Chapter book challenge
It’s official – I’m going to get my butt into gear and get Jimmy James written! I discovered a Chapter Book Challenge that is starting in March. The goal is to write a first draft of a kids chapter book each month. Initially, I was thinking of writing Jimmy James as a …
WoW – Write a letter
It’s Write on Wednesday again. This weeks prompt is to write a letter, you can read the full prompt here. Last year, Jimmy James wrote a letter, I was tempted to just link to that post again… but I won’t. Instead, in the spirit of the Chapter Book Challenge, and for planning for …
What are kids scared of?
The story I wrote on Wednesday has passed the kid test – meaning I need to write more! I’ve been doing a little bit of planning but I need some help. What scares kids about snakes? The idea behind this story is that Jimmy James talks to the snake and gets to …
Getting people to like your page
As an unpublished author, we don’t have the profile that published authors have, at least, not yet. It can be tempting to focus on the number of people and get discouraged when it’s not huge. One thing to remember here is that quality is better than quantity. The first thing …
What’s in a name?
I have been trying to work out what to call myself when I get published. This may be a small problem in the grand scheme of things, but, as an author, it’s important. My married name is Khalinsky, my maiden name is Gijsbers. Both are European and they are hard …
Kids and literacy
I just found out that yesterday was Family Literacy Day in the US (I don’t know if it was the same in Australia). Literacy is a big issue in Australia too… I am incredibly lucky. Both my boys love to read. They have just turned 8 and 10, and are …
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About Melissa
Melissa Gijsbers started writing when she was in High School during the 1990s, even winning some awards for a short story and a script. For many years, life got in the way of creative writing, however she did start blogging around 2006.
She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia with her two sons and a pet blue tongue lizard.