One Writer's Process

Survival of the Fittest: The Last Hope for the Human Race

by Michael Taylor

For today's slice, I decided to interview friend and colleague, Michael Taylor who recently published  his debut novel, Survival of the Fittest.  Many of my students have read his book and absolutely loved it1 I think one reason the book has become so popular is because readers identify with the characters and see themselves through their eyes.

The story begins one night when the seven teenagers awake to find they are completely alone. Their parents are gone, and it seems everyone on earth has disappeared as well. The electricity is off. Surrounded by darkness, the differences among them that once seemed so important no longer matter.  They are the sole survivors of an alien attack and the last hope for humanity.

A big thank you to Michael for giving us a peek inside his writing and publishing process.

1. What made you want to write a science fiction novel?
I didn't really pick the genre of the book before I started. I began writing and this is where my story took me.

2. Where did you get the idea for Survival of the Fittest?
Most of my ideas come from movies, reading, and television.

3. How has being a teacher influenced your writing?
I think my style of writing has been greatly influenced by teaching. When I was in college I had a professor who hated my creative writing because I didn't use a lot of imagery and metaphor, but I think my style is what teen readers really look for. I feel kids today are part of the instant gratification generation and to make them stop and think about what they have to picture in their mind is, at this time in history, too much. Let's hope this will all swing back to more thoughtful writing.

4. As a full-time teacher, how do you fit writing into your schedule?
I make time. Writing is what I love to do, so no matter what, I'll build my fun into my schedule. It's very much like people who golf, do ceramics, or are active in social groups.

5. More writers are beginning to consider self-publishing over traditional publishing fpr various reasons. Why did you chose to self-publish your novel? Would you tell us a little about the process?
I self-published because I was getting nowhere by sending my manuscript to literary agents. The market isn't scrambling to find authors. So in doing some of my own research, I read that most literary agents won't even look at a manuscript until the author has been published. It's a smart thing for literary agents to do, it shows them who actually wants to be an author and who might be wasting their time.
The process was easy for me. I worked with iUniverse who basically walked me through the whole process. I had to pay for everything, but in the end, realizing a life-long dream, it was well worth it.

6. I know that you are an voracious reader of YA fiction. Which authors have been the biggest influence on you as a writer?
The biggest influence for me has been Neal Shusterman. I think this man is an unstoppable force in the realm of young adult literature.

7. What can your readers look forward to next?
I'm in the process of editing the first book in a second series I'm writing, The World Beyond - Ancient History and hope that the first book will be out by spring. I've also just finished the second book of Survival of the Fittest, subtitle, The Closest Enemy. The second book is a whole lot edgier than the first. And spinning in this head of mine are a million other stories that I hope to write. If all goes well, and writing turns out to be successful, I will keep readers well stocked with series upon series.

Here are a few of the comments students shared with me:
"My favorite character is Trevor because he acted very closely to the way a person would be expected to act in these circumstances. I really loved the ending, it was very interesting and suspenseful. The ending left room for another book, but it was still exciting." -Serena (7th. grade)

"The best part was when the blade comes out of Trevor's arm because it was really surpising. It was the beginning of the end! - Alexei (7th. grade)

If you enjoy reading fast-moving, action-packed science fiction,  Survival of the Fittest is for you! You can read more reviews here.

Poetry Friday: Take Two: A Celebration of Twins

I’m happy to be sharing Take Two! A Celebration of Twins, a brand new poetry collection by two of our most beloved and prolific poets, J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen. I know those two names alone will make you want to order this book right away!

The collection is divided into sections: “Twins in the Waiting Womb,” “Twinfants,” How to Be One,” and “Famous Twins.” All forty-four poems are just delightful! Topics range from twins in waiting, to learning and growing together, to seeking individuality. The illustrations by Sophie Blackall (of Ivy & Bean fame) are sure to entice even the most reluctant readers. I also love the facts about twins sprinkled throughout the book!

I asked Pat a few questions about the collection, and he was so kind  (as always) to respond quickly so I could post this today. (Thanks, Pat.) I think you’ll enjoy his responses.

1. You've written several poetry collections with other poets including: Jane Yolen, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, and Paul Janeczko. How is the process of co-authoring a poetry collection different from writing solo? What are the joys and challenges of working on a project with another poet?

Collaboration is probably the wrong word to use (though I use it all the time) because the process does not involve two people slaving back and forth over the same poem.Think of these co-authored books as just that: a collection of individual poems, half written by one poet, and the second half by the other poet.

