Teachers Write

As if you teachers didn't have enough to do over the summer, here's another thought.

Click on over to KATE MESSNER'S blog and follow along with her fantastic fellow writers.

No, wait. This is fun! It's not another chore. You will love this.

And hey, you don't have to be a teacher. You can write for the fun of it and learn so much.

Start with JO KNOWLES'S Monday Warm-ups. CLICK HERE for the first prompt.

I love the idea of that blank piece of paper. Jo asks her writing readers to fill her comments with their ideas for a work-in-progress. Super idea for a Monday warm-up prompt.

Kate has a whole lineup of writers ready to give great suggestions. So far (and the summer is young), my absolute favorite, and one I hope to put into practice, is THIS. Click to go to Sarah Albee's hilarious post about writing funny.

Here's a small sample from Sarah:

1. Surprise your reader with the unexpected.

Last week I heard Dave Barry on the radio. Terry Gross was interviewing him about his new book. He was talking about the good old days when he was a kid, in the pre-helicopter-parenting days when parents basically ignored their kids. “On a summer morning we’d leave the house,” he said, “and my mom would say, ‘Be sure you’re back by September.’” It’s funny because your brain is expecting “by dinner” of course, and he jolts you with the unexpected.

Funny is crucial, even in serious stories. Especially in those. And Sarah writes true stories. Not necessarily humorous non-fiction. And yet it is.
We can all learn a lesson, teachers, students, just plain writers.

Thanks, Kate Messner, for this summer fun.