Strength Training Your Stories! (And a poem about being lost for Poetry Friday!)

Happy Poetry Friday!

Today's poem is lost at the bottom of this post.

As Carmela has mentioned, on March 18th, from 1:45-3:45 pm, we Teaching Authors will be at the Illinois Reading Council presenting a workshop with DePaul University professors Roxanne Owens and Marie Donovan called Flabby to Fab-y: Writing Workouts to Shape Up Your Curriculum.

Exciting!  I am v-v-v-v-v-vibrating in anticipation of this adventure beyond my Southern California borders!  (I'm also packing winter underwear and mittens.)

In keeping with our workshop's title, here’s a “strength training” exercise which will surely help you and your students generate ideas and get that first draft down.

 (Okay...you're going to have to use your
writerly imaginations here.
Suddenly I can't upload images...
even ones I've used before.

So the cartoon I drew of a girl
bench pressing a giant pencil
is something you're just going to have to
conjure up on your own.
I know you can do it.)

This exercise comes from my friend, poet and prolific children's author Janet Wong.  Janet teaches this exercise to help kids and adults alike find content for poems.  But it could just as easily be used to jump start stories.

She calls it her "Mind Walk" exercise.

Janet says,   “I write the numbers 10 to 5 on the board, in descending order, and I talk briefly about one memory from each of those years of my life.

As I talk about the memory, I jot down 3-5 words next to the year. I talk about my skateboard accident and stitches (7 years old), spitting milk on the table at a birthday party when someone told a funny joke (9 years old), riding an elephant (10 years old), getting in trouble for taking a nickel to show my underwear to the boy next door (5 years old)-various things.

Then I give the students 1 minute to jot down some memories.  This is easy for them because most of them have started thinking of memories while listening to my stories-you can see them practically bursting to tell someone about the time they broke an arm, or whatever.

At the end of the minute, I call on people to share their memories aloud (and this is another time when people get ideas).

I ask if anyone still has no memories; if hands go up, I then ask a bunch of silly questions: Have you ever cut your own hair, and it turned out awful? Have you ever vomited in public? Have you been embarrassed by your parents? Have you ever cheated, or lied for a friend-and gotten caught?

I then talk briefly about rhyme, repetition, and rhythm, and tell them to write their poem.

I tell them, "If you're stuck for a beginning, you might want to try something like this, writing "I am x years old" and describing what happened in the present tense, as if it's happening right now. A couple of them will take this route.

This exercise produces interesting results because it invites people to shock others and also reminds them of funny/strange things that they might otherwise never have the opportunity to remember. Such as: the woman in her mid-20s who put Nair hair-removing cream in her "friend's" shampoo bottle when she was a teen; the teen girl whose dog bit off her bird's head when she was 6 years old; the boy who accidentally set fire to a house with firecrackers at age 5, etc.”

Thank you, Janet!

So...what are YOUR childhood memories?  Write down ages 5-10 and unearth a few embarrassing or a silly or a tender or scary ones.  Then, risk all by writing a story or poem about one of them.  When you're done, as Esther Hershenhorn encourages, read your work aloud.

Do it!  And then...will you do me a huge favor?  Will you check in when you've done it?  Will you drop us a line in the comment section?  We live for your comments! 

Here’s a poem that came from one of my childhood memories:

LOST AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO
by April Halprin Wayland

 I reach up to hold your hand.
 It isn’t yours.
 All of a sudden
                          there you aren’t.

 A forest of legs, legs,
 footsteps, footsteps:
 families clattering through the zoo
 to the elephants!  To the lions! 

 They’re all scared of the snake house,
 pushing past me
 boarding the fat tram—
                                     but nobody is you!

 My face is hot.  My buttons are tight.
 You are lost in this jumble of giant Strangers.
 Where are you? 
                       Where are you? 
                                              WHERE ARE YOU?

A navy-blue uniform
takes my sweaty hand,
gives me cold water,
turns on a microphone:

“Will the parents of a lost youngster
please come to the Zoo office.”
I’m sitting on the desk
sucking a cherry lollipop.

