Making a List, Checking It Twice

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

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

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...

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

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:

1. giraffe
2. buffalo
3. mosquito
4. seagull
5. beetle
6. gorilla
7. panda
8. rat
9. raccoon
10. coyote

On the right:

1. star
2. scissors
3. rainbow
4. flag
5. broccoli
6. bus
7. mirror
8. computer
9. stapler
10. 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

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

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

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?

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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."