Did You Know...

Did you know that Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, takes 4 months just to get ideas for a new book?  Did you read that correctly? I said 4 months. 

The art and practice of idea generating and brainstorming is an often neglected skill, especially when taught in schools. 

Most of the time, students aren't even given a chance to brainstorm. They are usually given an organizer (a web, a four square, etc...) and are told this is the prewriting stage a.k.a. brainstorming. 

Unfortunately for the students, they were not given a chance to actually brainstorm.   They were given a web to organize their thoughts. And this is where the problem begins. How is it possible to organize something that doesn't exist? 

Can you imagine if Jeff Kinney was in an elementary class right now and his teacher told him to organize his thoughts into a box or a web?  First of all, he would receive an F or an N or a 0 for failure to complete the assignment. 

Because this assignment that should be completed in a very short time is taking him 4 months just to get ideas!

It's unacceptable in a school setting, but it's reality as a writer. 

I realize time is always an issue in education. We are always trying to "cover" material in a given amount of time. But we know covering isn't teaching and it would be nice if we could make school more real life based and not so artificial. 

If we could allow our students to brainstorm for 4 months, imagine the kind of award-winning writers they might become. 

And speaking of real life writing and taking time out of life just to brainstorm, it's my favorite time of the year again. PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) hosted by the amazing author Tara Lazar, a  girl who knows and values the time and process it takes to brainstorm. 

Everyday during the month of November Tara will have guest posts by incredible authors who will share their thoughts and ideas about brainstorming. This month of blog posts will inspire current and future writers, but it is also a wealth of information for teachers of writing. 

For more information check out www.piboidmo.com.