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Jo holds a Master’s Degree in Children’s Literature from Simmons College and she teaches in the MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University. Her awards and honors include NY Times and ALA Notable Book distinctions and the PEN New England Children’s Book Discover Award.
Thanks to Stenhouse – and – Jo for their permission to present the following warm-up as today’s Wednesday Writing Workout.
Enjoy!
Esther Hershenhorn
. . . . . . . . . .
A Jo Knowles Warm-up
One of my favorite exercises to help people get started is to have them describe the kitchen of their childhood. If you moved around a lot, choose the one that has the strongest memories. Place your child self in that room. Now:
What do you see? Describe the room in as much details as you can remember.
What do you smell? Was yours a kitchen of delicious odors? Or was it rarely used? What kinds of foods were cooked? Did you like them? Why or why not?
What do you hear? What kinds of conversations took place in the kitchen, if any? Were there moments of joy? Arguing? Worry? Love?
What do you taste? What are the strongest tastes you remember? A morning bowl of cereal? The batter on a spoon? Who made the food?
As you write, you will likely notice a plethora of memories flooding your brain and your heart. Seize these and write them down. Describe them in as much detail as you can. Soon, you will discover a story taking shape. Grab it!
Jo Knowles
59 Reasons to Write
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on 9/30/2015
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Today, I'm happy to welcome back former TeachingAuthor Laura Purdie Salas with a guest Wednesday Writing Workout tailor-made for our current TeachingAuthors' series on how we each "Make a Living as a Writer." Laura was one of the authors I interviewed for my article of the same title that appears in the 2016 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market, edited by Chuck Sambuchino (Writer's Digest Books). If you haven't entered our drawing for a chance to win your own copy of the 2016 CWIM, be sure to do so here, AFTER you try Laura's eye-opening writing exercise below.
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Wednesday Writing Workout:
The Cinderella Trifecta: Is Writing on Assignment Right for You?
by Laura Purdie Salas
Hey, it’s fun to be back here at TeachingAuthors I was honored to be interviewed for Carmela's terrific article in the 2016 Children’sWriter’s & Illustrator’s Market.
 |
| BookSpeak! - trade market |
You know, I make my living as a writer, and I love writing the books I choose to write (my trade market books), like
BookSpeak! Poems About Books and
WaterCan Be…. But, so far, the books I’ve loved to write have not exactly brought in millions. Or enough to keep my family in groceries. That’s OK. They’re books I had to write, and I adore them.
But, I do need to pay bills, and one of my major sources of income is writing on assignment. I write books and short passages for publishers who hire me to write very specific works for particular age groups and, sometimes, reading levels.
 |
| Water Can Be... - trade market |
If this is something that sounds interesting to you, you might want to give this exercise a try. Even though the majority of writing I do on assignment is nonfiction, I also do some poetry and fiction that way, too. We’re going to use fiction here, so that you don’t get caught up in research and getting your facts right (which is, of course, extremely important in nonfiction books!).
For this exercise, we’re going to use a story we likely already know, and we’re going to shape it in three different ways.
I would like you to use the tale of Cinderella as the basis for your short works. I’ll use The Three Little Pigs as an example for each one. Don’t be nervous! This is just to see IF you’re comfortable with this kind of writing and, if so, what age range might work best for you. Ready?
Part 1: Retell the complete tale Cinderella in 150 words, for 1stgraders.
My example, based on The Three Little Pigs:
Once, there were three little pigs. They were brothers. One day, the pigs went out into the world. It was time to build their own homes.
The first little pig built his home out of straw. The Big Bad Wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down.
The second little pig built his home out of sticks. The Big Bad Wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down.
The third little pig was a hard worker. He built a strong home out of bricks. The Big Bad Wolf huffed and puffed. But he could not blow it down.
The wolf was mad. And hungry. He came down the chimney to eat the pig. But the third little pig was also smart. He had built a fire in the fireplace. The wolf yelped in pain and ran away.
And the three little pigs lived happily ever after.
 |
| Colors of Fall - education market |
Part 2: Retell Cinderella for 4th graders in 400 words, and emphasize narrative voice and theme.
My example is just the first couple of paragraphs (130 words) of such a passage, based on The Three Little Pigs.
Once up a time, there were three little pigs. They were brothers, and two of the pigs were oh so lazy and not very intelligent! The third little pig, however, was not only a hard worker, but he was also very clever.
One day, it was time for the three little pigs to go out into the great wide world and build their own houses. The first two pigs did not want to put much effort into anything, so the first one built his house out of straw! The second built his house out of sticks! They should have known better. They had just finished when a big, bad wolf came along. This wolf was drooling and snarling and hungry. He thought a little pig sounded like a scrumptious treat.
Do you see the difference? Let’s try one more.
Part 3: Retell Cinderella for 7th graders in 600 words from the point of view of a wicked stepsister.
Here’s my example, just the first few paragraphs (111 words), from the point of view of the big bad wolf. It’s a little low on readability, actually, so I’d have to make sure to use longer paragraphs and sentences here and there and keep the reading level up a bit higher.
You can’t blame me for trying. Really, who would be ridiculous enough to think that some insubstantial straw or rickety old sticks would be tough enough to thwart my attempts to enter? Oh, you haven’t heard about my adventure? Well, let me explain…
I was just wandering along the boulevard one day, minding my own business. Suddenly, I heard a clattering sound further down the avenue. Then I spied three little pigs, all hard at work constructing residences. At least, one of them was working diligently. That one was mixing mortar and placing bricks and building a proper, sturdy house--I despise that. But the other two were much more promising.
So, how do you feel? Did at least one of these three pieces feel somewhat natural to you? Did you enjoy the puzzle of trying to tell certain information in a very specific way—as dictated by someone else?
 |
| Y Is for Yowl! - education market |
If the answer to at least one of the above is yes, then you might want to try writing on assignment, too. If you’re interested in learning about writing for the educational market, you can check out my book,
Writing for the Educational Market: Informational Books for Kids. And Lisa Bullard, who was also interviewed in Carmela's article, and I offer critiquing/coaching services for children’s writers at
MentorsForRent.com. We have worked with a number of writers who have subsequently broken into the educational market. We’d be happy to schedule a consultation to answer your questions or review your introductory packet. I also sometimes discuss educational writing in my eletter for writers,
A Writer Can Be….
I’d love to hear in the Comments what your experience with this Wednesday Writing Workout was like. Was one part super-easy for you and another part impossible? Were they all equal? Is this a market you might be interested in pursuing? Inquiring minds want to know:>)
Laura Purdie Salas
Summer isn't done quite yet, and what a great way to celebrate these last days of summer magic! The wonderful word wizard Rebecca Colby, author of
It's Raining Bats & Frogs, shares a magical writing exercise for your students. While it’s geared towards Grade 1 students, it could be adapted for older children.
Magic Rhyming Spells Delia’s spells in
It’s Raining Bats & Frogs are written in rhyme. Share some of the following spells with your students. Ask them to identify the words that rhyme.
·
Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble.
· Hocus pocus, magic crocus. Students will create rhyming spells of their own by filling in the blanks below.
·
Zero, one, two, I’ll wave my wand at ______________.
· One, two, three, turn into a ____________.
· Eight nine, ten, turn into a _____________. Working in pairs, students will create rhyming spells using the following starting lines. Ask students to create rhymes that are not used in the book. Extension activity: Students can create spells on their own without benefit of starting lines.
·
Stir the brew in the vat, . . .
· Eye of newt, tongue of snake, . . .
· Wave your wand over the box, . . .
· One more wave, here I go, . . . Now it’s your turn!I challenge each one of you visiting the blog today to create your own magic spell. If you do, feel free to post it in the comments below. I’d love to read your results!
More Summer Fun! Join Rebecca as she celebrates
It’s Raining Bats and Frogs! Who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt! Follow Rebecca’s
tour to collect the clues. There will be eight answers to find and submit in total to the link below.
You can enter the overall giveaway for a $50 USD Amazon voucher (or £30 GBP Amazon voucher) at the end of the tour. Submit your answers
here!
So what should you be looking for? Witch names, of course! Each post will mention a fictitious witch somewhere in the discussion. To be in with a chance of winning, leave a comment on the blog where you found the name (but please DON’T reveal the name) , including here at Teacher Authors! At the end of the tour, send Rebecca (at website address above) a list of all eight names via her website contact page, and enter the Rafflecopter entry form on her page. You have until 11.59pm EST on 5 September to enter the scavenger hunt giveaway!
Join me on August 24 as I talk with Rebecca about her book, the scavenger hunt and about creating teacher guides that teachers can use!
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” ~ Roald Dahl
Bobbi Miller
Happy Children’s Book Week!
Since 1919, this national literacy initiative, the longest-running in our history and co-anchored by the Children’s Book Counciland Every Child A Reader, has celebrated books for young people and the joy of reading.
Visit the website to learn the bounty of events and activities that commemorate this once-a-year week and to read more about this year’s poster creator, Grace Lee.
Book Week’s goal? To make sure every child is a reader!
But today is Wednesday, yes? – which means it’s time for a TeachingAuthors Wednesday Writing Workout, one that will give every child, both current and former, the opportunity to write.
Enjoy!
Esther Hershenhorn
P.S.
Don’t forget to enter our Book Giveaway to win a copy of Stefanie Lyons’ YA novel in verse DATING DOWN (Flux). The deadline to enter is midnight May 15.
. . . . . . . .
Let’s tweak the Children’s Book Week goal a tad to read…. make sure every child – current and former (!) – is a reader who writes!
Click HERE to download these children’s book week story starters and create your own ending!
What I Did begun by National Ambassador Katherine Paterson (New!) BLAM! begun by Mo Willems (2009 Children's Choice Book Award winner) (New!) The Night Visitor begun by Dinah Williams (2009 Children's Choice Book Award winner) (New!) And Then... begun by National Ambassador Emeritus Jon Scieszka 
It’s our TeachingAuthors Blogiversary 6!!!!!!
Today I'm working out by writing our readers and my fellow TeachingAuthors a heart-felt Thanku².
All of you have kept me writing Sunday to Sunday these past six years.
It bears repeating: thank you!
Esther Hershenhorn
It’s Mutual!
Our true-blue readers
gifting Six TeachingAuthors*
with treasured smarts and hearts.
Six TeachingAuthors*
gifting readers for six years
with their hearts and smarts.
*Carmela, JoAnn, April,
MaryAnn and Jeanne Marie,
Jill and Laura,
Bobbi, Carla -
little ol’ me
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 4/8/2015
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Howdy, Campers!
