Lee Child: Man of Mystery

The Character's Attitude

"One of the surest signs of an amateur story is when strange or important events happen around the narrator or point-of-view character, and he doesn't have an attitude toward them." (Orson Scott Card)
But then how do you know if you have put too much attitude?
Well the attitude gives the reader a clue into the character, even the narrator.  It can also help the reader understand why a character might like or not like a setting.  It can be done with just a few words such as "bleak" or "institution."

Knocking off the Writer's Block

Creative visualization is used for everything from fighting cancer (patients visualize their body's defenses defeating cancer cells in battle) to practicing a physical skill (basketball players have imporved their accuracy by visualizing shot after shot) to gaining wealth. 
The theory is that our brains don't know the difference between real experience and imagined experience, so if we picture ourselves doing something, and use all our senses to make the picture seem real, that the "experience" will become part of your mental landscape.
Suggestion:

• Visualize yourself writing.  You fingers fly, and page after page of brilliant prose follow.
• Picture that big ugly Writer's Block in front of your door.  Now in great detail, visualize its removal.

You can do whatever you like to it.  Have an elephant shove it out of the way and over a cliff.  Drill holes in it, insert plastique, and blow it to cosmic dust.  Chisel it into a winged muse.  Imagine in great detail -- the smells, the sounds, the feel of the stone or the elephant's trunk.  Just get that clunky thing out of your way.
By Sheila Boneham
www.sheilaboneham.com

The Voice of Possiblity

by Jennifer Paros

I read an article about an Australian woman who gave birth to twins prematurely;  they were born at 27 weeks. The girl was fine but the boy was declared dead by  the doctor after twenty minutes of attempted resuscitation.  The mother unwrapped  the baby and laid him against her skin, held him and talked to him for two hours  until he began showing signs of life.  He seemed to gasp for air; the doctor  dismissed it as a reflex action, but when the mother fed the baby breast milk  from her finger his breathing normalized.  Soon he opened his eyes.   And what  seemed to be The Impossible became Possible.  Each of us has dreams, thoughts, and ideas – some of which are shared and  some of which remain purely our own.  And part of that stream of thought is  one that flies in the face of realism, common sense, or proof.  It is the thought  of pure possibility that can help determine and define our path, and help us find  the opportunity to offer our greatest good to others.  more...

Writing a Book: Reading your book out loud

Back to basics with pen and paper - The Writer Magazine

Back to basics with pen and paper - The Writer Magazine

Why I freewrite...

Journaling is a powerful tool. Peter Elbow, (he's a professor back East, and considered an expert in the academia field of writing) calls it "freewriting."

I used it as a high school teacher with my troubled Juniors and Seniors. I learned how it quiets the brain .... yes even ADHD students can do this.... But the trick is to keep putting words on the paper. It reminded me of a child crying himself to sleep, finally after fussing he quiets down. The brain fights you with thinking of the position of your chair and then how the pen sits in your hand, and then there is the light, and what am I suppose to say and how can I say it. I don't have anything to say.

Slowly your thoughts starts to spiral down to the page. Usually by the middle or start of the second page your fingers are moving and you are thinking about things, plans, the art... It's really not the size of the page....or the pen....it's the time to bring your thoughts to quiet down and let the creative thoughts come out....

It works great on troubled kids..... and it works great on troubled writers too...

Finally I got it posted

It took close to a month to get his visual posted to my blog. It shows how the word "This" or "it" can be confusing.

In the 1st sample, "It took time" is confusing. What is "it"? The faculty agreement or the requirements?

In the 2nd sample, What does "this" refer to? The little the British knew or the lack of experience.

Faulty agreement

Characters and Action in your sentences

Characters and Actions

This sentence has a problem:
"Once upon a time, there was Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, the Woodsman and the Wolf. The end."

It has NO ACTION.

This sentence has action:
"Once upon a time, as a walk through the woods was taking place, a jump out from behind a tree occurred, causing fright."

But it has no CHARACTERS.

OK, this sentence has both Characters and Action:
"Once upon a time, as a walk through the woods was taking place on the part of Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf's jump out from behind a tree occurred, causing fright in Little Red Riding Hood."

What? That doesn't make any sense! Something is still wrong.

POINT: The characters were NOT the subjects. The actions were NOT the verbs.

The CHARACTERS need to be the SUBJECTS.
"Once upon a time, as a walk through the woods was taking place on the part of Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf's jump out from behind a tree occurred, causing fright in Little Red Riding Hood."

In this sentence --
The Subject: a walk through the woods…….is not a character
Then the main character: Little Red Riding Hood……….was not the subject
Then the main character: the wolf………was not the subject
The Subject: jump out from behind a tree……..again not a character

The actions underlined were NOT the verbs (verbs are capitalized)
a walk through the woods WAS TAKING place
Wolf's jump out from behind a tree OCCURRED.

