Watch the video below. Next, write about the adventure in the present tense from the voice of the deer or the dog or the person taking the video.
Or write an essay comparing the element of play between these two very different creatures and another aspect of life. Enjoy the video. I did!
The other day I took Zoie for a walk and noticed “my” red-tailed hawk flying low over our house. Looking for lunch?
We came inside and heard a CA-THUNK.
“What was that?” asked my husband.
We both looked out of the living room windows which over-look the oak trees, the open space, and our deck. Nothing that we could see had been disturbed.
“Probably the neighbors,” I said. So many people around us are either retired or work at home, there is lots of noise and activity around us these days.
It was time for Zoie to go on the downstairs deck for her good sniffs. I joined her and glanced down at the small sliver of land we have before it drops off into a sharp hill below. That’s where Bob perched his beloved plastic $3.99 pink flamingoes. (Sigh) Why? Partly because he likes them, and mostly to jokingly annoy me. It sort of matches the fuzzy dice he has hanging from the mirror in his truck. (Sigh #2) He USED to have them in his El Camino. (Sigh #3) But that’s another story . . .
It was then I noticed that one of the pink flamingoes was lying at the bottom of our hill, leaning against our fence. Its legs were still standing firmly in the ground at the top of the hill. Without the fence to stop it, the body of the plastic bird would be in the creek by now. (Darn that fence . . .)
On its wings were deep gashes . . . Holes punctured the head.
I gazed upward and saw the hawk. “Sorry,” I sent telepathically to him. “Wish you would have succeeded in carrying it off. Hope you have better luck with your lunch on your next try.”
Writing Prompts:
1. The dive-bombing hawk at the plastic pink flamingo must have been very disappointed to discover his case of mistaken identity. When have you ever had a case of mistaken identity? Ever think someone or something was different from reality? Write a personal narrative about this happening.
2. Write a short story about a mistaken identity. It could be a comedy, a tragedy, a mystery, a romance or even a science fiction piece.
3. Create a poem with that theme. Remember a poem is not just prose set up into poetry format. Take out all the unimportant words and replace them with images and concrete words that show and don’t tell.
4. Write a newspaper article about a case of mistaken identity in journalistic form.
How do all of these types of writing differ? Which one is the easiest for you? The most difficult?
Metafiction is fiction about fiction, or a device that draws attention to the book. I remember laughing out loud while reading William Goldman’s The Princess Bride when the author cleverly tells the reader that this is a story in many unique ways. ( I’m not going to tell you how he does this. Go read the book!)
For some examples in children’s literature, see the entertaining video posted here.
Then you try your hand at a bit of metafiction! Draw the reader into your story or poem by making fun of the convention.
http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2010/09/03/metafiction-children-users-guide
We’ve been awakened in the wee hours of the morning by the scritchings in our walls that tells us we’re not the only ones living under this roof. As I have fed birds in our front yard for years, I’ve kept the bird seed in the garage with no problem until last week.
Yes. Bird seed scattered everywhere. My husband, Mr. Duct Tape, used his usual solution. I warned him the silver stuff over cardboard would hardly stop the huge rodents we had wandering through our walls and garage. But at the moment, neither of us had time or supplies for anything more.
Sure enough, the next day we had another clean-up.
“We need to get a metal garbage can,” I said. Years ago we used to keep the dog food out there in a plastic can, but the rats ate a huge hole right through it.
“No,” said my husband, refusing to give in to either me or the rats. I still am not sure which. “We don’t have room for yet another garbage can out here.”
Garbage.
Paper and glass recycling.
Aluminum.
I saw his point, but I wasn’t thrilled about moving the bird seed into the living room either. And no way would I give up my beloved hobby. We were at a stand still and the rats were winning.
Later in the day, I had to visit the jewelry store with a broken clasp on one of my cheap thrift store finds. An older silver-haired gent with a voice that surely came from a radio or t.v. station, stood leaning over the counter.
“What I love about buying jewelry for her, is these fancy boxes,” he said, the necklace in front of him glittering so much I needed my sunglasses.
Wow. I could hardly take my eyes off of him. Silver hair. Tan. Fit in his tennis outfit. Gorgeous. Seventy? Perhaps older, but he would have been a hunk when he was younger. Who was he buying the beautiful diamond necklace for? I could picture her. She’d be a younger woman, also very slim and tan.
“Hey, I gotta move my car, ” he said. “I don’t want to have any scratches on it from car doors opening. I’ll be right back.” He ran out the door.
“Wow,” I said to the women behind the counter and the other woman customer. “He must not be married.”
Everyone in the shop laughed.
“I mean, let’s get real. He buys jewelry for her all the time?”
“Yes, he does,” said the jewelery sales woman. “And you’re right. They’re not married.”
I sighed. “Gee, I wish I could just get my husband to buy the garbage can I want.”
The hoots calmed down in the store by the time the gent came back in the store to take his jewels to his lady-friend. He told me he’d call my husband to give him some advice, but I declined his offer, smiling.
