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CARITA GARDINER

What to Read When You're Avoiding School Work

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“Why”…Wednesdays

156. Why Write What I Don’t Know

Posted on December 29, 2021December 29, 2021 by caritagardiner

I took the comic above from All About Writing’s post “Write what you KNOW? Write what you DON’T Know”. It’s amazing to me how often I think of a great idea for a post, only to realize someone else came up with almost the same title several years earlier. Fortunately, in this case, author Michelle…

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155. Why Humor

Posted on December 22, 2021December 19, 2021 by caritagardiner

A couple months ago, I dyed the bottom half of my hair pink for several reasons: I like pink and wanted to make my hair match my shoes. (At least something I wear should match, right?) I needed a haircut soon anyway. To copy my Teaching Fellow, whose hair was pink and purple at the…

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154. Why Props

Posted on December 15, 2021December 16, 2021 by caritagardiner

I took the photo above from Yoga London’s article, “What Are Yoga Props and How to Improvise Them For Home Practice.” I didn’t take to yoga right away. Close to twenty years ago, the director of student health for my school (Hi, NB!) organized a special yoga class run by a teacher from the local…

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153. Why Collaborate

Posted on December 8, 2021December 8, 2021 by caritagardiner

I grabbed the photo above from Get Literary’s “How Well Do You Know Christina Lauren?” article. As I’m writing this post, I’ve read six of their twenty-plus books (and have holds on several more at multiple libraries) and decided that they’re the perfect final entry for my year of monthly romance posts for two reasons….

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152. Why Not “Just”

Posted on December 1, 2021December 1, 2021 by caritagardiner

The photo above has nothing to do with today’s post, but isn’t Tuukka a majestic boy? Last week’s post got me thinking about the category of words and phrases I don’t like, which got me thinking about “just.” I first became aware that nothing good ever follows this four-letter word when we lived in the…

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151. Why Not “At Least”

Posted on November 24, 2021November 24, 2021 by caritagardiner

I found the photo above on @sarcasm_only’s Instagram page and appreciate not only the kid’s great expression, but also the fact that this happens to me all the time. Usually, I think about how I deserve a snack break after three or four minutes of work. I might not be getting much work done, but…

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150. Why Play Yente

Posted on November 17, 2021November 22, 2021 by caritagardiner

The screenshot above isn’t a live link because I’m not that technologically advanced, but here are three actual links to sites that will allow you to listen to the relevant podcast, How Do You Write? (episode 268): iTunes  Generic podcast location Youtube If you’ve been reading my blog since the summer, you know how ebullient I…

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149. Why I Love and Hate Spirit Week

Posted on November 10, 2021November 10, 2021 by caritagardiner

At Hotchkiss, we take five days to gear and psych up to play our rival school Taft in most sports (never water polo, as Taft doesn’t have a pool, or cross country, a team that has its New England championship on the same day). We call it Spirit Week. During the days leading to the…

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148. Why Blush

Posted on November 3, 2021November 3, 2021 by caritagardiner

I took the photo above from Jamie Brenner’s website shortly after I finished her novel, Blush. Some of you who’ve read it might argue that I’m going off-script again because it’s not a traditional romance novel, but as I’ve asserted, my website, my rules. Plus, this novel creates three romance plots in one. Double bonus. Brenner’s…

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147. Why I Love Hosting

Posted on October 27, 2021October 27, 2021 by caritagardiner

You can buy the glittery invitation I took a screenshot of at iStock.com. Of course, I chose it for its glitter. As an introvert and someone who’s incredibly lucky to live where there’s plenty of outdoor space, I didn’t suffer through the “safer at home” and “really, stay home” phases of the pandemic as many…

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU

Teach                    Tutor

Revise                   Edit

Entertain             Enlighten

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Contact Me

  • cgardine@hotchkiss.org

Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

  • NetGalley Review of Villa Coco
  • 388. Why Not “Could Potentially”
  • NetGalley Review of You Won’t Forget Me
  • NetGalley Review of The Valencia Expat Club
  • 387. Why Give Speeches
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