{discover.play.build.} make a map
Maps fill my notebooks. They are almost magical for me to find a story, to jump into a story, or to revise a story. Map of the fictional town for… Read more {discover.play.build.} make a map →
connect (soLs)
My One Little Word (OLW) for 2011 is connect. It is everything my OLW needed to be. It would challenge me and encourage me. It touches on all parts of my life and is so simple, yet rich and vibrant too. It’s been six months since I started living with this word. Here is what I’m learning: I have to slow down in order to connect. It is not enough to have good intentions — to think about sending a card; to remember a birthday ahead of time, but not on the… Read more connect (soLs) →
talking about YA
me, Kristina McBride, & Ruth Metcalfe Tonight (after listening to Gordon Korman speak after the All-Write Summer Institute Dinner + Author event) I hung out with Ruth Metcalfe and Kristina… Read more talking about YA →
rediscovering notebooks.
I grabbed this stack of notebooks from my office last week. The plan is to sort through them, looking for inspiring images to scan and add to the peek into… Read more rediscovering notebooks. →
did you notice?
I changed the tab my book to my bookS! Last week my editor at Stenhouse gave a green light for the next professional project — Celebrating Writers. Christi Overman and… Read more did you notice? →
{discover.play.build.} childhood toys
A gift from my parents when I was eight. My family has been reading The Velveteen Rabitt: Or How Toys Become Real the past couple of days. I’d forgotten how… Read more {discover.play.build.} childhood toys →
query letters? query letters. query letters!
So if I want to pursue an agent, I need to write a query letter. It’s actually been on my radar for awhile, but I’ve not attempted to put words on the page. This past week I’ve gotten a little more serious about it. I read through the links I’ve collected over the past year and even attempted a synopsis of the story. I’m trying not to let it scare me. Just for eventual shock and awe value (after I revise this a million times), here is the very first,… Read more query letters? query letters. query letters! →
{discover.play.build} writers make plans.
Each time I start a new notebook I use one of the beginning pages to dream up some plans. New writer’s notebooks have such potential and I like to tap into that energy by listing possible writing projects. I fill a page (front and back) with as many single phrase descriptions of potential writing projects as possible. I’ve done this for more than ten years (ever since I started my first writer’s notebook). Just like there are new ideas with each new notebook, there are also ideas I list again and again.… Read more {discover.play.build} writers make plans. →