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How to write a children's story book
Are you thinking of writing your first manuscript and have the mind-set, 'a children's story book would be the best place to start, because let's face it - they aren't very complicated and the vocabulary is light?' Welcome to the million-members 'club'. Don't be under any illusion writers, children's story books can be even more difficult to write than novels. Let me explain...
Children's story books are quite simply a mirage, so don't believe that what you see is what's actually there...
How to write a children's book/ Writing for children - Things to... Writing poetry | Teaching poetry to Kids | Poetry | Poetry Tips
Where do you find poetry?
Not surprisingly when people are asked this question - they often suggest books. Yes, that is correct however think outside the box and look around you. Poetry is intertwined with the music industry, cards industry, television adverts, football chants, and newspaper headlines, to mention but a few. Some academics go as far to describe poetry as an Art; a personal expression of an individual inspired by their very existence within the world. Poets and artists look at the world in a different way to many people, they don’t look at the environment as an inanimate object, rather a well... What is Creative Writing | Creative Writing | Creative Writing Articles
So what is creative writing? Some people say that creative writing is your journey through life...written down into words. Creative writers are story writers and story writers are creative writers, sometimes the two are separated by their audience they are writing for. The most common classification of creative writing is when someone writes to: express their feelings, thoughts, experiences or passions. It has to be understood that whether you are writing a: novel, short-story, poem, children's book or simply a way to express yourself, any form of writing can be deemed 'creative'. Creative writing is... Poetry | Poetry in Primary Schools | Teaching Poetry KS1 and Ks2 |
Copyright 2011 Chris Dillon
Poetry is an aspect of English overshadowed by other areas such as: reading, writing, and phonics (OFSTED 2007). Although this is widely accepted and observable in schools, it is important to explore the reasoning. Through reading literature I have gained a significant insight to the suggestions and justifications as to why poetry, receives the label of `mixed status` within schools (Wilson 2005a).
From the offset educational theorist and poet Brian Cox (DES 1989 and Cox 1991) expresses his view on poetry by suggesting it is not likely to ever be found in writing attainment tasks nor key... What is Creativity? | Creativity | Creativity Quotes
cre·a·tiv·i·ty
Noun:
The use of the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work.
What is Creativity? Creativity is a word boasting a magnitude of stature in today's society. Today, we are going to explore the idea of 'creativity' or 'creativeness' and take it off it's pedestal.
The word creativity is very often associated with the revolutionary minds of Albert Einstein and William Shakespeare and in modern day with the late Steve Jobs (CEO - Apple) and 'the Google guys'. Undoubtedly, their works highlight creativity on a substantial scale - known to the... Six Thinking Hats | Thinking | De Bono Thinking | Thinking Hats for School
Six Thinking Hats - Edward de Bono
Edward de Bono created the concept of the 'Six Thinking Hats' as a strategy to breakdown the decision making process in to sub-sections. De Bono suggests that when the thinker has to deal with a wide range of information and perspectives simultaneously, the thinker will...
Prepositions | What is a Preposition | Noun | Phrase
A preposition is a word that links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a single sentence or a phrase. The object of the preposition is the word that the preposition introduces.
Have a look at these few examples:
The car is inside the garage. The captain is in amongst the crew. The book is leaning against the table. He's behind you. (Noun - Preposition - Noun) I could see sharks and whales underneath the sea. Lucy walked home after school. A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun,... Using an Ellipsis | Ellipsis | How to use an Ellipsis | Ellipses
el·lip·sis
n. pl. el·lip·ses
1.
a. The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary for understanding.
b. An example of such omission.
2. A mark or series of marks ( . . . or * * * , for example) used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.
There are different types of ellipses, you should familiarise yourself with the most common and understand how using and ellipsis can assist your writing.
Gapping Ellipsis
Gapping occurs in coordinate structures. Repetitive material that is present in... Using a comma | The types of commas | Using commas in sentences | Comma
The Listing Comma
The listing comma is used as an alternative for the word and, or or. It is used in a list when three or more words, phrases or complete sentences are joined by the word and or or.
The Three Musketeers were Athos, Porthos and Aramis.
