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What I Learned About Writing and Storytelling from the R.L. Stine MasterClass

by Chris Cate

After getting the MasterClass annual pass, I’ve becoming obsessed with watching the different classes MasterClass offers. The most recent class I’ve watched is by R.L. Stine, best known for the children’s series Goosebumps. Regardless of the genre you like to read or write, there are so many great lessons about storytelling to learn from Stine who has sold more than 400 million books.

I can’t cover everything I learned from Stine in this post. There’s too much to share. But if you are a writer, you will really benefit from his lessons. If you are just a fan of Stine, you will also love it. I can’t imagine there being a greater resource to learn about Stine and his process.

(You can check out Stine’s MasterClass here. There are also dozens of other great MasterClasses to choose from that range from cooking to music to sports, fashion and more.)

From the beginning, Stine admits that he’s teaching writing the way that he does it and that it probably flies in the face of how a college professor would teach it. But it’s only the way he knows to write.

On Generating Ideas

Stine says 2/3 of the fan mail he gets asks him where he gets his ideas. He says he doesn’t know where the ideas come from, but he talks about three ways ideas are generated – experience, memory and imagination.

As an example of memory, Stine talks about remembering a time when his parents left him alone at home. So he wrote a book about parents who didn’t come back. As an example of imagination, he says that while he was walking his dog, thinking, he came up with a title ‘Say Cheese and Die.’ Then he imagined a killer camera and it becomes a book idea.

Develop an idea from a catchy title. A good title gets attention but doesn’t give too much away about the book. Stine thinks of titles and, based on the title, wonders what if this happened or what if that happened. Many of Stine’s titles are inspired by 50’s horror movie titles and The Twilight Zone.

You can also use a topic as a starting point instead of a title. Stine does a Halloween book nearly every year. He brainstorms ideas about that topic and sees how he can take it. He also likes to use the topic of camp as a starting topic. Stine says, you only need one good idea, not a dozen.

On the Writing Process

To go from an idea to an outline, ask yourself – what is the conflict? Then build your outline with basic scenes and characters. Stine’s outlines are usually 15-20 pages. He says the more complete they are, the better he can make his book. Stine spends a week outlining a book, making sure there are good surprises, strong middle and chapter endings.

The hardest part of writing is making the plot interesting all the way through the book. An outline helps you see the whole plot before you write. Stine says that when he hears writers say that they wait to learn what their characters will tell them what they will do, he thinks it’s garbage. Stine says he can write so many books because he makes clear outlines.

Stine’s books are plot driven as opposed to character driven. He suggests short chapters with quick, good cliff hangers to keep readers reading. Maximize the adventure.

Once Stine has his scene outlines, he tries to figure out the ending. If he knows the big ending before writing the book, he can do a better job of making it a surprise.

In Stine’s experience, kids will not accept an unhappy ending. Once he wrote an ending where the bad guy gets away and the good guy ends bad. He had fierce feedback in response. Kids begged him to write a sequel. They wanted relief.

Every book he writes needs to have a happy ending. But he tries to add a fun twist to it. He credits the success of his books to surprises and twists. In each book, Stine tries to have three big twists.

Cell phones are making it harder to write because problems can be solved so easily now with the help of calling someone.

Make your books fun for kids. Stine doesn’t worry about moral lessons. His only lesson is run. Adults can read trash and magazines for fun, so why should we expect kids to always learn something. Writers are competing with tablets, tv, etc. You have to make it fun.

Know what age you want to write for. Middle grade is for ages 7-11. Young Adult (YA) is for ages 11-15. But Stine says 40 percent of YA books are read by adult women.

Kids like to read about kids who are slightly older. In Goosebumps, the characters are 12 years old. And in Goosebumps, nobody ever dies. Kids have to know it is a fantasy and couldn’t really happen. For teens, it’s the opposite. Details have to be real. Readers have to believe it. Teens die in those books.

Don’t date your books. For instance, don’t write about a current one-hit pop star. Readers may not get the reference in 10 years.

Read what is selling in your age group. Stine wants Goosebumpsto be at a 5thgrade reading level. His secret is he never challenges the reader. He doesn’t give them new words. He writes short sentences with easy to read words and short chapters.

