new posts in all blogs
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Creative writing, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 188
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: Creative writing 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.
By: Lizzie Furey,
on 2/26/2016
Blog:
OUPblog
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Literature,
fiction,
fantasy fiction,
writing,
fantasy,
creative writing,
*Featured,
Deborah Chester,
The Fantasy Fiction Formula,
Books,
Add a tag
Why does the world need yet another book on how to write fantasy fiction? Because the public continues to show a nearly insatiable desire for more stories in this genre, and increasing numbers of aspiring authors gravitate toward writing it. As our real lives become more hectic, over-scheduled, insignificant, socially disconnected, and technologically laden, there seems to be a need among readers to reach for a place where the individual matters.
The post On writing fantasy fiction appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Helena Palmer,
on 7/30/2015
Blog:
OUPblog
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Books,
Literature,
literary criticism,
writing,
creative writing,
Novels,
chekhov,
Novelists,
World Literature,
english literature,
Anton Chekhov,
*Featured,
biogaphy,
Tim Parks,
Arts & Humanities,
Critical Theory,
Critical Theory and Literature,
The novel,
The Novel: A Survival Skill,
Add a tag
“Don’t discuss the writer’s life. Never speculate about his intentions.” Such were the imperatives when writing literary criticism at school and university. The text was an absolute object to be dissected for what it was, with no reference to where it came from. This conferred on the critic the dignity of the scientist. It’s surprising they didn’t ask us to wear white coats.
The post The question of belonging appeared first on OUPblog.
By:
Darcy Pattison,
on 6/15/2015
Blog:
Darcy Pattison's Revision Notes
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
creative writing,
writing exercise,
outlining,
First Drafts,
plotting,
first draft,
first lines,
opening,
novel openings,
Add a tag
Try Book 1 for Free
I’ve been fiddling with the opening of the second book of a trilogy, Blue Planets, for several weeks, trying to plot, trying to think of new and exciting ways to tell the story. I KNOW the story. It’s bringing it down to specifics that’s hard.
Part of my problem is that Book 1 in this trilogy opens with a scene that echoes the movie “Jaws.” That book and movie has a powerful, action packed opening image and scene that sets up the stakes clearly. My Book 1 opening echoes the action, and twists the meaning into a new, surprising direction. I like the opening I create there.
But it also set up a problem: How can I echo the “Jaws” opening for Book 2?
I’ve struggled for a couple weeks with this question and finally found the answer.
Don’t. Find another image that works.
Using a Mentor Text or Story
Perhaps, though, the process I used in the opening for Book 1 can be repeated for Book 2. I used “Jaws” as a mentor text, echoing its action and setting the stakes very high. What if I found a different mentor text/movie for the next book?
At Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat site, they’ve done a series of analyses of movie plots that are called Beat Sheets under his system. I decided to go through them and write a short summary of how I could or couldn’t echo the different movies for this opening. I knew that I had to approach it as a writing exercise and just go overboard and let the ideas flow.
In an hour, I wrote the summaries for the following twenty possible opening scenes. After, I went back and wrote a sentence of how the closing scene might echo back to the opening scene. That closing scene ideas — only written after all the opening scene summaries were completed — helped me evaluate how well this opening fit my story. Note also that I drew a blank on about three of the movie openings and couldn’t figure out how it would fit my story.
The Grunt Work: Writing 20 Possible Summaries of Opening Scene
Note: You won’t understand what some of this means, since I’m not explaining all the background, setting, characters, etc. That’s OK. The point is to see how I echoed the mentor text/story in some way. The link for each movie title goes to the Save the Cat plot analysis for that movie, where you can read the opening image synopsis and compare it to mine. You may think some of my opening as strangely at odds with the mentor text. That’s fine. I consider the mentor text/story as merely a starting point and go where the story takes me.
- A la Ultron.
The opening image is of a huge conch shell that is blown and echoes throughout the ocean. Jake is swimming and hears it—has to stop up his ears it’s so loud. But no human hears it—at a weird frequency. It’s an emergency call to the Mer, but Jake doesn’t know that yet. The umjaadi plague is spreading and they still don’t know what it is.
Final Echo: A hospital ward full of sick patients and the doctor telling someone that unless someone finds a cure, they’ll all die. The Mer will be gone.
- A la The Conversation .
The opening image is Edinburgh, Scotland the castle with a full moon overhead. Home of Harry Potter, the setting is almost mythical. But the reality of walking the seven hills, and climbing up the highest pulls Jake back to Earth (so to speak). From the top, he sees the Frith of Forth and the bridge—with the aquarium under it, where they’ll go tomorrow.
Final echo: back on the hill, Jake now understands what is beneath the waters he sees.
- A la Whiplash.
Jake is swimming laps in a pool—with no one around—when Cy Blevins walks in. You’re not related to the Commander, you’re the Ambassador’s son—we know all about you. OK. So, what? You can’t live here.
Jake swims, but wants to jump out and beat up Cy.
Final echo: No. Doesn’t work.
- A la Birdman.
Jake is swimming and keeps asking himself, “How did we wind up here? Am I Earthling or Risonian?” He turns sharks into tour guides, he is thrilled with electric shock from eels, he talks to octopuses.
Final echo: I am Earthling.
A la Tommy Boy.
Jake is a toddler swimming on Rison and when a camouflaged creature (octopus-like) unfurls, he is startled and starts to cry. Turns to Swann for comfort, but Swann turns him around and says, SEE. Watch. Learn to see.
Final echo: Swimming and points out a camouflaged creature to Swann.
A la Ratatouille.
B/w documentary about octopuses, compared with what we know today. They were once feared as monsters, but we now know they are very intelligent (playing with toys to get crabs). We see what we expect to see, and that changes slowly. (Or: what’s alien comes from what’s in OUR heads, not what we see in front of us.)
Final echo: B/W Risonain documentary on first contact Earth—from the Risonian POV. We now know Earthlings are much more complicated and intelligent than we thought at first.
A la Babadook.
Go for a memory and emotion. Jake relives a moment with Em where they kiss—or almost kiss. But then shakes himself. No. She didn’t want to be friends.
Final echo: A final kiss.
A la Star Trek (2009).
The camera moves along an underwater ship and reveals it to be a U-Boat. Follow with the scene of the DCS dive.
Final echo: Maybe Mom is sick from something on Earth?
A la American Sniper.
(Scene with dramatic first kill – will he shoot a kid?)
Scene with dramatic first ______?
Clearly, this one didn’t work.
A a Lego Movie.
From a boat, Dr. Max Bari lowers a figure on a stretcher into the ocean, then dives in after her—without scuba gear. He tugs the stretcher deeper and deeper until there are lights in the distance. . .
Final echo: Jake lifts off in a rocket ship and watches Earth get smaller and smaller in the distance, and turns his face toward Rison and hopes. . .
A la Big Hero 6.
Setting: Sanfransokyo
My Setting: Aberforth Hills
Final echo: Earth leaders touring Aberforth Hills
A la Liar Liar.
In a classroom, they are going around telling what their fathers do. A young Jake says his father is a test tube. No, it’s the Leader of our People. No, it’s really a test tube.
Final echo: Jake with Dad.
A la Fury.
(Ambush of triumphant soldier by vanquished.) No ideas. Didn’t work for me.
A la Gone Girl.
(Sharp contrast of emotions: head on shoulder of husband contrasted with his thoughts of killing her. Result: Worry for her safety)
Contrasting emotions? Invade Earth and just take it! Take the long, slow route to a long-term healthy relationship.
Mom is giving a speech to the world leaders about Rison’s needs. Jake is drawing pictures of skulls and wishing he could blast all of Earth so Risonians could take over. How can they ever live together on the same planet and not kill each other?
