Scene Details From a Football Camp

My 16-year-old son recently spent some time at football camps. While waiting in the stands, the writer in me came out and I began scribbling down scene details on the back of my son's schedule. Well, I watched him and took photos too! But hey, as a YA writer, I never know when I'll need these details.

In case you're curious about how these camps work, or if you ever need scene details involving a football camp, I thought I'd share what I noticed.

The Location

• College campuses: USC, UCLA and Cerritos College. Large, beige buildings surrounding a football field. 
• Artificial turf on the football fields, with tiny black rubber bits scattered all over the ground (from the turf)
• Powerade station with organizers filling cups for the players
• Foggy L.A. mornings, but once the clouds burn off, hot afternoons

The People

• Hundreds of teen boys, all races, all sizes. Not only big, burly guys, but smaller guys who haven't finished growing yet
• Boys wearing school gym shorts--black, red, yellow, purple--with high school logos on the right leg
• All boys wearing matching athletic shirts provided by camp organizers. White box in the center where boys wrote their names (some first names, some last names) with a black Sharpie
• Hair: buzz cuts, curly, long hair held back in bands
• Moms and dads in the stands, watching, taking photos, reading, looking at their phones
• Some boys standing alone; some making small talk with other boys
• Lone (brave) girl running laps around the track (there's a story there, right?)
• Burly coaches with "Staff" written on the backs of their shirts

The Activities

• Boys separated in groups on the field, stretching, warming up, jumping
• Running the 40 yard dash
• One on one drills
• 7 on 7 drills
• Grouped in rooms by position, watching film of their technique & receiving tips on how to improve

The Sounds

• Coaches yelling instructions
• Clapping
• Whistles blowing
• Chants at the end of claps, like "SC!"
• At USC--nearby construction noise
• One huge coach on the sidelines screaming at the players, "Come on Beyonce! Let's see what you've got, Beyonce!" (Not even joking)

What do you think of these scene details? Ever been to a football camp? Do you jot down scene details when you're out and about?

Grammar, Social Media, & Kids

Ready for some useless musings about grammar, social media, and teens?

I heard that these days people place grammar high on their list of attractive qualities. One man wondered if this is because many people meet and get to know each other on line, and grammar is the new first impression.

My soon to be sixteen-year-old son (OMG!) has a Facebook and Twitter account, and I monitor (stalk?) it regularly. It was one of the conditions. Here are some of the benefits of keeping an eye on kids and social media:

• We can be a fly on the wall without being in the room. It's easier to keep an eye on friendships, drama, and social interactions.  
• We learn what matters to kids--what frustrates them, what makes them angry, and what makes them sad. We learn if there's a school project that's troubling them.
• It's a teaching opportunity--we can teach kids what is or isn't appropriate for the World Wide Web. Social media is a fact of life these days, and we can guide kids through it.

While monitoring a teen's social media, here are some things I've noticed:

• Kids share WAY too much information on line.
• Some kids don't yet realize the consequences of negative online behavior, such as foul language and bullying.
• Their grammar needs...work.

But fear not. There is hope. 

• My son is a beat cop on the Grammar Police Force. Two of my favorite tweets of his were... People! You're = you are. Your = possession. And Proper spelling and grammar today. #respect. He's annoyed by poor spelling and grammar as much as any writer. He gives me hope that the next generation is not a lost cause.
• I saw a story about second graders who corrected NFL players' tweets. Click here to check out the quick story and photos. It'll make your day. 

Another benefit of social media? Tweets and Facebook posts help kids get to the point quicker, which is helpful in English class :)

There you have it. My useless musings about teens, grammar, and social media. Tell me, what have been your observations on the subject? The good the bad and the ugly, I want to know!

Teens and Required Summer Reading

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My son is heading into his Sophomore year of high school, and like most high school students, he has a list of required summer reading. I picked up his books from the library, and he grumbled about spending his summer reading books he doesn't want to read. "My friends said these books are really bad," and "They even smell old." It's a big topic of discussion between his friends on Facebook.

I have mixed emotions about this.

The Positive Side

• I can understand why teachers do this. Their teaching time has been whittled down, but their teaching requirements have either increased or remained the same. They have a lot of material to cram into each school year, and they're doing what they need to do.

• Required reading exposes kids to books they ordinarily wouldn't read. One of the books I was required to read (during the school year, not summer) was To Kill a Mockingbird. To this day, it remains one of my favorite books.

The Negative Side

• We consider summer to be relaxed, family time. Our kids work hard for their good grades during the school year, and we feel that summer is the time to kick back and have fun. Required reading is a summer storm cloud that hangs over my son's head. Reading is one of my favorite summer pastimes, but my son would rather be hanging out with friends.

• If kids could read any book they wanted, and write a report about it, there would probably be a lot less grumbling. I can relate to kids wanting to read what interests them. In high school, if someone had forced me to set aside Danielle Steel novels for the summer (stop laughing), I would've been very upset. Like adults, kids have different reading tastes. 

