Posts Tagged ‘fiction writing’
Celebrating One Year Book Anniversary!
It’s hard to believe that it was one year ago today that my YA novel, It Should Have Been You, was released by Page Street! What a journey this has been. I’ve done readings at Flying Out Loud and as part of a SWAN (“Support Women Artists Now”) celebration, signed books at Barnes and Noble,…
Read MoreEmpathy: Essential for Writing… and Life
My professional writing skills students had to pretend to be a swim club manager who was writing a “bad news” letter to a long time member. The recently widowed member was distraught over the loss (probably theft) of her diamond engagement ring while she was swimming. She wanted the club to reimburse her, even though…
Read MoreYou Could Never Do That? Don’t Be So Sure!
As part of community-building efforts, my church includes “Question Time” during the service. You’re encouraged to talk
Read MoreThe Other Reason Authors Write Series Books
I’ve been working on revisions of my third YA novel, Gone. This process can, of course, go on for weeks and months.
Read MoreExceptions to Novel Writing Advice
When I got to grad school, one of the first things impressed upon me was that if I wanted to write novels, I needed to pay careful attention to character development.
Read MoreWriting May Be a Solitary Occupation, But …
Even before I tried writing a novel myself, I was fascinated by authors who wrote them. Curious about the folks writers regarded as their inspirations or helpmates along their journey toward publication, I invariably read the acknowledgements’ page
Read MoreWhy Do You Write Such Dark Stuff?
It’s not that my YA characters aren’t sometimes funny or snarky. But I have to admit that my books, like those of many contemporary YA novelists, tend toward the dark side. It isn’t only the murders
Read MoreFiction Writers Get to Play Pretend Part II
So last week, I confessed that one of my fantasy dream jobs as a kid was becoming an advice columnist. My passion for dance took me in a different direction, but
Read MoreFiction Writers Get to Play Pretend
Even as a kid, I loved reading the newspaper, especially the advice columns. The problems people wrote about fascinated me—cheating husbands, in-laws from hell, warring siblings. Long before there was reality television, there was Ann Landers. Half the fun was in reading her salty responses to the letters she received. Not surprisingly, “advice columnist” landed…
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