Writing Advice Part II (my top six other best pieces of advice)

The single best piece of writing advice I ever got was to write the book you most want to read (more on that here). After that, here are six other bits of writing advice that have made the biggest difference for me (and that I need to keep reminding myself of to keep on going). […]

The Namer of Spirits Map Activity

Looking for a fun activity to pair with The Namer of Spirits that can help students visually interact with the story while developing critical reading and active learning skills? Here’s a great map activity that a teacher from Oregon had her 6th graders do (many thanks to the brilliant students of Hood River Middle School […]

Making Things Worse by Making Them Better

Writers talk a lot about provoking characters to transform by making things worse and worse for them until they’re exhausted, and are left with no choice but to change. That’s what stories are usually about in a nutshell: transformation in the face of adversity. It’s the old “hurt the hero” game. As Star Trek and […]