• Poetry Friday: Back on the Conference Circuit

    Karen is hosting Poetry Friday today, so hop on over there to catch the roundup.   Back to Conferences I was away from Poetry Friday last week because I was attending VAASL (Virginia Association of School Librarians). It was the first library conference I’ve attended since 2019.   I…

  • Writing Quote Wednesday: Risk

    “Risk is essential. It’s scary. Every time I sit down and start the first page of a novel I am risking failure.” —Madeleine L’Engle from Madeleine L’Engle Herself as quoted in The Literary Ladies: Guide to the Writing Life by Nava Atlas, p. 79   I had the privilege…

  • Making Time to Write Monday: My Favorite Gifts of 2012

    It’s almost Christmas. There will soon be lots of wrapping paper all over my floor. But my favorite gifts of 2012 are not under the tree. No, I didn’t invent a way to insert more time in my day, but I have a very supportive husband who gives me…

  • Making Time to Write Monday: Conference Inspiration

    A couple of weeks ago, I got away for the weekend to the SCBWI Mid-Atlantic Conference. I always look forward to spending some time away from my regular responsibilities to focus on my writing. I usually spend a lot of “down time” at conferences get writing done–without the distractions…

  • Making Time to Write Monday: Using a Conference as a Deadline

    Last weekend, I went away for a long weekend to the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI conference. I’d known about it for months, planned ahead in my job, my personal life, and even my writing. I set goals for myself of things I wanted to have accomplished in my writing before I…