writer's notebook
TRANSCRIPT
Imagine the Possibilities
A writer’s notebook with pages of ideas to get you thinking and
pages of white space to get you writing
Imagine the PossibilitiesA writer’s notebook
And while you’re at it, Publish with PowerPointAvailable as a paperback journal.
Contact me [email protected]
Filled with ideas to get you thinking and space to get you writing
Imagine the possibilities, if the next time you have to dream up a writing assignment you have pages of ideas and more available online every week!
A Writer’s Notebook
Filled with ideas to get you thinking and space to get you writing
By Suzanne Meyer and Pat Martin
A White Barn Press Bookhttp://WhiteBarnPress.com
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Copyright © 2010 by Suzanne Meyer and Pat Martin
Images by Art Parts © 1994 Art Parts, a registered trademark.
WARNING!!!! You may come up with so many pages of writing you just might have to publish your own book!
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How to use this book ...
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1. Have fun.
2. Use our writing ideas or dream up your own. Just write . . .
3. Let the words flow! Add color, drawings or doodles.
4. Fill up every page. When you’re done this book will be your own creation.
5. Share your book with friends and family. Show it to your teacher. I’ll bet you can make them smile.
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Just write!
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OK, crack the spine and get writing. Start by describing yourself as a writer. Do you love to write, hate to write, something in between?
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Keep writing…a poem, a song, a rambling idea you have. Fill up this page. Make the words big if you have to.
Did writing get easier or harder as you went along?
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Now that you have a rhythm,think about this book as your own, filled with your ideas, writing and doodles.
Who do you want to see your writing? What’s your purpose for your writing?
Who is my audience for this book?
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What’s my purpose?
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Time travel . . . If you could go forward or backward in time, where would your destination be? Imagine what you would see, hear and experience in another time and place.
Let your imagination take flight!
Let your mind travel back in time. Use this space for your ideas.
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On Stage
Have you acted in a play, sung in a choir, played in a band? Describe the experience. What did you do? How did it feel? What did it take to get up in front of an audience?
Your ideas here
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Your Title Here
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“No act of kindness is ever wasted.”~Aesop
Fill up this page with a list of kind acts you have done for others or others have done for you in the last week, month, year, lifetime.
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Use this page to write one of the people on your list a note or letter telling them how much you appreciate a kind thing they did for you.
Things have changed since you were in first grade.
What new things have you learned?
What new experiences have you had?
How has the world changed?17
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When I was a kid by Nate Gillan
I used to blow air back into my Capri-Sun to make it look like it was full =).
I liked building forts out of pillows and blankets.
I liked running up and down hotel hallways.
I used to tease my dog with his dinner dish.
Write about a childhood memory.
Do you love animals? Do you have a pet? Did you have to work hard to talk your parents into getting you a pet? Write about it.
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If you haven’t succeeded in talking your parents into letting you have a pet, use this page to plan a letter to your parents. Tell them how you feel and what you would do to make sure your pet would be loved and well cared for. If you already have a pet tell a story through the eyes of your pet.
Shades of gray… When was the last time you had to decide between right and wrong, but there were shades of gray? How did you work things out?
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Focus on small pleasures. What small things in life make you happy or give you joy?
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Believe it or not, your parents were children once. Interview them about their childhood adventures.
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Life is hectic and sometimes doing things in a different way can help. If you could make one suggestion to your parents, what would it be? Write your parents a letter and explain your suggestion in detail. Be persuasive. You never know when your writing can make a difference.
Put it in writing!
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“The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.”
Mary Heaton Vorse
Apply the seat of your pants to the seat of a chair. Look at the clock and write something, anything, for the next 15 minutes.
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How many minutes to fill this page?
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How many minutes to fill this page?
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How many minutes to fill this page?
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When was the last time you felt anxious or nervous?
How did you get through it?
What advice to you have for others who may be facing the same thing?
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Imagine this . . . A publisher has contacted you
about writing the next best seller for kids. She
wants your ideas and needs them fast. Write
her a letter and tell her about your book idea
and why you think it will be a big hit.
Dear Publisher,
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Who knows, if you really work on this, you can send
us your letter and maybe we’ll publish your book!
Our contact information is on the last page.
Dear Publisher (continued)
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My ideas for a very scary story!
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More ideas for a very scary story!
Way out there!
Do you participate in
what you consider an
extreme sport?
What makes it so extreme?
What makes it special?
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Your title here
Start by telling the reader about the sport. What makes it extreme? What makes it fun? What does it take to get involved?
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Have you ever felt trapped, with no where to hide? How did you get into that position? What did you do about it? What will you do the next time?
Write about a dumb mistake you made, something you did or said that you wished you could take back.
What in the world was I thinking???
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If you have a teacher who requires you to keep notes (almost always a good idea) try being creative.
Use your own graphics and doodles to highlight important information you want to remember.
Come up with funky headlines that will draw your attention to key ideas.
Research shows that graphics help you remember.
Use the next four pages to start a new notebook “look.” Pick any subject that requires you to take notes. Show the pages to your teacher and see what he or she thinks? You just might be starting a new trend.
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Notebook Makeover Page 1
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Notebook Makeover Page 2
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Notebook Makeover Page 3
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Notebook Makeover Page 4
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What are your ideas for fun learning
activities, events, and projects for a better
school? Teachers and administrators are
always looking for better ways to help
students learn.
