Jo Knowles's Blog, page 3
July 4, 2016
On Making Characters Real
Dear Teachers,
Happy Monday and Happy Independence Day!
I realize many of you might be taking the day off to spend time with loved ones but for those of you looking for a warm-up today, here we go!
Today I want to talk a little bit about character. There are a lot of exercise and sets of questions people put together to help with building character, and I use these myself. They are wonderful tools. One of my favorites comes from Kate Messner, who asks you to fill in the blanks:
This is a story about a boy/girl who wants ________________________ , but underneath that, it's a story about a boy/girl who wants __________________________ .
It's that underneath part that is at the heart of your story, yes? But often when I ask students to fill this out, I feel that underneath answer they first give is the easy one. And so, I challenge them to go deeper. I prod them and ask, "Yes, but underneath that what to do they want?" And we get a little closer, So I ask them to go underneath that. And then underneath that.
It's hard, even painful. But I think the deeper we can drill down, the closer we get to the real heart of the story, and it's often a big surprise. Often, it opens up the whole book and gives the story deeper meaning and greater importance to the writer. It's also what makes your character real.
But while a crucial step to developing character, it is only the first one. What's next?
Next, you need to understand what it actually feels like to be your character. To be that kid living with that want, and all the obstacles keeping you from getting it. Whether you are writing a picture book, chapter book, or upper YA novel, whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, the most important piece of character development is for you, the writer, to fully embrace what it must be like to live as this character lives. To sleep in this character's bed. To breathe the air in this character's home. To hear the conversations that take place, or fail to. To wear the clothes your character wears. To speak as your character speaks. And of course to want as your character wants, and to fully understand why.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm Up:
Have your main character wake up on a Sunday morning. Be that person right now as you open your eyes. What do you see? Smell? Hear? Feel? Think? Worry about? Look forward to?
Write a paragraph or two in first person, present tense, fully exploring what it would feel like to wake up in your character's skin.
Share if you dare!
And as always, have fun, be brave, and let yourself be free to go wherever your instinct directs you.
Love always,
Jo
Happy Monday and Happy Independence Day!
I realize many of you might be taking the day off to spend time with loved ones but for those of you looking for a warm-up today, here we go!
Today I want to talk a little bit about character. There are a lot of exercise and sets of questions people put together to help with building character, and I use these myself. They are wonderful tools. One of my favorites comes from Kate Messner, who asks you to fill in the blanks:
This is a story about a boy/girl who wants ________________________ , but underneath that, it's a story about a boy/girl who wants __________________________ .
It's that underneath part that is at the heart of your story, yes? But often when I ask students to fill this out, I feel that underneath answer they first give is the easy one. And so, I challenge them to go deeper. I prod them and ask, "Yes, but underneath that what to do they want?" And we get a little closer, So I ask them to go underneath that. And then underneath that.
It's hard, even painful. But I think the deeper we can drill down, the closer we get to the real heart of the story, and it's often a big surprise. Often, it opens up the whole book and gives the story deeper meaning and greater importance to the writer. It's also what makes your character real.
But while a crucial step to developing character, it is only the first one. What's next?
Next, you need to understand what it actually feels like to be your character. To be that kid living with that want, and all the obstacles keeping you from getting it. Whether you are writing a picture book, chapter book, or upper YA novel, whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, the most important piece of character development is for you, the writer, to fully embrace what it must be like to live as this character lives. To sleep in this character's bed. To breathe the air in this character's home. To hear the conversations that take place, or fail to. To wear the clothes your character wears. To speak as your character speaks. And of course to want as your character wants, and to fully understand why.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm Up:
Have your main character wake up on a Sunday morning. Be that person right now as you open your eyes. What do you see? Smell? Hear? Feel? Think? Worry about? Look forward to?
Write a paragraph or two in first person, present tense, fully exploring what it would feel like to wake up in your character's skin.
Share if you dare!
And as always, have fun, be brave, and let yourself be free to go wherever your instinct directs you.
Love always,
Jo
June 27, 2016
Why freaking out is a good thing :-) And welcome to Teachers Write!!!!
Hello everyone and welcome to Teachers Write 2016!!!! I'm super excited to be able to take part again this year and cheer you on every Monday with some food for thought and a prompt to warm you up for a week of writing!
Recently one of my students wrote to me to ask for some encouragement because she was "stuck" and struggling with believing in herself and the story she was trying to write. She worried she might not pass. She worried she couldn't write this thing she had so desperately wanted to write back at the beginning of the semester. It all felt too big. Too hard. Too overwhelming.
Basically, she was going through what all of us go through at one time or another: The great writer freakout. I actually think hitting this moment is a BIG deal because it means, well, it means you have reached another step toward becoming a dedicated WRITER! You care! You want your work to do something that matters! You want it to be the best it can be!
OK, that's great. So now how do you get unstuck?
Here's what I wrote to this wonderful student...
Dear [student]:
As your mentor, what I want most for you is to see that you have grown over the course of the semester. What does that mean? All sorts of stuff, but here are a few possibilities, which hopefully might spark something in you as you struggle with creating new work, or linger on something you feel isn't quite "there" yet:
It means that you try new things.
Revise the hell out of something that just doesn't make you proud yet.
Take risks.
Push yourself to write about something you're afraid to.
Explore form.
Conquer a weakness you've been struggling with, such as passive voice.
Surprise yourself and me with a new twist.
Discover the kernel of truth you've been trying to get at all along.
Write something that makes you uncomfortable.
Make connections.
Weave in a theme in a subtle, beautiful way.
Write something suspenseful.
Write something quiet and intimate.
Have your character realize something unexpected.
Have your character do something that hurts.
Think about regrets. But also pride.
Think about how you want this character to grow.
