Daily Writing Tips has a collection of tips for plotting:1. Read one of the many books about plot, for example 20 Master Plots and how to build them by Ronald B. Tobias.2. Describe the story you plan to write in one sentence. If you can’t say what your book is about in one sentence, you... Continue Reading →
A page from the screenwriter’s playbook
Writer's Digest has a really great piece on doctoring your script. The advice applies to us.Script CPR: Cut, Polish, ReviseFebruary 11, 2008by Aury WallingtonYou don't have to be a script doctor to know how to fix a script that isn't working. Here's some first aid for scriptwriters.You have a great idea for a screenplay, but... Continue Reading →
Kirby Larson interviews Karen Cushman
Do NOT miss Kirby's interview with the award-winning novelist Karen Cushman.Here's a heartening quote:Sometimes I can feel the rightness of various bits and pieces, snippets of dialogue or characters, and I have this warm feeling of well being. But I find it hard to see and judge the whole. That's where a great editor comes... Continue Reading →
Character paradoxes by Darcy Pattison
Darcy's blog has this interesting post: Charlotte was Blood-Thirsty: Character ParadoxesCharlotte, from E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, is remembered as a character of great warmth for her friendship with the unlikely pig, Wilbur. Poor Wilbur, once the runt of the litter and saved only by the whim of a girl, is fattened up and ready for... Continue Reading →
Retreat on the Water
Time is running out to apply to our fall retreat for writers and writer-illustrators of children's books. WEEKEND ON THE WATER takes place Friday, Nov. 6, to Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, at the luxurious Alderboork Resort & Spa, nestled on the scenic shores of Hood Canal less than two hours west of Seattle.In an intimate,... Continue Reading →
Ursula LeGuin on Writing
This comes from the Book View Cafe Blog:On Rules of Writing, or, Riffing on RechyPosted on July 16th, 2009 by Ursula K. Le GuinIn his terse and cogent essay, “When Rules Are Made to be Broken,” (LATBR, October 6, 2002), John Rechy attacks three “rules of writing” that, as he says, go virtually unchallenged in... Continue Reading →
Committing Crimes in the Name of Rhymes?
How do you tell if you've written bad verse?When you read it aloud are you tempted to curse?Actually, forget that.Just read Cynthea Liu's blog. She's posted an article from Kelly Fineman on the topic of critiquing your rhyming children's books. In a nutshell: read it to yourself, read it aloud, and count the feet accurately.
3 Juicy Plot Tips from Bruce Hale
Bruce gave us permission to reprint this; if you like it, consider signing up for his newsletter at the link below:THREE TIPS FOR A JUICIER PLOTPlots are like Christmas turkeys -- we're always looking for ways to fatten them up. Juicier plots feel more complex, more satisfying. They keep readers up late turning the pages,... Continue Reading →
How to Write a Novel
By Justine Larbalestier, author of five novels:First of all you need a computer. (Yeah, yeah, I know in the olden days they made do with quill, ink and paper, and typewriters—aargh! don’t get me started on how creepy and scary typewriters are—plus, whatever, this is not the olden days.)More secrets revealed on her blog (including... Continue Reading →
Gail Carson Levine on unpredictability
Gail Carson Levine reimagines classic stories and still manages to surprise readers. How does she do it? Her thoughts: What's next?Erin Edwards asked me to expand on this from my post about revising: "Am I leading the reader along properly so that what happens is neither predictable nor too far fetched to believe?" Erin added,... Continue Reading →