| Tammy Christensen |  |
After the End: Teaching and Learning Creative Revision
Barry Lane
Heinemann, 1993
Staff meetings. Parent conferences. Hiring committees. Curriculum representative. Continuing education. Student moderator. Lesson plans. Late nights. Barry Lane must recognize that school teachers are pulled in many directions, because After the End is written in quick, easy-to-read snippets. This writing revision guide is easy to understand, and the quick lesson ideas following each snippet sound engaging.
Three revision concepts that interest me are: snapshots, thoughtshots, and explode a moment. Snapshots are physical details of an object or the setting. Thoughtshots are the emotions and thoughts of a character. Snapshots and thoughtshots may be one sentence or multiple paragraphs long. The third concept, explode a moment, is a way of describing an important moment, character, or object in detail. For example, expand “Jon slipped off the branch, hit a few branches along the way, and landed on the ground with a thud” to “Jon’s sweaty hand slipped from the branch as blood, caused by the hawthorn’s prick, dripped from his other hand. He felt his face turn white. He always hated the sight of blood. Now he was falling through thorny branches. ‘Will I die? I hope I hit the grassy side instead of the sidewalk. Please tree, don’t rip my new shirt; Mom will kill me!’ Whack! Another thorn gouged Jon’s right shoulder….” These concepts are great! They’re probably old but snapshots, thoughtshots, and explode a moment are new to me.
Mr. Lane’s “question conferences” are another great idea. Students meet in groups to ask questions about the piece read. The writer notes confusing parts and/or areas that need more detail—what the listener/reader wants to know more about. These questions can then lead to revisions, the same story focused on fewer events, the story told from a different perspective, or even a completely new story.
I recommend After the End if you write or teach writing. I’m ready to purchase this book and make writing fun for my third graders.