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Howdy, Campers!
Before we get to today's Wednesday Writing Workout, I wanted to share author and bookseller Elizabeth Bluemle's latest post on her Publishers Weekly blog, ShelfTalker. It moved me. It's called "The Best Author Letter Ever."
Yes, Virginia, we--authors and teachers--can change a child's life. Here ~ in case you need to dry your eyes:
And now, on to today's
Wednesday Writing Workout! But first some background:
Last month I was fortunate to participate in the beautifully organized
Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival in Hattiesburg, Mississippi...
April Halprin Wayland, Robyn Hood Black, and Irene Latham
play with food poems for their panel,
“Take Five! Create Fun with The Poetry Friday Anthology"
photo by Beck McDowell
...where I met the wonderful
Beck McDowell,
Author Beck McDowell
...author of the eerily timely novel,
This is Not a Drill (Penguin), published just a few weeks before Sandyhook.
Beck gives us today's
NEWSPAPER STORY STARTERS
1) Give this exercise about 20 minutes.
2) Divide the class into groups of two or three.
3) Let them choose newspapers and magazines from a stack you've brought in.
4) Their job will be to select a news article and make up their own story using the article as a starting point. They'll add characters, twists, etc. to create an even more engaging story.
4) Each group elects a spokesperson. The spokesperson shares a two-to-three minute synopsis of the "story" they've outlined, beginning with what the article actually said so everyone knows their starting point and how the group changed it.
Beck says, "...
you're demonstrating where ideas come from and how a real event can trigger a story idea that's ultimately totally different from the original."
Thank you, Beck!
Monkey combs his favorite paper for story ideas
P.S: My
Writing Picture Books for Children class in the UCLA Extension Writers Program (which I've taught since 1999) started this week. I hope to use the newspaper exercise in class this quarter. Let me
know how it works! And if you have any suggestions on how to make it more effective, my students will be most grateful--
please take a moment to scribble a comment!
Finally, don't forget: there's still time to enter our blogiversary
giveaway for a chance to win one of four $25 gift cards to Anderson's
Bookshops.
See this post for details.
And after you've entered, take five minutes and do a free write. Remember to breathe...and to write for the fun of it ~
picture of Monkey and drawing of dancer by April Halprin Wayland.
posted by April Halprin Wayland 
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Howdy, Campers ~ Happy Poetry Friday!
...and if it's at Jama's it's sure to be tasty!
For my last post of 2012, I'm going to break from our series on publishing opportunities (see
Esther's last
two posts and
Carmela's post, with more to come!)...
I've been thinking about my family and our, well,
interesting year (especially the part about
my husband dying of a heart attack and being brought back and now being completely and miraculously fine); about hard times and hope, about sunrises, candles, glowing kitchen windows at night, and about the dark of winter and the glint of winter sunlight.
WINTER SOLSTICE: GIRL TALKING TO THE SUN
by April Halprin Wayland
On a hard day's chill,
when my heart stands still,
Sun, oh, Sun, where do you disappear?
Then Sun answers me,
answers quietly,
Look around, little girl, I am here, I am here.
© 2012 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved
I am Jewish; I just recently learned that the fifth night of
Hanukkah (which can be
spelled many ways) is the first night in which there are more flames than darkness, more candles lit than unlit, and represents the triumph of light over darkness.
I love that.
Okay...ready for today's writing workout, Campers?
WRITING WORKOUT: A Light in the Darkness
1) Take a cozy moment to scribble ten ideas triggered by the phrase, "a light in the darkness" or by the 1:06 minute video above. Jot down memories, images, or the name of someone in particular who helped light your way in a dark time.
2) Consider imitating the rhyme scheme of the poem above:
A/A/B
C/C/B
3) Or write a 100-word story.
3) Or write forget #2 and #3 and write the poem or story you were meant to write today.