Final echo: Fight that ends in a truce.
A la Guardians of the Galaxy.
Sitting alone, Jake is listening to a cd mix that Em gave him and wishing they hadn’t quarreled. He gets a call from Marisa, who says she wants to meet with him. I hear you’re going to Edinburgh. Mom and Dad aren’t saying much—but I think Em has been kidnapped and they know who did it, but they won’t go after her. I think she’s somewhere near Edinburgh.
Final echo: Jake gives Em a cd of Risonian operas and says, I’ll be back with the cure.
A la How to Train Your Dragon 2.
Jake is spinning a globe of the world and narrating for his class (OR Swann) back home-videoconference call. He tells of how Earthlings/US once put it’s citizens in jail because they “might” have been traitors. How they questioned the loyalty of citizen merely because of their heritage. How unfair it is and how he’s worried that the Risonians will be even more feared and how suspicion will abound.
Final echo: Suspicious news reports: There are fears that Jake Quad-di is returning home with intelligence that will allow the Risonians to attack. His mother, Ambassador Dayexi Quad-di assures us that he only returns to bring back a cure for the Phoke. But why would he risk his life for them?
A la Twilight Zone.
The camera pans across oceans, racing across the seas, until it zooms in on a conference room where Mom is talking to world leaders, a clear image of politics/diplomacy.
Final echo: Not emotional enough to pursue.
A la Muppets Most Wanted.
Start with pan down from The End—the last movie—and sing about how the studio ordered a sequel.
Final echo: No. Don’t like this metadata stuff.
A la Her.
Jake is writing a letter to the editor, or editorial or something—and we pull back to see that he’s writing it for Mom. He’s her assistant now, and she trusts his knowledge of English and culture. (Not emotional enough. HER is a love story, so the emotions there are about truly falling in love. It’s not going to work in this story.)
A la Inside Llewyn Davis.
The scene opens on a rowdy swimming pool with kids taking bets. Jake lines up with another guy and when the whistle blows, the other boy dives in and races away. When that guy touches the opposite wall, Jake dives in, velcroes his legs and swims. He almost beats the other guy back, but is won out by a touch.
I win! Says the other swimmer.
Jake shakes his head. He swam almost twice as fast—and the Earthling says he won? That’s crazy.
We’re never letting you compete in the Olympics! Says one kid.
Final echo: Argument: You think I can do miracles. Sure, I can outswim any human boy, but on Rison, I’m nothing. I’m just a normal kid. How can I find the cure to the umjaadi in time? I can’t. But I have to try.
Notice that I didn’t hold myself to an impossible standard. If the movie’s opening didn’t spark something almost immediately, I moved on. Further, I didn’t stop at just one try. I persevered, knowing that I needed to fully explore my options.
Evaluate the Possible Openings
After writing all of these, I had to evaluate which one fit my story best. First, I went back and added the Final Echo to each, so I’d know if it fit the theme/plot/characters well enough to carry through the whole story. In other words, I double checked my ideas about the story, my intentions.
Then I asked these questions of each opening:
- Which sets the tone I want?
- Which sets the emotional problems?
- Which sets the themes?
- Which one sets up the stakes as very high?
Results of Opening Images Writing Exercise
I found several good images that took me in new and different directions than I’d previously been trying—and that’s exciting.
- Warning conch shell – warning comes true, all Mer sick.
- Jake as toddler scared by octopus-like creature un-camouflaging – Watches old Risonian documentary and realizes that Earthlings are complicated.
- Dr. Max lowers a patient into the water and goes into a foreign world – Jake lifts off in rocket for a foreign world.
- Listens to Em’s cd – gives her a cd when he leaves.
- Jake narrates the globe – a news show narrates Jake’s trip to Rison.
- Jake outswims Earthlings – but realizes he’s just a normal kid on Rison.
Which one did I choose? Actually, several. Because I have a main plot and several subplots, I realized that several of these can work in sequence to open the different subplots.
Sometimes, I approach a story methodically, just doing a writing exercise. This time, I was stuck, and the exercise unstuck me. That was a valuable hour of writing!
By:
Guest Posts,
on 4/24/2015
Blog:
The Children's Book Review
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Fantasy: Supernatural Fiction,
Kathy Dawson Books,
Computer Science Books,
Django Wexler,
Writing Tips,
Writing Resources,
Ages 9-12,
Fantasy,
Creative Writing,
Chapter Books,
featured,
Add a tag
Django Wexler is a self-proclaimed computer/fantasy/sci fi geek. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with degrees in creative writing and computer science, and worked in artificial intelligence research.
Eleven year old Maddison wants to be a writer and has asked where I get ideas from. That’s a great question because every story has to start with an idea!
Ideas come from thoughts, and thoughts come from all our senses, as well as our emotion and everything we remember and imagine. That can add to millions of thoughts a day (I just made that figure up – maybe it’s thousands. A lot, anyway.) How do we turn some of those into ideas that can be built into a story?
The answer is: Questions! The first questions are usually, ‘What if?’ or ‘Why?’ or ‘How?’ or ‘What happened?’
To show you what I mean, I gave myself a challenge to find some new ideas on my morning walk.
Here’s a not-very-great picture of a nest fallen on the ground. To turn this into a story I’d ask:
 |
| What happened here? |
1) What happened to the baby birds? Had they already flown away?
(I really hope so, and I think they had, because the nest looks old - but that wouldn’t make a story. So for the rest of the questions we’ll say that the eggs or baby birds were still in there.
2) How did it fall out of the tree?
Possible answers:
a) The wind.
b) A predator bird or animal.
c) A bad person - why are they doing it?
d) An alien - what do they think the eggs are?
e) …..
3) What happens next?
a) The protagonist (hero) tries to rescue them and put the nest back in the tree. How do they do that? Climb the tree? What happens if they fall out? Or meet an eagle? Or get into trouble because someone thinks they’re trying to steal the nest?
b) The birds are an endangered species – so a poacher is going to raise the birds and sell them to zoos. Now how does the hero try to stop them?
c) The aliens are going to hatch them…
3) Where is the nest? What's on the other side of that fence?
So, you just keep on asking questions. Remember that there aren't any wrong answers - there are only answers that will lead to better questions to make the best possible story.
Of course I saw lots of things on my walk: blackberries – not much of a story there, but what if you put blackberry bushes under the tree that someone’s climbing to steal or rescue the nest?
What about the sisters I heard arguing?
Or the sign for the school fete?
Or the empty holiday house – where one day my dog ran away and went in the dog door. The dog door was locked from the inside so that he couldn’t get out… There are lots of chances for a story there!
 |
Jennifer Wolf Kam
|
Words have always been my friend. From the earliest days of my childhood, when I was delighted by tales of fairies, princesses and pokey puppies, through my grade school years when I crafted my very own books out of construction paper and crayon, they have been there. In middle school, the words I penned were filled with emotion and wonder, and they sustained me through the harrowing teen years.
I wrote my first novel inside my 8th grade wood shop notebook. On the first page of my notebook, you can still see where I took notes on how to use a T-square ruler. After that, my words—pages and pages of them—have nothing to do with 8th grade wood shop (belated apologies to Mr. Kennedy.) The novel I wrote in it, well, it was a little too similar to a book I’d just read. But it was a start, a leap actually, because for the first time ever, I’d written something longer than five pages. Remarkably, it had a beginning, a middle and an end that actually (sort of) made sense.
