Book-It!

I have always loved writing. That's no secret. But I was never much of a reader until I got into 7^th grade. Contrary to my older sister who took a book EVERYWHERE (parties included), I equated reading with my other least favorite chore—washing the dishes. 

Once in a while, however, a book I had to read for a book report grabbed my attention. Some favorites were: A Devil in Vienna by Doris Orgel, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr, My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, and Sarah Bishop by Scott O'Dell. I read these books in 4^th and 5^th grade, but remember their impact more than 25 years later.  

So why all this talk about reading on a writing blog? Because the two go together! Books made me the writer I am today. I continue to learn about technique and how to be a better writer from the many books I read. If writing is something you love or need to work on, reading is the key. 

If you're a reluctant reader, here are some tips to change that. You may still prefer other activities, and that's okay, but reading doesn't ever have to be painful! :-) 

 

1. Find a book you connect with. Love sports? Choose a book where the main character plays your sport. Cooking your thing? Plenty of books about that. Trekkie or Star Wars fan? Sci-fi, here you come! 

2.Make a personal connection to the book. I know this sounds the same as number one, but it's not. Let's say you absolutely have NO choice in the type of book you can read. Don't lose hope. Do your best to make a connection to the characters or topic. Even in a book like Harry Potter, a connection can be made. Most of us have felt let out, just like Harry. Some of us have had to deal with difficult teachers, like Snape, or bullies like Malfoy. Dig deep. The book will be a lot easier to read if you can relate. 

3. Choose pictures! Picture books are not just for your baby brother. Many terrific books (e.g. Smile by Raina Telgemeier) are told through pictures. They're called graphic novels and make reading very enjoyable!

 

4. Break it down. Never feel like you have to read the book in one sitting. Take it slow. Read a chapter a night. If it's a long chapter, read half. If you don't feel pressured, there's a bigger chance you'll like what you're reading.

-Margie

Be on the Lookout!

As a writer, I'm always on the lookout for new story ideas. Sometimes, few come. Other times, there are so many, I don't know where to begin. I'll definitely take too many instead of too little, but it's hard to know which one is the best. You may get the advice to write about the idea you can't stop thinking about, the one that keeps you up at night. That's certainly awesome advice! But what if more than one does this? What if you start writing and then realize the story that you thought was THE ONE is not really? It would be great to avoid that disappointment, right?

In addition to writing, I teach language arts. Recently, we did an exercise to teach persuasive writing. The students had to fold their paper in half and write down the pros and cons about a topic. Before they made their lists, most had already chosen a side. After the lists, they realized the side they wanted would not make the best writing piece because there weren't enough arguments to support it. This got me to thinking about fiction writing.

Sometimes the stories we really want to write seem amazing in our heads, but once we put them down on paper look less than stellar. Sometimes we get bummed when that happens and feel like we've wasted our time. BUT, if we wrote only a page or two or even a few paragraphs of a few of our ideas, time might be saved in the long run.

So the next time you have a few ideas just dying to break free from your imagination, pick the two that are screaming the most. Write a few paragraphs of each. Chances are one will flow better than the other. THAT'S the story to write. And what if both sing? That's not a bad problem to have. File the paragraphs away for another day or when you need a break from story one.

Happy writing!

Margie

Be a Pencil and Keep Your Writing SHARP!

With all the focus on the Common Core these days, students don't get to do much creative writing. As a writer, this makes me sad. Too many students think they're awful at writing just because essays are not their thing. If you're one of those students beating herself up because step-by-step writing is not your strength, perk up! Here is an activity to get your imagination going! And....focusing on details may even help you with the essays, too! 

This is a fun writing activity one of my teachers did when I was in school. She had us imagine we were an object and fill in the chart below. Then, we'd use the details to write about our typical day. At the time, I chose pencil, so that's what I put in the chart. Check it out! 

Life of a Pencil: 

What I see: students writing, the SmartBoard, the floor 

What I feel: feet trampling over me in the hallway, sweaty fingers squeezing my skinny body, an awful headache as students erase their mistakes with my head, pain in my toes as students sharpen me

What I smell: the inside of gym lockers, pizza in the cafeteria, chewing gum 

What I touch: crisp, white paper, messy backpacks full of sticky things, kids' ears as they put me behind them 

What I taste: dust, pencil shavings from the sharpener, nervousness from all students taking a test 

My hopes and dreams: To one day be a pencil on display in a museum where people can come and admire me 

My biggest fear: Being forgotten

 

Now you try it! What object would you like to be? 

