Writing Radar
Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
The Newbery Award–winning author of Dead End in Norvelt shares advice for how to be the best brilliant writer in this funny and practical creative writing guide perfect for all kids who dream of seeing their name on the spine of a book.
With the signature wit and humor that have garnered him legions of fans, Jack Gantos instructs young writers on using their "writing radar" to unearth story ideas from their everyday lives. Incorporating his own misadventures as a developing writer, Gantos inspires readers to build confidence and establish good writing habits as they create, revise, and perfect their stories. Pop-out text boxes highlight key tips, alongside Gantos's own illustrations, sample stories, and snippets from his childhood journals. More than just a how-to guide, Writing Radar is a celebration of the power of storytelling and an ode to the characters who—many unwittingly—inspired Gantos's own writing career.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In an excellent guide for aspiring authors, Newbery Medalist Gantos distills his creative writing expertise into breezy chapters, emphasizing the value of keeping a journal and using stories he wrote in his youth as proof. Gantos provides concrete examples for developing technique (set writing goals, create suspense, give characters emotional depth) and activating "Writing Radar," or heightened awareness: "You need a certain writerly attitude as you walk down the street a kind of stealthy, snoopy, slinky, shifty, sinister, and silent confidence." Assisted by drawings, maps, word lists, tips ("Every painful moment in life is a story waiting to be told"), and extracts from his juvenilia, Gantos exemplifies the steps to authorial success. Though encouraging ("I want you to be the best brilliant writer"), he doesn't minimize the work involved and advises multiple rewrites (each with a specific purpose), illustrated as a layer cake. And while the book is directed at serious writers in the making, there's enough exaggeration and grossness to keep readers laughing, too; no doubt, Gantos still has a few more tricks up his sleeve. Ages 9 12.
