The pressure is building. My kids are desperate to start writing, so I decided to let off a little pressure today. We discussed plot structure, and they got a chance to begin outlining their stories. I read through a couple kids' notes and I have to admit, there are some really good ideas out there. The creativity level is amazing! Egg-laying zombies, ape lords, and centaurs are just the tip of the iceberg.
Also noteworthy is how facilitating YWP is challenging my own creativity. I've never outlined my own plot before, preferring to just write and see what happens. It's pretty amazing how just thinking about the story brings forth new ideas. My own story has mutated quite a bit from what it was when I first started this thing.
I did something today that I've never done before: I shared some excerpts from my first novel with my class. I began by telling them that only one person in the world had ever read my novel.
"Do you know who that was?" I asked.
"You!" they all replied.
"Nope!" I said.
They were pretty confused. I explained to them that after I wrote the thing, I never went back and read it (I always tell people that I'm letting it age like cheese before I start the rewrite). My wife is the only person who has ever read my book...until today.
I was talking about how it's not uncommon for your characters or the story itself to take on a life of its own and kind of...rebel. To give an example, I read one scene where I threw in some (at the time) insignificant details, and another scene in which those details ended up being of some importance. Writing is funny that way.
That was the first time I've ever shared any of my book with someone other than my wife. It was very nerve-wracking, and to my surprise, the bits I read didn't seem to be as bad as I thought were going to be.
I might get that thing published yet. ;)
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
5 Days Until NaNoWriMo
Before starting today, I presented my personal writer's survival kit. Included were:
No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty. I explained how the book was loaded with advice, inspiration, and yes, the occasional kick in the pants. I let my class know that I would share little nuggets of wisdom from the book on occasion.
My dragon muse/totem: I explained how it was a silly little thing, but helped me to remember that what I am doing is silly, but no less important.
My two magic writing hats: One is just a regular baseball cap with a clover and DUBLIN printed across the front (for luck, get it?) and the other, for particularly frisky writing, is my daughter's knitted viking hat, complete with horns and blonde braids.
Chocolate: Lots of chocolate.
Gala apples: Loads and LOADS of Gala apples.
Dr. Pepper: I'm not a coffee person, but I do love my caffeine. Dr. Pepper is my drink of choice.
Music: Anything orchestral and epic. Soundtracks to the Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Wars feature heavily.
Then we worked on creating the villains for our stories. We had a short discussion about how some stories don't seem to have villains, like Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. This led to a discussion about the different types of conflict in fiction. The three we concentrated on were:
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Self
(I left out Man vs. Society and Man vs. Technology/Fantasy...I thought the above would suffice for 5th grade.)
Brian Robeson is, of course, the protagonist in Hatchet, but since there is no "bad guy," who is the villain? My kids responded that the villain must be nature, and that Hatchet is a Man vs. Nature story. I suggested that Hatchet, to a lesser degree, is also a Man vs. Self story, since so much of the story deals with Brian dealing with his own inner turmoil and lack of self-confidence.
After this discussion, they had some time to work on and share the profiles for their own villains. Some of the villains they came up with were crazy and eccentric, some were pretty basic bad-guy times, and some of them were chillingly scary. It's truly wonderful seeing their minds light up and then their hands go flying across the page as they create their own characters. The freedom they've been given to write whatever they feel like writing has really opened them up to creativity they never knew existed. More than a few of them have told me, "I can't wait until November 1st! I want to start writing now!"
Ah, teaching heaven. I have kids begging me to write. How often does that happen in 5th grade?
Tomorrow, we'll start working on our plots. I'm really excited, because this is where the ideas will really start flowing.
Stay tuned, NaNos!
No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty. I explained how the book was loaded with advice, inspiration, and yes, the occasional kick in the pants. I let my class know that I would share little nuggets of wisdom from the book on occasion.
My dragon muse/totem: I explained how it was a silly little thing, but helped me to remember that what I am doing is silly, but no less important.
My two magic writing hats: One is just a regular baseball cap with a clover and DUBLIN printed across the front (for luck, get it?) and the other, for particularly frisky writing, is my daughter's knitted viking hat, complete with horns and blonde braids.
Chocolate: Lots of chocolate.
Gala apples: Loads and LOADS of Gala apples.
Dr. Pepper: I'm not a coffee person, but I do love my caffeine. Dr. Pepper is my drink of choice.
Music: Anything orchestral and epic. Soundtracks to the Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Wars feature heavily.
