Brave the Page by National Novel Writing Month

Author:National Novel Writing Month
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2019-08-26T16:00:00+00:00

YOUR SIGNATURE

SIGNATURE OF TEACHER/PARENT/RELIABLE FRIEND

(Library Etiquette 101: Do not fill this out on the page if this is a library book! Instead, make a photocopy or type up your own contract at home.)

WEEK 1

PEP TALK

by Cecilia C. Pérez

When I was your age I thought my life, my home, and my neighborhood were beyond boring. And not only did my world seem as far from exciting as possible, but it looked nothing like the worlds I read about in books by my favorite authors. Beverly Cleary’s Ramona Quimby never had to eat pig’s feet in tomato sauce or translate English into Spanish for her parents. This was a big deal to me because it made me wonder if I could be a writer. What would I write about? Where did ideas come from? Was it okay to write about the things I saw in my world? What if my world just wasn’t intriguing or mysterious or magical or cool enough to be worth writing about?

I want to let you in on a secret about writing. It took me a long time to discover this, and I wish someone had told me a little sooner. Are you ready? Okay, here it is: there is no prescription for finding ideas for stories or for being a writer. I know! Can you believe it? I always imagined there was something special writers did to be writers. Maybe they had magic pencils from a place only certain people had access to, like Diagon Alley! Maybe there was some kind of vitamin that filled them with ideas. Surely they lived in way cooler places than I did.

Once I figured out this wasn’t the case, it was like I’d taken off a pair of sunglasses. When they were on, they shaded everything. But once they were off, I was able to see the full brightness of the world around me. Ideas came from experiences that I’d once thought were not good enough to write about, but also from objects and smells and feelings.

Stuck for ideas? Look up and look down. Look outside of your normal line of vision. What do you see? Do you notice things you didn’t notice before? What kinds of stories are happening in the branches of the trees overhead? Who lives in the hollow in the old tree on your street? What is your librarian’s secret identity? Anything around you—things, people, and places, even your day at school—can be the spark for an idea.

You have stories to tell that no one else can tell. It comes with being you and experiencing the world as only you can. Want to get started on your book? Start by taking off those sunglasses!

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