I give either group presentations or journaling workshops, depending on
what the school and teachers want. For presentations, I start by
telling a little about where I get my ideas, how I go from idea to
finished book (via many revisions!), and then I do a story with the
students where they come up with the characters and plot, and I
illustrate it for them. They think of three different endings so they
can see different possibilities for how a story can turn out and think
about what makes one ending better than another.
For journaling workshops, I lead the students through a series of exercises developing characters and tools for better plots (breaking it down into beginnings, middles, and ends). We work on juicy verbs, great first sentences, and satisfying endings.
Write On: Tips for your own Notebook
If you print out these pages, you’ll get some suggestions for how to write your own notebook. The first rule is: No one’s the boss of your notebook except you. You can do whatever you want. The second rule is: Since you can do whatever you want, have fun!
Teach Journaling Skills with Amelia (Teacher's planner)
All images and text on this site are (c) Marissa Moss unless otherwise noted.
