Mary Kole at Kidlit.com wrote a thought-provoking post today for writers. She compared the pages of a novel to prime real estate. The first page, the introductory paragraph of each chapter, and the the closing paragraphs are what hook the … Read More
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Layers & Cliches
Subplots are plot lines given to different characters.
Layers are plot lines given to the same character.
In Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Mass notes that breakout fiction makes extensive use of plot layers. Real life is complex, so
Book Birthday
Picture Book author Jean Reidy‘s newest book, TOO PICKLEY! releases today.
She wanted to throw a big party, but she’s in Uganda, Africa, reading to a bunch of cute kids and mending mosquito nets at the Musana Children’s Home
… Read More I Could Go For Another
Day Like This.
SCUMBLE by Ingrid Law (SAVVY) is an amazing read. I could hardly put it down and found myself rereading sentences for pure bliss. Clever, witty, and full of heart. Perfect for reluctant boy readers or any girl
… Read More The Shrunken Manuscript
Mandy and I plan to shrink her WIP this week.
Shrink 200-plus pages to oh, I don’t know, thirty-five.
Author Darcy Pattison, owner of the Fiction Notes, persuades writers to shrink their novels in her book Novel Metamorphosis… Read More
Top 10 Topics for Novels
This is a list compiled by the editorial staff at Dial Books for Young Readers.
This list, along with others, was distributed at our regional SCBWI conference last spring.
1. The new kid in middle school or high school
… Read More 
Coming 2017!
