3rd
i need a pen name
I’ve decided that I am going to write a Great American (children’s) Novel. While I was writhing in muscle pain today (courtesy of the stupid medication that apparently is worth it for my complexion), I was thinking about my all-time favorite books. And guess what? The top on the list wasn’t the incredibly complex and mature novel by Isabel Allende called The House of the Spirits, the classic Hugo novel Les Miserables, or even Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. At the top of my list was Holes by Louis Sachar.
Do you remember reading this book? The story was adventurous, intricate, fun, and an absolute page turner, which is what most adult books are missing. The three story lines that work together was a brilliant storytelling technique. Not only that, but it was written in such a way that putting it down would be a crime; it was a pleasure to read every sentence (unlike Everything is Illuminated by Joseph Safran Foer, which I thought was good except for the abstract chapters in the simultaneous story line). The more that I thought about it, the more convinced I was that the most enjoyment that I ever got out of reading was in my children’s novels by authors like Sachar, Jerry Spinelli and Kate Klise.
When I was a kid, I was convinced that my future job was an author. Of course, I’ve grown up since then and realized that I can’t do creative writing alone. But for the past few years, I’ve given up writing altogether. Now, I want to write again. I’d really like to write a great American children’s novel for the 8-13 year old crowd, with inspiration from Louis Sachar. I have lots of ideas, and I need to organize my thoughts. Plus also I need a pen name.
PS: If you’ve ever read any of Kate Klise’s books, such as Letters from Camp, Trial by Journal or Regarding the Fountain, then you’ve read books from a friend of mine! No joke, a woman who invites me to her barbeque parties in the Ozarks has a frickin wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Klise ch-ch-check it out. And while you’re at it, if you haven’t read her books, DO. They’re entertaining for any age.
Holes is mos def a favorite.
