Dear Parents and Kids:
I have listened to our members and readers and have rethought the statement on the bio and parent's page of www.kidswrite4kids.com. As a writer who has had to give up rights to my work over the years, I understand how it feels to lose control of your hard work.
The changed--and much better--statement is below. Check it out!
The young authors who publish their work on www.kidswrite4kids.com own their work. We do ask, however, that they respect the fact that the work was published here first. With the author’s permission, works submitted to www.kidswrite4kids.com may later be published in a variety of media styles such as books, magazines, CD-ROM products, and other printed or electronic material. Young authors appearing on www.kidswrite4kids.com are encouraged to display their work in any way they wish. We only ask that they note on the publication that the writing was published first on www.kidswrite4kids.com.
I like this much better.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Three StoryStarters
I’ve used each of these story starters with lots and lots of kids and seen them do wonderfully imaginative things with each one.
1.) Your story begins with a boy or girl about your age just coming home from school.
Maybe she or he is just getting off the school bus. Maybe the character is walking or riding a bike. He or she might be alone or with other kids. It’s up to you.
As this character gets closer to home, he or she sees that there is somebody at home that he or she DOES NOT WANT TO SEE!!
Could be the police. The school principal. The cousin who always breaks things and starts fights. You name it.
But your character has to go home. Your character has to interact with this visitor.
2) Your story begins just as your character’s family is arriving at their new house.
New house? Actually, it’s a different house. This place is not new. It’s at least 100 years old—and it’s huge.
Your character is seeing it for the first time and definitely does not want to live there. As he or she explores this new place, your character dislikes it even more.
3) Your story begins as your character is exploring in the woods on a camping trip. Maybe the character is alone, maybe with a friend or a brother or sister.
Suddenly, though, nothing looks familiar. Your character is lost! Now the real adventures begin.
An added fun element is to have the character discover something unusual or mysterious. A brightly painted play house deep in the forest. A fairy ring of mushrooms after a rain. A talking animal or a colony of the wee folk.
1.) Your story begins with a boy or girl about your age just coming home from school.
Maybe she or he is just getting off the school bus. Maybe the character is walking or riding a bike. He or she might be alone or with other kids. It’s up to you.
As this character gets closer to home, he or she sees that there is somebody at home that he or she DOES NOT WANT TO SEE!!
Could be the police. The school principal. The cousin who always breaks things and starts fights. You name it.
But your character has to go home. Your character has to interact with this visitor.
2) Your story begins just as your character’s family is arriving at their new house.
New house? Actually, it’s a different house. This place is not new. It’s at least 100 years old—and it’s huge.
Your character is seeing it for the first time and definitely does not want to live there. As he or she explores this new place, your character dislikes it even more.
3) Your story begins as your character is exploring in the woods on a camping trip. Maybe the character is alone, maybe with a friend or a brother or sister.
Suddenly, though, nothing looks familiar. Your character is lost! Now the real adventures begin.
An added fun element is to have the character discover something unusual or mysterious. A brightly painted play house deep in the forest. A fairy ring of mushrooms after a rain. A talking animal or a colony of the wee folk.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Steps to Publishing on Kids Write 4 Kids
Always keep a copy of your writing in a safe place. The wrong click of my mouse has more than once eaten writing I had worked hard on. The following steps will help to prevent that from happening to you.
1. Write your story or poem on your home or school computer.
2. Revise and edit your writing. See entries on this blog for editing ideas, and remember that professional writers go back over their work many, many times.
3. Save and then Copy your writing. If you are not sure how to do this, have someone show you. Once you have done it a couple of times, it gets pretty easy.
4. Now sign onto www.kidswrite4kids.com click on Publish Your Writing.
5. When the publishing page comes up, type the name of your writing into the title line, then Paste your story or poem into the large empty space below the title line.
6. Read back over your work to be sure everything is as you want it to appear.
7. Click Submit at the bottom of the page, then wait at least a minute before clicking anything else or leaving the page. This is an important step.
Tip: If you are new to Copy and Paste, practice first. Ask a teacher or a parent or an older friend to show you how it is done. Then practice making copies and pasting them onto a page on your computer before you publish.
You’ll be a pro in no time! Happy publishing!
1. Write your story or poem on your home or school computer.
2. Revise and edit your writing. See entries on this blog for editing ideas, and remember that professional writers go back over their work many, many times.
3. Save and then Copy your writing. If you are not sure how to do this, have someone show you. Once you have done it a couple of times, it gets pretty easy.
4. Now sign onto www.kidswrite4kids.com click on Publish Your Writing.
5. When the publishing page comes up, type the name of your writing into the title line, then Paste your story or poem into the large empty space below the title line.
