Yellow Pencils

Writing 15 Minutes a Day

2012-02-06T12:36:00.001-08:00

Hello there! Do you have 15 minutes? Great! Then let's get writing.

Many authors promote the idea of writing each day. Your story or novel stays fresh in your mind, and you feel less rusty when you go back to your writing.

But let's face it. Some days are busy. We have trouble finding time to write. We may have a lot of homework, or we're visiting relatives, or there's a list of things to do and we'll get to our writing "later." Sometimes, "later" never comes. Sometimes, a few days or weeks go by, and "later" keeps getting pushed back. Before we know it, a month has flown passed us and we haven't found time to write.

A simple solution is to write for 15 minutes a day. It doesn't sound like a lot, does it? Think of it this way. If you write for 15 minutes a day x 30 days, at the end of a month you'll have 450 minutes of writing. That's 7 1/2 hours, or nearly a full work-day of writing.

Almost everyone has 15 minutes. Try carrying your notebook with you wherever you go. Write on the bus, in the car (not if you're driving!), before breakfast, or right after dinner. Write without stopping, letting your words get down on the page.

Try writing 15 minutes a day about anything you'd like. All writing is good. Next week, we'll talk about different ways to use your 15 minutes of writing.

Ready? The clock starts now!

Action

2012-01-31T09:49:00.001-08:00

Every story needs action. What do I mean by that? Do our characters need to be jumping, running, or twirling every single moment? Do we need a ferryboat plowing through the waters, like in this picture?

No. Elizabeth Lyon writes in her book Manuscript Makeover, "One of your most basic jobs is to keep driving your story forward, through action and change, to its conclusion."

In other words, we want to keep driving our story forward by having our characters act and change.

Try this in a story you're working on. Ask yourself: Are my characters sitting around not doing much? Are they being passive while everyone around them is acting?

Elizabeth Lyon says, "Movement raises questions. What will happen next?"

What will happen next in your story? What will your main character do? Find a place where you are stuck in your story, and have your character perform some action.

What does your main character want? Pick an action that helps your character achieve his or her goal. The action may be large or small, but it will help move your story forward.

If all else fails, let your character pilot that ferryboat through a storm!

Let Your Characters Talk!

2012-01-23T14:37:00.000-08:00

What if your characters could talk to each other? They do, you say? Of course, that's called dialogue.

But what if two characters from two different stories could talk to each other? What if Bob the turtle from your story "I'm All Green" could talk to Vanessa the waitress in your story "The Sensational Sunshine Diner?"

Try it out. Pick a character from one of your stories. Then pick a character from another story. Now write a dialogue between the two of them. Let them talk on paper and see what happens.

If you don't have two finished stories, choose two favorite books. What if Percy Jackson talked to Max from Where the Wild Things Are? Or what if Junie B. Jones talked to Bud in Bud, Not Buddy? What would they talk about?

Have fun letting your characters talk!

Let It Snow!

2012-01-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

It's snowing today on Bainbridge Island where I live. When we have snow, even an inch, everything slows down. People walk rather than drive, neighbors say hi to each other, and kids slide down the snowy hill (that part isn't slow).

Do you live in a place where snow is unusual? Or do you see snow all winter long? For some, snow may be magical. For others, it's a chore. It all depends on your perspective.

Whether you see snow all the time, or treasure it as a rare treat, snow can give us great writing prompts. Here are a few ideas:

1. Go to the library and check out the book The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. Or find the movie. This wonderful story is about a boy and a snowman's adventures. The book and movie are wordless, so you can write your own words to the story.

2. Write about a world where money is made out of snowballs.

3. Imagine making a snow angel, like in the photo above. (Or if you have snow where you live, make a real snow angel.) Write about your snow angel. What is his or her name?

4. Write a poem: "Seven Uses for Snow."

5. Write a story about a secret snow cave....in Hawaii. Use your imagination!

Questions and the New Year

2012-01-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ten days into the New Year, I'm thinking about resolutions I made and how I'm doing on them. (The answer: Great on some, Not So Great on others.)

What if: Instead of making New Year's resolutions, we asked ourselves questions at the start of a new year? Questions make us think about who we are, what we like, and what we don't like. After all, life is a journey of self-discovery, so questions help us discover more about ourselves. When we know ourselves better, we become better writers, too.

In your writer's notebook, play around with answers to these questions, or make up your own questions:

1. If television had never been invented, would you want to invent it? Why?

2. What is something that bugs you? Why?

3. If you lived in a zoo, which animal would you like to be? Why?

4. If you could drink only orange soda or hot chocolate for the rest of your life, which would you pick? Why?

5. If it rained cats or dogs for real, which would you prefer? Why?

You'll notice I asked "why" for each question. Why? Because that's the real question that gets us thinking. Have fun answering, "Why?"

Go Ahead and Exaggerate!

2012-01-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

When we exaggerate, we stretch the truth or tell a "tall tale" about ourselves. It's fun to exaggerate in a writing exercise. Here's how:

Write three sentences that describe you. Like:

1. I am strong.

2. I like animals.

3. I am a fast swimmer.

Now exaggerate!

1. I'm so strong, I can lift the sun.

2. I like animals so much, my best friend is a hippopotomus.

3. I'm such a fast swimmer, I can swim from Seattle to Hawaii in two minutes.

Now it's your turn. Go ahead and exaggerate!

A Cat's Point of View

2011-12-26T15:30:00.000-08:00

Point of view is a term describing who is telling a story. "View" means to look, so when we talk about point of view we're talking about seeing a story's events through a character's or narrator's eyes.

This is my cat Zoey, and I bet she has a great story to tell. What is she doing, or what is she about to do? What is she thinking about?

Write a story from the cat's point of view. It can be an "I" first-person story, or a "she" third-person story. Have fun being a cat--at least while you write your story!

Holiday Magic

2011-12-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

No matter what holiday you celebrate at this time of year--or even if you don't--there's something magical about going outdoors and seeing all the lights.

What if you were a space alien seeing stores, houses, and apartment windows lit up for the first time? What kind of creatures would you think Earthlings were?

For our writing prompt today, imagine you're a space alien. Your ship has just landed next to a brightly lit shopping market, like in the photo above. What are you going to tell your space buddies back home?

Be creative. Why do Earthlings have so many lights?

Holiday Parody

2011-12-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

A scary Christmas tree? That's what you get when you say, "Twas the fright before Christmas...." and that's called parody.

What is parody? According to Sarah Ellis in The Young Writer's Companion (a wonderful book), parody is "A humorous, exaggerated imitation of a poem, song, character, or writing style."

Other holiday parodies?

"Jingle bells, Santa smells, ninety miles away...."

"Joy to the world, the school burned down."

Can you come up with other holiday parodies? Think of your favorite (or least favorite) holiday song or poem, and give it a try:

"Rudolph, the snot-nosed reindeer, had a gooey, gobby nose...."

"Frosty the jail man, had a big, big set of keys...."

