by Melissa Stoller In my corner of the world, leaves are turning colors and the breeze is cooler. Autumn is a time of year filled with sights, smells, and tastes all its own. Here are some autumn writing prompts to help spark your imagination: 1. TREES – notice the trees outside your window, in a magazine, or online. Think about the leaves - color, texture, shapes. What animals inhabit the tree or its surroundings? What would it feel like to incorporate a tree, leaf, or animal into a story? 2. FALL HARVEST – can you smell and taste apples, pumpkins, or cinnamon? What fall foods of childhood, or of your current life, prompt story ideas? Look through old photos featuring family feasts and sprinkle some food memories into your current manuscript. 3. PEOPLE – which people do you associate with most in the fall? Of course, Fall 2020 is unlike any other. Call up memories of past visits. Conjure people you would like to see now. Imagine fall scenarios and pick one to include in a story. I hope these tips for using your senses and the fall season to heighten your manuscripts is helpful. Let me know in the comments. Cheers to Autumn and to creativity. BIO: Melissa Stoller is the author of the chapter book series The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection - Return to Coney Island and The Liberty Bell Train Ride (Clear Fork Publishing, 2017 and 2021); and the picture books Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush and Ready, Set, GOrilla! (Clear Fork, Fall 2018). Upcoming books include Sadie’s Shabbat Stories and Return of the Magic Paintbrush (CFP). Melissa is a Blogger and Assistant for the Children’s Book Academy, a Regional Ambassador for The Chapter Book Challenge, a Moderator for the Debut Picture Book Study Group, a volunteer with SCBWI/MetroNY, and a founding member of The Book Meshuggenahs. In other chapters of her life, Melissa has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, freelance writer and editor, and early childhood educator. She lives in New York City with her family, and enjoys theatre, museums, and long beach walks. CONNECT: https://www.MelissaStoller.com https://www.MelissaStoller.com/blog http://www.facebook.com/MelissaStoller http://www.twitter.com/melissastoller http://www.instagram.com/Melissa_Stoller http://www.pinterest.com/melissa_Stoller
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4/12/2023 12:30:23 am
Who do you hang out with the most this autumn? Naturally, the Autumn of 2020 will be special. Bring up old vacations in your mind. Visualize the folks you'd want to see right now. Think of several ways a fall may go wrong and chose one to use in your tale.
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We are so excited to be mixing things up at CBA, beginning with some delicious additions to the Blogfish. Meet our awesome bloggers!!
Here's our lineup: 1st Mondays begin with awesome multi-published former student Shirin Shamsi who will be focusing on Muslim and cultural kidlit. 2nd Mondays will feature super smart Melissa Stoller whose career is taking off with several new books. 3rd Mondays will feature Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer, man of mystery, and professional magician among other things. 4th Mondays will feature STEM, STEAM & SEL obsessed author Kourtney LaFavre sharing delightfully dorky, quirky, and fun info. And 5th Mondays we'll be taking a break Archives
May 2023
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