Top Writing Tips from Seasonal Personalities

Top Writing Tips from Rudolph, Santa, Frosty, Gingerbread Man, 12 Days of Christmas, and the 3 Kings

• Santa’s Top 5 Writing Tips
• Rudolph’s Top 5 Writing Tips
• Frosty’s Top 5 Writing Tips
• The Gingerbread Man’s Top 5 Writing Tips
• 12 Days of Christmas Writing Tips
• 7 Writing Tips from the 3 Kings

Winter Writing Lesson Plans for Teachers

In appreciation for all you do for children’s literature, I am offering a free set of lesson plans for Winter Writing with Kids. Based on popular Christmas and winter children’s stories, kids will learn 34 skills of writing.

Download the FREE Winter Writing with Kids 2011 here (pdf).

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf. It’s a bit early, but teachers will be planning December and January lessons soon, and we thought they would enjoy it now.

Winter Writing with Kids

Complimentary, FREE download. 34 Writing Skills addressed. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids to Write.

DOWNLOAD NOW from the FICTION NOTES STORE

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf.

Winter Writing with Kids

FREE download. 34 Writing Skills addressed. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids to Write.

DOWNLOAD NOW from the FICTION NOTES STORE

Two years ago, I got an email from the North Pole! Wow! It had Santa’s Top 5 Writing Tips and the next day, I got an email with Rudolph’s Top 5 Writing Tips. I’m still in contact with the North Pole and this is the 2008 Writing Tips, this time courtesy of the classic carol, The 12 Days of Christmas. Enjoy!

Previous Holiday Writing Tips

Frosty the Snowman’s Top 6 Writing Tips
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Santa Claus’s Top 5 Writing Tips
The Gingerbread Man’s Top 5 Writing Tips
12 Days of Christmas Writing Tips

The Twelve Days of Christmas Writing Tips

Writing tips for this song are all about structure and language.

1. On the first day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   A partridge in a pear tree.

   Play with alliteration, the repetition of initial sounds such as the p in partridge and pear.

2. On the second day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   This stanza is very important because it sets up the pattern: we now know that this is a cumulative story, a story that adds a line each time and repeats all the other lines. Some cumulative stories keep going and take off a line each time. Study other cumulative stories, then try writing one.

3. On the third day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Good writing is about communicating. This video shows how a different audience might interpret this story. Why do those sea turtles have wings? Five gold rings are onion rings? And why are those ten lords sky-diving? Word choice does matter. And always keep in mind your audience and their point of view.
   

4. On the fourth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Parodies of this song are popular — as in this Geek’s version from TeacherTube. Study parodies and write one of your own.
   

5. On the fifth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   You gotta LOVE Miss Piggy singing 5 golden rings. When you do a long story, try to find places where the language can slow down the rhythm. Here, it also becomes a place where the singers can ham it up a bit. (Get it?)

6. On the sixth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Six geese a-laying,
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Variety within a pattern is established here. We’re still adding a line each time, but now the verb at the end becomes important. For longer pieces like this be sure to add variety to keep the interest.

7. On the seventh day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Seven swans a-swimming,
   Six geese a-laying,
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Numbers are often important to picturebooks, classic songs and our culture. For example, there are three little pigs and seven dwarves. Part of this fascination with numbers is cultural. In the Navajo culture, four is important: the four cardinal directions and the four sides of a hogan. Three and seven repetitions are generally in northern European stories. Nine is three-threes and twelve is four-threes (or three-fours). Watch for repetitions in stories and notice how many times something repeats. Try retelling stories with a different number of repeats and notice what it does for the story.

8. On the eighth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Eight maids a-milking,
   Seven swans a-swimming,
   Six geese a-laying,
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Here’s the Straight No Chaser men’s accapella choir. By the time they get to the 8th day, things get very complicated — and wonderful. Don’t be afraid to play and have fun with language.

9. On the ninth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Nine ladies dancing,
   Eight maids a-milking,
   Seven swans a-swimming,
   Six geese a-laying,
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Wikipedia has a great introduction to the history of this song. This article includes the lyrics, the music and links to parodies.

10. On the tenth day of Christmas,
    my true love sent to me
    Ten lords a-leaping,
    Nine ladies dancing,
    Eight maids a-milking,
    Seven swans a-swimming,
    Six geese a-laying,
    Five golden rings,
    Four calling birds,
    Three French hens,
    Two turtle doves,
    And a partridge in a pear tree.

    And yet another parody, this one from a Science Class in Australia.
    

11. On the eleventh day of Christmas,
    my true love sent to me
    Eleven pipers piping,
    Ten lords a-leaping,
    Nine ladies dancing,
    Eight maids a-milking,
    Seven swans a-swimming,
    Six geese a-laying,
    Five golden rings,
    Four calling birds,
    Three French hens,
    Two turtle doves,
    And a partridge in a pear tree.

