Squeetus summer book club: Princess Academy, chapters 21-22

Chapter 21-22

It's such a relief to me to read this book again and find that I still approve. Wouldn't it be terrible to reread your own published book and feel mortified? Or yearn for a chance to change it? I'm certain the book isn't perfect (whatever that might mean), nor is it remotely right for everyone. But writers will always fail trying to write a book to Everyone or to any audience outside ourselves. For my own internal reader, this book still stands up.

Here is my humiliating play-by-play to reading the chapter: "Ooh, that's good. Ooh, I like that line. Such tension! Good paragraph. Go Miri!" Yes, I'm cheering on my own writing. Now whenever I blog something like that, revealing that I approve of my own books, I get comments and/or emails scolding me for being arrogant. Please know that this comes after a year and a half of writing every day, crying, praying, sweating over the manuscript, doing rewrite after rewrite after rewrite, taking in tons of criticism, pondering it and using it to make the book better. Every book flings me down into the depths of mortification and self-doubt, and I have to fight my way out of the pit. After all that work, am I allowed to sit back and feel proud of what I've done? Maybe not. But I do wonder, if I were a man, would the reaction to my self-approval be as negative? I think we tend to be a little harder on women. Just thinking aloud here, because I'm finding little to say about these chapters.

Okay, here's something: FORESHADOWING, that wonderful literary quiz term. The "f" word (foreshadowing, we're talking about foreshadowing) must be used lightly, but to ignore it entirely can make the readers surprised in a bad way. I mentioned the bandits three before they arrived: once when soldiers arrive in chapter 3, once to Olana, and then at the Spring Festival the narrator mentions the villagers retold the story as they always do. Any more than that, and the reader will be like, "Yeah, I get it, bandits are going to show up later." Any less than that and the reader will be like, "Bandits? That's random!" As a writer, I try to be so delicate with any foreshadowing that the reader barely notices it or forgets it soon thereafter, so that when the foreshadowed event occurs, the reader remembers and is surprised in that good way. That's my goal anyway. Whether or not I succeed depends on each reader.

Moments of victory: I like little moments of victory nestled inside larger tales. They're like good finger holds on a steep climbing wall. If everything is dark, depressing, hopeless, as a reader I start to buy out. When Miri and the girls tell their captors the bandits story, as a reader I can take a breath and keep reading. When Miri feels Peder quarry-speech from afar, that's a moment.

Looking back at my third draft when quarry-speech was a kind of cheesy telepathy, these chapters were far less tense. Silly even. If I were to map out the scenes of my earliest complete draft to the final, I think it would seem like little changed in this particular book. From first to last, the outline of the story stayed essentially the same. But the writing within changed so much, I doubt a single sentence remained untouched. Rewriting sometimes is just about making what I have work better. Imagery, tension, character, relationships, tone, layers, significance--all these things come through rewrites.

Three more chapters! Ask me your questions, I'll try to get to them all Tues/Wed/Thurs. Next week I have new stuff planned: boys and books! Photos! Contest with prizes!

Comments

[lissie]

You SHOULD be proud of your work, it's amazing. :) Maybe the way you write doesn't work for everyone, but it works perfectly for me! Thank you so much for writing the books you write, I really enjoy them.

[Alison]

I completely understand how you feel sometimes when reading your own writing! Sometimes, you reread something you wrote and go, wow, that's great! Did I really write that? Or there's just that moment when the perfect sentence is formed, and you can't help but cheer. I love your foreshadowing, by the way; all the best writers I read slip it in subtley like that.I'm afraid my own attempts won't be as subtle! Um...okay..how about...how did the other villagers react when Peder told them that the girls weren't coming home? I'd have thought they would have come right away to ask why...what were they thinking at that moment?

