Dear Diary...

By Kate Carroll

“Dear Diary,

I don’t get you. I don’t get why I’m writing stuff to myself since I already know what I’m thinking. You’re supposed to be secret, but what if my little brother finds my key – or I accidentally divulge my innermost secrets at the next sleepover? This is dumb. Bye forever, Diary.   

Your friend, 

Me”

As a young girl, I loved to write, but I never kept a secret diary. Honestly, the activity seemed trite to me. Many of my friends wrote faithfully to “Dear Diary” every night, but I just didn’t get it.  I preferred writing fairy tales with happy endings, or reading until my eyelids drooped.

            

Today, we call this popular writing pastime journaling.

          

I love to write, but I am not a true journal writer. I find it too demanding to write something in a journal everyday because I’m “supposed “ to. Yet, as I pursued a new career as a writer, I felt compelled to pick up a blank journal and fill it with wonder. So… that didn’t happen.  I do envy people who fill page after page, book after book with their imaginings, their dreams and their insight.

            

Traditional journaling isn’t my thing, but I’ve discovered a way to use journaling as an effective tool for my craft.  As a writer, I look for moments of inspiration.  Journaling can be a treasure trove of ideas, crafted from everyday experiences.  I call this intentional creativity.  Watch people at the airport and fill a journal with vivid characters and situations ripe for a future manuscript.  Go to a playground and delight in the creative play of children.

            

Another simple way to journal is to word journal. I love words, and I write them down in all sorts of lists and categories.  I don’t keep them in a fancy book or under lock and key; I keep them in a folder on my computer. I have lists of grade level words, verb words, magical words, adventure words, silly words and rhyming words.  These resources come in handy when I’m searching for just the right word to polish my manuscript.

             

When you think about it, we use conventional journaling for many purposes:

• Food journaling

• Diet journaling

• Exercise journaling

• Vacation journaling

Can you think of others?   

"Dear Diary,

You're old, but your bones are still kicking around and have found new life in this friend. 

Love,
Me."

So You Want to Be a Writer

By Lisa Amstutz

True confession: It took me 10 years to work up the courage to write for publication. During those years, I thought about writing. I read about writing. I talked about writing. I did everything but actually write. What if no one liked my work? Worse yet, what if they did? Where would I start? The fears and questions paralyzed me, and cost me 10 years of my writing life.

Here are five things I wish someone had told me at the time. If you find yourself in the same boat, I hope you will take them to heart. The world needs your stories!

Don’t Let Fear Paralyze You

It took a significant birthday to make me realize I was more afraid of never writing than I was of writing. Don’t wait around for that moment—do whatever it takes to get past your fear. Start small if you like—write something for a newsletter or a letter to the editor at a local newspaper. Write a short story and share it with a few friends and loved ones. Or use a pen name.

Sometimes fear doesn’t look like fear. It looks like excuses. I don’t have time to write. There’s already a book about that topic. I didn’t study writing in school. I have kids/a full-time job/housework to do. These thoughts may all be reasonable and true, but don’t let them keep you from trying.

Consider Yourself a Writer

I occasionally have the opportunity to mentor new writers. Many are tentative about calling themselves writers, just as I was. “If you write, you’re a writer,” I tell them. It’s really that simple. You don’t have to be published or specially trained. There’s no secret handshake. You may or may not be a good one yet, but if you write, you are a writer. And that’s a place to start.

Write Every Day

Everyone’s busy, I know. I am too. But if you want to write, choose to make it a priority in your life. Write a little every day, if possible. If time is limited, write on the subway, or dictate stories into your phone while driving. Keep a notebook by your bed and jot notes before you fall asleep. Write instead of watching a TV show. Find those snippets of free time in your life and use them to accomplish your goals.

At least 90% of writing is just sitting down and doing it. The rest is noticing the things around you and the feelings inside you, and finding the right words to express them. You’ll get better at it. But not unless you actually try.

Find a Tribe

My writing quality and output grew exponentially once I found a writing tribe. I joined a local writer’s group and SCBWI, took classes, attended workshops, and found online support. Other writers can provide the support, knowledge, and honest critique of your work that you need to grow as a writer and succeed. And on a practical level, preparing for a monthly critique meeting or class will give you a deadline and make you more productive.

If you don’t already have a writing tribe, look for local writer’s groups or organizations in your area. Take a writing class, attend a conference or workshop, or join a critique group. Look for Internet message boards and Facebook groups where you can connect with other writers.

Revise and Send Out Your Work

Once you’ve gotten some critiques on your work, revise and polish it until it’s the best you can make it. Check for spelling and grammar errors, and read your work aloud to yourself to see how it sounds. But don’t stop there. Get a copy of Writer’s Market and look for places to send it. Target your submission to editors or agents who are interested in your genre. You will get rejections—even big-name authors do. It’s OK. Pick yourself up and keep submitting.

