Sentences and Barbara O'Connor
Recently Grier Jewell at Fizzwhizzing Flushbunker reviewed Hound Dog True and said this:
"Hound Dog True had me at the first sentence and held me in its enchanting grip until the very last page. (As I read this, I kept thinking, did Barbara O'Connor change her name to Linda Urban?)"
Could a person be paid a higher compliment?
I love Barbara O'Connor's writing. Each book is a gem (I'm particularly fond of The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis -- but you know how I feel about small things.) and each sentence in each story is so carefully crafted. There's a rhythm to what Barbara writes, and an attention to detail. Have you read any of her posts about the line edit stage of her novel writing? Read these. You'll see what I mean.
Anyway, I thought that Grier's kind words were as good as it gets, but this morning I read THIS. Yes. Barbara O'Connor picking out a few sentences she liked from Hound Dog True. I am, Dear Reader, aflutter.
If you link up to read them, you might notice that some of them are rather oddly constructed. Some are fragments. Some seem to interrupt themselves. That's Mattie's voice. And in the next few weeks, as we talk about how Hound Dog True became a novel, we'll talk about that voice and how it came to be. (If you missed yesterday's post and are interested, you can click here to read an early picture book version of the story.)
Until then, go read Barbara's notes on her revisions. Eye opening stuff.
"Hound Dog True had me at the first sentence and held me in its enchanting grip until the very last page. (As I read this, I kept thinking, did Barbara O'Connor change her name to Linda Urban?)"
Could a person be paid a higher compliment?
I love Barbara O'Connor's writing. Each book is a gem (I'm particularly fond of The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis -- but you know how I feel about small things.) and each sentence in each story is so carefully crafted. There's a rhythm to what Barbara writes, and an attention to detail. Have you read any of her posts about the line edit stage of her novel writing? Read these. You'll see what I mean.
Anyway, I thought that Grier's kind words were as good as it gets, but this morning I read THIS. Yes. Barbara O'Connor picking out a few sentences she liked from Hound Dog True. I am, Dear Reader, aflutter.
If you link up to read them, you might notice that some of them are rather oddly constructed. Some are fragments. Some seem to interrupt themselves. That's Mattie's voice. And in the next few weeks, as we talk about how Hound Dog True became a novel, we'll talk about that voice and how it came to be. (If you missed yesterday's post and are interested, you can click here to read an early picture book version of the story.)
Until then, go read Barbara's notes on her revisions. Eye opening stuff.