Writers Workshop

WEBSITE: http://www.teachertube.com Writers Workshop

Last Friday, we had a writer celebration.

And I was completely proud and

impressed of the way that you
were telling your stories.

The way that you zoomed in and
a use your true exact details and

you started with a good lead and
you wrapped it up.

And I also really enjoyed what you chose
to write about because I really felt like

I got to know each of you
a little bit better, right.

The things you hope for,
the things you're worried about.

>> The things we like.

>> The things you like and are interested
in, the way you spend your free time.

Even like,
Jack who tries to create an adventure, so

you have something to write about,
and you wrote about it so beautifully.

And all of your stories,
each of your stories.

Isabel's potato gun, where her dad
comes to ask her to shoot a potato gun,

and she's scared of it, but
it's totally awesome so, she does it.

But we're gonna be looking at now,
we started talking about this yesterday,

writing personal narratives
that are a little deeper.

They go a little deeper into ourselves
where the readers can learn about us,

and I think even when we write a deep
personal narrative we learn about

ourselves a little bit more sometimes.

And we looked at a couple yesterday.

So today I'm teaching you about
generating some ideas for

these kinds of personal narratives.

Let's do this, to find the first
blank page in your writer's notebook,

I'm gonna try some of these out.

>> Do we write the date on it?

>> Yeah, if it makes you happy, right?

A lot of times when we look at a story
about ourselves, that is when we learned

something deep about ourselves, it happens
at some turning point in our life.

And one of those can be like the very
first time that you did something.

Like in Owl Moon,
the first time she went owling.

And she learns about owling,

she learns to be like her dad,
she grows up a little bit.

So on your first page, try this,

just put down a heading right down
the first time I tried something.

This could be first time you try
something hard like a sport or

climbing or swimming and
diving into a pool.

It could also be like the first time you
did something that you now do every day.

>> Ride your bike.

>> The first time you rode a bike and
you can say those things out loud,

you could tell me those.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.
>> All right.

Like the first time you read a book
>> At eight.

>> Give me a thumbs up now
if you got at least one or

two ideas on your page
>> Okay good, good, good.

Next we could try is, I'm gonna put
up here to like something hard,

or something you do everyday.

The next thing you could try is.

Think of the last time you did something.

Last year, Meg wrote this wonderful story
about her last day at her old school.

And how she kind of learned about
herself that she could feel sad

about something and
excited about something at the same time.

Think of like the last time.

The last time you tried something or
you did something.

Could be like the last time that you saw
a pet that you had that died or ran away.

Or the last time you saw
somebody before you moved?

If you've got some first time
ones as the last time things.

Think of a time when you learned something
about someone or about yourself.

Last year, Anna wrote this

amazing piece when she learned that
she has this huge capacity for guilt.

Like she went to a birthday party in
Atlanta when she was four or something and

she stole a bracelet.

And when she came back, like for
years, she couldn't sleep at night

because she thought about it
every time she went to bed.

She felt guilty.

She couldn't go in her closet because
that's where she was hiding it.

And she felt guilty.

And so she learned that she not only
that she cares about people and so

she feels guilt when she
does something like that.

But then she also felt that found that
when she called the person up and

returned the bracelet.

And told them what they've done and

they that she has this
ability to feel normal again.

Simply go to sleep is
felt good about herself.

You're finishing up putting
down some of your bullets.

I see some of you have
a whole page of ideas.

You have just generated
a whole years worth of ideas.

Okay some of you have.

Remember that when you sit down to write
that one of the most important things you

have at the beginning of
the writing process is an idea.

And now you've got several
ways to think of ideas, right?

If you remember when you come in,
if you have an idea and

you want to write about it.

That's what you write about.

You're in charge of your writing.

If you don't have an idea,
remember the writers write.

Writers or I just heard an interview
on the radio with the writer and

the interviewer says do you write
every day and she says I do.

But it's hard.

Because I'm a mom, I have a regular job,
that every day I write at least for

an hour Even if I'm just writing
down ideas, I write every day.

And so you could write down a person,
a place, or thing and

small moments with those places you could
think of the first time you did something,

the last time you did something,
when you learn something about yourself or

when something changed your life.

Write down those small
moments that time went on.

Put those ideas down, and then you can
get right into the writing process right?

You are already knee-deep in the writing
process if you're putting down an idea.

So here's what I want you to do right now,
as you are writing this morning,

I want you to pick one of these ideas,
okay?

That's you're going to write about and
you and

when we as you organize
your writing today.

Remember that timeline we did where you
took your small moment and you did like

a little bolted timeline with three or
four or five small moments together?

And each of those bullets was a paragraph.

That really worked for a lot of you for
organizing your writing.

I would encourage you that
as you pick an idea today,

sketch out a very quick timeline,
and then start writing.

Remember starting with a, pardon me?

>> Does it have to be on the subject
the first time I try something?

>> It could be on any of
the ideas that you chose.

The first time, the last time.

>> What if you still wanna
do is small moments story.

Not like notes.

What if you still want to
do stories that's not about

>> That's a good question,

and first I want to just say that these
are gonna be small moment stories.

Personal narratives
are gonna use small moments.

>> Why don't you, let's do it.

Write something different.

>> Yeah, I would like you to

talk with me about that in a second
here just to see what that might be.

But what I want you to try,
and like I've said before.

You are in charge of your writing.

But I do want you to
explore today a little bit.

The trying to write something that
has a moment of significance for you.

And what I know about you or

is that in your writing you
pretty much do that anyway.

Like the story that you
wrote the other day.

Was really the one that you did for
the writer celebration was really

a last time I'm gonna ever do
that is how you ended it, right?

He said I'm never gonna do that again.

And that was a wonderful
personal narrative that

brought us into that thing and actually
a lot of you that writer celebration last

time read stories that we're like this
the first time I tried to wait for.

First time I shot a potato.

Last time I ding dong ditch, right?

Most of you did this.

And this is just a strategy award for
coming up with ideas for

those kinds of stories a little faster,
okay.

>> Okay, now I get it.

>> You got it?

Excellent.

So pick a story that
you’re gonna do today.

Try sketching out a timeline cuz that
really worked for a lot of you in

organizing your writing and bringing
the reader through that experience.

What's that?
>> I just did my timeline.

>> You just did your timeline?

>> Yes.
>> And once you finished your timeline,

write, okay?

So find a place you're comfortable and
go write.

>> Could we [INAUDIBLE]
>> A series of small moments if-

>> That would be perfect.

So that's what that timeline would be
really good for, like [SOUND] But yes,

it can definitely be
a series of small moments.

That was one of the things that printed on
our chart yesterday that good writers do.

Jack had a brilliant question.

Is it okay if we do it like
the Lucy Comes Home story

where we write a series of small moments.

And yes that's what we look at that for
because that's a great idea.