No, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But you can judge it by its first lines. You know the saying, “You never get a second chance to make first book impressions.” (sic) First book impressions are quick and visceral. They hit you in the gut. You just “know.” It works for people. It…
Librarians, in general, have a lot on their plates. School librarians have even more. They generally know their “clientele” by name, know their interests, actively suggest books, read stories aloud, teach kids about proper book-handling behavior, anticipate readers’ future interests and book trends. (When my kids were growing up, their school librarian also used to dress up as various…
Ahhhh, Spring. Is this anyone else’s favorite time of year? The weather slowly leans toward lovely, like it’s just resting on your shoulder. The greens are greener, the pinks are pinker, the sky is fresh and blue. Everything seems sharp and in focus. Plus, there are jellybeans everywhere. Anyhoo… I learned a new word last…
The weather we’ve been having makes me want a cozy tea party. Who would you invite to a tea party for friends in your favorite novels? In all the books you’ve read, going all the way back to when you were a kid, what five characters would you want to have at your party? Here’s…
When a teacher or parent invites a book into their classroom or home, they’re not just giving the book valuable real estate, they’re giving space to the characters within that book. When I was working in elementary schools, I was often charmed by the classroom libraries the teachers had curated. And they had given lots of space to…
My heart breaks for kids these days. Kids who don’t think they’re smart enough, good-looking enough, tall enough, short enough, happy enough, involved enough, helpful enough, caring enough, busy enough, strong enough, sporty enough, techy enough, brave enough. Enough. It has always been like this for kids. When you were a kid, did you think…
And Just Like That, It’s a New Month. How are you doing with your goals, your hopes, your dreams two months into this new year? All of a sudden, I’ve been hearing more about Confirmation Bias. I wasn’t even sure what sort of phenomenon it was until I kept seeing it everywhere. Haha. That’s kind…
I read. A lot. I think I’m not alone here. 😊 I don’t read as much as the women in my writer’s group, though. Holy moly, those women are voracious! I don’t read just middle grade or how-to-write books either. I think that a writer or anyone can glean a ton of advice, inspiration, hope…
Planning/plotting/outlining these are methods some writers adopt before they begin to write. Other writers just go for it with nothing but a general idea in their head of what they want their story to be. Neither way is wrong. Whatever method a writer (you!) uses that helps them finish their story is the best method….
Relationships are built on trust. We shouldn’t be telling lies to our friends, partners, kids, parents. But do you know who it’s really easy to lie to? Ourselves. And we’ve got to stop right now! If you want to accomplish your dreams, whatever they may be—and let’s assume you want to write since this is…
