Good morning! I’m still on the road, presenting to amazing educators at the Pennsylvania Writing Institute at Millersville University today, but fabulous guest author is here with today’s writing prompt.  Laura writes magazine articles, poetry, and educational titles for kids. Learn about her work at her website: www.laurawynkoop.com

Good morning! Kim Oldenburgh, you won the drawing for Caroline Rose Starr’s book, MAY B.  Please email me (kmessner at kate messner dot com) with your mailing address so she can send your book.

Today’s Mini-Lesson Monday features guest author Cynthia Lord, who is not only a Newbery Honor author (for RULES) but also a super-nice person and brilliant teacher, too. I have learned so much about writing just from reading Cindy’s blog.

Her debut novel, Rules, was a New York Times Bestseller and has received numerous awards, including a Newbery Honor and six state kids’ choice awards. A former elementary and middle-school teacher, Cynthia even spent a year teaching in a tiny school on a Maine island, the setting for her second novel, Touch Blue. She is also the author of a picture book series, Hot Rod Hamster, illustrated by Derek Anderson.  She lives with her family in Maine. www.cynthialord.com.  Cindy’s joining us at Teachers Write today and Wednesday to talk about plotting.

Plotting: Setting up a Story

When I do school visits, I always meet kids who love to write.  They come up to me, gripping their notebooks full of fabulous ideas. They have done impressive work imagining the characters and their world, but they often struggle with the plot. How do you set up a story, keep it going with steadily increasing tension, and pay it off for the reader? 

To talk about plot, we must also talk about character, because they’re like two strands of a rope twisting around each other, strengthening both. One informs the other. So to help students understand story development, let’s start with a classic plot that has a character with a want or a goal.

 With students as young as first grade, I use this simple formula:

 

What does your character want?

What makes it hard for him?

What will he do trying to get what he wants and deal with that obstacle?

And finally, does he get what he wants?

 

The first two (want and obstacle) are set up very early in a book, because they set the path of the plot. Here’s the first page of Hot Rod Hamster. The illustrator, Derek Anderson, created this wonderful sign.

 Before we’ve even read a word of text, this picture sets the plot in motion. We have everything we need for a story to begin: a character (Hamster), a want (to enter and win a race), and an obstacle (he’s tiny). 

We also know something about the climax–because that’s where we’ll discover if the character got what he wanted.  So if Hamster wants to enter and win a race at the beginning of the story, the climax will be at the race where we find out if he won. 

The rest of the story is what comes between: how the character tries to get what he wants and deal with his obstacles to that big, deciding moment.

For young students, that’s enough to begin. But for older students and adult writers, let’s expand that W.O.W. to include motive. So the character truly wants two things (or more, but they fall into these two categories):  concrete and abstract. 

Concrete: a concrete want is what the character wants outside himself. Here are a few examples:

 •To earn enough money for something.

•To make the football team.

•To have a friend.

•To reach New York City.

•To win a contest.

•To learn to swim.

•To find a lost pet.

•To save his home.

•To solve a mystery.

 Usually this can be answered with a “yes” or “no” at the climax. Either the character achieved this or he didn’t.  So it must be big enough and challenging enough to last for the entire book.  The reader will measure progress against the concrete want. It also sets the path of the story, defines the climax, and controls the pacing. Without a strong concrete want, the book will feel slow. Editors (and kids) will say things like: “I’m not sure what this story’s about.” 

 When I’m working with students, I show a slide with photos of kids doing actions or obviously involved in something (playing soccer, wearing a prom dress, dancing with a group on a stage, hugging a dog, etc). I ask students to choose a photo and tell me what that character might want. 

 Then I ask students to come up with another want for the same character. Sometimes I’ll even ask them to imagine the opposite want for the character (What if this girl doesn’t want to go to the prom? What might she want then?) and how that changes things and adds immediate conflict. Our first ideas aren’t always our most interesting ones, and by making kids look for more than one possibility right from the start, it encourages a revision mindset, more open to change.

 Now that we’ve thought about what a character wants, the next question is why? 

 Abstract: an abstract want is what the character wants inside himself.  It’s the reason why. Here are a few examples:

•To find their place in their family.

•To understand where they fit into their culture.

•To be accepted and valued for themselves.

•To belong or fit in.

•To feel loved.

 Your character will make progress on this in the story, but it’s moving along a continuum, more than a yes or no.  The abstract want began before the book started, gives depth to the character, motivates his decisions, shows his flaws and strengths, and makes the reader care about the character winning. Without a strong abstract want, the story will lack character development. Editors will say things like, “I didn’t really connect with the character.”