Then we worked on creating the villains for our stories. We had a short discussion about how some stories don't seem to have villains, like Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen. This led to a discussion about the different types of conflict in fiction. The three we concentrated on were:
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Self
(I left out Man vs. Society and Man vs. Technology/Fantasy...I thought the above would suffice for 5th grade.)
Brian Robeson is, of course, the protagonist in Hatchet, but since there is no "bad guy," who is the villain? My kids responded that the villain must be nature, and that Hatchet is a Man vs. Nature story. I suggested that Hatchet, to a lesser degree, is also a Man vs. Self story, since so much of the story deals with Brian dealing with his own inner turmoil and lack of self-confidence.
After this discussion, they had some time to work on and share the profiles for their own villains. Some of the villains they came up with were crazy and eccentric, some were pretty basic bad-guy times, and some of them were chillingly scary. It's truly wonderful seeing their minds light up and then their hands go flying across the page as they create their own characters. The freedom they've been given to write whatever they feel like writing has really opened them up to creativity they never knew existed. More than a few of them have told me, "I can't wait until November 1st! I want to start writing now!"
Ah, teaching heaven. I have kids begging me to write. How often does that happen in 5th grade?
Tomorrow, we'll start working on our plots. I'm really excited, because this is where the ideas will really start flowing.
Stay tuned, NaNos!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
NaNoWriMo 2011
A few years ago, I read through Chris Baty's book, No Plot? No Problem! and dove into the adventure of writing my own novel. If the name doesn't ring a bell, Chris Baty is the founder of National Novel Writing Month, referred to as NaNoWriMo. Though NaNoWriMo offically takes place in November, I decided I didn't want to wait, and threw my hat into the ring in July. That month, I reached my wordcount goal of 50,000 and surpassed it, ending at just over 58,000 words.
This year, I received an email from The Book Whisperer, and my fire was ignited once again...only this time, with a twist. The above link is in regard to the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program (YWP), in which kids from Kindergarten all the way through 12th grade take part, albeit in a modified manner, in NaNoWriMo.
I started teaching the YWP lessons to my 5th graders last week, and I'm sprinting all-out to get them prepared to start writing on November 1st. This blog will be my effort to document the adventure.
For YWP, specifically 5th grade, students choose a wordcount goal of anything from 800 words to 2,000. I really thought my one ELL student would choose the 800-word goal, but he surprised me with a higher number. What's cool is I think he can do it. I have some kids who set themselves a goal of 3,000 words or more, and I think they can do it. Then there's Kelvin (not his real name). He gave himself a goal of 15,000 words! I think that's stretching the boundaries of reality, but I'm not going to tell him that. Say he only makes it halfway: 7,500 words. That's still an incredible feat.
And yes, I'm participating, too. At first I set my goal at 25,000 words, because November is a hard month to start such an undertaking. Then I changed my mind. If I can't do the full NaNoWriMo requirement, what am I teaching my kids? No way...I'm swinging for the fence. I either strike out or knock it into the bleachers. Either way, I'm giving it my all, because I expect no less from my kids.
Bring on November 1st!
This year, I received an email from The Book Whisperer, and my fire was ignited once again...only this time, with a twist. The above link is in regard to the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program (YWP), in which kids from Kindergarten all the way through 12th grade take part, albeit in a modified manner, in NaNoWriMo.
I started teaching the YWP lessons to my 5th graders last week, and I'm sprinting all-out to get them prepared to start writing on November 1st. This blog will be my effort to document the adventure.
For YWP, specifically 5th grade, students choose a wordcount goal of anything from 800 words to 2,000. I really thought my one ELL student would choose the 800-word goal, but he surprised me with a higher number. What's cool is I think he can do it. I have some kids who set themselves a goal of 3,000 words or more, and I think they can do it. Then there's Kelvin (not his real name). He gave himself a goal of 15,000 words! I think that's stretching the boundaries of reality, but I'm not going to tell him that. Say he only makes it halfway: 7,500 words. That's still an incredible feat.
And yes, I'm participating, too. At first I set my goal at 25,000 words, because November is a hard month to start such an undertaking. Then I changed my mind. If I can't do the full NaNoWriMo requirement, what am I teaching my kids? No way...I'm swinging for the fence. I either strike out or knock it into the bleachers. Either way, I'm giving it my all, because I expect no less from my kids.
Bring on November 1st!
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