The wood shop notebook novel was messy, and in the days before most of us used computers, filled with scratch-outs and scribbles and words formed in different-colored inks. I’d drawn hearts and stars all over the front of the notebook (my first cover art?) but it was mine. And the truth is, I’d needed to write it. For years I had carried stories inside of me. I’d bottled up feelings, observations, and other worlds. I was full to bursting and finally, now, it could all be set free on the page.
I shared that first novel with very few people. My writing was for me, a private thing, a sanctuary. I wrote another book afterwards, and then another after that, gradually stacking notebooks of my words inside my desk. For the rest of high school, I wrote and played and experimented with words and formats.
Writing was not simply fun, it was a need, in fact, a joy. Eventually, as an adult, I was ready to share my stories with a larger audience. Perhaps, even (gasp!) publish a book.
I spent hours, weeks, months at my laptop, writing and revising, creating and imagining, dipping a little too deeply into a nearby stash of chocolate. I joined critique groups, attended conferences and earned my MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. But it would be years, I mean yeeears, before my efforts led to a book contract.
Then, one day, I received the exciting news that I’d won the Children’s Book of the Year Award from the National Association of Elementary School Principals and that my debut teen novel, DEVIN RHODES IS DEAD, would be published by the fabulous Charlesbridge.
Which is how I found myself, last month, standing in front of a class of creative writing students at John Bowne High School in Flushing, New York. My visit was part of the New York City Adopt-a-School program, which pairs authors with public schools as a means of encouraging and celebrating literacy and a love of books. The first students I spoke with were seniors, already wise and intuitive, thoughtful and oh, so very smart. And for a moment, looking around the room, I was back there with them—a student, young, passionate about writing, filled with words. So, in a way, I felt I knew them. I knew what it was like to want—no—to need to write. To put my stories down, whether or not anyone else ever read them.
I spoke to them about my experiences, my writing life. About my construction paper and crayon creations. I told them about my wood shop notebook and the other notebooks that followed. I described the many hours and years of work I’d put into developing my writing. And we talked a lot about rejection.
They listened and they responded. Their responses were insightful and sharp. They understood that, as writers, perhaps they hadn’t chosen the easiest path. I wanted to tell them not to worry, that everything would work out, even though I know that life sometimes has other plans. I wanted to, because, I think that, although there are no promises, things have a way of working out when least expected. So, we discussed perseverance and grit and never giving up on something if it’s what you love—no matter what the world tells you. The world isn’t always right, after all. But your heart usually is.
I spoke to two more groups that day and the students impressed me with their self-awareness, confidence and energy. Each time, I was transported just a bit further, back to that place where it all began for me. Where I first found the courage to write down my words, to persevere despite everything. It was an amazing thing, I thought, that I had been invited, I imagine, to inspire these students, when so clearly, they had inspired me.
They are brave and have so much ahead of them. And one day soon, I hope, their words, whatever they are, will make their way into the world…which would be most fortunate for us all.
 |
978-1-93413-359-0 HC $16.95 <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--> |
The holiday season can be joyous: all that family, expectation and tradition – but it can also be difficult: all that family, expectation and tradition. Usually it's both. If you're a writer, that tension and drama means a huge source of potential inspiration.
So [ay attention to the thoughts, memories and emotions that come up with various triggers at this time of year, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, or nothing at all. Remember that there are no rules about what you should feel – if a beautiful ornament reminds you of sibling rivalry, or a Christmas carol leaves you feeling excluded, those are great story starters. All you need is that one trigger; the story may end up a long way from the object, the memory, or Christmas.
I’ve chosen a few of my own Christmas ornaments and will share some of the thoughts that come up for me. They may be prosaic, but all that any prosaic idea needs is a twist to inspire a story.
Every year when I pin this tiny hanging to a wall, I am transported back to my eight year-old self in a prairie town in Alberta, Canada. It was a gift from a young Danish woman who was living with my family because her husband, an Air Force trainee, wasn’t supposed to be married. So as well as the warmth of remembering ‘my Danish sister’ when I handle it, I feel a slight sense of intrigue and mystery that I loved to embellish – she may have lived in the basement because there weren’t any spare bedrooms upstairs, but a story-telling mind could always wonder whether it was also to keep her hidden….
This paper maché bell came from New Delhi,
when I was there for the Bookaroo Children’s Literature Festival. Of course it reminds me of that, the people I met there and the whole mind-boggling experience. It also makes me wonder about the person who made it, their life and emotions while making it. Did they wonder where some of their little bells would end up?
I made this rather bedraggled angel on my first Christmas in Australia. I’d just turned 22 and had been married nearly a year; it was my first Christmas away from my own family. I desperately wanted some of the traditions I’d grown up, including an angel on the Christmas tree. (Which that year was simply a branch.) We had no money at all, but I found a plastic skittle, an old lace glove and a torn doll’s dress in a shed on my parents-in-law’s farm…
One of my favourite ornaments was a gift of a bread-dough snowman from by a Jewish friend’s son when they spent Christmas with us. (Yes, we had a kosher chicken as well as the turkey.) There’s no picture because the dog ate it last year. But that could be a story in itself…
By:
Bianca Schulze,
on 12/6/2014
Blog:
The Children's Book Review
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Writing Tips,
Writing Resources,
Ages 0-3,
Ages 4-8,
Picture Book,
Picture Books,
Dogs,
Creative Writing,
Stacy Nyikos,
featured,
Add a tag
Before I became a writer, I had no idea being one also meant embracing a life of crime. I don’t know why. All the signs were there – the saying “every great lie has an element of truth”, T.S. Eliot’s immortal “Good authors borrow, great authors steal”, and the infamous Faulkner adage, “Kill your darlings” (Faulkner actually stole that saying from Arthur Quiller-Couch).
by Sally Matheny
 |
| Sending You a Tropical Breeze |
A cold wind may be whistling outside your window but today, a tropical breeze is coming your way.
Do you have a young, reluctant writer in your home? I do. My fourth-grader freezes over when he’s required to write. He hates it. Which is why I was eager to try out Jan May’s curriculum, Ocean Adventures in Creative Writing. Clearly stated on the front cover is the statement, “Even the reluctant writer will dive in!”
Not only did I plan to get my reluctant writer’s toes in the water, but I also hoped the curriculum would splash enthusiasm into a homeschool co-op class I was teaching.
The students ranged in ages from eight to twelve. Only a third of the class professed to enjoy writing. Here are a few of their comments upon completion of the class:
I liked writing a story about my ocean adventure. I liked being able to choose my own animal instead of being assigned one. – Meredith (10)
I’ve never been able to write this much in one week before. I never wanted to write this much before this class. – Samuel (8)
I loved how fun it was. I liked the ocean theme. [The lessons] were easy to understand. – Zac (10)
What makes this curriculum so likable to students?
Freedom
 |
| Ocean Adventures in Creative Writing |
· to research an own ocean animal of their own choosing
· to create their own ocean community setting
· to devise their own characters and plot
· to focus on the story more than grammar and punctuation
Bite-Sized Lessons
· Character, Setting, and Plot
· Writing beginnings, middles, and endings
· Spicing up your story
· Editing
Fun Factor
· Opportunities to interact with friends
· Additional art and craft ideas
· Spotlight presentation at the end
What makes this 53-page curriculum attractive to teachers?
Easy
· Easy to follow teacher notes
· Clear and concise worksheets for students
· Printables of twenty ocean animals and handwriting paper with an ocean-themed border
Adaptable
· Easily incorporated into other school subjects
· Written primarily for ages 8-12, it is great for use by students of various ages, within the same setting
· For students at various writing skill levels
The curriculum offers ten lesson plans before students present their final story. Jan May offers additional ideas that could easily stretch this curriculum over several months, if desired.
