What's In a Name?

Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, had an unusual middle name. It was the letter "S." (Sometimes the "S" is written with a period after it, and sometimes it isn't.) The "S" stands for both his grandfathers' names: Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.

What if a character in a story had only one letter for a name? What if a character's name was A, or Z, or X? Who is this character? What does she or he want more than anything in the world? Who or what is stopping this character from getting it?

Have some fun with a character with a one-letter name. Write a story about this character and let your imagination go wild. The character's name may be short, but the story doesn't have to be!

A Dog on a Roof

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about designing a house for a cat. Later I saw something really interesting: a dog living next to a trailer in an unusual spot. Here's the trailer:

And here's the dog and its house:

Here's another view:

How do you think the dog likes living here? What interesting things does the dog see from its perch high above the street?

For fun, write a story about this dog. This is a great opportunity to include lots of details about the setting!

A Letter to a Friend

Happy Valentine's Day!

To me, Valentine's Day is all about friendship. It's fun to make and exchange Valentines. But the fun doesn't have to stop after February 14th.

The time around Valentine's Day (or V-Day as I like to call it) is a great time to write a letter to a friend. Your letter doesn't have to be "mushy." You can simply list the reasons you like your friend.

Your friend could be the person who sits next to you at school, your neighbor down the block, your mom or dad, or even your dog or cat.

Let's say you want to write a letter to your dog. How about this?

Dear Dart,

I'm glad you're my dog. Here's why you are a great friend:

1. You always listen.

2. You don't hog all the space on the bed.

3. You love to run and so do I.

4. You wag your tail when I read to you.

5. You warm up my feet when I'm watching TV.

I hope you'll be my friend for a long, long time.

Your friend, Me

Try writing your own letter to a friend. When you're done, you can give the letter to your friend, but only if you want to. Just writing down what you like about a person (or animal) is a good way to remember how lucky you are to have a friend.

Creating a House for Cats

What if you could create a house for a cat?

Would the house be big or small? Would it have a playroom filled with yarn and other fun things? What kind of bathroom would a cat like? What would be in a cat's refrigerator? Would there be a big jar of catnip on the table?

Everyone knows that cats love to sleep. How would you design the perfect bed for a cat? Would there be a lot of blankets? How many pillows does a cat need? Would the bed have a heater? (Cats love to be warm.)

What would a cat's TV look like? What would be the cat's favorite programs?

Write your description of a perfect house for a cat. Add some pictures, and then show your cat house to your favorite cat. I hope it purrs!

Making a Critique Sandwich

Do you like to eat? I do. That's why I like to talk about critique sandwiches.

What is a critique sandwich? Let's start with the word "critique."

A critique is what you give someone when you read his or her story and make comments. Getting comments from other writers is great. Comments from others can be a huge help when we revise our stories. But when we give each other comments, we want to make sure we do it in a way that helps the writer, not hurts.

So we make a critique sandwich. Here's how:

1. The bottom piece of bread. Something we liked about the writing.

2. The filling. What could make the writing better?

3. The top piece of bread. Something we liked about the writing.

So we start and end with positive comments: "I really liked how your character escaped." "The voice in the story sounded just like you." "Your descriptions were so vivid."

The filling is the "meat" of the sandwich. What could make the writing better? Were there things about the story that confused you? Did you wish there was some description of the main character? Did you want to know more about how a character felt?

These are all things you can tell the writer, "sandwiched" in-between the top and bottom pieces of bread (your positive comments).

The next time you read someone's writing and comment on it, make a critique sandwich. You won't even need a plate.