What is your path to a completed manuscript? When you sit down to the tyranny of the blank page, with the curls of a question, seeds of a story or the glimmer of an idea, how do you begin? Are you a pantser or a plotter? Or perhaps you are both, like me. I write in circles. I begin with a curl, a seed, or a glimmer. And I write. Something. I let it tumble out onto the page. I end up with some prose, or a blog post, or a short story. I fly by the seat of my pants and see what happens. I save it. Then I pause. I come back to it later and see if anything more may come. Is this short story enough for the beginnings of a novel? Is this prose enough for a book topic or chapter? Is this activity idea the beginnings of a unit plan or a book guide? Sometimes the answer is no. Or not-yet. Or yes, there is something more here. Here is when I begin to plot. I plot and outline until I get stuck. Then I write some more and see where the next idea, the next plot point, the next scene will take me. Then I write myself into a corner, or get lost along the way. Then I return to my outline and my plotting. And so it goes until my first draft is finished. Then I begin my second draft. Only this time my plot is stronger, the process clearer, and the ideas weave together more tightly. It's an interesting process, writing in circles like this. And I've found it mirrors life. I have dreams. I set goals. And I live life. My life never follows my goals or dreams the way I picture in my mind. Plot twists abound and I just need to take the next step on the next day to find out what happens. Then I return to readjust my goals when necessary. I love this quote from Helen Keller: Life is either |
2019 has been a difficult year for many across Australia. We are a land of droughts and flooding rains. A land of extremes. 2019 has been a dry and thirsty year. This Christmas our area drank in life giving rain. The kind that falls softly and gently soaks into the thirsty earth. This rain, our Wet Christmas, is our version of a White Christmas. |
This week in-between Christmas and New Year, the present between past and future, is my time for rest, for cleaning, for reading and writing, and for cricket.
Some accidental traditions are just the best!
After a week of ice-tipped wind reaching to touch the sub-tropics with the edges of winter the air now holds a hint of August spring and this blue-sky Sunday morning promises serenity.
Caught between over-full working weeks, Sundays are special. A moment for coffee in the sun. A moment to read for fun. A moment of quiet reflection and a moment to recentre. This Sunday holds a slow start and a soft, unfolding flow. It gifts time to wander in my own backyard and reconnect with the natural world alive on my doorstep and I am delighted to find my first rose from my birthday rose bush, the aromatic Jasmine flowers in bloom, and both native bees and European bees busy at work while I rest.
A moment to just be in this little patch of earth that is my home. It has been suggested that God creates each flower, again and again, because He loves each individual one and the wonder it holds. Like a child He says, 'Do it again!'. And in this moment I connect to this child-like wonder. It does not grow old.
In this moment I write. In this moment I take time to add some notes of observation and colour in my nature journal that holds this poetic knowledge for days when the frazzle draws on this remembered peace and joy.
Caught between over-full working weeks, Sundays are special. A moment for coffee in the sun. A moment to read for fun. A moment of quiet reflection and a moment to recentre. This Sunday holds a slow start and a soft, unfolding flow. It gifts time to wander in my own backyard and reconnect with the natural world alive on my doorstep and I am delighted to find my first rose from my birthday rose bush, the aromatic Jasmine flowers in bloom, and both native bees and European bees busy at work while I rest.
A moment to just be in this little patch of earth that is my home. It has been suggested that God creates each flower, again and again, because He loves each individual one and the wonder it holds. Like a child He says, 'Do it again!'. And in this moment I connect to this child-like wonder. It does not grow old.
In this moment I write. In this moment I take time to add some notes of observation and colour in my nature journal that holds this poetic knowledge for days when the frazzle draws on this remembered peace and joy.
A Sunday such as this fittingly ends with a time of fellowship and worship with my friends and family. To end this day in moments of remembered grace, truths to anchor my heart, and encouragement to face the new week with purpose and praise provides a spiritual nourishment that breathes life to my heart, mind and soul.
Now I am ready for a new week.
Now I am ready for a new week.
In all things of nature
there is something
of the marvelous.
~Aristotle~
"The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
Marcel Proust
Here is a fun introductory writing unit for teens exploring the non- fiction, informative, genre of travel writing. This unit may take between 2-4 weeks to complete depending upon how much lesson time you have available each week for this unit and how deeply your teen would like to explore travel writing.
Unit Outline
1) Opening Discussion: Consider the following questions - What do you know about travel writing? What do you expect to find in travel writing? Add thoughts into notebook or whiteboard to review and compare later.
2) Sources: Choose between 1-4 travel articles to read and narrate. Some good sources include The Lonely Planet, National Geographic and traveller.com.au.
3) Read one article and discuss. Consider these questions - How does the author catch the reader's attention? Do you think it was effective?; What kind of background information does the author give - is it necessary/do you think anything was left out?; How does the author describe the setting?; How does the author describe people? Compare with the author's description of the location; Does the author use dialogue, does it add to the story?; What is the main event in the article?; Are images or photos included - do they add to the story experience?
4) Read Chapter 13, Writing About Places: The Travel Article in On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Discuss the chapter as you read or have the student write notes or narrations. Read some more travel articles if the students are interested and time allows.
5) Brainstorm a list of events and personal experiences that might make a fun piece of travel writing. Select one topic from the list to write about then write all the names, places, descriptions, notes and phrases that relate. Compare your notes to your original analysis questions and identify the elements that you have included and elements you may need to add.
6) Write your first draft. Edit for spelling, vivid vocabulary, article structure and sentence flow.
7) Complete your final copy with a title. Format and publish like an article and/or share it with classmates in a presentation or collaborative peer review format.
8) Repeat this process if your students would like to write more or integrate this unit with geography, history, or literature where a travel article would connect well with various subject topics.
