Blogtalk

Blogtalk: Journaling in the Classroom

February 2, 2012

Journal writing is a powerful tool for self-expression, personal growth, and healing. So it makes sense to introduce the art of journaling (including art journaling) to young children. In addition to the incredible emotional benefits it offers, journaling is effective in the classroom as a tool to help students learn writing, analysis, and reflective skills. [...]

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BlogTalk: The Week’s Journaling Blog Roundup

December 9, 2011

I love Sharon Lippincott’s method for mapping the stages of her life: it’s so un-linear. Linearity is something I excel in, and I know I would benefit from the organic, round, mind-mapping quality of her approach. I’ve included a small thumbnail of her sketch here, but go read her blog post, The Tree of Me, [...]

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Blogtalk: Living with Regret

December 2, 2011

Do you regret wrong decisions you’ve made? What does it really mean to feel regret? And is life better without it? In the following TED talk, Kathryn Schulz makes a strong case for accepting regret as a positive and reasonable emotional response to bad decisions and mistakes. “We should feel pain when things go wrong,” [...]

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Blogtalk: Compassionate Criticism and Avoiding Distraction

November 4, 2011

Compassionate Criticism – Sharon Lippincott just posted one of the best lists of constructive feedback rules for writers I’ve seen. It’s similar to the list of guidelines I give all my students, but I think Sharon’s is better articulated. (I think I’ll have to steal it. Okay with you, Sharon?) I think one of my [...]

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Blogtalk: Characterizing Yourself, NaNoWriMo, Free Memoir Writing Conference, and Creating Inspiration

October 14, 2011

With all the possibilities journaling offers, from simply writing on lined notebook paper to beautiful and complex art journals, I found Quinn Creative’s recent post, Journaling with Words, humorous and enjoyable. Plus, she offers a great journaling exercise to help you identify and acknowledge the creative aspects of your personality. When I saw the exercise, [...]

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Blogtalk: How Books and Media Reflect Our Social Conscience

September 23, 2011

Last week, I viewed a fascinating TED video with Lauren Zlaznick. Through the results of a study conducted of popular television shows over the last five decades, Slaznick demonstrates how media reflects the attitudes, concerns, and beliefs of our culture. I wondered, as I watched it, if the same was true of books. Then, lo [...]

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Blogtalk: Balancing Creativity and the Digital Life

August 5, 2011

We writers have a tendency to grouse about how difficult it is to stay focused. We distract ourselves with email, FaceBook, Twitter, and phone texts — all in the name of “social networking” — and then we complain about it. Ben Brooks posted a thoughtful article about the importance of taking responsibility for our Digital [...]

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