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At a recent training on fluency, I found myself discussing strategies about how to help the “racing reader” — the reader who, when asked to read aloud, whips through the text on a page as fast as possible. One of the key strategies that I discussed with the tutors that I coach was building awareness of the purpose of punctuation with all young readers. This suggestion sparked a conversation about how punctuation, and grammar more broadly, gets taught in schools.

Far too often, punctuation instruction is delivered through grammar worksheets or exercises that ask students to choose the correct ending punctuation for a sentence, to put commas in appropriate places, or to correct incorrect punctuation usage in a given passage. When discussing punctuation in the context of fluency, we often teach readers to raise their voices when they encounter a question mark, but less frequently discuss why the author chose to use a question mark there in the first place. Rarely are students clued into the real reason they should give a hoot about punctuation: those symbols on the page are a road map given by a writer to help a reader understand how to read their words.

Luckily, a number of books exist that can be used with writers of all ages to highlight the essential role that punctuation plays in written communication and to foster this deeper understanding of punctuation.

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss
This highly entertaining book shows how miscommunication can abound when commas don’t send the right signals to readers. As she writes in the introduction: “You might want to eat a huge hot dog, but a huge, hot dog would run away pretty quickly if you tried to take a bite out of him.” Truss also has two other titles The Girl’s Like Spaghetti (apostrophes) and Twenty-Odd Ducks (mixed punctuation) that employ the same humorous approach to punctuation.

Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver, illustrated by Lynn Rowe Reed
What will happen when punctuation decides to take a break? As the punctuation marks go on strike because they feel underappreciated, Pulver’s book illustrates the challenges in communicating clearly when punctuation isn’t an option. The book lends itself to a number of follow-up activities where students could attempt to communicate a message without the use of punctuation.

Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka
While not specifically focused on punctuation, Yo! Yes? explores the ways in which meaning can be conveyed or altered through the inflections in our voices that punctuation signals us to make and could serve as a great jumping off point for discussions about why authors choose a specific punctuation symbol at a certain time.

By using children’s literature as an entry point into grammar lessons, students can develop a richer understanding of the why behind punctuation, an understanding they can then use to hone their own skills as writers and fluent readers.

The post Punctuation: the junction between reading and writing appeared first on The Horn Book.

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In the Age of Testing, it seems creativity is often left by the wayside. Professional development for teachers these days focuses on practices that supposedly raise test scores. Practice questions. Test-prep software. Data analysis. Incentives.

To make room for these practices, it seems that many high schools no longer teach creative writing. We teach reading and writing to prepare students for college (and tests), which means argument, research, and analysis. Yet, stories remain an object of study, so there’s no denying they’ve retained their cultural value even if we’ve stopped writing them in the classroom.

Just imagine if we stopped going nuts about test proficiency and instead aimed to inspire children to love and value stories so much that they want to create them.

I think there’s a tremendous loss in that many (possibly most) schools do not have this mindset.

Writing fiction is instructive in itself. Writing a story helps one understand plot. Creating a symbol helps one analyze symbolism. Proofreading a piece in hopes of publication motivates one to master Standard English conventions. Writing a story gives context and meaning to skills that are often taught devoid of either.

Beyond the lost opportunity for instruction, I think a more insidious effect is that we lose potential authors. And since test prep reigns supreme in the inner-city, where test scores tend to be low but racial and socioeconomic diversity tends to be high, this equates to the loss of potential authors of color.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing authors of color in the writing community today, both published and unpublished. Yet I don’t think anyone would claim that the publishing world — at any level — has arrived at a place where it accurately reflects the world we live in.

But if we push for more creative writing in schools — especially in schools with underrepresented populations — I think we will eventually see more diverse writers emerge. And more diverse writers will lead to more diverse stories in agents’ submission folders, in editors’ hands, and on bookshelves. And that, I believe, has far more potential to transform children’s lives than any standardized test.

The post We need (more) diverse authors appeared first on The Horn Book.

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People understand that it takes creativity to write fiction.  But many don’t understand that it also takes creativity to write nonfiction.   As a nonfiction author I write true stories-but they are still stories.  When teaching students or teachers how to write nonfiction, I explain it like this: 

Nonfiction is based on facts found in primary source documents.  How an author uses those facts is what makes the difference between text that reads like a novel or a textbook.  The creative part of writing nonfiction is finding a way to keep the reader turning pages to see what happens next-and at the same time telling the story accurately.  To accomplish this goal, I use fiction techniques such as dialogue, sensory details, foreshadowing, pacing and all the rest. 

Let’s look at just one fiction technique I use in nonfiction books:  dialogue.  In my books, the dialogue comes from direct quotes from documented primary sources.  Teachers, students and readers can go to source notes in the back matter to see exactly where the quote was found. 

I use a direct quote to accomplish one of three things:

1. To show characterization
2. To increase tension
3. To have greater impact

Below are a few examples from my books that demonstration how I used quotes as dialogue.  

 

To show characterization:

“Kevin Turner, a former NFL player, still remembers the excitement of his high school football days. He recalls, “When I woke up on game day. I couldn’t wait until it was time for the kickoff. Wearing my jersey to school on game day was a big part of the experience. At game time, when I ran out on the field and heard the announcer call my name in the starting lineup, it was a rush, like nothing else. It was like having Christmas sixteen times a year. My parents were proud of me. Nearly everyone in our small town was cheering in the stands and spontaneously reacting to what happened on the fields. It was magical.”

To increase tension:

In this scene from Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium (FSG), I am showing this famous scientist at a difficult moment in her life.  At the same time Curie was planning to build the Radium Institute, the shed where she and her late husband, Pierre, discovered radium was going to be torn down.   I quoted Marie Curie’s own words about how she felt about visiting the shed for the last time.   

“I made my last pilgrimage there, alas, alone.  On the blackboard there was still the writing of him who had been the soul of the place; the humble refuge for his research was all impregnated with his memory.  The cruel reality seemed some bad dream; I almost expected to see the tall figure appear, and to hear the sound of the familiar voice.”

To have greater impact:

Varian Fry, an American journalist, volunteered to go to Marseilles, France, in 1940 to rescue refugees from the Nazis.  This scene from In Defiance of Hitler: The Secret Mission of Varian Fry (FSG), is about the moment he arrives in the city.  Fry wrote about this moment, so I chose to quote the entire segment exactly as he wrote it because his own words had greater impact than if I had paraphrased what happened.   

“’Aha, an American,’ he said in a gravel-rough voice.
“Yes,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm.
“Marseilles is like your New York City at rush hour, eh?”  he said, smiling. 
I smiled back.  “Quite a mob,” I said. 
“Refugees.  Pouring down from the north,” he said.  “We would like to pour them back.  But the Boches [Germans] have occupied Paris.  So the refugees all run to Marseille to hide, or maybe sneak across the border.  But they won’t escape.  Sooner of later we arrest all the illegal ones.”  He smiled again. 
“Too bad for them,” I said.
“Too bad for them; too bad for us!”  He gave me my passport.  Enjoy your stay in our country,” he said.  “But why you visit us at this unsettled time, I don’t know.”
His eyes narrowed, and I thought he looked at me suspiciously.  But as I went out through the gate, I decided it was my imagination.  He knew nothing of the lists in my pockets, nor did he know I had come to smuggle out of France the people whose names were on those lists.”