A “spotlight theatre” is suggested for the culminating project where students present their stories. However, my class opted for a sunlight theatre outside.
The reluctant writers may not be in the deep waters of writing yet, but they sure enjoyed wading out past their knees.
After presenting their stories, several students experienced the exhilaration of riding their first wave. That’s a great feeling and usually it prompts a desire to do it again!
If your students are dreading the winter blahs of writing, consider sending them a fun, tropical breeze with the Ocean Adventures Creative Writing program.
*****
Author, Jan May is a veteran homeschool mom, freelance writer, and book author with a Christian worldview. Connect with her at
www.newmillenniumgirls.com.
Jan is graciously offering a free download of the Ocean Adventures Creative Writing curriculum to the one winner Rafflecopter selects on November 25, 2014. There are several ways to increase your chances of winning.
Rafflecopter will accept entries between midnight on 11/17/14 and midnight 11/25/14.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A lot of people are doing NaNoWriMo this month (for those who don’t know it, the aim is to write 50,000 words of a novel in November) so if anyone’s feeling a bit stuck, I thought I’d share a variation of a technique I used in a masterclass at CYA in July.
Now that I've discovered it, I intend to use frequently during the progress of a manuscript, but I think it’s useful early on - when you’ve thought about your characters quite a lot already, and you thought you knew the shape of the story, but now that you’re writing it, nothing’s quite as sharp and clear as you thought it was.
It can be challenging, but it works well – and remember, nobody’s watching or judging.
So: get a paper and pencil, or a sharpie, and just ask your protagonist, ‘What do you most want?’
But the trick is: you write the question out with your dominant hand, and answer with your non dominant hand – that’s why a nice fat sharpie is good. Don’t think about the answer, just let it come, misshaped letters and all. I've only used it for child characters so far, but I think it's also valid for adult protagonists, because most of our deepest wants and fears come from the child within us.
If your character doesn’t know what they want, ask what they’re most afraid of. Ask why. Ask whatever you think a probing counsellor might ask them. And most importantly, don’t judge their answers. You might be surprised at what comes – I usually am.
And whether you use all that you’ve discovered or not, you’ll certainly end up with a stronger feeling of who your character is. Just don’t forget that you’re still the boss, so you may not choose to give your character exactly what they think they want. But it may give you a clearer idea of what they need to experience, and therefore, where you want your story to go.
By: Kathy Temean,
on 7/27/2014
Blog:
Writing and Illustrating
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Places to sumit,
Cash Prizes,
No Entry Fee,
Publication in anthology,
Publication in ebook,
Contest,
writing,
Creative Writing,
Competition,
Short Story contest,
opportunity,
Add a tag
Kendra Shedenhelm sent in this “out-of this world” illustration from an upcoming book she illustrated titled, “You, the Magician.” You can visit her site at http://kendrashedenhelm.com/.
Creative Writing Institute’s
International Short Story Contest Now Open
No Entry Fee
DIRECTIONS: Read all guidelines (rules) carefully.
CASH PRIZES!
First place: $200 USD or a free writing course with a personal tutor, valued at $260, + publication in our anthology and eBook.
Second place: $100 USD or a credit of $150 toward a writing course with a personal tutor, valued at $260, + publication in our anthology and eBook.
Third place: $50 USD or a credit of $100 toward a writing course with a personal tutor, valued at $260, + publication in our anthology and eBook.
Plus: seven additional Judge’s Choice stories will receive publication in our anthology & Ebook, entitled “What Could Possibly go Wrong?“
ONE submission per person
- When you’re ready to submit, scroll to the bottom of the page at http://CreativeWritingInstitute.Submittable.com/submit and click on SUBMIT. Entries will only be accepted on that form. Fill out your name and address, and follow the prompts to a space where you can copy and paste your document into it. Do NOT send attachments or emailed entries as these will NOT be accepted.
- Especially note our requirements for G-rated literature. Please see #1 below for further definition.
- By entering this contest, you are saying this story has not been previously published, you grant minor editing rights for publication, and Creative Writing Institute has first, non-exclusive, electronic rights and First North American Print Rights to publish the winners and Judge’s Choice stories in our anthology, “What Could Possibly go Wrong?” All Rights return to the author upon publication.
This is a themed contest. Your story must be original and unpublished (except on personal blogs, critique groups, or personal web pages) and must be between 1,000 and 2,000 words.
Your story may be any genre, but these exact sentences must appear together in the story:
I have a list and a map. What could possibly go wrong?
Accepting submissions until midnight, August 9, 2014, USA Eastern Standard Time.
- Entries will only be accepted through the submission form. As you go through the submission process, there will be a space for you to copy and paste your document into. Do NOT send attachments or emailed entries as these will NOT be accepted.
ENTRIES MUST FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES OR BE DISQUALIFIED.
1. Any genre: Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Humor, Romance, Children, etc., No erotica, profanity, swearing, or gore. (Swearing includes but is not limited to the following: hell, damn, bitch, taking God’s name in vain, and other similar words.) This is a “G” rated contest. One swear word will disqualify your entry. Good writers can make their point by showing the character’s attitudes. Questions? Query the head judge at [email protected].
2. Entries must be 1,000 to 2,000 words. (This is a strict word count, but don’t count the title or personal information in the word count.) Place the word count at the top of page 1 before submitting.
3. One entry per person, please.
4. By entering this contest, you are stating that the story is your own copyright. You are stating that it has NOT been previously published by a professional or semi-professional publication. You are stating that you grant minor editing rights for publication, and if chosen, Creative Writing Institute has first, non-exclusive, electronic rights and First North American Print Rights to publish the winners and Judge’s Choice stories in our anthology, “What Could Possibly go Wrong?” All Rights return to the author upon publication.
5. Entries will be judged on originality, creativity, style, and technique.
6. Be sure that your entry has been proofread and edited. Points will be deducted for poorly structured sentences, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors. Your entry should reflect your commitment to writing.
7. Read tips and tricks on how to win a contest on http://www.cwinst.com .
Winners will be notified by email on or before September 12, 2014.
Talk tomorrow,
Kathy
Filed under:
Competition,
Contest,
opportunity,
Places to sumit,
writing Tagged:
Cash Prizes,
Creative Writing,
No Entry Fee,
Publication in anthology,
Publication in ebook,
Short Story contest 
Miriam at
Create Hope Inspire blog interviewed me about Rescue on Nim's Island this week.
Her two young sons also had some great questions! Here are a couple:
Have you ever ridden on a sea lion?
What does a sea lion's fur feel like?
Wendy sent this gorgeous photo in answer to these rather funny questions!
Flip-
Was the cake actually poisoned? What with?
It was actually poisoned. They used juice from rhubarb leaves, because that makes you very sick but probably wouldn't kill you.
Why was there a passage where Tiffany's foot got stuck?
Why was the hole joined to the bat's cave?
All the passages, tunnels and caves were formed in the mountain by water dripping or running through the limestone rock, and gradually dissolving it, so that bigger passages, tunnels and caves were formed. Of course this took many thousands of years! Also, any small earthquakes or rumbling through the mountain when the volcano erupted made new faults and cracks, so the water dripped down those and continued to erode the new holes in the tunnel or passage.
Naturally the UCW has been all agog over WIFYR. And sadly, I was not able to attend this year (sigh). But it got me thinking about all of the inspiration I've received from writing groups and conferences over the years. One speech given last year at WIFYR by Stephen Fraser, a literary agent from Jennifer De Chiara Lit Agency, has really stuck with me.
What he essentially talked about was the importance of following your inner compass.
At many conferences and at many writing classes, the fear for most not-yet-published writers is to look like an unpublished writer. To look like an amateur. So a zillion classes are given about what the "rules" of publishing are: exactly how long each genre should be, exactly how it should be written, exactly what most publishers are looking for ....
I don't know about you, but I always bristle at these boxes and labels and rules. My hand is the one that shoots up every time with the every annoying "But why?" (Yep, I'm still that kid in class.) Why do books with beautiful illustrations have to be for three-year-olds? Why do characters in middle grade books have to use pop-culture vernacular? Why can't a picture book have 1500 words? Why ...? Why ...? Why ...?
There are many reasons to follow many of the rules. But the answer usually given to me is always the least satisfying: Because publishers know that X sells because that is what has sold.
But Fraser pointed out the importance of being the first. You never know if your version of breaking the rules could be the one that starts a new trend.
Who knew sparkly vampires would be irresistible until it was done? Who thought that mixing fairy tale archetypes into a hodgepodge world based on Greek mythology and Joseph Campbell-like folklore would capture the fascination of young readers in today's pop culture ... until it was done? Who knew that rewriting classics using monsters would be a "thing"? Who said Death could be a popular narrator?
And this viewpoint came from a well-known literary agent who had previously worked at such publishing houses as HarperCollins, Scholastic, and Simon & Schuster. In other words, a guy who is looking to publish rule-breakers. There are those in the publishing industry that can think outside of the highly organized, very rigid box of publishing.
And they are looking for writers like you and me.
This fact has probably given me more strength and determination to keep writing than any I've received.
So break it. The rule. The narrative arc. The law. The genre. The stylebook. The mold. The norm.
Take that idea of yours that just doesn't fit and run with it.
Write it from your soul. Be the one to do what hasn't yet been done.
By: Melinda Palacio,
on 6/5/2014
Blog:
La Bloga
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
editor,
author,
Publisher,
creative writing,
UCSB,
Manuel Ramos,
USC,
Fiction Writers Handbook,
Love Will Make You Drink Gamble Stay Out Late,
Shelly Lowenkopf,
White Whisker Books,
Add a tag
 |
| Shelly Lowenkopf |
Shelly Lowenkopf's numerous roles in the book world continue to flourish. He is the rare author who the knows the ins and outs of the publishing world from his early days working as the Editor-in-Chief at Sherbourne Press in 1962. The 82-year old writer taught in the University of Southern California's Master of Professional Writing Program for 34 years, where he was given a Lifetime teaching award, and he currently teaches at Santa Barbara City College and UCSB's College of Creative Studies. In Santa Barbara, he's best known for his longtime writing workshop with Leonard Tourney and his Pirate Workshop at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Although he is no longer teaching with Leonard Tourney or the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, students can find Shelly at UCSB, SBCC, or his Saturday workshop at Cafe Luna in Summerland, CA.
Shelly has seen former students, such as Catherin Ryan Hyde, rise to the ranks of best-sellers. He's also had a hand in seeing over 500 books through the editorial and production process.
The closing of bookstores, publishing houses, and the continuing evolution of the publishing world hasn't stopped Shelly from staying in the game and pushing his students to stick to their passion, produce the best book they can possibly write, and then sell it to a publisher. One can say love for craft and his students keeps Shelly enthusiastic about helping writers meet their goals. He has taken on the students of his late wife Anne Lowenkopf, who shared his love for writers who put words on paper.
"Lowenkopf unveils Santa Barbara's passion with clever tales about men and women (and cats and dogs) that surprise and delight. Subtle humor mixes with the loneliness and desire, but we laugh with the characters, not at them, because we see ourselves in these people. In the stories of Shelly Lowenkopf, we remember that love is life--long live love."
Originally from Los Angeles,
Shelly has fond memories of riding the bus with his deaf grandmother to visit the Kosher Butcher shop in Boyle Heights. He later moved to Santa Barbara and the city remains dear to his heart. He's had opportunities to return to the bustle of New York City, but prefers sleepy Santa Barbara, the backdrop for his short stories. "Santa Barbara reminds me of L.A. when I was growing up," he said, "That L.A had no smog, an ocean, and relatively little traffic, and people were awfully nice."
I asked Shelly what makes a student stand out as the one who might have a breakthrough book and his answer involved three 'r' words: reading, rewriting, and revising.
"The ones who made it were readers. They read everything, not just books in their fields. They don't mind rewriting. Most actors don't mind rehearsals."
His own love of reading is present in the ways he brings a poetic quality and an excitement to archaic and anachronistic phrases, such as a hair shirt. In his story, "Coming to Terms," the author describes his character Charlie as:
"Charlie began to slog about as though his soul wore a hair shirt. Vulnerable, flinching at the merest confrontation, his viscera would wrench up on him at the sight of borrowed books, notes and correspondence, concert ticket stubs, or any trace of the confetti of his failed relationship
(Love, p.161)."
Shelly's next books include a mystery novel and a writing handbook that uses acting techniques to reveal a story's subtext. Check out Lowenkopf's,
The FictionWriter's Handbook, a resource for both readers and writers. He is also a regular blogger at
www.lowenkopf.com.
Inspiration, story ideas - they're all around us, in everything that we see and hear, think and do, every day of our lives. But sometimes a particular story needs more specific inspiration, as well as hard research, and that's one of the reasons I'm travelling in France now. In the ancient towns of Marseilles, Avignon, Nimes, etc, I've found details that add to the world I'm creating and have imagined myself into the atmosphere of those very different times. But true inspiration usually comes accidentally, and that's how it's been this time. The day that we decided we needed a break from history and ruins, and headed off to tour a cave outside Avignon, was the magical day for me.
Arriving at the caves at 12:00, just as they shut for two hours, we decided to head to the nearest village for lunch. Isle de Sorgue was perfect, charming and historic, exactly what you might imagine for a holiday in Provence. The sun was shining and suddenly the thought of returning to tour a cave with the six classes of kindergartners who'd been picnicking at the entrance, seemed less appealing. We continued on to Saumonne, a village and chateau built of rock, often into the side of the cliff. It was the key I'd been looking for; I felt almost weak with relief. I would have been happy enough to have simply headed home then, but La Fontaine de Sorgue was nearby, so we headed there. We visited the church, first founded in ( I think) the 5th century, rebuilt in 12th or 13th, and still used as the parish church now. Of all the magnificent cathedrals and basilica we've visited, we found this the most moving and spiritual.
Then, passing the myriad ice cream and souvenir stalls lining the walkway, we walked up to La Fontaine, the source. There was a barrier at the end, with a sign saying extreme danger but not actually forbidding you to climb over it, as quite a few people were doing, so we did. A short scramble later, we came to one of the most magical places I have ever seen. Clear, deep blue water welled up from underground chasms deep under the white cliffs. It didn't take much imagination to guess that it must have been a sacred place from the time people first saw it, or to imagine what it must feel like on days that weren't bright with spring sunshine. And to womder at the stories it must have seen...
So often story ideas can come from the smallest things in daily life, the emotions we all know, and no story is complete without those factors. But sometimes there's magic too, the catch of the breath that marks the sudden gift of inspiration.
At this point I was going to add some glorious pictures, but unfortunately can't seem to do it from my iPad. I will post some on my facebook page: Wendy Orr Author, if you want to see.
My friend’s son is in jail. These aren’t words I ever thought I’d write; they’re not words my friend would have ever thought I’d write. And at first glance, they’re not words about books and writing, which is what this blog is about.
But writing comes from life, and our characters’ thoughts and deeds spring from our own reflections, no matter how deeply buried the source sometimes seems to be. We’ll never grow as writers without reflecting on the harsh times of life: even the cheeriest story has at least the threat of some misery, or there’d be no plot at all.
