Portland YAC in the Phoenix

The third session of Portland YAC had an opportunity to meet with Brian Duff, a local food critic. He shared his experiences with the young writers and some of their words in his most recent article.

Enjoy the last bit of vacation. August is the Sunday of summer.

Student Writing

Thank you Joy for sending this in for everyone to enjoy. It is a perfect piece for a terrific summer. Remember, anyone can submit writing to the blog. Feel free to send along your works in progress.

Hot Fudge Sundae
By Joy

The best food that I ever had to eat was a hot fudge Sunday from Willard Scoops. The sundae had a yummy, fluffy pile of whipped cream on top with nuts scattered though out the sundae. Then there is the delicious, warm, smooth, hot fudge. But then below the whipped cream, hot fudge and nuts, is any home made flavor of ice cream. It is scrumptious!

Portland YAC - Session 3, Day 5

Friday in a Schedule

8:30 We arrived

8:30-10 Writing prompt and anthology work

10- Snack

10:30 free write, read, writer's blurb for anthology

11:30-12:00 Picture writing prompt

12- Lunch

1- m&m about me

1:20 Paper of questions about camp

1:30 Writer's camp reading

We've had lots of fun,

but it's time to say bye,

Emily, Meg have no fear.

We'll be back next year!

Portland YAC - Session 3, Day 4

6 1/2 hours of camp
20 campers
4 were not here
3 groups walking around
15 letters in "writing marathon"
5 hours of writing outside (approximate)
8:30 is when we arrive
2:00 is when we leave
6 places we met on the writing marathon
999,999,999,999,999,999,999,

999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999...million loads of fun

Portland YAC - Session 3, Day 3

I walked into The Telling Room as excited as ever. Today, Wednesday, a food critic was coming in to talk about writing about food. Emily thought it would be fun because that was the writing subject for the week: food. Before the food critic, Brian came, Theo read the opening moment. When Brian came, he talked to us about descriptive food writing, and the different ways to describe food. We got to ask tons of questions and Brian told us about how he became a writer. After he left we had snack and then, for the hour and a half before lunch, we did writing from pictures of people's fridges, making up stories about the people who owned them and the stuff that was in them. Then we had lunch. We could either go to a a farmer's market or sit outside Flatbread's. After lunch we did an activity. We were timed to write as many characters, settings, and problems as we could. Then, we all picked one each for ourselves, and made stories out of them. It was so much fun! For the rest of the day we free-wrote. We had a closing moment, read by Emily, and then we were dismissed. That was the end of Wednesday.
Abbie

YAC Makes News

The Topsham Young Authors' Camp was highlighted in the local newspaper. Check out the article!!

Portland YAC - Session 3, Day 2

Took pictures around Portland
Under influence of awesome teachers
Extra fun
Super fun games like "fortunately and unfortunately"
Dark colored pens and markers
Awesome stories
Yellow pencils everywhere

Milena

Portland YAC - Session 3, Day 1

T oday is the first of five days of fun

E verything was really cool

L unch was a blast at the wharf or flatbread

L etting us have a great time was what the counslers did

I had a great time

N obody is ever bored

G reat things happen while at work

R oom is full of kids willing to learn

O utside the box is where we want to write

O utside the sun is shining

M y day was amazing

Portland YAC - Session 2, Day 5

I am sad to say that today was the last day of Young Authors’ camp. Today, we picked our final pieces and typed them up. For lunch some of us went down to Tommy’s Park and had a truly bodacious game of Wah. Others of us stayed in to work on writing. When it got too hot, we came back and did the chicken dance! When we got back, we wrote for a bit and then read our stories out loud after singing some songs with Emily. It was a great day to end a great week! I can’t wait until next summer!

Caitlin

Portland YAC - Session 2, Day 4

Today was the fourth day of writer's camp and it was an unusual day. We were very happy to share our morning with Rohan Henry and Charlotte Agell. They are two published authors and they came to share their work with us and answer our questions. Both have really great books and Charlotte even gave away her newest one about a girl names India. The character keeps a blog. Later we were visited by Justin Ellis who is a reporter. He gave us some tips about interviewing and shared his life as a reporter. We then went out into Portland and interviewed people that we met. Tim had four rules for us. Do not feed the people. Do not touch the people. Do not give away personal information. Always stick with your buddy. We also made sure to thank everyone we spoke to. Young Authors' Writing Camp was a fun place to be on Thursday!

Portland YAC - Session 2, Day 3

Today we had a really fun time at Young Authors' Camp. We started the day off with story starters. Here are some examples:
Have you ever noticed...
They will never take away...

Once everyone arrived we had the opening moment. It was done by Misha. She played a song called 3 Wishes by the Pierces. Then together we brainstormed some emotions and physical characteristics. Our task was to personify an emotion of our choice. We had to describe what the emotion would look like, how it would move, how it would sound, and how it would make us feel. After we finished our emotion stories we split into three groups and walked around Portland. This was called the Writing Marathon! It was a lot of fun. We went to various places to write stories. Some of the places we visited were the Nickelodeon Movie Theater, Portland Public Library, the farmer's market, Tommy's Park, Widgery Wharf, the ferry terminal, and Deering Oaks Park. After a long day of writing we went back to the Telling Room to share what we had written. Finally, Gracie read an excerpt from Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. That was our closing moment. That was Wednesday at Southern Maine Writing Project's YAC.