All three at once:

Many times, one quote like the example below accomplishes all three goals of characterization, tension and greater impact at the same time.  The following section from The Many Faces of George Washington: Remaking a Presidential Icon (Carolrhoda) shows Washington in the days leading up to the historic crossing of the Delaware.  
  
“The Continental Army was in real trouble. At the beginning of the war, most soldiers had enlisted for short periods of time. Now that things were going badly, they left as soon as their enlistment commitment expired. At the beginning of December 1776, about half of Washington’s men went home.  He knew that the enlistment for many more would expire at the end of the month. General Washington had to do something fast to raise the moral of his men, or he would soon have no army to lead. David Ackerson, one of his commanders, recalled seeing General Washington at this time saying, “he was standing near a small camp-fire, evidently lost in thought and making no effort to keep warm . . . His mouth was his strong feature, the lips being always tightly compressed. That day they were compressed so tightly as to be painful to look at.”


Carla Killough McClafferty

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Back on October 10th, I had the privilege of attending the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award ceremony. During the celebration, honorees and winners came to the podium to receive their awards and address the audience. Needless to say, I was star struck to be in the room with the likes of Steve Jenkins, Gene Luen Yang, Peter Brown, and Steve Sheinkin, among others.

Once I managed to regain my composure, I listened carefully to the content of their speeches. Patricia Hruby Powell, spoke to the power of dance in her own life as one of the connections that led her to craft the beautiful Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker. Andrew Smith shocked us all when he told us that Grasshopper Jungle was written the summer he decided to “quit being a writer.” Nevertheless, he completed it because the manuscript helped him strengthen his connection to his son who had recently left for college. Peter Brown made us laugh as he joked about managing to slip nudity into a picture book (see the centerfold page where Mr. Tiger returns to his birthday suit!) in partial protest of the fact that Babar the elephant, a favorite character from childhood, walks naked into a department store only to emerge one page later inexplicably dressed in a suit walking upright!

But the speech that resonated most profoundly with me was the one given by Steve Sheinkin who talked about his book, The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny and the Fight for Civil Rights. He told us that his brother-in-law (I believe) piqued his interest by mentioning the Port Chicago disaster several years earlier. Once he heard about it, Sheinkin simply could not let it go. His desire to understand what had happened to the 50 African American navy sailors charged with mutiny for refusing to work under extraordinarily dangerous conditions became an exciting mystery he had to unravel. He spoke of the thrill of meeting the only other author who had ever written about the incident and sharing his source material. He described the exhilaration of traveling to interview those sailors who were still living and ready to share their story five decades later. You could not sit in the audience that night and not feel Sheinkin’s excitement. It was clear that the pursuit of this mystery, the unlocking of the clues one by one, moved him deeply.

As I listened to Sheinkin and the other authors speak that night, I was reminded how exciting it can be to consider the writer behind the text. There is no doubt that the texts alone merit attention. But understanding that authors are driven by the same goals, hopes and humor as regular humans is a really powerful lesson for kids.

In my years as a teacher and a coach, I have often spoken of author study — where we read multiple texts by a single author in an effort to understand craft, theme, style, etc. We generally supplement our author study with biographical information about the author. I would never want to give that up as teacher.

But imagine highlighting for our students the writers’ stories behind the stories. What an amazing way to draw kids into their own writing. These authors’ stories went beyond simple topics of interest. They revealed how essential elements of who they were as people drove them into and through their writing — Brown’s humor, Sheinkin’s need to uncover, Smith’s desire for connection. I want all my students to know that who they are can propel their writing.

As an educator, I am eager to explore authentic ways to let my students listen behind the book. But, I’m not sure entirely how. Any thoughts about how to bring writer’s voices regularly into our writing workshops?

 

The post Behind the book appeared first on The Horn Book.

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Dear Mr. Henshaw, a Newbery medal-winning book by Beverly Cleary, is a great way to get students to think about some of the therapeutic benefits of writing. Of course, you don’t have to mention how helpful writing can be when you need to sort out feelings but you can let students figure this out on their own as they read the book.

Leigh Botts writes to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, as part of a school assignment and when the author writes back and asks Lee questions, his mother says he has to respond. Through his correspondence with Mr. Henshaw Lee learns about accepting life’s difficulties and — with the encouragement of Mr. Henshaw — starts to keep a journal.

In addition to coping with his parents’ divorce and missing his father, Leigh also deals with moving, adjusting to a new school, and having his lunch continually stolen — certainly timeless topics.

While some children may not think of writing letters to an author, they may keep a journal or know someone who keeps one. There are a lot of projects that can be added to the study of this book, including writing letters or journal entries as one of the characters. Students could also write to offer advice to the characters. Introducing students to the basic format of a personal letter (or e-mail) will provide valuable experience.

Mr. Henshaw certainly proves to be more interesting (and interested) that Leigh probably imagined. Reading this book could also foster discussion about the kinds of people your students admire (authors, celebrities, athletes) and what makes a person worthy of admiration. Ask if there are any local, “hometown heroes” that your students admire in addition to people who are nationally or internationally famous.

One of the many takeaways from the book for adults is that adults encourage Leigh to write and while he is hesitant at first, it grows on him. Students who would not write on their own may learn to enjoy it more if a teacher or parent lays the groundwork for them to get comfortable first.

The post Using Dear Mr. Henshaw to encourage students to write appeared first on The Horn Book.

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I suppose I am a “writing person.” I study it, and teach it, and teach about teaching it pretty regularly. The most common question I get, over and over, no matter what level teachers I am with, is about the best way to teach conventions.

In my experience, teachers have often tried things they don’t feel that great about, and they are looking for new strategies. One tactic I love that is used less often in the upper grades, is to use mentor texts to teach about technical features, which leads me to M. T. Anderson as a punctuation teacher.

I’m not sure how he’d feel about that label, and it certainly isn’t the first thing I want to talk about when discussing his books. But no one is more masterful at punctuating sentences to find a very particular character’s voice. He writes a shifting mix of simply structured, infrequently punctuated sentences mixed with purposeful run-ons here and there to give that fractured feel of being disconnected in Feed. Or he uses long sentences with highly academic uses of punctuation marks to give that classically-trained, high brow feel in the Octavian Nothing books. Each set of punctuation decisions makes you read in a particular way, and each is precisely and perfectly matched to the story being told.

I think too often we give students the idea that there is a right way to punctuate their work or a wrong way, but that feels limiting. With any idea, there are bunches of right ways to use punctuation, as well as a slew that don’t work as well. Part of the fun of writing is making those choices, and I hope students get to have that sort of fun in our classes by learning from great writers.  And if we get pulled into reading more M. T. Anderson as a happy side effect, well, so much the better.

