JacketFlap connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher in the children's / young adult book industry. Members include published authors and illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, publishers and fans. Join now (it's free).
Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.
Blog Posts by Tag
In the past 7 days
Blog Posts by Date
Click days in this calendar to see posts by day or month
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Writing Workout, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 26 - 50 of 126
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: Writing Workout in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
This summer I wrote a research-heavy, fiction/nonfiction mashup of a book with a very short deadline. Its style and content required input from book teams at two companies on separate continents and lots of hurried revisions. During this time I also planned and planted extensive landscaping, revised a couple of picture books, led a writing workshop, tried to keep our newly-seeded lawn (and that landscaping!) alive during the drought, walked the dog every day, returned to a hobby (quilting and fabric arts) after too many years away, and–
I'll stop there, because it's simply LIFE. You know how it goes. But because this summer felt especially crazy for me, my well of creativity is currently running on empty. It happens to all of us at times, and I've enjoyed learning how my fellow TAs tackle the problem. Amazing how we all find different ways to refill.
What works best for me is reading.
Writing excellence inspires me, refilling my well like nothing else can. Mystery. Humor. Biography. Historical fiction. Books for kids. Books for adults. Doesn't matter, as long as it's great writing. Lucky for me, I recently stumbled across Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce mysteries, which are tripping my creative trigger, big time. He's a fabulous writer overall, but one thing I've particularly appreciated is his mastery of the simile. Here are a few examples:
"The voice – a woman's – cut through the shop like a falling icicle."
"She was staring at me through her lenses like a birdwatcher who has unexpectedly come upon the rare spotted crake."
"I could almost follow her thoughts as the piano's notes went flying past my ears like birds from a forest fire."
Ideally, a simile provides insight into your character and/or makes a reader see something in a new, very specific, way. An effective simile should be distinct, delightful, unexpected. I don't know about you, but reading the ones above makes me want to write snappier similes myself. I also know that when I feel ready to begin the middle grade novel now lodged in my head, my writing is going to benefit enormously from having read Mr. Bradley's work.
Read on!
Jill Esbaum
Writing Workout
This one's easy and fun. Below are ten clichéd similes. Brainstorm fresh alternatives. If you can make them voice-specific to a character from your current work in progress, so much the better.
eat like a pig
fight like cats and dogs
sleep like a log
work like a dog
dry as a bone
black as night
hard as a rock
busy as a bee
cold as ice
quiet as a mouse
2 Comments on My Creative Well is Choked with Tumbleweeds, last added: 8/24/2012
Yes, I too enjoyed reading our varied approaches to dealing with "drought." And thanks so much for sharing these great similes. I wasn't familiar with the Flavia de Luce books--I've just put a library hold on the first one.
Meteorologically-speaking, 2012 will go down in
the Record Books as The Year of the Drought.
And metaphorically-speaking, as this series of
TeachingAuthors posts affirms, writers too face droughts at some point in their
writing lives.
But Bridget Doyle’s article in the August 18
Chicago Tribune last week emboldened me, the “Non-stop Finder of Life’s Silver
Linings,” (according to my Six-word Memoir), to
share my seemingly-simple prescription for
anyone suffering the pain and heartache of Writer’s Drought.
The Tribune headline reads GARDENS THRIVING IN DROUGHT – JUST ADD WATER
Kathy
Wolan, of Arlington Heights, harvests tomatoes from her garden plot. Green
beans are also “doing fabulous,” she says, and she has a bumper crop of basil.
“We couldn’t control the sunlight or heat this year, but we could control the
water,” she says. (Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune)
My Rx for writers wishing to thrive during their particular droughts?
Just WRITE! Yes, write.
Maybe not that
Great American Novel you know lives inside of you; maybe not that poetry collection you b
1 Comments on Of Silver Linings and the Suffix "er", last added: 8/22/2012
Happy hot and glorious summer! I'm loving this hotter-than-usual Southern California summer: lying on hot cement by the pool in a wet bathing suit, barefeet, no sleeves, long days, bright mornings, driving with all the windows down, sleeping with all the windows open, taking Eli to the dog park early because he's black and brown and otherwise he gets too hot to romp like a pony, cold drinks with just the right kind of crunchy ice...I can go on listing all the things I love about summer.
And now onto the topic we TeachingAuthors have been discussing:
GETTING THROUGH TIMES OF DROUGHT
OR HOW I FILL THE WRITING WELL.
(Sorry...I didn't mean to shout.)
Mary Ann posted about finding at least three things to write in her journal each day that trigger her curiosity. Carmela posted that she replenishes her writer's well by taking herself on an artist playdate. And Carmela tells us about her friend, Leanne Pankuch, who writes a page a day.
My contribution is the following poem, inspired by our topic.
DROUGHT by April Halprin Wayland
We writers,
we've been through Hard Times.
Dry times.
The Long Drought.
Dry? Oh my.
We place our plates upside down,
glasses bottom side up,
so the winds won't blast dust into 'em.
Our typewriters go thirsty on parched parchment.
We've got scrawny stories—or none at all.
Ideas simply
evaporate.
We hear that on the outskirts of Amarillo,
crows built a nest from barbed wire—
the only thing they could scavenge
from burned-out fields.
Those birds made a nest
from barbed wire?
Well, Sir, then so can we.
And then: we'll crow.
Since I just wrote a poem about the weather drought last week, this tickled me a lot, April. A nest of barbed wire! Is that true? It's a wonderful image! I love your writing a poem to send to your friend every day. What a gift you are giving each other.
Yes it's true! Here's what it said and below is where I found it:
On the outskirts of Amarillo, Texas, townspeople discovered a crow’s nest made entirely of barbed wire — the only material the birds could scavenge from the lifeless terrain. Anything that could was stubbornly holding on. from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/dustbowl-transcript/
Unexpected change of plans: the roundup is at A Year of Reading http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2012/08/poetry-friday-roundup-is-here.html Thanks for changing your link!
I agree, writing something every day really makes the difference! I need to get back on that track. I am so excited about this anthology coming out too!
I apologize for slipping up on the roundup yesterday, and I am very grateful to Mary Lee for covering for me. I have you linked today though!
I found it interesting that my play day was about pondering the drought during my neighborhood walk. Your poem inspired me to try writing a poem. Thank you!
Like much of the United States, Illinois is experiencing a terrible drought this year. Earlier this month, the USDA declared 98 of Illinois's 102 counties "disaster areas" because of the combination of drought and heat. Interestingly, the county I live in is one of the few NOT designated a disaster area. You'd never guess it from looking at the parched lawns around here.
I was inspired to suggest the topic of "writing droughts" to the TeachingAuthors team after reading "A Writer's (non) Drought" by my friend Leanne Pankuch on her blog. Leanne quotes a local meteorologist as saying, “Drought begets drought,” and talks about how the phrase is as true about writing as it is about weather. I agree.
If you're not familiar with the term, here's Cameron's description of it from her blog:
The Artist Date is a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore
something that interests you. The Artist Date need not be overtly
“artistic”– think mischief more than mastery. Artist Dates fire up the
imagination. They spark whimsy. They encourage play. Since art is about
the play of ideas, they feed our creative work by replenishing our inner
well of images and inspiration.
