Narratives vs. Persuasive, Part 2

 

By definition, all writing taps into the creative side of the brain. My nearly-seventh grade students believe that narrative writing, however, is much more right-brain that persuasive.  As Nitya says, “Some students may feel that persuasive allows for you to express your opinion; however, most students agree that narrative writing lets your imagination run wild!”

 

Expressing feelings, through inner dialogue or actions, has been something we worked hard on this year. Anthony says, “Narratives are a better way to express feelings and communicate at the same time. People can easily tell about events that already happened, or make up fantasies that others can enjoy.” Albert goes on to say, “Unlike persuasives, which are limited to only one side and keep you constrained to a single style of writing, narratives can be used for a wide variety of expressives; pushing opinions, emotions, and other things that make something real.” Rheya praises the two types of narratives that we wrote this year when she says, “Personal and fictional narratives are both equally fun and have their own style. You can make your own stories and get lost in their wonders when you write fictional narrative and you can remember old memories in personal narrative.” The last word on expressiveness in writing has to go to Sahith. He says, “Fictional narratives allow writers to express their creativity and emotions through a fictional form of writing that shows others how you are feeling. Persuasive does not give you that kind of luxury. This kind of writing makes writers forced to write about the topic given, attempting to persuade the reader of a topic they have no clue about.”

 

“Narrative lets your imagination go free!” says Aline, and Fernando agrees, “Narrative is the best form of writing because it unleashes your imagination.” Imagination is a big factor in their approval of narrative writing. Samantha claims, “Narrative just goes with the flow. It can bend your mind. It can do amazing things with your personality if it’s good enough!” Anaisha compares the two types of writing by saying, “If you are doing narrative you can make up whatever you want! From characters, to setting, to plot, anything you can imagine can be a narrative. But in persuasive, it’s all the real life, which is boring.” According to Kassandra, “In narrative, you can look at the world as something more than just a piece of paper. You can look at it as a world that you created.” Chris adds, “You can stretch the story from being really realistic to a story that is about aliens invading the world.” Michelle sums it up by stating, “Narrative is so complex, and you can do almost anything you want. You can let your imagination soar, and there are huge varieties of ideas. “

 

My students also like the creativity of narrative writing. “Most people feel this way,” Catherine explains, “because it expands student’s creativity, it helps students use their imagination, and it helps students with their use of descriptive words.” Raymond says, “Creativeness can allow you to express your feelings. You can be free in writing and jot down whatever pops in your mind. While persuasive, you have to focus on the prompt limiting your ideas in your brain.” Caitlin agrees, saying, “Narrative is more creative and enjoyable,” and Tyler adds, “It brings out your creative juices.” This time the final statement is Sean’s. He says, “It’s like you’re in your own creative world of fantasy when you write a narrative.”

 

Clearly I have my work cut out for me. Next year, my challenge is to create students who love writing expository essays as much as they enjoy narratives! Do you think I can do it?

 

 

Narrative vs. Persuasive

Recently I asked my class of sixth graders (well, it’s May—they are almost seventh graders) whether they preferred writing narrative or persuasive pieces. It was a fair question since each type of writing offers different structure and thought processes. This year’s class is awesome at writing persuasive essays; however, they almost unanimously chose narrative as their favorite type of writing. They elaborated so thoroughly on their reasons (a wonderful persuasive skill) that it will take me two posts to share it all with you. So here, from the minds of 31 almost seventh graders, are the reasons why narratives are better writing assignments than persuasive essays.

First, the narrative format gives the writer more freedom. Quentin compares the two by saying, “The only real format for narrative is that there has to be paragraphs. Persuasive is a certain format that you must always follow. Students might not have fun with having to follow the same paragraph format every time when writing. “ Valerie says, “Narrative writing only has a beginning, middle, and end. Persuasive needs a topic sentence with reasons and why the reasons help the topic sentence.” Jordan also prefers the less structured narrative. He says, “Narrative stories are very easy to plan out. Instead of wasting time thinking of reasons for a main idea in a persuasive, you can be very creative about things and make up interesting problems in a narrative.” Caitlin says, “In persuasive you have to come up with multiple reasons to support an opinion that you don’t even feel strong about. “ Wasting time? An opinion you don’t care about? Clearly Jordan and Caitlin prefer narrative.  Amrita is the most passionate when she writes, “The freer format of narrative gives fewer opportunities for errors as well as providing more ways to add detail to a story. Crafting a story unleashes the power of the imagination, opening up new possibilities.”