Lucky you--you arrived just in time for another episode in TeachingAuthor's 5-Star series,
to binge-read all of our WWWs, click on the menu button above, "Writing Workouts"
Today's WWW is brought to you by
Paul B. Janeczko (who visited our blog
last week), author of--gasp!--
50 books, including his latest,
The Death of the Hat--which you could WIN--yes, you--your very own autographed copy--simply enter our book-giveaway which runs until April 22, 2015 (details at the end of
last week's post)!
Okie dokie--welcome back, PBJ! Would you elaborate on the writing exercise you talked briefly about last Friday?What I said last Friday was that it was more an approach than an exercise. I like to use poetry models when I work with young readers. I try to show them poems by published poets, but also poems by their peers. When you’re in the 4th grade, Emily Dickinson or Robert Frost may not impress you, but reading a poem by another 4th grader may be just the motivation that you need. And before I turn the kids loose to write, we read the poem, and I give them the chance to talk about what they notice in it. Then we do something a group rough draft so they can begin to see the writing process in action. Then it’s time for them to write.
One of the poems I use is based an an English street poem called “I’d Rather Be.” Here are a few lines:
I’d rather be hands than feet.
I’d rather be honest than cheat.
I’d rather be a bed that a seat.
I’d rather be a blanket than a sheet.
- I give the kids a copy of this poem, which runs about 20 lines.
- I break it into 3 parts and have a different student read each part. (Part of every workshop is reading aloud!)
- I then ask the students if they detected any pattern in the poem. Rhyming poems generally follow a pattern.
- The kids can identify 3 ingredients of the pattern: end rhyme, repetition of “I’d rather be” at the start of each line, a comparison or opposite in each line.
- Taken together, these 3 ingredients give the 4 part of that pattern: rhythm.
- Before I turn the kids loose to write 3-4 lines of their own “I’d Rather Be,” we try to create an example of 4 lines out loud. The kids are usually quick to get the hang of it.
- Just to make sure, we try another 4 lines with a different end sound.
- Then they are ready to read.
- After 10-15 minutes of writing, it’s time to read examples aloud. Usually, there are many takers.
This is one poem that they will have the chance to continue and complete with their teacher.
The kids write stuff like this:
I’d rather be wood than concrete
I’d rather be huge that petite
I’d rather be gloves than a hat
I’d rather be a ball than a bat
I’d rather be hands than toes
I’d rather be a finger than a nose
I’d rather be love than hate
I’d rather be alone than a mate
Sounds like an exercise that I can take directly to the classroom--and one that packs a lot of punch, Paul. Thanks again for dropping by! (AND surely that English street song is the origin of Paul Simon's El Condor Pasa (If I Could)...)Readers, here's a preview from Candlewick about Paul's latest collaboration with illustrator
Chris Rashchka (for a chance to win an autographed copy, see our latest Give-Away which ends 4/22/15...enter at the end of
last week's post):
A celebrated duo reunites for a look at poems through history inspired by objects—earthly and celestial—reflecting the time in which each poet lived.
A book-eating moth in the early Middle Ages. A peach blossom during the Renaissance. A haunted palace in the Victorian era. A lament for the hat in contemporary times...In The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects, award-winning anthologist Paul B. Janeczko presents his fiftieth book, offering young readers a quick tour of poets through the ages. Breathing bright life into each selection is Chris Raschka’s witty, imaginative art.
Thank you for reading this today.
posted with affection by April Halprin Wayland and Eli (who--at this very minute is ripping apart his beloved stuffed animal, Rabbit)
You'll find my poems, posted each day of Poetry Month 2015,
here.
Jim Trelease, author of THE READ-ALOUD HANDBOOK, properly praised this essential book for teachers and librarians in his review: "Amidst the clanging noise of today's technology, Steven Layne offers here a clear clarion call on behalf of reading to children. It is insightful, reasoned, entertaining (rare in the field), and carefully researched for those who might doubt the urgent need for something that doesn't need a Wi-Fi hot spot. It should be on every teacher's must-read list."
Be sure to enter our Book Giveaway of an autographed copy of IN DEFENSE OF READ-ALOUD. Instructions follow after the Wednesday Writing Workout. The deadline to enter is April 6.
Were I entering our TeachingAuthors Book Giveaway, I’d share my #1 read-aloud title - Norton Juster’s THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH (Random House). As I wrote in my post celebrating Leonard Marcus’ 50th anniversary annotated edition of THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH, reading aloud this beloved classic marked the first day of school for every fifth grade class I taught. Once grown and married, many of my students wrote me to share how they in turn shared Milo’s tale with their children.
So what about you? What is your favorite read-aloud title?
Once again, I thank Steven – this time for allowing me to share his Read-aloud Tips and Recommendations - as listed in IN DEFENSE OF READ-ALOUD, in today’s Wednesday Writing Workout.
Enjoy!
Esther Hershenhorn
. . . . . . . . . .
Wednesday Writing Workout:
Dr. Steven L. Layne’s Read-aloud Tips and Recommendations
As Dr. Layne declares in his newest book, when it comes to read-aloud, practice makes perfect!
Here are a few of his practical read-aloud guidelines as shared in his March 1-released IN DEFENSE OF READ-ALOUD (Stenhouse).
Become familiar with the book before reading it.
Launch the book successfully.
· Provide a purpose for listening.
· Work out an advantageous seating arrangement.
· Plan your stopping point. “Every stopping point is a secret reading-skill-reinforcement lesson just waiting to happen.”
· Teach reading skills such as visualization, inferring, and sequencing.
· Plan strategically for the end of the read-aloud.
· Work out a positive solution for those students who get the book and read ahead.
· Choose and balance the books and genres we read-aloud.
Just in case you’re looking for a good book to read aloud, read through his list of “The Twelve Books Steven Loves to Read Aloud.”
· COUNTERFEIT SON by Elaine Alphin (“My go-to- read-aloud for high school kids who need to be enticed back into the experience of being read to by an adult.”)
· Sue Stauffacher’S DONUTHEAD (“It has proven itself to me time and again when it comes to delighting students in the intermediate grades.”)
· Bill Grossman’s MY LITTLE SISTER ATE ONE HARE. (“How can you not fall in love with a picture book about a girl who eats all manner of disgusting things and then throws up – when it’s written by a guy whose last name is Grossman?”
· Jerry Spinelli’s STARGIRL. (“Of all the books I have read aloud to students in my career, it is Jerry Spinelli’s STARGIRL that takes center stage.”
Happy reading aloud!
And don’t forget to enter our TeachingAuthors Book Giveaway! The deadline is midnight, April 6.
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 2/4/2015
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Howdy, Campers!
(Before I begin...make sure to enter our latest Book Giveaway of Sherry Shahan's Skin & Bones (which ends February 6th)!
 |
Two of the six TeachingAuthors in our corporate headquarters.
photo courtesy morguefile.com |
In 2012 we invited author/illustrator (and good friend)
Barney Saltzberg into our tree house for a cuppa tea,
a chat, and a book give-away, and just
last Friday we told you about the newly launched, worldwide
Beautiful Oops! Day based on his book.
Today, to complete the trifecta, Barney is graciously sharing a
Wednesday Writing Workout with us. Take it away, Barney!
 |
| This is Barney (with friends). He's the cutest one. |
Barney: I thought I'd share something I teach at UCLA Extension which seems to help unleash power and in many cases, people’s dark side. It's terrific.
I call it,
Utter Expression Without Consequence. Here's the prompt:
Write to someone and really let them know how you feel. It’s a chance to get anything and everything off your chest. It could be that you secretly are in love with someone. You could despise someone. Maybe a boss is constantly picking on you and you haven’t opened you mouth to complain. Now's your chance!
It can be in the form of a letter, or even a list.
 |
Choose your blackest crayon.
from morguefile.com |
This exercise gives you the opportunity to tap into feelings which you've sat on. Topics which you've avoided. Now's your chance to pour everything out...to a boyfriend, a wife, a friend. Or someone you ‘thought’ was a friend. A boss. Anyone you address. Just let it go and flow. This is a very freeing moment.
What I find is that this prompt helps shape a character. Ultimately, I hope this exercise lets the writer get into the head of a character who has a lot weighing on them. It's a step towards shaping a character. Our job is to know who we are writing about, even if some of the background research we write never makes it into our story. It just makes it so our characters appear to be writing the story for us when situations arise, because we know them so well.
Have fun with this--dive in!
I wish I had something brilliant to tell you as far as how this writing prompt helped make a story. I can say that time and time again, I saw how it empowered people. Students who were struggling to find their voice finally had a sense of what that looked and felt like.
 |
C
C'mon...tell them how you feel!
From morguefile.com |
A woman told off her husband in a letter. A teacher got everything she ever wanted to yell at an administrator on paper. If you are looking for a way to tap into feelings, this is a great way to dive in.
Thank you, Barney! And readers ~ tell us how you
really feel!
posted loudly and proudly by April Halprin Wayland
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 1/28/2015
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As a follow-up to last Friday's
Guest TeachingAuthor Interview with Sherry Shahan, I'm repeating the
Wednesday Writing Workout she shared with us in
July 2014. After reading this post, I'm sure you'll want to enter for a chance to win a copy of Sherry's
Skin and Bones (A. Whitman), if you haven't already entered the contest.
Sherry's young adult novel is a quirky story set in an eating disorder unit of a metropolitan hospital. The main character “Bones” is a male teen with anorexia. He falls desperately in love with an aspiring ballerina who becomes his next deadly addiction.
The novel was inspired by a short story Sherry wrote years ago, “Iris and Jim.” It appeared in print eight times worldwide. Her agent kept encouraging her to expand “Iris and Jim” into a novel. Easy for her to say!
* * *
Wednesday Writing Workout
Tell It Sideways
by Sherry Shahan
During the first draft of
Skin and Bones I stumbled over a number of unexpected obstacles. How could I give a character an idiosyncratic tone without sounding flippant?
Eating disorders are serious, and in too many instances, life-threatening.
Sometimes I sprinkled facts into farcical narration. Other times statistics emerged through dialogue between prominent characters—either in an argument or by using humor. Either way, creating quirky characters felt more organic when their traits were slipped in sideways instead of straight on.
There are endless ways to introduce a character, such as telling the reader about personality:
"Mrs. Freeman could never be brought to admit herself wrong on any point." — Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People."
Or by detailing a character’s appearance:
"The baker wore a white apron that looked like a smock. Straps cut under his arms, went around in back and then to the front again, where they were secured under his heavy waist ." —Raymond Carver "A Small, Good Thing"
The art of creating fully realized characters is often a challenge to new writers of fiction. As a longtime teacher I’ve noticed:
1.) Writers who use short cuts, such a clichés, which produce cardboard or stereotypical characters.
2.) Writers who stubbornly pattern the main character after themselves in a way that’s unrealistic.
3.) Writers who are so involved in working out a complicated plot that their characters don’t receive enough attention.
In Skin and Bones I let readers get to know my characters though humorous dialogue. This technique works best when characters have opposing viewpoints.
