2 Things to Remember When You Review Your First Draft
Garbage. Ultimate fail. Complete and utter sh*t. Harsh. If you’re a true writer, you’ve probably thought this or similar after reading your own work—especially a first draft. You feel embarrassed, ashamed, maybe even worthless. If someone else reads it–oh man–they’d hate it! If this is the kind of work you produce, maybe it’s time you […]
8 Book-Inspired DIY Projects You Can Actually Use!
So… I’m a nerd. You don’t say! I’d never guessed! Yeah, I keep it under wraps pretty well. But, there are times when I just can’t deny my inner literary curiosity and psych-outs about things book related. So, you can only imagine how I reacted when I was scrolling through Pinterest for DIY Christmas gifts […]
What Exactly Do I Put in a Poetry Journal?
When we think of “writers”, we tend to think of the short story and novel writers. We tend to ignore non-fiction writers and even completely disregard poets at times. It’s unfortunate because classic poets have told stories just as memorable and robust as any novelist. E.A. Poe, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, and those are just famous […]
Building Reading Skills: Dr. Seuss for Allegory Analysis
As teachers, we strive to get students to perform at the highest level of the pedagogical taxonomy. Personally, I follow Bloom’s and cross-reference with Maslow’s psychological needs hierarchy. But, why…? It’s complicated. I’ll hit that another time. Anyway, the point is that we are constantly trying to get the kids to think in more sophisticated […]
How to Write Dialogue: Authentic Speech
How your character speaks is important to understand their background. Rather than info-dump, you can imply it with accent, speech patterns, idioms…