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In a writing workshop I once took, the literary novelist Ethan Canin told us that reading is "about connecting with a sensibility." This resonated with me as a writer because I know that when something I read compels me, it's because I feel like I'm connecting to a certain world view in a piece of writing, a specific take on a timeless theme, a fresh, original voice. A teacher I had in college used to like to say "there are no new plots, just new characters" - and I'd like to take that one step further. New sensibilities. Lucky for all of us writers - each of our sensibilities is truly individual. No one else in the wide world sees the way we see - through our unique experience, through our distinctive eyes.
And that's the heart of point of view.
Not just who's telling the story or how it's being told but the entire world view that an author translates through a piece of writing to a reader.
Different readers connect to different point of views, to different sensibilities. It's why I can read something and think "Wow, this engages me. I'm hooked." And the guy sitting next to me in the café can tell me he couldn't get through it. It's two sensibilities connecting - or not.
So that's why I think Point of View is essential as a writer and a reader.
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 The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Precious (fabulous blogger over at Fragment of Life) wrote a lovely review of my new novella The Liberation of Max McTrue:
http://shusky20.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-liberation-of-max-mctrue-by-kim.html
and in that review, she compared MAX to Smith's beautiful little novel. I'm so grateful for that connection (because life, after all, is simply made up of connections). It's not just the premise that makes me think of MAX: a day in the life of a teenage girl who misses a flight, meets a boy, and has her life altered. It's also the sensibility of this book that I responded to - the sweet optimism of this novel that made me fall in love at first read. Hadley's had some pain in her life (a divorce) and she's dreading her trip to London for her dad's wedding to a woman she's never met, has never wanted to meet, after her dad abruptly left Hadley and her mother for a teaching job and new life in Oxford. However, Hadley misses her flight (a mere four minutes late) and winds up on a later flight where she meets Oliver, a boy who will change her. This novel acts as a reminder that love changes shape and it's our responses to those changes that dictate our futures. It's our attitude and view of things that paint the picture of our lives. There is a simplicity in this novel, and I mean that in a wholly positive way, because it argues for the sheer importance, the power, of optimism in our lives. And that's a view I can fall in love with over and over again.
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 Writing Exercise
I'm gearing up for the Flash Fiction contest I'm hosting with Figment.com. So, as this is the perfect writing assignment for Smith's book too - I encourage you to participate in the Max McTrue Flash Fiction contest with Figment. Once again here's Precious and her blog with the details.
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 Outside Reading School Project
What chance meeting in your life changed you life? Recreate that scene through a poem, short story or personal essay.
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 Instructions for a Broken Heart
by Kim Culbertson
IFABH was named a Booklist Online Top Ten Romance Fiction for Youth: 2011: check it out!
I appreciate any other great reviews you'd like to add to Amazon, goodreads, etc.
And I thank you in advance - it means a lot! "Culbertson balances the story between teen angst and a nice Italian travelogue. The author has a flair for evocative descriptions. . . The major strength here is in the literary quality of the writing, although teens may be more interested in the characters' relationship." -- Kirkus Reviews Sourcebooks Fire (May 1, 2011) Also, check out the official trailer!!  | | "Instructions for a Broken Heart" by Kim Culbertson - *Official Trailer* |
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 Need a gift?
Inspire the special people in your life to keep a song journal chronicling the soundtrack of their lives.
Bundle any combination of the following:
a Writing Journal, a CD, and/or an iPod
with Songs for a Teenage Nomad
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