, ,

“Nonsense wakes up the brain cells.”

Which author . . .

said, “Nonsense wakes up the brain cells.” 

Sold 222 million books.

 Received 27 rejections for his first children’s book, And to Think it Happened on Mulberry Street.

composed 200 versions of every verse paragraph that found its way into the final version of one of his stories.

Answer:  Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)

A friend of mind and fellow Seuss-o-phile, Chuck Carroll, has something in common with the famous children’s author.  He graduated from Dartmouth.    Carroll sent me some Dartmouth material regarding the famous children’s author. 

Geisel received a doctorate of humane letters in 1955 and served as a writer for Dartmouth’s humor magazine, the Jack-O-Lantern, where he could be found, face down on his typewriter, fast asleep in the magazine’s office. 

To discover more about this anecdote and others,  you might enjoy reading the new biography, Theodor Seuss Geisel (Lives and Legacies)  by Donald E. Pease.   

And one of my favorite quotes from Seuss in Carroll’s Dartmouth’s alumni magazine?

“I’d rather write for kids.  They’re more appreciative; adults are obsolete children, and the hell with them.”

Writing Prompts: 

1.  Nonsense is fun, but not easy!  Try your hand at writing in the Dr. Seuss style.   Or write nonsense in your own style and voice.

2.  Read about this author’s life and read or re-read his books to remember why he is so talented. 

3.  Do you have a favorite Seuss book?  Which one?  Why?

/0 Comments
,

My Favorite Book Trailer

http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage.aspx?isbn=9781596436060&m_type=2&m_contentid=1635367#video

I have no idea what the book is like, although I love the author, Lane Smith.  But the trailer is FABULOUS!

/0 Comments
,

As the Parade Passes By

 
 

July 4th Parade - Martinez Library Float

The Bookworm

Doreen Cronin’s Diary of a Worm provided inspiration for Martinez, California’s Friends of the Library contribution to the town’s fourth of July parade.   

Writing prompts:  

1.  Write about your story’s character in a parade.   How is your character involved?  How will he or she contribute, enhance, or prevent success with the parade?  

2.  What is the best parade memory you have?  Give us a moment in time, complete with the weather, specific senses, your feelings, and dialogue of the time.    

3.  Create a poem with a bookworm, parade or the fourth of July theme. 

4.  Write a personal experience narrative about the fourth of July.  Why is this particular one memorable for you? 

5.  What book as a child gave you good memories or started you in a new direction?  Opened the door to more books?  Created a love affair with reading?  Gave you an epiphany?  Write about this book and how it affected you.

/0 Comments
, ,

Change me, change and you, loose change and character change

There’s a lot of change in my life recently.  There’s change in our house with the current remodel.  (mess! clutter! glue stink!  Me sleeping in the living room to get away from stink!)  There’s a job change (not mine) and my dog, Zoie, dealing with not-enough-deck-time-due-to-workers. 

All of this has led to sleep disturbances,  unusual dreams, a writing block or two and a bit more growling.  Even from Zoie. 

Writing Prompts:

1. How does change affect you?  Write about a major or a minor change in your life.  What happened?  How did you and others around you react?  Were there both positive and negative occurrences from this change?  Describe your thoughts and feelings at this time.  Slow-down-the-moment and make us feel like we were really there when it happened.  Include dialogue and action when you can.

2. What about your characters in fiction?  Remember the main character needs to change within the structure of a story.   What type of change does your protagonist go through?  What are the stages of this change?  What propels the changes?  What kind of a person is she before the book begins?  After? 

3.  How does your character deal with upsetting changes?  Write a scene as an example.

4.  Your character finds a dime in the street.  She believes it is good luck.  What happens next? 

5.  Your character finds a penny in the street.  A spirit is sending her a message from heaven.  What happens next?

/0 Comments