Behind the Scenes with John Mayo Smith
Behind the Story Shares organization is a series of talented, experienced professionals who dedicate their skills, time, and passion to improving the quality of our platform so that we may reach more...
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Monday Mini Contest Winners
Monday Mini Contest: noun. a weekly competition intended to provoke creative thought and inspire story generation. Story Shares' Monday Mini Challenges are an interactive weekly fixture in which the...
View ArticleWriter Wednesday Featuring Tiffany Jones
This week's Writer Wednesday features Tiffany Jones, author of Bully, The Alternative, Where is Beauty, Change of Heart, Starting Over, The Minorcans, and The Best News. Tiffany has been with Story...
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Horror Writing 101
As we approach the launch of our 2016 Relevant Reads contest, we will be bringing you weekly tips and prompts to help get you started with your story submissions! We look forward to providing content...
View ArticleFantasy Writing 101
For this week's writing tips and prompts, we will be taking a look at a story genre that we feel can best be described as a doorway. Turn the knob and you'll be led to a numberless expanse of other...
View ArticleWriter Wednesday Featuring Ginger Tull
This week we're excited to feature the mind behind "Pods, Life at Sea" and "New Mexico Winds." These two stories have spent less than one year in our library and have already been read widely, in...
View ArticleOvercoming Writer’s Block
By: Gina Simoncelli Writer’s Block. This dreaded ailment strikes when you least expect it and hits you like a bad cold; it’s frustrating, makes it impossible for you to work, and it can leave you...
View ArticleWhat Is Readability? It’s a Friendship in the Form of a Text.
By Nicole Salvitti and Lisa Simon Think about something you read recently. How did you come to read it? Did it catch your eye and then, after reading a bit, you decided it was worth reading? Is it...
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2016 Judging Panel
We have an all new panel of judges this year in place to help us choose our 2016 Relevant Reads contest winners! These talented education and literacy professionals will be looking for those stories...
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We Are Always More Than Our Test Scores
By Nicole Salvitti and Lisa Simon (for more information on using and writing poems for two voices, click here). As we write, we are adults who have passed successfully through many layers of education...
View ArticleActing to Up the Ante
By Lacey B. Ramsey * This title and the activities described here are deeply influenced by Jeffrey Wilhelm’s wonderful book: “You’ve Gotta Be the Book”: Teaching Engaged and Reflective Reading with...
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Literacy Beat’s Review of Story Shares
By Thomas DeVere Wolsey Written for Literacy Beat Recently, I participated in a Twitter chat hosted by the International Literacy Association #ILAChat and Sam Patterson (@SamPatue) on the topic of...
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Six Reasons To Use Comics in Your Classroom
by Lisa Simon, Ph.D. Whether you know it or not, it’s likely that comics already have a significant place in your classroom – in your students’ backpacks and desks and on their phones. Bringing comics...
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2016 Relevant Reads Contest Winners
After several months of reading and enjoying the 1,665 stories entered into our 2016 Relevant Reads contest, our team is finally able to announce our five award-winning titles! Congratulations to each...
View ArticleThoughts on Writing
by Joe Novara All of us have selective perceptive. If a woman walks into a room of four people, one might remark her clothes; another, her shoes; another, eyes; another, total manner and poise. The...
View ArticleThe Disney Effect and What It Means for Our Literature
by Gina Simoncelli Ursula had just made her big-screen appearance when Lucy buried her face in a pillow. The four year old peered out, eyes wide with fear, and jumped when Ursula’s henchmen swam onto...
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Beautiful Books – A Reading Diversely Project
By: Wendy M. McDonald In recent years, there’s been a strong push throughout the KidLit community to bring diverse books to readers. Perhaps you’ve heard of the grassroots organization We Need...
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Pulling Back the Curtain: Beta Readers And Critique Groups
How To Approach Them, Where To Find Them, And When To Accept Criticism/Advice By: Terri Whitmire, CEO & Founder of The WritersTablet.org So you’ve received that glowing testimony from family...
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Book Clubs – not just for adults or bookworms! A 7-year kids’ book club...
By Wendy M. McDonald In 2010, as my daughters finished first grade, I realized there was a huge difference in their reading abilities. Hermione was a voracious, confident reader, but Luna clung to...
View ArticleGrand Prize for Story of the Year Contest: CELEBRATE DIVERSITY AWARD
At Story Shares, it’s no secret that our mission is to create ‘relevant and engaging’ content for students in middle and high school who read below grade level. Often, the approach to reading...
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