When I found the adjacent photo on Morguefile, I thought it a great image to represent what Cameron calls "replenishing our inner wells." (Click on the image to enlarge it.) The photographer says the photo is of "water flow at the Holy Well in Edington Somersetshire England." To me, the inner source of our creativity is indeed "holy."
That doesn't mean an Artist Date is a solemn occasion. Here are examples of some I've taken:
visiting a large garden center and walking around the blooming plants and garden decorations
browsing an arts and craft fair, enjoying art
3 Comments on "Replenishing our Inner Well", last added: 8/17/2012
I've read The Artist's Way, but it was a long time ago. Thanks for refreshing my memory. I've been "replenishing my inner well" lately by writing haiku, something I'd never done before. I'm finding I'm enjoying the process and feeling more energized toward my lengthier projects :-)
I'm late reading Carmela, but wanted to read about your 'drought' ideas. I have heard of the Artist's Way, but never read it or 'listened' to it. An artist's date is a great idea. The only idea I do is to dig out my old journals and read through them. Even if I don't find an idea exactly, sometimes the words just get me going again. Thanks for this!
Kenda, writing haiku sounds like a terrific way to replenish the well, as does reading through old journals, Linda. I'd like to try both of these. Thanks for sharing, ladies.
As long as I have lived in Georgia, (eleven years now), the state has suffered from drought. I don't remember what a green lawn looks like. My yard (and everyone else's) has turned cornflake brown, with lots of bald spots. Lake levels have dropped until people with "lakefront homes" now have "mud front homes." Fourth of July often includes a ban on fireworks. Even sparklers feel hazardous when everything around you has turned to kindling.
The writing life has it's dry spells, too. We all have them, even though we don't like to admit it. After all, we are writers. This is what we do.We are supposed to be endless founts of creativity. We are "supposed" to write every day. When we don't, we feel guilty. OK, I feel guilty. For me, not writing is in the same league with not working out and eating junk food. A few days of not writing and I come down with a bad case of brain fog.
My first experience with a dry writing well came at the end of my MFA program at Vermont College. After two years and four drafts, I thought I had finished Yankee Girl. (Wrong. I had another two years and three drafts to go.) Feeling very pleased with myself I jumped right into a new novel. I had a setting and some characters so I thought I was good to go. I wrote the first couple of chapters and sent them off to my faculty mentor, Randy Powell for critique.
Randy made his usual cogent comments on the writing, but ended his last letter with a comment I thought odd at the time. Sometimes, after a big project like Yankee Girl, he wrote, it's good to let the creative well refill. What was he talking about?
A year and another "finished" novel later, I figured out what he meant. I had three hundred pages of writing; I didn't have three hundred pages of a novel. I'd pushed myself to write a novel, when I really didn't have a novel in me at the time. Sigh. Fortunately, by then I was working with an editor on yet another revision of Yankee Girl. From those three hundred pages (which are still lurking in my hard drive) I learned to let a story simmer on a back burner awhile. Writing Yankee Girl drained me, emotionally and creatively. I should have given myself some time off. I should have let my well refill, as Randy had suggested.
However, time off can turn into goofing off. You can't just sit around waiting for rain to refill your well. The trick is to keep writing, keep priming the pump until you get your mojo back.
I should know. I am halfway through my current work-in-progress. For a variety of reasons, I am too creatively pooped out to do the story justice, right now. So what am I doing?
Writing this blog, for one thing. Knowing that I will be talking to you all every other Monday has kept me going. I am also lucky enough to have a series of Young Writer's Workshops lined up for this school year. Working with students always energizes me.
But what if you don't write a blog or have a continuous supply of workshops and school visits to keep you sharp? What if you don't have the time or energy to journal for even fifteen minutes?
Writer's Workout I try to find at least three things every day that I want to write in my journal. Three things that make me stop and
3 Comments on Priming the Writing Pump, last added: 8/15/2012
Nice words, Mary Ann. I enjoyed the gentle way you led us to that dry pump, and filling the well. And I like the small investment you suggested in observations just to keep going. It might be a way to talk to students too, to let them know that writing on demand doesn't always work. Thanks, & I feel the pain of your drought. I just wrote a poem for Poetry Friday about it. It's just tragic, isn't it? I didn't realize that Atlanta has been hit so hard too. Best wishes for rain!
This post struck a chord with me, Mary Ann. When I'm "between' projects, I still see with a writer's eye for detail (I hope), but I need to get into the habit of writing down my observations. Love the idea of doing SOMEthing to ease the not-writing guilt. Great advice.
It's that time of year... Today I turned in my syllabus for the fall semester. Oh, summer, I miss you already.
Of course we've all been engrossed in the Olympics this week, cheering for Michael Phelps (hometown boy), Gabby Douglas, and all the rest. Looking at track, at gymnastics, at swimming, it occurs to me -- you can be a breast stroke specialist and so-so in the free; outstanding on the vault and a little shaky on the beam. Like "sport," writing involves a HUGE compendium of skill sets that need to come together in a rather miraculous way to make even a passable final product.
Like athletes, writers have coaches (editors) and fans; we also need to put in our time (thousands of hours) and sweat. Unlike athletes, we have more than one chance on the big stage to get it right. Hallelujah. This is great news! Yet trying to convince my students that editing is not only important but a gift remains one of my biggest teaching hurdles.
This week I've worn my article-writer hat; my scriptwriter hat; my picture book writer hat. I just signed up for a romance writing class this fall, so we'll see whether I have a romance writer hat in my closet. However, my teacher hat is rather new and stiff still. I find that one of the greatest challenges in college comp is teaching students global skills and grammar skills; research skills and sentence-level editing. Some students have had many of these skills since they were very young; others don't know where to put periods or apostrophes. However, some who struggle with grammar are still among my strongest writers on a global level. And how do you differentiate instruction for students you see for a whopping two-and-a-half hours per week? Whew!
I have spent the last week contemplating last year's syllabus -- what worked and what didn't? What do I want to keep, tweak, revamp, delete? One exercise that was fairly effective last year involved introductions and conclusions. Many introductory comp students have had the five-paragraph essay format effectively drilled into their heads. They think they are required to write an introduction that concludes with a three-point thesis; that the introductory sentence of each of the next three paragraphs should repeat one third of the thesis statement; and that the concluding paragraph should begin with a restatement of the thesis statement, going on to summarize all that has come before.
Many students are shocked when I suggest that it is not good practice to say the same thing three times; in fact, many are shocked by the mere notion that they can write more than or fewer than five pargraphs in one essay. We spend much of the semester working toward the notion that the five-paragraph format is a template that can be molded to a variety of shapes, forms, and purposes.
Our textbooks concentrate on suggestions for making introductions and conclusions more interesting: start with dialogue; start with a story; start with an interesting fact. In the final paragraph, end with a story; bring your reader back to the beginning; offer a tip or a suggestion; look toward the future.