6. Read back over your work to be sure everything is as you want it to appear.
7. Click Submit at the bottom of the page, then wait at least a minute before clicking anything else or leaving the page. This is an important step.
Tip: If you are new to Copy and Paste, practice first. Ask a teacher or a parent or an older friend to show you how it is done. Then practice making copies and pasting them onto a page on your computer before you publish.
You’ll be a pro in no time! Happy publishing!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
I Like What I See on the Website!
Wow!
Members of www.kidswrite4kids.com have contributed some wonderful work so far. Please keep it coming!
If you haven’t already, go to the site and read Clarasophia’s “We Can Do It, Papa,” an excellent piece of writing.
Hannah’s work displays her far out imagination and wild sense of humor, as in "Yuck!" I’m looking forward to seeing more and more of this fun, well-written work.
Annie began publishing with “Halloween,” the first poem to be published on the site, which really knocked my socks off! Wonderful. And her work keeps coming and getting more and more interesting—from a serious short story “The Walk Home” to the funny “Baldie Locks and the Three Hair Bears.”
You may notice that so far all our contributors are girls. I know that we have some members out there who are boys, and I would love to see some work by boys on the site. Let’s see some adventure! Some slaying of dragons! Escapes from evil wizards! Surprise us!
Members of www.kidswrite4kids.com have contributed some wonderful work so far. Please keep it coming!
If you haven’t already, go to the site and read Clarasophia’s “We Can Do It, Papa,” an excellent piece of writing.
Hannah’s work displays her far out imagination and wild sense of humor, as in "Yuck!" I’m looking forward to seeing more and more of this fun, well-written work.
Annie began publishing with “Halloween,” the first poem to be published on the site, which really knocked my socks off! Wonderful. And her work keeps coming and getting more and more interesting—from a serious short story “The Walk Home” to the funny “Baldie Locks and the Three Hair Bears.”
You may notice that so far all our contributors are girls. I know that we have some members out there who are boys, and I would love to see some work by boys on the site. Let’s see some adventure! Some slaying of dragons! Escapes from evil wizards! Surprise us!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Editing Idea 1--Dialogue
Dialogue, the conversation between your characters, is important to making your story entertaining for your readers. There are a couple of rules that will help you to do this well.
First, each time you change speakers, begin a new paragraph.
Example:
“Where did you hide my teddy bear?” whined Winfield.
“You don’t need that teddy anymore,” answered his brother James. “You are a big boy now.”
Winfield’s face screwed up, ready to cry. “But I can’t go to sleep without my teddy,” he managed to say.
The story is much easier to follow when you obey this rule. You do not want your reader to be confused.
Second, use quotation marks around the exact words the characters say to each other.
Wrong: “Winfield asked for his teddy.”
Right: “Where did you hide my teddy bear?” whined Winfield.
Notice: Winfield did not say whined Winfield; the narrator said that, so we do not use quotation marks there. We do use them around “Where did you hide my teddy bear?” because those are the exact words Winfield said to his brother.
Your Challenge:
Go over your story now and try to set up the dialogue following these rules.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
First, each time you change speakers, begin a new paragraph.
Example:
“Where did you hide my teddy bear?” whined Winfield.
“You don’t need that teddy anymore,” answered his brother James. “You are a big boy now.”
Winfield’s face screwed up, ready to cry. “But I can’t go to sleep without my teddy,” he managed to say.
The story is much easier to follow when you obey this rule. You do not want your reader to be confused.
Second, use quotation marks around the exact words the characters say to each other.
Wrong: “Winfield asked for his teddy.”
Right: “Where did you hide my teddy bear?” whined Winfield.
Notice: Winfield did not say whined Winfield; the narrator said that, so we do not use quotation marks there. We do use them around “Where did you hide my teddy bear?” because those are the exact words Winfield said to his brother.
Your Challenge:
Go over your story now and try to set up the dialogue following these rules.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Revision Idea 2
Figurative Language
Sometimes when I go back over my stories I just look for places I can slip in some figurative language. That is language that makes my sentences more colorful and lively. I especially like simile and hyperbole.
Simile: The magic work here is Comparison. A simile is a comparison of one thing with another using helping words like Like or As. For example, “Watch out! When he gets mad , his head turns as red as a stop sign!” Or “My brother Frank is as tall and skinny as a flagpole.”
Hyperbole: This one is fun in crazy stories and poems. It’s an exaggeration. For example, He screamed so loudly and so wildly that for a mile around squirrels were losing their balance and falling out of trees!
