{"id":161,"date":"2025-03-11T01:21:07","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T01:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/?p=161"},"modified":"2025-05-20T20:51:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T20:51:20","slug":"for-kids-videos-and-worksheets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/?p=161","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Toughlove’s Tips for Young Writers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Very often when I visit schools and read aloud to students, there is a question and answer period. I am always amazed by the perceptive, insightful questions the students ask. One of the ones that invariably comes up is \u201cHow long did it take you to write Jamal and Me<\/a><\/em><\/strong>?\u201d or \u201cHow do you become an author?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In answer to the first question above, I started working on Jamal and Me<\/strong><\/em> in 2008, but really got serious about publication in 2017. In response to the second question, I counter with the question \u201cDo you put your thoughts down on paper or on a computer? If you do you are an author!\u201d Many of the students start beaming with pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to the \u201chow do you become an author?\u201d question, I thought I would create a list of my thoughts and advice to young writers. Here goes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Write about something you know about and\/or are passionate about. Jamal and Me<\/strong><\/em> is loosely based on experiences I had as a school administrator. If you love dolphins, write about dolphins, if you love the antics you and your siblings get into, write about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. There are many different types of writing. Some of us are poets, some like to illustrate and write cartons, others gravitate toward letters to the editor. The New York Times has published an article that describes different types of writing kids can do<\/a><\/strong> during the corona virus pandemic, but they can be used anytime. The article lists 12 different types of writing. It is written for kids and it may open your eyes to a type of writing you hadn\u2019t thought of that might appeal to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Don\u2019t worry about spelling and punctuation when you begin writing. Teachers \u2013 please don\u2019t roll your eyes! What I\u2019m saying here is that I want to encourage kids to write freely and expressively, knowing that at some point (or maybe not) spelling and punctuation errors will be addressed. In a first draft, errors are OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Be prepared to revise your work MANY TIMES! I wish I had kept count of how many revisions I made to Jamal and Me<\/em><\/strong>. I can tell you with certainty that the number was under one hundred, but not by much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. A book that you might find helpful is How to Write a St<\/strong><\/em>ory<\/em> by Kate Messner.<\/strong> This wonderful picture book provides step-by-step instructions on how to develop a story. A great find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. Ask other people to read your work. It is important to listen to suggestions. No one person can think of everything, so keep your mind open to the opinions of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. If you like to draw, don\u2019t hesitate to include illustrations. Pictures really do help to enhance your message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. If you are concerned that you can\u2019t spell every word perfectly, you might get some inspiration from the book A Squiggly Story<\/em> by Andrew Larsen and Mike Lowery.<\/strong> This wonderful book encourages young writers to use inventive spelling to tell their stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9. If you want to laugh out loud and be inspired to be a writer, read The Author Visit from the Black Lagoon<\/em> by Mike Thaler.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

10. If you would like to send me a piece of writing, I\u2019d be happy to read it. Have a grown up send it to cfrandal@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/strong> Be sure to include your name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Most importantly, have fun. Writing is a journey, and there may be bumps along the way. But when you publish your story, you will be filled with pride and excitement!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Toughlove<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Very often when I visit schools and read aloud to students, there is a question and answer period. I am always amazed by the perceptive, insightful questions the students ask. One of the ones that invariably comes up is \u201cHow long did it take you to write Jamal and Me?\u201d or \u201cHow do you become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resources","tag-for-kids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=161"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1294,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161\/revisions\/1294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolfranksrandall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}