Writing advice from a toddler that authors should heed carefully
When my daughter was three years old, still unable to read, she taught me three invaluable lessons about the craft of writing. Specifically, she offered three pieces of criticism that…
Stop it, teachers: 3 things educators must stop doing now.
As a teacher, I admire the hell out of my colleagues. I've been teaching for almost two decades, and the vast majority of educators I've worked with during that time…
I was bullied by a bunch of middle-aged pencil pushers. And it hurt.
About eight years ago, I was searching for a writer's group. I had just sold my first novel and was hoping to find some colleagues to meet with, share my…
The very best way to earn a dollar
I have a friend who is a successful attorney. He earns an excellent living. By all standards, he is doing very well for himself and his family. He is also…
Resolution update: March 2015
Each month, I post my progress on my New Year’s resolutions here to hold myself accountable. The following are the results for February. PERSONAL HEALTH 1. Don’t die. Didn’t even…
Teachers of writing at any level: Read this immediately. Nothing is more important.
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Patrick Modiano, who had this to say about the writing process during his acceptance speech: Writing is a strange and solitary…
A student wrote something that made me cry while reading it aloud. And thanks to the rules of my “Make your teacher cry” contest, my tears were caught on video.
For the past five years, I have offered a challenge to my fifth-grade students: Write something that makes me cry. The contest was born from Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog,…
The prize for my latest writing contest is the threat of tears and possible humiliation. No wonder my students are writing up a storm.
It’s that time of year again when I encourage my students to make me cry. Parents and teachers often ask me about how my students so consistently fall in love…
Storyteller Interruptus
I don’t have an office. I have a sad, little room attached to the side of the house with ancient windows and no heat that would require a hat and…
I have 15 jobs. So you probably require my services in one way or another.
As the New Year approaches and the endless possibilities of the coming year loom on the horizon, I always like to take a moment and reset my current occupational status,…