Foreword xv

Acknowledgments xvii

The Authors xix

The Contributors xxiii

Lesson Plans

1 Details (golden), Character (immortal), and Setting (rural India) 1
by dave eggers

In this three-part lesson, students learn to draw details from real life to create unforgettable characters and compelling stories

2 Literary Facebooks 7
by kathryn riddle

Curious what Elizabeth Bennet’s, Harry Potter’s, Bella Swan’s, or Percy Jackson’s Facebook profile would look like? In this workshop, students create a mock Facebook profi le based on their favorite literary character

3 Suburban Epics 10
by tom perrotta

The author of Little Children and Election shares his tips for finding inspiration in your own neighborhood

4 Busted 12
by william john bert

Writing about the time you didn’t get away with it

5 How to Write Science Fiction 15
by cory doctorow

The Nebula Award–nominated author shares his tips for crafting fascinating science fiction

6 Writing From Experience 18
by stephen elliott

Students learn to transform their own life events into compelling fiction from an author who’s mastered the art

7 Too Much Money! An Ethical Writing Experience In 10 Easy Steps 20
by louanne johnson

This lesson introduces students to the benefits of journaling, using an ethical conundrum to keep them invested and involved

8 The Talk Show Circuit 23
by ellie kemper
The Offi ce actor shows how to use the talk show format to practice the elements of good storytelling

9 The First Draft Is My Enemy: Revisions 26
by sarah vowell

You spend hours grading papers You give great feedback You offer tons of suggestions to improve the piece—and then you never see it again A favorite essayist shows you how to put all that work to good use

10 See You Again Yesterday: Playing with Time 29
by audrey niffenegger

The author of The Time Traveler’s Wife shares her tips for working with tricky time lines

11 Look Smart Fast: College Application Essay Boot Camp 35
by risa nye

A college admissions reader outlines the dos and don’ts of great application essays

12 Writing About Painful Things 39
by phoebe gloeckner

The author of Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures walks students through the difficult but redemptive process of writing about pain

13 Mutant Shakespeare 42
by kyle booten

Reading Shakespeare is hard Lucky for us, we won’t be reading Shakespeare We will take him apart and put him back together the wrong way We will lose some of his pieces This class assumes that one good way to understand something is to see how it could be different

14 How to Write a One-person Show About a Historical Figure 45
by kristen schaal
The Daily Show correspondent and actor shows us how to research and write a great play about a real person

15 Writing for Gamers 47
by tom bissell

The author of Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter leads a lesson on narrativity and video games

16 Humor Writing: An Exercise in Alchemy 49
by dan kennedy

This is the lesson plan to engage the bored, disinterested students rolling their eyes in the back row A humor author shares writing prompts that are pretty much guaranteed to provoke great material

17 On Pining: Write a Verse to Make Them Stay 54
by thao nguyen

An indie musician leads a workshop on writing the words that make those you miss come back

18 Adding Insult to Poetry 56
by nicholas decoulos

Anyone can say, “Same to you, buddy!” In this class students learn why it’s not wise to cross a poet

19 Bad Writing 58
by neal pollack

This inventive lesson by a noted writer and satirist shows you how to do it right by trying to do it wrong

20 Where Stories Come From 61
by julie orringer

The thought of writing a short story from scratch can be so daunting An author shares her secret: don’t start from scratch Find inspiration in art, news, and real-life events

21 Word Karaoke 63
by matthue roth

In this highly engaging lesson, a slam poet and author invites students to do “cover” versions of other writers’ work—like hip-hop sampling— to create fresh new poems

22 Tall Tales and Short Stories 66
by steve almond

The assignment to write fiction can feel like an overwhelming mandate This exercise turns that mandate into play Students are asked to tell the best lie they can Suddenly, it’s a short story

23 Welcome to the Funhouse: Writing Funny Scenes 68
by mark o’donnell

The Tony-winning author of Hairspray shares 12 weeks of funny scenewriting ideas

24 Voicemails From My Future Self 74
by mark sipowicz

In this workshop students creatively expand and explore their sense of who they are by thinking about their futures The workshop culminates with an audio-recorded “voicemail” from each student’s future self

25 How Short Is Short? 77
by vendela vida

This is storytelling distilled down to its purest essence An author shows students how to write a story in 20 minutes or less

26 Comic Composition Challenge! 79
by steven weissman and jordan crane

Two professional cartoonists challenge students in a fast-paced, highly entertaining comic-strip-writing game

27 My Boring Life 82
by micah pilkington

Everyone thinks his or her life is boring This class proves that it’s actually full of great stories

28 Colonel Mustard in the Library with A Candlestick: How to Write a Mystery 84
by julianne balmain

Mystery writing solved! A mystery author shares her secrets

29 Creating Characters 88
by jonathan ames

A novelist shares his techniques for creating memorable, well-rounded characters and offers exercises to help students hone their skills

30 High School Confidential: How to Write A Young-adult Novel 90
by matthue roth

A young-adult author helps students write modern comedies of Manners

31 Get Your Haiku on 93
by daphne gottlieb

This very modern take on the ancient classic invites students to borrow from hip-hop and pop culture to create one-of-a-kind haiku

