The Purple Pheonix and the Blue Dragon have teamed up to launch a new story, The Pokémon Story, in Share your work.
The Blue Dragon has added to the ongoing science fiction story in Group projects. Read it here. (Remember to scroll down.) If you’d like to add to the story, select the “reply” link under the Blue Dragon’s addition.
The Purple Pheonix is now on Chapter 5 of The Group. Impressive!
Happy reading and don’t forget to comment! I’m sure they’d love to hear your opinions.
The Purple Pheonix is on Chapter 3 of The Group and has written 1,280 words! Follow this ongoing adventure by clicking on the link. (Go ahead. I know you’ll like it.)
He’s also started a science fiction story in Group projects. Anyone can jump in and add to stories posted there. Click here and scroll down to read what he’s written. You can continue where he left off by selecting the small “reply” under his beginning dialogue. For complete instructions on how to add to Group projects, click here.
Excellent work, Purple Pheonix. Write on!
WOOT! The Purple Pheonix has finished Chapter 1. Like all good chapter endings, it makes you want to read Chapter 2 (which is hopefully coming soon, right, Purple Pheonix?) He’s also decided on the title, The Group. He’s been working hard and often, so follow the link and leave him a comment!
Get ready to 
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
In case you’re wondering how Nancy and I selected the winners for the ebook giveaway, here’s an inside view…
Yes, it’s a highly technical and incredibly complicated method!
Mary Edmondson Poarch and Megan! Your names were selected in the random drawing for the free multi-format edition of Swept Up. I will be contacting you by email. To make sure you receive this email, please add “dianeowens@allwritewithme.com” to your “safe” list.
Congratulations, Mary and Megan! I hope you both enjoy the book.
The random drawing for the multi-format ebook edition of Swept Up is now closed. Nancy and I will be gathering names from all the entry locations and drawing two winners Wednesday night (Nov. 16). I’ll announce the winners right here on the “home” page on Thursday, Nov. 17. The winners will be contacted by email.
Good luck to everyone who entered!
In celebration of I Love to Write Day, I’m giving away two ebook editions of Swept Up.
It’s a little bit of fantasy and a whole lot of adventure.
What you’ll find inside the book
one angry janitor with an unbelievable plan
73 sixth-graders locked inside
an artificial town that’s becoming uncomfortably real
a popular girl who knows how to escape
a lot of kids who don’t feel like listening
What people are saying about it
“If you like adventures like the Percy Jackson series, you will love Swept Up!” – E & K Family Book Review
“My class and I loved the book. It grew more suspenseful every day. You’re at the top of our bestseller list, for sure.” – Judy Smith, 3rd grade teacher
“I would give this book a full 10.” – Kayla, 6th grade
“I couldn’t put the book down!” – Gage, 5th grade
“I liked all the adventure…the only thing I didn’t like was that it ended.” – Breslin, 6th grade
If you’d like a sneak-peak, select the flapping book over there on the right.
How to enter
Comment on this post between now and November 15 and your name will be added to the drawing. If your name is selected, you’ll receive an ebook that you can read on any ereader, ipad/itouch, most phones and all computers.
Select “Comment” at the bottom of this post (just below that row of boxes), type your message in the “leave a reply” box, type your first name and last initial in the name box, then hit “post comment.”
Double your chances of winning. If you share something you’ve written, I’ll enter your name twice! For directions on how to share your writing, go to Share Your Writing.
I will announce the winners here on the “home” page and on the All Write with Me Facebook page after the drawing takes place.
Note: To claim the ebook, winners must provide a valid email address. If the winner is 13 years old or younger, I will need the email address of his/her parent or guardian instead. Email addresses can be provided here in the comments (they will not be published) or through my facebook page after I announce the winners. No emails will ever go to 3rd party groups.
Good luck to everyone!
The internet is really cool. People from Orion, Illinois (me) can sit down and chat with people from Fresno, California (Nancy Barth) without even leaving their living rooms. That’s exactly what I did the other day and I’m glad I did. Nancy is a retired teacher who loves teaching so much that she continues to teach kids in her home. In celebration of I Love to Write Day, she invited me to talk with her about what we do here at All Write with Me. I also talked about writing when I was a kid, what it was like to write Swept Up and some of my all-time favorite authors. You can read the interview here and see Nancy’s comments on Swept Up here.
I Love to Write Day is Tuesday, November 15th. Read more about this annual event here. Share your plans for this special day by leaving a comment below.
Yesterday I wrote about where story ideas come from. You can read it here. I also promised a real-life example, so here it is.
A real-life example
The idea for Swept Up first occurred to me when my daughter came home from a field trip to BizTown. BizTown is this big building used by our local Junior Achievement. They’ve decorated the inside to look like a real town. It has everything – stores, factories, a city hall, even a cafeteria. Students spend the whole day at BizTown, doing the types of jobs they might have when they grow up – like working at a bank or delivering mail. My daughter managed the Exercise Center and she had a fantastic time. I liked the idea of kids getting to run everything for an entire day. I thought it would make a great story.
The problem was I was in the mood to write something a bit scary and extremely troubling to the characters. So I needed to turn this really fun field trip into an awful situation. To do that, I started asking myself “what if?”
