Shakespeare for Young Writers

While Yellow Pencils was on vacation, I saw a production of William Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" at Door Shakespeare in Door County, Wisconsin. (Funny that my last post was about doors.)

I didn't read Shakespeare until I was in high school, and I think that's too bad. Shakespeare's plays can be complicated and even violent, but they also contain wonderfully playful and inventive language. 

In "Macbeth," the three "weyard" sisters recite this spell:

Double, double, toil and trouble:
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. 

Into the pot goes "adder's fork and blindworm's sting, lizard's leg and howlet's wing." 

It's okay if you don't understand what all the words mean. They're still fun to say out loud.

Try finding a Shakespeare play adapted for young people in your library. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a great play to start with, with fairies and other fantastic characters. 

For a writing prompt, copy out a short passage into your journal and say it out loud.

Then try writing something with a similar pattern, but using your own words.

For  example, for the "double, double" spell above:

Four, four, fox, bear, wolf, and boar:
Scour the woods, and search for gore. 

Will Shakespeare lived 400 years ago, but his words last forever. Every writer--even young ones--can have fun exploring his language. Don't wait till high school to discover him! 

Yellow Pencils Goes on Vacation!

While Yellow Pencils is on summer vacation, I thought it would be fun to leave you with writing prompts about...pencils!

Remember, take your notebook and pencil (or pen or tablet or laptop) wherever you go this summer. You never know when a brilliant idea will strike. 

When you have a quiet moment with your notebook, try one of these prompts about our favorite writing instrument--the modest pencil. 

Happy writing until Yellow Pencils returns July 29th! 

• The dull, gray pencil was so jealous of the shiny, blue pen, he couldn't see straight.

• The pencil was headless when her eraser fell off. 

• Mr. Percival Pencil was the spiffiest guy in the desk drawer.

• The cat rolled the pencil under the sofa, hoping it would stab the mouse.

• The pencil had six younger brothers, making it very crowded in the pencil case.

• All her life, the yellow pencil had longed to write a famous novel--but she didn't think she'd be writing it in jail. 

Happy penciling! 

Opening Doors Part 2

A couple of years ago I wrote in Yellow Pencils about using doors as a prompt to start a story. 

I took this photo in Stratford-upon-Avon, the English town where William Shakespeare was born and lived. 

Do any story ideas spring to mind with this blue door? Who or what do you think lives behind it?

A door is an invitation to a new place where anything can happen. Doors exist in our real world, and they can play an important part in imaginary worlds. 

Try using one of these lines as a first sentence to a story. 

• The blue door creaked open slowly, and I gasped.

• My mom had warned me about the blue door.

• It's a well-known fact that blue doors can sing.

• When the blue door flew open, I fell through it flat on my face.

• He knocked on the blue door, ignoring the word "Beware" whispering in his head. 

Enjoy creating your own world through this door!