Have fun poking gentle fun at the songs we hear over and over at this time of year. Who knows? Your parody may become the next big hit!

Opening Doors

2011-12-05T15:24:00.000-08:00

Sometimes starting a new story is as easy as opening a door.

If you need an idea for getting started, try using a door in the first sentence or paragraph. Doors are portals, or openings, to the outside world. When we hear a knock on the door, we're interested. When we open a door, we meet--someone or something.

Try using these first sentences to start a story, or make up one of your own. Whom or what will you meet on the other side of that door?

I opened the door, and....
When the doorbell rang, Adam ran to be the first one there.
The door was so low, Uncle Jake had to stoop to come inside.
I'd never seen a door painted flamingo-pink before.
Creak!!! I pushed the door open and found....
The name carved into the wooden door gave me shivers--it was my name.
The door slammed with such force that Julie jumped.
I knocked three times and waited. And waited.
Hello? I'm a 500-year-old door, and I have a story to tell....

Treasure

2011-11-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

What does the word "Treasure" mean to you? Riches, gems, gold?

Do you think of buried treasure? A chest full of money? A surprise you find in your pocket? A hidden fortune? A wallet filled with $100 bills?

Or does "Treasure" make you think about a person or a pet? Someone in your family whom you treasure? Your cat that keeps you warm at night ? Or your uncle who always gives you just the right present?

Or do you treasure something more abstract? Time? Beauty? A friend sticking up for you? A kind act on a day when you're feeling rotten?

Who or what do you treasure? What does the word Treasure mean to you? Set your timer for 15 minutes and write about it.

November

2011-11-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

Last week I wrote about November, and I'm still thinking about the things I love about this month.

I love the sky in November. Here in the Pacific Northwest it's often gray, but the sun is trying to peek through. The shades of gray are all different and alive, and always changing--mouse gray, almost-white, soft gray, or metal gray.

In November, a picture book by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Jill Kastner (published by Harcourt in 2000), is one of my favorite books about November. The book is like a poem to a month that doesn't get noticed too much, except at Thanksgiving.

What do you like about November? Thanksgiving with your family? The first snow? Getting out your mittens? Sleeping in on weekends? Raking the last leaves? Watching which birds migrate? Getting ready for Christmas?

Make a list of your favorite things about November, and write a poem about them. And don't forget to have a great Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for everyone who reads "Yellow Pencils," and I'm grateful for November!

Smells and Similes

2011-11-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's the smell of wet leaves in the air, but I always think November has great smells.

Smells, scents, odors, aromas--whatever you want to call them--are one of the hardest things to describe when we write. Sometimes it's easier if we use a simile: a comparison using the words "like" or "as."

Try to describe what the following things smell like using a simile. Go wild with your imaginations!

I'll get us started.

Dirty socks: Her dirty socks smelled like five-day-old fish.
Salsa: Mom's homemade salsa smelled like the best vegetable garden on Earth.

Now you try some:

Burning rubber
Clean sheets
Peanut butter
The inside of our car
The inside of my desk
An eraser
My dog's ears
A tree trunk
A rusty fence
Already-been-chewed bubble gum

Have lots of fun with smells and similes!

Writing an Alphabet Poem

2011-11-07T12:52:00.000-08:00

Every person who writes a newspaper story knows that the 5 most important questions to ask and to answer in your story are Who? What? When? Where? Why?

What if we turned those 5 questions into a poem, and had fun with the alphabet?

Here's the pattern. Our poem will have 5 lines answering our 5 questions:

Line 1: Who? (the subject)

Line 2: What? (what happened)

Line 3: When (when did it happen)

Line 4: Where (where did it happen)

Line 5: Why? (why did it happen)

Ready to start? Pick a letter of the alphabet. Let's say we pick S. Here's our poem:

Who? Sam

What? Slithered sneakily

When? After snack time

Where? To the sandbox

Why? For a snooze.

Now let's take off the questions, and we have our finished poem:

Sam

slithered sneakily

after snack time

to the sandbox

for a snooze.

Now you try one. Pick a letter of the alphabet. Will you pick J, T, or M? Or the first letter of your name? (Warning: Q and X are the hardest.) Have fun writing your alphabet poem!

Halloween Stew

2011-10-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

To celebrate this ghoulish holiday, let's invent a recipe for Halloween Stew. (For the record, I'm a vegetarian, so this is definitely a make-believe recipe!)

5 slithering snakes

2 timid toads

10 crispy caterpillars

1 gallon of gorilla spit

2 jars of jumping bean juice

Mix all ingredients together. Add 4 pounds of scary spiders. Season with dog dandruff.

Cook until trick-or-treaters show up at your door. Bring out your Halloween Stew, and watch everyone run away screaming.

What would you put in YOUR Halloween Stew? Happy Pumpkin Day!

Color and Music

2011-10-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

Last week I talked about color, and this week I'm adding music. I love mixing different senses, like sight and sound, to see how that affects what we write.

I did this writing exercise in my class for adults, "Creativity for Writers," and it's a great exercise to do in a group. Six to eight is a good number.

Let's say you have 8 people. Find 8 pens with different colored ink, or 8 sharp colored pencils. Each person chooses a pen, and takes out their notebook or a big piece of paper. Find a source of music--an MP3 player, a CD player and some CDs, a computer, or the radio. Sit in a circle.

One person is in charge of the music. This exercise works best if you have different kinds of music--pop, rap, classical, country, rock, jazz, etc. You don't have to like the music. In fact, if you hate the music, that can make things more interesting!

The person in charge puts on a piece of music. While it's playing, everyone writes about the color of their ink or pencil. The person with the green pen writes about the color green. The person with the red pen writes about the color red.

What to write about? Write quickly without thinking too much, and listen to the music while you're writing. What associations do you have with that color? What does the color make you think of? Does the music tie in somehow? You don't have to write in complete sentences. Words or phrases are okay. Don't worry about spelling or punctuation.

Here's what I wrote about the color blue while a song by the 1960s band The Beach Boys was playing:

Blue perfect for the Beach Boys waves water California clouds sun the blue of the day in summer, shimmering ocean, the blue of a boy's eyes as he runs in the sand. Sparkle deep, flip flops with aqua blue flowers.

After a minute or two, the person in charge changes to a different piece of music. Everyone passes their pen to the person on the right, and takes a pen from the person on their left.

Write about your new color while the new music is playing. Again, write quickly without thinking too much. After another minute or two, switch the music and your pens. Keep writing about each color until you're all back to your original color, and write about that color again. How was your writing different this time?

For fun, read your writing out loud in the circle. What did everyone write for pink, or yellow? What colors did everyone have for the jazz piece (if you had jazz), and what did you all write about? Did the music affect the writing? Did some music make you angry, or happy?

Did any words or phrases you wrote down give you a story idea?

Three Colors Your Character Would Never Wear

2011-10-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

Do you have a favorite color? (I have two, purple and green, especially when they're together.) Do you have a least favorite color? A color you hate? A color that makes you feel sick? A color you would never wear?

