Blogging From A to Z Challenge: W is for Writing

Happy Monday! This is the final week—and the final letters—of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge—I can't believe how quickly the month has flown by! In case you're just joining in, my theme this year is 26 Super Fun Learning Activities You Can Do From Home. That's right, I'm conjuring up 26 "educational" ideas to keep you busy while you're safe at home. But don't get too hung up on the word "educational"—so far, they've all been fun activities. Don't believe me? Check out the links to my past posts below.

I kicked off the challenge with Art for the letter A. Next up was B was for Baking. My sister and I did some chemistry for the letter "C," and I rounded off the first week with a family dance off. "E" was for exercise (which was way more fun than you think) and "F" was all about family. We got our hands dirty with some gardening,  celebrated Poetry Month and the letter "H" by writing haikus, and of course, "I" was for Invention. The week ended with juggling.

I followed that week up with knitting, learning a new language, and some fun math. Honest! For "N" I linked to a few nature activities and "O" was for Origami. To cap off the Week 3, I shared my grandma's famous "play dough" recipe—and some ways you can create with it.

Of course, we didn't stop there! Last week started with quicksand, Tuesday we talked about reading, and Wednesday was all about science. On Thursday, I challenged you to make a COVID-19 Time Capsule with your family. Any progress this weekend? On Friday, I gave you another challenge—to build an umbrella! And we finished off the week with Virtual Field Trips.

And so...here we are. The last few days. I bet you can guess what today's post will be about...

W is for Writing

You probably know this by now, but I'm very interested in storytelling—writing, specifically, but I love all kinds of stories. Language Arts with Mrs. Kratky is my favourite subject, and not just because she thinks I'm a pretty good writer, either.

This month, many of the letters have focussed on writing, or at least included a writing component—such as penning haikus and essays—but today's post is all about writing.

If you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you'll know that every November—for National Novel Writing Month—I do a blog a day with writing tips that cover everything from generating story ideas, to character development, to even boosting your vocabulary. Scroll through my past posts for November, and you'll be surprised at how much you can learn.

A simple Google search will net you all kinds of writing prompts—and if you or anyone in your family is on Twitter, follow the hashtag #PromptMyStory. A whole bunch of Canadian writers are sharing ideas for where to begin your story—no matter what format you take.

Your challenge today? Start creating a character. You can use the play dough method I talked about in my "P" post, or try cutting out images from old magazines and newspapers to start getting an idea of what your character looks like. When you've got the perfect "hero" of your story...start plotting!

How much can you get written by the end of the day?

Don't stop there, though. Writing a story—even a short one—can take days, weeks, or even months. By the time we're back to school, you could have a polished piece of fiction. I know that's my goal. What's yours?

Gotta jet! Happy writing—and see you tomorrow for a tricky "X" activity.

~ Chase Superman Duffy

P.S. Another great writing activity if fiction isn't your thing? Write a letter to your grandparents, or other family members you haven't been able to see in a while.