Consider the following scene. (Note: Lard is a compulsive over-eater; Bones is anorexic.)
“I’ll never buy food shot up with hormones when I own a restaurant,” Lard said. “Chicken nuggets sound healthy enough, but they have more than three dozen ingredients—not a lot of chicken in a nugget.”
Bones put on rubber gloves in case he’d have to touch something with calories. “Can’t we talk about something else?”
“That’s the wrong attitude, man. Don’t you want to get over this shit?”
“Not at this particular moment, since it’s almost lunch and my jaw still hurts from breakfast.”
Lard shook his head. “I’m glad I don’t live inside your skin.”
“It’d be a little crowded.”
Exercise #1: Choose a scene from a work-in-progress where a new character is introduced. (Or choose one from an existing novel.) Write a paragraph about the character without using physical descriptions. Repeat for a secondary character.
Exercise #2: Give each character a strong opinion about a subject. Do Nice Girls Really Finish Last? Should Fried Food Come With a Warning? Make sure your characters have opposing positions. Next, write a paragraph from each person’s viewpoint.
Exercise #3: Using the differing viewpoints, compose a scene with humorous dialogue. Try not to be funny just for humor’s sake. See if you can weave in a piece
of factual information (Lard’s stats. about Chicken Nuggets), along with a unique character trait (Bones wearing gloves to keep from absorbing calories through his skin.)
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 11/19/2014
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Today I'm pleased to share with you a guest Wednesday Writing Workout on creating tension in fiction from award-winning author Maureen McQuerry. Before I tell you about Maureen, a quick reminder that it's not too late to enter for a chance to win a copy of the 2015 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (CWIM) edited by Chuck Sambuchino and published by Writer's Digest Books. See the link at the end of today's post.
Now, about Maureen McQuerry: I was recently introduced to Maureen (via email) through a mutual friend. Her first YA novel, The Peculiars (Abrams/Amulet) was an ALA Best Book for Young Adult Readers 2013, Bank Street and Horn Book recommended book, and a winner of the Westchester Award. Her most recent novel Beyond the Door (Abrams/Amulet), has been named a Booklist top Ten Fantasy/SciFi for Youth. The second book in the series, The Telling Stone, releases May 2015. Maureen has taught writing to children and adults and loves giving author talks in schools and at conferences.
I'm hoping to meet Maureen in person when she visits Chicago in a few weeks. So far, she's scheduled to do a signing at The Book Stall in Winnetka on December 6 and one at The Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park on December 8. For more info, check out her website. You can also connect with her via Facebook and Twitter.
Before I share Maureen's
WWW on tension, here's a little about her newest novel,
Beyond the Door: Between his love of learning and his passion for Scrabble, Timothy James has always felt like an outsider. The only person who really understands him is his older sister, Sarah, and he’s also fairly certain nothing interesting will ever happen to him. But one dark spring night, everything changes.
A mystery of unparalleled proportions begins to unfold, revealing Timothy's role in an ancient prophecy and an age-old battle of Light against Dark. Together with Sarah and the school bully, Jessica, Timothy must embark on a quest to prevent the Dark from controlling the future—and changing the past. Can the trio work together in order to fight the ancient evil that threatens our world?
The first book in the Time Out of Time series, Beyond the Door, is a fast-paced adventure that combines Celtic myth, shapeshifters, and a secret code in a coming of age story.
VOYA described the novel as "jam-packed with twists and turns," a sure sign that Maureen knows a thing or two about creating tension. Here's her
Wednesday Writing Workout on the topic:
Wednesday Writing Workout:The Stakes Should Always Be Deathby Maureen McQuerry
Story isn't about plot. It isn't about character or setting or a great idea. It's about how events change people. We keep reading because we want to find out how a character navigates all the struggles that come her way. In fact the most critical component in reader satisfaction is the protagonist's arc. And notice I used the word struggle, because struggle is what changes characters. It's what changes us.
Struggle implies conflict and tension. Tension keeps us turning the pages. But how do you add conflict and tension to a story without an explosion or battle scene on every page, maybe without explosions or battles in your book at all? Tension begins with the stakes. If you've ever been told your novel is too quiet, it may be that your stakes aren't high enough. The greater the stakes, the greater the risk, the greater the tension and the more pages turned.
What do I mean by stakes? Stakes are what your protagonist has on the line. In a dystopian world like
Hunger Games, the stakes are personal survival, survival of people you love, of a community, of the world. But not every story will or should be dystopian or apocalyptic. The stakes may be the risk of emotional death. In my MG novel
Beyond the Door, Timothy finds himself in physical danger, the type of danger that might result in death, but he fears failing to complete his challenge almost as much. He believes it's his one chance to prove himself in the eyes of his friends. His self-worth is on the line.
For the reader to be concerned, risk has to be real and the protagonists' motivation worthy. Worthy motivations involve noble concepts like: forgiveness, love, redemption, self-worth. For example, a character who wants a part in the school play engages us when the stakes are based on a motivation that is worthy. She wants a part in the play because she sees it as a way to connect with her estranged father who was once an actor, but has rejected her or because she's never once fit in anywhere, been bullied or is handicapped and it's her one chance to find a community. If she fails here, she may never try again. Hope and worry for the protagonist create tension.
- A good beginning question to ask is what are the stakes for my protagonist? What is at risk? What will die?
Because a story is about how events change characters, you must have a clear idea of your character's arcs. In
Beyond the Door, Timothy needed to evolve from an insecure observer to a confident leader.
- Ask: What is my protagonist like at the start of this adventure? What do I want her to be like at the end of the story?
- What will it take to get her there? What kind of gut-wrenching decisions, public humiliations, dark nights of the soul? What antagonists will she have to face?
- Does each turning point create change? That's what moving a story forward means.
Below are some considerations for assessing your story for tension.
Assessing the risk in your story:- The risk of failure must be real and must be devastating—big consequences.
- Conflict must be external and internal—your protagonist must struggle in her mind and heart and with external forces.
- Tension must be relentless.
- A clear antagonist strengthens the conflict.
- The solution must require everything the protagonist has—the greater the risk, the more we worry.
- The solution should be inevitable, but surprising (Aristotle).
A few time honored techniques to increase tension, such as those below, will keep readers turning the pages.
Techniques to increase tension:- Increase the stakes—as mentioned above
- Withhold info from protagonist—mystery novels are a great example of how one missing piece of information can put your protagonist at risk.
- Introduce doubt—Who can she trust? Were her assumptions faulty?
- Limit time—the ticking clock.
- Give and take away—just as your protagonist has everything she needs, the bottom falls out.
Whatever struggles your character faces, remember they are the engines of transformation and tension is the fuel.
Writing Exercise Text © Maureen McQuerry 2014, All rights reserved.
Thanks for this, Maureen. I've already used your questions to assess (and up!) the level of risk in my current work-in-progress. Readers, if you try any of these techniques, let us know how they work for you.
Good luck to all, and happy writing!
Carmela
Meet my fellow Chicago children’s book author, the lovely and talented Claudia Guadalupe Martinez who so generously agreed to share today’s Wednesday Writing Workout in celebration of the release of her second Cinco Puntos Press book, the YA novel PIG PARK.
As her biography notes, Claudia grew up in a close family in Segundo Barrio in El Paso, Texas. Reading the Spanish subtitles of old westerns for her father, she soon learned that letters form words. By six she knew she wanted to grow up to create stories. Her father, who died when she was eleven, encouraged her to dream big and write many books.
Cinco Puntos Press is located in El Paso, Texas, “a fact that informs every book that we publish,” publisher John Byrd shared. Along with others championing diversity in children’s books today, he considers PIG PARK and Claudia’s debut award-winning novel THE SMELL OF OLD LADY PERFUME to be worthy examples of the kinds of books the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and WeNeedDiverseBooks encourage and seek. “Claudia,” Byrd wrote, “has a clear fronterizovoice: innocent, shy, witty, full of border culture and understanding. She used that voice well in THE SMELL OF OLD LADY PERFURME, earning herself a great deal of attention with readers, teachers and librarians looking for new and talented writers coming up out of the Hispanic community. That voice has matured in PIG PARK, still shy and clear, but now feisty as well and full of opinions as she chronicles the summer that fifteen-year-old Masi Burciaga and her neighbors came together to save Pig Park.”
I so appreciate Claudia’s willingness to share her insights and expertise on creating authentic characters with our TeachingAuthors readers and writers. Enjoy! Enjoy!
Esther HershenhornP.S.To enter our latest giveaway, a copy of CHILDREN'S WRITER'S AND ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET 2015, check Carmela's Friday post. * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
Wednesday Writing Workout: Creating Authentic CharactersThis conversation isn’t new, but the mainstream is taking note, thanks to the success of the recent WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign. I am more frequently asked for advice on writing diversity, specifically when it comes to authenticity. In such instances, I refer my fellow writers to author Mitali Perkins' tips for writing diversity. Mitali lectures widely on the topic. When it comes to authenticity in racial identity, she advises writers to ask, "How and why does the author define race?” She suggests writers consider the following:
“When race is explicit in a book, ask yourself and your students what would have been lost if a character’s race hadn’t been defined by the writer. Why did the author choose to define race?” The reason should be to establish something for the character, and not just to follow a trend or be politically correct. I, for example, wrote about young Chicana in THE SMELL OF OLD LADY PERFUME because I pulled from my own experiences growing up in a Texas border town. The Latino kids in PIG PARK were loosely based on my experiences in Chicago.
Alternatively, writers can ask, “Why didn’t he or she let us know the race of the characters?” If no explicit race is mentioned, will this cause readers to default to white characters, or do other cues establish diverse identity? Physical appearance, language, names, food can all be used to designate diversity.
While Mitali’s advice focuses on race, authors can apply it to creating authenticity for various other forms of identity. The point is to start thinking about how genuine the attempt at integration is.
To figure out what this might mean for you, whether writing inside or outside your experience, try this exercise.
Write a character biography based on his/her racial/ethnic identity. Answer the following questions:
When and how did he/she become aware of his/her identity? What role has the specific identity played in his/her life?
How does it affect his/her social activities? How does it affect his/her school activities?
In what ways does the character benefit from this identity? In what ways doesn’t the character benefit?
How does the specific identity affect your story? Variation: Write a biography based on another form of diverse identity (religious, sexual orientation, ability, etc.).
We live in a complex world where identity is both assigned and assumed. Authentic diversity isn’t casual or happenstance, but something that we as writers must develop as carefully as all other aspects of our story.
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 10/29/2014
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Hi Everyone,
The clock is ticking! If you haven't entered for a chance to win a copy of the 2015 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (CWIM) yet, see the link at the end of this post. The giveaway ends on Friday!