I didn’t want any bling. This guy had an expensive sports car. You just know it. Mr. $.
I’m happy if I get a shiny garbage can.
And today I’m thrilled. Why?
Neither of us got much sleep last night. The rats were at it again. More garage-cleaning this morning.
I looked at my husband and raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll get it,” said my husband.
Can’t wait to tell the ladies at the jewelry store.
Writing Prompts:
1. People watch. Imagine the story behind the story of various people you see on the street. Who are they? What are their back stories? Who are their mates? Do they have children?
2. Use a person that you see during your wanderings as a focus for a story, poem or personal narrative/essay.
3. Take a paper and pen to a coffee shop or other public place. Glance up now and then without staring. That way people won’t know you are writing about them. Describe a person, animal or object you see physically. Then imagine their emotional life. Next, throw them into a story. What is their problem? Their goal? Who is their antagonist?
My cousin Mary, in Wisconsin, sends me the most delightful postcards. They are worthy of The Postcard Hall of Fame.
A few weeks ago, she attended a German Fest and the card was filled with dashing dachshunds . . . one in a hilarious costume. Yesterday I received one from the Wisconsin State Fair. Alice In Dairyland, with a milk mustache of course, holds a glass of milk and stands in front of serene cows in a pasture. The sign below her?
OUTSTANDING IN HER FIELD: 63rd Alice in Dairyland: Christine Linder.
Paula, my Fresno friend, collects quirky postcards. You’ll have to wait a bit for this one, Paula, as it’s too cute to give up immediately.
So what do postcards have to do with writing? Plenty! They teach you to write tight. You have to say what you mean in a few short words. Have you ever read old postcards? Delightful! Some are so well-written you can get a wonderful sense of the time, place and character of the person writing. Others are so general they are less helpful.
1. Design a postcard from a character in the project you are working on. Write it carefully. Who is she/he sending it to? Why? Where is it from? Where is it going to?
2. Design a postcard advertising your new book. Publicity is important in the publishing process and learning to write this is a whole different genre.
3. Write a “Dear John” postcard from a character breaking up with another character. Make it funny!
4. Write a postcard from one famous person to another famous person.
5. Which character in literature do you love? Send a postcard from him or her to another character in that book.
6. Write a postcards from different time periods in history. Make sure you are able to show time, place and character in the space the postcard allows.
As writers or artists, when we think of rejection, we don’t think of a laugh a minute. But in THE REJECTION COLLECTION, edited by Matthew Diffee, this is what you get.
As the book jacket says, “Each week about fifty New Yorker cartoonists submit ten ideas, yielding five hundred cartoons for no more than twenty spots in the magazine. Arguably the most brilliant single-panel-gag cartoonists in the world create a bunch of cartoons every week that never see the light of day.”
A selection of these amazing cartoons, along with interview questions answered by the cartoonists themselves make up the book. Their side-splitting answers and lovable doodles create brief character profiles that give you a unique glimpse into the minds of these comic geniuses.
Which brings me to another idea. The interview questions themselves are pretty unusual, lending to quirky answers. Diffee asks questions like . . .
I admire . . . (Cartoonist Leo McCullum’s answer: Things from a distance. Usually with binoculars.)
I’m not crazy about . . . (Marisa Acocella Marchetto says, “Anyone who takes themselves too serious. I’m serious.”)
Write a question to which you might answer “Absolutely not.” (Drew Dernavich replied, “Do you know what you’re doing?”)
My advice to __________ would be: (Michael Crawford’s advice to YOU would be to buy this book.)
What are the things that make you laugh and why? (P.C. Vey’s response: “Long walks on the beach, fine wine and sunsets. If I don’t laugh at them who will?”)
Number the following items in order of their importance in your life: pancakes, dictionary, Band-Aids, tropical fish, coffee, music . . . (and many more)
Writing Prompt: 1. Answer the above questions in a true and humorous way for yourself. Come up with other curious questions that show the real you, and respond to them of course! (Hey. This could be a fun game for friends too . . .)
2. Now give these questions to the characters in your latest writing project. How will your main character answer them? Let all of your characters chime in with their answers. They may even get in a dialogue with each other about them.
What’s the funniest thing that has ever happened to you? Have anything embarrassing happen that later you realized was hysterical? Tell a story to friends and you’re surprised when they laugh?
1. Brainstorm your funny memories. To help you remember, go through photo albums, your diary or journal, or talk to friends and family.
2. Once you have your idea, write what happened just like you’d tell it to a friend. Start at the beginning and write chronologically. First this . . . then that.
3. Is there any way you can make this even MORE funny than it already is? exaggerate it ? Add emotion and tension? Place your embarrassing moment in front of a crowd of people? A time that puts more pressure on you? (Before a big exam, on stage, in front of an important person, etc.)
4. Slow-down-the-moment at the funniest time/most important challenging event. Use your senses to make the reader feel we are there. Put your thoughts, feelings, and physical reactions in the piece.
5. Read your story out loud. Does the timing feel right? Check your word choices. Does each word work? Each word belong there?
