WRITER LINKS
Fun websites I've discovered that are writing- or word-related. I'll be adding more!
@ Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry 4 Kids. Funny poems and poetry books, games, contests, lessons, discussion forums, and journals, plus a rhyming dictionary, streaming audio, school visit information and other resources. http://www.poetry4kids.com/
@ Word Play: sites that feature fun with words. A wild and wacky list of websites featuring everything from palindromes to a do-it-yourself country western song creator. http://www.wolinskyweb.net/word.htm
@ Favorite Poem Project. An ongoing project started by former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky that lets you enter your favorite poem for possible inclusion in an anthology. Also: wonderful videos of people reading their favorite poems. http://www.favoritepoem.org/
@ Kristine O'Connell George's Poetry Corner. More than your average author website. Award-winning children's poet George offers tips for young writers, ideas for teachers, lists of writing books, and tons of fun animated, musical stuff about poetry. www.kristinegeorge.com.
@ Nikki Grimes' Poetry Zone. Lots of poetry, humor and advice from one of our best loved children's poets. Includes a changing "poetry challenge." www.nikkigrimes.com
@ Children's Literature Network. Crammed with information about children's writers and books, including lists of "Top Ten" favorites. A site not just for writers, but for editors, teachers and librarians, too! www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org
@ Best Books for Young Adults. The American Library Association chooses a "Best Book" group each year--check out past lists and see which ones are nominated this year (The World According to Dog was nominated in 2003!) www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/bbya
@ Face and Place of Poetry. The Christian Science Monitor's poetry page. Articles and reviews about poets and poetry.
@ Poetry 180. A poem for every day of the school year, aimed at high school students. Full texts of poems available, along with instructions on how to read a poem aloud. A project of former Poet Laureate Billy Collins. http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/
@ Planet Esme. Esme Raji Codell, teacher and author, has created this site about children's books, writing, and teaching. Read her book EDUCATING ESME: A TEACHER'S FIRST YEAR--it's great! www.planetesme.com
@ Cooperative Children's Book Center. This organization, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studies and promotes children's books. Their site has wonderful themed booklists. You can also join their listserve, which has lively discussions children's books by authors, editors, librarians, and teachers. http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
@ Saint Vincent's Elementary School Poetry Page. Teacher and poetry-lover Gary Gangnier from St. Vincent's School in Quebec has set up a fabulous site featuring descriptions and sample poems for all sorts of poetry genres, plus articles about poetry. http://www.cqsb.qc.ca/svs/434/tpoetry.htm
WRITER PEP TALK
There are so many different ways of becoming a writer (and I'm not an expert, either, so take all this with a grain of salt). Some people start when they're very young; some come to it late in life. Some do it full time; some do it when their homework is done, or while the baby is napping, or on a day off from work. Which leads me up to my first pronouncement:
1. You can be a writer at any time, any age, any stage in your life.It requires time and energy, though. To be a writer, you have to say to yourself: I AM A WRITER! And then make space in your life for writing. How to do this?
2. Gather ideasPretend you are a movie camera, a tape recorder, a sponge. Watch, listen, feel. How is one thing like another? What are the connections? What are the stories behind what is happening? Listen to the words in your head, and WRITE THEM DOWN! Be Harriet the Spy; keep a notebook. Even if you think an idea might not lead anywhere, write it down anyway. Save it for later--you never know which ideas might sprout into stories or poems.
3. Make time for your writingTry to pick a time of day when you usually have a few free minutes, or an hour, or a couple hours. During this time, sit down and write--every day, if you can. Work on a story, article, screenplay, poem. Write in your journal. Write a letter. Good writing takes practice, and if you don't do it often enough, you get rusty. Do you need to be progressing on the Great American Novel every day? No. But you need to be writing. This is now your job.
4. Put it away for a whileOK, so you've written something. It's the best ever! It's stupendous!!! Then, when you read it an hour later, it is no longer stupendous. It is awful, horrible, burnable. Don't burn it--put it away. Overnight, for a week, for a month. When you come back to it, you will see more clearly which parts are truly fabulous, and which parts need work. Which brings us to:
5. Revise, revise, revise! (and read, too)Revision can be hard, very hard. It is also requires practice. I was terrible at revising at first, because I saw my written words only through the lens of my own heart. I dreamed them; I felt them: how could I change them? I had to learn to see through the Reader's eyes (that mythical Reader who's waiting for something good to read, but who needs to be convinced). How do we learn see through a Reader's eyes? First, read lots of other good books. Look at what other authors are doing well and try to learn from them. Second, get help--individual help.
6. Read your writing out loud to someone you trustTwo important points here. One, read your work out loud. Then you can hear the rhythm of your own words, the impact each word makes. You will hear where things start bogging down (and could be changed or cut) and where things seem electric (don't change a word). Two, read your work to someone else. Not just anyone--someone who will be kind to your fledgling writing, but who also knows & loves writing enough to help make yours better. THEN (this is the hard part), you have to listen to what they say. Carefully. You might not take all of their advice, but some of it will be right on the mark. As you get better, you will begin to do more revising on your own, before reading aloud to others. Your writing will be more polished. Finally:
7. Believe in yourself, in your visionYou see, hear, think, and feel things that no one else does. Try to keep this in mind as you make your way down the Writing Road. You may face rejection or disbelief. However, the longer you write, the more you will enjoy writing for its own sake: the excitement of making connections, of capturing a thought, of playing with words. You will begin to enjoy seeing, and writing about, your experience as only you can--nobody else. It is wonderful to have others recognize your creation. But what will keep you going is the work itself: the wonderful, magical work of writing.
Here's a page to help you get started writing, with a pep talk (something we all need), links, and strategies for writing.
For a chance to be published on this website, go to: Young Voices Page.
For a book-lovers bookmark, go to Bookmark.
THINKING OUT LOUD
(Personal Essay)For several years I wrote a column for the Opinion page of a city newspaper. It forced me to think--and write--about all sorts of subjects. It also let me spout off about subjects that were dear to my heart. I grew to love the "personal essay" style because it is so flexible. Here's the general format I followed, which I've used in teaching, also. By the way, the title of this exercise is stolen from Anna Quinlan, a fabulous columnist!
1. What's On Your Mind?
The personal essay starts with a nagging thought at the back or your mind. Ask yourself:
What surprises me?
What makes me different?
What don't I understand?
What do I wonder about?
What is happening vs. what should be happening?
What makes me happy/upset/angry? Why?
What is different from what I expected?
Start your writing by asking a question. Then try to answer it.
2. Placing Your Reader
Good writing is full of sights, tastes, sounds, feelings. These descriptive details will slide your readers right into your shoes, letting them see the world the way you do.
--Describe an important scene or object from your point of view, with lots of details.
--What people are involved? Tell us how they act.
--What were you feeling before? At the time? What are you feeling now?
3. Write to Understand
We write not just to communicate, but to understand ourselves and the world. Your feelings and observations may be very personal or ordinary, but they become interesting to others when you tell us:
What do you know that we might not realize?
What have you learned about yourself? About others? About the world?
What are you still uncertain about, still trying to understand?
Try to move toward a "universal truth" that you have discovered. Something that's true--not just for you, but for others. Then your writing will help us understand our lives, too.
4. Don't Forget to Laugh
Humor helps ease embarrassment and celebrates the unusual. Try to:
--Put a touch of humor in a serious essay, for relief.
--Put a touch of seriousness in a humorous essay, to reminds of deeper feeling.
5. Share Your Writing!
Others can help you pinpoint parts that aren't clear, or parts that need expanding.
Art c. 2005 Beckie Prange