We're hosting the 2015 CWIM giveaway this month to celebrate the publication of my article in it: "Writing for Boys (and other 'Reluctant Readers')." The article contains advice and insights from four award-winning authors known for writing books that appeal to reluctant readers: Matt de la Peña, Lenore Look, David Lubar, and Steve Sheinkin. Today, I'm pleased to share a guest Wednesday Writing Workout from one of those authors: Lenore Look!
Here's Lenore's bio, as it appears in the 2015 CWIM:
Lenore Look recently released the sixth book in her award-winning (and boy-friendly) Alvin Ho chapter book series:
Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions (Schwartz & Wade). She is also the author of the
Ruby Lu series (Atheneum) and several acclaimed picture books, including
Henry’s First-Moon Birthday (Simon & Schuster),
Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding (Atheneum), and, her newest,
Brush of the Gods (Random House), a historical fiction account of the life of Wu Daozi, China’s most famous painter. Lenore taught creative writing at Drew University and St. Elizabeth College in New Jersey, and frequently speaks in schools in the United States and Asia. She has also co-presented the Highlights Foundation workshop "Writing for Boys" with Bruce Coville and Rich Wallace. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, and blogs frequently at
lenorelook.wordpress.com.
I'm a big fan of Lenore's Alvin Ho books, which is why I approached her about participating in the CWIM article. I haven't read
Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions yet, so I'll share the blurb for it that appears on
Indiebound:
Here’s the sixth book in the beloved and hilarious Alvin Ho chapter book series, which has been compared to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and is perfect for both beginning and reluctant readers.
Alvin, an Asian American second grader who’s afraid of everything, is taking his fears to a whole new level—or should we say, continent. On a trip to introduce brand-new baby Ho to relatives in China, Alvin’s anxiety is at fever pitch. First there’s the harrowing 16-hour plane ride; then there’s a whole slew of cultural differences to contend with: eating lunch food for breakfast, kung fu lessons, and acupuncture treatment (yikes!). Not to mention the crowds that make it easy for a small boy to get lost.
From Lenore Look and New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham comes a drop-dead-funny and touching series with a truly unforgettable character.
Sounds like a fun read!
JFor today's WWW, Lenore shares a great exercise in beginnings.
Wednesday Writing Workout:Finding the Best Beginningby Lenore Look
When I worked as a newspaper reporter, the first thing I learned was how important the “
lede” or beginning of the story is. The first sentence is crucial. It’s called the “hook” because it snags your reader and reels them into your story. Without a strong hook, your reader will get away before you can tell them the five Ws and H – who, where, what, when, why and how.
When writing fiction, your hook is not just the best way to snag your reader, but it’s the place from which you will hang the rest of your story. It’s THAT important. For me, the beginning is the hardest part of the book to write. I’m faced with all my research, my characters, what I want to say, and a few ideas for scenes. It’s overwhelming. Where do I start? I pick something and have a go at it. It’s a mis-start, or a scrub, as they call it at NASA when a launch is aborted. I have many scrubs. When I find the spark that will finally launch my rocket, there’s more trouble. Often I will agonize over the first sentence for days, re-writing it, tweaking it, throwing it out, starting it over, again and again. But when I finally get it right, it’s blast-off! And the rest of the book seems to write itself.
Here’s my top-secret recipe for finding the strongest beginning, and I hope it helps you find yours.
How to Find the Strongest Beginning to Any Piece of Writing.1.
Sit down.
2.
Open your writer’s notebook.
3.
Ask the following questions:
a.
Who’s your character?
b.
What’s your setting?
c.
What does your character want?
d.
What are the obstacles in her way?
4.
Summarize the story you’re telling in one sentence.
5.
Write your summary sentence in the center of a blank page.
6.
Now surround your summary sentence with your answers to the questions from #3. Some people call this “clustering,” – if you draw circles around each of your sentences/ideas, it begins to look like a cluster of grapes. I don’t bother with the circles, instead I make lists, and surround my summary sentence with lists that answer the questions.
7.
Add your research as they fit under the different questions in #3.
8.
Step away.
9.
Eat some ice cream.
10.
Stare at the sunset.
11.
Call a friend.
12.
It’s important to start the next part with fresh eyes.
How to Find the Strongest Beginning, Part II1.
Look at your messy page(s).
2.
Find the smallest, most simple detail that captures your entire story.
3.
What you’re looking for is the KEY to your house. Keys are small. A small detail will open the door to the rest of the house, which is your story. All the rooms in your house are the different scenes that make up the story.
4.
Study carefully the beginnings to books you like.
5.
Using the detail you found in #2, and the inspiration you found from #4, write the most compelling beginning you can.
6.
Let it lead you into the first room of your story.
7.
Finish off the ice cream.
8.
Stare at the sunset.
9.
It may be the last sunset you see for a while.
10.
Writing a book takes a long time.
11.
Cry.
12.
Cry your eyes out. It’s only the beginning. You still have the middle and the end to tackle!
Writing Exercise Text © Lenore Look 2014, All rights reserved
Thanks, Lenore, for this terrific exercise! Readers, if any of you try today's WWW, do let us know how it works for you.
And don't forget to enter for a chance to win your own copy of the 2015 CWIM, where you'll be able to read additional helpful tips from Lenore. See
my last blog post for details. The giveaway ends October 31.
Happy Writing!
Carmela
As promised, I’m sharing a most original WWW I came upon while reading NAMING THE WORLD, the collection of writing exercises gathered by Bret Anthony Johnston (Random House, 2007) I reviewed in Monday’s post.
The author, Paul Lisicky, titled the exercise “All About Rhythm.” It appears in the section “Descriptive Language and Setting.”
Lisicky writes about finding a rhythm that matches the meaning of our story's drama – not a distracting rhythm but one that is crucial, that makes our fiction sing.
He began by quoting Virgina Woolf.
“Style is a very simple matter; it is all about rhythm. Once you get that, you can’t use the wrong words….Now this is very profound, what rhythm is, and goes far deeper than words. A sight, an emotion creates this wave in the mind, long before it makes words to fit it.”
How can we bring a poet’s central tools to our own work, he wondered, “and be more deeply aware of pauses, sentence length, stops, even alliteration and assonance in the prose we read and write,” all the while opening ourselves to our own rhythms?
Enjoy! Enjoy!
Esther Hershenhorn
* * * * * * * * * *
Paul Lisicky’s ALL ABOUT RHYTHM
“Take a paragraph by a writer whose work has been important to you.
Type it out once.
Then type it again.
Once you’ve done that, substitute your own noun for each noun, your own verb for each verb.
Replace all the adjectives and adverbs.
Play with it for a few days.
Then do another version.
If you’re lucky you might have the beginnings of a story.
Or, at the least, a more intimate sense of that writer’s rhythms.”
It’s National Punctuation Day?It’s National Punctuation Day.I mean – it’s NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY!(Of course, only a writer could so enthuse for such a day.)
As writer Russell Baker aptly put it, “When speaking aloud, you punctuate constantly – with body language. Your listener hears commas, dashes, question marks, exclamation points, quotation marks as you shout, whisper, pause, wave your arms, roll your eyes, wrinkle your brow. In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear the way you want to be heard.”“How might I celebrate,” you ask, “what National Punctuation Day founder Jeff Rubin calls ‘a celebration of the lowly comma, correctly used quotation marks, and other proper uses of periods, semicolons, and the very-mysterious ellipsis’?”
Well…I recommend the following actions: first visit the website Jeff Rubin created; admire each and every pictured punctuation mark and give it its proper due; next take this test to check your command of commas/apostrophes; laugh heartily while you read Lynne Truss’ EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES (Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference); and finally, consider completing my Wednesday Writing Workout which offers writers a chance to re-purpose the 14 standard marks of punctuation in English grammar to create original emoticons all their own. [See below.]Enjoy!
Esther Hershenhorn
P.S.While doing All Things Punctuation, don’t forget to celebrate your inner exclamation mark! J P.P.S.And for sure, don’t forget to enter our Book Giveaway to win a copy of Barbara Krasner’s picture book biography of Golda Meir - GOLDIE TAKES A STAND: GOLDA MEIR’S FIRST CRUSADE.The deadline is September 26. * * * * * * * * * *
Those Emotive Punctuation Marks!
I M J 2 B writing about emoticons – punctuation marks RE-purposed to instantly connote an emotion when communicating electronically.
Think: little sideways smiley faces. :)
The word “emoticon” blends “emotion” and “icon.” An emoticon allows for a quick expression of feeling when the communication is electronic.How might YOU (!) combine and re-arrange any and all of the 14 marks of punctuation below to create an original emoticon?
? ! ’ . , “ ” - _ [ ] ( ) … / : ;
Feel free to use keyboard letters, spacing options and numbers too. Turn them upside down and sideways!
Think outside the []. JPlay.
Experiment.In other words, have fun!
Think, too, of any and all emotions/situations – Joy, Distress, Anger, Confusion, e.g.
If you need inspiration, click here to see more examples.And be sure to share them with our TeachingAuthors readers so we can use them to help them catch on.
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 9/17/2014
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.
The post below is refreshed and reprised from September 2013...the book giveaway of Barbara's picture book (about a slice of Golda Meir's childhood--and what an amazing leader she was even then) is NEW and ends September 26, 2014.
Howdy, Campers!
It's not Saint Patrick's Day, but we're lucky, lucky, lucky to open our doors and welcome Guest TeachingAuthor Barbara Krasner, who I interviewed last Friday, and who offers us her NEW picture book, Goldie Takes a Stand! A Tale of Young Golda Meir, to give away and a dynamite Wednesday Writing Workout for the New Year.
 |
Feeling lucky? Enter our latest book giveaway!
Details on this post. |
Here's Barbara...
 |
...and here's the Writing Workout she's cooked up for us: |
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, comes early this year and I’m glad. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on the past year and think about the coming year even before the leaves fall. I’m giving you a Rosh Hashanah challenge in three parts.
Part One: Rosh Hashanah, literally translated as head of the year, is a perfect time to think about the beginning of your manuscript. How many times do we hear that if we can’t grab the agent/editor/reader within just a few seconds, he or she will just move on to something else?
Ask yourself the following questions:
• Do you have a compelling title?• Does your first line grab the reader? (My all-time favorites are from M.T. Anderson, “The woods were silent except for the screaming,” and from Kate DiCamillo, “My name is Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog.”)• Have you presented the main character on the first page?• Have you presented the problem within the first page, the first chapter?
These questions apply to fiction and nonfiction alike.
What are YOUR first lines?
Part Two: The Rosh Hashanah holiday includes a practice called Tashlich, casting off our sins. The practice is exemplified in April Halprin Wayland’s New Year at the Pier (Dial, 2009), winner of the Sydney Taylor Gold Award for Younger Readers, and the mother-daughter team of Susan Schnur and Anna Schnur-Fishman’s Tashlich at Turtle Rock (Kar-Ben, 2010).
