Forgiving yourself for what you did “on purpose”
Whack! The little girl smacked her tiny rainbow umbrella down on the restaurant’s marble table with an unexpectedly loud crack. No one was hurt; nothing was damaged–or even knocked over–but her eyes widened in horror. “But I did it on purpose!” A storm of tears followed and she hid her face against her mother. I […]
Growing into shape: A 1,000-year-old linden tree
This 1,000 year old linden tree has such a perfect shape from the outside. A really old tree gives me a new perspective on life and how long it takes to grow something beautiful. This one almost certainly saw a procession of Emperors passing by. It’s very near the open-air museum of Tilleda, a kind […]
Sometimes the only thing that helps stuck projects
Sometimes the only thing that helps stuck projects . . .is walking around it. Am I the only one who has to move to get my brain to work? I’m getting the big creative “guns” out today: Scissors, tape, markers in all colors. What do you all do when a project Just. Won’t. Budge?
Sketching, the “saggy middle” and The Winged Pen
Today, I’m over at The Winged Pen’s Master Your Craft blog post series. What–you ask–is Master Your Craft? Each Wednesday, the Winged Pen discusses prewriting and drafting a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. (Handy list of Master Your Craft topics so far.) My post is about that devious stretch of story landscape […]
Persistence and the artistic dream in SOMEDAY, SOMEDAY, MAYBE by Lauren Graham
Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham is a charming and funny story of a young woman pursuing an artistic dream. I usually write about middle grade, young adult books, or writing craft books on this blog, but this story of a young woman pursuing the acting dream has lots of parallels with the writing life. […]
Looking in from the outside: Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series
Thick as Thieves came out in 2017 (Yay! I read it twice in a row!) and I’ve been enjoying re-reading Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series. She’s making me think about the story from an outsider’s perspective. Megan Whalen Turner’s beloved Eugenides character is showcased in a way that reminds me of Dorothy Dunnett’s […]
7+ English Language Bookstores in Paris
Shady arcade along the Rue de Rivoli that houses two English language bookstores in Paris. © Laurel Decher, 2017. For All in Paris Who Read English Books This post is for all you readers of English language books who are living in or visiting Paris. Maybe you need a book for the plane home or […]
Becoming an artist at The Winged Pen
I really enjoyed this book! The gutsy girl artist, Emelin, is appealing. Her mysterious friend Wolf is also intriguing. The story is easy-peasy accessible and the everyday details of England in the middle ages are effortlessly accurate. Try it, you’ll like it. You can read the interview with author, Jackie Randall, here. Save Save Save […]
Does your Work-in-Progress need a Canalmaster?
Construction machines are wasted without a little child to sit in a lawn chair and appreciate the show. This last week, I kept a list of the noisy machines that distracted me *cough* from my revision work. I didn’t get a picture of the asphalt saw that cut a square hole in the street or […]
The Book Club for Kids talks satisfying reads and Gary D. Schmidt’s ORBITING JUPITER
The Book Club for Kids episode is about Gary D. Schmidt’s Orbiting Jupiter. Note: I’ve read Orbiting Jupiter and liked it AND I think you may want to read it yourself before reading it with the kids. It’s definitely YA rather than middle grade in my opinion. There’s also a sequel to this book that […]
Visual Story Structure with Cows
The idyllic Naafbachtal hiking trail is gentle on your eyes and on your knees. © Laurel Decher, 2017 Our story begins in the Naafbachtal . . . Naaf brook valley The Naafbachtal is a long valley full of meadows, originally slated to be a reservoir, and now a nature reserve. The lovely little Naaf brook […]
Love Springs up Like Birch Trees
In Germany, May 1st is a sort of Valentine’s-Day-on-Steroids On the last night of April, birch trees pop up everywhere in this part of Germany. Young men put them up in front of their sweetheart’s houses and write the girl’s name in a giant heart hung on a tree. It’s a windy time of year. […]