Use dialogue to tell the story. Stine says his books are 2/3 dialogue because that’s the fun part for readers. He says he’s not great at description. Some writers can describe setting, but he thinks his gift is writing great dialogue.

When writing dialogue, use as little current slang as possible. If you try to sound like teens now, it will be out of date quickly. The same is true for technology. He uses the Walkman as an example. Today’s readers might not know what you are talking about. Also, be careful with references. Kids don’t get many references. Kids also don’t talk in complete sentences. Use sentence fragments.

Create characters that readers identify with. Stine doesn’t worry about characterization. He gets right to the adventure.

You, the writer, are the enemy of the protagonist. You aren’t their hero. You have to get them into as much trouble as possible and then finally clear it up for them.

Stine makes the parents in his books useless. They either aren’t there or they don’t believe the kids. The kids have to use their own wits and imagination.

Stine tries to use the most popular names so more people can identify with them.

Stine writes character descriptions before starting a book so he has a head start on them and doesn’t have to stare at the screen when he gets to a new character.

Have fun with your first draft. Go fast. Do the hard work later. Just keep going. Getting the first draft done proves you have what it takes to get it done.

When revising a draft, look for mistakes, scenes that drag, weather mistakes (cloudy then sunny?) and scenes that don’t go far enough (can I make it scarier?).

If a novel is intimidating, write a short story first.

On Writing Scary Books

Stine likes to write in first-person. The reader knows every smell and thought. It also allows the reader to experience the scares with the protagonist.

Balance what’s happening with thoughts. Describe the danger, but don’t overwhelm your reader with the feeling of being scared.

Hook readers right away. They need to know right away that they will like the characters and the story. End Chapter 1 with some sort of cliffhanger.

To scare kids, tap into your childhood fears.

Make normal locations scary. You might want to set a scary story in scary woods or in some scary land or something. But kids can’t relate to that. Stine sets his books in school, basements, etc. Get in a character’s head and write what they see. Write more scraping sounds, slow building tension, smell, darkness. Don’t skip details that build suspense.

What makes a monster? Anything that can’t be controlled and you can’t do anything about.

It is much harder to write humor than horror. We’re all afraid of the same things: darkness, being lost, etc. But we laugh at different things. Stine laughs at dumb humor like Dumb and Dumber.

Horror and humor are closely aligned. When somebody scares you from behind, you jump but then you laugh. On a big roller coaster, you scream in terror and then laugh. Balance horror and humor, but don’t put in too much horror. There’s no normal life that way.

On Being an Author

Writers love to read. Stine tries to read new fiction all of the time. Books stay with you. Remember what you loved and reset the moments in a new way. Stine used Dickens’ Christmas Carol for his book Young Scrooge. He also wrote A Midsummer Night’s Scream.

You have to decide what kind of writer you want to be. For instance, do you want to be a literary writer or an entertainer? Stine considers himself an entertainer.

Know your market. Don’t try to write something that is its own category. He acknowledges that might not be good advice to everyone, but you need to know your audience and what books people are buying in that genre.

Most children’s authors build fanbases by doing school visits. Adults aren’t ever in the same place, but schools are a great place to reach many kids. They are better than bookstores.

When you’re ready to sell your book, look for book fairs to sell your book.

A lot of publishers expect you to do your marketing and your own social media. Stine agrees that it helps sell books when he’s active on social media.

Stine doesn’t get writer’s block. He credits that to having an outline and breakdown of the characters that tell him where to go next.

Stine makes a goal to write 2,000 words a day. When he hits that mark, he quits. It makes it easier for him to start the next day. Stine says he starts writing at 9:30 a.m. and it usually takes him until 2:30-3:00 p.m. to reach 2,000 words. Goosebumps books need to be 23,000 words.

For everything else Stine teaches, you’ll need to check out his MasterClass for yourself.

**I did not get paid to write this post, but I am an affiliate for MasterClass.

Filed Under: MasterClass

33 Lessons I Learned from the Judy Blume MasterClass

by Chris Cate

I can’t say enough good things about Judy Blume’s MasterClass. She was insightful, entertaining and passionate about teaching the craft of writing.