Hungarian is spoken in Hungary, in western Rumania, in northern Serbia and in parts of Austria and Slovakia.
You can fly to Bombay via Moscow, via Athens or via Cairo.
Lisa speaks French, Juliet speaks Italian and I speak Spanish.
We spent our evenings chatting in the cafés, watching the sun set over the harbour, stuffing ourselves with the local crabs... Teaching Resources for Writing | Teaching Writing | Writing | Teaching Literacy
Helping Literacy and Writing: Teachers Resources
Welcome all Primary and Secondary school teachers to Olivewriting.com. Evidently you have stumbled across this creative writing website to bring a bit of structure, inspiration, knowledge or zest to your Literacy 'hour'. Well, you are in good hands! There is a menu on the left which is entitled 'Teacher's Resources'; in there you will find different approaches, ideas and knowledge to boost the 'input' of your creative writing lessons and most importantly... inspire the output of the learners in your class.
Now teachers I know what you are thinking, 'Where... Writing from experience | Experience and Writing | Writing
This is a topic that can get very complicated, very quickly - so let me present the question we are going to explore for you to digest (once or twice).
Is creative writing about the writer using personal experiences and self-expression? Or is it about the writer transcending personal experience and suppressing self-expression(defamiliarisation)? Fascinating question eh?
Oh good your still with us…lets begin…
Primary and Secondary Experience
In the beginning there was: Primary experience and secondary (inquiry) experience. An example of a primary experience, was when Adam and Eve where in the Garden of Eden, eating... Creative Writing - Free Spirit and Stern Editor
Alexander Steele in his book ‘Gotham’s Writers Workshop’ argues that there are two types of writer within us - ‘free spirit’ and ‘stern editor’. The theory is that writers ideally start writing on a ‘Free spirit’ approach; writing and developing ideas, giving little thought to coherency, grammar, and precision. You, as a writer, will be getting into your creative writing stride and when you are in that stride there is one thing I advise – keep striding. Often writers make the mistake of writing books in poetic strategy – write, correct, rewrite and then, one hour later you have two lines written. Although this works... Show don't tell | Creative Writing Tips | Show don't tell writing
Show, don’t tell
Any newbie to the writing world will undoubtedly have heard the expression 'show, don’t tell'. Creative writing tips don't get much better than this. Show, don't tell is used to creative vivid characters and scenes, in order to capture the reader’s interest. When reading books, nobody likes to read, ‘Kate walked around the corner, she was horrified, and very angry.’ - that is boring material. Show, don’t tell is an essential tool to assist writers, and ensure they avoid ‘boring from telling’.
Whilst ‘telling’ can be beneficial, even essential within a short-story, novel or... Setting in Writing | Creative writing
Creative Writing Tip
Never start a story describing the immediate setting. Your reader is here for your characters, let your descriptions of setting assist that.
In creative writing and fiction writing, the term ‘setting’ is often stumbled across. The common misconception is that the setting only involves the immediate surroundings of the story or quite simply the place where the story is ‘set in’. It should be noted that setting is much more than a physical, immediate surrounding.
The setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place; it dictates the main backdrop, mood for a story and... Illustrations | Illustrators | Book Illustrators | Self Publishing
Olivewriting.com Illustrations
Olivewriting.com has finally headhunted and handpicked a range of skilled professional illustrators, that are there to prepare and enhance your book/e-book, for selling. Times are changing, the publishing houses are hibernating in this e-book era. The fateful result, manuscripts/typescripts, being rejected and rejected and rejected. Many budding authors, aren't playing by the publishers rules anymore. They have now taken matters into their own hands. Self publishing has had one of the biggest influxes in the book market, more and more budding authors are having their books published by... Narrator | Writing| First Person Narrator | Creative Writing | Writing
‘The first person narrator speaks from a position in the actual world of the text’ - Magrs (2001)
In your creative writing piece one of the first things you should decide is who you want to tell the story. This is your narrator. A first person narrator is a character within the story, who is speaking for themselves and from their point of view. They will refer to themselves as ‘I’ or ‘we’ and will look at life from their standing in the world. As a result the views expressed by the first person narrator are somewhat unreliable and biased towards that particular person. The reader will be placed inside...