I hope this helps! You can do this. Make a schedule for yourself. If you're too tired at night, maybe try getting up earlier and write before work. If you put in just 30 solid minutes every day, you should be able to meet your goals. Put in a solid hour every day, and you will be golden. You can do this!!!!! Did I say that already? Oh yes. I did. Because it's true!!! :)
Sending lots of strength and encouragement,
Jo
Dear teachers, I hope that any time you feel stuck during this wonderful camp we've created together you will revisit this letter. Sometimes writing is easy. Sometimes writing is painfully hard. But always, writing will show you something about yourself or the world that you might never have known if you hadn't tried in the first place. I wish you all the best as you set out to discover what that beautiful surprising possibly painful but maybe even life-changing thing is.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
Choose at least one of the items from my list above and reflect on why it is important to you to try, and how you might achieve it. If you feel brave, please share in the comments to help inspire others! Keep your reflection with you during your writing sessions to reflect back on when you have a tough writing day. Remember why you are doing this, and then try again.
Here we go!
Love,
Jo
Recently one of my students wrote to me to ask for some encouragement because she was "stuck" and struggling with believing in herself and the story she was trying to write. She worried she might not pass. She worried she couldn't write this thing she had so desperately wanted to write back at the beginning of the semester. It all felt too big. Too hard. Too overwhelming.
Basically, she was going through what all of us go through at one time or another: The great writer freakout. I actually think hitting this moment is a BIG deal because it means, well, it means you have reached another step toward becoming a dedicated WRITER! You care! You want your work to do something that matters! You want it to be the best it can be!
OK, that's great. So now how do you get unstuck?
Here's what I wrote to this wonderful student...
Dear [student]:
As your mentor, what I want most for you is to see that you have grown over the course of the semester. What does that mean? All sorts of stuff, but here are a few possibilities, which hopefully might spark something in you as you struggle with creating new work, or linger on something you feel isn't quite "there" yet:
It means that you try new things.
Revise the hell out of something that just doesn't make you proud yet.
Take risks.
Push yourself to write about something you're afraid to.
Explore form.
Conquer a weakness you've been struggling with, such as passive voice.
Surprise yourself and me with a new twist.
Discover the kernel of truth you've been trying to get at all along.
Write something that makes you uncomfortable.
Make connections.
Weave in a theme in a subtle, beautiful way.
Write something suspenseful.
Write something quiet and intimate.
Have your character realize something unexpected.
Have your character do something that hurts.
Think about regrets. But also pride.
Think about how you want this character to grow.
I hope this helps! You can do this. Make a schedule for yourself. If you're too tired at night, maybe try getting up earlier and write before work. If you put in just 30 solid minutes every day, you should be able to meet your goals. Put in a solid hour every day, and you will be golden. You can do this!!!!! Did I say that already? Oh yes. I did. Because it's true!!! :)
Sending lots of strength and encouragement,
Jo
Dear teachers, I hope that any time you feel stuck during this wonderful camp we've created together you will revisit this letter. Sometimes writing is easy. Sometimes writing is painfully hard. But always, writing will show you something about yourself or the world that you might never have known if you hadn't tried in the first place. I wish you all the best as you set out to discover what that beautiful surprising possibly painful but maybe even life-changing thing is.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
Choose at least one of the items from my list above and reflect on why it is important to you to try, and how you might achieve it. If you feel brave, please share in the comments to help inspire others! Keep your reflection with you during your writing sessions to reflect back on when you have a tough writing day. Remember why you are doing this, and then try again.
Here we go!
Love,
Jo
August 3, 2015
Love Big: A Reflection
Several of you know, I spent a week on a "Mission Trip" with 21 youth and five other adults doing volunteer work for three organizations: Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org), New Reach (www.newreach.org), And CCA (ccahelps.org). All three organizations help provide housing for those in need, many for women in crisis, along with their children. At the end of the day, I tried to jot down a few of the many powerful moments I witnessed on this trip because I knew I was experiencing something I never wanted to forget. Here it is...
"Love Big: A Reflection"
Day One
I climb into a Big White Van
And Dave blasts Paradise by The Dashboard Light
as we circle the parking lot and wave good-bye.
Driving down the highway,
"That part in the song" comes on and I wonder, "Do they know what this is about?"
Answer: Yes. Yes they do.
By the time we cross the border into Connecticut
The Playlist has run through three times.
We joke that whoever made this mix
Must have stopped listening to music
In 1982.
Someone says, "This time we ALL have to sing."
We turn up the volume and do our best,
singing loud and proud and slightly off-key,
ready to start bonding before we even arrive.
That night at vespers
Eli says, "At the end of the week,
We'll say this was hardest we've ever worked.
We'll go home and need a day to recover.
But the volunteers here who guided us
Will start again on Monday.
And they'll do it again the Monday after that."
We all let that sink in.
"This is a time to be your best selves,"
Paul told us in the parking lot back home before we left.
I get the sense we're all silently committing to that now.
Day Two
In the morning
We stagger out of our beds and grumble about
Who got cream cheese on the knife handle,
Then circle up in the parking lot, hold hands
And pray together for a day of good work.
In the vans, we count numbers.
Turn on the play list.
Sing a little shyly with our new group.
Watch as one side of town
Transforms to another.
Manicured lawns of bright green grass
Turn overgrown and weedy.
Freshly painted houses
Turn paint chipped and dirty.
Loved and cared for neighborhoods
Turn to ones of neglect.
At the work site, we huddle together in a shed while we wait for the rain to pass.
Our hosts share breakfast and tell us about the women living in the shelter.
I feel guilty as I eat my jelly doughnut,
Looking at the building and thinking about the stories inside.
When the work starts
We pull weeds entangled with garbage,
Grown together as if they're the same thing.
We discover someone's shelter under a truck bed liner:
There's a sleeping bag
Some personal belongings.
Bottles filled with a liquid none of us want to identify.
The teens handle these things tenderly.
