I love having family and friends who teach at elementary schools for lots of reasons, but especially because of the opportunity to learn from them. One of the phrases I’ve heard but until recently was too shy to ask about was “mentor texts.” That phrase has flittered through a handful of conversations, usually when we are talking about children’s books we love.
Someone will say, “Oooh I love Kevin Henkes, I have used his books as mentor texts for using adjectives,” or “Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a perfect mentor text for teaching how to begin a story.” Teachers love using great books to spark a love of writing in children.
In her book Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children’s Literature, Lynne Dorfman describes mentor texts this way:
Mentor texts are pieces of literature that we can return to again and again as we help our young writers learn how to do what they may not yet be able to do on their own…. Mentor texts help writers to notice things about an author’s work that is not like anything they might have done before, and empower them to try something new.
In other words, mentor texts showcase the lovely ways authors wield words as building blocks to construct stories.
Mentor texts are a valuable learning technique not only for our youngest readers and writers, but it holds up well for us, er, older writers too.
In a recent SCBWI workshop on preparing your manuscript for submission, Deborah Warren of East West Literary Agency recommended utilizing mentor texts to help authors polish their own work. Here’s how she explained it: “If you’re struggling with dialogue, find a scene you think handles dialogue well, and study it. What makes it work? Why does it work? Deconstruct it and learn how that author does it. Then apply what you’ve learned to your manuscript.”
Notice that Ms. Warren does not instruct writers to “copy what you’ve read” from manuscripts. Instead, she encourages us to examine the elements of writing that resonate the most with us. She encourages us to become writing students and practice our craft, using pieces of literature to, as Dorfman says, empower us to try something new.
For example, if I have a scene that needs help establishing my setting, I might look at this paragraph from the opening of Sara Pennypacker’s Pax.
The fox felt the car slow before the boy did, as he felt everything first. Through the pads of his paws, along his spine, in the sensitive whiskers at his wrists. By the vibrations, he learned also that the road had grown coarser. He stretched up from his boy’s lap and sniffed at the threads of scent leaking in through the window, which told him they were not traveling into woodlands. The sharp odors of pine-wood, bark, cones, and needles-slivered through the air like blades, but beneath that, the fox recognized softer clover and wild garlic and ferns, and also a hundred things he had never encountered before…
I am excited to keep learning and growing in my craft by using mentor texts to help me revise and strengthen my manuscript. Have you worked with mentor texts before? How has it worked for you? Let me know in the comments.
Kell McKinney earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in documentary studies from the University of North Texas. She’s a part-time copywriter, double-time mom and wife, and spends every free minute writing and/or hunting for her car keys. Connect with her on Twitter @Kell_McK or kellmckinney.com.
I once did a brief stint as a nanny. I absolutely loved the baby I took care of, but the mom and I had little in common. She was a young mom with her first child. I had been a stay-at-home mom for over twenty years and was looking to re-enter the workforce.
Each weekday at 7 am I would arrive at their house for work. I would take their precious six-month-old from her crib, change her, love on her, feed her breakfast, wash the dishes left scattered from the previous evening, then carry out a variety of household chores along with my nannying duties. This all took place while the baby’s mama worked-out, watched television, and spent time on the internet in her upstairs loft area.
Once per week I would purchase groceries for the
family. How I loved those shopping trips. It was a time to escape the house,
with my little sidekick, and be free from the weird, intermittent, scrutinizing
gaze of the mom. While on one of these
excursions I learned a valuable lesson. That fateful day a note was scrawled at
the bottom of the usual, lengthy, handwritten grocery list. It read, “Some of
these items may not be familiar to you. If you need help, feel free to call.”
That note rattled my cage. Who did this woman think
she was? Did she presume I was a total ignoramus? Did she not realize that I
had been purchasing groceries since before she was born? Yes, their family may
have had a higher economic status than I. And admittedly, the dinners I
prepared for them every night seemed foreign to my traditional taste buds. But
if I could successfully follow the fancy recipes to cook their trendy,
health-nut cuisine then surely … surely, they could trust me to read and
execute a basic shopping list. The nerve.
