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A huge thank you to everyone who reads and supports my blog.  I’ve been blogging for six years now! 

Originally this was a blog about children’s literature news, movies, etc.  Gradually it has turned into more of a review blog with small bits of news scattered amongst the reviews. 

Originally, I was a director of a tiny Wisconsin library – I am now a director of a mid-sized Wisconsin library. 

Originally, I was one of a handful of children’s lit bloggers – now I am so happy to be a part of the growing kidslitosphere.

Originally, I had a two-year-old and six-year-old – now my boys are 8 and 12.  Whew!  Now that time went too fast!

What has never changed is my amazement and joy that people read my blog.  So thank you.  It has been a pleasure to write about children’s books for this long for such an amazing group of readers. 

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You know what's on the horizon? My blogversary!

On July 6, 2007, I started this blog (on a double-dog dare from Jules and Robin) with a post on a Poetry Friday. I called it Enter, because as I explained, the word "begin" has always "terrified and paralyzed me."

Little did I know that the word "blogversary" would also immobilize me. It's four days away and I haven't bought myself you a present. I haven't planned a surprise party. I haven't written a witty and tender post about my first year in Blogistan.

Worse, I'm about to go on a blog vacation! Family and a writer's retreat have claimed my attention, not to mention the final tweaks on my revisions. And of course, my blogversary falls on a weekend, when I lazily do not blog.

I feel like I'm standing in front of the rack of gift cards on Christmas Eve. Bath and Body Works? Victoria's Secret? Cheesecake Factory?

A year of blogging doesn't seem long enough for a retrospective celebration. But I'm doing it anyway. Unless you really want a 7-Eleven gift card.

The post with the most comments? Saying Yes with 33.

The shortest? The aptly named A Very Short Post. My life in six words.

Strangest title? An Anti-Chair Polemic.

Post with the most unexpected consequence? Out with the Cappuccino, In with the Mountain Dew. Without any help from me, the comments on that one gave birth to a whole new blog site for older boy readers: Guy Lit Wire. (I'm embarrassed when bloggers site or credit me for this. I was the ooze! Just the primordial ooze. Fabulous other bloggers evolved it.)

Post that mentions Elmer Fudd? Fight's on!

Post that gets strange search engine hits? Drop down and give me twenty! I think because I mention pushup bras.

Post that makes practical types gnash their teeth? Credo. Because it's most often found by a search on "how to write a credo." I don't think they want a poem that begins "I don't believe in..."

Post about nothing and everything? Where Ideas Come From. Coffee sludge, anyone? (Or if you prefer, Potato Chips and Coffee, in which I write a poem before your very eyes.)

Post truly about nothing? Empty as a Pocket with Nothing to Lose...

Favorite Big Question post? Am I Living my Life for an Audience? I virtually sit on Oprah's couch and refuse to give the right answer.

My best writing tips? Attention, all those in the waiting area: The importance of delay. Taking Out the Trash: How a cheap notebook enables me to write. It's All in the Manuscript: It's all in the title.

Post with the best shoes? At the prom... My interview at 7-Imps. (Side note: number of posts that mention shoes? 23!)

Most rewarding experiences of the year? Tie between Cybils judging and writing a crown sonnet with six other fabulous poets and co-blogging about exercise and writing with Liz.

Post I didn't think I'd write? Today's. A year. I've been blogging almost a year. I've published 287 posts. And made countless friends.

Thanks for making me feel at home in Blogistan. I promise to get you a present next year.

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by Jen McVeity

Writing a story is hard work, even for authors. There are characters to create, dialogue to deliver, plots to plan, tension scenes to capture, endings to invent and starts that have to sizzle align=”left”so much they superglue your reader onto a chair.

Then you have to put it all into interesting sentences that flow smoothly. Whew! Breaking the complex process of writing into chunks makes helping kids with their writing more effective - and far more fun too.

Here are two ‘chunks’ you could try to help your child write with more impact.

