What are you writing?

Short post since my internet is slow at best, although nonexistent is more accurate. My school was canceled today. I spent a lot of my day writing. I’ve been revising my query letter and my first novel. So far the first 38 pages have been revised into 18. It’s hard work. Hard. Hard. Work. Not to mention [...]

Social Networking: Trying Out Pinterest and Twitter

A couple months ago I started seeing images that had the words “via Pinterest” on my friends’ Facebook news feeds. It took about a week ‘til my curiosity was piqued enough to find out what Pinterest was. Once I found out what it was, I requested an invite. Once I received a Pinterest account, I [...]

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What fuels writing workshop?

Around my school, we have three more Mondays of school left in 2011. That’s not much, and yet, during this season of grey days, holiday excitement, and indoor recess, it can seem so l o n g. It has me thinking about the energy level in writing workshop. Is it high or low? Like other [...]

Beyond Classroom Walls

One of the fantastic sessions I attended at NCTE was called “Beyond Classroom Walls: Honoring Voices of Young Readers.”  It was led by Julie Johnson of Raising Readers and Writers, Katie Keier of Catching Readers, and Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine.  Let me start by saying that all three of these women are the [...]

And a Copy of The Blood Lie Goes to…

Many thanks to Cinco Puntos Press for sponsoring a giveaway of Shirley Reva Vernick’s new novel, The Blood Lie. If you missed the original post about this book, then click here to read it now.

Every-Day Dress-Up + A Giveaway

Last year I wrote a blog post entitled “Rethinking and Rewriting Princess Stories” which included some of my thoughts about princess culture.  I was pregnant with my daughter when I wrote it.  Nearly one year has passed since I wrote that blog post and I’ve done lots of thinking about princesses and what it means [...]

Happy Thanksgiving to Our TWT Readers!

Digital greeting card made with Smilebox

Happy Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving, mostly because it rolls into the Christmas season. My life as a writer changes during these weeks of the year. I shift my focus to documenting the season and my family’s response to it. I decrease my word count. I breathe more and rush less. I still have goals, but I tend [...]

Engagement Starts at Home

I made a beeline for Alan Sitomer, Jon Scieszka, and Gordon Korman’s session, “AUTHOR STRAND: THREE YA AUTHORS TALK COMEDY, FUN, AND SMILES (A.K.A. THE POWER OF GETTING READERS TO PEE THEIR PANTS!)”, on Saturday afternoon at NCTE.  I managed to get a seat for myself, Ruth, and two other colleagues in the second row [...]

SOLSC & Building Community

I had the pleasure of meeting several Slicers, not just the ones I blogged about last Friday, when I was in Chicago for NCTE.  I had breakfast with Bonnie (and Tuvia) and Sarah who slices with us every March.  I ran into Elisa at a session.  I also saw folks who Slice with us at [...]

Right Back At It…

I figured by now I would have time to write a post reflecting on NCTE.  However, I apparently forgot (once again) that there are a limited number of hours in a day. The post will have to wait. Instead, here is a brief list of highlights. Laurie Halse Anderson, Katherine Patterson, and David Levithan hosted [...]

750 Words Update from NCTE

It’s day 20 and I’m still writing my 750 words daily!  One of my fears, with taking on the 750 Words November Challenge, was that I would be unable to write while I was at NCTE.  For $39 (gulp) one can get unlimited internet access in their hotel room at the Hilton Chicago.  Talk about [...]

Stories are essential to our lives.

Yesterday afternoon I attended the Elementary Section Get-Together at the Chicago Hilton. The get-togethers are always fun to attend since they provide me with the opportunity to catch up with people like Karen Caine, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and Franki Sibberson who I only get to see in-person at NCTE. In addition, attending the get-together gives [...]

NCTE is under way!

We’re excited to be in Chicago for NCTE! Last night we had dinner with Patrick Allen, Mary Helen Gensch, and Troy Rushmore.  This morning we’re meeting up with some of the Slicers for breakfast.  Tomorrow afternoon we’ll be presenting with Patrick and Troy.  After our presentation we’ll head over to the Stenhouse Booth (#303) in [...]

Verbal Cues — Pilates & Writing Series: Part 5 of 5

When I started working with Lauren, my Pilates instructor here in Pennsylvania almost two and a half years ago, she gave me a lot of verbal cues.  The ones I heard the most were “keep your shoulders down” and “relax your neck and shoulders.”  It didn’t matter if I was working on an upper or [...]

Guiding Words.

These words from one of my favorite writers, Jane Yolen, in one of my favorite books about writing, Take Joy, are guiding my portion of our presentation at NCTE.

Thoughts About The Blood Lie + A Giveaway

The Blood Lie, by Shirley Reva Vernick, is a novel that begs to be read. It’s the story of what can happen when people of different religions don’t understand each other’s differences. The Blood Lie is historical fiction. It’s based on true events that happened in Massena, NY, which is located in Upstate NY near Canada, [...]

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Word Count

I’ve had a daily word count for awhile. I’m not sure exactly when it started, but I think it was while writing Day by Day. However, it was while becoming serious about writing fiction that my word count became as much a part of my day as brushing my teeth. I think this is true [...]

What are you thankful for?

November is always the busiest month of the year for me.  When I was teaching full-time, November meant Parent-Teacher Conferences (and NCTE starting in 2007).  Now that I’m out of the classroom, November means consulting appointments, speaking engagements, and NCTE.  My husband and I also host Thanksgiving in our home each year so that means [...]

11 on 11.11.11

It’s kind of been a long week, so I’m going to save the blog post that has been tumbling around in my mind until I have a little more time to pull it together. Instead I’ll give you 11 snippets on 11.11.11. Thank you for the comments and feedback on this post. I’m glad the [...]

Conquering Fear — Pilates & Writing Series: Part 4 of 5

Sometimes Pilates exercises are downright scary.  I have a short list of things I refuse to do when I go for a Pilates session.  They are as follows: I will not… 1)  Do anything that requires me to lower my back side into the well of a reformer.  Why?  It creeps me out. 2)  Hang [...]

Filling Needs.

I have this job that I’m incredibly thankful for. It gives me a chance to focus — really focus — on the teaching of writing. Naturally I’m interested in all areas of literacy, as well as other content areas (for those of you who don’t know I’m a licensed biology and chemistry teacher), but my [...]

NCTE/TWT Meet-up

Ruth and I would love to get together with those of you who will be in Chicago for NCTE on the morning of Friday, November 18th.  If you’re interested in meeting up for breakfast (say, around, 8:00 a.m.), then please leave a comment on this post or e-mail us.  We’ll be sure to send you [...]