Shake Things Up! Vary how you start your sentences

Good writers know to avoid boring writing.

Why choose the same words and sentence structure when the world is your oyster?!  Take time to craft your writing and consider the musicality of it.  How your writing sounds will affect your reader.  Does it sound repetitive... the same... over... and over and over???  Or does it flow with music and an intriguing rhythm??



Be daring!  Be different!

No Robot Writing!



Check out this illustration of the power of varying your sentences:



Notice a difference?!  This is an artist, taking the time to craft his writing to make sure it sounds interesting and sophisticated!



Are you a Then-aholic?  When you tell a story, is it filled with "Then this happened..." "Then this happened..."  "Then this happened..."?  If so, something as simple as a sheet of transition words and phrases may be the key.

Check out this great resource! 



First Impressions Matter:

If you need more ideas for how to structure your sentences to avoid the ever-dreaded "Robot-Writing," take a look at this resource!  There are lots of different ways to start a sentence. The trick is to learn how to use them all.   Check out some of these options and see if you can shake up your sentences by varying how you start them!  

1.  'ING' Phrase

Ex. Seizing the knife, Bryan stabbed the zombie.

Jumping up, the zombie refused to stay dead.

2. Use a verb with -ed  or an -ed phrase

Ex. Amazed, he stood stock still with his mouth wide open, like a goldfish

Surprised by all the other zombies that attacked him, Bryan screamed.

3.  Use a simile

Ex. Like bees in a hive, the zombies swarmed all over Bryan.

Like a red river, Bryan’s blood flowed out of his body.

4.  Use an adverb

Ex. Slowly, the zombies climbed off of his corpse.

Carefully, Bryan opened his now “undead” eyes.

5. Use a prepositional phrase (anything a plane can do to a cloud)

around- above - across - after - at - before - behind - below - beneath - beside - between - by - down - for - from - inside - in - near- next - of - off - over - through - to -towards - under - up - with

Ex. Around the time he was bitten, Bryan started to turn into a zombie himself.

Behind the sofa, the children huddled for fear of this new zombie.

6.  Use an AAAWWUBBIS- Although, after, as, while, when, until, because, before, if since

Ex. While he tried not to hurt anyone as a human, he killed lots of people as a zombie.

Since Bryan was so hungry now, he ate everyone in the room!  

Everything You Have Always Wanted to Know About Punctuation... and More!

Check out the coolest punctuation guide that I've seen in a long time! Do you wonder what the difference is between a comma and a semicolon?  Wonder no longer!

Go and see The Punctuation Guide before someone gets hurt!!

SOW Lesson #1: Put Your Sentence to the Test

Our first Sentence of the Week lesson focuses on creating a simple sentence.  In order to make sure your sentence is a complete sentence and not a fragment, be sure to put your sentence to the test!

 Your sentence should be able to answer the following 2 questions:

Who or what did or is something?

What did they do or what are they?

For more practice on telling a fragment from a complete sentence, check out this link to my Thinglink of web resources!  You will find games, a set of Quizlet flashcards, a video, online poster, and resources to help your sentences (and you!) pass the Sentence test!

An Artist Must Know The Colors

Writing is an art.
Writers are artists.

Since artists rely on splashes of color- deep, fiery reds, strips of clear, blue sky, dark shadowy blacks, to create an image, it is crucial that they know how to blend those colors into just the right shades.  Likewise, it is as important for writers, who paint pictures with words, to know how to use their words as effectively as possible.

We start with the tools you have available... The parts of speech.

In 8th grade, I do not spend weeks teaching you what a noun is, what an adjective is, what a verb is.  What we do explore is how to use those strong nouns, those striking adjectives, those exciting verbs to make your writing come alive and pack a powerful punch.

However, if you do not remember what a verb is, my comment to strengthen your verbs will not be very helpful.

Just as visual artists knows what colors to blend together to reach the perfect color, you need to know how to use your colors, or words, to make your writing impactful and memorable.

If talking about prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions, adjectives makes you nervous and say, "Huh??" Here are  two resources to review the different parts of speech.

http://partofspeech.org/ is a wonderful website to review the parts of speech and get to know your tools.

Once you're more familiar with the parts of speech, give it a try and play Word Invasion to test yourself and your skills.

Remember, a writer has a limited tool belt to create sunsets, special moments, memories, nightmares, love stories, walks in history, celebrations, and conversations... know your tools.  Know how to blend and strengthen your colors so you can paint a vivid picture in the mind's of your readers.

You are an artist!