Digital Short Story

       Yesterday, inspired by my friend John Herman, I published a little digital picture book as part of a writing contest. The contest was created due to a need for beginning readers that are of interest to those over the age of thirteen, but just beginning to learn to read in English, or any language. Even though I have an extensive background in early literacy I found this to be very challenging. You must limit not just the number of sentences you use to tell a story, but also the length and structure of the sentences themselves. Especially tricky is to rely on the 100 sight words (Fry's) that are first taught and need extensive reinforcement. Ideally too, you are expected to choose an image for each page that helps the reader make sense of the words.
     I ended up writing a little travel story, about my enrollment at A Room of  Her Own's retreat for women writers in New Mexico last August. You can have a little look at my book here if you'd like.

http://tarheelreader.org/2014/02/01/a-long-way-to-go/

www.tarheelreader.org/2014/02/01/a-long-way-to-go/

     For more info about the contest visit www.storysharecontest.com