They worry out loud about what will happen
when the owner returns to find everything gone.
I try not to cry because
I'm the adult.
But this first morning is already hurting my heart
In unexpected ways.
All day we sweat and pull weeds
Shovel rocks
Power wash
Paint in the blasting sun.
At the end of the day, we collapse in the van
and count down the number of times we have to do it all again.
But then I think of Eli's words,
And put the blister on my toe out of my mind.
Day 3
Breakfast is quiet as we wander out one by one
and compare predictions for how hot it will get today.
On the highway there's a billboard that says "Love Big,"
And I tell myself, that's my motto for the week.
At the site, we start sweating as soon as we unload.
We shovel more rocks.
Pull more weeds.
Pick up trash.
Mow.
Mix cement.
Trim hedges.
And compare sweat stains.
As we pour the cement,
I see a little girl watching from an open window.
She's eating cereal out of a tall glass.
I smile and say hi.
She says hi back.
I wonder "What's your story?"
I bet she wonders the same thing.
Tonight, we drive to the shore,
Swim in the cool salt water and watch the sunset.
We talk about grief,
Troubled waters,
And how important it is
To cause a stir of change.
I feel an overwhelming sense of privilege
Looking out at the ocean,
Wondering if any of the residents we helped today
Have ever shared this view.
The irony of our troubled waters discussion hits me,
while the quiet, calm water laps the sand.
Day 4
Today we work on the second floor balcony
Staining a porch railing.
To get there, we have to use the stairs inside.
Now, we catch glimpses of who we're doing this for.
We hear them behind thin walls.
A baby crying.
A mother comforting.
It goes on and on as we paint a second coat,
And I'm sure we're all wondering again:
What's your story?
When we all reunite back at church,
We share survival stories
And agree we all worked hard,
Just in different ways.
We joke that there are teams,
But we are One.
We visit a quarry and jump off cliffs.
Swing down ziplines
And have a picnic dinner.
We sing happy birthday to Eli as the sun sets.
At vespers we talk about joy instead of grief,
But circle back again to acknowledge
How connected the two tend to be.
Day 5
As we drive to our site, Paul inspires us with an Elvis song.
We plant trees.
Dig up mulch.
Sing
Dig
Sing
Sweat. So much.
I think about the billboard sign from earlier in the week:
Love Big.
Logan and I name our tree Buttercup.
We put flowers in our hair and say we have Flower Power,
And power through the afternoon with new energy.
Every day, I have seen our youth rediscover their best selves.
Pushing harder, singing louder, embracing their work with
"lovely energy" that astonishes and lifts me up.
Day 6
On our last morning of work,
we listen to our usual playlist,
And Molly says,
"If you change the subject of this song from romance to the mission trip,
This is exactly how I feel about all of you."
We sing "Hooked on a feeling" a little bit louder after that.
There are tears on our way home that day.
We sing "Country Road, Take Me Home"
But I get the sense none of us really wants to go yet.
That night, we share thank you's.
We talk about how much our lives have changed this week,
And whether we've caused a big enough change
in the troubled waters we've witnessed.
There are more tears. More hugs.
I look at this circle and see a new community.
I see Loving Companionship.
I see Family.
I think of the Love Big billboard.
It's a motto that sticks.
Day 7
We caravan home. Some sleep. Some sing.
I keep turning around, looking at the faces in our van.
They were mostly just acquaintances on the ride down 7 days ago.
Now, they are "loving companions." Family.
I know all year I will hear a song
Or a phrase
Or see a pink flower
Or a newly planted tree
And think of these inspiring youth.
I'll wonder where they are and how they're doing.
They're part of my deep well now.
Part of my heart.
They have helped me be my best self.
And I'm forever grateful.
I will always love them big.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
As you can see, this isn't necessarily a poem, but a list of moments. My challenge to you is to find the things in your day this week (and later the first week of school) that you could do something similar with. Turn meaning into the mundane. Reflect on what inspired. Give purpose to what angered. Show gratitude for a moment of joy or comfort. And as always, try to have fun.
"Love Big: A Reflection"
Day One
I climb into a Big White Van
And Dave blasts Paradise by The Dashboard Light
as we circle the parking lot and wave good-bye.
Driving down the highway,
"That part in the song" comes on and I wonder, "Do they know what this is about?"
Answer: Yes. Yes they do.
By the time we cross the border into Connecticut
The Playlist has run through three times.
We joke that whoever made this mix
Must have stopped listening to music
In 1982.
Someone says, "This time we ALL have to sing."
We turn up the volume and do our best,
singing loud and proud and slightly off-key,
ready to start bonding before we even arrive.
That night at vespers
Eli says, "At the end of the week,
We'll say this was hardest we've ever worked.
We'll go home and need a day to recover.
But the volunteers here who guided us
Will start again on Monday.
And they'll do it again the Monday after that."
We all let that sink in.
"This is a time to be your best selves,"
Paul told us in the parking lot back home before we left.
I get the sense we're all silently committing to that now.
Day Two
In the morning
We stagger out of our beds and grumble about
Who got cream cheese on the knife handle,
Then circle up in the parking lot, hold hands
And pray together for a day of good work.
In the vans, we count numbers.
Turn on the play list.
Sing a little shyly with our new group.
Watch as one side of town
Transforms to another.
Manicured lawns of bright green grass
Turn overgrown and weedy.
Freshly painted houses
Turn paint chipped and dirty.
Loved and cared for neighborhoods
Turn to ones of neglect.
At the work site, we huddle together in a shed while we wait for the rain to pass.
Our hosts share breakfast and tell us about the women living in the shelter.
I feel guilty as I eat my jelly doughnut,
Looking at the building and thinking about the stories inside.
When the work starts
We pull weeds entangled with garbage,
Grown together as if they're the same thing.
We discover someone's shelter under a truck bed liner:
There's a sleeping bag
Some personal belongings.
