Writing a book blurb for your back cover, and other promotional uses, is one of the hardest steps for many authors. Use the power of books as a starting point for your students essays with these writing prompts on books. Students encounter different forms and functions of the use of blurbs. A book blurb should be a fair representation of the style of the book. Introduce the situation and characters in the case of a memoir, you are likely to be the main character. Click through for over journal writing prompts printable writing prompts. Once you do one, youll have what it takes to do the next one, and the next one after that.
Why wouldnt you ask a fellow board member who was also well known give you a blurb to help sell your book. How to write an effective blurb for a selfpublished book. Writing prompts and challenges to get you inspired. If youd prefer this to be solely writing prompts then drop a comment in the discussion area below, because i. In response to the 50 questions, learners will write a short quickwrite essay in a journal writing format. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb ink and quills. The air is filled with the smell of hot, buttered popcorn. Students will recall events from the story to answer a series of multiple choice, short answer, and matching questions.
The book was about raising children and ayers is an education expert. Your book blurb must be wellwritten to get a readers attention. When i started writing seriously, i found books of prompts invaluable in getting both my pen and my ideas flowing. One of my most popular blog posts is my 50 fantasy plot ideas and writing prompts, so i thought id share a companion post of sci fi story ideas and writing prompts. I highly recommend it if youre just starting out and wanting to make writing a daily practice. A blurb is defined as a short description of your book, written for promotional purposes and appearing on the back cover.
The holes writing workshop educators guide includes. Work by convincing readers to take a chance on it, or. A hammock is stretched between the two trees, and a log cabin stands behind that. A curse that began with his nogooddirtyrottenpigstealinggreatgreatgrandfather and has since followed generations of yelnatses. This product is also available in a power pack containing both journal prompts and quizzes. An easytofollow, practical guide to writing the best blurb to sell your selfpublished book, provided by ya author sarah juckes of completelynovel. There are goodies and baddies, and a touch of magic. Movies do this incredibly well in their trailers and descriptions, so it may be an idea to look at some popular movies and see how they do it. To help prevent you from falling into this unfortunate group, weve put together a few tips that should help you write a winning book blurb, whether its for the latest fantasy novel or for a nonfiction selfhelp guide.
Todays prompts are selected from the book 1200 creative writing prompts. A good story can transport the reader 500 years into the past or 5000 years into the future. The key is to start the journey toward the book you want to write or make. Holes is a wonderful story of a boy who goes through great lengths to help a friend in a difficult environment. Creating a book blurb, while still technically writing, is closer to a science than an art. I was thinking, and please let me know if you are against this idea, of actually posting some writing tips and tricks, and ways to improve the quality of your writing. This page contains printables that can be used for a literature study unit on the book holes, by louis sachar.
Holes reader response writing prompts teacher created. Chapter 3 stanleys father, an inventor, says, i learn from failure. Writing tagged writing prompts on getting my a back to writing 2 chapters updated may, 2015 06. Students compare and contrast the two main characters of the book holes. Creative writing prompts for movie lovers writing forward. If the first book you create isnt the book you know you have it in you to write or make, thats ok. Sometimes i use a book as a starting point the story could be used as a place to get an idea for writing. Some of these may be more along the lines of speculative fiction than science fiction. Read a ton of blurbs, especially blurbs from successful books in your book genre. This printable file has 20 cards to use for vocabulary practice for chapters 4350 of the book, holes. Now stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys detention center, camp green lake, where the boys build character by spending all day. You know, the ones that readers use to choose the book they want to read next or throw on the pile beside the bed where, among the. That definition sucks all the life out of the word, though. If you love to read, at some point you will want to share a book you love with others.
The blurb should be in the same style as the rest of the book, for example. Scratch out written for promotional purposes and substitute written to seize the prospective readers attention and imbed an irresistible desire to. The unique journal design allows pages to lay open flat, making them easier to write in. On taking up writing it had not once occurred to me that one of the tasks of being a writer might be to come up with those concise, quippy phrases on the covers of books.