Your challenge: Go back through your story two more times—once looking for places to slip in similes and a second time looking for places to add a hyperbole or two.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
Sometimes when I go back over my stories I just look for places I can slip in some figurative language. That is language that makes my sentences more colorful and lively. I especially like simile and hyperbole.
Simile: The magic work here is Comparison. A simile is a comparison of one thing with another using helping words like Like or As. For example, “Watch out! When he gets mad , his head turns as red as a stop sign!” Or “My brother Frank is as tall and skinny as a flagpole.”
Hyperbole: This one is fun in crazy stories and poems. It’s an exaggeration. For example, He screamed so loudly and so wildly that for a mile around squirrels were losing their balance and falling out of trees!
Your challenge: Go back through your story two more times—once looking for places to slip in similes and a second time looking for places to add a hyperbole or two.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
Friday, April 4, 2008
Revision Idea 1
Re-vision?
"What's that?" you may ask.
Well, re means to go back, and I'll bet you know what vision means, right? So revision means to go back and look over--Oh, and make changes to make your story even better.
I once heard author Avi say that he goes back over his chapter books as many as 70 times before he is finished. When I write a new story, I go back over it at least 30times.
Nobody expects kids to go over their stories that many times, but we do hope you go beyond that first rough draft a couple of times anyway. The next two blog entries will give you some ideas for what to do when you go back over your work.
As you go back over your story to make it better and better, you might want to work on making your characters more vivid.
How?
1. Physical Description:
Not So Vivid: Banjo McKnight arrived at school looking unusual.
More Vivid: Banjo McKnight arrived at school wearing a red headband and cowboy boots. His denim jacket was three sizes too big and hung on him like a tent draped over a chair.
2. The What and How of Dialogue:
Not So Vivid: Albert demanded the money and took it right away.
More Vivid: “Gimme the dollar, kid,” snarled Albert as he snatched the money out of my hand.
3. Description of Actions:
Not So Vivid: Banjo came into the room nervously.
More Vivid: Banjo slunk through the doorway and edged his back along the far wall, his eyes darting back and forth nervously.
4. The Character’s Thoughts
Not So Vivid: Banjo thought about the last time he’d been here.
More Vivid: Banjo’s mind raced over what had happened before in this very room—the whole room full ch people staring at him and then breaking into laughter and pointing at his poor clothing.
5. Backstory the Narrator Tells
Not So Vivid: He came from a poor family with lots of kids.
More Vivid: He’d grown up in a shack in the mountains of Pennsylvania, in a place called Poor Hollow. The further up Poor Hollow you went, the poorer it got, and he and his seven brothers and sisters lived all the way at the top. No running water. No electricity. Wood heat. The poorest part of Poor Hollow.
Your Challenge
Try some of this as you read back over your story. You may discover something new about your characters.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
"What's that?" you may ask.
Well, re means to go back, and I'll bet you know what vision means, right? So revision means to go back and look over--Oh, and make changes to make your story even better.
I once heard author Avi say that he goes back over his chapter books as many as 70 times before he is finished. When I write a new story, I go back over it at least 30times.
Nobody expects kids to go over their stories that many times, but we do hope you go beyond that first rough draft a couple of times anyway. The next two blog entries will give you some ideas for what to do when you go back over your work.
As you go back over your story to make it better and better, you might want to work on making your characters more vivid.
How?
1. Physical Description:
Not So Vivid: Banjo McKnight arrived at school looking unusual.
More Vivid: Banjo McKnight arrived at school wearing a red headband and cowboy boots. His denim jacket was three sizes too big and hung on him like a tent draped over a chair.
2. The What and How of Dialogue:
Not So Vivid: Albert demanded the money and took it right away.
More Vivid: “Gimme the dollar, kid,” snarled Albert as he snatched the money out of my hand.
3. Description of Actions:
Not So Vivid: Banjo came into the room nervously.
More Vivid: Banjo slunk through the doorway and edged his back along the far wall, his eyes darting back and forth nervously.
4. The Character’s Thoughts
Not So Vivid: Banjo thought about the last time he’d been here.
More Vivid: Banjo’s mind raced over what had happened before in this very room—the whole room full ch people staring at him and then breaking into laughter and pointing at his poor clothing.
5. Backstory the Narrator Tells
Not So Vivid: He came from a poor family with lots of kids.
More Vivid: He’d grown up in a shack in the mountains of Pennsylvania, in a place called Poor Hollow. The further up Poor Hollow you went, the poorer it got, and he and his seven brothers and sisters lived all the way at the top. No running water. No electricity. Wood heat. The poorest part of Poor Hollow.
Your Challenge
Try some of this as you read back over your story. You may discover something new about your characters.
Back to www.kidswrite4kids.com
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