The Dark Knight, Michael Uslan, and Achieving Your Goals

“They started so young,” thwarted competitors lament, when a young phenom bursts on the scene and quickly claims the highest rewards. We’ve all been awe-inspired by at least one, maybe a fresh-faced 17-year-old swimmer from Colorado earning a gold medal at the Olympiad, or a university student building a the world’s most popular social networking platform, perhaps. Unsurprisingly, there is […]

7 tips for aspiring children’s writers from author Audrey Vernick

For many years, New Jersey children’s author Audrey Vernick wrote literary short fiction, where a big success is “selling” your story to a literary magazine that pays you with free copies of the magazine. Honored twice by the New Jersey State Council of the Arts with its prestigious fiction fellowship, Audrey has published seven children’s books […]

Aspiring children’s book authors! Submit your manuscript to MeeGenius

To commemorate National Literacy Month this September, MeeGenius!, a new reading, bookstore and publishing app for kids that features word highlighting, audio playback and story personalization, is holding a nationwide search to discover and publish aspiring children’s book authors. The contest, which kicks off September 16th, invites parents and children to submit an original manuscript […]

Anne Lamott’s tips for growing your creative spirit–and sense of purpose.

I offer you a guest-post of sorts today in the form of excerpts from Time Lost and Found by author Anne Lamott which I just found in the always pleasing Sunset magazine. As a mother who is a freelance writer and editor working from home, I often place my own needs (especially creative diversions) at the […]

Life Would Be Wonderful…If It Weren’t For The Imaginary Hardships

The following is a version of my column which appears in San Clemente Presbyterian’s NEWSBREAK magazine. Editors are welcome to use it as a FREE REPRINT. Sometimes I don’t need a mirror to see my own reflection. My five-year-old son Joseph is a perfectly capable alternative. Lately, when my answer to one of his requests […]