Writing Tip #1:
My first magazine editor gave me some invaluable advice that - after 25 years - I still follow. It is the same advice I give my students: Read every completed writing project OUT LOUD. It is amazing how much jumps out at you - both good and bad -when you actually hear the words you have written spoken. You may have read an essay or a poem or a book report a dozen times silently. However, when you read it out loud, you hear those repetitious words, those poorly described nouns, those pauses where you should have put a comma. At the same time, on a more positive note, you also hear the sentences that work - and they are music to your ears. Read it out loud alone, or read it out loud to friends or family; an audience often helps to pinpoint some mistakes as well.

Quote for the week: "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." Edith Wharton