My question to you: What writing sins will you cast off this year?
When I think about this for myself, I think about:• I will cast off my lack of organization – I will organize all those papers into folders with easy-to-read tabs and file the folders• I will cast off watching reality TV (TCM movies only) – I need more time to write• I will cast off working on a gazillion projects at once – I will focus on one genre at a time, and right now, that’s poetry, and okay, picture books• I will cast off reading several books at once – I commit to reading a book fully before moving on to another.
You get the idea. What will you cast off?
Part Three: Here’s a prompt you can write to: Recall a Rosh Hashanah (or New Year) scene from your childhood and write about it. Who was there? Where were you? What action and dialogue took place?Thank you so much for your three-part Rosh Hashanah writing challenge, Barbara, and for mentioning my
book (blush)...
shana tovah!
posted by April Halprin Wayland
Today’s Wednesday Writing Workout comes to us courtesy of my fellow Newberry Library writing instructor, Chicago author and memoirist Carol LaChapelle.
When it comes to teaching Memoir Writing, Carol is “it”!Carol believes each life contains the makings of a memoir.
In FINDING YOUR VOICE, she shares writing tools, tricks of the trade, exercises and prompts to help any writer access and explore memories and turn them into stories.
Carol also includes contributions from real students who have been using her methods to show readers how productive the writing exercises can be.
You can read Carol’s most recent essays in Next Avenue and in American Magazine. Carol invites TeachingAuthors readers to visit her blog ForBoomersandBeyonders - Dispatches From the(New) Middle Ages and/or to “friend” her on Facebook. You can email her directly for information about her online writing workshops at [email protected] Thank you, Carol, for sharing one of your 167 ways for our TeachingAuthors readers to find their voice and tell their stories.
Enjoy! Enjoy!
Esther Hershenhorn Finding Your Voice In addition to writing and teaching workshops, I also consult with private clients on their various writing projects. Recently, one of them, a woman in her late 70s who is writing a series of family stories, sent me a remembrance of her beloved grandmother to read and critique.
In the piece, Joan writes about her many experiences with her grandmother from when she was a young girl. As I read it, I realized that I didn’t really understand what was so special about “Gram,” though I knew Joan felt there were many things, else why commit this woman to paper?
And so after marking up the draft—mostly with questions—I summed up my comments at the end, including suggestions for the next revision, then sent it back to Joan along with this note.
I definitely like this idea for a family story; it’s important for future generations to know the people who went before them.
I hope my notes, especially on the last page, will help in your revision. The major thing when starting to revise is to list for yourself those 2-4 most important characteristics/personality traits of your grandmother, as you experienced them.
You don’t necessarily have to then list these traits in the actual revision, but you want the story—the specific experiences/details/scenes—to illustrate those. In other words, here’s the evidence that supports why you believe Gram is someone worth writing about.
I also referred Joan to my book, particularly Chapter Two, “Four Really Helpful Writing Techniques.” The fourth technique, the Character Sketch, describes how I came to write one particular memory of a high school teacher, including the process by which that memory emerged on the blank page.
I felt this might be helpful to Joan as she attempted to more specifically capture what was essential about her grandmother.
Following is that technique, which I have copied directly from my book’s initial manuscript. I hope it will serve as a good reminder for all of us—new and practicing writers alike—when we come to write about the very special people in our own lives. 4. Character Sketch: When you use the character sketch technique, you do more than simply describe someone physically. That’s important of course as s/he will come more alive on the page the better that you—and your intended reader—can see what that person looks like, sounds like, moves like.
But a character sketch becomes more interesting when you add the person’s relevant personality traits and significant biographical information.
For instance, if I were to do a character sketch of one of my favorite high school teachers, I’d include her height (short), athletic skill (she was our phys ed teacher), and coloring (her small, olive-dark face). I’d also mention how young she was, and how demanding she was of us. I’d describe how she looked while bouncing down the school halls (even when not wearing tennis shoes), gesticulating wildly alongside her friend and colleague, a much taller, paler, and mellower teacher. Oh, and I guess I would mention that she was a nun who dressed in the black and white habit of her religious community—both in the gym and out.
I’d include relevant biographical information—a matter of keen interest among her former students, especially her decision to leave the convent after 20 years, marry a much younger man, sail around the world with him for a year, then return home and open a pizza parlor.
As I sit here now and write about the former Sister Joseph, more images of her come to mind, each small detail leading to another, and another, and then finally to a specific scene:
It is 1958 and our girls volleyball team has gathered in the gym after school for volleyball practice. As we fumble our way around the court, Sr. Joe paces up and down the sidelines, barking orders at us, her black veil tied behind her back with a fat rubber band, the dour nun shoes exchanged for bright white tennies. Her diminishing patience at our ineptitude now exhausted, she charges onto the court and to the spike position of my team. Pushing aside Loretta, our best player, she yells “Set me up!” to the quaking girl next to her. The rest of us stand there still as stones, and watch as Sr. Joe rises like some fiery rocket and hammers that ball over the net. Coda
Not long after my book was published in July 2008, I received a very surprising email from one of its readers. Here’s how it begins:
Dear Ms. LaChapelle,
I am the "much younger man" to whom you refer on page 33 of your new book who married your former volleyball coach. I want to tell you that I (and she) nearly fell on the floor reading that recollection. While some of the details were slightly off, the essence of Sr. Joseph was right on. 
Guest
Teaching Author Sandy Brehl
visited with us on Friday to share some background about her middle grade novel
Odin's Promise. (We're giving away an autographed copy--see Friday's post for details!) Sandy also provided today's
Wednesday Writing Workout.
Thank you so much for joining us, Sandy! Would you share a favorite writing exercise for our readers?Since
Odin’s Promise released, I’ve heard two comments most often. One reflects appreciation of the fact that characters, particularly the German soldiers, are not treated as caricatures or stereotypes. This wasn’t a conscious decision or my original intent, but my research made it clear that there were wide and varied motivations and reactions among the Norwegians and the occupiers. Surface behaviors were not necessarily indicators of genuine feelings. While the overt story may have been “good Guys VS. Bad Guys” the SUBTEXT reveals more complex dynamics at work.
I’ll suggest a favorite exercise that helps in reading AND writing with an increased awareness of SUBTEXT. I first read about SUBTEXT STRATEGY exercises in an article and later in a book created by developer Jean Anne Clyde and co-authors Barber, Hogue, and Wasz:
BREAKTHROUGH TO MEANING: Helping Your Kids Become Better Readers, Writers, and Thinkers.
Here’s one strategy I use: Think of a crime drama or other dramatic series that is familiar to all. A full page print advertisement works well, too. Suggest a scene with simple dialogue (better yet,
play a short YouTube clip like this one which does some of the work for you!)
Then quickly survey: “What was _________ really thinking when s/he said that?” “How could you tell? (Body language? Earlier actions? Facial expression? Previous experience with the character?)
Since I advocate the use of picture books for all ages as compact, concise and compelling tools for sophisticated lessons, here’s one of my favorite activities: Share Chris Raschka’s picture book
Yo! Yes? by reading aloud or sharing the
YouTube video.
Working through the brief text page by page, discuss what each character is REALLY saying (and thinking) as he speaks; then explore the other’s reaction.
It’s likely not all will “read” the subtext identically. Some may “read” anxiety, others hostility, still others shyness or confusion, depending on their preconceptions. Keep in mind the words on the page are identical for all.
Once the story has been thoroughly explored, challenge writers to compose a story passage from a full double-page spread (or the whole story, if there’s time) with the dialogue restricted to the original text. Narration alone must do the important work of the illustrations. The finished piece should suggest the subtext but still allow for some interpretation among different readers. This might be conveyed by body postures, gestures, expressions, actions, tone of voice, etc.
If working in a group of three, two can reenact a portion of the story, replaying sections to allow full discussion. A recorder helps the team generate the best way to describe, phrase, and imply the emotions and attitudes intended without stating them outright. The finished text is then read aloud and enacted by the players, comparing to the original impact of the illustrated pages.
This exercise can be adapted to reveal underlayers of character personalities before writing: If you know your story will have two teen boys, a mother, a younger sister, and a crabby old neighbor, imagine their responses to a single page color advertisement--perhaps a lingerie ad. Develop an internal script for each character’s thoughts when viewing the same ad. Is the crabby old neighbor a lecherous man or does he think about his wife deteriorating with Alzheimer's and remember how she looked on her wedding night? Does the mother worry about her son being hounded by aggressive young girls, or worry that he doesn’t even seem interested in girls, but his friend is drooling? Does the young girl have body image issues suggesting early anorexia, or does she disdain such images because she’s 100% tomboy?
Your interpretation of your characters’ responses might reshape your own story and its development.
As for that other frequent comment? Readers ask when they can expect the sequel so they can find out what happens next to Mari and her family.
Odin’s Promise was written as a stand-alone title, but apparently there is enough subtext to generate emotional investment in my characters, which is the best compliment I could wish for. Research is well underway, with fingers crossed that this won’t be a thirty-year process.
Thank you again, Sandy! Readers, be sure to
enter the book giveaway! The deadline is August 23.
JoAnn Early Macken
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 7/30/2014
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Today's
Wednesday Writing Workout comes to us courtesy of the talented
Sherry Shahan. Sherry and I first met virtually, when she joined the
New Year/New Novel (NYNN) Yahoo group I started back in 2009. I love the photo she sent for today's post--it personifies her willingness to do the tough research sometimes required for the stories she writes. As she says
on her website, she has:
"ridden on horseback into Africa’s Maasailand, hiked through a leech-infested rain forest in Australia, shivered inside a dogsled for the first part of the famed 1,049 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, rode-the-foam on a long-board in Hawaii, and spun around dance floors in Havana, Cuba."
Her new young adult novel
Skin and Bones (A. Whitman) is a quirky story set in an eating disorder unit of a metropolitan hospital. The main character “Bones” is a male teen with anorexia. He falls desperately in love with an aspiring ballerina who becomes his next deadly addiction.
The novel was inspired by a short story Sherry wrote years ago, “Iris and Jim.” It appeared in print eight times worldwide. Her agent kept encouraging her to expand “Iris and Jim” into a novel. Easy for her to say!
* * *
Wednesday Writing Workout
Tell It Sideways
by Sherry Shahan
During the first draft of
Skin and Bones I stumbled over a number of unexpected obstacles. How could I give a character an idiosyncratic tone without sounding flippant?
Eating disorders are serious, and in too many instances, life-threatening.
Sometimes I sprinkled facts into farcical narration. Other times statistics emerged through dialogue between prominent characters—either in an argument or by using humor. Either way, creating quirky characters felt more organic when their traits were slipped in sideways instead of straight on.