Judy has sold 85 million copies of classic children’s books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge. Her accomplishments and eagerness to share her knowledge has earned her spot alongside other “masters” teaching a MasterClass like Ron Howard, Serena Williams, Gordon Ramsay and others. Frankly, the hardest part of taking a MasterClass is choosing which one to watch. You can see all of the classes for yourself here.

Blume’s class opens with a broad picture of the writing process, but it moves into more practical lessons and plenty of stories that support the lessons. You can tell how much she cares about her writing and her books, which cover more than 50 years.

Judy gets swept up in emotion as she shares several of her stories. During other stories, she tells them with such energy, you can’t help but get energized too. It’s like having the sweetest and most motivational teacher you can imagine.

There are too many lessons to share here, and Judy’s stories are worth the price alone. But here are 33 of the lessons I learned from Judy Blume’s MasterClass:

  1. Take notes wherever you go. Carry a notebook. Talk notes into your phone. Be in a state of heightened awareness. Judy says she once overheard a teenager having an argument and used it in It’s Not the End of the World. Ideas can come at any time. The idea for Superfudge came to her in the shower.
  2. Don’t be afraid to delete. If something doesn’t advance your story or illuminate it, delete it. Your writing only belongs if it advances your story. It’s okay and even encouraged by Judy to include everything in your book at the start. But take out what doesn’t belong when you edit.
  3. Don’t ignore difficult subject matter. Write about divorce, sexuality, death, puberty, etc. if you can turn it into an interesting story.
  4. Take home books from library. Beverly Cleary inspired Judy. Keep reading, that’s how good writers are made.
  5. Research is great. But if your research doesn’t move the story, you need to leave it out.
  6. Characters make the story work. Have fun with characters. But even in serious books, make room for humor. She also suggests making your characters outsiders.
  7. Don’t say what your character feels. Let emotions come out in actions.Allow the height of emotion and the ordinary of daily life into your story.
  8. Write a letter to reveal character. Writing letters can reveal more than you would ordinarily say.
  9. Only use dialogue that advances the story and characters. Dialogue can’t exist simply for fun. Also, writing full, uninterrupted sentences, is writing bad dialogue. Keep your word choice simple.
  10. Stick to said. Simple is better. Judy sticks to he said or she said when describing who is talking. She said descriptive phrases liked he quipped or she yelled are unnecessary and can be distracting.
  11. Be wary of slang. What’s cool now might sound very dated in the near future. An exception is if you’re writing a book set long ago.
  12. Dialogue makes reading more pleasurable, even if only from a visual perspective. Dialogue lightens up a book and makes it feel less dense.
  13. Start when something different happens in a character’s life. You can’t think of a story as a book. It’s too intimidating. Think one scene at a time or one conversation at a time.
  14. Surprises are everything. Welcome them. It’s good for your characters to surprise you.
  15. Establish character before major plot twists. Readers need to care about characters first and be invested in them.
  16. Use flashbacks to illuminate a character. Write the backstory whether you will use it or not because it helps you get to know your characters better.
  17. Setting can be as important as a character. Treat it as such.
  18. The way to write a good ending is different for everyone. Judy wants her endings to feel as though the main character got through an obstacle and has the ability to do it again. She likes to be optimistic.
  19. To get published, you need an agent. Judy’s first books were published without an agent. They were picked up from the slush pile. But as far as she knows, that doesn’t happen anymore.
  20. You must write an incredible one-page query to get an agent. Let them know who you are and about your voice. Knock them out. Like everything else, take your time with your query letter. Get names right. Tell prospective agents about yourself and what you’re writing. If an agent is interested, they’ll want to see your work, perhaps your whole book.
  21. Learn who is representing the books you like. Check the acknowledgements section of books or an author’s website to find out who is representing them.
  22. Make sure your book is as good as possible when you send it to an agent. Put your book away for a few weeks if you are losing momentum. Read it out loud. When Judy went to record the audio for Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, she was making changes as she read it aloud because she heard ways to improve it. She was distraught she couldn’t make changes for the audiobook when they told her she has to read it as it is. Listen for flow. Is it smooth, clean, fun to read? Is something too long? Does it ever get bogged down?
  23. Editors want to discover a new voice. They aren’t looking for what’s trending. They really want to find an author who is original and fresh.
  24. Find encouraging feedback. Allow yourself to feel good about your work.
  25. When writing your first draft, just write something so you won’t be facing a blank screen anymore. Don’t worry about how good it is yet.
  26. Judy doesn’t know anybody who doesn’t struggle in the murky middle of a book. It’s probably the hardest part to write. The beginning is fun. The ending is exciting. Judy needs the security of her notebook to get her through the middle. Some people feel more secure with outlines.
  27. The second draft isn’t about trying to solve problems of plot. It’s about trying to draw out characters.
  28. Writing is a job. You have to treat it so. It’s hard. You must be diligent.
  29. Judy doesn’t believe in writer’s block. There are good days, not as good days and days when the words aren’t coming. She advises writers to get up and get away if they are struggling to write. The physical helps the mental come to where you need to be.
  30. Follow the advice of your editor. But be careful not to completely destroy your work because your work is what got their attention in the first place.
  31. Use rejection letters as motivation. Remember how far you’ve come.
  32. Don’t give up. Judy’s best advice is don’t give up. Don’t listen to people who say you can’t write. They don’t know what’s inside you.
  33. Judy’s final advice: “No one can have too much imagination—let alone a writer.”

