A Day in the Life of the NWPCA

The National Writing Project of Central Arkansas Summer Institute started today and I was the keeper of the log, so I thought I’d turn it into a weblog post. So, here’s a snapshot of our first day:
Kristy Carter had the goods on graduate credit and the goody bags.
Jane draws a mean starfish!
Mike’s log announced [...]

Revisiting The Right to Write

I have been revisiting Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write, which I first read in 2006, and remembering how much I liked it. I love her “writing for all” philosophy and her writing warm ups. Some more quotes:
“If words give us power, when do we start to lose our power over words? When do we [...]

Offerings from Northwest Arkansas and a writing exercise

This week I am in Northwest Arkansas (the Western Arkansas Education Service Cooperative in Branch, to be exact) facilitating a writing workshop for teachers.  Oh, what a week this has been.  I have heard some extraordinary writing, from  clearly gifted writers and teachers.  There is nothing like the exhilaration from hearing the stories of others, [...]

Stop the presses! Or, when bad things happen to good writers. . .

So we arrived home today to find the contract from Florida Academic Press. Two pages single spaced, a lot of typical stuff, until the very last item, which asked the author to remit $2,500, with another $1,500 guaranteed a month before publication, along with the contract.
After several emails had gone back and forth in [...]

When good things happen to good people. . . A Very Special Giveaway

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At last, I can tell the happy news. Not only did my husband just get tenure, but he just received word that his comic novel, his first [published] novel, Burnt Norway, has been accepted for publication by Florida Academic Press.
I could not be more thrilled. Not only is Burnt Norway a hilarious [...]

The one (won) about the hat

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While we were talking about winning a few posts ago (in a few months there will actually be a picture of me on the Book Guys website sporting my brand new watch!), I was reminded of another thing I recently won. A hat. A Peter Beaton hat to be exact.
Did I ever [...]

The Artful Edit–A Conundrum

“While we write into a void, we edit into a universe, however ravaged it may be.”
Susan Bell
I just finished Susan Bell’s The Artful Edit last night. Well, sort of. I’d like to give you a full review of it. But the thing is, after singing the praises of the book last time, I got to [...]