Guess what? Our characters have opinions about color, too. Our characters' opinions can surprise us. What if the captain of the football team loves hot pink? Or if a ballet dancer's favorite color is army-green? We can use our characters' favorite or least favorite colors to reveal something about who they are.

Think about a character from a story you've written or a story you want to write. What are three colors your character would never wear? Write a paragraph from that character's point of view telling us why.

Here's one of my characters talking:

The worst color ever is puce. Doesn't it sound horrible? In case you've never heard of puce, it's dark red-brown-purple. It's the color of throw-up after you've eaten a bowl of Spaghettios with grape juice. It's the color of that stuff on the bottom of your shoe after a dog's walked by. It's the color of mud on a rainy day after you slide into third base, and your face is slammed into the mud and it's splattered all over your teeth and hair. It's the color--but you get the idea. Don't ever wear puce. I don't.

What are three colors your character would never wear?

The Cat in the Bookstore

2011-10-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I'm back and rested from my trip to Poland. I visited a ruined castle, a writer's museum, a spa town with healthy water, a medieval village, and the Old Town of Warsaw, Poland's capital. (The Old Town was completely destroyed during World War II, and was rebuilt brick by brick.)

Best of all, I got to visit family. Second best of all, I got to go into lots of bookstores. A bookstore filled with books in another language is a fun place to visit, but guess what? The books may not be in English, but a lot of other things are the same.

Like having a bookstore cat. I took a photo of this cat in a Warsaw bookstore. It was lying on a stack of art books, which makes me think the cat has good taste.

What kind of stories could this cat tell about living in a bookstore? What kind of adventures could it have? Maybe it catches a book thief. Or maybe one morning the owner doesn't show up. Or the owner does show up....with another cat.

Write a story about The Cat in the Bookstore. Use your imagination to come up with a tale (ha ha, get it?) for this handsome, book-loving cat.

Yellow Pencils Takes a Vacation!

2011-09-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone's having a good school year so far, with lots of writing! While you're in school this September, Yellow Pencils is taking a vacation.

I'm going to Poland to visit family. I plan to take lots of notes in my travel journal and come back with ideas for stories, poems, and prompts. I'm excited about getting a new stamp in my passport. I'll also get to practice my Polish language skills (which need a lot of help).

Keep writing! I'll be back in early October, and my yellow pencil will be raring to go!

"So Much Depends Upon" Poems

2011-08-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

I just finished teaching two great weeks of writing camps! The best part, as always, was listening to the young writers' stories and poems. Some were funny, some were sad, and all the stories and poems showed that young writers have awesome, thoughtful, wacky, tremendous imaginations.

Two young writers wrote poems based on a famous poem by an American poet, William Carlos Williams. It's called "The Red Wheelbarrow," and it goes like this:

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens.

It seems so simple, right? Some of the best poetry is like that. But within this poem's simplicity are powerful images. After reading the poem, can't you vividly see the red wheelbarrow in the rain, and the white chickens beside it? And notice how Mr. Williams breaks up the lines: the words "barrow, water, and chickens" each gets its own line, so our eyes rest on it. Try reading the poem out loud, slowly. Did you notice how you gave a little extra "weight" to those words?

In the novel Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech, the character named Jack writes his own poem based on "The Red Wheelbarrow."

So much depends upon

a creeping cat

crouched in the tree

beside the yellow bus stop.

Here's one of mine:

so much depends

upon

a bowl of oatmeal

waiting on an

orange table

on the first day of

school.

Try writing your own "So Much Depends Upon" poem. Play around with colors, images, line spaces, and vivid words. And have a great first day of school!

The Magical Object

2011-08-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

I'm teaching summer writing workshops for young writers during the next two weeks. Yesterday someone suggested "a magic pine cone" as a writing prompt. That got me thinking....what other objects could be magical?

Everyday we see objects that seem, well, everyday. What if these objects are everyday in our world, but magical to someone else in another world? Or what if we could grant them magical powers?

Find a small object in your neighborhood--your street, driveway, yard, playground.

What did you find? A leaf, bottle cap, or dandelion? A piece of glass (be careful!), a shell, or a marble? A stick? A piece of string , a stone, or a blade of grass? How about a pine cone?

Grant your object magical powers. What can it do? Fulfill three wishes? Lift heavy objects? Remove all sadness from the world?

Now imagine your magical object starring in its very own story. Have fun writing!

The Dog Days of August

2011-08-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of the dog days of August? That's the hottest time of the year. The term "dog days" is thought to come from the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Or maybe it comes from the fact that in August, we often see dogs lying in the shade, trying to avoid the hot sun.

Wherever we get the term, I think the "dog days of August" can give us a fun writing exercise. If we have dog days in August, what do we have the other months?

How about these?

The white rabbit days of January. (Because some rabbits turn white to blend in with the snow.)
The chocolate days of February. (Because we celebrate Valentine's Day.)
The squall days of March. (Because we often have big, windy storms.)
The batter days of April. (Because baseball starts in April.)

How about May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December? What special "days" name can you give to those months?

We don't want cats to be jealous that dogs have "dog days." What month would have "cat days?"

Have fun thinking up "days" names for each month of the year. For extra fun, make a calendar with illustrations. And don't forget to give your dog extra water in August.

Baby Animals

2011-08-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Baby ducks are ducklings.

Baby geese are goslings.

And baby humans are...babies.

How many names can you think of for baby animals? A baby cat is a kitten. A baby dog is a puppy. A baby eagle is an eaglet. A baby frog is a tadpole. A baby fox, bear, wolf, or lion is a cub.

How about some lesser known babies? A baby lizard is a hatchling. A baby snake is a snakelet. A baby shark is a pup. A baby elephant is a calf.

For a fun word game, make a list of as many baby animal names as you can find. Or make up your own names. A baby crow? How about a crowlet? A crowling? A crowten?

Let your imagination soar as high as a baby seagull. Would that be a seaglet?

A String of Pearls

2011-07-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that I've been using word games and storytelling games for summer writing activities? Any time of year is great for word play, but summer seems especially good because we're often hanging around with friends. Friends make a word game or storytelling game even more fun.

I ran into Nancy Lewars the other day. Nancy teaches an improv acting class (short for "improvisational") on Bainbridge Island where I live. Nancy told me about a great improv storytelling game called "A String of Pearls." Here's how you play.

You need at least three people (that's where your friends come in). Imagine an invisible string in front of you. The first person starts by stringing the first pearl--by saying a sentence that begins a story.

Beginning: One day a mouse jumped out of the heating vent.

The second person strings the second pearl--by saying a sentence that will be the middle of the story. The second sentence doesn't have to be related to the first.

Middle: The paper bag filled with marbles flew across the street and under the bus.

The third person strings the third pearl--by saying a sentence that will be the end of the story. The third sentence doesn't have to be related to the first or second.

End: The giraffe drove the stolen car to the police station.

