Have I gone too far? What’s wrong with cookies? Every Friday, our daycare hosts Cookie Friday. Kids who are old enough to eat and enjoy cookies know all about it and rush into the atrium to grab a cookie and munch it down on the way home. Sometimes they grab two cookies. Or three. Every… Read more »
General writing
Writing Process Blog Tour
Last week I was invited to participate in a writing process blog tour by my friend Vanessa Bernard. Please check out her exciting writing! As part of the blog tour I need to answer four questions about my writing process. Here we go: 1) What am I working on? For clients, I’m doing an annual… Read more »
Help Kids Write Essays
Looking to help kids write essays? I remember an essay I wrote in eighth grade about a specific chapter in Gulliver’s Travels. My English composition teacher adored it and praised it through the roof. I also remember another one I wrote as a senior about Jane Austen for a contest. It received an Honorable Mention,… Read more »
Twitter and Women: The Right to Vote
Before Thanksgiving, I was excited to be a panelist at a meeting of the International Association of Business Communicators of Pittsburgh. The topic was “Applying Traditional Communication Skills to Social Media.” I do love using social media and I’m a firm believer that skilled communicators of any age can be effective on many different social… Read more »
Apps for Freelance Writers
Here is a quick review of three apps for freelance writers that make my life easier. Voice Memos – There are lots of audio recording apps out there but this one is included on your iPhone so you had better be using it! I use it to record ideas that pop into my head while… Read more »
Kids Lunch Box Ideas (by kids)
Do you frequently look for kids lunch box ideas? Do your food choices differ from what your kids would choose? For a school assignment my six-year-old had to draw what he would pack in his lunch box if he were in charge: When he explained his drawing, I was pleasantly surprised. He ‘packed’ a Nutella… Read more »
Favorite Bedtime Books
I recently joined the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators and my first few meetings have me thinking about my favorite bedtime books. I have a quite a few. In fact many of my favorite bedtime books have no words! But instead of making a list of which books I love, I am actually… Read more »
Will Wine Help? For Writers, Cooks and Moms
A toast to Moms (and dads)! Something funny today! I offer this light-hearted look at some of the tasks that require both creativity and inspiration – and are made easier by an excellent glass of wine! I’m not talking about drinking to get drunk here. I’m talking about stimulating the parts of our brain… Read more »
Piano Practice
One of my children loves piano practice. My middle child often whines when I mention it. But when my middle child has played a particular song very well, he relishes the feeling of success. To help my children practice piano more, and get that great feeling, I often use behavior charts to encourage them to… Read more »
What’s Your Obstacle?
We’ve made our New Year’s Resolutions. Mine is: Finish, polish and publish that young adult novel you’re writing. I’ve got the desire to achieve this and the support of my family. This is the “Year of the Book.” But it’s not going to be easy. There are obstacles. How will I reach my goal? By… Read more »