Many students nonetheless are resistant to these ideas and continue to write summary-type paragraphs that add zero interest to their papers. So we tried this writing workout:
Writing Workout
Rewrite your introduction once, and then do it again. Use two different techniques (anecdote, interesti
1 Comments on Beginnings and Endings, last added: 8/6/2012
I love the idea of writing 3, then combining, & I think I can get students to see the value. I am now a literacy coach at my school, but when I was in the classroom, we examined many types of essays. Those middle schoolers knew all kinds of good writing skills & then had to move on to high school to learn that 5 paragraph essay that you described. They do it for the grade, then learn to be better later, at least most do. Thanks for the good words!
Howdy, Campers! And...surprise! Following the success of our first Mystery Guest TeachingAuthor which Carmela Martino posted last Friday, here's our second ever Mystery Guest TeachingAuthor (MGTA)—complete with his/her Writing Workoutand a fabulous Book Giveaway! OMG. I'll bet you can barely stand the excitement. The details about the giveaway are below, but DO NOT GO THERE YET. If you do, you'll find out who our MGTA is and blow the whole deal.
Here's how we play the MGTA game: I'll share our MGTA's bio before giving you his/her Writing Workout [listen...this his/her thing is getting awkward...I'll give this to you: it's a her]. You try to guess who our guest author is before I reveal the MGTA's identity at the end of the post. (And even though it's going to kill you, no fair clicking on the MGTA's book links to find out the author's name!)
Then let us know if you figured out who this most amazing lady is, either by commenting below, or an email.
Ready? Okay, let's go!
Today's MGTA is a Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University and has taught graduate courses in children's and young adult literature at various universities since 1981. She has published extensively, including five books on literature for children [including—remember, no clicky-clicky—Poetry Aloud Here! Sharing Poetry with Children in the Library (ALA, 2006), Poetry People: A Practical Guide to Children's Poets (Libraries Unlimited, 2007), and Children'sLiterature in Action: A Librarians Guide (Libraries Unlimited, 2008)], as well as over 20 book chapters and 100 journal articles; she's recently co-edited several ground-breaking e-anthologies of poetry for children. In addition, she edits for Librarians' Choice. Is this woman is making you tired, just reading about her? And there's more: her blog is full of tips and news (and poems) that help spread enthusiasm for poetry, and it has become a touchstone—the go-to blog in the field of poetry for children.
Have you guessed our guestyet? No? Well,
12 Comments on Mystery Guest TeachingAuthor And Book Giveaway for Poetry Friday!, last added: 8/5/2012
I loved the friend poem! So true. And the writing tips were great. Will have to try them. I'd love to be entered in the contest! Thanks! djtsmithatgmaildotcom
HA! I knew who it was before you'd finished the first sentence. Sylvia raises the TEACHING AUTHOR bar to a whole new level, doesn't she?!?
Great poem, Janet. That's the kind of friend I want to be.
I, too, am proud to join in with a poem in The Poetry Friday Anthology!! Can't wait to see the whole thing!!
And I would LOVE for you to reward my procrastination by picking me for the Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists! I've been enjoying Sylvia's snippets on her blog, but haven't gotten around to ordering it yet!
Letting a ms simmer is excellent advice. I love the poem. It's adorable and true. I would love to win a copy but I live in Canada so I will just pay a copy instead! :)
What a great resource this book would be to so many of us. Imagine having the whole world of poetry indexed for your convenience. Please enter my name in the draw for the chance to win this available copy. Thank you. carlscott(at)prodigy(dot)net(dot)mx
I'm late commenting, but I did guess it was Sylvia because of the wonderful Poetry Tag books. Thanks for the poem by Janet, too, a good one for the beginning of the year conversations.
Oooo yes, I knew it was Sylvia straight away too :-) I love your new feature - thank you so much. I'm looking forward to Sylvia and Janet's new anthology - their books are dynamite!
We have a special treat here today on our TeachingAuthors blog: a Writing Workout from a Mystery Guest TeachingAuthor (MGTA). This is a new feature we're trying out, so I hope you'll let us know what you think.
[Note: I'm still waiting to hear from Mary Ann about our giveaway winner. Sorry for the delay--we'll be posting the lucky winner's name soon.]
Now, here's the plan for today: I'll share our MGTA's bio before giving you his/her Writing Workout. See if you can guess who our guest author is before I reveal the MGTA's identity at the end of the post. (No fair looking up the MGTA's books online to find out the author's name!) Then let us know if you guessed correctly, or if the MGTA is someone who's work is new to you. You can respond via a comment, or send us an email.
Our first MGTA is the author of numerous books for young readers. MGTA's most recent publications are two young-adult novels, Dark of the Moon (Harcourt) and King of Ithaka (Henry Holt), and the four books in the middle-grade series, The Sherlock Files (Henry Holt). Nonfiction includes The Ancient Greek World and The Ancient Chinese World (The World in Ancient Times, Oxford University Press). This author was the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ Regional Advisor for the Midsouth from 1999 to 2009 and is now SCBWI’s Regional Advisor Coordinator. MGTA was awarded the SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant in 2005 and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1994. MGTA holds a B.A. with Honors in Classics from Brown University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval Italian Literature from the University of California at Berkeley. This author lives in Nashville, TN and recently retired from teaching at Vanderbilt University.
Have you identified our guestyet? Perhaps this MGTA's description of his/her path to becoming a TeachingAuthor will help:
Hi, everybody! So glad to be here at TeachingAuthors.
I was a college professor for 28 years, but not of creative writing! I taught Italian, and my students had to write in both English and Italian, especially when I taught Grammar and Composition. My students told me that they learned a lot about writing in general, not just writing in Italian, from that class! Occasionally I also taught classes in children’s literature and in writing for young readers. A few years into my teaching career I started writing for young readers, starting with nonfiction. I added fiction and now happily write both.
I like reading and writing stories that explore a familiar story from a point of view (POV) that we don’t usually hear from. I’ve written King of Ithaka, a version of the Odyssey as told by Odysseus’s son, Telemachus, and Dark of the Moon, the myth of the Minotaur as seen by the Minotaur’s sister, A
0 Comments on A Writing Workout from our First Ever Mystery Guest TeachingAuthor! as of 1/1/1900
This round, each Teaching Author (so far Carmela and Mary Ann) will be sharing one of our favorite posts by blogmate JoAnn Early Macken, now on our Blog Advisory Board (or BAB). Just kidding. We don't actually have a BAB, although maybe we should. We're saying goodbye to JoAnn who is so busy teaching, writing and running Wisconsin's SCBWI chapter, she can scarcely breathe.
JoAnn's poetry and photos sing. Though we had hoped to talk about different posts from JoAnn's tenure, I was so struck by her poetry in the same post Mary Ann chose, I have to share JoAnn's photo and poem, "Landscape with Dog Nose":
Landscape with Dog Nose by JoAnn Early Macken
I wanted to capture the crisp horizon,
gradations of shades,
mountainous clouds,
but she insisted on
stepping into the shot.
Well, why not?
