Author: Cathryn Free
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Writer’s Workshop Wednesday: The Five Paragraph Essay
I have taught the basic five paragraph essay for years. It always surprises me when students get so worried and worked up about a basic essay because if you know the organization of the essay, there’s really nothing to fear. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a piece of writing consisting of five paragraphs that…
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Writing in 2021
The dumpster fire that was 2020 is over and as we enter 2021, most of us a hoping for a better year. Maybe you channeled the stress of this past year into creativity and projects and used your writing, art, or bread baking to get you through. Maybe the stress wrung out of all your…
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Creativity During Tough Times
There are two types of people in the world: those who channel their stress into creativity during tough times, and those who feel blocked by it. 2020 was a year of tough times, and 2021 seems to be heading in that same direction. (Insert: face-palm.) If you’re like me, you might find that you need…
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Why I Made 100 Rejections My Goal
Happy 2021! Somehow we managed to survive the dumpster fire that was 2020, and I think we’re all looking ahead to a better 2021. One thing I love to do every year is to set goals for myself. I set goals in every area of my life, and of course, that includes writing. One of…
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Project NaNoWriMo: The Finish Line!
WE DID IT! Today is the last day of NaNoWriMo, 2020 everyone! (Insert jazz hands and party poppers) I don’t know how you’re feeling, but I am full-on exhausted and elated. (Full confession: I finished my draft a couple of days ago. I still want to celebrate the end of November.) Thirty days of writing.…
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Project NaNoWriMo: When the Going Gets Tough
Holy cow, things are getting hard. My writing is nowhere near where I would like it to be, and I’m frustrated with myself. And maybe, if you started this NaNoWriMo project with me, you can relate. Because writing is HARD. Why is it so Hard? I don’t think it matters what you write, eventually you…
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Project NaNoWriMo: The Muddy Middle
Ugh. I have officially hit the middle, and it is one ugly, muddled mess. Things keep popping up in my story that need more presence in the beginning, characters haven’t decided if they’re major or minor, events transpire that are based on actions that have happened in the past, but don’t exist in the manuscript…
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Project NaNoWriMo: Finding the Time
What is the biggest hurdle to finishing your book? (Or heck, even getting started?) For most people, it’s finding the time to get writing. Everyone is busy, right? Whether you have a day job, kids, or a laundry list of responsibilities, there are a million things to get in your way. So how can you…
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Project NaNoWriMo: The Thrill of the New
Starting a new book is like starting a new relationship: everything is exciting and wonderful and you can’t see how this magical relationship could ever sour or go south. You daydream about your story, long to spend every available moment with your story, and all the flaws are easy to overlook. Those first few days…
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Project NaNoWriMo: Getting Started
It’s the first day of NaNoWriMo! I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it. I hope this enthusiasm carries me through the next 30 days, because I know it’s going to get really hard once I’m up to my eyeballs in words and self-doubt. (Because self-doubt is very, VERY real.) I thought I’d share with…
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