It goes like this.
I read Crank by Ellen Hopkins.
I decided to write a verse novel.
I opened up a blank doc after some plotting and started.
I entered Caroline Starr Rose’s verse novel challenge and contest. Read 5 verse novels by the end of 2010 to be entered into her contest for an arc of her verse novel. Oh and did you hear her good news? Her book, May B. found a new home! Woo hoo!
I read her blog posts about writing a verse novel.
Bucket of cold water was dumped over my head. The icy cold kind.
She said, “Don’t write a verse novel just to write a verse novel.”
Um, yeah. That would be me.
I read a few verse novels.
I found patterns:
- They dealt with an issue, death, or historical event.
- They had an extremely simple plot line.
- They focused more on emotion than on a complicated plot.
Here are the books I read with links to my Goodreads reviews:
- I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
- Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
- Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
- Crank by Ellen Hopkins
- Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
I love verse novels. Something magical about them.
I decided my current story project will not work as a verse novel. Too many twists. Not right for the voice of the main character.
I made a promise to myself that with the right story idea, I will attempt a verse novel.
Have you ever thought about writing a verse novel or out of your genre?