You can go here to find Judy’s MasterClass. Other authors teaching a MasterClass include Neil Gaiman, R.L. Stine, James Patterson, Dan Brown and Malcolm Gladwell. You can also search the many other MasterClasses here.

 

**I did not get paid to write this post, but I am an affiliate for MasterClass.

Filed Under: MasterClass

Four Haircuts, Three Kids, Too Funny, One Bad Hair Day

by Chris Cate

After nine years of parenthood, I thought I had escaped one of the classic parenting disasters: the impromptu hair stylist. And then it happened. We had a very bad hair day.

My kids were playing together quietly, which in retrospect should have made me suspicious. But I sat in ignorant bliss until my 6yo son ran up to me and said, “Look at me! I’m looking sharp!”

I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I played along. “Yeah, you look great.” Then I noticed something different about his hair. At first, it looked like his hair had been slicked back with gel or something. But it was much worse.

Upon closer inspection, I saw my son’s hairline was about two inches farther back on his head than usual. The back of his hair was chopped up and he had big gaps of hair missing on the top of his head. When I raised my jaw back up to its normal position and asked him what happened, he proudly said his sister cut his hair for him.

I often tell my kids that they don’t look as ridiculous as they sometimes do, but there was no sparing feelings this time. I had to tell him, “You don’t look as sharp as you think you do.”

My 6yo’s hairchop was too thorough to have been self-inflicted. So, I walked straight to my 9yo daughter’s room to find out what happened. Nonchalantly, she said the boys asked her to cut their hair.

Two things came to mind: 1.) Be careful what you ask my daughter to do. She’s like a genie who makes you regret your wish’s lack of specificity. 2.) My 4yo must be somewhere looking like he was attacked by Edward Scissorhands’ evil twin too.

When I found our 4yo, he was walking around like nothing had happened. He couldn’t see the array of divots in his hair, so what did he care? Regardless, I had to express my disappointment to my daughter. But I was holding back a smile while I did it. Everything was so bad it was impossible not to laugh.

Before I could think about what to do about the boys’ hair or how to tell my wife what happened, I needed to find where the incident happened. It was wishful thinking to believe anybody had cleaned up the mess, which meant there was a lot of hair somewhere.

Sensing it was in her best interested to be nice, my daughter led me to the scene of the hairchop: my 6yo’s bedroom closet. As expected, clumps of hair were on the floor. The scissors were still laying there – and they weren’t safety scissors. They were the real thing, which made me thankful all we needed was a hair stylist to fix the problem as opposed to a doctor at the hospital.

It was tempting to make my boys go a few days with their hairchop to make them learn a lesson, but it would be too cruel. Plus, they would probably enjoy the attention and it might encourage them to do it again. So I herded them into the van and we left for the hair salon.