I was indignant from the time I entered the grocery
store’s sliding doors until I reached the last item on the list. It was then
that I realized I was in big trouble. The final line simply read, “frozen
concows”. Mind you, this was before the
Smartphone era—no instant information available at my fingertips. I broke into
a sweat and began scanning the frozen food shelves, like a pirate hunting for
lost treasure. Concows, really? What kind of hipster, voodoo, culinary nonsense
was I hunting for?
Thirty minutes later I had thoroughly examined every
item in the massive frozen food section. No luck. My angel baby still sat
contently in her toy laden grocery basket sling. I opened some organic fruit
puffs, placed a few in her lap, then frantically called my husband. “What in
the world is a concow?” I said, the moment he answered the phone. After several
humorous quips, because that’s how my hubby rolls, he finally admitted he had
no idea.
He and I spent twenty minutes brainstorming the dilemma.
I tried to pick the word apart. I knew the root word con meant with. So, it
would stand to reason that a con-cow must be a product that contained cow–or
beef. But my husband quickly reminded me that con could also be an abbreviation
for contra, which means false or against. Considering the family I worked for
ate mostly vegan, that made more sense to me. We concluded the item in question
must be a faux beef product. Feeling more equipped for the battle, I hung up
with my husband and headed for the fru-fru frozen foods section to continue the
search.
When I could find no meat substitute branded with
that name, I finally broke down and asked a store associate for help. He took a
moment to look over the same frozen section I had surveyed all afternoon then
confidently declared that their store must not carry frozen concows.
Somehow, that didn’t seem right. And I could
not—would not—return to my employer and admit to her that I had no idea what a
concow was.
“Just call the lady you’re working for and ask,” my
friend advised when I phoned her to vent. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want to
admit to this mom, who didn’t even take care of her own kid or house, that she
was more knowledgeable than a seasoned homemaker like me. Also, I didn’t want
to give her the ammo to treat me like an underling when I was already feeling
like one. After I made this shocking and shameful confession to my friend—while
having a total meltdown, a still small voice from within pinpointed the
problem. Pride.
Pride had been lurking in the shadows of my thoughts
since I had first taken the nanny position and had finally reared its ugly head
in the middle of aisle 15. I had never considered myself a stubborn or prideful
person. But God has a way of using everyday frustrations to expose the hidden
places of our hearts. I decided to humble myself and call my employer for help.
She didn’t answer. “What now, Lord,” I asked.
I looked down at the crumpled list in my hand—and viewed the last entry
with fresh eyes. The scripty handwritten letters I had deciphered earlier as an
“n” and “w” were actually “u”s. The item she wanted me to purchase was
couscous. It was misspelled.
Pride can be as difficult to spot in our own hearts
as concows in a grocery store. Why? Because often our eyes are so fixed on what
we perceive as truth that we neglect to acknowledge the source of truth. As writers—detection become even more
complicated. There’s a fine line between professional confidence, which we are
always encouraged to project, and pride—the counterfeit. That means, if we are
writing for Him we must remain ultra-vigilant against the corrosive nature of
this sly vice.
Pride can undermine our teachability, ruin our
professional relationships, and even poison the very words we have chosen to
write for God. The funny thing about pride is—those who are plagued by it are
usually the last to recognize the infection.
Have you ever dismissed a writing craft teaching
because the instructor was much younger than you? Have you ever quit an agent
or turned down an offer to submit to an editor because you felt you were not
given your due respect? Have you ever secretly felt animosity toward someone
who won a contract or contest because you knew you were more talented than
them? Are your social media posts
preachy in nature and directed toward a group of individuals you hope to reach?
Are you easily offended when someone critiques your writing? Do you feel the
need to work your list of writing achievements into a conversation to gain
other’s esteem? If so, you may be dealing with pride. May God open our eyes,
examine our hearts, correct our path, and conform our writing to glorify Him.
