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You Be the Judge

Pretend you are the judge of a contest.  You will choose 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place of your favorite books or stories of all time.  What ARE your favorite books/stories? 

First, you’ll have to re-read them.  As you read them, write notes to yourself.  What kind of notes? 

What do you love about this story?  Be specific.  What grabs you?  What holds you and doesn’t let you go?  Does the author do a great job with word choice, setting, character or suspense?  Make you laugh?  Let you feel like you are the character?

Along with what you love, you must be honest and realize there may be something the author might be missing.  What does the story lack?  Anything?  Or is it almost perfect?  What could be better? 

After you’ve read your stories and made your notes, it’s time to evaluate. 

Which story stands out as the best?  You don’t know?  They all are great?  Re-read your notes.  Does that help?  If not, you’ll have to read your stories again or ask for another judge’s opinion.  You’ll need to discuss your notes with the other judge.  You may debate! 

This is similar to what we do as judges in the California Young Writers Contest.  Trust me, it isn’t easy.   When you are faced with a stack of terrific writing, it’s tough choosing only three. 

The process continues. 

And as you read for pleasure, practice your critiquing skills.  These will help you grow as a writer so that you’ll be able to critique your own work better.  You will grow as a writer too.

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Top Ten Children’s Books of All Time

If you had to make a list of the top ten  children’s books of all time, what would they be?  Oh, this is a difficult job once you begin.  Here is my list.  Feel free to hit comment and share your list of books. 

1.  Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

2.  Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

3.  Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

4.  The Giver by Lois Lowry

5.   Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  Roald Dahl

6.  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

7.  Holes by Louis Sachar

8.  The Secret Garden  by Frances Hodgson Burnett

9.  A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

10.  Tuck Everlasting  by Natalie Babbitt

My favorite books when I was a child:   Charlotte’s Web, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Borrower’s by Mary Norton, The Moffats by Eleanor Estes, The All-of-a-Kind-Family books by Sydney Taylor and Bristle Face by Zachary Ball.

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Writing and Good Books

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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What to do on a Fourteen-Hour Airplane Trip

We’re back from Australia, where we traveled to see the World Solar Challenge because our son, Chris (we call him “Tofer”) was on the MIT team. http://mitsolar.blogspot.com/ (More about THIS part in a future blog.)

Today I’ll focus on the journey. Although airplanes and airports are usually no one’s favorite part of the travel experience, there are ways to make the plane trip go by more quickly.

The first fourteen hours weren’t so bad, even with a baby who screamed a few rows away.
After the first twenty minutes of solid wailing . . . while we were still on the ground in San Francisco, the young man seated between my husband and me said with a smile and a nod to the child, “Did you buy chance bring a roll of duct tape?”

I looked at my husband. We exchanged glances. We knew immediately this man’s line of work.

“You’re an engineer, aren’t you?” I said to him.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

I didn’t tell him when Tofer was a kid I left him a roll of duct tape in his Christmas stocking. (Yes, he’s now an engineer.)

A few tips for a long flight:

1. Bring some new pacifiers. Crying baby? Stick one in the baby’s mouth for comfort. You may need one for yourself too. . .

2. Great reading material. While others may dread a long flight such as this, I LOOK FORWARD TO uninterrupted (well, mostly) reading time.

3. Soft, squishy ear plugs. (you know why)

4. A book reading light so you can keep reading while others are snoozing or watching the movie.

5. Post-it notes to mark up the book for places you really like and would like to “model” your own writing.

6. Paper and pen of course! All that reading will spark ideas or help you get unblocked on a previous project.

7. Give yourself freedom to daydream about ideas and projects while you have that pen and paper handy.

8. All of that reading works fine until your eyes burn and begin to ache. Then sleep. However, you may want to give yourself a dream intention. “I will dream of a creative idea to help my writing.” (or change the word “writing” to be something more specific)

9. On the trip home, I actually watched the movie because the movie was good. (Julie and Julia) Movies are a great way to learn and help your own storytelling abilities.

10. What is YOUR secret for surviving a long airplane ride? Feel free to share it here and with others you know when they tell you they will embark on a long trip.

Once we landed in Sydney, we had a few hours to wait and another few hours on a plane to Darwin. Those are the “tired hours.” Daydreaming and sleep are usually the only thing exhausted brains can handle at that point. But with excitement looming, who needs more?

Just like with the writing journey, our projects have a multitude of steps and ways to help get through the process. What works for one, might help another.

Books I read on this journey and in Australia: BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett, DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE by Isabel Allende, THE SHIPPING NEWS by E. ANNIE PROULX, MURDER ON THE EIFFEL TOWER by Claude Izner and TRACKS by Robyn Davidson.

The book I could not put down: BEL CANTO
Book I most looked forward to reading each night: TRACKS

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Funny Site – – To “Weed” or Not to “Weed”

As a high school and college student, one of my part-time jobs was working in a library. After college graduation, I took jobs behind the check-out counters at local libraries during summers when I wasn’t teaching. So I’ve had a love of libraries and books, old and new, for quite a long time.

Every year, I know there is a painful time when libraries must weed their shelves of books due to lack of space. In my current town, there is a lovely give-away adventure in the parking lot. My shelves are filled with such treasures.

Below is a site of some books that were published and perhaps NEED to be taken off the shelves now . . .

I especially like the book KNITTING WITH DOG HAIR. Since my non-shedding Yorkie’s dog fur is now rolling across the floor at an alarming rate, it occurs to me that I might make use of this in a creative way . . .

http://awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com/page/4/

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Calling Students, Teachers, Readers, Writers and MORE!

