NCTE/ALAN, Operation Fangus, and Turnin' my Swag On with Neil*

Hello! :-)

Boy. I have become a craptastic blogger. I don't know why. I miss you. But life has been really hectic with some personal things going on and teaching and other life stuff. But hello! Is anyone still here?

Today I'll be teaching my second-to-last class. I am sad. I am going to give my students lots of advice about revising. If you have any gems you'd like to share, I'd love to hear! Revising seems to me such a personal thing, once you get down to it. But it starts with the help of trusted readers.

Tomorrow, I leave with my pal cfaughnan for Orlando, Florida to attend the NCTE/ALAN convention. I'll be speaking at the ALAN conference in a breakout session on Monday at... uh oh. I think it's 12:30... with kmessner , thunderchikin , and Chris Crowe. If you'll be there, here's the description in case you think you might like to attend:

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower Writer: How Writing Helps Teens and Tweens Discover—and Share—Their Voices”

This panel will address the positive outcomes each presenter has had in using creative writing exercises to help tweens and teens discover their voices and gain confidence in writing and sharing their work with peers. Panelists will share ideas for using creative writing exercises in the classroom, modeling peer critique groups, using author-mentors and virtual writing workshops, and finding ways to inspire even the most reluctant student writers.

I'm really excited to be going to this conference because it's a conference for people who love YA literature. So, in other words, AWESOME. Plus, it's somewhere warm. But I am going to miss my family a lot. And yes, my cats.

Speaking of Cats, amazing author Maureen Johnson recently had to say good-bye to her beloved family cat. To help her parents, she is getting them a new kitten. But she needs your help. If you participate, you'll be helping her parents as well as lots of others. So please check it out here: http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com/20...

OK. Must go pack now. I'm already getting nervous, which kind of stinks because my nerves kind of ruin my fun. What I think we all need for these times is a little music for inspiration.

Keep my head up i know I'll be fine...



No????

Well, thanks to Kara LaReau, there's always this version:


All my Ladies if you feel me... come on do it do it whip your hair.

OK? :-)

xo

*OK, not the real Neil. But I can pretend.