So far we have three pearls on our string:

Beginning: One day a mouse jumped out of the heating vent.

Middle: The paper bag filled with marbles flew across the street and under the bus.

End: The giraffe drove the stolen car to the police station.

Now the three people (or more) string the rest of the pearls by filling in the story. How will you create a story by connecting a mouse, a paper bag filled with marbles, and a giraffe driving a stolen car?

Have fun stringing your own pearls!

The License Plate Game

2011-07-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

I'm going on a trip next week. I'm flying to Boston, and then driving to Vermont with a friend. Thinking about driving reminds me of cars, which reminds me of license plates, which reminds me of the License Plate Game. It's a great game for writers!

Even if you're not going on a trip this summer, you can see license plates almost anywhere. Here's how the game works.

Find five license plates that include letters. Then make a phrase out of the letters.

For example:

SFA = Stop Feeding Aliens

MLH = Monsters Live Here

DSOM = Don't Step on Marvin

LL = Lizard Landing

UNH = Unicorns Need Help

For extra fun, use one of your phrases as a story title, and then write a story about aliens, monsters, Marvin, lizards, or unicorns. See how creative you can be, all because of the humble license plate.

Alliteration

2011-06-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

Summer is a splendid season to soak up the sun.

That's alliteration, when we use the same letter at the beginning of words. Alliteration is fun, it's rhythmic, and it's poetic. It has a nice sound. When readers see a sentence with alliteration, they enjoy saying the words out loud.

Let's try another one:

Larry was so lazy, he lounged till noon.

Not every word in a sentence needs to start with the same letter. Here's a line from The Jade Dragon by Carolyn Marsden and Virginia Shin-Mui Loh. The main character, Ginny, is thinking about the disappointing Christmas presents she received.

Socks. Underwear. A pair of pajamas. Pencils.

Say it out loud. The "p" sounds with their little puff of air show how frustrated Ginny is. Later on the page, she repeats the line, so we get to hear the "p" sounds again.

Socks. Underwear. A pair of pajamas. Pencils.

Try writing your own alliteration. It's fun, fabulous, and fantastic!

The Translation Game

2011-06-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Q B X M P C Y D A H U K S E Z N L T W O V F G

I J R

Here's a word game I learned from Nancy Lewars. It's a great game for summer, because you can play it outside while the weather's warm and sunny.

Three people sit in a row. The person in the middle is the Translator. The first person says something to the Translator in a made-up language (gibberish). The second person, or Translator, "translates" that to the third person in English. The third person answers the Translator in another made-up language (gibberish). The Translator then "translates" that back to the first person.

Sound complicated? It isn't. Here's an example:

First person: "Eee-ee ha la, moo hani la?"

Translator: "Why are you wearing a wool coat in June?"

Third person: "Sher trekk ponter dred trekk setin klakervin."

Translator: "Someone took my clothes."

First person: "Moo?"

Translator: "Why?"

Third person: "Sher trekk klakervin bettlever dagin."

Translator: "Because the clothes didn't belong to me."

You get the idea. Create a story using the Translation Game, and see how long you can keep it going. Have fun making up your gibberish language on the spot!

P.S. Lemonade goes great with this game.

School's Out for Summer!

2011-06-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

SCHOOL'S OUT!

School's out for summer.

It's really a bummer.

Just kidding!

I miss all my classes

and wearing my glasses.

Just kidding!

The bus smelled so great.

I was never late.

Just kidding!

My teacher was cool.

I really loved school.

Just kidding!

I did all my work

and was never a jerk.

Just kidding!

Now summer's here

and I'm shedding a tear.

Just kidding!

I can ride my bike

and go for a hike.

I can sleep till noon

and act like a goon.

I can watch TV

and water ski

ride my skateboard all day

and play, play, play, play!

NOT kidding!

What do YOU think about school being out for summer? Write a poem about it!

Libraries

2011-06-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE libraries!

What's better than a library? A story set in a library.

Think of all the story possibilities for a library:

you get locked inside the library overnight
you see someone stealing a book
you're hiding from someone in the library bathroom
you're at the library computer when a magical dragonfly whizzes past
you find a talking tarantula with a chef's hat in the cookbook section

Try setting a story in a library. In YOUR library, no one will say, "Shhhhhh!"

Memory

2011-05-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

Today is Memorial Day. It's a holiday, which means no school, right? It's good to know why Memorial Day is a holiday. On this day, we remember soldiers who have died. We also remember family members and friends who have died.

So Memorial Day is about remembering. It's about memory. Are you remembering someone special today? Maybe it's your grandma or grandpa. Maybe it's your pet. Or maybe you're remembering someone who's living--your mom, dad, aunt, or uncle in the military or away from home for another reason.

Think about someone you're remembering today. Write down five things about that person.

Today I'm remembering my mom who died a few years ago.

My Mom

1. Made the best chocolate chip cake.

2. Took the bus with me because she didn't drive.

3. Helped me with my spelling words (and that's why I'm a good speller).

4. Taught me some words in Polish.

5. Loved to go shopping.

What do you remember about a special person or pet? Happy Memorial Day!

Water, Water Everywhere....

2011-05-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

When you get to a page in a book that describes the weather, do you yawn? It doesn't have to be that way! The weather--rainy, sunny, stormy, cold, hot, dry--can be a great backdrop to your story. The weather can reflect the way your characters feel, or just the opposite. Your character may be in a sunny mood, and not even a rain squall can dampen that.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is all about the weather. The story is set in the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Depression. The dryness almost lifts off the page.

In As Long As There Are Mountains by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, set in Vermont, Iris describes the rain: "The trees dripped rain, shrouded in fog, and seemed as pale and lifeless as ghosts, but they weren't lifeless at all. Their energy was stored deep inside to weather the cold winter." That could describe Iris herself.

A picture book can convey weather, too. Here's the first page of George Shannon's Rabbit's Gift: "Rabbit twitched his nose in the cold, damp air. Time to find food. More snow was coming. Coming soon." Even if you're reading that in spring, don't you want to cuddle up under a warm blanket?

Whether (ha-ha) you're writing about wet weather, dry weather, cold weather, or hot weather, you have an opportunity to convey mood.

Try writing a paragraph about weather. Describe a storm, a blizzard, a thunderstorm, or a heat wave. Think about how you have experienced those weather events. Now think about a character who experiences hail on his face, sleet under his collar, or snow in her boots.

Makes you want to cuddle up under a warm blanket, doesn't it?

Emotions

2011-05-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

When people read our stories, they want to feel our characters' emotions. How do we put emotion into a story?

We can write about our characters' emotions by thinking about our own emotions. We don't have to be gushy or drip tears all over the page (or screen). But we can think about a time we felt the same way our character is feeling.

If your character is angry: think about a time someone made you really mad. What did you do? Did you want to hit someone? Did your heart start racing? Did your face get hot? Did you roll your hands into fists? Or did you go off by yourself to cool down?