4) Write like a little kid who is so jumpy-excited to get a piece of paper and a pencil she can barely sit still. Give that little kid a chance; let's see what gift she creates for you this holiday season!
And speaking of gifts, don't forget to enter to win a gift for yourself or for some lucky teacher in your life: an autographed copy of JoAnn Early Macken's, Write a Poem Step by Step. I have her book and it's terrific! See JoAnn's guest post for details.
Not actually in Southern California where I live,
but in Phoenix, several years ago.
Still, a pretty note of light and hope
with which to end the year...
Happy Holidays One and All!
No matter how you came to this blog post today, by chance,
by intention,
or simply by Good Luck,
may I be the first to wish you Happy Random Acts of Kindness Day!
Yes, you read that right: February 17 is Happy Random Acts of Kindness Day.
Not to worry if you didn’t know this fact.
I know I didn’t, until I turned to today’s date in my copy of Eileen and Jerry Spinelli’s newest book,
today I will (Knopf, 2009).
I’d been savoring the moment (translate: assigned blog posting date and subject matter) to kindly share this newly-published small but useful and inspiring book with TeachingAuthors readers and writers.
Today’s post became that random moment.
How perfect is that!
I ardently believe in Paying Kindness Forward.
I practice it daily.
I believe in Good Karma.
So consider this introduction to the Spinellis’ book my February 17 Act of Kindness.
FYI: February 15 through 20 has been designated Random Acts of Kindness Week!
Googling left me thinking the
Acts of Kindness Foundation was behind the designation.
No matter the Who, though, or even the How: I’m smiling and paying kindness forward to
you.I’d purchased the Spinellis’ book fully intending to use it as a journal-writing tool with my Young Writers.
The review blurb highlighted the book’s simplicity. In a single page entry for each day of the year, the Spinellis
(1) share a quote from a children’s book, referencing the title and author;
(2) reflect meaningfully on the quote;
(3) make a “today I will….” promise that relates to that reflection.
The February 17th quote?
4 Comments on Happy Random Acts of Kindness Day!, last added: 2/17/2010
I began a new Young Writer's workshop this past weekend with some middle schoolers who are pretty sophisticated writers. Excited? You bet I was! These kids were ready for some serious writing work. I passed out composition books and pencils.
"We are going to keep writer's journals," I announced.
Silence. Expressionless faces.
Oops. I recognized my error. In our local school system,
journals are used to strengthen writing skills, and focus the student's attention to the subject at hand. Every single day. By middle school, they are journaling five or six times a day, as they move from classroom to classroom.
I know that teachers have specific testing goals to meet in spelling, grammar and punctuation. Creative writing?
Not so much.
I don't know how our school district fares on standardized writing tests, but I do know one side effect of daily classroom journaling; fear and loathing of "journaling."
Back to my polite little writers, whose enthusiasm I squashed in the first five minutes by using the "j" word. I backpeddled rapidly.
"OK, not really journaling," I said. "More like um...um..."
Great.
I'm the writer, and
I can't think of the right word for what I wanted them to do with those composition books.
"Blogging?" my teenage assistant suggested.
"Um...no." For one thing, there are no computers available for the workshop.
I wanted to say "diary," but that's not right either. Diaries show you just how boring your life is. A day-by-day chronicle of my life reads like the old Cheech and Chong comedy routine about "What I Did on My Summer Vacation." To paraphrase, "The first day, I got up, I got dressed, I ate breakfast. Then I went downtown to look for a job. Day two, I got up, I got dressed, I ate breakfast...."
In my childhood diaries, I wrote whatever I was thinking or feeling at the moment. Writing them comforted me. I might also add that I was an only child and didn't have to worry about a sibling digging through my inner musings.
But I digress. My Young Writers were still waiting for me to say the magic word.
"Let's notebook," I said.
