Where Do I Start?

 Erica here with you today. Not on my normal 4th Monday of the month, because our darling Pepper had a book release on Monday, and I was coming home from a writing retreat and would have been scrambling to get a post up. 

Also, the idea for the post didn't come until Tuesday. :) So there's that.

Today's post is the most basic of basics. It's for those folks who are thinking of writing a novel, but haven't put a word to paper just yet. 

Earlier this week, I had a friend from church say she had an idea for a novel, and she was seeing scenes in her head and having ideas for her story, but she didn't know where to start.

Which gave me pause. It's been a minute since I was in that position, ready to write my first story. How did one start?

There are a couple of angles from which you can attack writing your first fiction, and it depends upon what type of person you are.

1. Dive in. Start writing, telling the story that you see in your head. Fingerpaint and play, words, sentences, paragraphs, scenes, chapters, with all the joy in the world.

or

2. Study. Learn. Take classes, read books, examine characterization and story structure, pace, theme, point of view, subtext, goals, motives, conflicts, and more. Dissect story to learn story.

I fell into camp #1, mostly because I didn't know camp #2 existed. I thought you just wrote what you wanted and it became a story. (Yeah, I know. But I didn't know what I didn't know.) It wasn't until I got my first contest entry critique that I realized I didn't know what I was doing and would need to study and improve. 

If you're like me, and you're in Camp #1, here is my advice:

1. Get your writing critiqued by someone who knows what they're doing. Join a critique group, enter a contest, pay an editor to look at your first chapter. You want to learn what will improve your writing, and this is a quick way to get to the nitty gritty.

2. Set aside some time to work on the mechanics of writing. Read great writing, evaluate and break down stories that resonate with you, learn how story works, and embrace the new vocabulary of story structure.

3. Consider attending a conference, a retreat, an online workshop. Try different methods of learning about how to write, finding the one that resonates best with you. 

4. Understand that writing is a skill as much as an art, and you can always improve your skills. If you want your writing to shine and be loved by readers and noticed by editors, polish it!

If you're going to follow the Camp #2 approach, I recommend the following:

1. A select few writing books that cover the basics. For me these are: Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell, Goal, Motivation, & Conflict, by Debra Dixon, and Heroes and Heroines -16 Master Archetypes by Cowden, LeFever, and Viders. These will get you started without giving you too many voices in your head all bossing you around. 

2. The Seekerville archives are your friend. There are hundreds...yes, hundreds! of articles on the mechanics of writing a book. If you're curious about a particular subject, check the archives. They're searchable! And better yet, FREE!

3. Consider attending a conference, or an online class, or a writing retreat. This is an expense, but you do have to invest in your career if you want to have a career. There are lots of Seekerville posts on the benefits and expectations and how to go to a writer's conference. Check them out.

4. Write. Write. Write. Eventually, you have to put the manuals and classes down and actually write. 

There is no wrong approach. You do you. But remember, that eventually, you will do both. You will study, but you can't get bogged down in the study. Even the most intelligent and apt student will eventually have to sit down and write the story. You will write, but you will need to learn to write. Even the most naturally gifted writer in the world gets better through editing and practice.

You don't have to know anything when you first start writing. Experience the joy of splashing words on the page, living an intensely vivid life that you're putting into words. Or, if you're more of a student, study and prepare for writing, analyze to your heart's content, and then practice and execute what you've learned.

Which do you consider your leaning? Write first, or learn first? I'd love to hear how you first got started writing!

Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series

Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn't spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They've been living double lives as government spies--and they're only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family's legacy.

Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spy craft. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors--not to mention nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner Daniel Swann, who suspects her of a daring theft.

Can Lady Juliette outwit her enemies and complete her parents' last mission? Or will it lead her to a terrible end?

Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she is married to her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks. You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ where she spends way too much time!

Fun Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

We had an extra end-of-the-month day here at Seekerville, so we thought we would have a little fun and YOU are the winners!

This game is called "Two Truths and a Lie." 

Here's how to play:

Below, we've listed two truths and one lie provided by our Seeker gals. Sometimes the items are personal, sometimes they're gleaned from the author's research.

Your job is to guess which one of the three is the lie!

Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

Enter your guesses in the comments and you'll be entered in the drawing for a prize (a fun surprise prize!) If someone gets ALL the answers right, they will receive an extra special prize - a gift certificate to ChristianBooks.com!

When you enter your guesses, you can just write: "#15, c" (using the correct numbers and letters, of course.)

Are you ready to play? Here we go!

