Wow! I knew that bullying was prevalent in the United States, and I had my suspicions that it was not isolated to the United States, but I found an article today which caused my eyebrows to rise.
Bullying: A Real World Experience
Bullying has been around for as long as I can remember… and long before that. It has seemingly been on the rise in recent years, but it may be that our tolerance for bullies is waning, or we are better defining what bullying is. So, what is bullying? Dan Olweus gives us a commonly accepted definition for bullying in his book, Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do:
A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself.
Social Exclusion
If social exclusion isn’t blatant bullying, it is its first cousin. The reason I say that it may not be bullying is that no one has to hang out with you. You don’t have to be a member of a particular group… but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. It does. But, as Izzy Kalman of Bullies 2 Buddies points out, there are different ways to deal with the situation…and some are definitely more effective than others.
It Gets Better — Authors and Illustrators Unite
One common theme that runs through the stories I write is that of bullying. Every story idea comes equipped with a bully and I think the reason is that bullying happens every day. I’ve never understood the mentality of a bully…why do they see the need to tear down others?
Intriguing – Pottermore
JK Rowling leads the way to the interactive reading experience with Pottermore. I have long had a deep respect for Rowling and her abilities. She transcends author because of the long-abiding enthusiasm of her fans and has achieved icon level.
And the Party’s Over
Awwww!!!! I was having so much fun celebrating Carol’s agent representation, I almost forgot the party had to come to an end. But someone let the air out of the balloons, so now it’s time to clean up the confetti. I love to throw it – the sparkly kind always – but hate to clean it up.
The Challenge: 140 Characters – One Pitch
I had just finished up my Middle Grade novel, polished it up and sent it off on a request when I saw something floating past in my Twitter stream. I snatched it up quick before it ran too far down river and here’s what I found. Shelley Watters (@Shelley_Watters) reached some milestones, 100 followers on her blog and 500 twitter followers, and she felt like celebrating.
Blog Party Celebration
Being a writer can be a tough proposition, because along every step of the way you face rejection in multiple forms and most likely multiple times. So, most writers I know love any reason to celebrate, and I’m NO exception. So, because my friend fellow Bling-Babe, Carolina Valdez Miller announced her agent representation today with the fabulous Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst and Associates Literary Management, join us for the rest of the month in the:Agent Celebration Mega Giveaway
Writing Challenges
Sometimes writing a particular story gives us challenges. What am I saying? In every story I’ve ever written, I’ve faced one challenge or another on the way to completion. This is a good thing. With each challenge, I learn something in getting over the hurdle.
Good Grief, Charlie Brown
I just finished writing a rough (and I mean very rough) synopsis of No Boundaries and in the middle of it, I realized Good Grief!! I packed a lot of crap stuff in this book!!!
A Perception of Young Adult Fiction
Today was errand day, as is my usual Saturday. But I added an additional stop to my normal Saturday running around; a beauty supply place.
And All Because of Toilet Paper
I’ve been having a bit of an off week… you know the kind. Nothing really wrong, but not feeling quite 100%, the day job a little tough to take. Yet there were bright spots to the week, like getting a text message from my friends Drew and Branli about getting together for coffee as they passed by my workplace. So not all bad, not all good, just not feeling quite myself.