Writing can sometimes seem cannibalistic, gobbling up other people’s traumas for story fodder. I can’t imagine that I would ever write a story based on this particular tragedy, but anything that I care deeply about it is likely to inform some story in some way. It’s not a simple matter of being grateful for the roads my own children have chosen or pitying my friend’s family. It’s not even my respect for the extraordinary wisdom that she has grown into. It’s just sitting and reflecting on the feelings of all those concerned; of truly imagining what it would be like to know that you will not be leaving this room for another twelve hours, or leaving this building for another six months. Of imagining the complex web of emotions for the family on the other side of the walls. And it is complex, more than I’d ever considered before.
Whether I ever use any of these complexities in a book is irrelevant. Allowing myself to contemplate the issue from all its different angles can only help me grow as a human being, which is, ironically, not only more important than any writing skill, but basic to it.
I hadn't intended this as a Good Friday reflection, though perhaps it's appropriate. So, whatever your religion or beliefs, why not take a moment out of your day to imagine someone else's suffering, and their road through it. It won't hurt - you have the choice of stopping whenever you like - and it just might lead you into new understanding and stories.
By:
Nicki Richesin,
on 4/12/2014
Blog:
The Children's Book Review
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Cheryl Strayed,
Poetry & Rhyme,
Catherine Barnett,
Book Writing Help,
Joseph Stroud,
Karen Benke,
Writing Tips,
Ages 4-8,
Ages 9-12,
Creative Writing,
Interactive,
Author Interviews,
featured,
National Poetry Month,
Elizabeth Bishop,
Activity Books,
Jane Hirshfield,
Keri Smith,
Ann Patchett,
Jack Gilbert,
Austin Kleon,
Tips For Writing,
Linda Gregg,
Add a tag
It’s National Poetry Month this April and what better way to celebrate than a chat with author, poet, and creative writing instructor Karen Benke.
Sometimes writers need a good kick in the pants.
Wouldn’t it be great to have your own personal writing coach by your side every day to get you moving? She could whip the sheets off you each morning, bugle reveille in your ear, even toast you an Eggo while you shower.
Eh, who am I kidding? Writers don’t shower!
Anyway…
Author Deb Lund brought together her 20+ years of teaching experience in a magical way—with 54 surprising writing prompts, tips and tricks for you to apply to your work-in-progress whenever you’re feeling stuck. It’s like having that writing coach right there with you, only a lot less annoying. It’s “Fiction Magic”!
For years, Deb taught 4th- and 5th-grade students how to write, and she wanted to make it cool for them, so she developed these cards. Her real “aha” moment came when she realized that she could teach adults the same way she taught children, using the same FUN strategies. ABRACADABRA! These “magical” cards act as triggers to pull something out of your head that you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to coax out.
At the Oregon Silver Falls SCBWI Writing Retreat, star agent Jen Rofé of Andrea Brown Literary Agency attended Deb’s session and then exclaimed, “I want all my writers to have your cards!” Yep, she was that impressed. The only problem? Deb’s cards were a prototype that cost her $200 to produce. How could she make them for a dozen writers? A hundred? A THOUSAND?
Enter Kickstarter. Deb’s Fiction Magic campaign is on right now and it’s 94% funded already! But with just 10 days to go, she needs your help. And believe me, you want her help, too!
Let’s do a few tricks right now, shall we? Whip out your WIP and see if these magical remedies help!
.
AGREE TO A BAD DEAL
Your characters must make some bad choices along the way. They may even have to negotiate for something they need or want with people they loathe. Characters may know they’re agreeing to bad deals but feel they have no choice. Or the deals appear good, but fall apart later. Or time factors make the deals even more ominous. Make the stakes of bad deals so high it’s difficult for your characters to back out of them.
When you feel stressed by all that’s on your plate, be gentle with yourself. Let your characters agree to bad deals, but the only agreement you need to make with yourself right now is to write, no matter how bad the writing may seem.
.
REVEAL A SECRET
Secrets can be powerful tools or sources of trouble. Or both. What information could your characters unwittingly slip out to the wrong people? Characters could be in danger because of secrets. Other characters could reveal secrets that affect your lead characters, whether the secrets were theirs or not. In trying to cover up secrets or escaping from those trying to conceal secrets, what could go wrong? Who will be angry? Hurt? Feeling betrayed? Put in life or death situations?
Do you keep your dreams secret? Sometimes they need protection, but when you’re ready and the time is right, reveal them to others who believe in you.
.
THROW IN AN OBSTACLE
If you’re lucky, you’ll pick this card over and over, because this is Key. Your characters are on quests. Delay them. Interrupt their journeys. Who or what could step in to make your characters stop in their tracks? The interruptions may be people, objects, circumstances, thoughts, feelings… Send your characters merrily down the road, and then run them into roadblocks. Keep tossing them unending hardship. Warm up your pitching arm and let it rip. Throw after throw after throw.
As a writer, you have plenty obstacles. For each one you throw at your character, remove one from your writing life! Where will you start?
.
There are 51 more Fiction Magic tricks for you to try. But only if you help Deb reach her goal.
Check out her Kickstarter and create your own magic! (Even if that includes the bugle call. But that’s not for me. I am NOT a morning person!)
After all the conferencing and considering the names submitted for two characters in Rescue on Nim’s Island, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of character names, and how we choose them. Because I have to say that I was absolutely blown away by the thought that went in to the entries. I don’t have time to count them, but they filled many pages when I printed them out, and came from Australia, Canada, the UK and USA, both from schools and individuals. I had a strong sense that most of the entries came from writers, whether child or adult, published or not, they were people who understand the significance and the joy of playing with words. There were many names that really needed a story written for them, even if they didn’t make it into this one.
Some were simply too similar to other new characters in this story. ‘Leona’ for the biologist who loves sea lions would have been perfect, and so would the Lars for the geologist – except that the story already has a Leonora and Lance. In fact Lance was originally Lars, though I can’t divulge now why I decided to change it.
There were names crediting famous scientists, and names that children felt ought to be used by scientists: ‘Pamela is a perfect name usually used by marine biologists,’ or ‘Dr Francis sounds like a smart person’s name to me.’ Whether or not we can all agree on what sounds like a scientist’s name, those are legitimate point. In real life names don’t tell us anything about someone’s intelligence or morals – but fiction is full of subtle hints (or wilful misleading…).
I’m sure there’s probably a relationship between the sharp consonants like K, the number of syllables,or the length of the vowel sounds, as to whether we see the person as sharp or gentle, round or thin. As one young poet said, ‘Raymond: the ra sound reminds me of rocks, a hard, tough name. But it ends gently, soft on the inside.’
There were suggestions based on honouring people they loved, eg ‘Paula because she’s my bus driver.’ That’s legitimate too. If the name fits, why not use it? Similarly, a girl suggested the surname of Swartz as a tribute to Schwartz Bay, where my 8 year old self saw the tiny island that she then wrote a story about… (No, this girl doesn’t know me personally, she just paid good attention to the FAQ on my website and asked a few questions). I could have easily chosen that name, but conferencing with my editors, we decided it should be something that was meaningful to more people.
One thing I sometimes do when deciding if a name fits is to check the list of most popular baby names for the year they were born, especially if they’re not a character who is meant to stand out in some way.
And, like many of the entrants, I love playing with meanings. There were many variations on Rock as both first and surname, and various Latin references to sea lions.
Possibly the hardest thing to define is whether the names fit with the tone of the story. That may have been the subconscious factor that influenced our final choices.
So… the names are: Selina Ashburn and Peter Hunterstone. This actually means there are 4 winners, as we ended up mixing and matching.
