Ahoy and avast there, matey, you scourge of the seven seas. Today be the day all us landlubbers be celebrating! It's ...

National Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Shiver my timbers, what an awesome day!

I mean ... um ... what's the pirate version of 'awesome'? Arrrrrr.

This day started as a joke by two mateys, but now it's recognized all over the country.

So grab yar eye patch, your peg leg, and your doubloons and celebrate! What be yar plans? How about reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson? Or read our interview with Geoffrey Rush from Pirates of the Caribbean.

So what be yar favorite pirate tale? Surrender it to me, and mark it with an 'X.'

You don't want to walk to plank now, do you?

Once upon a time, I was a young girl who loved to read about spunky and quirky girl characters.
This before the Internet was invented and cell phones took over life as we know it, but WAY after the wheel was invented, around the time VCRs and Michael Jackson were hot. I had computers in my elementary school, OK!

Anyway, as a kid, I adored Anastasia Krupnik, the spunky and quirky protagonist who continues to make readers laugh even to this day. So when I had the chance to find a well-known author for Weekly Reader's Weekly Writer feature, Lois Lowry sprang to mind. Authors for Weekly Writer create the first paragraphs of a story and each week, kids from around the country continue it by sending in their contributions.  

Last month, I found Lois Lowry's Web site and sent an e-mail asking her to help us out. She said yes! I just got over my thrill of even sending her an e-mail when that came back. And to make it more interesting, the e-mail came on my birthday, when I turned (number of Harry Potter books + Yankee Alex Rodriguez' number + house number of British prime minister + number that rhymes with fun).

I'll admit to having a major nostalgic moment. The kid I once was never dreamed that my future would have anything to do with obsessively reading all my favorite authors, such as Lois Lowry. As it turned out, reading had EVERYTHING to do with who I am and what I do. It's a really nice feeling, I have to say.

Oh, there's more. Lois Lowry blogged about being a Weekly Writer. (We may have even inspired a new book!) Check it out here. 

You can help Weekly Writer, too. Check it out here.

Dear Sir/Madame:

Thank you for your interest in our publishing company. While your manuscript was interesting, we are not currently in the market for that type of novel.

Best of luck on your literary journey.

Sincerely,
Publisher X

Harsh!

Have you ever wanted to submit an article idea/the great American novel to a publisher, but visions of a letter such as the one above haunt you in your dreams? Well, first of all, if you ever have a nightmare about sitting naked in English class, well, dreams of rejection letters wouldn't seem as scary. Anyway, while it might be discouraging to receive such a letter when you've poured your heart and soul into your masterpiece, know that even famous authors have been rejected at some point in their careers.

That's right. Kerouac, Orwell, and many other prominent authors were actually rejected. Why? I don't know. Maybe the authors needed to do some editing. Maybe the editor was having a bad day and rejected everything that came across his or her path. Maybe some poor intern spilled coffee on the manuscript, leaving it illegible. (I sure hope that intern got a stern talking-to!) Who knows.

Every aspiring writer should know this. Everyone gets rejected. So keep writing, and keep trying to get published. Live the dream. And maybe, someday, someone will be kicking himself for letting your masterpiece slip through his fingers.

Really? Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. That's a shame. I'll tell you what though... why don't you check out Issue One of Writing. The entire issue is devoted to helping you through your angst. And if you don't already receive Writing in your classroom, ask... no... beg your teacher to click this link and order it for you! In the meantime, read how Tommy Angelopoulous feels about the subject.

Why I Hate Writing

by Tommy Angelopoulous, Grade 11

"I used to think I could write good." That one sentence is the backbone of why I find the idea of writing so absurd and pointless. It would be one thing if I were to be free to express myself in any writing form...

Like this!!!!!

Or this.

oR tHiS.

But that is incorrect. "The formatting is all wrong!" My teachers say, yet I find myself asking, why? Why are there rules that we have to follow when trying to express ourselves? Why is it improper grammar to be able to "write good?" I say if you have understood what I am trying to say, then I have wrote right.

If you asked someone if a certain action went "good," no one would reply, "What, I don't understand the question, what do you mean 'good?'"  If they have any common sense they would let the grammar mistake slide, because they know what you're talking about. However, if said person is brainwashed by the incoherent idea of "grammar," they will most likely reply in a condescending attitude, "WELL."  And you now feel stupid because this person has beat into you their knowledge of grammar.  By the way I'm talking in first and second person to be ironic, because this, as well, is taboo in the writing world.

The concept of grammar does make sense to me, don't get me wrong, I understand grammar completely. It is the idea behind the invention of grammar that makes me question our values as a society. I don't understand why we need it. Why put rules on something as pure and as open as writing? Writing should be a way of expressing yourself in whatever way you want. I bet before the invention of grammar, writing was intelligent, well thought out, and creative, because writers didn't have to worry about someone criticizing their lack of  grammar skills. What bothers me most is that as I am writing this, I am thinking of all the ways I should (will) be corrected according to the almighty rules for writing, because I too have been indoctrinated by that which they call, "grammar."

Now you've reached my conclusion, and no, I am not going to restate my thesis. I don't even remember what my thesis is at this moment but I will tell you this: I do not care for writing. I do not care for the way it has been ruined. I do not care for the way teachers grade my essays. I do not care for how we are "supposed" to write. I do not care for how we are graded on our writing, when it is the teachers who have taught us how to do so. I do not care for the past present participle. I do not care for the indicative. I do not care for anything I read anymore, because I'll have to write about it later in the semester. I do not care for repetition. I do not care for footnotes. I do not care for indentation. I care for creativity.