How to Give Creative Feedback
A friend just joined a writing group an mentioned that feedback can feel so personal. Here’s what I told her: Writing groups can be so...
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Blog
Jul 16, 20192 min read
Gardening is Also Digging Rocks
There’s more to gardening than planting flowers. You can start seeds. You can divide and transplant. But you have to weed, or cover the...
Jul 13, 20192 min read
Story Starter Grab Bag
If you’re stuck on a story, or just want to mix things up, try making a Story Starter Grab Bag. You can be a Plotter or a Pantser (or...
Feb 13, 20196 min read
Roald Dahl & the Writing Shed
When I was a kid, Roald Dahl was my favorite author. I loved “James and the Giant Peach,” and thought of it every time we flew to England...
May 11, 20182 min read
What is Magic?
photo by John David Dela-Peri What is Magic? It is fierceness and generosity. It is one hundred children sitting cross-legged on the...
Apr 19, 20182 min read
The Pocket Watch
Photo by Niklas Rhöse on Unsplash Hailey had a magic pocket watch. The thing was, she didn’t know it was magic. She only knew it was old,...
Nov 7, 20171 min read
Mantra Pages
#mantrapages : After years of faithfully writing Morning Pages (and loving it), I quit (to my surprise) last spring. As I’ve returned to...
Mar 28, 20162 min read
Blackout Editing
I’m editing another middle grade book. It’s about a boy (Jorian) whose dreams and adventurous spirit are sorely tried by his dull, gray...
Oct 12, 20151 min read
The Tweet-Sized Essay
The Copy Cure (Marie Forleo and Laura Roeder) said you can write a blog post with a tweet– that no one ever opened an email and said,...
Oct 5, 20151 min read
Why Creative Blocks are a Good Thing
On Writer’s Block jumped into my box at the Friends of the Library Book Sale. I was wary– I’ve done The Artist’s Way, this could be old...
Sep 27, 20151 min read
Avoiding the Gate: When the Project Feels Slow
I’m publishing my first book and it’s going so slowly. Not too slowly, but slower than my imagination. I’m a skittish colt leaping around...
Jul 15, 20152 min read
Lizzie + Bluebeard: Sharing a Work-in-Progress
It seems backward to write a book while also working the busiest season at our B+B and performing in the summer musical– but the energy...
Jul 13, 20151 min read
She Slept Alone for 40 Nights: 10 First Sentences
1. She slept alone for 40 nights. 2. How big is a whale, really? 3. It was an occasion for silly hats, and Brad did not care for hats. 4....
Jul 6, 20153 min read
Drunken Monkeys & Morning Pages
I lead my first ever Virtual Writing Group today [Jan 2013]. To begin, I talked about my writing philosophy. I faithfully follow the wise...
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