loveliness

I had a hectic but pleasant weekend teaching and reading at the Pine Manor Solstice Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA Program. That is a long name for a lovely MFA program that I am delighted to be a part of.

I taught a class that I called "The Read Aloud Novel" with this description:

One of the difference between a middle grade novel and a YA (or even adult) novel is that the middle grade novel is multifunctional. While it is a book a child can read to themselves, middle grade novels are often books that are read aloud in a classroom or at home after dinner or before bedtime. Words and sentences must be complex enough to have rhythm and interest but not so much that they would discourage a young reader. In this class, we'll discuss the key elements of a middle grade novel and consider them in our own writing.

It was a fun class where we talked about overwriting and writing tightly, though during it I realized how guilty my own work-in-progress novel is of those same issues!


However, what was more fun was that between my class and reading I was able to go to my dear friend Elaine's daughter's wedding. The apparent happiness of the bride and the mother of the bride was loveliness defined.

And the cake was really good too!

(I had two pieces.)