tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post5277352070115061560..comments2024-03-27T07:18:58.033+00:00Comments on Frances Garrood: Writing from a child's viewpointFrances Garroodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10614916006798375706noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-76739471725692592932011-09-15T09:34:44.774+01:002011-09-15T09:34:44.774+01:00Sorry for the bad spelling in my previous comment ...Sorry for the bad spelling in my previous comment - this sounds like a lame excuse, but my keyboard's batteries went flat just as I was typing, and by the time I had replaced the batteries, I just clicked "publish your comment" and did not check properly what I had written. I guess you still get the idea, though!Librarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704656564078750607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-63265730908008371902011-09-15T09:32:53.504+01:002011-09-15T09:32:53.504+01:00Good point, Librarian.Good point, Librarian.Frances Garroodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10614916006798375706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-13664420882566001812011-09-15T09:26:58.475+01:002011-09-15T09:26:58.475+01:00We still have my mum's school essays from when...We still have my mum's school essays from when she was about 8 years old. Those little essays and the pencil pictures she draw for each one give quite an interesting insight in what was going through her curly little head in the very early 1950s, apart from showing what daily life was like for the average (neither rich nor too poor) family in our part of the world during that time.<br />So, my advice for any author whoc hinks about writing a story from a child's perspective is to read essays and letters written by children.Librarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05704656564078750607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-9728174897501325132011-09-14T15:27:50.298+01:002011-09-14T15:27:50.298+01:00Hi, Joanne I found the ending of Room difficult to...Hi, Joanne I found the ending of Room difficult to believe. Would the mother really have let her son take that huge risk? Quite apart from the child POV thing, I didn't really enjoy the book as a story.Frances Garroodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10614916006798375706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-65390410487902527482011-09-14T12:24:52.599+01:002011-09-14T12:24:52.599+01:00The only one of these I've read is Room, and I...The only one of these I've read is Room, and I did have mixed feelings about it. Like you I found the child's voice irritating, particularly at the start, but later on I was drawn into the story. Then when I reached the ending I wasn't quite sure if it sat right with the rest of the book somehow. I've really been in 2 minds whether to recommend this book to other people. <br /><br />I will look out for Devotion though, thanks.joanne foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12694158807826275846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-62189060745860077282011-09-14T10:29:28.234+01:002011-09-14T10:29:28.234+01:00Exactly, Jarmara!
Gai, I agree. You can't hav...Exactly, Jarmara!<br /><br />Gai, I agree. You can't have it both ways i.e. write a novel that appeals to adults but using (or trying to use) child vocabulary.<br /><br />Hi, Keith. Yes - it's a bit like those stories which turn out to be a dream after all. Cheating.<br /><br />Hi, Joanna. I do hope you enjoy Devotion. John's now reading it and loves it. Please let me know what you think.<br /><br />Hi, Rosemary. I think that's exactly what I'm trying to say (although it did occur to me after I'd written the post that children's books written in a child's voice work a lot better, although they're written by adults).<br /><br />Thanks for commenting, Diane.Frances Garroodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10614916006798375706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-18308212012287398482011-09-13T23:19:47.554+01:002011-09-13T23:19:47.554+01:00This post has really got me thinking - yes, that&#...This post has really got me thinking - yes, that's a good thing! Thank you Frances :-)Diane Fordhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018013338268306704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-44439007116825579412011-09-13T17:05:45.101+01:002011-09-13T17:05:45.101+01:00Interesting post. I think the most important (and ...Interesting post. I think the most important (and difficult) thing in using a child's voice, or viewpoint, is to get the vocabulary just right. And I imagine the younger the child, the more difficult that will be!Rosemary Gemmellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09311840205603508422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-67335484891274775442011-09-13T16:23:41.403+01:002011-09-13T16:23:41.403+01:00Thank you, Frances, for these reviews. I have orde...Thank you, Frances, for these reviews. I have ordered Devotion today and look forward to it very much. I'm unsure about child view-point too, but think it depends on the quality of the writing. So I shall read Devotion with an open mind.Joannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10346863303904973315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-1527719920748657992011-09-13T13:02:06.977+01:002011-09-13T13:02:06.977+01:00I also had this experience recently. I entered a s...I also had this experience recently. I entered a short story competition in which the winning entry had the narrator bemoaning the fact that the love of his life had turned her affections on another. The language was such that it sounded like an adult but the 'twist' at the end revealed him to be a toddler jealous of his baby brother.<br />All of the comments praised the cleverness of the story so I just thought maybe my misgivings were just sour grapes. It obviously didn't bother the judges. I still felt a bit cheated though.Keith Havershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05133563220362208820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-15210807353319705982011-09-13T12:41:00.067+01:002011-09-13T12:41:00.067+01:00My 6 year old, reasonably intelligent, grandson re...My 6 year old, reasonably intelligent, grandson recently wrote a story of which he was, rightly, extremely proud. It was imaginative, original, and very good. BUT, no way was it anywhere near the standard needed to be published as a book. And, at that age, you wouldn't expect it to be.<br /><br />So, a book written from the viewpoint of a child must surely inevitably fail because it can never be believable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3132582821010486689.post-89490339167093029012011-09-13T11:14:05.776+01:002011-09-13T11:14:05.776+01:00Hmm, a view point of a child written by an adult d...Hmm, a view point of a child written by an adult doesn't work for me.... I know we've all lived through it but as I look back over my life I'm looking back as an adult not as a child. My mind and thought have grown in that time I have a better understanding. It's like read a book written by a human seeing life through the eyes of an animal, not possible. It will always be just a work of fiction. Yes, I know it's a fiction book, but what I mean is it has to be bloody good to take me in and have me hooked.Paula RChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05550276147711384895noreply@blogger.com