1. From Erica Vetsch:

a. An estimated 300,000 horses lived and worked in London at any given time during the Regency period.

b. Nearly 50,000 men died at Waterloo, the battle that ended the Napoleonic Wars for good.

c. The oldest canal in the UK is the Fossdyke Navigation, and it was built by the Vikings.

2. From Mary Connealy:

a. The gunfight at the OK Corral, one of the most famous shootouts in Wild West History, lasted 30 seconds, was not by the OK Corral, and no one was killed.

 
b. Wyoming was the first state (then a territory) in the union to allow women to vote.

 
c. The Villisca Murder House, where eight people were killed in the house with an axe…the crime never solved…you can spend the night for about $500. Bring your own sleeping bag.

 
3. From Winnie Griggs:

a. Ferries were once powered by horses that were actually on board the boats rather than the bank

b. North Carolina has a law on the books prohibiting the use of camels to plow a cotton field. 

c. In the mid nineteenth century the Mississippi River literally ran backwards.

4. From Carrie Schmidt:

a. My first word was book.

b. I've read 'Newlywed Games' by Mary Davis so much that I have it mostly memorized.

c. My favorite time period to read about is the 1920s.

5. From Mindy Obenhaus:

a. I've lived in Oklahoma.

b. I've lived in Iceland.

c. I've lived in Ohio.

6. From Pepper Basham:

a. The reason the ocean liner the Lusitania sank in 1915 was due to a torpedo hitting the starboard side of the ship. 

 

b. Over 100 Americans died when the British liner, The Lusitania, sank in 1915.

c. Captain Turner, of the Lusitania, sadly went down with his ship.

7. From Dana R. Lynn:

a. Eleanor Roosevelt once had a pet snake named Emily Spinach.

b. In an Amish home, it's the youngest child who inherits everything.

c. Forensic Entomology is the use of fingerprints during an investigation. 

8. From Cate Nolan:

a. Due to its rocky coastline, Maine has more lighthouses than any other state.

b. Spring is slow to arrive in Maine, but when it does, it brings gorgeous Magnolia trees in bloom.

c. Maine is home to rocky beaches as well as soft, sandy stretches of beach.

9. From Debby Giusti:

a. Amish farms are typically about 40 acres in size, which is the area a man and his son can farm without needing extra help.

b. The Amish use natural fertilizer, ie. manure from their livestock.

c. Many Englisch folks buy Amish produce because it is organically grown.

 
10. From Jan Drexler:

a. Keystone, South Dakota, with a population of 240 residents, hosts more than 2 million visitors to Mt. Rushmore each year (including 2020.)

b. In spite of an occasional sighting, the Black Hills of South Dakota does not have a population of bears or wolves.

c. It is possible for residents and visitors to the Black Hills to experience a measurable snow fall during any of the twelve months of the year.

And that's it! Give us your best guesses and have fun!

 

 

RE-RELEASE PARTY IN SEEKERVILLE!

"A FAMILY TO CHERISH" RELEASES ON 7/5!!!!!!

No one said that getting rights reverted, files scanned and cleaned and manuscripts updated would be easy, but you know what? 

Hard doesn't scare me! :) I kind of love it, I love a challenge which makes the release of this beautiful story even more exciting.

I hate to see stories sit idle... and that's what happens to older stories that aren't being re-released or reprinted by publishers. They sit, puffing dust, waiting for a chance to be held, read, nay... devoured again! So I was thrilled when the good folks at Love Inspired returned the rights to several of my early novels. 

It is so much fun to see them come to life again! To hear from new readers! To chat it up with folks about the Southern Tier or Wishing Bridge or the North Country and soon to come: Kirkwood Lake! 

I am so blessed! 

So next week.... "A Family to Cherish" releases!

Then a few weeks later we'll be announcing the release of "Love's a Mystery in Sleepy Hollow, NY", part of a new and wonderful contemporary romantic mystery series for Guideposts. I had the distinct pleasure of working with the wonderful Gabe Meyer on that novella pairing!

Then the next story will release in September. That one is  "The Lawman's Second Chance", a bestselling and award-winning story that's won hearts across the land. 

And then "Reclaiming Hope in Wishing Bridge" hits the shelves in late October, about the time that pumpkin love and mania quiets down here in Western New York... writing takes over those extra hours. :)

And that wonderful book should be followed by the contemporary story in "Love's a Mystery in Cut and Shoot, Texas", a wonderful Christmas story coupled with Janice Thompson's historical novella!

