Facial Features and Emotions - helping kids READ people

In researching Sensory Processing Disorder I came across this brilliant website human anatomy fundamentals  for artists on how to draw facial expressions. It's actually a terrific resource for the kids I work with who struggle a bit with understanding people and their surroundings.

There are detailed drawings of facial expressions plus notes on which facial features are used to convey these moods. Feelings are grouped on an 'emotion tree' to show variations and degrees of emotion. Such as these below.

 

It's very similar to a section in my 12 Annoying Monsters - Self Talk for Kids with Anxiety book, where I list words for the various emotions to help kids express more accurately how they're feeling. You can buy the book here: 12 Monsters  It would be pretty easy to print off the faces as cards and play a matching game to the words that describe them. Anything that helps kids understand others is a good thing. :-)

Serious Writers - NO Pussyfooters Allowed!

So, you want 'to be a writer'. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has said that to me. 'Oh, it must be so nice to just sit and write all day.' HA! HA! and HA! If only.

source

Things have changed. To be a successful writer these days you have to also be a publicist, social media expert, publishing guru, business owner, crystal ball gazer and salesperson. Publishers are no longer satisfied with just your brilliant work, they want to know how it will sell, what it is similar to, who will buy it and why, even which section of the bookshop it will belong to. In short, they want us to be market analysts as well as writers.

This sits ill with a cave dweller.

Then there's your 'writers journey', or as my husband puts it, being 'forged in the fires of rejection.' How badly do you want to be published? How much do you believe in this story/project? How much are you willing to sacrifice for this goal? I recently signed a contract for a book that was previously submitted to 13 publishers over a period of five years. It's changed a lot since the beginning because I kept asking for feedback. What was wrong, what I needed to fix. And then I fixed it. And then I fixed it some more.

You need balls of steel for this job.

That is why I say writing is not for the pussyfooters. You cannot hope for success if you whine about how unfair it is. You must believe in what you are writing, that the message is worthwhile, has something valuable or interesting or refreshing to say. And keep going. Ask for advice and listen to it.

If I knew at the beginning what I know now.....

Geeky Toys - what does it have to do with writing?

I confess, I am a gadget girl. I love geeky toys! My dad was a mechanic so I grew up helping him pull apart motors and putting them back together. This fostered a love of cars too. Machines fascinate me and this little gadget caught my eye.

So, what's this got to do with writing?

Inspiration, my friend, inspiration! Sometimes, if I'm a bit stuck for ideas, I half-watch TV whilst writing. Random things are thrown at my consciousness through ads and TV shows. Some of it pings off and some of it rattles down to the next level. The other day I wrote a piece about the challenges of juggling womanhood, motherhood, work and writing and the inherent guilt that goes with the territory. I didn't know what I was going to call the piece. Something on the TV screen caught my eye. Birds. Hummingbirds frantically going about their day. And I thought - 'hey, that's me!' So the piece is called Frantic Hummingbird.

Back to gadgets, because I can't stay away for too long... This perpetual motion machine is so cool. Made of wood, it's solar powered, so no batteries are required. Reminds me of old fashioned wooden toys. They didn't end up at charity stores like the plastic rubbish of today, they were passed down to the next generation as treasured heirlooms of childhood. I love that. Click on this link to see a video of it in action: Enjoy!

And how cool is this catapult?

Ok, one more, because I love robots!