Dear Novice-Level Authors...

Dear Novice-Level Authors,

I am a novice-low/mid reader of Spanish (I am a Latin teacher who knows very little Spanish, so my reading is self-taught), and over the past few years, I have begun to read many of your novellas which are targeted for novice-level readers. First off, thank you so much for your novellas! As Krashen states:

"Our reading ability, our ability to write in an acceptable writing style, our spelling ability, vocabulary knowledge, and our ability to handle complex syntax is the result of reading."

"The ability to speak is the result of listening [and] the result of reading." 

But what I appreciate mostly is how you have written novellas with a true understanding of those actual linguistic supports which emerging novice-low/novice mid readers truly need.

• I love that you shelter vocabulary with predictable sentence patterns. Those two concepts need to go hand-in hand. When I read your novellas, I loved that I was able to focus on a limited number of vocabulary words but that the predictability of the sentence patterns allowed me to focus on reading. As I continued reading those novellas, I noticed that my reading speed increased. And once I recognized your particular writing style, I loved reading other novice-low/mid novellas which you had written, because I knew your sentence pattern! Krashen refers to this as narrow reading and states that narrow reading actually is a great way to deliver comprehensible input: "Since each writer has favorite expressions and a distinctive style, and each topic has its own vocabulary and discourse, narrow reading provides built-in review." 
• I love that each of your sentences only focused on one idea. I did not get lost in your sentences due to too much information!
• I loved that while your sentences focused on one idea, you would then combine those sentences as a compound sentence to reinforce continued exposure to that vocabulary. Because I had already read them as individual sentences, a longer compound sentence did not seem too much language.
• I love that while your novellas did have a glossary, I did not rely on it after the first few pages. The constant repetitions of those words reinforced those words which I had to look up to the point that I no longer needed the glossary.
• I love that you wrote your story as individual sentences - one sentence per line. I recall seeing some novellas which were written as paragraphs, and I remember right away feeling overwhelmed by the sheer sight of it (even though it was very comprehensible Spanish). Now I know how my own novice-low/mid students must feel sometimes when seeing a paragraph of Latin, even if 100% comprehensible. Seeing each sentence as a line made the reading appear doable and lowered my affective filter.
• I love that while you were using a limited amount of vocabulary, you still found a way to create compelling plots. Granted they probably did not have a major conflict with rising tension, major character development, a climax, and denouement/resolution which had a twist ending, they did not need all of that. Your plots kept my interest! 
• I love that you made me feel successful as a novice-low/mid reader of Spanish!

Thank you for showing me how I want my own emerging novice-low/mid Latin readers to feel when reading something which I have written. You have served as great examples! I look forward to reading more of your novellas in the future.

Keith

P.S. Special shoutouts to Margarita Perez Garcia, Mira Canion, and Adam Giedd for your wonderful novellas!