Writing Advice

2010 Young Author Tea

Another successful Young Author Tea! This year we had a special treat of the Holzer family making our beautiful Young Author cakes! I don't think we can ever have a Costco cake again!

9th Annual Young Author Writing Contest

Young Author Tea 2008 More Pics

               Reading and making comments on all the books

                                             The Tonjes Family
                                              Perri Campbell
                                             Young Author Alumni

Young Author Tea 2008

                                      Future Young Author Writer 2010
                                                    Hailey Whiddon and Mom 
                      Reading and eating cake...Jenna, Danae, and Katie
                                                       The McClintock Brothers
                                                The effects of too much cake!

2008 Young Author Award Winners

The 8th Annual Young Author Tea was a success.  Budding writers received awards and were able to read other young author books.

Young Author 2008 Imagination Machine

The Imagination Machine was held on March 18, 2008.  Here are the students who stories were picked by the Imagination Machine along with some of the performers.

Young Author Awards

Students have a chance to win an award in the following categories: 

Newbery Award- Considerations for this award will be based on the content of the story.

Caldecott Award- Considerations for this award will be based on student hand drawn illustrations in the story.

C.S. Lewis Award- considerations for this award will be based on a compiling of short stories, poems, plays, or anything different.  See Contest Coordinator for more details.

Publishing Info.

Here are a few other websites where you can publish and bind your

Young Author books. Please share other websites that you know of that I can add to the blog.

http://www.scrapfreephotobooks.com/
ID #252293

http://www.lulu.com/

http://www.createspace.com/

http://www.goldenrulebindery.com/

YOUNG AUTHOR CRITERIA FOR CONTEST 2012

Criteria For Contest :Grades K-8

Kindergarten: Minimum of 10 sentences: Books need to be hand written in print or cursive by the child

Grade 1-2: Minimum of 20 sentences: Books need to be hand written in print or cursive by the child
Grade 3-4: Minimum of 35 sentences: Books need to be hand written in print or cursive by the child.
Grade 5-6: Minimum of 50 sentences- At this age students can print or write in cursive. Books can also be typed.

Grade 7-8: Minimum of 85 sentences- At this age students can print or write in cursive. Books can also be typed.

ALL BOOK CRITERIA:
Must have a Title page inside
Must have a Comments page*
Must have an About the Author page
Books should be neat and legible
Must have a Dedication Page
Durable cover, NEEDS name and grade on cover!




*A "Comments" page is for judges and other students at the tea to write positive comments about your book.

Young Author Judging

The Young Author books are judged according to grade level. Judges are given the basic criteria to follow and also a writing rubric which is also made up according to grade. Below is a sample of just TWO of the grade level rubrics.

Rubric Grade: 1-2
1. Writing is neat for appropriate grade level.
2. Minimal spelling and grammar errors
3. Story is interesting
4. Story meets all criteria
5. Excellent use of vocabulary (good word choice)
for grade level.
6. Story stands out in quality. (ie. unique story line,
humor, visual imagery)

Rubric Grade: 5-6
1. Writing is neat and legible.
2. Minimal spelling, capitalization, punctuation,
and grammatical errors.
3. Interesting Beginning of story- introduces
characters, setting and problem/situation.
4. Middle of story shows how the characters
deal with problem.
5. Events are in order.
6. Ending tells how the problem is solved or
situation turns out.
7. Story/Poetry etc. stands out in quality (i.e.
unique story line, humor, visual imagery), well thought out.
8. Excellent use of vocabulary (good word choice)

2012 YOUNG AUTHOR INFORMATION

Young Author Writing Contest

The Young Author Contest is designed to encourage homeschool students to show off their creative writing abilities and/or their talent in illustrating a storybook. This contest is mainly geared toward
grades K-12. Families, you don't want to miss this opportunity!


Regular Registration: Monday, January 9, 2012 - Monday, January 16, 2012

Deadline to register: Payment must be postmarked by
Monday, January 16, 2011, Sorry no late payments.
Only registered and paid homeschool families are eligible for contest!
Cost: $13 per family-Nonrefundable
**Return check fee is $6.00**

CONTEST BEGINS: January 16, 2012
CONTEST ENDS & BOOKS DUE: Friday, March 2, 2012.

Contest Coordinator: Michelle West
E-Mail: westfamilyfive@gmail.com


Contest Address: 23270 Single Oak Way
Murrieta, CA 92562

Contest Coordinator: Michelle West
E-Mail: westfamilyfive@gmail.com
Phone: 951-239-1364

Upon Registration, please include the following information:

Student(s) name(s):
Grade(s):
Address:
Phone #:
E-mail address:
Parent name:
PSP/Support gr. affiliation:

More Imagination Machine

Great Show!!! A Must See!!!

Imagination Machine- Who Are They?

The Imagination Machine is an Orange County based children's theatre company which performs a variety of assemblies in elementary and middle schools throughout southern California. We currently offer three assemblies which combine professional improvisation with your students' creativity to inspire and celebrate their efforts in writing. Our goal is to stimulate your students to develop their imaginations through creative writing.

Imagination Machine brings some of our Young Author writers' stories to life! Come watch and experience the fun and the laughter that can only come from the creative minds of the Imagination Machine and from some of our own children! Visit their website @ http://www.imaginationmachine.net/index.html

The Participants