tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post4618005067861906989..comments2023-06-20T06:22:38.967-07:00Comments on Eileen Astels <em>-- Writing Faithful Romances To Grow With</em>: Writing PyramidEileen Astels Watsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11098531184044931737noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-45692892262968646502010-02-26T17:16:54.435-08:002010-02-26T17:16:54.435-08:00Grammar is the foundation of good writing. Knowing...Grammar is the foundation of good writing. Knowing the basics of written language frees you to create. Dancers learn rudimentary steps, singers scales. Writers learn grammar. In order to communicate effectively, you need to understand how language works.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.workfromhomeindia.biz" rel="nofollow"> Work from home India </a>kanishkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13651620533023202224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-40961241197600772772010-02-24T16:49:41.481-08:002010-02-24T16:49:41.481-08:00Hi Eileen, Just checking in. You've been on my...Hi Eileen, Just checking in. You've been on my mind and I just wanted to say I'm thinking of you:) Praying your reading and writing and equestrian stuff is going wonderfully well!Laura Frantzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07067252948999879024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-55188282641690942062010-02-24T10:55:14.676-08:002010-02-24T10:55:14.676-08:00Sigmund is one of my favourite authors and teacher...Sigmund is one of my favourite authors and teachers - lucky you getting to hear his talk! I like his advice about the pyramid, even though I'm one of those editors who gets stuck on grammar. :)Bonnie Way aka the Koala Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11601183003333359031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-62874772801539586852010-02-24T10:22:22.735-08:002010-02-24T10:22:22.735-08:00♥♥Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-22445944808565446062010-02-23T11:06:16.994-08:002010-02-23T11:06:16.994-08:00This makes sense.
I think the best way for anyon...This makes sense. <br /><br />I think the best way for anyone to start a story is to let go of the rules and letting the story (characters) speak for themselves.Kathryn Hupp-Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03776391661543060879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-19479594715722396332010-02-23T06:59:31.840-08:002010-02-23T06:59:31.840-08:00What a great event to have at your church! What a ...What a great event to have at your church! What a blessing for the kids...and parents! His advice taught me a thing or two as well. I never thought to break writing up into more discreet steps.KelliGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00261710060954867880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-43356152897130956922010-02-22T11:41:20.187-08:002010-02-22T11:41:20.187-08:00Excellent advice! I can imagine that a child woul...Excellent advice! I can imagine that a child would quickly grow tired of story writing if they had to go through the same editing process we do!Lillian Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13488638666900705015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-51069139786478489892010-02-22T08:40:17.778-08:002010-02-22T08:40:17.778-08:00Great advice! As I go forward with my kids, I shal...Great advice! As I go forward with my kids, I shall keep it in mind. With my oldest, her creativity is expressed through music, and I'm in no way qualified to critique that, so no troubles there ;)Georgiana Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08148430180111786272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-45695936890569440412010-02-22T05:57:00.842-08:002010-02-22T05:57:00.842-08:00This is a wonderful post. I sometimes get down mys...This is a wonderful post. I sometimes get down myself when I am critiqued...but I forget that between the red, my story still makes people happy. I'm an English major and even I struggle with grammer!<br /><br />Hooray for kids who write! May we all have a childlike heart when writing.Besshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08397116071436885635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-68604643381542070682010-02-22T05:22:05.058-08:002010-02-22T05:22:05.058-08:00I made the mistake of editing my 8yo's work. H...I made the mistake of editing my 8yo's work. He wrote a story that had zero punctuation and I could barely read it. I hope I didn't discourage him.Mary E Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13119298615414367828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-75114547636880525832010-02-21T22:58:47.668-08:002010-02-21T22:58:47.668-08:00Excellent suggestions for writing! These comments ...Excellent suggestions for writing! These comments also work well for speaking/preaching. This is good overview Eileen, thank you.Warren Baldwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956713921509659993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-14287970933446334762010-02-19T13:47:15.168-08:002010-02-19T13:47:15.168-08:00I love this advice and I think it's good for a...I love this advice and I think it's good for adults too! I have the hardest time writing outside of editor mode long enough to keep the creative juices flowing.Clementinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08745982305618408952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-41820897148289403622010-02-19T13:27:03.342-08:002010-02-19T13:27:03.342-08:00Eileen,
I don't have any children, but I do th...Eileen,<br />I don't have any children, but I do think that the author's advice is spon on too! I've got a younger brother who's an artist and I tell him all the time to enjoy creating whatever it is that comes to his mind, isn't that what art is about?About Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10011023963327391019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-87603950612332796332010-02-19T12:46:09.661-08:002010-02-19T12:46:09.661-08:00As an author and creative writing teacher, I appre...As an author and creative writing teacher, I appreciated this fresh reminder to focus on the content first rather than the mechanics. I'm one of those weirdo women who actually LIKES grammar! To me, deciphering the best grammatical technique is like playing a detective game. However, when it comes to my own writing, I need the encouragement to get the story out of my head and not worry about every little grammatical infraction as I go along. Guess that's par for the course when you're obsessive compulsive. :)Thanks for this post, Eileen. From another Eileen (Rife), author of RESTORED HEARTS www.eileenrife.comEileen Rifehttp://www.eileenrife.