What I Learned From Writing Adaptations

When my editor at ABDO Publishing asked me to write adaptations from classic novels I said, “Wait..what? What qualifies me to do a chop job on these timeless works?” Naturally I asked myself that. I wasn’t going to let my editor think I couldn’t meet a challenge. Plus being an adapter would look pretty snazzy on my resume.

Since then people have asked me, “Did you have to read all those books?” The answer: “Meh.” The fitting question is, “Did you have to reread those books?” At some point I’d read all of them except The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I did do a heck of a skimming job on that one.

While adapting, I had the books in front of me, and I used the authors’ own words when possible, which was actually quite a lot.

I kept a couple of other children’s adaptations handy. Not to plagiarize (!!!), but to reference. It was helpful to know what the other adapters chose to leave in and take out, and how they handled a difficult scene. I quickly learned that no two adaptations were the same, so I mostly played it by ear.  

And naturally, I channeled my inner teen and used SparkNotes – a great tool for answering the age old question, “Huh?”

The fun part of writing them was what I uncovered about the authors themselves and their writing styles. Here's what I learned:

The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde constantly had his characters throwing themselves on furniture. He flung himself onto the sofa. He threw himself down in a chair. After a while it became comical. But Wilde was a playwright with a flair for the dramatic, so I cut him a break.

Frankenstein – Remember the 1931 movie with Colin Clive and Boris Karloff? The lightning rod? The Tesla currents? Yeah, pretty awesome. But in the original novel, Shelley wrote, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. That sentence is beautiful, but what the heck are the instruments of life? And infuse a spark? I don’t think lightning rod, I think jumper cables. Anyway, kids are too inquisitive to just leave it at that so I got permission from my editor to spark him like they did in the movie.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – This one was easy cause I love that story. Poor Ichabod. What a schmuck. But here’s the thing. Washington Irving was a master storyteller and the king of description. Check this out. A stately squadron of snowy geese were riding in an adjoining pond, convoying whole fleets of ducks; regiments of turkeys were gobbling through the farmyard, and Guinea fowls fretting about it, like ill-tempered housewives, with their peevish, discontented cry. That’s a heck of sentence. Sleepy Hollow is just over 11,000 words. If Irving had dialed down the descriptions, it’d probably be about half that.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – This is in my top five of all-time favorite books. It’s a near perfect novel. Twain has a way of putting you on that raft and making you forget you’re a writer. But here’s the deal. If Huck were a boy in today’s world, he’d be on Ritalin. Truant…fidgety…always running away. Back then: Boys will be boys. Today: Developmental disorder. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for what's best for kids, but can you imagine what a drab story it would’ve been if Huck had complied with the Widow Douglas and hung around the house more? And I was actually surprised at how much of Twain’s text I could use, considering the dialect. (And in case you're wondering, in my adaptation, Jim was never labeled anything other than a slave.)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Here’s the main thing I learned from this novel...it’s tough to adapt an English translation of a French text. Seriously. And I skimmed that thing well. However, I still managed to get caught up in it all. And believe me, Paris in 1482 was not the romantic getaway it is today.

With the exception of Huck Finn, all these novels have one thing in common. Tragic endings. True, some of those guys had it coming - Dorian with this vain and selfish ways. Victor Frankenstein, the ultimate deadbeat dad. But poor Quasimodo. He was so distraught over Esmeralda’s death that he crawled into her tomb and died next to her lifeless body. Hand me a Kleenex.

No doubt about it, writing those adaptations was a challenge. But I'm glad I did it. And so is my resume.  

Sightseeing Is Like Writing

I went to Washington DC this past weekend. The occasion was my daughter's Swearing in Ceremony with the Department of State. Needless to say, we were proud and excited. But there was something else we did there. A lot of walking! And everything I do I relate to writing in some way.

I was wearing semi-dressy shoes for the ceremony. And we did a bit of walking while I had them on. Pretty shoes are great until you wake up with blisters on your feet. Yeah, like the high you get when writing that first draft. Then you go back and read it. Ugh.

That evening we went to the Lincoln Memorial. I was in comfy shoes, but the blisters were still forming. You know the first thing you see there? Steps. Lots of them. Huff your way up and you're wishing Abe would offer you his seat.

The next day we visited the Capitol. A lot of important gridlock takes place there. Writer’s block, anyone?

The Library of Congress is cool. What writer doesn’t want to be surrounded by books? (Am I the only one who thinks the reading room looks like Hogwarts?) But I absolutely loved the Bob Hope exhibit. It focuses more on politics than Bob, but I found it inspirational and nostalgic. And, oh yeah, I got to it by walking up stairs.

One thing that really stood out in DC was all the scaffolding. Repairs from last year’s earthquake. Repair, rewrite, repair, rewrite…same thing.

The last place we visited was the National Cathedral. I can’t help but compare it to writing. It took forever to build. There's a lot of intricacy. And it towers before you, swallowing you up. There’s a lot of praying involved too. I thought I was escaping those ever present evil stairs, but no, you have to go up and down them to get to the restrooms.

So the central theme here? Stairs. Lots of them. Heck, I even had to climb stairs to get to the Chili’s where I ate dinner last night. I did a lot of walking and a lot of stair climbing. The results? Sore calves! It’s an ouchy every time I take a step.

But walking and stair climbing is so much like writing. It’s painful. But in the end, it’s worth the effort.

Book Shout-Out - I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga

I’m sort of stingy when it comes to book shout-outs. A book really has to grab me…keep me turning the pages. But I Hunt Killers totally blew me away.

What's it about?