For the second time of the day, my boys got a haircut. The stylist knew there was no saving my 6yo’s hair. She had to buzz his whole head. My 4yo was spared a buzzcut, but the not from the evidence of what happened. A few divots still remained. The stylist who cut his hair asked us not to tell anybody where he had his hair cut so people didn’t think it was her fault.

My 6yo was very self-conscious about his new look. As you might expect, the timing couldn’t be worse. It happened less than a week before the first day of school. I had to reassure him he looked “great” with an ongoing stream of compliments. Still, he kept asking me if he was going to be bald forever.

After a few days, it was clear my reassurances were effective. My 6yo started asking for another buzzcut once his hair grows back. I told him we could talk about it next summer, to which he responded that he could have his sister cut it again. Just when I think he’s learned his lesson, he makes me doubtful. Such is parenthood.

Apparently, every kid is involved in a haircut disaster at some point. When I shared pictures on Facebook of what happened in our house, my page exploded with comments. Dozens of people confessed to their own crimes against hair when they were children while others shared eyewitness accounts. Three national websites saw our pictures and wrote articles about it:

  • Scary Mommy: No One’s Having A Worse ‘Back To School’ Week Than These Parents
  • PopSugar: Dad After Finding Both His Boys’ Hair Cut by Their Sister: “It Was So Bad, It Was Funny”
  • CafeMom: Girl Gives Her Brothers Back to School ‘Haircuts’ & the Results Have Us Cry-Laughing

As it turns out, I couldn’t escape this inevitable milestone of parenthood. It was just a matter of time. If you think an unplanned haircut isn’t going to happen in your house, it’s just wishful thinking. On the bright side, it’s too funny to get too upset about.

Filed Under: Blog

Absorb This: Diapers Get Their Absorbency from a World Class Mill Near My House!

by Chris Cate

This post is sponsored by Georgia-Pacific; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a parent of three kids, I have changed thousands of diapers over the years. It’s a tedious task, but I can’t deny how much better parents today have it than parents decades ago who didn’t have absorbent diapers to soak up baby messes. It was with this in mind that I visited Georgia-Pacific’s Foley Cellulose Mill: one of the primary locations we have to thank for making the absorbent material found in diapers: cellulose.

What the cellulose is cellulose?

I’m standing in front of a giant roll of cellulose.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, cellulose comprises about 33 percent of all vegetable matter (90 percent of cotton and 50 percent of wood are cellulose) and is the most abundant of all naturally occurring organic compounds. In short, it is the basic structural component of plant cell walls.

The Georgia-Pacific Foley Cellulose Mill, which is only an hour from my house in North Florida, is a major producer of cellulose fibers derived from slash pine trees. These cellulose fibers are used in more than just diapers too. They are in everyday things like clothing, food products, tires, shampoo, filters, and towels. The fluff pulp Georgia-Pacific makes from cellulose is ideal for disposable diapers and baby wipes because it has tremendous absorbency.

But that’s not all. Cellulose also makes dairy products smoother and creamier. I bet you never realized something in your baby’s diaper was also in your dairy products. Yum, right?

Who is Georgia-Pacific and what makes them so special?

Georgia-Pacific operates nearly 200 facilities, mostly in the United States, and employs 35,000 people. Sixty-five percent of U.S. households have consumer products made by the 91-year-old company. Familiar household brands owned by Georgia-Pacific include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, Sparkle®, Mardi Gras®, Vanity Fair® and STAINMASTER™ cleaning products.

Impressive.

The Georgia-Pacific Foley Cellulose Mill is the largest employer in Taylor County, Florida with 600 employees. Its estimated impact to the local economy is more than $230 million per year. Recognizing the importance of giving back to the community and being a good neighbor, the mill donates more than $100,000 annually to charities and schools including the Tallahassee Museum, Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity and Red Cross. The mill and its employees also contribute over $100,000 to the local United Way campaign annually. Impressive.

Operating Like a Good Parent

I joined fellow North Florida bloggers on the tour.

