“Something ancient and holy was unfolding all around me. It was what the wandering pilgrim-poet Basho called a ‘glimpse of the under-glimmer’ an experience of the deeply real that lurks everywhere beneath centuries of stereotypes and false images that prevent us from truly seeing other people.” The Art of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau When […]
On a good day, when there isn’t a pandemic, it’s hard to be a teacher. And yet, day-by-day, year-by-year, teachers bring their A-game, giving their all to their students. They use their own funds to buy books and supplies, spend their evenings creating engaging lessons and weekends grading assignments. They deal compassionately with children’s emotional […]
Whenever I visit schools, students ask me where I get my ideas. I tell them that ideas are everywhere and that I get them from my everyday life. Things that happen at school or at home. Conversations that I overhear. Books that I’ve read and trips that I’ve taken. But the truth is, getting an […]
I believe that one of the most valuable tools I use as a writer is understanding my own personal process of creating and revising. Over the years, I have learned, through trial and error and lots of reflection, what writing strategies and approaches work best for me. As a writing teacher, I wanted my students […]
The book, First Year Letters, covers Mrs. Hartwell’s first year teaching at a new school. Through her student’s letters, we see their class grow through the year, complete with mistakes, mishaps, learning and growth. The end of the year is a perfect time to look back and reflect. For most of us, mistakes and […]
Anne Lamott calls the first draft of a story or essay the throw up draft because the point is to get all of your thinking and your ideas on paper. Once the first draft is done, the work of revision begins. But how? At the beginning, of course! Revision starts by defining the focus, the […]
It’s not pots we are forming, it’s ourselves.” –M.C. Richards I love this quote from M.C. Richards. He is talking about the art of pottery, but it could as easily apply to writing as well. I know that it applies to my own writing. With fiction, as I write about how a character might react […]
I love my critique group. We have been sharing our writing, and for that matter, our lives, for over fifteen years. When we first started meeting, we were all new to writing for publication. Now, fifteen years and many, many stories later, we have all been published. I honestly don’t think I could have done […]
Research is creating new knowledge. –Neil Armstrong I haven’t written a blog post for a while. It’s not because I haven’t had anything to say. I always have something to say—just ask my family! The reason I’ve been away is that I’ve been lucky enough to immerse myself in the research for and writing […]
“Writing that is over-planned and over-rehearsed is juiceless. Later drafts are about pumping it up. How much better to have a wild and somewhat unruly first draft, something so full of detail, it’s a question of what we want to leave in, not a question of what still needs to be added.” –Julia Cameron […]