"Writing What You Know" to Practice Descriptive Writing

It's the second Monday of Teachers Write! I hope you all enjoyed week one. What a wonderful collection of helpful lessons and exercises!

So, how many of you continued to write through the weekend????

For today's warm-up, let's celebrate summer and practice "writing what we know" using memory to create rich, vivid and emotional scenes!

Share your favorite summer memory from your teen years. Now, don’t just give a summary of what happened, but write the scene as a great storyteller would. Pretend you are writing a scene in a novel or short story.

• Set up the situation.
• Describe the setting.
• Give details about what you were wearing, what you were feeling, who you were with, what sensations you remember (was it hot? cold? windy? what did it smell like?).
• Include dialogue.
• Make this an active, entertaining/emotional scene!

If you can't think of a memory you'd like to revisit, imagine one for a character in your work in progress. Yes, even if you are writing picture books or middle grade, imagine this character as a teenager! If you are writing nonfiction biography, do the same thing.

Enjoy!!!!

Please note: If your comment doesn't appear right away, it means I need to unlock it. I will get to these as quickly as I can but I am in Maine today visiting my sister and other family members so it will happen in little bursts when I can pull myself away from the glorious ocean. Thanks for understanding!


Me and my sister, beaching it. Circa 1971 :)