GCSE Creative Writing
Writing for Moving Images
Source and copyright: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize
Creative... Creative Writing | Writing | Writing Articles | Writing Tips
Your Opportunity
As a writer, when looking at a blank page, you may feel uneasy, you may feel hesitant, and you may feel speechless. There are times when you will be beating your head on the desk, ferociously tapping your laptop, whilst writing and rewriting sentences. You will replace words that don’t feel quite right, and then after careful consideration, change them again. You will restructure the sentences, delivering precision and effect to the reader. You will smile to yourself because starting off is often the hardest part of writing a story. Four hours have now passed and you decide it is time to proofread what you... Writing Fiction Tips | Writing Tips | Writing Fiction
Elmore Leonard: The first of my writing fiction tips is a statement: Using adverbs is a mortal sin.
Writing Fiction Tips: 1 Never open your story with the weather, jump straight in with the protagonist. If it's only to create atmosphere, and not a character's reaction to the weather, you don't want to go on too long. The reader will be encouraged to jump ahead looking for characters. There are however exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways than an Eskimo to describe ice and snow in his book Arctic Dreams, you can do all the weather reporting you want.
Writing Fiction Tips:2 Avoid prologues: they... Elizabeth Gilbert - Following dreams
From the moment an aspiring writer decides he/she wants to become an author, they are instantaneously repressed by the possibility of failure. Perhaps it has been a friend, parent, teacher, lecturer or even a proof-reader, many aspiring writers are stifled by others. 'Your writing doesn't appeal to the masses' or 'Your book doesn't quite fit the nature of our publishing house' or 'The voice of the character is confused' or 'I don't like your technique' or 'Your writing is simplistic'. These comments can sometimes inspire writers to try harder and improve their writing, other times, the writers don't pursue their dream. Elizabeth Gilbert, Author of...Writing Children’s Books | Writing for Children
March 3, 2012
Writing poetry | Teaching poetry to Kids | Poetry | Poetry Tips
March 3, 2012
What is Creative Writing | Creative Writing Articles
March 3, 2012
Poetry in Primary Schools | Teaching Poetry KS1 and KS2
March 3, 2012
What is Creativity | Creativity
March 3, 2012
Six Thinking Hats
February 21, 2012
Prepositions | What is a Preposition?
February 21, 2012
The Grammar Guru – Ellipsis | Using an Ellipsis
February 21, 2012
Grammar Guru – The comma
February 21, 2012
Teachers Resources for Writing: Literacy/English
February 6, 2012
Writing from Experience
February 4, 2012
Free spirit and stern editor | creative writing | Writing tips
January 30, 2012
Show don’t tell | Creative Writing Tips | Show don’t tell writing
January 30, 2012
Setting in Writing
January 28, 2012
Illustrations | Illustrators | Artists | Book Illustrators
January 14, 2012
First Person Narrator
January 13, 2012
GCSE Creative Writing
January 12, 2012
Creative Writing | Writing | Writing Articles | Writing Tips
January 11, 2012
Writing Fiction Tips
December 30, 2011
Elizabeth Gilbert – Following dreams
December 30, 2011
“Research tells us that we are never happier, than when we are working towards something. If you are working towards a creative writing piece, a novel, a poem or a short story, keep working. In the end you may learn, you may earn, and you may surprise yourself…”
Olivewriting.com is your online creative writing information website, designed to
stimulate your imagination to assist your development in the art of creative writing.
Whether you write creatively for, a career, a passion, or a way to express yourself.
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About the Author/Owner
Olivewriting.com is maintained and managed by Chris Dillon BA (Honours) Primary Education (1st class)
Specialist in the areas of: English, Creative Writing and Poetry.
Copyright
The contents of this website are produced solely for the purposes of informing the viewers of Olivewriting.com. The views, opinions and tips expressed, are those of Chris Dillon unless otherwise stated.
All content of Olivewriting.com Copyright 2012 to Chris Dillon (Unless otherwise stated)
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