Tuesdays with Story

Tuesdays with Story
2-10-2012

Quote of the Week

“An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.” — Charles Dickens

Celebrating Charles Dickens’s 200th birthday
By Raymond M. Lane, Published: February 6
Charles Dickens was born at midnight on February 7, 1812, the second of Elizabeth and John Dickens’s eight children.
It was reported that the newborn baby began to cry as the clock struck 12, and many feel that his voice is as real today as it was 200 years ago. Dickens grew up to become one of the world’s most famous and beloved writers. His characters are known throughout the world.
What many kids — and adults — may not know is how famous Charles Dickens was during his lifetime. He was as a big a celebrity in the 1800s as any of today’s TV, movie or music stars.
Kids, of course, know “A Christmas Carol,” with the mean Ebenezer Scrooge and poor Tiny Tim. The story is about finding kindness in your own heart when the world seems hard and cold.
All of Dickens’s 15 novels are still being read, and have been made into movies, television shows and even plays, puppet shows and cartoons.
Today, most kids learn about Dickens by reading “A Christmas Carol.” As you get older, you might read other classics, including “Oliver Twist” or “A Tale of Two Cities.” All of his novels are powerful and sometimes a little spooky. All in some way are about children who have to overcome hardships, including growing up without their parents.
What many kids — and adults — may not know is how famous Dickens was during his lifetime. He was as a big a celebrity in the 1800s as any of today’s TV, movie or music stars.
When he visited North America in 1842 and 1867, people lined up on the streets to see him. Two presidents invited him to the White House.
“He was so handsome when he visited Boston,” said Diana Archibald, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, which is hosting a citywide party today for Dickens. “He had long hair like a woman, and they treated him like a rock star.”
Dickens loved kids, too. He and his wife, Catherine Hogarth, had 10 children and a bunch of pets, including a talking raven named Grip. With all the money he made from his books and public appearances, Dickens helped set up homes for orphans and poor women.
But Dickens wasn’t always wealthy. Six years after he died in 1870, secrets about his childhood came out that helped explain many of his writings.
Dickens was so poor that when he was 12, his parents went to jail because they couldn’t pay their bills. Dickens spent a year working 10-hour days at a factory. His pay was 6 shillings a week, or about $32 in today’s money. He slept on straw, was ragged and dirty most of that year.
“He wrote about his own childhood,” Archibald said. “He was too ashamed to reveal that this is where he gathered the material for his stories.”
(editor’s note: In a Time magazine article I read, Charles Dickens was described as the first person to make a living as a novelist. I couldn’t reprint the article here – subscribers only. But I figure all of us – and definitely folks like Stephen King – owe the man a word of thanks!)

Tuesday Night at the Bookstore – from Amber Boudreau
Rebecca shared the second half of Chapter Three of The Cheese Logue with the group. Lisa thought it was really nice. Pat thought the ending was a great metaphor for the chapter. As for the section read aloud, some thought the lead in could be done a little better instead of a sentence fragment. The images are really nice. Millie liked the coin part. Greg thought the first part of the chapter was a data dump and needed to be integrated into the story better. Pat kind of feels the opposite. In the next chapter she wants to know how Rebecca ended up back at the cheese shop. Clayton wondered if her first piece of animation was a dog. Pat thinks her reaction to Isaiah is important. Millie thinks should include Isaiah as her ultimate treasure.

Leah Wilbur shared chapter seven of Scott & Rory. Millie wants to know why one character is so mean to another. Pat needed some clarity concerning the wives and if the child he called bastard was his own. Leah admits a scene is missing. Greg didn’t understand much of the talk of kingdoms though he thought he got a good sense of their characters. He still can’t tell who the antagonist and protagonist are. Pat thought it was written well but she doesn’t know what’s going on either. Greg recommends queryshark.com for us all. Jerry reminds Liam if a character is whipped, we have to see the fallout from it.

Lisa McDougal shared the intro to Tebow Family Secret Recipe. Lisa explains this was just a test to give some background about the characters. Pat asks for an explanation of her intentions. Lisa says she wanted to show what happened right before one of the characters disappears. Greg says we can’t really answer the question she’s asking of us. Pat thinks she’s given us just enough information for us to ask what the heck is going on? Pat thinks she needs to tell us more. Clayton asks if the time and date will be included at the beginning of each chapter. Jerry wanted a little more disaster—he wanted her to drop the urn.

Pat Edwards shared three poems with the group. Poem #1 is not about cake. Lisa got a feeling of regret at the end. Greg didn’t get how coconut frosting came into it. Judith thought the character was fighting with herself not with another person. Clayton thought she was fighting with the cake itself. Liam thought she was struggling with the foil. Aaron didn’t understand why the character would have wanted more cake when it was associated with shame. Poem #2 is not about cake but about faith. Jerry proclaims it marvelous. Pat tells us it’s antagonistic and heretic. Liam says you have to use your imagination. What would it feel like to be engulfed in the wings of an angel? Clayton had a question about smell. Poem #3 is also not about cake. Everyone seemed to enjoy it as comments were a bit sparse.

Amber shares Chapter 2 of her Noble rewrite. Greg has issues with weather the main character would follow an unknown creature into the dark. Pat thought it had a voice and likes the main character. Lisa and a few others seem to be a little confused about the timeline of events and when the main character was bitten. Ending the chapter with that made some want to keep reading, but everyone has to wait—muwahaha.

Jerry shares a couple of chapters from Thou Shalt Not Murder. Pat wondered what the chapters had to do with the big story. She thought it was a nice vignette, but she didn’t see how it fit. Aaron mentioned that he missed the last chapter so he thought this was the end of the book. It was very well written. Clayton was looking for something to happen when the brick hit the wall, like money falling out of the wall. Greg thinks if it doesn’t advance the story, it should go. Millie agrees it would make a nice ending to the book once everything else is wrapped up.

Who’s up next . . .
February 14: Terry Hoffman (chapter, The Great Tome), Jack Freiburger (Jesus at the IHOP), Holly Bonnicksen-Jones (Coming Up For Air), Liam Wilbur (???), Andrea Kirchman (Pip Zin), Carol Hornung (Sapphire Lodge)

February 21: Kim Simmons (chapter 2, City of Autumn), Aaron Boehm (???), Greg Spry (chapter 18, Beyond Cloud 9), Millie Mader (chapter 32, Life on Hold), Judith McNeil (more of “The Waldorf Hysteria”), and Clayton Gill (chapter, Fishing Derby).

Newsletter editors . . .
Carol Hornung is our editor for February. Please send all the good stuff you want in the newsletter to her.
Lisa McDougal is our editor for March. Volunteers needed for April and beyond!

The Last Word . . .
“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.” — Charles Dickens