AmyMaidaWadsworth

I'm teaching a class on writing personal histories.  The last time I taught this class was in 2004.  A lot has changed since then.  Technology plays a much bigger part in, well, everything.  My octogenarian parents have an iPad, for goodness sake.  How do you use technology to keep your personal histories?  Blogging is a big part of that, I think.  Any thoughts?  I'd love to expand this topic beyond my personal knowledge. 

I've been teaching a writing class to a group of 6th graders for the past 5 weeks.  More than anything, it makes me want to be a writer again. I think I've been a teacher/critic for too long.  Every time I get an idea, I get excited about it, I start working on it, and a couple of days later I abandon the idea because I suddenly think it's stupid.  *sigh* The best thing to do is just to write.  Throw the critic out the door.  Push her face into the snow.  Write a little every day until I trust myself again.  Push through the idea even when I think it's stupid.  Stop expecting perfection to pour out of my finger tips with ease. A friend of mine once told me that successful writers are good at revision.  Maybe so.  But you've got to get something written before you can revise it.

I love the part in Little Women when Jo realizes that her sisters are not only the door to her heart, but the door to her artistic "becoming."  She calls the moment "astonishing." I feel like I'm on the brink of something astonishing.  Ever feel that way?  Since 2002, I've been writing, learning about writing, studying techniques.  I got a job at a school and had to learn all kinds of things I never thought I would learn--how to put together lesson plans, how to present lessons to children of various ages, how to teach things I want to teach and still comply with curriculum standards.  I learned how to use macs, and I learned how to create all kinds of documents with various programs.  I learned how to use a lot of tech to enhance education.  Then, I had the opportunity to produce a show and I learned how to get out of my shell, professionally, take a risk, and trust my instincts. If my current project comes together the way I hope it will, it coul...

I'd like to be clever or witty or wise, and sum up my year-- both the lows and the highs-- with a bit of free verse or some fun lines that rhyme, but rhymes give me trouble most of the time. I hem and I haw as I think "What to write?" I wonder and ponder for most of the night. I type and delete then I type something else. I'm distracted by T.V. in spite of myself. At twelve, the ball drops and it's 2010. The annual cycle begins once again. The kids are all older and much taller too. They come and they go, they've got so much to do. Jason's added new shows to his vast repertoire. Maida's been working to buy her own car. Jessi's adorable, funny and sweet. Russell's so great he knocks me off my feet. Kira is happy, the big snuggle bug! Be sure to come find her if you need a hug! A million thoughts tumble as everyone cheers. Time passes quickly, in moments and years. Love remains constant 'mid passage...

I haven't written anything in ages. So, today I wrote something. It's pretty obvious that I've been reading a lot of children's books lately. And working with children, watching children, reading to children... This is very different from everything else I've done. Don't know if anything will come of it or not, though it's clearly a first chapter. Let me know what you think! No Vacancy Ms. Talon’s murky voice bubbled in Andrew’s head like a mud puddle, or like hot tar on an oppressive summer day. Andrew closed his eyes and lifted his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose as he imagined his classmates prying their tar-covered feet from her voice, trying to escape the mouth opening after them like a bottomless cave with yellowing teeth hanging like stalactites. Instantly, his classmates turned into dinosaurs, fossilizing in La Brea as he reached for them, helplessly. Lisa elbowed him. With a start, he looked at the girl next to him, whose...

I created a blog for the computer lab last year, and I've carried that over to my new job as a media center assistant. Here's the blog I'm working on. If you follow me on goodreads, you've already read most of these posts. I'm having great fun reading these books! I haven't given myself permission to sit and read for a long time, and now I can do it for work! Yay! bvbooklovers.com

Book Tag--here are the rules. Grab the book nearest you. Right now. Turn to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post that sentence along with these instructions. Don't dig for your favorite book, use the CLOSEST Here's mine: "Which he did over the next twenty minutes, calling only one witness, Master Chief Riley, who recounted the boarding and gave a color commentary to the video tape record of the boarding." "Clear and Present Danger" by Tom Clancy Nowhere near as cool as Patty's! If you haven't done this yet, tag, you're it!