For months, I dreaded my first pitch session, a live event in which a roomful of potential agents awaited me with only three minutes to impress each one I’d targeted. I’ve always felt that I don’t make a good first impression; I come off too serious, too earnest, too Hermione-ish. (There’s a reason Harry and… Read more »
What’s up with all the long-running series for middle grade readers? For the purposes of this article, I’m talking specifically about books series that span more than fifteen books—in fact, some of them feel like they might never end! Kids love them, adults perhaps less so when our bookshelf threatens to collapse from the weight… Read more »
If you’re anything like me, when you’re in the throes of the creative process you end up throwing everything at the page and the kitchen sink, just trying not to stifle your muse or leave anything important out of the story you’re trying to tell. When you finally finish it’s tempting to just close the… Read more »
No one can argue the importance of family. Whether loving or trying, our relationships with parents, children, and siblings – or the lack of such relationships – can have a huge impact on our lives. The same goes for literary characters. Their beliefs about family can be challenged, reshaped, or reaffirmed as a result of… Read more »
Happy Fall, Word Nerds! Summer is over, and I’m not mourning. I’m a little too busy anticipating the first Chai Tea Latte of the season, sweaters, and cozy writing days. But boy, was this a busy and wonderful few months! Summer is high conference season, and as we prepared for our own writing conference this… Read more »
In my experience, most three hour drives feel like nothing more than numb legs, backaches, and forcing myself to stop checking the clock. But leave it to my first Writer’s Digest Conference to speed that drive right up. I knew ahead of time that I was going to force my driving buddy into helping me… Read more »
The very traits that can make someone a wonderful writer – humility, sensitivity and introspection – can also conspire to make that same person an absolutely terrified (and ineffective) marketer. That’s a problem because, as you likely already know, the ability to market oneself and one’s books is a must for the modern writer. If this is… Read more »
There’s a lot of fives in today’s article! That’s okay. I like the number five. My mom was born on 5/15/55, and I’m one of five kids. And none of that really has anything to do with this article except to say—five’s a good number. And here’s five reasons you’ll love my workshop on the… Read more »
As we have explored this year, flash fiction is more than a very short story. It is an excellent, skill-building practice. It can be used for various projects and applied to limitless assignments. One of the things everyone needs, especially writers, is an bio. When we submit work to magazines, enter contests, speak at events,… Read more »
This summer, I had the most fantabulous time at the Clarion Writer’s Workshop, doing what I love to do best—writing science fiction and fantasy. 6 weeks. 6 award-winning instructors. Critiquing 4 stories every night and writing a story every week. What did I learn from these 6 most intense weeks ever? I’m going to sneak some of these writing… Read more »
