How to use this Page

I'm coming to you from balmy Atlanta this week, where Mary Lee Hahn and I will be presenting later today a session called "Risking Writing," along with Dr. Shanetia Clark of Salisbury University and author Patricia Hruby Powell.  At the heart of this session is the writing of a poem brainstormed by Shanetia, drafted by Mary Lee, and revised by me.  Patricia will supply inspirational commentary. Do check back in to see what we came up with!

For now, here's our presentation in a nutshell:

Recently my friend and colleague Craig Child's posted a beautiful piece on the excellent blog, The Last Word On Nothing" called "A Shooting, A Storyteller". I urge you to go read it before continuing here.

When writing, sometimes it's easy to fall into "the zone" and sometimes the muse or whatever you want to call it, seems unreachable. I believe this is often true because we are terrified of what we want--what we need--to say.

In Craig's piece, he describes how his friend Everett told stories to a group of children on a family camping adventure, and reflects on why the children were so drawn to Everett in particular. "Perhaps they were so drawn to him because of his investment, not just spinning tales off the top of his head, but bringing them up from his soul," Craig writes.

I think this phrase, "bringing stories up from your soul" is a beautiful way to think about how to draw the muse out on challenging days. More than that, of how essential it is when we're telling stories, to allow ourselves to reach there in the first place.

As writers, we entertain, we provoke, we hopefully inspire thought. Those moments are most meaningful when the stories we've shared have come from deep within. When they've come from the most true place in us. These are the stories, as Craig puts it, that "hold us together."

This is my last entry for this season of Teachers Write. You've all inspired me and given me hope in countless ways this summer. But that doesn't mean it's time to put writing aside. Now is the time for you to carry this practice into your daily lives. Our words have held us together this summer, and they can continue to do so in spirit each time you sit down to write.

I wish I could share a talking rock with all of you before we move on, and provide a safe place for you to bring your story up from your soul. To encourage all of you to think about those stories you hold deep within, and how telling them in whatever fashion works best, will draw readers to you, and create community. And more than that, empathy. And more than that, love.

For your Monday Morning Warm-Up, I offer a challenge. This is meant as something to reflect on, and then something to write about privately, as least for now. Since this is deeply personal, I won't ask you to share, but perhaps let us know in the comments what the experience was like.

Monday Morning Warm-Up:

If you had a talking rock of your own, who would you like to sit on it with, and what would you like to say? Once you know that, I urge you to draw the story up from your soul. Draw it up and then, as Craig says, "Pull the plug, and let it drain out raw."



Note: I am away this week doing volunteer work for Habitat For Humanity and a housing group for women and children, so I may not be able to reply to comments until I return. I encourage you though, to have a meaningful discussion with each other, and comment on replies if you have the time. I will miss you all! Love, Jo

Several of you know, I spent a week on a "Mission Trip" with 21 youth and five other adults doing volunteer work for three organizations: Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org), New Reach (www.newreach.org), And CCA (ccahelps.org). All three organizations help provide housing for those in need, many for women in crisis, along with their children. At the end of the day, I tried to jot down a few of the many powerful moments I witnessed on this trip because I knew I was experiencing something I never wanted to forget. Here it is...

"Love Big: A Reflection"

Day One

I climb into a Big White Van
And Dave blasts Paradise by The Dashboard Light
as we circle the parking lot and wave good-bye.
Driving down the highway,
"That part in the song" comes on and I wonder, "Do they know what this is about?"
Answer: Yes. Yes they do.

By the time we cross the border into Connecticut
The Playlist has run through three times.
We joke that whoever made this mix
Must have stopped listening to music
In 1982.

Someone says, "This time we ALL have to sing."
We turn up the volume and do our best,
singing loud and proud and slightly off-key,
ready to start bonding before we even arrive.

That night at vespers
Eli says, "At the end of the week,
We'll say this was hardest we've ever worked.
We'll go home and need a day to recover.
But the volunteers here who guided us
Will start again on Monday.
And they'll do it again the Monday after that."
We all let that sink in.
"This is a time to be your best selves,"
Paul told us in the parking lot back home before we left.
I get the sense we're all silently committing to that now.

Day Two

In the morning
We stagger out of our beds and grumble about
Who got cream cheese on the knife handle,
Then circle up in the parking lot, hold hands
And pray together for a day of good work.

In the vans, we count numbers.
Turn on the play list.
Sing a little shyly with our new group.
Watch as one side of town
Transforms to another.
Manicured lawns of bright green grass
Turn overgrown and weedy.
Freshly painted houses
Turn paint chipped and dirty.
Loved and cared for neighborhoods
Turn to ones of neglect.

At the work site, we huddle together in a shed while we wait for the rain to pass.
Our hosts share breakfast and tell us about the women living in the shelter.
I feel guilty as I eat my jelly doughnut,
Looking at the building and thinking about the stories inside.

When the work starts
We pull weeds entangled with garbage,
Grown together as if they're the same thing.
We discover someone's shelter under a truck bed liner:
There's a sleeping bag
Some personal belongings.
Bottles filled with a liquid none of us want to identify.

The teens handle these things tenderly.
They worry out loud about what will happen
when the owner returns to find everything gone.
I try not to cry because
I'm the adult.
But this first morning is already hurting my heart
In unexpected ways.

All day we sweat and pull weeds
Shovel rocks
Power wash
Paint in the blasting sun.
At the end of the day, we collapse in the van
and count down the number of times we have to do it all again.
But then I think of Eli's words,
And put the blister on my toe out of my mind.

