Attention Contra Costa Middle School Students!  The California Writers Club Young Writers Contest deadline is Monday, April 12!  That means your manuscripts must be POSTMARKED (mailed) by that date.  (Not after the post office closes on April 12.  They will stamp it April 13.)

Send us as many entries as you like, as long as you follow the guidelines.  I’ll be checking the post box next week and organizing the manuscripts into the appropriate grades and categories.  Next, I deliver them to the judges.  (I judge a couple of categories myself.)

Reading the wonderful stories, poems and personal narratives/essays are fun and inspiring!   After we read them several times, we talk and e-mail each other about the submissions. 

We try to judge them as quickly as possible.  When they judges get back to me, I call the winners personally.  Then I announce them here.  Some judges are more quick at their jobs than others.  Don’t worry if you don’t hear right away.   It does take time to read all of the submissions several times. 

Good luck!

Question:
I was just wondering, if you were writing a story, would the place your story is set have to be in existence?
Answer:  No.  If you are writing a story you can make up anything you want to. It’s fiction.  However, you can also choose to place a story in a real town too.  That’s your choice.  It’s up to you.  That is what is so great about fiction and why we writers love it!

Congratulations to Orinda Intermediate Sixth Grade Student Rachel Gamson, whose haiku was published in the Contra Costa Times! 

This month’s Contra Costa Times Haiku Contest is due on April 26. 

“April may bring showers, but May?  May brings not just flowers, but Mother’s Day.  So this next round of haiku is a salute to Mom. Send your haiku — three lines, 5-7-5 syllable pattern — to [email protected] by noon April 26.

In July, 2010, San Ramon Unified School District will hold summer writing workshops for kids in grades K – 12 in the areas of personal narrative, essay, and fiction.   Some are one-week classes and others are two-week sessions.  Visit their website for more information.  http://writersworkshop.net./location.html

http://www.poeticpower.com/Contest.html

Poetry and Essay Contests for Kids, Grades K – 12 in the U.S. and Canada.

 “Pyramid Tipping:
How to Build Great Fiction and Nonfiction Characters
From the Top Down”

A Morning Workshop

With Instructor  Martha Engber    April 10, 2010

 Whether writing a memoir, novel, screenplay, or creative nonfiction, the characters we write about must spring to life. At stake is getting the attention of agents and publishers and, ultimately, our readers. Through writing exercises and discussion, we will learn how to find and isolate that one telling detail upon which we will base each character.

Workshop instructor Martha Engber is the author Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up. She also maintains the Q&A blog, “Growing Great Writers From the Ground Up” (http://www.marthaengber.blogspot.com/).

In the fall of 2009, she received a 5-star “original and highly recommended” rating from Midwest Book Review for her literary novel, The Wind Thief (Alondra Press). Visit Martha on the web at http://marthaengber.com.

Date & Time: Saturday, April 10, 2010, with sign-in at 9 a.m.; workshop from 9:30 a.m. to Noon, followed by lunch.
Location: Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant at 611 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill (near the corner of Gregory Lane and Pleasant Hill Road). Parking is available both in front of and behind the restaurant. The restaurant’s phone number is (925) 933-9091.
Cost: $35 for California Writers Club members (lunch only: $20), $40 for non-members (lunch only: $25).
Menu: Zio Fraedo’s sumptuous buffet.
Reservations: Reservations are required and must be received no later than noon on Wednesday, April 7. To make a reservation, contact Jean Georgakopoulos at [email protected] or leave a message for her at 934-5677. Expect confirmation only if you e-mail your reservation.

From a parent:
I came across your site as I was looking for a  writing workshop/ camp for my 4th grader child who is interested in writing. Would be grade if you can tell me about some good classes/camps in the San Ramon area or close by. I don’t see this on your site…but would you be interested in mentoring her? Thanks much
 
From Liz:
I get quite a few e-mails from parents needing mentors for their children, or wanting other writing opportunities like more workshops or writing camps.   We will have a workshop this summer through the Clayton Library.  (Date to be announced)  Spread the word!
 
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to mentor students, but we’ll get a list of local (Contra Costa and Bay Area) writing opportunities for kids together and post them on this site.  I know that Diablo Valley College has a summer program, and Cal has one too.  If you know of others, e-mail me and it will help me with the list.  Thank you!
 

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=0k4lsi1dql

Watch the video of this incredible guy!  Wow. 

As writers, we should be noticing details during our daily lives.  Pay attention to the sights and sounds around you.  What does the air feel like against your skin?  Notice all of your senses at various times and situations.  Jot down notes when of fascinating moments that make you think, feel, or laugh.

Our memory may not be as acute as the young man in the video, nor will we be illustrating through drawing, but  recapture specifics in words. 

Writing prompt:

Today, take five minutes and notice details around you.  Slow-down-the-moment.  Describe every sense you have.   Instead of describing LARGE (everything around you), try going small.  Choose one specific item/object/animal/person to focus on.  

1. Write all you can write about this tree/flower/dog/cookie/grandpa/etc. you can, using your specific senses. 

2. If you have words like wonderful, nice, lovely, pretty, in your description, cross them out.  Replace them with concrete nouns or active verbs.  

You’ve celebrated Poetry Month by writing as specific as you can.  You may use this to craft a poem or as a portion of another piece of writing.