Recently Kristan found this fantastic video, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. It features Andrew Stanton and his talk "The Clues to a Great Story." Andrew is a writer for Pixar (Finding Nemo, Wall-E, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc.).
Okay, it's lengthy, but if you have some time, it's also entertaining and witty...just exactly like his films. But the thing that really struck me about his talk was how he strives to include one basic element in his stories--WONDER. That moment where the audience feels WOW and you're totally willing to go anywhere it takes you.
What was the last story that made you feel WOW? Sometimes I zoom through books because my TBR pile stares at me, and, man, there are just so many good stories out there. I'm like on feeding frenzy and gorging on words. But then I read something that stands out, makes me go WOW I wish I wrote like that. Or WOW I wish I thought of that. Or WOW that author's imagination is CA-RA-ZAY. (Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor was the last read that elicited this response.)
SO, I'll show you mine...
GRAFFITI MOON by Cath Crowley
and TRASH by Andy Mulligan. These are the latest that made me slow down, stop inhaling the words. They made me care.
Now...care to show me yours?
YAY so glad you enjoyed the talk!
ReplyDeleteAnd TRASH, for that matter. :)
I can't wait to read GRAFFITI MOON, but as you know, the "wow" book for me lately is THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. It's just so gorgeous and compelling and heartbreaking - everything I love in a book. I couldn't believe how much was woven into it -- the foster care system, the Victorian language of flowers, San Francisco, winemaking... *swoon*
I just finished "Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi (I know, I'm behind on my reading). This book had me from the 1st word to the last. Totally a WOW factor for me.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say the entire book was a great WOW, but the ending of And Then There Was None was just...chilling.
ReplyDelete@kristan...OH, The Language of Flowers is my new WOW book. Gorgeous!
ReplyDelete@jenny...Awesome, thanks for sharing! I have read this book, and there were certainly parts where I thought, "this book is dangerous" because I was so drawn in.
@chihuahua...I'm going to check out And Then There Was None. Obviously it was WOW enough for it to stick with you.