Another confession: One of my more curmudgeonly, least practical goals as a children’s writer is to never set so much as a single scene of my fiction inside a school.
I’ve got nothing against schools, the people who attend them (I was one), work at them (I’m the son, grandson, nephew, brother-in-law, son-in-law, and husband of current or former educators), or write about them (such as Laurie Halse Anderson, whose terrific Speak I hope to finish tonight).
It’s just that writing about what happens there doesn’t interest me nearly as much as what happens on the other 99.9999999999% of the earth’s surface.
Sure, lots of children — my audience — spend lots of time in school. But adults spend even more time at work, and I’m not interested in writing about the office, either.
I’ve written novels both ways. One has some events at school (it can be pretty unavoidable — depending on the situation.) The other is an adventure novel and although he does attend school, I bypass it altogether and set my scenes after he comes home.
I guess you’ll have to set your novel during summer vacation? If you are writing pb’s for Charlesbridge, you CAN’T have school settings. I got rejected once because I had my story at a school.
I’ve written novels both ways. One has some events at school (it can be pretty unavoidable — depending on the situation.) The other is an adventure novel and although he does attend school, I bypass it altogether and set my scenes after he comes home.
I guess you’ll have to set your novel during summer vacation? If you are writing pb’s for Charlesbridge, you CAN’T have school settings. I got rejected once because I had my story at a school.
I’ve written novels both ways. One has some events at school (it can be pretty unavoidable — depending on the situation.) The other is an adventure novel and although he does attend school, I bypass it altogether and set my scenes after he comes home.
I guess you’ll have to set your novel during summer vacation? If you are writing pb’s for Charlesbridge, you CAN’T have school settings. I got rejected once because I had my story at a school.
I’m intrigued by this anti-school scene stance. My first reaction is that I tend to just follow around my characters, none of whom seem to have any regard for my personal preferences. That said, though, upon reflection, there are no school scenes in Jingle Dancer or Rain Is Not My Indian Name, both of which take place over the summer, or Indian Shoes, which is about home/city life, or in *any* of my short stories (though one does take place on a school bus). Perhaps I’m doing the same thing without realizing it! Hm. Still thinking… I do have a few school scenes in my upcoming YA, but it was *my editor* who encouraged me to put them in (which, okay, did help, but…). Perhaps we are kindred writing souls? How illuminating!
I’m intrigued by this anti-school scene stance. My first reaction is that I tend to just follow around my characters, none of whom seem to have any regard for my personal preferences. That said, though, upon reflection, there are no school scenes in Jingle Dancer or Rain Is Not My Indian Name, both of which take place over the summer, or Indian Shoes, which is about home/city life, or in *any* of my short stories (though one does take place on a school bus). Perhaps I’m doing the same thing without realizing it! Hm. Still thinking… I do have a few school scenes in my upcoming YA, but it was *my editor* who encouraged me to put them in (which, okay, did help, but…). Perhaps we are kindred writing souls? How illuminating!
I’m intrigued by this anti-school scene stance. My first reaction is that I tend to just follow around my characters, none of whom seem to have any regard for my personal preferences. That said, though, upon reflection, there are no school scenes in Jingle Dancer or Rain Is Not My Indian Name, both of which take place over the summer, or Indian Shoes, which is about home/city life, or in *any* of my short stories (though one does take place on a school bus). Perhaps I’m doing the same thing without realizing it! Hm. Still thinking… I do have a few school scenes in my upcoming YA, but it was *my editor* who encouraged me to put them in (which, okay, did help, but…). Perhaps we are kindred writing souls? How illuminating!