Difficult Topics for Young Audiences

So, I’ve been reading Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories by Loren Niemi and Elizabeth Ellis, a book about writing difficult stories. In one of the last chapters, they discuss a story’s emotional arc story, but they mean something slightly different by that term.
Character’s Emotional Arc
Usually, I think of the [...]

Difficult characters, difficult topics

Do you have a difficult story you want to tell? You know–abuse, alcoholism, rape, etc. We all know good examples where these topics are handled well; but it’s hard to do. How to approach it?
Inviting the Wolf In
As I’m working on new stories this month, I’m casting a wider net in my [...]

Notebook Work: Looking backwards

This month, I’m working in a notebook more than ever before, just playing with ideas.
While I continue to work on Friday Ideas, I also bought a brand new Moleskin notebook and intend to play with ideas. For my new novel project, I want to attempt something new, different, big. I have some nebulous ideas, [...]

Narrator’s Voice

I’ve been thinking about the narrators chosen to read various books-on-tape . As I revise my current novel project, I wonder–
who be chosen to read my current WIP? I need suggestions!
The Voice Problem
One of my favorite fantasy titles is Lirael by Garth Nix, the the first book in the Abhorsen Trilogy.
This week, I listened [...]

Novel Metamorphosis: Book and Online Class

After eight years teaching the Novel Revision retreat across the nation, I’m pleased to announce that the workbook developed for that retreat will be available in one week!
You can now Pre-order on Amazon!
Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise

Foreword by Kirby Larson

ISBN: 978-0-9798621-0-6
Pub. Date: April 2, 2008
Retail Price: $18.00
Pages: 124
Trim Size: 7.5 x 9.25
Backmatter: Appendix, Index
[...]

Fair Use Copyright Guidelines

I’m looking this week at some teacher resource books that suggest teachers photocopy texts for their students to study, in preparation for writing their own work. The Copyright Office offers help in sorting out the Fair Use in Circular 21: Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians. Please, if you plan to [...]

Approaching Voice: summary of comments

This is an attempt to summarize and organize the comments on my posting last week about voice. Thanks to these writers for making comments: Janni Simner, Joni Sensei, Sarah Miller, T.E. Wymer, Lori Van Hoesen, and Linda Urban. Apologies, if I’ve misconstrued anything. Read the full discussion.
Voice: A summary of [...]

Busy month

This is an odd, busy month for me.
While Dori was riding around in a police car as part of a citizen’s police academy experience, I was watching a policeman enter my house with weapon drawn.
Got home Friday afternoon to find the back door had been forced open. I called the police and got out; [...]

How to Approach Voice

When you approach the topic of Voice of a novel and how to produce a pleasing Voice for fiction, especially as you revise, I think a helpful attitude is to think of the approaches as a continuum.
The Approach to Voice Continuum
The continuum runs from a Craft Approach (very left-brained, structured craft oriented skills that can [...]

Picture Book Manuscript Quiz

Picturebook Manuscript Quiz: How do you measure up?
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Fourteen Sections–Structure, Plot:

Divide your manuscript into a minimum of fourteen sections, with each section a scene in the [...]