Writing Tips

WRITING TIPS

Ideas

	Use something to record all of your ideas down on. It doesn't matter if it is a bound journal, spiral notebook, napkins, or a computer file, just as long as you record them.
	Never ever throw away one of your ideas! You never know if you are going to use them later in life.
	Do not believe that you will remember an idea later, you almost never will! Try to record your idea as soon as you can.
	one way to get ideas is to go to a place that has a lot of people, especially kids. Try to listen to some of the conversations, who knows! Maybe you can get a story by doing that.
	Go to the library to get ideas. Jot down your ideas on something.
	A good way to get an idea is to say 'what if...'

Brainstorming

	When you are brainstorming, record all of your ideas, you might want to use them later.
	Remember that spinning off of other people's ideas is okay.
	The fist of ideas that pop into your head are not usually the best, which is why they pop into your head so easily! You have to work for the better ones.

Researching

To help research a topic you can use the Internet, magazines, your local library, museums, interviews and letters.

Story Elements

Character: Who is this story about?

Setting: Where and when does the story happen?

Conflict: What problem must the character solve?

Climax: What crisis forces the character to either succeed or fail?

Resolution: How has the character changed or grown?

Plot: What happens in this story? Why and how do they happen?

	The beginning of your story should hook the reader.
	There should be no surprises at the resolution point of your story, unless it is a series.
	Try to hook the readers at the end of each chapter so that they will want to keep reading on.
	A lot of hooks are good.
	You can start with the end or middle of your story. You do not always have to start with the beginning. It is okay to jump around.

Steps

	Prewriting/Thinking
	Drafting/Writing first draft
	Rewriting/Go over it and rewrite some of the poor parts
	Editing/Edit your spelling and grammar
	Publishing/Send your manuscript in to be published. A good source of publishing places is Children's Writers and Illustrators Market.

Point of View

	1st Person: Narrated by one of the story's characters
	3rd Person: Narrated by pronouns like "he went" or "she went" or "Hallie went".

Dialogue

	It is good to have dialogue in stories. it helps move the plot along, and helps the readers get to know our characters. A lot can be learned from dialogue. You should use it a lot in your stories, but not too often or the readers will get bored.
	Dialogue makes the story easier to read, sometimes.
	Make sure the characters talk the way real people talk, unless you are purposely trying to make them talk in a weird way.
	Do not use too many "ums" or "likes" and stuff like that.
	Break up long pieces of dialogue with action.
	Avoid slang.
	Identify who is speaking.

Show, Don't Tell

Always show, do not tell or the readers will get bored to death. Example:

Tell: Katie was sad.

Show: Tears rolled down Katie's cheeks, and you could hear her small snuffles from under her pillow.

Use action!

Nonfiction Elements

Beginning: How can I hook the reader?

Middle: How can I bring this to life for the reader?

Ending: What do I want to do to make sure that the reader has learned something?

	The beginning of your story should give a hint at what they were about to learn.
	Anecdotal experiences uses a person's certification or experiences to show the importance of your topic. Anecdotal accounts, written to read like fiction, they work because they allow readers to relate to the topic on a personal level.

Which one of these do you like better?

Tracy held her breath as she whizzed down the icy slope at forty miles per hour.

Snow skiing is done on snow or icy terrain. Skiers can often reach a speed of thirty miles per hour.

The first one is a great way to grab the reader's attention, they like to be shown, not told!

	Starting with a question directed to the reader automatically involves the reader with your topic. Readers make a personal contention when you ask a question like: "How would you design the perfect science project?" Hopefully, readers will want to read on to determine of their idea match yours.
	Starting with a scene description ask readers to envision a picture of your selected topic, the purpose of the scene is to encourage readers to imagine being in the midst of the topic. Having them sit in the space shuttle and feel the vibration of it lifting off is an example of effectively using scene description to engage readers.
	A startling statement or fact is also an effective way to grab your readers' attention. "Only one in 6,500 writers will ever get published" is a dramatic statement to make. It certainly catches the attention of wanna-be writers! The readers will stay hooked if the statement is followed by an engaging question like, "wouldn't you like to know how to be that one?"
	Here is a chart to use for your topic to see which opening you like best.

Nonfiction Hooks

Anecdote:

Question:

Scene:

Statement:

	The middle or body of your nonfiction piece is where you share all of the things you learned during your research.
	Make it lively and entertaining or the readers will get bored. if you were just to recite the facts, they would fall asleep!
	To help the reader visualize the information you should break up your text with charts, lists, and graphs.
	Make some comparisons.
	Organize your information so that it is easier for your readers to read, and so they do not get confused.
	Do not tell everything about your topic. Focus on the highlights and interesting details!
	The ending of your piece should not be long.
	Do a brief highlight and review.

Characters

	Characters basically drive your story.
	There are basically three types of characters to consider. The protagonist is the main character is the story. the antagonist is the opponent of the main character. The other ones are secondary characters. They are the people who fill the life of your main character; the people who he or she interacts with on a daily basis.
	Remember that usually people want to relate to the people they read about.

CREATE-A-CHARACTER

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Grade level:

Teachers' names:

Hair color:

Eye color:

Place of birth:

One distinguishing physical feature:

One distinguishing personality feature:

One physical habit:

One speech habit:

Hobbies:

Family members:

Pets:

Thing which he or she is most proud of:

Thing he or she hopes no one will find out:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Fears:

What he or she wants more than anything:

The best part of school:

The worst part of school:

The name of his or her best friend:

The one thing worth fighting about with his or her best friend:

Most prized possessions:

His or her birthday:

Where he or she lives:

	Create a timeline about your character.
	If you want to keep the readers reading you should make something at stake and obstacles for the reader to overcome.