Next Meeting - Tuesday, October 22nd

WRITING PROMPT (In case you missed our meeting last week)

THINK:  Where does your story take place?  Is there more than one location?  Examples:  A ghost town in the wild old west.  A contemporary metropolis.  A medieval household.  A made-up fantasy land.  Aboard a vessel, such as a spaceship, in the far-off future.

WRITE:  Where does your story take place?  How does this location influence your story?

DO:  Sketch a map of your setting.  Examples:  Draw the layout of a city.  Draw an island.  Draw outer space.   Draw the inside of a bedroom or house.

THINK:  When does your story take place?  Is there more than one time frame?

WRITE:  Describe this time zone.  Over a weekend?  A month?  A year?  Several years?  Examples:  18th century?  Future?  How does this time frame influence your story?

DO: Go to the YWP Nanowrimo website and create a username and password.  

                                                                      http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

Next Meeting - Tuesday, October 15th

The Young Writer's NaNoWriMo site is open.  Create (or update) your user account. Download the writer's workbook and begin working through the pages.

http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

19 Days and counting!

October 3, 2013

Countdown to NaNoWriMo 2013!!!

Welcome, students, to our Novel Writing Club!  We are preparing for the upcoming NaNoWriMo.  Here are the writing prompts from our first meeting on October 1st.  Write them in your notebook and begin brainstorming your NaNo Novel!

Prompt #1

What do I want to say? (Example:  What is my story about in five – 10 words)
Example:  My story is about a girl who learns to forgive her grandfather before he dies.

Prompt #1

What do I want to say? (Example:  What is my story about in five – 10 words)
Example:  My story is about a girl who learns to forgive her grandfather before he dies.

Prompt #2

Who is my main character?  (Protagonist)
What does he/she want?
Example:  My character’s name is Alyssa.  She is 13 years old.  She is unhappy living with her grandfather and wants to leave.


Prompt #3

What is antagonizing my character?  (Antagonist)
Example:  Alyssa is unhappy because her father is in jail and her mother died, leaving her to live with her grandfather, whom she does not like.


Prompt #4

Who is your main character’s confidante (friend)?
Example:  Alyssa keeps to herself and talks to no one – except her dog Ralphie.   



Prompt #5

Where does the story take place?  (Location, time, season)
Example:  This story takes place in the 1970s during the Vietnam War.  It is Spring (March) in Massachusetts.


Prompt #6

How do you think your story might end?
Example: Alyssa’s grandfather falls and breaks his leg, and as she takes care of him, she realizes has been blaming him for her parents’ mistakes.  She learns to forgive them, and him.

Coming Soon - NaNoWrimo 2013!

It's time to gear back up again for another NaNoWriMo event!  Our Novel Writing Club will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, October 1st, in Rm. 7.  I'm pursuing my graduate degree, so I haven't decided if I will participate this year, but I will definitely be there for each of you as your club sponsor.

Now that we've completed our first month of school (yikes - that was the quickest August in history!), it's time to think about your story ideas.

• Theme
• Characters
• Plot

Dust off that design notebook, create a new folder on your laptop, and start the investigating and planning processes.  

See you in October!

Back Up Your Data

Hello, Wrimos!

Today is "Back Up Your Data Day"!  There are several ways to do this.

1.  Send yourself an email and attach your files to it.
2.  Create a dropbox account:  www.dropbox.com
3.  Save to external hard drive or USB drive.

Next meeting - Tuesday, November 20th.

Keep writing!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Hello, Wrimos!

I'm totally remiss in blogging during this year's NaNoWriMo.  Suffice to say this school year has been the busiest ever for me.  I teach seven classes daily, which leaves little time to blog, nevermind write!  However, no excuses - I've found a way to write 10,000 words so far, so I'm still involved and still your fearless club sponsor!

Reminder:  Don't forget to wear your club t-shirts tomorrow (Tuesday).
Meeting:  3:45p - 5:00p, Rm. 7.
Update:  Make sure you add your word count to our class profile on the ywp.nanowrimo.org website.
Assignment:  Read this blog by Amy Fellner Dominy about the NaNoWriMo process.
Weekly Journal


And now, here's a snippet of my NaNoNovel...



Call me right away, Carlie. Important!!!

I knew it. My mother cancelled. Again. I read the text message for the fifth time, then silenced my cellphone, and stuck it in the pocket of my uniform blazer. So much for promises to keep promises.

I watched the crowd of girls in plaid skirts and navy blazers gather for pictures on the front steps of my school - Brenham Preparatory Academy for Girls. They stood beside their parents, holding bouquets of spring flowers with pink ribbons, posing for pictures, smiling. And I stood across from them on the sidewalk, trying to suppress the familiar ache that rose from the pit of my stomach and stuck to the back of my throat like paste.

