As I travel around visiting schools to teach poetry and story writing, I often meet teachers who want to write for kids. I like to read the stories or poems these teachers are working on and give whatever helpful advice I can.
Now, though, I will expand this practice and, after reading and discussing the teacher's work, I will send them to an excellent blog. Margot Finke is an Aussie living in Oregan and writing children's books. Teachers, check her out at http://margotfinke.blogspot.com/ .
Click on her "Musings" column for lively and realistic insights into writing for kids. Also, follow her links to look at her books, learn about her school visits, and get lots and lots of ideas for classroom activities.
Kids, you'll find lots to like at the site, too. I especially enjoyed the "Kids Do Ecology" pages.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Climax: The Turning Point
Usually the Most Exciting Part of the Story
This is where your character must dig deep inside herself/himself to find the courage or cleverness to solve the problem—or at least learn to live with it.
99.97% of the time (well, most of the time, anyway) this is a Scene. It happens right smack, dab before the end of the story.
Remember what you need for a Scene:
1) One small place
2) Other Characters for Dialogue and Action
3) A Feeling Word to Show and Not Tell
Jack ran and ran, the bag of gold tucked under his arm like a football.
“Ahma gonna git yer!” yelled the giant as he chased Jack out of the castle gate. “Ahma gonna make ye a ham sanditch, jest lak Ah did wit yer daddy!”
Jack began sliding down the beanstalk, reaching inside his pants pocket for his cell phone. He could smell the giant’s filthy bare feet and garlicy breath. The giant’s feet came closer and closer as Jack fumbled with his cell phone. He could see the long, yellow toenails curling over the ends of the giant’s toes. He pressed speed dial on the phone. “Come on, come on!” he nervously whispered as he continued sliding down the beanstalk.
“Hello,” his mother’s voice said at the other end of the phone.
“Mom!” Jack nearly screamed into the phone, “bring the axe to the bottom of that stalk in the back yard!”
“I beg your pardon, young man,” came her not-so-pleased answer. “I’ve told you before not to yell into the phone. Now. What can I do for you?”
Jack could smell the giant’s smelly body odor. He repeated—much more politely—his request that his mother bring the axe. But when he got there, she had brought that awful chain saw he always had trouble starting.
The giant roared with laughter as Jack struggled to start the saw, but he did get it going, and sawed the beanstalk down. It crashed to the ground, sending the giant hopping to the emergency room with a broken ankle.
“Oh, me goodness!” he yelled. “That’s the one I twisted playing tennis last week! Oh, me! Oh, my!”
Your challenge: Write an exciting scene in which your character tries to solve his or her problem.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
This is where your character must dig deep inside herself/himself to find the courage or cleverness to solve the problem—or at least learn to live with it.
99.97% of the time (well, most of the time, anyway) this is a Scene. It happens right smack, dab before the end of the story.
Remember what you need for a Scene:
1) One small place
2) Other Characters for Dialogue and Action
3) A Feeling Word to Show and Not Tell
Jack ran and ran, the bag of gold tucked under his arm like a football.
“Ahma gonna git yer!” yelled the giant as he chased Jack out of the castle gate. “Ahma gonna make ye a ham sanditch, jest lak Ah did wit yer daddy!”
Jack began sliding down the beanstalk, reaching inside his pants pocket for his cell phone. He could smell the giant’s filthy bare feet and garlicy breath. The giant’s feet came closer and closer as Jack fumbled with his cell phone. He could see the long, yellow toenails curling over the ends of the giant’s toes. He pressed speed dial on the phone. “Come on, come on!” he nervously whispered as he continued sliding down the beanstalk.
“Hello,” his mother’s voice said at the other end of the phone.
“Mom!” Jack nearly screamed into the phone, “bring the axe to the bottom of that stalk in the back yard!”
“I beg your pardon, young man,” came her not-so-pleased answer. “I’ve told you before not to yell into the phone. Now. What can I do for you?”
Jack could smell the giant’s smelly body odor. He repeated—much more politely—his request that his mother bring the axe. But when he got there, she had brought that awful chain saw he always had trouble starting.
The giant roared with laughter as Jack struggled to start the saw, but he did get it going, and sawed the beanstalk down. It crashed to the ground, sending the giant hopping to the emergency room with a broken ankle.
“Oh, me goodness!” he yelled. “That’s the one I twisted playing tennis last week! Oh, me! Oh, my!”
