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Picture Book Status Updates
I’ve been involved with Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 Picture Book Challenge for 2 years. In that time, I’ve written, revised, revised, revised, and revised. However, I realized recently that I have a ton of different picture books, all at different stages, and I really needed to get a handle on…
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2014 Goal Setting Re-Vamped
Last week, I went over the good, the bad, and the truth about 2013’s goals. Even though many things DID work, I’m always looking to make things much better. Because I found that so much can change in a year, I wanted to shorten the timeframe of some of…
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2013 A Year in Goals: The Good, The Bad, The Truth
Before I look ahead to 2014, I thought I should look back to 2013, what worked and what didn’t work in my writing life. Goals The Good: I created SMART goals for 2013. I liked setting up my goals this way because it helped me create tangible tasks for…
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Mentor Text Spreadsheet: Picture Book Month in Review
Picture Book Month is officially over. But I have created one last thing to share with you on mentor texts. Each day, I shared a mentor text post with you featuring different ways that each of these books could be used to teach writing skills to young…
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Picture Book Month Day 16: Picture Books as Writing Mentor Texts Featuring JUST DUCKS
JUST DUCKS by Nicola Davies Illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino Candlewick, 2012 Summary: A little girl tells the story of the ducks near her house–from morning till evening. The narrative is from the viewpoint of a young child and her impressions but facts about ducks are also included on each…
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Writing Quote Wednesday: The Backstory
“Before you can tell others your story, you have to tell yourself its prequel.” —K.M. Weiland, OUTLINING YOUR NOVEL: MAP YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS In other words, as the writer, you have to know the backstory of your story. The reader doesn’t necessarily need to know very many of…
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Clearing the Clutter
A few weeks ago, I moved back into my office. But I was determined to not move back in fully until I had cleared some of the accumulated clutter. I thought getting rid of some of the mess might help me think more clearly. But it also had some…
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Writing Quote Wednesday: Looking Forward
“In every situation, at the beginning or the end of the workday, you have a choice. You can look back or you can look forward. My advice: look forward. Always think about the next day.” —Twila Tharp, THE CREATIVE HABIT On days that I don’t prepare the night…
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Mom’s Write: A Day in the Life
Today I begin a new series for my Making Time to Write Mondays focused on writing while mothering and keeping down a full-time job. Every Monday for the next few weeks, I’ll write specific tips for writers who are also moms. My cousin recently asked me what a typical…
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Making Time to Write Monday: Organize Your Writing Life #5 Keeping Track of Submissions
Are you ready to submit your manuscripts? When I began submitting work seriously a few years ago, I knew I would need a system that would help me keep track of manuscripts, submissions to editors, rejections, and notes for improvement. I keep several systems going, but you could develop…