Show, Don’t Tell

As we read words, pictures form in our mind. See what happens when you slowly read the lines below:-

• Snow glistens, thick and white on a mountain top.

• Orange and yellow poppies stand tall and cheerful in a vase.

Our job as writers is to create these pictures in the brains of our readers. That’s what Show, Don’t Tell is all about.

However, how can we do this when the idea is more abstract - like emotions? That’s much harder for kids to write as there is no picture. Therefore we need to show them how to create one. For instance:-

TELL: My brother is lazy.

SHOW: ‘Your turn for the dishes Tank,’ said Mum. ‘Yeah, later,’ he said, yawning, and turned up the TV louder.

‘No, now,’ said Mum. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed. She knew later in Tank’s mind meant somewhere between the year 2012 and infinity. Once, as punishment, Mum put all the dishes and saucepans Tank had forgotten on top of his bed. He just dumped them on the floor. A week later they were still there, a shoe in the spaghetti sauce, sweaty socks on the plates and a really bad smell wafting out the door.

Ah, now we have the picture for our minds. It takes much longer to write - but as readers we are far more convinced.

How to Write Tension Scenes

Imagine a birthday party, a top restaurant, friends and family - and a massive earthquake that ends in disaster.

Here’s the starting point by a 9 year old boy:

We were having fun in the restaurant when suddenly the ground started to shake. I didn’t believe it. Then glasses started to break all over my plate. My sister tried to stand up, she was afraid. The ground was trembling, there was noise everywhere…

Tension scenes are one of the hardest parts of a story to write. Kids often make them too basic and short. Why? Well, we say ‘write what you know’, but children often don’t have enough ‘emotional experience’ to imagine this sort of thing.

However, other people do - and their words are all in a dictionary or thesaurus.

So try this: Get your child to underline key words in the story - and then use a thesaurus to help bring the scene alive. You can actually do this BEFORE they write as well. Just ask, ‘what are some things which will happen?’ and make a list for them to use.

e.g.

fun - delight, enjoyment, amused, teasing, laughing, happy

shake - shudder, shiver, quake, quiver, buzzing, tremor,

break - crumble, disintegrate, collapse, crush, shatter

afraid - scared, fearful, terrified, panicked

tremble - quiver, shudder, beat, vibrate, grind

The idea is NOT to merely substitute one word for another. It is to give a greater variety of words/inspiration/ideas to the writer - and let their subconscious do the melding.

After:

The waiter smiled as he put down a hot chocolate pudding right in front of me.

‘You’re not going to eat all that!’ said my Dad. ‘Here, I’ll help!’ He reached across with his spoon, teasing me. I pulled my plate away fast. Everyone laughed.

‘Just a little bit,’ Dad begged.

I shook my head. It was weird, but there was a strange buzzing sound as if everything was not quite real. I lifted my spoon, my hands felt like they were shivering. Or was it really the floor shaking? It wasn’t possible, but now all the glasses were starting to clink. Suddenly one fell, shattering glass across my plate and into the dark chocolate. Then the noise hit me, harsh, grinding, vibrating right into my brain…

Get the idea? See how the word ‘fun’ has turned into something more specific - teasing and Dad trying to steal chocolate pudding. A simple ’shake’ now has triggered ’shivering’ and a ‘buzzing’ in the head. Best of all look at that last line; the words suggested from ‘tremble’ have now made this incredibly evocative and powerful.

If you want rich writing, give kids plenty of rich ingredients to work with.

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© Jen McVeity, National Literacy Champion

Try our FREE Creative Chatterbox to find over 500 story ideas.

The Seven Steps to Writing Success program, designed by successful author, Jen McVeity, is used in over 900 Schools. Suitable for the home school curriculum and gifted children, it has been shown to rapidly advance children’s writing skills and enjoyment.

Visit our website at http://sevenstepswriting.com/ to learn about all the Seven Steps to Writing Success and to find more free writing resources.

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Jen McVeity, literacy, Seven Steps to Writing Success, show dont tell, writing tension scenes, Writing Tips, writing with children

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