I know I said that I would only check in once or twice during my two weeks of intensive writing. Afterall, I'm trying to make an agressive word count. But it's going so well, and I'm so far ahead on my word count that I just had to check in, even if I'm writing the same sentence over and over and over. I mean, that counts... doesn't it? 

( Read more... )

During the next two weeks I'll be totally focused on making a demanding word count, so during that time I'll only be popping into LJ once, maybe twice. After I get my count, things should return to normal.

But before I go, I have to share with you that I was at a recent family BIG party. That's a party where my family members from all across ( Read more... )

Last Essay I'll mention on Harry
"Uncle Orson" wrote a sharp and sometimes funny essay on the success of Harry Potter. You can read it by clicking on this link : Uncle Orson and the Deathly Hallows. In case you were wondering, "Uncle Orson" is Orson Scott Card.

Two questions for you (because I believe in choices)
Kids when they sit at their desk and ( Read more... )

Stephen King just wrote an article on Harry Potter, revealing his thoughts on Harry's success. Any children's writer will find the article interesting, and can read the article by clicking on this link: Stephen King Essay

Last night was The Night of St. Lawrence’s Tears - because on August 10, 258 AD a deacon named Laurentius was martyred by the ( Read more... )

In my Part II Highlights I'm going to be a little different. So rather than recap speaker presentations, give some melted down blow by blow, or talk about the big moments -- not that those are bad things, mind you -- I'm going to instead extract the poignant moments one writer saw on his journey to becoming published. Moments to learn from. Moments ( Read more... )

Since there were so many highlights, and not enough pictures ( I forgot my camera the first couple of days) I'll try and evenly match the two, posting some today and the rest tomorrow.

One of the things avid readers who are parents love to do is to set an example for their children. We read to them early on, we buy them books, and when we sit and ( Read more... )

As I mentioned last week, I attended the 36th Annual Summer Conference for the Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrator's in Los Angeles. The Society managed to hold the first 33 conferences without me, but it's safe to say that they're stuck with me for a while.

Each year I look forward to this event: the comradery, the charged atmosphere ( Read more... )

Not just the Wizard, but actually many. It's that time of year again, and I'm headed off to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Annual Conference in L.A.

This will mark my third conference, and I look forward to it as though it were my first. The group of talented writers that congregate in Los Angeles for this event provide ( Read more... )

I just dropped my kids off for their first day of school (6th and 8th grades) -- Wow how time flies.

As usual, I went with my camera, just like I did when it was kindergarten. I remember that First Day so very well. Kindergarten... ahhhh, so special. All those wide eyes with matching expressions of excitement. And those were just the parents. The ( Read more... )

Uncelebrated Celebrity

Sorry for the long delay between postings. I’ve been running around like a mad man lately. December has been filled with writing and editing, gift shopping, attending my kid’s school holiday programs, and traveling. Gift shopping was the only tedious item of the bunch. Traveling has been the most fun.

A few weeks ago I went ( Read more... )