Spotlight

Do You Want to Write a Novel?

November is National Novel Writers Month, NaNoWriMo for short, and every year thousands of writers participate in a program to write a novel in November. Not only can it be done, it can be life-altering.

I'd always hoped to write a novel, but after many starts it always landed on the back burner. The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that it provides a way to beat both the mental and circumstantial blocks that get in the way of writing. It starts with a commitment to write 50,000 words in November which adds up to about 190 pages. To get there I must write 1666.6 words a day. They don’t have to be good words. It doesn’t have to compare to Hemingway. I just have to write. I can go back next month and fix whatever I don’t like. 

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Spotlight

What’s All the Hoopla About hoopla?

With the holidays around the corner, many of us will be spending time traveling to see friends and family, or perhaps just spending long weekends at home. If your holiday get-togethers are anything like those of my family, there’s plenty of eating and visiting and chatting and music and laughter. And if you’re anything like me, after all that visiting and chatting and laughter, it feels really good to plunk down in a quiet corner after the crowd has cleared out and recharge with a book or movie!

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Kids & Parents

Veterans Day - American Heroes

Veterans Day 2014 should be treated as so much more than just another day off from school! As adults, on this day, we recognize and respect the men and women who have served in our U.S. military for the past 70 years. As parents, we can also help our children appreciate the sacrifices our soldiers have made, by creating new family traditions filled with special Veterans Day activities.

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