Selina means moon goddess, but sounds sea-ish. That came from children’s writer Dimity Powell.
Ashburn is the last name of the sea lion trainer who trained the three Selkies in the two films. Thanks to Katie Brock-Medland, one of the animal wranglers who worked with her while Spud, Friday and BJ were filming. Katie’s also shared this picture of Donna with me.
Peter means rock, and Hunterstone – well, isn’t that clever! The girl who thought it up is in Year (Grade) 3 in Rosebud, Australia, and the Peter, with its meaning, came from a Grade 4 boy in Michigan! I love that the full name has been made up by kids on the opposite sides of the world.
Now available!
Are you ready to write 50,000 words in one month flat?
I am.
For the first time, I will be participating in NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month.
Why this year? Here are 3 good reasons.
- Timing. My work schedule has some lag time about now and it’s convenient. That is, I want a new novel done some time next year and by banging out 50,000 words now, I’ll have a rough draft next summer instead of start from scratch. I can’t spend more than a month right now.
On the other hand, I do have other projects scheduled and I don’t have more than a month to spend on a new project. And I want to maximize my time and effort. Pouring out a full draft in a month sounds exciting.Because this is going to work really well (do you hear my optimism?), I will also be in better shape next year, when I have time to return to this story. I’ll have a draft, and revisions will be faster for the work done this year.
Trust the process. Learning to trust the process must be a life-long project for writers. Because this writer is having to do that over and over this year. So, instead of fighting the process, I’ve decided to embrace the writing process for the month of November.
Taking creative risks. Writing a novel is always a risk. In novel revision retreats, I have people walk around and congratulate each other on writing a full draft of a novel. It’s an amazing accomplishment. Each time I start a new novel, I am very aware of the risk, that this novel may be one that lands in a file drawer, or that I will abandon it and not finish. And yet, to be creative means to take risks, to reach for something new and different, and to go where “no one has gone before.” If I’m not taking risks in my work, then I’m going nowhere. But risks are scary and uncomfortable. NaNoWriMo is a contained risk: I only have to write 50,000 words and it’s only for a month. It’s risky, sure. But there’s support, others to follow, inspiration and there’s a definite end to it. I am very glad there will be an end to the month of NaNoWriMo.
Of course, getting ready for this, I’ve been reviewing my book, START YOUR NOVEL. I need to take my own advice!
Are you NaNoWriMoing? (How’s that for turning an acronym into a verb?)
Any words of encouragement for me?
By: Chandler Arnold,
on 5/7/2013
Blog:
First Book
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
dance,
school,
Books & Reading,
Education,
creative writing,
First Book,
drama,
Bill Clinton,
Kyle Zimmer,
Success Stories,
arts education,
Clinton Global Initiative,
First Book Partners,
Chandler Arnold,
Dr. Martha Bernadett,
Linda and Paul Leopoulos,
Molina Foundation,
Thea Foundation,
Thea Kay,
Thea Kay Leopoulos,
Add a tag
“If you can do one thing to prepare yourself for the future… you should spend as much time as you can with people who are different than you”. — President Bill Clinton
I recently had the opportunity to join Kyle Zimmer, First Book’s president and CEO, at a special event for the Thea Foundation. Founded by Linda and Paul Leopoulos shortly after the untimely death of their daughter Thea Kay, the Thea Foundation connects young people to the power of visual art, dance, drama, and creative writing across Arkansas and beyond.
At First Book we’re eager to learn from the success of the Thea Foundation and we hope to work with Linda, Paul and others to help bring the arts to life for all students, regardless of their economic situations, including the hundreds of thousands of children in First Book’s national network of low-income classrooms and programs.
Thea Kay Leopoulos (photo from theafoundation.org)
We know that it can make a profound difference. Paul and Linda shared Thea’s story — a typical one for many 17-year-old girls, making C’s and D’s and disliking school.
But by the end of her junior year, Thea was making A’s and B’s in difficult subjects (an A in Trigonometry!) and loving school. As they came to terms with losing their daughter, Linda and Paul sought to understand what happened in Thea’s life that caused such a drastic academic transformation.
The answer: her new involvement in visual art, dance, drama and creative writing. This made all the difference for Thea; an idea strongly supported by research.
Chandler Arnold, Bill Clinton & Kyle Zimmer celebrating the Thea Foundation
Among the educators, entrepreneurs, and arts supporters that night was President Bill Clinton, a longtime supporter of the powerful organization. Over dinner Kyle and I were able to speak with the President about a range of topics, from Thea (who the president knew well) to the Clinton Global Initiative.
The thing I’ll remember most? The President’s advice to an eight-year-old over dinner: “If you can do one thing to prepare yourself for the future… you should spend as much time as you can with people who are different than you”.
Wise advice for all of us; eight-year-olds and grown-ups alike.
Kyle also asked him if Hillary would be running for President in a few years, but we’ll keep his answer to ourselves.
NOTE: We are grateful for the generosity of Dr. Martha Bernadett of the Molina Foundation for making our participation in this event possible.
Chandler Arnold is First Book’s executive vice president.
The post What I Learned from Bill Clinton: How to Prepare Yourself for the Future appeared first on First Book Blog.
By:
Darcy Pattison,
on 4/24/2013
Blog:
Darcy Pattison's Revision Notes
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
how to create,
fiction,
novel,
point of view,
creative writing,
character,
characters,
attitude,
prompts,
Add a tag
2013 GradeReading.NET Summer Reading Lists
Keep your students reading all summer! The lists for 2nd, 3rd and 4th, include 10 recommended fiction titles and 10 recommended nonfiction titles. Printed double-sided, these one-page flyers are perfect to hand out to students, teachers, or parents. Great for PTA meetings, have on hand in the library, or to send home with students for the summer. FREE Pdf or infographic jpeg.
See the Summer Lists Now!
You know you should try writing your story in first v. third point of view, but for some reason, you put it off. Why? Because you’ve gotten a first draft of a scene or chapter and you just want to keep going.
It’s exactly the feeling that elementary school children have: “Why do I have to revise?”
Your answer is straightforward: because you are a professional writer. Revising will help you write a book.
You must find the right way to tell this story. I often say that the purpose of a first draft is to find the story, but the purpose of all other drafts is to figure out the best way to TELL that story. Pros experiment, play, explore.
Here are some explorations of character that you can complete in an hour. Just set a time for 5-10 minutes and write something on each of these. If the prompt reveals nothing, drop it. But if it strikes a chord—keep going!
- 1st v. 3rd. Write a scene using first person point of view and then rewrite it using third. If you want to play with present tense, feel free. Play!
- Attitude. Choose a scene and look to see what attitude your main character has. Maybe, s/he comes in arrogant, sad, discouraged, or excited. At the top of your page/file, write the opposite attitude and write the scene again, working to make the character’s opposite attitude work.
- Setting. Choose a scene and change the setting. If it’s in the kitchen, send your characters on a picnic. If it’s set on a spaceship, move the story to a cruise ship on the Mediterranean.
- Write a Letter. Give your main character a reason to write a letter to someone. It could be written to a family member or to a Congressman. Let your character vent, rant and cry on paper.
- Put something in your character’s hand. Put a physical object in your character’s hand. Perhaps a mother goes into a grown son’s room and picks up his old baseball glove and sits in a rocking chair and oils the glove and remembers something important about her son. Or, a grandmother is in the kitchen and getting ready to cook and pulls out an iron skillet. Write a couple paragraphs or a scene putting the object in the forefront.
- Cubing is a way of exploring a topic by looking at it from different angles. I’ve chosen just four ways, but you can think of others.
