In her book, Mindset, Carol Dweck (2006) recounts an experience that cemented her fixed mindset—a teacher in elementary school organised her entire class around IQ scores. She doesn’t mention exactly where she fit in among her peers, but it doesn’t matter. The point is that by lining up the students according to IQ, the teacher…
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In this article, I discuss my process for developing plot and share the incredible tools I discovered to examine, critique and improve the plot of my novel. Download this new and improved for 2021 Campbell vs. Vogler Plot Design Template that will help you design your plot by examining if and how your story follows the hero’s journey. Joseph Campbell and Christopher…
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Writing blocks and the inner critic In my writing group we shared our experiences with the inner critic and how it blocks our writing and creativity. In preparation for the meeting, I researched about this topic and found some books on this topic by Eric Maisel. In this essay I will present what Eric Maisel calls…
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This article explores the extraordinary phenomenon called social media and its influence on our lives. I will give you some definitions from relevant sources, as well as my own definition, and I will highlight examples of its influence on our day to day lives. One of the arguments I am making in this article is…
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We spend a lot of our time and energy doing whatever we can to avoid the worst possible outcome, but what if we embraced it instead? This is an essay about facing our fear and anxiety using various techniques including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The following topics are covered: What is Your Worst Possible Outcome? My…
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We live in what is called the ‘information age’ and the world has been called the ‘Content Nation‘; people are now able to create content at rates that were truly unreachable even 20 years ago, and share that with people on the other side of the world. It’s amazing–and very overwhelming. Pete Cashmore (of Mashable)…
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This evening I watched the documentary, Food, Inc., which exposes huge flaws in our food system and explains why unhealthy food is cheaper than healthy food (see this in-depth post). Somewhere near the middle of the documentary, they flashed the statement, “the largest predictor of obesity is low income” and a lightbulb went on in…
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During my research on spiritual fiction, I was recommended to read Daniel Quinn’s books, Ishmael and The Story of B. At my local new-and-used bookstore, Companion Book, I found a cheap copy of The Story of B and I was pleasantly surprised while reading it.
Michio Kaku’s book, Physics of the Impossible, has helped me to understand a subject that I thought I never would: quantum physics. Ever since my first year of college in 1997, when my philosophy of religion instructor, Dr.Katz, talked about atoms being mysteriously connected, I wanted to understand this process and became curious about quantum…
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Hi, I'm Shalon and I'm a writer and educator. I use this site to share what I learn on my journeys in creative writing, education, English, science, and psychology.
Each article you read here is a labour of love grounded in research, with plenty of references to professional, academic, or peer websites, books and articles. I aim to connect my writing to a larger knowledge community while offering my own unique perspective or contribution, which often comes in the form of free downloadable templates, worksheets and study guides.
Welcome. I hope you find something useful here.
You might enjoy reading the top post on my site, The 7 Types of Sentence Fragments and How to Use Them.
This post is used every day by teachers and students around the world to teach and learn the art of building beautiful, advanced sentences in English.
The free pdf download of the lesson in shortened form is free to copy, alter and distribute for non-commercial purposes.
If you are using this lesson, please let me know how you have used it and how it has helped you. I’m curious!
Below you’ll find works of art that I lovingly crafted just for you!
FEAR & HORROR IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
In this essay, I discuss why children’s literature is often scary, and why that’s awesome!
In this essay I discuss how to use comics to teach Language Arts, and how diversity in comics can help students enrich both their literacy and their life.
In this essay I discuss my personal journey with anxiety and some of the ways I’ve learned to manage my anxiety.
PLOT YOUR NOVEL WITH M.I.C.E. QUOTIENT
In this post I share what I learned at a writing conference about plotting with Orson Scott Card’s M.I.C.E. Quotient, and Mary Robinette Kowal’s adaptations to this technique, including nesting codes and try/fails. All of these techniques help you evaluate whether your plot keeps the promises you made to your readers.
