Writing Smart Junior, 2nd Edition

About This Book

A PARENTS’ CHOICE AWARD—WINNING SERIES

Follow Bridget, Babette, Barnaby, and their feline friend Beauregard as they explore strange lands and discover, to their amazement, that writing is fun and interesting. Plus, you might discover that writing well can make you rich and famous someday (It worked for Stephen King!).

By the time you finish reading Writing Smart Junior, you’ll·write better book reports
·compose beautiful poems
·write exciting stories
·master the art of letter-writing
·learn how to use the library
Before you know it, writing will be as easy as tying your shoes (unless you have those Velcro™ tennis shoes–nothing’s that easy!).

Table of Contents

Contents
Acknowledgmentsiii
Introduction vi
Chapter 1 Dine and Dash at the Mute Cafe1
Chapter 2 Gearing Up for the Quest 7
A Glossary of Terms9
Punctuation15
Chapter 3 The Better Letter Inn21
Friendly Letters26
Business Letters30
Envelopes Are Easy36
Chapter 4 Welcome to Fort Report39
What You’ll Find in a Library43
Finding What You Need in a Library44
Chapter 5 A Bunch of Grunts in Basic Training49
Reports That Rule51
Brainstorming 57
Research Without Tears57
Report Writing the Right Way64
Chapter 6 The Quest “Presses” On85
Newspaper Articles91
Magazine Articles98
Editorials and Columns101
Reviews103
What About Essays?104
Chapter 7 Observations from On High107
Diaries, Journals, Notebooks107
Chapter 8 Peaceful Thoughts by the Plum Trees119
Poetry119
An Overview of Poetic Terms124
Haiku: Quick Sketches of Feeling137
Young Poets Speak Out141
Chapter 9 The Great Story Safari147
Why Do People Like Stories?152
Finding Story Ideas: Your Life Is Your Source155
Getting Ready to Write158
Fleshing Out Fantasies167
Details, Details: Making Your Reader See What You See169
Show, Don’t Tell175
Chapter 10 Downstairs, Upstairs, and Online181
Computers: A Writer’s Best Friend188
Hanging Ten Online–Welcome to the Internet193
Chapter 11 Writing Opportunities for Young Authors199
Writing You Can Do at School199
Publishing Your Work200
Writing Contests203
Answers 207
About the Author 215