A Writerly Life - Generating Ideas for the Writer's Notebook 2/4

Writer's Notebook by KB

References

Fletcher, R. (2001). The Writer’s Notebook. School Talk, 6(4), 1-6.

Grant, S. (2007). Notebook Know-how. https://partnershipforinquirylearning.org/resources/writerly-life/gathering-notebook-entries/

A Writerly Life - Developing a Writer's Notebook 1/4

What is a writer’s notebook?

A writer’s notebook is a place for you to collect ideas and thoughts and tiny snippets of inspiration for writing in the future. It is a place to mess about with words, phrases, and record your reactions to and interactions with the world. It is your chance to notice, pay attention, listen, collect, muse, wonder, and play with language. Include significant things in your writer’s notebook. It is not a diary or chronological record of your life but a collection of what is meaningful to you. Aim to add something every single day.

What will go into your writer’s notebook? 

• ideas 
• interesting facts 
• statistics 
• intriguing words/words you haven't heard before/your favourite words 
• great lines from poems or novels you’ve read 
• sketches – of your lunch, plants, a scene from your favourite game, an important place, your desk 
• lists of things you know, things you don’t know, what you like, what you dislike 
• think like a detective as you live your everyday life - what happened just before you entered a room Who was there right before you? What were they doing/saying/thinking? 
• up close observations of things around you – people, objects, events, experiences 
• family recipes/stories/jokes 
• timelines (real or fictional) 
• interesting quotes from books, poems, television shows, films 
• bits of overheard conversations 
• an interesting line of dialogue from something you have seen or read 
• mind maps to generate ideas about a topic 
• research a setting (place or time) or a character you are developing 
• sensory description of the world around you – what do you see, hear, touch, taste, smell? 
• letters – to your younger self, to your older self, to a family member, or long-lost friend 
• found objects – clippings from magazines/newspapers/catalogues, tickets, a handwritten note, shopping list, paint swatches of colours with interesting names, etc. 
• observations of your belongings – how is your wallet organised, how are apps sorted on your 
• smart device home screen and why they are worth this prime real estate, what books are on your bedside table, do you have a secret chocolate stash and what is worthy enough to be included in aforementioned stash
• lyrics from the songs that move you 
• your favourite time of day, season, month, sound, smell 
• anything else that comes to mind! 

What to leave out:

• erasers – there are no mistakes 
• perfection 
• spell check 

Sample Writer's Notebook pages:

A larger version of the pages can be found here: Sample Writer's Notebook pages

References

Fletcher, R. (2001). The Writer’s Notebook. School Talk, 6(4), 1-6.

Grant, S. (2007). Notebook Know-how. https://partnershipforinquirylearning.org/resources/writerly-life/gathering-notebook-entries/

A Revision of English in a Pandemic World

What a catastrophic start to the year - an extended bush fire season, smoke, constant heat waves, flooding rains, and now a pandemic. I tell you what, while I do tend to prefer the indoors I do like fresh air on occasion but it has been an inside life lately - poor baby has not seen as much of the world as I would have hoped.

In response to all of these events I would probably try to crack a smile and say something like 'what else...?' but honestly, I do not want to know. I do not want to tempt fate. I did joke glibly a few weeks ago and I regret it now, that I could use a little break from face to face teaching - call the holidays a few weeks early so we can hunker down for a bit - then I would be able to catch up on my school administration, sort everything out for my uni assignment, clean the house, and do things like dig my winter clothes out.

Big mistake!

The last three weeks of term were horrendous. There were not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Baby got sick, too, so we were all having a bad time. I sought answers to the questions being asked of me, and answers I need to be able to move into Term 2 with some semblance of order and I got some, and made some acceptable decisions for others. We are all making the best out of an untenable situation.

These are a few of the activities adapted from the Children's Writer's Notebook by Wes Magee. I would recommend the book. It has over 70 prompts, many of which would work well in the classroom.

1.   Draft a 250 word story for small children about a young creature (for example, a crocodile, panda, or polar bear) who goes to the moon. How does the young creature adapt to his or her new life and surroundings? What does he or she do? Who, or what, does he or she meet? As the story ends, the young creature returns to planet Earth unharmed. Be sure that the language you use is appropriate for little kids.

2.   Draft a short story of 250 words. Send one character on a journey. Leaving the house they could go through the woods to an island or perhaps out into space. Who, or what, does the child encounter? What happens? The child returns home safely after the adventure. Reread your story and chop any unnecessary words.

3.   Make a list of FIVE childhood toys. Give each toy a new name — for example, a cuddly dog could be called Hugbug. Now write a brief description of each newly named toy (40-words for each toy), so that they become familiar as characters. Choose a setting that you know well, such as a beach, a field or a garden. Write a short story of 250 words, describing the newly named characters’ adventures.

Extension: Select two of the characters you created during the first activity last week. Write a conversation between them. It could be a conversation about something they found or lost. Bring in the feelings that the characters experience. Bring the conversation to an end with a single word.