Being so near to Halloween I’ve had scary thoughts floating around in my head. So when Brandon Ide contacted me about doing a photo story together I couldn’t resist. You can check out The Ides Photography Blog and see his amazing photos for yourself. Brandon’s photo of The Auction House Cafe inspired the following tale.ContinueContinue reading “A Chilling Tale”
Tag Archives: story
Flipping Cliches
We’ve all done it, see there I just did. I used a cliche. A common phrase or string of words that most folks like us understand. it’s good to be understood. The problem is, cliches are boring. So let’s take some examples and flip them. What we are hoping to do is convey the sameContinueContinue reading “Flipping Cliches”
Scene by Scene
After working on nearly a dozen picture books over the last year I want to go back into a longer story. I dusted off one I had a good start to (I’ve talked about before) and dove in. While I know first drafts are not worth sharing I couldn’t help myself and let a few readContinueContinue reading “Scene by Scene”
Favorite Middle Grade Book Quotes
I’ve been compiling a book full of best quotes for years. When I find one I add it to the pile. I’ve noticed a trend of having quite a few from books from the middle grade reading level. Here they are and I hope you have as much joy in them as I do. “TheContinueContinue reading “Favorite Middle Grade Book Quotes”
Expanding Vocabulary Or Not…
I had admiral goals when I stated to my critique partner that I wanted to expand my vocabulary. The issue was in execution. Read the dictionary, was the first thing we thought of. Then realized that retention of those words would be dismal. We’d have to create an exercise to make the words become organicContinueContinue reading “Expanding Vocabulary Or Not…”
A Note On Perseverance
If you’ve been rejected by a person, a job, a college, or anything else you’d set your heart on having, you understand what it means to be a writer. Dealing with rejection is normal on multiple levels and in different ways. You can be rejected by the reader at any point. Whether it’s the firstContinueContinue reading “A Note On Perseverance”
Creative Abandon with Signs
So I may be in a slump with writing. I’ve got ideas and words are being written but a Twitter fight has left me a bit scared to share my stories. THIS IS AWFUL. I mean why am I so upset? Mostly because the fight wasn’t rational, it wasn’t even about what was IN myContinueContinue reading “Creative Abandon with Signs”
9 Ways to Make Writing Fun for Kids
Kids are so smart and creative, it blows me away. Last week I had the honor of teaching a word camp for kids 9-12 at Alvan N. Belding Memorial Library. It was the best experience I’ve had all summer. We took some extra steps to make writing fun and made some discoveries along the way.ContinueContinue reading “9 Ways to Make Writing Fun for Kids”
Why Your Picture Book Needs An Antagonist
Most people think of picture books as cute and cuddly with elements of teach-ability. But every good picture book has a villain. I can tell you don’t believe me… Let’s talk it out. The types of villains in picture books are often not your standard looking villain. Why? Because we are telling a story toContinueContinue reading “Why Your Picture Book Needs An Antagonist”
Villains, Antagonists, and Baddies
Writers tend to slack on writing good bad guys. We do pages and pages of backstory on our main characters but our villains are cookie cutter. That really ought to change. Let’s talk about the characters in a book that give the hero problems. Just like the hero there are also many types of villainsContinueContinue reading “Villains, Antagonists, and Baddies”
Building Your Bouquet of Stories
When I buy flower seeds I read the back of the package first. It tells me what kind of sunlight, soil, and climate this little seed needs to thrive. It also says how long it will take before I see any blooms, sometimes it takes months, a big investment. Like a flower, how do youContinueContinue reading “Building Your Bouquet of Stories”
Sweet Seven: A Picture Book Challenge
I’m fairly competitive and I also like teammates. So how’s about a friendly challenge? For those of us writing picture books we have ideas floating around to infinity is seems, see last weeks post for more on that. So it hit me to put my ideas into a challenge. There are many ways to formatContinueContinue reading “Sweet Seven: A Picture Book Challenge”
A Fish Full of Ideas
Many years ago I bought a metal fish used to hold papers, letters, whatever, at a yard sale. It was so handsome I couldn’t part with him move after move. I found him this week as I looked through boxes sorting trash from treasure. I’ve talked about ideas before and I often liken ideas toContinueContinue reading “A Fish Full of Ideas”
Saving All My Favs
We save our favorite everything lately, photos, trinkets, cards, even emails. But what about your favorite agents? In all my agent watching there are some that stand out and resonate with me. In their behavior, their talk, and their hobbies. These are folks I’d like to be friends with and to do business with. ButContinueContinue reading “Saving All My Favs”
8 Things NOT to Say to an Agent
After my latest writing group I realized how many queries I’ve sent over the years. How much digging I’ve done over and over again. And realized there are some common things that really tick agents off. Let me be really clear, this is not everyone. It’s just what I see commonly on different social sites.ContinueContinue reading “8 Things NOT to Say to an Agent”
Map Progression
A few weeks ago I talked about using maps as a way to figure out plot. As I explore this process I want to go a little deeper with maps. Just like the story itself my maps tend to take a few drafts. My map evolves with my story, plot, and characters. It matters becauseContinueContinue reading “Map Progression”
The Delight is in the Details
When it comes to the details of a story we can tend to sink in the quagmire of description. It can downright Tolkien for some folks. Others of us can see it in our head but it’s missing in action on the page. The rule of THREE for details: Details must be concrete. Be specific.ContinueContinue reading “The Delight is in the Details”
Activating Setting Within Story
Setting can be as shallow as the seasonal stream along the road or as bottomless as an ocean chasm. I’ve talked about setting before in another way and love how it was described at a KDL Conference I attended a year ago. These ideas build upon each other like a blocks. Master each level throughContinueContinue reading “Activating Setting Within Story”
Yay! A Rejection Due to Similarity
If you’ve gotten a rejection from an agent that says, “I really like this story and it’s a good fit for my tastes, BUT I already have something similar on my list.” You know it hurts. You’re close but getting an agent can be like a chasm you can throw your manuscript across but notContinueContinue reading “Yay! A Rejection Due to Similarity”
Using Maps for Plotting
I have great writing friend who is brilliant with characters. Whereas my skills lie in the plot. We could learn a lot from one another. We tried the other day and came up with a functional medium, we hope. Here goes, if you start with characters or with plot try this tactic and see ifContinueContinue reading “Using Maps for Plotting”
Holy Homesteading 