Yesterday I was invited to conduct a writing workshop at a Young Writers’ Conference for middle-grade students in the Edgewood ISD. We focused on the five senses that enable us, as writers, to express ourselves: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. We brainstormed on ideas, where they come from, and how to use them in stories. Coming up with their own ideas, they then wrote in descriptive detail, using the senses we had talked about to allow their readers to experience and feel what they had written. Some students were shy about sharing their work, but others opened up freely. Later, we discussed the revision and editing process of the rough drafts they had composed. It was fun watching these young people expressing themselves on paper.
“When I put a line down, the only thing I know is how it should feel and I know when it doesn’t feel right.” — Jerry Pinkney