Pages From My Journal

It's hard not getting what you want for Christmas.  Saying that makes me sound like a five year old.  But, I watched my four foster siblings come running through the door each carrying a giant candy cane and some "cool" toy that they had gotten from the visit with their birth mom. "I need you help," my sister called to me from the transport van. Four large trashbags filled the trunk, each full of toys my brothers and sister had received for Christmas.  Every matchbox car, Air Jordan sneaker, Frozen toy, and electronic that could make a child's Christmas special was stuffed into those trashbags, overwhelming the entire concept of a  gift.   We have the pleasure of coaxing them from the sugar high and overstimulation every time Christmas comes around. And, every time Christmas comes around, I begin to hate presents a little more.  What am I supposed to give four kids that get it all and appreciate nothing? While they are freaking out

      A card I received from a 4th grade class I visited.        Not only have a written a full year creative writing curriculum (currently under reformatting), but I have taught two homeschool students. Also, I have visited two classrooms to teach them the excitement of writing. Looking back, there are many things I'd do differently. Mainly, I've learned things that would change how I approach elementary students and their writing.       These are the four biggest things to remember about teaching Creative Writing.        Every kid is different.                      Every educator is aware of how different each student is. They learn differently, process stories differently, and will write differently. Analytical, process-oriented thinkers will struggle with brainstorm but thrive with an editing checklist. Imaginative, result oriented thinkers will pounce on brainstorm but struggle with outlining and plot. Every kid is going to latch onto something tha

I've never been one to write an "easy" story. Even the project I'm working on now, one I began almost four years ago, was one of complex construction. Mainly, this book was made up of two side by side points of view. Two different characters told two different stories that only intertwined at crucial points throughout the plot. Before I even began, I knew that it would be a difficult story to write without causing mass confusion.  I'd never written a story anything like this before (and even now, I'm editing to change one of the storylines completely), but I knew one thing:             {My time-line could never back-peddle.} This would prove an annoying decision, but one that drastically improved my story. Every story is different, but I can outline the logistics of what I did to make this linear timeline possible.  First,  decide your primary main character.  With two stories, not just two perspectives on the same story, your st

    I am thousands of words, That are never read, The world never explored, Never contemplated. I hold the depth of all Those mysteries characters'  Motives within myself,  Which no critic ever saw. I contain all eye colors, Histories of the criminal and the sage, Maps of worlds and places, That never made it to the page. Without me, all the tales in the world, Would hold a single meaning. Without me, all beauty of exploring another world Would be reduced to simply reading. Those who acknowledge my existence, Find pleasure and awe in the fact, That their personal observations, Were never my author's intentions.

       Click to view in Goodreads         Book: Rebels (The Safe Lands Book 3)      Author: Jill Williamson      Blurb:      The remnant of Glenrock has been scattered. But they are not beaten.      The Safe Lands have long kept the true meaning of Liberation secret from their people. But after being sentenced to Liberation themselves, Mason and Omar soon discover the truth.      Levi watched his brothers’ public sentencing and tries to hold out hope they are still alive, He is forced to focus his attention elsewhere, however, when his new wife, Jemma, is captured and made the Safe Lands’ newest Queen. His only choice to save Jemma may be to take up Omar’s old role of undercover vigilante, leading the rebels in their quest to overthrow the government. But will Levi’s new role be enough?      Meanwhile, Jemma’s sister, Shaylinn, is ready to give birth to the “Safe Lands’” children … but not even Ciddah is sure they can be delivered safely in the midst of a rebe

    When my little foster sister, B, returned to us right before the Christmas of 2013, it was natural for many of my peers' responses to be similar to "Oh, things must be so much easier now that she's home with you guys." But that wasn't true at all. My life would be so much easier without foster kids. I would be able to wake up without the sound of screaming, crying, and stomping feet as a child runs from time out. I would actually be able to wake up later because there wouldn't be so many breakfast dishes to clean up or children to get out the door. I would be able to listen to music in the car because there wouldn't be constant fighting and punching to listen to. I would be able to go outside and read a book without refereeing a kickball game and placing the three year old in time out for cussing me out. I would be able to sit at home and have a conversation with my mom without being interrupted because a child peed on t