Monthly Archive: July 2018
When I cleaned out my files, I found several unused story ideas from 84 Ribbons, book one in my ballet trilogy. Here’s one more offering. The Pouch of Stones Walks by the bay at the end of our long street were always a chance for my dad and me to connect. We’d talk about school, my dancing, his day, our up-coming vacation plans or whatever a young child and her dad had to share. But that ended abruptly when my dad died suddenly from a fall where he worked in the shipyard. After that, the bay became a gray place...
Keep writing activities in front of the kids in your lives to reinforce the skills over the summer break just the same as you do with reading and math. These three skills cross subject matter regardless of the grade they are stepping into in the fall. Here are a few fun, imaginative ideas to pout into your bag of tricks. Design a cereal box complete with cover art, list of ingredients, a game or activity section and a recipe that includes the invented cereal. Provide a journal (any size that will interest ‘your student’). Add a fancy pen and send...
Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Gore Vidal That feels true to me. My stories build up in my mind, crowding out everyday thoughts. I think of the mass of characters I’ve invented as real beings. They must be real; they have names, personalities, quirks, and boyfriends as well as moments of joy and disappointment. I talk with friends, including my imaginary characters and come close to sending them birthday cards each year. Then I remember they don’t age; they are perpetually the age I leave them when my books end. Sometimes I wonder what...
When I cleaned out my files, I found several unused story ideas from 84 Ribbons, book one in my ballet trilogy. Here’s one of them. More to follow this month. Spam and An Empty Garage One of the greatest opportunities in my life came when I was four. I learned to dance. My family didn’t have money for extras, but they found a way to scrape enough together for me to take dance lessons. I think those savings came in the shape of canned Spam which we ate once or twice a week. I hated the clear gooey fat that...
Congratulations to Nicki Chen, the winner of my random drawing among people who wrote reviews for Tasman-An Innocent Convict’s Struggle for Freedom. Nicki is a PNW historical fiction writer, the author of Tiger Tail Soup. She’s a board member of EPIC Group Writers, an organization that supports writers and authors, participates in a writing group, and is an accomplished visual artist. Thanks, Nicki, for taking the time to write a review of Tasman. I appreciate your kind words. And, as they say, “the VISA card is in the mail.” Looking ahead: Win a $20 VISA card. Write a review...
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