#lois brandt

[loisbrandt]

Snafu! or, Should Writers Avoid the NYT Crossword Puzzle?

Snafu! or, Should Writers Avoid the NYT Crossword Puzzle?

I’ve always been bothered by the New York Times crossword puzzle. Normally, I win at word games. I love words. I write words, read words, play with multiple meanings. If I were a dog I’d make myself a pile full of words and roll around, paws up, in ecstasy. So why is the New York Times crossword puzzle so difficult for me and so easy for, say, my husband? Now my husband is a pretty bright guy.…

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[writersrumpus]

The Ones that Leave Impressions

The Ones that Leave Impressions @LoisBrandt1

By Carrie Charley Brown Sometimes a book leaves an impression so deep that I internalize the emotions. It prompts me to find a new audience of eager children to read it to. Kids or not, I look forward to reading it again myself, knowing that I will once again be in tears, even though I have read it ten times already. MADDI’S FRIDGE by Lois Brandt is one of those books. And even though I first…

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[loisbrandt]

Maddi's Story

Maddi’s Story

A few weeks ago I visited an elementary school in northern Washington State. The school held a food drive and collected 1600 food items before my visit. I spoke to three assemblies and then led two writers’ workshops. At the beginning of 5th grade workshop, I asked the kids if any of them had questions about Maddi’s Fridge that didn’t get answered at the assembly. One girl shot her hand up…

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[loisbrandt]

Risk, Broken Bones, and Writing

Risk, Broken Bones, and Writing

In early June my son and his friend, both college students, were skateboarding on a Friday night in Portland. They chose a street that each thought the other had gone down before. As they picked up speed both realized they were in trouble. My son’s friend purposely headed into a wall of blackberry brambles. His was a good decision. My son thought he could slow or stop. He came to a few minutes…

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[loisbrandt]

The Blog Bullshit Meter

The Blog Bullshit Meter

What I want to talk about is over-revising your writing.

Oh. Even at my desk in the Seattle area I can hear shouts from New York agents and editors: “Nooooooo! Polish your woooork!”

Ignore them. Some of us perseverate on manuscripts that we need to release. This is a real problem for me. I’ll sit on a project, anything from a picture book to a novel, and only reluctantly send it out because I…

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[naturalbabydol]

Maddi's Fridge Book Review

Maddi’s Fridge Book Review

Why is Maddi’s Fridge Empty?

Playing at the park for many kids often times work up their appetite and they need a snack but in the case of Maddi she is not as fortunate as many kids. Maddi and Sofia are two young girls that attend the same school and play with one another in the park after school. The kids work up an appetite  and Sofia suddenly races up Maddi’s stairs into her home and opens her…

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