Structure is a framework we have known since childhood fairytales - 'beginning - middle - end'. Here's why visual representations can help.

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to be a writer, if you want it badly enough, or if you’re truly meant to be one? Below follows a list of 10 signs that you are meant to be a writer. Check out how many of them apply to you.

We write a lot, but this can desensitize us to typos and grammar mistakes. Reading aloud and other tips and tricks. Paper Raven Books: Take control of your book-writing process.

For the majority of my writing life, I had been the writer who does a lot of talking, but not a lot of writing. However, one day during my junior year of college, my boyfriend said to me, “For someone who wants to be writer, you don’t write very much.” Schedule

This year’s worksheets are aimed at exploring what it means to be a writer… What is our relationship to our writing? How can we draw on our life experiences in order to become better writers? How can writing improve our lives? Things I Love Modalities Writer’s Statement Artistic Movement Becoming a Writer Dislike to Like Private…

Genius Hour is a concept popularized by Google and 3M. Check out this guide for implementing Genius Hour in your classroom to...

The definitive guide for bloggers to learn to start a blog and make money blogging online. Learn how to start a successful blog in 10 steps

Tips How to Write Villains that Play Mind Games with Their Victims. Do you love to write manipulative villains? Try these writing tips to write your villains.

Thinking about entering a writing contest? Make sure you are ready to win the contest by following these seven tips.

Learn the 7 important tips for implementing journal writing with your students in your English Language Arts classroom in this blog post.

Do You Struggle with the Plot of you Novel? You might not be alone. Use these simple tricks to plot your novel plus use the bonus tools for expert plotting!

Discover the five most important secrets of good storytelling--which also happen to be the five most common problems in modern books and movies.

Every action in your novel should be justified by character or context. If you have to explain why something happens, you’re telling the story backward.

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to be a writer, if you want it badly enough, or if you’re truly meant to be one? Below follows a list of 10 signs that you are meant to be a writer. Check out how many of them apply to you.

This post contains my favorite end of the school year craftivities and bulletin board displays that I have used over the years. I love doing creative writing craftivities that help students reflect on the school year and then showcasing their work with pride in our classroom or hallway with a cute display! Parents, teachers, & students […]

Last week I had an intimate conversation in my DM over on Instagram about being a multi-passionate which lead me to think, write this letter and share it as a permission slip for all such creatives out there who are lead to believe that they just need to be one thing to succeed as creatives in their lives. This letter is from a Multi-Passionate Creative for other Multi-Passionate creatives. These are all the insights I have learned over the course of years and I am hoping this letter will hold space for you, your multiple passions and your wildest dreams to come to life too.

Literary postcards are a great activity to reinforce the ideas of character and point of view in any novel or short story and can be used with any grade level.

Imagining stories seems to be natural for little learners. Even before children learn to read and write, their imaginations can take off in all sorts of directions! With Cut and Arrange Stories – Fun at the Circus, your child gets 10 pictures and 25 keywords that they can arrange and rearrange until they have the ideas ... Read More about Cut and Arrange Creative Writing Stories for Kids – Fun at the Circus

Writing a memoir might seem like a straight-forward process, but there is a lot to consider! Check out our step-by-step memoir writing guide.

If you've ever wanted to write a romance novel or story, but you haven't known where to start, use these romance writing prompts to help you generate unique story ideas.

The key is to structure creativity and your multiple passions in a way that works for you.

Television is having a big moment right now, perhaps even more so than movies. With fantastic series on Netflix, HBO, AMC and so forth, it seems like television writing is the place to be. And why not? Unlike with films, writers rule television. Plus, television writing offers a regular paying job

Realistic dialogue is one of the most important aspects of writing a screenplay. Here are 7 tips to help you learn how to write dialogue in a script!

Make the most of your writing block with these funny picture prompts! Go here:

Make 2017 your best writing year yet with our list of the best writing websites.

Picture this: a magical notebook that collects your lists of character names, rough draft progress meters, and memorable feedback from readers all in one place. Imagine being able to organize it and add new things as you go, without needing to allocate perfectly spaced sections ahead of time. There’s even a special page that helps you find whatever you’re looking for in seconds. That, my writerly friend, is the magic of a bullet journal.

Writing your next book starts HERE

Ces pages prêtes à imprimer sont parfaites pour l'écriture créative pour LES MONSTRES, PIRATES et PRINCESSES en français. Très facile pour les ateliers, l'écriture guidée, l'écriture indépendante, le travail du matin ou pour les suppléants! These NO Prep Prompts are perfect for your French Creative...

Learn how to write a screenplay with this comprehensive guide that covers every step of the process, from idea to plot and formating to finished product!

As an editor, I correct passive voice every day. It's a common problem and easy to fix. Check out this complete guide to fixing passive voice!

