Mary Amato

Writing with Humor & Heart

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Raising the Stakes

February 16, 2021 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

Pencils by JHYou win a pizza! Unfortunately after you pick it up, you trip and the pizza splats onto the sidewalk. Life is full of ups and downs and so are stories. Ups and downs are what makes a story interesting. You read to find out what is going to happen next.

In my February workshop with West Education Campus fifth graders, we warmed up with a “fortunately, unfortunately improvisation game.” The students had imaginative ideas—some dramatic and some funny. Our story did involve a pizza and ended with a twist. Even though our main character, after many obstacles,, finally, finally, finally got the pizza in the end . . . the pizza had pineapple on it, which the character didn’t like. Hilarious.

Next, as a group, we worked through the process of out to RAISE THE STAKES in a story by using my three-part process.
1. Write a short WOW outline. My WOW outline is Want, Obstacle, Win.
2. Ask yourself, “How can I make the want, the obstacle, and the win more dramatic?” Think of lots of ways and write them down in a revised outline.
3. Now, write the story!

We started out with this simple outline: Boy wants to enter a bike race. Boy doesn’t have a bike. Boy finds a bike and enters the race.

The students did a great job of raising the stakes. Here are some examples:

What if the boy started out not knowing how to ride a bike? Then even if he got one, he’d have to work really hard to get good. What if got a bike, but the bike broke? That would be even worse. The boy could go to a bike shop to ask the owner to help him fix the bike. But the owner could be mean and say, “No way unless you have money.” When a character keeps having ups and downs, it’s more exciting. Finally, what if it wasn’t just any race, but a professional bike race with a cash prize. That would make the ending more dramatic. We’d be hoping he would win!

Raise the stakes of a story by actively trying to imagine lots of ups and downs for your character’s journey before you even start writing.

The students are writing their own stories, and I can’t wait to see what happens.

My West Education Campus Fifth Grade Writing Residency is supported by An Open Book Foundation. I’ll be posting a once-per-month essay about the experience between December 2020 and May 2021. More entries on this residency.

Filed Under: What's New Tagged With: story writing, West Education Campus, writing process, Writing Residency

Getting Into Character

January 22, 2021 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

Writing is a lot like acting. Writers get into character and see and feel the scene as if it is really happening. We explore this idea in my second workshop with West 5th graders.

On the spot we use my WOW formula to create a basic outline for a story. WOW means Want, Obstacle, Win.

W: Squirrel WANTS an acorn.
O: OBSTACLE is a mean dog.
W: Squirrel WINS by getting help from friends.

Students volunteer to be the main characters, and, because we already have an overall plan for the story, they don’t have to think about what their characters will say. They just become their characters!

When the dog appears, a girl growls menacingly, “You can’t take that acorn! The acorn is mine! I can have it as my treat!”

The boy who plays the squirrel does a great job of responding to the threat by first shaking and quaking. “Oh no! Please!” he says, changing his own voice to sound like a tiny, scared squirrel. “I was just trying to get my acorns.”

How wise of the student/squirrel NOT to solve the problem immediately. First, he showed us the emotion of fear through his response. That makes us wonder if the squirrel is going to make it or not!

In the final scene, the main squirrel calls for help. Then we get the satisfying reply from a new voice, a squirrel friend:
“I got your back, Bud!” What a fresh and fun voice! The girl playing the squirrel’s friend could have just said: “I will help you.” Instead, she jazzed it up. Getting into character allows you to choose words that sound natural and that fit the personality of your character.

We also talk about two other concepts. One is how important it is to introduce the obstacle at the end of the first scene. That’s called a cliffhanger. That will create suspense and make the reader want to turn the page!

In the beginning of class, I challenge the students to think of a warm-up exercise and give it a creative, alliterative name.
Alliteration is the repetition of sound. Windshield Wiper was my example.

I’m looking forward to our next session!

My West Education Campus Fifth Grade Writing Residency is supported by An Open Book Foundation. I’ll be posting a once-per-month essay about the experience between December 2020 and May 2021. More entries on this residency.