I’m not crying
       but those wet things
                                    keep running down
                                                                from my eyes...
Then,
 you come hugging!

This poem has been accepted for publication in Cricket Magazine.  Copyright © April HalprinWayland

Remember to breathe.  And remember to write with joy ~

Photo and drawing by April Halprin Wayland

Book Giveaway and Guest Teaching Author Interview with Johanna Hurwitz

I'm honored to announce the publication of my short story, "Big Z, Cammi, and Me," in the new middle-grade anthology, I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Tricks, Jokes, and Swicheroos (Candlewick Press), which was released yesterday. (Don't you just LOVE the cover?) Here's a description of the book from the Candlewick website:

An arrogant prince tries to bluff his way out of paying the bridge troll’s toll, only to find that honesty really is its own reward. Judy Moody dreams up her best-ever prank on Stink, but he finds a hilarious way to make her joke fall splat. And when a boy’s grandfather plays an elaborate trick that has the whole town laughing at him, can he use it one day to big-time advantage? Edited by acclaimed children’s author Johanna Hurwitz, this collection of stories -- all woven around the phrase "I fooled you" -- range from a comic graphic tale about clever chimps to thought-provoking explorations of fairness, empathy, eccentricity, and the power of imagination. How many different ways can ten leading middle-grade authors tell a story including the line "I fooled you"? Prepare to be surprised!

And today I'm especially thrilled to be able to feature a Guest Teaching Author interview with Johanna Hurwitz herself. In the interview, Johanna shares a bit about how the anthology came to be, and also about her own experiences as a Teaching Author. She has also generously agreed to provide an autographed copy of the anthology for one lucky TeachingAuthors reader. You'll find details about the giveaway following the interview.

Although I've never met Johanna Hurwitz in person, I have long been familiar with her work as the award-winning author of over 50 books for young readers, including picture books, novels, and biographies. Two of her recent titles are Amazing Monty and Squirrel World. You can read more about Johanna at her website.

And now for the interview:

Johanna, can you tell us how you became a Teaching Author?

I was a school librarian and then at one of my positions, I was asked to teach reading. I guess I did too good a job because before I knew it I was asked if I could teach writing as well. I drew the line when the school director, realizing that I knew how to type, asked if I would type up all the teachers’ student evaluations. Subsequently, after several of my books were published, I was invited to teach summer writing workshops at Hofstra University on Long Island and a three-day workshop at the University of Vermont.

What’s a common problem/question that your students have and how do you address/answer it?

“I don’t know what to write.” Everyone has a story or many stories to tell. So I may ask my students: “What do you talk about at supper with your family? What happened today at school that made today different from yesterday?” But usually I make up a topic that everyone can answer in their own way. For example, “If you have a pet, write as if you were this animal and describe yourself from the pet’s point of view. And if you don’t have a pet, write from the point of view of the pet you wish you had.”

That sounds like a great Writing Workout for teachers. Do you have any suggestions for how teachers might also use some of your books in the classroom?

First Birthday Surprises (Morrow, 1995, now available in paperback from Avon), and now I Fooled You (Candlewick, 2010), take a single premise and have different authors write their own version. A teacher could read aloud one or two stories from one of these books and then ask students to write their own story. The important thing to stress is that there is not a correct way to write the story and each is different. Another suggestion is in conjunction with my three-book series about Ali Baba Bernstein: The Adventures Of Ali Baba Bernstein (Morrow, c1985, now available in paperback from Avon), Hurray For Ali Baba Bernstein, and Ali Baba Bernstein Lost & Found.  Ali Baba’s real name is David but there are three other Davids in his class. In order not to be confused with the others, he picks a new name for himself. I ask students to discuss with their parents the name(s) they were given and why. Surprisingly, many don’t know if they were named after another family member. Then I ask them to write about their name. Also, if they were going to change their name, what name would they select and why. Each chapter in the books begins with David Bernstein’s age (for example, eight years, six months, seventeen days). It’s a great exercise to have the students figure out their exact age, too.

