Theresa B. Cyr - Author Page

Writer's Block Like anyone else out there who writes, I get writer's block, but fortunately, I do have strategies that help me work through it. Sometimes my strategies work and sometimes they don't, which is why I need several in my tool kit to choose from. There are times when I can write for several hours straight without interruption, and end up with 3 to 4,000 words in one sitting. Other times I can write and meet my 1,500-word goal for each session. Then there are the times that I can only get a paragraph or two done, or tweak what I've already written and call it a day. I'm not always able to write every day. I work all week as a teacher, so when the end of the day arrives, sometimes the last thing I want to do is think or plan, or write. Some evenings I don't have the frame of mind to do anything other than watch mindless TV and veg for the night. This means that I could go a whole week before working on my book again. Before I can get started writing I o...

By, Natalie Goldberg Writer's Notebook In an earlier post , I talked briefly about using a writer's notebook. The book that inspired me to begin using one was Writing Down the Bones , by Natalie Goldberg. One of my English professors in college had recommended the book to me knowing that I was interested in writing. What's great about using a writer's notebook is that you can write whatever is on your mind without commitment. It's an exercise in brainstorming and getting any and all of your ideas down in one place. I liked the idea so much that I've even used it in my middle school classroom with great results. In The Classroom In my classroom, I would provide a prompt.  It would either be a word, a photo, a color, or even music. Then they are instructed to write whatever comes to mind. Here's an example. One of the first times I did this with my students, I wrote the word "blue" on the board. Of course, they were filled with questions. They've...

I've been asked many times how I even got interested in writing. This has been a passion, or more of a strong interest of mine, for years. I've been wanting to write for a very long time, but life always got in the way and my priorities were different. Also, it helps to have moral support, too, but when I was first interested in writing, I was getting more discouraged than encouraged about doing any of the things I wanted to do. It all started in my twenties. I got one of those Brother word processors that they sold at Zayre or Ames. It  looked like a computer with a screen or monitor. It was as far as any computer that we have today, but the closest thing I had to one at the time. I did some writing on it, but I had absolutely no experience in writing seriously. I had a lot to learn. Years later, I ended up going to college as a non-traditional student. The bug to write came back, but I was hyper-focused on my studies instead.  However, I did major in English, so I had lots o...