Writing
« Previous EntriesIn your compliment sandwich, hold the cheese
Sunday, June 13th, 2010“You forgot the sandwich.” The fourth grader stared me down, her nose twitching. I shifted beside her desk, where a laptop displayed her personal-essay-in-progress. “Was I supposed to bring lunch?” I asked. She rolled her eyes and thrust her chin into her palm. She might be nine, but she definitely had the teen angst down. [...]
Writing Happy Dances
Monday, May 31st, 2010My favorite things in life involve high-pitched squeals. Having two girls, aged 8 and 11, help with that a lot. Writing a good sentence will get the happy squeak from me. For young Elizabeth, it’s anything pink. For Emily, it’s achieving a high score on her favorite games. But there’s been a whole lot of guinea [...]
In honor of the upcoming ScriptFrenzy
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Oh, hilarity. It’s time for that screenwriting challenge of the year, ScriptFrenzy, where we write 100 pages of a new movie, TV show, graphic novel, or other script in the month of April. I’ll be serving as ML (i.e., head honcho, cheerleader, glorious leader) for the Austin area for the second year. And in honor [...]
New Year, New Medium
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010No, I’m not going to turn into a fortune teller. Actually, wait, that sounds sort of fun. I bet you can get online certification for that. Why yes, yes you can. But back to business. I have so many talented friends, and one of them emailed me last week asking if I would like to [...]
Writers who influence me
Thursday, December 31st, 2009I’ll end 2009 with a list of writers who make my world a better place. Cynthia Lord. Her book Rules is probably the most re-bought and gifted book of my life. It’s about the sister of a boy with autism, and the voice is so great, the story is so wonderful, and the lessons so [...]
Why I still read Ms. Snark
Sunday, November 29th, 2009Yes, I know Ms. Snark’s blog is dark. It has been for over two years now. If you’re a writer and never discovered her, you should take a look. The archives are full of amazing and helpful information. But that’s not the main reason why I go. There are things in writing that are easy to [...]
Write a lot? Try 10,000 words. In one day.
Monday, November 16th, 2009Remember those commercials, “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” Of course you do. You’re just that old. Other than being a brilliant use of alliteration, rhythm, and outrageous trademark repetition, the old Tootsie Pop ad justified all the silly questions in our lives. It [...]
The fourth grade critique group
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009I should have asked them sooner. The fourth-grade class hustled to pack up their bags and sit on the floor around my chair, more motivated than they had been all day. I hadn’t served as a substitute in ages (although last time had been memorable), but their teacher had taught my daughter, and personally asked [...]
Trespassing, stealing, and risking life and limb
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009I first became a hardened pomegranate thief when I was ten. The superintendent lived across the street from our school. On the edge of his back yard, surrounded by a fence, was a lovely heavy-laden pomegranate tree. And, you know, it wasn’t like he was our English teacher or something. He couldn’t flunk us, right? So during [...]
Literary Lothario
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009I admit it, I’m an infidel. Earlier this year, I was passionately in love with my middle grade novel. We were together every day, often long into the night, mutually basking in the glow of each other’s fond admiration. Then, we hit a rough patch. She got some attention. Things looked promising for the long [...]
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