I was so pleased when I found out that my short story, “Big Z, Cammi, and Me” would be included in the I Fooled You anthology. Would you tell our readers where you got the idea for the anthology and how you collected the stories for it? Had you already written your story when you sent out the invitation to other authors?

With the success of my first anthology Birthday Surprises (NCTE Teacher’s Choice Book, Junior Library Guild selection, starred reviews), people said to me, “You found the only subject that would work this way.” I wanted to prove them wrong. After much thought, I got the idea to write a book called APRIL 31st. I wrote my own story and came up with about two other stories that would work as well. However, when I discussed this subject with Candlewick editor Sarah Ketchersid, she felt it was too limiting a topic. We discussed it and eventually decided to have all the stories show someone playing a trick on someone else. Sarah and I then made up a list of potential authors. Some are personal writer friends of mine and some are people (like you, Carmela) that I was unfamiliar with but who Sarah suggested. Some of the people that we approached had too many commitments and rejected the invitation at once. A couple never responded. A couple said they’d get back to us but the book has come out and they never did.

It was my idea to have a poem and I suggested Doug Florian who is in my writing group. I love his contribution. It’s a great lead-in to the stories in the book. I also felt we should have a graphic tale as there would be no illustrations in the book and a graphic story would break up all the dark print. Sarah suggested Jennifer and Matthew Holm who are famous for their Baby Mouse books. Jennifer didn’t have the time but Matthew offered to do a story on his own. Two authors were so delighted to be invited that they each sent three different stories. I read all six stories and sent them on to Sarah. Coincidentally and fortunately, she favored the same story from each author as I did. I think the finished book is a great mix of humor and seriousness with first person and third person stories, contemporary settings and a historical one, a modern fairy tale, as well as the poem and graphic story. I hope reviewers and readers will agree.

Finally, would you share a funny (or interesting) story related to your career as a Teaching Author?

The Internet has provided me with messages from all over the world. Last September, I got a letter from a woman who said she heard me speak in 1989 when she was a fourth grader and I did a visit at her school on Long Island. She even still owns the book I signed for her and has a photo of standing in line waiting for my autograph. Now she is a third-grade teacher at a school in Delaware. She was reading one of my books aloud to her class and she told them about meeting me. She said they were very excited about this personal link. I wrote back and in my letter I mentioned that I still make school visits. “Should your school ever consider inviting an author, think about me,” I told her. This was the beginning of a long correspondence, but the ending is that her principal and the other teachers in her school loved the idea, she applied for and received a grant to cover all expenses, and in April I will be visiting the school and having a “reunion” with someone who remembered me after more than twenty years.

This anecdote is a wonderful reminder that as an author one never knows when a book we’ve written or a talk we’ve given has influenced someone. Even after a book has gone out of print, it is still available in libraries and via on-line bookstores. Even after a talk is given, our words resonate with our listeners. It’s a big responsibility but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and hopefully give something important to our audience.

Thanks so much for taking time to share your words with us today, Johanna. I have no doubt they will resonate with our blog readers. Your comments may also raise additional questions in our readers' minds. So, readers, we are offering you an opportunity to ask Johanna your own question. As Johanna would say, "No fooling!" By posting a comment below with a writing or book-related question for Johanna, you will be entered for a chance to win your own autographed copy of I Fooled You: Ten Stories of Tricks, Jokes, and Swicheroos. The book is a fun read, featuring the work of David A. Adler, Eve B. Feldman, Douglas Florian, Matthew Holm, Johanna Hurwitz, Ellen Klages, Michelle Knudsen, Megan McDonald, Barbara Ann Porte, and me, Carmela Martino. If Johanna chooses to answer your question in a follow-up post, then you will be our winner. It's that easy!

A few "do's" and one "don't":

• Do try to ask a unique or intriguing question to increase your chance of winning.
• Do make sure your question is related to writing and/or children's books.
• Do provide your email address or a link to your own blog in your comment.
• Do post your comment by 11 p.m. (Central Standard Time) on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. 
• Do read our complete giveaway guidelines here. 
• Don't enter if your address is outside the U.S.

