book review, Children's Writing, Giveaway, Jubilee, Patricia MacLachen, Patricia Reilly Giff, San Francisco Book Review, The Poet's Dog, Writing

Jubilee — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:“I have written a great many stories and I still don’t know how to go about it except to write it and take my chances.” ~ John Steinbeck ~Gifts for My Writer Friends:We all get a lot of writing tips. Some are great and helpful, some — not so much. Anne R. Allen has… Continue reading Jubilee — Review and Giveaway

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, book review, Children's Writing, Leslie Connor, Patricia MacLachen, San Francisco Book Review, The Poet's Dog, Writing

The Poet’s Dog — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:“You have to write at least a hundred pages of crap before yourwriting starts getting good. So you may as well start now.”Joe HaldemanGifts for My Writer Friends:A couple years ago, a writer friend mentioned he had decided to enter contests. He thought his work was good enough to garner some notice.… Continue reading The Poet’s Dog — Review and Giveaway

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, book review, Children's Writing, David Neilsen, Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom, Giveaway, Leslie Connor, Writing

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” ~ Orson Scott Card ~Gifts for My Writer Friends:At our critique group meeting recently, we talked a lot about authentic dialogue. Word choice is so important. What I… Continue reading All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook — Review and Giveaway

book review, Children's Writing, David Neilsen, Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom, Edna in the Desert, Giveaway, Maddy Lederman, Writing

Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”~ Phillip Roth ~Gifts for My Writer Friends:I have mentioned before that I receive an email each day from "TUT, The Universe." They are uplifting and fun and once in awhile, so pertinent to what we as writers do, that I just have to pass… Continue reading Dr. Fell and the Playground of Doom — Review and Giveaway

April Pulley Sayre, book review, Children's Writing, Giveaway, Jo Knowles, San Francisco Book Review, Still a Work in Progress, The Slowest Book Ever, Writing

Still a Work in Progress — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:“The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing. Isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing, and soul-crushing inadequacy. And that’s on a good day.” ~ Robert De Niro~Gifts for My Writer Friends:I have long been a fan of fractured fairy tales. HERE is a terrific post… Continue reading Still a Work in Progress — Review and Giveaway

Ann E. Burg, April Pulley Sayre, book review, Children's Writing, Giveaway, The Slowest Book Ever, Unbound, Writing

The Slowest Book Ever — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out." ~ Ray Bradbury ~Gifts for My Writer Friends:I don’t know if you receive message from the Universe each day in your email, but I do. Sometimes they are the perfect kick-in-the-pants… Continue reading The Slowest Book Ever — Review and Giveaway

Ann E. Burg, book review, C. C. Payne, Children's Writing, Giveaway, San Francisco Book Review, The Thing About Leftovers, Unbound, Writing

Unbound — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:“Much of writing might be described as mental pregnancy with successive difficult deliveries.” ~ J.B. Priestley, author ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends:The Group Blog has a good post HERE with great reminders about Active vs. Passive sentences. Making the change can help get rid of extra words. Just sayin’. Alex Limberg did a guest post… Continue reading Unbound — Review and Giveaway

Bob Korpella, book review, C. C. Payne, Children's Writing, Dinosaur Dictionary for Kids, Giveaway, San Francisco Book Review, The Thing About Leftovers, Writing

The Thing About Leftovers — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:“I like to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.”  ~ Stephen King ~`Gifts for My Writer Friends:HERE you will find a character name generator. This could save a lot of time. Writers Helping Writers has a terrific post HERE on finding story holes. Check it out.  Sandra Havriluk has a… Continue reading The Thing About Leftovers — Review and Giveaway

book review, Children's Writing, Giveaway, Ida B, Katherine Hannigan, Radiolab, Writing

Ida B — Review and Giveaway

Thought for the Day:"One thing that helps is to give myself permission to write badly. I tellmyself that I’m going to do my five or ten pages no matter what, and thatI can always tear them up the following morning if I want. I’ll have lostnothing — writing and tearing up five pages would leave me no… Continue reading Ida B — Review and Giveaway

Children's Writing, Joyce Moyer Hostetter, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Middle Grade Books, Shannon Hitchcock, Shannon Wiersbitzky, Writing

A Visit from Shannon Wiersbitzky

Thought for the Day:“Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.”  ~ Paul Theroux ~Gifts for My Writer Friends:Getting the details right is so important. HERE are some good resources and tips from Marianne Knowles at Writers’ Rumpus to help you out. Janice Hardy always has important posts. This is no exception. HERE she… Continue reading A Visit from Shannon Wiersbitzky