On a recent road trip with my husband, we played Scrabble.

Now, I know a lot of words.

But he’s a master at game play and maximizing scoring.

But I’ve lived with him for over 17 years and know a lot of his strategies.

But he also remembers the two letter words that can turn the tide.

But I’m also pretty good at anagrams and seeing words in scrambled letters.

So who won?

Before I tell you, take a look at the top left of the board at the word “granite.” That used all my tiles and earned me the 50 point bonus.

Luck or skill?

Vocabulary or strategy?

Does it really matter who won?

There are a dozen reasons why I can’t write.

1. I’m scared the basic story is bad/boring/dumb/cliche.
2. I’m scared I can’t tell the story that I imagine.
3. I worry as soon as I sit down to try and start, something will interrupt me.
4. I’m worried I ran out of ideas.
5. I’m scared I’m not smart enough to fix the problems I know are there.
6. I’m scared my ideas are dumb.
7. I’m worried I should be doing something else.
8. I don’t have the time in the day I need.
9. I don’t have any ideas.
10. I am tired.
11. I am scared.
12. I am worried.

Those are the reasons why I can’t write.

What are some reasons why you can’t write? How do you overcome them?

I love writing, but really what is my favorite part of being a writer?

My niece and nephew stayed with us for a week this summer, and it was a delight. Yes, my kids had fun, but for me the best part was that both kids are super readers. My niece carried a book everywhere and she and my middle son read books together. Team reading!

My nephew read about a book a day, and unlike my own children (sometimes) he actually accepted my book recommendations. That was so satisfying.

One morning, he asked me what was my favorite part about being a writer.

I was caught off guard, but in a good way. Had anyone ever asked me that before?

I thought a moment, then told him I loved seeing a world in my head, creating that world, and then transporting readers to that world in a way that felt real to them. I rambled a bit, then I told him I loved when my middle son said, when he reads some of my stories (not all), that he forgets he is reading and is just IN the story. When I can do that with my writing, I am in heaven.

I have some amazing writer friends, and I wanted to know their favorite things about being writers, too.

Writing Friends

My friend Amy Wagner said “My favorite part of being a writer is that I live in this world, but play in hundreds of others that spin through my head. And I get to share those worlds with others in my stories. Writing forces me to see this world, really see it. After that I twist reality or faithfully record the story. Either way I am usually surprised by the results.”

My friend Samantha Smith said “I’d say my hands down favorite part of being a writer is reading my book to the kids. I think sharing stories (especially out loud) really brings them to life! By engaging with the kids, I’m getting to tell my story, and I’m also getting to share in their reaction. That brings everything to a whole new level because its merging my experience with theirs. Pure magic!” 

Samantha has a book coming out soon, so keep your reading eyes open for Cate’s Magic Garden. 

I love the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign. I also love summer reading lists. The Lee and Low diverse summer reading list is perfect for both!

They have a list for grades K-8 broken down into age groups. I will read them all. I spotted one of the SCBWI Crystal Kite winners on the list.

A really fun part of this reading list is the award certificate parents can download. If you know me at all, you know I love award certificates.

We’ll be doing a trip to the library soon for sure. If you go, and all these books are checked out, blame us.

I’m going to read them and share my reviews here. If you’ve read any, send me your reviews.

Diverse Reading List Book Reviews

June 29, 2017

We’ve read four books on the diverse reading list so far. I put a ton on reserve and when I picked them up from the library, my youngest son was pretty upset. It turns out he thought I was ordering “baby books” for him. I reminded him I was working hard to be a picture book author and that I needed to study these books to learn what makes them great.

And I would say three out of the first four we have read are great. I especially loved Block Party and Juna’s Jar.

Me: David’s Drawings is definitely diverse and encourages group interaction. It’s an interesting read, but frankly I – an adult – was frustrated at what the kids did to David’s Drawings.

Kid: I liked that they worked together, but I didn’t like when the stars were added.

Me: Juna’s Jar was by far one of my favorites. It started out with a food that tingled my taste buds and excited my curiosity. Then the flights of imagination intrigued me. The ending surprised me and satisfied me. A winner.

Kid: I agree. I liked that they got pets.

Me: A pretty good introduction to moving to a home in the city. I feel like a lot of books I’ve read take kids out of the city. I liked this twist and the way the family helped the kid adjust.

Kid: I liked that Lily made friends and that she did stuff with her parents. I didn’t like that they walked around stores and didn’t show enough background. I want to see more colorful and detail, not just white.

