So You Want to Write a Book...You're home right now - as we all are - and maybe you're wondering what to do. I've won the Highlights for Children fiction contest and have been writing professionally for years. If you want to take your shot at writing, I have some tips that might help. The following video is the first one...
Amazing...Grace. Katelyn Ohashi Nails It!
If you haven't yet seen it, take a minute or two to marvel at what Katelyn Ohashi did in gymnastics - what a fabulous start to 2019!
Take a look now! https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ucla-katelyn-ohashi-20190117-story.html 
What if you could see how your life would unfold--just by clicking a button?
That's the question all wrapped up in The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. From Amazon... "It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what their destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out." This book is a pure joy ride, with Jay and Carolyn taking turns telling the story. Want to look into the future? Just click here to read an excerpt. |
What if... For me, that question is always on my mind. It's the start of everything. To take a fact and take it to another level. It's a powerful question. Which means it's not only on my mind, but on my back.
The Way You Make Me Feel
Can 16-year-old Clara Shin find love while working in - of all places - a sweaty Korean-Brazilian food truck? Worse, working alongside her nemesis, Rose Carver? With a boy named Hamlet (Really. Hamlet!). Author Maurene Goo thinks so, and after I read this book, I, too, was a believer. From Teenreads... "Hamlet is my new book boyfriend. Now, this is a very hard position to fill, but he managed to become my favorite." What a joy. Fresh, inspiring and a page turner that'll keep you up late at night. Read an excerpt. 
What if drives every one of your favorite books, movies and streaming videos.
Don't believe me? Ask yourself: Would The Hunger Games still be The Hunger Games if they took place in the here-and-now? Would Twilight be nearly as interesting if Edward were just a guy? Would Off the Page have kept you up all night, Kleenex at hand, if Samantha van Leer hadn't first asked her mom, Jodi Picoult what if Oliver wanted to leave the page of his story book and live in the real world? You get the picture. 
Don't try this at home. Try it at school, instead, the next time a teacher calls on you to give an opinion (works especially well in Social Studies or English - not so much in Math!). Try answering in the form of a question, using what if to kick things off. Example: Teacher - "Chelsea, what do you think the author mean when she said she had to avenge her brother's death..." You - "What if she didn't mean avenge literally?" All of a sudden you've opened up a new line of thought (and looked really good doing it!).
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