Michelle Zink's Blog, page 65

The Story of Stuff

So most of you know I'm more or less anti-STUFF. It's not that I don't have stuff. I do. And like Annie Leonard, I like most of my stuff.

It's just that I don't feel compelled to buy stuff just because it's new or someone else has it or I think it's going to make me happy in some way. I buy things when I/we need them and/or if there is a fairly compelling reason for getting something new (like my new DVD player that streams movies from Netflix, thereby reducing my expenditure on DVDs and the a...

Thirty Days, Thirty Letters

Today my attention was drawn to a very cool writing challenge in the most wonderful of ways.ZAlix-wa, one of our Thursday Night Write regulars, posted a link on my Facebook wall pointing me to a letter she had written as part of a Thirty Days, Thirty Letters Writing Challenge.ZNow, those of you who frequent TNW already know that Alix's specialty is the writing of these incredibly raw, poignant, heartfelt letters to all kinds of people in her life – even herself. They always move me, but this ...

I <3 Authors!!!

The car is packed, I've sandbagged as much sleep as I can, and we're finally loaded up and ready to drive to the park for this year's Relay for Life, an all-night walk to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Our team, Rock the Cure, is made up of about 25 teens (I'm really just there to chaperone, though it feels like a lot more work than that!) who work together to raise money for cancer research, prevention, and education.

The day of the event, we run carnival games for kids and teens...

Dance, Scream, or Make-Out?

Well, tomorrow is our town's annual all-night walk, Relay for Life, to benefit the American Cancer Society. I will once again be the sole chaperone for about 25 teenagers, and am preparing to stockpile sleep as we speak.

Relay is always a crazy event due in equal parts to the lack of slumber and all-night games of Would You Rather that occur in our tent in-between walking sessions (one person at a time takes a turn with the team pedometer). Somehow, we always end up with extra teens, live...

Thursday Night Write with Author Saundra Mitchell

Welcome to a very special edition of Thursday Night Write!

While I try my best to comment all the TNW posts, as the feature has grown and grown (each week TNW gets, on average, 1300 hits in the first 24 hours alone! Yes! That many people are reading your entries, even is they're not commenting!), it's gotten tougher for me to keep on top of it all. Some weeks I get to all the entries, some weeks I get to a few, and some weeks I don't get to any of them (which makes me as sad as it makes you). ...

Guardian of the Gate – Your Next Clue

I have been deep, deep into revisions on my new book for the past six weeks and am finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. This time around, I've been able to articulate for myself a lot of things about the revision process that work (and a few that don't). I'll try to do a post next week about it, because I think some of the things I'm learning (I'm ALWAYS learning in this business – it's one of the things I love most about it) will be useful to other writers, too.

Anyway… guess...

Hush, Hush, Evanescence, and Being Content…

This week's Anonymous Teen Reader is Sapphire (Love. It.)! Sapphire lives in Trinidad and is just as fascinating and intelligent as all our other teens. I love her outlook on life (and her willingness to remind me when it's her turn!

And if any of the teens reading would like to be featured as an Anonymous Teen Reader, just drop me a line on Facebook or Twitter!

Happy Mondayyy!!!

JUST THE FACTS

Interview Code Name (you choose!); Sapphire

Current...

Friday Poll – Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace?

When my kids first started hanging out online, Myspace was the go-to site for them and their friends. They loved creating layouts (and changing them every few days), adding playlists, and generally making their mark on their profile in a myriad of ways.

A metaphor for early adolescence if there ever was one!

I spent most of my time on Myspace as well, because I was there for them. To supervise, yes, but also to engage with them in a way they could relate to and found enjoyable. Over time...

Thursday Night Write – Open Mic

Time for another episode of Thursday Night Write, Open Mic Style!

And guess what? This is the first of three in a row, because next week we have awesome author and guest commentator, Saundra Mitchell, and I have another surprise guest the following week.

WOOT!

So post your excerpt of 300 words or less for comment – it can be part of a poem, story, journal entry… anything you want! – and don't forget to comment at least one other post.

I'm sorry I didn't get to last week's posts. I'll try to do ...

The Red Dress

Last week my good friend, Jenny, sent me a link to a blog post I've been pondering ever since.

It was by an awesome blogger called The Bloggess, and it featured the gorgeous picture you see at left. Well, first of all, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE red. LOVE! But the other thing that struck me about the photo was how REAL the model seemed.

How luminous and stunning and confident. She is owning that dress, girlfriends!

So I read on. And this post really moved me. It's all about how we...