Day 3

Breakfast is quiet as we wander out one by one
and compare predictions for how hot it will get today.
On the highway there's a billboard that says "Love Big,"
And I tell myself, that's my motto for the week.

At the site, we start sweating as soon as we unload.
We shovel more rocks.
Pull more weeds.
Pick up trash.
Mow.
Mix cement.
Trim hedges.
And compare sweat stains.

As we pour the cement,
I see a little girl watching from an open window.
She's eating cereal out of a tall glass.
I smile and say hi.
She says hi back.
I wonder "What's your story?"
I bet she wonders the same thing.

Tonight, we drive to the shore,
Swim in the cool salt water and watch the sunset.
We talk about grief,
Troubled waters,
And how important it is
To cause a stir of change.

I feel an overwhelming sense of privilege
Looking out at the ocean,
Wondering if any of the residents we helped today
Have ever shared this view.
The irony of our troubled waters discussion hits me,
while the quiet, calm water laps the sand.

Day 4

Today we work on the second floor balcony
Staining a porch railing.
To get there, we have to use the stairs inside.
Now, we catch glimpses of who we're doing this for.
We hear them behind thin walls.
A baby crying.
A mother comforting.
It goes on and on as we paint a second coat,
And I'm sure we're all wondering again:
What's your story?

When we all reunite back at church,
We share survival stories
And agree we all worked hard,
Just in different ways.
We joke that there are teams,
But we are One.

We visit a quarry and jump off cliffs.
Swing down ziplines
And have a picnic dinner.
We sing happy birthday to Eli as the sun sets.
At vespers we talk about joy instead of grief,
But circle back again to acknowledge
How connected the two tend to be.

Day 5

As we drive to our site, Paul inspires us with an Elvis song.
We plant trees.
Dig up mulch.
Sing
Dig
Sing
Sweat. So much.
I think about the billboard sign from earlier in the week:
Love Big.

Logan and I name our tree Buttercup.
We put flowers in our hair and say we have Flower Power,
And power through the afternoon with new energy.
Every day, I have seen our youth rediscover their best selves.
Pushing harder, singing louder, embracing their work with
"lovely energy" that astonishes and lifts me up.

Day 6

On our last morning of work,
we listen to our usual playlist,
And Molly says,
"If you change the subject of this song from romance to the mission trip,
This is exactly how I feel about all of you."
We sing "Hooked on a feeling" a little bit louder after that.

There are tears on our way home that day.
We sing "Country Road, Take Me Home"
But I get the sense none of us really wants to go yet.
That night, we share thank you's.
We talk about how much our lives have changed this week,
And whether we've caused a big enough change
in the troubled waters we've witnessed.
There are more tears. More hugs.
I look at this circle and see a new community.
I see Loving Companionship.
I see Family.
I think of the Love Big billboard.
It's a motto that sticks.

Day 7

We caravan home. Some sleep. Some sing.
I keep turning around, looking at the faces in our van.
They were mostly just acquaintances on the ride down 7 days ago.
Now, they are "loving companions." Family.
I know all year I will hear a song
Or a phrase
Or see a pink flower
Or a newly planted tree
And think of these inspiring youth.
I'll wonder where they are and how they're doing.
They're part of my deep well now.
Part of my heart.
They have helped me be my best self.
And I'm forever grateful.
I will always love them big.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Monday Morning Warm-Up:
As you can see, this isn't necessarily a poem, but a list of moments. My challenge to you is to find the things in your day this week (and later the firs week of school) that you could do something similar with. Turn meaning into the mundane. Reflect on what inspired. Give purpose to what angered. Show gratitude for a moment of joy or comfort. And as always, try to have fun.

Hello Teachers and Welcome to our Final Teachers Write Monday Morning Warm-Up! I've had such a great time reading your work and being inspired by your enthusiasm and energy! I hope you've had fun, too.

For our last exercise, I thought I'd focus on strong beginnings and having the confidence to dive in to your story, trusting yourself and the reader to fall into an engaging, active scene. Now that you've been working on pieces all summer, you know you characters, you know your story, now it's time to try working on a beginning that pulls the reader in, and gives you a strong foundation from which to write from every day.

Four authors who I think are masterful first page writesr are Laurie Halse Anderson, K.L. Going, and Jack Gantos. If you want to study strong first pages, go read and reread their openings. That's how you do it.

Last year, I was a judge for several writing contests and read many beginnings and I can tell you after a while, you begin to see patterns and common mistakes. I outlined these in detail in this entry:

http://jbknowles.livejournal.com/484416.html

Then, a wonderful reader put all that information into a rubric, for writers to use when looking at and evaluating their work:

http://www.shannonrigney.com/2015/01/28/fun-with-rubrics/

Pretty cool, huh?

So today's Monday Morning Warm-Up is to let yourself go and start on a CLEAN piece of paper. Think of it as a White Page Day Do-Over, and try a new beginning, after reading some good examples and all my notes from the link above. Don't think about writing a strong beginning, which I fear is what hung up so many of these writers. Instead, envision where your story starts, what your character is doing, thinking, feeling. Let all of that emotion and longing and setting fill you up. Breathe it in and really place yourself in the moment. Then, let yourself drop into the scene and say what's going on. You'll see that's exactly what Anderson, Gantos and Going do. They trust their reader to drop in with them and take off. Now it's your turn!

Hello, Teachers!

Welcome to Week 3 of Teachers Write! I hope you're all still having a great time. You've all been incredibly inspiring to me, that's for sure.

