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[Reading Life] Why I’m Not Reading Good Books Anymore
As my life gets busier, my reading time is eroding. Thus, my new vow: I am not going to read good books. You read that right. I am not going to read good books. Instead, I’m saving my reading time for great books. When I find myself thinking, “This is decent,” but I’m thinking ahead
[Poetry Friday] Sea Change (Another Rachel Carson poem)
Last Friday, I shared a poem I wrote about Rachel Carson. That poem appeared in Cricket Magazine. Today, I’m sharing the second Rachel Carson poem I wrote (this is when I was working on poems for Dare to Dream). I always knew that a time hook was great for articles, but it helps with poetry,
[Poetry Friday] Rachel Carson: Reborn at Sea
While working on poems to submit for Dare to Dream, the fantastic new anthology edited by Jill Corcoran, I wrote two poems about environmental pioneer Rachel Carson. Jill chose a different poem, but I’m excited to say that both my Carson poems will be shared publicly. This first one, a triolet, is in the September
Poetry Friday: Just Like That (my poem from Dare to Dream)
A couple of weeks ago, I shared “Faith of a Mustard Seed,” by Hope Anita Smith, from?Dare to Dream…Change the World, a poetry anthology conceived of and edited by Jill Corcoran (Kane?Miller, 2012). Several of the poems have stuck in my mind since reading them, which is really saying something, given my meory. Hope Anita’s
[Writer’s Muse-ings] Put in the Time to Make Great Finds, or Why I Stink at Thrift-Store Shopping
I was admiring a cool room design in a magazine. It used an old library cart on wheels (a thrift-store find) as a bookcase. Love that! Functional and reflective of my love for libraries! And I happen to need some new bookshelves. So I searched online, but?nothing fit my budget. I didn’t even try actual
Poetry Friday: Petting Zoo and the Poetry Friday Anthology
I have several poems in The Poetry Friday Anthology (Common Core K‑5 edition): Poems for the School Year with Connections to the Common Core, a new?offering from Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong (of PoetryTag Time fame:>) I want to share some other poems, but I like to get permission before sharing someone’s entry from an
Sketches from Water Can Be…!
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about receiving Violeta Dabija’s pencil sketches for Water Can Be…, our 2014 follow-up to A Leaf Can Be… I’m so excited that I got permission from both the publisher (Millbrook Press) and Violeta to share a couple of sketches here. So… and Aren’t they beautiful? I love the
Why I’m Glad Writing Is Not a Performance Sport
1) I’ve been watching some of the Olympics, and it’s so heartbreaking when a supremely skilled athlete has a bad day and watches golden dreams slip away. 2) I’m “driving” a prop car for Minnesota Brass this season in our Bonnie & Clyde show. Due to a perfect storm of drill changes, storms, equipment issues,
My Writing Life: Sketches!
One of the most exciting (and, let’s be honest, scariest) things when you’re a picture book writer is for your editor to say, “I have sketches!” It’s that moment when you see how’someone you don’t know (usually) has envisioned the words you struggled with into a book. Will the artist have surpassed anything you could
Pause for a Writing Tip from the Olympics
Watching the men’s gymnastics competition last night, I was struck again by how much I like a good pause. Check out a great one here. In the Olympics, on So You Think You Can Dance, in a drum corps show…sometimes the best moments in the entire show are when a performer (or a whole field
Finding My Writing GPS
Yesterday I wished for a GPS for my current wip. Afterward, I realized I already had one available: mentor texts. Sometimes when I’m at sea and disoriented, choosing a book as my mentor text, my guide, helps me find a direction and answer the questions in my head. I don’t know why I hadn’t yet
Bus Writing to Connecticut
I was on a bus trip from Minneapolis to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and back from Thursday afternoon to Sunday night with Minnesota Brass. Here we are in the full retreat portion of the show we were in Saturday night. To say it was a long bus ride each way is
Poetry Friday: World (lyrics by John Ondrasik)
I was sharing one of my favorite songs, “100 Years,” by Five for Fighting (John Ondrasik) with a friend this morning. I’ve shared those lyrics here before, so I’m going to share another Ondrasik song instead. World Got a package full of wishes A time machine, a magic wand A globe made out? of gold
Powerlifting Poetry
I presented at a Young Authors Conference all last week, and I thought I’d share a brief version of my lesson plan with you. First, here’s a less-than-1-minute slideshow: The theme of the conference all week was “Writing with Muscle,” and my session was?“Poetry Powerlifters.” We worked mainly on getting rid of extra words, filler
Reprinting!
I am SO excited! I blogged recently about some concerns I had about BookSpeak’s availability, and it turns out it was all for a very good reason. My agent got confirmation today that Clarion/Houghton is reprinting BookSpeak! Yay! I also realized that I should have asked my editor at Clarion/Houghton directly rather than wonder about
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Are You Looking For?
Go to my Poetry page for:
- National Poetry Month projects through the years
- Small Reads Roundups (poems grouped by topic)
- Introductions to several favorite poetry forms