 A strong story has both wants. Your character will want something outside himself for a reason inside. Here’s a classic plot set-up:

 My character wants (concrete want) because (abstract want), but (obstacle) stands in his way. 

 Not every novel follows this format, but most do, and it does produce a strong, satisfying setup. 

 Ready to practice?  Jody Feldman’s random word generator was so much fun that I found one for YA characters.  http://selfpublishingteam.com/chargen/ya/  You can set limits or be surprised!  As an example, I let the program choose everything.

Name: Ethan

·           Age: 12-13 (8th Grade)

Ethan’s Traits

·           Book worm.

·           Cruel, Brilliant, Lucky

·           Unique Trait: Is famous.

Ethan’s Appearance

·           Hair Color: Black

·           Eye Color: Brown

·           Body Type: Skinny

 Looking at this, I asked myself, “How might a middle-school bookworm be famous?” I brainstormed three scenarios:

 #1  Ethan writes fan-fiction, and he’s famous in that world, though he writes under a pen name so no one at school knows who he is. 

 #2  Ethan’s famous because his dad is a rock star who wrote a hit song about him when he was a baby, and the world knows him that way. “Oh, you’re Baby Ethan?!” 

 #3  Ethan’s famous in a school sense:  He’s captain of his school’s Battle of the Books team. Last year his team went all the way to second place at the state championship.

 I would encourage you to brainstorm a few to encourage a revision mindset in yourself. Then pick your favorite and create a plot statement.

 (Character) wants (concrete want) because (abstract want), but (conflict) stands in the way. 

 Here’s mine:  Ethan wants to win the Battle of the Books State Championship, because he longs to feel valued at home and school, but some reluctant-reader teammates stand in his way.

 Fleshing that out to a summary:

 Ethan wants to win the Battle of Books State Championship, because his younger brother has won many sports awards and Ethan wants his own chance to shine. As an eighth grader, this is his final year to compete, and last year, his team lost to Maplewood Middle School. The Maplewood captain goes to the same church as Ethan, so he sees him every week. Ethan’s been daydreaming about winning this year, but at the first meeting, his team’s faculty advisor brings some kids with her who aren’t strong readers. “This will be a great opportunity for them!” she says.  Ethan knows he’ll never win with those kids on his team.

 That has everything a plot needs to begin:  a character, a concrete want that we’ll measure progress on (the championship), an abstract want that makes us care (wanting to feel valued and special for his own talents), and an obstacle (challenging teammates) to create tension.

 Assignment:  Create a character. If you don’t connect with the first character you receive, try again. Or use a character you’ve already created–though it might be easier to practice first with someone you aren’t as invested in.

In the comments, post a quick description of your character and your favorite plot statement or summary.  If you get stuck or want help brainstorming, post as far as you get, and I’ll ask questions that’ll help you finish it.  I’m excited to meet your characters and read your ideas!

(And on Wednesday, I’ll give tips on: starting your story, increasing tension, and paying it off). 

You’ve almost made it – just one week of our Summer Teachers Write Camp to go! How’s it going?

Friday Writing Happy Hour is a chance to relax and share comments about our progress, goals, accomplishments, and whatever else is on your mind.  And if you’d like feedback on a snippet of writing, head on over to Gae Polisner’s blog for Friday Feedback, where you can share a few paragraphs of your work and offer feedback to others, too.

Oh! And we have another book giveaway. Caroline Rose Starr is giving away a copy of her gorgeous historical novel-in-verse MAY B.

Just leave a comment by 11:30pm EST Saturday to be entered in the drawing, and I’ll announce the winner on Monday.

I’ll be MIA from comments again today because I’m at the SCBWI conference in Los Angeles (whee!) but I’ll check in when I can. In the mean time, talk amongst yourselves & have a great weekend!

Remember to check in at Jen’s Teach Mentor Texts blog on Sunday.  I’ll see you back here Monday morning!

Good morning, everyone!  I’m traveling this week into next week – first to the annual Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Conference in Los Angeles, where I’ll give a workshop on “The Magical Unexpected” in picture books and speak at the Golden Kite Awards Luncheon celebrating OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW and the other winners.  I’ll fly from there to the Millersville Writing Institute in Pennsylvania, where I’m presenting on writing and revision (and looking forward to spending time with amazing teacher-writers!) And then it’s on to St. Louis, where I’m speaking at a Scholastic Book Fairs event because CAPTURE THE FLAG and EYE OF THE STORM will both be featured in the fall book fairs, which delights me to no end.

Don’t worry – all your assignments and quick-writes and everything else are scheduled and will appear as if by magic on the right days, even while I’m gone. But I will be checking in more sporadically than usual and wanted to let you know that I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth.  I’m probably just stuck in some airport with a dead laptop battery.

