Sex and the City: Carrie and her friends are having their usual breakfast gathering, going over the issues of the day when Carrie makes a reference to something she wrote in one of her columns. This is followed by a lengthy awkward silence. One by one, she points her raised eyebrow at Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte for an explanation, as each confesses her own guilty reason why she has not, in actual fact, been reading her best friend’s column.
Present Day. Present Company: Hello, my name is Tanya, INK fellow and regular contributor, and I don’t always read our column.
Now that that guilty confession is out of the way, let me just say, that changes today.
There is a lot of content out there, friends—and content is a word we nonfiction writers are learning to loathe, what with the current trend to label most of what we do “content” or “informational.” A lot of content + too much to do + not enough time to do it = (hangs head) INK not always making my reading list.
What a mistake. Here’s the PSA part.
Bottom line: If you are a person who loves reading, writing, teaching, and/or helping readers find interesting nonfiction for kids (a.k.a. INK), make INK a frequent place to come calling.
Why? There are a ton of incredible, fascinating blog posts here! I am in awe of what I have learned just in the past hour by scrolling through the posts of my esteemed colleagues. And funny! Insightful, witty, interesting, and off-the-beaten-path. Check it out.
Highlights from this past month: ways to think about alternatives to e-books, what “writing like a boy” might mean, intelligent design in science classrooms, and more!
From this past year: meaningful uses of backmatter, how an illustrator tackles creating a pb about an artist, why books pub on Tuesdays, nostalgic childhood stories directly relevant to an author’s current process, and more!
From years past: photo research, ethics, responsibility to our readers, visual storytelling, movies made from books, and more!
Wow. I have always known that this was the place to be. It’s why I’ve been here all these years. But seeing it in black and white brings it into clear focus. Thank you, all you INK writers, for contributing to this wealth of fascination. I’m yours, now and forever. Carrie Bradshaw won’t need to raise her eyebrow in my direction ever again.
2 comments:
Here, here. I don't always read it, either, but I will try harder. I promise.
I never miss. I'm a big fan of everything people here write about. Moreover, I'm working night and day to let the world know what they're missing. There's a larger conversation going on out there about education. With the CCS law changing I want to shout to children, educators, anyone who will listen:
There's a great big world out there waiting to be discovered. We authors are lighting the pathway. We want to share our discoveries with you! And you won't find it written better anyplace else than here on the I.N.K. blog. Glad you've discovered us, Tanya.
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