When you’re writing a story, any kind of story, including graphic novels, nonfiction, news articles, funny stories in a text to your best friend – WHATEVER!!! – you want to be creative. At least, I want to be creative. I hope you do, too! But creativity can be hard to turn on some days…. Read more »
Articles
Tips to Help You Write More
Are you having trouble writing? Not sure how to get started? Looking for tips to help you write more? I do a lot of writing. Every day. And I do a lot of reading about writing. Every so often I read a book with advice on writing. These books usually have really great tips in… Read more »
What Authors Need to Know About School Visit Contracts
Authors love doing school visits, but with the rise in orchestrated, coordinated effort in book banning, planning ahead by having a well-written contract. **SCBWI is updating their site, and this article isn’t available right now. I’ll update the link as soon as it is!** I wrote an article about this for SCBWI Insight, read… Read more »
Are Virtual Author Visits for Students Worth It?
I’m sure some people are wondering: are virtual author visits for students worth it? The answer is YES. I had a fantastic time visiting five classrooms last week over Zoom. I know it’s been hard not seeing people in person, but I was so grateful for this opportunity. The students, from first grade to fifth… Read more »
Researching Nonfiction – Visiting the home of Margaret Morse Nice
I don’t know if I’ll ever write a book about Margaret Morse Nice, but now that I have visited the land where she lived and studied birds, I feel more connected to her. I visited Columbus, Ohio in late April 2021 and made the effort to get to Tuttle Park, which was once the property… Read more »
Ask An Author Premier
I’m excited about a new project for 2021: Ask An Author. When I was a kid, I wrote all the time. I wrote stories in notebooks. I typed stories on my grandfather’s old typewriter. I sent letters to friends and family that were a mix of fact and fiction. I read and wrote, wrote and… Read more »
Newbery Award Book Shelf at My Library!
This is a post of mini-updates about writing. I’m in a really cool work group of fellow writers and illustrators that is working to support each other and promote each other for school visits. Exciting! 2. I was super excited to discover that my local library has an entire shelf full of the Newbery Award… Read more »
Setting up email newsletter
Happy New Year! I love trying new things and here I go again. I’m trying a new way to stay in touch with people: an email newsletter. Check out the upper right area of my website and you’ll see this little green form: I’m not going to send out emails every day or even every… Read more »
Magazines that Use Freelance Writers
Are you looking for magazines that use freelance writers? In early october I spent some time sending emails to new magazines that accept submissions from freelance writers. How did I find these magazines? I can tell you I didn’t spend any time browsing the glossy magazine display at the supermarket or my local bookstore. While… Read more »
Working With Volunteers Made Easy
Working with volunteers can be the most rewarding experience or the most frustrating. Numerous non-profit organizations across the nation rely on volunteers to stuff envelopes, raise money, pick up litter, and donate their time to the cause. It isn’t always easy, but working without volunteers is a frightening possibility for many organizations. Perhaps due to hectic… Read more »