To start off the week, I'm going to challenge you to practice marrying senses with emotion. Often how we experience a particularly strong sensation (eating a chocolate ice-cream cone, being stuck outside in the rain, sitting at a baseball game in the hot, baking sun), depends on our mood/emotional state. In writing, showing your character experience something that you would expect to elicit a certain emotion but behaves or experiences it surprisingly different, can reveal a lot about him/her without you having to tell the reader. And, I would argue, it does so far more powerfully. Think of it as another lesson in showing, not telling.

Below is a list of experiences that typically elicit strong senses, and then a list of emotions. Chose one from each category and write a scene with your character to show him or her feeling the emotion while experiencing the sensation. Make it challenging by choosing two items that you would NOT expect to go together.

List One:
Eating a dripping strawberry ice-cream cone
Sitting in a hot tub
Sunbathing
Taking a final exam/test
Eating corn on the cobb
Riding in a convertible with the top down
Waiting at a bus stop in a downpour
Eating cotton candy
Watching a scary movie
Sitting at an elementary school concert
Watching a parade
Eating spaghetti
Singing/performing a solo
Riding a roller-coaster
Swinging
Dancing
Shopping in a candle store
Eating an egg roll
Lying in the grass
Changing the cat box
Washing the dog

List Two:
Excited
Sad
Anxious
Scared
Happy
Jealous
Hurt
Disappointed
In love
Resentful
Obsessed about something
Mournful
Hostile
Nervous
Giddy
Holding a secret

If there is another emotion that better fits the current state of your character, pick that, and then chose from List 1 to work on conveying that emotion effectively through scene. Have fun! And as always I hope you'll share.

Love,

Jo

Hello Teachers and welcome to Week 2 of Teachers Write!

Last week was so amazing. I loved getting all of your entries, and also reading the other lessons throughout the week. Great job all around!

Today I'm going to send you on a path of discovery. Last week I asked you to tell me what you know about your project/character. This week, I want to help you discover something that you don't know.

The following writing prompts are real subject headings from my town's e-mail list. I am a big fan of believing that there are stories all around us and these subject headings are certainly proof!

So, pick from the list below and write a brand new scene in your work-in-progress beginning a paragraph with one of the phrases. HAVE FUN. Remember, you don't necessarily have to end up using this scene. It's meant to help you change course momentarily, which often leads to unexpected surprises. I especially like these kinds of exercises when I'm feeling like my work needs something fresh and unpredictable thrown in.

Your list:

Need two guys and a truck

Flamingos found

Wanted: Uncle Sam

Dogs running loose

Ivy has returned home

He's young he's horny and he loves the sound of his own voice

Free dusty round bale

Three white male goats escaped from their pen this morning on Gilson Rd. Last seen around 7 am. Please call if you see them…

If anyone has a bear skin rug preferably with the bear's head - let me know

Cows loose on Advent Hill

Cat With Stubby Ears Missing From Damon Road" His name is Polliwog.

I would love your dead mice

We NEED Uncle Sam. Do not wait until the last minute to reply.

Found dog 3 Corners


Yup, believe it or not those are ALL real subject headings. I live in a fun town, huh? :-)

OK, now get writing! Hope you enjoy this! And as always, if you'd like to share, please do! I will try to respond to everyone's entries, as well as unlock any that show up as anonymous and need to be unscreened. This week my son and I are busy on a local Habitat for Humanity project so I won't be around as much, but I will try to keep up! Thanks for your patience.

Have a great week, everyone!

Jo

HELLOOOOOOOOOOO TEACHERS!!!!

Woohoo!!!! It's #TeachersWrite Time!

I'm your friendly Monday-Morning Warm-Up host and I'll be posting here every Monday Morning with a little writing encouragement and exercise to get you going for the week.

To start, let's think about why you're here. What are your goals? What do you want to say? Why is writing important to you? These are big questions, but I find the answers are what help me keep going on days when it's hard to sit and write.

Here's a favorite passage from Jacqueline Woodson's brilliant and beautiful book, Brown Girl Dreaming (from the poem "Composition Notebook"):

Nothing in the world is like this—
a bright white page with
pale blue lines. The smell of a newly sharpened pencil
the soft hush of it
moving finally
one day
into letters.

(Brown Girl Dreaming, page 155)

Guess what, friends? Today is your white page day!

Today, you get to open a new notebook, start on a new page, a new screen, a new scrap of paper, a new sticky note. Today, that wonderful blank page is waiting for your words to fill it up with a note, a memory, a phrase, a thought, a piece of love. Your truth. Your story.

How can you make that white page colorful? Meaningful? Special? What do you want to tell the world? How might the story inside you change a life if you share it?

My task for you today, on this White Page Day, is to find a blank page and make a list of what you know about your project, and the reasons this particular one is important to you. Just start listing each little piece, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Write everything you know so far. Everything you hope for. Everything you see when you close your eyes and think about this particular story.

As you make your list, watch how your words turn into a poem of promises to yourself. Then keep your list somewhere near, so that when your energized days start to wilt, you'll remember the spark that got you started.

Since I'm beginning something brand new this month, here's mine. I'd love it if you shared yours in the comments, too. Or, share them on your own blogs, or on facebook, or tumblr, or wherever you might be spending time these days. Or don't. You can also hold it close to your chest for now. This is your White Page Day. Celebrate it however you want. :-)

A Work In Progress

This is a story about a girl
Thirteen
It's not a lucky year
Next door, there are new neighbors
They are The Haves
She is a Have Not
From a Have Not family
It's summertime
Dry and hot
I think there's a pony she didn't ask for
And an angry pig to feed
And too many responsibilities
There will be dirt
And resentment
Jealousy
A bit of self-loathing
And blaming
Forgiveness
And longing
There's be a boy who can't see her
And a brother who sees too much
There will be loneliness
And there will be loss
But there will also be joy
This is my story
But I'll make it someone else's
I see the scenes like ghosts
They've been haunting me all my life
The images aren't vivid yet
Just pieces of memory and wishes from the past
Secrets and missed chances
Grudges
And misunderstandings
I feel them slowing down now
Waiting for me to reach out and pull them close
Own what's mine finally
Face fears and face facts
Turn them into story
Put it on the page

Hello Teachers!