There is a direct correlation between forced reading and my son's reading habits. He's always loved nonfiction, and couldn't get enough of it. Novels? Not so much. Besides the Hunger Games trilogy, he isn't interested in fiction.

When he was forced to read from a certain list, his interest in reading lessened, and then dropped off a cliff. Perhaps it's his age...I don't know, he's my oldest. My hope is that once he's able to read what he wants, he'll become interested in reading again.

On the one hand, as a writer and avid reader, it saddens me that my son doesn't want to read during the summer. On the other hand, I can relate to his frustration about reading books he's not interested in during a time of rest.

What's your take on this? If you're a parent and went through this with your teens, did they eventually love reading? If you're a teen, do you welcome required summer reading? If you're a teacher, am I on or off the mark about why teachers assign summer reading? Any tips for making it easier on the kids?

Article Writing 101 (Part 1--Ideas & Research)

I've never been much of a nonfiction reader, preferring instead to submerge in a fictional world. But I took a course that introduced me to nonfiction writing, and I realized how much I loved diving in to all sorts of topics--known and unknown to me--and sharing them with readers. Most of my publishing credits have come from writing articles for teens and young children.

How do you write an article? As with all writing, the methods for writing nonfiction will likely vary from writer to writer. But this is the process that's worked for me. Part 1 focuses on prep work--ideas and research:

Step 1--Choose a topic

Nonfiction ideas are everywhere, and once our mind is open, we can quickly wear down pencil lead trying to keep up with them. Do you have a unique hobby or talent? My family loves Geocaching, and I wrote about it in Modern Day Treasure Hunt. Is there a quirky aspect to your hometown? Are there common misconceptions about your day job? Do you wonder about the origins of certain words, places, or monuments? Is there a little-known historical figure you've always been curious about?

As you can see, ideas for nonfiction are endless. I jot down oddball ideas on notebook paper and keep them in a 3" binder. There are enough ideas in there to keep me busy for a lifetime.

Step 2--Narrow your focus

Take a familiar topic and find something new and unfamiliar about it. Or choose a unknown topic and share it with readers.

Countless articles have been written about firefighters, but in my article Putting Out Fires (Scholastic Math--page 8), I narrowed the focus down to how firefighters use math when figuring out hose suction, water pressure, and even recipes in the kitchen.

Step 3--Research

Look for fun facts that take you by surprise. While doing research for my article A Spoonful of Laughter, I learned there was such a thing as a laughter epidemic. Who knew? Facts should be cross-checked by multiple sources.

I check out books from the library, and also search online. When taking notes from books, be sure to jot down the book's title, author, publishing house, publishing date, and the page number where you found each fact. You'll need those later for your bibliography.

For more research tips, check out 8 Tips for Slicing Through the Research Jungle.

In Part 2 I'll discuss organization and structure.

Even though I now write novels, I still like writing nonfiction. Sometimes I'll whip up an article in between novel drafts. It's nice to give my fiction brain a rest, while still writing about fun topics. There's a hungry nonfiction market out there, and if you give it a try, you might find that you also enjoy writing nonfiction.

Have you ever written an article or nonfiction book? If so, how does your idea and research method compare to mine?

Do you have detailed questions about the process? Feel free to ask in the comments, or email me directly at julie (at) juliemusil (dot) com.

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Teens, dialogue, and TMI

I participate in two carpools with two families involving six kids from the ages of 11-14. It's all I can do to remember whose turn it is to pick up whom at what time. You should see my calendar...it's crazy.

But I wouldn't trade those moments in the car for any amount of money. My sons are growing way too fast, and I gobble up those concentrated moments between here and there.

The most tender moments are those between me and my 14-year-old son, just the two of us, discussing life, girls, classes, dreams. The craziest moments? When I've had six JV football players stuffed in my car, gear bags and all (pre-practice, so my nose was lucky).

Real conversation, I kid you not:

"Dude, are you wearing your cup?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah."

"In your strap?"

"Nah, in my girdle."

"Dude, it'll move around in there."

*invisible mommy driver blushes*

As a YA writer, this type of dialogue is the treasure Indiana Jones would wrestle snakes for. And it's interesting to hear how different the boys talk when girls are in the car--and how much Axe body spray is used in the process.

Carpooling reminds me that today's kids have many of the same concerns we did:

• Capturing the attention of the person they're crushing on
• Peer pressure/trying to fit in
• Worries about homework
• Balancing the precarious social life at school

It's also interesting to note the things modern teens worry about that we didn't:

• Will that embarrassing text be forward to everyone?
• How could she post that on Facebook? Doesn't she realize it's now public?
• I'm only 14, do I really need to know what I want to do with the rest of my life?

As a writer, my ears are perked up and listening. As a mom, I'm enjoying every mile.

Can you add something that today's teens are concerned about? Or have you overheard some funny/interesting/crazy teen dialogue? Please share!

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