I am so excited to share this news with you. To share this book with you! And I have two copies to give away (these are Kindle copies, the paperback will be available in two weeks) and I'd love to hear what you think... 

Today we celebrate! Today we toast the release of a book from captivity, LOL! And I'm thrilled to bring the updated edition of this story to you for Kindle at $2.99 and then paperback at $7.99.

FOUR GREAT BOOKS TO BRING YOU HAPPY READING!!!!!! 

So let's celebrate new books! I've brought sweet tea, trays of bars, ice-cold lemonade and a fresh pot o' joe... no matter what part of the country you call home, we've got something wonderful and amazing... and timeless.... here for you!

Bestselling and award-winning inspirational author Ruth Logan Herne is currently living, breathing and talking pumpkins, squash and 3000 chrysanthemums on her popular pumpkin farm in Western New York. She is no stranger to dirty fingernails, chemicals, equipment breakdowns and dealing with occasionally grumpy farm folk, so you probably can't rattle her! She loves hearing from readers....email Ruthy (and yes, she actually is the person who answers her email) at loganherne@gmail.com, visit her website ruthloganherne.com and friend her on Facebook although she admits to social media disenchantment as the possible scourge to mankind as we know it... but that's a blog for another day! :)

Real Life In Fiction

Some books are more intimate than others. Do you know what I mean?

Some can hit close to your own heart struggles or your own dreams. Some we've struggled with for so long, the very idea that they'd make it into print feels like a miracle. And then, there are the ones that are drawn from places and people dearest to you.

The Heart of the Mountains, my 18th published book, releases on July 1st and it carries at bit of that latter reason. Based on family history and the culture of my native Blue Ridge Mountains, this story brings to life the struggles, suspicions, beliefs, hopes, and connectivity endemic of so many spots within Appalachia. Two characters are actually based on family members of mine: my great grandpa and one of my great great aunts. 

In Appalachia, oral storytelling is a BIG part of the culture. I learned dozens of family history stories from my Granny Spencer, who, though she wasn't very skilled at writing, could spin remarkable tales that seemed much too fictional to be true. Her own life would make a amazing "overcomer" story, but, maybe, that's for another tale.

Real-life can definitely be crazier than fiction, but it can also be a catalyst for fictional stories. 

How often have you seen a news story or read a historical event, and it immediately inspired a book idea? My debut novel, The Thornbearer, was a mixture of a personal story and a historical event that fascinated me. I paired the two because the external chaos of World War I/Sinking of the Lusitania mirrored the internal chaos in my heroine.  

So I want to hear from you! How has some real event or personal story inspired your writing? 

If you're a reader, do you enjoy finding out the behind-the-scenes reasons for why an author writes the books that  they do?

Granny "Rat"

Two last things:

1. I'm giving away a paper copy to one lucky commenter. (U.S. entries only).

2. SPOILER ALERT: below is the behind the scenes TRUE story for The Heart of the Mountains :)

Sam McAdams’ story was inspired by the family history of my great grandfather, Papa Surratt (“Papa Rat”). His true story is much more poignant and beautiful than any fiction could portray, but the heart of his comparison to his fictional counterpart is real. After years and years of prayers from his family, God found my great grandpa, a long time alcoholic, and rescued his heart in a most unexpected way. The small bit you hear about Sam’s childhood in this tale reflects some of the true pieces of Papa Rat’s story. He lost his mother when he was young, his father left him to fend for himself when he was about eight, and when he was eleven, he ran away from the mean-hearted farmer who’d taken Papa in after Papa had been abandoned. At eleven, he took the fifteen-mile trek to Mt. Airy, NC, started work in a furniture factory, and, eventually, met and married Kate (a cousin to Andy Griffith, btw). The two lived in town until Papa Rat’s drinking became so bad that they had to move deeper into the mountains. Years passed. Dangerous winters passed. The children grew up in a world where they lived for their daddy’s “good days” and survived the unpredictable dark ones. The quote Caroline McAdams says to Sam related to “if you hit me, you’d better kill me, or I’m gonna get up and kill you”, was straight from my Granny Rat’s mouth. She was a small woman, but strong. Almost anyone who talks about her describes her as “lady”, who held a gentle spirit and was an excellent storyteller.

One day, on a drive home from Mt. Airy after work, the Holy Spirit fell on Papa Rat so hard that he pulled the car over on the side of the road, ran out into a field, and gave his heart to Jesus. He was a changed man after that and never drank alcohol again.

