More Reading or Is It Time for Action?

Some of the writing books on my bookshelves are Writer Mama by Christina Katz; Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin; and The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters by Wendy Burt-Thomas. Now remember, these are just some of the books on my shelf (and all good, by the way).

Next to my desk, I have notes from writer's conferences I've attended for many years. On my computer, I have bookmarked

VICTORY OVER THE MICROPHONE, or How to Use a Microphone to Your Advantage

If you have to use a microphone
Something you abhor.
If you have to use a microphone
But feel like running out the door.
If you have to use a microphone
And you find a mentor.
Maybe that microphone won't scare you anymore.
(based on Shel Silverstein's If You Have to Dry the Dishes)

May I be your quick tutor on microphone usage? It's not too hard to use a microphone properly but on the other hand it's not hard to use it improperly either. So...

An Oral Report? Don't Let Your Child Shake in Their Boots

Just because a student has the words down on paper doesn't mean that he or she's ready for that oral report. Reading what's on the page--even if your child is a good reader--still doesn't make giving the report easy. Work with your child to prepare and improve in these five ways:

Creatively Ruin Something!

In February, I posted about glitter glue because I was working on a new costume at the time. It was slightly scary using that glitter glue; I had no idea if it would work out. But I plunged ahead and was pleasantly surprised by the results. And that's when I told myself, I needed to be brave and creatively ruin something everyday. What's funny is I find I still get a little--or a lot--nervous right before I start being creative because I'm pretty sure I'm going to, sure enough, ruin something.

The Creativity Take-Over

I started by sketching with pencils...and not the cool drawing pencils; usually, it's a click pencil I have handy in my purse. After I filled a couple of purse-sized sketch books, I grabbed another with the idea that this sketch book had to be filled with color this time. I bought the really fancy/expensive Prismacolor pencils...I've only colored about 5% of the sketches in the book. Nevertheless, once you start being creative,