The post M. T. Anderson is my favorite punctuation teacher appeared first on The Horn Book.

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I'm not often lost for words (obviously a jolly good thing in a writer) but tonight I was asked a question about writing I didn't know how to answer. As you might already know, I teach Writing For Children at City University and we're approaching the end of the course, where the students are preparing to submit a piece of writing to me for feedback. And this evening, one of my students told me he had been reading a how to write book and one of the things it had apparently advised was to avoid 'friendly uncle' type characters in your stories as these could be perceived as immunising children against the risks of potential child abuse. Should he cut the mad professor character he had in his story, my student wanted to know, in case it was taken the wrong way and it went against him when being read by agents and editors?

My first reaction (after a startled, 'What?') was disbelief that any writing book would advise this. Then I started to think about it and I could kind of see what the book was getting at but still found it mind-boggling that anyone would come away from any of the children's book I've read with that thought uppermost in their mind. There are hundreds (thousands) of innocent characters in books whose actions could be misconstrued if you chose to see them in that light - does that mean that they shouldn't exist? Or is it offensive to friendly uncles and men in books everywhere to tar them with this horrible brush?

I failed to come up with a satisfactory answer to the question, partly because I was struggling to get my head around the idea. I advised the student not to get too bogged down in that kind of advice - to write the story and the characters the way he sees them in his head and not allow them to be subject to the projected interpretations of adults. I also said it might be a nice idea to make his nutty professor a woman, since it's a reasonable subversion of a well-used trope and side-steps the whole issue. But I walked away uneasy. Obviously, we have a responsibility to our young audience when we write. How far should we take that responsibility?

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Breaking News:

April's poem, "When Mom Plays Just for Me" will appear on Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt's homepage www.PoetryMinute.org at 8:00am Eastern Time on Thursday, October 3 and will remain there for 24 hours, when it will be replaced by another poem. (April's poem will remain on the site but not on the home page.)  Its permanent link (which won't work until 10-3-13):
http://www.poetryminute.org/when-mom-plays-just-for-me-by-april-halprin-wayland/

Howdy Campers!

Remember to enter our current giveaway of Alexis O'Neill's book, The Kite That Bridged Two Nations ~

Welcome to another edition of TeachingAuthors'...

~ posted by April Halprin Wayland who is no longer afraid of Tom P, from second grade.

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Howdy Campers and happy Poetry Friday!

See the end of this post for a link to the Poetry Friday round-up at Amy LV's and for info on our Book Giveaway.

Today we're celebrating author Alexis O'Neill's newest book with Book Giveaway! Hark!  Here comes Alexis now:

Yes, that's Alexis wearing the crown--and she deserves it as the author of THE RECESS QUEEN (Scholastic), THE WORST BEST FRIEND (Scholastic), LOUD EMILY (Simon and Schuster), ESTELA'S SWAP (Lee & Low) and her newest offspring, THE KITE THAT BRIDGED TWO NATIONS: Homan Walsh And The First Niagara Suspension Bridge (Calkins Creek). She's also written fiction and nonfiction for Cricket, Spider, Cobblestone, Calliope, Faces, and Odyssey. 

I've known Alexis since Janet Wong founded the Children's Authors Network (CAN!) during the classical era of the children's literature movement.

Alexis is an absolutely amazing teacher.  In one memorable workshop, she taught CAN! authors how to create and present teacher inservices.  It was an extraordinary presentation and it formed how I respond and present to teachers to this day.

Alexis has golden credentials in the field of education: she's a former elementary teacher with a Ph.D. in teacher education, she's an instructor for the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, a museum education consultant, a Regional Advisor for SCBWI in California, and a contributor to the SCBWI Bulletin, writing her column, “The Truth About School Visits.” Her blog, www.SchoolVisitExperts.com, offers practical advice to published authors and illustrators who are trying to navigate the world of public appearances.

This August, she was named SCBWI Member of the Year --and though it was a complete surprise to her (though to no one else), she sang a sea shanty as she accepted the award.

Because that's who Alexis is--generous, original and dramatic.  It's as if her goal is always to bring the classroom, the auditorium, fellow authors--whoever is around--together.  As if she is a shepherd and we are the community she's teaching and keeping safe.

Her new book, THE KITE THAT BRIDGED TWO NATIONS: HOMAN WALSH AND THE FIRST NIAGARA SUSPENSION BRIDGE (Calkins Creek, September 2013) tells the true, dramatic story of how an ordinary boy earned an extraordinary place in history, using his kite to lay the first line for the first suspension bridge at Niagara Falls in the winter of 1848.  Watch this 1:42 minute book trailer for a taste of the book:



So, Alexis, how did you become a TeachingAuthor?

I’ve been a TeachingAuthor all my life! As a kid, I convinced my dad to hang a blackboard in the garage and persuaded the neighborhood kids to sit in my “class.” After school, I wrote (and sold) a neighborhood newspaper which I composed on my mom’s portable typewriter. As a grown up, I’ve taught elementary school students, teacher education candidates, and, as a published author, writers.

What's a common problem/question that teachers or students have and how do you address it?

Students of all ages are so afraid of being “wrong.” My advice to them is to just play with words! Don’t worry about what other people think of your work. Can’t find a word? Make it up! Or make a mark to come back to that spot later. Just mess around, and in that mess, you might find the seed of an idea that can sprout into a full-blown piece of writing that you will want to share later on. To address this problem when we do writing exercises, I tell students up front that no one will collect their writing – and that they can decide when and what they will share with the group.

Was there a moment in your life when you knew you were a writer?

The moment I knew I was a writer was when my sixth grade teacher read my report on Ireland out loud to the class. Instead of a dry, factual presentation, I had “pretended,” in my narrative, to be a tour guide who was taking the whole class with her on a trip. First, I was surprised that he read it out loud, then I was really surprised when, at recess, my classmates came up to me and said how much they liked what I had written. That’s when a big light bulb went on over my head. “Wow! I can write for an audience, and not just for my teacher!” I thought.

From that moment on, I made all of my reports as creative as possible. For example, my report on the Alamo was told from the point of view of the only survivor (there were none in reality, but that didn’t stop me.) Now I know I was writing historical fiction. But I kept doing this, and teachers kept reading my work out loud in my classes. The birth of a writer – writing for an audience and not just for a grade from my teachers!

And finally, since it's Poetry Friday in the Kidlitosphere, do you have an original poem you'd like to share with our readers?

THE FALLS
by Alexis O'Neill

I am thunder and roar
I am rain and river
Green and white magnificence.
You try to tame me
and you fail.
In barrel and boat
I spin you,
plunge you
crush you,
drown you.
A filmy fairy curtain?
Not I!
A lacy veil?
Not I!
I gnaw at rock
bite through cliffs
claw the very bed
across which I race
oceanward.
Out of my way!
I am the great Niagara

poem © 2013 Alexis O’Neill.  All rights reserved

Wow--what a powerful waterfall of words! Thank you for stopping by and thank you for offering our readers a chance to win a copy of your new book (details below), Alexis!