    Take a deep breath — and finish what you started. Don’t give up before you finish a writing project. See it through to the end.

12. On the twelfth day of Christmas,
    my true love sent to me
    Twelve drummers drumming,
    Eleven pipers piping,
    Ten lords a-leaping,
    Nine ladies dancing,
    Eight maids a-milking,
    Seven swans a-swimming,
    Six geese a-laying,
    Five golden rings,
    Four calling birds,
    Three French hens,
    Two turtle doves,
    And a partridge in a pear tree!

    And you just have to end with Burl Ive’s version with its lush illustrations.
    

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Christmas Gift for Our Readers

For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf.

Winter Writing with Kids

FREE download. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids to Write. 34 Writing Skills addressed.

DOWNLOAD NOW from the FICTION NOTES STORE

The Gingerbread Man gives his writing tips. Be sure to see the related post, Poor Gingerbread Man for funky cookie cutters.

Event Repeat

The story of the Gingerbread Man uses an event-repeat type plot. An event is repeated several times, with only a minor change. When the Gingerbread Man escapes and runs away, he meets several people who want to eat him. Each character is added to the parade as the Gingerbread Man runs away, until the Fox outsmarts him at the last.

Chorus

“Run, Run, Fast as you can, you can’t beat me, I’m the Gingerbread Man.”
Using a Chorus is effective in short stories and picturebooks.

Changing Setting

Especially for the picturebook format, it’s important to keep the setting interesting, so the illustrations are exciting. By sending the Gingerbread Man across the landscape, the illustrations have visually exciting possibilities.

Folktale Mode

This story is in the folktale mode, which treats characters as a general type. For example, the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella, have a role as mean, ugly stepsisters, and not much more. When Gingy is added to the Shrek movies, though, his character is made more interesting by giving him individual characteristics. Decide if your story needs a general, folktale type character or a more individual character.

Folktale Morals

Folktales and fables often add a moral at the end of a story. Of course, the Gingerbread Man should not have trusted the Fox! It’s seldom that picture books and stories today have such an explicit, straight forward moral. Instead, it’s usually implied and the reader is left to verbalize it for him or herself.

Writing Tips from Other Characters

Frosty the Snowman’s Top 6 Writing Tips
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Santa Claus’s Top 5 Writing Tips
The Gingerbread Man’s Top 5 Writing Tips
12 Days of Christmas Writing Tips

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf.

Winter Writing with Kids

FREE download. 34 Writing Skills addressed. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids to Write.

DOWNLOAD NOW from the FICTION NOTES STORE

Holiday Writing Tips

Frosty the Snowman’s Top 6 Writing Tips
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Santa Claus’s Top 5 Writing Tips
The Gingerbread Man’s Top 5 Writing Tips
12 Days of Christmas Writing Tips

Frosty The Snowman

Read about the history of this song.
Oh, what a great 3-D snowman cake pan!

1. Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
   With a corncob pipe and a button nose
   And two eyes made out of coal.
   Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
   He was made of snow
   
   Extended character descriptions. Don’t be afraid to take time to describe the main character. One the continuum of character descriptions, this one is longer than you’ll find in most children’s picturebooks. But it works because this is a character story.

2. but the children
   Know how he came to life one day.
   There must have been some magic in that
   Old silk hat they found.
   For when they placed it on his head
   He began to dance around.

   Point of view. Notice the point of view here. The attention is squarely on Frosty, not on the children who found the old silk hat. When you write a story for kids, you don’t always have to put the child as the main character.

3. O, Frosty the snowman
   Was alive as he could be,
   And the children say he could laugh
   And play just the same as you and me.
   Thumpetty thump thump,
   Thumpety thump thump,
   Look at Frosty go.
   Thumpetty thump thump,
   Thumpety thump thump,
   Over the hills of snow.

   Language play. This section doesn’t add much to the plot, it’s just pure language play. But this is perfect for the younger audiences, who know that playing around with language is half the fun of reading a story or singing a song. Great onomatopoeia.

4. Frosty the snowman knew
   The sun was hot that day,
   So he said, “Let’s run and
   We’ll have some fun
   Now before I melt away.”

   Conflict. Every good story needs conflict. And the character’s attitude in the face, well, in the face of certain death, is evident. It’s an attitude of taking joy where you find it and facing the future with courage.

5. Down to the village,
   With a broomstick in his hand,
   Running here and there all
   Around the square saying,
   Catch me if you can.
   He led them down the streets of town
   Right to the traffic cop.
   And he only paused a moment when
   He heard him holler “Stop!”
   For Frosty the snow man
   Had to hurry on his way,

   
   Development of the conflict. The traffic cop provides an extra bump of conflict that adds to the story’s development. For picturebooks, it doesn’t have to be much; in fact, it can’t be huge, or you’re writing a novel. This is perfect, just the introduction of an authority figure who yells, “Stop!” but can’t really do anything to stop the breakneck speed of Frosty’s life.

