To me, success isn't determined by my ability to produce words...
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Learning from the masters #IWSG
My favorite writing craft book is The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing by the editors of Writer's Digest. This book features articles and interviews from numerous authors and is broken down into five parts.
Are you still there, JJ?
Great question. I'm here, and I'm working on something big! Check back in later this month for something I never thought I'd share. In the meantime, please enjoy this poem I wrote just now when I'm supposed to be finishing up a baby quilt... From the quilt I'm supposed to be working on... A lot [...]
Summer Goals… 2021
Have you missed me? It's been quite some time since my last post [NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program (Author Toolbox)], which was in October of 2020. I have been busy since then, so this lovely blog of mine has been moved to the back-burner. What exactly have you been up to? First, I'll give you a quick [...]
NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program (Author Toolbox)
The Young Writers Program (or YWP) is a way for NaNoWriMo to be accessible for participants 17 and younger (18 only if they're still in high school). Writing 50,000 words would be near impossible for young writers, so YWP allows them to choose their own writing goal.
Her Favorite Ride — a short screenplay
A young woman, who is avoiding her mom’s repeated phone calls, is eager to commence with her birthday tradition as soon as her sister arrives at their favorite theme park.
Rules Are Rules — a short screenplay
When a law-abiding teenager breaks one of society’s oldest rules, he discovers that his watch doesn’t actually answer to him.
Competing in NYC Midnight
Caviar? What? I had to research caviar, something I have never eaten and will never eat (I don't care for seafood). Then, I had to figure out how to fit it into my story... Oy vey.
A Treasure Map of Ideas (Author Toolbox)
You may or may not have heard about mind maps for brainstorming ideas. However, I find coming up with those ideas to be considerably difficult sometimes, especially when it comes to teaching essays in class.
MC’s garage sale (Author Toolbox)
This exercise creates questions. Will all the answers show up in the novel? Probably not... but the answers will help us better understand our character.
3 Tips for Starting a New Notebook (Author Toolbox)
I don't know about you, but every time I go into a store that sells notebooks, I find myself picking up each one and flipping through it. Even if I don't intend to buy one, I imagine what could be written on those pages.
Evolution of my Writer’s Notebook: 7 notebooks and counting…
Not only have my notebooks changed over the years, but my writing has also changed. Please join me as I walk you through the evolution of my writer's notebook, including four key things about each notebook.
4 Ways to Self-Motivate (Author Toolbox)
For my return to Author Toolbox, I want to share with you the four ways I've used to find my motivation to write again. I hope that some of them will work for you if you ever feel like this writing thing needs a break.
“Rise Again” — Quarantine, Family, and Reflection
Four months... I haven't posted anything on this blog for four months. Did you miss me? I don't know about you, but life has been pretty crazy since January. Long story short, I've had a lot of reasons (excuses) not to write. However, I plan to remedy that now. But first, you should listen to [...]
#100DaysofNotebooking — Days 8-14!
Week two of #100DaysofNotebooking has come and gone. With it, I have had a blast trying new things, reflecting on topics I enjoy, and planning for future writing. If you haven't already, be sure to check out Michelle Haseltine and her post where she introduces this amazing notebooking challenge! You can start your day one [...]
#100DaysofNotebooking — Table of Contents
As I was preparing for my second post about #100DaysofNotebooking, I realized that my titles don't really help you know the content of the posts. Notebooking daily means the topic likely changes daily, so I've decided to keep a Table of Contents here for you in case you want to see certain kinds of posts. [...]
#100DaysofNotebooking — Days 1-7!
Welcome to 2020! I don't know about you guys, but I started the new year with daily writing. I know... I know... I should've already been doing that. I wasn't. However, with the beginning of #100DaysofNotebooking (started by Michelle Haseltine), I've formed a habit that I would love to share with you! Want to know [...]
Gamification in the Classroom: Level 4 — Problem-Solving after the First Six Weeks
I won’t sugar-coat it… At first, my students were completely confused. That is 100% my fault because I gave them too much too soon.
Gamification in the Classroom: Level 3 — Game On
It's almost time to begin the school year! This will be a short post to show you what we're starting the first week of school! Find out more: Level 1: Getting Started Level 2: Incorporating the Standards Level 3: Game On Level 4: Problem-Solving after the First Six Weeks Launching I'm using Google Sites to [...]
Gamification in the Classroom: Level 2 — Incorporating the Standards
It's been a few weeks since I've updated you on my gamification progress. I'm happy to say, it's going well! In a way, I have "leveled up" by incorporating the standards for my class into my game. Since I'm in Texas, we use the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). Why do this? Why not? [...]