Here's a peek at Alexis's touring schedule for A Kite that Bridged Two Nations.  Be sure to visit her at  AlexisONeill.com, follow her on Twitter, and friend her on FaceBook.                                                   
And now, for the Book Giveaway details:

We use Rafflecopter. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, you may want to read their info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and/or the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

To enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of The Kite That Bridged Two Nations log into Rafflecopter below (via either Facebook or an email address). You'll see that we've provided three different options for entering the giveaway--you can pick one or up to all three. The more options you choose, the greater your chances of winning. While we haven't made it a requirement for entering, we hope that everyone will WANT to subscribe to the TeachingAuthors blog. We give you several ways of doing so in the sidebar, for example, via email, Facebook Networked Blogs, Jacketflap, Bloglovin', etc.

If you're already a TeachingAuthors subscriber, you need only click on the first option below and tell us how you follow our blog, which will give you THREE entries in the giveaway! (If you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter giveaway link below to enter.)

As it says in the "Terms and Conditions," this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. You must be 18 or older to enter. And please note: email addresses will only be used to contact winners. The giveaway will run from now through October 9, 2013.

If you have any questions about the giveaway, feel free to email us at teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com. 
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted by April Halprin Wayland with help from the Link Fairy.

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Howdy, Campers! Betsy H. is hosting Poetry Friday today at I Think in Poems. Thank you, Betsy!

At the end of this post are:
1) the details of today's Book Giveaway of an autographed book by verse novelist Sonya Sones;
2) one of Sonya's deliciously enigmatic poems.

However, if you came here to meet Sonya and learn all about her newest YA novel, I'm sorry to say you'll be disappointed.  Sonya just called--she had a dental appointment and couldn't be here today.

I lied.  Sonya doesn't need to see the dentist--her teeth are gleaming!  Say hello to my long-time friend, critique buddy, fab author and poet, Sonya Sones:
 

When it was Sonya's turn to host, she surprised us by hiring a drummer who gave each of us a drum and taught us different rhythms for an hour!  An unforgettable way to instruct and inspire.
She continues to inspire me, always thinking of new ways of telling a story.  I'll never forget the day Sonya said she'd decided to write a novel in verse with an unreliable narrator.  I was lucky to witness the unfolding of what became To Be Perfectly Honest (A Novel Based on an Untrue Story).

Here's a bit of what School Library Journal says about this book:
"Sones captures the ache of first love. Readers may find themselves laughing, crying, and wanting to believe the unreliable, well-developed narrator. Excerpts may make for a stepping stone to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Like Shakespeare’s play, this title lends itself to discussion about healthy relationships, setting limits, defining oneself, and evaluating what is real. Fast paced and great for reluctant readers.”

Sonya!  Welcome to TeachingAuthors' humble abode!  How did you officially become a TeachingAuthor?
I officially became a teaching author the day I volunteered to teach a poetry writing workshop to my son’s fourth grade class. I gave each student a donut and told them they couldn’t eat it until they gave me a simile to describe it. The rest is history.

Besides bringing donuts, what's one piece of advice you have for teachers?

Make poetry fun! Don’t only expose your students to classic poetry. I teach workshops to middle-schoolers and high-schoolers, and I find that they respond with more enthusiasm to current poetry. There’s a very funny poem by Billy Collins called “Introduction to Poetry,” about tying a poem to a chair and trying to beat a confession out of it, that might be a good place to start. There’s another one called “Pearl” by Dorianne Laux, which is a fabulous portrait of Janice Joplin. Try reading that poem to them and challenging them to write a poem about their own favorite musician. And there’s a great very short love poem by Eve Merriam called “New Love.”

Don’t force students to memorize and analyze. If you choose the right poems, your students will feel the words washing over them like a cool ocean breeze on a broiling hot day. Your goal should be to teach them how to love poetry, not how to “understand” it.

Whoops. Was that more than one piece of advice?


Who's counting?  Please tell us the Cinderella story of how you sold your first book.

I didn’t sell my first book. Or my second book. Or my third. That was when I decided to enroll in a poetry class at UCLA extension taught by the brilliant Myra Cohn Livingston. She set me on the path to writing Stop Pretending. I finished it just before the annual SCBWI conference in Century City and brought my manuscript with me. There, I attended a presentation by a very young  agent  (he was only 24 years old!) named Steven Malk who gave a speech about why you should have an agent if you wrote or illustrated for kids. Then halfway through the speech, he switched over to talking about why that agent should be him. He was so persuasive that after his talk 75 authors ran up to him to ask for his business card. But I hung back, not wanting to crowd him.

Later that day, however, I found myself in the lobby, and there he was, standing all by himself.  Even so, a friend had to convince me to go up and talk to him. But I finally did and I said, “I wrote a book about what happened when my big sister was sent to a mental hospital, it’s written in verse, it’s sort of edgy, and I was wondering if I could send it to you.” He said, “Okay.” And that was it. A twenty second conversation. I mailed it to him on Wednesday. He called me on Friday to tell me how much he liked it. And by the following Wednesday he had a bidding war going. That week remains one of the most astonishing and exhilarating times of my entire life.

I love that story.  And now I've learned that To Be Perfectly Honest (A Novel Based on an Untrue Story) is also available as an audiobook in CDs and MP3, narrated by Kate Rudd, who also narrated John Greene's The Fault in Our Stars.   

I want your life!
What's on the horizon for you?

A lot of traveling! Simon and Schuster is sending me on a book tour: Chicago, D.C., Miami, San Francisco, Menlo Park, Pasadena, Ontario, Raleigh and Phoenix. Then, in October, I’ll be going to Hong Kong where I’ve been invited by Hong Kong Baptist University to participate in an International Writer’s Workshop for a month. I’ve never been to that part of the world, and I’m very much looking forward to this grand adventure. And wherever I go, I will be scanning the horizon for stories…
 
Oh my gosh!  I'm exhausted just reading your itinerary!  I know you'll meet interesting folks on the way!

And finally, since it's Poetry Friday in the Kidlitosphere, please share a poem!

This is the first poem from To Be Perfectly Honest (A Novel Based on an Untrue Story):

They Tell Me There Was an Accident
by Sonya Sones

Though I can’t
remember it happening.
Here’s what I do remember:

I remember climbing into a limo
with my little brother Will to visit our mom
on the set of her latest film.

It smelled
like someone had been
smoking pot in there.

Or maybe drinking champagne.
Or throwing up.
Or all three.

Sort of like
our living room
after one of Mom’s all-night parties.

I remember
rolling down the window
for some breathable air

while Will bounced around,
like he always does
when we’re in a limo,

telling me
one goofy knock-knock joke
after another.

I remember turning onto Sunset Boulevard,
and seeing a massive billboard
of a guy wearing nothing but jeans—

his fly unzipped
just low enough
to make me look twice.

Will saw it too.
He grinned at me and lisped through the gap
where his baby teeth used to be, “Thex thells!”