I just learned that this is our FINAL week? What?! How did that happen? Why did summer have go by so darn quickly?

Today's Lesson on Kate's blog is about revision (thanks, Erin Dionne!). So, I thought I'd tie my final warm-up to that as well.

You've learned a lot this summer about making words count. We've talked about how to use specific actions or descriptions to reveal something about your character in a way more powerful than an explanation would do. This morning, look through some of your writing and choose your FAVORITE of these sentences. Now revise it a bit more. Make it sing. Make every word count. Make it something your reader will want to read again just because of its precision. Make it something to inspire your reader to say to the person sitting next to him or her, "You've got to hear this."

You can do it!!! And I hope you'll share here. I'm in the mood to read out loud a lot today. :-)

Thanks for joining all of us for Teachers Write! I hope you'll try to keep writing a part of your daily routine, even as life gets busy. Have a wonderful school year! And thanks for all you do.

Love,

Jo

Good morning again, teachers!

We've rounded the bend into August. I hope you've all been productive and are having a great time putting your stories into the world.

Today, I want to talk about how your character's actions can give your character personality and depth. How your character moves, responds, and just generally functions throughout the day says a LOT about the kind of (hopefully unique) person he or she is. What kind of cereal does your character eat? Why? How does your character dress? Is there a lot of care put into it, or none at all? Is your character aware of labels? Is your character sarcastic? Grumpy? Quiet? Boisterous? How does your character interact with his or her parents? Siblings? Friends? Enemies? Teachers? Strangers? And how on earth do you get all this across in your writing?

Here's an idea. Write a scene showing your character waking up and getting ready for school in the morning. Look at the list above and see how much you can get across by SHOWING us how your character gets up, gets dressed, eats breakfast, and gets to school. Here are some more questions to consider:

Will your character be chipper when he or she wakes? Scared? Filled with dread? Excited?

What does his or her room look like? Is it messy or clean? Does it smell?

How will your character go about finding clothes and getting dressed? Will they be neatly hung in a closet or pulled from a heap on the floor?

Will your character eat breakfast? Why or why not? If so, what will it be? Will your character eat in silence or talk to family members? Or eat on the bus?

Will your character walk to school, ride the bus, get a ride, drive?

What do each of the answers say about who your character is and what he or she is going through? (Because each detail SHOULD say something about your character or else it shouldn't be there. Every word and every description need to earn their place on the page. They must have a purpose.) You see what I'm getting at. You can do a tremendous amount of worldbuilding and characterization in a simple scene like this.

How much can you tell us about your character's world without explaining it all, but showing it through dialog and action? Let's find out!

Hello Teachers!!!! Today I'm going to cheat a tiny bit and share with you a post I wrote back on July 19, 2010, which I wrote after attending a lecture by Holly Black. Yes, the Holly Black. It was a lucky day! And since that day, I have been using what I learned to help my own students understand world building and why it's important no matter what your genre. I hope you'll give the exercise a try! :-) And THANK YOU, Holly, for inspiring me yet again. <3

Using world building techniques in realistic fiction via Holly Black
Original link: http://jbknowles.livejournal.com/382006.html

This Saturday I attended the Vermont College of Fine Arts Special Day on fantasy. Holly Black (blackholly) was the first speaker and I believe had everyone in that room aching to go home the minute she finished to tackle our projects and answer the insightful questions she proposed when creating a magic system.

Hold up.

Magic system?

I know. The theme was fantasy after all. And no, I'm not writing one.

But as I sat there listening to how Holly builds her brilliant plots, I realized all the questions she asks of magic can be directly asked about the underlying theme running through the microcosm each of our characters lives in (home, school, community).

Here's one example. Change the word "magic" to "power" when thinking about realistic fiction. (You can use another word, too, this is just the first example that came to me.)

1. Who has the magic?
2. What does it do?
3. How do you make it happen?
4. How is the user affected?
5. How is the world affected?
6. How are magic users grouped and perceived?

Let's try it, with some tweaks/notes:

1. Who has the power? (parent, relative, friend, teacher, bully—or the "who" could be a "thing" such as a disability, disease, economic situation, etc., which gives the illusion of having power)
2. What is it? (money, influence, abuse, manipulation, a secret, pain, threat of death, etc.)
3. How is it used? (physically, psychologically, emotionally, as a threat, etc.)
4. Why does the person use it? (to gain power, feel superior, survival, etc.)
5. How is the world/victim affected? (weakened, hurt, victimized, drawn inward, scared, etc.)
6. How are those in power (the bad guy/thing) grouped and perceived? The victims (our hero/main protagonist)?

Well, this is rough but you see what I mean. And you can see how having a clear understanding of the ins and outs are essential in developing plot and character no matter what you're writing. Even if they may seem obvious to you on the surface, going deeper you may discover a lot more. In fact I'm sure you will.

Holly went on to discuss in depth how to look closely to really understand the world you've created, and how important it is to understand all the costs of magic (to those who have it and don't), to understand the limits, and what the rules of the magic say about the world. And again, all of her points made me think deeply about the real worlds I've created for my own characters, grounded in the contemporary landscape we know, and what those say about the world, too.