-Margie

Amp It Up With Adverbs

How many of you have tried to spice up your writing with adverbs? Not sure what they are? I'm talking about those -ly words that can change a regular sentence into something extraordinary.

For example, I could say: Joanna picked up her backpack and walked home.

That's a fine sentence. I can picture Joanna walking home with a backpack.

But, what if we did this: Joanna picked up her backpack and grudgingly walked home.

Woah! Now, I'm getting curious. Usually, we all want to get home right after school. What's going on that Joanna is GRUDGINGLY walking home? Maybe it's her dad's first day at his new job and he won't be home. Or, maybe, it's her birthday and she's positive her family is throwing her a surprise party, but she hates surprises. That one little word—grudgingly—gets us thinking.

Let's try another one: Steven ate his peas.

I can see this, but I'm curious. Did he like his peas? Is there anything special about him eating the peas?

How about we amp it up with an adverb? Steven joyously ate his peas.

This sentence made me wake up. Who eats peas JOYOUSLY? Does Steven just love peas or is something else making him joyous. It makes me want to know more.

Now you try it! See if you can amp up each sentence below with an interesting adverb.

The boys dug in the ground.
The teachers watched the clock.
Many students waited in the cafeteria.

Good luck!

- Margie

Write in 3-D!

Hello from Margie!

What draws you into a story?

The plot?

The characters?

The best is when authors surprise you. Anyone can create a tough football player or a bratty sibling, but the best characters are those who do the unexpected.

How about a football player who also loves collecting seashells? How about we take it one step further and say he really collects the shells for his little sister, and he would do anything to make her happy? See what we did? Not only did we learn something interesting about this character, but we also learned just what kind of brother he is.

Let's tackle the annoying sibling.

Picture a five year old who always barges into his big sister's room. All he wants to do is mess with her stuff. She doesn't like this at all. One day, he runs in and the big sister is crying on her bed. Instead of going through her things, he climbs onto the bed, cuddles with her, and tries to make her feel better. We see this is a sibling who cares. Know what else we learned? He's probably not that bratty. He just wants to be with his big sis.

The goal is to make characters that care or like different things. You want to show your readers all the different angles of this person. Kind of like a 3-D movie. In 2D, we only see so much, but put on those 3-D glasses, and it's a whole new experience.

Want to give it a shot? Go for the GOAL!

Below are some plain characters. Can you add something interesting and unexpected to spice them up? 

1.     A boy who gets straight As and collects bugs

2.     An cranky neighbor who doesn't like people walking on his grass

3.     A race car driver

4.     A teacher

5.     A rich actor

-Margie

Writing That Cracks, Sizzles, and Pops!

We love to describe things as the holiday season approaches, but too often we're stuck with the same bunch of adjectives that don't really make us feel anything. 

For example, you may love Grandma's apple pie, but how do you describe it? “Yummy!” 

How about those fancy lights outside? “Beautiful!” 

Dad's turkey? “Delicious!” 

See what I mean? All those words SOUND like they mean something, but we don't truly see or taste what you do. 

Let's think of some ways to really capture a moment, food, sound, or image. Our goal when describing something is to make the other person know EXACTLY what you mean, even though he wasn't there.

What's a great way to do this? By using our five senses! If you rely on these, your reader will never wonder about what you really mean.

Here are some examples where we turn drab to fab. Notice how the drab doesn't describe, while the fab gives examples on how to make the details pop.

 DRAB                                                                            FAB

yummy -- creamy, spicy, greasy, bits of apple dancing in my mouth

delicious -- oozing chocolate, melted caramel, cinnamon topping crumbling on my lips

beautiful -- sparkling, multi-colored, glowing red and blue, reflecting in the snow, twinkling glass

loud -- crackling fire, cackling children, ear-splitting violin playing, leaves crunching under feet

You try some now. What word(s) do you use a lot? Amazing? Cool? Awesome?
Try to rewrite some sentences to give us an idea of what things look, taste, smell, sound, and feel like.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

- Margie

Gobble Up a Quote Sandwich!

Hey all!  

Today we're going to talk about sandwiches! Cheese, turkey, pizza burgers. Yum! Oops. That was my stomach talking. Today's blog is about QUOTE sandwiches. I know, I know. They're not delicious at all, but they will totally help you ace those pesky standardized state tests.  

