UP! — It’s all about FOCUS! Plus a Giveaway :)

Posted on October 13, 2014 by writersideup

Recently, on Leslie Zampetti’s blog, Rear in Gear, she posed a question about how to get kids to talk about what they’re reading. As I began typing my comment in response, it got me thinking about what’s at the core of the issue. My thoughts came full circle, ultimately encompassing what’s at the core of many “road blocks,” even for we adults. Whether it’s to do with getting kids to talk, writing a novel, or just about any task or issue with a similar obstacle, it comes down to focus and how we go about achieving that. Continue reading →

UP!–Young Author’s “Stanley & Katrina Book Blasty Tour”!

Posted on October 8, 2014 by writersideup

Stanley

Katrina’s

Book Blasty Tour 2014!

As we all know, there are times we simply cannot resist doing something, right? This is one of those times.*** When I see young people doing constructive, valuable, worthwhile things, it elates me—my heart overflows with joy 🙂 Since becoming active on Twitter and following Kidlit-related blogs, happily I discovered “kid” authors! I was immediately smitten—totally hooked! Felicia Maziarz is one such young author and it just so happens she recently released her SECOND book in a series! Pretty impressive, don’t you think? I can tell you I’m VERY impressed (in fact, here’s my review), but I’m certainly not the only one who recognizes the quality of these books.

Continue reading →

UP!–for You or Someone You Know–COLLEGE APPLICATIONS made EASIER!

Posted on October 2, 2014 by writersideup

OK, so “College Applications” is not exactly a “writerly” subject unless, of course, you’re going to major in Journalism or English Literature 😉

As you may recall, my Writer Side UP! blog has a “sister.” I still have a lot of set-up to do on both blogs and am far from posting in any systematic fashion, that is, IF I am ever truly systematic about it. That work is going to take some time, BUT meanwhile—there are subjects that are coming up and things I want to offer that are somewhat timely, so I’m putting up actual posts before my pages are filled in!

It will be a very rare occurrence when I will “double blog” the same information. That will only happen if the subject matter truly belongs on both: here for lit-related and there for creativity-related. At Creativity Cookbook, I’ve set up a “HANDY MISC.” page for just that—the handy miscellany.

For anyone who is applying for college or knows anyone who intends to apply for college, I have put up some very useful charts that may help with the process. Continue reading →

UP!–A SOLUTION to BANNING BOOKS?

Posted on September 26, 2014 by writersideup

So, here we go…it’s Banned Books Week! Something that, when you’re as immersed in the KidLit world on the internet to the degree I am, is impossible to miss. Discussion is ablaze, reaching virtually every corner of the realm of literature. It can be a heated topic, for sure, which is something I typically avoid online, but I don’t think what I’m going to say here will create any hoopla. Honestly, the reason I’m blogging about it at all is because I thought it was the appropriate time to offer a little gift for Harry Potter fans: a one-of-a-kind download! Why now? Because the Harry Potter series is BANNED*! What started out as a little download ultimately became a full-blown post about banning books. I’ll be curious to hear what you think: Continue reading →

UP!…and the Winners are…

Posted on September 18, 2014 by writersideup

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking the launch parties were a success on both sites! The party’s not over, though, until all the party favors are handed out 🙂 Of course, in this case they’re handed out to a randomly select few. I sincerely wish I could give them to ALL my party guests, but after shelling out quite a bit for the band, disco lights and fireworks…well, you get the picture 😉