Are you a teacher or author looking for a virtual author visit? I love connecting with classrooms and talking about nonfiction. We can work with a local bookstore to get kids copies of signed books. We have great discussions about research and writing about technology, medicine, mistakes, and more. I can do author Q&As or brainstorming activities!
This is a great time to have authors interact with students when you don’t have to worry about travel fees or bad weather cancelling events.
Contact me about fees, timing, technology and any other questions. Stay safe!
I’m excited that Spider magazine recently accepted a fiction story and a recipe. They will be in print at some point. Magazines work very far in the future (think eight months to two years!) Eventually I’ll be able to share the actual publications.
I also received a rejection for a word game that I submitted. Rejections always sting, but it’s important to take a breath. Remind yourself it’s (usually) not personal.
For me, it helps to have lots of projects going on and to try a revision. How do you handle rejection?
But there are many more writing groups active in our region. There is so much going on. There are so many opportunities even though we can’t gather in groups. Sometimes I can feel overwhelmed trying to pick between different events, but I would never want the pendulum to swing the other way. No, there’s no need to feel like a lonely writer toiling away at your craft. Stay connected, share events with other writers, be nosy, and be involved.
“The eye and the ear are different listeners.” – Jane Yolen
When we read sensory details in a book, parts of our brain are activated. The parts that are activated are the same parts that would be active if we were experiencing the sense in real life.
So if you write about the spicy sweet scent of cinnamon, the brains of people who love cinnamon will light up (activate) like they were actually smelling it.
I practice using my senses to experience the world around me. Every other day I write down a sentence that includes one of my sensory observations.
“His phlegmy cough sounded like Velcro ripping in his chest.”
“The hot parking lot after the rain smelled like metal.”
“Water droplets crawling down my legs felt like ants.”
“Seeing the light underside of leaves warns me a storm is coming.”
The Wetlands
Take a look at this photo of a salt marsh near Cape Henlopen, Delaware.
What would it feel like if you were a giant and rubbed your hand across the grass tops?
What would it feel like walking through the marsh grass?
What would you hear in this salt marsh?
How would it smell? (Let me tell you, it has an ODOR!)
What do you see in this photo?
What can’t you see – but you know is there? (Hint: we did spy snakes and spiders!)
What things can we taste in a salt marsh? Have you ever tasted salt air as you inhaled deeply?
Practice
Good writing means using all of your senses to describe the world. For the next week, any time you write, include details from all five of your senses. Do this especially if you’re writing nonfiction!
How does your favorite blanket smell?
How does the water falling out of your faucet look?
What do you see when you look at that rock in the dirt?
I’m always excited to receive a large envelope from Highlights for Children because it means a new story of mine is out in the world!
“The Challenge Game” appears in the September 2020 issue of Highlights for Children magazine. It was inspired by a drill at one of my youngest son’s soccer practices.
The message of this story is “don’t be afraid to shoot and miss.” Personally, I needed a reminder of that this year.
So don’t be afraid to shoot, friends. You might miss, but you might also score a goal.
If you’re a writer right now, you know things are changing. I just learned that my new book, The Science and Technology of Leonardo da Vinci, won’t be released until May 2021. It’s a little frustrating, but I know when the book comes out, readers will have such a great time trying all of the hands-on experiments. Stay tuned to find out about virtual bookstore visits and more!
I love being a citizen scientist. I participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. I submit eBird checklists!
I signed up to learn how to count pollinators for Project BeeWatch, but my schedule didn’t work for the training.
Last week I started a new citizen science project: Firefly Count. It’s so simple. On lovely summer nights I sit in my backyard and count firefly flashes. I never knew there were so many species of fireflies! Learn more about how to join Firefly Count from Massachusetts Audubon!
One of the best ways to learn how to do something like writing or art is to copy very good versions of said thing. That’s the goal of Pictures and Words OnlineOnline Summer Story Camps 2020 camp. We’re learning how to tell great stories using pictures and words!
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