If your character is happy: think about a time you felt true joy. What did you do? Did you jump up and down ? Did you cheer? Or did you sit quietly and let the wave of happiness wash over you?

If your character is jealous: think about a time you felt "green" with jealousy because your friend received a wonderful gift. What did you do? Did you make a sarcastic remark? Did you try to grab the gift? Or did you force yourself to make a kind remark, even though you didn't feel like it?

Look at the photo of the boy above. What do you think just happened? What emotion is this boy feeling? Think about a time you felt that same emotion. How did you react? Would this boy react the same way?

Write a paragraph describing how the boy is feeling. Maybe your description will make him feel better!

Naming Places and Things

2011-05-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's fun to name characters in a story, but it's also fun to name things in your story.

In this exercise, name the following things and imagine the stories they might go in. When you come up with a story idea you love, write the story!

a desert town
a disease that's just been discovered
a diner
quadruplets
a combination laundromat and beauty salon
a new diet soda
a summer cottage
a rock band
a circus
a tree house
a parking garage
a shoe store

Here's my idea for a desert town named Crazy Rock: A girl who's lived near the ocean all her life moves to Crazy Rock, a town of 100 people in the Arizona desert. She misses the water so much, she decides to find a way to bring a bit of the ocean to her new home....

Excuse me while I go write the story. Try naming the things above and finding your own idea for a story!

"I Am" Poem

2011-04-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

In an "I Am" poem, we write about a thing as if we are that thing. (Isn't it fun to pretend?)

Here's the form we use for an "I Am" poem:

I am a __________, __________ing ___________________.

I am a ____________________________________________.

In the first blank, write down an object. In the second blank after the comma, use a verb ending in "ing." Try to think of fun and unusual verbs, something you don't usually connect with that object. Instead of "I am a pine cone, falling to the ground," how about "I am a pine cone, diving to the ground?"

In the third blank, finish the sentence as you'd like. So: "I am a garbage can, opening my mouth to eat leftovers." (Who says you can't write a poem about a garbage can?)

For the next two lines, write about two other objects. For the last line, finish the poem however you'd like with an "I am" statement.

Since we just celebrated Earth Day, I wrote an "I Am" poem about something from nature.

Leaf

I am a leaf

swallowing rain.

I am a blade of grass

listening to skateboarders.

I am a daffodil

hiding from flower pickers.

I am the big, fat, yellow sun winking at Earth.

A How-To Poem

2011-04-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

For the rest of National Poetry Month, I want to focus on writing poems.

How about a "How-To Poem?"

We all know how to do things. Some of us know how to bake chocolate chip cookies. Others know how to put on a pair of skis (I don't). Still others know how to take the subway. If someone asks us, we can explain how to do those things.

That's what a "How-To Poem" does. It explains how to do something, only we use our imaginations instead of explaining how to do something from real life.

For example: How to give a giraffe a bath. Or how to find buried treasure. Or how to put a bathing suit on a four-ton hippo. (Don't try that at home.)

What would you like to explain in your "how-to poem?" Use your imagination: the sillier the better. Here's my "how-to-poem" about putting a cat to bed.

HOW TO PUT A CAT TO BED

First, find a cat.

He may not cooperate.

Tuck him in with blankets.

Sing lullabies until he purrs.

Then turn away and wait

for the sound of

little

cat

paws.

National Poetry Month

2011-04-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

April is National Poetry Month, and that means it's time to write poems! Not that we ever need an excuse to write a poem, but April is a good time to remember how much fun it is to play with words.

So go ahead! Write a poem!

How, you ask?

Start with an acrostic poem. That's one where you use the letters of the person, animal, place, or thing you're writing about to start each line. Like this:

Always running

Moving quickly with her

Yellow braids flying.

Baby seagulls cry while

Early morning swimmers

Arrive with their

Chairs and towels

Hoping for a scorcher.

Use your own name, your street, your favorite ice cream, the best month of the year (in your opinion), or even the word "poem" to write an acrostic poem.

Practically no one writes

Ordinary poems.

Except me.

Maybe it's because I'm extraordinary.

A Bookmobile Story

2011-04-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

When I was in Seattle last weekend, I saw this amazing, colorful bookmobile.

I love bookmobiles, even though I've always lived near a library and never got to actually use one.

To me, libraries are one of the best things about being alive. Think about it. In a library, you get to look at books, pick out movies, read magazines, listen to stories, and get your questions answered. They even let you take books home!

Now imagine all that in a bus painted with colorful characters...a library on wheels.

What if a bookmobile could talk? I bet it would have a lot of stories to tell. Think about all the people who have walked up the steps of this bookmobile and discovered magical worlds inside the pages of a book.

For fun, write a story set inside this bookmobile. Maybe it's a story about a boy who's looking for that perfect book on how to make cupcakes. Maybe it's about a girl who wants to find out how to care for her pet tarantula. Maybe it's about an anteater that wants to learn how to read. Maybe the story is about the people who painted the bookmobile.

Enjoy your bookmobile ride!

Once Upon a Time

2011-03-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's spring break here on Bainbridge Island where I live, so I thought it would be fun to have a writing game.

This idea is from Nancy Lewars. Last winter, I took Nancy's class on improvisational acting, or "improv." In improv, members of a group "improvise" with each other. That means they interact in a group to create scenes and characters. It's really fun!

In Nancy's improv class, we played a game called "Once Upon a Time." It's a great game for writers, and it goes like this:

Round up a group of nine people, including yourself. The nine people can be your friends, family, or neighbors. They can be kids or grown-ups. Form a circle. Each person in the group completes one of the following lines, going around the circle until you have a complete story.

Once upon a time....

And every day....

Until one day....

And because of this....

Until finally....

And ever since that day....

The moral of the story is....

The "moral" of the story is the little lesson you can learn from it. (Oops, sorry, didn't mean to talk about lessons during spring break.)

Here's an example to get you started:

Once upon a time, a grizzly bear escaped from the zoo.

And every day, it would visit Mrs. Merckle's garden to eat her spinach.

Until one day, Mrs. Merckle....

What? What did Mrs. Merckle do? It's up to you to finish the story with the other members of your group. Have fun improvising!

Our Sense of Smell

2011-03-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

I love the smell of freshly baked bread, chocolate chip cookies, pine cones, my cats' heads (weird, I know), sheets just out of the dryer, grass after it's been cut, the pages of a new book, and mint tea.

I'm not crazy about the smell of overcooked broccoli, dirty socks, dog breath, wet wool, cheese that's been left in the refrigerator (ugh), burned toast, and car exhaust.

What smells do you like? What smells do you dislike?

Our sense of smell is a powerful way to connect with our readers. I don't mean our readers will actually smell US. I mean we can use the sense of smell in our stories to draw our readers in.

An example:

When you smell freshly cut grass, what does it make you think of? The time you walked in the park with a favorite grandparent? The time you hit a home run in Little League? The time you got grass stains on your jeans and your mom was mad?

