who rebel.
• The structure of your character's existence will create the context of your story.
• Describe concrete, highly specific worlds. It should be fully immersive because of the high level of specificity.  Brenda used the Harry Potter Theme Park as an example of the huge amount of details which JK Rowling included in her books; this makes the theme park a totally immersive experience. 
• Writers must ask questions such as: "What if?" "Why" and "Why not?" Find the boundaries of your world--which is more than just a physical world. 
• Brenda's advice: "The rules and parameters of your character’s emotional reality can set the tone for your world."
•  Use details in a way that adds emotional content. Let them show a purpose. The place the character’s eye goes to is what you record. “Let your character react to details, don’t note them.”
•  Limit what the reader needs to know to propel the story forward. Weave this through your story. Readers want to experience the world as they come into it. 

Our incredible Free Expressions leaders:
Lorin Oberweger and Brenda Windberg

Brenda generously shared her two handouts from the class. You can access them here:
World Building Exercises
Description as a World Building Tool 

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Since  I have a lot to say about writing a tight query letter, I'm going to save that for the next blog post. 

If you missed the first two blogs in this series, here they are:
Free Expressions Takeaway Part I- Voice and Deep Point of View
Free Expressions Takeaway Part II- Deep Scene

A Good Cartoon is Worth a Thousand Words

On Wednesday there was an article in the Charlotte Observer about two men who work with the 48-story Duke Energy Center in downtown Charlotte. They are setting up light displays that will coordinate with a variety of holidays and special events.

I thought this was a very appropriate cartoon in today’s paper by Kevin Siers.

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How you can Help the Public Libraries of Charlotte

This column, written by Dannye Romine Powell, was in The Charlotte Observer on May 25. Since Powell eloquently stated what I believe, I am posting it here as a call to action to parents, teachers, and fellow writers. Following her column are the email addresses of the Charlotte City Council members and commissioners. Please take 5 minutes to write to them. Here is Powell's column: 

"'The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things.'

"That line from Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter," reminds me that it's time to talk not of "shoes and ships and sealing wax" or even of "cabbages and kings."

"But of the public libraries of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and whether the City Council and the county commissioners are going to do the right thing to keep 12 remaining branch libraries from closing on July 1.

"Mayor Anthony Foxx had a great idea: How about the city giving the libraries a one-time financial bailout of $2 million?

Bravo!

"No, the city doesn't owe the county a dime. Nor is it in any way obligated.

"But this year, the city's budget is in far better shape than the county's.

"As council member Ed Peacock said, "Under these dire times, how can we not consider lending a hand, throwing them a line on this one occasion."

"Other council members seem to have their ears full of sealing wax on the subject.

"That $2 million wouldn't save the day, of course. We'd still need $1 million in donations from the surrounding towns, and another $5 million from the county.

"High time to beg.

"In the little town of Garner, near Raleigh, the Wake County commissioners threatened to close its Southeast Regional Library, known locally as the Garner Library.

"The townspeople wouldn't hear of it. They showed up 500 strong at two commissioners meetings. Thanks to them - and to "late-appearing revenue" - that library seems to be saved.

"Here in Mecklenburg, we are talking about only enough money to keep the remaining 12 branch libraries open for one more year. Four of the original 16 are already due to close in June.

"Libraries Director Charles Brown told me Monday that if the worst happens, "it will take years, if not decades, to rebuild on what is widely considered to be one of the most successful urban libraries in the nation."

"Stop the worst from happening.

"The City Council's final budget vote is June 7. The county adopts its budget June 15.

"Start e-mailing our City Council members and commissioners today.

Tell them what it means to you to use your neighborhood library's computer for job and college applications, to borrow books you can't afford to buy, to sit in its air-conditioned comfort to feast on magazines.

"Tell them how, thanks to the library, your children now read with flashlights under the covers, how one book has led them to another, until the habit of intellectual adventure has taken firm root. Tell them that libraries teach kids to strong-arm boredom.

"Tell them that some things on the budget, and in life, are negotiable.

"But that the pursuit of knowledge - free, accessible and open to the public - never is."

Mayor Anthony Foxx: afoxx@ci.charlotte.nc.us

Mayor Pro Tem, at large, Susan Burgess: sburg346@aol.com

Patrick Cannon, at large: councilmancannon@gmail.com

David Howard, at large: info@davidhowardclt.com

Edwin Peacock III, at large: edwin@edwinpeacock.com

Patsy Kinsey, District 1: pkinsey@carolina.rr.com

James Mitchell Jr., District 2: JamesDistrict2@aol.com

Warren Turner, District 3: district3_turner@yahoo.com

Michael Barnes, District 4: barnesdistrict4@aol.com

Nancy Carter, District 5: n3157w@yahoo.com

Andy Dulin, District 6: andy@voteandydulin.com

Warren Cooksey, District 7: warren@warrencooksey.com

Board Of County Commissioners

Jennifer Roberts, chairman: jennifer.roberts@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Harold Cogdell Jr., vice chairman: harold@consultmyattorney.com

Dan Murrey, at large: daniel.murrey@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Karen Bentley, District 1: karen.bentley@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Vilma Leake, District 2: vilma.leake@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

George Dunlap, District 3: george.dunlap@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Dumont Clarke, District 4: dumontclarke@mvalaw.com

Neil Cooksey, District 5: neil.cooksey@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

Bill James, District 6: wjames@carolina.rr.com

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Two Points for the Charlotte Observer

On March 12, Fannie Flono wrote an article, "Can U.S. stop playing for 14th place?" She argued for the importance of national guidelines for a uniform set of standards in Math and English. She reports that, "Other nations already employ such standards and they have led to student performance." Flono concludes, "...when expectations and standards are set high, children most often live up to them. It's to our benefit and theirs that we push them to reach for the stars."