It went something like this:
What if, for some reason, the teacher gets called away? What if, after awhile, the kids notice that not only is the door she went through locked, but all the doors are locked? What if it gets later and later and the teacher doesn’t come back? What if the kids call for help but no one comes? What if, after spending the whole night locked inside this fake town, some of the kids start acting like they belong there and no longer want to leave? And to make things even worse, what if there are strange, frightening noises outside and then the walls start coming down?
Well, I don’t know about you but that was enough to creep me out. Then came the hard part. Because for every “what if,” I needed a “why.” Why would the teacher leave? Why are the doors locked? Why doesn’t anyone come? Why are some of the kids acting like they belong there? Why are they hearing strange noises and why, oh why is the building falling apart?
That’s a lot of why’s. And it took me a long time to come up with answers that made sense.
But you know what? Every answer brought me closer to what the story was actually about and what had to happen to make it all work. Once I knew that, all I had to do was write it down.
It’s actually a lot of fun. Just pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. Be on the look-out for story ideas and don’t expect these ideas to be too much of anything at first. Be willing to play with them a little. If you ask yourself enough “what ifs” and answer them all with reasonable “why’s”, your thoughts and feelings will not only lead to a story idea but a full-blown story.
Coming up with a story idea is not nearly as hard as you might think. The trick is recognizing the idea when it shows up, grabbing it before it leaves, and then knowing what to do with it.
Ideas are all around you
Believe it or not, you’re surrounded by story ideas all the time – things that happen to you or to your friends, things you hear about or see on TV, things you think about when you’re bored or worried or not paying attention to whatever you’re supposed to be paying attention to. All of these things cause you to think. They also cause you to feel. These thoughts and feelings can lead you to a great story idea.
Don’t let them get away
The first step is noticing the thoughts and feelings that flit through your mind. They’re there, all the time, one after another. But thoughts and feelings come and go with lightning speed and are quickly forgotten. To keep this from happening, take a few minutes to list whatever’s in your mind. Once you get used to writing down your thoughts and feelings, you’ll find that practically every moment you’re awake could lead to a story. The key here is not to expect too much too soon. Most ideas won’t come at you all ready to go. It’s going to take a little more thought.
Make them bigger, better, more
Next, figure out what you’re in the mood to write. Something scary? Funny? Exciting? Troubling? Pick something from your list of thoughts and feelings that matches your mood. Then, ask yourself the most magical question of all time: What if? What if this happened or what if that happened? Would it make the idea scarier, funnier, more exciting or more troubling? Yes? Then write it down. Keep thinking. What could happen next that would make what you’ve just imagined bigger, better, more? (Tip: It helps to pace while you’re doing this. Or jog. Or walk your dog, if you have one.) Keep going until you’re so excited about the idea that you just can’t wait to write it all down. (I know my idea’s ready when my hands start to itch and I start yanking out drawers in a frantic attempt to find a pen or pencil.)
Make sure your idea makes sense
You’re getting there but you’re not quite done, not yet. Because with every “what if” you come up with, you also have to answer “why.” What would cause whatever you’ve imagined to happen? (Another tip: You get extra points every time your “what if” makes things worse for your main character. You also get extra points every time your main character causes the worsening trouble to happen.)
Come back tomorrow for a real-life example.
In the meantime, you can find more ways to get story ideas right here on the site, under How to Hook Your Readers. There’s even some ideas to get you started under Story Prompts.
Have fun!
Do you have an essay or poem that you’d like to see published? Check out poeticpower.com. It doesn’t cost anything to enter and you might win cash prizes or awards too!
The Purple Phoenix started a new story in Group Projects. Select “Fantasy” under Group Projects to read the beginning and add to the story.
There is something – actually lots of somethings – that make me cry every single time I read Mick Harte was Here. This was my fourth time. I really thought I’d get through it without a sniffle. But I didn’t. Not even close. Still, I have to say this is one of my all-time favorite books. It was written by Barbara Park – yep, the same Barbara Park who writes the Junie B. Jones books. The main character, Phoebe Harte, is older than Junie but still has that Junie B attitude that’ll make you smile and probably even laugh, even though the story is oh, so sad. Actually, that’s kind of what the book does – makes you smile through your tears. So, if you’re looking for a great example of how to make readers feel things with your stories, I highly recommend reading this book. Also, it’s a great example of a title doing everything it should. Because the title says it all. You’ll see what I mean if you read the book.
Have you read The Lost Hero? Rick Riordan uses a really cool trick to make sure you keep reading. He lets you experience the story through the thoughts and feelings of three main characters: Jason, Piper and Leo. He moves from character to character throughout the story but he makes sure that you’re always experiencing the story through the character who has the most to lose or gain. I stayed up way too late while I was reading it! I’m wondering if it had the same effect on you. If you’ve read it, leave a comment and let us know if you were as pulled in to the story as I was.
If the summer’s heat is beating you up, read Allen’s latest post, “Blizzard of 1880.” This review of The Long Winter will help you remember that yes, summer is the best season, no matter how hot it gets!
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