On my tour of the Georgia-Pacific Foley Cellulose Mill, it occurred to me that the mill operates like a good parent. It’s running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has to manage hundreds of different tasks at the same time. And it takes safety very seriously, constantly reminding everyone to be careful. I could use a couple of these signs in my house:

     

Thinking of the Future

Another way the Georgia-Pacific team acts like a good parent is how they think about future generations and sustainability. They are very energy-wise. By using environmentally conscious production practices, they maximize the use of renewable raw materials. Georgia-Pacific uses every part of a tree and transforms wood waste into energy for their mills (called woody biomass). The Georgia-Pacific Foley Cellulose Mill generates 85 percent of its total energy needs from renewable biomass.

Black Water Keep on Rollin’

After our tour, we went on a boat ride down the nearby Fenholloway River, a black water stream used by the mill. Since that time, I haven’t been able to get the song Black Water by the Doobie Brothers out of my head.

Guess what song is in my head?
I don’t think I’ll be jumping in with this guy here.

 

The Georgia-Pacific Foley Cellulose Mill has invested $250 million to improve the water quality of the river. The effort is called the Fenholloway Water Quality Project. You can learn all about their environmental restoration efforts here.

What’s in Your Backyard?

I had driven through Perry, Florida, where the Georgia-Pacific Foley Cellulose Mill is located, many times without ever stopping to see the mill. Now that I’ve had the chance to visit, meet the mill’s great employees and learn about how it’s helping the community and surrounding areas like mine, I feel like I know my neighbors even better. And it’s good to know how much they care about their neighbors, including the wildlife.

If you have a large business near you, I encourage you to visit them and ask how they are helping your community. Maybe you’ll even learn a fun fact like I did about how cellulose is used in food and diapers. I know I’ll be sharing that one at the next cookout if anybody complains about my cooking.



Filed Under: Sponsored Content

Gift Ideas for the Dads in Your Life

by Chris Cate

 

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com.

Shopping for a dad isn’t easy. As a dad myself, I’m aware I don’t do my family or friends any favors. I rarely mention anything I would like for Christmas. It’s not that I don’t want anything. Rather, I just don’t take time to think about it because I’m so focused on what to get my wife and kids. Also, if there was something I really needed, I would just buy it instead of waiting for Christmas.

Dads may be bad at making Christmas wish lists, but that doesn’t mean you can cross them off your shopping list. There are great options available for dads. You can be sensible and get something they need. Or, you can be fun and get something they want. The best-case scenario is it’s both. Here are some options to make that possible:

AfterShokz Trekz Air

Listen up. Whether dads are going to work, working out or doing work around the house, they are always on the go. For the music or podcast lover, having a reliable pair of headsets makes being on the go much more entertaining. That being the case, a great gift idea is a pair of AfterShokz Trekz Air.

Rocking in the backyard with my AfterShokz Trekz Air.

Trekz Air are inspired by elite athletes motivated by music. They are the lightest and most organically designed open ear headphones to date and have the next generation of bone conduction technology. As part of the #GiveGoodVibes campaign, with every order of Trekz Air placed through aftershokz.com from November 23 to November 26, you’ll also receive an unboxed item of Trekz Titanium Slate Gray (while supplies last) to gift.

Learn more about AfterShokz Trekz Air here.

Beau Brummell: Charcoal Facial Mask

Help the dad in your life look and feel good. The Beau Brummell: Charcoal Facial Mask is great for removing excess oil and dirt from your skin’s surface and deep within pores. The face mask for men also tightens the skin and minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, although you probably don’t want to mention anything about your dad’s wrinkles.

Right now, you can get 15% off your total purchase at beaubrummellformen.com by using the coupon code: BEAU15BRUMMELL. Offer valid through January 31st, 2019 at 11:59 pm EST.

Learn more about the Beau Brummell: Charcoal Facial Mask here.

Dr. Scholl’s NIKOLA Sneaker

The Dr. Scholl’s NIKOLA Sneaker is a sneaky good gift. The shoe features Dr. Scholl’s premium materials with glove-like softness. Translucent soles and marble-print accents are standout details. It’s also worth noting the quilted heel counter, copper-infused lining, anti-microbial sock and deconstructed raw-edge leather upper.

Comfortable wherever I go.

Right now, there’s a special offer if you use the promo code: Babblebox20FS. It will get you 20% off + Free Shipping (*Exclusions apply. May not be combined with other offers. Not valid on previous purchases. Free ground shipping applied automatically during checkout and is not valid in Alaska or Hawaii. Promo code and free shipping expires 11:59 p.m. CT November 30, 2018.)