Scripture:
Philippians
2:3, James 4:10, Proverbs 11:1
Fun
Fact or Helpful Resource: One
of the best, and most painful, resources I’ve ever found to help diagnose pride
is Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s Evidences Of Pride test. It can be found here.
Annette
Marie Griffin is a
award-winning writer who speaks at local women’s group meetings and women’s
retreats on the topic of biblical womanhood and finding our identity in Christ.
She is the Operations and Events Coordinator at a private school for special
needs students and is the editor of their quarterly newsletter. She has written
custom curriculum for women’s retreats and children’s church curriculum for
Gateway Church in San Antonio, Texas where she served as Children’s Ministry
Director and Family Program Director for over twenty years. She and her husband
John have five amazing children and two adorable grands. She’s a member of Word
Weavers International, ACFW, SCBWI, and serves on the Board of Directors for
The Creative Writing Institute.
My first days in a rehabilitation hospital after my
accident were some of the most difficult days of my life, but they were also
full of crucial lessons to learn. Being young and full of life, I thought I
knew it all—furthermore, I thought I could do it all.
No one could tell me anything and nothing could stop
me well…except for myself. When I got to breakfast and saw all the other
patients were senior citizens or severely disabled, some of which had food
falling out of their mouths as they ate, I told myself I was better off than
them and wanted to go back to my room. Then, while I ate, I noticed there was
food on my pants. The food was falling out of my mouth as well, I was humbled.
As I struggled to push away from the table, a nurse
returned to help me. She smiled and told me she was there for me. That was when I realized how my life had changed.
Later I had trouble relearning how to tie my shoes.
The physical therapist told me it would be a lot easier if I would listen to
her and let her help. I remembered when I was little and all the times my
father tried to teach me something new.
He was a sergeant in the Army, yet gently encouraged
me, “I want to help you do this, but you are going to have to listen to me and
do as I say.” He taught me to do so much in three simple steps.
Focus
Listen
Learn
Little
did I know that my father’s wise instruction would guide me in life even if I didn’t
have the ability anymore.
Ability?
The
dictionary defines ability as, “Possession of the means or skill to do
something; a talent or proficiency in a particular area.” In writing, as
in life, we don’t all have the same abilities. But we all have certain
abilities that make us who we are.
And
if we follow my father’s sage advice, we
can learn from each other and gain new abilities. After my accident, I was
unable to return to college to finish pursuing my degree in English.
I
gave up on writing because technically I could no longer physically write. Then
about nine years ago I received a packet in the mail about a professional
writing program for Christians.
The
state I live in gave grants for persons with brain injuries like myself and I
applied for the funds for the courses and writing software that would allow me
to write with speech.
I
applied and was accepted into the Christian Writers Guild writing program where
I was mentored by some of the best writers and editors in the business. Their
knowledge and abilities would foster the abilities and stories I have.
During
the course, I read what the owner of the school looked for in aspiring writers.
Jerry B. Jenkins notes, “In any writer, I look for the –‘ilities’:
In
our writing careers, as in life, we must apply each of these
“ilities” if we want to learn or gain new abilities. The best writers are always learning. They
know it’s okay to ask for help and are willing to accept a helping hand.
Help?
Not
long after I began taking writing classes again, a friend from church
approached me about getting her books published. She told me she already knew
how to write and didn’t need to learn how to share her stories.
Despite
having no training as a writer and only having experience in the Army’s medical
field, she was confident she had what it took to make it as a writer. Although
I was still learning myself, I wanted to help my sister in the faith.
Her
biggest problem was, she didn’t want my help to become a writer; she wanted a
shortcut to being published. Every time she saw me, she asked if I would give
her emails of the editors and writers I was learning from.
Again,
I cannot express how difficult and time-consuming it is to break into the
writing business. There are no shortcuts to publication, albeit self-publishing
is a quicker path, it isn’t a guarantee for traditional publication.
Fear
not, the writing community is more than willing to help out aspiring writers.
Perhaps not the way most would-be authors desire, but the community gives
nonetheless. As my first writing mentor, Roger Palms wisely shared,
“Successful writers let their writing speak for itself—learn the
craft.”
