Words at Weeksville

Words have been flowing through me this month! Last week I wrote four picture book stories and started collaborating on a chapter book with a good friend. Today I finished another picture book, and I’m still adding to my YA poetry collection (20 poems plus 40 haiku). The latest school shooting in Florida got me down, but then I heard the impressive poems of teens who took my Gwendolyn Brooks writing workshops and I stopped thinking about leaving the country. A dose of Wakanda later that night helped, too!

This coming week I’ll be busy: I’m teaching a creative writing mini-camp at Uptown Stories and I’m giving a talk to MLIS students at Pratt Institute on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night I’ll be leading a historical fiction writing workshop for adults at Weeksville Heritage Center:

Grounding Your Story In History

What’s the best way to imbue your creative writing with historical detail? When do you have to stick to the facts and how do you make the story feel true when you don’t? Join Zetta Elliott, the author of over 25 books for young readers and Weeksville’s 2015 Writer-in-Residence, as she leads an intimate writing workshop that will help jumpstart your creativity by using rich history to write compelling narratives. Participants will receive a copy of Ms. Elliott’s book “A Wish After Midnight,” which is set in historic Weeksville.

There are seats still available and you can get your tickets here.

Next week I head to North Carolina and then in two weeks I head to Scotland! I’ve also got invitations to go to Boston and Columbus, OH. I’m saying “yes” to just about everything this spring so I can take the summer off and disappear for a while. I just got a request for revisions on The Dragon Thief but they’re not due till May…would love to turn those in and leave the country for a while. Not for good—I just need a break. Maybe this summer I’ll get over to Sweden and start my Viking novel…