Learn more about the Dr. Scholl’s NIKOLA Sneaker here.

ZENNI Glasses

You’ve got to see this. Zenni believes everyone should have access to high-quality, affordable eyewear, and that means dads too. Best of all, with prices starting at $6.95 for single-vision prescription glasses, you don’t have to limit gift-buying to just one pair.

Zenni offers a variety of styles of prescription glasses and sunglasses to make sure your dad’s eyewear fashion fits their personality. In particular, Blokz blue blockers are blue-light blocking lenses designed for all-day wear and protection from blue light. They can be worn like regular glasses to protect your eyes from harmful blue light emitted from any digital device, as well as artificial fluorescent and LED light exposure.

Learn more about ZENNI Glasses here.

Ties.com

Perhaps the most classic gift for a dad is a tie. Ties.com was founded to make finding high-quality, wallet-friendly menswear easy. I have the Charcoal Seagoville Tie, which instantly adds a preppy touch to your look with its diagonal black and white stripes contrasted against a charcoal background. From now until December 31, 2018, you can also get 15% off at Ties.com by using the discount code TIESXBB.

Learn more about Ties.com here.

Filed Under: Sponsored Content

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Chris Cate
So much tired. 😩⠀
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#parenting #parenthood #momlife #dadlife #kids #baby #preschool #toddler #toddlerlife #toddlerproblems #toddlerstyle #fatherhood #motherhood #momhumor #momprobs #momhustle #funnyparents #momstyle #parentingwin #parentinghumor #parentingquotes #parentingfail #parentingmemes #parenthacks #funnymemesdaily #toddlermom #parentingtips #tiredasamother #parentingblogger #parenting101
This is so much harder to do than you realize. 😂⠀
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Credit @simoncholland⠀
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#parenting #parenthood #momlife #dadlife #kids #baby #preschool #toddler #toddlerlife #toddlerproblems #toddlerstyle #fatherhood #motherhood #momhumor #momprobs #momhustle #funnyparents #momstyle #parentingwin #parentinghumor #parentingquotes #parentingfail #parentingmemes #parenthacks #funnymemesdaily #toddlermom #parentingtips #tiredasamother #parentingblogger #parenting101
Can't be too sure. 😂⠀ .⠀ Credit @thedad⠀ Can't be too sure. 😂⠀
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Credit @thedad⠀
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#parenting #parenthood #momlife #dadlife #kids #baby #preschool #toddler #toddlerlife #toddlerproblems #toddlerstyle #fatherhood #motherhood #momhumor #momprobs #momhustle #funnyparents #momstyle #parentingwin #parentinghumor #parentingquotes #parentingfail #parentingmemes #parenthacks #funnymemesdaily #toddlermom #parentingtips #tiredasamother #parentingblogger #parenting101
I'll never figure out how 'sleep when the baby sle I'll never figure out how 'sleep when the baby sleeps' is supposed to work. 🤦‍♂️⠀
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Credit @lessonsfromtheminivan⠀
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#parenting #parenthood #momlife #dadlife #kids #baby #preschool #toddler #toddlerlife #toddlerproblems #toddlerstyle #fatherhood #motherhood #momhumor #momprobs #momhustle #funnyparents #momstyle #parentingwin #parentinghumor #parentingquotes #parentingfail #parentingmemes #parenthacks #funnymemesdaily #toddlermom #parentingtips #tiredasamother #parentingblogger #parenting101
I usually skip to step 3. 😂⠀ .⠀ Credit /sup I usually skip to step 3. 😂⠀
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Credit /superconfusedd on Twitter⠀
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#parenting #parenthood #momlife #dadlife #kids #baby #preschool #toddler #toddlerlife #toddlerproblems #toddlerstyle #fatherhood #motherhood #momhumor #momprobs #momhustle #funnyparents #momstyle #parentingwin #parentinghumor #parentingquotes #parentingfail #parentingmemes #parenthacks #funnymemesdaily #toddlermom #parentingtips #tiredasamother #parentingblogger #parenting101
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