Quote sandwiches are used in Open-Ended Questions (aka OEQs). Those questions can be found after a reading passage. In the questions, you're asked to go back to the passage to support your answer. Still with me? Check out these paragraphs  below about Welsh corgis (taken from http://www.thewritesource.com/studentmodels/we-corgi.htm).  

Since Welsh corgis are so intelligent, they are easy to train. One of the jobs they are good at is herding sheep and cattle. Welsh corgis are also very loyal companions for people of all ages.

The Welsh corgi’s small size means it doesn’t take up much room as a pet. Its average height is 10-12 inches, and an adult dog weighs approximately 25-30 pounds.

Welsh corgis are also known for being bold but kind, friendly, and alert. They are friendly to all, good with children, and rarely aggressive. 

Let's look a this sample OEQ about the passage. 

Why would Welsh corgis make great pets? Use evidence from the passage to support your answer. 

The “evidence” is the quote, and now we get to the good part. How to make it into a nutritious word sandwich! Think of a real sandwich. There's a top piece of bread, a bottom, and then the yummy goodness in the middle. That's how we have to think of our quote too. The top part will introduce the quote, the middle will be the quote, and the end will sum up what the quote means (or why it's good). 

Check it out as I answer the OEQ from above. 

            Welsh corgis would make great pets for many reasons. As the passage states, “The Welsh corgi's small size means it doesn't take up much room as a pet....Welsh corgis are also known for being bold but kind, friendly, and alert. They are friendly to all, good with children, and rarely aggressive.” As you can see, a Welsh corgi would not need much space in the house. Also, since they are good with children and kind, they would be ideal in any family. 

See what we just did? We introduced our evidence (the quote in blue). Then, we stated our quote from the passage (in red). Finally, we explained the quote (in green). 

There you have it, the three layers of the quote sandwich. Now, I'm off to get some real turkey to munch on!

 

~ Margie

 

 

WIT is Back! ...

Hello, WIT readers!
 WELCOME BACK!

I have some fun in store for you because this blog is about to go through a bit of a change. Change IS GOOD, right? (The correct answer is YES!) Don't worry, the focus of WIT will remain the same. The posts will still be kid-friendly, short, and hopefully...um...witty.

But, beginning soon, a few of my famous friends will take over a Thursday post now and then! Pretty cool, huh?

Drumroll, please. (This is the part where you tap your knuckles on your desk really fast!)

MEET ALISON FORMENTO! Alison is the author of the award-winning picture book This Tree Counts! and its abridged board book This Tree, 1, 2, 3. From Booklist: "Teachers and parents will welcome Formento's 'going green' tale." Other titles include These Bees Count! (2012), These Seas Count! (2013), and her debut young adult novel, Twigs (2013). She loves visiting schools and libraries, and donates a portion of her book sales to AmericanForests.org.

MEET MARGIE GELBWASSER! Margie is a freelance writer who has written for a variety of magazines. Her first novel, Inconvenient (2010), was named a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for Teens. Her second novel, Pieces of Us (2012), is told using four points of view. It deals with cyberbullying, abuse, family relationships, and how one teen's actions affect the other three. When not writing, Margie loves being a mom to her six-year-old boy, hiking, dancing, cooking, and watching bad television.

MEET LORI DEGMAN! Lori Degman is a teacher of Deaf/Hard of Hearing students by day and a writer of picture books by night, weekend and school holiday. Her debut picture book, 1 Zany Zoo, was the winner of the Cheerios New Author Contest and was published by Simon & Schuster in 2010. Her second picture book, Cock-a-Doodle Oops! will be released by Creston Books in 2014.

And of course, ME!
NANCY VIAU is the author of the picture books Look What I Can Do!, Storm Song, and City Street Beat (forthcoming in 2014). Her middle-grade novel, Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head, was published in 2008. Nancy lives in New Jersey, but often travels to elementary schools where she channels her inner eight-year-old and creates enough of a ruckus to inspire students to write.

So, until next week, sharpen those pencils, and perhaps try these warm-up exercises:

Practice your ABCs...backwards.
Practice writing in cursive...with the opposite hand.
Practice those keyboard strokes...with your eyes closed.
Or...
Simply impress your teachers with your witty personalities and excellent behavior.

Later gators,
: )
Nancy, Alison, Margie, and Lori