Holly said, "How we set up our magic system reflects how we feel about the world... In writing fantasy, you're telling us what you think about the world." And aren't we doing that in everything we write? Fantastical or not? I love that. And I would add that it's not only what we feel, but what we believe we know. (I say believe, because sometimes, we end up being wrong. But part of that journey from saying things with such conviction, to opening your mind to other possibilities, to seeing the light in a place you once condemned to darkness, is how we make sure the world keeps changing.)

Finally, Holly noted well that when we write, we are in conversation with every book we've read. Every time we write we add to that conversation. She said it far more profoundly, but I love that notion. It's how we get better.

Well, I think I probably got this a bit jumbled but I loved the way Holly posed these questions and how they got me thinking more closely about the how's and why's of the dynamics within my own character's household, group of friends, etc., and what they mean more globally. Because there are different rules within each setting, and you do have to understand where they come from and why they stick in order to fully understand your character's motives, flaws, desires—and what they say about your character's world, as well as the one you—all of us—live in.

Don't you think?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Answer the questions above in relation to your own current work-in-progress.

Hello and welcome to Week #3 of Teachers Write! I hope you're all having a wonderful time writing and creating and thinking and learning. I know I have!

Today I want to talk about moments of clarity. Moments of realization. In real life, these can come like a slap to the forehead, or sometimes more deeply, like a fist to the heart. I'm going to give an example.

Last week, my son and I spent five days volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. We got up early, met with an incredibly inspiring group of people, received our goals for the day, and got to work. By the end of the day we'd be tired and sweaty, and extremely grimy. My job for most of the week was putting up vinyl siding which had been stored in a wet spot of ground that received little sun. Each strip was covered in mud, leaves, pine needles and a fair amount of slugs which I continuously stuck my fingers in. We'd sweep the siding off (there was no electricity or running water for a hose) cut it with what we lovingly called "snips" which had my hands bruised by the end of the week, and cross our fingers that we'd measured correctly and hung them true. Most of the time, our fearless leader would come around the corner, inspect our work, and have us start over. It was difficult, and frustrating, but we kept our sense of humor.

As you can imagine, coming home to electricity, water, soap and (honestly) a toilet, was pretty nice. On one day, I went out to check our blueberry bushes and discovered several were ripe and ready to eat! Plus, they were HUGE. Beautiful, plump and oh so sweet. I took a photo of one and posted it on Facebook. Then, since I'd been away from electronics all day, I started to read headlines from the BBC, and catch up with friends' posts. And I realized that while I was off feeling so good about building this home and then celebrating the glory of a blueberry, horrifying events were happening. In that moment, I thought of that stupid blueberry photo and how insensitive and lost in my world I'd been. It was my punch to the heart moment.

Here's what I wrote on my Facebook wall:

"After I posted my blueberry photo, I realized how crazy and selfish it is to post a photo of an especially large blueberry when there is so much horrific violence going on around the world. And close to home, learning of the tragic death of a woman who babysat for us when we were kids. I am thinking about all the people who are touched by grief every day. Every day there are horrors and tragedies. And every day there are things like the wonder of a blueberry you picked from a bush you've been nurturing for ten and a half years. And every day there are cats doing cute things. And baby photos posted by a proud new grandparent. Every day there is sadness. And every day there is joy. And every day there is love. And who gets what every day seems to be a cruel crapshoot. And I don't know what to do about that except try to remember it. And try to be more kind. So I am sorry about the blueberry. But I am also grateful for it. Maybe more so because it grows despite the sorrow."

After that initial punch of guilt over the blueberry I realized that the world continues to spin no matter what happens on it. I have had my share of grief and I know what it feels like to not understand how this is so. There have been days in deep sorrow when I couldn't understand how people could keep going on with their daily lives, oblivious to the pain next door. But they do. We all do, eventually. And this, too, is another type of moment of clarity, or realization: That when faced with despair, we have a choice. We can feel the despair, and carry on trying to make the world a better place, or we can feel the despair and let it win.

The day after the blueberry incident, after feeling that despair and anger over all that senseless killing, I was filled with more determination than ever. I wasn't changing the world, but small acts of good work add up, and they do make the world a little better. I really believe that. I went back to that frustrating siding with a vengeance. I was determined to work harder. To make that house more beautiful. Liveable. Loveable. It fueled me. On the last day, we nailed the final piece of siding up. But the walls were still dirty-looking and it was hard to feel 100% proud. So another woman and I (she is a teacher!) filled a bucket with water from a nearby stream, got some rags, and washed every last strip until it looked new. We had to refill that darn bucket over and over because the water got muddy so fast. I fell in the stream up to my knee and had to spend half the day with one wet foot. It was gross and stinky but I didn't care. Because in the end, the siding did look just like new.

So what does all of this have to do with fiction? I would argue that this is how stories work. The protagonist makes a big realization, usually early on in the story, and it's what sets the story in motion. It's how quests begin. They hinge on a choice: give up or carry on and try to fix the problem. Fixing the problem, solving the mystery, trying to survive, whatever the situation, that's your story. And whatever it is that fuels your character to try, that's your characterization.

So what, specifically, is your character's big realization and what fuels him or her to try to make things better, or survive?

