Blog Assessment Heaven is for real #2

            Specific words/phrases that I used while writing this blog post that demonstrate my voice as a writer are adjectives I used such as, excellent, fantastic, and amazing. These words showcase my personality as a writer because it shows that when I am writing, I am writing with enthusiasm and excitement. This can show the readers the author’s type of personality.

            Some diction I used while writing this blog post was elevated/formal diction. Formal diction is using proper writing skills and using a wide variety of proper vocabulary that makes the author sound wise. An example of my use of formal diction in this post is, “The best part about his writing is that he always includes important details that other authors might not think about including.” Some syntax that was used I used while writing this blog post was sentence length. The sentence length I used in this post varies from medium to long. An example of the use of various sentence lengths is, “This book is a true story about his son who got really sick when he was little. This story is very interesting.” The use of both diction and syntax helps make each post more detailed and more intriguing.

Heaven is for real #4

This weekend I went to the movie and saw Heaven is For Real in theaters. I have only read some of the book so far but if I were to compare the movie and the book, I would say the book is so far better. In the movie, they left out a few parts. Some parts they left out of the movie is the part about how Colton got sick before they left to go on their mini trip. So, technically Colton got sick two times but the movie only showed him being sick once. Another part the movie left out is that the Burpo parents took Colton to the doctor before they took him to the hospital. Colton stayed at the doctors for a little bit until his family realized his sickness wasn't getting any better. The doctor said he was okay to stay at the doctor but the parents knew it was something way worse then the flu so they ignored the doctor and took him to the hospital. The doctor gave the family the wrong information about Colton's condition but in the movie they skipped that part. That surprised me a lot because I thought that that was a very important part of the book. So, if you were deciding whether to see the movie before you read the book I would say don't. Read the book first so you can get the real story of Colton Burpo and his visit to Heaven.

Krista Ramsey

http://enquirer.com/columns/ramsey/1997/03/032997_kr.html
This column is about a young girls basketball team that is unbelievably great at basketball and they are receiving many great opportunities.
A line I think was greatly written is "There's something about 15 basketballs being thumped against a wooden gym floor that sounds exactly like fireworks. The little explosions run into each other, interrupt each other, reverberate. A listener can't help being carried away by the noise and motion of it all." I like this line because it is very well written. It uses a lot of detail and it is also the beginning of the column so it kind of gives the reader a heads up about what they are about to read. This line is written formal and uses a bunch of concrete diction and abstract diction. This line  uses a lot of connotation and denotation. This line includes a lot of use of hyperbole.
Questions:
Based off the story, how do you choose to write your columns?
What was it like going to school for column writing?
How do you get your ideas?

Heaven is for Real #3

Heaven is for real is so far very good. I have read more of the book and it is getting great. So far, the little boy named Colton is very sick, he also got his sister sick too. They are on their way home from being out of town but they decide they decide to take a break from driving and stop at a near by friends house, since Colton is so sick. They stop and wait for Colton to start feeling better. He starts feeling better and they take off for the road again. Colton is now super sick and as soon as they get home, they take him straight to their doctor again. Their doctor is a great doctor. The doctor tells them that it is just the stomach flu, but what they don't no is that it is something way worse that just the flu. I guess I will have to read to find out what happens next!

Heaven is for Real #2

The author of the book I am reading is Todd Burpo. Todd Burpo has only written one book, the book I am reading. This book is a true story about his son who got really sick when he was little. This story is very interesting. Todd is the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska. He serves as a member of Chase County Public Schools and also volunteers as a wrestling coach for junior high school. He's a very helpful man that also volunteers as a fire fighter at his local fire department. To support his family, he operates a company called Overhead Door Specialists. Todd is obviously a very wonderful man.

Though I have only read a few pages of this book, I think Todd did an excellent job writing it. This was the first book he has ever written and it is, so far, a fantastic book. The best part about his writing is that he always includes important details that other authors might not think about including. His writing makes this true story so much more exciting.

The best part about how he is the author is that he is writing this story about his family, mainly his son. I can’t think of many parents that would write a true story about their own kids! I think this fact is very amazing and I bet the fact that the own characters father wrote the story makes him very thankful.

Heaven is for Real

The book I chose to read this trimester is called Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo. I chose to read this book because it seems very interesting to see what comes after our life. I also chose to read this because there is a movie that is coming out very soon on this book and the movie looks really good so I needed to start this book before I saw the movie.

I have read the beginning of the book so far and what has happened is that a little 4 year old boy , named Colton, is having stomach aches. His parents and the doctor both think it is just the stomach flu but what they don't no is that it is something way more than just the flu. He is very sick one day and then the next day he feels fine. That day, his family had planned to take a trip. They took a trip only a few hours away to a zoo. While he was at the zoo he got to hold a very poisonous snake, which made him very excited. During this trip to the zoo, his stomach ache comes back and they are confused because they thought it was gone. He is feeling very sick so the family decides to go back to the hotel they are staying at. Right when they walk into the hotel room Colton runs as fast as he can into the bathroom and throws up. As the night continues, Colton is up at the toilet every 30 minutes throwing up. During the night his little sister also gets sick. His parents now for sure think that his flu is back and they also believe his sister caught it. The next morning,they decide to leave. Now we just have to see what happens next!

I predict that his stomach will get worse and the doctors won't know what to do. I also predict that he will go into some type of surgery and possible die while he is in surgery.
Movie Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvmgzUXqKL0