It is not unusual for me to get letters from students telling me that they have read one of my books. But this year, I got a different kind of letter from the very, very, very smart third graders (guided, of course, by their skilled teacher) at Cherry Crest Elementary in Bellevue Washington! The letter …
Smart Third Graders Share Their Lesson for Inferencing for Read More »
Who doesn’t love a great quote? Quotes are a quick way to not only motivate yourself to write, but the best ones seem to get to the truth in as few words as possible. Below is a short list of some of my favorites: “The more …
Vera John-Steiner in her book, Notebooks of the Mind, talks about the importance of writing in a journal as a way to “pause and make meaning from the bits of our lives.” I too use my writing journal as a place to write about the small things, the small moments, the small insights that when …
I am having trouble right now bringing myself to the page. In other words, I am having trouble making myself write. My creative juices are definitely not flowing. And then, of course, I feel guilty about not using this slowed down, stay-at-home time to be productive. Sound familiar? I know I am not alone. Many …
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 …
“Every aspect of nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder and awe.” –Carl Sagan Out taking a walk the other day, I saw a toddler in that familiar crouch, face close to the ground, studiously examining an ant colony. As a parent, I’ve watched my children become fascinated …
The first thing to know about writers is that they don’t give up. Lots of people think that being a writer is easy. I mean, how hard can it be to sit around all day and write stories? Well, it turns out, pretty darn hard. Stories don’t come together by magic. It takes a lot …
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 of …
“There’s a difference between a work’s beginning and starting to work.” –Twyla Tharp. In her book, The Creative Habit: Get It and Use It for Life, the acclaimed dancer and choreographer shares the habits and mental approaches she uses to infuse creativity into her own life. For many of us, getting started on any …
“I believe reading is the key to writing. The more you read, the better your writing can be.” –Avi. Writers read, that’s all there is to it. You can’t sugar coat it, downplay it, or make it sound any different than it is. Writers read. In fact, the truth is that writers read …