Ian's Post on Writing

What I like about writing is using your mind and picking topics. Once you get started it’s really easy. When it’s nonfiction you just skip along and remember what you did. I like to pick my own topic to write about. I would tell 1^st graders don’t forget to put punctuation! The one thing I need help on is spelling.

Ian's Picture

I'm writing about my first Mite Tornament in hockey.

Comments

[Bronwyn G]

I'll be willing to help you with your spelling, Ian. Remember both the sound and the sight of a word, and make a reasonable guess when it's a word you don't know. Be especially careful with typographical errors. They dog many writers, including myself, and I consider myself an excellent speller.

Non-fiction is just as challenging a form of writing as fiction, I believe. Especially summarising a news story or writing a review of a book/magazine/whatever. One has to give one's opinions. One form of non-fiction I write is Wikipedia articles (I may have said something about the Wikipedia before). One tries not to skip along and remember what one did. Wikipedia has a memory of all contributions, which helps, and you can put them on your watchlist.

What forms of non-fiction have you been writing with Ms Neville? What specific spelling words or phrases do you need help with? How do you proofread and check for errors? What topics do you especially like to write about, and which topics don't you like to write about?

[Miss Neville]

Ian,

You are right! Punctuation is so easy to forget, but is definitely needed in a good story! Where do you get your topic ideas from?

[Bronwyn G]

If you were writing about the Mite Tournament, for instance, you'd be writing about your own experience. If you were writing about aliens, I think you'd be writing for your imagination.

Experience and imagination are two good sources for writing ideas. Everything in writing ultimately comes from those.

[Linda]

Ian,
I like your blogging project. You have been working so hard on your introduction and your pictures and I'm very proud of you!! Keep up the good work!
Love,
Mom

[sean]

Hi Buddy, How are you doing? Are you going to write about your mite tournament? Have fun blogging. If you need any ideas, you can ask me.
Mommy says I need to go to bed now.
bye,
love,
sean

[Mrs. Bright]

Hey Ian!

What's up buddy? I think this class project is pretty cool! They didn't have this sort of thing when I was in school.

Congratulations again on your karate medals. They look awesome!

See you at the rink!
Mrs. Bright

[Ian]

I write non-fiction about things I do like hockey, karate, baseball and when I go to different places like New York.

Sometimes I just keep going on and do the best I can and go back at the end of the sentence I reread to see if I have any errors.

What kind of stories do you write?

[ian]

Mrs. Bright,
Thank you for commenting.What kind of writing do you do?

[ian]

Mrs. Bright,
Thank you for commenting.What kind of writing do you do?

[Ian]

Sean,
No I don't do that kind of writing in blogging. Thank you for commenting. What do you like to write about?

[Mrs. Bright]

Ian:

I don't write much anymore. I don't have a lot of time. I used to write a lot about the things I liked to do or watch, like sports. I found it much easier to write about something I enjoyed or had an interest in. My teachers used to get pretty tired of all my stories relating to tennis!

I noticed that you and a lot of your other classmates sometimes find it frustrating to write. I used to as well. I used to think that everything I wrote down had to be perfect! As I got older, I learned that writers write and re-write their stories over and over again. We, as readers, only see their finished copy. Once I figured out that what I wrote down in the beginning didn't have to be perfect, I felt a lot less pressure and my thoughts seeemed to flow more freely. Get your idea down first, then go back and re-write it and worry about all the spelling and punctuation. Hopefully, that tip might help you a bit.

Take it easy!
Mrs. Bright

[Bronwyn G]

Hi Ms Bright and Sean and Ian's Mum and everyone!

Thanks for all the great comments on what you do with your writing. Ms Bright I can so relate. I do rewrite my stories. A busker has been murdered in Box Hill, and my latest story mentions buskers, so guess what I'm going to do with that. It will be particularly topical as it will be in the literary journal, though I'm not sure people will still remember it by mid-May when the entries have to be submitted. It is nearly March now so I had better get cracking!

Ms Bright, if you had had a blog like the Neville kids, you would have had an outlet for your tennis stories - and an audience other than your teachers.

I think I answered Ian's question about my own writing, but I'm not sure that I have. I don't even know whether it was to me that it was asked. Do put a tag in future, like when you're writing a letter. Then I won't be talking out of turn, even though there is no such thing in a blog. I like to have my conversations conducted in an orderly fashion.

[Jack]

Ian:

My Mom showed me your site. I have never blogged before. This is my first time. I think this idea is pretty cool!

I'm doing a paper now about castles in medival times for a school project. I get a lot of topics I have to write about at school. I don't know if I've ever just written something for fun.

Good luck with your blog!
Jack B.

[Bronwyn G]

Jack,

I hope you do write something for fun one day.

Medieval times sounds just like fun to me, though! Do you think so?

I hope you had a happy first time blogging.

[Linda]

Wow Ian, you sure have received a lot of comments. All this talk about writing is making me think about my high school and college years. I loved reading english literature but I never really liked writing. I always found it difficult to get started and organize my thoughts. Of course I don't remember having to do much writing at your age. You are lucky to be getting such an early start. By the time you get to high school and college it will be so much easier for you! Well it is late and I need to go to bed now. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. Have a good day in school and keep up the good work.
Love,
Mom

[Jack]

Bronwyn,

I thought castles in medieval times sounded cool at first, but when I started researching them, I found out that it was a pretty miserable place to be. They had no running water, no electricity, lots of diseases, the castles were very cold because they had no heat, and most all of the people were very poor. Anyone who had any money was always worring about getting poisoned by others that wanted their stuff! The good thing I learned is that I'm happy I don't live in medieval times! Maybe I'll find another topic more interesting.

Jack B.

[Bronwyn G]

Jack,

Even our failures teach us much, so I am sure that you have learnt heaps from your project.

I do appreciate hearing about what you have learnt.

I am not sure I should have liked to have lived in those times. I would have preferred to live in the Renaissance or the 19th century. But I like living in the 21st century very much.

[diana]

Ian,
This made me think that you are right the first time that you get started it is easy. Yes you had a good idea to tell the first graders to put punctuation. I don’t think that you will need that much help in spelling because you will improve and you sound like you are a really smart kid. I will try to give you some advise I hope it helps:

. Did my story make sense?
. Did I write everything I wanted to?
. Did I also have enough details?
. Make sure you did not use the words over and over again.
. Is this an interesting story?
. How did my readers feel about it?
. Try to make the readers want to keep reading it.

I hope that the advice works for you. You also said that you needed ideas to improve more in spelling. I hope that some of these work for you. Keep up the good work and keep trying because you will get better in spelling and do not give up.