As I’ve been sheltering in place to help keep my community safe, I’ve been thinking about what stories do for us during challenging times. They can help us look with new perspectives at what surrounds us, sometimes understanding it better or more deeply. They can also help us escape into worlds far from ours. Many… Read more »
Story Bites Writing Prompts
Story Bite 17: World Building and History (Today)
For this Story Bite in a time of global social isolation, I’m going to delve into one of my favorite parts of writing: research that helps a writer to understand a world. This post will also connect to the incredible historical situation we all find ourselves in today…but more on that in a bit. (By… Read more »
Story Bite 16: It’s All About Perspective
Perspective—the voice that tells a story—can entirely change a story’s meaning, purpose, and feel. Here’s an example: When I was four years old, I was invited to the birthday party of my older brother’s best friend, Aaron. There was a chocolate cake in the kitchen while activities went on outside. I grew bored with the… Read more »
Story Bite 15: Writing Action (Part 2)
In our last Story Bite, we wrote an action scene. We focused exclusively on the path and the obstacles facing our character, but mostly the journey itself. Those scenes are fun to write. For many authors, they just flow onto the page: We’re narrating what’s going on and that’s often not too hard to write… Read more »
Story Bite 14: Writing Action (Part 1)
Writing action scenes can be a lot of fun. They’re energetic and your character is truly doing something. They can move along the story, end or begin a page with power, and hook your reader. For a lot of people, they’re easy to write—because it’s just movement. And that’s a great place to start. For… Read more »
Story Bite 13: The Very Beginning (Part 2)
In the last story bite, we came up with an idea. Now we’re going to put that idea on the page. And what we’re looking for is…an opening line. First, I want everyone to know that it is extremely rare for a professional author to nail that opening line in the first writing of the… Read more »
Story Bite 12: The Very Beginning (Part 1)
One of the hardest parts of writing is getting started. This is true for a lot of students I speak with, but also for professional authors. This Story Bite (the first of two) will help you with one part of getting your work of fiction (or nonfiction, though my examples here are fiction) underway. This… Read more »
Story Bite 11: This Builds Character!
How many times have you been forced to do something that wasn’t a lot of fun and were told, “It’s good you did that! It builds character!” I think this is pretty common, whether it’s going for a hike in the pouring rain, going camping when the ground is frozen, having to speak in front… Read more »
Story Bite 10: On Finding Your Idea
At a school talk I gave last month, I asked students to tell me their thorniest writing problems. What made writing hard for them? Was there anything I could do to help? One student told me that she loved writing but always had trouble starting: She struggled to find what to write about. She had… Read more »
Story Bite 9: On Character-Driven Beginnings
Happy New Year! For this story bite at the start of the year, we’re going to talk about one of the most important—and the most challenging—aspects of writing creative fiction or nonfiction: the beginning. Here’s a pic to start us off: my cat Flora, who is beginning (LOL) to fall asleep. Beginnings need to hook… Read more »
Flora has claimed my writing chair. I think we have a deal going: This is her space while I’m doing my day job.
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I’m so excited to once again be offering virtual visits for World Read Aloud Day: Wednesday, February 1, 2023! It’s been a joy each year to meet your wonderful classrooms and connect with your students. I have a full-time job, so I can’t afford a complete day of visits, but I’m taking a bit of time off to meet with a few classes or library groups.
This sign up form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScBvJWovT3X7HBVuFcMeU7KedfUrDww-TB7Ck3__26oZifMkA/viewform) will give you a chance to sign up for a visit from me! Just pick a slot from the list and let me know when will be the best time for you (first come, first serve). The actual visit will be 15-20 minutes, and will include a read-aloud from one of my books, a Q&A with students, and a few book recommendations from me. My WRAD presentation is best for grades four through seven.
To make the most of WRAD, please share the book you choose with your class beforehand (or at least the trailer, which you’ll find on the linked pages below). I’ve found that students who are familiar with my work get the most out of these visits and really enjoy asking detailed questions about the book. Having such questions answered by the author can be very powerful for students.
Thank you, and I’m looking forward to meeting with your class!
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