That afternoon I went back to my office, and this character Tod, elbowed his way forward yet again.
#Scrawl a novel how to
Famous Editor, I don’t know how to write a novel. And who among us doesn’t want to write a novel? He had looked over all my various books and asked me, point blank, what I really wanted to be writing. What did I want with an oddball character like him? He’s not such a good fit for a picture book.Ī few months later, I was speaking with my future editor, Neal Porter at Roaring Brook (pictured right). As for getting to know him, I had no intention of doing that. Then I put away the notebook and went back to all the picture books, nonfiction, humor, and preschool books I’d been writing for years. And I had a few surreal paragraphs written, in which my fictional bully eloquently contemplates delivering a beating as if it were an artistic experience.Īnd that’s how I discovered Tod. I had my character: he seemed to be an amalgam of several thugs and punks I encountered in my inner-city high school. So, in one five-minute epiphany, I had a location: my old high school. How is it I’m breaking this kid’s glasses? Me? Who am I? And then, without warning, Alison told us to open our eyes and write. That’s not right – I’m supposed to be the other guy. The hall was the same, the floor was the same. Then, suddenly, she sent each of us head-first into a place. A group of writers lay on the floor while Alison spoke softly about… well, I don’t exactly remember. It was an experience that bordered on mass hypnosis. Tod showed up one afternoon when my friend, the author Alison James, included me in a story-writing exercise. He arrived in my mind like a lightning bolt, and because I wasn’t a novelist, I had no use for him. The lead character in Scrawl is a tough kid named Tod Munn. How did you discover and get to know your protagonist? How about your secondary characters? Woodrow help Tod stop playing the bad guy before he actually turns into one. He can be painfully funny and he can be brutally honest. Tod’s punishment: to scrawl his story in a beat-up notebook. He doesn’t know why he’s there, but she does. Woodrow, a no-nonsense guidance counselor. Lucky Tod must spend his daily detention in a hot, empty room with Mrs. Then to make things worse, Tod and his friends get busted doing something bad. The wimps have stopped coughing up their lunch money. Highly recommended.Mark Shulman is the first-time novelist of Scrawl (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter, 2010)( excerpt). The story is true to life, funny, and shows that people who are seen as troublemakers can change. It lets the readers inside the mind of a bully and see the reasoning for his actions. “This is a different take on the bully story. This book will engage a wide audience, but it will appeal most strongly to junior high school boys, particularly those who may be bored by schoolwork or have trouble finding books that interest them.” - Children's Literature Tod's backstory is seamlessly woven into his narrative. Shulman captures the viewpoint of a believable eighth grader, while conveying Tod's maturity and sharp sense of humor. Through his own words, the reader grows to love this hard-edged character. “In a unique version of a story told in journal format, the writing Tod does in detention becomes this book. An unusual sort of bully redemption story.” - Booklist
Shulman establishes a nice voice for him, as Tod rips jokes so dry they can float away and shows some real heart dealing with his less-than-desirable lot in life. “Tod has a real way with words (the way he crashes, then dominates the spelling bee is priceless). “Readers seeking an unflinching look at high-school politics from the perspective of the disenfranchised will find in Tod an illuminating guide.” - BCCB Hinton's The Outsiders and Chris Crutcher's Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Scrawl paints the stereotypical school bully in a different, poignant light.” - VOYA “With the potential to occupy the rarified air of titles like S.
It's all put together so pleasingly, with punch and wit and smarts, and in such a way that the events and characters stay with you.” - PW.com "Shelf Talker" blog “There's something special about this book. It's useful to point out that much can hide under a hardened exterior.” - Los Angeles Times
“ Scrawl is the rare novel written from the bully's point of view.
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