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.
Tag: writing process
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.
Red Pen Tidbits 1: Introduction to Grammar and Usage
Welcome to my first post in the "Red Pen Tidbits" series where we will make mistakes and break the rules! Sort of. What are you talking about? I have taught English for several years from 6th grade up to 12th grade, and I love it. One of the moments I enjoy the most are when [...]
7 Types of Phrases That Add Detail to Your Writing — Author Toolbox
Welcome to your crash course in phrases of the dependent variety! Do you feel like you're at school, yet? Don't fret, there's no test. This time. Let's start with the basics: What is a phrase? A phrase is a word or group of words that expresses a single concept within a sentence. It is dependent, [...]
Writing Goals for the Classroom — 2018 Edition
Back in August, I posted about the changes I'd made to Writing Goals for the Classroom. I also mentioned that they'd probably change again (and hopefully improve) based on student feedback and personal growth. Well... It's time! We've adjusted the format from the first six weeks quite a few times, so I'll walk you through each [...]
Why I Write…
People write for all sorts of reasons every single day: send a text or email, leave or make a note, finish something for work or school, jot down a recipe, send a letter, balance a checkbook, make a grocery list, etc. I, too, write America. As a writer and teacher of writing, I'm also excited [...]
Writing Goals for the Classroom
We all know that goals are important in our lives; they give us a purpose. Students need that, too. They need a purpose in the classroom, one they choose. I've been incorporating writing goals in our class for the last couple years. They have changed significantly from when I started due to student feedback and [...]
5 Steps on the Journey to the First Draft — Author Tool Box
What can I share for this month's Toolbox? What can I write about that could be even slightly helpful to other writers? I've been trying to answer this question for a few weeks in preparation for this post, but I still didn't have an answer until recently. Someone suggested I write a brainstorm about zombies... [...]
3 Steps for Writing a Poem
Poetry: a mellifluous word all by itself. Does it sound so beautiful the first time it's written down, though? Or is there a process for writing poetry? That's a hard question to answer. Some poets will say no. Others will say yes. The answer, however, depends on you and the purpose of your poem. For [...]
Conquering the Writing Process in 7 Steps
The Writing Process. We've all heard of it. We know what it is. We know why it's used. We know that it's often the bane of our existence. Why does the combination of those three words fill us with dread? Shouldn't they excite us and fill us with wonder? They are here for us, the [...]
Immortal Words of a Mortal Writer 