Small Reads for Brighters Days
My Writing Book of the Day: Word Magic, by Cindy Rogers. Forget structure. Forget first drafts. Think specific words and phrases. That’s where magic happens, and Cindy is your guide. The chapter on implication is one of my favorites. Through examples, exercises, explanation, and quotation, you learn how to imply so much more in your […]
My Writing Book of the Day: Take Joy, by Jane Yolen. Jane debunks the myth that writers must be miserable. Yay! Because, really, who wants to be around miserable writers? And read their work? Quick quote: “Serendipity is not so simple as luck. It is the result of a conscious forging of links. The writer […]
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 […]
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 […]
I went to the Hubbs Children’s Literature Conference Saturday, which has an audience of mainly librarians and teachers. Here’s a quick slideshow: I debated going. I was exhausted and had work to do. And it’s not aimed at writers, so the practical me wondered, “What will I get out of it?” But?I went and had […]
I’ve blogged recently about promo items I’ve been creating through Vistaprint.com?(note: that is an affiliate link for me–please only use this link if I’m giving you helpful information!), and I thought I’d share how I made the luggage tags that I’ll be including in the swag bag for my table mates at the Children Literature […]
I hope so, because BookSpeak! is definitely getting more buzz than Stampede! did. But Stampede got some lovely posts online from wonderful poetry people, a nice review in Booklist, and was a Minnesota Book Award Finalist. And it didn’t matter, sales-wise. I’d pull out my royalty statements for proof, but they’re so tear-stained I probably […]
Last Wednesday, I mentioned that I was waiting to hear from a regional press about a possible nonfiction book assignment. I heard Thursday that I didn’t get the assignment. I’m bummed, but their reasoning made sense. I had been personally referred to the editor as a perfect fit for a book they had in mind. […]
Every Sunday, I make my weekly to-do list. It includes reminders of all the things I try to do daily, like morning pages, blog, read 5 poems, daily poem, 15 minutes of nothing, work out, train Jack, track my food, etc. Then there’s a list of specific appointments I have, like my Wordsmiths holiday crit […]
I spend most of my days at the computer, online, working. I’m not a longhand writer, and I love being part of the online writing community, so technology is crucial for me. The Good News: I got an iPhone (NOT a birthday present, Randy insisted, so he gave it to me the night before my […]
