Finish Your Novel Finishing Your Novel “A writer is someone who finishes.” -- Thomas Farber This section is for you if: You’ve started a novel but are having trouble finishing it, or You want to start a novel but aren’t sure you’ll be able to finish it. I’ve been writing novels (and teaching about writing novels) for twenty years, and one thing I’ve learned is how to finish. This section is about how to handle those things. Finishing a novel (or any kind of writing project) is a transformational experience. A long time ago, something funny happened to me. I thought I was a writer. And then my house burned down. So I made some notes on the book I remembered best, flew to Thailand, and wrote the whole thing in seven weeks. This area of the site is based on what I've learned since then.
MINI BOOK TEMPLATE - FREE CENTER! Pages This Blog Linked From Here The Web March 30, 2012 Word peeps . . . my Earth Day unit still in the works, but here's a little something to tide you over. On Mondays my kids were given an overall mini book topic and a basic cloze sentence to copy and finish. Labels: freebie, mini book template, writing 7 comments: Mrs. Load more... Newer PostOlder PostHome Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Visit My Store! Grab My Button! Blog Archive Follow Me @ Bloglovin' Followers A Few Favorites Labels Follow by Email Search This Blog Website Design By | Sour Apple Studio | All Rights Reserved
A Rubric for Evaluating Student Blogs University of Wisconsin - Stout — Schedule of Online Courses, Online Certificate Programs, and Graduate Degree Follow us on Facebook. This rubric may be used for assessing individual blog entries, including comments on peers’ blogs. A Rubric PDF version for printing A Rubric for Evaluating Student Blogs University of Wisconsin - Stout — Schedule of Online Courses, Online Certificate Programs, and Graduate Degree Readings on Authentic Assessment Examples of Other Rubrics
TEN SIMPLE KEYS TO PLOT STRUCTURE Structure is something that every agent and executive in Hollywood talks about, and that all of us teachers/authors/consultants/gurus/whatever go on and on about, to the point that it can seem complicated, intricate, mysterious and hard to master. So I want present plot structure in a way that simplifies it – that will at least give you a starting point for properly structuring your screenplay without overwhelming you with rules and details and jargon. Here are what I consider ten key elements of structure – ten ways of looking at structure that will immediately improve the emotional impact – and commercial potential – of your script. THE SINGLE RULE OF STRUCTURE I once got to work with long time television writer Doug Heyes, who used to say that there is only one rule for achieving proper plot structure: What’s happening now must be inherently more interesting than what just happened.
Math After our unit on Fractions, Decimals is going smoothly. We are working on writing, comparing, ordering, adding/subtracting and converting decimals. I need to create a few new center activities(maybe next year) . We use Everyday Math as a resource to the Common Core. A student woking independently We use "Guided Math" two times a week. Games during "Guided Math", playing Decimal War Using slates to practice decimal skills. This summer I plan on organzing my math materials, resources and games to align with the Common Core Domains and Standards. How do keep your math materials and resources organized?
Assessment & Rubrics A common question that we get with regard to technology projects is "how do I grade it?" The 21st-century communication and collaboration skills which are used with most technology based projects are, in many ways, real-world problem-solving skills. The standard, multiple-choice type tests simply are not going to be able to assess students' learning. Performance is most often viewed in the form of formative and summative assessment. Rubrics to Measure Student Learning Providing detailed explanations of an assignment using an online rubric, such as Rubistar or Digial Media Scoring Guides, can assist students in both completing tasks and improving future performance. Fundamentally, assessing multimedia projects is no different from assessing a traditional project, writing assignment or presentation. When assessing student work created with technology, it is important to consider the learning curve that is typically associated with using a new technology. Assessing Student Blogging
``How To Speak and Write Postmodern'' Posted to alt.humor.best-of-usenet by Andrew C Bulhak on 20 June 1995, found in alt.postmodern. by Stephen Katz, Associate Professor, Sociology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada Postmodernism has been the buzzword in academia for the last decade. However, I think the real gulf is not so much positional as linguistic. First, you need to remember that plainly expressed language is out of the question. Sometimes you might be in a hurry and won't have the time to muster even the minimum number of postmodern synonyms and neologisms needed to avoid public disgrace. Now for the test. At some point someone may actually ask you what you're talking about. Rubrics for Teachers - Assessment Learn more about our Online Courses, Online Certificate Programs, and Graduate Degree A collection of rubrics for assessing portfolios, group work/cooperative learning, concept map, research process/ report, PowerPoint, oral presentation, web page, blog, wiki, and other social media projects. Quick Links to Rubrics Social Media Project Rubrics Wiki RubricCriteria for assessing individual and group Wiki contributions. Blog RubricAssess individual blog entries, including comments on peers' blogs. Twitter RubricAssess learning during social networking instructional assignments. Discussion, Teamwork, and Group Work Rubrics Online Discussion Board RubricAssessing ability to share perspectives, refine thoughts through the writing process, and participate in meaningful discussionPrimary Grade Self-Evaluation Teamwork Rubric (PDF)Features of a sandwich to graphically show the criteria PowerPoint and Podcast Rubrics A+ PowerPoint Rubric Joan Vandervelde's rubric provides 10 performance categories
fifteen credibility street Rules for Poets, Now That Anyone Can Write If you use the word 'soul,' you will be shot. Rhymes are appropriate to children's books and high school creative writing assignments. Formulae are beautiful only in mathematics. Repeat after me: "Revolutionary content, revolutionary form." All nights are not endless; all rains not gentle; all skies not azure; &c. It is not a poem just because the line ends before the punctuation. Some writers toss down whatever words come to mind. No wonder we are not all poets. If it hasn't been edited, it is not a poem. It is as difficult to write a poem as it is to write a symphony. Don't kid yourself. The importance of a private memory doesn't justify art. Have you ever torn up a sheet of paper into small pieces, so bad was the poem written on it? If the artist doesn't distinguish between good and bad work, someone else will. Remember: even a monkey can mimic an artist. The world does not need another poem about a bad relationship. Poetry is about words, not ideas.