Me: Block Party is another one of my favorites because it includes food and the exciting part is that the recipe for the food is in the back of the book! We are definitely trying this. The story line captured the attention of my older kids. I’d love to construct something like this.

Kid: I agree. I liked that she was expecting her friends NOT to like the food but then they did.

I love big rewards and I love reading, so this summer, we are going to tackle Scholastic’s Summer Reading BINGO. I loved doing these activities as a kid and yes, I force my kids to do them, too. But I don’t have to force too hard. I would like to find a math version of this kind of project because we need to keep those skills sharp, too.

Reading offers big rewards already and luckily in this family, we don’t need a lot of incentive to read books. But over the summer, it’s fun to tackle these kinds of challenges and reward yourself by reading and celebrating. And don’t forget to chat about the books you’ve read with friends (book club!).

After presenting the idea to the boys, they decided to work on one card together. Every time someone completes a square, they can record the name, book title and date of the person who worked hard for their big reward. Sometimes, they want to take a short cut and find the easy way out, so I had to designate a start date of May 26, the last day of school.

Small Rewards

I know they can easily complete one row, column, or diagonal. So I’m going to offer them a small reward for completing one of those.

I think the small rewards would be a game of miniature golf, or a hike to the local waterfall, or even a visit to the zoo.

What would be your small reward?

Big Rewards

I don’t want them to stop once they’ve completed one row or column. So to keep them motivated, I’m going to offer a big reward if they complete the entire card.

My idea of big rewards are things like a trip to Kennywood, or Sky Trails, or Climb North.

What would be YOUR big reward for completing a card?

One day, I’d love one of my books to be on a young reader’s summer reading Bingo card. That would be a pretty cool reward for me.

Summer reading is almost here! Summer reading feels like such an indulgence. I look forward to it every year. Yes, sometimes I force my kids to participate in the summer reading programs, but the good part is I never have to force them to read. Here’s what’s happening in our area:

Northland Library Summer Reading

Make the world a better place—by reading!

Kick off Summer Reading and help Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh reach its 180,000 book challenge. The fun begins June 11 with an outdoor festival for all ages. Head over to the Library in Oakland for music, crafts, games, storytelling, food trucks and more! While you’re there, find out how to enroll in a Summer Reading program that will help you improve the world around you.

Here’s a sample of some of the great things you can do at this year’s Extravaganza:

• Enjoy live performances, interactive storytimes and puppet shows
• Browse the annual book sale
• Play a fun Readers Game
• Check out our new musical instrument collection or stop by the CLP Arcade
• Decorate your own Eat’n Park Smiley Cookie and sing him Happy Birthday
• Support your Library by purchasing food from the featured food trucks
• Sign up for Summer Reading and so much more!

Schedule of Events:

EQT Performance Tent

Emcee: Larry Berger, SLB Radio Productions, Inc.

• 12:00 – Pittsburgh Puppet Works, WQED Writers Contest “The Write Dream 2017”
• 1:00 – Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Xtreme Teen Broadway
• 2:00 – 1Hood
• 3:00 – Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Welcome
• 3:15 – Celebrate Smiley’s birthday with singing and cake!
• 4:00 – Timbeleza, Street Samba Funk

Quiet Reading Room, First Floor

Artists brought to you by 91.3 WYEP

• 1:15 – Miranda Brandon
• 2:15 – Sophia Blake
• 3:15 – Hunter Greenberg
• 4:15 – Julia Renee

Storytimes, Read Alouds and Puppet Shows

• 12:30 – Children’s Room, The Magic Tree puppet show
• 12:45 – Family PlayShop Tent, Baby and Toddler Snugglebugs storytime
• 1:00 – Citiparks Stage, Daniel Reads a Poem read aloud
• 1:30 – Children’s Room, The Magic Tree puppet show
• 2:30 – Children’s Room, The Magic Tree puppet show
• 2:45 – Family PlayShop Tent, Baby and Toddler Snugglebugs storytime
• 3:00 – Citiparks Stage, Daniel Reads a Poem read aloud
• 3:30 – Children’s Room, The Magic Tree puppet show
• 4:30 – Children’s Room, The Magic Tree puppet show

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Hands On Learning Tent

• 12:00 – Paper Folding Demonstration
• 12:30 – Paper Folding Demonstration
• 1:00 – Paper Circuits Demonstration
• 1:30 – Paper Circuits Demonstration
• 2:00 – Paper Folding Demonstration
• 2:30 – Paper Folding Demonstration
• 3:00 – Paper Circuits Demonstration
• 3:30 – Paper Circuits Demonstration
• 4:00 – Paper Folding Demonstration
• 4:30 – Paper Folding Demonstration

This month, I read the boys two Judy Blume books: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge. These were two of my favorite kid book series growing up.

