by Danielle DeFauw | Mar 1, 2025 | Writing Contest
The morning of Monday, March 18, 2024, my eight-year-old son, Drew, missed the bus. Per our typical tradition on such mornings, he asked, “Can we go to Tim Horton’s?” Trying to deter him from more sugar in a single donut, I offered a different suggestion: “Let’s take...
by Danielle DeFauw | Jan 20, 2025 | Family Dialogue Journals, Revision, Teacher-Writers
One of the best projects I have ever participated in was my collaboration with PBS for the Michigan Learning Channel’s Read, Write, ROAR! Upper Elementary show. A direct connection to the reading methods course I teach at the University of Michigan – Dearborn...
by Danielle DeFauw | Oct 5, 2023 | Writing Contest
Although I know my heart’s topics typically lend themselves to the upper MG and YA genres, I have always loved and dreamed of writing picturebooks. Often motivated by writing contests or calls for children’s magazines, I love the challenge of word counts...
by Danielle DeFauw | May 11, 2022 | Getting Started, Publication, Teacher-Writers
About a month ago, I read a tweet so quickly I didn’t even take the time to retweet it or “like” it; however, the words inherent in that powerful tweet are now a part of my writer’s heart: Your yes has to be stronger than all those no’s....
by Danielle DeFauw | Mar 2, 2021 | Writing Contest
A recent Sunday morning, I sprung out of bed and knew my next book’s storyline. Rather than enjoy coffee with conversation as my husband and I usually do in the morning, I sipped on coffee as my story outline spilled across the page. As I wrote, Dave said, “Do you...
