Four Elements That Turn Children’s Literature into Classics by Erin Greneaux
What makes a story stand the test of time? What elements help certain books speak to children and adults for generations? Let’s look at four characteristics of children’s stories that make them timeless, beloved classics. An Ending with Hope, but Not Happily Ever After As authors, we want lovely endings for our characters. While happily […]
Yes, Lord. Confirming the Work of Our Hands by Jennifer Mill Barnes
“You never say “Yes” to anything.” Ever heard of Grey’s Anatomy? Shonda Rhimes is its critically-acclaimed and award-winning creator and executive producer. Although I’m not a television enthusiast, I was struck by the premise in her secular 2015 book, Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person. Rhimes’ […]
Creativity Is a Journey of Discovery
Creativity is a journey of discovery
What Writers Can Learn from Charles Schulz
By now, you’ve probably seen Linus tell Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about, seen Snoopy reunite with his brother Spike, and felt empathy for poor Rerun who is probably still stuck on that bike. For many, it’s tradition to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Specials every year. And for many, it is the only […]
Making the Most of Your Author Visits- Part III by Jennifer M. Barnes
How do authors promote their books effectively? During my thirty years of teaching, I had the privilege of hosting incredible authors in my classroom and school. I believe the ideas I’ve documented from their visits will help us as we plan our own author visits. First, pray. Sharing stories with children brings challenges. Some authors […]
What Writers Can Learn from Walt Disney
Out of the 62 animated films from the Walt Disney Company, only 8 are original ideas, and 2 of those were propaganda films made during WWII to help strengthen our relationship with South America. Everything else was based on either a book, mythology, poems, folk tales, or a piece of classical music. So why do […]
Break Time!
Do you ever give yourself a break from writing? I’m not talking about a hiatus where you take a long period of time away from your laptop or pad of paper and pen. I’m referring to a little transition break from one project to the next. Here’s what I mean.
My Favorite Self-Publishing Tools by Erin Greneaux
My favorite aspect of the self-publishing process is that I coordinate every aspect of the process from the initial idea to the printed book in my readers’ hands! And the most challenging part of self-publishing is…coordinating every aspect of the process from idea to printed book. While most authors are talented in several areas of […]
Making the Most of Your Author Visits- Part II by Jennifer Mills Barnes
Remember The Best Christmas Pageant Ever? Author Barbara Robinson penned the antics of the Herdman kids hearing the Christmas story for the first time. One of my favorite memories was watching twenty-two first-graders squeeze closer to her for a photo. As the kids bumped, she laughed. “Wouldn’t this be a great idea for a book?” At […]
The Best Novel Written by ChatGPT
The Two Lives of Ezekiel Van Cleef is the greatest novel ever written by AI. Why? Because I helped write it. While this sounds arrogant, I think any novel that has 10% of the writing done by a human is better than any novel written 100% by AI. In fact, productivity aside, I would say […]