If you would like a complimentary copy of this unit plan, complete with task sheet and marking criteria, as a pdf please contact me to request the Travel Writing Unit.
Unit Outline
1) Opening Discussion: Consider the following questions - What do you know about travel writing? What do you expect to find in travel writing? Add thoughts into notebook or whiteboard to review and compare later.
2) Sources: Choose between 1-4 travel articles to read and narrate. Some good sources include The Lonely Planet, National Geographic and traveller.com.au.
3) Read one article and discuss. Consider these questions - How does the author catch the reader's attention? Do you think it was effective?; What kind of background information does the author give - is it necessary/do you think anything was left out?; How does the author describe the setting?; How does the author describe people? Compare with the author's description of the location; Does the author use dialogue, does it add to the story?; What is the main event in the article?; Are images or photos included - do they add to the story experience?
4) Read Chapter 13, Writing About Places: The Travel Article in On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Discuss the chapter as you read or have the student write notes or narrations. Read some more travel articles if the students are interested and time allows.
5) Brainstorm a list of events and personal experiences that might make a fun piece of travel writing. Select one topic from the list to write about then write all the names, places, descriptions, notes and phrases that relate. Compare your notes to your original analysis questions and identify the elements that you have included and elements you may need to add.
6) Write your first draft. Edit for spelling, vivid vocabulary, article structure and sentence flow.
7) Complete your final copy with a title. Format and publish like an article and/or share it with classmates in a presentation or collaborative peer review format.
8) Repeat this process if your students would like to write more or integrate this unit with geography, history, or literature where a travel article would connect well with various subject topics.
If you would like a complimentary copy of this unit plan, complete with task sheet and marking criteria, as a pdf please contact me to request the Travel Writing Unit.
Aligned with Australian Curriculum Year 7 English
- Literacy Key Content Descriptors
ACELY1721 - Analyse and explain the ways text structures and language features shape meaning and vary according to audience and purpose.
ACELT1619 - Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts from different historical, social and cultural contexts.
- Achievement Standards
Understanding how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary affects meaning.
Use of personal knowledge, textual analysis and other sources to express a point of view.
- Literacy Key Content Descriptors
ACELY1721 - Analyse and explain the ways text structures and language features shape meaning and vary according to audience and purpose.
ACELT1619 - Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts from different historical, social and cultural contexts.
- Achievement Standards
Understanding how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary affects meaning.
Use of personal knowledge, textual analysis and other sources to express a point of view.
Commonplacing is a practice of recording quotes and passages to synthesise learning and create a personalised reference resource for personal encouragement and academic projects. It's a practice I've cultivated for myself and shared with my children and students as part of their own educational journeys.
Below is a free quick guide to the art of commonplacing. In this guide I share my own experiences with commonplacing and tips for how I've introduced this to my students as part of our English and History lessons.
Download it. Try out some of the ideas. Share your experiences by contacting me or leaving your comments below. Share photo's of your own commonplacing books and add #artofcommonplaceguide so we can find you.
Below is a free quick guide to the art of commonplacing. In this guide I share my own experiences with commonplacing and tips for how I've introduced this to my students as part of our English and History lessons.
Download it. Try out some of the ideas. Share your experiences by contacting me or leaving your comments below. Share photo's of your own commonplacing books and add #artofcommonplaceguide so we can find you.
So, here I sit on a rainy Saturday morning, many months after my first round of manuscript submissions and manuscript rejections, which come in many forms, including silence. Silence. Yup. I got a big fat zero response. I can now tick this off as official submission experience #1.
And what have I done about it? Nothing.
Well, nothing yet.
The fact is life has been overwhelmingly busy, with family and teaching consuming my waking, and sleeping, hours. The truth is that although I have not had the time or head space to follow up on my manuscript submissions, or to even write for that matter, these months are not lost. An important writing tip for wanna-be writers is to live life. Life is our classroom and life provides compost for our story-seeds to sprout.
The fact is I need space in my life in order to hear my own thoughts and add those thoughts to paper, and I just haven't had that space recently. The truth is that I need to find the physical space, time space, emotional space, and mental space I need to write. It's my responsibility to take myself seriously as a writer and carve out that space, on purpose.
Author Jerry B. Jenkins has a helpful article outlining a series of practical steps on How to Write a Book. The first two steps, establishing my space and assembling my tools are what I have been working on recently. A copy of this article is now laid out on my desk, in full view, to remind me to keep working on my writing and to continue guarding my writing space as a new term of teaching begins.
And what have I done about it? Nothing.
Well, nothing yet.
The fact is life has been overwhelmingly busy, with family and teaching consuming my waking, and sleeping, hours. The truth is that although I have not had the time or head space to follow up on my manuscript submissions, or to even write for that matter, these months are not lost. An important writing tip for wanna-be writers is to live life. Life is our classroom and life provides compost for our story-seeds to sprout.
The fact is I need space in my life in order to hear my own thoughts and add those thoughts to paper, and I just haven't had that space recently. The truth is that I need to find the physical space, time space, emotional space, and mental space I need to write. It's my responsibility to take myself seriously as a writer and carve out that space, on purpose.
Author Jerry B. Jenkins has a helpful article outlining a series of practical steps on How to Write a Book. The first two steps, establishing my space and assembling my tools are what I have been working on recently. A copy of this article is now laid out on my desk, in full view, to remind me to keep working on my writing and to continue guarding my writing space as a new term of teaching begins.
So, here I sit on a rainy Saturday morning, ready to dust off my writing journal and my pen. To begin, again, practicing the art writing in my day. Every day. To mull over the life lessons of the past few months. To take hold of courage again and continue working on my current writing projects.
And so I begin...
And so I procrastinate...
...#8 on the list
And so I begin...
And so I procrastinate...
...#8 on the list