Students need to develop five kinds of knowledge to be successful in any kind of specific reading or writing task. These kinds of knowledge can be developed through five different kinds of composing that lead to deep understanding of how texts are constructed with specific content to create particular effects and meaning. Following this process…

Jane Yolen, the award-winning author of over 300 books, shares her writing process and invites us to understand the differences between writing for picture books, writing narratives, and collaborating on a graphic novel, as she experienced while writing her first graphic novel Foiled. The relationship between the illustrations and the text is…

In the summer of 2009, this author devised a Saturday program with an emphasis on writing for publication targeting three students as his nucleus. One of the students, Mariano, was the only one of the three to accept the invitation. This was a strong indication of his passion for writing. Thus, three weeks before school began, the author and…

The Change Writers project was born in the Title I schools of Elk Grove, California, when Gail Desler, a technology integration specialist, became motivated to open up the district's mandated "Open Court" curriculum to better serve intermediate-grade students. Through writing, technology, and imagination, a larger conversation was…

Growing up in Flemington, New Jersey, put Jen Bryant in the heart of the lore behind the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Family stories of the events of the day and extensive research led to "The Trial," a novel in verse. The first several parts of this novel are included here.

Morgenroth recognizes the isolation writers must endure, as well as the fickleness of the process by which words flow onto a page. She has found that, for her, every book emerges through a slightly different process. We can only conclude that whatever she does, works. The chapter of "Jude" that follows proves it.

Describes the author's experience with editor rejection and acceptance. Discusses how he incorporates his experience with dog sledding into his work as a writer. (SC)

Joy is the inspiration for this Young Adult (YA) author who admits that life isn't without its angst, as well. But life, she says, is a fascinating continuum, and living life fully is bound to take us to several points along its path. An excerpt from "Fat Kid Rules the World" pulls us into one such journey.

Losing a job is an awfully low point--until it turns into the opportunity to pursue writing full time, and a book like "The Five Ancestors: Tiger" results. Jeff Stone looks back to his own experience as a young reader and taps that experience to help frame his own writing. An intriguing snapshot of his new book follows.

Hayes recognizes the value of connections kids make when authors and settings strike a familiar note. She invites readers to participate in a new event at this year's NCTE Annual Convention in New York City: The 21st-Century Literary Map Project gallery, where attendees are encouraged to examine affiliates' literary maps, see digital or…

Describes how the author's life has been one long adventure with language, and how the distinction between reading and writing blurs into a continuum of words, images, and ideas. Describes his first ventures towards reading, which began by engaging in the spoken word with his mother. Describes his writing processes, and the six-part story form he…

The author of "Candy" talks about the reality that a book is only paper until someone has read it and responded to it emotionally. "When I write a book it's alive in my head, but it only really comes alive when it finds a life in someone else's head." His essay is followed by a chapter from "Candy."

Just watch your characters and tell the story of what they're thinking and doing. It sounds easy, but Adoff confides that he becomes attached to his characters in the process of living in their heads, and sometimes awakens wondering if they're okay. It's that level of intimate storytelling that he hopes will connect with readers, allowing them to…

"[Teen literature] is the only genre of writing that is connected not by theme or style, but by an emotional stage of the reader and characters that populate the stories." Brian James embraces the complexity and unpredictability of his teen characters in hopes that readers will discover something about themselves in a confusing time of life. We…

Corrigan remembers well the angst and conflict of adolescence, as well as how important the right book at the right time could be in helping kids understand themselves and others. That ability to identify closely with teens permeates her story in verse, "Splintering," several verses of which are included here.