This is where we share writing prompts and creativity exercises. These are primarily designed for writing with kids, but we’ve found they are helpful for writers of all ages.
You may have heard of the ice-bucket challenge. We have a different challenge for you (and not nearly as chilly): The Five Senses Challenge: Notice and record at least one NEW thing with each of your five senses during a 24-hour period. In order to complete the challenge, you will have to intentionally increase your awareness of … More Authorology Lab: Five Senses Challenge
by Lana Krumwiede Time for another Authorology Lab! This time, were taking something real and turning it into fantasy. The natural world is full of amazing sights and sounds. Sometimes it’s fun to ignore the real explanation and think up an imaginary one instead. People have been doing it for centuries. Across many cultures, there … More Authorology Lab: Fantasy from Fact
by Dan Elasky DETAILS! One of the old rules of writing is “show, don’t tell.” We writers bandy this about like one of the Ten Commandments. But if you advise a child writer to show, not tell, they are likely to give you a perplexed look. To them, “show” involves a physical demonstration: “I’ll show … More Authorology Lab: Details!
by Dan Elasky SO BAD IT’S GOOD HELPFUL In the writing class I teach for home schoolers, I frequently find that an obviously bad example of a writing topic helps kids get engaged with the discussion. They have fun picking it apart, which then makes them interested in fixing it up. For example, seven- to … More Authorology Lab: So Bad It’s Helpful
by Lana Krumwiede Picture Books make great writing prompts. First, read the story and talk about it. What do we like about it? What makes it funny, or heartwarming, or sad? What was unexpected? Next, give the students a writing prompt and take a few minutes to brainstorm various approaches a writer might take. I … More Authorology Lab: Using Picture Books as Writing Prompts
by Lana Krumwiede Welcome to the Authorology Lab! In these posts, we’ll be sharing our favorite writing exercises for young writers of all ages. These little gems are designed to stir the creative juices and awaken the storyteller inside you. For this activity, you’ll need a partner. Each of you will draw a picture of … More Authorology Lab: Alien Line-up
by Lana Krumwiede Prepare yourself for poetry with backbone! Book spine poetry, that is. I’m sorry to say I didn’t invent it; I’m not sure who did. I was first introduced to book spine poetry by Travis Jonker at 100 Scope Notes. I started by looking through my personal library for book titles that had nice imagery. … More Authorology Lab: Book Spine Poetry
by Brian Rock I love writing poetry for children. I love the way an unexpected rhyme can take a linear story and turn it on its ear. And the best way I’ve found to tap into my poetic muse is with a strategy called clustering, as developed by Dr. Gabriele Lusser Rico. To cluster, you … More Authorology Lab: Trust Your Cluster
