http://www.darcypattison.com Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:56:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I hail from Arkansas and until now, we've been known for the Clinton Presidential Library, the US's only diamond mine (Crater of Diamonds State Park), and the headquarters of Wal-Mart. But this year we'll be known for the Arkansas Teen Book Award, established by Arkansas Librarians. (Facebook page.) The reading ... http://www.darcypattison.com/revision/ar-teen-book-award-2/ My interview with non-fiction author, Carla McClafferty is now up on the Wow-Women on Writing website. Carla answers questions about how she develops her non-fiction trade books by using the idea of high-concepts. http://www.darcypattison.com/asides/high-concept-non-fiction-for-teens/ I hail from Arkansas and until now, we've been known for the Clinton Presidential Library, the US's only diamond mine (Crater of Diamonds State Park), and the headquarters of Wal-Mart. But this year we'll be known for the Arkansas Teen Book Award, established by Arkansas Librarians. (Facebook page.) The reading ... http://www.darcypattison.com/revision/ar-teen-book-award-1/ 12 Ways to Start a Novel First lines. We all obsess over our novel's first lines, and rightly so, because from it the rest of the story must flow naturally and without a pause. Here are 10 strategies to use on first lines for your novel. I've illustrated them with the ... http://www.darcypattison.com/revision/opening-lines/ Connect with Authors Through Skype One site that quickly gained popularity this year is the Skype an Author, a Wetpaint site, billed at the key to Virtual Author Visits in Your Library or Classroom. Set up by Sarah Chauncey of the Grandview Elementary School Library in Rockland County, NY schools ... http://www.darcypattison.com/marketing/more-on-skype-an-author/ Online Author Chats – A New Learning Experience Guest Post by Catherine Balkin Author Appearances Down. I've been arranging author appearances in schools and libraries for about 20 years and, a few months ago, I was sitting at my desk, lamenting their recent slump. With the economic downturn, school and library budgets ... http://www.darcypattison.com/marketing/online-author-chats/ Friday Tips Sometimes small thing accumulate and there are small tips to pass along. Here are a couple. Read the editor's letter CAREFULLY: Because I'm in between novels and not-yet-committed to the new one, I've been doing some freelance projects to fill the time, earn a bit, and look for ... http://www.darcypattison.com/odds/friday-tips/ Conflict, the type that motivates and moves a plot, comes from four sources. Yesterday, an editor asked for revisions on a very short piece which was meant for a kindergarten or first grade audience. The editor didn't like the competitiveness between siblings. But when she contemplated taking out that conflict, she ... http://www.darcypattison.com/picture-books/revise-remember-the-4-sources-of-conflict/ Searching for the Right Ideas Brainstorming, created by advertising genius Alex Osborn, is meant to be a group activity, a way to encourage everyone to participate. It's usually set up with rules that encourage ideas, even if they are wild, while discouraging any negative comments which might stem the flow of ... http://www.darcypattison.com/first-drafts/the-lonely-brainstormer/ Last week I was wondering if I could combine two plots into one. One idea was for an Event and one for Characters. While I still think they could have meshed, the character story took off on it's own into a short story. Now the question is what to do with ... http://www.darcypattison.com/plot/enrich-a-story-plot/