Counting Down to NaNoWriMo - 11 Days!

Ok, Wrimos!  It's time to get serious!  It's time to think about...

• Protagonists...
• Plots...
• Antagonists...
• Conflicts and resolutions...

And t-shirts!  Yes, t-shirts!  We're ordering club t-shirts and will choose the design on Tuesday!  You can wear them on Tuesdays (our club meeting days) and on the first and last day of NaNoWriMo.  Otherwise, wear your school uniform (I know, I know - ewww!)

See you Tuesday.

Mrs. P.

Novel Writing Club Updates

Hey, Writers:

Thanks for attending the meeting today.  It's so exciting to see a full classroom of students who are ready to participate in NaNoWriMo 2012!  Fifteen more days...

Here's the link I promised.  Click on it to find the files from today's meeting.

http://www.mpsaz.org/academy/staff/kmprocopio/class_18/class_24/


Next meeting - Tuesday, October 23rd!

Novel Writing Club Meeting - October 16th

Attention Novel Writing Club Members:

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 16th, after 7th hour in Rm. 7.  Be prepared to discuss NaNoWriMo and begin the planning process for your novel.

Agenda Topics:

Club t-shirts
Guest speaker events

What to bring:

Notebook and pencil/pen
Snacks to share

It's not too late to join!  See you there!

Mrs. P

Novel Writing Club Meeting

Our first Novel Writing Club meeting of the school year will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, October 2nd, at 3:45p in my classroom.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Hello, Writing Club Members!

I'm back!!!!

The school year is off to a fabulous start and now it's time to think about writing!

Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 2nd, at 3:42 p.m. 

Author Amy Fellner Dominy's new book Audition and Subtraction is now released.  She's holding a book-signing party at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe on Thursday, September 20th.  I

http://www.changinghands.com/event/dominy-sep12

If you want to go to the signing, come see me in my classroom ASAP.

Mrs. P

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Mark your calendar:

Next meeting - Novel Writing Club, Tuesday, May 8th, Rm. 7, 3:45 - 5:00p.
Don't forget to bring your copy of OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy.


Last meeting of the school year - Tuesday, May 15th.  Our meetings will resume in August.  See ABS for details.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

The Novel Writing Club will meet on Tuesday, May 1st, from 3:45 - 5:00p, in Room 7.  We are reading OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy.  Bring your books!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Hello, Novel Writing Club:

I must cancel our meeting tomorrow.  So sorry!  The flu bug that has been buzzing around my classroom for the past few weeks has finally bit me! 

I'm so glad we were able to attend Rock the Drop - Phx on Saturday.  I hope more of you can come with us next year.  The folks at Gangplank generously donated the space and Sara Fujimura http://sarafujimura.com/ organized the event.  Several authors presented such topics as characterization and brainstorming, and shared their wisdom and experience as published authors.  We were especially thrilled to meet Amy Fellner Dominy and purchase more copies of OyMG.  We will begin reading her book together at our next meeting (April 17th), which will provide a pleasant break from AIMS week!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Calling all tweens and teens!  Check out this upcoming writing event in Chandler, AZ on April 7th...

http://www.sarafujimura.com/Rock_the_Drop--PHX_TVAP.html

Monday, March 26, 2011

Novel Writing Club meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17th.  Bring 2 - 4 pages of your NaNoNovel to share with the group.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Vote for me!  My pitch was selected for the NaNoWriMo Pitchapallooza!  Unfortunately, only one vote can be cast per IP address, so no one else can vote from the school. Please send an email vote instead to:  arielle@thebookdoctors.com.  The contest ends March 15th.  Thanks!

http://www.thebookdoctors.com/category/2012-nanowrimo

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Mark Your Calendar:

Club meeting on Tuesday, March 6th, 3:42 - 5:00p.
Spring Break - no meeting on March 13, 2012.
Meetings will resume on Tuesday, March 20th.

Wednesday, March 1, 2012

Toot! Toot! If you don't mind, I'm tooting my own horn!

My short story "More" won 1st place in the Mesa Public Schools District Writing Competition.

Toot! Toot!
(-:

Sunday, February 26th

I attended the Pitchapallooza yesterday and worked on my elevator pitch for my new book middle grade book.

Here it is...

Boys don't like girls who are too smart.  That's all 15-year old Megan Thompson has heard since she decided to enter the Stockwell Computer Engineering Competition.  PRINCESS GEEK is the story of a super-competitive, computer-savvy girl who must decide which is more important:  winning the competition and a prestigious summer internship or putting on the ditz and glitz to win the attention and affections of hottie Michael Alexander, who also happens to be the competition.  Will Megan roll up her lab coat sleeves and fight to win the internship or hide her intelligence for romance and a prom date with Michael?