Your challenge: Write an exciting scene in which your character tries to solve his or her problem.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Complication—The Main Events
Complication is the middle of your story. These are the main events where your main character is trying to deal with, solve, the problem.
The trouble is that usually the problem does not want to be solved easily. Maybe it gets worse. Sometimes the character has to have a series of adventures to deal with it, like going on a journey, a mission, or escaping from a prison.
During this part of the story, your character encounters difficulties. An excellent way to make this part of the story fun and interesting is to introduce one or two (or more) Antagonists.
An Antagonist is a troublemaker, somebody who makes things more difficult for your main character. Not all Antagonists are bad, by the way. Some are helpful.
Here is a list of some Antagonists:
The Villain—a bad guy like a school bully or the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Think of Count Olaf in Lemony Snicket or Draco Malfoy or Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter.
The Trickster—someone who misleads your main character. The trickster can be a villain, too, of course, but can be good, too. The little man trading the cow for magic beans in “Jack and the Beanstalk” ends up having been helpful to Jack and his mother.
The Taskgiver—a character who gives the main character a job to do that he or she would not otherwise have done. Jack’s mother sends him to town. This sets off all his adventures, and some real trouble like being chased by a giant.
A Natural Force—not all antagonists are human. Some are animals like bears or snakes. Others are snowstorms that make travel difficult or mountains characters have to cross, rivers that flood, earthquakes that destroy cities, fires that burn out of control.
The Pest—anybody with a younger brother or sister or has fought off mosquitoes knows what a pest is.
Bad Choices—my favorite! Your character might do something he or she knows is not right or kind or smart. He or she may give in to peer pressure or just not know what is right in a situation.
Your Challenge
As you do this part of your rough draft, try using one or more of these antagonists.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
The trouble is that usually the problem does not want to be solved easily. Maybe it gets worse. Sometimes the character has to have a series of adventures to deal with it, like going on a journey, a mission, or escaping from a prison.
During this part of the story, your character encounters difficulties. An excellent way to make this part of the story fun and interesting is to introduce one or two (or more) Antagonists.
An Antagonist is a troublemaker, somebody who makes things more difficult for your main character. Not all Antagonists are bad, by the way. Some are helpful.
Here is a list of some Antagonists:
The Villain—a bad guy like a school bully or the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk.” Think of Count Olaf in Lemony Snicket or Draco Malfoy or Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter.
The Trickster—someone who misleads your main character. The trickster can be a villain, too, of course, but can be good, too. The little man trading the cow for magic beans in “Jack and the Beanstalk” ends up having been helpful to Jack and his mother.
The Taskgiver—a character who gives the main character a job to do that he or she would not otherwise have done. Jack’s mother sends him to town. This sets off all his adventures, and some real trouble like being chased by a giant.
A Natural Force—not all antagonists are human. Some are animals like bears or snakes. Others are snowstorms that make travel difficult or mountains characters have to cross, rivers that flood, earthquakes that destroy cities, fires that burn out of control.
The Pest—anybody with a younger brother or sister or has fought off mosquitoes knows what a pest is.
Bad Choices—my favorite! Your character might do something he or she knows is not right or kind or smart. He or she may give in to peer pressure or just not know what is right in a situation.
Your Challenge
As you do this part of your rough draft, try using one or more of these antagonists.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Plop Your Character Smack into a Conflict Scene
You are ready to begin writing your story for www.kidswrite4kids.com. The best way I know to jump right into the action on this first rough draft is—with a Conflict Scene.
What’s that?
Well, the Conflict is the first part, the beginning, of the story. It’s when the reader first meets the main character and his or her problem.
Okay, what’s a Scene?
That’s a part of the story where we hear dialogue (conversation) and see the actions characters are doing. It’s the slow motion part.
“Good grief, Jacque! When did you learn to do that?” yelled Bob as he hung his coat in the hall closet. He stood on tiptoe to reach his tuba on the top shelf. “This is great! We can play music together now!”
Jacque shook his kitty head back and forth and kept pounding on the tom-tom. “No way,” he mewed. “Tubas are for suckers! Learn to play the harmonica and we’ll talk.”
Bob’s face fell. He loved playing the tuba, and where could he learn to play the harmonica, anyway?
So what do you need for your Conflict Scene?
1) For now, please pick one small place where your character has the problem you wrote down.