Sex sells?
How does a seven-year-old even know that?
I was just about to ask him—

but I never got the chance. 
poem © 2013 Sonya Sones. All rights reserved

Newsflash: Sonya's own three-book box set of trade paperbacks, The Sonya Sones Collection, will be released the same day To Be Perfectly Honest (A Novel Based on an Untrue Story) comes out. Sonya's comment: "Wow...a new boxed set...now Calvin Klein and I both have collections."

Visit her at SonyaSones.com, follow her on Twitter, and for goodness sake friend her on FaceBook!                                                           

Thank you for offering our readers a chance to win a copy of your new book (details below) and thanks for stopping by, Sonya!

And now, for the Book Giveaway details:

We use Rafflecopter. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, you may want to read their info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and/or the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

To enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of To Be Perfectly Honest (A Novel Based on an Untrue Story) log into Rafflecopter below (via either Facebook or an email address). You'll see that we've provided three different options for entering the giveaway--you can pick one or up to all three. The more options you choose, the greater your chances of winning. While we haven't made it a requirement, we hope that everyone will pick the first option--subscribing to the TeachingAuthors blog.

If you're already a TeachingAuthors subscriber, you still need to click on that button and tell us how you follow our blog, which will give you THREE entries in the giveaway! (If you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to enter.)

As it says in the "Terms and Conditions," this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. You must be 18 or older to enter. And please note: email addresses will only be used to contact winners. The giveaway will run from now through August 29, 2013.

If you have any questions about the giveaway, feel free to email us at teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.  
a Rafflecopter giveaway

merrily posted by April Halprin Wayland and her dog, Eli...who wish you a Happy New Year and shyly remind you about April's award-winning book, New Year at the Pier--a Rosh Hashanah Story

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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...


...where I met the wonderful 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 


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."


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 ~

posted by April Halprin Wayland

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When I visit a school, part of it is “the talk” – often to an assembly group. In this session I’m trying to do a few things: share my excitement about books and reading, get across that reading is not a “worthy” activity but something that can take you into new worlds and generate real, edge-of –the-seat excitement; and convey that my job is fundamentally about STORY – creating narratives that people want to read, and where all the time they are demanding “what happens next?”

 It’s important for primary children to realise that this is an entirely different skill to handwriting, spelling or punctuation (which they may be bad at, and heartily dislike.) It’s not necessarily got much to do with adverbs, “openers”, “connectives” or “wow words” either. These are just parts of the tool-kit, that can be brought out when required. The aim is to create the world – the characters within it – and their story. As well as talking to the children, I do workshops. I spend a lot of time preparing these, and asking myself the question – what extra thing can I, as a writer, bring to the children? What can I provide, that a teacher, however well-trained and inspired, might not?

....What if your mother was a witch?

Increasingly, I focus on story. A lot of the writing that children do is not based around creating stories – yet for me, that is the key part of being a writer. And it’s hard, incredibly hard, to come up with a gripping story – one that holds attention, suspends disbelief and both surprises and satisfies.

Imagine Jessica's problem....

So most of my workshops are about finding different ways into a story. Whether it’s about inventing a surprising character (a mermaid who can’t swim, a dragon that can’t breathe fire), looking at a place you know and searching out the things that happen there, or thinking about a “What If...” situation...What if your mother was a witch? (Jessica Haggerthwaite: Witch Dispatcher). What if your new dog turned out to be a wolf? (Wolfie).

Some of the most fun I’ve had in schools recently has been creating stories in groups. I start the ball rolling...”What is your character’s name?” “How old are they?” And in a surprisingly short time we will develop a story...sometimes an amazing story, in which I will be astonished by the creativity and imagination all around me. “I think I’ll steal this one for my next book” I tell them (actually quite tempted!)

Best of all are the comments from teachers, about the children who have taken their stories home, or gone on working at them at playtime or in class. Sometimes I’m sent copies of the finished versions!

Emma Barnes's web-site
Emma's latest book is Wolfie - available from Amazon
 Wolfie: "funny, clever and satisfying" - Book of the Week, Books for Keeps

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I had the pleasure of watching this HBO special last evening—the YoungArts Master Class with John Guare, in Rome. Catch the whole if you can. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer.

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Howdy, Campers! Happy Poetry Friday! Info about how to enter today's Book Giveaway is far, far below.

Years ago, I attended an informal farewell lunch after speaking at a writers' conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I was tired and wasn't feeling well and very nearly skipped that lunch.  Luckily, I didn't. That's where I met the dynamic and sparkling Carolee Dean.
I have since had the great pleasure of being on a panel Carolee put together for this year's International Reading Association Convention in Chicago.  (That's where I learned how generous, well-organized and cool-under-pressure she is.)

Carolee keeps a gazillion plates spinning in the air at once.  She not only works in public schools as a speech-language pathologist, she also teaches writing, helps sponsor middle school and high school poetry slam teams, and is the author of three young adult novels all including original poetry.  They are: COMFORT (Houghton Mifflin), TAKE ME THERE (Simon Pulse), and the JUST ABOUT TO BE PUBLISHED paranormal verse novel FORGET ME NOT (Simon Pulse, Oct. 2, 2012)--which you, yes you can WIN in our Book Giveaway--woo-woo (details below)!
So let's meet Carolee in person.  Hey, Carolee--how did you officially become a TeachingAuthor?

I've spent over a decade working in the public schools as a speech-language pathologist with students of all ages and a variety of challenges. The most difficult thing for most of them is writing, and understandably, many of them hate doing it. I'm always trying out activities to inspire my reluctant writers. Sometimes the activities work. Sometimes they don't. When they do work I like to share them with other educators because I know how difficult it can be to continuously come up with inspiring lessons.

Among some of my better ideas is a twelve step story analysis method I call The Secret Language of Stories. I've given presentations on it at several state, national, and international conferences including the International Reading Association 2012 in Chicago where I co-presented on an all day panel with you and TeachingAuthor
Esther Hershenhorn. I have a description of the twelve steps
on a tab at my blog.

What's a common problem your students have and how do you address it? 

It's easy to get stuck staring at a big white page or a blank computer screen. I can't tell you how many times I hear the words, "I don't know what to write."  I reply, "writing isn't about knowing. There is no magic right or wrong answer as there is in other subjects.

Writing is about choosing, about considering the infinite possibilities and picking one." To this the student inevitably replies, "I still don't know what to write." Then I usually give the stumped pupil a whole list of suggestions which he or she usually doesn't like because that blank computer screen is still just so darn intimidating.

One strategy that has worked extremely well for me is to create a PowerPoint with directions on each slide for what part of the story to write on that particular slide. I also include suggestions about what kind of accompanying images to select. I usually let kids choose the images first since the pictures often inspire their writing. This has worked extremely well with even the most struggling writers. Kids love power point and they love Google Images.

I have some high school students who read and write at first and second grade levels and they have come up with some of the most amazing stories.

(Directions for Carolee's PowerPoint story along with a downloadable PowerPoint can be found under the Teacher Resources section of her blog).

Would you share a favorite writing exercise with our readers?

I like to get kids talking about stories before they write them. There is a strong connection between oral language and written language and it often helps to verbalize ideas before putting them down on paper.