When Granny Rat passed away unexpectedly from an aneurism, Papa Rat (the burly, mountain man that he was), mourned her loss so hard that four months later, he died of a massive heart attack. The doctor said that he really died “of a broken heart” for the woman who’d loved him long, even when he wasn’t a very loveable man.

Old family cabin

I’m not condoning a partner staying with someone who isn’t safe, but I am celebrating the fact that story God is writing on the hearts of men and women is much bigger and greater than one we can imagine.

Suzie McAdams is based on my granny’s sister, Shirley. Unfortunately, in real life, Shirley died from croup, but, in the magic of fiction, I was able to keep the little girl from the same fate. The family story of how folks in the mountains dealt with croup and the painful effects of a mama struggling through the exhaustion and heartache of watching her little girl die, haunted me as I wrote those scenes. So…I’m glad I got to give Suzie a different fate.

I loved getting to take inspiration from these true stories and incorporate it into this fictional one. Someday, I hope to bring the remarkable tale of Kizzie to the pages of a book. It is my favorite family history story, and…probably the most unbelievable.

God’s thread of redemption weaves and spins through generations and each story within His bigger story has a tremendous way of showing God’s unique handiwork. I’m so grateful I had the chance to hear this story and know that the same God who rescued my great grandparents, loved me enough to rescue me too.

****************************************************************************

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor. Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the wife of a fantastic pastor, mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus. Her nineteenth novel, Authentically Izzy, debuts in November with Thomas Nelson. She loves connecting with readers and other authors through social media outlets like Facebook &
Instagram.

You can learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at www.pepperdbasham.com

Sunday Scripture & Prayer Requests

Brooklyn Museum - Jesus Discourses with His Disciples
(Jésus s'entretient avec ses disciples) - James Tissot. [PD-US]

When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled,
he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village
to prepare for his reception there,
but they would not welcome him
because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,
“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven
to consume them?”
Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him,
“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

And to another he said, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”
To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:51-62

 The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

Please join us in praying for our country and for an end to the problems that plague us at this current time, such as the rising cost of fuel and food, and the shortages of necessary items, especially baby formula.

Together, let's pray we can, once again, become a prosperous and productive nation. Also, please join us in praying for the protection of our military and for law enforcement officers and border agents.   

GOD BLESS THE USA!

We are so grateful for all of you—for your friendship and your support! 

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe. 

  

Weekend Edition

  

If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Please send to Seekerville2@gmail.com. If the winner does not contact us within two weeks, another winner may be selected.

Monday: Jan brought us a post about weasel words and how revisions help us make them stronger. The winner of an e-book copy of The Sign of the Calico Quartz is Michelle Gregory!

Tuesday: Pepper brought us a fresh new look at Meet Cutes, great examples, and lots of good back and forth in the comments.

Wednesday: Cate made us think with her post about "Who Makes the Meaning in a Book?"

Thursday: Pam shared more tips on trimming and weeding our newsletter subscribers to encourage healthy growth!

Monday:  Erica is our hostess on Monday. Erica always brings great discussions to the table. Can't wait to see what she shares with Seekerville.

Wednesday:  Surprise!!

  

Friday:  Let's welcome a first time guest on Seekerville, bestselling author, Sandra Byrd. Be sure to stop by and greet Sandra, and enter for a chance to win a copy of her upcoming release, Heirlooms.

Giveaway on Goodreads, it's going on RIGHT NOW!

Inventions of the Heart

Click Here to Enter

Disclaimer: Any blog post that includes an offer of product purchase or service is NOT to be considered an endorsement by Seekerville or any of our authors (please see our Legal page )

Understanding the New Normal World of a Story's Resolution by KM Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors

Plotters vs Pantsers: Do We Have to Choose? by Beth Vogt at Learn How To Write a Novel

To Comma, or Not to Comma by Lori Freeland at Writers In The Storm

Creating a Flexible and Productive Author Life by Hannah Bauman at Between The Lines Editorial

Amazon Ads: Step-by-Step Walk Through for Beginning Authors by Jane Friedman

How to Quickly Develop a Writing Habit by Nina Amir at Live Write Thrive

4 Ways to Lose Me Quickly by Bob Hostetler at Steve Laube Agency

A Police K-9 Offers 8 Tips to Handlers by Lee Lofland at The Graveyard Shift

Social Media Emails Done Right by Erin at MailerLite blog

Why You and Your Writing Matter by Emme Gannon at The Write Conversation

Newsletters: Trim & Grow

by Pam Hillman

Last month I took a deep dive into managing your mailing list with the goal of archiving unsubscribed fans and subscribers who have rarely (if ever) opened one of your newsletters. Managing your list will increase your open rate as well as keep costs down if you’re to the point of paying for a newsletter service. You can review last month’s post here.