The winner will be announced in my next post, on Wednesday, March 24. (Sorry to keep you in suspense, but we TAs will be speaking at the IRC conference on March 18, and I'll be in catch-up mode after that.)

"Out and About"

This evening, I will have the pleasure of speaking at the North Suburban SCBWI-Illinois Network meeting on the topic of "Character Names." Instead of having a handout, I've posted some character-naming resources on my personal blog. If you'll be attending the meeting, or would like to check out the links, you can access the blog post here.

Good luck to all the contest entrants, and Happy Writing!
Carmela

Wrestling with Voice

     Warning to reader:  This was composed on my father's dinosaur of a computer. Enough said.

     Trying to define “voice” in writing is like trying to define “air” (the invisible stuff you breathe) or “love”( an emotion that makes you act stupid). After much hairpulling and consulting a bunch of writing manuals, I think I have a definition.

     Writing is what you say, and how you say it. Voice is the “how you say it” part. The term can be used in different ways. One is the writer’s voice. Since I am not a literature scholar, I’m not going to try analyzing writer’s voice, within the confines of a blog post!

     A more manageable topic is character voice. In this context, “voice” consists of the vocabulary, speech pattern and tone used by the individuals. Think of some memorable fictional figures. Could you ever confuse Jane Eyre with Scarlett O’Hara? Huck Finn with Holden Caulfield? Ramona Quimby with Laura Ingalls? Is there another literary child who sounds even remotely like Eloise? Each of them speak and think in a way that is completely their own.

     What influences character voice? The character's gender, age, setting, cultural background, education, family, economic status, occupation and on and on. Taking these factors into consideration, even persons who share some these aspects will still sound unique. Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield are both teenage boys. The uneducated, resourceful and adventuresome Huck, narrates in the dialect of a 19th century Mississippi River “rat.” Holden, immature and introspective, uses repetition, slang and fairly limited vocabulary, that reflects his isolated, upper-middle class, Post-World-War-II American prep school life.

     Even characters who may share many of the same characteristics, should be distinguishable from one another. One of the best examples of this is Rachel Vail’s Daring to Be Abigail. The story takes place in a camp cabin of 11-year-old girls who at first glance, seem to share exactly the same background. Within two pages, the reader knows each of the eight main characters as separate entities. I have read this book over and over, trying to figure out how she established characterization through voice so rapidly, without resorting to stereotype. I’m still reading!

     My students sometimes have trouble creating distinct character voices. For instance, a conversation between two ten-year-old boys, whose dialog could be interchangeable, because they speak exactly alike. When I ask the writer to tell me about these characters…who is their BFF? what’s in their school backpack? what is their least favorite school subject? …the answer is often “I don’t know.” The problem is that the student is trying to write about characters they don’t really “know”.

     My characters live in my head for years and years before I get around to bringing them to life. I keep notebooks, computer files and file folders on future characters, as they "share" with me such diverse information as their favorite baseball player, what their side of a shared dresser top looks like, how they feel about various family members. Sometimes I learn more about my characters through the writing process, but I would never presume to tell their stories without having at least a working knowledge of them.

     In the classroom, we don’t often have the luxury of allowing characters a leisurely germination period. Both the student and the teacher want the story finished within a few class sessions. The following workout can speed the development along.

 Writing Workout


1.      Interview your character. The student will select four or five questions from a masterlist. Although the information the writer “receives” from the character may or may not directly relate to the story at hand, it will make the imaginary more concrete to the student. The questions should only be things you would not know about the character just by looking at them. One of my favorite questions for a character is “Who is your BFF? Why? Where did you meet? How long ago?”

2. Have two characters interview each other. Same sort of questions…much different result.

Here is a list my personal “recommended reading” list of books with great voice. This list tends toward female writers and protagonists and middle grade and YA books. Please send me your own picks for books with great voice. I'm always looking for new ones.

