Y’all little writers go on and have fun now
Writers Write creates writing resources and shares writing tips. We are starting our parts of speech series by writing all about nouns.
Looking for a plotting formula? In this post, we share an infographic of The Hero's Journey, a device used by writers when plotting their books.
Bonus: Grammar lessons in authentic context. Materials needed are 2 colored pencils or markers, and writing samples. Prep time: minimal Ratiocination is the process of exact, thorough, logical thinking. It is powerful for all writers because it focuses on the language usage instead of the content. Why I like it for struggling writers and English language learners? Many struggling writers do not want to go back and edit because the thought overwhelms them. For English language learners, they do not know language forms to self-edit accurately. Ratiocination is a systematic, step-by-step process that makes language usage visual. As a teacher, I love it because I can have my students focus on specific elements. As a writer, I love it because it is not a demand to change anything, simply calling attention to it so that I can think about its effect in my writing. Sample Ratiocination Steps: Circle all of the “to be” verbs – I later extend this to all helping verbs Make a wavy line under repeated words Underline each sentence (alternate colors) Bracket the first word in each sentence Draw an arrow from subject to predicate Put “it” in a triangle X through vague words: very, got, get, nice, bad, good, stuff, thing, awesome, wonderful, so, etc. Typically, when I start with my English language learners I have them underline every sentence in alternating colors first. This just helps them visual sentence length. I have had 12th graders come up to me in the past with an essay written with only a period at the end. They never realized they did it until we did this step and they never changed colors. While this is a little extreme, it helps with cases that are more moderate too. Then it leads to the discussion about the effects of short and long sentences. This also helps writers hone in on fragments and run-ons. For a struggling reader/writer, you can discuss sentence length with low linguistic demand because they can see the colors. The second thing I typically start with English learners is drawing arrows from subject to verbs. Subject verb agreement is one of those things that can be tricky for language learners, revising for it is just conscious practice. When I modeled this for my high school students, there was always an initial frustration at its openness. All their lives someone had told them what to write, and how to revise and edit, and they never had to think about it. They wanted me to do all the work. I would mark something and they would say, well that means you have to change it. Sometimes I would, sometimes I would say, no, I really like what that does here. To illustrate this further, when we read something, if there was an excellent example of writer’s craft, we would ratiocinate their writing. Once again, this helped them read as writers. When we would come across repetition, anaphora and epistrophe in writing and I asked why the writer did it, I would get generic and thoughtless responses of the author wanted to emphasize that. While yes, that is true, there is no thinking involved. When we looked at Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech, we ratiocinated and students discovered anaphora in phrases like “I have a dream,” “Now is the time,” “Let freedom ring,” “free at last,” “we can never be satisfied.” Students revised the speech in groups to remove the anaphora and compared it to the original. When we voted on which sounded better read aloud we almost always chose the original, because of the flow and the rhythm created. I had my students interview adults around the school and in their lives about what they remembered from the speech, hearing it or studying it in school. After collecting results - outside of the arguably most famous part that my children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of the skin but of the content of their character – people unanimously remembered the repeated phrases and few other specifics. This just helped illustrate the purpose of a rather abstract idea. It also got them to think beyond just standard thoughtless responses.
Comic: All's Fair In #Nanowrimo.
Writers Write is your one-stop writing resource. Use these cheat sheets to help you show a character's state of mind when you're writing body language.
Discover 7 of the most popular story structure models used by writers today. Suitable for authors, playwrights, and screenwriters.
Jami Gold's Writing Worksheets: Help for all writers, from newbies to experts and from plotters to pantsers.
This can be sooo useful to any and all writers. I found this at the following site – TheMetaPicture.com
Download This Worksheet (PDF) How to Kill a Character All writers become murderous sooner or later, but it’s important to kill your character in the right way, at the right time and for the right reason. I hope this worksheet will help you premeditate the perfect coup de grâce.
For a writer, one of the most exciting explorations of archetype can be found within specific archetypal character arcs--or journeys.
TweetPin5EmailShare Creating a fictional culture is something that almost all fiction and fantasy writers will have to do at some point. Whether you need a culture for a society of... Read more »
Have you ever had the vibes of your story figured out but no plot? This post gives you an easy process to find out what actually happens in yor novel
Many writers wonder how to use the Three Act Structure in their writing. The precise and orderly outline has guided the writing of millions of books.
If you're looking for reasons to write, this post will definitely show you why YOU should start writing right now and share your story with the world.
When writing a murderer it is good to keep a good perspective on where we want our story to go and how we want our murderer to be perceived. Do we want them...
Y’all little writers go on and have fun now
Maybe you’re not “good enough” to become a New York Times bestseller. Maybe you’ll never get published. But writing doesn’t have to be about those things. You can just write for yourself. If you ha…
Writers Write shares writing tips and resources. In this post, we share novelist, Neil Gaiman’s 8 rules for writing fiction.
Check out these awesome writing tools. Get recommendations for writing, organizing, planning, productivity, and more. Find everything a writer needs & more!
You need to market yourself as a writer if you want to make a living writing! The goal here is to help you become an authentic marketer.
11 Truths About Writing That All New Writers Need to Know | Honest Writing Facts That No One Ever Talks About. Writing Can Be Tough.
How to Brainstorm to find you next novel idea. “Where do your ideas come from?” “How do you know what to write about?” People ask authors these kinds of questions all this t…
Maybe being a great writer has been your dream since you were barely old enough to scribble on the walls in spaghetti sauce. If so, you’ve probably already imbibed lots of writing advice. Everything…
Here are six ways you can learn to pay attention to your visual imagination, mine it for its full wealth, and then craft a story that unforgettably shares the riches with your readers.
Need some tips on how to grow as a writer? Check out this post!
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Are you a fantasy writer or interested in writing fantasy yet are worried about how to go about it? After all, fantasy is a vast topic and can get overwhelming. Soon enough you might start comparing yourself to the authors who've made it big. You might even feel like you're taking ideas and not being original enough. I know I've been there, and have worked over my writing to a point where I no longer feel that way. As the creator of shape-shifting griffins with unique talents gifted by an annual
On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, arti…
A writer's notebook is the perfect place to keep your inspiration, ideas, notes, and references to anything else you need for your next project!
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Are you looking for the best writing tools to help improve your fiction writing? Check out these fantastic programs - including new AI writing tools!
Pinterest can be an amazing tool for writers to collect inspiration and information. I'll show you what to search to find the perfect pins for your board!