This month is where do you go from here?

This month’s post should be a good bit shorter… and well, last month’s would have been as well if I’d found out where to segment the 0% Open & 0% click rate before I did. Oh, well, live and learn.

So, you read last month’s post, took a day, or a week to clean up your list and then dusted off your hands, thinking your work was done. Not so fast. :)

Now that you’ve cleaned up your list, you need to stay on top of keeping it that way. It’s like your kitchen countertops. You can have your kitchen spotless, and thirty minutes later, a kid or your spouse will walk in, get a drink of water and leave the glass on the counter. By day’s end, there are 5 coffee cups, 10 glasses, 15 plates and 45 spoons and forks. Can I get an amen?

Do you ever participate in PR campaigns like Round Robins or Blog Hops? Maybe host a giveaway or your publisher does where readers sign up for your newsletter? Or even collect email addresses at book signings?

Go ahead and segment these email addresses when you add them to your list. You can be as broad or narrow as you like.

For instance, I’m signed up for a Christmas in July Blog Tour. Blog hoppers won’t sign up for my newsletter directly, but I’m supposed to get the list of all the visitors after the tour is over.

I plan to upload all those emails and either use the segment or tag feature to identify where they came from. Segment Organic signups, too. Most of these can be just by year.

Right now my biggest criteria is 0% Open & 0% Click Rate. But, remember, just because they have 0% Open/Click, don’t archive them just yet. How long have they been on your list? If they just signed up and you haven’t sent out a newsletter, then of course it’s 0%. As long as I have room on my list, I’ll keep those 0%’ers on there for 12 months at least.

Now, for a few stats on what’s happened since my big “clean up” started.

But before we dig in. Here’s a nice little tip. If your newsletter service provider offers a mobile App, download it. Even if you don’t want to use the App to create your newsletter, it’s a quick and easy way to keep up with what your latest campaign is doing.

At the end of April, I sent out a “Hello, do you still wanna be friends” email to all those 0%. It’s not necessary to know whether the email address is just a catch-all inbox (I have one of those), if the address is a bot/scammer, or if the subscriber just doesn’t have time and deletes the email. But it is important to know if they opened it.

That email only went to 809 subscribers and had a 12.42% open rate. My average for almost 10 years is 33%. But I wasn’t surprised. Remember, this is the group that never opens my newsletter. Some even unsubscribed at that point, and if they didn’t click, they were archived.

My April newsletter had a 30.7% open rate and a 2.2% click rate. May was 34.5% open and 3.5% clicks. I had just started the cleanup on the May newsletter. My June newsletter went out last week and has a 36.8% open rate, and a 3.1% click rate, so my average click rate is slowly creeping up. Hooray!

Opens are good, but clicks are better. And here’s a fun fact. Both my April and May newsletters included links to some .99cent sales, but the June newsletter didn’t have any sales at the time it went out, but my click rate is still nice and strong (at least for me). Historically, new releases, sales, and giveaways get the most clicks, but if you can build traction even when you don’t have those things going for you, then that’s a win-win.

Two things are at play here that have helped my open rate in the last 3 months:

1) About 350 subscribers who never open/click have been archived, so that means those who are left are the ones actively opening and clicking. Well, at least some of them.

2) I’ve started paying attention to what makes my readers engage and am playing to those strengths.

And, boy, it’s not always what you think!

Stay tuned for a post on that next month. Hopefully. :)

Oh, and if you want to see my June newsletter, click here.

Who Makes the Meaning in a Book?

 Happy Summer!

School ended yesterday. Today is the first day of summer vacation, so I promise you won't have to read middle school-inspired posts for a while after today.

But today, we do have one more. I recently read Lord of the Flies with my 8th grade class. The book is old (older than me!) and a lot of people don't like it, but I have so many activities that we do with it, that the book really comes alive. I'm always stunned when students tell me it's one of their favorite books we've read.

This year, after we finished, I asked them to reflect on this quote by the author William Golding.

When asked about the meaning of his book, he replied:

“There have been so many interpretations of the story that I'm not going to choose between them. Make your own choice. They contradict each other, the various choices. The only choice that really matters, the only interpretation of the story, if you want one, is your own. Not your teacher's, not your professor's, not mine, not a critic's, not some authority's. The only thing that matters is, first, the experience of being in the story, moving through it. Then any interpretation you like. If it's yours, then that's the right one, because what's in a book is not what an author thought he put into it, it's what the reader gets out of it.”

