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I have had a toothache for a month and a half. It is amazing the amount of time, thought, and care that my brain has directed straight to my highly innervated mouth. (Would that my mouth would consequently say smarter things, but alas -- no such luck.)
As a kid, I had ten years of orothodonia. (My parents got a deal because the ortho specialized in military families who moved every three years and offered a flat rate. Surprise! He got stuck with me.)
When I was eight, I got headgear. Shortly before this, my mom had allowed me to watch a frightening vampire saga on TV. I bet I was the only child in America relieved to have an ugly apparatus wrapped around my neck because it allowed me to sleep without fear of being bitten.
In one of those sleepless pre-headgear nights, I remember becoming unusually conscious of the voice inside my head. And then I had that haunting existential thought -- where did this voice come from? How did I get trapped inside of ME?
Reading April's amazing 9/11 poem and Writing Workout, I was reminded of my childhood napping habit. I would put a pillow on the floor beneath my head, recline against the couch, and sleep with my feet straight up in the air. Increased blood flow to the brain = good. Of course, doing this now would surely give me vertigo.
My children seem to spend a lot of time upside-down, as well. I have to think that maybe we are born with a natural inclination to try to look at the world for a different persepective. And then I have to wonder -- how do so many of us lose that instinct somewhere along the way?
"Dialogue" is the word we use in the politics of life to indicate diplomacy, mediation, tense negotiation. In my day job, dialogue is everything. Nearly all soap opera scenes that don't involve disasters, cat fights, or kissing are chiefly comprised of informational recap (blah, but useful if you missed yesterday's episode) and/or verbal conflict. You may have noticed that two characters in a scene together nearly always take opposing viewpoints. "Strong POVs," as they say, are always more interesting. (Of course, nuance helps, too.)
Writing Workout
When I was teaching English 101, I adapted a playwriting exercise from college on writing dialogue. I asked my students to leave the classroom, to eavesdrop on a conversation, and to take good, quick, verbatim notes, then come back and share.
My intent was to show them how much conversation consists of "mms" and "uhs," is redundant and boring. I wanted to show them the importance of winnowing down a conversation or an event to only the most important details.
My students fanned out across campus. The class was held at time when few other activities were scheduled, so several students wound up eavesdropping on the same conversations.
Three different groups came back. There was the group that had listened to a boring conversation about allergies (i.e., informational recap). Then there was the second group, which had overheard a fight betwen a couple about whether one had given the other HIV. The third conversation described a menage a trois with identical twins. I write for a soap opera, and I thought I had heard it all. I had not.
And so the idea that an average conversation is boring was not conveyed so well by this particular exercise. But the idea of listening -- with an open mind -- of trying to put oneself in someone else's shoes, to imagine the circumstances preceding and following the slice of life you've observed -- DIALOGUE in life is everything.
On the first day of school in our first year of marriage, my teacher-husband indoctrinated me into the Ford Family Back-To-School ritual. Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies were expected to greet the returning troops from a day of collecting book covers and rules, tales of summer and, in the case of my father-in-law, a day at the “office” as principal of several hundred elementary students (
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This is the second in our series of six posts featuring back-to-school Writing Workouts especially for teachers and homeschoolers. But all you writers out there, don't touch that dial--today's Writing Workout is for you, too.On Monday, Mary Ann shared an alternative to the all-too-familiar "What I did over my summer vacation" assignment. Today, I'd like to suggest a writing activity that will not
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Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 8/10/2009
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Happy New Year! As any student will tell you, the new year doesn't begin January 1; it's the first day of school. Today it's heading toward another 95 degree day here in Atlanta, but it's "the new year"; the first day of school.If you've read First Grade Stinks, which is based on my daughter's struggles to adjust to a new teacher, you might guess that "Happy New Year" is not the way we greet the
I was hired to teach English 101 at a local community college last summer, a week before class was to start. My primary qualification was my long career as a semi-professional student. Of course I had no clue what I was doing.On the first day of class, I asked the students to split into pairs, perform cursory interviews of each other, and then make introductions accordingly. Mode of transport
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on 7/31/2009
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Happy Poetry Friday! Today's poem and a Writing Workout/Lesson Plan on writing a holiday story are at the bottom of this post.There’s always so much to do to launch a book. So much more than I’ll ever do. I have a file called “PR opportunities” which exhausts me just to scroll through. Nap time!Luckily, NEW YEAR AT THE PIER--A Rosh
[Note to teachers: while this post is aimed at adults trying to write commercially publishable picture books, the Writing Workout at the end can also be used with young writers creating there own illustrated stories.]My childhood was similar to Jeanne Marie's in that no one read picture books to me. But when I started reading them to my son (more years ago than I care to admit), I fell in love
