Hi Everyone!
I am excited to bring you another fun guest post today! :) Please help me welcome Lori to the blog.
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Choosing
to Write about Sports
I
want to say I don’t remember not reading. That seems like an essential thing for
a writer to say, even if cliché. But it isn’t quite true. My first memory of
reading is from 7th grade when I read Gone with the Wind. Taking
on the breadth and depth of that novel meant I had been quite practiced in the skill.
Somewhere, somehow, with someone, I had gotten quite good at reading.
One
of the series I remember eating up when I was in junior high was Choose Your
Own Adventure. R.A. Montgomery’s Journey Under the Sea and Space and
Beyond, as well as many others, fascinated me as a reader. When once I was
an observer watching the book unfold as a movie in my imagination, I now had
active participation in the story. Even when I “died,” I could go back and try
again.
Fast
forward three decades. A friend from graduate school and his publisher colleague
were having authors rewrite classics, such as Treasure Island, as “Can
You Survive” books. I was interested in writing one of these; however, time
didn’t allow it.
A
year later, I ran into the publisher again. This time, he asked me about
writing “Choose to Win” sports books. Before my twins left for college, I had
been a sports mom for about fifteen years. I loved watching my son and daughter
participate in sports, from t-ball to soccer, hockey to cross country. Writing
another sports book—my first documented the history of the Minnesota Wild, a
National Hockey League team—seemed like a good fit.
I
started Save the Season!, my hockey book, when my family went camping. I
asked my son to name the boy main character; my daughter, the girl main
character. Because I wanted to write what I know, the boy and girl were twins.
The subplot in this story is sibling rivalry, to which many readers can probably
relate. After writing scenes and choices, I’d read it aloud to the kids. They
were engaged and excited to make a choice. I was thrilled.
Upon
my return home, my editor wanted me to shift to the baseball book. I was never
a baseball mom, but I have friends who are Minnesota Twins fanatics. I also
knew the head coach of a baseball team in town. With these local experts, the
Internet, and my editor, I knew I’d be able to write with authenticity.
The
subplot in Out at Home dug deeper. In hearing more about the “window vs.
mirror” in book publishing, how readers have been looking through windows at the
world versus reading about their own lives and families as if looking into
mirrors, I addressed a much more serious topic: foster care. I’ve been a
teacher for over twenty years; foster care is something some students know. Focusing
on the memory of a 1st grader who kept showing up with dirty clothes
on backwards, I began the story.
With
Goal-Minded, it was important for me to reflect my community. Therefore,
the main character is Somali. The subplot is about his wanting to be a writer
because he’s not good at math. That strand is autobiographical.
The
newly released Back to Pass, the football book, also addresses another
serious issue: homelessness. Some readers look into mirrors and see pieces of
their lives in print, while other readers unfamiliar with this life are at
least experiencing it through words.
It’s
challenging to write these kinds of books. For each choice, I had to write the
correct answer, as well as the wrong answer. I color-coded my manuscript to keep
track of the choices and to assist my editor in following along. He formatted
the book and also created the books’ game. Now that four of these middle grade
novels are in print, I’m hopeful that readers enjoy participating in the story
as I once did, hopeful they’ll remember they’ve always been reading.
***
Lisa M. Bolt Simons’ publications include over 25
nonfiction children's books, four middle grade novels, and the adult history
book Faribault Woolen Mill: Loomed in the Land of Lakes. Both her
fiction and nonfiction have been recognized with honors and awards. Originally
from Colorado, she's lived in Mexico, Italy, and Japan. She's a teacher by day,
a mom to boy/girl twins, and a wife to a guy who also loves to read. Her
website is www.lisamboltsimons.com.
**********
Thanks!
Happy Reading!
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