Bottles filled with a liquid none of us want to identify.
The teens handle these things tenderly.
They worry out loud about what will happen
when the owner returns to find everything gone.
I try not to cry because
I'm the adult.
But this first morning is already hurting my heart
In unexpected ways.
All day we sweat and pull weeds
Shovel rocks
Power wash
Paint in the blasting sun.
At the end of the day, we collapse in the van
and count down the number of times we have to do it all again.
But then I think of Eli's words,
And put the blister on my toe out of my mind.
Day 3
Breakfast is quiet as we wander out one by one
and compare predictions for how hot it will get today.
On the highway there's a billboard that says "Love Big,"
And I tell myself, that's my motto for the week.
At the site, we start sweating as soon as we unload.
We shovel more rocks.
Pull more weeds.
Pick up trash.
Mow.
Mix cement.
Trim hedges.
And compare sweat stains.
As we pour the cement,
I see a little girl watching from an open window.
She's eating cereal out of a tall glass.
I smile and say hi.
She says hi back.
I wonder "What's your story?"
I bet she wonders the same thing.
Tonight, we drive to the shore,
Swim in the cool salt water and watch the sunset.
We talk about grief,
Troubled waters,
And how important it is
To cause a stir of change.
I feel an overwhelming sense of privilege
Looking out at the ocean,
Wondering if any of the residents we helped today
Have ever shared this view.
The irony of our troubled waters discussion hits me,
while the quiet, calm water laps the sand.
Day 4
Today we work on the second floor balcony
Staining a porch railing.
To get there, we have to use the stairs inside.
Now, we catch glimpses of who we're doing this for.
We hear them behind thin walls.
A baby crying.
A mother comforting.
It goes on and on as we paint a second coat,
And I'm sure we're all wondering again:
What's your story?
When we all reunite back at church,
We share survival stories
And agree we all worked hard,
Just in different ways.
We joke that there are teams,
But we are One.
We visit a quarry and jump off cliffs.
Swing down ziplines
And have a picnic dinner.
We sing happy birthday to Eli as the sun sets.
At vespers we talk about joy instead of grief,
But circle back again to acknowledge
How connected the two tend to be.
Day 5
As we drive to our site, Paul inspires us with an Elvis song.
We plant trees.
Dig up mulch.
Sing
Dig
Sing
Sweat. So much.
I think about the billboard sign from earlier in the week:
Love Big.
Logan and I name our tree Buttercup.
We put flowers in our hair and say we have Flower Power,
And power through the afternoon with new energy.
Every day, I have seen our youth rediscover their best selves.
Pushing harder, singing louder, embracing their work with
"lovely energy" that astonishes and lifts me up.
Day 6
On our last morning of work,
we listen to our usual playlist,
And Molly says,
"If you change the subject of this song from romance to the mission trip,
This is exactly how I feel about all of you."
We sing "Hooked on a feeling" a little bit louder after that.
There are tears on our way home that day.
We sing "Country Road, Take Me Home"
But I get the sense none of us really wants to go yet.
That night, we share thank you's.
We talk about how much our lives have changed this week,
And whether we've caused a big enough change
in the troubled waters we've witnessed.
There are more tears. More hugs.
I look at this circle and see a new community.
I see Loving Companionship.
I see Family.
I think of the Love Big billboard.
It's a motto that sticks.
Day 7
We caravan home. Some sleep. Some sing.
I keep turning around, looking at the faces in our van.
They were mostly just acquaintances on the ride down 7 days ago.
Now, they are "loving companions." Family.
I know all year I will hear a song
Or a phrase
Or see a pink flower
Or a newly planted tree
And think of these inspiring youth.
I'll wonder where they are and how they're doing.
They're part of my deep well now.
Part of my heart.
They have helped me be my best self.
And I'm forever grateful.
I will always love them big.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
As you can see, this isn't necessarily a poem, but a list of moments. My challenge to you is to find the things in your day this week (and later the first week of school) that you could do something similar with. Turn meaning into the mundane. Reflect on what inspired. Give purpose to what angered. Show gratitude for a moment of joy or comfort. And as always, try to have fun.
July 27, 2015
A New Beginning for The End of Teachers Write :)
Hello Teachers and Welcome to our Final Teachers Write Monday Morning Warm-Up! I've had such a great time reading your work and being inspired by your enthusiasm and energy! I hope you've had fun, too.
For our last exercise, I thought I'd focus on strong beginnings and having the confidence to dive in to your story, trusting yourself and the reader to fall into an engaging, active scene. Now that you've been working on pieces all summer, you know you characters, you know your story, now it's time to try working on a beginning that pulls the reader in, and gives you a strong foundation from which to write from every day.
Four authors who I think are masterful first page writesr are Laurie Halse Anderson, K.L. Going, and Jack Gantos. If you want to study strong first pages, go read and reread their openings. That's how you do it.
Last year, I was a judge for several writing contests and read many beginnings and I can tell you after a while, you begin to see patterns and common mistakes. I outlined these in detail in this entry:
http://jbknowles.livejournal.com/484416.html
Then, a wonderful reader put all that information into a rubric, for writers to use when looking at and evaluating their work:
http://www.shannonrigney.com/2015/01/28/fun-with-rubrics/
Pretty cool, huh?
So today's Monday Morning Warm-Up is to let yourself go and start on a CLEAN piece of paper. Think of it as a White Page Day Do-Over, and try a new beginning, after reading some good examples and all my notes from the link above. Don't think about writing a strong beginning, which I fear is what hung up so many of these writers. Instead, envision where your story starts, what your character is doing, thinking, feeling. Let all of that emotion and longing and setting fill you up. Breathe it in and really place yourself in the moment. Then, let yourself drop into the scene and say what's going on. You'll see that's exactly what Anderson, Gantos and Going do. They trust their reader to drop in with them and take off. Now it's your turn!