Anyway…you will have some great guest authors in my absence, starting with Kristy Dempsey today!  Kristy is a teacher, picture book author, and poet whose books include MINI-RACER (Bloomsbury), ME WITH YOU (Philomel), and SURFER CHICK (Abrams). Her website is http://www.kristydempsey.com/

At the end of this school year the first graders were studying the elements of story through fairy tales. We talked about imagination, we talked about the cultural aspects of fairy tales from around the world, we talked about what gave these characters believable qualities even though the stories themselves might have magical elements.

Toward the end of our unit we watched the film, “A Little Princess”. I was rather amazed as the first graders identified that Sara’s locket and the importance it held for her made the story feel believable to them. One student even said, “It’s like her locket held everything her daddy had ever given her and when Miss Minchin took it away from her, Sara knew she still had all that in her heart.” These first graders understood the importance of emotional truth!

Think of the physical item that is most important to your main character. What does it represent? Now, imagine it being lost or taken away from your main character. How would he/she respond? Sara Crewe’s response, of course, was fairly noble. But what if your character pitched a fit? Or what if he/she embarked on a series of misadventures to try to recoup what was lost? (In fact, one of the funniest scenes in the movie is when Sara’s friends enter Miss Minchin’s office to try to get the locket back.)

Write a scene that shows the emotional importance of this physical item to your main character and then show us how he/she responds when it is lost or taken. I can’t wait to read the serious or funny or fantastical emotionally true scenes you come up with!

EDITING TO ADD THIS:  Sorry, everyone! I accidentally repeated Kristy’s earlier quick-write. Here’s her new one for today. Consider it a “Bonus Write” if you’ve already done the first one!

“Every story would be another story, and unrecognizable if it took up its characters and plot and happened somewhere else… Fiction depends for its life on place. Place is the crossroads of circumstance, the proving ground of, What happened? Who’s here? Who’s coming?…”

— Eudora Welty

I don’t know about you but setting is one of the last things I deliberately consider when crafting a story. Oh it sneaks in, of course – I usually have some sense of where my characters are when they’re doing whatever it is they’re doing. They aren’t just hanging in mid-air. And I usually know what part of the world they might be located, but truth be told, most of the setting is in my mind and not on paper until later drafts. Is it sunny or raining? Has the grass they’re standing on been freshly cut or is it tickling their ankles? Do they live above or below the Gnat Line? If the answer is “below,” how does that affect them every single time they step outside? (And if you don’t know what the Gnat Line is, ask me in the comments. And also, if you don’t know what the Gnat Line is, you must not be from the South. ☺ )

These are the kind of setting details that can add life to your story. The easiest way for me to add these details into my writing is to free write about something my character does often, some sort of ritual or habit that may not even be part of my story but that gives me more insight into who he/she is and how he/she relates to the world around her. These rituals could be simple things like walking to the mailbox to get the mail, washing and putting away the dishes, or riding a bicycle to the market to get a freeze pop. I add as many sensory details into this free write as possible. What does my character see, hear, smell, touch, taste? When doing a free-write like this, let your character be a little ADD. Let him/her get distracted and wander around a bit.

For me, these sensory details bring life to my setting. No longer is my character just riding her bike to the market but now her bike tires are squeaking with every rotation as she bounces along the dirt road. A mockingbird cries back in response from the maple tree up ahead. She stops to listen then squawks herself to see if the bird will mimic her own call. She hears the gurgling of a creek and lets her bike fall to the ground (the kickstand is broken) so she can investigate. Beavers have begun building a dam that has formed a pool of water deep enough to swim in. She wades in up to her knees and feels the cold clay bottom and creek stones worn smooth by years in the water stream . . . (At this point, I would continue, possibly writing about the smell of wet leaves and the water bugs that are flitting across the top of the pool of water. And on, and on until she finally makes it to the market for her freeze pop. And then I would describe the market . . .)

(As a side note, sometimes free-writes like this give me ideas for plot fixes. For example, that beaver dam could now play a key role in my story as the county moves in to minimize the damage to the land and wants to relocate the beavers. That’s just the sort of thing my character might get up in arms about!)

After finishing the free-write, I find places where I can sprinkle the details throughout my work-in-progress. (Like that broken kickstand. It had nothing much to do with the scene in the free-write but it could show up as a frustration in several places in my story.) Often, these details add more depth to my characters as I consider their responses to their surroundings. You may not even have a main character you’re working with right now. That’s okay. If you don’t, I want you to do this exercise about yourself. Take pen and paper with you as you go about one of your daily rituals if you have to. This will teach you to capture some of the details of your own setting that you might otherwise miss.