In
writing, it takes time to:
Edit your work.
Develop your voice.
Know your message.
Furthermore,
as I’ve learned from being disabled, possessing the right “ilities” makes it
easier to learn new abilities.
[i]
Jenkins, J. B. (2006) Writing For The Soul. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer’s Digest
Books. Pg 105.
Martin Johnson
survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which
left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an
award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first
Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as
an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to
local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm
and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in
a Georgia and connects with readers at Spiritual
Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.
The fact I started writing a full-length novel as full-time student might seem a little scary, and you’d be right – I did have to combat some fears.
What if it’s not good?What if my characters are lame?What if I can’t keep up the rigorous writing schedule? And my biggest one: What if I can’t finish? Here are some tips that helped me go from blank page to completed manuscript.
Surround Yourself With Like-Minded Individuals
Maybe you don’t have a professional mentor or community. That’s OK. I started on YouTube. No kidding.
I didn’t have a writing community. A good majority of my friends were pursuing teaching degrees or business majors and could only try to relate to the creative side of my life.
Instead of ducking out I searched YouTube and watched hundreds of interviews of different creatives on their craft. Even if you have to start small, start learning from others. You’ll be thankful later!
Lesson I Learned:
You don’t have to have a physical community to be inspired by others. Use what you have in the season you’re in.
Don’t Get Discouraged By Feedback
Throughout the writing/editing process I asked different people to read portions of my book. One reader became so invested in the story she said if something bad happened to a certain character she was going to give up on the book. Needless to say I freaked out.
I spent the majority of my night wondering what in the world to do. What I had written was going to devastate my reader, but it worked best for the story. Thankfully my writing mentor told me to stick with my original intensions. Encouraged, I stayed true to the story. Trust your gut. You’re the writer, after all!
Lesson I Learned:
Stay true to what you set out to do and work hard to complete it, even when you occasionally get feedback you weren’t expecting.
Work For, Don’t Worry For, the Future
I started out afraid I wouldn’t finish my book on time, then I wrote that last sentence at 4:48pm on a sunny Thursday and defeated that fear with accomplishment. But then I started worrying the book wouldn’t get picked up by a publishing company.
Instead of worrying about a book deal, I started writing a book proposal and reading up on what a good one looks like. I started networking. I met with the VP of Marketing at a big publishing house and asked his advice. I hardcore edited my entire book – 4 times!
Lesson I Learned:
Show yourself some integrity and finish what you’ve started, no matter how scared you are to keep the promise you originally made.
The future will always come, but you get to decide how you meet it: ill-equipped and embarrassed, or prepared and ready for success. Whatever your goal is, keep working toward it. You never know what one day will bring. All those days piled up are what make the mountain of success at the end!
Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Writer, working with brands to grow their audience reach. She studied Strategic Communications at Cornerstone University and focused on writing during her time there, completing two full-length manuscripts while a full-time student. Currently she trains under best-selling author Jerry Jenkins in his Your Novel Blueprint course, is planning a speaking tour, and actively seeking publication for two books.
If you take a songwriting class, the first thing you will learn is to read the top 40 charts in your chosen genre, and then listen to the chart-topping songs over and over for analyzation and to get songwriting ideas. You will be encouraged to listen to similarities in all of the songs and watch for format.
If you are just starting out, there is nothing wrong with taking a shell of a song and then replacing the words with your own words. That is a great tool for learning how to write melodies rhythmically and formulating words together to fit a specific meter, but a bad idea if you are planning to publish the song—because you can get sued.
As a child, I learned by becoming a junior Weird Al Yankovic. I would take famous songs on the radio and change the words to something silly. And then I would perform them for my older sister and her friends and they thought I was hilarious. I dreamed of performing them for the world to see (too bad Youtube was not invented yet!)
If you are a musician, you start by learning theory, learning what chords go together, and then putting together a chord pattern to be a foundation for a lyrical melody. If you don’t play an instrument, you can guide your musical partner by verbally sharing your melody idea. A good place to start is by listening to songs in your genre and start dissecting the melody from the bare lyrics. What works? What doesn’t? As I mentioned in a previous article, sometimes it is easiest to start with a chorus, because that is what your song is about.