I love this answer so much.

I was thinking about it with two different caps on my head - as the teacher who asks students to consider the meaning of the story, but also as an author who is in the business of making meaning out of words.

I was really interested to hear my students' thoughts - both as their teacher and as an author.

It turns out that the line that most spoke to them was  "The only thing that matters is, first, the experience of being in the story, moving through it."

One student, in explaining how she had moved through the story stated, "Through the characters, I got to experience the chaos, the peace, the sadness, and the thrill of everything that happened."

Another said: "In some parts of the book, I felt like I was actually in the book and moving through it. But there were parts where I did not get this feeling. An example where I did not get this feeling is when the hunters went hunting I didn’t really feel the story moving. The part where I felt the story moving along was when everyone was working together and not fighting."

But a third said "There were parts of the book where I felt as if I was really going through the motion of everything and other parts where I was left confused. Some parts that I really connected to were the murders. When both Piggy and Simon died I truly felt like I was there watching it happen."

Another: "I felt like I was  on the island with all the other boys I felt like I was one of the little ones watching everything fold in itself, watching Jack become a brutal savage and watch Ralph losing control and seeing Piggy get killed I really felt part of the story I was reading."

They were also really eager to tell me the meaning they took from the book. I think William Golding would have been proud of the range of thoughts. They took his words to heart: "If it's yours, then that's the right one."

 I think this book was about how people can get insane and out of control with an obsession with a passion, they have while others try and prevent it but end up getting hurt in the process. 

What are we really without manners and common sense? Savages? That would make us no different than animals. We hide behind a mask of intelligence and basic knowledge to separate how similar we are compared to animals. Without all we have learned, we’re basically just a vessel driven by emotions of hatred and greed. Would we really know right from wrong if we didn’t have common knowledge or at least look like we have the brains? It really felt overwhelming to interpret so much. Then again, it would make sense. The only difference is that we are more evolved than animals. We have the common sense to just go around killing people, there are usually reasons behind it. But sometimes, there isn’t a reason behind it. Does that make us unstable to live in such a “perfect” society? If we compare ourselves to savages, then killing would be completely normal right? Or would it?

 

I believe the book is really about the true nature of us. How we act when theres no adults or rules around. When we can do anything without being punished since theres no boundaries.

This book is about nothing more than boys trying to survive on their own and trying to keep their insanity (sic) in the process. 

 

While the topic of change was a big message of the book, I do believe there is another main message. Lord of the Flies also shows us the importance of rules and civilization. Once the boys turned away from Ralph all humanity and civilization were lost. They began to become too accustomed to Jack’s uncivilized methods. Without any rules or grasp on humanity boys such as Roger turned from normal kind kids into animals. It was because of this lack of civilization and order that Piggy and Simon died so tragically. It was also why it was so hard for the boys to look at themselves once the navy found them. They knew they could never truly return home because a part of them would always be on that island. 

So why am I talking about this today? 

Because as a teacher, I am privileged to have the opportunity to really talk to readers about their reading, and that is invaluable to me not only as their teacher, but as an author. Hearing what matters to them as readers, learning how invested they were in making their own meaning from the books gives  author me something to ponder. 

As authors, are we trying to impose our meaning on our readers? Are we heavy-handed with our message, or do we wield our pen delicately, giving the reader options, offering a chance for them to create their own message from our books. Especially if it's a message they need in their lives.

As I was pondering this, I was also thinking about a book I had recently read. Because I could really relate to the widowed character, I probably took a completely different meaning from the book than a different reader would - and I appreciated the nuances of the character that allowed me to do so.

And that leads me to thinking about craft and how we make our books the best possible experience for readers because, to quote another student, 

He didn't write the book to give it a specific ending (message) but to entertain the readers.

And of course that is what we have to keep at the forefront as we write.

One of my students was rather succinct in describing Golding's craft. 

Mr. Golding used good words to set the mood for the story. 

As writers, that is our task, to use good words to entertain.

If only it could be that easy!

But easy or not, it is the responsibility we assumed when we chose to write stories. Our good words have the power to affect readers.

One of my students commented: "The experiences of reading books helps us to open our eyes to different wonders in imagination. It leads us to creating our own works and maybe inspiring others."

And to finally quote a wise student - "That is the great thing about reading."

And we get to inspire that. How lucky are we to be writers???

I'd love to hear your thoughts - as readers and writers.

*Photos courtesy of Pixabay