Genres carve up all the works we call “literature” and put them into helpful categories. For kids, the most helpful categories are developmental stages. So children’s book genres really equate to age categories or developmental stages. Why developmental stage? What’s interesting and appropriate to a toddler is wildly different from what would make the cut …
It’s been 31 days since George Floyd was murdered. Thirty-one days of reaffirming that Black Lives Matter. Thirty-one days that our country has taken the fight for racial justice to the streets. Thirty-one days of hard conversations and personal reckonings. For me personally, a lot of that time has been spent reading and listening to …
This is my Action Plan to Fight Racial Injustice Read More »
I’ve never publicly shared my “how I got started as a kidlit writer” story. Why? Well… If I’m honest, it’s because my story starts with a lot of dumb luck and divine intervention. In fact, I never even considered myself to be a writer, let alone a good one. Let’s start at the beginning. How …
Yesterday was my 30th day of self-isolation during this coronavirus pandemic. And it feels like it should be marked somehow. It feels momentous. And surreal. And depressing. And hopeful. Like something that should be celebrated – but it’s a celebration of doing nothing. Like this is too easy to be worth celebrating – but was …
30 Things I’ve Done in My First 30 Days of Self-Isolation Read More »
Coronavirus has upended everything. Many people are suddenly working from home. (If they’re lucky enough to be working at all.) Kids are either off school entirely or doing some sort of online/homeschool hybrid. Headlines read like the plot synopsis for the latest YA dystopian novel. Literally everyone is stressed and questioning if there’s enough chocolate …
5 Tips for Working From Home With Kids In A Crisis Read More »
It’s no secret I’m a big fan of bullet journaling. My writing bullet journal is my number one tool for achieving my writing goals. Also, I love the smell of a fresh notebook and an excuse to play with markers. View this post on Instagram Mmm. New bullet journal smell. . #bulletjournaladdict #bulletjournaling #writinglife #authorlife …
I was slow to jump on the word-of-the-year bandwagon. A lot of my friends love the idea but setting concrete goals and plans has always worked well for me – I didn’t see the point. Last year I gave it a whirl just to see what the fuss is about. That’s when I realized …
The old blog has been a bit quieter than usual. That’s because I was gone almost the whole month of September on a road trip. 6000 miles. With a dog, two kids, two adults, and one not-so-large camper. We passed through numerous national parks, stopped in mega metroplises to visit friends and eat pastries, and …
Road trip! Or: How I Wrote Nothing for a Month and It Improved My Writing Read More »
I’ve been wanting to write this blog post for a long time to share how I use bullet journaling to help me write my middle grade novels. I’m in the middle of writing a new novel right now, so it’s the perfect time for me share. It’s also nearly NaNoWriMo time! If you’re not …
Bullet Journaling for Writers: Part 4 Writing a Novel Read More »
A few days ago, my daughter leaned over my shoulder and asked what I was reading on my phone. It was a blog post about writing villains, so I told her it was about how to write a better story. Which led her to say: “But you already know how to write.” Yes and no. …
