Category: writing exercises

Posted on by cindyindigo

Writing Poetry about THE World’s LARGEST Ball of Twine

Okay, have you been doing it?

Writing a new poem every day during POETRY month this April???
I’m so proud of myself. So far (5 whole days) I’ve managed to do it.
My poems are posted among the hundreds of poems (click on Comments)
I’m amazed how much fun it has been–this poetry challenge. 
Mr. Brewer presents a new poetry topic each day.
So far, these are the prompts: origin poem; outsider poem; The problem with ____; animal poem; landmark poem.
Those prompts have helped me create poems on the etymology of “word;” pear tree blossoms;problems; a robin; and THE WORLD’S LARGEST BALL OF TWINE, in Kansas anyway. 
Now it’s your turn to try writing poetry.
Remember, poems don’t have to rhyme. 
Free verse poems are very close to regular talking–only you can break up the words and phrases the way you want to. 
And you can use zinger words–words that pack a punch. Words that sound special or mean something special or make people almost smell something or see something special.
And poems don’t have to be serious either. Read some of Robert Lansky’s silly poems at GIGGLE POETRY.  Be sure and check out his POETRY CLASS where he shows you how to write all different types of poetry. I’ve highlighted some of them in the paragraph above. 
Henry, my yellow and white kitty,(see photo at the top) suggested a poetry prompt you can try for today: CATS.
And he wanted to let you know that he, and Herman & Holly are featured today at Mayra Calvani’s blog: “PETS and AUTHORS.”
Posted on by cindyindigo


HAPPY ST. PAT’S DAY!

Holly has been celebrating, as you can see. Hope you have a great day.
Highlights Magazine has some great St. Pat’s Day fun. Here is a link to their Hidden Picture.  And this link will help you create and play the HAT O’ GOLD Game.
Don’t forget to try writing your own Limerick. You’ll probably want to try it on the Shamrock at Limerick Fun.  Or maybe the Leprechaun Puzzle–all of those treats are right here on my website.
May the luck o’ the Irish be with you!
Posted on by cindyindigo

WOW Words!

Today author A. LaFaye took us through an exercise on WOW Words. What is a WOW Word, you ask? Words that appeal to the senses. They should be concrete and have a unique quality.

Like pifflesquat. Or acrobat. Or rhinoceros. Or fluttered. Or mesmerized.

WOW Words energize writing. They are great to use in poetry and wonderful for prose. Writers, of course, need to surround themselves with WOW Words. To collect them like dazzling jewels to make their stories sparkle.

Teachers in the classroom can help students recognize and utilize WOW Words. Ms. LaFaye suggested creating a funky jar of WOW Words which the students can draw from. She recommended introducing this topic over a five day period. At the start of the instruction, have students select 5 WOW Words and then use them in a poem or a short story. On the next day, the students may only draw out 4 WOW Words and must provide the additional word themselves. On the third day, they select 3 words and provide 2 of their own. On the fourth day, they select 2 words and provide 3 of their own. And on the fifth day, they can only select one WOW Word or perhaps even challenge them to provide all 5 WOW Words themselves.

After each day’s session, the teacher can collect the new WOW Words—written on index cards—then discuss with the class some of the new words and why they work. The teacher can add these words to the WOW jar for future writing exercises.

Here are a few highlights from Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s presentation on writing nonfiction.

It doesn’t have to be written in chronological order.
It needs to have rising and falling action just as fiction does.
Too much information shouldn’t be given at once.

Ms. Bartoletti showed us a page from her book, BLACK POTATOES: THE STORY OF THE GREAT IRISH FAMINE. She pointed out the 8 literary devices she used to make the material more appealing:

SETTING (quickly established)
SCENE (a specific instance)
CHARACTERS (quickly drawn so the reader can identify)
DIALOG (which can NEVER be made up in nonfiction)
PLOT (rising and falling action)
NARRATION (mixed in with the showing)
VIVID WRITING (active verbs, sensory words)

Be sure to tune back in here because Nikki Grimes comes tomorrow to share her expertise with us. I can’t wait!