For example, maybe your character has trouble (as I did long, long ago) with math. One place he might have that problem is in the classroom when he is asked a math question. Another is on the school bus, where the other kids tease him. Still another is at the kitchen table at home while he’s trying to do his math homework.
Remember, choose one small place. Don’t write “school.” Write where at school—the gym, the classroom, in the media center, or by the lockers in the hallway. Don’t write “at home.” Say what room at home.
2) It will also help your storytelling to have other characters in that place while your character is having that problem. Soooooooo—who else is there?
3) How does your character feel when he or she is having the problem you wrote down? Please just write one (1) feeling word: angry, embarrassed, sad, alone, frustrated, but—please, pretty please—not happy!
I never have felt happy to have a problem. At least, I don’t think so.
Your Challenge--
Try not to use that feeling word. That would be telling. Show it instead. If you need to, go back to the lesson on showing and not telling to refresh your memory. Then see if you can write the scene without telling the word.
Oh, one more thing: Make the problem worse by the end of your scene. This is the beginning of your story.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
What’s that?
Well, the Conflict is the first part, the beginning, of the story. It’s when the reader first meets the main character and his or her problem.
Okay, what’s a Scene?
That’s a part of the story where we hear dialogue (conversation) and see the actions characters are doing. It’s the slow motion part.
“Good grief, Jacque! When did you learn to do that?” yelled Bob as he hung his coat in the hall closet. He stood on tiptoe to reach his tuba on the top shelf. “This is great! We can play music together now!”
Jacque shook his kitty head back and forth and kept pounding on the tom-tom. “No way,” he mewed. “Tubas are for suckers! Learn to play the harmonica and we’ll talk.”
Bob’s face fell. He loved playing the tuba, and where could he learn to play the harmonica, anyway?
So what do you need for your Conflict Scene?
1) For now, please pick one small place where your character has the problem you wrote down.
For example, maybe your character has trouble (as I did long, long ago) with math. One place he might have that problem is in the classroom when he is asked a math question. Another is on the school bus, where the other kids tease him. Still another is at the kitchen table at home while he’s trying to do his math homework.
Remember, choose one small place. Don’t write “school.” Write where at school—the gym, the classroom, in the media center, or by the lockers in the hallway. Don’t write “at home.” Say what room at home.
2) It will also help your storytelling to have other characters in that place while your character is having that problem. Soooooooo—who else is there?
3) How does your character feel when he or she is having the problem you wrote down? Please just write one (1) feeling word: angry, embarrassed, sad, alone, frustrated, but—please, pretty please—not happy!
I never have felt happy to have a problem. At least, I don’t think so.
Your Challenge--
Try not to use that feeling word. That would be telling. Show it instead. If you need to, go back to the lesson on showing and not telling to refresh your memory. Then see if you can write the scene without telling the word.
Oh, one more thing: Make the problem worse by the end of your scene. This is the beginning of your story.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
Welcome, New Members!
Welcome, new members Zach and Caryn to www.kidswrite4kids.com. We are sure both of you will make great contributions to the website. We are looking forward to reading what happens next in Zach's wonderfully descriptive story, "The Hunt," which he left as a real cliffhanger!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Who Is Telling This Story, Anyway?
Well, you are, of course!! Right? Yes, you are. But. . . there are a few tricks here. If you would like to join and publish on www.kidswrite4kids.com, keeping what you read here in mind will help you write a better story.
First Person Narration--
You may decide to pretend to be the character you made up. This is called First Person Narration. The teller of the story is inside the story talking about himself or herself, saying “I.”
This can be great fun for your Dream Mind because you become a kind of actor.
Here's a way to think about it: Draw a circle. Now imagine that everything in your story happens inside that circle. In First Person Narration, the teller of the story is inside the circle. The teller of the story--the narrator--is part of the story. Some or all of what happens in the story happens to the narrator.
First Person Narration sounds like this:
I want to tell you the story of the day my cat played the drums. I came home from my job at the cookie factory, and what do you think I saw?! My cat Jacque playing a drum!
“Good grief, Jacque!” I yelled. “When did you learn to do that?”
Third Person Narration--
On the other hand, you may decide to have your storyteller stand outside the story. This is called Third Person Narration. The narrator says “he” or “she” in this case.
Bob dragged himself home from his job at the cookie factory, thinking he’d spend the evening playing games on his computer. But when he opened the door to his house, there sat Jacque, his cat, playing a drum.