The Make Lemonade Trilogy by Virginia Euwer Wolff
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Letting Go of Bobby James: Or How I Found My Self of Steam by Valerie Hobbs
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems
A Step From Heaven by An Na
Goin' Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt
Sparks by Graham McNamee
When She Was Good by Norma Fox Mazer
The Lightening Thief  by Rick Riordan
What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
The  Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
Uncle Ronald by Brian Doyle
Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Keeper of the Night by Kimberly Willis Holt
Alvin Ho: Allergic to School by Lenore Look

posted by Mary Ann Rodman

What Should I Write About?

Ideas are everywhere, right? Wherever you look, smell, taste, hear, touch, or imagine, you run into them—or they run into you. (Write them down! I always carry a pocket notebook for those elusive ideas I’d forget if I didn’t nab them when they first appeared.)

Suppose you want to write a poem. How do you decide which idea to write about? Three things make an idea a good idea. Use these tips to evaluate yours:

1. Write about something you care about. This is true of almost every kind of writing—and especially poetry. If you try to write a poem about something that doesn’t matter to you, you probably won’t be satisfied with the result. The poem will suffer. Readers will recognize your lack of enthusiasm.

2. Write about something familiar. Nothing will derail you faster than running out of things to say because you’ve exhausted your knowledge. The better you know something, the better equipped you are to write about it. Yes, of course, you can research your topic—if you care enough to make the effort.

3. Write about one specific thing. It seems like a contradiction, but you can actually say more about one dog (especially if you know it and care about it) than you can about the whole canine species. Why? Because dogs don’t have all that much in common. Not all dogs bark. Not all dogs wag their tails—or even have tails to wag. Not all dogs have glossy fur or sparkly eyes or an earth-shaking wiggle. Your own dog, on the other hand, has its own quirks and tricks and endearing behaviors, providing a wealth of unique qualities to describe.

So grab your notebook—the one with the long list of ideas—and choose the best one for you!

Writing Workout

Brainstorming for a Topic

Here are some categories of topics you can consider when you write your own poem. Remember to test your idea against the three tips above.

• a family celebration
• your favorite (or least favorite) food
• something you do in your spare time
• a place you've visited
• a bird, plant, or animal you know
• something you remember from a long time ago

Listen Up! It's Time to Read - ALOUD!

March 1 found my fellow Teaching Author Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford’s daughter Kate Ford, only 4 11/12, writing across America.
March 2 found her, dressed Seusssationally, reading across America.
Today, March 3, Kate can celebrate literacy all around the world by reading aloud her Once Upon A Time story.
Happy World Read Aloud Day!

Not to worry if you know neither the day nor LitWorld, its sponsoring organization.
Both were unknown to me until I heard Pam Allyn passionately address the Anderson’s Bookshop’s 8th Annual Children’s Literature Breakfast two Saturdays ago in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, sharing her life’s work and recent teacher literacy training sessions in Africa.

Pam serves as the Executive Director of LitWorld, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing quality education to the world’s most vulnerable children, as well as of LitLife, a nationally-recognized organization that specializes in transformative school improvement through literacy education. She also recently authored What to Read When: The Books and Stories to Read with Your Child (Penguin/Avery, 2009).

Pam invited the 750 Breakfast-gathered authors, teachers, librarians and young readers to celebrate World Read Aloud Day today - to join the global literacy movement that works to ensure that every child, in every part of the world, is given the right to read stories, hear stories and write the stories of their lives.

I graciously extend that invitation to you.

Visit the LitWorld website to discover a variety of suggested activities and opportunities – for teachers, parents, family members, librarians, children.
Or simply read aloud – to your children, students, grandchildren, friends, at a school or library, in your home or Senior Citizen facility.
Choose your favorite book, your favorite poem, a book you’ve just discovered, a favorite blogger’s post.
Even read aloud, for your ears only, your latest revision of your work-in-progress!