California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch
http://mtdiablowriters.org/
Announces a FREE opportunity for students, educators and readers to meet published authors – – – and students, how to win hundreds of dollars by writing!
Saturday, November 28, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Pleasant Hill Barnes and Noble
522 Contra Costa Blvd. (Phone: 925-609-7060)

*Students! Discover how YOU can win $$$ by writing poems, short stories, or personal narratives!

*Learn how you can take a FREE writing workshop taught by authors Sarah Wilson and Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff.

*Find out answers to questions about writing, publishing, agents, and how YOU can become a published writer!

*Uncover published authors’ writing secrets!

* Receive guidelines for the Young Writers Contest for middle school students and sign-up forms for FREE workshops.

*Get autographs from authors!

Schedule: 11 a.m. – Noon
Nannette Rundell Carroll – Communication and Business Author
Margaret Grace – Author of Mystery Series
Noon – 1 p.m.
Nannette Rundell Carroll – Communication and Business Author
Barbara Bentley – Memoir Author
1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Ellen Leroe – Young Adult Author
Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff – Picture Book Author
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Barbara Bentley – Memoir Author
Lynn Goodwin – Journaling Author
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Margaret Grace – Author of Mystery Series
Lynn Goodwin – Journaling Author

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Words on Writing and Books on Writing

I have difficulty sitting down to write. How can I make myself write?

Writing is a habit. It might be difficult in the beginning, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. In the morning or evening, do you think about brushing your teeth? No. You just do it. Same thing with writing. If you set aside a certain amount of time or word length to write, you’ll just start automatically writing if you get used to it.

So in the beginning it will be more difficult. That’s why it’s the easiest the more you write.

What are some good books about writing?

Bauer, Mary Dane What’s Your Story?
Bernays, Anne What If?
Joselow, Beth Baruch Writing Without the Muse
Koehler-Pentacoff, E. The ABCs of Writing for Children
Mette, Stephen Blake How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal
Newman, Leslea Writing from the Heart
Rodale, J. I. The Synonym Finder
Smith, Michael C. and
Greenberg, Suzann Everyday Creative Writing: Panning for Gold in the Kitchen Sink
Spence, Linda Legacy


What else should I do?
Read! Write! And know that it’s hard work for little money. At least for awhile. The famous advice is don’t quit your day job. So make sure you have a college education with a good, solid back-up plan. And have fun. Writing is a passion and lots of fun. You’ll meet wonderful people and have a rich, rewarding life.

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Fragments

Ever notice when you’re the busiest, your life becomes fragmented in your thoughts, words and actions like never before?

Sometimes fragments aren’t good things, because they make you forgetful, jump from project to project without enough care and thought, or cause you to run right into things without realizing it. Maybe it’s with your sentences or perhaps you stub your toe into your bookshelf. (Second time this week.)

Then again, there are the times fragments are a good thing. The first time I learned this was when I freelanced humor and opinion for the San Francisco Examiner.

I wrote a piece on my sensitivity to perfume, and created a scene about what would happen if we tried to regulate it in church. In the original version, I wrote the last line as a complete sentence. I don’t recall it now, but the editor called to tell me he was cutting it to two words.

Would they hire specially trained personnel to handle the problem?
Sniff bouncers.

“Two words?” I said. “That’s a fragment. Can we do this?”

“Of course,” the editor said. “We do it for emphasis.”

This is true in writing for humor, suspense, or depth of meaning.

As you sleep, if you have a long-drawn-out dream, it may not have important meaning for you, as if you have one stark image or line of dialogue that stays with you all day.

Write down the image or sentence of your dream. Describe it or how it made you feel. How does it relate to your life now?

Ever have a fragment of thought at an odd time and you wonder where it came from? If you think about it, you’ll realize it’s a key to something else. Could be a solution to a problem you’ve been pondering. An idea for a project. But when you’re NOT thinking about it, that’s when you relax and the mysteries of your soul and the universe can work.

Reading exercise: As you read, find fragments that are there for emphasis.
Writing exercise: In your project, try your hand at a fragment for humor, suspense, or meaning.
Life exercise: Pay attention to the fragments in your life. If they aren’t good fragments, slow down and take care. If they are interesting thought fragments, write them down and see where they lead you.

More Fragments: Recent books I’ve enjoyed: The Evolution of Calpurina Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, and Dear Big V by Ellen Leroe.

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Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland (MOCHA)

Calling all kids! Tomorrow I’ll be reading Jackson and Bud’s Bumpy Ride at Oakland’s Museum of Children’s Art. Please come and participate in the story and the activities that follow.
http://mocha.org/

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Great Reference Books to Keep by your Desk

There are certain reference books I would grab quickly if my house was burning! Besides one very good dictionary, the following are my favorites on my bookshelves:
The Synonym Finder J. I. Rodale
Thesaurus of Alternatives to Worn-Out Words and Phrases by Robert Hartwell Fiske
The Persons, Places, and Things Spelling Dictionary by William C. Paxson (I STILL can’t spell the name of our California “governator” . . .)
The Time Life Series (found in most libraries . . . 1900-1910, 1910-1920, etc.)
Any Oxford Dictionary on various any theme is bound to be great.

If these books can’t be found any longer at your neighborhood independent bookstore, I know many of them can be purchased cheaply USED on Amazon or another used bookstore site. (I LOVE to recycle books, and my favorite place to frequent is any good used bookstore.)

What about YOU? What nonfiction helpful book do you frequently turn to during your writing work?

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