There are endless ways to introduce a character, such as telling the reader about personality:
"Mrs. Freeman could never be brought to admit herself wrong on any point." — Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People."
Or by detailing a character’s appearance:
"The baker wore a white apron that looked like a smock. Straps cut under his arms, went around in back and then to the front again, where they were secured under his heavy waist ." —Raymond Carver "A Small, Good Thing"
The art of creating fully realized characters is often a challenge to new writers of fiction. As a longtime teacher I’ve noticed:
1.) Writers who use short cuts, such a clichés, which produce cardboard or stereotypical characters.
2.) Writers who stubbornly pattern the main character after themselves in a way that’s unrealistic.
3.) Writers who are so involved in working out a complicated plot that their characters don’t receive enough attention.
In Skin and Bones I let readers get to know my characters though humorous dialogue. This technique works best when characters have opposing viewpoints.
Consider the following scene. (Note: Lard is a compulsive over-eater; Bones is anorexic.)
“I’ll never buy food shot up with hormones when I own a restaurant,” Lard said. “Chicken nuggets sound healthy enough, but they have more than three dozen ingredients—not a lot of chicken in a nugget.”
Bones put on rubber gloves in case he’d have to touch something with calories. “Can’t we talk about something else?”
“That’s the wrong attitude, man. Don’t you want to get over this shit?”
“Not at this particular moment, since it’s almost lunch and my jaw still hurts from breakfast.”
Lard shook his head. “I’m glad I don’t live inside your skin.”
“It’d be a little crowded.”
Exercise #1: Choose a scene from a work-in-progress where a new character is introduced. (Or choose one from an existing novel.) Write a paragraph about the character without using physical descriptions. Repeat for a secondary character.
Exercise #2: Give each character a strong opinion about a subject. Do Nice Girls Really Finish Last? Should Fried Food Come With a Warning? Make sure your characters have opposing positions. Next, write a paragraph from each person’s viewpoint.
Exercise #3: Using the differing viewpoints, compose a scene with humorous dialogue. Try not to be funny just for humor’s sake. See if you can weave in a piece
of factual information (Lard’s stats. about Chicken Nuggets), along with a unique character trait (Bones wearing gloves to keep from absorbing calories through his skin.)
I hope these exercises help you think about characterization in a less conventional way. Thanks for letting me stop by!
Sherry
www.SherryShahan.comThank you, Sherry, for this terrific Wednesday Writing Workout! Readers, if you give these exercises a try, do let us know how they work for you.
Happy writing!
Carmela
Today I'm happy to share a guest Wednesday Writing Workout from the amazing Kym Brunner, who is celebrating the release of not one, but TWO, novels this summer.
When I met Kym at an SCBWI-IL conference a few years back, I couldn't get over her enthusiasm and energy. I had no idea how she found time to write, given that she was a busy mom with a full-time teaching job (teaching middle-schoolers, no less!).
According to her bio, Kym's method of creating a manuscript is a four-step process: write, procrastinate, sleep, repeat. She's addicted to Tazo chai tea, going to the movies, and reality TV. When she's not reading or writing, Kym teaches seventh grade full time. She lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois with her family and two trusty writing companions, a pair of Shih Tzus named Sophie and Kahlua.
Kym's debut novel,
Wanted: Dead or In Love (Merit Press), was released last month. Here's the intriguing synopsis:Impulsive high school senior Monroe Baker is on probation for a recent crime, but strives to stay out of trouble by working as a flapper at her father's Roaring 20's dinner show theater. When she cuts herself on one of the spent bullets from her father's gangster memorabilia collection, she unwittingly awakens Bonnie Parker's spirit, who begins speaking to Monroe from inside her head.
Later that evening, Monroe shows the slugs to Jack, a boy she meets at a party. He unknowingly becomes infected by Clyde, who soon commits a crime using Jack's body. The teens learn that they have less than twenty-four hours to ditch the criminals or they'll share their bodies with the deadly outlaws indefinitely.
And here's the blurb for her second novel,
One Smart Cookie (Omnific Publishing), which came out July 15:
Sixteen year old Sophie Dumbrowski, is an adorably inept teen living above her family-owned Polish bakery with her man-hungry mother and her spirit-conjuring grandmother, who together, are determined to find Sophie the perfect boyfriend.
But when Sophie meets two hot guys on the same day, she wonders if this a blessing or a curse. And is Sophie's inability to choose part of the reason the bakery business is failing miserably? The three generations of women need to use their heads, along with their hearts, to figure things out...before it's too late.
Today Kym shares a terrific
Wednesday Writing Workout on dialogue.
Wednesday Writing Workout:
SHH! DIALOGUE SECRETS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS!
by Kym Brunner
Quick! After a person’s appearance, what’s the first thing you notice when you meet someone? If you’re like most of us, it’s what comes out of their mouths. First impressions and all that. But when you read, you can’t see the characters, so your first impressions are made based on what the characters say, not how they look.
Simple concept, right? Not so simple to deliver.
SO…HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR CHARACTER MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION?
Give them something to say that’s:
- Believable
- Fits their personality
- Consistent, yet unexpected
- Short and natural
1) Believable DialogueHow do you know if it’s believable or not? Put on your walking shoes and get out your notebook! Head to the spot where the prototype of your character would go. Need to write teens talking together at lunch? Go to a fast-food restaurant near a high school. Want to know what couples say when they’re on a date? Head to a movie theater early and go see the latest romantic comedy. You get the idea.
***HINT: LISTEN AND TAKE GOOD NOTES. I promise you’ll forget the words and how they said them if you don’t.
2
2) Dialogue that fits the character’s personality
There’s a famous writing cliché that says a reader should be able to read a line of dialogue and know who the character is without the identifying dialogue tag.
The key is being the character when you write his or her lines. Imagine YOU are the sensitive butcher who is very observant (seriously, picture yourself looking out of the eyes of the butcher with your hands on a raw steak) and then write his or her lines. Better yet, listen to a butcher talk to customers and/or interview one to ask his top three concerns about his job. You might be surprised to learn what those things are…and so might your reader.
***HINT: SWITCH INTO THE MINDS of all of your characters (even the minor ones) as you write to create words that only THEY would say.
3) Consistent, yet unexpected? Huh?Your job is to make sure your characters are real, that they speak the truth (or not, depending on who they are). In real life, characters might keep their thoughts to themselves. Not so in fiction. Characters that are pushed to the brink must speak out––to a best friend, to the cabbie, to the offending party, to the police.
Yes, we want dialogue to be authentic, but it IS a story and it does need to intrigue your readers. So let them speak their mind and propel the story ahead by providing interesting thoughts for your readers to mull over.
***HINT: TO KEEP PACING ON TRACK, use frequent dialogue to break up paragraphs of exposition.
4) Short and NaturalCut to the chase. No one likes listening to boring blowhards, so don’t let your characters be “one of those people.” Remember tuning out a boring teacher? That’s what didactic dialogue and info dumps feels like to your readers. Only include information that’s absolutely necessary for the story’s sake and skip the rest. You might need to know the backstory, but keep it to yourself.
***HINT: READ ALL DIALOGUE OUT LOUD. Change voices to the way you imagine the characters interacting and it’ll feel more “real.” If you’re bored with the conversation, so is your reader. If it doesn't sound the way a person really talks, cut it or revise it. Listen to real people and you’ll notice most of us talk in short sentences with breaks for others to add commentary.
So there you have it. Write dialogue that’s believable, fits the characters, necessary, and natural and your readers will come back for more!
*****
Hopefully you’ll find authentic dialogue galore in
Wanted: Dead or In Love, which features two alternating POVs––one from Monroe (a modern-day teen who becomes possessed internally by the infamous Bonnie Parker), and the other from Clyde Barrow himself (who works hard to take over the body of Jack Hale, a teen male).
And if cultural humor is more your style, you’ll get a helping of Polish spirits along with a bounty of teen angst in
One Smart Cookie.
Kym BrunnerThanks so much, Kym! Readers, let us know if you try any of these techniques. Meanwhile, if you'd like to connect with Kym, you can do so via her
website,
Facebook, Twitter, and
Goodreads. And if you'd like a taste of
Wanted: Dead or In Love, here's the book trailer:
Happy writing (and reading!)
Carmela
But I’m happy to report: she’s one of my long-ago Ragdale Picture Book Workshop students too. J Though she now lives in Vero Beach, Florida, I will always consider her my SCBWI-Illinois kin. As recent posts noted, most writers’ drawers are crammed full with manuscripts that somehow haven’t found the light of day.
So Tamera’s WWW is more than timely, helping us mine the gold in those left-behind stories.
THIS OLD BAND features a ragtag band of cowboys counting and hollering from ten to one, making music with their jugs, combs, boots and whatever else they can find. In its upcoming July 2014 review, School Library Journal commended THIS OLD BAND for the “clever use of alliteration and rhyme, as well as laugh-out-loud funny tongue-twisters, that complement the singsong nature of the story, making the book ideal for both story-times and one-on-one sharing.” Thanks, Tamera, for sharing your book and your know-how!
As always, I'm cheering you on!
Esther Hershenhorn
* * * * * * *
Mining for Nuggets of Gold in Stories Left BehindDo you have any stories or poems that you’ve trunked, shelved, iced, buried, torpedoed, or locked in the vault? Work that was once your reason for showing up to write every day, but then at some point stopped being fun or interesting enough to continue? I do. Each piece’s end comes differently – sometimes I move on after barely starting, and other times I write through the end only to find that it didn’t turn out the way that I had intended. After the huge investments of time and energy, it can be disappointing, even heartbreaking.
My first picture book, THIS OLD BAND, has its genesis in in the demise of another rhyming concept book that will probably never be published because I’m not sure I’ll ever figure out how to write it. While I was creating it, though, in my mind it had such potential, such flair! There was going to be a duel! I wrote two (what I thought were) really terrific opening stanzas:
West, out near the great divide Where bison roam and ranchers ride Above the town of Twisted Pine,
Lived number one through number nine. I outlined the rest of the story. I knew where I wanted this poem-story to go and I wrote and rewrote, but it didn’t go where I had planned and eventually I had to concede. I placed the manuscript in a drawer and moved on to something else.
Over the months and years, though, the heart of that story kept tugging at me. I loved that western setting, the idea of cowboys and cowgirls, the bison, the numbers. I had already acknowledged that the story didn’t work as it was, but I began to think in “what ifs” and “maybes”:- What if I kept the southwest setting and the element of counting?
- Maybe these characters didn’t want to duel. What if I didn’t make them?
- What if, instead, the main characters were cowboy/cowgirl friends who played simple instruments and made silly noises? Maybe they could perform as a band.
- What if I threw out those “terrific” stanzas that were getting me nowhere and chose an entirely different rhythm and rhyme pattern?
