Influences from other authors
Last time I talked about Dan Brown’s story, The DaVinci Code. I’d like to mention a couple of other strong influences that were motivations for Separated on the Paris Metro.
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin is one of my all-time favorite book series. His first book in the series appeared in San Francisco newspapers as a serialized story before being put together into a book.
Each of the chapters was quite short, averaging around 750 words. This created a story that you could move through quickly, easily picking up the book to read one chapter, or maybe sit down to binge on 15 chapters.
Since each of the chapters appeared separate from each other on different days in the paper, Maupin would have to balance enough background to make the current chapter read well as a stand-alone piece, but also string together into a longer narrative. He had to expect that new readers might not have read from the beginning, but they should be able to pick up in the middle and continue.
I liked the rapid story development Maupin used, and his ability to capture the details of the moment, making it relatable to the reader. Some fantastic books have very long chapters, books from the Harry Potter series jump to mind, but they can be a lot of work to read sometimes. Quite a few readers don’t enjoy pausing their reading experience mid-chapter, especially younger readers. So if you don’t have time to read a 20-page chapter, you might be a little less willing to pick up your book to read unless you know that you have time to read the whole thing.
The shorter chapters lower this barrier to reading, making each chapter like little bite-sized candies. You can have one, or you can have a handful.
Another book I really enjoyed with my younger daughter recently was Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman. It follows 12-year-old Emily and her friend James around San Francisco to try and solve a mystery that an eccentric book publisher put together. The author was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and obviously spent time in San Francisco which lead to some great details for the story.
It was delightful reading familiar details she described as her characters navigated their way around the city. Being very familiar with San Francisco, I could picture facts about places she pulled in, and the ones she made up fit the city quite well.
A non-fiction guidebook is a great tool for an adult to pull information from. They can engage in the content and plan a great trip. I’ve read quite a few guidebooks for kids, and quite often they miss the mark. You might purchase the best kids guidebook with a terrific treasure hunt and lovely activities, but how much will it actually entertain and engage your young reader?
A younger reader that can identify with the characters in a story taking place in the city that they are visiting could actually be a better tool than a junior guidebook. Then if we can throw in a few of the guidebook elements into the back of the book, maybe based on the characters in the story might create better travelers who are looking forward to what’s happening on your trip.