In March 2017, I returned to the Highlights Foundation for my second workshop, Novel Beginnings. Our amazing instructors were Clara Gillow Clark and Kelly Going (who writes as K.L. Going). This year I was in the Lodge, which I enjoyed just as much as the cabin. Another difference from my October 2015 visit: snow. … Read more »
Writing
Six Word Stories Part 2
Who doesn’t love good six word stories? They are short and sweet. I am so lucky to be able to visit classrooms and hang out with kids. As a writer, there’s nothing more valuable than learning from and listening to your target audience. So when I had a chance to go into my son’s sixth… Read more »
How a Book Smells
I love how a book smells. I love that slightly dusty, dry papery smell mingled with the chemical odor of ink. Unfortunately that smell can often fade, but it’s in my memory. Writers are encouraged to use smells in their books because when our brains read the description of the smells, our sensory areas light… Read more »
Writing Prompt: The Lost Potato
Do you see that? There on the ground? It’s a potato. It’s just sitting there, all by itself, on the sidewalk. How did it get there? This lost potato is the perfect writing prompt. I can think of lots of stories about how that potato ended up there. Send me your stories about the Lost… Read more »
Room for Improvement
Running has a finish line, but with stories, there’s always room for improvement. Virginia Wolf wrote that it’s essential for women to have a room of one’s own, and I don’t disagree. But there’s another room that’s also essential. Room for Improvement. I don’t usually write stories for specific contests, but I will revise them…. Read more »
Pen Parentis Fellowship Now Open
This is a photo of me in New York City with antlers, not horns. That’s significant, if you’ve had a chance to read my story “Cernunnos and Me.” The story is about being a hunter, about going after what you want. The day I took this photo was the day I attended my first Pen Parentis… Read more »
Submissions Rates for 2016
I keep track of my submission, acceptances and rejections monthly and annually. I like to see what parts of the year I am slow and prepare for that. I also like to see if I’m getting better at sending the right submissions to the right publications or if I’m still sending stuff wildly into the… Read more »
Graphic Novels About Growing Up
Graphic novels are so hot right now. When I was growing up, I only remember reading Maus, a story about mice in World War 2. But now graphic novels about growing up are all the rage. Graphic Novels We Have Loved My oldest first read a graphic novel version of The Red Pyramid, then dove… Read more »
Pennsylvania Books
Ready for a reading list of Pennsylvania books? Last summer, I came up with a “Reading Road Trip” article that described the real places in the U.S. featured in some of my favorite books. As a kid, I dreamed of visiting the places I read about, everything… Read more »
Pig Out for Reading
I remember falling in love with reading. I’ve been reading a lot of middle grade books the past year, because that’s what I want to write. I want to write books like the kind I read from fifth to eighth grade, the kind I re-read and re-re-read. They were the books that really stuck with… Read more »