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-81886239102295363372010-02-18T08:00:02.929-08:002010-02-18T08:00:02.929-08:00That sounds like it was a fascinating talk, Eileen...That sounds like it was a fascinating talk, Eileen! Glad you got to go hear that :) What an interesting way to look at a story. I would definitely agree that the story makes up the base of the pyramid - a good solid foundation in the plot makes for a good solid novel. However I have to say that characterization and setting are more important to me than word choice. I'd probably stick word choice up on top with grammar - both extremely important but more icing on the cake compared to the other elements. Thanks for sharing!Julie Daohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13814052162359300933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-84693728121006900052010-02-17T18:26:45.219-08:002010-02-17T18:26:45.219-08:00LOL! This reminded me of something that just happe...LOL! This reminded me of something that just happened. My five year old wrote me a sentence and spelled almost everything wrong. I wanted to tell him the right way, but since it was a special present from him and he'd done it on his own, I squelched the overwhelming urge to correct his spelling. Heehee. Now I'm glad I did! <br />Very interesting post!Jessica Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12365768876905444157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-48209215652753687672010-02-17T17:19:34.685-08:002010-02-17T17:19:34.685-08:00Great point!! It is all about a great story--:))Great point!! It is all about a great story--:))Terri Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07771622379178654235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-12464550866980851552010-02-17T11:35:37.893-08:002010-02-17T11:35:37.893-08:00I totally understand what you're saying, Kathr...I totally understand what you're saying, Kathryn, but I get what Brouwer is meaning here. Too often children are swayed away from creativity because grammar is pushed at them full force in schools/home and they don't see that there is a difference between creating and structuring sentences, etc., all they see is that when they try and create they do a bad job of it because of all the red marking.<br /><br /><br /><br />Brouwer is of the mind that there is a time and place for everything, I think, and he's thinking that we need to get our kids excited about creating and not stomp on that too early by making them follow grammar rules. I get his philosophy because the way teachers mark up everything around here, it totally destroyed my young girls want to create. To me, grammar can come later when the child is able to discern the difference between creating and polishing that creation. Just my opinion, though.Eileen Astels Watsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11098531184044931737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-2162671211146582222010-02-17T11:00:19.545-08:002010-02-17T11:00:19.545-08:00As a former teacher, I'm appalled at this advi...As a former teacher, I'm appalled at this advice. Wait until middle school to teach grammar? Is that how this author learned to write?<br /><br />Grammar is the foundation of good writing. Knowing the basics of written language frees you to create. Dancers learn rudimentary steps, singers scales. Writers learn grammar. In order to communicate effectively, you need to understand how language works.<br /><br />Grammar and creativity are not mutually exclusive; they are, in fact, complementary. Together, they<br />build sentences that soar, paragraphs that flow, create meaning where none existed before.<br /><br />So, when your children compose a story, by all means, congratulate them on their achievements. But don't neglect to help them do even better by identifying areas where they can improve.<br /><br />Give them a solid foundation and watch them rise.<br />;-)kathrynjankowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16708011523767228663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-34340488795313098442010-02-17T10:20:35.348-08:002010-02-17T10:20:35.348-08:00Hi Eileen -
Thanks for the great advice. While I ...Hi Eileen -<br /><br />Thanks for the great advice. While I don't have any kids around my house, one or two kids from church are interested in writing. I appreciate having some guidelines on how to encourage them.<br /><br />Blessings,<br />Susan :)Susan J. Reinhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07461276857852409546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-29284993818020191812010-02-17T09:53:27.117-08:002010-02-17T09:53:27.117-08:00The best advice I ever got was from my Spanish tea...The best advice I ever got was from my Spanish teacher who said that the goal was to make yourself understood. If you are able to get your point across, but the grammar isn't right it didn't really matter.REGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09141872868930003563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-6883157353787396132010-02-17T09:27:01.694-08:002010-02-17T09:27:01.694-08:00Oh I love this. Sometimes my husband looks at my ...Oh I love this. Sometimes my husband looks at my 4th grader and 2nd graders writing and asks when I'm going to teach grammer (which I do) and I'm forevering explaing to him that this story wasn't a grammer lesson but a creative lesson. I'm going to have him read this post:)Karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03925811510913201292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-48781054875061581962010-02-17T09:08:34.321-08:002010-02-17T09:08:34.321-08:00Sounds like a fascinating talk. How wonderful.
T...Sounds like a fascinating talk. How wonderful.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing, Eileen!Susan Anne Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17258093329143787876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-85273981238670513732010-02-17T09:04:04.761-08:002010-02-17T09:04:04.761-08:00I did NaNoWriMo this year and found myself falling...I did NaNoWriMo this year and found myself falling in love again with the process of creating a story. It was freeing to write without self-editing. That's something I need to remember with my children, who scream when I pull the red pen out of my desk.Niki Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10419436634375255412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5046333608458306911.post-73151115264599998072010-02-17T09:03:05.442-08:002010-02-17T09:03:05.442-08:00I love this! It's so true. My daughter and h...I love this! It's so true. My daughter and her friend decided to write a book recently. They've been having me read it as they go. I'm going to keep this pyramid thing in mind. I need to praise their creativity. Thanks for sharing this.Susan R. Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09578747592345750650noreply@blogger.com