2. Which of the poems you wrote for the collection is your favorite?

Well, I am a twin (the gods be thanked) so one of my favorites in the book would have to be "Pat and Mike," even though I've played fast and loose with my twin's and my respective facts. The longer poems about Cynthia and her sister getting baths isn't bad, I think. And I do like the villanelle about the two young twins who teach each other everything.
3. You've mentioned that your brother is your first reader. Did he offer any advice/suggestions for this collection?
Oh, I pass everything I write along to him first to see what his reaction will be. Since I value his judgement more than anyone else's, I'm eager to get his take on my work. If he says it's fine, then I'm happy. If he says it needs more work, then I get back to work on the poem.

Now, without further delay, I'll share one of the poems Pat wrote that is one of his favorites (but not "Pat and Mike," I'll  keep that one a surprise for you to discover when you get your copy of the book). 

We Learned to Sing

We learned the alphabet; we learned to sing
Because my twin had called it "double-play."
We taught each other almost everything.

I showed her how to push me in the swing.
She's smart. She learned it quickly, the same way
We learned the alphabet and learned to sing.

And entertain with puppets on a string.
Our mom and dad came for the matinee!
We taught each other almost everything.

Remember how it stung— that first bee sting?
But there she was, and it was like the day
We learned the alphabet and learned to sing.

If she was some bright bird, I was the wing.
If I was like a model, she was clay.
We taught each other almost everything.

From summer, autumn, winter into spring.
and after kindergarten we would say
The alphabet together and we'd sing.

This poem has its own familiar ring—
Two twins who stick together come what may.
We learned the alphabet and learned to sing.
We taught each other almost everything.

           -J Patrick Lewis. all rights reserved

Isn't that lovely?  I especially like the lines:
If she was some bright bird, I was the wing.
If I was like a model, she was clay.

Jane was also very kind to respond in time for me to include her favorite among the poems she wrote for the collection.  Check out the clever wordplay.  I can't wait to try this as a choral reading activity with my sixth grade group. I think I'll divde the class into two groups and have them alternate reading a line at a time. What do you think, would that work?

Twinfestation

Some time we twincubate in Mom,
   For not quite a year;
The twindow opens up for us,
   We twinstantly appear.

Not yet quite twindividuals,
   So twinsomely we smile
With winning twincandescence,
   They let us stay awhile.

And soon, from spring to twinter,
   We've lived with them so long,
This small twinfestation
   No longer seems so wrong.

-Jane Yolen, all rights reserved

Wow! Jane's poetry is always amazing, inspiring, and surprising!  Can't you just imagine kids making up their own "twin" words after reading this poem? 

 No matter if you're a twin or a singleton, I know you'll enjoy reading Take Two! A Celebration of Twins.

Poetry Friday: Tugg and Teeny

As a teacher, I'm always looking for books that will excite and motivate young readers.  I'm especailly looking for books that will interest boys.  I'm happy to share a fantastic new book with you that readers of all ages are going to love.  Tugg and Teeny, Sleeping Bear Press,  is a new beginning reader written by one of our favorite poets, J. Patrick Lewis.  Tugg, a gorilla, and Teeny, a monkey, are two lovable characters who, along with their friends,  live in the jungle and help each other through life's challenges.

In this first of the three book series, Teeny strives to achieve his dreams. He tackles a different goal (becoming a musician, an artist, a poet) in each of three chapters. No matter what he decides to try,   his best friend, Tugg, is always by his side to lend a hand or offer advice.

I especially love the way Teeny takes risks and tries new things. I think this sends an important message to kids that it's okay to step out of their comfort zone, and try something new. Even though Teeny doesn't always succeed at first, with the encouragement of his friend Tugg, he continues to try. Tugg is the kind of friend we all hope for: dependable, loyal, and supportive.

Reader of all ages will enjoy the three separate stories in this early chapter book.  The brightly-colored illustrations by Chistopher Denise help bring life to these adorable characters.  (He did a fabulous job of showing their personalities.) Although the book is written with beginning readers (grades 2-3)  in mind, I think the stories will work as excellent models to teach writing skills (dialogue, point-of-view, plot, etc.) to my middle school students. 