“Good grief, Jacque!” Bob yelled. “When did you learn to do that?”
In this case, the teller of the story is standing outside looking in. The teller of the story is outside the circle, is not a character in the story.
Your Challenge--
Choose whether your narrator is inside or outside the story, and then try to stay with that choice all the way through the story.
Watch for the next blog entry! See you then!
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
First Person Narration--
You may decide to pretend to be the character you made up. This is called First Person Narration. The teller of the story is inside the story talking about himself or herself, saying “I.”
This can be great fun for your Dream Mind because you become a kind of actor.
Here's a way to think about it: Draw a circle. Now imagine that everything in your story happens inside that circle. In First Person Narration, the teller of the story is inside the circle. The teller of the story--the narrator--is part of the story. Some or all of what happens in the story happens to the narrator.
First Person Narration sounds like this:
I want to tell you the story of the day my cat played the drums. I came home from my job at the cookie factory, and what do you think I saw?! My cat Jacque playing a drum!
“Good grief, Jacque!” I yelled. “When did you learn to do that?”
Third Person Narration--
On the other hand, you may decide to have your storyteller stand outside the story. This is called Third Person Narration. The narrator says “he” or “she” in this case.
Bob dragged himself home from his job at the cookie factory, thinking he’d spend the evening playing games on his computer. But when he opened the door to his house, there sat Jacque, his cat, playing a drum.
“Good grief, Jacque!” Bob yelled. “When did you learn to do that?”
In this case, the teller of the story is standing outside looking in. The teller of the story is outside the circle, is not a character in the story.
Your Challenge--
Choose whether your narrator is inside or outside the story, and then try to stay with that choice all the way through the story.
Watch for the next blog entry! See you then!
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Give Your Story a Motor
This will be a short blog entry, but it’s an important one. Put on your thinking cap.
What would happen if your car didn’t have a motor?
Go ahead and answer out loud.
Right!
You couldn’t drive it. It wouldn’t go anywhere. Everybody would have to get out and push. Most people would get tired of that pretty quickly.
The same is true with stories. Without a motor, your story won’t go anywhere.
Staying on that Dream Page, give your character a problem, a motor. Be careful, though. Make sure the problem grows out of, comes from, is somehow suggested by something you invented when you answered all those questions. Make sure, in other words, that the problem is related to something you wrote down in answering the questions.
It can be a big or a little problem. In “Jack and the Beanstalk” the problem is that Jack and his mother are poor. Big problem; big motor. I’ve been poor. Believe me, it’s no fun!
In the beginning of the first Harry Potter book, we meet him orphaned and living with a family that treats him badly. Big problem!
In a story I wrote a long, long time ago, my character had to wash the dishes by himself. Small problem. He made it bigger as the story went along, but it started small.
Maybe the problem in your story comes from where the character lives.
Maybe the problem comes from the best friend.
Just make sure your character has a small or large problem and make sure it’s related to what you have written down so far.
Watch for the next blog entry! See you then!
What would happen if your car didn’t have a motor?
Go ahead and answer out loud.
Right!
You couldn’t drive it. It wouldn’t go anywhere. Everybody would have to get out and push. Most people would get tired of that pretty quickly.
The same is true with stories. Without a motor, your story won’t go anywhere.
Staying on that Dream Page, give your character a problem, a motor. Be careful, though. Make sure the problem grows out of, comes from, is somehow suggested by something you invented when you answered all those questions. Make sure, in other words, that the problem is related to something you wrote down in answering the questions.
It can be a big or a little problem. In “Jack and the Beanstalk” the problem is that Jack and his mother are poor. Big problem; big motor. I’ve been poor. Believe me, it’s no fun!
In the beginning of the first Harry Potter book, we meet him orphaned and living with a family that treats him badly. Big problem!
In a story I wrote a long, long time ago, my character had to wash the dishes by himself. Small problem. He made it bigger as the story went along, but it started small.
Maybe the problem in your story comes from where the character lives.
Maybe the problem comes from the best friend.
Just make sure your character has a small or large problem and make sure it’s related to what you have written down so far.
Watch for the next blog entry! See you then!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Create Characters Who Jump Off the Page
STORIES GROW OUT OF THE LIVES OF YOUR CHARACTERS
Something in your character’s life makes the story happen.
Let’s create a character as you think about that. I’ll ask you a bunch of questions, and you write the answers on a separate piece of paper or in another window on your computer.