I successfully glossed over the part where a secret about a certain holiday character is revealed, and the boys asked for more books about Peter and Fudge.

Updated or Original?

I searched on Amazon for other books in the series. That’s when I learned that the Judy Blume books have been updated and re-released for modern readers. I just wasn’t interested in those versions. I feel like reading the old versions gives my kids a glimpse into the past when the past was the present.

We’re going to check out Double Fudge and Fudgamania from the library, but I ordered the classic version of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great.

Would you choose the updated or original versions?

More Book Series

There’s nothing like a good series to combine the familiar character with the unfamiliar new adventure. After I saw how much they loved these books from my childhood, I thought about other series I loved. asked them if they wanted to hear some Ramona books, or some of the Little House series. I’ve already shown them the movie version of Anne Shirley, but I don’t really see them tackling that whole series like I did. My oldest was into the Goosebumps series for awhile but has moved on.

Nowadays, their favorite kid book series are the Junior B. Jones, Percy Jackson, and I Survived. They also love the non-fiction Who Was? What Was? series. Of course they’ve read Harry Potter. But the middle is now on to Ranger’s Apprentice and you all know they enjoyed the  (disappointing) Unwanteds. They read some Magic Treehouse but no Lemony Snicket or Time Warp Trio. The youngest, who loves horses, likes the Breyer’s Stablemates series from Scholastic.

What favorite kid book series have you shared with your kids?

What are their favorite modern book series? 

Should we let kids read bad books? Quick blog post today, readers, about the quality of kids reading materials. Lots of parents just want their kids to read. I’m lucky that my kids are hearty readers and devour most books without any fuss. In fact, taking away reading time is one of their dreaded consequences.

But what if the book your kid is reading is really bad?

Not full of bad words, but just written poorly? Bad books are all around us, but many of us don’t even know it.

Bad Soup

Here’s the bad soup analogy. I’m sure someone mentioned this to me, but I can’t remember who.

“You know when you make soup and you throw all the ingredients and cook it for 15 minutes and you can still taste everything separately that it’s not good soup. It’s bad soup.”

The Unwanted series is bad soup. If you read the cover, you think you’re getting this great combo of Harry Potter and Hunger Games. It’s got magic and science and death and teenage angst. But it’s also got head-hopping point-of-view problems, tons of showing, not telling, and in the first book, I don’t think the main character solves his own problem. I couldn’t read the other books in the series. The real unwanted is the kind of writing in these books. But my kids loved them.

Luckily, they are also reading Reina Telgmeier’s books and Judy Blume’s books and John Lewis’s books.

So does it matter if my kids are reading books that suck? Isn’t it more important that they are reading? I think it is, and I never once told them I thought the book was bad or poorly written. I let them read it and enjoy it and love it and when they are older and drag it out to read to their kids, they will figure it out for themselves.

Here’s a scary thought. What if I’m writing a bad book and I don’t even know it? Yikes.

And here’s another scary thought: they are making a movie.

I use a few tools when writing a novel.

I do a long outline of the story. I write the shorter synopsis. I write a bunch of taglines to see what story idea sounds really catchy.

I use the alphabet trick when determining and deciding character names.

I draw maps of the novel neighborhood. I use the objective/obstacle/outcome approach to structuring and analyzing my chapters.

Today I adopted a new tactic: a calendar.

Since my story is based about the school year, I realized part of my confusion and uncertainty while writing a novel was that I was having trouble keeping track of days. I’m also hoping this will help me analyze if my novel is too heavy in the beginning, and if it’s too weak in the saggy middle, and if there’s enough action at the exciting end.

I am absolutely completing this calendar in pencil, because I am still revising.

The Finish Line

I don’t really believe in writer’s block. I believe a lot of times writers just have problems with their stories that they haven’t solved yet. These tools are ways that I eliminate writer’s block. They help me visualize the story in a new way. Some writers have big pieces of paper taped to their walls, or draw out big charts to track character arcs and plot lines. I think eventually I will trace the character arc of my main characters once I’m done this version of the novel. I want to finish first, then go back and strengthen. But using these tools along the way will make sure my finish isn’t me collapsing as I cross the line, to use a running analogy. I’ll finish strong. Then, unlike in a race, I will go back and fix the weaker parts.

When I don’t have a lot of time to work on actually writing, there are some useful activities I can do when I don’t have time to write longer chapters.

What tools do you use to keep your novel straight?