Writing Radar

Starred review from June 19, 2017
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.

July 15, 2017
Advice on writing from one of the best writers around. "I'm a writer and I'm on your side," Gantos says, as if he's putting an arm around a young writer's shoulder and guiding them through a door to a new life. With a snappy voice, his own funny ink drawings, and expertise drawn from a career full of great books, he covers just about everything: where to find ideas and characters, how to structure a story, why to keep a journal, and even what to write with. Every step of the way he includes examples from his own writing. As humorous as he is, Gantos is authoritative and serious about his craft, careful to include every building block for constructing a good story--characters, setting, problem, action, crisis, resolution, and the need for a double ending (physical and emotional). Chapter 2 ("Getting Started") ought to be read by all teachers and parents: it's a manifesto on how to raise a reader (and writer) by reading aloud excellent picture books to young children and placing good books in the hands of children as they get older, and he offers a handy list of just what some of those books should be. While his list of picture books is not a particularly diverse one, the middle-grade titles suggested are nicely inclusive. A standout among writing guides, valuable for its sage and friendly encouragement and for the sheer fun of hanging out with Jack. (Nonfiction. 10-14)

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Starred review from July 1, 2017

Gr 4-8-You might expect that the writing method of the author of such no-holds-barred tales as Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs, and the Newbery Award-winning Dead End in Norvelt would be chaotic. You might picture him plucking bizarre anecdotes from his own frenzied noggin and slapping them together in a blind delirium of inspiration. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Gantos has taught writing for almost as long as he has been a published author, and it shows in this entertaining yet disciplined guide to the writing process. He takes a true craftsman's approach-sketching inspirations and taking notes, assembling the work piecemeal before fitting it together, and then going over the whole in multiple passes like a carpenter embellishing, sanding, and varnishing his work. The author's explanations of these steps, illustrated by his goofy cartoons and exemplified by captivating pieces of short fiction, are sensible and straightforward. "Don't be that writer who waits all day for the perfect first sentence," he advises, "or you will grow old while learning to hate yourself and writing." Readers as well as writers will benefit from this structured approach. Being able to identify story elements is essential for critique: If characters don't ring true, is it the result of inadequate exposition of their interior life, or is it the dialogue that doesn't work? Even experienced reviewers will learn a thing or two. VERDICT A must for aspiring writers.-Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2017
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* Leave it to Gantos to rewrite the rules for children's writing manuals. Taking the classic writing dictum show, don't tell to heart, he doesn't just instruct kids or explain his technique; he offers many memoirlike anecdotes and narratives to dramatize the ideasfor example, the story of the class visit that inspired his book Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (1998). Never less than entertaining and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, his stories will engage even readers who have no intention of voluntarily writing anything. But that's not his intended audience here. Speaking directly to readers who aspire to create their own books, he says, I'm a writer and I'm on your side. His ongoing, self-deprecating tale of the story journal he kept as a child becomes an involving narrative that will amuse kids while reassuring them that even a seriously good writer was once a kid who didn't know how to start. He offers them practical approaches to learning the craft, detailed advice and examples related to keeping a journal, and a useful chapter on story structure and elements. Other particularly helpful sections involve finding good story material and rewriting in stages. A focused, fun, and uncommonly useful guide for young, aspiring writers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)