Sifting through that old manuscript to mine those nuggets of gold was fun. Leaving behind the rest of the pieces that hadn't worked felt liberating. Equally satisfying was starting anew with my gold pieces of setting, characters, action, and new rhyme and rhythm. I began to uncover a different looking and sounding story that eventually became This Old Band. I believe that every shelved story or poem has valuable nuggets to mine if we’re willing to push past the gate of sorrow and frustration to search for them. Here are ideas for ways to approach a buried manuscript:
- Which one speaks most loudly to your heart and your brain? Maybe that’s the one to consider first.
- Do you need to actually read it to know what’s in there that is of value to you? Maybe there’s a gem of a conflict that you know by heart. Or a setting that is exceptional. Maybe it’s a secondary character – or an endearing character trait. With poetry it could be any detail that you found particularly charming. Maybe it’s a wonderful metaphor, a delightful image, or a single rhyming couplet.
- If you do reread the manuscript – after all this time is it more clear to you what was working and what wasn’t? Go in and grab those nuggets that work; they are gold, and they are yours!
- Consider what you have – it may not seem like much at first, but no story or poem does in the beginning.
- Based on what you have, allow yourself to wonder. Say “maybe”…ask “what if?” Follow your beacons of gold and see where they lead you.
I wish you good luck as you consider mining for your own gold nuggets. Maybe your real story is just waiting to be unearthed. Tamera Will Wissinger
By:
Carmela Martino and 5 other authors,
on 6/11/2014
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Today I'm pleased to share a Wednesday Writing Workout contributed by the inspiring and talented author Margo L. Dill.
I first met Margo some years ago at an SCBWI-Illinois writing conference. I believe she'd already sold her first novel, the middle-grade historical
Finding My Place: One Girl's Strength at Vicksburg (White Mane Kids), but it hadn't been published yet. With today's post, we join Margo's blog tour celebrating the release of her second novel,
Caught Between Two Curses (Rocking Horse Publishing), a YA light paranormal romance novel about the Curse of the Billy Goat on the Chicago Cubs. Margo has two more books under contract--both picture books--one with High Hill Press and the other with Guardian Angel Publishing. Besides being a children's author, she is also a freelance editor with
Editor 911: Your Projects Are My Emergency! and she is part of the
WOW! Women On Writing e-zine's staff. There, she works as an editor, blogger, instructor, and social media manager. When she's not writing, editing, or teaching online, Margo loves to spend time with her husband, stepson, daughter, and crazy Boxer dog, Chester, in St. Louis, Missouri. You can learn more
at Margo's website.
Here's a summary of
Caught Between Two Curses:
Seventeen-year-old Julie Nigelson is cursed. So is her entire family. And it’s not just any-old-regular curse, either—it’s strangely connected to the famous “Curse of the Billy Goat” on the Chicago Cubs. Julie must figure out this mystery while her uncle lies in a coma and her entire love life is in ruins: her boyfriend Gus is pressuring her to have sex, while her best friend Matt is growing more attractive to her all the time. Somehow, Julie must figure out how to save her uncle, her family’s future, and her own love life—and time is running out!
As a die-hard Cubs fan, I'm really looking forward to reading Margo's new book. (I'm hoping the main character solves not only her problem, but the Cubs' curse too!)
And now, here's Margo's three-part
Wednesday Writing Workout.Wednesday Writing Workout: Putting the Pieces TogetherWriting a novel is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with my daughter. I’ve been teaching her to do the edge pieces first and then fill in the middle. This reminds me of writing a novel because writers usually start with an idea, maybe a plot or an interesting character with a problem—in other words, our border. We build our foundation for a story by piecing together our ideas. But sometimes, that beginning border, even with a few pieces filled in the middle, is not finished or even sturdy. Here are exercises I use with my
WOW! Women On Writing novel students to add more pieces to their puzzle and come out with a strong, final product—a finished, publishable novel! (These can also be used with short stories and picture books.)
1. Create characters with internal and external problems.
The characters I remember best are the ones that struggled with both internal and external problems. What’s the problem your character has that he must overcome in the novel? Trying to raise money for a new bike? Figuring out how to deal with a sibling? Tired of moving around and always being the new kid at school? These are all external problems, and the ones that our plots are built on.
But your character also needs an internal problem! In
Caught Between Two Curses, Julie has to break two curses; but while she does this, she also struggles with her self-esteem and confidence as well as what love means. These are her internal struggles. While she rushes around to save her uncle, the events in the novel help her grow and work through her internal problems.
Just ask yourself these four questions either before you write your novel or even during revisions:
a. What is your main character’s internal struggle?
b. How does he or she solve it?
c. What is the external problem in the novel that affects the main character?
d. How does he or she solve it?
2. Brainstorm problems.
If you find yourself with a strong border for your novel—an exciting beginning and an ending that will leave readers talking for years, but you are stuck in the muddy middle, make a list of 10 problems that a person can have that’s the same age as your main character and in the same time period. For example, my novel’s main character is 17, lives in Chicago in present day. Problems she can have are: pressure to have sex, temptation to do drugs, failing classes, negative body image, disloyal friends, etc.
Once you have this list, are there any of these problems that you could turn into a subplot for either your main character or a minor character or sidekick? Subplots can often dry up the muddy middle and keep readers hiking to the end.
3. "Then what?"
The last exercise asks a simple question, “Then what?” Each time you answer, make the problem or situation worse for your main character. You don’t actually have to use all of these horrible situations in your book, but they may help you push your main character a little harder. Here’s an example:
Julie learns a curse is on her family.
Then what?
The curse makes her uncle fall in a coma.
Then what?
Julie’s grandma says her uncle will die before he is 35 if the curse isn’t broken.
Then what?
He is 35 in less than 5 months.
Then what?
She has no idea what to do to break the curse.
Using these writing exercises while you are piecing together your novel will give you a complete story in no time!
By:
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Howdy, Campers!
Before we get to Poetry Friday, before you enter our newest book giveaway to win a new spanking-new poetry book, I'm thrilled to announce the winner of an autographed copy of Debbie Dadey's Treasure in Trident City (Aladdin).
(Here's Carmela's guest TeachingAuthor Interview with the Debbie.)
And the winner is...drum roll, please...Catherine A!
Congratulations, Catherine!
And now onto Poetry Friday, which is hosted by Carol, of,
interestingly enough,
Carol's Corner. Thanks for hosting, Carol!
And today, we're lucky ducks. Why? Because my dear friend, poet
Joan Bransfield Graham, is stopping by for a glass of iced tea! Here she comes now ~ um...looks like I'd better bring a trough of tea...
.
The effervescent, inventive and truly original author and poet,
Joan Bransfield Graham.
In January, when her latest book of poetry
--The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices, illustrated by
Krysten Brooker--was published,
TeachingAuthors was proud to be part of Joan's blog tour. At our stop of her tour she offered a
Wednesday Writing Workout called the Olympic Writing Challenge.
Today,
Joan has agreed to be tied to a spit and grilled with our tough
TeachingAuthor interview questions. She has
also been kind enough to offer an autographed copy of
The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices to one of our lucky readers. (Here's
Miss Rumphius' fabulous interview with Joan to whet your appetite for this book.)
This book giveaway runs from midnight, June 6 to the end of the day on June 21, 2014. See below for entry details.
As I reported in January,
Joan is an award-winning poet who can't STOP writing poetry. She has files and piles of poems, which have been featured in anthologies, magazines, textbooks, and on CDs. She likes to think "outside the page" because poetry is "everywhere." Her books SPLISH SPLASH and FLICKER FLASH--shape poems about water and light--were both chosen as School Library Journal Best Books of the Year and NCTE Notables, among many other honors, and have been described as "ingenious," "wonderfully evocative," and "stunningly delicious." She loves photography, art, traveling and lives not-too-far from me in Los Angeles, CA.
Celebrating its 20th Birthday!
Celebrating its 15th Birthday!
So, Joan, how did you officially become a TeachingAuthor?
I officially became a TeachingAuthor when my teacher brain and my writer brain merged! My favorite part about teaching was helping students leap beyond knowledge into creativity, to use their imaginations to see the world in new ways.
What's a common problem/question that your students have and how do you address it?
"Does a poem have to rhyme?" Of course not. I tell students rhyme can be like a wild horse that wants to take you in the wrong direction. You have to be in charge of your poem and guide it; don't throw in any word just to make it rhyme. Expressing what you want to say is the most important thing--use the form that works best.
Lately, I've been surprised when students haven't been able to tell me what a poetry "anthology" is. The word anthology comes from the Greek word "anthologia," a "flower gathering." Isn't that a great way to think of it . . . a bouquet of voices rather than poems from only one writer.
 |
| Bouquets at the Davis, CA Farmer's Market |
Recently in an assembly, before we were going to do a poem together in sign language, I asked, "What is sign language?" A kindergarten child said, "Using your hands to communicate." Wow.
What one piece of advice do you have for teachers?
Share and enjoy poetry with your students across the curriculum--it fits everywhere! Do poems in "call and response" so that everyone can participate, be part of the poem.
Tell us about one particular school visit which stays with you.
Spending a day in the life of a school is an honor and a joy. Each school has its own personality. Between assemblies at one school, a teacher came up to me with a little boy and told me he had come to the school speaking no English and also had developmental problems. After my presentation, he went back to the classroom, picked up my book, and was singing the words he was so excited. He wanted to give me a hug to thank me. That's why we write, isn't it? To open the world for ourselves . . . and others.
And what's next on the horizon for you?
I've just had an incredibly busy May in California, which took me down to San Ysidro, up to Bakersfield for their amazing week-long Young Author Fair, down to San Clemente, and, on May 16, to my daughter Aimee's graduation from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
June 28 - 30 I'm headed to ALA in Las Vegas, where I'll be reading in the Poetry Blast. I have lots of poems due to come out in anthologies--April and I have been "flowers" in many of the same anthologies--at various times and many projects in the works. On Oct. 25 I'll be doing a Spotlight presentation at the SCBWI CenCal Writers' Day at California Lutheran University. March 7, 2015 you'll find me in Teaching Author mode conducting a workshop--REV YOUR POETRY POWER: Poetic Forms, Voices, and Choices.
And finally, since it's Poetry Friday in the Kidlitosphere, do you have a poem you'd like to share with our readers?
I'm torn about which poem to share. I've been having so much fun with my "Conductor" poem from THE POEM THAT WILL NOT END. I pass out my ocean drum, rain sticks, wooden frogs, thunder stick, and we have an environmental symphony. Those who don't have an instrument are part of the "wind chorus." I direct all this--"Conductor" is an Italian sonnet--with my large pencil baton as I read the poem.
But I think I'll share my haiku:
Footprints
Smooth patch of white snow,
stretched out before watchful eyes--
an invitation!
