https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv A Digital Toolbox for Middle School Writers en-us 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC 2023-05-30 12:13:23 UTC hello@padlet.com https://imgglb.padletcdn.com/v13/image?t=g_auto&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpadlet.net%2Ficons%2Fpng%2F1f6e0.png nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121232 After considering the organization of your story, begin writing your first draft. You should write freely, not worrying too much about language conventions. Your main goal during this writing session should be to get your story down. 

Once you have written your story, go back into it. Look for where the action begins. That is where you want to begin your story. You might find that you will need to cut quite a bit of your writing. That's okay. You will be able to weave that background info into future scenes. 

Remember what makes a story interesting to you- the action!]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121232 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121234 A helpful exercise when trying to write your introduction, is to climb back into narratives that you love. How do these narratives begin? Mirror your own writing after these. If you don't know where to begin, check out the following first lines...]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121234 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121235 Have you ever read an ending that completely ruined the story? It was just that bad. To avoid writing this kind of ending, you must do some careful thinking and writing. The following tool will help you do just that. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121235 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121236 A really smart way to organize your story is to think of it like a movie. A movie's story develops in scenes. Each scene's setting is generally just one place. There is usually a mini-conflict in every scene. Every scene has dialogue, action and character's thoughts. Attached is a graphic organizer that will help you plan your story AND revise your story in terms of scenes. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121236 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121237 Writer's Digest produced a short video that depicts different scene archetypes that you may encounter when reading narratives. After viewing this ask yourself if your story could benefit from a particular type of scene. If you scroll down a little further, you will find some excellent questions to further your thinking about the scenes in your story. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121237 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121238 Another smart way to organize your story, is to think about the thematic message that you want to make. Doing a little work up front, will help you tailor your craft moves to fit with the theme. Use this guide to think about your story's theme. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121238 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121239 Have you ever read a story that was so vividly written, you almost felt as if you were transported to its setting? If so, you have experienced sensory writing as a reader. The attached document will help you learn what sensory language is and will help you find ways to add it into your story. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121239 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121240 Another way to make your writing come to life, is to consider the details. The details are what make your story special. Compare this bland sentence: George ate his cereal quickly. To this descriptive one: George shoveled in his cereal, spilling milk on his black t-shirt and making his little sister cringe. The second one gives you a lot more information. If you feel like you need more practice, use the following document to practice zooming in for details. Once you feel ready, go back into your story and highlight areas that could use some zooming-in. (You could also ask a friend to help you figure this out.)]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121240 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121241 Since each of your scenes should contain some dialogue, it is important to know the rules for punctuating dialogue correctly.The following video provides an excellent visual tutorial of how to punctuate dialogue. Here are some basic rules to get you started:

1. Quotation marks go around what the character says.

2. Each time a new speaker is introduced, a new paragraph of dialogue should begin. Even if that means one paragraph is only one word long.]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121241 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121243 To create an engaging narrative, it is important to understand the four different types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. (Check out the following video to review the types of sentences.) It is also important to use a variety of sentences. When you review your writing, you should identify the types of sentences. Notice patterns. Play with sentence structure to create an engaging story. 
Helpful Hint: Check out an anchor text. Identify the types of sentences that the author used, and notice how the author uses sentence structure to create an engaging piece. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121243 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121244 You will want to give your story a title. It's important to know the rules for creating that title...

1. Always capitalize the first word and the last word in a title.
2. Capitalize all the important words in the title. 
3. Do not capitalize conjunctions, articles or prepositions. 

Hint: Check out the titles of some of the anchor texts for guidance. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121244 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121245 Check out some of the best student writing in Scholastic's Best Teen Writing Anthologies. These anthologies are available online for free, but your teacher can sign up to receive a hard copy for his or her classroom as well. If these stories inspire you to compete in this prestigious contest, you can find information to do just that on the same website. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121245 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121246 Check out these ten short stories written by Asian-American authors who were presented with archived photos. The stories that they came up with are completely fictional. a really neat feature of this series in the author's explanation of inspiration. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121246 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121247 Some short stories stay with us. This is one of them. "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes is a wonderful example of how an author can take one small moment and expand it into a memorable story. As you read and re-read it, think about what makes this story special. Read it as a reader. Then read it as a writer. What does Hughes do to engage the reader? What narrative tools does he employ?]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121247 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121248 This website promotes and celebrates diverse authors and stories. They have published three anthologies (collections of short stories) by some of today's most acclaimed middle grade and YA authors. Your library probably has at least one of these titles, and if they don't, then you should plead with your librarian to purchase them! On a side note, the website has a short story contest for young authors. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121248 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121249 Oftentimes a teacher will hang onto exemplary student work. Ask your teacher if he or she has an example of what a great narrative looks like.]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121249 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121250 After watching this TedTalk, create your own heart map in your writer's notebook. Here are some questions that can help you mine your heart: Who has made a difference in your life? What was the best day of your life? Worst? Who are your favorite teachers? Why? 

Once you have filled the page with a map of your heart, think about what in your heart could make a wonderful short story. Remember that this is fiction! You are allowed to change names and events to make your story really interesting. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121250 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121251 Professional writers often find inspiration for their fictional stories from news' headlines. After scrolling through KidsPost (below), ask yourself if there is something there that intrigues you enough to explore it further in a fictional story. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121251 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121252 Do you LOVE a movie, television show, novel or game? Consider taking one of the story elements (characters, setting, plot) and making it your own. 

Did you know that this is a legitimate genre of writing, and that some students your age subscribe to fan fiction websites where they contribute their own work and have thousands of followers? 

Check out the FanFiction below for inspiration...]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121252 nkidder https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121253 When all else fails, check out one of the many websites that generate writing prompts for fiction writers. It's a good idea to take a couple prompts and free write from those to see which one you would most enjoy extending into a short story. ]]> 2019-08-03 11:30:54 UTC https://padlet.com/nkidder/3v3r646d81mv/wish/373121253