• Our course website is a wiki! What is a wiki? Watch the Common Craft video for an explanation. 
• Begin familiarizing yourself with the resources on this wiki.  One place to start is on the Writers Blogs. Any of these blogs will help you start thinking about the industry. I'd recommend Kathy Teamans' first.  
• Read my Bio. Stored in "Class Bio" folder.  
• Create a Bio for yourself. Name it "X Bio"  (Where "X" is your name.) Include what you would like to write for children.
• Add a picture if you want. 
• Try moving the page into the folder named "Class Bio" 
• Don't get stressed!!! This wiki is a helpful tool as everyone learns to use it and navigate through it. I'll answer questions on the 11th.  
• THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THE WIKI:
• You can only edit a page when you're in the Edit mode. 
• You can only navigate to other pages when you're in the View mode.
• Save your work. Lots of times! (bottom of the page.) 

2/18

Handouts 

•  Take a look at Muscle Words, Word Counts for Genres,  and the Writing-Revising Cycle.pdf. Print copies if you'd like. 

• Read So You Want To Write for Kids 
• Read Top 10 Things Dutton Editors Ask Themselves--but don't give up!! 
• Bring in a favorite children's book (pb, chapter, middle grade or YA). Mark a section where the author vividly shows a character.  Be prepared to read ONLY 2-3 sentences to the class. Try to find a section which shows what type of person this is, not only what he/she looks like. 
• If you have a Baby name book, bring to class. 
• Read the Show Don't Tell  and 5 ways to Show your Characters  blogs.  

HOMEWORK FROM 2/18 CLASS: Write a 4-6 sentence paragraph that is BAD! (see the Muscle Word handout for what you normally want to avoid, but what you are allowed do for this assignment.) Throw in some adverbs, helping verbs, vague nouns, etc. This will be an example of "telling." Something along the lines of, "The boy sat on the chair. He was very sick and when he got up out of the chair he walked slowly to another room. WHen he got there, he ate something. THen he sat back down and was playing with a toy when another person came into the room."  Notice the lack of any interesting details (how do we know the boy was sick? How did he walk? What did he eat? What toy occupied him?  What room was he sitting in? Who came in?)

Don't use my example--post your own on your Sample Page that you created last night. Post by 2/20. By 2/24 I want you to edit another person's work according to this list:

David please edit Rob's work.

Dot please edit Stephanie's work.

Lauren please edit Barry's work.

Gigi please edit David's work.

Barry please edit Dot's work.

Stephanie please edit Lauren's work.

Rob please edit Gigi's work. 

• Take time to read some of the blogs on the Blogs about Character Development page.  
• As you think about your character, read Joelle Anthony's articles on character cliche's to avoid.  Don't be embarassed. I have several on these lists!
• Print out two copies of Getting to Know You . Fill out one about yourself. Eventually you will fill out one for your character. You will use this information to build your character paragraph. Remember to use Muscle Words and to Show, Don't Tell
• In your notebook finish this sentence, "When I was little I wished I could…" 
• Print out copies of Create a Character- Make an Information Bank , Probing Your Character  Describe Your Character  and bring to class.
• Read Point of View- an article and/or the blogs about Point of View.  
• Read my blog on POV.
• Read my POV Example to get an idea of writing from either a first person or third person POV. 

• HOMEWORK FROM 2/25 CLASS: Write 5-8 sentences showing your character and post it in the Character Paragraphs to be critiqued folder by 2/27. (You should create a page and name it something like "X's Character Paragraph" where X is you. Comment on at least 2 of your classmates' characters before 3/3.  Complete Who is this Character? just for practice.
• Read Tunnel to Freedom  and notice the use of sensory data.      

• Bring a child's book that has a great description of a setting. Picture books are welcome! Be prepared to read 2-3 sentences.  
• Print out copies of How Moody is Your Setting and Setting Information Bank  and bring to class.  
• Have you found these resources on our wiki? Recommended Books and Picture Book Information. Also Blogs about setting.
• Read the blogs about tenses. Read my Past vs. Present Example.
• I forgot to direct your attention to the Settings - Resources. Read as you have time.  