Another reason students prefer narrative is that they believe it is easier. Andre says, “Narrative is easier than persuasive because persuasive has more steps than narrative. It also makes us feel tired.” Other students acknowledge that they had to learn how to write narrative, and maybe the learning itself wasn’t easy. According to Jordan, “Once you know how to do the little things in narrative, they will be very easy to write because all you have to do is write what you are picturing in your head about the story.“ Quentin goes on to say, “The fact that you have to think about the other side makes persuasive harder and take longer.“ I know students have been writing narrative far longer than they’ve been working on persuasive essays, so it might just be that they need to practice writing persuasive before it gets easier. At this time, though, Cristina sums it up by saying, “Narrative is a lot easier to write, and more people would rather write narrative than persuasive.”

Today’s last reason in support of narrative writing is that it is fun. I am proud that my students so firmly believe that! Julia says, “Narrative books are fun to write and come from the soul. With persuasive writing, the reader or writer gets bored! The readers want to put the persuasive writing down as soon as possible. There is no action, romance, or thrilling moments in persuasive writing, making it boring to read or write. However, narrative writing has all of these things, making it fun and exciting.” Marina says, “Narrative is much more interesting to read, more fun to write, and makes the writer feel proud after it is written. When you read a persuasive, you can get bored. Every persuasive has the same format, the same structure…narratives may be based off of some main principles, but each one is different and unique. Also, a narrative is more fun to write. You can put yourself in a situation and watch what happens. In a persuasive, there is no excitement, no interesting problems to watch characters solve. It is simply a message in your head stretched to a multi-paragraph essay.” I may be biased, but I totally agree. Maybe that is why my students enjoy writing narratives so much!

Tune in tomorrow when my student continue trying to convince you that narrative writing is much better than persuasive! In the meantime, if you have objections, make sure to put them in comments!

♥

In paperback: Ramses: Son of Light by Christian Jacq

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 persona inhabits my head, they conspire to keep my from sleeping!

When children wait for Santa, they grin eagerly and positively quiver with excitement. Briona Glen Publishing targeted March 2012 for release of my first novel, ON A WING AND A DARE. All I knew about publishing came from working in a bookstore thirty years ago. At that time there were no ebooks. Hardbacks were released, and a year later the paperback came out. My novel will be released as a paperback and an ebook. When I signed with the publisher last summer, seven months seemed awfully fast to publish a book. My excitement has made it the longest seven months of my life–it truly feels like I’m having another baby! Round after round of revising has finally led to the line edit stage. The cover is almost done. Then on to typesetting. It’s tantalizingly close, like when you have half the windows open on that chocolate Advent calendar.

Meanwhile, my marketing ideas are clamoring to get out of my head. I have a blog tour on hold and three people who want to interview me on their blogs. I’ve looked up bookstores in my area to set up author signings, and was appalled to find only seven bookstores in the San Jose area! There’s a writing club at a local high school I want to contact, and of course my Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter followers will have to be notified on the novel’s release. Two out-of-town former students have volunteered to trumpet the news in their states. I have three blogs of my own that will crow it to the stars, and local coffee shops that will put up flyers. I am looking into summer conferences to attend. If you don’t hear about the release of ON A WING AND A DARE, it won’t be for lack of my trying!

The entire process of publishing has been a good reflection on my teaching. I strive to make everything I teach relevant in the real world. I wrote and revised my novel over two years, and I have been revising the revisions for the past six months per my editor’s suggestions. None of my students are able to complain now that their story is perfect and needs no editing! If you haven’t been looking at it for multiple months, you can still make it better! Now my novel is going through a line edit. That means CUPS–capitalization, usage, punctuation, and spelling. Every day in class we work on DOL (Daily Oral Language) and I consider myself something of an expert. I know my students will have a field day if the line editor catches too many mistakes in ON A WING AND A DARE!

Release date…to be announced SOON! I just have to be patient

♥

On my Kindle: Fablehaven #4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull

Daily Persuasion

When teaching students to write persuasively, it’s important for them to realize that they encounter the art of persuasion every day. After all, persuasion is nothing more than influencing someone else. In ancient Greece, Aristotle wrote abut how to persuade others. Three hundred years later, in Rome, Cicero wrote several books about persuasion. Today, daily persuasion can take many forms. Studies show that we receive up to 3000 persuasive messages each day.