Portland YAC - Session 2, Day 2

Walking snapping pictures

Red lobsters, piers and belly dance

Interesting story lines

Tons of words written down

Experiments with dictionaries

Realy cool haikus (don't you love that word?)

So many people out and about

Excellent starfish in bikinis, duct tape wallets and postcard views

Yes we had a good day

Even though goblins were banned

Phoebe

Portland YAC - Session 2, Day 1

Once upon a time 29 writers ventured into Portland to find the Telling Room. The roads were crowded and the trip was dangerous. When the writers were safely inside they were inspired by the words of Naomi Shihab Nye and they began to write. They started with Six Word Memoirs:
candy and chocolate is sweet heaven
a masterpiece captured with a click
allergic to tuna, parents don't believe
my neighbor's chickens wake me up
still searching for adventure, as usual
was there magic in the glitter
wrote, danced, hiked, pickled, never slept

The writers then prepared for a week's worth of work. They constructed a writer's tool kit. They brainstormed a list of jobs (Ferris wheel operator, moth ball maker, translator), places (dumpster, ice cream truck, la la land), sounds (popcorn popping, voice of a crusty hobo, high heels on granite), and problems (locked bathroom, no pants, skunk in the tent). They then pieced these ideas together to create the outline of a story. One could have written a story about a Bonsai tree groomer who was in an airplane bathroom and could hear the Muppet Show's theme song, but had lost his translator.

The gifted writers then imagined their futures and planned their author's blurbs. They also reflected on their favorite places complete with sounds, smells, and tastes. The young writers left the Telling Room tired but excited about returning for another day of YAC.

Portland YAC - Session 1, Day 4

Today at Young Author's Camp, Meredith Goad talked to us about how she visits restaurants tasting food and writes about them for the Portland Press Herald. We conferenced our stories with our camp leaders and Telling Room volunteers to get ready for the big day tomorrow. Also, four rappers, including Sontiago and Astronautalis, came in and played games with us including "rhyme time." I am having a fun time at Young Author's Camp. I can't wait for tomorrow - our last day!

Sarah

Portland YAC - Session 1, Day 3

Today we took a nice walk in town, after splitting up into groups, and set out looking for inspiration from people, buildings, and we even got permission to eaves drop on people's conversations! We got to see a bunch of sculptures when we stopped to write in the library, and I wrote about a girl with faded orange hair that I saw while we were there. At one o'clock we went back to the room to share what we wrote during our adventure. I hope to hear what everyone wrote about when we finish sharing tomorrow!

Julia

Portland YAC - Session 1, Day 2

Today was an exciting day! In the morning, nine teacher/writers came in from the Southern Maine Writing Project and wrote with us. Some people shared their stories, including the visitors. Once they left, we had snack for about 20 minutes. Then we had some writing time. After that we split up into two groups and walked around town taking pictures. Once we got back, we sorted through our pictures, picked one, and wrote a story about it. Then we ate lunch and did an activity called "writers toolbox." We ended the day with some extra writing time. I can't wait for Young Author's Camp tomorrow!

Emma

YAC 2010 Begins!

The Southern Maine Writing Project is proud to be hosting four Young Authors' Camps this summer. Three will be held at the Telling Room in Portland and one will be held at Woodside Elementary School in Topsham. This blog will keep everyone up to date on all the exciting things that happen at YAC. This blog will also give young writers a chance to share their writing.


Portland YAC - Session 1, Day 1

Our first day together was fabulous! We started with beach-ball introductions and learned interesting facts about each other. Campers dove into their writer's notebooks and played with different prompts about food. It's unanimous, our writers love to write a "word a minute" and are looking for a challenge by the end of the week. After a beautiful lunch in a park, we drew pictures of the best, or worst, meal we had and used our pictures to write from. A stellar first day at the Telling Room with a terrific group of writers!

Brochures and applications for YAC 2010 are now available. Follow the link below and share the information with your friends and teachers. We are looking forward to seeing you this summer! Remember, this blog is a place where you can post your writing. Send your writing pieces to PortlandYAC@gmail.com.

For YAC information visit:
tellingroom.org

Warmer Thoughts

Winter is returning to Maine with a mid-February snowfall but YAC's attention is turning towards the summer. Three camps will be held in Portland, Maine this summer!

July 12-16 and 26 - 30 will be for writers entering grades 4,5, and 6.
July 19 - 23 will be for writers entering grades 6,7,8, and 9.
There will also be YACs in Topsham, Litchfield, Brunswick, Orono, and Benton.

We have some great plans in place and we can't wait for summer writing! Keep your eyes peeled for brochures and applications in the mail and at school.