What is Point Of View? Point Of View (POV) is one of the most important and misunderstood elements in storytelling. The basic concept is easy to grasp: Point Of View stemmed from the Latin word punctum visus which means the position from which a thing is to be viewed. […]
Point Of View (POV) in picture books Read More »
To understand better the practical meaning of Logline and comp titles, previously we looked at set 1 and set 2 of the published picture books. In this post, we see another set of pitch examples. I sincerely thank friends who shared their pitches with me. The list is ordered alphabetically based on the
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Confusions about Narrator A Narrator is a simple concept. However, many get confused with different definitions. It isn’t merely discussing the definitions, it is about understanding the differences and expanding your storytelling toolset. Here I summarize some confusions I stumbled upon while reading blog posts.
Narrator in Picture Books Read More »
To have a better understanding of the practical meaning of Logline and comp titles, previously we looked at 6 pitch examples of the published picture books. In this post, we see another set of pitch examples. I thank friends who shared their pitches with me. The list
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In this blog post, I look at the examples of some literary techniques in picture books and how these techniques can assist us in addressing difficult topics; death, immigration, incurable sicknesses, racism, etc. Allegory Allegory is one of the most powerful techniques in literature; think of Animal Farm
Literary Techniques in Picture Book Read More »
To write a story one thing. To pitch it is another thing. Previously, we looked at two main components of a query letter; Logline and comp titles. In this blog post, you will read the pitches authors used to sell the manuscripts which we see now as picture
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The third and possibly the last chance to grab the agent/editor’s attention in the query letter is to finish the pitch by providing comp titles. Comp title is abbreviated for comparing title or competitive title. The first paragraph gives an overview of the manuscript: age category (PB, MG, or YA), word count, type (graphic novel,
Comp title in Query Letter Read More »
How to pitch; use a formula or not? If you meet an agent or an editor, you have a short time to pitch your manuscript. As short as an elevator ride; 30 to 60 seconds—some it is called an Elevator Pitch. Therefore, the first characteristic of a successful pitch
Pitch a Fiction; write a log line Read More »
The Importance of Book Title Some writers and authors believe writing query letters is harder than writing the book itself. For me, choosing a title for a manuscript is even harder than both! My meanderings on the book titles started while watching Malcolm Gladwell’s writing course in Masterclass. Gladwell
Picture Book Titles Read More »
What is Story Question? Every writing craft book or blog, on the chapter of Act I, teaches us about the importance of introducing the protagonist and other characters, establishing the story world—so the reader cares for the protagonist, and, last but not least, pin down the Plot Goal—what the protagonist wants to achieve. However, not
Act I (part 2): Story Question Read More »
I will write here later
I read this book merely because of its title. My reasoning was that when an author is so careful with the title, the story will most likely be good. And it was not good, but brilliant.
Seven resin collectors
The story happens in a small, impoverished fictional village called Dukuh Paruk in the middle of Java Island. The main character, the 14-year-old Rasus, is in love with an 11-year-old girl, Srintil, whose grandfather believes she has a talent for Ronggeng—the Javanese dance. Moreover, in Rasus’s imagination, the girl is a replacement for Rasus’s mother, whom he had lost in childhood. A Ronggeng dancer isn’t a simple entertainer. The dancer is considered a sacred vessel for the village’s ancestral spirit and is expected to be available to the men of the village! I am not sure if it is comparable to the “sacred prostitute” in the temples that we read in the ancient Sumerian stories.
I read the first book in the trilogy in German—Die Tänzerin von Dukuh Paruk. Sadly, the other two volumes aren’t available to buy. In English, the trilogy is published in one volume with the title “The Dancer”.
The central conflict of the story is that Rasus has to emotionally put up with the tradition that everyone in his village believes in or benefits from. Rasus grows out of this calamity; he criticizes his village and its culture. In a nutshell, the story is the classic archetype: a boy becomes a man.
Tohari’s writing voice brings this archetype to life, especially his descriptions of nature and animals, which immerse me in the atmosphere of a Javanese village. The main theme of the story is the battle between tradition and humanity. In spite of the dire atmosphere in the story, it is very optimistic. Poverty and tradition cannot kill the humanity in Rasus.