Introduction Theme. Apparently, it’s a scary word, one that sends students, readers and authors alike into fearful fits, remembering the Bad Old Days of high-school English. (And if this doesn’t apply to you, congratulations! You’ll still learn something from this book, you just get to skip the anxiety stage. And if you’re still in high […]
How To Theme: Introduction Read More »
How To Theme is HERE! With epic thanks to both Krista Ball and Liana Brooks for prodding me into this via social media late last year. Chapters will be coming out twice weekly (Wed/Thurs this week, Tues/Thurs subsequently) here on the blog, or you can read it all immediately (in draft form) on Patreon, or
Starting Tomorrow, How To Theme! Read More »
Weekend before Easter I got roped into hiking with school. I say ‘roped’; I mentioned at the start of the year to the coordinator that I was interested in doing some hiking this year, and then the female teacher for this hike had to pull out, and so I got about 10 days’ warning. Wow
A-Hiking We Will Go Read More »
This runs almost directly counter to everything I said last Thursday, but on the other hand I use both techniques, so they’re clearly compatible in reality. Paradoxes. Fun stuff. (I actually spoke about this to some students last week, and suggested today’s technique for low-moderate nerves/anxiety, and Thursday’s technique for moderate-high anxiety.) So here’s the
How Not To Be Nervous About Anything Read More »
You know you might have a bit of an issue with unrealistic expectations when you’re mildly disappointed that you only got ~108 of the ~112 lessons for the next 7 weeks planned, resourced, and handouts printed out in the pre-school prep week. Thankfully, the disappointment is only mild, and most of me is just stoked
Unreasonable Expectations :P Read More »
Consider this context for next Friday’s post 😀 But also, I do just love the song and the video clip. There’s a lot going on here, and I’ve actually used this several times as a class resource – and if you’re feeling SUPER KEEN, since there’s a weekend coming up and all and you might
Formation, Beyonce, and Some Lit-Crit-Lite ;) Read More »
AH HA HA. Yes. Just, yes. Look, I’m an English teacher, a line editor and an author, m’kay? YES. O:) 😀 Read more:In Which My Sense Of Time Is Abominable And I Ramble#MadeItMonday: Ah ha ha. I Love That You Thought This Wouldn't Be Cake.Otterly Random
Word Crimes: AKA I’ve Just Finished Writing Reports? Read More »
So, a while ago I started the map-building series as a backlash against All Those Authors that get it Wrong, and as an attempt to prevent that happening in the future. I’ve talked about the very fundamental stuff – the underlying structure of the world, the fun you can have with hotspots and volcanos –
How To Build A World From The Ground Up Week 5: Hot and Cold, Wet and Dry Read More »
I mentioned volcanos very briefly in the last post in this series in talking about where mountains are usually formed. Often, the volcanos appear where one plate is sliding under another, forcing the upper plate even up-er, and providing a weak spot for all that yummy magma and lava to come spewing out. Yay, fire
How To Build A World From The Ground Up Week 4: And Then It Exploded Read More »
To really understand how and why things work, it’s usually a pretty good idea to strip things back to their most basic level and build your way up from there. Maps are no different, if you want to get really serious. The world works in layers, and really good maps that Work will be designed
How To Build A World From The Ground Up Week 3: Tall Pointy Things Read More »
