In graduate school, I read Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings the first time. I did not consider myself a writer then, and it was not a goal of mine at that time. My professional goals evolved around teaching English to middle school students. At that time, I do not think I connected with Welty’s book…
All posts in Writing Inspiration
Writing Inspiration: A Writing Retreat in Provence
A writer’s world can be a lonely one. Spending hours at a computer or with a notebook, imagining conversations and events taking place, is not the same as interacting with friends face-to-face. As a writer, I miss the camaraderie of working with fellow teachers, or other colleagues, despite belonging to various online writing groups. To…
Writing Inspiration: My Jewelry Box
I have just had the privilege of publishing my second short story, “The Pin,” on the Academy of the Heart and Mind website (on September 19, 2025). This was a fun story to write and revise – much more fun to revise than the novel I am currently working on. The inspiration for the story…
Reading for Reflection: Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, Reading for Reflection, What I'm Reading, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
Who among us has gone to the ocean and found peace, energy, joy, and rest? Any of us lucky enough to visit the coast, any coast, I would wager. We go to the beach not necessarily looking for an answer, but we find answers none the less. What will we feel? What will we learn…
An Artist’s Date: The Morgan Library
What I’m Reading: In The Great Green Room by Amy Gary
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Care Givers, What I'm Reading, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
So many of us, I am sure, have “Goodnight Moon” on our bookshelves. When they were little, my children would select three books each night, and “Goodnight Moon” was a popular choice. Amy Gary’s biography of Margaret Wise Brown illuminates the life of the beloved children’s author, whom I used to picture her as a…
Teacher Resource: “The Santa Ana” by Joan Didion
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Teacher Resources, Teacher Tuesday, Writing Inspiration, Writing ResourceLeave a Reply
Joan Didion is an American writer of novels, essays, short stories, and screenplays. In the College Writing class I teach, I include Didion’s essay, “The Santa Ana,” on my syllabus as an example of a descriptive writing. Recent events in California, particularly the fires in Los Angeles, remind me of Didion’s work because of the…
Art in the Classroom: Ansel Adams
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Art in the English Classroom, Teacher Resources, Teacher Tuesday, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
One aspect of natural disasters, such as the current fires burning across Los Angeles, is the need for images of what was there before. Taking photographs has never been easier than it is today. No film, no waiting to get the pictures back. And yet how many of our pictures are meaningful? A potential research…
A Gem of a Poem: “Snow Dust” by Robert Frost
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Gem of A Poem, Teacher Tuesday, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
“Snow Dust” by Robert Frost is a the perfect poem to energize kids who are sluggish after break. It is short enough to pair with one or two other poems, but also complex enough to stand on its own. Students can grasp the meaning of the poem and list imagery words. Then they can think…
Art in the Classroom: Norman Rockwell’s High Dive
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in Art in the English Classroom, Teacher Tuesday, Writing InspirationLeave a Reply
Norman Rockwell’s High Dive is the perfect choice for a ‘back to school’ writing assignment. Writing prompts can be: what I did over the summer; when I did something I was afraid of; when I accepted a dare; when I did something because everyone else was doing it. The possibilities are endless. The boy’s expression…