Archive for the ‘Writing Exercises’ Category

How to break old stuff!

Yesterday, Liam and I sat together in the living room while I worked and he read Living Bird (a magazine put out by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology). He started giggling. Then he chuckled. Next thing you know, his body shook while he laughed out loud. Now it’s nearly impossible to get any work done when someone is enjoying a good joke in a piece of writing that is only feet from where you sit! So I had to know the source of such good humor.

Pete Dunne: How to Destroy Your Binoculars

Nobody could have anticipated this problem. Only a few decades ago birders took pains to keep their binoculars in good working order so they would provide years of service.

No longer. Now, with new-and-improved, super-whiz-bang binoculars appearing every other week, birders who already own quality instruments that don’t have the latest technological innovations—coatings that deflect images of European Starlings and House Sparrows; squishy gel-packed bodies as squeezable as toilet paper—are crying for an excuse to ditch their built-to-last-a-lifetime glass so they have an excuse to buy the latest and greatest.

But they can’t. Their current binoculars work just fine. Replacing them will mean hours of negotiation with their conscience, their spouse, or both.

So here, for the benefit of birders suffering new binocular envy, are several proven ways to destroy the binoculars you are using now. I have personally tried every one and will attest to their success.

With that introduction, Dunne then reels off six detailed methods for deep-sixing your aging binoculars. And they are hilarious! Here are two:

1. The ol’ bioncular left on the roof of your car trick. Although this used to be the binocular abuser’s default setting (the equivalent of the dog eating your homework), unfortunately this is not the fail-safe technique it used to be. There are instruments out there now that can take a standard tumble onto tarmac and survive. In order to achieve maximum damage levels as defined by the new, enhanced, bino-destructo scale, you must place your instrument with barrels parallel to the car roof (i.e. not standing upright) so that you can achieve freeway speeds before the instrument goes airborne. If possible, when backing up to retrieve the wreckage, (for insurance purposes) run the instrument over with tires of your car…

(snip)

5. While scanning for hawks, consume a New-York-deli-sized roast beef sandwich (making sure that half the mayo lands on the glass), then introduce the binoculars to a six-month old Labrador retriever with the counsel, “Now be a good dog, Armageddon, and leave those binoculars alone.” Leave the room. Make sure the instruments are within reach and remove all doggy toys from the vicinity.

And if all else fails:

6. Loan them to me. I guarantee you’ll need new instruments by the time you get them back.

We laughed so much reading about the destructive methods of cleaning the lenses using the equivalent of a brillo pad and packing the binocs in a backpack, on a hot day, with a loosened jar of honey to ooze and lubricate the working parts of the instrument.

It occurred to me that this format would make an ideal writing exercise. How many of us have kids who want the latest X Box or Wii or the best saddle for a horse or the newest bicycle or the most recent iPod (the iTouch!) even while the stuff they have works perfectly and used to entertain them for hours? I see that show of hands. Everyone!

So turn them loose. Let them write about how to destroy that old stuff in order to justify the expense of the new stuff.

Hmm. Am I’m unleashing criminal activity against otherwise still-in-good-condition stuff? For the record: I said write about it. Don’t actually do it. 🙂

Posted in Activities, Brave Writer Philosophy, Writing Exercises, Young Writers | 2 Comments »

How to Write Two-Word Poems

How to Write Two-Word Poems

If you’re tired of writing lengthy pieces and revising, now’s the time for short and sweet: Two-Word Poems!

Examples:

You.
Boo!

~Anon

bug
ugh

~Students in a classroom

How to Write a Two-Word Poem

Need a little help? Get a book. Pick one word then find another to rhyme it that creates a:

  • word picture,
  • thought,
  • idea,
  • action.

Here are a couple more examples:

sea
wheeeeeee!

fog
bog

Have fun!

Brave Learner Home

Posted in Poetry, Words!, Writing Exercises, Young Writers | 11 Comments »

Writing assignment for moms

It’s your turn. You work hard to teach your children how to write. Sometimes, the easiest route to insight is to make the attempt yourself. Rather than assigning a topic to your kids or asking them to revise a piece in progress, let’s turn the tables. You go get a notebook and pencil. Use the following prompt to help you. Write for ten minutes straight.