She’s always part of the picture. photo and poem (c) 2012 JoAnn Early Macken, all rights reserved
I'll miss blogmate JoAnn's unique view of the natural world, her kindness, her beautific smile, her poetry...and so much more.
Good morning, April. Thanks for sharing JoAnn's poem. My dog is also my constant companion, always in the picture. It's great to see the photo that inspired the poem, too!
I've collected goodbye poems for a long time, and your post just adds to my pile. I'm sorry that your group is saying goodbye to a friend and colleague. It seems it's never easy. I enjoyed the songs too and the way you were trying to find just the right one, just as we do when writing. Thank you for your lovely post of goodbyes!
Oh,sad to hear I won't be finding JoAnn here anymore. Thanks for this great send-off, April. You are a first rate troubador! Love your Fiji poem and JoAnn's Dog Nose poem :).
Thank you all for your good wishes. April, thanks for the Woody Guthrie song and your Fiji vacation poem--I loved hearing the laughter in them both. I will gladly serve on the Blog Advisory Board! xox, JA
Now, back to the subject of Women's History: Like Mary Ann, I love reading well-written historical fiction featuring female protagonists. It's the next best thing to time travel! However, I despise books where female protagonists are not portrayed authentically. One of my specific "pet peeves" is the absence of church or prayer in novels set in times and places where daily life revolved around religious practices. Historical novelist Linda Proud expressed similar feelings on her blog:
"I’ve just read a book set in the 13th century where neither the feisty heroine . . . nor her lover nor her horrible husband nor any other character ever goes to church. Never a priest wanders into the story, never a bell rings, never a new cathedral appears on the skyline. Don’t get me wrong – it was exceptionally-well written and a gripping read. It was just that something was missing, . . . ."
As an author, though, I know it can be tricky to incorporate religious practices without boring our readers, especially when those readers are children or teens. My current work-in-progress is a young-adult novel set in 18th-century Milan and inspired by two real-life sisters. More is known about the elder sister, Maria, a child prodigy who could speak seven languages by her teen years and who became famous as a female mathematician. I originally considered making her the novel's main character. But Maria was a devoutly religious girl who spent her teen years trying to convince her father to let her become a nun. I decided it would be too challenging (for me, at least) to hook today's average teen reader with such a main character.
Great post, Carmela! Funny, I am working on a YA historical, and I switched my protagonist to the younger sister who was not the one that originally caught my attention. Once I made the shift, writing the story became so much easier!
~ I decided which version of Ashoken Farewell I wanted to play at a recent tribute to the journalist Daniel Pearl by watching different versions on YouTube; then Freda Sideroff posted a snippet she'd filmed of me and hammer dulcimer player, Phee Sherline at the tribute concert (what goes around comes around!...)
I learned how to pronounce author Jon Scieszka's name (and lots of other authors and illustrators names) by listening here.(hint: it rhymes with the soda, Fresca)
Raise your hand if you get overwhelmed. Do you? Whew! And I thought I was the only one. Well, JoAnn is right. I just need to try one new thing. And I'm going to change the adjective: try one small thing.
So...here's my poem, based on an old song. But just one verse, not all of them. That's my one small thing!
(listen to the song on this video first, so you know the tune, then read the new words...)
THE BLOGGER BEARS' POETRY FRIDAY
by April Halprin Wayland
with apologies to Jimmy Kennedy and John W. Bratton
If you go onto the internet
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go onto the internet
You'd better go in disguise.
For every bear who hopes to express
Will gather there to write on Wordpress
Today's Fri-day, when every bear posts a poem!
Poem time for blogging bears
The Kidlit blogging bears are having a lovely time today.
Watch them, catch them unawares,
And hear them rhyming on their holiday.
See them tweet their permalink
They love to click in sync
And never have any cares.
At night they share on Mister Linky
now they can go to bed
Because they're tired little blogging bears.
If you go onto the internet
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go onto the internet
You'd better go in disguise.
For every bear chewing sunflower seeds
Will gather there to read RSS feeds
Today's Fri-day--when every bear posts a poem!
12 Comments on Happy Poetry Friday! Write your own Lingo Poem--and then sing it to your cat!, last added: 2/25/2012
Darling, all the way through, and I really loved that young child's voice in the singing. Your poem is great fun, and considering you all are talking of taking little challenges in cyberspace I liked this line: "See them tweet their permalink". Pretty impressive use of terms. The lingo idea looks fun. I copied your directions to remind me to try it, & I will share it around with my colleagues. Thanks for all!
Thanks, April! Teddy Bears' Picnic is still a favorite of mine and I loved your version as much as the original. Loved your violin playing and loved the post!
What a great post, April. I loved seeing you play. And what terrific use of blogging lingo. Quite timely, as I just taught a blogging class today, and I used every lingo word in your poem at least once. :-)
Sarah Albee--yay, Sarah (who's an amazing author--check out her website)! Here's Sarah's Beautiful Oops: My oops moment happened when I was a very junior editor at Sesame Street. I was editing my first big book, a SS songbook (because I was the only editor in my dept who could read music and play piano). I went over to Jeff Moss's house (composer of Rubber Duckie) to show him some song arrangements, and when we got to People In Your Neighborhood (his song) we both stared at the composer credit, which read Joe Raposo (his long-time rival and writer of Bein' Green, among many others). Jeff was notoriously curmudgeonly, and I knew there was a good chance he would flip, even though of course it was just galleys and there would be plenty of opportunity to change it. So I quickly made a joke about it (along the lines of how interchangeable he and Joe were, whatevs). After five tense seconds, he grinned broadly. And we became fast friends.
I am so PSYCHED to win Barney's book! Although my anecdote contains more parenthetical clauses than any paragraph has any business containing. Anyway thanks so much and loooove the poem!
Hi April, I also agree with the comments noted above. Being is a kind of winning. Sitting under the shade of a tree is beautiful enough as it is. I wish I could win that prize too - been so busy/hectic lately. :)
April, I love your poem on winning and the exercise. Thank you for the tiara. Every Princess needs a collection. You've added to mine. Happy Poetry Friday. Blessings.
I LOVE your poem, April, and the tiara too. Just this week someone sent me a link on how to make your own "Downton Abbey" tiara. Go to this page and scroll down: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/25/downton-abbey-make-your-own-tiara
Sarah, Katya, Linda at teacherdance (I think of “teacherdance” as your last name...) thanks for stopping by!
Joy—I love that you're the Princess of Poetry! And I can see how your poem would work well if the subject were poetry, too...in fact, it's kind of a one-size-fits-all poem, with the substitution of just one word. For example, I'd substitute the word, “whipped cream”...(Have you invented a whole new genre of poems? One-size-fits-all poems?)
And Laura (aka, Author Amok), Yes...the poem came out of that memory of when I used to write just to...well, write. For the love of writing. Fun. Relaxing. No end or goal in sight.
Tara-who-is-wearing-the-tiara—what a great idea to wear it while teaching!
Carmela—I'm not that impressed with the aluminum foil tiara...but I love the series Downton Abbey!
