Summary Document and Publishing, Cont.

Reminder:
Your NaNoWriMo Summary Document is due tomorrow, Wednesday, December 17th. You will no longer have access to it on Thursday. Finish ALL of the parts!


The agenda:

1. Read
2. Please fill out this form if you haven't already (The password is "publish.")
3. Finish your summary document (ALL OF IT)
4. Work on your publishing option (You need yesterday's post.)

If you are using TeenInk or other social media to publish:

• You must take a screenshot of your submission using the "snipping tool" on your computer.
• Your name must be in the screenshot. (If you're using TeenInk, it will be on the top right corner, so make sure you take a screenshot of the whole page.)
• Email that screenshot to me. 
• You must email that screenshot to me by Friday, December 19

PUBLISHING!

There are numerous things we have to do this week before we leave for break. Some of it we'll do in class. Some of it will have to be done at home. Here's the run-down:

1. Finish the summary document (all of it). It's due this Wednesday. Look at the post from last Wednesday for definitions and models.
2. Get your novels ready for publication AND publish it in some way. (This is required!)
3. Make sure you have a book (or two. or three.) that you will like and enjoy reading over break. Click here for recommendations from last year's 9th-graders.

Links and Directions you will need:

Directions for CreateSpace can be found here.

Choices for publishing your novel can be found here.

Things to add to or fix in your novel BEFORE you upload it to CreateSpace (or publish it at all):

• Is your table of contents correct?
• Did you add a copyright page?
• Would you like to add a dedication page?
• Have you written an "About the Author" to put at the end?
• Have you edited for grammatical errors?
• Is your novel properly formatted? (Check this link to make sure you have!) 

Summary Document Peer Review

Today you will work in groups on your Summary Documents to peer edit.

You will work in groups of 3. I have shared your document with the people you will be working with, and shared your group members documents with you (in your shared folder in Google Drive). You can view and comment, but the author is the one who should be doing any editing.

I'll explain the process as we go along.

You'll need THIS FORM. when I tell you you need it.

Things To Do Tonight:

1. Keep working on your summary document. Apply any suggestions given to you today, make sure you have ten excerpts (that are 2-3 paragraphs) and your book blurb.
2. If you haven't already, work on filling in the second part of each question - Why your excerpt is a strong example of the literary element it asks for.
3. On Friday, I'll be sharing options for publishing your novel. If you feel like you need to finish your story or make edits, start thinking about how you might do that.

DEFINITIONS OF EACH ELEMENT (AND MODELS)
If you click on the name, it will take you to the student model for that element.

Direct Characterization - When you TELL the reader about a character (looks, attitude, personality, likes, dislikes, hobbies). It is not enough to say one thing about looks. You need to include lots of information!

Indirect Characterization - when you learn about a character (looks, attitude, personality, likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.) through their actions. Don’t tell me that the character is energetic. Have the character do something energetic.

Setting that reinforces character - A place can tell you about a character (looks, attitude, personality, likes, dislikes, hobbies), such as whether the room is messy or organized, or what kinds of things are on the walls, or the colors in the room. What things are in the room that are well-used? What is the first thing you notice when you walk in? DESCRIBE A SETTING, NOT THE CHARACTER.

Setting that creates a mood - Mood is how the READER feels when reading the story. DESCRIBE A SETTING that makes the reader feel something (tension, happiness, joy, helplessness, desolate, celebratory, etc.) Do not tell me how a character feels.

Sensory Details - This is a description that involves the senses (how things taste, feel when you touch them, smell, sound like, or look like.) Truly using sensory details means using lots of senses in your description, not just one, and especially not just sight.

Strong Verbs - If you’re using strong verbs, you’re being creative with your character’s actions. Be specific with your word choice. The more specific your verbs, the better the reader can picture what’s happening in the story.

Dialogue - Things you need to know about formatting:

• The punctuation should look like this:   “I love to read,” Ms. Black said.
• Not every sentence has to be structured like this one, but you need to pay attention to where I’m putting capitals, periods, commas, and quotation marks.
• Every time a new character speaks, start a new paragraph.
• Don’t forget the period that comes at the end of the sentence (after the dialogue tag.)

Climax - This is the height of your story, when the protagonist finds out whether or not they are going to achieve what they’ve been working toward in your plot. Give me the best part of your climax, and explain why it is the best part.

Subplot - Beyond the main plot, the main goal your protagonist is trying to achieve, he/she might run into some other smaller problems with some of the characters in your book. Subplot is referring to those smaller problems that the protagonist runs into.

Time Shift - It is not enough to have a character remember something from their childhood. For time shift, you need to write the scene as if the character/reader is ACTUALLY THERE.

Productivity Day

Today, there's a lot to do.

Goal #1: Goodreads
Yesterday I mentioned to you that your next two book reviews are due on Wednesday, January 17. If you haven't been doing so already, today you need to go log in to Goodreads and update your "Currently Reading" shelf to show what you're reading.

Goal #2: Ten Excerpts
If you have not found an example of each literary element to copy into your summary document, you need to do that. After today you should have all ten.

PLEASE MAKE THE TEXT OF YOUR EXCERPTS BLACK (not blue)

Here are student examples of dialogue and climax.



Goal #3: Write your book blurb if you haven't already.
(This is Part 1 on your summary document.)


If and when you've finished all of these, let me know. I'll give you some next steps.

Summary Doc, Cont.

We'll read first!

By now you should have at least four excerpts in your NaNoWriMo Summary Document.

Work on getting three more today, for a total of seven. Don't forget about writing your book blurb too! (That's Part 1 on your document)

If you're going in order, that means today you'll need examples of: sensory details, strong verbs, and dialogue.

Models for sensory details and strong verbs
Note: I want to make it clear that these examples will not be perfect, but pay attention to how they show the literary element. That is what is most important!

Adding Excerpts

Your whole NaNoWriMo Summary Document is due on Wednesday, December 17th.
I want you to find possible excerpts for all ten literary elements by Wednesday, December 10.
They don't have to be perfect. We'll work on that!

Yesterday, you found excerpts to show characterization. (If you didn't, you need to catch up!)
Today, focus your attention on finding examples in your novel about setting. 

This includes a setting that reinforces character, and a setting that creates a mood. Remember, these excerpts have to describe a place, not a person or actions.

Here are more student examples for you to look at! (Notice that they are more than one paragraph.)

You can also use the search bar at the top left of this page to search blog posts for more resources.

NaNoWriMo Assessment

This morning I sent you a NaNoWriMo Summary Document in Google Drive.
You'll need to go to your "Shared with me" folder and move it into your drive (click "add to drive")

This will be part of your formal assessment for NaNoWriMo. (Like for a grade.)
It is to collect the best parts of your novel.

We'll spend some time on this in class, but we have lots to do. You'll have to make sure you're keeping up.

Today's Focus: Direct and Indirect Characterization

The due date for your NaNoWriMo summary document is Wednesday, December 17th. (That's two weeks from now.)

A tip:
When you're collecting excerpts for each literary element, don't just pick the first one you see that fits. It might help if you copy and paste two or three excerpts into the summary document and then pick the best one!