Tap into your inner writer with this book of practical advice by the bestselling author of How Writers Work and the ALA Notable Book Fig Pudding. Writers are just like everyone else—except for one big difference. Most people go through life experiencing daily thoughts and feelings, noticing and observing the world around them. But writers record these thoughts and observations. They react. And they need a special place to record those reactions. Perfect for classrooms, A Writer’s Notebook gives budding writers a place to keep track of all the little things they notice every day. Young writers will love these useful tips for how to use notes and jottings to create stories and poems of their own.

Presents tips for elementary and middle school teachers on how to use writing notebooks to help students develop skills and habits associated with good writing.

Even award-winning writers begin with notes scrawled on the backs of old bills, on hotel stationery, and in spiral-bound notebooks. These humble beginnings are often awkward, halting, and unliterary. And they are usually kept private. Here sixteen acclaimed contemporary writers open their notebooks to reveal the first stages of their creative process.

A highly motivating guided journal for writers of all experience-levels to plan their story. Part blank journal, part guided story planner, writers can customize their notes, and use the guided sections to work on plot, characters, and publishing goals. A flexible journal for getting ideas on paper for any type of story.

This beautiful notebook, illustrated by the author's own paintings, provides the perfect opportunity for would-be writers, as well as those seeking a fresh approach to their work, to learn simple techniques that will help them master the basics of the craft. Inspired by the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, the book provides a complete step-by-step mini-course on how to write clearly and powerfully. Abundant lined pages can be used for writing practice.

Personal reflections on the vital role of the notebook in creative writing, from Dorianne Laux, Sue Grafton, John Dufresne, Kyoko Mori, and more. This collection of essays by established professional writers explores how their notebooks serve as their studios and workshops—places to collect, to play, and to make new discoveries with language, passions, and curiosities. For these diverse writers, the journal also serves as an ideal forum to develop their writing voice, whether crafting fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Some include sample journal entries that have since developed into published pieces. Through their individual approaches to keeping a notebook, the contributors offer valuable advice, personal recollections, and a hearty endorsement of the value of using notebooks to document, develop, and nurture a writer’s creative spark.

Writer's notebooks can be powerful assets for any writing teacher. They provide a high-comfort, "hot-house" environment where students' writing can flourish. Lessons for the Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi provides a series of proven lessons that will help you introduce the writer's notebook into your classroom, sustain it in your curriculum, and eventually guide students to transition from the privacy of the notebook to public, finished pieces of writing. Whether used as a stand-alone resource in your literacy block, or as an alternative launch cycle in your Teaching the Qualities of Writing (TQW) curriculum, Lessons for the Writer's Notebook will inspire your students to pick up a pen and imagine the writing possibilities. Lessons for the Writer's Notebook includes: Lesson Cards 20 ready-to-use lessons exemplar text graphic organizers Author Chats CD quick audio clips from Ralph explain how he uses his writer's notebook Teacher's Guide Notebook's philosophy planning charts teaching tips Lessons for the Writer's Notebook and Teaching the Qualities of Writing (TQW) While Lessons for the Writers Notebook will support any writing curriculum, it is ideally suited to reinforce and extend Portalupi and Fletcher's Teaching the Qualities of Writing (TQW). Mirroring the approach and three-part lesson structure of TQW's ready-to-use lessons, the Lessons for the Writer's Notebook offers an alternative launch cycle for introducing your TQW curriculum. Together, Notebook and TQW will improve the quality of your students' writing while it develops your ability to read and assess their work.