Oh, if only Ann Whitford Paul’s hands-on, right-on and thus write-on guide Writing Picture Books had been available when I first began writing.[Note: the President at that time bore the initials J.C.]Alas, Writing for Children wasn’t in vogue then.The singular format (and art form) “picture book” was often labeled “picture storybook.”The IBM Selectric typewriter reigned supreme, unaware the word
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on 7/17/2009
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Happy Poetry Friday! Today’s poem and a lesson plan on writing an envelope poem are at the bottom of this post.Don’t you hate it when somebody says that?I wrote thirty-six drafts of my newest picture book, NEW YEAR AT THE PIER—A Rosh Hashanah Story, before my editor said, “Yes! That’s it!”Thirty-six drafts. Oy. I’ll tell you about it sometime…So why do I keep writing picture books if I can't
We have two firsts today--our first Guest Teaching Author interview, and our first Book Giveaway!We are happy to welcome author, poet, and teacher Ann Whitford Paul to TeachingAuthors.com as our first Guest Teaching Author. Ann is the author of 17 picture books for children. Her poetry has been published in numerous anthologies, and she teaches picture book writing through the UCLA extension
I offer a resounding Ibid!, not to mention a Thumbs Up, to the solutions and suggestions my fellow, oh-so-wise TeachingAuthors shared concerning Time Management these past two weeks. They answered Pam T.’s question, and then some.Prioritize. Of course.Focus. Absolutely.Remove all distractions. That goes without saying. I would also add, though: determine and honor your Modus Operandi.Are you a
As Mary Ann mentioned in her last post, we received an Ask the TeachingAuthors question regarding time management. Pam T. of Illinois asked for advice about how to allocate time between actual writing, reading, improving your craft, etc.Like Mary Ann, I don't feel I really have "the answer." My ideal writing day (when I'm not teaching) would look like this:1 hour -- meditating/praying/spiritual
When folks ask me what I do, I say I'm in the Hope Business.(A Good Thing, too, since I happen to be a Cubs Fan.)Unlike other books, for other audiences, a children's book must always offer Hope. Not a Happy Ending, mind you. Just the possibility of one.I cut my reader's teeth on "Happily Ever Afters," on inevitable, yet surprising satisfactory resolutions. Like several of my fellow Teaching
Enjoy all of the delicious books we've been talking about this summer—and if you buy them, please BUY LOCAL. Find your local bookseller here.The folks in these stores are paperback promoters, kidlit campaigners, poetry proponents, school supporters, chapbook champions and author advocates.They hand sell, They create community. They read and recommend. They carry crazy amounts of inventory so
So, How Do You Publish That Children's Book You've Finally Created?Thanks, Lia L., for posting the above question. It's the Number One Question asked of all children's book creators, even of those who may not also teach Writing.(The Number Two Question, by the way? "How do I get an agent?") Your timing couldn't be better. My Writing for Children Workshop "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" this past
My novel, Mind Games, began, in its way, when I was in eighth grade. It began with my quest to prove for the sake of science (and my grade -- like Benjamin D. Lloyd, I was all about grades) that ESP does, in fact, exist. My project was successful to the extent that it won (I think) an honorable mention at the state science fair. But in the end, I neither proved nor disproved my hypothesis -- that
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The above title’s question is a variation of this week’s Ask the TeachingAuthors question,"What’s the connection between Life and Fiction?”My answer?Real Life works its way into our writing and words, invited or not, intentionally or otherwise.And how could it not? We’re reservoirs of life events, memories, emotions, collectors of people, places and things. Sometimes, Life serves up a story on a
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by Esther HershenhornHappy Children’s Book Week, to readers and writers!Like children’s author Andrew Clements, I’ve yet to meet a writerwho wasn’t a reader first.I know from experience: every published book is a Teacher-in-Waiting.For instance, I learned and honed my craft reading as a writer, deconstructing children’s books – first picture books, then easy-to-reads, next chapter books, then
Posted by Carmela Martino Most writers I know are avid readers. I have been for as long as I can remember. I read so much as a child that my mother often scolded me, saying things like, "You spend too much time sitting around with your nose in a book. Get up and DO SOMETHING!"But I was doing something. I was learning how to be a writer. Without even realizing it, I was studying how writers use
Posted by Carmela MartinoIn case you haven't heard, Children's Book Week begins tomorrow, May 11. Here's a bit of history from the official Children's Book Week website: "Since 1919, Children's Book Week has been celebrated nationally in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs, private homes--any place where there are children and books. Educators, librarians, booksellers, and families have
Very interesting exercise. I am always eavesdropping at restaurants, on bus rides, and in waiting rooms. Occasionally, I'll write a re-cap in my notebook. I find capturing the actual words of dialogue I've heard is almost like trying to tell someone a dream ... it's very slippery. I end up trying to convey the tenor, emotion of the conversation. Does this count?
Sarah, I think you've intuited the point of the exercise completely --that conveying the effect of real conversation requires skill, judicious editing, and even some sleight-of-hand. Thanks for the very insightful comment.