There is no denying that the writer’s life can be one of ups and downs. Having the provisions to go the distance, to weather the hard knocks and enjoy the triumphs, takes a variety of resources. One of my go-to resources is podcasts. I can listen to them when I’m...
News
Switching Things Up: How a Writing Retreat Revived Me
What happens when a dispirited writer decides to change things up and go in a new direction? I wrote about the writing retreat that turned things around for me on the Project Mayhem Middle Grade blog: The twists and turns of the writer's life had drained all the joy...
Taking Risks: NESCBWI ’17 Conference Recap
Take risks: that was the most powerful message I took away from the New England SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators) regional conference, I’ve been home a week, and I’m still reflecting on moments and messages from the conference. It’s a...
3 Poems by Mary E. Cronin: Remembrance
Three of my poems are featured on the YARN online journal today! YARN (Young Adult Review Network) features short fiction, creative essays, poetry, and author interviews. My initial contact with YARN was entering their annual poetry contest last year. The theme was...
Writing with Friends
Happiness is a deep session of coffee shop writing, with a friend or two nearby.
When a Poetry Workshop becomes a Slam
It started out with a curve ball. And that was before the table flipped. When I head to the South Bronx each year to lead a poetry workshop at St. Luke School, I expect that I'll teach the 7th and then 8th grades. The classrooms are right next to each other, I know...
For Middle Grade Writers: 5 Gems from a School Counselor
If you write middle grade fiction, it can be difficult to keep track of the ebbs and flows of a middle schooler’s daily life if you are not the parent or teacher of kids this age. I interviewed a middle school guidance counselor (I’ll call her Ms. Counselor) for...
Fighting the Good Fight with Children’s Books
Can children's books fight prejudice, oppression, and injustice? Absolutely. Yesterday I presented a teacher training about structuring the read-aloud experience for maximum benefit to young children. This gave me the...
Mommy, Why Are They Marching? Six Picture Books for kids
Our children are asking. How do we respond when a man about to be inaugurated as President of the United States would flunk the behavior guidelines of every kindergarten in the country: no name-calling, no touching someone else’s private parts? When the election was...
We Know How to Do This: my Inauguration protest poem
I am thrilled that my poem "We Know How to Do This" is included in the voices of dissent in the anthology If You Can Hear This: Poems in Protest of an American Inauguration. Published by Sibling Rivalry Press, the anthology is available through Amazon, or you can...