Schlessinger Media

From fiction to nonfiction, short stories to poems to memoirs, creative and narrative writing often stem from writers' imaginations or personal interests, weaving together believable characters, settings, and plots.

Presents the basics of expository writing, from composing the introduction and the thesis statement to assembling body paragraphs to writing an effective conclusion.

Writers, ranging from a sportswriter for a school newspaper to a student working on a research project, demonstrate the processes of developing a focused thesis statement as well as structuring and writing solid introductory, supporting and concluding paragraphs.

This program suggests strategies to help discern the appropriate tone for a piece of writing based on purpose and audience. Student writers, ranging from an avid cyclist on a fundraising campaign for an upcoming school trip to a writer communicating with her fellow club members on the Internet, use formal and informal writing to accomplish their task.

In this program, a young writer must compose a convincing letter to the school news paper to win his classmates' votes for student council, while another writer is challenged to research and write a supporting argument in favor of an issue that she feels strongly against.

What are the ingredients of a tall tale? Like any story, a tall tale includes characters, a setting, a problem and a solution. But in a tall tale, ordinary characters -- whether fictional or based on real people or occupations -- may face extraordinary challenges and prevail with outlandish solutions, or may conquer ordinary problems in inventive ways.

Meet Pecos Bill. Raised by coyotes in dusty Texas, he grew up to be the roughest, toughest cowboy who ever lived. Whether riding a tornado, inventing the original cowboy song or conquering a gang of outlaw cowboys, Pecos Bill is a man of many talents.

Meet John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. Living in harmony with nature, he fulfills his dream of traveling west to plant apple orchards across the frontier to aid pioneers on their arduous journeys.

Meet Davy Crockett -- a legendary hunter, politician and avid storyteller who tames the wild frontier with sharpshooting, cleverness and plenty of humor. Battling bears and panthers, dislodging the sun from between two icebergs and whipping a destructive comet back into space are all in a day's work for Davy.

From sea to shining sea, the United States is a country full of tall tales! Take the story of Mike Fink and Annie Christmas, legendary keel boat captains who battle with strength and skill on the waters of the mighty Mississippi River.

Meet Phoebe Ann Moses, better known as Annie Oakley. In the world of champion shooters, nobody stands taller. Born into poverty, things change for Annie and her family when she discovers her unique talent for sharpshooting.

Meet Mose Humphreys, the toughest firefighter in the nation's toughest neighborhood -- the Bowery in New York City. As a boy, Mose's great size, speed and strength makes him one of the best fire company runners of all time, but he longs for the day when he can become a full-fledged firefighter.

Meet Alfred Bulltop Stormalong, better known as Old Stomalong. Born in the briny waters of Cape Cod, he is a sea dog at heart. His enormous size and stature isolates and saddens Stormy, but doesn't stop him from proving himself as a first-rate shipboard lookout and navigator.