Last Friday was Career Day at my children’s school, so I spent part of the day talking with classes about being a writer. I always have fun doing this, though it also always gives me a new appreciation for teachers. Standing in front of a classroom of kids trying to teach about something and being “on” enough to keep their attention is tough! My hat’s off to all those wonderful people who do this day in and day out — I don’t think I could do it.
Part of my spiel was talking about writing, but I also touched on a couple of related jobs. I decided to give things a new twist this year and made up short verses about the work, then let the kids try to guess whose job each verse described. I’ve never claimed to be a poet, but the kids seemed to like it so I thought I’d share here.
I Love Words
I love words.
Long or short, big or small — Just give me words ’cause I love them all.
They’ll make you laugh, they’ll make you cry — They can paint pictures vivid as the sky.
I pull them together like beads on a string — Just give me a chance and you’ll learn something.
Because – I love words.
I love words.
I love what you wrote – really, I do! Now let’s make it shine with a change or two.
Why say ‘sit’ when you can use ‘slouch’? And don’t settle for ‘chair’ when you really mean ‘couch.’
Cut a word here, change a phrase there — I make you look better, so please don’t despair.
Because – I love words.
I love words.
Typos and glitches fill me with fright — Dreams of misspellings haunt me by night.
Misusing ‘its’ or ‘their’ or ‘too’ — It happens more often than you might think is true.
Some people believe I’m just fussy or picky. I promise I’m not – I just don’t want things to look icky.
Because – I love words.
I love words.
Radio, newspapers, Web or TV — When there’s news to share, none are safe from me.
Need to raise money? Got a new book? I’ll send out the info to get you a look.
My press release sings, the articles dance. I’d love to promote you – just give me a chance.
Because – I love words.
The kids did really well, though the last one tripped them up a bit. So, what do you think? Can you guess who each of these jobs describes? I’ll post answers later. 🙂
