Thinking to Inking: Pick Up Your Pen And Write. Your Voice Matters.

Reblogged from Thinking to Inking 

My comment on this post: Yes, all of this! Despite everything else I was feeling this morning, I woke up determined. Stacy, your post put into words my attitude going forward.

Thinking to Inking: Pick Up Your Pen And Write. Your Voice Matters.: I was supposed to post our monthly YA book pick today, but in light of everything that's happened it doesn't feel right. Some of y...

Academic Minute: Writer’s Block

To all my writer friends preparing to tackle NaNoWriMo next month this one is for you. 

"Instead of focusing on the language of the piece of writing, the plan for the writing gets in the way." -Dan Chelotti

Reblogged from Inside Higher Ed.

Are You Rich?

Though it's been almost a whole year...an entire 365 days, literally, since the incident, the memory still haunts me. Oh, the shame, the shame. Last Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2013, I missed an opportune teachable moment.

Back in 2011, I purchased my youngest sister's children their first journals. At that time, my nephew was 7 and my nieces were 5, 5, and 3. As I explained to them the many uses of a journal (creating lists, drawing, writing about their day or their feelings, etc.) my nephew, in all of his seven-year old wisdom, proudly proclaimed, "You write secrets in your diary." Then Amia, one of the twins, turned to me and said "Stephanie, let me see your secrets," rendering me momentarily speechless."

My New Year's Promise

A new year brings with it fresh starts, new beginnings, and renewed energies. By now thousands of New Year's resolutions have been written, declared, and affirmed. Some of them will be attained, many will be broken, yet hundreds will never be attempted at all. 

This year I've opted not to make any resolutions, but I'm going to make a New Year's promise instead. In 2014, I promise to become a better book reviewer and blogger. Sometimes the reader in me overpowers the blogger forcing me to devour the next book on my TBR pile. Other times I'm terrified to write. Translating my thoughts into coherent, engaging, and enjoyable text is an intimidating feat that ofttimes leads to frustration. Rather than pushing through my frustration or taking a short break, I just stop. Stop writing. Stop practicing. Stop improving. Stop working on my craft. 

As you can imagine, such destructive behavior has left numerous unfinished reviews, plus a few story attempts in its wake. However, this year brings with it a promise to unlearn unproductive patterns and form productive ones. My journey to become a better writer must start somewhere. So, it begins here, on my blog, today, 2 January 2014. To keep with my promise, along with current reviews, I will be completing and posting all of my half-written reviews that are in my draft folder over the next few weeks. Also, Book Talk Tuesday will resume next week on the seventh. 

I'm excited about all 2014 has to offer. Big things are in store...giveaways, author interviews, and more! It's going to be an awesome year!! 

P.S. Don't worry...I've also promised to consistently exercise. Ha! :-)

Writing Affirmation

Trepidation—none

Pen to paper, fingers clack

Words flow, success looms

Top Ten Reasons to Have Students Blog About Their Reading Experiences by Russ Anderson

Every morning I eagerly awake to a new Nerdy Book Club blog post awaiting me in my Gmail inbox. In today's post, Russ Anderson makes a persuasive argument advocating student blogging. I agree with each point presented; however, reasons three and ten resonate the most with me. Despite sixteen plus years of education, I still struggle with finding my own voice, which is one of the reasons I started this blog. Before I began, I researched how to structure a book review, as well as, reviewed numerous book blogs. My first blog post follows the formal book review format, yet something didn't feel quite right. Those were my words, but it wasn't my voice, which had become buried and lost somewhere beneath the methodical composition. As I visited more book blogs, I soon began to realize that each blogger expressed their book love in various ways. Every blogger did not share the same review style, layout, or even rating system. After my first two posts, I ditched the stiff review format. My voice has yet to reach maturity, but it has definitely come a long way from my first post.