VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Okay, this post comes from a blog I follow. I'm not posting the whole post here, but part of it with a link. I hope you'll go read the whole thing. Great tips for writers as we all tend to work from home. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ahhh…the stress-free life of working from home. There are no co-workers to interrupt you, no boss looming over your shoulder and no set work schedule. You can come and go as you please, dress however you like and even leave your home office early to catch a movie. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? It   is,   except for the hidden stress-inducers including interruptions from your family and neighbors, a few household chores screaming for your attention and the lure of a nearby refrigerator. You can’t control all of the stress related to working from home, but there are some things you should always do and other things you should never do to keep home office stress level low. Read the whole article at http://www.startupnation.com/business-blogs/index.php...

The Maggie Project: Helpful Tips on Writing from author Tal Yanai : "After seventeen years of studying and practicing spirituality, I decided to write my first book, a short spiritual guide for the road of li..."

In his debut book, Life Is Not a Candy Store: It’s the Way to the Candy Store , Yanai encourages teens to become more aware of how their actions affects themselves and others. By exposing them to the simple truths of spirituality, and the beauty and love of a higher power, Yanai hopes readers will find new direction and purpose in a world filled with instant everything. After reading Life Is Not a Candy Store , Yanai has done what he has set out to do. I was impressed with how much of him shows through on the page. His book truly is a labor of love. I was lucky enough to stumble upon this gem of a book full of wisdom. Although the content is geared toward teenagers, it will equally appeal to adults. The combination of spoken truths and humor makes it easily accessible, and encourages readers to go back and reread. Anyone living by this philosophy can do no harm and will radiate the light of gentleness, kindness and peace. Life Is Not a Candy Store: It’s the Way to the Candy Store. ...

Utah Children's Writers: A Better Way to Show : "By Julie Daines I've been reading about my favorite subject lately, imagery in literature, and I keep coming across the term objective co..."

Welcome to Blog Jog Day! Please enjoy my site then click over to Denver Cereal at   http://denvercereal.com   to see what the next Blog has to offer! Lost in the links? You can always go back to the main Blog Jog Day Blog at http://blogjogday.blogspot.com and find a new link to jog from. Thank you for stopping by my site! Special Blog Jog Giveaway! Leave a comment about something you learned from this blog with your safe email (example: vsgrenier AT storiesforchildrenpublishing DOT com) and you'll be entered to win these two books.

During his formative years, Tal Yanai was not happy with his reality. What he was creating in his life was not in alignment with what he wanted in his heart or what he knew and deeply felt was possible. As a struggling student, he was considered a troublemaker in school. Then one day, during a bike trip from the kibbutz to the sea, he was asked to take charge and make sure none of the other kids lagged behind. For the first time in his life, at age fifteen, Tal got a taste of what it meant to assume responsibility and be a leader. This one experience planted the seed for his goal to assume a leadership role in his later life. After finishing high school, having been raised on Kibbutz, Einat, Israel, he volunteered to serve as a leader in the Kibbutzim Youth Movement, which focused on principles such as volunteering, mutual help, and giving to one’s community and country. In tenth grade he was diagnosed with dyslexia, which explained his learning difficulties but it di...

It's said that a problem or premise can be viewed from two distinctive points of view -- the observer viewpoint and the merged viewpoint. Today's creativity method focuses on the second viewpoint. The merged viewpoint occurs when you become the object of the observation. You become the subject of your observation, and you observe from the point of view of your subject. This is referred to as projective identification. Projective identification can be purely fantasy: What's it like to be a potato about to become French fries? How does it feel like to be a gum stuck in a shoe? Imagine what it's like to be an ink cartridge. Or it can be empathetic: Seeing the situation through a laborer's eyes Getting inside the skin of an AIDS victim Being in the shoes of a chronically depressed person For your creative activity today, write 2 short texts (100-200 words) using projective identification for the following: Fantasy: What's it like to be a picture frame...

Six ‐ year ‐ old author, LaNiyah Bailey, released her debut book, Not FAT Because I Wanna Be in April 2010. In her book, LaNiyah details the struggle of Jessica, a fictional girl who has an underlying medical issue that causes her to gain weight. Bullied by her peers, Jessica learns to accept her body and eventually opens up about her condition to her classmates. What I love about this book is my family can relate to Jessica, and LaNiyah and her family’s struggles. Despite eating a healthy diet, which includes vegetables, salads and fruits for over the last two years, LaNiyah has been bullied by her peers for both the size of her stomach and the amount of time she spends in the bathroom. My son also had this same problem in his early school years. The reason? An enlarged colon…just like LaNiyah. When her doctor discovered her enlarged colon, LaNiyah immediately started medication and an exercise program with a personal trainer. Because of the diagnosis and treatment, LaNiyah felt be...