For our last exercise, I thought I'd focus on strong beginnings and having the confidence to dive in to your story, trusting yourself and the reader to fall into an engaging, active scene. Now that you've been working on pieces all summer, you know you characters, you know your story, now it's time to try working on a beginning that pulls the reader in, and gives you a strong foundation from which to write from every day.
Four authors who I think are masterful first page writesr are Laurie Halse Anderson, K.L. Going, and Jack Gantos. If you want to study strong first pages, go read and reread their openings. That's how you do it.
Last year, I was a judge for several writing contests and read many beginnings and I can tell you after a while, you begin to see patterns and common mistakes. I outlined these in detail in this entry:
http://jbknowles.livejournal.com/484416.html
Then, a wonderful reader put all that information into a rubric, for writers to use when looking at and evaluating their work:
http://www.shannonrigney.com/2015/01/28/fun-with-rubrics/
Pretty cool, huh?
So today's Monday Morning Warm-Up is to let yourself go and start on a CLEAN piece of paper. Think of it as a White Page Day Do-Over, and try a new beginning, after reading some good examples and all my notes from the link above. Don't think about writing a strong beginning, which I fear is what hung up so many of these writers. Instead, envision where your story starts, what your character is doing, thinking, feeling. Let all of that emotion and longing and setting fill you up. Breathe it in and really place yourself in the moment. Then, let yourself drop into the scene and say what's going on. You'll see that's exactly what Anderson, Gantos and Going do. They trust their reader to drop in with them and take off. Now it's your turn!
July 20, 2015
All the Feels :-)
Hello, Teachers!
Welcome to Week 3 of Teachers Write! I hope you're all still having a great time. You've all been incredibly inspiring to me, that's for sure.
To start off the week, I'm going to challenge you to practice marrying senses with emotion. Often how we experience a particularly strong sensation (eating a chocolate ice-cream cone, being stuck outside in the rain, sitting at a baseball game in the hot, baking sun), depends on our mood/emotional state. In writing, showing your character experience something that you would expect to elicit a certain emotion but behaves or experiences it surprisingly different, can reveal a lot about him/her without you having to tell the reader. And, I would argue, it does so far more powerfully. Think of it as another lesson in showing, not telling.
Below is a list of experiences that typically elicit strong senses, and then a list of emotions. Chose one from each category and write a scene with your character to show him or her feeling the emotion while experiencing the sensation. Make it challenging by choosing two items that you would NOT expect to go together.
List One:
Eating a dripping strawberry ice-cream cone
Sitting in a hot tub
Sunbathing
Taking a final exam/test
Eating corn on the cobb
Riding in a convertible with the top down
Waiting at a bus stop in a downpour
Eating cotton candy
Watching a scary movie
Sitting at an elementary school concert
Watching a parade
Eating spaghetti
Singing/performing a solo
Riding a roller-coaster
Swinging
Dancing
Shopping in a candle store
Eating an egg roll
Lying in the grass
Changing the cat box
Washing the dog
List Two:
Excited
Sad
Anxious
Scared
Happy
Jealous
Hurt
Disappointed
In love
Resentful
Obsessed about something
Mournful
Hostile
Nervous
Giddy
Holding a secret
If there is another emotion that better fits the current state of your character, pick that, and then chose from List 1 to work on conveying that emotion effectively through scene. Have fun! And as always I hope you'll share.
Love,
Jo
Welcome to Week 3 of Teachers Write! I hope you're all still having a great time. You've all been incredibly inspiring to me, that's for sure.
To start off the week, I'm going to challenge you to practice marrying senses with emotion. Often how we experience a particularly strong sensation (eating a chocolate ice-cream cone, being stuck outside in the rain, sitting at a baseball game in the hot, baking sun), depends on our mood/emotional state. In writing, showing your character experience something that you would expect to elicit a certain emotion but behaves or experiences it surprisingly different, can reveal a lot about him/her without you having to tell the reader. And, I would argue, it does so far more powerfully. Think of it as another lesson in showing, not telling.
Below is a list of experiences that typically elicit strong senses, and then a list of emotions. Chose one from each category and write a scene with your character to show him or her feeling the emotion while experiencing the sensation. Make it challenging by choosing two items that you would NOT expect to go together.
List One:
Eating a dripping strawberry ice-cream cone
Sitting in a hot tub
Sunbathing
Taking a final exam/test
Eating corn on the cobb
Riding in a convertible with the top down
Waiting at a bus stop in a downpour
Eating cotton candy
Watching a scary movie
Sitting at an elementary school concert
Watching a parade
Eating spaghetti
Singing/performing a solo
Riding a roller-coaster
Swinging
Dancing
Shopping in a candle store
Eating an egg roll
Lying in the grass
Changing the cat box
Washing the dog
List Two:
Excited
Sad
Anxious
Scared
Happy
Jealous
Hurt
Disappointed
In love
Resentful
Obsessed about something
Mournful
Hostile
Nervous
Giddy
Holding a secret
If there is another emotion that better fits the current state of your character, pick that, and then chose from List 1 to work on conveying that emotion effectively through scene. Have fun! And as always I hope you'll share.
Love,
Jo
July 13, 2015
Flamingos Found: Teachers Write Week 2
Hello Teachers and welcome to Week 2 of Teachers Write!
Last week was so amazing. I loved getting all of your entries, and also reading the other lessons throughout the week. Great job all around!
Today I'm going to send you on a path of discovery. Last week I asked you to tell me what you know about your project/character. This week, I want to help you discover something that you don't know.
The following writing prompts are real subject headings from my town's e-mail list. I am a big fan of believing that there are stories all around us and these subject headings are certainly proof!