6. But he waved goodbye saying,
   “Don’t you cry,
   I’ll be back again some day.”
   Thumpetty thump thump,
   Thumpety thump thump,
   Look at Frosty go.
   Thumpetty thump thump,
   Thumpety thump thump,
   Over the hills of snow.

   Hope. Children’s stories may end in tragedy, but the best offer a spot of hope. Notice also the nice repetition of the language play that sends the story off with a nice echo.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf.

Winter Writing with Kids

FREE download. 34 Writing Skills addressed. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids to Write.

DOWNLOAD NOW from the FICTION NOTES STORE

Holiday Writing Tips

Frosty the Snowman’s Top 6 Writing Tips
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Santa Claus’s Top 5 Writing Tips
The Gingerbread Man’s Top 5 Writing Tips
12 Days of Christmas Writing Tips

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, with a little help from UTube

1. Unique characters. Give characters a tag, a physical or emotional something that makes them stand out from the crowd. That red nose, in the context of a reindeer herd, is absolutely astoundnig.

   Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
   had a very shiny nose.
   And if you ever saw him,
   you would even say it glows.

Rudolph, the Musical, Act I

2. Conflict. The conflict here is the usual playground teasing and bullying of someone who is different. It’s a classic theme because we can all identify with it on some level. Don’t’ be afraid of classic themes; just use them in unique ways.

   Also, pile on the conflict. The other reindeer do three things to Rudolph, each an escalation: laugh, call him names, exclude him from games.

   All of the other reindeer
   used to laugh and call him names.
   They never let poor Rudolph
   join in any reindeer games.

   “I’m All Alone” from Monty Python’s Spamalot

Rudollph the Musical, Act II


3. Turning point. After the set up and the conflict, comes the turning point. The crisis here is that Santa must deliver the toys to the children around the world, but the weather isn’t cooperating.

   Then one foggy Christmas Eve

4. The unusual characteristic becomes a blessing. Again, this is a cliched way of handling a conflict and crisis, but it still works. The very thing that sets the character apart, that makes him/her different and weak, is also the very thing that makes the hero able to save the day. Of course, this means we are matching up conflict and resolution, too. Santa also functions as a sort of mentor here, one who is able to recognize the unique qualities of Rudolph for what they are.

   Santa came to say:
   “Rudolph with your nose so bright,
   won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”

   Rudolph the Musical, Act III

5. Rejoice. It’s not just the climax here, but also the concept of a celebration of successfully completing a quest. Give characters a moment to celebrate. This often comes after a big battle, or a big effort to overcome something.

   Then all the reindeer loved him
   as they shouted out with glee,
   Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
   you’ll go down in history!

   And, of course, Gene Autry, singing Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer
   

   Think the story is still a little slight for todays’ market? Here’s why.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf.

Winter Writing with Kids

FREE download. 34 Writing Skills addressed. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids to Write.

DOWNLOAD NOW from the FICTION NOTES STORE

Frosty the Snowman’s Top 6 Writing Tips
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Santa Claus’s Top 5 Writing Tips
The Gingerbread Man’s Top 5 Writing Tips
12 Days of Christmas Writing Tips

Santa’s Top 5 Writing Tips

Just got an e-newsletter from the North Pole and Santa had these writing tips posted for the young-at-heart who are writing novels this year. Stay tuned: Santa promised to send me Rudolph’s writing tips tomorrow.

Santa’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Rudolph’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Frosty’s Top 6 Writing Tips

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

• Oh! You better watch out,
  You better not cry,
  You better not pout,

  1. Instant Conflict. The characters are crying and pouting. Make sure your story has instant conflict.

• I’m telling you why:
  Santa Claus is coming to town!

  2. Plots. A Stranger comes to town. It is said that there are only two plots in the world. A character leaves home, or a stranger comes to town. This time it’s promised that the stranger will bring happiness and joy. But will he?

• He’s making a list,
  He’s checking it twice,
  He’s gonna find out
  who’s naughty or nice.
  Santa Claus is coming to town!

  3. Character Motivations. Are you checking your character’s motivations? You should know who is naughty or nice and especially why. No character should be totally one or the other. Soften villains and round out main characters by giving them a flaw.

• He sees you when you’re sleeping,
  He knows when you’re awake.
  He knows when you’ve been bad or good,
  So be good for goodness sake!

  4. Know your characters. You should know your character’s feelings, actions, morals. When s/he is admonished to be good, what would s/he do?

• So…You better watch out,
  You better not cry
  You better not pout,
  I’m telling you why.
  Santa Claus is coming to town.

  5. Endings. Make sure the story’s ending resolves the conflict you set up. Here, the song doesn’t resolve the conflict, so we have an unsettled feeling. Well, that’s probably OK. Christmas morning will tell the real tale. And it’s OK to leave the reader wanting a little bit more, as long as you resolve the inner conflict and leave the reader with hope.

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win