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Author Archives: knlistman
Nothing New under the Sun
There have been authors for many millennia and the tools that they use have changed—from painting on stones, to drawing on animal skin, to writing with ink on paper, to using block prints and printing presses and we have electronic … Continue reading
The First Steps of an Endless Journey
At times I become frustrated with aspiring young authors. They may ask questions such as ”I have this cool idea about a boy that can fly; how do I write the story?” Or they beg for even more help. “I … Continue reading
When Writing is a Race
I’ve always envied authors who write quickly. Many of them pull ideas from their own life. Sometimes, when I finish reading a good novel I feel like I’ve met some of the characters, because the author has actually met the … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Psychology, Teaching writing skills, Writer's resource
Tagged writing rapidly
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Whose Needs to Be Involved in Reading Curriculum?
Parents, children and school personnel all need to be involved reviewing books for the literature curriculum. I’ll tell you why. In sixth they had us read the Iliad and I wasn’t getting it. I asked my mom to read it to … Continue reading
Choice
Ninth grade literature class–I was not aware that I had been chosen for the class of only twelve students. We read a few short stories in common and discussed them. The lengthier novels we selected for ourselves and read them … Continue reading
Crime and picture books
At the library my five-year-old son pulled out a beautifully illustrated book of an old steam train. He had ridden in a few that still run for tourists. It was the kind of activity we did as a family, and … Continue reading
Posted in Censorship, Literature, Trends in books, Writer's resource
Tagged banned books, Censorship, violence in picture books
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How Much Do You Know about Banned Books?
The banning of books has gained a lot of notoriety recently. The image that pops into most people’s mind is a scene from Fahrenheit 451 in which books are torched in a flaming show of destruction. This has occurred in … Continue reading
Posted in Censorship, Education trends
Tagged banned books, challenged books, curriculum
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What limits should side characters have?
Most people are at least vaguely familiar with Anna Karenina if they know anything about Russian literature. Perhaps they have seen one of the movies made from this famous novel. I even discussed this book with a student who had … Continue reading
How likeable does a character have to be?
We often hear it is absolutely necessary for your protagonist to be likable. I take this advice not just with a grain of salt but with a huge chunk of sodium chloride. One of my very dislikable characters (according to … Continue reading
Researching memorable characters
What makes a character memorable? There is no one clear cut answer and even much debate over which ones have that quality. I have researched a number of lists, particularly for characters from novels written in the 20th century. After … Continue reading
Posted in Characters, Creativity, Literature, Trends in books
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