Beautiful script font in our quick stitching, lovely "vintage" stitch.  All of our font alphabets are 100% manually digitized to bring you maximum stitch quality.6 sizes included: 1 inch, 1.25 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch BX format included  Letters are individual stitch files and therefore you must have embroidery editing software to merge your letters one at a time together to form words, names and monograms. Please be sure to examine all letters PRIOR to purchase.  Alternatively:This font also includes BX format to be used with Embrilliance software  as a keyboard font. If you do not own software, Embrilliance offers a basic FREE software for you to install the BX file and easily TYPE your words and phrases! File installation instructions are included with your purchase. Be sure to visit www.embrilliance.com to learn about the full version of their software program to allow you, even more flexibility and options. For more information, please see these YouTube videos:How To Access Embrilliance EXPRESS free version How To Install BX fonts into Embrilliance Essentials Software

Why do you write? This may be one of the most important questions you ever answer in the course of your writing career.

Last week I was scouring the internet for some more inquiry ideas for my classroom when I came across Genius Hour. One word ... hooked. And inspired. And motivated. (I was never good at limiting my words). ;) Sufficed to say, I KNEW it was going to happen in my classroom. In a nutshell, Genius Hour is something that happens in your classroom for one hour a week. During this time, students research and complete an inquiry project based on their passions - really digging deep into what motivates them. The actual inquiry question does not have to be tied to the curriculum expectations because so much of what they will do does fit the curriculum ... and more ... so much more. They will be learning research skills, refining their organizational skills, reading nonfiction articles, developing questions, writing, preparing a project, and presenting. And best of all ... they will be engaged. So, I got started immediately. I started researching it more in depth (check out the genius hour link in the first paragraph to get you started with so many FANTASTIC ideas and resources). I started making up resources to use in my classroom, and I started planting little seeds of excitement within the classroom. I told my students I had a big secret for them ... one that would be revealed on Friday ... and one that would change our classroom ... one that would change every student. Boy, were they hooked. The second they came into the school on Friday they asked when they were going to find out the secret. Our Genius Hour will take place every Friday in our classroom, during our Language Arts block. I set up this space on our blackboard (who uses blackboards anymore?) to act as our bulletin board launching pad during our passion projects. I set it up during their break, so it was up when they came back into the classroom. When it was time, I told them all was about to be revealed. I gave each student a sticky note and asked them to close their eyes and think about something they were really passionate about. Something that they would do forever if they could. I then had them write that thing on the sticky note and put it up on our bulletin board. I then showed them the "Pep Talk" video by Kid President. LOVE it. It fits so perfectly with our classroom motto this year - "Be More Awesome". I asked them how they thought this video ties into their passions and we had a short discussion about it. I then showed them this video (found on Genius Hour). It's actually geared to teachers, so I wouldn't use it in a classroom with younger students, but it worked well with my students, and it told them exactly what to expect during Genius Hour. I then handed out a second sticky note and asked them to "refine" their passion a bit. Alter it so that it was something they could create an inquiry project on - something they could create a question about and complete research on (we have already completed inquiry projects in science this year, so this concept wasn't new to them). I also reminded them that this was just a brainstorm phase, and they weren't tied to what they wrote down on the sticky note. When they were finished, I had them put these sticky notes up on our bulletin board, too. I handed out a duotang and notebook to each student to keep track of their sheets and notes during the project (bright yellow, of course). I then gave them their brainstorm sheet and asked them to answer the questions. On the back of the sheet they were to brainstorm ideas they were passionate about, and projects they could complete based on these passions. This one below is one of my favourites because this is a young man who is quite difficult to engage ... and he was so excited about this he drew out a full diagram in only a few moments. After a few moments of brainstorming, I allowed them some group time to discuss the ideas they were thinking about. My class LOVES to talk, so I've found if I build that time in for them, we are all a lot happier. We then filled out a reflection sheet I made for the end of each Genius Hour. Because I wanted to keep the sheet the same for each Genius Hour through the session, some of the questions didn't apply this time, but will in our upcoming genius hour blocks. I've uploaded a copy of the handouts I used, and the bulletin board letters I made to google docs. You can grab them by clicking HERE. I left the day of the week and project timeline blank so you could add in your days / timeline. Note: this is a PDF file, so it isn't editable. If it doesn't quite work for you, you are more than welcome to use some of these ideas and create something that does work for you. Although I like to share ideas and activities I've done in the classroom, I'm a HUGE advocate of doing what works for your classroom - you know your students the best, and know what drives them, so please change things around if you feel your students need it, or add in your own genius ideas to inspire your students. :) For homework, I asked my students to talk to their families about our Passion Projects and come back with two ideas they could work with. Over the week, I will talk to the students and approve ideas so that we can get started on our projects during our next Genius Hour next Friday. If you haven't heard about Genius Hour, please check out the link I gave at the beginning ... I promise you - you will be motivated. My students are SO excited, to say the very least. One of my students asked me at the end of class if he could decorate his folder. Of course I told him he could. When I came back from break, I found out that he had done this on his break. A success, I'd say. When I was dismissing the bus lines at the end of the day, one of my "less motivated" students looked and me and said with a smile, "I think I'm going to like Fridays now". Well ... enough said. Happy Sunday!