Reflecting on a Novel – 10 Steps

If you’re anything like me, reading outside is a great place to pause and reflect. Want 10 questions to probe deeper thinking about that novel? Consider these:

1. What if the main character was a boy instead of a girl, or vice versa?
2. What if this story had a different setting? What if it were to happen in a different town or time?
3. If this book were a movie, would it have color? What tones would it have?
4. If the author could’ve dropped the axe on any character, who would it have been, and why?
5. Can you identify with the main character? How do you both differ?
6. Could this story be turned into a movie or tv series? If so, why, or why not?
7. Has anything in the story, from comments to events, ever happened to you?
8. What is it about the first paragraph that led you to keep reading? If it was boring, why’d you keep going?
9. If you were to design the cover of this book, or even give input to the designer, what would it incorporate?
10. If you only read the title, what would the book mostly likely be about? Later, rereading the title, was it a good choice? Did it convey the overall book?

Thinking about some of the above questions can help to really analyze yourself in relation to a book, as well a show others have already related to the book. We can sometimes enjoy a story at a much deeper level when we look past the surface. Not only that, but almost anyone can ask themselves these questions. These questions were originally derived from Richard Peck (1978).

The only step I don’t really care for is number 3, but I really like question 1 and 10. Some of these steps I already think about when I read, but I would like to incorporate number 4 a bit more for curiosity’s sake.

Graphic Novels – The Benefits

First, what are they? The above graphic explains the elements of a graphic novel and the one below shows more basic elements:

This picture is from the graphic novel of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. It just goes to show that not all graphic novels are like the ones in comic books. This art is more aesthetic and just gorgeous. Benefit 1: Graphic novels are great for the more visual learners. Benefit 2: They also show more than a text can sometimes convey, giving a work more creativity and life.

I just love these funny graphics, even though they’re not in novel format:

and  and and 

The benefit (3) of these graphics is that they are very relatable. We can relate to what the author is trying to convey much more easily than if they were just going to say, “I feel like a model with red lipstick, but I really just look like I got a busted lip.”

For those more visual learners, and for those who are intimidated by large volumes of words, a graphic novel can seem much more manageable, benefit 4.

They can also portray historical events and inventions that would otherwise be unfamiliar and/or hard to visualize, benefit 5.

The 6 benefit is that an author can get very creative in how they express themselves.

Personally, I look forward to reading graphic novels for a more aesthetic experience as well as a quick, satisfying read. I also look forward to seeing how others illustrate the author’s words and what images they imagine. Lastly, I look forward to seeing reluctant readers pick up these books and enjoying them, as it teaches them words they otherwise wouldn’t have read, as well as encourages them to read more and more on their own.

Graphic novels are enjoyable for all ages.

How cool is that: A Coraline graphic novel. Here is a really neat website with many graphic novels to pick out for YA readers.

#ya #graphicnovels #amreading