Ideas & Content

It took three major whole drafts of this novel before I figured out that Josie had Cerebral Palsy. I knew what happened to Gran the first day. A project like this grows in layers, like the rings of a tree.

 Re-read the WINTER section of the novel but consider what the book would be like if Josie didn’t have cerebral palsy. Would she have more friends?

Review a piece of writing that you think you’re finished with and try to see if you can add a whole new layer to the events like Josie’s disability did to this story.

Voice

Gran’s voice is probably the most distinctive in the story. That’s hard because she’s not the main character where people expect some spice! Josie’s voice is timid but it changes over time into a more confident self-knowledge.

 Compare the poems “Poppies” to “Cold Strands of Spaghetti” and discuss how the character’s voices are revealed.

Compare the first and last poems of the novel. How does Josie’s voice reveal her changes?

Organization

The timeline of this novel kept moving back with each revision. Finally my editor told me that I was avoiding winter, protecting my main character from the loneliest period. I had to show Josie’s isolation before I could show how much her first friendship would mean to her. The “winter” section of this novel was actually the last part to be added.

Experiment with changing a story or narrative piece of your own from a different place in its timeline. Can you lead with something that starts before it does now? What about starting with the ending and then use a flashback?

Create a very specific timeline of a single event and then write several different leads from various points on your timeline. You’ll be amazed how this changes the whole tempo of your piece.

Fluency

In free verse poetry there is simply Nothing more important than the fluency of the words. Not even the word choice itself is more important. I read aloud each poem dozens of times (some of them even more) to try to make each poem pour from my lips like lyrics.

READ YOUR FINAL DRAFT ALOUD. You will change at least a dozen words if you listen to the way it sounds as you read.

Read “I miss” and “everything looks Greener” for examples of fluency

Word Choice

Since free verse poetry does not rely on rhyme for its impact it has to use the other poet’s tools for sound: alliteration, assonance, consonance, and repetition.

Define alliteration, assonance, consonance and repetition in your own words. Try to find examples of each in the novel.

Create at least three examples of each of these important poet’s tools!

Writing Conventions

Many people think that a poet has free license with writing conventions- a “poet’s license.” But that’s really not true- a poet must not lose his reader’s interest or trust by ignoring writing conventions. The most important thing about a poem is that the reader FEELS something. If they’re trying to puzzle out punctuation, then that’s not really possible, is it?

Read “the question”

“cutting” and “blurt”

How are the conventions of dialogue handled in these poems? Does it follow typical conventions or not? Why?

Why do you think dialogue is used so sparingly in free verse novels?