I say to students, "The next time you look at a blank sheet of white paper, think of it as a freshly-fallen field of snow, just waiting for the footprints that only you can make."
 |
| from morguefile.com |
My character Ryan O'Brian writes because he has to, he has a "Fever" (Can you hear Peggy Lee singing?). Thanks, April, for this opportunity to connect with kindred "fevered" spirits.
Thank YOU, Joan--and g'bye! (Readers, be sure to enter below for a chance to win Joan's newest book!)
Joan with her trusty camera. Behind her is one of her many fans.
Now it's time for you to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Joan's The Poem That Will Not End: Fun with Poetic Forms and Voices. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options specified. If you choose the "comment" option, share a comment to TODAY'S blog post telling us what you'll do with the book should you win: save it for yourself or give it away? And please include your name in your comment, if it's not obvious from your comment "identity." (If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com. )The giveaway ends on June 21st. P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address. Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.a Rafflecopter giveaway
As I promised on Monday, today's Wednesday Writing Workout is courtesy of the amazingly prolific Debbie Dadey. This exercise sounds deceptively simple. If you give it a try, do let us know how it works for you. And when you're done here, don't forget to enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Debbie's latest chapter book, Treasure in Trident City (Aladdin), from her Mermaid Tales series.
Wednesday Writing Workout from Debbie Dadey:
Characterization, from the Feet Up
I was lucky enough to attend one of the Highlights’ Chautauqua experiences many years ago. I’ll never forget author Pam Conrad’s workshop about characterization. One exercise stuck with me. It’s easy and that’s probably why I remember it:
- Simply think of your main character and look at his/her feet. What do they look like? Barefoot? Shiny? Polished? Scuffed?
- Then go up to the legs. Socks? Dirty? Ruffled? Keep going up.
- Do the knees have scabs on them?
- Keep going up until you’ve completely visualized your entire character.
This exercise helped me realize that I was approaching my first novel,
Cherokee Sister, from the viewpoint of the wrong character. I hope it will help you.
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Thank you, Debbie!
Happy writing, everyone.
Posted by Carmela
Today’s Wednesday Writing Workout on how to turn an idea into a satisfying story was cooked up by Chicago debut novelist Kate Hannigan. The timing is perfect: Kate’s CUPCAKE COUSINS(Disney-Hyperion) releases this Friday, May 9, with an official 2:30 pm cupcakes-included launch at 57th Street Books in Hyde Park in Chicago, if anyone’s in the area (1301 E. 57th St.) J
Kate also blogs at Author Of, interviewing fellow authors of books for young readers of all ages. Illustrated by Brooke Boynton Hughes, CUPCAKE COUSINS tells the story of almost-10-year-old cousins Willow and Delia who have been asked to be flower girls and wear bright pink dresses for their aunt’s upcoming wedding. But the cousins would much rather don white aprons and be flour girls, whipping up some culinary magic to share with their entire family. Scrumptious recipes for whoopee pies, peach pancakes and other tasty treats are included. Kate’s next release is in April 2015: THE DETECTIVE’S ASSISTANT (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), an historical fiction middle grade novel. Kate also co-authored with Karen Duncan the community service book THE GOOD FUN! BOOK(Blue Marlin) which offers 12 months of parties kids can throw to help their communities and the world. Thanks to Kate, for sharing her writer’s recipe for story-building with our TeachingAuthors readers. Her tips are write-on!
Finally I can say, what I knew I'd say some day,
having had the honor of working with Kate on earlier manuscripts:
Hurrah! Hooray!
Kate's on her way!
Esther Hershenhorn
. . . . . . . . . . .
Kate Hannigan’s WWW
A hot mess.
Whenever I’m just starting out with an idea, but it’s got no shape or clear direction, I call it a hot mess. It’s a bubbling stew of characters and plot twists and good intentions. But it’s definitely not a story yet.
So how do we take a hot mess of a book idea and turn it into an actual manuscript?
Lots of writers have ideas and techniques that work: You can find sites that offer up tools for outlining or worksheets or even fancy methods with clever names. But you also might benefit from a simpler, broad-based sketch. You’ll know what works best for you as you try them out. I have a few exercises that help me move from brain hiccups to first drafts, and I’ll share them here. They involve distilling ideas to their essence, literally sketching out the story arcs with little arrows and rainbow curves, and old-school outlining.
When I came up with the idea for Cupcake Cousins, I was driving on the highway between Chicago and Western Michigan, where the book is set, and letting my mind wander. But it wasn’t until I had quiet time to put pencil to paper that I could begin to see an actual story take shape.You’ll hear plenty of naysayers who distrust the notion of outlining. “It’s too confining,” they complain. “I like to let my characters take me wherever they’re going,” they declare. Sure, but remember that those are the kind of people who run with scissors, who leave the house without a hat and eat high-cholesterol dinners.
Let ’em partake in such risky behavior. Because as they’re enjoying the wind-in-the-hair rush of chasing their unruly characters, you’ll be too busy getting yours lovelies from Point A to Point Z to pay them any notice. And before long, you’ll have a solid first draft of a manuscript while they’re still lost on a literary back road.
I’m a Type A person trapped in a Type B body, so you won’t hear me advocating for a rigid outlining regimen. But I will say that distilling, sketching, and outlining saved me and my stories. And I won’t begin a project without first coming up with the wire hanger on which to hang my story.
Here’s a simple three-part exercise I do when I want to get my middle-grade story started, moving from hot mess of an idea to tangible first draft in hand.
1. Start with one sentence. Distill your book into one simple sentence. Two cousins are tired of being treated like babies, so they try to prove themselves through amazing feats of baking. This helps you focus in on the essence of your book. And simple language can be repeated: imagine your potential book editor walking down the hall to another cubicle and pitching your one-sentence summary to her neighbor.
2. Sketch out your story arcs. Seriously, grab a paper and pencil and start drawing curvy arcs. What does your main character learn over the long journey of your book? She starts out at Point A as what kind of person? And where is she at the story’s end? What about sub-characters? What do they want? How are they changed?
If you’re a visual learner like me, you might benefit from seeing the way these story arcs rise and fall. And if you are setting up a lot of story threads, these sketches can help you make sure when and where you’re going to tie them off.
3. Flesh out your idea with an outline. Going from one-sentence summary to 30,000-word novel is an overwhelming notion. If you’re like me, you might get completely flummoxed at this point and bail on your project entirely. Don’t. Instead, create a simple outline of the book.
And start by giving yourself some parameters, like word count. Early middle-grade books tend to hit about the same length. Let’s say you’re shooting for 28,000 words. Divide that total over 10 chapters, and you’re looking at writing 2, 800 words for each chapter. That’s a manageable target, right? Now you have a daily writing goal. But what do you want to say? Before you begin doing the writing, you have to do some heavy lifting – think of it as arranging the furniture. What are the 10 touch points you want to hit on in your book? Build your outline by writing down a quick one- or two-sentence summary of what needs to happen in each chapter as you move from the story’s beginning to end.
Chapter 1: Willow stares at the ugly flower girl dress and determines she won’t wear it for the wedding. She and Delia can’t wait to get into the kitchen so they can cook their way out of these dreadful gowns.
Chapter 2: Cat the new caterer appears in the kitchen, and she’s intimidating. But Willow and Delia aren’t convinced Cat knows how to make things as good as they do, so they “fix” her lemonade. The results are disastrous.
And so on.
Be flexible. Say you decide your chapters are too long for the pace you’re setting. So instead of 10 chapters of roughly 2,800 words each, you’re going to write about 20 chapters with 1,400 words per chapter and zip right along. Go back to your original outline and divide each chapter idea in half:
Chapter 1: Willow stares at hideous pink dress and determines she won’t wear it for the wedding. Family heads off for vacation in Michigan with Willow feeling frustrated.
Chapter 2: Willow and Delia meet up, extended family too. Aunt Rosie is crazy for the pink dresses while Willow and Delia are plotting NOT to wear them. They race off to the kitchen together, where they believe their true talents can flourish.
Chapter 3: Inside the kitchen. The girls hear the screen door open, and they meet the new caterer, Cat. She poses a threat to their plan for cooking their way out of the ugly dresses.
Chapter 4: The cousins tinker with Cat’s lemonade to disastrous results, getting them off on the wrong foot with her and ousted from her kitchen. And so on. Outline as roadmap. Creating a reliable, functional outline doesn’t have to lock you in. There is still the freedom to let your creative voice take you places. But it does help you stay focused on your destination. While we might enjoy a Sunday drive in the country, we eventually need to get to where we’re going, right? Let the outline serve as your roadmap.
Flesh out your ideas even more with each pass. As you refine your outline, flesh out the ideas for each chapter in greater and greater detail, making sure to pace out the tension and conflict as you go. With each pass, your outline details should grow from just a few sentences into a few longer paragraphs.
Almost writing itself. When it comes time to sit down and begin writing your manuscript, you’ll might be surprised how clearly focused your story is. The book could almost right itself! Okay, that’s not true, but you are in good shape because of your outline. You can see where your action peaks and where you provide the reader a rest. You can see where you’ve laid in turning points and tension, and where you’ve set up and then resolved the conflict.
Outline into manuscript. As you keep refining your outline and begin the writing process that makes the chapters hang together, you’ll see your great idea transform into a real story. And that story will soon take the shape of a solid, working draft.
And from there, you can just imagine the book it will soon become. You’re off and running! But not with scissors; you’re too smart for that.
What a Poetry Month we've celebrated! Now I hope to backtrack and read the many intriguing posts I've bookmarked for later enjoyment. In case you missed any of ours, here's a recap:
We each read one of our favorite poems aloud. (Of course, it was a difficult choice!) You can hear:
I had tons of fun writing
Wednesday Writing Workouts about different poetry forms. I gave myself a weekly writing assignment and wrote a new poem (or several) to accompany each one:
For our Fifth Anniversary
Blogiversary Book Bundle Giveaway, we gave bundles of 5 books each to 5 winners. We are thrilled with our readers and tickled to read all of your smart, funny, thoughtful comments. Thank you for inspiring us!
If you haven't yet, you can still
enter for a chance to win a copy of Jill's Angry Birds Playground: Rain Forest.
And now it's May, which so far looks a lot like April . . .
. . . except in my neighbor's yard!
May is
Get Caught Reading month!
Be sure to check out the
We Need Diverse Books Campaign. Use the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks on Twitter and/or find it on
Facebook.
Katya hosts today's Poetry Friday Roundup at
Write. Sketch. Repeat. Enjoy!
JoAnn Early Macken
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Jo Knowles’ writing warm-ups are but one of many ways Kate Messner gets teachers walking the walk in her not-to-miss Thumbs Up book 59 Reasons to Write (Stenhouse, 2015).
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