Nobody flinched at my use of a noun as a verb. Encouraged, I made up some more "writerspeak." I knew I couldn't use the "p" word, either. (That would be "prompt.") Prompts leave me staring at an empty screen or page, feeling frustrated at my inability to cough up creativity on demand. But I
am good at finishing sentences...both my own and those of other people.
"Finish this sentence," I said. "Just write the first that you think of. No hard thinking allowed.
Sometimes I wonder...'"
Scribble scribble scribble. The writers finished, and looked at me for further wisdom.
"Now keep writing about that until I tell you to stop. If you can't think of anything, just keep writing 'I can't think of anything to write'. Sooner or later you will come up with something."
Yes, this is just another way of re-packaging a "free write." Say "free write" to me and watch me do a Wile E. Coyote, freezing in mid-air, just before i plummet off the creative cliff. Free writes are just a little
too "free" for me, and for most students that I encounter. There should be boundaries. That's boundaries...not walls. Less is more.
Since I do the exercises along with my students, I wrote the first thing that came to mind....I wonder what it would be like to vacation in space? From there I rambled on about a cruise ship-like space vehicle, with room service and a gift shop that sold t-shirts that said "My parents went to Saturn and all I got was this crummy t-shirt."
My workshoppers were considerably more serious. Their "wonderings" were about Big Life Issues. Just as I hoped, by the end of the allotted five minutes, they had moved from personal "wondering", to conjecture, which is the step before diving into fiction.
"Let's do another one," the group chorused. OK, maybe they didn't
chorus, but they were certainly having fun. While I never insist that anyone "share with the group" (or even with me, privately) if they don't want to, this group
wanted to. So we
shared, and did more open ended prom...um...
sentences. I've never had so much fun with a writing workshop. At least not one
I was leading!
By the end of the afternoon, each writer had several pages of raw writing, compost for future projects, and the bare bones of a short story.
And I will never have to use the "j" word again.
We are "notebooking."
Writing Workout The point of "composting" is not
just to give the writer material for future use; it helps to engage the hand and brain simultaneously. That's trickier than it sounds, since most of us are so used to writing on a computer, mindlessly adding, deleting and Spell-checking. As my students complain "My mind works faster than I can move a pencil." Ah ha! That means you have to slow down, and think while you are writing. (Thinking--that undervalued writing skill!)
Here are some of the open ended prompts I used. The second part of the part of the prompt is always "now keep writing." (Usually for five minutes, depending on the group.)
My favorite food is.... Describe without using the sense of sight.If I could invite one person to supper, famous or not, living or dead, I would invite.....(I know; this is just a variation of the "who do you admire most?' prompt, but this seems to work better, creatively speaking.)
When I was five, my favorite toy was....I really wish that... What really makes me laugh is.... The one thing I could really live without is....(or)
The one thing I can't live without is... If could be someone else for a day it would be...
I'd love to hear
your open-end prompts. (Sorry, no prize involved here. I'm just interested in hearing from
you.)
What I'm Reading.Adult Non-fiction:
Anne Frank: The Diary, the Life, the Afterlife by Francine Prose.
YA Fiction:
Purple Heart by Patricia McCormack,
Comfort by Joyce Moyer Hostetter,
Mary Ann
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Hi April! Thank you for the inspiring, marvelous story of the 'spectacles'! My daughter, now grown, would have loved that book, too. What a joy to receive such a letter! Thanks also for the newspaper idea. I will share with my colleagues!
I love that exercise. Thank you so much for sharing.
It was such an honor to share Hattiesburg with you, April! And hang out again with Beck. She knows her stuff and knows what works with students, for sure.
Thanks for sharing all of this today - I know your newest UCLA students will be in for a wonderful class.
Thanks for the pat on the back re: my class, Robyn. Every new class is exciting and, well, NEW! As if I'm inventing everything all over again!
And Linda, Linda, Linda--it's always wonderful to see you here. Thanks for reading and commenting, both.
Pen N Ink...if you end up trying this exercise, feedback would be fab!