We all make emotional connections through our senses when we read. Smell is one of the most powerful of the five senses. We make a connection between a smell in a story, and an emotion we felt when we encountered that smell in real life. The smell in the story takes us right back to that emotion, even if the event happened three years ago.

Try this. Write a scene with two characters talking. (Any two characters: a police officer and the driver he's giving a ticket to; two worms in a garden; or a boy and his martial arts teacher.) Can you include a smell in your scene? Maybe the police officer smells the thick exhaust coming out of the old car. Maybe the worm smells the wet dirt. Maybe the boy smells the sweat in the classroom.

Most readers have smelled car exhaust, wet dirt, and sweat. Readers will remember those smells and make an emotional connection to your story.

Try using smell in your stories. What will it be? Overcooked broccoli? Or freshly baked chocolate chip cookies?

A "What If" Story

2011-03-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

We all like to wonder, "What if?"

Writing fiction is fun because we can speculate, muse, be curious, puzzle, imagine, play, and make believe---all ways of saying that we can wonder, "What if?"

Try writing a story with a "what if" question as a starting point. Where does the question lead your imagination?

What if a tiger walked into your bedroom?
What if you invented a new kind of umbrella that earned you $1,000,000?
What if it rained so hard that your house went down the river and landed in the next town--a town filled only with cats?
What if you woke up and your entire family turned into erasers?
What if you had three ears?
What if you ate breakfast for dinner, dinner for lunch, and lunch for breakfast?
What if the entire world was yellow?
What if you watched movies on the bottoms of your shoes?
What if your yard turned into Sea World?
What if you found a taco that talked?

Have fun with your "what if" story. "What if" you wrote one today?

What's In a Name?

2011-02-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

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.

Adjectives

2011-01-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Adjectives are those great words that describe things. They can be short: wet, dry, thick, thin, pink, green (or short). They can be long: wonderful, extraordinary, shadowy. They can be "show-off" words: splendiferous, iridescent, capacious.

Whether the adjectives you use are big or small, it's a good idea to have them in your writing for a reason. Adjectives have a job to do. Choosing the right adjective is the difference between something being tall or something being gigantic. Big difference.

What adjectives would you use to describe the cactuses (or cacti) above? Some adjectives may simply describe the cactuses physically:

thorny

prickly

sharp

spiky

spiny

Other adjectives may show how your character feels about the cactuses:

dangerous

friendly

charming

stately

Find an object outside or in your house. It could be a stop sign or your bathroom faucet. Describe the object using one or two adjectives. Will you use adjectives that describe the object physically? (a tall, red stop sign) Or will you use adjectives that use emotion? (a sad, battered stop sign)

Does a stop sign need to be described with adjectives? After all, everyone knows what a stop sign looks like. Do you need to tell your reader that it's red? Or is there something different about this particular stop sign? Is it muddy, faded, or rusty?

Have fun playing with long, short, moody, silly adjectives in your writing.

Endings

2011-01-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

Since I talked about openings last time, how about if we talk about endings? What makes for a good ending of a story?

When you read, do you like everything to be wrapped up neatly? Or do you like to have one aspect of the story remain unsolved, to give you something to think about? Or something in-between?

I'm an "in-between" person. I like the story to be resolved, but I also like to have a question about the characters or story stay in my mind after I finish reading the book.

Most authors like to write the kind of story they like to read. How about you?

Pick one of your favorite books. In your notebook, write down how the story ends, and why you like (or don't like) the ending. Now write down how the story could have ended differently. Maybe the dog doesn't die, or the boy doesn't move to Arizona after all.

One of my favorite novels is Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, about a family that has lost its mother. The father invites a mail-order bride from Maine--Sarah--to come live with them in their prairie home.

A beautiful aspect of the book is how well it uses color: the sky, the water, the prairie grass. So I like how the ending of the book uses color, too:

Autumn will come, then winter, cold with a wind that blows like the wind off the sea in Maine. There will be nests of curls to look for, and dried flowers all winter long. When there are storms, Papa will stretch a rope from the door to the barn so we will not be lost when we feed the sheep and the cows and Jack and Old Bess. And Sarah's chickens, if they aren't living in the house. There will be Sarah's sea, blue and gray and green, hanging on the wall. And songs, old ones and new. And Seal with yellow eyes. And there will be Sarah, plain and tall.

This book ends happily, with the story wrapped up. (I won't tell exactly what happens!) But there's also the question of how Sarah, who is from near the sea, will fit into this prairie family.

Luckily there are three sequels: Skylark, Caleb's Story, and More Perfect Than the Moon.

Openings

2011-01-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I wish you all a great year of writing, discovering, and creating.

With the start of a new year, it seems fitting to talk about openings. I just started reading The Subtle Knife, the second book in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials. Here's the opening to The Subtle Knife:

Will tugged at his mother's hand and said, "Come on, come on..."

But his mother hung back. She was still afraid. Will looked up and down the narrow street in the evening light, along the little terrace of houses, each behind its tiny garden and its box hedge, with the sun glaring off the windows of one side and leaving the other in shadow. There wasn't much time. People would be having their meal about now, and soon there would be other children around, to stare and comment and notice. It was dangerous to wait, but all he could do was persuade her, as usual.

"Mum, let's go in and see Mrs. Cooper," he said. "Look, we're nearly there."

"Mrs. Cooper?" she said doubtfully.

But he was already ringing the bell. He had to put down the bag to do it, because his other hand still held his mother's. It might have bothered him at twelve years of age to be seen holding his mother's hand, but he knew what would happen to her if he didn't.

Could you stop reading a novel with an opening that great? I couldn't! I want to know exactly what will happen to Will. In that short passage, Philip Pullman has told us that Will is 12 years old, his mother has something wrong with her, he's in danger, and he's running out of time.

As if that isn't enough, Pullman slips in a hint about the theme of the trilogy, Light vs. Darkness, in this wonderful description: with the sun glaring off the windows of one side and leaving the other in shadow.

I want to drop everything and read!

How about your own openings? Do you give your reader information (Will is 12 and his mother has something wrong with her), a problem (Will is in danger), tension (he's running out of time), and a hint about the theme (sun vs. shadow/light vs. darkness)? Few of us are masters like Philip Pullman, but we can still work on our openings.

Try writing an opening scene. Introduce your main character, a problem, and tension. (At this point you probably don't know what your theme will be; writers usually work in hints about theme in later revisions.)

Have fun "opening" the new year with a great opening!

Making a List, Checking It Twice

2010-12-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

Most of us like to make lists, especially at this time of year. A great way to make a list and write a poem at the same time is to make a List Poem.

It's as simple as it sounds: you can make a poem out of a list of things, ideas, sounds, smells, favorite words. You can think of a theme and make a list that relates to the theme.

That's what Eileen Spinelli did in her poem, "Creativity," in Falling Down the Pages: A Book of List Poems (published by Roaring Brook Press).