As I mentioned above, Tugg and Teeny is part of a three-book series.  I love that because once kids are introduced to these characters, they'll be ravenous readers begging for each book that follows. The next book, Jungle Surpries, comes out May 2011. I can't wait!  Check out the  Tugg and Teeny website  for more about upcoming titles in the series and activity pages. Tugg and Teeny is sure to put a smile on your face.  If you've read it, I've love to hear ways you're using it with your students and/or your own children.  I have a feeling this series is going to be very popular!

POETRY FRIDAY: Remembering Lucille Clifton

In honor of Lucille Clifton who passed away last Saturday, I'm sharing one of her poems that I use with my students. I first read "Listen Children" in the poetry collection for children, Pass It On: African-American Poetry for Children. This is a wonderful collection with poems by some of my favorite poets: Nikki Grimes, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn brooks, Nikki Giovanni, Eloise Greenfield, Mari Evans, Counteee Cullen, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Henry Dumas, and others. The title of the collection comes from the last line in "Listen Children."

Listen Children

listen children

keep this in the place

you have for keeping

always

keep it all ways

we have never hated black

You can read the rest of this poem and other poems by Lucille Clifton here.

Pass it On: African-American Poetry for Children selected by Wade Hudson, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper, Scholastic, 1993.Listen Children

Poetry Friday: COUNTDOWN TO SUMMER

With only two weeks before school starts, there's so much to do to get ready! I'm always looking for time savers, and I just found a great one in J Patrick Lewis' new collection, COUNTDOWN TO SUMMER: A Poem for Every Day of the School Year. It is an excellent choice for teachers who want to bring more poetry into their classroom.

My first thought was that this would be a wonderful gift for new teachers who don't yet have files of resources. What a fun way to encourage them to share daily poems with their students!

But new teachers shouldn't have all the fun. This collection is an excellent resource for all teachers. The poems in COUNTDOWN TO SUMMER are perfect for daily warm-ups. Kids will love watching the days decrease with each daily poem.

The 180 poems are short and contain lots of teaching points. For example poem 172 begins:

Eid ul-Fitr

The new moon is rising.
Ramadan has passed,
Holiest of holy months
When true believers fast.

Gathering at the mosque,
Borne on wings of prayer,
Quitting fast to feast,
A festival affair

I teach in a school where many religions and cultures are represented. Wouldn’t this poem make a great discussion starter or writing prompt for students to share some of their own customs and traditions? In addition, kids are learning about a culture they probably aren’t very familiar with. Other poems about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year, Easter, St. Patrick, etc., will also provide students with cultural mini-lessons.

Another time-saving feature of the collection is the poems are written in many different forms: concrete poems, epitaphs, quatrains, acrostics, riddles, limericks, haikus, and even an abecedarian. I teach many of these forms so I’m always looking for examples kids will understand and relate to. For example, I think poem 175, “Reading Harry Potter Under the Sheets” is perfect teaching quatrains and rhyme scheme. The first three stanzas:

I’m quarter-past Chapter One
Of the last of Harry’s feats.
This flashlight’s my midnight sun.
I burrow under the sheets.

Book Seven’s supposed to be
The last of the Rowling run.
Gazillions can’t wait to see
Who’s defeated and who’s won.

Will Voldemort get his due?
Will Ron or Hermione die?
Or Hagrid? Is Hagrid through?
Now who will it be and why?

This poem will definitely get my middle school students’ attention!


An abecedarian isn’t a form I’ve taught in the past, but with this example, I think my students would be able to write one of their own. Poem 174 begins:

The Librarian

After school one day I was talking to Mr.
Butterwinkle, the school librarian.
“Can you
Define ABECEDARIAN?”
“Easy,” he said. “But
First I think you should
Go to the Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, and…


Note: (You can read more abecedarian poems from a Miss Rumphius’ poetry challenge here.)


J Patrick Lewis has provided busy teachers with a time-saving resource. Like the poems, the illustrations by Ethan Long are lively and fun. I can’t wait to share COUNTDOWN TO SUMMER with my students. This collection will be a delightful addition to any classroom and especially enjoyed by children in grades 3 and up.

Poetry Friday: Love Poems

I am crazy busy teaching full time, taking two graduate classes and doing my homework for Laura Salas' wonderful new rhyming poetry class (more about that next week). I hadn't planned on posting, but I just finished Gary Soto's newest collection of love poems: Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to let you know about it. Sylvia has an excellent review of the collection over at Poetry for Children. Gary Soto is a multi-talented writer of picture books, novels, short stories, and poetry collections for all ages. If he's not an author you're familiar with, you don't know what you're missing! You can read more about Gary Soto and his work here.