Favorite Blogs

I subscribe to a handful of blogs, and while I’m brewing my coffee, scroll through them on my phone blog reader. I’ll be honest, for most of the postings, I read the title and the first paragraph and mark as “read.” It’s not they aren’t interesting or that I want to unsubscribe, it’s just I subscribed to all of them for various reasons and on any given morning, those reasons may not always be applicable to that first cup of coffee.

The blogs I subscribe to range from children’s literature blogs (handy for my educator classes and to know what is current in children’s literature), blogs on writing romance (helpful when I’m writing a romance and need craft inspiration), author blogs (most of which are who people I have personally met or authors in the publishers houses where my books are published), and a few arts and craft type blogs (helpful for my other creative outlet of sewing and mixed media collage)

However, there are two blogs which, almost, without fail I read in their entirety.

1. Four Corners Design, written by local, Everett, mixed media collage artist Amy Duncan. I subscribed to Amy’s blog after I met her at a Fresh Paint Artists At Work Festival. Since then, I’ve also had the opportunity to take one of her local workshops on recycled journals. Her blog is filled with pictures of what she is currently working on as well as her struggles in the creative process and her successes. I think it’s these struggle and successes in her creative process which speak the most to me. Although we work in different artistic mediums, it’s her sharing of the process which I look forward to reading. You can read the Four Corners Design blog here.

2. Author, Marion Dane Bauer’s Blog–Marion was a Vermont College Faculty member during my years working on my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. I never had her as an adviser or workshop leader, but when she gave readings and lectures, I always attended. I loved her grounded, strong sensibilities in writing good, solid middle grade.  I came late to subscribing to Marion’s blog, but after seeing various friends from my Vermont College years, posting her blog posts on their Facebook feeds, I finally subscribed.  Marion, like Amy, shares both technical craft posts as well as her successes and struggles in the creative process of writing. Marion’s blog comes to me through my email about once a week, and when it does, I always take a deep breath and sit down for a good read. You can read Marion’s blog here.

 

Now, I’d love to hear what blogs are your favorites that you read without fail? And why do you love them? Please post the links in the comments!