Every writer started somewhere different—the important thing is that they started. Don’t let one more day go by without reaching for your dreams. Pick up your pen and write. You can do it!

Have you mastered your writing?

by Lana Wayne Koehler

When someone hears that I’m a writer, it usually elicits the same response: “I’d like to write a book someday, too.”

I usually smile and wish them luck. But luck has little to do with it. Writing takes time, talent, and tenacity (thanks, Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton). Only then can luck even begin to play a role. 

Time

Every successful writer that I know keeps a schedule of writing. For some, it’s every morning, and others write better in the afternoon or evening. I write best when I can block out days of pure writing time so I can marathon my stories. It helps me to maintain continuity of characters. Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book “Outliers” that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. That’s about 40 hours a week for five years.

Talent

Whether or not you subscribe to Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 Hour Rule, you have to admit that some of us are tempted to put in the time and expect miraculous returns. But, even Gladwell had to define its limitations:

“There is a lot of confusion about the 10,000 Hour Rule that I talk about in Outliers. It doesn't apply to sports. And practice isn't a SUFFICIENT condition for success. I could play chess for 100 years and I'll never be a grandmaster. The point is simply that natural ability requires a huge investment of time in order to be made manifest. Unfortunately, sometimes-complex ideas get oversimplified in translation.” http://www.businessinsider.com/malcolm-gladwell-explains-the-10000-hour-rule-2014-6#ixzz3ZCseZy5n

Tenacity

The Oxford Dictionary defines Tenacity as: NOUN; the quality or fact of being able to grip something firmly; synonyms: persistence, resolution, endurance, stamina.

Do you have these qualities? Are you willing to persist through dozens of rejections; resolve to send out your manuscript one more time; and endure until an agent or editor embraces your work? If you do, then your stamina will take you far.

Luck 
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." ~Seneca

Are you prepared? If not, get going now! You never know when opportunity might come your way.

There’s a party joke going around among writers. It goes something like this:

“What do you do for a living?” he asks.

“I’m a writer,” I respond.

“When I retire, I’m going to be a writer, too.” He beams with satisfaction.

“What do you do for a living?” I ask.

"I’m a neurosurgeon,” he replies.

“When I retire I’m going to be a neurosurgeon, too.” I respond, as if it were a possibility.

The fallacy is that if you can write, you can be a writer. For those of us who take our craft seriously, we know how much time and effort it takes. No less, at times, than a practicing surgeon, as we hold the life of our characters in our hands.

Have you mastered your writing yet?

A Pirate's Writing Code

WHAT I LEARNED FROM A PIRATE ABOUT WRITING

Every pirate needs:

1. A Hook: Hooks grab the reader in the first few sentences or can be found at the end of a chapter to keep the pages turning. EXAMPLE: Captain Hook stood on the edge of the plank. Below swam a wide-mouthed crocodile, chomp, chomp, chomping at the air between Captain Hook and the sloshing sea.

2. An Anchor: A ship is afloat without an anchor. Your anchor is the story question. The story question keeps your writing focused.  Will Hook make it out alive?

3. Navigation Tools:  A pirate needs to know how to navigate the genre. Know your story structure.  A play structure is going to be entirely different from a picture book structure. But each will have:

•  A well developed main character

•  A setting full of sensorial language (Why use lily-livered language when you can write like a salty pirate?)

•  A story question that includes several attempts at a solution,

•  A story answer that involves a physical and an emotional ending.

4. A Hearty Fight:  A pirate cannot collect his bounty without first having to fight every step of the way. Conflict makes for a good story.
   
5. A Plank: Every story must reach the point where the main character’s toes are hanging over the edge of the plank with nowhere left to go. This climax should have your reader feeling that sorry bloke’s anxiety. Tick, Tick, Tick!   

6. A Cutlass: A pirate has to be willing to use his cutlass. Once your story is written cut, cut, cut, down to the briny bones of a swashbuckling seafaring story.
    

7. A Treasure: When your reader closes the book make sure he leaves with a treasure he will want to come back to again and again.


Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton grew up on Lake Erie as a Rocky River Pirate. Her latest book, PIRATES DON’T SAY PLEASE, was recently released through Pelican Publishing. You can find Laurie at www.laurieknowlton.com. 

Don't Slip and Slide This Summer

Summer invites relaxation, time for parks, beaches, playground slides, and slip n’ slides.  However,  one slide is not fun, or safe, for kids and that’s the academic slide – also known as backsliding. As kids, teachers and parents gear up for summer vacation, backsliding looms in the shadow. Over the summer months, children lose academic ground. Even the brightest students, away from their routine learning environment, may lower their retention of key materials.  Imagine what it must be like for the student who struggles to stay on grade level in reading. Research tells us that, “All children experience learning loss when they do not engage in educational learning during the summer.” National Summer Reading Association

             

Why not make your summer a classroom, no matter where you are? Whether you are at the pool, on the back porch or in the grocery store, create opportunities for your children to answer and ask questions, solve problems and think critically. Virtually everything we do has educational value.

