Garrett and I were talking about the children's book I'm never going to write (I've been planning it since highschool), and I told him the basic plot.
"So, basically, it has no plot?" he asked.
"Sort of... but it has lots of beautiful colors. Besides, children's books nowadays don't have a point."
We discussed the Velveteen Rabbit, which he had never read, and decided it was a dreadful children's story. For that matter, most of the Brothers Grimm stories are dreadful children stories. For that matter, all of the children's stories Garrett had to read in German class were dreadful children's stories.
They don't write stories like that now. Thankfully.
Those stories concentrated on trying to teach children moral lessons, with the usual plotline warning children to be good or a monster will eat them (and perhaps their souls).
Contrast this to modern stories, which center around teaching colors, basic math, and maybe how to deal with bullies. The only moral conveyed, if any, is that to be nice is the greatest nice. Bullies aren't nice, and "strangers" aren't nice, but that's as far as we get into morality. Now go learn your hexagons from your rhombuses.
Past writers taught morals (gruesome, bloody morals), whereas modern children's book writers teach facts. The former tried to scare children, but the latter seem scared themselves. Why shouldn't writers teach morals? Do they think they are overstepping their bounds?
And when did storytellers start caring about bounds?
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Quote of the week: August 26th, 2013
Quote of the week: August 26th, 2013
"It's amazing - the things that happen when one tries."
~Fellow at work
"It's amazing - the things that happen when one tries."
~Fellow at work
Saturday, August 10, 2013
New Dress a Day Blog Feature
I got featured on one of my favorite blogs!
Marisa Lynch creates beautiful re-make dresses out of hideous things she finds in thrift stores, and one year decided to make a new dress every day, spending only $1.00 on each item. After the year was over, she had inspired so many people that she began posting their creations on her website.
Now I'm one of them :-)
Click here to go to the post:
Before Dress:
Marisa Lynch creates beautiful re-make dresses out of hideous things she finds in thrift stores, and one year decided to make a new dress every day, spending only $1.00 on each item. After the year was over, she had inspired so many people that she began posting their creations on her website.
Now I'm one of them :-)
Click here to go to the post:
Before Dress:
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