April, you're right. I wrote a generic poem. I thought of making a writing exercise with it,so you could substitute what ever word you wanted--but I didn't that that was terribly creative.
And yes teaching with a tiara works wonderfully well in keeping the children's attention. I've tried it several times and I love sharing the idea with children that there are lots of princes and princesses--but only one king and queen. So all of the subjects are responsible for helping the prince or princess to be the best that they can be, because some day they may become king or queen and they need the practice to become a good king or queen. Each person can become a good king or queen if every day they try to be even better than the day before. This even works for my poetry. Each day I try to become a little better than the day before, but I need the help of everyone to make me better.
Hey, and if you need crowns for all your princes and princesses--Burger King often is willing to help.
I think the problem is not with winning/losing but with the false importance that we give to these things rather than just considering ourselves lucky. One could say:
Even the wind picks winners, even the trees, even the sky. You thought you were sitting and doing nothing. Wrong. The proof, your trophy: a perfect plum.
Inspired by Esther’s invention of the thanku (a thank you note in haiku form), we Teaching Authors are celebrating our first annual Ten Days of Thanks-Giving with poems in that form and others.
When I thought about writing a Thanksgiving thanku, I started by brainstorming a list of possible topics—people, places, and things I'm grateful for. My gratitude list was impossibly long, so I decided to focus on that moment.
stillness before dawn— recliner, cozy blanket, coffee, notebook, pen
Although it fits the syllable count and describes something I'm grateful for, this one doesn't feel like a thank you note. I went back to my list. In my poetry class this week, two students introduced me to new forms, so I decided to try them.
The etheree has ten lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 syllables—or in reverse, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. An etheree with more than one stanza can include both.
This form seemed to suit my long list of things I’m grateful for, so I chose some that fit the pattern.
luck coffee purple pens soft yellow yarn dogs with wagging tails chances to start over sunlight streaking through dense woods crossing chores off my to-do list kicking up crunchy leaves on my walk old family photo albums, labeled
Notice how coffee appears in both poems? I like to write first thing in the morning. But not only did this feel more like a list poem than a thank you note, using the etheree form forced me to leave out some of the most obvious things I’m grateful for. I could certainly add more stanzas with the number of syllables counting back down and up again. And again and again. (As I said, I have a long list!)
The lanturne is shaped like a Japanese lantern: it has five lines with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1 syllables. Mine, like the thanku above, focuses on a moment.
long drive home from night class open the door sniff
fresh spicy aroma what’s in the pot? look
warm kitchen windows steamed homemade chili taste
beans (two kinds) tomatoes from your garden yum
sweet welcome (comfort food) how you show your love
This one hits the spot for me because it feels more like a thank you note. The end came as a surprise, which is one of my favorite things about writing. Sometimes I don't know what I'm writing about until it comes out of my pen.
Writing Workout: Write a Thanks-Giving poem. Teachers, invite your classes to join in! Try a thanku, an etheree, a lanturne, or another new form. See if you can express your thanks in 25 words or less. Then post your poems here or on any of our posts during our Ten Days of Thanks-Giving, November 20-30. Or
3 Comments on Ten Days of Thanks-Giving & New Forms to Try, last added: 11/20/2011
Love your lanturne poem, JA. We wrote a single-stanza lanturne (or lanterne, as my text spells it) as a group in one of my young writers's workshop recently to celebrate the season. I can't get the shape right in these comments, but here are the words:
Fall Leaves drop Shorter days Windy hayrides Brrr!
JoAnne, I really love the lanturne. The shape appeals to me -really looks like a Japanese lantern. I'll try one. It's a treat to have these new forms to play with.
Marti & Joyce, I'm glad to hear from you both about the lanturne/lanterne. Marti, I think it would be fun to try with a class. I'll keep playing with it, too!
Here on the TeachingAuthors blog, we've been discussing the classic children's books we never read till adulthood. The series was inspired, in part, by Esther's interview with Leonard Marcus in honor of the release of The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth last month. When Esther first told me about the new book, I felt a twinge of guilt--I'd never read the original Phantom Tollbooth. So I suggested this topic to motivate me to finally read Norton Juster's masterpiece. If you're wondering what classics and must-reads you may have missed, be sure to check out the links in the Writing Workout below.
I wasn't reading yet in 1961 when The Phantom Tollbooth was first published, but that was no excuse for my not reading this classic. When, as an adult, I became interested in writing for children, I began reading voraciously in the field. Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, which Mary Ann blogged about on Monday, was one of the many children's books I came to as an adult that I fell in love with. (Unlike Mary Ann, I'm somewhat of a Math geek, which made me love L'Engle's book all the more!) Yet, despite a number of fellow children's literature enthusiasts telling me that Tollbooth was one of their all-time favorites, I never made time to read the book, until Esther's interview with Leonard Marcus inspired me to do so a few weeks ago.
I'm happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The wordplay and puns are great fun, but the Math geek in me was especially happy to see the book's celebration of numbers. I was also impressed at how Juster wove important themes about the value of education and action into such an entertaining read. One of my favorite paragraphs (among many) was:
"You must never feel badly about making mistakes," explained Reason quietly, "as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons."
I believe the combination of entertainment and enduring themes contributed to making The Phantom Tollbooth such a classic. I'm grateful to Leonard Marcus for bringing this book back into the spotlight. In case you missed the short video in which Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer, and Leonard Marcus discuss the book's creation, I've embedded it below, or you can watch it at YouTube here.
Are there any classic children's/young adult books you missed reading as a child or teen? If so, please share their titles in the comments below. And if you need suggestions of children's/YA books now considered "must reads," see the Writing Workout below.
I found the way back to writing with joy by accident. My husband and I set out to prove who let their "hobby" eat the most time, we freed up a lot of time by working smart. It was great to get a lot done and have more time to spend with family.
LOVE your revision Lingo! And I've got cans of Play Doh all ready for that revision lesson next week! I'll have to post about it (and I'll link back!!!).
Your lingo cracked me up! Oh, I've got to try this new form. Thank you for the revision thoughts too. I'll be buying Play Doh to try this with students and teachers too. A.
Hey, Myra ~ Thanks so much for commenting on both the exercises and illustrations. I've been cheating--using illustrations from my past blogs. You've inspired me to draw some more!
The topic rumbling around TeachingAuthors lately is, What Are Your Writing Fears and What Do You Do About Them?
Fears? Who me?
Okay. I do have a fear. But only one. And it's a teeny-tiny, gentle, kindly, whispering voice in my brain: ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? YOU CAN'T DO THIS! YOU COULD NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS DO THIS! YOU ARE A COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT IMBECILE WHO DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SPELL THE WORD IMBECILE WITHOUT ASKING GOOGLE "HOW DO YOU SPELL IMBOCILE?"--NEVER MIND WRITE A POEM OR A STORY OR A BLOG POST!
After petting the head of this still, small voice and sliding it a warm saucer of milk, what do I do (I mean, after barreling into my closet and shutting the door)? I get someone to whip me into submission.