So, pick from the list below and write a brand new scene in your work-in-progress beginning a paragraph with one of the phrases. HAVE FUN. Remember, you don't necessarily have to end up using this scene. It's meant to help you change course momentarily, which often leads to unexpected surprises. I especially like these kinds of exercises when I'm feeling like my work needs something fresh and unpredictable thrown in.
Your list:
Need two guys and a truck
Flamingos found
Wanted: Uncle Sam
Dogs running loose
Ivy has returned home
He's young he's horny and he loves the sound of his own voice
Free dusty round bale
Three white male goats escaped from their pen this morning on Gilson Rd. Last seen around 7 am. Please call if you see them…
If anyone has a bear skin rug preferably with the bear's head - let me know
Cows loose on Advent Hill
Cat With Stubby Ears Missing From Damon Road" His name is Polliwog.
I would love your dead mice
We NEED Uncle Sam. Do not wait until the last minute to reply.
Found dog 3 Corners
Yup, believe it or not those are ALL real subject headings. I live in a fun town, huh? :-)
OK, now get writing! Hope you enjoy this! And as always, if you'd like to share, please do! I will try to respond to everyone's entries, as well as unlock any that show up as anonymous and need to be unscreened. This week my son and I are busy on a local Habitat for Humanity project so I won't be around as much, but I will try to keep up! Thanks for your patience.
Have a great week, everyone!
Jo
Last week was so amazing. I loved getting all of your entries, and also reading the other lessons throughout the week. Great job all around!
Today I'm going to send you on a path of discovery. Last week I asked you to tell me what you know about your project/character. This week, I want to help you discover something that you don't know.
The following writing prompts are real subject headings from my town's e-mail list. I am a big fan of believing that there are stories all around us and these subject headings are certainly proof!
So, pick from the list below and write a brand new scene in your work-in-progress beginning a paragraph with one of the phrases. HAVE FUN. Remember, you don't necessarily have to end up using this scene. It's meant to help you change course momentarily, which often leads to unexpected surprises. I especially like these kinds of exercises when I'm feeling like my work needs something fresh and unpredictable thrown in.
Your list:
Need two guys and a truck
Flamingos found
Wanted: Uncle Sam
Dogs running loose
Ivy has returned home
He's young he's horny and he loves the sound of his own voice
Free dusty round bale
Three white male goats escaped from their pen this morning on Gilson Rd. Last seen around 7 am. Please call if you see them…
If anyone has a bear skin rug preferably with the bear's head - let me know
Cows loose on Advent Hill
Cat With Stubby Ears Missing From Damon Road" His name is Polliwog.
I would love your dead mice
We NEED Uncle Sam. Do not wait until the last minute to reply.
Found dog 3 Corners
Yup, believe it or not those are ALL real subject headings. I live in a fun town, huh? :-)
OK, now get writing! Hope you enjoy this! And as always, if you'd like to share, please do! I will try to respond to everyone's entries, as well as unlock any that show up as anonymous and need to be unscreened. This week my son and I are busy on a local Habitat for Humanity project so I won't be around as much, but I will try to keep up! Thanks for your patience.
Have a great week, everyone!
Jo
July 6, 2015
It's a "White Page Day"
HELLOOOOOOOOOOO TEACHERS!!!!
Woohoo!!!! It's #TeachersWrite Time!
I'm your friendly Monday-Morning Warm-Up host and I'll be posting here every Monday Morning with a little writing encouragement and exercise to get you going for the week.
To start, let's think about why you're here. What are your goals? What do you want to say? Why is writing important to you? These are big questions, but I find the answers are what help me keep going on days when it's hard to sit and write.
Here's a favorite passage from Jacqueline Woodson's brilliant and beautiful book, Brown Girl Dreaming (from the poem "Composition Notebook"):
Nothing in the world is like this—
a bright white page with
pale blue lines. The smell of a newly sharpened pencil
the soft hush of it
moving finally
one day
into letters.
(Brown Girl Dreaming, page 155)
Guess what, friends? Today is your white page day!
Today, you get to open a new notebook, start on a new page, a new screen, a new scrap of paper, a new sticky note. Today, that wonderful blank page is waiting for your words to fill it up with a note, a memory, a phrase, a thought, a piece of love. Your truth. Your story.
How can you make that white page colorful? Meaningful? Special? What do you want to tell the world? How might the story inside you change a life if you share it?
My task for you today, on this White Page Day, is to find a blank page and make a list of what you know about your project, and the reasons this particular one is important to you. Just start listing each little piece, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Write everything you know so far. Everything you hope for. Everything you see when you close your eyes and think about this particular story.
As you make your list, watch how your words turn into a poem of promises to yourself. Then keep your list somewhere near, so that when your energized days start to wilt, you'll remember the spark that got you started.
Since I'm beginning something brand new this month, here's mine. I'd love it if you shared yours in the comments, too. Or, share them on your own blogs, or on facebook, or tumblr, or wherever you might be spending time these days. Or don't. You can also hold it close to your chest for now. This is your White Page Day. Celebrate it however you want. :-)
A Work In Progress
This is a story about a girl
Thirteen
It's not a lucky year
Next door, there are new neighbors
They are The Haves
She is a Have Not
From a Have Not family
It's summertime
Dry and hot
I think there's a pony she didn't ask for
And an angry pig to feed
And too many responsibilities
There will be dirt
And resentment
Jealousy
A bit of self-loathing
And blaming
Forgiveness
And longing
There's a boy who can't see her
And a brother who sees too much
There will be loneliness
And there will be loss
But there will also be joy
This is my story
But I'll make it someone else's
I see the scenes like ghosts
They've been haunting me all my life
The images aren't vivid yet
Just pieces of memory and wishes from the past
Secrets and missed chances
Grudges
And misunderstandings
I feel them slowing down now
Waiting for me to reach out and pull them close
Own what's mine finally
Face fears and face facts
Turn them into story
Put it on the page
~*~*~*~
If you stumbled upon this page and have no idea what TeachersWrite is, head over here:
http://www.katemessner.com/teachers-write-7614-mini-lesson-monday-an-invitation-to-wonder/
All are welcome!
