Naturalism vs Romanticism

I'm pleased to say that I've been working hard on the book, the first novel of what I hope will be a terrific series for 8-to-12-year-olds. It stars a group of homeschooling kids who live near Powder Mills Park in Pittsford, NY, and who come upon a mysterious treasure chest with even more mysterious contents floating in Irondequoit Creek.

Madison and I have been researching this book for over a year, mostly because it is (or wants to be, let's hope that it works) a romp through classic children's mystery literature, and we've had to read a LOT of it. She reads, she reports, I check out, I write, she reads, and we edit edit edit.

Anyway, I'm in Chapter 9 of what I think will be about 16 chapters. Been humming along, of late, despite being overworked on various dimensions. (My goal is to get it published before May 5, 2009, my 40th birthday.)

Madison and I were talking about the progress today, and she pointed out that this book, like most of the others that she likes, like the Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew, have "perfect" children in them, and that this is perhaps unrealistic.

"No one ever gets into snits," she complained. "And maybe the readers like that better, but I think that's unrealistic. Maybe we should have Karen Rose and Alexander have a fight or something, or have one of them be snotty to their parents."

I talked with her about how novels and movies portray only things that are essential to the plot, rather than peripheral things. "You know people have to go to the bathroom now and again," I explained. "But we never see that, because it's not part of what drives the story along."

"Well, maybe not," she agreed. "But I think maybe we should try to move away from presenting perfect kids, and go for more realistic kids. Maybe kids should be able to relate to our characters rather than want to be like them."

Émile Zola, reincarnated, perhaps?

I took the opportunity to describe how this was actually a big debate in the 19th century, Naturalism vs. Romanticism, and how we've had several representatives of both in our Birthday of the Day (William Blake was recent) in literature, art, and music. She was interested that this all has a name. But I think she was more interested in winning a point, and in having me alter the book to be more realistic. I told her that she should propose whatever she thinks would be good for the book, just let me know.

In other news...

I brought the girls to a new dentist today, a pediatric dentist. Madison really hadn't hit it off with my dentist (at her first visit, when she was 4, she wouldn't open her mouth, and every time thereafter it was a struggle for her to allow stuff to be done inside her mouth...partly a gag reflex and partly a control issue). After the last time when Dr. Parnes seemed a little frustrated with her, I thought maybe a change would do her good.

I asked around and got a glowing recommendation from one of the senseis at karate for this group, which is mostly women. We went this morning, and Madison really hit it off with them. They understood her issues, and worked with them. She pronounced them a vast improvement over "the last guy." Ella, on the other hand, always loves a trip to the dentist, has no problem opening her mouth and chatting up a store. Today, though, she didn't like the taste of the toothpaste (she chose "chocolate mint" flavor from among a vast array) or the feel of the toothbrush so well, and it colored her whole experience. It's good that Madison really likes these folks, because she needs to get her back teeth sealed in a couple of weeks, and she needs to make an orthodontist appointment pronto because her mouth is so crowded. These people don't submit your paperwork to your insurance company for you, but I'm assured they're worth it. Seems to be true.