"So Much Depends Upon" Poems

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!