Persuasion in any form can be both negative and positive. Television commercials tout foods that are not healthy and target children with ads for toys they supposedly can’t live without. Drug dealers and gang members persuade others to follow their lifestyle. Salesmen push expensive cars on people who can’t easily afford them. On the flip side, persuasion can also be used to encourage recycling or stopping smoking. On TV, a recent series of commercials from Pass It On encourages positive values.

Advertising is an obvious form of persuasion that we encounter every day. The television, radio, Internet, newspaper, magazine, email, direct mail, and billboards all try to convince us we need something. So many choices! Human beings are natural joiners. We want to do what others are doing, to have what they have, so we are very receptive to being persuaded. Advertising agencies, marketing firms, and public relations companies are all full-time persuaders.

While we are being persuaded daily, we also do our own persuading. Parents persuade children to wear certain clothes, eat certain foods, or be nice to a visiting grandparent. Teachers persuade students to learn. Children persuade parents to buy them a new toy, to increase their allowance, or to get a pet. Applicants for a job try to persuade the company that they are the best candidate, and bosses persuade workers to do their jobs well. Friends persuade each other to see a certain movie, read a certain book, follow a certain band. Personally, I try to persuade my husband to take me out to dinner every Friday night.

With persuasion such an important part of our lives, it is important to learn to do it effectively! Can I persuade you to comment on this post? How have you encountered persuasion in YOUR life today?

Supporting Your Arguments

   Persuasive writing is something I have been teaching with varying success for years. It is also a major component of the new Common Core Standards that are gradually being implemented nationwide. At its very root, students understand persuasion only at a very basic level. It takes skilled instruction to make them effective.

When a child first learns the word no, and five minutes later adds a stamped foot for emphasis, it heralds the independent thinking of a new person. No is soon joined by Mine, but it’s not until I wanna springs forth that the seeds of persuasion are sown.

By the time students are in sixth grade, as mine are, they have learned that demanding what they want is not enough. Oh sure, it works for a few years, but no one gives in to a twelve year old with a pouty face saying, “But I want it.” They need to develop logical reasons to support someone giving them what they want, and here is where they fall short. Sixth graders have limited experience with logic.

Sixth graders know that if they want their parents to buy something for them, it has to be something that will help them in school or help their self esteem.  They know if they want the school board to keep the school libraries open, the money will have to be found somewhere else. They know if they want to convince their teacher to give less homework, they need to show they can master the material without it. (See my post on Knowing Your Audience)

Those are all good ideas, but they all lack strength. They need E’s. From the Step Up to Writing! program that our school uses, the E’s provide the meat of any expository paragraph. Very catchy, that all nine start with the letter E. Even though some seem redundant, these are designed to help writers jog their brain for supporting statements. Here they are, with examples for the above arguments:

Example: The school board might consider cutting or reducing the music program in order to keep the library open.

Everyday occurrence:  Soccer practice is important to my physical and emotional wellbeing, but homework often causes me to miss it.

Events: Our school could have a fundraiser each year to raise money for the library.

Evidence: When I can listen to music and relax, I do better on my schoolwork, so buy me an iPod.

Expert opinion: My teacher says that every student should have their own flash drive to store their written work.

Elaboration: We already do classwork to master the concept.

Experience: Especially in Social Studies, I never do the homework and I do fine on tests.

Effective illustration: In the silence of the library, I am able to think, to read, to complete my work.

Explanation: Everyone else has a plaid backpack, so if you want me to fit in and feel confident, I need one, too.

Of course, each paragraph needs more than one E, but this is a start. Students need to learn to think about their reasons and generate support for them. Only then will they write effective persuasive essays.

♥

On my Kindle: Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo

Know Your Audience

Persuasive writing can be hard for students for a number of reasons, but one of the toughest is learning to address their words to the right person. Let’s face it. Thinking adults know that whining and stamping your foot will not work if you are asking the president for tax reform, although some politicians continue to try that approach. Conversely, a well-reasoned, heavily supported position does not work on a two year old. When students are learning to write persuasive essays, their audiences are usually their parents, their teacher, the principal or school board, or the city council.

