In this issue of Talking Story, Becky Levine describes the revision process in four memorable steps you can share with your students. Carol discusses wikis as a tool for revision and a teen reviews three books that have a writing connection.
We provide links to some terrific writing resources and, of course, we have giveaways.
The various revisions of
The Great Unexpected
the newest book by
Newbery Award winner, Sharon Creech. |
|
4 STEPS TO REVISIONS
(for Writers, Teachers, & Students, Too) |
by Becky Levine
photo by Ian Berkstresser
So you have your first draft—What? You don’t? Well, go write it now. I’ll wait.
. . .
Okay, Now we can talk revision. And about the steps that will help you get it done.
When you revise, you will:
- Reread. Read through your project again. You want those words to be fresh in your brain.
- Re-organize. Tighten the flow of your writing. Put everything in the right order. State your thesis at the start, prove it through the middle, then reach your conclusion at the end.
- Rewrite. Is that a fragment? Does that sentence explain what you mean? Will your reader understand that vocabulary? Maybe an example would make things clear. This stage is about the sentences and the words and getting them right.
- Refine. Check for typos, spelling errors, and commas. Yes, this is boring, even frustrating, but the work you do here makes your writing readable. Check your grammar, and fix it. Really.
Sound simple? Of course not. You’ll struggle with getting those sentences clear. You’ll have to look up a word or two. You’ll rewrite that introductory paragraph.
Just remember that revision does not mean doing everything at the same time. Revision is a series of steps. Break down the process into necessary, helpful pieces, and work through them systematically.
Why? Because, when you’re through, you’ll have transformed that first draft into something better. Something good.
And isn’t that what it’s all about?
. . . . . . . . . .
Becky Levine is the author of
The Writing and Critique Group Survival Guide:
How To Make Revisions, Self-edit, and Give and Receive Feedback |
|
by Joyce
Vanessa Brantley Newton
is the illustrator of numerous picture books, including
Magic Trash by J.H. Shapiro,
Drum City by Theo Guidone, and
Think Big by Liz Garton Scanlon.
She is both author and illustrator of
Don't Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table, and Let Freedom Sing.
I am delighted to have an
interview with Vanessa on my blog.
Join me there to hear about Vanessa's process which does incude revision! |
|
by Bianca Desai
Bianca Desai is a 7th grader at
Randolph IB Middle School in Charlotte, NC
Write Before Your Eyes
by Lisa Williams Kline
Gracie has finally found the magic she has searched for all her life. She buys a journal and discovers whatever she writes in it becomes true. The quiet girl now has lots of power. Gracie starts off with selfish entries, controlling things that affect her and her peers. Then she starts to worry about bigger issues like global warming. But her writing backfires when the journal falls into the wrong hands. Gracie and her best friend Dylan chase it down; Gracie must decide whether she is ready to have the control the journal gives her. Gracie also realizes that writing not only can change her, it can change the world.
Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly
by Gail Carson Levine
Do you want to create stories that catch the reader’s eye? Or, learn how to make enchanting, magical stories? Now you can! Gail Carson Levine shares her tips and secrets about her magical, captivating, and touching stories. She shows you how to make hooking beginnings, killer endings, and descriptive chapters. She even has a chapter about writer’s block!
This book can help you through firing your imagination, your stuck moments, and even when you don’t think you need it at all!
Summer of the Gypsy Moths
by Sara Pennypacker
Desperate times call for desperate measures when 11-year-old Stella finds her great-aunt Louise, dead in her chair. Stella who, was abandoned by her mom, lives with Louise’s foster-child, Angel. They know the second they call 911 they will be hauled off to authorities. Angel and Stella bury Louise in the garden, and continue living their lives. Everyday Stella and Angel wonder if they will be discovered. They manage Louise's vacation cottages, surviving on tips by the renters. They assume that Stella and her mom will inherit the house, so they dodge foster care by concealing Louise’s death until Stella’s mom hopefully returns. |
|
by Carol
Have you discovered wikis? Not only are they a great way for your 4th-12th grade students to collaborate on research projects, they are also a fun tool to teach revision.
Steve Johnson, who wrote the technology lessons for Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4 -8 introduced me to this powerful application of my mini-lesson, "The Red Pencil is Your Best Friend." Here is a blog which will show you how Steve introduced the wiki to his classroom; there are imbedded links which will take you to samples of the students' work. Notice that students worked collaboratively at the same time they practiced revision, word-choice, and keyboarding skills.
If you want to practice on a wiki first, you can go to one that I set up for teachers. Send me an email and I will add your name as a user.
If you are unfamiliar with wikis, this post links you to a list of wiki hosting sites. |
|
Do you have a middle school or high school teen who loves to read? We'd love to hear from you with his or her name and contact information. We ask reviewers to read three books and write brief reviews; often soliciting their input on titles. This is a great opportunity for your son, daughter, or student to get experience writing and (sometimes!) revising. Please email us if you know someone who would be interested! Thanks. |
|
Want to explore a
Writer-in Residence Workshop or Author Visit?
We'd love to hear from you!
We each offer our own author visits or we'll conduct writer residencies together. Contact us and we will design a program that meets your students' needs.
Carol Baldwin
Blog
Email
Joyce Hostetter
Blog
Website
Email |
|
Maupin House, Lisa Kline, Becky Levine, Bianca Desai, Vanessa Brantley Newton, Sharon Creech, and Joanne Hunsberger for their generous donations of books, writing, photos, and proofreading! |
|
|
|
For best results,
look at
"View as Webpage"
(on pale yellow bar at the top.) |
|
Once again, we have several giveaways.
Remember, you can enter even if you have won previously. Email us by September 13. The authors and publishers will appreciate you sharing your news. |
|
One of the concepts I emphasize in
Teaching the Story
is that revision happens on many levels. This reproducible
will help your students when they edit each other's work. |
|
Becky Levine won Here Come the Girl Scouts.
Sally Matheny won Turtle Summer and Sort it Out.
Brooke Lauer won Happy Birthday, Hamster.
Karen Hummel Hassinger won Splendid Friend Indeed.
|
|
“Purge all vague adjectives—amazing, interesting, compelling, appealing—and replace them with words that paint pictures. Readers like visual stimulation. Don’t say that a shirt is ‘amazing.’ Say it [has] ‘iridescent chartreuses with an orange quilted collar and 16 whalebone buttons.’” Becky Ohlsen, Writer’s Digest, October, 2004
* * * * * * * *
“Criticism should not be querulous and wasting, all knife and root-puller, but guiding, instructive, inspiring.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
* * * * * * * *
“Very few stories are aced on the first shot. Leo Tolstoy rewrote Anna Karenina seventeen times. Jean Auel calls the revision stage ‘where I get a handle on the book.’ And Isaac Bashevis Singer considered the wastebasket the ‘writer’s best friend.’” Nancy Kress, Writer’s Digest, July, 2005 |
|
How many times does popular young adult author, Avi, revise his books?
Find the answer here.
|
|
Does Talking Story come into your inbox at an inopportune time? Does it get buried in your in-box and you end up forgetting about it? Consider creating a "Talking Story" folder where you file old issues. That way they'll be there when you have time to read, and you'll always be able to view past issues. That works for us! |
|
The theme for our next issue is Librarians.
If you're a media specialist and are interested in answering one or two questions about how you acquire books, please email Carol ASAP. |
|
|
