Writer, teacher, blogger and mom.
YA Highway asks this week: How far would you go to get published? They mean, how much would you change about your writing or your manuscript? Would you choose a trendy premise (vampires or dystopian anyone?), would you switch genres? Would you do minor revisions to sign with an agent? Would you do major revisions to … More Road trip Wednesday – How far would I go?
So my fellow blogger Shell Flower has been posting excerpts from her 1988 high school journal. What a great idea! I wish I had the guts to do that. I don’t sadly, and you are all the luckier for it, because it’s awful maudlin self-indulgent crap. I can’t quite believe I kept my journal all … More Words to Cringe By
It’s MMGM again and this time, once again, I’m going back to the vault for a really special book from my childhood. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (yes, her!). I got this book when I was eight or nine (I remember because we were living in New Zealand at … More Marvelous Middle Grade Monday – Whangdoodle Time!
I’m not normally one who likes to latch onto things that are “trending” or “going viral”, but I watched a YouTube video yesterday that I can’t stop thinking about. I’m also not normally one to cite Perez Hilton of all people, but since it seems it was Perez who broke teen Jonah Mowry’s touching story best give … More WRITING SAVES: Why Kids Should Write
First things first: the winner of POWER PLAY by Michelle Martin Bossley is Shellflower whose fabulous blog has a fractal as a background. I LOVE FRACTALS! Send me your address Shell, and the book will be winging its way to you in no time. Now, my giveaway was a little unorthodox. Not a bleak and moody YA … More Giveaway Winner and some notes about Hi/Lo
I spoke of Neal Shusterman‘s UNWIND a few weeks ago. This is a dark YA book to beat all dark YA books. YOU. MUST. READ. IT. Here’s the blurb from Goodreads. The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between … More I Love Dark YA Week 5 – I can’t wait for UNWHOLLY
Recently I told an editor he would have to wait for my manuscript because, in making some minor changes he suggested, I had discovered a few other issues I wanted to address. This was his response: “An author who is alert to the need for improvements without prompting by a potential editor of the project … More Good Things Are Worth Waiting For
Heck, why not? Let’s talk The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. There is so much to love about this classic book that I’m not sure where to start. I guess what I love about this book is that whenever I talk to children who have read it, they are all sure that there is magic in … More Marvelous Middle Grade Monday – The Secret Garden
I was worried and scared at the beginning of the month. I was daunted by the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. But is hasn’t been all that hard. I started with some rules and guidelines, which I followed pretty well. If you look at my graph, you can see my steady progress. … More NaNoWriMo Word Count – 50,946!
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