I thought her point of pushing students to achieve their potential was good and I wrote and told her so. But, I worried, wouldn't national standards produce more pressure on teachers who already just "teach to the test"?

The next day Kay McSpadden wrote a column, "School reforms wrongheaded." In it she summarized education historian Diane Ravitch's main points in The Death and Life of the Great American School System, her newest book. There were many excellent quotes, here are a few:

"NCLB [No Children Left Behind] was a punitive law based on erroneous assumptions about schools.... It assumed that shaming schools that were unable to lift test scores every year--and the people who work in them--would lead to higher scores. It assumed that low scores are caused by lazy teachers and lazy principals who need to be threatened with the loss of their jobs. Perhaps most naively, it assumed that higher test scores on standardized tests of basic skills are synonymous with good education. Its assumptions were wrong. Testing is not a substitute for curriculum and instruction. Good education cannot be achieved by a strategy of testing children, shaming educators, and closing schools."

McSpadden writes how Davitch "concludes by calling for an elimination of testing as it is currently being used. Next, Ravitch argues for an emphasis on a content-rich curriculum and sound assessment to go with it. She suggests alternate, non-punitive ways to measure the quality of schools, and urges finding ways to attract and retain well-educated teachers who not only know their content but have a passion for their work."

Finally! Here is a well-respected professional who is questioning the test-taking environment which governs public schools.

I wrote to McSpadden and told her that I loved her points.

Two columns in the same paper. Are they opposites? Not exactly. But how do we fit them together? How can we have high national standards without creating a system that focuses on assessment at the risk of not educating children? If you are a parent or educator I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

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Let the Limericks Begin!

Are you a closet limerick writer? Then the Charlotte Observer has a contest for you. Starting today until March 17, you can send your political or public policy related limerick to either limerick@charlotteobserver.com or to Mary Newsom, Charlotte Observer, PO Box 30308 Charlotte, NC 28230-0308. Weekly winners are posted online on Friday and a Grand Prize Winner is announced in March. Not leaning towards limerick writing myself, I understand it can be addictive. Here is an entry from last year written by Joel Zauss:

It's limerick time-nothing sweeter.
But at Exon or in Harris Teeter
Or at work or at home
Or wherever I roam
All the thoughts that I think are in meter.

If you win or are chosen as an honorable mention one week, please let me know. I'd love to post some winning limericks on this blog!

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Is the cup half-empty or half-full?

On April 4th The Charlotte Observer ran an article with the headline, "Students score well in writing" reporting better than average scores for local eighth graders on the 2007 national writing test. When you look closely, the statistics aren't as exciting as the headline indicates. At closer inspection, you'll find that if all races and income levels are included, only 31% of local eighth-graders were rated proficient on the exam —this matches the national rate. Although 52 % of white students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools were rated proficient as compared to less than 40% of their white public-school peers nationwide and in the Carolinas, I'm not celebrating. (For the full report, go to The Nation's Report Card.)

Perhaps this is (relatively) good news for our local school district, but I'm sorry, I don't find these statistics anything to be jumping for joy about. What about the 69% of eighth grade students across the country who aren't meeting this level of proficiency? What about the remaining 48% in Charlotte Mecklenburg?

The "basic" rating, earned by a solid majority of students regardless of location, race, or income, indicates only a partial mastery of grade-level writing. As the Observer reported and the statistics indicate, "proficient writing, defined as solid performance and competency on challenging subjects, was much rarer."

What's the problem here? As an educator involved in teaching writing skills, I speak with lots of teachers around the country. I think there are several weak links in the educational chain. First, I find that almost all teachers feel a great pressure to "teach to the test." So although an argument can be made that at least class time is being devoted to writing, I wonder how much of this preparation (with its concomitant pressure on teachers whose salaries can be tied to their students' performance), is rote or truly teaches the craft of writing. (See the International Reading Association's position paper for more information.)

I believe that writing skills should be developed from a strong foundation of reading and from analytical thinking. Reading has been replaced with playing video games, surfing the Internet (which at least involves more reading skills than video games) watching movies and TV, or competing in sports, than they do reading. Reading MUST be encouraged, supported, and reinforced by parents and educators. Second, I think we don't adequately challenge kids to think critically. Writing involves thinking. Whether fiction or nonfiction, every piece of solid writing requires the author to generate original thoughts. As much as possible, teachers need to be supported in encouraging students of all ages to think for themselves. This doesn't need to be fancy. An author friend of mine, who is a former teacher, said that when students brought a paper for her to read and asked, "What do you think of this?" she'd turn the question around and ask, "What do you think about it?" Critical thinking isn't an educational quick fix; it starts with engaging students mind's rather than being satisfied with rote responses.

Here's my word for the day: metacognition- the ability to reflect on one's own learning experience. Let's teach it. Let's model it. Let's do it ourselves.

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