Mentor Texts discussion

Three things I learned about writing from reading this book is one, the ability relate an experience with another experience or something else. While telling an anecdote and providing supporting details and imagery already adds a lot of voice and tone, providing a relating experience gives the reader another way to make connections in the story. "Being with Kate at the wheel of the family SUV was like being with Jeff on the Airbus. I was observing, admiring, and taking notes." The part of him describing watching his daughter drive was already really descriptive. However, when he compares it to flying the Airbus, it gives the anecdote more broader context to the overall story. The second thing I learned is the shift in tone from one sentence to another. When I write, the tone of the entire story remains constant. However, one thing that I learned that I can improve upon is changing the tone from one sentence to another to draw the audience's attention and deepen my voice in the story. "I worry that safety can be compromised as a result. People used to say that airline pilots were one step below astronauts. Now the joke is: We're one step above bus drivers." The shift in tone from being below astronauts to being above bus drivers changes the tone from negative to positive within a sentence. By doing this, more voice is added to story, which will better draw the reader into the story. The author also does this when he is in communication with the control tower during the emergency landing. The ATC is sometimes in a negative tone, while Sully always responds in a positive way. This again shifts the tone from negative to positive. The final thing I learned from reading this book is the start of every chapter has something to do with the overall theme of the story. Even though the chapter might not deal with aviation (it might talk about his family, etc.), the author always tries to connect the chapter back to the theme of aviation. "I've seen breathtaking sunrises and sunsets from the highest altitudes." The chapter then goes to talk about his adoption of his daughters. The metaphor of breathtaking altitudes and sunsets connects to his bright-minded girls. Even though he was talking about his girls, he was able to connect this back to his passion of flying. From this, I learned to use metaphors from the overall theme to describe something more detailed.