"Creativity"

An artist takes:

colored pencil

piece of yarn

wooden slat from

some old barn

sidewalk chalk

or spool of wire

can of paint

or junkyard tire

twig or twine

or river rock

seed or seashell

woolen sock

bar of soap

or paper heart

and turns it

happily

to art.

Perhaps you have:

a shard of plate

a hinge from someone's

garden gate

a scrap of quilt

or rusty screw...

then you can be

an artist too.

A List Poem doesn't have to rhyme. "Walking Home from School I See" by Rebecca Kai Dotlich (from the same book) rhymes only in the last line:

"Walking Home from School I See"

A bus with a flat tire.

Pennies in a puddle.

Baby birds.

Fat worms.

A pair of pigeons.

A crooked gate.

A mailbox spray-painted pink.

A bulldog wearing a raincoat.

A bumblebee.

A reflection

in a window--

me!

Have a great time making lists and turning them into poems! With thanks to my writer friend George Shannon for giving me the book Falling Down the Pages.

Perspective

2010-12-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

The dictionary defines perspective as, "A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view." In other words, it's all about how you look at things.

I took a photo of these awesome Douglas firs at Camp Yeomalt Park near my house. I happened to look up, and saw how the perspective of the trees was different from what I was used to. Although I'd walked past these trees dozens of times, I saw them in a new way. I had a new point of view.

Having a new perspective on an object that you see everyday can help your writing. It helps because you're learning how to really see, not simply walk past an object (or tree) because--ho, hum--it's part of your background.

Try this exercise on perspective. Find an object in your house that you see nearly everyday. Now change your perspective of it. If it's your refrigerator, lie on the floor and look up at it. If it's your baby photo, tip it upside down. If it's your toothbrush, hold it by the wrong end. If it's your kitchen clock on the wall, pull up a chair next to it (with an adult's permission) and look at it from an inch away.

What new things can you notice about everyday objects? That's the fresh perspective, or point of view, we want to bring to our writing.

Have fun looking at objects. And don't forget to look up at the trees.

Write a Magazine Poem

2010-11-29T16:01:00.000-08:00

A very fun way to write a poem is to use magazines. Here's what you do:

First, find one or two magazines (make sure everyone is done reading them first).

Second, get a pair of scissors (ask an adult for help if you need it).

Third, flip through the pages of the magazines, and cut sentences out at random.

Okay, now you should have a pile of cut-out sentences or phrases. The more the better!

On a sheet of paper or in your writing journal, try arranging your sentences. Pick out the ones you like--the words, a phrase, or the meaning. Recycle the ones you don't like. Can you see a theme? Does one of the sentences make a good title? Is your poem silly or serious? Is it nonsensical? Does it rhyme? (It doesn't have to!)

After you arrange the cut-out sentences to form a poem you like, glue them onto the paper. Congratulations! You have written a magazine poem!

A Rose Is A Rose...

2010-11-08T14:17:00.001-08:00

I teach a class for adults called "Creativity for Writers." In this class, I encourage my students to have a "creativity date" each week.

What is a creativity date? It's one half hour you spend by yourself, either writing, drawing, listening to music, or doing something else creative. It's important that you do your creativity date by yourself. Why? When we're with our family and friends, we enjoy talking to them and goofing around. Nothing wrong with that. But when we're by ourselves and open to ideas, that's when the creative bug is most likely to bite.

Last week I went on a creativity date by myself. I biked to a neighborhood pond with my notebook. It's my creativity notebook, which has big white pages and no lines. I also brought a box of colored pencils.

I saw this flower and decided to draw it. I looked at the flower carefully and put in as much detail as I could. When I finished, I thought I had included a lot of detail. Then I took a photo of the flower. When I saw the photo, I was shocked. I missed a lot of details, like the little dots on the leaves and the way the sun hit the red petals.

If you have access to a camera, try this. Choose something to draw and look at it carefully. After drawing it, take a photo and compare the photo to your drawing. Did you miss anything? Try drawing it again, only this time include the details you missed.

Drawing and taking photos are great ways for writers to learn to look carefully!

The Numbers Game

2010-11-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

This writing exercise is adapted from the book Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun, by Carla Sondheim, published by Quarry Books.

What does writing have to do with drawing? Everything! Whether we write or draw (or both), we're expressing our creativity. Many drawing exercises can be used for writing. "The Numbers Game" is one of them. This one you can do with a friend.

Ask a friend to take a sheet of paper and fold it in half lengthwise. On the left side of the paper, ask your friend to list 10 animals down the page and number them 1 to 10. On the right side of the paper, ask your friend to list 10 objects and number them 1 to 10. Don't let your friend show you what he or she has written.

For example:

On the left:

giraffe
buffalo
mosquito
seagull
beetle
gorilla
panda
rat
raccoon
coyote

On the right:

star
scissors
rainbow
flag
broccoli
bus
mirror
computer
stapler
pizza

Without looking at the list your friend made, pick two numbers from 1 to 10. Now (finally!) you get to look at the list. What two objects did you pick?

Let's say you picked 6 and 9: a gorilla and a stapler. Write a story about a gorilla and a stapler. Maybe a gorilla goes out shopping for bananas, but comes home with a stapler. What is a gorilla going to do with a stapler?? What if you picked 5 and 10? A beetle and a pizza. 1 and 7? A giraffe and a mirror.

Before you write your story, switch roles with your friend. Just as your friend did, take a sheet of paper, make two lists, and ask your friend to pick two numbers. When you have both chosen an animal and an object, sit down together and each write your own story. Have fun being as creative as you can!

When you're done, read your stories out loud to each other.

For extra fun, combine your two animals and your two objects, and write a story together. Maybe it will be a gorilla, a stapler, an ox, and an umbrella. Write a story together with those four things in it.

If you want, illustrate your story after you are finished. See? Drawing and writing go together!

Longneckosaurus

2010-10-18T16:30:00.001-07:00

Would you like to name your very own dinosaur? How about Longneckosaurus? Tinysaurus? Gigantasaurus? Pinkysaurus? Popcornsaurus?

I discovered these dinosaurs when I was out walking one day in Seattle. (OK, they're made out of wood, but they're still very cool.) A yard was filled with fun dinosaurs in all shapes and sizes, and that got my imagination going.

What's happening in this scene? It looks like one of the dinosaurs is being eaten! Or maybe it's a dinosaur cookie. Is this a family? Or a bunch of friends?

Try writing a story about these dinosaurs. The best part is, YOU get to name each one.

Titles

2010-10-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Some writers don't think of a title for their story until after they've written it. Other writers start with a title.

Most likely, you're like me when it comes to titles: sometimes it appears right away, before you start writing. Other times no title seems right, no matter how hard you think. Or the title is hiding somewhere in the story and needs to be coaxed out.

Sometimes you want to write a story but need an idea. A fun exercise is to start with a title. Try one of these:

Five Fuzzy French Fries
The Extra Sock
Mouse Mischief
How a Porcupine Takes a Bath
The Missing Fireplace
The Freaked-Out Baseball
The Day Things Turned Green
The Monkey With Bad Manners

Have fun writing your story, and don't forget to write the title in big letters at the top of your page!

