How Will You Get Your Message Out?

You learn important skills in essay writing that you can apply to other forms of writing, but are essays always the best way to communicate ideas to others?

When Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. wanted to save a piece of American history in 1830, what did he do?

Did he write his senator? Take out an ad in the local papers? Write a letter to the editor? Make protest signs?

Although all of those things are legitimate ways of communicating with people, he did none of them yet still succeeded in saving the USS Constitution, an old warship that had fought in the important War of 1812.

How did he do it?

What Are You Waiting For?

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Former U.S. presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson used to be hot rivals but became close friends later in life. In fact, for the last twelve years of their lives, they wrote to each other almost daily. In one letter about a year before his death, Jefferson wished the ailing Adams “nights of rest” and “days of tranquility.”

Near the end of their lives, they wrote to each other that they wanted something very special. Do you know what they wanted?

How to Complain Constructively

SHARON’S BLOG

True story: I was eating dinner in a restaurant recently when I heard a woman in the booth behind me state, “This is an abomination!”

My ears perked up. My curiosity was piqued. I rarely hear the word “abomination” any more and wondered what could be so horrific as to need that word. I imagined she and her dining partner were reading a magazine article on human trafficking or perhaps watching a YouTube video about persecution in Indonesia.

I strained my ears to learn what she was referring to.

You and the Jurassic World

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Many exciting stories have come from scientific ponderings. Take, for instance, Frankenstein. It was written by Mary Shelley while the scientific world debated the idea of reanimation. Could something dead, a frog, perhaps, be reanimated by electricity? And if a frog could be brought back to life, what about a human? And if a human could be brought back to life, does that mean we should?

So Dr. Frankenstein sews together pieces of cadavers and, after many failed attempts, actually brings to life this cobbled-together thing, this human, if you can call it that.

Eighty years later, H. G. Wells is exploring a similar topic in The Island of Dr. Moreau. Can humans and animals be joined together?

Science Goes Awry?

Fast-forward 200 years from Shelley’s Frankenstein. What happens if scientists

Storywriting: Put Your Character into Hot Water, Part 2

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

In a recent tutorial, you practiced plunging your character into hot water with two powerful methods many writers use. You can find that prompt here.

This week you’ll examine three more methods of getting your main character deep into a story. As Stanley Elkin reveals, “I would never write about someone who is not at the end of his rope.”

Storywriting: Put Your Character into Hot Water, Part 1

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

You have an idea for a story but don’t know how to get it going. Or you would like to write a story but are out of ideas.

When you write a story, you have to throw a lot of things at your main character, things he or she would rather not have to deal with. In this prompt, you’ll learn two proven methods to get ideas and plunge your character into hot water. In this prompt, you’ll explore three more.

What Famous Person Would You Like to Interact With?

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

So you’re driving your taxi, and someone hails you from the sidewalk. In comes a man you eventually recognize, and you get so excited that you shout a phrase from one of his movies to him.

He laughs and joins in the fun. You drop him off, but that is not the end of the story.

Later, he sends you tickets to his latest Broadway show, and you go and even get to meet with him after the show in his dressing room!

You can read the whole, fun story about the taxi driver “Mr. Ferrari” and the famous actor

Gender-Neutral Language in Writing

SHARON’S BLOG

Here’s a free grammar lesson for your teens from The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School, 2nd Edition. It’s on gender-neutral language in writing—and it has the answers at the end! Keep reading to see this valuable lesson. Enjoy!

Incidentally, the subject of gender-neutral language is not related to the transgender movement or any biological issues.

A Sonnet: Be the Shakespeare

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Today you get to be Shakespeare and write a sonnet.

A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines. The last two lines, however, are separate and either sum up the rest of the poem or provide a new twist, as does the sonnet below.

Let’s look at Shakespeare’s Sonnet 62. The letters at the end of each line are Shakespeare’s rhyme scheme, but ignore that for now. Take a few moments and read the sonnet. Then I’ll explain it:

The Melding of Humans and Technology

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

“Within 30 years, we will have the means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended.” -Vernor Vinge, in “The Coming Technological Singularity”

Raymond Kurzweil, a futurist, inventor, and author of books on artificial intelligence, believes that “we’re approaching a moment when computers will become intelligent, and not just intelligent but more intelligent than humans. When that happens, humanity—our bodies, our minds, our civilization—will be completely and irreversibly transformed…. Maybe we’ll merge with [the superintelligent computers] to become superintelligent cyborgs, using computers to extend our intellectual abilities the same way that cars and planes extend our physical abilities.” *