Goodrich – ‘Princess Ashley? was the book that first inspired the long-haired writer.
Sort of.
‘I thought it was the biggest crap I’d ever read and threw it across the room,? said teen-novel author Patrick Jones to Goodrich High School students last week.
‘I thought, ‘I could do better.??
Looking more like a ‘Wayne’s World? character than an invited speaker, Jones broached the issues of reading, writing, and publishing with classes of English students in the GHS auditorium.
Students studied Jones? book, ‘Things Change?, written mostly in the voice of 16-year-old Johanna, who’s being abused by her boyfriend Paul.
The peer abuse issue prompts e-mails from Jones? readers.
‘I get five or six e-mails a month about kids being beat up in relationships,? he said. ‘Even librarians will write about their boyfriend being emotionally abusive.?
In the advice columns of a 2004 Goodrich Middle School newspaper, three out of four letters dealt with threats or ‘mean? boyfriends.
The problem may come as a surprise to parents.
‘Much like Johanna a lot of you have two lives,? said Jones, ‘the life you’re living and the life your parents think you’re living.?
In jeans and a hooded sweatshirt matching his long gray hair, Jones grabs books piled on a table.
Demonstrating the importance of an engaging opening paragraph, Jones reads the first line of story after story.
‘I want you to kiss me,? he reads.
‘Does that get your attention??
Jones puts the books down, scratches his chest, adjusts his glasses.
Retro music’like that of Bruce Springsteen and The Clash’inspires him, he says. He recommends listening to music for inspiration, turning a song into a story.
Students raise hands.
‘Go,? says Jones, pointing to a girl in a pink sweatshirt who wants to know if the author’s own life plays into his books.
‘Some started out that way, but as I wrote the realness faded away,? he said.
English teachers who gave good grades based on how Jones strung ideas together did him a disservice, he says, recalling his first manuscript.
‘The editor photocopied (a page), put it on his wall and wrote ‘Hard to believe but English is his native language.??
Along with writing and grammar skills, it’s important to be sure a writer’s fiction makes sense, to rewrite, and to be concise.
‘Basically they give you 60,000 words, and every word has to count,? said the author, who has eliminated entire characters and subplots as necessary.
It’s smarter for students to work on reading and writing than to try publishing, says Jones, who recommends students write for online fan fiction sites, high school yearbooks or literary magazines, or a high school newspaper.
After breaking up with the editor of his own school paper, Jones started his own, running copies on Michael Moore’s copier, he said.
The writer also gained experience in high school theatre, penning one-act plays and comedy skits for faculty follies-type shows, as well as song-writing.
‘I had a buddy in a band and I wrote the lyrics,? he said, remembering the words to his ‘Lockjaw Love?.
‘I don’t know why it never made it,? he said wryly.
Jones? secret to getting published?
‘Persistence, patience, and an unbelievable capacity for rejection,? he said.