Category: General
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Visit to Beverly Farms ES (MD)
Thanks to librarian Gina Perkins and parent volunteer Joni Williams for bringing me in to get kids excited about writing!
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Flare Your Nostrils!
Librarian Sue Dahlstrom surprised me with this rendition of my nostril song (from my book Stinky and Successful) sung by kids at Wayne Elementary School (PA)! [soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/35458813″ params=”auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&color=ae4b15″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
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Beware “But I love this…”
Wrote a new song. Loved it. Well, most of it. I was having a little trouble with the bridge, which didn’t seem to lead anywhere. So, I played the song for my music partner Bill Williams, expecting him to suggest a little touch that would do the trick for the trouble spot. He floored me…
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Letting Go of Your Story
I read an inspiring piece of advice for all writers and artists from Jack Brown in the January 2012 edition of the Songwriter’s Association of Washington’s newsletter. “The best songwriting advice I ever got in my life was from a Nashville pro—even though my sound is not a Nashville sound. He said, ‘You have to…
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Grammar’s Beauty
“Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty.” This loving thought is penned by Muriel Barbery in The Elegance of the Hedgehog, a book that is bursting with gorgeous sentences, a book that is an antidote to all our rushed and mangled expressions, all our blurted tweets and texts, all our unedited…
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Art by Tess
Tess, a 10-year-old reader in Indiana, chose me for a biography project. I was honored to be interviewed. Then, she created this work of art to illustrate her biography and shared it with me. I love how she pictured me reading outside under a tree (the right corner of her picture). Thanks, Tess!
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Tip: Why Must You Carry Your Character’s Backstory?
As a fiction writer, you have to know your character’s back story (what has happened in your character’s life before your story begins) and you need to carry it with you as you write. If you don’t, you lose authenticity. Let’s say your main character’s mother drowned years ago and, at some point in your…
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Why You Need Math
Math teacher Mindy LeBlanc had a great idea for a resource for her classroom: a creative writer showing that even writers need to learn math. Here is my video. Teachers, if you can’t access youtube in your classroom, please let me know if you’re aware of a better option than TeacherTube. TeacherTube isn’t processing my…
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Awards and Honors for Mary Amato
General Awards and Honors: Maryland State Arts Council’s Independent Artist Award The Maryland Library Association Maryland Author Award The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators National Magazine Writing Award The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Nonfiction Book Grant The Heekin Foundation’s Fellowship for Children’s Novel-in-Progress The Washington Post Grant in the Arts Target Stores Art…