Memorial Day – Gone, but Not Forgotten

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

I would like to thank the men and women who serve and have served in the armed forces.  I would also like to thank their families.  Thank you to all of you for serving our country and for your courage, devotion, and sacrifice.  I pray that all Americans, myself included, never underappreciate the freedom you bought us and continue to defend for us.  We bless you and thank you!

In honor of Memorial Day, I found a quote which I imagine would sum up one of the many difficulties of serving in the armed forces: knowing that some of the people you served with won’t be coming home.

“As a soldier, I survived World War I when most of my comrades did not.” – Lester B. Pearson

Your writing challenge for the next two weeks is to write a journal entry, a scene, or a short story for one of the following protagonists:

1. a soldier coming home
2. a parent, sibling, or the best friend of a soldier who died in the line of duty (I recommend writing the piece for the day the protagonist finds out that the soldier died or for the anniversary of the soldier’s death.)

Happy writing!

Katie

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Make Money Writing

To stay motivated as a writer, I set achievable monthly goals for myself.  This month, I decided to research ways to make money as a writer.

Two web articles which I found helpful were “How to Make Money Writing” (http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Money-Writing) and “10 Ways To Make Money Writing Online” (http://christianpf.com/ways-to-make-money-writing-articles-online/).

“How to Make Money Writing” suggests five “methods” for making money as a writer.  For each method, the article includes three to four tips about what to keep in mind and/or how to maximize the writer’s success when writing for the target audience.

“10 Ways To Make Money Writing Online” lists ten online web services where a writer could go to potentially find paying writing jobs.  There is a paragraph length description about each service and links to the corresponding web pages.

Now that I have read the articles, I plan to explore the options listed which most appeal to me.  I hope that the articles are helpful to you!

Happy writing!

Katie

Moms Rock!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day with your moms and let them know just how loved and special they are!  Working with infants through pre-kindergarteners serves as a constant reminder that the most important people on the planet are parents.  At school, students give me hugs and play with me, but you should see the way they run to their moms and dads when it’s time to go home.

In honor of mothers everywhere, your writing prompt for the next two weeks is to create a story centered around a mother-child relationship.  Below are a few quotes to get your creativity started.

“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” – Sophia Loren

“Motherhood is a great honor and privilege, yet it is also synonymous with servanthood. Every day women are called upon to selflessly meet the needs of their families. Whether they are awake at night nursing a baby, spending their time and money on less-than-grateful teenagers, or preparing meals, moms continuously put others before themselves.” – Charles Stanley

“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw.  All I am I owe to my mother.  I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” – George Washington

Happy writing!

Katie

Advice on Writing a Picture Book

Hello everyone!

As some of you may know, one of my dreams is to write children’s picture books.  I was recently looking up something online when I stumbled across an article by Darcy Pattison, “How to Mock-up a Picture Book” (http://www.darcypattison.com/picture-books/how-to-mock-up-a-picture-book/).  I do not think I understood the editing related benefits of creating a dummy picture book until I read her article.  I hope you find Pattison’s advice as helpful as I did!

Happy writing!

Katie

April is National Poetry Month

Hello everyone!

This April, I was made aware of how wonderfully complex and exciting poetry can be.  In my children’s literature grad course, a guest speaker introduced me to Marilyn Singer’s books of reverso poetry (Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse; Follow Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems; and Echo Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths) and poetry for two or four voices (e.g. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices and Big Talk: Poems for Four Voices by Paul Fleischman).  These styles of poetry made me so excited, that I wanted to try and write my own poems.

Your writing challenge for the next two weeks is to 1) choose a style of poetry that you are not very familiar with and 2) try to write a poem in that style.  I highly suggest reading poems that are written in your chosen style before writing your own poem.

For a list of different types of poetry and a definition for each type, click on the link: http://poeticterminology.net/.

Happy writing!

Katie