I started this entry talking about my work with that gross siding. And it seemed like kind of a drawn out story to get to my point. But I told it because of all the parallels I see in writing, and in particular revision. We almost never get it right the first time. We think we've measured correctly, or at least well enough, but when we step back and look, we can see it's a little off balance. So we take things down. We get help. We get feedback. we remeasure. We try again. We get dirty. We get frustrated. (Luckily there are no slugs!) But something in us doesn't let us give up. Something fuels us to keep going. And eventually, we get it right. Then we clean it up. And hopefully we feel good about it. Hopefully we feel proud. :-)

Today, I want you to think about your story, your protagonist, and what he or she is facing. Why is his or her story important to you? Why is this story worth telling? Try filling in the blanks:

This is a story about a _________________ who realizes/learns that _____________________________________________________ . So, he/she __________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________ .

This story is important to me because ______________________________________________ .

OR...

If you aren't working on a particular story, try writing to the prompt, "Maybe I was wrong..."

I hope you'll share what you come up with!

And as always, have fun. :-)

Love,
Jo


My son and I, working for Habitat for Humanity

Welcome to Week #2 of Teachers Write!

A few years ago I was on a panel with our own Kate Messner. We were sharing tips and techniques we use in workshops with kids, and Kate provided this simple yet brilliant worksheet she gives kids to help them pinpoint what their story is about.

Here it is:

Fill in the blanks...

This is a story about _______________________________________ .

But underneath that, it's a story about ________________________________ .


These two very basic and seemingly simple questions go straight to the heart of the book, don't they?

When I introduce these to my own students, I give Harry Potter as an example.

This is a story about a lonely boy being raised by a cruel aunt and uncle who discovers he's a wizard, and not only that, he must defeat an evil wizard in order to save the day.

But underneath that, it's a story about a boy who wants to be loved.

As you all know, these two themes run through the entire seven books of Harry Potter. But it's the second one that is what endears Harry to us. It is the deeper, more meaningful and emotional one, that brings us to tears. This underlying theme is a shadow moving through every chapter. It's the real thing that drives Harry forward.

I would argue that this is the case in every story. There's the overarching drive, and then there's the more emotional one. Think about the book you're currently reading, or one you've read recently and fill in the blanks above. See what I mean?

For your Monday Morning Warm-Up, try it with your own work-in-progress. Can you do it? Don't worry if you're struggling. Sometimes those questions are hard to answer early on. It's in revision that you really need to know, and start weaving the deeper thread through your work. But keep those two sentences near your workspace, ready to be filled in, or reread as reminders. This is the big want that will keep you on track as you move your story forward. Because naming that "underneath that" part of the equation is where you'll find the true heart of your book. As I said, it's OK if you don't know how to answer it yet. But soon, you will need to. It will be your anchor, and it will be the emotional arc of your story. The piece that allows you to add depth and meaning and heart to your work.

Since that panel with Kate, I've come up with additional fill-in-the-blank questions to help my students go even deeper into the heart of their books. Again, the questions are simple, yet the answers help lead students to the core of their journey, the real purpose.

Try these:

This is a story about a boy/girl who wants ___________________________________ .
But underneath that, it's about a boy/girl who really wants _______________________ .

This is a story about a boy who wants to defeat Voldemort.
But underneath that, it's a story about a boy who really wants to be loved.

This is a story about a boy/girl who needs ___________________________________ .
But underneath that, it's about a boy/girl who really needs _______________________ .

This is a story about a boy who needs to fulfill his destiny in order to survive.
But underneath that, it's about a boy who really needs to keep his friends and new-found family.

This is a story about a boy/girl who is afraid of ________________________________ .
But underneath that, it's about a boy/girl who is really afraid of ______________________ .

This is a story about a boy who is afraid of Lord Voldemort and the dark wizards who threaten to destroy Hogwarts and the Wizarding World.

But underneath that, it's a story about a boy who is really afraid of losing the world and people he loves.

I hope you all have fun with this warm-up. And feel free to share in the comments! I will be away working on helping to rebuild a home with Habitat for Humanity all week, but I will be back in the evenings to reply to your comments if you leave them. I'm looking forward to hearing what you come up with!

Love,
Jo

Hi, everyone, and welcome to Teachers Write!!!!

This is such an exciting day. I love the thought of all you teachers all over the country writing together and putting your stories into the universe. It's a beautiful thing.

My role in Teachers Write is to provide a weekly writing prompt to all of you to help get you warmed up for the week. These prompts are meant to be fun, but also inspiring. I will try to help you think more deeply about your work: your intent, your stories, your characters. I hope you'll stop by each week to check in, try the prompts, and share how things are going!

To start you off, I want to ask you to think about finding the beauty in your work, no matter what your story is about. Why beauty? Every year, I choose a theme to try to live by, or live up to. It helps me stay grounded on hard days, and it helps remind me of the big picture when little things get me down. This year, my theme is "Finding Beauty". You can read more about what I mean by that here: http://jbknowles.livejournal.com/480410.html

Even in the grittiest, saddest, hardest stories we read (or live), there is almost always a glimmer of hope somewhere. It's what makes us read on, or live on. And that's the point. In fiction, this glimmer, this promise, is the heart of your story.

Often when we start writing we give our characters a big conflict. Even in picture books, the theme is to try fail, try fail, try fail, succeed! What's the beauty there? The willingness to keep trying after each failure. The beauty is hope.

The beauty in our work is why we write in the first place. It's why the story called to us. It could be triumph, it could be love, it could be survival. Joy. Discovery. Truth. Understanding. Forgiveness.

Many of you are beginning your stories today, so you may not even know exactly what you'll be writing about, or where your character's journey will lead. But you can still think about the themes that are important to you, and how underneath that, lies something beautiful. It's where the heart is, or will be, pumping life into your story.

Today, I ask you to consider the work you plan on doing this summer for Teachers Write. First, think about the over-arching story. Then, think about why this story is important to you. What's calling you to write this particular one? What do you think the beauty of it will be?