[Jessica]

Ok, so this is my first time reading your blog. My mom loves it and suggested it to me for my summer English reading. I adore your writing, and have read all of your young adult books. So I just have a few questions and you definitely don't have to answer any of them, but I like how you interact with your fans :) First of all, how do you balance description, action, information and character development. I'm still only fifteen but I know that it's hard to find that balance in writing. Second. When I write, I learn of my imperfections along the way, and it makes it so hard to continue writing, because I worry that the imperfections could mess up the plot. Have you ever encountered that? And how do you endure it? I could write a novel of questions and compliments of your writing, but I'll restrain myself. I absolutely love you work and if I could ever write like you, I'd consider myself very lucky.

[Isobel]

Foreshadowing is interesting; I haven't thought about it much before. In Princess Academy, it definitely worked.

As far as approving your own books goes...by the time a book is finished (as in publishing finished) the work of so many people has gone into it that I think it's safe to praise it. However, even if it is solely yours, without bragging, shouldn't you be able to say you're happy with it? An architect wouldn't finish building a house and then refrain from telling its future inhabitants whether it was safe or not.

[grace]

I'm deathly curious, although you might not be allowed to answer yet: How old is Miri by the end of "Palace of Stone"? I cannot wait to continue Miri's story! :)

[Dr. Sallie N. Cheinsteen]

I can't imagine not being proud of your work! My grandma always said "It ain't bragging if you've done it." If you work hard, which you have, and you can see good come from that work, it's definitely something you can be proud of. If we weren't proud of our work, it would be nearly impossible to keep going and trying to contribute more work to the world. Love your thoughts on foreshadowing, too.

[Rin-Isilee]

Writing is hard. Awful, sometimes. It's an uphill climb in knee deep mud. After all that, I hope you love what you wrote. If you didn't, it'd be kind of a waste, don't you think? Also, I passionately love the part when Peder quarry speaks from afar. It always gives me that thrill of triumph.

[Rebecca]

This chapter made me think of a "Peter Pan" quote:

Wendy: Oh, the cleverness of you.

Thank you for going through all those struggles to create such a riveting read! Toot your horn! You deserve it!

[Kendyl]

I love your writIng; I definetly don't think it's bragging after all the work put into this. Besides, it's hard not to enjoy great writing. I love your books and blog. Princess Academy is definitely on of my favorite books! I've really loved this book club. Thanks so much for your stories.

[Kitty]

Back in the fall, friends and I became hooked on a popular fantasy TV show. The day after the spring season fanalli, my friend turned to me and asked, "What am I to do all summer?!" My answer: "Read Shannon Hale. It may not have the parallel universe of our favorite TV show, but her books are some of the BEST I've ever read." One of the highlights of my summer has been rereading all of your wonderful books, and I can think no better way than to end it with Palace of Stone!! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with the world!!!!!!

[Savanna]

You have every right to be proud of your work! And I love foreshadowing when it's subtle because then the reader is surprised but it seems natural as well. The bandit chapters are one of my favorites!!

[Heather]

I went to a presentation by Robin Cook at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in April. He said his first book didn't sell very well. Then he reread it. And realized it was incredibly awful. So he figured out what was wrong with it, figured out how to make a better book, and has since written about 30 bestsellers. He talked a bit about how hard it was to realize he had messed up with his first book, but how he learned from it and how proud he is of his later books. Interestingly, he said with that first book he was trying to make a soapboxy point (and failed). The rest of his books he wrote to entertain (and he's ended up making a point in many in the process).

You should definitely be proud of PA. The poetic quality of the writing is so beautiful. I don't think it's arrogant at all to be happy with an approve of your own books. What would be the point of being an author if you didn't? I'm glad you are happy with what you wrote. I think if an author isn't happy with their writing, a lot of readers won't be either.

Boy was it hard to stop reading after chapter 22. I know how it turns out and I still can't wait to finish these last chapters again.

[Michael]

I'd love such a book, so long as it isn't one of those touchy-feely "fire in the belly" ones that were all the rage feietfn or twenty years ago. This issue is as much sociology and biology as it is psychology, in my view. For men, it's an existential question: "What am I here for? What is my purpose? What does society expect from me?"You'd bring a valuable female perspective to that question, I think, since you seem to be sympathetic to the male point of view on such things.