As you write, I want you to be two people: the person who is actually doing the writing, thinking up the words, scribbling them down onto the page. I also want you to be the shadow self- the person who is behind the person writing, the person watching you write. Make observations. Pay attention to when it gets hard or how you overcame that moment of hesitancy. Mentally note your self-critique. Pay attention to stray thoughts like “This is a waste of time when I should be clearing up the lunch dishes.”

When you finish your writing assignment, take five minutes to jot down observations from your process. These might look like this:

  1. I was fine when I got going, but starting felt like walking in weighted boots through mud.
  2. When I got stuck, I gripped the pencil tighter and it hurt my hand.
  3. I got unstuck when I told myself I could write anything and no one would ever read it.
  4. I got mad at Julie for this stupid assignment and noticed that it slowed me down.
  5. I loved it when I broke through and used that one word I never use (name it).
  6. It was hard to keep writing when _______ came up and I had to look at it.

And so on.

The purpose of today’s assignment is to help you experience what it is to write, but also to notice what it is that blocks you or helps you. If you pay attention to your own process, you’ll be far more equipped to support and empathize with your children when they are struggling knee-deep in mud and muck themselves.

Here’s your prompt (taken from Poemcrazy, by Susan Goldsmith Woodridge):

Where do you need freedom in your life? What part of you is longing to be expressed that you’ve ignored (or shut off) for fear of failure, fear of success, no time, or because you are being overly responsible?

Ask that part of you to speak.

Have plenty of paper available. You may experience a flood as many people do.

Posted in Writing Exercises | 2 Comments »

Brave Writer, afterschooling and public schooled kids (Part Two)

Brave Writer and Public School Part 2

Previously, we discussed the differences between homeschool and public school.

So how can Brave Writer help your kids if they’re in school or if they are used to “school at home” (where homeschool duplicates the learning style of school with text books, workbooks and schoolish expectations)?

The important part of writing that gets overlooked (sometimes) by a school setting is the writer’s natural writing voice. While punctuation, grammar and spelling are important to the finished product of writing, these are not central to the art of writing (that process of dredging up words from the deep and getting them onto paper).

Writing has to make space for risk. Without risk, writers don’t grow. They may learn how to conform to expectations adequately, but they will not flourish as writers. What that means is that if your child is in a program at school that is squelching his or her natural writing voice, where you see writing developing into a resented subject, it’s time to intervene. Here are some practical tips for how Brave Writer can help you help your kids.

  1. Introduce weekly freewriting.
    Freewriting is the process by which kids get to express their written ideas and thoughts without the pressure to perform to someone else’s expectations. For kids in school, the initial feeling about freewriting might be that they are sick of writing and would like a break (not more of it at home). To counteract that feeling, try freewriting in a new setting. Get out of the house, sip a hot drink and freewrite together. You can turn a weekly freewriting time into shared quality time together. Explain that this writing is meant to help the child take risks, explore his or her sense of humor, to write all the silly things he or she wants to get out but can’t in school.
  2. Make use of the Keen Observation exercise.
    You don’t need to do this one every week, but it is very beneficial a couple times a year. The purpose of the Keen Observation Excerise is to help your child see the world more closely giving it language to express what is seen. For afterschooling, this particular exercise offers your kids the chance to slow the process of writing down. Rather than producing full sentences or paragraphs, the child gives full attention to phrases and words that match his or her experience of the item being observed. This exercise then gives you a bench mark for school writing projects. How can your child recall that experience of engaged observation to convey the assignment’s topic?
  3. Read to your kids.
    There’s a tendency to think that if a child can read, that student should read to himself. Schools no longer indulge in reading to children much past age 9. You can do it differently. Rather than everyone finishing an evening together in front of the TV, select a quality work and read it a chapter at a time before bed each night. Fiction is wonderful, but don’t forget about quality non-fiction too. We’ve read books like The Wind Masters (about the flight and habits of raptors) as well as Where in the World? A Geografunny Guide to your Globe as read alouds because they were well-written and entertaining. When you read to a child, you slow the words down so that your son or daughter really hears them. You have the chance to explain processes or plot twists, you enjoy the humor, you live the story together and will naturally find connecting points in your daily life. These book experiences help your child internalize quality writing.
  4. Go easy on school grades for writing.
    Remember that elementary and junior high school grades don’t mean much in the scheme of things. Getting poor marks for spelling or handwriting says nothing about a student’s ability to write. When you read anything your child produces for school, identify what you really loved about the content and ignore any remarks on the paper about the mechanics of writing. Focus all your attention on the language (word choices) and content (what the child attempted to convey). Keep your remarks to the strictly positive. Be specific, “You know so much about hummingbirds. I didn’t know that they ____________. And how funny that you call them “Little honeysuckle suckers” because that is so much what they’re like. The words make music when I read them.” Save and share any writing your kids produce that they like with someone else (spouses make perfect audiences, but so do grandparents, aunts, uncles, close family friends).