I hope you'll share in the comments. But I also know that sometimes, these are the things we want to keep close to our hearts. (And if that's the case, I hope you'll just say hi.) But do keep it, either way. And revisit what you've written as you write your story, and especially when you get stuck, as an important reminder of why you are doing this, and why you must keep going.

Good luck everyone! And next week, we'll get to more specific exercises/prompts as you dig deep into your stories. I can't wait!!!!

Love

Jo

One of the strongest emotions we tend to gloss over in our writing is love. LOVE! Shocking, but true. I think we take advantage of it. We write the word love and our reader knows exactly what that means, right? It's LOVE. Everyone knows what love is. No explanation needed!

Well, no. Love comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes freely. Sometimes reluctantly. Sometimes with heavy baggage. Sometimes with painful. For your reader to understand the unique love you are trying to portray, we need to see and feel and experience it, too.

Have you read THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, by Katherine Applegate? That is an example of what I'm talking about. That book is full of love. Of the pain and longing and necessity to save which love often makes us feel so strongly, sometimes we think it might kill us. Applegate never needs to say who loves who. It's there in every thought and action.

Yesterday at church, our minister dedicated the service to our beloved pets. During the service, he read the poem "I Ask Percy How I Should Live My Life," by Mary Oliver. I was struck by that title, especially, because I think what she's really asking (or certainly being answered) is, "How Should I Love This Life?" Maybe those two things, in this instance, are the same.

I was so moved by this short poem, I want to share it here (Percy is a dog, in case you can't figure that out. ;-P):

I Ask Percy How I Should Live My Life, by Mary Oliver

Love, love, love, says Percy.
And run as fast as you can
along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

Then, go to sleep.
Give up your body heat, your beating heart.
Then, trust.

Isn't that beautiful?

Today, think about who you love. And how you love. And then tell us. You can write a poem, or an essay or a story. Try to show unexpected examples of how this love shows. Is it a touch? A casual stolen glance? A laugh invented just for you? If you choose to write about a pet, is it the circle wag of a tail? A lick on the knee? Love shows itself in unique ways. Find yours! <3

I've been staying with my sister for the past few days and on arrival, found this message in the driveway:


Even though I know my niece was not writing this for me, I can't help but think each time I see it, that the universe is trying to tell me something. There's something about that capital L. It's as if it's telling me to both Fear Less and be fearless.

All summer I've been working on a new novel and all summer I have been a bit fearFUL of where this novel wants to take me. And then here was this message, FearLess. Almost reminding me that this is what I must be if I want to get it right. And not only that, but it's OK. So stop worrying and just do it.

For today's Monday Morning Warm-Up, I wanted to share this message with you, too. Because I think a lot of times when we're writing, we let fear slip in without even knowing it. And we don't write what our hearts truly need to.

Today, think about what your fears are in regard to whatever you're working on. Write them on a piece of paper, or on a file somewhere. Half the battle in overcoming your fears is to name them.

Then, put them away and open a new file or take out a new piece of paper. Write the word FEARLESS on it. OR, print a copy of this photo (my niece won't mind). Put your word next to your laptop or somewhere you'll see it when you're writing today, and...

Fear less. And be FearLess.

:-)

Hello teachers!

Today I thought we could do a fun exercise my friend Cindy Faughnan (also a teacher) taught me this summer.

First, pick a theme. This can be anything. Some ideas: Writing, teaching, summer, parenthood, dogs, friendship, a view you can see right now.

Then, write your phone number down the length of a page, like this:

8
0
2
5
5
5
1
2
1
2

Now, start your poem. Each number represents how many words you must have on that line. If you have a zero, that's a wild card and you can use any number of words on that line as you like.

We did this at writing camp this summer and the students came up with some incredible stuff. This is a really fun one to use in the classroom because it gives a mix of structure and freedom.

Enjoy! And share if you'd like. I always think writers learn a lot by doing exercises like this together and then sharing their results—and thus being inspired by one another. (Although, you may want to share on the private Teachers Write site, since obviously you'd be sharing your phone number!) :-)

As I've mentioned, every summer I help teach a writing camp for 2 weeks. It's for students in grades 7-12 and many return year after year and I get to watch them grow up and it is, simply put, wonderful.

During camp, we have an easel set up where campers can write down phrases for writing prompts. At the beginning of each camp session, we all write to a prompt that speaks to us. Here is a photo of our prompt board:


For Today's exercise, choose one! Share! And as always, have fun. :-)

Greetings, teachers! I hope you're all having a great summer! I am on vacation in Maine with my family so this is going to be a short post, as it is supposed to rain today but it's not raining YET and I have to get out on the beach and search for sea glass while I can. :-)

~*~*~*~*~

Monday Morning Warm-Up:

I took the photo below soon after we arrived at the rental house. This is my son and his cousins. They ALWAYS jump into the ocean first thing, no matter how cold. Sometimes they don't even change into their bathing suits first! But here they are, and I just love how they seem to be deep in thought.



So today, for something a little different, choose one child and write from his or her point of view. Set up the scene--not the obvious one, but the secondary story. Is he or she worried? Scared? Sad? Mad? See if you can incorporate some back story into the description. Throw in some dialog, too. Explore how there are two things happening at once here: the current situation (being in the water), and the one in the child's head. Like in real life, there are almost always two things happening at once. Conveying this in writing is a challenge, but can make an internal moment where you're describing a lot of "thinking" more active by showing what's going on around the character in that same moment. Have fun!

I admit it. Using the word "metaphor" when presenting something to teachers makes me very nervous. Do I even know what a metaphor is? (Fact: I never had grammar in high school. Long story.)

