COPY writing writers&quitters. There’s only two types of writers Good writers and quitters.

COPYCOPYwritingwriting

writers writers & &

quittersquitters

There’s only two There’s only two types types

of writersof writers

• Good writers and quitters

There’s only two There’s only two types types

of writersof writers

• Good writers and quitters

• A few hints to move to good before they quit

No one reads our copy.

I mean, who likes all those words?

Our stories are so boring.

We’d rather have pictures than that boring stuff.

No one reads our copy.

Our stories are so boring.

I mean, who likes all those words?

We’d rather have pictures than that boring stuff.

Art students do pottery, drawing and painting.

“I took art because I like to draw,” art student Alexis

Hernandez revealed.

Some students think art is fun.

“I think art is fun,” Alexis added.



Hernandez revealed.



Why isn’t this a story?

Yearbook copy = StoriesYearbook copy = Stories

The stories have characters

(who)

She wears pink socks with hearts on them and a shirt

that reads, "When things get tough, I go to Grandma's."

He wears faded blue jeans and sneakers, has tattoos

on his arms and braces on his teeth.

She's pretty in a no-makeup sort of way. He's

handsome in an unmade bed sort of way.

She attends an arts school, spends her days painting,

writing, dancing. He dropped out of school in ninth grade, has

no job and spends a lot of time skateboarding.

"I'm a loser," he says.

(who)


The stories have settings

(where)

Thousands of drivers pass over the cross every day.

They never see it.

It stands under the westbound lanes of the Gandy

Bridge, clinging to the edge of Pinellas County.

It rises out of the sandy soil near the seawall and

catches the light of sunrise and sunset. But mostly it dwells in

the cool, dark, lonely shade.

(where)


The stories have plot.

(what)

The two men play deliberately, studying each move,

jumping each other.

Wilber acts on instinct. Arthur rubs his chin and

ponders. The only sound, other than passing cars and men

laughing outside the Cat Island Grill, are the old plastic

checkers, red and black, sliding across the table.

First one to five games wins. It's tied, 4 to 4.

The last game passes slowly. Wilber plays quickly,

then strokes his gray beard while Arthur ponders.

The checkers slide back and forth, clinking against the

tabletop with each jump, until only a few remain.

(what)


The stories have chronology.

(when)

He missed Cheyenne's first steps.

Missed her first Thanksgiving. First Christmas. First tooth.

Just the other day, he missed her learning how to slurp

spaghetti.

He hasn't held her in six months, hasn't watched her play

with her favorite toy shopping cart. He hasn't heard her cry in the

middle of the night or giggle in her crib beside the bed he shared

with his wife, Cheyenne's mother.

"I've missed everything," he says.

He has measured his daughter's life in hourlong visits,

twice a week. They meet in this drab concrete block room,

separated always by a thick sheet of glass.

(when)


The characters have motivation.

(why)

The few drivers on this dark, lonely stretch of the Suncoast

Parkway in Pasco County pull up to the toll booth, hand their

dollars to Lloyd Blair and then speed away. None of them knows

why the old man sits here, night after night, working the graveyard

shift.

Well, here's why:

Because years ago, on a freezing winter night at a party in

Queens, N.Y., he met a woman named Millie.

Because he fell in love with her brown hair and wide eyes

and 100-watt smile.

Because they got married, moved to Staten Island, had a

son and worked for decades in Manhattan; she as an accountant,

he as a banker.

These are stories.They appeared in

the St. Petersburg Times.They were written by

BRADY DENNIS.

They were only 300 words long.

Go to www.sptimes.com

to read all 300 words.



Hernandez revealed.



So, why isn’t this a story?

It doesn’t have character, setting, plot, chronology or motivation.

Alexis Hernandez tucked the unruly wisp of hair back into

place with her mud-caked hands. She had battled with her

bangs for the last 30 minutes as her bowl took shape on the

pottery wheel.

“Anybody got like a clippie?” Alexis said to no one in

particular in her Art I class third period.

Her feet kept the wheel in a steady rotation with

alternating tapping as the bowl became rounder and rounder.

“My grandmama will love this bowl,” Alexis said. “It has to

be like absolutely awesome.”

Do you see Alexis at the pottery wheel?

Do you see the hair falling in her eyes?

Do you see her hands?

Do you hear her voice?

Do you see her feet?

So, maybe they like stories, just not boring ones.

Story ChecklistStory Checklist

Sensory descriptions. Strong verbs. Specific nouns. Active voice. Anecdotes.

COPY writing writers&quitters. There’s only two types of writers Good writers and quitters.

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