Now it’s your turn. Use the next two pages
to plan a memo to your principal or teacher
about how to make school a better learning
experience for all kids.
Start listing your ideas here
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Things to think about: Start with the good things about your school or classroom. What’s working? what could be better if everyone would go along with your ideas?
Think big! Be realistic. Use the next two pages to expand on your ideas.
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Use your ideas and write a draft memo.
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Your second draft here…
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Memo
To:
From:
Subject: My School Improvement Plan
Final memo copy
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Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
Describe something beautiful in your life. It can be a person or a place, an object or any living creature.
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Use this page too and include lots of detail so the reader can see what you’re describing.
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A moment in time . . .
Write about a special moment in time, a moment filled with adventure, fear, joy, friendship, or surprise.
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5Is the title of a great book about how
life offers unlimited possibilities for
making our dreams come true. I like
the book so much that I recommend
you go on line and see for yourself
www.live-inspired.com
On the next 5 pages there’s room to
make lists about what’s important in
your life and what you can do to make
your dreams come true.
Go for it!
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5 of the best things that have
happened in the past year
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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5 simple things I can change in
the next month to make my
life better
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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5 adventures I want to have in
the next year
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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5 crazy ideas that just might work
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Are you passionate about something? Write a detailed “how to” about an activity you love to do. Use this page and the next page to brainstorm your
“how to” writing.
How about some nonfiction?
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More brainstorming.
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Take your brainstorm ideas and start writing to help someone follow your passion.
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Keep writing . . .
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“There are three things, after all, that
a poem must reach: the eye, the ear,
and what we may call the heart or the
mind of the reader.” Robert Frost
Fill these pages with your own poetry or song lyrics. Try to reach “the eye, the ear and the heart or the mind” of the reader.
Share your poetry and songs with someone when you’re done.
Let a friend add their own poem or song.
Poetry Café
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My Poetry Café
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My Poetry Café
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My Poetry Café
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My Poetry Café
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My Poetry Café
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A goal is a dream you write down.
Write down a dream you have and make it a goal.
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What’s the plan to accomplish your goal?
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Everybody has homework and chores to do. But what about fun?
What do you do for fun?
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Fun is in the eye of
the beholder.
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“Plot springs from character . . . I’ve always
sort of believed that these people inside me –
these characters – know who they are and
what they’re about and what happens, and
they need me to help get it down on paper
because they don’t type.” Anne Lamott
Do you have any characters inside of you like
Anne Lamott? Who are they? What are their
challenges, adventures, disappointments,
triumphs? On the next four pages, write about
four characters who live in your head.
Hmmm, I can think of some interesting characters.
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Character 1
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Character 2
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Character 3
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Character 4
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Start your story here. Include 1 or all of the characters you just described.
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Keep going . . .
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And going . . .
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This page for drawing and doodling
Do you like to draw? Even if you don’t, try filling up these two pages with doodles and drawings. If you’re stuck, just start working with dots and lines and see where they take you.
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More doodlingAdd WordsAny Words
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A Gift of Writing
Use this page for your ideas. Write a poem or song lyrics to give as a gift. Use the next page too.
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Write about your favorite family tradition.
What and who make it special?
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Take a walk and put everything out of your mind
except what you see around you. Pay attention. Be
amazed. When you get home, write about it . . .
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What did you see?
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What did you think?
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What made you wonder?
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Get physical!Lots of kids come home from school and
turn on TV. What’s your advice for getting
physical? What activities get you up and
out and moving around? What are the
benefits of getting physical?
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Get physical!
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What can I write about??????
Make a list, as long as you
can, of all the things you
love to do, interesting
people you know, and
amazing things you’ve
learned. Fill up this page.
Write big if you have to.
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Fill up this page too.
Remember, it's OK to:
Write big and
have fun.
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Moving into the future
In the “real world “ young and old use different hardware and software to communicate in “real time.”
Technology allows us to use more images or graphics, which means we use less text to get our ideas across.
Brief, concise writing in the future will cut to the essence.
It will be -
Thought-bites
140 characters
Slim and trim; no fat
Are you up to the challenge?
Your thought bites here on any subject
More thought bites
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An amazing thing . . .
that made me wonder
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Write to figure something out - a challenge you’re facing, a problem that seems impossible to deal with.
Just start writing. Your brain will help with the solution, or next steps as you put your thoughts into words and let your writing flow.
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How did you do? Did writing help you work something out? If you liked this writing idea, start a “writing workout journal” and keep your brain moving.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Free write and quick write pages.
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Visit http://Amazon.com to purchase more writer’s
notebooks.
With the purchase of Imagine the Possibilities – A Writer’s
Notebook you can sign up for a free PowerPoint™ download
of this book.
In the digital version you can take your written notes and
create typed pages. You can sort pages, add pages, merge
pages, move clip art around or add your own. When you’re
done, you can publish your own book or print selected pages
and give them away to family and friends.
Visit http://www.ronandjoe.com/contents.html to purchase
a huge collection of different and fun clip art by Ron and
Joe. We used just a small sample in this book, and we loved
how the images inspired our thinking and made us smile.