As a short example, one of my own rituals from when I lived in America was to sit on the front porch and watch for deer in the pasture in the morning. As I sat on a slightly damp cushion in the rocking chair, there was often mist rising from the ground in the quiet of the morning. Glints of dew shone in the sunlight on the peace lily at my feet. The sweet smell of honeysuckle hung in the morning air. A few sips of my warm cup of coffee and I was already sweating in the humidity. The slats on the back of my rocking chair creaked with each sway back and forth and the rails on the bottom bumped against the uneven tiles of the porch floor. It was a rhythm that matched the beat of my heart, slowed my breathing, focused my contentment. When I saw a deer in the distance, my breath caught in my lungs. I couldn’t move. Afraid to even exhale, I silently straightened my spine so I could see more of him over the rise . . .

I could continue on and on but I want you to get started! You’ll see from my very short examples above that this is not the sort of free-write that you will lift and put directly in a story. Since this free-write includes no dialogue (not that it can’t, but mine doesn’t), it’s not the kind of thing that will move your plot forward significantly.

When I free-write like this, my writing tends to involve my character wandering around in the woods or walking to school in the city or cleaning up his/her bedroom! It’s fairly boring as a whole, but the purpose of this is to give you the details of your character’s surroundings to use in your larger work-in-progress. You will likely write more details than you will be able to use.

Easy-Peasy Bottom Line:

1. Choose a habit or ritual or a daily event (your own or your character’s).

2. Describe what your character sees, hears, touches, smells and tastes while doing this activity.

3. If you want to expand the scene, add your own touches. (Broken doorknobs, the sniffles, dog poop, a spider web, etc. are all things that might make your character respond differently to their habitual daily event. And if you fear your writing seems simple or boring, remember this quote from John Wooden: “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

Guest author Amy Ludwig VanDerwater joins us today with a guest post on a very important part of writing: Inviting Hummingbirds!  Amy lives on Heart Rock Farm (The Poem Farm) in Holland, NY. Her first poetry book, FOREST HAS A SONG, will be published by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Spring 2013) and her second book, READING TIME, will be published by WordSong/Boyds Mills Press (date TBA). In addition to poetry, Amy has written local NPR commentaries as well as a column for EDIBLE BUFFALO.

The other morning, as most of the house slept, our ten-year-old son Henry came running downstairs with wild eyes,

“There’s a hummingbird in my room!  There’s a hummingbird in my room!”

I followed him upstairs, rubbing his back, smiling about my boy and his hummingbird dreams.

When we reached Henry’s bedroom, I heard the truth before I saw it.  There, whirring against the inner screen of his skylight darted a little green beauty.  This was not a dream.  It was better than a dream.  As I gently caught Zippy in a polka-dotted sheet, Henry cranked the window above his headboard.  “I must have left it open all night.”  Laughing in wonder, we walked downstairs and onto the deck, opening this delicate sheeted gift to our morning, sending Zippy back to her life.

Writing is full of hummingbirds, surprises that we almost miss or think aren’t real enough to matter.  And these hummingbirds are whirring too; sometimes we just need to still ourselves enough to hear them.

When I get to a stuck spot in my writing, I invite a hummingbird. 

 How?

 I turn off all phones, lie on the couch, and close my eyes.  I breathe deeply and wait.  And you know what?   A hummingbird always comes.  It might be a memory of curling dandelion stems in dish soap or a memory of sweet Mr. Clark singing “Once in love with Amy.”  It may be the sound of a skipping stone or a recipe for cardamom bread or  the feel of milkweed silk or a word that’s fun to say…like flibbertigibbet.   A hummingbird.

When I am writing in rhythm, daily and with daily goals, there are days that my page and mind need to wander in colorful meadows before walking across a blank page.  And so I still my body and hold out my hands, trusting….always…in surprises.  And then, bird in hand, I go back to my desk.

Have I ever fallen asleep?  Yes.  And you may too.  But dreams, too, inform our writing lives. 

Whirr.

Good morning! Today’s Quick-Write is courtesy of guest author Lisa Schroeder. She’s the author of five young adult novels including THE DAY BEFORE and the upcoming FALLING FOR YOU, all with Simon Pulse. She’s also the author of the middle grade novels IT’S RAINING CUPCAKES, SPRINKLES AND SECRETS and the upcoming FROSTING AND FRIENDSHIP (Aladdin). You can find her on the web at www.lisaschroederbooks.com and on twitter at www.twitter.com/lisa_schroeder.

