It’s the story of our year

1. It’s the story of our year Using your words for the greatest effect Lizabeth Walsh, MJE

2. Interviewing Ideas • Bring many people in to the yearbook room at once • Set appointments and take your time • Get surveys out ahead of time to prepare them • Go to the events and do immediate interviews afterwards

3. What to include • Similes • Metaphors • Strong verbs • Phrases • Clauses • Figures, facts, feelings

4. Similes • Dragging herself down the hall like a sullen child, senior Jennifer Jones headed toward Mr. Busboom’s first period senior English class, knowing full well she’d be singing karaoke for her classmates because she was tardy. • Running for their cars as quickly as beagles on a scent, upperclassmen rushed to make the greatest use of their shortened lunch period.

5. Metaphors • Prepared for battle in the armor of an hour’s worth of cramming, junior Ben Jones unsheathed his pencil from his pocket and began slashing his way through the 100-word vocabulary test. • As Mrs. Larsen handed out the grenades of the first graded essays of their junior year, students winced in anticipation of the coming explosion.

6. Strong Verbs- Active Voice • The rule was followed by students. • Students followed the rule. • Students laughed at the rule. • Students disregarded the rule. • This year, new rules were implemented. • Administrators implemented new rules. • Teachers introduced new rules. • Students complained about new rules.

7. Phrases • Prepositional • Students crowded around the mirrorin a desperate attempt to purchase the last of the T-shirts. • Appositive • Mrs. Walsh, the yearbook adviser, earned her CJE in 2000 and her MJE in 2006. • Infinitive • To arrive at the ceremony on time, sophomore Missy Warren had to forego a shower and merely accept a quick change into her Homecoming gown in the back of her parents’ van. • Gerund • Swimming and diving attract only a few students each year, but those who choose these sports have the singular benefit of never worrying about the horrible spring weather. • Participial • Wounded by an opponent’s cleat, senior Mac Salmon remained in the match until the final buzzer. • Whining about deadlines, yearbook editors rolled their chairs back to the computers and finished proofing the final spreads.

8. Clauses • Adjectives • Senior Maggie Ball, who accepted an internship at Bob’s Big World of Printed Stuff, double checks the index one more time before heading to her unpaid intern position. • Adverbs • Whenever they tried to sneak out the back door, Mrs. Edwards’s students heard the buzzer she had attached to the door jamb. • Nouns • Whoever earned the title of editor would have to dedicate long hours of work to making the yearbook as perfect as it could be.

9. What to exclude • Anything that can be said about any other year or said by any other person • Sentences that begin with A, An, The • Adjectives • Adverbs that do not “clash” with the verb • Sentences beginning with “There is…, There are…, There was…, There were”

10. Anything anyone else could guess • “It was an honor just to be nominated,” every person has always said about being nominated for some kind of student popularity court. • Yawn… Duh… Boooorrrrinnnnggg! • “I have never been the kind of person who wears a dress, much less the kind of person who would wear a crown, so this came as a huge surprise to me,” senior Megan Winkel said.

11. Changing an A, An, The sentences • The mascot ran across the field before doing a cartwheel. • Before executing a cartwheel, the mascot ran 100 yards across the football field. • An hour before the match began, the boys chugged a gallon of milk. • Within an hour of the match’s start time, tennis players chugged a gallon of milk, suspecting the outcome would not be good. • A great way to start your day for testing is with a good breakfast. • Research indicates that good breakfasts give students an advantage on testing day.

12. Killing the adjective dandelions • Under a dark, but starry sky, the football field’s new and expensive lights shone brightly, bathing the field in solid, white light. • With the stadium’s $40,000 lighting system, fans could see every play on the field. • Fluffy down pillows, white down comforters, and crisp white sheets greeted students when they entered the New York City Westin Hotel for their first CSPA trip. • Dropping their luggage on the floors of their Westin Hotel rooms, students quickly claimed beds and began to make plans for the remainder of their New York City stay.

13. Choosing adverbs for best effect • Mrs. Walsh screamed loudly at the students in her second period class, trying to get them to quiet down. • Whispering loudly, Mrs. Walsh threatened to unscrew Steven’s head if his lips moved one more time. • Walking slowly, students gradually entered the classroom for study hall. • On the final day of class, a few of the remaining yearbook students took their time, leaving slowly for their summer vacation days as they took one last look around the room that had been their home for the year.

14. Sentences beginning with “There is…, There are…, There was…, There were” • There are 400 students in Mrs. Walsh’s English classes. • Mrs. Walsh’s 400 students constitute one-quarter of the entire student body. • There was a young lady standing in the corner. • In the far corner of the gym, a young lady stood away from her classmates.

15. We’ve done the technical stuff… Now what? • Pay attention to cadence • Read the piece aloud- does it flow smoothly? It should read easily on the first time by a stranger. • Avoid redundancy • Make sure every sentence and lead begins differently from every other sentence. • Create alliteration • The ear likes to hear the similar sounds of cleverly created musicality. • Vary the length of sentences and paragraphs • Let people tell the story for you, and you’ll have this pleasant combination of shorter and longer grafs. • Balance your sentences • Pleasing sentences have a certain symmetry. Look for ways to make the rhythm of the sentence more musical. • End with a bang • Sometimes another person’s words can be stronger than your own- and this isn’t English class, so don’t be afraid to conclude with a quote, with embedded attribution, of course. • Or, find a way to conclude the story with a short, sweet single syllable word.

16. Special thanks to the inspiration given me by: • Lori Oglesbee, 2010 Yearbook Adviser of the Year • Stephen King (On Writing) • Jack Hart (A Writer’s Coach)