This short video is brought to you by publishnation. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb ink and. Trials need to be faced and problems overcome, before old wrongs can be righted, and good can triumph over evil. But as writers behind the scenes, its difficult to dream up new and innovative ways of subverting readers expectations. Holes is a modern, pageturning adventure, which has the feel of a fairy tale. But fear not, because theres a secret science to writing the perfect book blurb. After reading holes, use these questions to start a discussion with your students about the book. Other writing prompts sad writing skills english vocabulary. This worksheet has questions about stanleys first experiences at camp green lake. Holes is a 1998 young adults novel written by louis sachar. She is the publisher of the hot sheet, the essential newsletter on the publishing industry for authors, and was named publishing commentator of the year by digital book world in 2019 in addition to being a. In this post, we tell you how to write a book blurb in five easy steps. Great ideas to write a blurb that works for your book. Holes journal quickwrite writing prompts louis sachar.
Writing it out fortunately for the fiction writers out there, writing a book blurb for a memoir is incredibly similar to writing a description for a fictional story. In that sense, a good blurb is anything but subjective. Writing a blurb lesson plan is suitable for 6th 12th grade. Out on the lake, rattlesnakes and scorpions find shade under rocks and in the holes dug by the campers. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb ink and quills when writing, its important that everything you include serves a purpose. Download and print reading comprehension questions, vocabulary activities, bookmarks, and puzzles to use with the book. To write a good blurb, you have to make it short and exciting, yet relevant. Holes writing workshop educators guide walden media. You should have the following goals and ideas in mind. No matter what youre reading, someone wants to know your opinion. Make sure you supply me with a general synopsis as well. You can also use any of these questions as writing prompts. Various writing prompts, which require students to make connections, are provided.
New plots are added each week and you can sort by genre, depending on whether youre writing fantasy, romance, scifi, mystery, or drama. They include prompts about the environment, artificial intelligence, genetics, medicine, time travel, space exploration, alien. Be sure to check for spelling and use proper capitalization and punctuation. Theres nothing quite like sitting with a room full of strangers in a darkened movie theater. See more ideas about writing, writing a book, nonfiction books. The occult art of the poetry book blurb rachael mead. This was the first book i used consistently and it was so helpful. In what ways is the saying you cant judge a book by its cover a good one for this story.
This book addresses ways to teach writing effectively and provides stepbystep recommendations for creating successful writing programs in. Being able to write a good blurb for your book is an important skill to have, whether its for your website, a query to an editor or agent, or for your selfpublishing book. Tell which character is speaking for each quotation from the book. Writing on a variety of topics 50 topics in total can help to improve your students imagination, creativity, reading skills, vocabulary and comprehension. Getting engrossed in a compelling book is one of the greatest experiences anyone can have. You may already do this by talking about books with friends. Feel free to read a professionally written summary example of this book below. The board they served on together dealt with educational grants. Its safe to say that a wellwritten blurb is absolutely essential to your poetry books overall success and reputation. Your blurb will be an important part of your marketing.
Writing a book blurb is harder than you think, and is an excellent way of getting yourself noticed. As readers, were used to devouring mindblowing twists and turns, marvelling at the cleverness of the writers who devised them. Jun 12, 2015 the back cover book blurb can be the hardest part as an author condensing your book into a few, short paragraphs in a way that makes your book impossible to overlook. How to write a book blurb in 4 steps the opening of your blurb has to be incredibly precise and dynamic, says editor rebecca heyman. A simple outline for writing a killer book blurb september 25, 2016 september 25, 2016 kaitlin hillerich in my last post, i mentioned that ive been working on a novella and shared some reasons why you should write one of your own.
In publishing lots of people give blurbs and they dont even know each other at all. How is it that a writer can write a story spanning tens of thousands of words but stumble at a 250300 word book blurb describing it. The blurb that appears on the back cover of your book, and on your amazon page, will either. An easy threestep approach to prepare for the workshop an agenda. Like i said earlier, if you cant catch interest with the opener, your reader likely wont finish reading the blurb. For a lot of firsttime authors, i think theres an instinct to make sure readers understand everything that happened in the books universe before the beginning of the actual story. Picture books that inspire student writing scholastic. An so i thought of this idea randomly, i figured that it might make a good writing prompts. Respond to the following questions or prompts by writing 35 complete sentences. After students have decorated their writing notebooks with personal pictures, stickers, drawing, and more see my post about setting up writers notebooks, i turn to picture books to guide my first few lessons. In this holes lesson, students analyze the qualities of a hero.