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Art night
I was an art major, so of course when I found out the kids’ school was having a completely free Art Night, I insisted we attend. I figured my oldest, who loves drawing and art in general, would enjoy it, and the other kids would benefit, too. And I really wanted to see what Cadillac…
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Bad High School English
Recently, a student from where I went to high school interviewed me for the school paper. It was all very nice. I was glad to do it. I remembered my days of high school journalism, when the greatest pleasure of all was the off-campus pass to “write stories.” Then he asked how my time at…
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Oh Hai San Diego
Aloha Hawaii So this funny thing happened a few weeks ago. Cadillac got recruited to a job back in San Diego and we moved back. Ahem, last week. Getting rid of all your stuff, shipping a minivan, moving three kids across the Pacific. All in a day’s work. At this point, I’m about ready for…
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Songs Stuck in My Head
Yesterday, I was humming a tune and it took me a minute to figure out what the heck I was humming. It hit me: it was SCARECROW AND MRS. KING. This was one of my mother’s favorite shows. How cool would it be to be the housewife/spy with a foxy agent like Bruce Boxleitner? I…
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High Anxiety Confessions
I have a vivid imagination. This is what I tell myself when I worry. I worry so much I even worry about being worried. I’m a natural-born worrier, from a long line of worriers. I actually don’t know if anyone besides my mom was a worrier, but considering how much she worried I…
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Banned Books Week
Today is the beginning of the American Library Association Banned Books Week. Everybody grab a banned or challenged book and start reading. The site also has lists of Frequently Challenged Books, organized by year. The classics list surprised me. Who knew I was reading so many challenged books and enjoying them without feeling the least…
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The Introverts vs. the Extroverts
Luckily, understanding these differences has helped. I know my son and I need to have a fair amount of decompression time, alone. I know my youngest daughter needs to have far (far) more activities and social time than I require. I know my eldest can go either way, depending on her mood. I know my…
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Vlog! Is Your Book Real?
One question I keep hearing: did everything in your novel really happen? It’s my first video blog!
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How to Outline a Novel: 60 Index Cards Method
I used to be very against outlining books– novels– because I thought they had to be PURE and free-flowing and not sticking to any formula. But in 2009, at the Hawaii Writer’s Conference, I attended bestselling author William Bernhardt’s how to outline a novel seminar. He said he couldn’t teach us the poetry of writing, but…
MARGARET DILLOWAY 