32 the Essay 95
by meghan daum

Essays don’t have to be boring They can be as exciting as fiction, as moving as poetry Here, an acclaimed essayist shares her essay-writing tips

33 The Story of Me: Writing About Your Life And Your Family 99
by jason roberts

You don’t have to be old or famous to write your life story This class invites you to trace how your family and experiences have shaped who you are today

34 Meet Your Protagonist! 101
by ryan harty

An author teaches students to create well-rounded characters that readers really care about

35 All Witnesses Eventually Die: Embarrassing Stories 104
by erika lopez

In comic panel form, an author and graphic novelist shares her tips for turning your mortifying experiences into good reading

36 Wicked Style and How to Get It 106
by micah pilkington

Students always tell us they want to develop a unique voice, a literary style all their own This class helps them find it

37 President Takes Martian Bride: Writing Tabloid Fiction 108
by alvin orloff

Tabloids might not be high literature, but they’re awfully fun to read— and even more fun to write In this off beat lesson, an author encourages wild storytelling and out-there stories that, we promise, will be really, really fun to grade

38 Lying for Fun and Profit 111
by emily katz

Good lies are a lot like good literature This class helps students turn falsehoods into fiction

39 This Class Sucks 114
by kazz regelman and andrew strickman

Students learn the basics of criticism by reviewing everything from CDs to cookies

40 Screenwriting 117
by noah hawley

A professional screenwriter shares his secrets, and invites the class to go Hollywood by practicing their story-pitching skills

41 How to Write a Ghost Story 120
by lisa brown and adele griffin

Two professional ghost story writers share their scariest tips

42 826 Unplugged: Songwriting 125
by chris perdue

The whole class collaborates to pen a guaranteed hit No musical experience necessary

43 Sportswriting: the Life 127
by sam silverstein and jason turbow

Two professional sportswriters share their expertise

44 How to Write a Fan Letter Without Getting a Restraining Order 129
by lisa lutz

A young-adult author and self-confessed superfan shares her letterwriting tips

45 Exquisite Story Lines 133
by jeremy wilson and kait steele

This lesson adapts the Exquisite Corpse poetry technique for short fiction

46 Soul Prowlers: the Art of Writing Newspaper Profiles 135
by rona marech

Ordinary-seeming people can have extraordinary, heroic stories—it just takes curiosity and the will to excavate them In this class, students learn how to identify good subjects, conduct interviews, find inspiration in the details of a life, and write compelling stories about both regular and famous people

47 Homestyle: Writing About the Place Where You Live 138
by tom molanphy

This lesson teaches students to see home in a fresh way, to walk through doors and open windows they never noticed, and to find the stories that home holds

48 Agitate! Propagandize! 141
by julius diaz panoriñgan

Sometimes a clear, convincing argument isn’t enough You need to stir things up just a bit so that people pay attention and you can get your message across, whatever that is In this workshop, students craft propaganda—speeches, pamphlets, and posters—all of it hard-hitting

49 Tasty Medicine for Writer’s Block: Mindful Writing Exercises 144
by brad wolfe and rebecca stern

From the editors of Essays for a New Generation, an anthology of essays for young readers, come these techniques for writing mindfully

50 High School Ink: Getting Published 147
by lara zielin

An author of young - adult fiction shares her tips on getting your work out there

Appendix

Evaluation Rubrics 154

Self-assessment Checklists 156

Common Core Curriculum Standards 160

826 Centers and Staff 209

Don't Forget to Write for the Secondary Grades contains:

• A treasure trove of proven, field-tested lessons

• Lessons that are adaptable for all grade levels

• Tips to keep supplies and prep to a minimum

• Evaluation rubrics to guide grading

• Maps to the Common Core Standards

The book's activities are based on proven pedagogy that can help students develop the skills to organize their ideas, craft their arguments, revise their work, state their points of view, peer-edit a friend's work, and generally learn an awful lot about the hard work and craft of writing.

826 National is a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization with locations in eight cities across the country. Our goal is to assist students ages 6 to 18 with their writing skills, and to help teachers get their classes excited about writing. Our work is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. Jennifer Traig is the author of the memoirs Devil in the Details and Well Enough Alone, and the editor of The Autobiographer's Handbook.

Praise for Don't Forget to Write

"There is a revolutionary movement afoot. We strike soon. Our goal is to take over the world and make it much more interesting. These are the plans right here. Take them and spread the word."
—Lemony Snicket, author of A Series Of Unfortunate Events and other dreadful books

"We cannot click our fingers for inspiration but turning to Don't Forget To Write might be the next best thing. These simple lesson plans are fun, clever, and relevant to our students. This is a valuable resource in encouraging young people to explore the creative writing process. The book is an essential part of my teaching."
—Koye Oyedeji, creative writing instructor, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington D.C.

"I'm excited to see yet another unconventionally brilliant development from 826 on the craft of teaching creative writing. 826 has proved, over and over, that a sense of humor and the ability to laugh while writing will produce astonishing results."
—Judd Apatow, film producer, screenwriter, and director