From the newsletter: Dream, Dream, Dream

Stop telling yourself that dreams don’t matter, that they are only dreams and that you should be more sensible.” ~Julia Cameron Dear Writers, Over the past five nights, I’ve been waking up to the same dream. It starts with me finding out that I’ve been cast in an opera. The show is hours away from…

Read more »

My 99th newsletter!!!!!

Dear Writers, So, this past weekend, I did not go to NESCBWI’s annual conference. But I did catch a few tweets about it. And here was my favorite: Dan Santat says, “The key to finding your voice is to LIVE LIFE.” How many ways can I say YES??? and THANK YOU! How many ways can I…

Read more »

Happy Writing!

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. -Franklin D. Roosevelt Good morning, Writers! Today, one hour after today’s Monday Motivation came out, I received 25 comments. Apparently, I hit a nerve. Here’s the post: This week, having sent a new manuscript to my agent, I had ONE GOAL. I wanted…

Read more »

The bridge between goals and accomplishment.

Is Discipline. (Tell ’em VINCE: It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.) Time to get to work.

On tenacity and gratitude

First, a thank you to the people from Anderson’s Kid Lit Breakfast, for inviting me to be part of this amazing event. Of course, I had heard all about it, and it lived up to my expectations. I met many dedicated, passionate, and funny librarians and teachers, all excited about books and reading and their…

Read more »

Dreams

Martin Luther King said, ““Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  I love this idea. In my writing life, I try very hard to write about topics that will get my readers thinking and talking. I want to push them to join me in making the world better…in…

Read more »

Quote of the Day

  This is where all my books begin. With a story I have got to tell–an idea I’ve got to discuss–a character that won’t let me forget him. As I get ready to start a new project, I always begin thinking about the ideas/stories/people/images that won’t leave me alone. If something interests me, there is…

Read more »

Don’t save it for later!

When Walter White pulled that GPS out of his pocket and Hank closed the garage door, like a lot of fans, I sat on the edge of my seat. As a writer, I was reminded of this excellent advice (ie: the kind I sometimes need to be reminded of): Those writers understand what it means…

Read more »