Writers are readers.
But how many of us became readers because someone in our lives read aloud to us?
At the Anderson’s Children’s Literature Breakfast, two guest authors described their teachers’ reading of E.B. White's Charlotte’s Web as life-changing.
I still hold a visual of the blue braided oval reading rug in my beloved teacher Miss Patton’s Kindergarten room. I still recall the day she read us The Ugly Duckling.
I read aloud to every fifth grade class I taught, every day, for fifteen minutes. Several of my students, now grown and parents, to my surprise recalled each and every title.
My writing class read alouds include picture books and novels.

What read-aloud books do you recall?
And who were the readers who lovingly read them?
Who helped you read and hear stories?  Who helped you write the story of your life?
Maybe find a moment to write one of those readers a Thank You note.
(Today would be perfect.)
Then, read that note aloud.

Happy World Read Aloud Day!

Esther Hershenhorn
p.s.

Looking for a good book to read-aloud and/or tips to keep your listeners listening?

Check out Reading Is Fundamental, ReadAloud and Jim Trelease’s and Esme Codell’s Read Aloud Bibles.

Writing Across America

A co-worker called me on Friday en route to Target.  I was jealous (I unabashedly adore Target) until he told me the purpose of his trip -- to get materials for his kindergartener's "Dr. Seuss book costume."  Being a practical parent, he was going the simple route -- posterboard to make green eggs and ham. 

Of course all the teachers among us know that tomorrow marks Dr. Seuss' birthday and the NEA's annual Read Across America Day.  How many parents have been scrambling for materials to make extravagant tributes to Dr. Seuss? 

As a kid, I was never (sacrilege, I know) a huge Seuss fan.  Neither are my own children, though "Dibble dibble dop" is one of our very favorite nonsensical things to say.  However, Green Eggs and Ham was the basis of one of the most moving television scenes ever, IMO -- on St. Elsewhere -- so I am probably the only person I know who thinks of Dr. Seuss and instantly wants to cry.

My daughter, at age 4 and 11/12, just last night read a whole REAL book at bedtime for the first time.  Oh, the excitement in our household!  Of course no one was more excited than she.  (Once upon a time, she worried that learning to read would mean that she would no longer be READ TO.  I think she has finally overcome this fear.) 

Kate goes to a Montessori school, and one of the precepts of the curriculum, I recently discovered, is that kids typically learn to write before they learn to read.  Perhaps some of you early childhood educators could shed some light on this concept.  At any rate, Kate has been using a "moveable alphabet" to sound out words since she was three.  Her spelling is atrocious, but her sense of phonics is pretty impressive.  Just this week she brought home her first story:

Translation:
Then, the fire-breathing dragon put her in a cage.  Later, the princess saw a police.  Finally, the police put the princess out of the cage.

I'm so proud of my little author!

My mother had to point out the anachronism of police and fire-breathing dragons co-existing, but she didn't seem to have a problem with the amusement park. :)

I will tell you what I love about Kate's school.  I love that her teachers don't correct her spelling.  I love that they encourage creativity and allow her to think for herself.  And I really, really love this exercise.  It teaches beginning, middle, end.  First, next, last.  Story structure!  The rule of threes!  It gives encouragement and prompts, but it leaves the bulk of the imagining to the child.  Between fire-breathing dragons and princesses, what four-year-old boy or girl would not be engaged in the topic?  The next day, Kate had to create an advertising slogan for a perfume for skunks.  The result was unprintable, but again -- genius!

I don't know when it is that writing -- and often reading -- start to become a chore, something to be dreaded.  But for some kids, obviously the joy persists.  I pray that my daughter will always come home and say, "I need a pencil.  I want to write a story!"

--Jeanne Marie

Our Book Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to the winner of our latest giveaway:

Doraine B!

Doraine will receive an autographed copy of Sarah Campbell's new book, Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature. For her entry, Doraine shared that she'd like to see a photo-biography of "Debi Thomas, African-American figure skater back in 1988 who went on to become a doctor." Maybe one of our readers will write one!

Our thanks again to Sarah Campbell for her interview, and to all our readers who participated in the giveaway. Stay tuned for another guest Teaching Author interview and giveaway in early March!

Carmela