           

If you are not planning summer travel, or your children are going to day care, you still can change up the routine to keep the brain juices flowing.

For a few dollars, you can pick up some age appropriate workbooks with math facts. Cut small sections of problems (I cut strips of computation problems of 5 or 10 problems)  and  make breakfast a breakfast of math champions. Give your child a timer. Let him keep track of how long it takes to complete the math strip, and let him compete against the timer to beat a previous time. Have your child make up his own spelling list related to something that interests him. Even a young student who loves basketball can learn to spell words like dribble, foul shot, quarter etc. For added fun, have him bounce his basketball and spell the words at the same time!

            

Always, always read during the summer. We hear that so often, but studies prove that young children decelerate reading acquisition over the summer unless they practice. Make sure you and your child have a book whether at the beach, on the bus, or in the backpack. Technology often trumps books, but for your children’s sakes, keep books in their hands!

            

Local libraries have summer reading clubs with incentives, and lots of activities for kids. But, why not host your own reading marathon in your neighborhood or apartment building? For a few hours, transform your space into a perfect summer reading spot. Back yard tents, umbrellas and beach towels or blankets offer a cozy spot to enjoy reading. Invite friends to join in this special day of reading. Have your children pile all their books in baskets or bags to share. Visit the local library and grab books that will suit your readers’ ages and reading levels. Theme your marathon and supply books that suit your theme. For instance, you might host a Reading Marathon at the Zoo. Friends can bring their favorite animal books and a stuffed animal to snuggle up and “read” with at your special reading event. Allow the marathoners to read at their own paces, but also provide a story corner where an older child or adult can read a favorite story aloud. The joy of reading and being together in such a unique setting is motivation enough, but providing stickers or some incentive to indicate participation is also possible. Encourage an actual running lap at the beginning to foster the true spirit of a marathon. Kids will love this unique approach to summer reading! Supply some refreshments and your environment is ready for a great summer reading bash. One year, we turned our reading marathon into a book fair, and families on our street held a giant book exchange. 

If the idea of inviting the neighborhood over is daunting, or would not work, why not have your own family reading marathon? By initiating an electronic blackout, and hauling out the blankets and books, you accomplish the same goal of making reading a priority.  Make reading important and help your child become a lifelong reader. 

            

Check out these great blogs and websites for useful information.  They provide activities and ideas to help your child stay sharp and prepared during the summer months.

Happy Birthday Author

National Summer Learning Association

Motivating Kids to Read

Keeping Kids off the Summer Slide

Top 5 Ways to Prevent Rusty Summer Readers

Raising Lifelong Learners

A Reason for Rhyme

We all know that reading to children out loud is important. But reading rhyming picture books to preschoolers can have a lifelong impact on their reading skills and love of books.

One area that reading books in rhyme can improve is memorization skills. Think how easily we remember rhyming songs and commercials. Did you learn the alphabet by singing “The Alphabet Song?” One company, Twin Sisters Productions, has built their business on the premise that children remember what they learn better when they can sing about subjects in rhyme. They have produced musical rhyming songs about such things as letters, numbers, colors, transportation, and more.

Phonological awareness is defined as the ability to distinguish sounds. This is the very beginning of learning how to read. According to Lindsay Knobelauch, M.Ed, CCC-SLP, “Phonological awareness is important because it is a basis for reading. Children begin to read by listening to others read aloud, then recognizing sounds in words, sounding words out for themselves, recognizing familiar words, and so on. By engaging in word play, children learn to recognize patterns among words and use this knowledge to read and build words.”

There are many ways to reinforce this word play to help children recognize rhythms and patterns that lead to word recognition.  One way is to clap out individual words or individual syllables within words. Other ways are to ask what sounds a child hears at the end or beginning of a word or having them blend two sounds together, such as “Pan-da.”

    

Try singing the rhymes in a book by using familiar tunes. For example, the picture book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? can be sung to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

As a parent or grandparent or a teacher or librarian, make sure you include a lot of rhyming books as you read to your particular kids. Besides Brown Bear, some great titles include the following: Bear SnoresOn by Karma Wilson, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site, by Tom Lichtenheld, Llama, Llama, Red Pajamaby Anna Dewdney, and any or all of the books by Dr. Seuss. Traditional nursery rhymes are also a good source.

For musical rhyming based on books, one of the best collections on CD is from The Learning Station.

If you are a writer who wants to write rhyming picture books, read all of the published ones you can find, as well as books on how to write a good book in rhyme. Make sure you know all the different formats of rhyme and stick to them strictly. Rhymes should be exact, especially if you are not a well-published author. And, as always, practice makes perfect and getting your work critiqued is invaluable.

Whether you read to children or write for them, sharing rhyming picture books with preschoolers is one sure way to help them along the pathway to becoming successful readers and lifelong learners.