Woohoo!!!! It's #TeachersWrite Time!
I'm your friendly Monday-Morning Warm-Up host and I'll be posting here every Monday Morning with a little writing encouragement and exercise to get you going for the week.
To start, let's think about why you're here. What are your goals? What do you want to say? Why is writing important to you? These are big questions, but I find the answers are what help me keep going on days when it's hard to sit and write.
Here's a favorite passage from Jacqueline Woodson's brilliant and beautiful book, Brown Girl Dreaming (from the poem "Composition Notebook"):
Nothing in the world is like this—
a bright white page with
pale blue lines. The smell of a newly sharpened pencil
the soft hush of it
moving finally
one day
into letters.
(Brown Girl Dreaming, page 155)
Guess what, friends? Today is your white page day!
Today, you get to open a new notebook, start on a new page, a new screen, a new scrap of paper, a new sticky note. Today, that wonderful blank page is waiting for your words to fill it up with a note, a memory, a phrase, a thought, a piece of love. Your truth. Your story.
How can you make that white page colorful? Meaningful? Special? What do you want to tell the world? How might the story inside you change a life if you share it?
My task for you today, on this White Page Day, is to find a blank page and make a list of what you know about your project, and the reasons this particular one is important to you. Just start listing each little piece, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Write everything you know so far. Everything you hope for. Everything you see when you close your eyes and think about this particular story.
As you make your list, watch how your words turn into a poem of promises to yourself. Then keep your list somewhere near, so that when your energized days start to wilt, you'll remember the spark that got you started.
Since I'm beginning something brand new this month, here's mine. I'd love it if you shared yours in the comments, too. Or, share them on your own blogs, or on facebook, or tumblr, or wherever you might be spending time these days. Or don't. You can also hold it close to your chest for now. This is your White Page Day. Celebrate it however you want. :-)
A Work In Progress
This is a story about a girl
Thirteen
It's not a lucky year
Next door, there are new neighbors
They are The Haves
She is a Have Not
From a Have Not family
It's summertime
Dry and hot
I think there's a pony she didn't ask for
And an angry pig to feed
And too many responsibilities
There will be dirt
And resentment
Jealousy
A bit of self-loathing
And blaming
Forgiveness
And longing
There's a boy who can't see her
And a brother who sees too much
There will be loneliness
And there will be loss
But there will also be joy
This is my story
But I'll make it someone else's
I see the scenes like ghosts
They've been haunting me all my life
The images aren't vivid yet
Just pieces of memory and wishes from the past
Secrets and missed chances
Grudges
And misunderstandings
I feel them slowing down now
Waiting for me to reach out and pull them close
Own what's mine finally
Face fears and face facts
Turn them into story
Put it on the page
~*~*~*~
If you stumbled upon this page and have no idea what TeachersWrite is, head over here:
http://www.katemessner.com/teachers-write-7614-mini-lesson-monday-an-invitation-to-wonder/
All are welcome!
March 5, 2015
Oh, the places I'll go... :)
Hi everyone! I've been getting a lot of questions about where I'll be this spring so I decided to put it all in one place. If you'll be at any of these events, please let me know! This is the most travel I've done for a book and I'm both very excited and very nervous. Friendly faces always welcome and appreciated.Thanks! xx
March 13-15
Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org
Scheduled events:
Story Interrupted: Moving In and Out of Time and Space in YA
Sat, Mar 14, 10:00 am - 11:00 am Education Room 353
Panelists: E. Lockhart, Jo Knowles, Andrew Smith; Moderator: Celeste Trimble
A Conversation with E. Lockhart and Jo Knowles
Interact with authors as they read aloud from their new books and answer questions
Sat, Mar 14, 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm Teen and Author Meeting Place (Seats 88)
Signing at Mostly Books, Booth #148 (Seats 1)
Sat, Mar 14, 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Workshop: Brave Beginnings — Find a Way into Your Story
Sat, Mar 14, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Education Room 349
March 20
Montpelier, VT
VCFA Novel Writing Workshop in Montpelier
(So excited to go back after missing for many years, and both my writing partners will be there!)
March 27
University of New Hampshire
NH Council of Teachers of English Spring Conference
http://www.nhcte.org/spring-conference.html
Keynote Speaker (!)
April 3
Concord, NH
Gibsons Bookstore
http://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/event/YA-April-2015
6:30pm Talking writing with Jennifer Richard Jacobson!
Followed by a signing
April 11
Norwich, VT
Norwich Book Store
http://www.norwichbookstore.com/
1:00-3:00pm
Panel of middle-grade and YA authors, including Tara Dairman and Adi Rule
(Still in planning stages, more deets to come!)
April 14-17
Austin, TX
Texas Library Association Annual Conference
http://www.txla.org/annual-conference
Authors Area H-Q
(Schedule to come)
April 18-19
Los Angeles, CA
LA Times Festival of Books
http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/
(Schedule to Come)
April 19-21
Pasadena, CA
ABC Children's Institute, American Booksellers Association
http://www.bookweb.org/ci2015
Author Reception 5:30-7:00
April 24-26
Springfield, MA
NESCBWI Conference
https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1650417
10:55-11:45am Q&A--Ask me anything!
7:00-8:00pm Keynote (OMG!!!)
