The Singing Poet Guy's Favorite Writing Tips!

May 25, 2010

Hey, Kids! I found a great website written by author Ralph Fletcher: http://www.ralphfletcher.com/tips.html This site has some excellent advice for young writers. Among the cool and useful things you can find there are these 7 "prewriting strategies." Try them out and let me know how they work for you, and also check out Ralph Fletcher's many exciting books!

Prewriting Strategies For Your Writing

by Ralph Fletcher

1) Write in Your Writer's Notebook. A writer's notebook gives you an easy, informal, no-pressure way to start thinking about a topic. Great for brand-new "seed ideas".

2) Talk It Out. Sometimes I'll get together with a friend to kick around an idea I'm thinking about. There's a little danger here--if you talk too much you can talk the mystery out of an idea. I have found that a little talk goes a long way.

3) List Ideas. Lists are a great way to gather material. The idea is to generate ideas. Don't worry if some ideas are better than others. And don't worry too much about getting the ideas in the right order.

4) Make A Web. You may have done this before. Put the main idea in the center, and make a "spoke" for each connected idea.

5) Make A Simple Time-line. I find this idea very helpful for writing stories. Jot down when each important event happened. Now, where do you want to start the writing? At the beginning of the timeline? In the middle? At the end?

6) Three by Three by Three. Give yourself three minutes to write three ideas on three different topics. Great for generating ideas.

7) Free Write. Give yourself a short amount of time (five to seven minutes) to jot down ideas, words, fragments related to a topic. If you doing this right your pen should never leave the page. One friend of mine calls it "Hot-Penning". Don't think: write! Let your pen go wild. Later you can go back and circle any parts you want to use.

Important Note: I don't use each one of these ideas each time I write! You will probably find that some of these ideas work better than others. You will have to try them out and see which ones work best for you.

by Ralph Fletcher

http://www.ralphfletcher.com/tips.html

The Singing Poet Guy's upbeat message and zany sense of humor are popular among students from pre-K through College. Even your Grandma will love him!

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Creative and interesting, this man will draw you into any song he sings. And he tells many stories.

Kathleen Hudson, Executive Director, Texas Heritage Music Foundation and author of Telling Stories, Writing Songs: An Album of Texas Songwriters

Thanks a bunch for today’s performances. We had a great time and I’m hoping we planted seeds in these precious minds. You were wonderful and we hope you will come back again next year.

Maureen Stevens, Librarian, Welder Elementary School, Sinton, TX

Clark’s presentation provided an entertaining culmination to our library’s National Poetry Month festivities!! He transitioned well from the K—2nd to the 3rd—5th graders providing presentations appropriate for all ages levels. His singing…guitar and harmonica playing mesmerized the students!! The imagery in his poetry and stories is so vivid---quality writing presented in an imaginative way. I hope to invite him back for my junior high students!!

Gina Lunsford, Librarian, The Woodlands Christian Academy

He sings so good. I like his voice he should be in a concert and when I get to college I'm going to sing like him and know everything there is to know!

4th Grader, Port Lavaca, TX

Poetry, song lyrics, and stories of insight that lift the heart . . .

MyTexasBooks.com

Lawrence does a great job relating to the teens and their interests as he shares his skills in songwriting and poetry. Highly recommended!

Melissa Baker, Young Adult Librarian, George and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Library

Clark captivates his audiences by using his literary and musical talent to deliver a message and help people learn.

Margaret Rice, Director of Student Development and Regional Outreach, University of Houston-Victoria

Lawrence J. Clark . . . [is] a modern day bard, able to sing songs, tell tales, and weave within his stories an in-depth knowledge which he freely passes on to those who will listen.

Daniel Capes, The Collegian

The Ballad of Dinkle and Other Kids' Favorites now available at MyTexasBooks.com, iTunes, CdBaby.com!

The Ballad of Dinkle and Other Kid's Favorites is Lawrence J. Clark's first volume specifically geared toward elementary age children. It includes some of the younger set's favorite songs, poems, and stories, including "The Ballad of Dinkle" (the turtle that liked to tinkle), "The Bozo Incident," "The Blue Tongued Skink Song," "My Graduation Present," and many others. The volume is available in both print and audio CD format. The book and audio CDs can be ordered from MyTexasBooks.com, and .mp3 files can be downloaded from iTunes, CdBaby.com, and other online retailers.

Cypress, Texas: American Mutt Press, 2007. soft cover, 40 pages

ISBN 0-9764591-2-4

The Magic of Mechanics

The Magic of Mechanics is a delightful collection of poetry, song lyrics, and short prose written by Lawrence J. Clark. Many of the poems are based on themes of family relationships and characters Clark has encountered in over 25 years of performing, writing, and working in 14 states, From Maine to Tennessee to California to New Mexico and Texas, where he now makes his home.

Teachers and librarians have long praised Clark's poetry for its accessibility and immediate application in the classroom, and many of his most popular works are now available in this compact and affordable volume. Group discounts are available. Although many of the poems are suitable for all ages, This work is suitable for ages 10-up.

Some Reviews of The Magic of Mechanics

Cypress, Texas: American Mutt Press, 2006. soft cover, 62 pages

ISBN 0-9764591-0-8

Come along as you discover the journey of a songwriter evolving into that which he now has become. Poetry, song lyrics, and stories of insight that lift the heart and help you understand the real LJC.

MyTexasBooks.com

Lawrence originally hails from Maine, but he’s made his way on down. Here in his poems, songs, and short narrative, you’ll explore his doings – his admiration of his home life, his teenage awe, his loves, his shock over injustice, his quandaries over the poetical experience. He overcomes his education and writes in accessible lines of common human events. Some is raw and naked, others laden beneath sweet nostalgia.

In his prose he notes his reason for writing and that is to reach people’s hearts and souls. He certainly finds mine as he writes about his first newspaper route.

Will Howard, Texas Bookshelf

Fans of his one-man show enjoy Clark's intelligent, poignant and humorous lyrics, as well as his musical talent and ability to captivate an audience.

KFDM.com

The Magic of Mechanics can be purchased online at MyTexasBooks.com.

CD's by Lawrence J. Clark can be purchased online from MyTexasMusic.com, and CdBaby.com. Mp3 files are also available for downloading at iTunes and other online retailers.