One of my favorite activities is to cut out unusual pictures from magazines. Advertisements often contain images that may be interpreted in a variety of ways. I play music and then ask students to walk around the room. When the music stops I tell them to sit down in front of a picture and describe to the class what they think is going on.

We do this several times and I've found that the random nature of the activity takes off the pressure to think of something good. After they've all come up with two or three ideas, we sit down to write. I often use the structure of poetry for this stage of writing because the focus is on ideas rather than grammar.

I LOVE that idea, Carolee. I can see using it in my classes for adults writers, too. Okay, so tell us...what's on the horizon for you?

I'm in the process of writing up The Secret Language of Stories as a teacher sourcebook and I just wrote an article for Cynsations exploring the history of verse novels going all the way back to Homer and the Iliad and the Odyssey.

In the immediate future, FORGET ME NOT, my paranormal verse novel, is coming out October 2! It's about a girl who has been cyber bullied and hides out from her tormentors in a deserted part of the school only to find herself stuck in a hallway full of ghosts.
(Read the great Kirkus review of FORGET ME NOT here and another terrific review of her book here.)

Sounds wonderfully SPOOKY, Carolee--and just in time for Halloween! 

And finally, since it's Poetry Friday in the Kidlitosphere, would you share a poem from your new book with our readers?

Absolutely.  Here is an excerpt from FORGET ME NOT:

WRITE IT OUT

That's what Ms. Lane,
my writing teacher,
would say.
Spill it out onto
the page.
Sometimes it's
the only way

for thoughts heavy
as bricks
to become feathers
and fly away.

I could go
to her class.
Get my head
together.

I'd sit next to
Elijah.

I wonder if
he's heard.

Even if he has,
I know

he
wouldn't say
a word.

poem © 2012 Carolee Dean. All rights reserved

Wonderful!  Thank you SO much for stopping by to talk with us, Carolee!

Here's the exquisite book trailer for FORGET ME NOT:


Campers!  Join Carolee's Ghost Tour which starts Oct. 3, and check out the original jewelry made especially for Carolee's book launch!

Carolee has generously offered to autograph a copy of  her about-to-be-published book for our BOOK GIVEAWAY.  Yay!  To enter, just follow these rules:

You must follow our TeachingAuthors blog to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean.  If you're not already a follower, you can sign up now in the sidebar to subscribe to our posts via email, Google Friend Connect, or Facebook Network blogs.

There are two ways to enter:
1) by a comment posted below
OR
2) by sending an email to teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com with "Book Giveaway" in the subject line.

Just for the fun of it, tell us a true ghost story of your own in 50 words or less. This is optional!

Whichever way you enter, you MUST give us your name AND tell us how you follow us. If you enter via a comment, you MUST include a valid email address (formatted this way: youremail [at] gmail [dot] com) in your comment. Contest open only to residents of the United States. Incomplete entries will be discarded.
Entry deadline is 11 p.m. Thursday, October 4, 2012 (Central Standard Time). The winner will be chosen in a random drawing and announced on October 5th.

Good luck, Campers!

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Last year at this time, I wrote a post that began:

I love learning. If I had unlimited resources, I'd be a full-time student for the rest of my life. Instead, I'm a teacher, which is the next best thing.

In that post, I talked about how I study craft books regularly, looking for ways to help both me and my students grow as writers. This fall, I've gone one step further--I'm actually sitting in a classroom again as a student! I'm attending a 4-part workshop called "The Climax or Breaking Point in Short Stories and Novels" presented by Fred Shafer at Off Campus Writer's Workshop (OCWW). I have to drive an hour and a half in rush hour traffic to get to OCWW, but it's worth it for a class with Fred. He is an amazing and inspiring teacher. In the first two sessions, he's already given me several ideas for how I can make the climax of my historical young adult novel more powerful. So even though I've already sent the manuscript out, I'm revising it again. (As Mary Ann discussed on Monday, I wish there were a "never mind" command that would allow me to retrieve my emailed manuscript.)

One of the things I really appreciate about Fred is that even though he doesn't specifically teach "writing for children and teens," he has a tremendous respect for stories for children. He says in a recent online interview:

"There are many things that all writers can learn from books written for children, because of the close contact those books share with fables, fairy tales, and stories told to listeners.  Too often, writers for adult audiences lose track of the basic spirit and force of storytelling.  By reading stories for children, they can renew their awareness of the rhythms of plot and the power and beauty of narrative sentences."

Fred's respect for children's literature comes through in his workshops. He frequently uses examples from stories for children to elaborate on the points he makes. The books he's drawn from for his current Climax workshop include two of Eve Bunting's picture books: The Train to Somewhere, illustrated by Ronald Himler (Sandpiper) and Little Bear's Little Boat, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Clarion); Patricia Polacco's The Junkyard Wonders (Philomel); City Dog, Country Frog by Jon J Muth, illustrated by Mo Willems (Hyperion); and the young adult short story "Gettin' Even" from You Don't Even Know Me: Stories and Poems about Boys by Sarah G. Flake (Hyperion). If you're looking for examples of effective climactic scenes and you're unable to attend Fred's class, I recommend you study these books.

Now excuse me while I go back to revising my novel's climax.

Happy writing (and studying)!
Carmela

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21. A student of teaching

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By: Beth Kephart , on 5/27/2010
Blog: Beth Kephart Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  teaching writing, Chanticleer, foxglove, Agnes Irwin, Add a tag

It was hot, it was humid, it was teaching at Chanticleer in an unpredictable spring, but those 15 Agnes Irwin girls were willing and far more than able—reeling themselves backward and forward in time, willing themselves to remember. 

The thing about teaching is you never know.  You prepare your prompts, you know your own heart, you know what you want to leave behind, but you do not know what will make a student vulnerable to the process.  I never teach the same thing twice.  I have become a student of teaching. 

It is 4:22 AM, dark.  I'm about to set off for the Big Apple where I will, at too long last, meet so many of you who have sustained me here.  Until then.

b

5 Comments on A student of teaching, last added: 5/27/2010

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Lilian Nattel said, on 5/27/2010 6:34:00 AM

Have fun in NY!

Bonnie said, on 5/27/2010 7:05:00 AM

Hello Beth. Have a great time in NY - hope you get to see some of the sites while there.

Teaching . . . . You could write a book on teaching. It's the research I love doing when preparing for a class. Of course, I always learn more than the student. No way could you share with them "everything" in such a short span of time.

I love walking into a class; especially if I feel I've done my homework. However, I always find a student asking a question I wasn't prepared to answer.

I love to teach, but rarely have I had the opportunity. The few times I have, I've noticed that it's best to observe what's going on in the classroom with the students each day - so many thoughts/emotions that prevent them from hearing the message.

I'm so happy for you that you've been given such a great opportunity.

Sierra said, on 5/27/2010 7:06:00 AM

All of my favorite and best teachers were willing to be vulnerable in the teaching process - willing to learn; sounds like the AI girls have had such a moment with you. Have a wonderful time in the Big City.