Cats and Dogs and Gerbils and Other Pets

2010-10-04T14:42:00.001-07:00

This is my cat Max. One day he decided to take a nap on the deck, and I loved the way he stretched out in the sun.

Do you have a cat? A dog? A gerbil, goldfish, or armadillo? Write about something funny your pet did--or didn't do. Maybe your pet sleeps all day. You can write about your pet's dreams.

Maybe you don't have a pet. When I was growing up, I always wanted a dog. I used to think up names for the dog that would sleep in my bed. If you wish you had a pet, write about the animal you've always wanted. Maybe you really DON'T want a pet. Write about why. Animals are all different, and so are we!

What Do You See?

2010-09-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

I created this painting in a fun art class I took this year. The painting is abstract, but when I look at it now I see a dog with a black nose, two red eyes, and a red dot on its forehead.

When we look at images, we all see something different. I see a dog. Someone else may see a swirling storm, a party with colorful streamers, or a creature from the deep bringing its head to the surface.

What do you see? Let your imagination loose. Write a story about what YOU see in this picture.

Shoes

2010-09-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

Shoes travel with us wherever we go. If only they could talk!

Write about a pair of shoes that have been important in your life. Maybe they're the shoes you wore when you scored the winning soccer goal. Or the ballet slippers you practiced in so often they fell apart. Or the flip-flops you wore to the beach with your grandparents. Or the ugly brown shoes you had to wear the first day of school. Or your favorite pair of high tops that someone stole.

Or make up a story about shoes. Try writing about a pair of shoes in a first-person "I" voice, from the shoes' point of view. Here's the start of a story:

The day Jake and I started school together, I know he was embarrassed to be wearing me--the ugliest pair of shoes in the entire 6th grade. See, Jake's dad was out of work, and his mom found me in the thrift shop. I was all they could afford. If only I could speak! I was longing to tell Jake that I may be be the ugliest shoes in the 6th grade, but I have magical powers.

The 5 Senses with Color

2010-09-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun prompt using our 5 senses to make our writing come alive.

Presenting........ the 5 senses!

1. sight

2. taste

3. smell

4. hearing (sound)

5. touch (feel)

What is your favorite color? Maybe it's green, or blue, or something exotic like periwinkle or blood-red.

On a sheet of paper, or in your writer's notebook, write down your favorite color.

Now think about the 5 senses. What does your color look like? Taste like? Smell like? Sound like? Feel like?

Here's an example for the color yellow.

Yellow looks like the skirt my mom wears in the summer.

Yellow tastes like ripe bananas in a big bowl.

Yellow smells like the lead in pencils.

Yellow sounds like the sun crossing the sky.

Yellow feels like a cool drink of lemonade down my throat.

What does YOUR favorite color look, taste, smell, sound, and feel like? Use your imagination and have fun!

Welcome to Fall Writing!

2010-08-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a great summer! Here's a Yellow Pencil prompt to get us going for fall.

Write about someone who is very different from you. If you are nine years old, write about someone who is eighty-nine. If you are a human (I hope so!), write about a squirrel. If you live in the desert, write about someone who lives on an island. If you are a girl, write about a boy. If you are tall, write about someone who is short.

Have fun writing about someone different from you!

The Writer's Summer Survival Kit

2010-06-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

Summer is a great time for writing!

Here's what you need for your Writer's Summer Survival Kit:

1. A notebook you can carry around with you.

2. A bunch of pens and pencils in different colors. Write in a color that suits your mood!

3. Scotch tape.

4. Your 5 senses: We experience the world through our senses. Write in your notebook what you see, smell, touch, hear, and taste during the summer. (Yes, licking ice cream can be a writing assignment!)

5. A writing prompt for days when your brain is on vacation. Here are a few:

Tape a ticket stub into your notebook. Write a scene where a character you make up goes to that event.

Write a sentence that is one page long. (Commas, colons, semicolons, and dashes are OK. No periods.)

Pick a pen color that suits your mood. Write a scene where your character is in the opposite mood.

Write a paragraph of description. Use sounds, alliteration (when words begin with the same letter), repetition, rhythm, and silly words.

Write a poem about your favorite cereal (taste), your friend’s cell phone ring (hearing), your pet’s breath (smell), a stone on the beach (touch), your face in the morning (sight).

Take your Writer's Summer Survival Kit to the beach, library, pet store, playground....everywhere. Have fun writing this summer!

Object X

2010-05-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

In the Young Writers workshops that I teach, everyone loves this exercise. Especially since it involves Hershey's Kisses! It's all about using your 5 senses: sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste.

Before you start this exercise, get a Hershey's Kiss. Any kind will do. Make sure you're not allergic to chocolate.

Now for the fun part. Pretend you're a space alien visiting Earth. You discover a strange object (your Hershey's kiss), which you name Object X. You speak English, but there are three words you don't understand: Hershey's, kiss, and chocolate. You must write a "report" back to your planet (in English), using all 5 of your senses, to describe Object X. Remember, you can't use the words Hershey's, kiss, or chocolate.

In your "report," include:

1. Sight. What does Object X look like? Is it dull, shiny, red, purple? What shape is it? Try to use descriptive words instead of words like "nice" or "pretty."

2. Touch. What does Object X feel like? Is it sharp, smooth, slippery, wet, dry, cold, warm, rough, smooth?

3. Hearing. What does Object X sound like? Hold it up to your ear. Do you hear anything? What if you move it a bit next to your ear?

4. Smell. Remove the outer wrapping of Object X. What does it smell like? Does it smell sour, sweet, stale, curdled? Does the smell remind you of something?

5. Taste. (The best part.) Put Object X in your mouth. Do not chew or swallow. What does Object X taste like? Does it taste like rotten bananas or malted milk? (Remember you don't know the word for chocolate. Be creative describing the taste of Object X.)

Okay, you can swallow now.

When you're finished writing your "report," give Object X a new name. Have fun naming Object X in your own unique way.

For extra fun, write a poem about Object X using your descriptions from your 5 senses. Draw an outline of Object X and write your poem inside the outline.

Good-bye, space alien. Hope you enjoyed Object X!

The French Poodle, the Tennis Racket, and the Taco

2010-04-28T08:19:00.000-07:00

What do a French poodle, a tennis racket, and a taco have in common? Nothing! That's what makes this writing exercise fun.

Write a story. Make sure you include:

A French poodle
A tennis racket
A taco

What does your poodle look like? Does it have pink fur? White? Black? How big is the tennis racket? Is it an old racket with broken strings? How about the taco? Does it have cheese, lettuce, and hamburger, or something unusual like ice cream?

What will happen in your story? Maybe the French poodle always wanted to take tennis lessons, but he can't afford a racket. He goes to a restaurant and orders a taco, which turns out to be a magical taco....

That's just one idea. Use your imagination and write the story of "The French Poodle, the Tennis Racket, and the Taco."