Jasper (Jazz) Dent had a unique upbringing. Unique in that his father was a famous serial killer. Yeah, that would make you stand out. And worse, Dad wanted Jazz to go into the family business. Like father like son? What Jazz really learned over the years was how to recognize the patterns of a serial killer. And he uses that expertise to help out the local police. But while he wants to do the right then, he still titters on the brink. Will he one day cross over to the dark side? Follow in Dad’s footsteps?

I know it’s only April, but I Hunt Killers is hands down my favorite book so far this year. I can always count on Barry Lyga to produce edgy books with superb writing, but he’s outdone himself with this one. I hope this thriller will bring about a new trend in YA fiction.

A Few Things about the SCBWI Houston Conference

This past Saturday I attended the Houston SCBWI Conference. I always go. And it’s always great.

The first thing I noted when I arrived...my name was spelled correctly on my name tag! That’s a good sign. It rarely happens.

Logo by Diandra Mae

Then the speakers spoke.  I won’t run down the highlights of their speeches. Just know that we basked in their brilliant awesomeness.

One thing I’ve noticed about agents and editors…they keep getting younger and younger. Nope, I’m not getting old, they’re definitely getting younger. But along with youth comes energy. Who doesn’t want that in an agent and editor?

I did something super smart when I registered. I paid for two professional critiques. One from an agent, one from an editor. Both gave amazing feedback. And the agent praised what she’d read and asked for the full manuscript. Yes! I need an agent, and she’s the agent I’d love to represent me.

What I like best about these conferences, is spending the day with good friends and likeminded people. It’s therapy. But you already know that.

When the day wound down, I was in for another surprise. My work was nominated for the Joan Lowery Nixon Award. The winner is mentored by the lovely Kathi Appelt, who graciously took over when Joan passed away in 2003. To say I was honored, major understatement. But today, I made the decision to withdraw my nomination. This is an award that should go to a less published author.

So we topped off the day with a Mexican buffet, after which I came home and crashed.

By the way, if you’re one of the coordinators who slaved so I could have a great day…thanks for everything! Including spelling my name right. 

I'd love to know your thoughts on conferences. The comment section is waiting.

Is Your Character a Zombie?

With the season finale of The Walking Dead still fresh on my mind, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the zombies vs. survivors dynamic.

Here’s what I know about survivors. They’re clever, skilled and creative. (I was going to add “fit,” but if you’re clever, skilled and creative you can be a contestant on The Biggest Loser and still defeat a zombie.) Being forever pursued, they’re constantly aware of their surroundings. They are strong-willed and adaptable.

Now think. Does any of this apply to your main character? 

If bullied, does he fight back? If lost, can he find his way? If leading, does he shoulder the weight?

Now let’s consider the zombies. Here’s what we know about them. They crave human flesh. They'll amble for miles to find food. They mostly travel in groups. And there is no hierarchy.

Is this your MC? 

Craving/wanting is the catalyst, but will your character stagger aimlessly until he happens upon his goal or does he have a game plan to tackle it? Is he just one of the group or does he stand out as an individual? Does he make his own rules, buck the system, challenge authority (A-listers, teachers, overbearing parents, etc.) or does he have free reign to tackle conflicts without consequence (boring!)?

I’d like to think that all of my main characters are survivors. That when faced with their own zombie apocalypse, they’re clever, skilled and creative. Oh, I’ve had a few who started out as zombies, but hey, that’s what revisions are for.

So next time you’re struggling with characterization, just ask. Is my MC a zombie or a survivor?  

   

I Need a Tag!

Dialogue tags. Yeah, we’re supposed to avoid them - start with an action instead. But your character can only scratch her nose or flip her hair so many times. 

Said is preferred. It's barely noticeable. But after too many, you'll notice.

Could it be you need something with punch? Well, that's where I come in. As it turns out, I’m a tag collector. And over the years, I’ve made a lengthy list. *And keep in mind, these are just fun, unusual tags.

For example: What did the agitated character do?

she bleated.

she blustered.

she bristled.

she crabbed.

she fussed.

she griped.

she groused.

she gruffed.

she grumbled.

she grumped.

she rumbled.

she spat.

and

she squawked.

Got one of those annoying sarcastic characters?

she chided.

she clucked.

she cracked.

she deadpanned.

she dug.

she egged.

she flouted.

she guffawed.

she heckled.

she mocked.

she mouthed off.

she poohed.

she quipped.

she sassed.

she scoffed.

she smirked.

she snarked.

and

she sniped.

Here are a few of my favorites:

she bubbled.

she coaxed.

she dazzled.

she ho-hummed.

she quavered.

she scrooged.

she sing-songed.

she tacked on.

And my ultimate favorite: *drumroll*

“Yeow!” she onomatopoeiad.

If you'd like a copy of my full alphabetized list (I've never had time to categorize it), contact me at enderle4@earthlink.net

Book Shout-Out: Everneath

I rarely review books. Mostly because I tend to use a lot of dumb lingo like “I LOVED it!” “Awesome!” “This book is great!” 

But this is one of those rare occasions, so I'll try to keep the exclamation marks to a minimum. I just finished  Everneath by Brodi Ashton. It definitely deserves a shout-out.

After 100 years, 17-year-old Nikki Beckett has just returned from the Everneath, an underworld where immortals feed on human prey. But in human time, only 6 months have passed. And she only has 6 months on the surface before being sucked back under again. It’s what happens in those 6 months that keeps you turning the page.  

Everneath was inspired by the myth of Persephone and Hades, and the story unfolds in the form of a countdown clock, adding to the suspense and sense of urgency.

Teeny bits of it were a little over the top, but it was well crafted, had engaging characters and no point will you have it “figured out.” It is simply a compelling read.

√ Highly recommend