Every time I meet a new group of students, I ask them to tell me about themselves. Where are they from? What have their experiences with English or literature been in the past? And what’s something most people don’t know … Read more

A little while back a mom emailed me because she was worried about the topics her teen daughter was choosing to write about (including incest, violence, and other uncomfy topics). Since then, I’ve gotten a few similar letters, so I … Read more

Here’s today crazy idea for creativity in a nutshell: deprive yourself of everything interesting and stimulating to force your brain to generate something interesting of its own.

Before you get too amazed or weirded out on me, let me announce … Read more

A while back agent-turned-author Nathan Bransford did a “Five Openings to Avoid” post that takes a jab at some of the obvious and overused openings that circulate, especially among novice writers.

You know, the story that starts with a character … Read more

Yesterday, the third official National Day on Writing, was a huge success! You definitely don’t want to miss out on hearing from five writers via the National Writing Project’s blogtalk radio show. Listen to the show online here. I’m … Read more

Recently I blogged about my favorite high-tech writing tool, Scrivener. Today, though, a bit about the benefits of going low-tech–at least some of the time.

It’s not just me, either. Award-winning author Neal Stephenson describes how writing with an … Read more

I like a short cut as well as anyone else, but sometimes–especially when it comes to research for writing–the Internet can’t deliver the details you can get from an expert.

The Internet is great for a quick fact check, but … Read more

One of the things I love about reading YA is discovering new company for books I love–especially imagining how I’d group them and what recommendations I’d offer to folks who’ve loved a book.

Here’s the Library of Congress book summary:… Read more

One of my favorite things about being a bookish person is crossing paths with other bookish people. And what I like best about those experiences is when I meet someone who reads like I do, which means we share both … Read more

Here’s what happens if you’re me and you wish you could digitize the essentials of your personal library and take it with you for your year in Paris: you mope around saying things like, “Man, wish I could digitize my … Read more