It was a very exciting weekend at my house. First, I learned that my new book, SEE YOU AT HARRY'S was an editor's pick in The New York Times! Second, I learned that it was REVIEWED in The New York Times! Many friends sent me photos, including this one, from Laura Hamor:


Wow. I felt like I was walking around in a dream. Except for my aching arms, legs and back.

Why was I aching? Because also over the weekend, my husband, son and I took on a big project: Making a frame for our beloved blueberry bushes to protect them from our greedy birds (we are greedier).
So we started like this:

You can probably see where the metaphor is coming, can't you.

All weekend, SEE YOU AT HARRY'S was on my mind. I was thrilled about the Times. And every so often when I had to get something in the house, I'd check my e-mail and smile each time I read a new message or saw a photo sent from a friend to celebrate with me. But I was also thinking about all the work and aches and pains that went into this book.

Like the blueberries, I wanted to protect certain pieces of the story. Mainly, its heart.

Like the blueberries' frame, a LOT of sweat went into making the book. And each time I thought I was close, I'd realize there was a measurement a bit off. And I'd have to start over again. My body ached. My heart ached. More than once, I got discouraged.

But like the blueberry project, I could visualize the finished work. I knew if we just kept at it, we could do it. There was a lot of digging. You've got to dig very deep to set the framework. Sometimes, when digging deep, you are afraid of what you might find. Sometimes when digging deep, you don't like what you find.

In our case, it was a giant rock. In the case of Harry's, it FELT like hitting a giant rock. A dead end. But with teamwork, my husband and I dug a bigger hole and pulled the rock out. And whenever I hit a rock writing Harry's, I got help from my writer friends.

You get the picture. Writing is a lot like building. It's painful. It's hard. Sometimes, it's silly. But you keep on doing the work. You urge each other on. You pull out the weeds, you fill in the mulch, and then after hours and hours (or months and months--and in Harry's case years and years), you step back, and see you've finally finished!



And then you have permission to collapse. Which is exactly what we did. :-)

Well, not the best metaphor in the world. Maybe, just a comparison. But you get the idea.

My message for you today is that sometimes writing does feel like work. Sometimes, it is hard work. Sometimes, it even hurts. But if you keep at it, if you understand that sometimes you have to go back to the beginning and start over, and sometimes you have to ask for help, you will get there. And you can celebrate with a blueberry muffin. :-)

~*~*~*~*~*~

Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Share your best recipe with blueberries in it.

Just kidding!

For today's prompt, share a memory of working on a project with someone you love. What was the project? Why were you working on it? Why was it important, or why did it become important? What did you talk about while you worked? What did the mat

Happy Monday, Teachers!!

Today I want to talk about people. More specifically, characters and how we develop them so that they become unique, believable, loveable (or detestable, depending on your aim) and, most importantly, memorable.

Yesterday, I went to the memorial service of a very dear friend, Marguerite (Peg) Davol. Some of you may have used her beautiful picture books in your classrooms. My favorite is The Paper Dragon, Illustrated by Robert Sabuda. I was asked to say a few words about Peggy at the service, and it was both very difficult, and very healing. Peg was a special lady. I both miss and still feel her love and light very strongly. Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I began to think about all the things I loved about Peg. The things that made her unique, believable, loveable (always) and, memorable. Here they are in no particular order:

I remember Peg's eyes the most
how, if you dared to look in them,
you could feel them see right into your soul
how they defined her smile
and how, cliche as it is, they sparkled
they really did!
she had thin, wispy hair which she had curled once a month
and whenever she'd come from an appointment, she'd pat it gently
and grin in a pleased and mischievous kind of way
as though curly hair was also a little naughty somehow
an indulgence
she enjoyed reading the Times every morning
and doing the crossword
and confessing to crossing out George Bush and Dick Cheney's faces with her pencil
it feels good, she told me once, and I don't feel guilty at all!
I remember her bright blue toyota RAV and how well she drove it
our drives to New York City, once in a snowstorm
tiny Peg at the wheel saying not to worry
and I didn't
I remember her hard-to-read handwriting
on the Christmas photo cards she sent every year
and pointing out how she was one of the few people left to still write a note
the way she said I love you with a jutted out chin
pointed in my direction
I remember her hugs--she always squeezed with both hands
as if she were holding on to you
as if she wanted you to know she had you
it felt so good
and I try now, to hug the same way
I remember her tattered notebook with worn-soft pages
and how lovely it was to see someone at our table of writers
still using pen and paper
not hiding behind a laptop screen but
instead constantly looking up and around
listening, watching, learning,
writing it all down
how she hated the word "suddenly"
and taught us all how to avoid using it
how she referred to those she wasn't crazy about by last name
how she always showed up
even though in the final years it was very hard
she called herself a conference junky
and made me one, too
she admitted my work was hard to take sometimes
too raw
but told me not to change it
she ate like a little bird, filling up quickly
and would always save the leftovers to bring home to her husband
she wore rings on most of her fingers
and moved her hands constantly
with a signature flick full of attitude
most often used to dismiss
but sometimes used to direct
and sometimes to emphasize a particularly good joke
I always wanted to tell her she was the grandmother I never really had
but I didn't
because I don't think she would have liked that
for me to create an age barrier between us
we were friends most importantly
colleagues
writing partners on occasion
but always friends first
and we loved each other the way friends do
and will miss each other the way friends do
she is with me, and she is not with me
but I can remember her
I can hold those memories in my heart now
and that is more than enough...
that is a gift.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Think of someone you love or have loved (or detested, that can b