Like any bit of writing, you learn the most by watching others, dissecting their work to see why it works or why it doesn’t, and then implementing what you learn. Most recorded albums start from a pool of about thirty songs, and then are narrowed down to fourteen or less to sell to the public. And usually, the pool of thirty songs come from a songbook of about 100 songs scribbled in the writer’s songbook journal.
If you want to be a songwriter, write every single day. Keep a songwriter journal where you jot down your ideas, possible lyrics, melodies, themes, poems, etc. Your songs may suck at first. But writing every day is how you get better. Just like exercising your physical muscles, your growth comes from exercising your writing muscle. I usually write a notebook full of songs per year—most aren’t even complete. And sometimes I pull a Frankenstein where I take two or three songs I wrote and combine them.
When U2 wrote their hit song, Beautiful Day, they actually wrote another song using the exact same music, but with completely different lyrics and melody. Then they chose which melody and chorus they liked for the album best after listening to both versions over and over and over. The band Jars of Clay did the same thing on their If I Left the Zoo album. They made a bunch of demos with different melody lines and choruses. The final project was a culmination of taking the best part of the songs and re-writing the weakest part to improve the song or by creating Frankenstein, chopping up the best parts of two or three songs and adding them together to formulate one incredible song.
If you listen to Jars of Clay’s studio album, If I Left the Zoo, and then again listen to their limited demo album (if you can find it) called White Elephant Sessions, you will hear the same songs, but with different verses, choruses, or melodies. They are letting you in on their songwriting process. After the time slaved to write the physical songwriting portion and then playing the song at many rehearsals comes the recorded demo. Bands will listen to their demo a thousand times, get feedback, and then put the song in the hands of a polished producer to rewrite the song and record the final, polished version. Sometimes that version is an entirely different song from conception.
Whether you are writing songs, novels, or screenplays, the biggest key to survival is being fluid and giving yourself (and producers, editors, publishers, directors, agents, etc.) permission to let go and change what you have written to make it better.
Write it. Step away. Visit it again. Rewrite it. Step away. Rewrite it again.
Don’t marry your first version or first draft. That’s like marrying the first person you ever had a crush on, which may work, but more than not, it can be naïve and suicidal. I know both screenwriters and songwriters who lost a job because they wouldn’t give producers or directors flexibility to change their work.
Do you have a songwriting topic you would like me to discuss? Let me know at matthewhawkeldridge@yahoo.com! Get that songwriting journal and start writing!
Matthew Hawk Eldridge is a coffee loving, calico-cat hugging, Renaissance man. When he’s not passionately penning screenplays or stories rich in musical history, he’s writing songs on his guitar or working on a film as an actor, double, musician, or stand-in. He is a Creative Writing graduate student at Full Sail University.
One morning I asked the Lord for a verse reference.
Exodus 20:15 – Thou shalt not steal (KJV).
Really? Have I stolen something lately?
I pondered. Well…
I just took a picture of a page from a book and Tweeted it. But I gave credit to the author.
I haven’t taken any office supplies.
I give back extra change when I get it by mistake.
I use pictures from Bing Images in my blog posts. But I only use those labeled “free to share and use”.
So what was the Lord’s message?
I had no clue so I moved on with my morning. The verse must be something I need but maybe not at this moment.
As I logged on to my computer, random thoughts of things I admire about others came to mind. You know, those others who are popular in the writing world and have many good book reviews.
I like the way he responds on Twitter
I like the way she writes
I like the format of her blog
I like the way…
Wait, that’s it!
Vacuum Cleaners
Subconsciously, I not only appreciated the gifts of these people, I wanted to appropriate how they act and make it part of me. I wanted not only to learn from their methods, I wanted to be like them so I could be popular like they are.
I’ve been subconsciously stealing parts of them so I can have what they have.
