Wonder, the story of a boy with a facial difference finding his place in fifth grade, has become a bestseller and a beloved addition to the middle grade genre. Since its publication in 2012, R. J. Palacio’s heartwarming story has inspired a movie and several companion books.
I’ve read the book several times, most recently with a critical eye as I look for ways to improve my own writing. Today I want to touch on a few writing rules we can pull from Wonder to learn from Palacio’s success.
WONDER RULE #1: VOICE IS INFINITELY IMPORTANT
Maybe one of the most memorable features of the book is that the story uses six first-person narrators throughout the story. On her website, Palacio says that she didn’t originally plan to go into multiple points of view. She says that she wanted to explore the motivations behind different characters’ behavior, and of course Auggie couldn’t be all-knowing.
Palacio set some rules for herself to prevent the different perspectives from feeling too wild. She writes (bold added by me for emphasis):
One: all the characters would have to propel the narrative forward in a linear way. While there could be some flashbacks, the plot would move forward with each point of view. It was like a relay race, and each character gets the baton and passes it forward. The baton is the story.
Two: all the characters would have to enhance Auggie’s storyline. That is to say, they could tell their own story—but only as it intersects or weaves in and out of Auggie’s story.
Three: all the characters whose voices we hear have grown or changed from knowing Auggie. As they get to know him, they all enhance his storyline as he enhances theirs.
In reading Wonder, I realized that what makes these rules work is that each character has a distinct voice. Palacio does an amazing job at making Auggie sound like a matter-of-fact fifth grade boy, while his sister sounds like a conflicted high school girl. The difference lies in small but consistent quirks in their chapters.
Plus, by giving them that common thread of enhancing Auggie’s storyline, each character has believable growth and the story still feels like one story.
WONDER RULE # 2: WRITE EVERY DAY
Palacio says writing every day is the one piece of advice she would give aspiring authors. Check. She writes:
Also, don’t think about writing a book. That can be a little daunting—even just the saying aloud: “I’m writing a book.” Instead, just think in terms of writing a page in a book. That’s all. A page or two every time you sit down to write. Before you know it, you’ve got yourself a chapter. Then a couple of chapters. And you’re on your way to writing a book.
Maybe it’s because I’ve written books before, but the idea that I’m writing a book doesn’t really seem daunting to me. It seems exciting. But I still like that idea of setting small goals. Every night, I’ve been writing just a few pages in my novel. And Palacio’s right—it adds up.
WONDER RULE #3: MAKE TIME TO WRITE
I don’t think Palacio necessarily meant this as advice, but this is how she found the time to write her novel:
The only time of day that I could find to write, since I had a full-time job and two young children to keep me busy during the day, was in the middle of the night, so I got into this routine where I would wake up at midnight and write til 3am. I did that every night until I finished the first draft of the book.
Now, usually I’m still awake at midnight, and I can’t exactly afford to carve a three-hour chunk out of my already-limited sleep schedule. But if I can take something from this, it’s that you can always find time to write.
Also, this is a great segue into an upcoming post—I’m going to wake up at 4 a.m. and write the first thing that comes to mind. Can’t wait…
But until then, be sure to check out my new “how-to” series, where every other week I’ll be sharing some practical rules for creative writers and teachers. You can check out the first post here.
Finally, I want to hear from you! What are some other great middle grade novels that might have takeaways for writers? Comment your recommendations below.