6. Polish your piece until you’ve got your comedy rhythm right!
Funny Writing Prompts: 1. Write a story about an April Fool’s Day joke that backfired!
A. Someone pulls a joke, but the people catch on and turn it around to “get” them! or . . .
B. The characters attempt a joke and they get caught. How can it become humorous anyway?
C. A character tries to pull a joke on a friend, and instead, the joke “hits” the principal, president, or another authority figure!
2. Research April Fool’s Jokes or pranks in history. (MIT, the college in Boston, is known for quite a few . . .) Write about one or some of these.
3. Write a poem about a funny joke you have pulled or someone pulled on you.
4. Write a personal experience story about the best joke you’ve ever experienced. What happened? How did it occur?
I’m reading Richard Peck’s A Season of Gifts which follows the antics of Grandma Dowdel, star of the Newbery winning A Year Down Yonder and the Newbery Honor A Long Way from Chicago.
If you haven’t read them yet, you’re in for a treat. Are you an adult who thinks children’s books are just for children? Tis a pity. Your loss. Run, don’t walk to the nearest bookstore or library and get a hold of these to learn all you can about voice, setting, character and great dialogue.
In chapter two of A Season of Gifts, an “evangelist of the sawdust circuit” comes to town. Delmer “Gypsy” Piggott, called Texas Tornado for his style, could “scare a lot of money out of town.”
People and cars were everywhere. Some “believers” had rented rooms from Mrs. Dowdel. But late one night, the main character, twelve-year-old Bob, Mrs. Dowdel’s neighbor, is awakened by noise on her front porch.
Stuff began to fly off the porch and bounce in her yard. Suitcases? Trumpet cases? More came. White moths seemed to flutter across the grass, but it might have been sheet music.
I couldn’t see how many people were on the porch. But it was Mrs. Dowdel who barged through them and outside. She wore a nightgown the size of the revival tent. Cold moonlight hit her white hair loose in the night breeze. She held something high and poured from it onto the ground.
“WINE IS A MOCKER, STRONG DRINK IS RAGING,'” she bellowed into the night. “Proverbs. 20:I. You could look it up. I don’t have hard liquor in my house. It goes, and so do you.”
She seemed to pour strong drink out on the grass. Now she hauled off and threw the bottle. She had an arm on her. The bottle glinted in moonlight, hit her cobhouse roof, and rolled off.
“Now, now, Mrs. Dowdel,” a voice said, “calm yourself. ‘A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry.’ Ecclesiastes. 8:15.”
I’d have known that voice in the fiery pit. It was the Texas Tornado, Delmer “Gypsy” Piggott. Now I could hear Mother and Dad stirring around in their room.
My nose was flat to screen wire. “GET OFF MY PLACE,” Mrs. Dowdel bellowed, “and take these . . . sopranos with you. Trumpets, strumpets –everybody out.”
More shoe-scuffling came from the porch, and the peck of high heels. A sob and some squealing. The gospel quartette milled.
“You’ve rented your last rooms in this town, you two-faced old goat,” Mrs. Dowdel thundered. The whole town was wide-awake now. “Hit the road.”
“Dad-burn it, Mrs. Dowdel,” the Texas Tornado whined, “we done paid you out for the whole week with ready money. Cash on the barrelhead.”
“I’m about a squat jump away from a loaded Winchester 21,” Mrs. Dowdel replied, “And I’m tetchy as a bull in fly time.”
Note the unique dialogue between the characters, Peck’s vivid verbs, word choices, and use of humor. With his characterizations in this brief passage, he’s brought these two to life so that we are dying to know more about how Bob will interact with Mrs. Dowdel.
Writing Prompt:
Choose two characters of your own. Give them a strong conflict. How can they oppose each other? How will they show this through dialogue? Action? How will you show their character through vivid verbs and word choices?
Thirty-five marvelous middle schoolers attended our Young Writer Workshop at the Concord Library on Saturday. The talent and enthusiasm generated by those kids energized me all weekend long! What a fabulous group of kids! They wrote personal narratives and short stories, we played games, discussed books and writing, and hopefully they will be motivated to enter our Young Writers Contest (guidelines at lower right).
Several kids and some of their parents requested more workshops. Keep posted here for more information.
Need a fun writing prompt/story starter idea today? Visit this great video! After seeing this, I wanted to write about these two characters. http://www.truveo.com/the-orangutan-and-the-hound/id/1234581161
1. You could write a short story from the point of view of the dog, the orangutang, or in third person.
2. Perhaps the video will inspire a poem about these animals. Remember, poems don’t have to rhyme.
3. Have you ever known an animal to make friends with another animal in an unusual way? Write about this experience.
Feel free to share any ideas or questions you may have here on this blog.
Great books to read:
Historical Fiction Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Historical Fiction Al Capone Shines My Shoes (second in the series) Gennifer Choldenko
Mystery The Big Splash by Jack Ferraiolo
Mystery Paper Towns by John Green
Fantasy Savvy by Ingrid Law
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