evenfromhere With a nod to the ever-brilliant-and-willing-to-share Kim Cofino, here is the rubric I’ve lately begun to use in my classroom for grading student blog posts. This is an experiment in action and depending on how this tool works, it is very likely that it will come under some revision. If anyone has any comments and suggestions, I would be happy to hear them. Here’s a link to the same file on google docs so you can copy it out and make any changes that fit your place. Creative Writing Exercises No matter what stage you're at with your writing, it's always beneficial to work on craft and technique. These creative writing exercises target common problems and weaknesses. Switch Point of View Both first person and third person have their strengths and weaknesses; what works for one story may not work for another. A Day Without Modifiers While modifiers -- adjectives and adverbs -- can add to a story, too many, or the wrong ones, can bog down your prose and lead to weaker nouns and verbs. Avoid Back Story Unlike the other creative writing exercises on this list, this one asks you to work in another genre. Listening for Dialogue Not everyone starts out with an ear for dialogue, but fortunately it can be developed, like any other skill. Description Creative Writing Exercise Who's the most memorable person you've ever met?
6 Ways to Hook Your Readers Although I consider myself an avid reader, I must admit I have a short attention span when it comes to getting into books. If you fail to grab my attention in the first few lines, I start spacing out. Most readers are like me. Most people don’t want to spend the first 50 pages trying to get into a book. Here are a few things I find annoying in the first lines of a story: Dialogue. The last thing you want to do as a writer is annoy or bore people. (N.B. 1. Put a question in your readers’ minds. “Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did.” 2. By starting at an important moment in the story, your reader is more likely to want to continue so he or she can discover what will happen next. “It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she’d been told.” 3. Description is good when it encourages people to paint a picture in their minds. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” 4. 5. “They had flown from England to Minneapolis to look at a toilet.” 6.
How to Write a Prologue for Your Novel: 6 steps The young woman was sprawled out on the ground, her legs kicking feebly. A dark mass was huddled at her head. A man, Henry could see through the darkness. He was whispering something to the woman, who was gripping at the man’s hands, which were wrapped around her throat. Henry thought the woman looked vaguely familiar, but he didn’t stare long enough to find out. Her body was going limp, and the man kneeling there was looking around, focusing on the mouth of the alley. Henry silently dropped back down among the refuse and waited, listening. Henry squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears so he wouldn’t have to listen to the woman’s strained struggles anymore. Reaching the number one thousand seemed to take him hours. The man, Trouble, was gone. Sightless blue eyes stared unblinkingly at his back as he left the alley.
25 Things I Want To Say To So-Called “Aspiring” Writers Seen a lot of folks giving advice to so-called “aspiring” writers these days, so, I figured what the hell? Might as well throw my dubious nuggets of wisdom into the stew. See if any of this tastes right to you. 1. Here are the two states in which you may exist: person who writes, or person who does not. 2. You can aspire to be a lot of other things within the writing realm, and that’s okay. 3. Nobody respects writers, yet everybody wants to be one (probably because everybody wants to be one). 4. There exists no one way toward becoming a professional writer. 5. Point is, fuck the One True Way. 6. You will always have days when you feel like an amateur. 7. You learn early on how to write. 8. I’m just going to type this out a dozen times so it’s clear: finish your shit. 9. …in order to know when they must be broken. 10. … in order to know why they matter. 11. Writing is a technical skill. 12. Why are the days of our youth known as “salad days?” 13. That’s the old piece of advice, isn’t it?