May 15
Rochester, NY
Rochester Teen Book Festival
http://www.teenbookfestival.org/
Schedule to come but here is the schedule link: http://www.teenbookfestival.org/?pg=Schedule
March 13-15
Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org
Scheduled events:
Story Interrupted: Moving In and Out of Time and Space in YA
Sat, Mar 14, 10:00 am - 11:00 am Education Room 353
Panelists: E. Lockhart, Jo Knowles, Andrew Smith; Moderator: Celeste Trimble
A Conversation with E. Lockhart and Jo Knowles
Interact with authors as they read aloud from their new books and answer questions
Sat, Mar 14, 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm Teen and Author Meeting Place (Seats 88)
Signing at Mostly Books, Booth #148 (Seats 1)
Sat, Mar 14, 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Workshop: Brave Beginnings — Find a Way into Your Story
Sat, Mar 14, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Education Room 349
March 20
Montpelier, VT
VCFA Novel Writing Workshop in Montpelier
(So excited to go back after missing for many years, and both my writing partners will be there!)
March 27
University of New Hampshire
NH Council of Teachers of English Spring Conference
http://www.nhcte.org/spring-conference.html
Keynote Speaker (!)
April 3
Concord, NH
Gibsons Bookstore
http://www.gibsonsbookstore.com/event/YA-April-2015
6:30pm Talking writing with Jennifer Richard Jacobson!
Followed by a signing
April 11
Norwich, VT
Norwich Book Store
http://www.norwichbookstore.com/
1:00-3:00pm
Panel of middle-grade and YA authors, including Tara Dairman and Adi Rule
(Still in planning stages, more deets to come!)
April 14-17
Austin, TX
Texas Library Association Annual Conference
http://www.txla.org/annual-conference
Authors Area H-Q
(Schedule to come)
April 18-19
Los Angeles, CA
LA Times Festival of Books
http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/
(Schedule to Come)
April 19-21
Pasadena, CA
ABC Children's Institute, American Booksellers Association
http://www.bookweb.org/ci2015
Author Reception 5:30-7:00
April 24-26
Springfield, MA
NESCBWI Conference
https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1650417
10:55-11:45am Q&A--Ask me anything!
7:00-8:00pm Keynote (OMG!!!)
May 15
Rochester, NY
Rochester Teen Book Festival
http://www.teenbookfestival.org/
Schedule to come but here is the schedule link: http://www.teenbookfestival.org/?pg=Schedule
February 17, 2015
On fasting and feasting and trying to live a kinder life
I'm not super religious and have never observed Lent but I went to a great UU service last Sunday and the minister read a lovely and moving poem. She didn't have the source and I can't find anything online, so I'm sharing here, as printed in the Order of Service, and hoping that's OK. No matter your religion, I think this is worth pursuing for the good of us all. <3
Lent: A Call to Fast and Feast - Author Unknown
Fast from judging others; feast on Love dwelling in them
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the oneness of all
Fast from actions that pollute; feast on deeds that purify
Fast from from discontent; feast on gratitude
Fast from pessimism; feast on hope
Fast from worry; feast on trust
Fast from guilt; feat on complementing
Fast from stress; feast on self-care
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness
Fast from selfishness; feast on compassion for others
Fast from apathy; feast on enthusiasm
Fast from being so busy; feast on peaceful stillness
Fast on being in control; feast on letting go
Lent: A Call to Fast and Feast - Author Unknown
Fast from judging others; feast on Love dwelling in them
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the oneness of all
Fast from actions that pollute; feast on deeds that purify
Fast from from discontent; feast on gratitude
Fast from pessimism; feast on hope
Fast from worry; feast on trust
Fast from guilt; feat on complementing
Fast from stress; feast on self-care
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness
Fast from selfishness; feast on compassion for others
Fast from apathy; feast on enthusiasm
Fast from being so busy; feast on peaceful stillness
Fast on being in control; feast on letting go
February 12, 2015
A Special Valentine for Teachers!! <3
Recently Lynda Mallaly Hunt reached out to authors with books coming out in the next month or so and asked if we'd like to take part in a giveaway for teachers! I love teachers. So I said YES. There are two giveaways going on, one for teachers looking to build their middle-grade libraries and one for teachers looking to build their YA libraries. So, if you are a teacher and would like to win a set of the books shown below, keep reading! :)
If you submit your name to this rafflecopter...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
...you could win 6 books to add to your collection. That's right. All SIX BOOKS just for your classroom! And they are brand new!
I've included links to the authors' Web sites and Twitter handles. You should check them out! Follow! Make friends! And we'd love it if you could help spread the word! If you're on Twitter, use the hashtag: #authorsloveteachers THANK YOU!!!! :-)
Sarah Darer Littman
Twitter: @sarahdarerlitt
Author site: Sarahdarerlittman.com
Lee Kelly
Twitter: @leeykelly
Author site: www.newwritecity.com/books
Alexis Bass
Twitter: @alexisbasswrite
Author site: www.alexisbassbooks.com
Nova Ren Suma
Twitter: @novaren
Author site: novaren.com
Cindy L. Rodriguez
Twitter: @RodriguezCindyL
Author site: cindylrodriguez.com
Jo Knowles
Twitter: @JoKnowles
Author site: www.joknowles.com
If you submit your name to this rafflecopter...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
...you could win 6 books to add to your collection. That's right. All SIX BOOKS just for your classroom! And they are brand new!
I've included links to the authors' Web sites and Twitter handles. You should check them out! Follow! Make friends! And we'd love it if you could help spread the word! If you're on Twitter, use the hashtag: #authorsloveteachers THANK YOU!!!! :-)
Sarah Darer Littman
Twitter: @sarahdarerlitt
Author site: Sarahdarerlittman.com
Lee Kelly
Twitter: @leeykelly
Author site: www.newwritecity.com/books
Alexis Bass
Twitter: @alexisbasswrite
Author site: www.alexisbassbooks.com
Nova Ren Suma
Twitter: @novaren
Author site: novaren.com
Cindy L. Rodriguez
Twitter: @RodriguezCindyL
Author site: cindylrodriguez.com
Jo Knowles
Twitter: @JoKnowles
Author site: www.joknowles.com
