writing life
Teens
I’m going today to a high school English class and writing class to talk about my writing process. It may not come up, but I’ve been thinking about what advice I would give a teen about becoming a fiction writer.
Advice on Becoming a Fiction Writer
Essentials
First, be a reader. Read widely.
Treadmill Desk
Treadmill Desk
What sedentary lives we writers lead. When I heard about the treadmill desk, I decided to try it out. Here’s the update on how it’s working.
August
September? When did September come so early in the year?
Now, August? It was good.
Treadmill Desk: I set up my treadmill desk and
life rhythms
For me the rhythms of life control a lot about my writing. In early June, I expected to get a lot of writing done this summer. And I have. But not
Best Worst
I’m off teaching a professional development today and I leave you with an open ended question
Taking risks
This month my daughter and son-in-law (newly weds of three weeks) decided to move halfway across the country. They had discussed it for a while, but the decision was abrupt because they either had to renew their house’s lease – or not.
They came through town and stayed here two days,
Teen Voices
Listening to Teens
Yesterday, I taught writing to a dozen at-risk teens. We worked on a personal narrative for about 4-5 hours. Now, the kids didn’t want to be there, but had to be. They didn’t want to write, because it’s summer and who wants to do English class in the summer.
For the first fifteen minute [...]
Kids
Keeping in touch with kids is hard sometimes. I’ve been working on lists of picture book ideas for Friday Ideas and I find myself writing nonsense! No kid would be interested in some of the ideas I put down.
Then, my grand-daughter came to visit and I remembered what I must never forget: kids have a [...]
Balancing
Commitment v. Revision
Your total commitment to the current draft of your novel is in direct conflict with the need to maintain an attitude of revision
Teaching Freshmen to Have an Attitude of Revision
When I taught Freshman Composition at a local college, I started on the first day by pairing students up with a partner and asking [...]
Stress
Writers Plan Around Life Events
Do you plan your writing year? Do you plan a month or a season ahead? How do you deal with stressful periods of life?
I view my writing as my work, something I am privileged to do every day. I do try to plan ahead and make sure I’m accomplishing something. I [...]
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