How Writing About Terrible Things Makes the Reader a Better Person

Donna Jo Napoli spoke at the 2011 SCBWI LA Conference on why she writes books with difficult subject matter and how it is essential too creating empathy in readers. Here are my notes from her talk: I’m Often Asked Why I Write the Books I Write: Napoli writes books with intense content like rape and [...]

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Finding the Heart to Unlock Your Story

Newbery Award winning author Susan Patron spoke at the 2011 Southern California Writer’s Day. A former librarian and lover of children’s books, she had a lot of heartfelt insight on writing for children. Her talk ranged from finding the courage to write to insights from childhood. The following are my notes taken from her presentation: [...]

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For Richer or Poorer: Writing Through the Good and Bad Times

Young adult author Carolyn Mackler spoke at the 2010 SCBWI LA Conference. In her keynote presentation, she addressed the struggles of living a literary life, and that even when you’ve made it (been published, won awards), you still face new challenges in your career. Despite the breakdowns, one must press on and persevere! The following notes were taken turning her [...]

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Speak Loudly! Speak Out Against Censorship

If you haven’t heard, author Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Speak is once again under the knife of censorship. In particular, Wesley Scroggins an associate professor at Missouri State University is touting the book as pornography. Anderson is rallying her troops and asking bloggers, tweeters, writers, teens, and all who love this book to share the [...]

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