The book and author spotlighted in this Ink Splat is Playing Juliet by JoAnne Stewart Wetzel. We even have an author interview! Submit a response to the challenge and you may have a chance to be published online! What are you waiting for?
The Challenge: Starting Things Off Right
The first sentence in your story is the most important sentence that you write. It’s the hook that catches your readers’ attention and pulls them into the story. Here’s three first sentences that made me keep reading. I had to discover the answer to the question each one raised and find out just how bad the situation was.
“Where’s Papa going with that axe?” from Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
There’s a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrub, and he almost deserved it. from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis.
The day that Henry cleaned his room, reporters came. from The Day that Henry Cleaned his Room, a picture book by Sarah Wilson.
Write the first sentence in your story. Try to raise a question that will hook your readers so they have to read more. Here’s the first sentence I wrote for my middle-grade novel, Playing Juliet. Did it hook you?
There’s a play by William Shakespeare that’s so unlucky, no actor ever says the title out loud. from Playing Juliet by JoAnne Steward Wetzel.
Submit your response HERE!
Playing Juliet By, JoAnne Stewart Wetzel
Beth Sondquist, age twelve and a half, dreams of playing the part of Juliet…but for now she’s just the cat in Cinderella. One day, though, she’s determined to become a real actress! But all her hopes for an acting career come crashing down when the Oakfield Children’s Theater is slated to be closed. Beth and her best friend, Zandy, are willing to do whatever it takes to save the theater, but their plans quickly go awry when Beth’s father catches her sneaking back into her bedroom window well past bedtime. With eviction looming, the children’s theater director decides to close the theater with the same play the theater opened with fifty years ago—Romeo and Juliet. But Beth’s grounded for the next two weeks, and won’t be able to try out. How will Beth pull off playing Juliet if she can’t even make tryouts? Only Beth can play Juliet as the kid that she is…with a little bit of luck, maybe she’ll get her chance.
An Interview with author JoAnne Stewart Wetzel:
1. What is your connection to theatre? did you ever play or want to play Juliet?
I saw my first play, Peter Pan, on Broadway when I was seven years old. The children could fly! Ever since that evening, I’ve known something magical might happen in a theater at any moment.
Years later, I saw another magical production, Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It had fairies who battled with flowers so furiously that a few landed on my lap. That night I vowed to see a production of every play by Shakespeare. In 2014, I flew to Hawaii to see my 39th Shakespearian play, Edward III.
My husband and I have a daughter who began acting at the Palo Alto Children’s Theatre when she was nine. My first book was a photoessay about putting on a play at that theater, OnStage/BackStage (Carolrhoda), which I wrote and illustrated with Caryn Huberman. My latest book, Playing Juliet (Sky Pony Press) is also set in a children’s theater. I’ve acted at school, and in community theaters, but I’ve never played Juliet.
2. There are many lessons one might learn from Playing Juliet. Is there one that stands out or rings most true to you?
If you have a problem, try to solve it. It’s silly to worry without doing anything about it.
3. This Winter, we’re focusing on mischief and mayhem with our Boarding School Stories at Inklings! Beth makes some mischief of her own. What advice do you have for weaving playful mischief into a story?
Give your character a good reason for taking the actions that lead to mayhem. If he or she has the best of intentions and a desperately important reason for heading into mischief, the reader will be able to sympathize with the character, no matter what disaster befalls.
4. What was it like writing from the perspective of a character who is not your own age?
It’s easy to write about someone who is not my age as long as the character is younger than me. I remember what it was like to be 12 and a half because I was once. I think it would take some research to write about someone who is much older than I am, because I’ve never experienced life from that perspective.
5. Is there anything else you would like us to know about Playing Juliet?
William Shakespeare helped me write this. A quote from one of his plays appears as an epigraph at the start of each chapter to forecast what’s coming next in the story. Shakespeare also wrote some of the dialogue. When Beth, my main character, is grounded for some serious mischief, (for which she had a desperately important reason), she quotes Juliet’s speeches about being locked away to her parents each time she is sent back to her room. 2016 is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. He was born and died on the same day of the month, April 23rd. Will you celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday in 2016? You get ideas on how to honor his birthday or you can share your ideas on Facebook at Happy Birthday Shakespeare! or starting in February at www.playingjuliet.com.
Thank you JoAnne Stewart Wetzel!
Playing Juliet is available on Amazon!
Look for more information about JoAnne Stewart Wetzel and her books here!
