Write a Book

OVERVIEW & RESEARCH

Susan Eloise Hinton wrote the world's most popular young adult novel, The Outsiders, when she was just 15 years old. The Outsiders was published when Hinton was 17. Over 14 million copies of the book have been sold. If Hinton can do it, why can't you? If you love writing, the MAD project is your perfect opportunity to chase your dream, while completing our most important project.

When researching your project, consider the following questions, which should help you plan the year-long development of your book:

  • Where do your experiences lie? Good writers usually stay in their comfort zone, writing about what they know or have lived.
    • On whom can you base characters and their story?
  • What genre is your book?
    • Which kinds of books have you read the most? Your writing style will likely go this way.
  • Is there anything similar to your story already out there? This is where research is important. You don't want to regurgitate someone else's story
  • From what point of view will your story be told?
    • This is critical. Imagine if The Outsiders was written in the third person, instead of from Ponyboy's POV. Would it have been as popular?
    • On the other hand, many stories would lose their appeal, if we couldn't see other characters thoughts, without being held back by a first-person narrator.
  • What is the setting of your story -- time and place?
    • You'll need plenty of research about  your setting. Great storytellers are experts in this area.

PLANNING

Consider that you have roughly 24 weeks to complete your project. We will have three checkpoints (grading periods). You should work backwards from the end of the school year, when your organization is complete to the end of each quarter. What will be completed by the end of each 9-week grading period, heading into June?

Break down each quarter into smaller checkpoints.

  • For example, your research and written plan should be finished by November 30th.
  • Do you need to meet anyone in the industry to get help or information? When will those meetings take place? Hint: you need to plan far in advance to meet business people.
  • If you need support from community or school members, plan on getting it and set a goal for when you'll have it in place.
  • When will your financial plan be complete?
  • Other checkpoints?

MATERIALS & PROCEDURES

To complete your project, you will need to use a variety of tools and skills. Please use as many of the following as possible to demonstrate mastery of the applications and expertise in these areas of language arts:

  • Numerous sources for research -- books, web sites, encyclopedias; Noodle Tools will be used to complete the research
  • Your Barnesclass.com web site, including the message board and a special web page that leads me to all parts of your project
  • A Diigo group, containing at least 10 web sites that demonstrate ongoing research and production
  • A variety of web tools that contribute in some way to your project and demonstrate expertise in the use of these applications -- see the web tools page for help
  • Writing throughout the project that supports it:
    • advertising
    • instructions
    • brochures
    • posters
    • proposals
    • e-mails
    • requests for assistance
    • speeches
  • What else? your own materials and procedures, which you clear with me