May people who aren’t writers or teachers (and even some who are) may not understand the different categories of children’s literature, aka “KidLit.” You may be thinking, “So? Who cares?” But, if you have a child, know a child, or teach children, you probably should. See, adults who don’t understand the differences may struggle to…
Tag: how-to
Queries? Must we?
Hey, let’s talk about queries. Evil little suckers, aren’t they? I loathe queries. When they’re mine, at least. Months of carefully crafting a story, with all its layers and themes and emotional motivations, and then we’re expected to condense it down to 250 words? Ugh, misery. I think we should all just write each other’s…
Line Edits: Tightening up that Prose
My mother is an editor and a former English teacher. Now, granted, she edits medical manuscripts rather than young adult novels, but it’s fair to say my elementary school essays got more intense critique than most. I also live in a town with a wonderful writing non-profit where I take classes and participate in writing…
Back in the Saddle
Hello friends! I’ve been busy with a million things that aren’t writing, including installing shoe molding, sewing (hot glueing?) DIY mosquito curtains for our patio, and trying to survive the hectic last month of school for my kids. I also gave my PitchWars book the brutal revision it probably needed months ago, chopping roughly 6000…
Edit Letters
We’re talking feedback today. Those daunting, extensive edit letters that usually start with praise, then dive into everything that isn’t working in your story. In the past I’ve said good feeback usually stings– the knee-jerk pain is your brain fighting the realization that the criticism is valid (ouch.) And for me, it generally comes with…
Author Mentor Match, Round 4
I couldn’t be happier to share that I’ve been chosen as a Round 4 Mentee for the wonderful Author Mentor Match program! My mentor’s name is Jamie Krakover and she’s a real live rocket scientist! Jamie is represented by the lovely Kira Watson at the Emma Sweeney agency and you can check out Jamie’s website…
#AMMConnect
Hi, I’m Emily, and I’m a glutton for writing mentorship programs. I can’t help it. I love writing, I love talking about writing, I love brainstorming with other people, I love developing my craft, I love writing friends and I looooooove revising. MY WIP Working Title: PARCHED Genre: YA Science Fiction Length: 75k (ish. I…
Stage 2
Sorry I’ve been MIA, friends. I’m determined to have a completed first draft of my newest book by the end of the month, and I just decided to switch from one main character to two, so now I not only have to finish writing the plot, but I have to go back to revise the…
Motivation
Okay, let’s talk about staying motivated while working on creative endeavors. It’s…. a challenge, isn’t it? As a psychology student and then a teacher, I learned a lot about motivation. The types of motivation, how to motivate students, what decreases motivation, etc. I’m also a mom, and I spend way too many hours a day…
Act 2
Most stories can be divided into Acts. Some swear by a 3-act structure, others by 4, but regardless of how you break down a movie or book, Act 1 is an introduction to the characters, the world, and the problem, and Act 2 is when the hero gets into the action. Act 2 is where…