Congratulations to Sandra Warren for winning Augusta Scattergood's book, MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG. ****** Here's the question: On a multiple choice test, which would you choose? a. Kirby Larson's newest book, Audacity Jones Steals the Show (Scholastic, 2017), is about an eleven-year-old girl ("Audie to her friends") who makes an elephant disappear. b. Audacity Jones is about Cypher,… Continue reading Audacity Jones Steals the Show: Review, ARC Giveaway, and a Mini-Lesson on POV
Facebook can be a huge distraction but it also can be a way to connect with people and find out what's going on in their lives. I'm never sure who I'm going to read about, but at times I find out interesting tidbits about a friend's life. For example, several months ago Janice Hardy, author… Continue reading A Chat with Janice Hardy: What Would You Ask the Person Behind Fiction University?
Congratulations to Kathy Weichman who won Beginnings Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress. Thanks to all of you who contributed to the this series. You can find the previous posts here: Part I and II included General Advice; Part III was on Deep Point of View; and Part IV was on Story Making. ******* "During my time as a facilitator of various writing… Continue reading Writing Tips #5: Nuggets of Wisdom on Editing & Revision
Congratulations to Janet Brantley who won Phyllis Naylor's book, "The Craft of Writing the Novel." ****** Just as there is a large number of writing blogs to choose from, there are also many books to help writers improve their craft. I have selected a few of my favorites as well as two on my "to… Continue reading Writing Resources Part II- and a Giveaway!
Congratulations to Jan Brent, who won the audio CD of "A Secret Sky." *********** If you are a writer you know the Internet houses more writing blogs then you have hours to read. Add to that the number of books about writing and you can be overwhelmed with just learning the craft! To help you… Continue reading Writing Resources Part I- And a Giveaway!
With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein and the strains of "These are a Few of my Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music playing in my head, I thought I'd share some of my favorite writing blogs with you. But first, a disclaimer. This list does not include every blog I read. The ones listed here… Continue reading These are A Few of my Favorite Blogs
My most recent book is Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8. Although intended as a teacher's guide for upper elementary and middle school students, I draw upon it when I teach writing classes at Central Piedmont Community College. I was looking over this week's class on Creating a Character and found my instructions for students to… Continue reading When the Teacher Becomes the Student PLUS a Great Giveaway!