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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 »