Tag: revising
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Revising a Narrative
Now that NaNoWriMo is over, a LOT of people are revising the novels they just finished writing. Revising is a difficult skill to teach. I’ve told students that revising is changing the words to make it better. That helps them understand, but it really doesn’t tell them what to do. I’ve heard of teachers who…
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Teaching Writing in Elementary School
Children enter kindergarten loving school. They eagerly begin learning their alphabet and look forward to writing their name. By the time they reach sixth grade, they groan when the teacher says, “Take out your pencil and three pieces of binder paper.” Somewhere along the line, writing has become a dreaded chore. Something has killed the…
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A Lesson in Patience
As my first novel nears publication, I find myself living constantly in my head. At times I am like a child waiting for Santa. At other times, I am the marketing guru brainstorming ways to sell my book. At other times, I revert to the teacher I am in my real life. No matter which…
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Satisfaction With Your Own Writing
Students, journalists, novelists–in fact anyone at all who writes–experience that moment when the piece is done and you never want to look at it again. NaNoWriMo is no exception. While I have completed 50,000 words on my new novel, IN THE WINDS OF DANGER, it is far from complete. I typed the last word on…
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Editing and Revising
Your written piece is not yet finished even when you place the period after the last sentence of your first draft. Take a break, celebrate that you’ve completed a big chunk of it, then begin editing and revising. REVISING is when you change the words to make the actual sentences sound better. This can be…