Posts Tagged: writing

Fear and goals, or What the heck was I thinking?

Don’t hate me. This is my view.

I’m about two minutes away from buying a warm mocha.

Snow is falling.

Yesterday, a few minutes were not so idyllic. Some background, I didn’t learn to snow ski until my late twenties.

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Where does the heart crack open?

“Here’s the thing . . . where the heart cracks open is where our deepest longings lie, and that is what Story is all about.”

If you write, please read this post by Kathi Appelt. Then be brave enough

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Make a Superlative Book

by Mo Willems.*

• Biggest thing one needs to do…decide whose side your on…the key: BE ON THE KID’S SIDE. • Realize that childhood sucks. • Life is filled with restrictions for kids. • Keep in mind that the

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Perfect Story Arc in Under 1 Minute

No dialogue.

Showing vs/ telling.

A character worth rooting for.

A cute dog. (Never hurts.)

Authentic kid emotion and experience.

A twist ending.

Sure a grown-up swoops in, but by then, I don’t care. I want this kid to reach

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The False Start

I’m waffling between two different openings for my middle grade. I have been for some time. Of course my choice influences the rest of the pages…

Then I saw a link cautioning Beware the False Beginning.

Brian, a YA

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My writing spot

This is where I work from home. At our kitchen table.

I’ve learned I cannot work on the couch or in bed. Give me ten minutes, then my head starts bobbing.

There’s a stack of books to be read in

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A Snail’s Pace

I’m revising a few picture books. For real people. Funny how a person can’t rush ideas or creativity.

Of course, showing up to work is part of it. I don’t know about you, but I can think and stew for

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Sage Writing Advice

“Assume whoever is reading your submission is going to be in a terrible mood when they look at page 1.” ~ MoonRat

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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

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