The first step in choosing the best arguments for a persuasive essay is to determine exactly who the audience is. Who is the person or group responsible for making the decision that will give you what you want? If you want an increase in your allowance, to stay up later at night, or to get a pet, then your audience is your parents. If you want a decrease (or increase) in homework, more field trips, or fewer group projects, then your audience is your teacher. The principal would be the one to address if you want more after-school activities, more assemblies, or to change the playground rules. The school board handles issues such as closing school libraries, laying off teachers, and shutting down (or establishing) a music program. If you want a stop sign installed, cleaner sidewalks, or new parks, then you should write to the city council.

Once the audience is identified, you must get inside their head and determine what their objectons will be. On a city or school board level, the objection is usually money. Parents look out for the well-being of their children. Teachers and principals are focused on student learning. Which of the arguments for your position will work best for your intended audience? If you make a well-reasoned, well-supported argument to the school board about how important your idea is for the well-being of students everywhere, they are most likely to counter with a statement that they still have no money. Your argument may have convinced them, but it has not overcome obstacles and caused action. And that action, of course, is why you are writing.

Below are some arguments students have used for various assignments. Which audience would they be most effective with: parents, teacher, principal, school board, or city?

Write your choice in a comment, and add arguments of your own. Maybe use this space to test out arguments for an essay you’re working on.

* I will do my chores every day if I can have it.

* Streetlight maintenance will go a long way to reducing crime on the streets after dark.

*Reducing the amount of homework will allow students to spend quality time with their parents after dinner.

*Saturday school would cost more money because of the need to run heat and lights, and buses.

*Everyone else is doing it.

*Honor roll assemblies should be reinstated because they recognize achievement and that encourages students.

*School libraries should remain open so that students continue to have a wide variety of opportunities to read for pleasure as well as research.

*School projects should be done in groups because it allows the smarter kids to help the ones who aren’t as good.

♥ 

On my Kindle: Ranger’s Apprentice #10: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

Holiday Stories

The holidays are a festive time of year, perfect for writing about sensory details. There’s the scent of pine trees and pumpkin pie, the laughter of children and jingling of bells, and the taste of Christmas confections that only appear once a year, like maple fudge and peppermint bark.

Everyone knows that sensory details make a story rich and interesting, but first you have to have a story. The holidays are filled with memories of family get-togethers and fantastic presents. Maybe your family goes caroling or visits a neighborhood light festival. All of these are potential stories.

At our house we have a wooden Advent calendar. It is shaped like a Christmas tree, and has numbered circle magnets 1-24. Each day, you place an ornament magnet on the numbered circle. When the tree is filled, it’s Christmas Eve. My boys loved this calendar when they were growing up. They arranged the little ornaments in some undisclosed order, and were very precised about which ornament was put up on which day, and where on the tree it was placed.

Since they have grown up and moved out, the Advent calendar sometimes goes days without an ornament. They come home to visit in mid-December and are horrified, quickly placing the magnets to catch up. They are also disgusted when I place the magnets in the wrong order or in the wrong place. (Remember, I said they had a secret system known only to the two of them). All I know is, Santa is the last ornament, placed on the tree on Christmas Eve morning.

I know you have Christmas stories, and I’d love to hear them. It can be about family, traditions, or a great present you got once. Let’s get festive!

♥

On my Kindle: Laid Out and Candle Lit by Ann Everett

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 November 29 and I haven’t looked at it since. My students feel the same way. They have written more on one assignment than they ever have in their lives, and they are sick of it.

The initial excitement of tackling a novel has long since faded to hard work. Now that it’s completed, they are proud of it but unwilling to revise and edit. As we all know, those are key steps. And I am not going to read thirty-one unedited novels! So the question remains, how do I fire their excitement once more about this project?

Professional cover artist Tirzah Goodwin is helping me this year. She has agreed to provide each student with a free custom cover for their novel. We can print the cover and attach it to the student’s work, and Tirzah will feature the covers on her website. So do you want to see them? Check out A Clever Whatever, her blog site.

If you’re a current student of mine, oooh and ahhh over your cover, then get back to revising and editing!

♥

On my Kindle: Here, There, and Otherwhere by Phyl Manning

NaNoWriMo Week Three

Those of you who have participated in National Novel Writing Month before are asking, “Why is she writing about week THREE? Week TWO need lots more encouragement than Week Three!” You are absolutely correct. Week Two is a nightmare. Week Two is harder than cooking dinner for a houseful of family on Thanksgiving. Week Two is about sore wrists and frustration and maybe a few whining comments to a confused spouse. Week Three is much more fun.

