This is Just a Test -- Collaborative Writing

Guest Post by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang

When we worked on our new middle-grade novel, This Is Just A Test, the two of us (Wendy Wan-Long Shang and Madelyn Rosenberg) collaborated, sending our manuscript back and forth, back and forth, until it was complete. In school, kids collaborate all of the time, on science labs, social studies projects, sports teams, and of course, on writing assignments. Most of the teachers we’ve talked to say that the main way their students collaborate on writing is through peer editing. We thought we’d offer a few ways to have them collaborate on the writing itself.

Character

Our character, David Da-Wei Horowitz, is Jewish (like Madelyn) and Chinese-American (like Wendy). Little pieces of our own experiences and culture went into forming that character, along with plenty of things that are just David’s alone.

Have your students work in pairs to build a character. Think of it like the Build-a-Bear workshop: You’ll be discussing what the character looks like on the outside, but to create a true character, you can’t forget the stuffing – the things that go inside.

Have your students go back and forth, adding one trait at a time until they decide the character is complete.

What does the character like?

What is the character afraid of?

What does she want?

What does he like to eat?
How does she get along with her mother?

This Is Just A Test is set in the 1980s so it counts (much as we hate to admit it) as historical fiction. This assignment can work well as an introduction to historical fiction. Are your students studying World War II or Ancient Civilizations? Have them create a character from the time period they’re studying. How would that character’s fears and foods and fun be different from today?

Setting

Now that your students have a character, have them collaborate on a setting. They can brainstorm and draw. Complete sentences aren’t necessary, just words, phrases and ideas. The focus can be close (the character’s bedroom) or from farther away (the city or woods).

Story

Try brainstorming again, with plot, before having your students sit down to create their story. Make sure they negotiate: Would our character do this? Would our character say this? And make sure they read for voice. Assignments like this help them learn to pay attention to each other’s writing styles so they can make them similar – so that the text and dialogue sound like they’re coming from the same narrator and the same characters.

Is the character serious or sarcastic?

Does she use certain phrases?

If there is interior monologue, how does the character talk to himself?

When our agents said they couldn’t tell which one of us had written what in our book, that was when we knew we had a true collaboration.

Feel free to throw out a few touchstone words to help students find inspiration (yellow, hard drive, cantaloupe) a sentence they have to use (“Oh, it’s on.”) or even a situation (“It was not the sound they expected to come out of a space ship.”) If you’ve chosen to go with historical fiction, provide some old newspapers and photos.

Another type of collaborative story is where authors take on different characters with different perspectives instead of joining forces for one. Given our current political climate, the idea of exploring situations from different perspectives is especially appealing. Our story would have been completely different if it had been told from the point of view of Scott or Hector instead of David.

Shout Mouse Press explored different perspectives on a large scale, when they had students work together to create The Day Tajon Got Shot. Author Jen Malone and six co-authors approached the night of a dance from different perspectives in Best. Night. Ever.

Consider a prompt where each student takes on the perspective of a different character. You can divide into larger groups for this one. Students must agree on plot and setting, but they have more independence in creating their characters. They’ll have to consider, though, how the actions of one character influence another.

For more on Madelyn Rosenberg, visit www.madelynrosenberg.com.

For more on Wendy Shang, visit www.wendyshang.com

For more writing prompts by Madelyn and Wendy on collaboration, 

Reading Rockets  or Kate Messner's website.

JUMP ROPE WRITING FUN

by Alison Ashley Formento

School is back in session and one of my favorite memories is jumping rope at recess. Long ropes and short, lines would form to run in and jump and sing. Here’s an old favorite jumping rhyme:

"School, School the golden rule, spell your name and go to school."

Many schools include jump rope as part of gym class and I still enjoy jumping rope to rev up my body and mind when I’m writing. With a new book debuting soon in a new genre, it’s as if my writer self is jumping rope between novels, picture books, and blogging. Many authors are excited by the challenge of publishing in different genres and how it can spur on new creative writing skills.

Jump Rope Writing Fun

Quick Time: Choose one topic from the current classroom curriculum or a topic that might affect the entire school, such as “How can we promote recycling in our school this year?” Write a list of opening “hook” sentences as fast as possible. Example quick time sentence starters: Collect plastic bottles for an art project. Tie up extra paper in bundles to help the school janitor.

Double Dutch: Write an opening paragraph on the selected topic. Trade papers with another student in class. Write their next paragraph. Trade again. Repeat until a full page is written.

Cross Over: Write a statement you can support with facts from a local newspaper article. Example: Dogs must be kept on leashes in city parks. Write a paragraph about why you agree with this statement. Next “Cross Over” and write a new statement and supporting paragraph to challenge this statement and show the opposite side of thinking on the chosen topic. Example: Well-trained dogs should be allowed to run off-leash at all times.

Sing Song: Write a jump rope song. “School, School, the golden rule..” is one example of a rhyming sing song that’s great for jumping rope. Try writing an individual rhyming song or the entire class can write together to create a group song like the following example, with alphabetical names, places, and activities. When it’s time for gym or recess, you can use the jump rope song you created in class.

A my name is Alice

And my friend’s name is Arthur,

We come from Alabama,

Where we sell artichokes.

B my name is Barney

And my friend’s name is Bridget,

We come from Brooklyn,

Where we ride bicycles.

C my name is _________ (and so on).

Jumping rope is always fun and it can be an enjoyable and productive writing challenge to jump from one style or genre to a new one.

Alison Ashley Formento’s debut young adult novel TWIGS is available September 2013.

DRAWING A STORY

by Joan Waites

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?  If applying this question to a picture book, which comes first, the words or the illustrations? In the world of traditional publishing, manuscripts are typically written by the author and then assigned to an illustrator by the publisher.  If the illustrator is also the author, sometimes the pictures are imagined first, or the illustrations and text are imagined simultaneously.

In previous posts, I’ve talked about some classroom exercises I’ve used during a school visit where children collaboratively write a story and then come up with illustrations to complement the text. The flip side to this exercise is to have children draw a story in pictures only. This works especially well with younger children who haven’t fully mastered writing and spelling.

Make up a simple storyboard sheet with as many pages as you would like to have the children draw.  Six to eight pages seems to be a number most can work with without getting overwhelmed.  Children can draw a story of their choosing, or use a story prompt (as outlined in previous Pencil Tips posts) to jump start ideas.  When the children have completed their drawings, have them either write the text to accompany the drawings, or give each a turn to orally tell their story. Another fun twist is to collect the storyboards, mix them up, and then redistribute them to the class. Have children write a story based on the pictures their classmates have drawn.

For children that are old enough and have access to a camera, this same exercise could be done using photographs.  Ask children to tell a story using the camera. Have them take a series of pictures at an event. A soccer game, a party, a trip to the zoo or an outing with a pet can all tell a story.  Spread out or mount the pictures in a series and have children write the story to accompany the photos.

It is interesting to see how each child interprets another’s drawings and photos.  Mirroring real world of picture books, this exercise emphasizes the unique and magical collaboration that happens between art and the written word.

http://www.joanwaites.com/