Thank [insert deity here] 2020 is almost over! When we look back on everything that shaped our world this year, it’s difficult to boil it down to just a few words. But that’s exactly what Oxford Languages does every year. Their Word of the Year is awarded to a term they deem has “lasting potential… Read more »
Call them what you will. Nonwriters, Muggles, Philistines. Just kidding. We know them. We love them. They’re our parents, our friends, our partners and significant others. They’re the people in our lives with whom we share everything. But sometimes we aren’t always sure how to share this one thing with nonwriters. You know, one of… Read more »
With all the chaos of 2020, I have a hunch that for many of us, this holiday season will be far from “normal.” Whether your gatherings are in person or virtual, the important thing is to surround yourself with awesome people. Jim Rohn said “You are the average of the five people we spend the… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Marcella Pixley, the author of four acclaimed books for young people. Her novel Freak was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year for 2007, Without Tess was a Junior Library Guild Selection, and Ready to Fall was a Bank Street of Education Best Book for 2017. Her most… Read more »
A boarding school furnishes the perfect setting for a mystery/thriller. They provide the claustrophobia of the locked room mystery and are often in an isolated location. They also have a long history of teenagers and their combustible emotions, which gives the perfect opportunity to incorporate the supernatural (sometimes explained away, sometimes literally supernatural). My favorites… Read more »
Have you ever read a scene and felt like it didn’t go anywhere, or didn’t have a purpose? Do you struggle to write scenes that develop characters? On a scene-by-scene basis, do your characters experience external and internal changes? Do you do in depth scene analysis? Whether or not published in a book or jotted… Read more »
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or financial advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available in this article are for general informational purposes only. Please seek a CPA or Attorney in your jurisdiction to answer any questions or concerns you may have before embarking… Read more »
It was a late Monday night in December, and I was sitting in a West Village classroom for my last writing class of the semester. The professor was talking about the publishing process, explaining how to query agents and what happens after you sign a book contract. She threw around phrases like “advance against the… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Diane Zinna. Originally from Long Island, Diane received her MFA from the University of Florida and went on to teach creative writing for ten years. She formerly worked at AWP—the Association of Writers & Writing Programs—which hosts the largest literary conference in North America each year. In 2014,… Read more »
Choosing your next food book idea can be scary. It takes bravery to commit to an idea and follow through with its development. So, how do you go about deciding on one? Well, it just might be in your next culinary magazine pitch. Writing for a magazine might not be the first thing on your… Read more »