No wonder I often find myself confused about who I am! I don’t look FIRST to my Creator, and thank Him for creating me exactly like me. I don’t boldly step out from the inside and go with what’s on my heart, in my own way, as the Lord leads. I measure what I’m about to do by what I think will be acceptable, or by whether or not anyone else has done it and succeeded.
No wonder I’m so worn out before I even get started. I’m worn out just thinking about it!
Magnets
Yes, we all need role models, and it’s good to learn from others. It’s also helpful to try, and then apply, practices that are proven successful. Truthfully, each of us is a product – and accumulation – of the people we’ve met, the places we’ve been, and the things we’ve experienced.
But first and foremost, we need to fill ourselves with Him alone instead of trying to take in what He never intends for us. Then, out of that relationship, we need to be fully who God created us to be and appreciate how He made us.
We need to be magnets, not vacuum cleaners.
Interesting picture, isn’t it?
Be thankful for the awesome person you are – the one God created and loves, warts and all – and step out into a very blessed day!
Mary Graziano Scro, a graduate of Christian Communicators Conference, is an inspirational author, speaker, and blogger who intuitively weaves analogies and personal testimony with practical biblical teaching. Whether “live” or at the keyboard, Mary loves sharing what God has done in her life to encourage others about the awesome life God has planned for us, IF we are willing to choose wisely in our everyday lives (John 8:31-32). And it’s not only about us – the more we invest in our own unique relationship with Jesus, the more visible He is to a world that desperately needs Him.
Writers Chat, hosted by Jean Wise, Johnnie Alexander, and Bethany Jett, is the show where we talk about all things writing, by writers and for writers!
“Because talking about writing is more fun than actually doing it.”
Celebrating Writers Chat
We started July with a bang! The Writers Chat team gathered for an open mic with our loyal followers to share how Writers Chat has helped in our writing journeys. Writers Chat truly makes the difference for many, from essential advice to encouraging fellowship.
You can discover it for yourself in the July 3rd replay.
From discussions centering on Meyers-Briggs personalities to can’t miss writing resources, we hit on great topics you can take advantage of too. Explore for yourself in the Live Chat links!
Copywriting is a craft writers would do well to master. We had the privilege of speaking with one such master as best-selling author and branding expert, James L. Rubart, joined us to teach about Copywriting Made Simple.
Check out the replay from July 10th.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on journeys they’ll remember years after they finish his stories. He’s the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY and RT Book Reviews award winning author of nine novels, a speaker, branding expert, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, audio book narrator, and co-founder with his son, Taylor, of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington. His author website is: JamesLRubart.com
Learn more about Jim and the great resources he has to offer in our Live Chat Links!
Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on Zoom. Here’s the permanent Zoom room link.
Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up
the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.
Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our Writers Chat Facebook Group.
Would you like to improve your vocabulary, fire your imagination, and learn about story structure and character development from an endless variety of authors?
Pick up/download a book!
READING is the most overlooked, undervalued activity for a writer—whether that writer is multi-published or just starting out.
Where should you start?
Read something that makes you laugh (or cry, or shout, or…).
Losing ourselves in words that stir the emotions tends to relax our writing muscles. Read in various genres. Soak in the talents of others. Simply take joy in reading. (Don’t we hope that someone will take joy in our work?)
Read something that makes you think.
In seconds, we can download the greatest literature of all time. We have the ability to peer over the shoulders of C.S. Lewis, Vance Havner, William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, A.W.Tozer, and myriad others. What a privilege! (I get excited just thinking about it…)
Pouring over the words of others triggers creativity. We may want to carry certain ideas further or we may decide to take a different path.
Read something that makes you study.
Slow down. Analyze. Pull out passages that engage and ask why. What drew you in? What caused you to stumble? What “popped” you out of the story? Keep pen and paper handy to capture thoughts and ideas.
Read. Underline. Take notes.
Writer’s conferences and classes are indispensable—but they only happen a few times a year. The good news? We can learn from great writers at any time simply by picking up a book.
Want to be a great writer? Start by becoming a voracious reader!
[bctt tweet=”READING is the most overlooked, undervalued activity for a writer… #amwriting #writerlife”]