Now move the main characters to the subject and the sentence will be:
"Once upon a time, Little Red Riding Hood was walking through the woods, when the Wolf jumped out from behind a tree and frightened her."

Main Character – Little Red Riding Hood
Action – walking
Main character – Wolf
Action – jumped

POINT:
If a sentence seems indirect and confusing, we do not see the main characters in the subject, NOR do we see the verbs as some type of action for those characters.

The first two principles of good story telling:
* Express main characters as SUBJECTS
* Express their actions as VERBS

What verb to use with There or These?

These and There….. so confusing.

When you use the word "These," ask – these WHAT?

These meetings? Then you would say These are.

You need to know what the pronoun is replacing.
Once you figure that out then you know what verb you should use.

There – pointing to – a lot.
A lot…..more than one……plural.

There – pointing to – signs.
Signs…..more than one…..plural.

How to stay away from "There are" sentences?
There are a lot of signs.

Change it around. Subject – Signs.
Signs are all over the wall.

Clear reference when using "This"

Using the word "This" can cause problems if you aren't careful.

The pronoun MUST have a clear reference.

Use the pronoun "This" when you have a clear reference in the preceding clause.

Overview of writing, revision and edit

Writing as a process

Pre-writing ↔ drafting ↔ revision ↔ editing ↔ Submit the paper

What do I do in the revision step??? This is when you are molding the paper into something that makes sense.
You check for
--> ideas and content, organize (outline or list),
--> what voice (humor, technical),
--> types of words used (Vocabulary, friendly use of can't or formal use of cannot).

When you are done --> Read it out loud.

* * * ONLY AFTER you have done your revision do you move on to editing. Not during and most of all NOT before * * *

What do I do in the editing step???
You check for those things you 3rd Grade teacher used mark on your paper
--> spelling,
--> capitals,
--> punctuation,
--> grammar
--> complete sentences and
--> paragraphs.

Please note you can go back to the revision step at any time. But when you do, you need to repeat the editing step.
Do Not do these two steps at the same time.


When you are done --> Read it out loud again.

Writing a Topic Sentence

The methods to write a topic sentence are unlimited. I will start with the most basic method for this post. I will post other variations in another post.

1. What is the subject? Girls, peace treaties or golf courses.

2. What are you going to prove or explain about this subject?

Let's say I want to write a paper about Play Station 3.
Now I have to prove that my statement is true.

Every kid should have a "Play Station 3" because (1) it is fun, (2) it improves coordination and (3) it improves social skills.

Now I start my second paragraph with "Play Station is fun." and then say why it is fun.
My third paragraph will start with "Play Station 3 helps me improve my eye-hand coordination and then prove it.
My fourth paragraph will start with "Play Station 3 also improves my social skills."

Some times you can use "Number" words in the topic sentence to help you stay focused. This is a great tool for in-class essays and the dreaded old WPE. Those exams are looking for organization and it makes it easy for the reader as well as the writer to see the organization.

Examples:

When my family goes camping, we always stay at one of our three favorite parks.

I love jazz and I have three favorite performers who I listen to all the time.

Here is a list of number words that you might helpful:

a couple of
a number of
numerous
some
various
a few
four
plenty of
three
a myriad
many
several
two

Lets get some ideas

After you have figured out what it is that you are suppose to do--from the prompt, now you have to start collecting ideas.

Start writing down words that are connected to this prompt. Take a piece of paper and start writing listing, any way you want. Put those words down on the paper. Too many times I have heard students say "Oh, I'll remember those points" -- that is until you face a clean white page and suddenly you have a "brain freeze." Put it down on paper now. Especially if this is an "In class essay." Write the list on the inside cover of your blue book.

Remember: Write fast! Something about writing fast just opens the gates.

Now pick out three of the most important points. I put a circle around them. Then I start listing important things you need to know about those three points. Don't look for perfection at this time.

Example:
Bicyle Safety
Three points I could think of that are important: 1. Look for cars around you, 2. Safe places to park my bike and 3. Law says I have to have a helmet.

OK. Now I have to list some points on each item. #1 -- Look around for cars -- careful when riding on the street someone can open a car door in front of you, a car could back out of the drive way and not see you, and stop at intersections (Try to keep it at three)
#2 -- Safe places to park my bike -- a bike rack, enclosed lockers, and maybe a tree (Remember we are brainstorming. You can go back and change it later. Keep thinking!)
#3 -- Wear a helmet -- make sure it fits you, make sure you can still see without a problem, and make sure it fastens correctly.

