One of my 8th graders was thrilled he only got a 3rd place ribbon, because that meant his project would not have to be lugged to the local, city-wide science fair. I know. A middle-schooler who's reluctant to shine in the academic limelight? How odd she said, sarcastically.
One of the 5th graders, on the other hand, was thrilled with his 2nd place ribbon. His mom came to check out the projects, and he proudly showed off his work.
Last year I only worked with the 6th-8th graders. This year I'm working with the 4th-8th graders. The work I did with the 4th-5th grade teacher this year was not as seamless as I would have liked. Next year, we'll begin our expository writing early--way earlier than the official science fair project work. The students will choose a general topic and then will do the research and writing work so that when they begin their science fair project, the hard part (for most of them) will already be finished.
Lessons learned... always a good thing.
And now onto back-of-the-book blurb business. Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book. You choose the genre. Is it a coffee table book of fashion trends? Is it a photo collection of mentally-ill patients and their clothing choices? You decide.
Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Blurbs are those enticing bits that prod you into buying the book. Sometimes they're on the back cover of the book. Sometimes they're on the inside front cover. What they always try to do is lure you into purchasing the book.
Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this writing challenge. She moved to Florida, and is too busy to host a weekly book blurb. If you'd like to read my review of The Write Man, Lisa's most recent novel, you read it here. Lisa nudged me into reading her first romance novel... and then I gladly read two more of her books, which is monumental, because I despise romance novels. However, Lisa Ricard Claro's writing is so engaging, she hooks me. To follow Sally Field's example, I like her... I really, really like her (and her writing).
Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. Also, link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is. And then, check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.
Darryl's Dollies
Some snarked about Darryl's clothing. He dressed in polyester dress pants, a ruffly tux shirt and high-top tennis shoes--wherever he went.
Some townies talked more about his behavior. Darryl's mouth's always moving. He never stopped talking. Newcomers erroneously thought there was one of those blue tooth devices hooked around his ear and that he was talking on the phone to somebody. Not so. Darryl's best audience was Darryl himself.
But if people were invited to Darryl's for dinner, it was the dolls that did them in.
They were everywhere. Many were perched on shelves, standing ramrod straight, permanently awestruck--eyes wide open--with happy smiles plastered on their porcelain faces. Dolls seated in miniature rocking chairs. Dolls lined up like soldiers along the walls, standing at attention on the floor.
What's with all the dolls? Are they memorializing Darryl's mom?
Darryl's neighbors plan an intervention to get to the bottom of things... (150 words)
And since I'm trying to get back into posting twice a week, here is the photo that will be the cover for the basis for the next back-of-the-book blurb:
