Posts

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Dreams & Doubts

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Middle Grade Fiction

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Dreams & Doubts

The term Middle Grade Fiction is not only a genre for children’s books, but an idea of how a thought can be a work of fiction sometimes.

When I first thought about this post for Saltwater Taffy, I gave it the title: “Dreams VS. Doubts.”  Then, I realized the topic is NOT a battle, but a choice.  When you battle something, you give power to the other side, which is why we now have a title of MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: DREAMS & DOUBTS.  Doubts had nothing to do with capturing my dream of writing my book Saltwater Taffy.  I simply made the CHOICE to tell the story no matter what.  That’s the dream — doing what it takes to finish something — the desire to do it NO MATTER WHAT. Read more

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Mine Your Mind!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Saltwater TaffyMIDDLE GRADE FICTION: Mine Your Mind!

Middle Grade Fiction is a term I use for the inability for a child’s mind to trick them into believing they are anything but AMAZING.  In Saltwater Taffy, we remind them they are indeed amazing.

There’s no other way to put it, so I will just come out and say it.  When you’re inside your middle grade fiction mind, everything begins and ends with your thoughts.  Thoughts can be like treasure maps, or thoughts by way of nightmares, fully realized.  It is up to you.  This is why it is so important to mine your mind for thoughts that make you happy.

This is the greatest discovery anyone can make, and if you can do it while you’re in middle school, the sky is the limit.  I mean, seriously, imagine that a single thought has the capacity to change your life.  Doesn’t that sound cool?

Read more

MIDDLE GRADE READING: Bad Habit Thinking

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Bad habit thinkingMIDDLE GRADE READING: Bad Habit Thinking

Bad habit thinking can become a bad habit that follows us into our adult lives.  If allowed, a single middle grade thought can trip…you…out.  During the formidable years of middle school, life is stuck on hyper-speed and everything seems to be a matter of life or death.  IT…IS…NOT.  Middle grade years have the ability of becoming some of the best years of our lives if we keep the mental playground free of limiting thought patterns, otherwise known as

Read more

MIDDLE GRADE READING: The Fear of Failure

/0 Comments/in , /by

Middle Grade ReadingMIDDLE GRADE READING: The Fear of Failure

Middle Grade Reading can be a starting point of how tweens can learn how to dream a bigger dream.  The problem facing most kids is they don’t think they can achieve their dream, which is why they live in fear most of the time.  

Living in fear of anything limits our ability to perform in the very thing we wish to succeed in.  Let’s say, for example, we are in middle school and we are afraid of failing the exam we are about to take even though we spent hours studying the required material.  When we sit down to take the exam, we go into a brain lock and forget…

Read more

EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF: I Learned in Middle School

/0 Comments/in /by

middle schoolEverything I learned about myself: I learned in middle school.

Yes, that’s right, Middle School.  I know it sounds crazy, but it is SALTWATER TAFFY.  If you have ever been sick, injured or suffered through a battle of being super-duper bummed out (adults refer to this as being depressed), you know there’s nothing more important in life than feeling good.

The most precious thing we have in this middle school life is… Read more