Katie Wood Ray

          One of my favorite "bibles" when it comes to teaching creative writing is Wondrous Words.  It's one of those books that changes the way you teach writing. 
     
        
         Teaching students to read like writers is crucial.  They need to examine what different writers do...Why do they use a sentence fragment in a particular spot?  Why do they use personification?  Why did they write a long sentence full of so many details and verbs and emotions that by the time you got to the end of the sentence you were out of breath? 
       
         As they read their favorite authors, they notice things that the author does (and none of it is new stuff) and they try to determine why the writer wrote it that way.  Then, of course, they try the same technique...
      
          Below is the link to an 11-minute video by Katie Wood Ray.  In it, she is asked some questions by a student and discusses reading like a writer,  where writing ideas come from,  how a writer-mentor is chosen, the importance of reading aloud what you've written and writing activities.  This video could be shown to teachers as well as middle school and high school students.

Katie Wood Ray Video---The Author In You