HELP FOR THE HERO Grandmother Gives Me Some Advice, Tears of a Clown, and Halloween: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Hi Allyson,

Chapter headings do herald the coming events, and whet the appetite of readers. Just from the title of the next chapter, readers wonder what advice Grandmother will give Junior--and they'll read to find out.

Joseph Campbell's Hero’s Journey follows the step referred to as "The Road of Trials" with a step known as "The Meeting with the Goddess." Junior, taunted and bullied, has been through a “Road of Trials,” which resulted in his hauling off and slugging Roger in the face. Then Junior confronts a dilemma: what next? What can he expect the next time he sees Roger?

I think of Junior’s conversation with his grandmother as a kind of “meeting with the Goddess,” since his grandmother represents wisdom and unconditional love. His grandmother provides the answer: “They’re going to respect you now.” She’s right. They do. At least, the guys do. It takes longer for the girls--even by the end of “Halloween,” two chapters later, Junior is still isolated by the girls: “I was still a stranger in a strange land.”

Story Sleuths Tip #8: Adult characters can assist your protagonist, and can offer advice and wisdom, so long as the main character stays directly involved in the action.

Over to you, Allyson.
Meg

How To Fight Monsters: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Hi Meg -

In this chapter I am reminded of some things we've already mentioned that are done so well. The way Alexie  builds suspense by making me as a reader wait all chapter long to find out what on earth the chapter heading was referring to-- fighting monsters? The language, the precise words and phrases that ARE the voice -- "I was emotionally erect."

But the thing I would like to draw specific attention to is something I mentioned a moment ago: the chapter headings, and the ways in which they compliment the book as a whole. The headings draw me in. They match the voice of the character. They make me, the reader, wonder what is coming, and invite me to keep reading. This chapter's heading is a perfect example: How To Fight Monsters. Upon reading that I needed to keep reading and find out what he was talking about. Real monsters? Internal monsters? Another way that Alexie uses chapter settings successfully is as markers of time. Headings like Halloween, Slouching Toward Thanksgiving, and And A Partridge in a Pear Tree give the reader a sense of the chronology of the story. As writers we do not necessarily need to mention within the context of a chapter where we are in time--the chapter heading can do that for us.

Story Sleuths Tip # 7: Chapter headings can serve as an invitation to your reader that they cannot resist--please keep reading!

UPPING THE ANTE ON YOUR HERO’S QUEST Go Means Go & Rowdy Sings the Blues: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Hi Allyson,

I love questions. They wake me up if my mind wanders a bit. And right off the bat on the first page of “Go Means Go” Junior asks “the biggest question,” which is: “Who has the most hope?”

That question stopped me, as it stopped Junior’s parents. Just for a moment, though. They know the answer. Then they share it, with us and with Junior, in chorus: “White people,” which Junior knew. It’s an answer that leads to another question—a bigger question: what will Junior will DO next? Junior’s decision is pivotal—he announces his journey into a new world, the world of Rich White People. Though his parents try to dissuade him, he’s adamant. And furthermore, he’s aware of the danger. But he decides to go anyway. “Tomorrow.”

In this chapter, Alexie sets Junior off on the start of his quest. The die is cast. Go means go. But danger lurks, as Junior predicts that “my fellow tribal members are going to torture me.” And he’s right—in the following chapter Rowdy does torture him, and not just physically, but much worse. “I knew that my best friend had become my worst enemy.”

Story Sleuths Tip #6: At the outset of the hero’s quest, raise the stakes by setting risk or danger directly in his/her path.

Over to you, Allyson.

Meg

Hope Against Hope: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Hi Meg –


I never thought of it that way before – how preceding a peak in action with a flatter section of story serves to heighten the peak. I like that.


Now we move into a very powerful chapter, charged with emotion. Junior learns about his sister’s passion for writing. He learns for the first time ever that there may actually be an option other than life on the reservation. He learns that there may be hope. And here is what I noticed as a writer—Alexie is heightening my interest in the story by asking new questions. First, through the mouth of the protagonist when Junior says on page 40, “But I still want to know exactly why my sister gave up on her dream of writing romance novels.” As a reader I pause here and find that I want to know the same thing. Then, when Mr. P. says at the end of the chapter, “Son, you’re going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk away from this sad, sad, sad reservation,” it is not Junior, but me, the reader who is forced to ask the question—is he going to do it? Is he going to leave?


Story Sleuths Tip # 5: Questions build suspense, whether they are posed by a character, or the situation begs that your reader ask them.


