Fiction Writing

Thank you so much to Mrs. Anne Nydam for visiting third grade this afternoon! If you don't know, Mrs. Nydam is a published author and illustrator. (Her children attended Eliot. They are now in sixth grade at High Rock.) You can check out her books and her artwork at her website http://www.nydamprints.com/.

221 writers have begun a unit focused on writing realistic fiction. Mrs. Nydam shared many of the strategies and techniques she uses as a writer of fiction. Here's some of what our third grade writers learned:

*Every story needs a problem and solution
*Write stories like the ones you like to read
*Show don't tell - Don't say 'big,' describe how it's big
*Notice and pay attention to everything. Record or save the ideas you find most interesting
*Name your characters
*Put yourself in the character's place - think about what it was like when you felt that way...
*Notice problems in your own life. You might use one for a story
*Read other stories - get ideas from other writers. 

Mrs. Nydam is teaching Art classes through Needham Community Education Summer Explorations. To learn more or register go to:  http://rwd1.needham.k12.ma.us/community_education/Summer_Programs

Happy writing!