The Anatomy of Curiosity

The three authors behind the dazzling collection The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories (Carolrhoda Lab, 2012) have assembled a new trio of vignettes; each author has penned one tale, including comments for future writers located in the margins, but with mixed results. Each short work sheds light on one aspect of writing: characterization, world-building, and the development of an idea. 'Ladylike, ' Stiefvater's contribution and the weakest of the three, opens the volume. Aspiring writers will likely enjoy the literary advice more than the story. Stiefvater's quest is to thoroughly define protagonist Petra by one main trait. Unfortunately, this makes her one-dimensional and lowers readers' ability to empathize with her or to imagine adding their own little flourishes to the character. Gratton's 'Desert Canticle, ' the instructive entry on world-building, presents a timely tale of the mage Aniv, a magically gifted transgender woman who is romantically paired with her male assistant, Rafel, in a bomb-defusing mission. The achingly desolate story examines identity, secrets, transformations, and hypocrisy in a postwar setting. Both the novella and the advice are equally memorable. Yovanoff's haunting tale, 'Drowning Variations, ' thoroughly chronicles the growth of an idea. It is fascinating to see one drowning become the basis for many different stories and how the author refines and edits until completion. Yovanoff provides the largest amount of literary advice, placing it mostly within the chapter proper. VERDICT: Purchase for aspiring authors seeking advice; otherwise, pass. --School Library Journal --Journal In this second collaboration inspired by their writing blog (The Curiosities, 2012), three fantasy novelists aim to illuminate their craft through stories created for that purpose. Stiefvater's Petra is a bright, klutzy teen with a gift for oratory, hired to read to an elderly shut-in who affirms Petra's undervalued gifts while modeling the gracious poise Petra longs for. Though grateful, Petra senses a sinister, hidden agenda at work. In Gratton's novella, set in a world recovering from war, a young, disillusioned soldier returns to the site of his deployment, this time to deactivate deadly bombs, and there finds love that draws him out of his comfort zone. Yovanoff's tale, in several iterations, portrays a girl haunted by a boy recently drowned in a shallow creek. Through short essays and annotations, the authors share the challenges and dilemmas they faced writing these stories. Stiefvater and Gratton, especially, offer advice and encouragement to aspiring writers: tips on characterization, worldbuilding, theme, revision, and more; they point out where and why they changed, condensed, or deleted scenes. Yovanoff's tale is weakest, the dead teen serving mainly to showcase the protagonist's sensitivity and alienation, and it conveys a chilly narcissism that distances readers. That is echoed in vague, abstract annotations too inward-looking to empower novice writers. At its best, this is an accessible guidebook for creating fiction that illustrates the complexity of the process while offering practical tips for managing it. --Kirkus Reviews --Journal As they did in The Curiosities (2012), critique partners Stiefvater, Gratton, and Yovanoff reunite to produce a short-story collection that is as much about the writing process as it is about the final creation. Each author contributes one short story and an introduction that indicates her approach and priorities when crafting a story. For Stiefvater, character is key. Her story 'Ladylike' follows painfully shy Petra, who learns poise from an elegant old lady who may also be a monster; margin notes detail how Stiefvater conceived of the characters and carefully worked to shape them. Gratton's 'Desert Canticle, ' about a young soldier who disarms beautiful, magical IEDs in a fantastical desert, epitomizes her focus on world building as she indicates how even the smallest details create a fuller backdrop for a story. And it's all about the idea for Yovanoff, whose 'Drowning Variations' offers less a coherent story and more a series of vignettes that all circle back around to drowning, demonstrating the evolution and impact of a single concept. For these authors' many fans, the true-to-form stories will deliver and delight. For budding writers, the insight into the creation and editing processes is even more valuable. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Each of these authors draws a crowd on her own; together they are unstoppable. --Booklist --Journal The Merry Sisters of Fate (as these three authors and co-bloggers call themselves) return with another book of instruction and support for aspiring authors. As in The Curiosities (BCCB 1/13), the emphasis is on providing a conscious look at craft. An introduction suggests that readers can simply read each novella (there are three, one by each author) sans commentary, or they can focus on the pieces as examples of the particular emphasis of each writer (Stiefvater's primary emphasis is character, Gratton's is world building, and Yovanoff's is the idea behind the work). Each author speaks to all three aspects in further introductory material, but the prologues to their individual pieces focus specifically on the area in which they feel most invested. Additionally, comments on each story pinpoint how their foci turn into strategies in their fiction. Gratton is perhaps best at this, and that's a good thing, as her contribution is the most subtle in terms of how features of world building matter to story development, theme, and character arcs. In fact, her entry offers a case study in how close reading can reveal unexpected connections. The pieces themselves vary considerably: Stiefvater tells an intriguing story about a very ladylike character with an unusual diet; Gratton explores the aftermath of a devastating war in which former enemies negotiate gender differences and passion in the midst of cleaning up leftover magical bombs; and Yovanoff creates a writing persona critiquing her way through multiple versions of a mostly realistic story about drowning--actually and metaphorically--in the midst of a drought. Appreciating all three stories equally will be a challenge to adherents of any particular genre, but the writing instruction, which includes advice on what makes a good critique partner and some smartly expanded takes on the adage to write what you know, has broad applicability for realists and fantasists alike. --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books --Journal From what appears to be an eccentric old woman who needs a companion to a young soldier fighting for more than what the eye can see to an ocean that holds as many secrets as grains of sand, each of these stories is unique and engaging with odd, unexpected, and sometimes downright creepy surprises. Well-crafted characters, strong plotting, and impressive use of language make this collection a prime example of good storytelling for aspiring writers. The book itself is set up so that the stories can be read on their own, or they can be read with all the added elements as a kind of introductory writing workshop. The authors selected the questions they are most frequently asked, and all answered the same questions but in their own artistic approach to the exercise. There is plenty of useful information that teens and adults can apply to their own writing processes, from where ideas come from to writer's block to the process of editing. Special attention is paid to the creation of character, world-building, and focusing on the core idea by the different authors. Readers only interested in the fiction will be excited to find new pieces from favorite authors but may not appreciate the lengthy explanations, side notes, or bonus chapters on writing techniques. This may have the strongest audience with those looking to learn the craft of fantastic fiction. --starred, VOYA --Journal