-- Allyson

Because Geometry Is Not a Country Near France: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Hi Allyson,

I agree. Focusing on seeing the world through my character’s eyes is one sure way to create individual, memorable characters. And in this chapter there’s a vivid example of seeing through the character’s eyes—Junior’s portrait of his sister. We LITERALLY see her through his eyes.

Here, the story unfolds at a slower pace than in the previous chapters. Less action happens, Instead of action, Alexie fills in some backstory and introduces two characters who will become important to the story—Junior’s sister, and Mr. P. It isn’t until the last page of the chapter that something dramatic happens, when Junior heaves his geometry book directly at Mr. P. THAT’S action! Charting the tension of the first 6 pages in this chapter on a graph with a vertical axis from “flat” to “thrilling” might yield a wavering line, barely rising until the end of the chapter. But that preparation means the action at the end packs a huge wallop. As Katherine Paterson once said in a speech at an International Reading Association Conference, “Make them laugh, make them cry, but most of all, make them wait.” Alexie made us wait—and then he made it worth the wait.

Story Sleuths Tip # 4: Backstory and slower pacing can lead up to and heighten important dramatic action.

Over to you, Allyson.
Meg

Revenge is My Middle Name: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Hi Meg,


I need to add something that occurred to me when reading chapter two, specifically the scene in which Oscar is shot. When he spoke at the SCBWI conference, Alexie said that a major theme in this story is about being trapped; about the experience all children have of their decisions being made for them. This is what gives the book universal appeal. Yes, it is a story about a poor-ass kid on a reservation, but the character is a child experiencing something all children can relate to—his choices are being made FOR him. He is completely powerless when his parents decide Oscar’s fate. Furthermore, while he is powerless, he still recognizes that as much as he wishes to be in control, he needs his parents. He says, “my mother and father are the twin suns around which I orbit and my world would EXPLODE without them.”


Jordan Brown, editor at Walden Pond Press says that the character should be someone the audience can relate to. Whether you are a wealthy white kid from the suburb or an inner-city kid struggling just to eat each day, you can relate to both the powerlessness and the desperate need for parental support that Junior experiences. I think Alexie does a great job of exposing the frailties unique to kids in this age group.


Okay, now on to the next chapter. This go around I will point out the attention to details that really let us into Junior’s life. Richard Peck has said “The character should only see things that matter.” In other words, as writers we must take care not to reveal to the reader those things that the author might notice, but that the character would not. We have the tendency as writers to imagine ourselves in a setting and then describe in detail everything we see. Instead, we should describe the things our character would notice. On page 17 Junior describes the 127th annual powwow celebration where there would be, “singing, war dancing, gambling, storytelling, laughter, fry bread, hamburgers, hot dogs, arts and crafts, and plenty of alcoholic brawling.” I believe that as an adult, especially as a non-Indian adult I would notice many things at the powwow that Junior does not mention, and I appreciate that I am seeing the world through HIS eyes.

Story Sleuths Tip # 3: See the world through your character’s eyes.

Why Chicken Means So Much to Me (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian)

Hi Allyson,

Yes, I'm grabbed by that first line of the first chapter, too. It's reminiscent of that classic first line--"Where's Papa going with that ax?" Both these first lines plant a stick of dynamite under the reader and kick the story into high gear right out of the starting gate.

Now, onward to the next chapter. I’m always fascinated by voice. And I’m not the only one, as both Heather and Kimberlee commented that Junior’s voice comes through loud and clear, even from the first pages.

I’m always wondering: How does a writer capture the voice of a character? Alexie nails Junior’s voice. I can HEAR Junior talking. How does Alexie do this? One way, I noticed, is that Junior addresses me, the reader, directly. In general, I'm not a fan of "dear reader" asides, which I often find forced and distracting, but in Junior’s case I find it endearing to be addressed directly. It’s chatty. It’s conversational. It feels real. “Okay, so now you know that I’m a cartoonist.” I’m there, with Junior, watching him draw, on the rez. The narrator drags me into his story.

Kirby Larson, Newbery Honor winning author of Hattie Big Sky said, in a presentation for writers focused on voice, “using voice tics, like ‘yo, man,’ is one way of identifying your character’s voice.” And, by the way, did you notice how many sentences Junior starts with “and”? “And sure,” “And hey,” “And now,” just for starters, in the space of 4 paragraphs. That’s the rhythm of spoken language, of storytelling. That’s Junior’s voice.

Story Sleuths Tip #2: Read the story you have written and ask yourself: Is my storytelling voice fresh and unique?

Over to you, Allyson.

Meg