Archive for January, 2012
Only the Good Parts, Please
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012My daughter likes to lick the icing off cupcakes. A few swipes of the tongue, food colouring on her cheeks. Then she’s finished with it. ”I can’t eat any more,” she’ll say, handing it to me. It’s slick and shiny on top. Dampish. Not terribly appetizing. We need a new cupcake strategy. But yummy treats aside, [...]
Tackling the Tough Stuff
Thursday, January 26th, 2012Last night my writing group critiqued one member’s middle-grade novel-in-progress. J’s novel is about a thirteen-year-old boy dealing with a truckload of difficult things–bullying at school, friendship conflicts, and a mother who struggles with clinical depression. In the current draft, near the beginning of the story, the mother attempts suicide. The boy is the one [...]