Most commented posts
- The Trip of a Lifetime: Australia and New Zealand Part 2 — 14 comments
- Have No Fear — 14 comments
- All Love Is Created Equal — 12 comments
- Happy Anniversary, M & M’s® — 12 comments
- More Than Black and White — 11 comments
Barbara Pattee
Author's posts
Oct 06
Writer’s Digest Annual Conference 2017 Part 2
Do you remember why you wanted to become a writer? Lisa Scottoline, the awesome, informative, and funny keynote speaker at the conference, revealed her reason. As a pregnant trial attorney and soon-to-be divorcee, she wanted to stay home with her baby. Taking an extraordinary gamble, Scottoline left her firm and began to write legal thrillers …
Sep 06
Writer’s Digest Annual Conference 2017 Part 1
Creative energy filled the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference 2017 held in New York City from Thursday, August 17 through Sunday, August 20. I attended the conference hoping to receive lessons and helpful hints that could facilitate my writing. The conference fulfilled my expectations. During the registration, I selected buttons that represented the genres in which …
Aug 06
Writing Contests
“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title, a list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” — Jane Yolen Add writing contests to the list of ways to exercise your writing muscle. You may …
Jul 06
Game On!
“Let him know how smart you are,” my father said before I went on a date with my boyfriend. I heard my father’s words and questioned his advice. I recalled when one of my teenage boyfriends taught me to play Backgammon. As a long-time board game player, I quickly caught on to the winning strategy. …
Jun 07
Freedom! What Freedom?
“Barbara, your assignment is to write a 250-word essay entitled What Freedom Means to Me, my English teacher said. “I’m submitting your work to a local writing contest.” “Yes, ma’am,” I said, not questioning why she selected that subject or why none of my classmates were given the same assignment. She told me nothing about …