Don't worry about spelling

I recently visited a school and told the students not to worry about spelling, grammar, etc., when they were writing their first draft. How could I say that? Easy. If you stop to make sure every word is spelled correctly or all punctuation is correct, you will lose the flow of your thoughts. Just write. The rest will get done. That's why we have rewriting. Teachers help students get all of the grammer, punctuation, and capitalization,but there has to be something written first for a teacher to be able to help. Encourage your students to write first, and assure them it is okay to correct it later.

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Geneology

I held a class with for grandparents who wanted to document important events and important family members for their children and grandchildren. One lady had researched her family back four generations. Others wanted to tell the story of their family's heritage. Writing about your parents and grandparents or however far back you can remember is a wonderful treasure for your kids. Finding out where family members were born and raised, jobs they held, schools they attended, etc. is interesting for younger family members to read about. By the same token, having younger family members interview older family members is also a great way to document important family information. Kids can develop questions and then tape record the answers from older relatives. They will not only have the information, they will also have the audio. Putting the information into a booklet or family album can be a great gift. Add pictures and this will be a treasure.

Read to Write

To help you become a better writer you should read books in the genre that you write. Mystery writers need to read mysteries, children's writers need to read children's books, etc. You will begin to get a feel for what works in a story and what doesn't.

Often children's books have a maximum word limit the publishers set. It is harder to complete a great story with less words. Try writing a simple picture book. It looks easy. However, it is difficult to make a story with so few words.

Don't forget about nonfiction. Research a topic and design facts in an interesting way. Some publishers only print nonfiction books. (primarily for the school market) Again, read nonfiction books to get a feel for what works.

Beginning of the year story idea

Wondering how to get your students to get excited about writing? Try "rolling out the red carpet". What do you think of when you see a red carpet rolled out? Most of us think that someone special must be coming.
Anytime we had a guest come to my classroom, they always entered by walking on the red carpet we had waiting at the classroom door. It was a long piece of red material, very inexpensive to purchase.
Roll out the red carpet. Brainstorm what they would want to know about a "red carpet guest" and list their ideas on the board. Then ask your students to write about who is coming and why they would get the "red carpet treatment". Encourage them to descibe the person and explain what the person will share with the class. The ideas you have on the board should help those students who are having trouble thinking of what to write. You may be surprised to see who your students think is worthy of a "red carpet" walk.
Sharing those stories when you have a few minutes before going to lunch or recess is a great way to keep the "red carpet idea" going.

Last writing gathering

Our writers group at Kelly Greens met for the last time this season. What great writers live here. We continued to talk about character development and plot as we suggested things that could make stories more dynamic. It is obvious a different vocabulary is needed if you are writing for adults as opposed to writing for children.
One writer added a paragraph at the beginning of her story and made it a great beginning. She is writing for children and that first paragraph will pull her readers into her story. Another writer is using her "voice" in her story and it is a fun read. I am excited to watch these writers finish their manuscripts and send them to a publisher.
If you have a story and are wondering if it is something that a publisher would like, give it to someone to read and ask for honest feedback. Make some changes to give your story more character and send it to a publisher. Remember, never give up if you want to be a publisher author.

Bring your manuscript

Friday, February 18th, the Kelly Greens Writers will meet at Dee Ahfeld's house. Bring a couple of pages of your current work. When you read your story aloud, we can make suggestions and ask questions about your work. We find this to be a very positive experience because we can emphasize the strong points of your story and at the same time this process helps an author realize what can be done to improve the manuscript and get it ready to send to a publisher. We will begin at 9:30 and work for about an hour or so. Call Dee at 239-480-0332 if you plan to attend.