The Christmas season is a time of peace that passes understanding, tidings of comfort and joy, good cheer, and general happiness for many. I love looking around and seeing the twinkling lights on pine trees and rooftops, wreaths hung up
Review: Greenglass House
I know I bombarded last week’s post with mini-reviews… so here’s a longer one! Kate Milford’s Greenglass House is a wonderful read for curling up by the fire or Christmas tree with a mug of hot cocoa. There’s no better
Holiday Gift Guide (Go Buy Some Books!)
It’s my favorite time of year… to go shopping! I love the thrill of finding the perfect gift for someone I care about, and I love it when that perfect gift is the perfect book. Here are some book recommendations
NaNoWriMo: The Way Out
You will notice that the banner on this post is not a winner banner. On November 30th, I can tell you that I have no clue if I’ll be able to make up the (way too many) words I would
NaNoWriMo: The Power of Titles
As I’ve been away at residency in Louisville it’s become glaringly obvious to me that my NaNoWriMo project is stuck. When I arrived, I had 24,000 words (no, I haven’t added to that in a week) and no idea where
NaNoWriMo: Halfway
Time flies when you’re having fun, and also apparently when you don’t have time for fun! Here we are halfway through the month, and I have a confession: I am not halfway through my novel. Or even halfway to 50,000
NaNoWriMo: A Room of My Own
My whole life I’ve imagined what it would be like to have an entire room in a house that was dedicated to books, both their creation and consumption. In honor of NaNo, here’s what that looks like! When we bought
NaNoWriMo: A Pantsing Planner
Everyone familiar with National Novel Writing Month knows there are exactly two types of participants: the planet and the pantser. Each group is simply doing what works for them, whether that is extensive character sketches, maps, and 3,000 word outlines,
NaNoWriMo: Why “serious” writers should promote rather than dismiss
Many of you will shake your heads upon reading this. Or perhaps even roll your eyes. Maybe blow a raspberry, send a prayer heavenward. I’m going to say it anyway. NaNoWriMo season has arrived. This year, more than usual, I’ve
Writing Prompts to Keep Writers Writing
This past Wednesday I attended just one day of the Michigan Library Association’s annual conference, held in Grand Rapids, and learned lots of great library stuff. We recently started a monthly writing group for 6-12 graders at my library, and