I Have Mentor Texts I Want to Use, Now What? by Marcie Flinchum Atkins

Last week we talked about where to find mentor texts that you can use as a writer. Now that you have them, what are you going to do with them? 

It depends on what you’re writing. I know that’s a terrible answer. It also depends on what area of craft you want to improve. 

Here are some ideas for ways you can use mentor texts:

1) Plot it out. 

I struggle with plot. I have actually plotted out mentor texts to help me with this. I’m still a work in progress on plotting, but I have learned a lot by studying other texts. 

James Scott Bell recommends plotting another book chapter by chapter in his book PLOT AND STRUCTURE. 

In THE PLOT WHISPERER by Martha Alderson, she mentions taking another book and plotting it on a story line. 

Both of these techniques help you get the feel for the story that is not your own and how the plot works. 

2) Try it out. 

Find something you really like in someone else’s writing. Whether it’s the way they introduce a character, incorporate the setting, the way a beginning is constructed, or the way a nonfiction text is constructed, you can try out the craft aspect with your own story. You may not end up using it, but you might find it gives you a different way of looking at things. 

3) Type it out. 

I’ve said this many times, and I’ve heard others say it numerous times, typing out the text helps you notice what the author left in, what she left out, and how they paced the book. I find this especially helpful in writing picture books, though I’ve heard a writer says she’s typed out several chapters trying to get the feel for a particular genre. 

4) Go on a word hunt. 

I do this with students all of the time. We look for vivid verbs, sensory words, onomatopoeia, and more. Sometimes, getting into the language is inspiring. I find this to be especially helpful when writing picture books and poetry. Make a list of your favorite words. When you are writing you own work, brainstorm the best possible words for the subject. How can you make your word choice unique and perfect? How can you make every word count in your manuscript. 

5) Soak it in.  

Georgia Heard's book FINDING THE HEART OF NONFICTION, she says, 

“Some people call them mentor texts; I call them guardian angels. These are the books that guide me with a whisper of words, inspiring me to find my own voice as I write. They give me the knowledge and the wisdom of what good-quality writing sounds and feels like.” (xii)

Find those handful of books that really speak to you. Books that you wish you’d written. Books that you don’t tire of reading again and again. Read them over and over again. Have them in your personal library. Revisit them. Every time I read BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE by Kate DiCamillo, I learn something new as a writer. I soak in something great. I like to go about studying mentor texts in an intentional way. But sometimes just reading and rereading those books will help you as a writer too. 

There are dozens (probably hundreds) of ways to read and study a mentor text. These are just some of the ways I’ve studied them. 

Tell us. What ways do you use mentor texts?

Looking for Mentor Texts: The What, The Why, The How, The Where by Marcie Flinchum Atkins

WHAT is a Mentor Text? 

A mentor text is an exemplary text that can be used as a model for good writing. Instead of just reading to familiarize yourself with what’s out there in your genre (which is also important), you can read to find out how the writer actually put the story together to make it effective. 

You can use mentor texts to study big picture items like organization of the text, plotting, pacing, point of view, character development and more. You can also use mentor texts to study sentence and word level craft like word choice, sentence variety, descriptions, first lines, and titles. 

For a list of possibilities for common skills you can study using mentor texts, click here for this downloadable. 

WHY Should I Use Mentor Texts as a Writer?

If you want to be an expert at something, you find people who are already experts. In her book, FINDING THE HEART OF NONFICTION, Georgia Heard says, 

“Most disciplines expect that novices learn from experts, whether they're beginner tennis players watching professional tennis players or art students copying master paintings. Similarly, writers learn by emulation." (xiv) 

If you want to excel in a particular style of painting, you study paintings not just to appreciate the art, but to really figure out the technique used to render the piece of art. 

HOW Do I Figure Out What Mentor Texts to Use?

Try to find books like you want to write. If you want to write picture book biography, you should read as many picture book biographies you can get your hands on. Pick your favorites and really study those. 

If you like a particular author’s style, read other books by that author. 

If you want to learn about a new genre, pick out 10 books in that genre that are recent and really study what makes them work. 

If you have a particular weakness in an area, like plotting, pick books that are known for their perfect plotting. 

If you aren’t sure how to focus your nonfiction picture book, pick several nonfiction picture books and take a look at how they are focused. 

If you want to write a chapter book for young readers, pick several and outline how they are set up. 

Essentially, you can create your own course in a particular genre or craft technique. You can have it solely focused on what skills you need to improve as a writer. 

WHERE Do I Find Mentor Texts?

I find mentor texts by reading a lot. I read as many books as I can in the genre I’m writing in. I also read around that genre. The public library is immensely helpful. 

I also use Amazon. 

It’s helpful in finding books that are similar to the one you like. Search for a book you really like on Amazon. At the bottom it will tell you about what other books people bought that bought that particular one. It’s not always fool-proof. But it might just lead you down an enchanting rabbit-hole filled with good books. Once I develop a list, I then order them from my public library. 

I also spend a lot of time reading book lists. School Library Journal, The Horn Book, and various book bloggers are also places to follow. They will give you good ideas for new books that might go well on your mentor texts to-be-read list. Don't feel like you have to spend money on expensive subscriptions. These places have free e-mail newsletters and bloggers that produce regular content. 

Start collecting and refining your list of mentor texts. Remember, these are books that standouts for you, books that really speak to you and serve as models for you. Your mentor texts might not be the same as mine, and that’s okay. 

Character-Driven Picture Book Post

Mentor Text Webinar and Resources

Stay tuned, next week we’ll talk about: I Have Mentor Texts I Want to Use, Now What?