The Writer’s Jungle is still an excellent resource for moms whose kids are in school. It helps mothers understand how to facilitate and support a child’s growth as a writer. Certainly there are additional challenges to overcome since school writing is heavy on correction and slight on meaningful praise. Your job is to shore up what the teacher fails to do. Become your child’s ally, not one more critical voice.

If you don’t know how to do that, sign up for Kidswrite Basic. This class can be done in combination with school (we’ve had several public school parents and kids in our courses over the years).

You’ll discover more than how to write, but how to be the person in your child’s life that can overcome the negative influences of poor writing instruction.

Write for Fun!

Posted in Brave Writer Philosophy, BW and public school, General, Writing Exercises, Young Writers | 1 Comment »

NaNoWriMo

I blame Julie Bogart for this.For thirty years, I was a fiction writer who avoided writing. Two years ago, I read The WriterÂ’’s Jungle and my life changed; itÂ’’s too late to go back.

Inside Julie’Â’s seemingly innocent manual about teaching your children how to write, she refers to a little book by Chris Baty entitled No Plot, No Problem. Mr. BatyÂ’’s idea (and the impetus behind what has affectionately come to be known as National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo), is that all it takes to write a novel is to write it. The catch is that you write 50,000 words in 30 days.

His reasoning is that if you write a novel that quickly, you don’t have time to correct your mistakes. Rather than setting your sights on writing something wonderful, you lower your expectations to write something that “won’t make someone throw up.” On the other hand, if you don’t write, you have nothing.

In October, I told my family that I was thinking about joining thousands of other writers for NaNoWriMo, secretly hoping that they would talk me out of it. They were more excited about it than I was. (If they had known how much time it was going to take, they might not have been so enthusiastic.) On November 1st, I began my story with, “It was a dark and stormy night.”

As I subjected my hands and neck to daily cramping spells, I discovered that the story inside my head was frantic to get out. By day three, I had 9000 words. By day 17, I had passed the 50,000 word mark and the story wasnÂ’t close to being finished.

In order to be a brave writer mom, I gave up time with my children, time with my husband, and time with friends. I put aside nagging household projects. And I let go of the notion that my first draft had to be stellar.

That was just the beginning. What started as a one month commitment turned into a two-year journey of writing, rewriting, and revising a novel that I have finally published. Along the way, I have learned that I am a writer. The girl who once wrote mystery romances in junior high is writing again.

If you think you have a story in you, IÂ’’d encourage you to try NaNoWriMo. If you’Â’re a home school mom and you think you have no time, I think you should look for the time. If you don’Â’t try, youÂ’’ll never know if there is a writer inside of you. And your children will not have a chance to watch their mother being a brave writer.

If you think that wonÂ’’t make any difference, I disagree. My children watched me being brave, and now all three of them are writing stories. WeÂ’’ve become a family of brave writers. I owe Julie Bogart many thanks.

Michelle Gregory and her husband of twenty-one years reside in Mesa, Arizona. Amidst the craziness of homeschooling three children and taking care of four dogs and fluctuating numbers of fish, she discovered that she wanted to write. Now her first novel – Eldala – is available at Amazon.com. When she isn’Â’t writing, she also enjoys blogging, playing with her kids, watching chick movies, working on her scrapbooks, and reading a good book. You can visit her blog at Life in the Midst of Writing.

Posted in NaNoWriMo, Writing Exercises | 7 Comments »