My grandparents lived on a farm and I spent a lot of time there as a child and a teen. I have lots of wonderful memories, as you can imagine. It wasn’t a working farm, but a farm where they had goats for milk and to keep the grass down and mules for their annual hunting trips in Eastern Oregon.

There is a special place in my heart for the farm and for my dear grandparents who are no longer with us, and so, it’s always thrilling when I’m somewhere, not thinking about it at all, and I get a whiff of something that takes me back to that place. Have you ever noticed how smells have the ability to elicit strong memories? It’s pretty amazing, and I love it when it happens and brings up a happy memory from the farm. It might happen when our family visits the apple farm every fall or when or when I’m walking and the air has a certain grassy scent and I’m suddenly back there, hanging on to the tire swing that hung from the big, old willow tree.

Today I’d like you to think about smells and sounds. Adding in sensory details is often something you do as you revise, but here’s an exercise you can do anytime, that will help when you’re ready to read through your manuscript with an eye on the details.

 List three places your character visits in the story. For example: school, grandma’s house, and the zoo.

Now, with those three places, start brainstorming things your character might smell while there. Get creative! Imagine the people who are nearby as well as what that specific place may smell like. Don’t limit yourself to only good smells or only bad smells. Try and find both. At first, you may have trouble describing the scent in detail, and that’s okay. Don’t edit yourself, just write your thoughts down. When you have a bunch of possibilities, then you can start working on how you describe the various smells. It’s not always easy, I know. You probably won’t use the entire list, but if you can come up with one or two good descriptions, you’ll find it adds a lot to your scenes.

Also brainstorm sounds your character might hear. In some cases, you will struggle to get a couple. But in other places, you will be able to get a lot. It’s those places where you want to make sure you add in some of those details to make the experience as rich for your reader as it is for your character.

 This is a great exercise you can do just about anywhere – take a notebook along when you’re taking your kids to an appointment, and work on your lists while you wait.

 Have fun awakening your senses and happy writing!

Good morning & happy Monday! First, let’s announce the winner of OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN from last week…and that’s Carol Osler! Please email me (kmessner at kate messner dot   com) and I’ll forward your name and address to Donna Gephart so she can send out your book. On to Mini-Lesson Monday now…

Next week, we’re going to spend some time talking about revision…how to do it, why you need to do it, and how it can be not only less painful but kind of awesome. On Sunday, I’ll be sharing a post offering some of my favorite revision strategies and inviting authors of all different genres to stop by and share a favorite revision strategy. (Bookmark that post to use in your classroom later on!)  Those of you who have read REAL REVISION can ask any questions you had while reading, and really, it’ll be kind of a revision free-for-all.

Today, we have a special guest author who is…okay…not only a guest author but a friend and one of my favorite people in the world. Linda Urban is the author of acclaimed middle grade novels A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT and HOUND DOG TRUE as well as MOUSE WAS MAD, a picture book about finding the “right” way to be angry. Her website is http://lindaurbanbooks.com.

Today, Linda’s joining us to talk about one of her favorite revision strategies that involves returning to the brainstorming phase of the writing process to foster deeper thinking and connection building.

 

I like certain objects to have a different meaning for different characters in a book. Sometimes I start a web with that object in the center – Popsicles, for example – and then web from there the places that Popsicles occur in the story, the people who eat them or talk about or buy them, and then all the different associations that those people and places have in relation to the Popsicles.  Sometimes what I find surprises me.  Sometimes it gives me details that I can use in my revision.  For one character, I might find that sharing a Popsicle turns out to be a supreme symbol of friendship.  For another, it’s just a sticky mess on her fingers.

 

Note: This activity & photo originally appeared in Real Revision, courtesy of Linda.

Assignment: Think of an object from your work-in-progress. (If you don’t have a work-in-progress, try this with a book that you love as a reader.) Choose an object that might mean different things to different characters in the story, and put it in the middle of an idea web. Then brainstorm all the places that object appears in the story (or all the places it might be added!) and what it could mean in different settings, to different characters. Feel free to post a comment about what you discovered through this activity when you’re done.

 

So how’s it going this week? Friday Writing Happy Hour is a chance to relax and share comments about our progress, goals, accomplishments, and whatever else is on your mind.  And if you’d like feedback on a snippet of writing, head on over to Gae Polisner’s blog for Friday Feedback, where you can share a few paragraphs of your work and offer feedback to others, too.

We have a giveaway today, too! Donna  Gephart has offered up three copies of OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN for our Friday drawing.

Just leave a comment by 11:30pm EST Saturday to be entered, and winners will be announced on Monday.

 Enjoy your weekend, and remember to check in at Jen’s Teach Mentor Texts blog on Sunday.  I’ll see you back here Monday morning!