(I originally wrote this for The TeachingBooks Blog) Remember the first time you blew up a balloon? Someone pulled a balloon out of a bag and handed it to you. Fresh out of the bag, it didn’t even look a lot like a balloon, but you could see how it could be – with a… Read more »
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Overcoming the Challenges to Writing Your Life Story
(I originally wrote this for the Imagination Soup blog.) My middle-grade novel in verse, Starfish, is based on my life. So people often ask me, “How can I turn my personal story into a fiction novel?” On the surface, it might seem like the easiest book you’ll ever write. That’s the problem, though. That’s on… Read more »
3 Tips for Writing in Verse
(I originally wrote this for a presentation with The Dalton School.) Think of writing in verse like tweeting When you Tweet, you have just a few characters to get your point across, right? And so sometimes you spill your thoughts into the Tweet and then have to start figuring out what to cut so you… Read more »
The Leaning Tree
See this crooked tree? It started out just like all the other trees, but something happened to it when it was young. When it was just getting started. Some kind of trauma. But because it was a tree and it’s in a tree’s DNA to grow, it grew. And even though it was in the… Read more »
Dandelion Bouquets
When I was a kid, every time dandelions popped up in our yard, I would pluck every single one, hearing that familiar snap of the stem, smelling that earthy scent, feeling the sticky sap staining my fingers. When my little hands couldn’t hold any more, I’d hide the bouquet behind my back and head to… Read more »
Raining Inside and Out
Drops pitter-patter, patter-pitter d o w n the window d o w n my cheeks u n t i l the cloud’s cried out and so am I. © Author Lisa Fipps. Do not copy or print any part of this without written permission from the author.
Like a June Bug Tied to a String
I spent some summers with my granny in Hazard, Kentucky. Those summers gave me some of my favorite childhood memories. Swimming where I had to watch out for cottonmouths. Sitting on the floor and snapping beans while Granny rocked and watched her soap operas. Granny setting up a quilting frame on the porch and aunts… Read more »
Trying to Bloom While Dying
It’s spring, and all the other trees are in full bloom. This one is trying to bloom, even though it’s dying. It’s worn out. Tired. The signs are everywhere. And yet it’s trying with all its might to bloom. To keep trying. To keep going. Because it always has. Every spring. Without fail. For years…. Read more »
As a fat kid, my deepest wounds came from words my mother said
If you only read and heed one parenting tip, let it be mine. It’s not easy for me to talk about what people said and did to me because I was a fat kid. When sharing my story with others, I feel the embarrassment all over again. Shame. Sadness. Pain. So why do I talk… Read more »