Writing lessons with Miles, part 4

We had our fourth writing class today after Miles had been away on vacation for a while. During vacation, Miles' homework was to observe and write at least three times during his trip — like what we had done during the last class. When Miles got to class today he told me he had done the homework. The only problem was his 5-year-old sister threw a tantrum and tore up his homework. He said he did attempt to redo his homework but I couldn't help but laugh. It sounded like a dog had eaten his homework.

During our lesson today, we talked about keeping a journal. I told him to write about whatever — his observations, what he did, what girl he thought was cute. When I said that last part he wrinkled his nose.
"Oh, girls still have cooties?"

"Yeah."

"Well, they won't always."

The rest of the lesson we talked about the elements of a plot and what makes a plot strong. Miles came up with a plot on the spot — something about meteors, villains, super powers. He's a sharp kid — goofy, observant and imaginative.

He told me he wants to be a fiction writer when he grows up. I asked him if he thought he'd be successful at it. His was response was "yeah" in the perfect "duh" tone.

Always,