Yesterday I presented a workshop, Wikis, Word Choice and Red Font: Ride the Revision Wave of the Future at the South Carolina Council of Teachers of English conference. This is my third year to have the opportunity to work with teachers in the tranquil setting of palm-packed Kiawah Island. Driving home yesterday I reflected on… Continue reading The Joy of Being an Educational Author
Tag: Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8
How Writing a Nano Novel is Different than “Normal” Novel Writing
On the ride to NCCAT with Joyce Hostetter, my fellow presenter, we talked about our NaNoWriMo books. This is my first foray into historical fiction; this is Joyce's fifth book. Her story is about a teenager who for unexpected reasons finds himself working in a mental hospital in the 40's. I was curious to know… Continue reading How Writing a Nano Novel is Different than “Normal” Novel Writing
The Teacher Learns to “Show, Not Tell”
I'm thick into NaNo and realizing that I can describe something to death-- but making up something that hasn't ever existed except in my mind is really HARD for me! As I push along at the keyboard and struggle to produce (gulp!) 2,000 words a day, I barrage myself with hundreds of questions: What will… Continue reading The Teacher Learns to “Show, Not Tell”
It's nice when someone else does your work for you
Last week I spoke at Holy Family University in Philadelphia and today I forwarded pictures of the event to one of my editors at Maupin House, Emily Raij. She kindly put together a blog on Maupin House's site. When I got done smiling, I realized the next blog Emily had posted was a review of… Continue reading It's nice when someone else does your work for you
The Second Edition is Here!
I'm excited to announce that Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8 is now at the printers. You can order this expanded version from Maupin House at 10% off the cover price of $23.95 until mid-October. Not only will you find more ideas on how to teach short fiction to 4th & 5th graders,… Continue reading The Second Edition is Here!
Pillars of Gold and Silver
In a recent conversation with my 16-year-old nephew Ben about my blog, I mentioned that I generally blogged about books that I recommended. In a typical adolescent "let's think outside of the box" response, he said, "Why are you doing that? Book reviewers don't have to like a book in order to write about it."So… Continue reading Pillars of Gold and Silver