• ReFoReMo is Here!

    February 27, 2017 /

    ReFoReMo stands for Reading for Research Month. It is run by Carrie Charley Brown and her team and focuses on diving into picture books as mentor texts. My post is the first one in the line up today with a focus on reader engagement in picture books. Hop on…

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  • New Mentor Text Lessons, Mentor Texts Lists, and More!

    September 1, 2016 /

    Guest Posts Around the Web You may have noticed I haven’t been blogging much lately, but I have been doing some writing out and about on the web-o-sphere. Using Mentor Texts to Revise a Novel in Verse at Teach Mentor Texts (Jen Vincent’s blog) Author Study on Newbery Award…

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  • Back Matter in Picture Books

    March 2, 2016 /

    Carrie Charley Brown is hosting ReFoReMo (Read for Research Month), a time when writers challenge themselves to read picture books as mentor texts to improve their writing. I’m the guest author/educator there today talking about back matter in picture books. Hop over to her blog and give it a…

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  • Plot Holes? Resources for Repair

    February 19, 2016 /

    I’m struggling with plotting in my middle grade novel. While I’m getting better at plotting, it’s still something that doesn’t come naturally to me. I wrote a post recently about the resources that I use when plotting. If you are struggling with plotting, these resources might help you too!…

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  • Celebrating 2015

    December 31, 2015 /

    For the past several years (2012, 2013, 2014), I have kept track of the accomplishments for the year. Last year I kept a monthly celebration page, which I called my “Book of Stars” (I originally posted about that here). This year was particularly challenging for me, which I wrote…

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  • How to Survive a Move with Your Creativity Intact

    December 30, 2015 /

    It’s no secret that we moved this year. I’ve moved a lot in my life, having grown up in Thailand and Malaysia, and moving multiple times in my adult life. But this one was different. This time I said good bye to a place I’d lived in longer than…

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  • Organize Your Writing Space

    November 25, 2015 /

    After a very long hiatus, I am back to blogging. I blog occasionally with a group of writers called the GROG. When Sherri Jones Rivers, a fellow grogger, asked me to give her some ideas for organizing her writing space, I gave her a tour of my space. Click…

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