Wonderful recommendations. I like how concrete and specific you can really get in your posts - very action-packed and goal directed. I also loved the part about the voices in your heads and feeding them milk. Mine would perhaps respond more to cheese and the occasional red wine. ;-) Thank you for sharing all this.
Getting through the fear and the uncertainty and hushing those voices in our heads (whether with milk or wine and cheese)...so true for so many things, not just writing.
Thanks for a great post -- lots to think about -- I want to try a "lingo" and then see how they might work out for some fourth graders I just met last week!!!
I was fiddling and with dactyls and double dactyls this week. A dactyl contains three syllables: one stressed followed by two unstressed (/ - - ). So, for example, the word marmalade (MAR-ma-lade), which we say with a stress on the first syllable, is a dactylic word. The phrase, "Talk to me!" is also a dactyl.
The rhythm of a dactyl makes you want to dance. It's light and suits playful topics.
Dactyls remind me of pterodactyls. But that's not where I went. Instead, I took out a handy can of Play Doh and opened it. WOWZA!
Play Doh, invented by Joseph McVicker, is putty that's squishy and spongy and soft and supple and yielding and malleable colors-- its bouquet bewitches, it lingers, it wafts
across much of our planet-- over two billion sold! There's even a fragrance (and who wouldn't want it?) a perfume in honor (it's fifty years old!)
The recipe's classified-- water and flour, and a sprinkling of salt? I can fiddle with Play Doh for hour after hour and if I'm not writing, it's McVicker's fault!
poem (c) 2011 April Halprin Wayland, all rights reserved
What a playful poem! I love the repetitive sound of O in the title, too. Funny, I was reading about dactyls, also. In Rules for the Dance, Mary Oliver says their music can mute the sound of the poem's subject if dactyls are used as a pattern, but as variants, they are useful.
Thanks for your comments, Carmela, Linda, Mary Lee and Joyce Ray!
Yes, Linda and Mary Lee--this would definitely be a fun getting-to-know-you exercise. It would be fun if you took before and after photos of each creature, too.
And thanks, Joyce Ray, for giving us food for thought from Mary Oliver regarding dactyls ~
We've been doing a series of posts with ideas and references for back-to-school writing activities for teachers. I hope that writers are finding these ideas useful too. If you're a writer, I encourage you to try the Writing Workout at the end of today's post.
Jeanne Marie kicked off this serieswith a Writing Workout that asks students to describe (among other things) what a character is wearing. I've used a variation of this exercise with my adult writing students, asking them to write specifically about a character's shoes. Students are often surprised by how something so mundane as a character's shoes can provide insights into the character's personality, and even plot ideas.
Thanks to Esther's post, I'm looking forward to picking up a copy of Better than Great by Arthur Plotnik, and trying out her splendiferous Writing Workout with my students.
JoAnn's post last Friday reminded me of the importance of encouraging my students. And whether you write poetry or teach it (or both) you'll want to check out the book she discussed, Seeing the Blue Between, compiled by Paul B. Janeczko.
Finally, on Monday, Mary Ann shared an alternative to the dreaded "What I did over summer vacation" assignment. She has her students write about something "they know a lot about," in other words, something based on personal experience. Today's Writing Workoutis similar in that it also asks students (and those of you who are writers) to write about an event you personally experienced. But in this case, students use a photograph as a story-starter.
The inspiration for this exercise came from reading Lois Lowry'sLooking Back: A Book of Memories. Here's a description of Lowry's book:
"People are constantly asking two-time Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry where she gets her ideas. In this fascinating memoir, Lowry answers this question, through recollections of childhood friends and pictures and memories that explore her rich family history. She recounts the pivotal moments that inspired her writing, describing how they magically turned into fiction along the complicated passageway called life. Lowry fans, as well as anyone interested in understanding the process of writing fiction, will benefit from this poignant trip through the past and the present of a remarkable writer."
See the following Writing Workout for ideas on how to use L
0 Comments on Photos as Story-Starters: Another Back-to-School Writing Activity as of 1/1/1900
In our household, time-telling is a big deal. "It can't be Tuesday," my four-year-old said the other day. "It's still summer."
Indeed, it is!
Seeing all of the back-to-school displays at the store this morning, my daughter was very worried. "Is August fall?" She has been having nightmares about her first grade locker, and in all honesty, I'm having nightmares about my husband going back to work and leaving me with all of the household chores he's been doing all summer long.
But... while those of you in the south are savoring your last moments of summer vacation, we've got a month to go (not to rub it in). I just finished teaching and taking my summer classes. I'm sorry, but I'm not quite ready to think about going back to school.
While our vacation plans have paled in comparison to April's, we've had a little beach time and a little NYC time and this coming week, Hersheypark (and a chocolate martini!). I was working while we were at the beach, so now I've been doing my "beach reading" from the comfort of my recliner -- the divine Jennifer Weiner for my grown-up book club and some great "boy books" for me. Since all of my favorite kidlit authors are women, I made a concerted effort to branch out, and as a consequence I'm now in love with Dan Gutman, Anthony Horowitz, Rick Riordan. I also can't wait to meet Zachary Ruthless. (Have I piqued your interest? Don't forget to enter our current book giveaway contest.)
At the SCBWI retreat I attended last month, one of the speakers was well-known boy-book author John Coy. He gave us a number of writing-intensive workouts, which probably work just as well at school visits with fifth-graders as they do with writing conference attendees. I am not, as I have mentioned before, typically a fan of such exercises. However, these were helpful to me in noodling on a new character/premise, so I will (thank you, John Coy!) share them here.
Writing Workout 1) Picture your main character in a scene that involves a conflict. Now... describe what he/she is wearing.
As an aside, I am not a visual thinker. I rarely describe much about my character's appearance, and I can't get through a book that goes on in detail about Jimmy Choos or Juicy Couture. I hadn't given a thought to what my character was wearing -- nor would I ever stop to describe it in this particular scene -- but I definitely had a better mental picture of her when I was finished.
2) Describe what she's wearing on her feet.
I'd already done this, down to her nail polish, so I was amazed to find how much more there was to say about her feet.
3) Describe her hair.
Ditto!
4) Describe the sounds your character would notice in the room.
5) Describe the smells.
6) Describe tastes.
Adding sensory detail to scenes is, we all know, what makes them come alive. I am much more apt to add smells and tastes to my descriptions than I am visual detail
I am writing this as we wait in the airport for our return flight from our summer vacation in...Fiji! The best part of this time away from our real lives was the incredible beauty...and slooooowing down. No internet. No texting. No telephone. No multitasking. I woke up and made my bed without turning on NPR. I poured hot water over ground coffee beans without simultaneously calling my mother to see how she was feeling.
I'm embarrassed to say that at first it was hard to have fun, even though, intellectually, I knew that lying on the deck of Bruce Balan's trimaran was fun...snorkeling was fun, being with my family was fun.
It took a few days to wipe the seriousness, the purposefulness, the To-Do list from my brain. And then, one day, I was there. I was snorkeling in turquoise water over neon tetras and parrot fish and all the fish you see in those wonder-filled tanks at the pet store. I was hiking to the waterfall slides on a red dirt trail. I was biting into an orange paw paw (papaya), or a passion fruit, or a soursop (which looks like a prickly green dinosaur egg and tastes heavenly--sort of strawberry-pineapple-sour-citrus-creamy-banana-y.)
