Margin Notes

What I Was Reading:

Saving Red by Sonya Sones is the story of what happens when Molly meets Red, a homeless girl only a few years older than she is, and becomes fixated on reuniting Red with her family. What quickly becomes apparent to the reader are two things: Red is suffering with some serious mental health issues and Molly’s family has experienced some type of trauma. This is a beautiful story, written in verse, that reveals how sometimes when we try to save someone else, we end up saving ourselves.

What Moves I Notice the Writer Making:

• Using a title to provide brief context to a conversation
• A conversation written in verse
• Spacing that provides time for the reader to consider the message of the conversation
• The use of italics for emphasis
• Intentional use of repetition to begin sentences
• Smooth pacing of writing that leads up to what makes this conversation necessary to write about

Possibilities for Writers:

• Think of a conversation you have had and try writing it out in verse, using only the essential parts of the conversation.
• Play around with italics to see how emphasizing different words in your writing impacts the way it is read.
• Play around with the organization of your stanzas to see how the line breaks speed up or slow down the conversation.
• Write a title that sets the stage for the conversation.