If you’re a writer or educator of writers, you’ve probably been advised to use a mentor text to learn or teach various writing things. So, you do your due diligence, ask for recommendations, and purchase books in the genre or style you are looking to study. Maybe you read it straight through. Maybe you start writing notes in the margin. Maybe you completely dissect the book into a road map of parts and pieces with line arrows going here and there. Maybe you learn something from doing these things or maybe you learned that method was a waste of time for you. Maybe you even stare at the book wondering, “what do I do now?’ The “correct” way to study a mentor text will be as varied as the people studying them. I’ll tell you what works for me, and maybe it will work for you, too. When I first read through a mentor text, I want to be immersed in the book. I want my reactions to be as a reader, not as a critical writer who is primarily looking for examples of good writing, comparing with my own writing, or contrasting with other writers. For one thing, I want to remain open to experience the story as it’s meant to be experienced; I want to enjoy what I’m reading. For another, I think something vital may be missed in using the book as a mentor text if you neglect to read as a reader, on a first read-through at least. As writers, we want our readers to engage with and enjoy the story, so how can we find those things that are enjoyable and engaging in a mentor text if we aren’t reading as a reader? That doesn’t mean we aren’t also reading as a writer, however. To that end, I aim to quickly mark passages for later examination as I read through. I use multi-colored sticky flags widely available with office or school supplies. There are also options with many more colors and styles. (As a side note, our family uses these as our regular bookmarks. It allows us to mark the exact line we end on, which is useful if you are picking up and putting down multiple books all day long, as our family does. Also, we sometimes read the same books at the same time, so everyone has their own designated color to mark their specific spots.) I recently read Greetings from Witness Protection by Jake Burt (Feiwel and Friends, 2017) as a mentor text for contemporary middle-grade thrillers. Firstly, this is an overall fun book with a couple of intense scenes but ultimately a sweet ending (I happy cried). Secondly, it turns out this was a great mentor text for what I was using it for: how to write the first few chapters, with a hook, and striking a good balance of foreshadowing without giving away any secrets that should be discovered over the course of the book. You don’t need to know exactly what you’re looking for, though. You can simply read and flag any spots that stand out to you for any reason. Here’s how I did it for this particular mentor text: Pink Flag = Emotional Orange Flag = Mechanics Blue Flag = Plot Yellow Flag = My current place Sometimes I might be looking for other, or more specific, things, but since I was using this mentor text in a big picture way, I kept my categories broad and simple. You might want a flag color for transitions, settings, complex sentences, intensity levels, point of views, structure, etc. Break down the markers however works best for you and your needs. Here are some examples of what I flagged and what I can learn from them. All examples are taken directly from Greetings from Witness Protection by Jake Burt (Feiwel and Friends, 2017). Emotional: This category is where I flagged anything that described emotions of the character or evoked an emotional response in me. In this example, I liked how physically descriptive this emotional feeling of the character was, and in a way that stood out as both unique and relatable. How can I make my own characters’ physical responses to emotional stimuli be more specific? Mechanics: This category is where I flagged anything from transitions to settings. In this example, it stood out to me how captivating it was for the main character to give this unknown person a nickname, even if only in her own mind, making the introduction of this side character instantly interesting. In what little ways can I introduce or describe people or things in an interesting way, especially in a way that gives us insight into the main character’s personality? Plot: This category is where I flagged anything that looks like a plot set up, far-reaching plot device, or plot restriction. In this example, it stood out to me that the simple, maybe even obvious, idea that the main character can’t share information for safety reasons could be a real heavy lifter in terms of plot development throughout the whole story. In my own stories, how can I rely more on simpler motivations to develop plot and avoid falling into unnecessarily complex developments?
That’s it! I keep all these little flags in the book and later, usually when I’m writing, I can easily go to the flag color for the category I want, remind myself of why I flagged that section, and think about how I can improve my own writing to fulfill a similar purpose. For me, this method works as an easy way to study a text while allowing myself to read for fun. It’s become so second nature that I often flag things while reading even when I’m not trying to use a book as a mentor text. Now I have a big supply of flagged books in various genres that I can go to for writing inspiration. I hope this helps you in your own study of mentor texts. Happy reading and writing!
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Hello and I hope everyone's 2025 is off to a good start. Now that the holidays are over, I have been back to writing. I have started a speculative young adult novel with two timelines exploring how society might have been had the Analytical Machine been built and using Ada Lovelace's programming ideas. It's been fun and I'm learning a lot about how computers work.
Also, I have been featured in an Author Interview on the Only Picture Books blog. This was a really fun one with interesting questions for authors and readers. Check it out at www.onlypicturebooks.com/. Enjoy! For my local friends, join me for a storytime featuring Camouflage Mom at the Sutter County Library in Yuba City, on Saturday, August 24 at 10:00am.
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