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Recently, we had friends visit us in the Outer Banks. My friend's youngest son had a Flat Stanley and took pictures of him wherever we went.
For those who don't know, Flat Stanley is based on a book by Jeff Brown. In the book, Flat Stanley travels the world in envelopes. Many schools started Flat Stanley projects where students took a Flat Stanley, one they cut out and colored themselves, out and about and took pictures. Then the kids wrote to an assigned friend elsewhere, think old-fashioned pen pals. It's a huge literary movement. So cool.
So, since my daughters and I (and my very wonderful mother) are heading out today for our cross-country car trip to San Francisco, I thought it would be fun to take pictures of my Chasing Memories promotional postcard (since it's flat) at various destinations across the US. After all, my girls and I are chasing memories.
My dog was my guinea pig for a starting photo. She was thrilled, can't you tell?
I figure it will be great material for some posts. In addition, I will post the pictures on my Facebook author page. So, please like my page if you haven't already.
Hope everyone is having a fun-filled summer. Maybe I'll fun into you on my trek!
Before you write me off as finally going off the deep end, I have to share an experience I had with my GPS today. My daughters and I were driving back from the beach. A horrible map reader, I am completely dependent on my GPS to tell me where to go. At no point do I consider straying from its suggestions. Even when a sign seems to disagree.
Occasionally it steers me wrong, but it's rare. Even then, the nice lady tells me to "take a U-turn when possible" and I still find my way.
What could this experience possibly have taught me about readers? Okay, I'm getting to that.
I get annoyed when the GPS tells me to turn right in 50 miles. In 50 miles, nothing happens. Usually, it's a reminder message to not veer onto a different highway by accident. There's not an actual turn. To me, all it really needs to say is, "stay on 64W for the next 150 miles" no matter which way that road veers.
This got me thinking. How much guidance does a reader need?
I know as a reader I do not want to be treated like I'm stupid. And I hate to be manipulated. If I'm reading a story that suggests a big directional change is coming and nothing happens, I'll get annoyed and frustrated.
As a writer, we need to lead our readers to the ultimate end point. It's even okay if they see other characters or story points that make them want to go in a different direction for a moment, as long as they ultimately stay on track. But we need to do so in a way that is entertaining and thought-provoking without spoon-feeding the reader.
But, we can't throw them a bunch of characters and disjointed story and expect them to weed their way through. If you ask them to "take a U-turn when possible" too many times, they might just pick a different place (or book).