So last week, when I should have been writing encouraging words for your second week of NaNo, I was compiling report cards, planning for parent conferences, carrying off a super NaNoWriMo kickoff, and entertaining a reporter in my classroom (she wrote a wonderful article about NaNo!). All of this left me 5,000 words behind in my own novel as of this morning. Yup, Week Two can be devastating.

On Friday, the local Evergreen Times came out with a wonderful article about our kickoff written by San Jose City Councilmember Rose Herrera. She dropped in at our kickoff and talked to some of the 60 young writers who attended. She was very impressed! Then this morning, the terrific article by reporter Sharon Noguchi of the San Jose Mercury News ran on the front page of the Local section. Both of these community members were very impressed by the work of our sixth graders, and the fourth and sixth graders at aother school.

Thrilled with both articles, I posted them on Facebbook and they went as viral as anything I have posted. Both were reposted a half dozen times, and comments flew across cyberspace. With that kind of positive press, I HAD to catch up on my own 2011 novel! So I began typing.

And I did it. I’m now at 21,674 words (with a goal of 50,000)! That gets me caught up. It was a marathon day of writing and recognition, and I wish the same for all of you who are toiling away at a NaNo novel. Rejoice in each level of achievement!

From now on, it’s easy. You have so much of your novel completed, how can you possibly stop now? Pour yourself another cup of coffee (or mug of hot chocolate) and keep plugging away at it. You’ve turned the corner, and the rest is downhill. Goal: 50% completion by November 15!

♥

On my Kindle: Rocamora by Donald Michael Platt

 

NaNoWriMo Plot Planning

National Novel Writing Month is upon us once again. Two years ago, I discovered this phenomena and introduced it to my class. I was greeted with open-mouthed shock, but they all went on to write a novel in thirty days. As did I. Over the next two years, I revised and rewrote that novel, polishing it until it shone. Now I await its publication.

But November looms, and November is not about basking in the success of a completed novel. It’s about cranking out the sequel. I am more than a little terrified, since I don’t think I will have the luxury of two years of revising to polish this one. I envision legions of fans demanding the sequel by next summer. I’m sure I will be inundated by their requests!

So I must plan carefully. The idea of outlining the book and assigning a chapter to each of my students crossed my mind (while I was under the influence of mild panic), but I rejected it. My students are too eager to write their own novels! So, like I did two years ago, I worked through the character planning with them, planning the three main characters in excruciating detail. But characters are no good alone. I need to give that protagonist something he wants more than anything. Then I need to give my antagonist a reason to get in the way. Then I need a role for the sidekick. It has to make sense. And it has to be a minimum of 50,000 words. (more if I want it to be closer to publishable)

So what goes into a good NaNo plot? (Good being defined as potential for a lot of words) It needs a solid beginning, middle, and end. And it needs to have the potential to add more scenes to make the word count, if necessary.

One way to do this is to write the EPIC QUEST. Introduce the protagonist and his sidekick in the beginning. Set the world (setting, time period), and write the inciting event that sends our hero on the quest for…the Jewel of Youth, the Fountain of Power, the Triforce of Everlasting Beauty…whatever object he must have or the world ends. This is a good plot because you have a built-in climax when the protagonist struggles to achieve the item once he/she reaches it. You also have a built-in ending when the hero triumphantly returns. In between, a myriad of possiblities for adding scenes exists as the protagonist makes his/her way to the item and back.

Another option is to write the TWISTED PLOT. In this one, you have multiple characters, each with their own story arc, interacting in a story that has an overall arc of its own. For example, On a Wing and a Dare is about a town that is striving to save its herd of winged horses. The horses are poisoned and begin to die, so they must save the horses and find out how they were poisoned. The protagonist, Emma, assists in that effort, but she has her own arc, too. She doesn’t want to become a rider in her father’s barn as tradition demands. She wants to ride a winged horse in a rival barn. Her boyfriend, Evan, is a junior rider in that rival barn. He wants to be a leader, to have his own barn with riders that look up to him. Evan’s brother, Davyd, is in love with Emma. Davyd is scheduled to become a rider with Emma, but he is secretly afraid of heights. Then there is Tristan, Lady Margery, and Lord Farley, all with their own arc, weaving into the overall story about the horses. Complicated, but lots of words.

I’m sure there are other ways to organize a NaNo plot. I know you have story ideas. What organizational device are you going to use to make sure you meet your word goal?

♥

On my Kindle: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (which, by the way, started out as a NaNo novel)