Answer quickly. Don’t fret (worry) about spelllllling or neAtneSs. This is nothing but a Dream Page. It’s not your story. Just some ideas.
And you can change any answer any time you like, right up to the minute you show your story to a friend or publish it on www.kidswrite4kids.com. Let your dream mind take over.
Oh, and don’t worry about naming your character right now. If you have a name, great! But don’t let that hold you up. Toss in a name whenever you like.
Also, skip any questions you don’t like. You may use everything you write here in your story, OR you may use almost nothing. This is just a way of getting your ideas cooking.
Take this seriously and take your time, but have fun—remember, Dream Mind!
a)Is your character a boy, a girl, an animal (which?), an alien, a made up creature like a dragon or unicorn?
b)Does your character live now, in this time? In the past, like during Medieval times? In the future?
c)What’s special about your character’s appearance? For example, if your character is especially tall or short, wears baggy pants, or has a nose ring, write that down. What is your character’s favorite piece of clothing? Maybe even, what color is your character’s hair?
d)Does your character live in the city, in the country, in the forest, in the sea, in a real place like New York or Tokyo, or does your character live in a place you are making up?
e)Does your character live in an apartment, a mansion, a tree house, on a ship, in a space ship? Let your imagination go!
f)What is your character especially good at? For example, she or he might be great at math and science, drawing, playing soccer, or climbing cliffs. Put down as many things as you like. Maybe your character has a special way with animals.
g)Who is your character’s best friend and what do they like to do together?
h)What is your character NOT good at? Again, you can put down more than one thing. Hint: Characters who do everything perfectly can be pretty boring. Not always, but they can be and OFTEN are boring. It’s always good to think of something with which your character struggles.
i)With whom does your character not get along? Why do they not get along? This could be a school bully or a brother or sister, anybody.
CONGRADULATIONS! YOU HAVE JUST CREATED YOUR OWN ORIGINAL CHARACTER!
Next blog entry: Giving your story a motor—
Something in your character’s life makes the story happen.
Let’s create a character as you think about that. I’ll ask you a bunch of questions, and you write the answers on a separate piece of paper or in another window on your computer.
Answer quickly. Don’t fret (worry) about spelllllling or neAtneSs. This is nothing but a Dream Page. It’s not your story. Just some ideas.
And you can change any answer any time you like, right up to the minute you show your story to a friend or publish it on www.kidswrite4kids.com. Let your dream mind take over.
Oh, and don’t worry about naming your character right now. If you have a name, great! But don’t let that hold you up. Toss in a name whenever you like.
Also, skip any questions you don’t like. You may use everything you write here in your story, OR you may use almost nothing. This is just a way of getting your ideas cooking.
Take this seriously and take your time, but have fun—remember, Dream Mind!
a)Is your character a boy, a girl, an animal (which?), an alien, a made up creature like a dragon or unicorn?
b)Does your character live now, in this time? In the past, like during Medieval times? In the future?
c)What’s special about your character’s appearance? For example, if your character is especially tall or short, wears baggy pants, or has a nose ring, write that down. What is your character’s favorite piece of clothing? Maybe even, what color is your character’s hair?
d)Does your character live in the city, in the country, in the forest, in the sea, in a real place like New York or Tokyo, or does your character live in a place you are making up?
e)Does your character live in an apartment, a mansion, a tree house, on a ship, in a space ship? Let your imagination go!
f)What is your character especially good at? For example, she or he might be great at math and science, drawing, playing soccer, or climbing cliffs. Put down as many things as you like. Maybe your character has a special way with animals.
g)Who is your character’s best friend and what do they like to do together?
h)What is your character NOT good at? Again, you can put down more than one thing. Hint: Characters who do everything perfectly can be pretty boring. Not always, but they can be and OFTEN are boring. It’s always good to think of something with which your character struggles.
i)With whom does your character not get along? Why do they not get along? This could be a school bully or a brother or sister, anybody.
CONGRADULATIONS! YOU HAVE JUST CREATED YOUR OWN ORIGINAL CHARACTER!
Next blog entry: Giving your story a motor—
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
kidswrite4kids.com launched!
Thank you, Annie, for "Halloween" and "The Walk Home," published in the kidswrite4kids.com Word Castle! This is an excellent start for us and, I hope, will inspire many, many more young authors to join and publish their work.
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