Comments for Through The Tollbooth

Comment on The power of feedback by Carter Taylor Seaton

Carter Taylor Seaton — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:18:27 +0000

Knowing how to give feedback is crucial. Thanks for posting these tips. There’s nothing more cruel than having a reader simply say, “it’s weak.” Huh? That’s all? Isn’t there anything to like? Without encouragement, even good writers will wilt.

Comment on Margaret J. Anderson on publishing out of print books as e-books by Sarah Johnson

Sarah Johnson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:38:44 +0000

Thanks, Mary!
It was fun for me to interview Margaret.

Comment on Margaret J. Anderson on publishing out of print books as e-books by Mary Atkinson

Mary Atkinson — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:44:04 +0000

This is a great interview! Very informative. Thank you!

Comment on Oh Promise Me– you’ll get the ending right by Tami Lewis Brown

Tami Lewis Brown — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:39:36 +0000

I thought of Charlotte too, Catherine, but I couldn’t find my copy Monday morning when I was writing the post. So profound yet accessible the way White writes about the circle of life, circling from the newborn piglets to the newborn spiders, the promise of life and the shadow of death. Anybody who thinks children’s books are simple or trivial should study that book. As should anyone who wants to write a gorgeous novel for any age reader. I’ve recommended The Annotated Charlotte’s Web before… and I’ll say it again. It’s a wonderful way to dig deep into that great novel. http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780064461832

Comment on Oh Promise Me– you’ll get the ending right by Catherine Linka

Catherine Linka — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:31:37 +0000

I love what you wrote about “a promise fulfilled.” I am awestruck by the simple perfection of CHARLOTTE’S WEB which takes us from “Where’s Papa going with that axe?” to Wilbur being the nursemaid for Charlotte’s children. Another book which I consider a perfect novel from the first page to last is OF MICE AND MEN. The tragedy is set up on the very first page, and the ending is inevitable. These are models of how it’s done.

Comment on Oh Promise Me– you’ll get the ending right by Tami Lewis Brown

Tami Lewis Brown — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:02:12 +0000

Thanks Sue!
Lots of people say young people’s books must have an “uplifting” ending but I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I think a good ending is a promise fulfilled– even if it means the protagonist ends up sad or disappointed. There’s a place for happy endings and a place for more complicated resolutions, even when the reader isn’t a grown up.
I understand why the publisher thought that “crummy novel” would attract reader and media attention. The sorrow and creepiness factor is well done, especially in the first third of the book. What I don’t understand is why the writer (an award winning writing professor, by the way!) copped out on the ending. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that he’s primarily a short story writer. I’m no expert on short stories, but my sense is that the twist that finishes off a short story isn’t (nearly) enough of a conclusion for a novel with lots of threads and hundreds of pages of forward momentum.

Comment on Oh Promise Me– you’ll get the ending right by Sue Cowing

Sue Cowing — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:28:58 +0000

Good post, Tami. “A promise made and kept” is so much more memorable than: “You create expectations in the first pages, and then you have to fulfill those expectations later,” which is they way I’d heard it said. Like you, I don’t spend any energy on writing negative reviews but do shake my head over some of the disappointing books that get a lot of initial buzz.

Comment on Your Brain as a Reader, and as a Writer by Story Sense: Creating Narrative Non-Fiction | Through The Tollbooth

Story Sense: Creating Narrative Non-Fiction | Through The Tollbooth — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:02:27 +0000

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Comment on Your Brain as a Reader, and as a Writer by Gretchen Geser

Gretchen Geser — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:27:49 +0000

Thanks, Catherine! I’ll definitely look at Diane Ackerman’s work.

Comment on Your Brain as a Reader, and as a Writer by Catherine Linka

Catherine Linka — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:45:12 +0000

Gretchen–Thanks for your thought-provoking post and I particularly like what you said about the neural power of metaphors. Readers can sense when a story takes them away–and part of that is the sensory connection. If you’ve ever read Diane Ackerman’s work–it is amazing, because she is both nature writer and poet and her synesthesia makes her non-fiction especially engaging.