A man biting into a yummy soursop.
I devoured a mystery series, gobbling each book like potato chips. I wrote a poem each day, as always.
So let's keep summer's sense of fun in our writing. Let's pass it on to our students. I'm teaching my summer class at UCLA Extension again. It's the one I call my no-homework-for-the-students-no-homework-for-the-teacher class...but its official title is: The Children's Picture Book Writers' Bag of Tricks: A Six-Week Workshop. The key to this class is to create writing games and prompts which get these adult students out of their chairs, doing spirited hands-on activities before they settle down to write.
WRITING WORKOUT ~ Here's an ice-breaker writing exercise I use in the first class.
Collect keys. Keys of all kinds—house keys, hotel card keys, skeleton keys, car keys, skate keys (remember those?), boat keys, storage shed keys, jewelry box and diary keys.
If you're a teacher and don't have a stash of keys, ask eac
7 Comments on Put on your mask: I've found the KEY to Poetry Friday!, last added: 7/29/2011
What a great writing prompt for kids and for adults! I use a similar one with boxes, because, well, I have a lot of small boxes that suggest very different personalities. Hope you won't mind if I add keys to go along with my boxes.
It really is a great exercise, Clara and Laura. And it was my college son who suggested I ask students to bring in keys if I didn't have enough (but I did--I had his old key collection!)
Thank you for the wonderful exercise, I can use this when I visit classrooms as well as with the RIF staff! And thank you for sharing your vacation with us...lovely!
Welcome back, April! I love this key exercise and will definitely give it a try with my next class. I happen to have a number of keys lying around that no one knows what they belong to. :-)
This is a lovely exercise that I can share with my teacher-students here in Singapore. The prompts are bound to produce .. interesting results. =) The poem you shared is lovely too. =)
Wow--so glad you hope to use this exercise in your classrooms, Rasco, Carmela and Myra! Do let us know how it works, and if you get any poetic gems, please share them!
The TeachingAuthors are proud to be part of the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) Summer Blog Initiative. We're especially pleased to be the first blog to feature these inspiring and practical posts by students and graduates of the MFA programs because four of us (Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford, Carmela Martino, Mary Ann Rodman and JoAnn Early Macken) hold MFAs from Vermont College. As for me, I’ve vicariously attended Vermont College since it began in the late 90’s via my writing friends, colleagues and even students whom I recommended. One of these days my Summer teaching schedule will change and I can at least attend a Summer Intensive. (I’m saving the Winter Intensives for my Next Lifetime.)
Our series began last Monday with Jodi Paloni's entry, "The Point of Point of View."In last Wednesday's guest post, "Decide vs. Discover," Cynthia Newberry Martin shared a technique for letting the characters tell you what happens next in your story. Sion Dayson gave us another method for moving forward in last Friday’s post, “What Happens Next? Inch Forward in the Dark.” On Monday, Lynn Miller-Lachmann put forth the VCFA way to critique a fellow writer’s manuscript in "Critiquing Others" The Constructive Critique." Today’s post by Pam Watts, "Finding the Heart in Your Story," addresses the heart of your story and how it can be found. It captured my writer’s heart instantly. Following the post, I've offered a related Writing Workout. The next stop in the VCFA blog initiative? Pam's very own Strong in the Broken Places blog.
Thank you, Pam, for sharing your insights with our readers and writers.
Learning from you and your fellow VCFA bloggers these past two weeks gladdened this teacher's heart immeasurably.--Esther Hershenhorn
&nb
2 Comments on VCFA Blog Initiative: "Finding the Heart of Your Story" by Pam Watts, last added: 6/22/2011
This week's Poetry Friday is hosted by the delicious poet Heidi Mordhorst over at My Juicy Little Universe
So...rewriting. Can't we just skip it? Can't we just write something brilliant and then jump to that thick-carpeted Hollywood office where we're signing the movie contract based on our book?
I've been feeling discouraged this week, so here's a poem about my work-in-progress, another novel-in-poems which I'd hoped would be finished when I turned in the April 14th draft in my novel writing class.
Finished? Heaven's no! Now that I have notes on this draft, I'm messing with it again. My book clearly needs a little more curry or cumin or molasses or heaven-knows-what. *Sigh*
NOVEL THOUGHT by April Halprin Wayland
I'm walking quickly on this path
I edit words I see are chaff
I'm making characters three-dimensional
I've integrated the high school staff
(the stereotypes were unintentional)
I've cut the zoo scene and giraffe
though it was beautifully unconventional
I'm trying not to be inflexible—
and keeping it was indefensible
(though parts of it were quite exceptional)
If only I can reach that raft
and climb aboard, untie the rope—
I'll sail off with the final draft...
at least I hope! x
14 Comments on Really? Do we have to talk about revision AGAIN? Happy Poetry Friday!--now rewrite that poem..., last added: 5/30/2011
Exactly!! WHY can't we just get it perfectly 100% right on the first try?? This revision business is a pain sometimes! ;) For a while there I was really enthused by it. Now I'm a burned out husk of a former writer. LOL.
I tend to be very self-critical, April, so I really need positive feedback. If not for compliments, I'd probably edit out the good stuff along with the not-so-good in the revision process. :-) I'm glad you dug those notes out. Breathe them in. Savor them. Then, when you're ready, you can go back to the revision. Although the process is tough, your next round of changes will make the story so much stronger. YOU CAN DO THIS!
Glad you can relate, Trisha...oy! And thanks for being supportive cheerleaders, Carmela and Ruth.
Last draft? Probably best to think of this as a lovely place to swim around in for awhile...not focus on whether or when it's done...that feels like a happier place from which to write...
It's easy to toss out the compliments. We, as humans, tend to be self critical. BUT when the compliments are from someone who's writing expertise you respect. HOLD OUT YOUR HANDS AN TAKE THEM. They are a valid part of the critique. Pay attention and just say Thank you!
Doraine, Thanks for your kind words. Pen & Ink gang, yes--I am holding out my hands, letting the water of "this is darn good writing" wash over them...
This is good LIFE advice, too, when everything seems too negative, when all the news is bad news.
Sue Ekins said, on 5/28/2011 5:21:00 AM
I receive many compliments at work about my writing, and people are always asking me to review and edit their work. But I'm a writer who absorbs thoughtless and critical comments more than affirmations. I will take to heart your comment, "Listen to the good stuff, too."
I find it can be helpful to get good feedback as well as bad. Someone in my critique group just pointed out some hidden symbolism in a passage of my WIP I wrote a while ago. I'd forgotten about the deeper meaning -- which I might have written by instinct. Now that it's been pointed it out to me, I may expand it into a little thread.
I'm feeling discouraged about a chapter I'm in the process of revising -- what perfect timing to read your post today. Your poem is wonderful. Thank you, April.
