Description
Drop Everything and Write! An Easy Breezy Guide for Kids Who Want to Write a Story is an AWARD WINNER, Best Books of 2010, sponsored by USA Book News.
Whether or not you like to write, you’ll breeze through this easy guide to writing stories. You’ll find that writing is something that everyone (even you! especially you!) can do. First you’ll write only what you want to write, in any form that feels best to you. No grammar rules, no spelling worries. No pressure. No one looking over your shoulder. Then maybe you’ll observe (or imagine!) a person who’s really interesting and think about putting that person in a story. This guide will help you:
— plot the story, start it, shape it, end it.
— put your character in conflict with another character.
— create a world for your character to operate in.
— give your character needs and wants, speech and thoughts.
— bring your character alive by using tricks of the writing trade.
— polish your story so you’re as proud as can be of what you’ve created.
— practice all this with fun and creative exercises.
Willing to try? Just open this guide. It’s time now to… Drop everything and write!
Grades Levels:
- Middle Grades
- High School
Drop Everything and Write! has a companion notebook that goes with the course materials.
Did You Know We Have a Blog on Our Sister Site with over 100 articles about Learning and Teaching?
| Review 1 | |
| “DROP EVERYTHING AND WRITE! is a book that should be bought in single copies AND classroom sets. Its inviting prose, thought-provoking exercises, and natural flow make it indispensable for aspiring writers and those who teach them. What I found most interesting as I read the book was discovering not only does it work for teaching (or learning) about writing, but also it’s a fantastic resource for helping kids analyze and better understand the fiction they read for themselves and their classes.”
— David Richardson, book review columnist for The International Reading Association’s “Reading Today.” |
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| Review 2 | |
| “DROP EVERYTHING AND WRITE! by Linda Leopold Strauss has a number of exercises that can help young writers add sensory details to their writing. One activity is a ‘Listening Walk,’ in which the writer records all the sounds heard on the street such as shoes on the sidewalk or a car driving over a manhole. Her example of her own ‘Listening Walk’ would be a great read aloud model in the classroom. With entertaining anecdotes, Strauss warns against letting subplots or minor characters overrun a story and distracting the reader’s attention. She defines many important writer’s terms such as flashback, transitions, black moment, and voice. In a chapter entitled, ‘Show, Don’t Tell,’ Strauss explains the advantages of including details rather than summarizing the action. She encourages young writers to spice up their writing by describing an angry character’s actions rather than simply saying he was angry or setting a scene with images from all five senses. Finally, she says that stories benefit from ‘drawer time’ and gives a checklist for polishing a draft that teachers and students should find very useful.”
— Jacqueline Jules, Pencil Tips Writing Workshop |
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| Review 3 | |
| “The reviewers have it right; this would be a great book to have in a classroom, and the student whose teacher chooses to use it will be lucky indeed….Get your budding author (or your student whose grade in language arts could stand to be improved) a copy of “Drop Everything and Write.” Strauss has found just the right tone to encourage potential writers to do it on their own. Reading and then following the hints in the book, is like nothing so much as having a private tutor right by your side–a tutor who is friendly, fun, and available the minute the young (or old!) writer opens the cover of this engaging book. Worth Every Penny! |
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