Story Ideas? The "Eyes" Have It!

It doesn't seem to be much of a problem to find something to read.

You go to a library or a bookstore, find the type of story that interests you, and you bring it home to read. Easy, right?

But where did those story ideas come from?

In talking to students and adults, it is common to hear someone say they would like to write a book but don't know where to start. In this regard, the "eyes" have it.

As I tell the students in my writing workshops, absolutely anything can become an idea for a story. As an example, I ask them to think of their pencil.

It's the end of recess time. The students are lining up to come back into the classroom. The pencil, meanwhile, is sitting on the desk. This is the time of day the pencil dreads the most. The pencil knows the students -- sweaty and disgusting from running around at recess -- are returning.

And what's the first thing they reach for? Right. The pencil.

How do you think the pencil feels about this? You have to know the pencil is thinking, "No, no, don't touch me first, go for the book! Grab the book!"

But the student picks up the pencil.

"Yuck!" says the pencil.

And then the student decides the pencil needs to be sharpened. Sharpened! To a pencil, it's not a sharpener, it's a torture chamber! ZING!!

The point is, anything can be a story with a little imagination and vision. The "eyes" are very important to an author. What do you "see?" You have to "see" details and more details, no matter what type of story you might want to write, whether the genre is picture books, science fiction, romance, historical novel, biography, or whatever.

So the next time you pick up a book to read, try to "see" it through the author's eyes, following the path from the author's vision to the printed words you see on a page. With a little practice, you might soon "see" your own literary creation!

Fun With Words -- Lubricate Your Tonsils

If you mention the concept to your students, how many do you think would raise their hands and agree with the statement that words can be fun?

A very small percentage, to be sure, if any hands are raised at all.

But words can indeed be fun.

When I'm in the classroom, performing one of my "Nudging the Imagination" writing workshops, I always have a cup of tea by my side. During the workshop, after talking/instructing, I will stop for a moment, tell the students I have to do something very important in their classroom, reach for my mug and take a satisfying, much needed sip of tea.

I ask them what I did. You took a drink, they say. Not quite, I respond.

I tell them I had to lubricate my tonsils.

And then I tell them that when they're at the dinner table that night, they shouldn't say "I'm thirsty." I tell them that's boring. Words can be more fun than that. What they should say is, "May I please have some cow juice so I might lubricate my tonsils?"

"Cow juice?" they say.

They tell me they call it milk, to which I reply, "Why"

What do you get from apples, I ask. Apple Juice, they answer. What do you get from oranges, I ask. Orange juice, they answer. So, what do you get from cows, I ask? They giggle. They say milk.

But it should be cow juice, I insist, because you have to squeeze the cow, too, don't you? At that point I show them one of my children's books, "Why Not Call It Cow Juice," but the point is to have fun with words. So I send them home with an "assignment." They are supposed to ask to lubricate their tonsils with cow juice, which will bring a smile to their lips and happy dinner-table confusion when they carry out their mission at home that night.

Another one of my favorite words -- proboscis. It just sounds funny, doesn't it?

One of the dictionary definitions of the word is a "long flexible snout, like an elephant's trunk."

Now, when we write in the classroom, we stress word pictures. We want to write so clearly, with so much description, that the reader can see what's going on in his or her imagination just through our words, which are painting mental pictures for them.

You can say someone has a big nose if you make that a physical characteristic of one of the characters in your story. You can say that character has honker or a schnozzola, too. But if you say the character has a proboscis? Wow -- now you're talking a major league nose! Quite the smile-inducing word picture, don't you think?

So have fun with the words in the stories you write. And find fun, descriptive words in the books you read.

And while you're doing that, don't forget to lubricate your tonsils with some cow juice!

Read to the Kids -- "Bonking" Game

Recently, there was an article in the paper that reported a survey indicating parents spend very little time these days reading to their kids at bedtime.

That finding probably doesn't surprise anyone. For whatever reasons -- long work hours, late-night fatigue -- bedtime story time seems to have gone the way of family dinner time.

And it's unfortunate.

Reading bedtime stories is so important to youngsters in so many ways, especially when they are so young and learning how to read for themselves. It shows them the importance of the written word, the happiness and magic contained on the pages of a book and the confidence that comes with learning how to read, not to mention the vocabulary and the word/grammar patterns they pick up by osmosis as they navigate their way through a book, all of which is instrumental in turning them into independent and enthusiastic writers.

But it's unfortunate for another reason, too.

Reading bedtime stories is a perfect opportunity to unwind from a busy day and bond with your kids. It should be fun -- for both the kids and the parents.

When our kids were little, we used to play a game when I read to them. Our kids, Amy (now 27), Jeffrey (25) and Emily (21) had their favorite books, so we would tend to read many of the same books over and over. It got so that even before they could technically read, they memorized and could recite the words by heart, knowing what words were on each page even if they didn't really know how to read them.

So when I would read, I would make mistakes on purpose. And as they got older, this would translate into what we called our "bonking" game. If they caught me making a mistake, they could hit me with their pillow. It was amazing how many mistakes I would make! They were paying rapt attention and didn't miss one of the mistakes! As they got stronger, my head would get a little sore from all of their "bonks" with the pillow, but so what?

The game would dissolve into a spirited pillow fight, which was great fun full of great bonding memories and the opportunity to have them associate reading with giggles, smiles and fun. Because reading is fun, right? And what better way to nudge their imaginations?

So take a few minutes out of your busy schedule. It doesn't take long to read a picture book (Mercer Mayer's "There's A Nightmare in My Closet" and "Just Go To Bed" were favorites, as was any book from Marc Brown's series of "Arthur" books). Read to the kids. Have the pillows handy. Have some fun.