• Bring a child's book that has a great description of a setting. Picture books are welcome! Be prepared to read 2-3 sentences.  
• Print out copies of How Moody is Your Setting and Setting Information Bank  and bring to class.  
• Have you found these resources on our wiki? Recommended Books and Picture Book Information. Also Blogs about setting.
• Read the blogs about tenses. Read my Past vs. Present Example.

• HOMEWORK FROM 3/4 CLASS: Write 5-8 sentences showing your setting use the setting handout How Moody is Your Setting. Post it in the Setting Paragraphs to be critiqued by 3/7 and leave comments by 3/10.
• Print out copies of Plan A Problem, Build-a-Plot--Blank.pdf , Up The Ante.  
• Read some of these: Cranking up the Conflict- Helpful Blogs Here's another one that I just put up.
• Read Making Sense of Scenes but don't get bogged down in it! Some of this is information you will use after the class is over. Just wanted you to have it now. 
• Bring in a novel or picture book which shows the character's conflict. Be prepared to read 2-3 sentences. 
• Please download and print out the Hero's Journey and bring it to class.  We'll look at it together over several weeks. 
• Bring a pencil with an eraser.  
•  I forgot to direction your attention to the Settings Resource. Read as you have time.

• HOMEWORK FROM 3/11 class: Complete Build-a-Plot. Post plot sentence and a paragraph showing conflict by 3/14, leave comments by 3/17. Put them in the Plot sentences or plot ideas folder.  
• Download FromKeyboardToPrintedPage_2010_Update.pdf; print it out. (only if you lost your original!)
• I just added Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul . Although geared towards picture books, there is a lot in here for novel writers too. 
• Read some of the blogs in the Plot/Conflicts Resources folder. 
• Read Theme, Plot and Story 
• Bring a book to class that you have already read. See if you can identify what the character wants, the events which keep him or her from achieving this goal, and how the story is resolved by the end. 
• Bring the Hero's Journey with you to class; we'll be spending time filling it out. 
• Print out extra copies of the Character worksheets from 2/25 class. If you want, you will use these to create an antagonist. 
• Print out the Action, Scene worksheet. 

• HOMEWORK FROM 3/18 CLASS.  Your choice: Either work on creating an antagonist and post a descriptive paragraph in the Character Paragraphs to be Critiqued folder, or work on a scene using the Action, Scene template and post it in the Scenes folder. Or you can further brainstorm your entire work (using the Hero worksheet) and post your ideas in the Plot sentences or plot ideas folder. Post by 3/21, critique by 3/24.
• Local novelist, Emily Pearce, will be our guest tonight. Please check out her blog and leave questions for her on the Questions for Emily Pearce page. She will bring books to autograph and sell! 
• Read the blogs about dialogue and some of the blogs about beginnings. Read I couldn't have said this myself.
•  Read Half-Truth beginning. 
• Read Openings that Grab 
• Read Voice blogs 
• In the books you bring to class, choose examples of a good beginning, good dialogue, or good voice.  
• I just added a handout, Deep POV, to this wiki that may be helpful to some of you. 

• HOMEWORK FROM 3/25 CLASS: Your choice: Either work on a piece of dialogue and post in the Dialogue folder or a beginning and post it in the Beginnings folder. You can also choose to work on any previous assignment and post in corresponding folder. Post by 3/28, critique by 3/31.
• Local picture book author, Tameka Brown, will be speaking to our class this week. Please check out her website. Post questions for her on the Questions for Tameka Brown page. She will bring books to autograph and sell--they make great presents for any little person in your life!
•  Read Submitting Your Work.  

• Homework from 4/1 class: 
• Bring 8 copies (one-two pages, double spaced) of a piece you wrote.
• Read some of the posts in Blogs about Critiques  
• We are going to talk about writing a query letter tonight. If you want to try your hand at it first, read Query Letter Tips  and post it in the Queries folder.
• Feel free to post work on the wiki before 4/8 that you would like to have critiqued. Last chance to get more feedback! 
• Have any questions I haven't answered? Now is the time to ask them! 
• IF you have a chance, read this blog on receiving a critique.