Filed Under: What's New Tagged With: An Open Book Foundation, West Education Campus, Writing Residency, young writers

Overcoming the Dragon of Fear

January 2, 2021 by Mary Amato Leave a Comment

West Education Campus Residency
December 11, 2020

Pencils by JHWhen I join the first online session for my writing residency with West Education Campus, a handful of fifth graders are already on, talking to their teachers Ms. Wolf and Ms. Snell about the new video game they’re enjoying. The moment I pop into an online class always feels like a bit like magic. One second I’m sitting alone in my writing studio and the next second—POOF!—I’m in the middle of a room full of people, except we’re all still in our own homes!

Immediately, the students make me smile and feel lucky to be here. I love kid energy, and the teachers are radiating enthusiasm and curiosity, too.

In preparation, Ms. Wolf has written that the fifth graders have been studying extended metaphors and have just read Walt Whitman’s poem about Abraham Lincoln’s death: O Captain! My Captain! So, after the remaining students arrive and we get started, I introduce a metaphor of my own. “When I was your age,” I tell them, “I was a big chicken.”

We spend the next ten minutes sharing our fears. I confess mine and hear some of theirs, including closing your eyes while shampooing because there could be a demon in the faucet.

The surprised looks when I tell them that I was scared of writing isn’t surprising. Lots of people think that writing must come easily to writers. “You can really want to do something and still be afraid to do it,” I say, and I see lots of nods. It happens when you’re trying to learn something new or trying to do something difficult, whether it’s in music, sports, or schoolwork.

We talk about the idea that we each have a negative inner voice that talks to us and discourages us. You can’t, the voice says. You’ll make a mistake. You won’t be good at this!

That inner voice is the dragon of fear. Lately I’ve been calling my inner negative voice Grunkle. Grunk for short. I show the students my writer’s notebook in which I have a sketch of Grunk. A chimera—half woman and half dragon.

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic, I have also written a note to Grunk, firmly telling the dragon to leave me alone, and I share the note with the kids. The idea is that you have to acknowledge your fear is there and then you can choose to overcome it.

 

 

 

 

 

I also show how I made a Grunk out of stiff paper that I folded at the bottom so that she can stand up on my desk. Humor is helpful in overcoming fears and anxieties. So when I’m feeling especially anxious, I can act out my power over Grunk. Sometimes I flick her off my desk, or stick her face down under a heavy book or literally blow her away. Sorry, Grunk, but I’m not listening to you now, it’s time to create!

Of course, I always rescue Grunk in the end because I like having this prop to help me write.

(Students, take a look at how much better my final Grunk is compared to my initial sketch. Revising a first draft, whether you’re drawing or writing, is how you improve.)

During question-time at the end, one student prefaces his by saying it isn’t really a question. I love to hear comments because they help me to discover what’s going on in students’ minds. He reveals that he’s thinking about how I described my fear and he’s thinking that maybe my desire to want to be good at writing even if writing can be hard and scary pushes me in a good way. Overcoming fear can make you stronger.

Yes! Yes! That blows me away.

I cannot wait until our next meeting. Most of my day is spent writing. It’s like I’m alone at sea in a little boat. How lucky I am that this big ship is going to pull up once a month with all the students and their teachers on deck, waving at me and saying, “Come aboard, Mary Amato! Time to sail with us!”

~~~
My West Education Campus Fifth Grade Writing Residency is supported by An Open Book Foundation. I’ll be posting a once-per-month essay about the experience between December 2020 and May 2021.

Filed Under: Uncategorized, What's New Tagged With: West Education Campus, Writing Residency

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Humor and Heart

I give voice to the funny, sad, messy, and wondrous stories of life, especially the stories of children and young adults. My mission: each book has humor and heart. If you are a teen and/or you're looking for info about my books and music for older readers, please check out my www.thrumsociety.com site.
Learn more about my mission and resources.

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