I’ve been doing some cleaning out of old files, papers, and documents. You know what I found? More boring than I care to admit. I’m not talking about old bills either. I found-gulp-boring stories. Stories that told everything from the day of my character from brushing teeth in the morning to turning off the lampContinueContinue reading “Being a Writer Curator”
Tag Archives: writing
5 Ways Kids Books Are Like Jelly
Have you ever made jelly or another type of preserve? It takes more than a recipe to get the results you want and kids books are very similar. Here’s how: Recipe like Voice- To make jelly you need a recipe and the first few times I’d recommend sticking to it. However, now that I’ve madeContinueContinue reading “5 Ways Kids Books Are Like Jelly”
Emotional Plotting
It’s that time of year again! The time to dive deep, start drowning, and scramble back up to breath by December. It’s time for National Novel Writing Month! If you didn’t read Samantha’s post about generational plotting be sure to check it out because I’ll be building off of her thoughts here. Character is sovereignContinueContinue reading “Emotional Plotting”
Negotiation No Go
A couple months ago I got that magical email that said “we’d like to publish your story.” And before you get too excited, that’s where the magic ended. I received a contract via email and I began the painful process of looking up how to negotiate a book contract solo. Folks this is why agentsContinueContinue reading “Negotiation No Go”
Visual Writing Prompts for NaNoWriMo
I think we’ve all fallen down the jumbo dragon hole of Pinterest at some point or another. Repeat offender over here. As a writer it can suck up all my time quicker than syrup on a pancake. On the other hand it gives me immersive and intense inspiration. Are the jewels hidden within Pinterest worthContinueContinue reading “Visual Writing Prompts for NaNoWriMo”
A Chilling Tale
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”
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”
3 things to avoid as a new writer
Sheep are cute and fluffy. They are very useful in many ways, which is why farmers have raised them for thousands of years. But sheep aren’t something we should aspire to be. Yet, many writers, especially new writers, struggle with many temptations. Temptations of becoming sheep. Here are 3 things to avoid as a new (orContinueContinue reading “3 things to avoid as a new writer”
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”
An Editor For That Mess-uscript
Each of us have strengths when it comes to evaluating writing. Do you know what yours are? Here are the types of editors. You can hire one and you can work on being one for yourself and others. Developmental Editor- looks for big picture problems like plot, structure, characters, pacing, and world building. Line EditorContinueContinue reading “An Editor For That Mess-uscript”
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”
How to Research Agents
You’ve written your book, polished it, and gone through rounds of editing. It’s time to send your story out into the world to see if you can get an agent. But who do you send your story to? How do you choose? Carefully. I’ve talked before about what not to say to an agent. I’veContinueContinue reading “How to Research Agents”
The Humble Filing Cabinet
The papers around, across, and under my desk area have become like snowbanks in summer drifting into other areas of my home. I’m lost in my own space and it’s nearing the point of needing a snow shovel, in July. As I’ve gotten farther into my writing life I’ve realized my organization has not grownContinueContinue reading “The Humble Filing Cabinet”
A Bow to Editing Services
If you’ve been reading my posts for any length of time you’ll have noticed that grammar rules and spelling are not in something I hold in spades. In fact, I’m down right atrocious. I do try but grammar and spelling are a constant struggle for me. Which is why I’ve decided to take the nextContinueContinue reading “A Bow to Editing Services”
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”
Holy Homesteading 