by Ralph Fletcher
I read Live Writing about five years ago and didn't get much out of it. I must not have been ready for what the book had to offer because I just reread it and found so much useful information. In the book, Ralph Fletcher actually mentions that you should reread the book over and over. I probably laughed the first time I read that passage, but now I totally agree. When I read it again, that's when, not if, I know I'll pick up new ideas to improve my writing instruction
I'm not sure if this book is written for students or for teachers. Either way, it will help all of us become better narrative, personal or fiction, and poetry writers. While it never mentions the 6 Traits, it covers all of them. It hits ideas and organization in multiple chapters. It covers voice, word choice and sentence fluency in individual chapters.
Live Writing doesn't contain any mini-lessons but as you read it, mini-lessons pop out at you. "Leads: Breaking the Ice" inspired me to come up with three solid lessons on leads. "The End: Getting the Last Word" helped me figure out what I need to teach about endings. Finally, "Conflict: Here Comes Trouble" showed me what I needed to show my students about problems in narrative stories.
Please read this book if you haven't read it before. If you were like me, and read it a while ago, read it again. First time and repeat readers are bound to gain insight into their writing instruction.
Published: 1999
Location: Amazon
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