John said, on 5/27/2010 7:13:00 PM

not to take you back, but my wife and I read 'A Slant of Sun' in the last few weeks, and your call to courage in the face of PDDNOS rang clear with us. Is there a way to find out how Jeremy's story continues?

john (Sean's dad, and proud of it)

Kelly H-Y said, on 5/27/2010 10:07:00 PM

A student of teaching ... I like that. Have a wonderful time in NY!

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22. Latest Contest Winner and New Contest for Teachers and Homeschoolers

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By: Carmela Martino and 5 other authors, on 1/14/2010
Blog: Teaching Authors (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Carmela Martino, Six Traits of Writing, Contests, Ideas, Book Giveaway, Teachers, Teaching writing, Homeschoolers, Add a tag

Congratulations to our New Year Resolution Contest Winner: 

Irene Latham

Irene's 6-word resolution was:

Celebrate. Create. Inspire. Plot. Enjoy. Finish.

From reading Irene's blog, I see she has much to celebrate this year. Her first children's novel, Leaving Gee's Bend, has just been released by G.P.Putnam. Hurray for you, Irene!

And a big thank you to everyone who posted a resolution. I hope we ALL succeed in following through on them.

Our next contest will be especially for Teachers and Homeschoolers. (If you're not a teacher or homeschooler, please spread the word to someone you know who is.) We'd like you to answer the following question: What is one of the biggest challenges, problems, or questions you have when teaching writing to students in grades 1-12?
If we can, we'd like to suggest solutions to some of those problems on this blog later in the year.

The contest will run in conjunction with a new series of posts on the topic of IDEAS, the first of the Six Traits of Writing. (If you aren't familiar with the Six-Traits approach, you can read more about it here.) As part of our discussion of IDEAS, each TeachingAuthor will talk about the idea that inspired one of her published books. Our contest winner will then be given his or her choice of one of those six books as a prize.

So here are the contest details:

1. To enter, you must be a teacher or homeschooler of students in grades 1-12.
2. You must post a comment answering the following question: What is one of the biggest challenges, problems, or questions you have when teaching writing to your students?
3. You must specify the grade level of your students and whether you teach in a school or at home.
4. You must provide your email address or a link to your own blog so that we can contact you. (U.S. residents only, please.)
   
5. Entries must be posted by 11 p.m. Friday, January 29, 2010 (Central Standard Time).
6. The winner will be announced on Monday, February 1, 2010.
   

A detailed explanation of our general giveaway guidelines are posted here.

If you have any questions about the contest, you can post them as a comment. Good luck!
Carmela

6 Comments on Latest Contest Winner and New Contest for Teachers and Homeschoolers, last added: 1/18/2010

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admin said, on 1/15/2010 3:18:00 AM

Kindergarten teachers teach reading too! :)

mj.coward[at]gmail.com

Carmela Martino said, on 1/15/2010 8:49:00 AM

Yes, I realize that. But we want to focus on questions related to teaching writing in grades one and up.

Jaymie said, on 1/15/2010 10:50:00 AM

I don't know if I "count" for this or not. I volunteer to lead a writing club at my son's school every week. I have students in 2nd through 6th grade. I taught part time last year, but this year I am only subbing. So, I don't know if that fits or not.

My biggest challenge is that we only meet once a week for about 75 minutes. I routinely have 28 to 30 students. It is difficult to conference with each student, to coach on specific story needs, with that many kids, that small of a time frame, and only one me. Also, there is a big difference between a second grade author and a sixth grade author.

I plan my weekly lessons based on things that a large number of students are struggling with, and we do the best we can. (I blog about our work in the club and my lessons at http://bringonthebooksforteachers.blogspot.com) We are working toward two spring events at the school where the kids are going to be able to show off published pieces. I am aware, every week when I clean up the room and head home, that I could do so much more with each one if I had some more time.

Carmela Martino said, on 1/15/2010 11:11:00 AM

Jaymie, I say you definitely count--you are trying to help train and encourage young authors! Thanks for sharing. By the way, I once taught a summer "young authors' workshop" with students in grades 2-8, so I can definitely relate to some of your challenges.

Mary Jo said, on 1/15/2010 8:02:00 PM

Like Jaymie, I'm an independent creative writing teacher. I host monthly workshops for free to grades 3-8 on my own. I also teach through a nonprofit enrichment organization (FRoG in Downers Grove,IL) Saturdays in teh fall and winter. And last summer I began a week-long writing studio for the same grades, in my community.

My biggest struggle is keeping the class on track with the little time we have: once the students begin sharing their work, conversations start and off on a tangent they go.

I also struggle with peer feedback. They are all eager to read, but hesitant to offer any feedback to the other readers. I'd love for the students to learn how to give and receive constructive feedback on their writing.
~Mary Jo

mjcwriter"at"comcast"dot"net
writerinspired.wordpress.com

Carmela Martino said, on 1/18/2010 1:17:00 PM

Mary Jo,
Another great question!
And bless you for all you're doing to help young writers.

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23. Celebrating the National Day on Writing: A Revision Gallery

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By: Kate Messner, on 10/19/2009
Blog: Kate's Book Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  ncte, revision, teaching writing, national day on writing, Add a tag

A couple weeks ago, a school principal & teacher in California asked me where she could find pictures of real manuscripts from real authors going through the revision process to share with her students so they'd be more excited about revising. I didn't know of such a resource, but as a teacher, I absolutely loved the idea.  As an author, I knew I probably had some writer friends who would be more than willing to help teachers by sharing a photo or two. 

The result is here... a Revision Gallery with a collection of authors' notes and photos of their marked-up manuscripts.  I thought today, NCTE's National Day on Writing would be the perfect day to share our stories.

The PowerPoint slides are below (as jpegs) for teachers who would like to save them & use them in the classroom, and the full presentation is also on SlideShare (though the conversion process distorted a couple of the images).


































































.

Thanks so very much to all of the authors who sent me photos of their marked up pages and words of revision wisdom for young writers. Your notes and pages were an inspiration to me, too. It really is quite a process, isn't it?

And teachers...feel free to save, share, post, download, link to, and use these images however you can to help your kids with writing and revision.

Happy National Day on Writing!

AUTHORS: If you'd like to add to this collection, feel free to post a revision note on your own blog or website with a photo or two of your marked-up manuscript. (If you write YA, please be sure to choose a page that's appropriate for younger readers, too!)  Then leave a comment here with a link to your revision post, and our Revision Gallery can continue to grow! 

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24. Thank you (in advance) for making me look wise and writerly

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By: Sara Lewis Holmes, on 2/19/2008
Blog: Read Write Believe (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  CNU Writers' Conference, teaching writing, Finding Your Writer's Voice, CNU Writers' Conference, teaching writing, Finding Your Writer's Voice, Add a tag

Next month, I'm leading two writing workshops at the 26th Annual Christopher Newport University Writers' Conference.


