Chickadee Cheer
Bi-monthly Blog
Dan Schwaubauer - Storyteller Extraordinaire
Every good story, be it a book or a movie, has certain elements that make it worth reading/watching. Asking myself if my writing in the Bandana Acres series had them, I had to honestly answer, “no”. So I re-wrote them using the wisdom Mr. S. imparted to us in our writer’s group meeting. ALL of my writing now starts out with answering 5 key questions first.
Expression - Tips for Children and Adults
Behind the Scenes:
I have been thinking a lot about what I’m going to do for my new series of picture books. These will be shorter than my last series and are meant to appeal to younger kids. I will also be designing all-new characters and watercolor illustrations.
It’s amazing how much goes into one of these simple, short stories. They SEEM simple. But they’re really not. I’m learning a lot from classes from Arree Chung of Storyteller Academy. One of the things he says to do is a morning journal, or think about things on a long walk, and then write your thoughts down afterward. I’ve been doing this and it’s lots of fun thinking about times from long ago - when I was a kid. Some of these memories will likely become stories! But there’s more to expression than just memories… How can you encourage your kids to express themselves?