First page

First Page: So much from so few words
At the AR-SCBWI fall retreat this weekend, Alexandra Penfold, Associate Editor of S&S took us through a discussion of first pages of our novel mss. She commented on the pages, then opened the discussion for other comments or questions. Here are some observations on the discussions (Note: these [...]

Measuring Progress

How do you measure the progress of a writing project?
Since people are working on the Summer Revision Smackdown, here’s a timely poll. You can vote for up to two answers. Please leave a more extensive answer in the comments.

current stories

Stories You Might Find Interesting

Janni talks about her revision process.
I’m featured on the Cuppa Jolie Blog in conjunction with the Summer Revision Smackdown.
Have you heard this? Dave Eggers has taken Maurice Sendak’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are and has written a 300+ page novel! It went from 324 words to 324 pages? Wow! [...]

Audience

Do you pay attention to your audience when you write, or do you write for yourself, an audience of one?
PW’s Shelf Talker Josie Leavitt has an interesting posting on when toddlers pick out their own books. Even as toddlers, boys and girls choose books differently. Both are passionate about the books they love and both [...]

Listen

Learn to Listen to Critiquers
Listening to critiques is hard!
I have to remind myself that writing is communication, with a writer and a reader. When I get feedback, what I’m really doing is checking to see if I communicated what I wanted to. Well, no. I didn’t.
I have two choices:

Ignore the feedback. This guarantees that a [...]

Cheryl Renee Herbsman: 2k9

This entry is part 5 of 10 in the series 2k9Introduced first in 2007, authors debuting children’s books have formed a cooperative effort to market their novels. Last year, I featured many of the stories of how the 2k8 Novels Were Revised. This is part of the ongoing stories from the Class of 2k9 authors [...]

Real Moms

I’ve been catching up reading the blogs of others, mostly those who labor to create novels, picture books and stories for kids. Here are a few interesting posts:

The Crazy Blond writes a poignant post on mothering a foster child.
Is it true? 7% more adults are reading literature? Even young adults are reading [...]

Deborah Lytton: 2k9

This entry is part 3 of 10 in the series 2k9Introduced first in 2007, authors debuting children’s books have formed a cooperative effort to market their novels. Last year, I featured many of the stories of how the 2k8 Novels Were Revised. This is part of the ongoing stories from the Class of 2k9 authors [...]

Running gags

In Search of Humor: The Classic Running Gag
What I’m currently reading:

Why am I reading this book?
I’m not funny. Ask my kids, I lack any sense of humor. But kids love humor, gags, slapstick, jokes, puns, funny things happening in a story or a novel.
I’m near the end of my WIP novel and while I [...]

Suzanne Morgan Williams: 2k9

This entry is part 2 of 10 in the series 2k9Introduced first in 2007, debut children’s authors have formed a cooperative effort to market their books. Last year, I featured many of the stories of how the 2k8 Novels Were Revised. This is part of the ongoing stories from the Class of 2k9

Research on Iraqi [...]