I’m not sure what the phrase, “Ready, Set, Action,” really means, but I’m guessing that it means, “Get ready, Set. We’re about to take action.” Or, “Ready the set! We’re about to go to action.” Places everyone. Get on your mark. Get set. Go!
Actors have marks. They have places. Before the scene moves into action, everyone has to be on their mark. The scene has to be set—has to be readied for the action that is coming.
One of the things that struck me as I read Wayfarer for the second time yesterday was that it would make a great movie. The inside of the oak tree is a wonderful setting for movie scenes. I want to go to Disneyland and walk through that tree. I want to live in that tree. I want to see the carvings. I want to see what they use for dishes.
Wayfarer is full of images that struck me as great movie images. Black crows winging across blue skies. Beautiful seductresses. Faeries caught in cages in an old church that has been taken over to be used for evil. Pristine islands, glittering green, in a sparkling sea.
Traveling inside of a backpack that contains stinky socks. Sitting at a table in the Oak, drinking wine offered by the queen.
In all of those scenes, there was action. The story was moving. There was danger. There was fighting and fleeing. There were goals and conflicts and failings and new goals. There were hardships faced and friendships forged. Action, action, action.
But first the set was readied. First the scene was set.
Whether your style is to add more details or less, one thing you have to do is set the scene. Show me enough of the setting so I don’t get lost, and show me who is in the scene. That is the minimum required. You have to write with clarity so the reader is not surprised by some element of the setting half-way through the scene or by some character who suddenly speaks when we weren’t even aware he was in the room.
What RJ Anderson does, beyond that minimum, is give us pictures that are striking and not mundane. She doesn’t go into great detail in her descriptions—she’s paints her settings somewhat sparsely and leaves us room to fill in the gaps with our imaginations, but the details she does give are striking.
WARNING!
DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!
SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW!
MINOR ONES, BUT POSSIBLY THERE IS STUFF HERE THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO READ UNTIL AFTER YOU READ THE BOOK.
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What makes the settings in Wayfarer striking? I think it’s the way Anderson sets them in opposition to one another. The contrasts make them stand out. An earnestness burning out of gray/green eyes in the face of a boy who isn’t sure he believes in anything anymore. A lovely young faery meant for flying and freedom, stuck in a backpack with dirty socks. A choice between a peaceful island and a life of fighting evil in a sin-soaked world. A church building taken over by an unholy usurper.
The good queen offers wine to her subjects while the bad queen drinks the blood of her subjects. The old man working in the world, teaching in the university, laboring in the trenches, sits at a simple table and offers simple food to the weary traveler who is poor and needy and has no money to pay. The super righteous people, ruling in their beautiful court, gleaming in their perfection, who have not dirtied their hands with the sins of the world, forget to be hospitable.
These contrasts make the settings memorable. The opulence of the court stands out all the more because it’s laid on top of the poor man’s table. The evil in the church building stands out because its taken hold of a place where Sunday School children in the past had been taught to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. They had been encouraged to think about their salvation, and now the people in the building are enslaved to evil and are not allowed to work out anything.
I can see this book as a movie. I love books more than movies, but I gotta tell you, I love that big screen, too. And I think I would love to go, via a movie, inside the Oak and to travel with Timothy and Linden to look for the Children of Rhys and to see them in the church before the throne of the evil empress. Very rich and striking scenes, all.
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tags: how to write for children, kidzbookbuzz blog tour, rj anderson, sally apokedak, wayfarer, wednesday writer
An excellent post, Sally. You’re so observant. I really like the contrasts you saw, and you have me convinced. I want to see these two books made into movies!
Rebecca LuElla Miller´s last [type] ..CBBT – Wayfarer by R. J. Anderson, Day 1
[...] at Whispers of Dawn, I talked a little bit about why I loved Anderson’s scenes and did a little dreaming about what these books would look like on the big screen. Would it not be [...]
Thank you once again for the lovely review and other blog posts on WAYFARER! I always enjoy the depth of insight and attention you bring to my books and am so happy that you feel they are worth not only reading, but sharing with others.
Hi Sally.
I hope you won’t mind, but I’ve jumped over to your site after reading your comments on dissiden’s blog over the last few days. I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate what you’ve been sharing.
In summary, I am a Christian who has struggled greatly with Reformed theology/Calvinist behavior in the last several years. I have had quite a few folks of the PCA (or other Reformed branches) toss the phrase “I believe in the Truth” as a weapon, as though I don’t also believe in the Truth of Christ (that I am a sinner, that Jesus – fully human and fully man – came to Earth to be punished and die for sin, that He fulfilled the scriptures, and that I’m only forgiven through acknowledgement of and faith in Jesus), as well. Such comments have come after I dared to ask questions about the finer points of their doctrine since they felt so compelled to attack. Such as, “Well, can you tell me how you define Truth? What are you seeing different in my definition?” I ask because I’d like to know! I want to engage in discussion after a comment like that. Perhaps I have something new to learn! Perhaps I might even have something to share as well… But I have never received a real answer. It’s been more like, “Well, if you don’t already know Truth I’m not going to tell you. Clearly you weren’t MEANT to know.” I suspect you can see where that would leave me frustrated and resentful – you seem to feel that way about diss, if I’m understanding correctly (and I note – as you pointed out – that he is not representative of PCA and has never claimed identity with it).
Anyways, so I stumbled on dissidens’ blog because I’m one of Mike’s friends as well. I was shocked. Terrified, really. Is this really “Truth” and how it manifests itself? I was picking up on some of the Reformed ideas/assumptions in his arguments (or lack thereof, since he doesn’t often see fit to engage in discussion if he doesn’t think you’re right). It was starting to really get to me. Is this really Truth? Is this version of God, Jesus, John, etc really accurate according to those of his doctrine?
Is this behavior really BIBLICAL?!
So it was very good for me to read comments your comments. You were open immediately about being PCA and you were attempting to engage diss for the same reasons that were disturbing me. Attacking, ignoring opportunities to engage in real discussion, evading explanations for extreme claims and acting as though Truth is only accessible to those with higher intelligence (I didn’t know God used an IQ test for salvation…in fact, I think Jesus said it’s better to have child-like faith). We must mature and grow, of course, but that we benefit from a simplistic embracement and earnest seeking.
So, thank you. Just want you to know you reached my heart… As a sister in Christ, I appreciate what you’re doing. I want to encourage you by sharing that your efforts have has been effective, even if not immediately obvious based on their responses to you.
Best Wishes,
Wendy
Thanks for the encouragement, Wendy. You are welcome to chat on either of my blogs anytime. My other blog is where I do more talking about the Reformed Faith. I’d love to talk to you about it if you’re interested. I may not have all the answers, but I’m happy to dig around in the Bible looking for them. I’m convinced all the answers we need for faith and life are in the Bible. And I’m convinced the Holy Spirit is willing and able to show them to us.
Thanks again for stopping by!
sally apokedak´s last [type] ..Ready- Set- Action