WORKSHOP ONE

Growing a Novel: How to Keep your Ideas, Manuscripts, and Hopes Alive

Why is it so hard to turn one Great Idea into one Great Novel? How do you prevent your own expectations and doubts from killing the thing you're trying to grow? What specific techniques can you use to nurture ideas, plots, and characters so that they transform into actual words on a page, and then pages in a book? Start to finish, we'll look at what it takes to wind up with a living, breathing novel.

WORKSHOP TWO

Would Somebody Please Tell Me What to Say?

Are you better suited to writing a YA novel about teenage sex or a counting picture book called Ten Aged Socks? This is a look at the various genres in the children's book field, and a discussion about that elusive creature, Voice. Is it possible to write however and whatever the market demands? Or are we, thankfully, only required to write what we can?

What do you think? Useful? Interesting? Rather pick lint off your pants than attend either of these?

If you have suggestions about anything I should include---resources, books, websites, strategies, etc.--- please comment! (I promise I'll credit you at the workshop and thank you in my heart of hearts many, many times over.)

0 Comments on Thank you (in advance) for making me look wise and writerly as of 1/1/1900

Barbara O'Connor said, on 2/19/2008 8:19:00 AM

Sara: These are both great topics for workshops and I would definitely be more interested in them than picking lint off my pants (although in my case, it would be dog hair).

Workshop #2 is the more intriquing to me on a personal level. Here's a little anecdote about perhaps being better suited to one genre over another. About six years ago I decided to break outside my genre box and write a picture book. I've never tried to write one before. It was set in a little motel in the Smoky Mountains - with an old lady and a couple of kids. It was a decent, so-so pb. My editor called it "most promising" (which, as we writers knows - means "good but needs a lot of work".

She went on to say "But there's something that keeps it from being exactly right. It may have been that feeling that prompted you to wonder if it needed "more meat" I've read it many times over and am not convinced that I can put my finger on the precise problem."

Hmmmm. So I pulled that manuscript out and stared at it and stared at it and was totally completely 100% frozen. I could not change one word of it.

I let it simmer for a while and then I eventually had my eureka moment. The problem with the pb ms was that I knew so much more about the characters. And I knew in my heart that there was much more to their story. I knew that the pb was only one thin layer of the story I wanted to write.

So I sat down and turned that pb into a mid grade novel - which became GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE.

I confess that at first I felt that I had failed in some sense - that I had proven that I was unable to write a picture book. But then I came to my senses and realized that I was writing what I needed to write and that didn't mean that I still can't write a picture book.

Sorry this is so long - but it's just personal experience with knowing the difference between writing what you THINK you want to write and writing what you really NEED to write.

And as for writing to market - I used to never think about that at all - but now my self-censor devil rears his ugly head sometimes and makes me write differently than my heart wants to.

http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/2007/07/oh-to-be-young-and-dumb-again.html

Sorry this is so long!!! You got me thinking too much!
Barbara O'C

Sara said, on 2/19/2008 10:21:00 AM

Barbara, this is great! Not too long at all. I may have to quote you on the tale of the Picture Book that Wasn't.

I do think that we approach our stories from many avenues, and if Greetings From Nowhere came up the picture book path, then that's the way it needed to get there. It might have lost its way if it had tried the route your other novels had taken. I sometimes write what I think are going to be play scripts, but later turn out to be fleshed out scenes of dialog. And I have a poem that is morphing into a picture book (I think.)

I think one of the reasons revision is so necessary is that stories resist our attempts to put them in boxes. They insist that we revise the words we used to tell them so that their true shape can be seen, even if that means the writer is working in the dark at first.

Jennifer said, on 2/19/2008 10:34:00 AM

Sara- Regarding #2 and strategy: this is thought provoking, because I recently had an experience similar to what Barbara described.

I'd been working on a new PB story for a while and was running up against a brick wall with the pictures because I had too much text, and not enough room for illustrations. I decided there was enough backstory to try to expand the story into an early chapter book. (Mind you, I'd never written one before, but it had been in the back of my mind to try!)

So, I began, and was fairly pleased with how it was going... until I realized that it was a completely different story from the PB version. Not better, not worse, just different.

In the end I decided to go back to the PB version, because that's the story I wanted to tell. I'll still go back and try a chapter book at some point-- but with a new story. At least now I know I can do it.

So I guess for me the bottom line is-- it's good to stretch yourself and try something a few different ways, but-- which genre best suits the story you want to tell?

As far as writing to the market-- I'm still struggling with that one! Maybe a good solution would be to write what you can, but go back during revisions and see if there is a way to make it more marketable. Ugh, that's tough sometimes!

Wish I lived closer-- I'm sure you'll be smashing!

Jennifer said, on 2/19/2008 10:52:00 AM

Aye-- I meant to say-- similar experience to Barbara's, but with opposite outcome.

Uh oh... neurotic-writer mode kicking in! :-)

jama said, on 2/19/2008 12:51:00 PM

I would find both workshops interesting. I recently had a similar experience to Barbara's -- a picture book conceived many years ago, the feedback was that the idea was good, but there should be more -- so I made it into an early chapter book. It felt so liberating to have actual chapters to stretch myself out in!

The novel is a form that still intimidates me, so I would probably hang on your every word, especially cued in about creating scenes to form a good story arc, with emotional and action plots.
I would also be interested in different novel forms --as in epistolary and verse, and to hear as much as possible about character development.
I think you're going to be smashing!!

TadMack said, on 2/19/2008 2:34:00 PM

Go, Sara! Go Sara! How awesome! Those all sound AMAZING. I have no experience doing anything other than teaching freshman writing students, but this sounds amazing! I'll think about it and let you know if I come up with something you might include...

Liz in Ink said, on 2/21/2008 11:39:00 AM

So, workshop 2. Here's my little slice o' life tale: After I sold my first picture book (very easily and quickly) I began to really think about what I ought to do to follow up that sale with another. And I thought and thought and wrote and wrote. From head, not from gut. I wrote what I thought I needed to write in order to sell. I read gadzillions of picture books and I wrote straight-forward narrative tales that were almost all solid enough to get very nice and encouraging letters from fabulous editors, with invitations to send more. But they didn't get sold. Not a one. Until one of my less traditional, straight-forward little pieces that I originally wrote in a rush in the middle of the night DID SELL. To my dream editor. Who said she wanted to see everything. And I sent her all the stuff that hadn't sold and she didn't buy it either. It was really good, she said, but not transcendent. "I think," she said, "that what you're really good at is lyric, sound, image, the turn of a phrase, rhyme, rhythm, yadda yadda." Oh. Duh. So NOT plot, character and conflict. Right. So I stopped writing what I thought I needed to write in order to sell, and I started to write what came to me in the middle of the night (even though I then have to work very hard at it by day) and lo and behold, the next one sold. And now I'm working on a third. And the lesson to me is to write what needs to be written intuitively. To create by gut, not marketplace. To be true to my own creative urges because those are the ones that read true on the page...

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25. The Celebutantes: On the Avenue by Antonio Pagliarulo

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By: Susan Smith, on 6/20/2007
Blog: The Hip Librarians' Book Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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The Celebutantes: On The Avenue by Antonio Pagliarulo

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