Remember this is brainstorming -- not a time to worry about spelling or grammar. You are trying to get as much down as fast as you can. If you can only think of two things. List those two things. While you are writing you will remember more.

Don't shut the brain down trying to think of that thing, you know, that thing, darm I can't remember the name, it's on the tip of my tongue, I know it, I know it.

Stop that. If you can't think of names put down a color or shape or letter, and go on. It will come back to you.

This is not the time to worry about being neat. You are letting your brain do an information dump, and you just hope your hand can keep up with it. You are not going to use everything.

Once you have some ideas. Try to get it in three lists. Not four or five. Just three -- unless the prompt asks for more or less.

Now lets see if we can write a Topic Sentence.

Where do I start?

You start with the prompt.

That is the little blurb telling you what the writing task is, the instructions.
For Example:

"Analyze the specific reasons you prefer to ride the bus to school rather than walk."

or

"First describe the important factors a buyer must consider before buying a new car and then evaluate the car's most important safety features by concentrating on the most challenging aspects of that car."

Before you do anything, write a single word or read the provided essay or reading assignment, look at what the prompt is asking you to do. Look at the academic words (in bold) used in the prompt.

When I get a paper with a writing prompt, I always underline them so I am sure to understand what the writing assignment is asking of me. If you are doing an in-class writing test or assignment: Write down the words. You can even use those specific words or ideas when you are brainstorming. On occasion I have even used those specific words or ideas in my introductory paragraph.

Definition of Academic words:

Analyze: Break down the subject into parts and then explain what is the difference and how they might be related to each other.

Compare: This will be between two (2) separate things. You will show how they are similar as well as how they are different with details and examples. (If it is more than two things, you will be expected to rate or give value.)

Contrast: This will be between two (2) separate things but you will focus on how they are different with details and examples.

Critique: You will point out the good points and the bad points of the thing.

Define: Give a clear and accurate meaning of the subject, and provide details and examples to show that you understand the subject.

Describe: This providing a visual detail of the subject. You will tell how it looks or how the even happened. You will also provide the Who, What, Where, Why and How.

Discuss: This is asking for a complete and detailed answer which will include the main points and the important characteristics of those points.

Evaluate: This is asking for you to give value or importance of the subject. You must talk about the strength and weaknesses, the good and bad points. You are suppose to give examples and details, but you are making a judgment on its value--opinion with proof.

Explain: You give the meaning of something with facts and details to add to the understanding of the subject.

Illustrate: Make the idea you are presenting by giving clear examples.

Interpret: Explain the meaning of something you read, or discuss the results or effects of something you observed.

Justify: Give good reasons to support a decision, action or event.

Persuade: Give strong reasons in order to get someone to do or believe something; appeal to the reader's feelings and mind.

Respond: Give your overall reaction to the material read, then support your opinions with specific details and examples, always referring back to the source of your reaction.

State: Give the main points in brief, clear form.

Summarize: Just briefly cover the main points of the subject. In this response you do NOT include the personal opinions about the content.

Trace: Tell about an event or process in chronological order.

Welcome

So many people think writing is too hard and they can't do it.

The idea that they have to sit down and write a paper just scares them to death, well not real death, just sweaty palms, trembling legs and a pounding chest. Believe me, I have seen some of our star basketball players do just that when they come in the Tutoring Center in desperate need of help. You know the guy. He has to get the right grade on his next paper or he's off the team.

Yet this very same struggling writer has no trouble sitting down next to his buddy and start talking about last night's football game, or describing those cool tires and with matching rims he saw in the parking lot this morning.

Writing and storytelling have many of the same rules. (Even the most scholarly report is a type of storytelling.) The most important rule to remember is: If you can carry a conversation with a person, you can do this.

I taught writing to middle and high school students. I have also taught college students and tutored in the "Writing Center." Some of my students were preparing for the dreaded "WPE," the exam they need to pass before they can get their Degree, and we got it done.

You would be surprised how many students do not know how to write the basic paper -- the old "Five Paragraph Essay," or a contrast and comparison essay, or about writing logic and grace, or even basic grammar tricks.

I decided to do a blog about the points I found most useful, so anyone can pull up this information when they really need it.

You know the one. She didn't listen to the instructor and now she is struggling in the middle of the night just hours before the paper is due and needs a helpful hint or two.

I hope this will be a good place for her to look. No promises. If she doesn't have the basic meat of her paper, she's out of luck coming to this blog.

I want to help students with "How to put this in to an acceptable structure."

I also want to help the student who just never knew about structure to begin with--and believe me, you are not alone. I also want to help the student who doesn't know what is missing in his or her education? If the student knew, he would fix it. Maybe I can help with that.

Well lets get started.