First, I apologize for slightly mischaracterizing your post over at mjlu. I was delighted to arrive here with my full attention and enjoy your poem--my favorite lines are the ones about the beautifully unconventional giraffe. Your rhyme scheme is wonderful--also beautifully unconventional!
In the classroom, I always emphasize (because kids are so likely to start with the critique) beginning with compliments that help the writer/reader know what she did well. Perhaps for adults the check marks are enough, but I prefer a nice meaty, specific compliment any day!
I do save particularly moving compliments in a file...and I've made a decision not to keep all the copies of my drafts except on my computer... so no handwritten comments from colleagues for posterity. Decluttering keeps me sane!
Heidi...I couldn't figure out where the listing of Poetry Friday was on your site...I know it's there...but where? In the comments section?
Please help me welcome my newest book, the board book Little Illinois.
The book’s lively illustrations are courtesy of wildlife artist Michael Glenn Monroe.
It’s the latest entry in Sleeping Bear Press’ Little State series.
Each Little book in the series shares 10 rhyming riddles that introduce the very youngest of readers to a particular state’s symbols and identifying features. Brightly-painted clues frame each riddle.
I’ve been smiling-smiling-smiling since Sleeping Bear Press invited me to write the Illinois entry for this series. Forgive the pun, but little did my publisher and editor know: I’ve been preparing for this moment since I was 9 years old!
My state, when my fifth grade teacher Miss Smiley (I swear that was her name!) assigned each of us a U.S. state, oh, so long ago, Alaska and Hawaii were relatively new? Illinois, the Land of Lincoln! I used my very best penmanship to write my perfectly formatted business letter to The State of Illinois, Springfield, Illinois, requesting materials to share with my class. I can still remember waiting at the top of my Philadelphia home’s steps, hoping my mailman's worn brown leather bag held my package. Once my Illinois-postmarked manila envelope arrived, I read the colorful pamphlets, memorized the state symbols, the state capital, the largest city, the crops and famous Presidents, then shared my information with my classmates. Miss Smiley awarded me an A for my presentation. :)
Miss Smiley and that treasured package traveled my mind as I drove west, college diploma in hand, through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, to Illinois, to “the city by the lake that stands sky-high.” I was off to teach fifth grade (!), serenaded by the “purdy-purdy-purdy” of Illinois’ very own red-feathered state bird. Several Augusts in a row I drove south to the state capital to that “summer party with show cows and pigs.” Along the way, I passed Illinois’ “golden-petal-ed “Hi!”-waving prairie flowers and farmers’ fields ripe with tall, kernel-ed stalks.
O, the joy I had writing L
1 Comments on Little Illinois: You Put Me In A Happy State!, last added: 5/12/2011
Today marks the anniversary of Hymen Lipman’s patent for the pencil eraser, granted in 1858.
The Philadelphian’s design was unique . The installed eraser sat at the opposite end of the pencil. The pencil could thus be sharpened at both ends, refreshing either the graphite or the eraser.
Interestingly enough, the patent was contested and eventually the case reached the Supreme Court.
Also interesting: numerous blog posts in 2008 marking the 150th anniversary of Lipman’s patent filing mistakenly listed the March 30th date as the anniversary of the pencil’s invention!
(“Is there an eraser in the house?”)
Numerous folks now unofficially consider today National Pencil Day and celebrate any and all pencil innovations and forms of self-expression.
Where would we writers be without our trusty, handy pink rubber friends?
Or their numerous relatives treasured over the years: Correct-O-Type, liquid paper (Wite Out) and our computer’s Delete key.
I personally consider the need for an eraser (or a Delete key) an unexpected Opportunity. It’s a chance to choose a better word, a better detail, or to order my words so the meaning’s clearer or the flow’s more lyrical or the sentence structure reflects what the story’s truly about. We writers don’t simply erase. We refresh or revise, revisit, reconsider, amend, alter; choose your synonym.
And even if the need for an eraser does imply a mistake has been made, so what? What’s so wrong with making a mistake, with choosing wrongly? How many of us get it right the first time? We can simply say, “Oops!” and consider the result.
That's what author-illustrator Barney Salzberg shows us in his newest and most clever picture book, coincidentally titled Beautiful Oops! (Workman Publishing, 2010). To Salzberg a mistake is both an opportunity and an adventure. Using pop-ups, lift-the-flaps, tears, holes, overlays, bends, smudges, and even an accordion “telescope,” the reader sees how blunders can magically become wonders. A smudge becomes the face of a bunny, a crumpled ball of paper turns into a lamb’s fleecy coat.
There is nothing so important as finding the implement that lets your words flow. Sorry, Esther and Hyman, but I dislike pencils so much it's phobic(perhaps having to do with my matching math phobia where I seemed to have spent all my time erasing holes in myu workbook or sharpening and re-sharpening the pencil.) I am currently mourning the demise of my beloved Pentel Rollerball. I have used nothing else since my senior year of high school (you do the math) and I have not seen them in stories in several years (I learned to buy by the case when I found them). Well, I am doing something I've never done before...writing a novel by hand. Naturally, my last treasured Pentel faded into Eternity mid-chapter. And my computer is in the shop with a mysterious disease (probably known as old age)...I am writing this from Kinko's) I knew this day would come, and hve been experimenting with other pens, pencils even other types of Pentels, but a decades old habit doesn't convert easily. In case I am wrong and Pentel is still making the Rollerball, please let me know through the blog. If not...well, I can always go back to what I used before computers and Pentels, ...a fountain pen. RIP Rollerball
Liquid Wite Out was a Shopping LIst staple for LOTS of years! And, varying one's writing tools - can - indeed make a world of difference. Instead of writing that April 1 poem in a notebook come Friday, the start of National Poetry MOnth, try crafting the words on the sidewalk or drive-way with colored chalk!- or - on the steamed bathroom mirror with your index finger! :)
And, I do hope you find your Rollerball, Mary Ann.
Copy of bankruptcy discharge papers http://officialbankruptcypapers.com/ Get copy of Bankruptcy discharge papers, bankruptcy creditors listing at lowest cost on web. You can order either of bankruptcy discharge papers, Creditor listing or complete bankruptcy file as per your needs.
Did you know that March is Music in the Schools Month? Well, it is! In fact, today'sTeachingAuthorspoemis actually a song written by our guest singer/songwriter who brings music to schools all over the country. x Hmmm...music in the schools...I remember Mrs. Priday, an older, potato-shaped woman with orange-ish hair, who played piano and joyfully taught us to sing at Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica, CA. And Richard Wagner, the Leonard Bernstein of Santa Monica schools, who lit a fire inside us when he turned on the William Tell Overture and let us put our heads down on our desks to listen.
And Sherman Plepler gave me private violin lessons once a week (during the school day!) in the musty basement of Franklin School.
Ahhh...the golden age of music in the schools. But, hark! You can still find fabulous teachers using music in these days of school budget guillotines.
.JPG)
<
Yes, I too enjoyed reading our varied approaches to dealing with "drought." And thanks so much for sharing these great similes. I wasn't familiar with the Flavia de Luce books--I've just put a library hold on the first one.
Oh, good. Hope you like them!