- Describe. Using the character’s voice (your choice of POV, tense, etc) describe something important in your story. Repeat with a different POV, tense, etc. if you have time.
- Compare. Using the character’s voice, compare something in your story. Maybe you want to compare what the character thinks about his/her current situation with where s/he was ten days ago. Or compare two characters. Or compare today’s supper with yesterday’s supper. Any type of comparison that makes sense for your story is grist for this mill.
- Associate. When your character thinks of roses, what does s/he think? This prompt asks you to enter your character’s point of view and make some associations. While most of your writing in a scene should be pointed, there are places where you can slow down and give the reader a glimpse of how the character’s mind works. When faced with X, s/he thinks of Y or Z.
- Analyze. What will your character do next? Stop and let him/her analyze what has just happened, thinking about the ramifications of the actions or conversations. If s/he goes this direction, what will it mean for the rest of the story? What is an alternate direction and why should s/he choose that alternate? Analyze, then let the character decide on a plan of attack for the next section of the story.
Take the time to explore your story and your storytelling choices early in your drafting process. It will probably mean fewer drafts—and a stronger story. Great trade-offs for a mere hour of work.
By:
Wendy Orr,
on 4/2/2013
Blog:
Wendy Orr's author journal
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
The Nim Stories,
creative writing,
book to film,
writing and editing,
film premiere,
Argyro Gavalas,
dress design,
dressmaking,
Return to Nim's Island,
dressing for red carpet,
Add a tag
So I may have mentioned that Return to Nim’s Island had a lovely, fun red carpet launch at the Australia Zoo? And everyone knows that walking the red carpet needs a new dress. But until I had one made, I’d never realised how much dress design had in common with writing.
I went to
ArgyroGavalas for my dress, because five years ago I walked into her factory and immediately saw the dress I wanted for the Nim’s Island premieres, one at Sea World in Queensland, and the other at the Graumann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. (My husband claims he saw it first, but I’d spotted it too, and was simply finding a couple of others to try on, because I refused to buy the very first dress I saw for something like this.)
This time Argyro, better known as Roula, said she would design me one especially. She said it had to be the opposite of the first dress; blue instead of red, and a different material. When I went to see her, I could see that her thoughts were taking shape the way a story does in my head. The fabric was the character, the pattern the plot, and the style was the tone. We found the fabric that matched what she was thinking of. When I got home I dropped my sample onto my newly arrived copy of The Nim Stories, and saw that it also exactly matched the sea on the movie-poster cover.
Surprisingly quickly, she sketched out her design, measured all sorts of things –even in my rather fantastical fiction I have to get some basic facts right – and in the next days made a pattern. I returned for the completed first draft: the pattern stitched up in a white cotton. With the dressmaker, her mother Vicky, Roula pinned and measured, turning me around, standing back and considering.
It didn’t go to quite as many drafts as most of my books, but there was a second of the real material, cut, partially stitched and pinned in place as I wore it. Sleeves were altered, recut, repined. Then a third, which was like a copy edit: it was all put together, but there were final adjustments, a bit to unstitch and redo, a dart to adjust. Then trying it on for the final time, like receiving your brand new book in the mail, when it’s too late to alter but still private. And, like the gift of seeing that new book with the shiny cover looking so much more beautiful than I’d imagined, there was the gift of the tulle petticoat, almost a crinoline, to swish underneath the skirt.
It struck me then that for Roula, it was very much like my signing off on the last edits: I’ve done the very best I can with the words, but the illustrations, the cover, the overall design are out of my control. Once the designer hands over the dress, she has no control over the belt and accessories that one chooses, the mood, the posture.
But two days later I wore it on the red carpet it was intended for, and, like the test of reading a book aloud to an audience at a book launch, knew that it worked. I felt relaxed, happy, and totally myself – and although I never thought I’d say this about a dress, the experience added something to my life. Which is exactly what I hope my readers say when they explore my books.
.jpeg?picon=3220)
By:
Keith Schoch ,
on 2/10/2013
Blog:
Teach with Picture Books
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
poems,
vocabulary,
persuasive writing,
animal reports,
poetry,
writing,
creative writing,
animals,
research,
Valentine's Day,
Add a tag
Looking for a fun writing activity that integrates well with Valentine's Day? Then look no further than Vulture Verses: Love Poems for the Unloved.This book is a funny and fact-filled collection of "friendship notes" written to some of the most unlovable creatures one could imagine. Through her poems and accompanying facts, author Diane Lang helps us see that even bats, turkey vultures, spiders, skunks, and mosquitoes (to name but a few of the animal dignitaries) deserve some love.
The friendship note to the fly, for example, reads:
Oh fly, though no one seeks to ask,
Recycling is your secret task.
You eat the things that die or spoil
And make them part of growing soil.
So, though I shoo you from my plate,
You're someone I appreciate!
Below that we read:
Flies are specialists at eating things that are dead and decaying, getting them ready to become part of new, healthy soil.
Lovely paintings by Lauren Gallegos illustrate each animal at its most industrious, making even the most scream-worthy of the lot seem noble, or, at the very least, tolerable.
Extensions:
- The book closes with a request: "So many cards to write! So many animal friends! I may need some help. Do you know someone who is misunderstood? Will you help me write friendship notes, too?" Such a fantastic suggestion! Working in pairs or teams, students can research basic facts about other unloved animals that "scuttle, slither, buzz, and sting." Why are these creature seen as so horrible? What makes them worthy of our admiration? See if your students can write similar poems to change the loathsome to the lovable. Picture books such as Melissa Stewart's marvelous Animal Grossapedia will provide ample information and inspiration for even the most reluctant writers.
- As an additional challenge, ask students to write the above poems in the first person, as if they are the animal. They must defend themselves to humans, and justify the "bad rap" which they've been given. Students could be further challenged to write these poems without naming themselves (the animal could be identified at poem's end or in the title alone). Students can then read the poems aloud, and classmates can guess the identity of the nefarious narrator.
- What role do these animals play in other stories, whether fables, myths, or folktales? With what traits have they been branded? Have students create original fables using one of the creatures from Vulture Verses: Love Poems for the Unloved, or from their research project above. See my earlier post Animal Attractions for more ideas and suggested titles for fables.
- Diane Lang uses fantastic vocabulary in both her poems and follow-up facts. Discuss some of these words and challenge students to define them, using context clues alone. Why did the author choose these and not their simpler synonyms? If students completed any of the above activities, ask them to revisit their writing to substitute words that are more exacting and creative for those which are overused or ordinary.
Do you have a favorite reading or writing activity to celebrate Valentine's Day? If so, please leave a comment below!
View Next 25 Posts
.jpg)
Really good stuff, Tara and Deb–every writer needs these at least sometimes.!
Best wishes with the campaign!
PS I shower…sometimes.
Good Luck, I can’t wait to get my hands on these cards. Just the thought of them makes my fingers fly on the keyboard!
looks she is nearly there !
Nice. I want these cards. :)
Thanks for sharing this, Tara. What a great project! I’ll be happy to help out–good luck, Deb!!
This looks like a terrific tool. Good luck in hitting your goal, Deb.
Thank you, everyone. The cards are flying—I bet I’ll reach my goal well before the end of next week when it’s all over. I can’t wait to see the difference they make in people’s manuscripts. So exciting! Thanks for being part of my team. And big thanks to Tara.
I loved your cards, Deb! I wish you all the success you deserve!
I am already a supporter of this terrific idea! Good luck, Deb!
I’m not big into “creativity decks” but this looks like a good one, perhaps because she has so much experience with what works etc. I’m thrilled you’re getting close to your goal, Deb!!!