dream a little dream, but don’t tell me about it

I already failed to uphold my vow to blog Monday, Wednesday and Friday during May. SO SUE ME. I fell asleep last night with my laptop upon me, my fingers poised above the keys. Sad, right? Fine. Don’t sympathize. Instead, let’s talk about dreams. There’s nothing more fascinating in this world than your own dreams, [...]

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pick-a-link for writers!!!

OH HOW I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY! PICK-A-LINK FOR WRITERS: Language Realm–for English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese and Latin. Includes sources for idioms, slang, proverbs, colloquialisms and other tips. Most importantly… A PIRATE DICTIONARY. Specialty Dictionaries–need some vocabulary to describe furniture? Ballet? The latest Net lingo? From Accounting to Water, find what you [...]

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sekrit plot ninjas have landed

Vivian Mahoney has a BRAIN BOX OF ENORMOUS PROPORTIONS. She ran this little contest on her blog. All one had to do to enter was make a comment about Plot. Well, you know me. Comments, I’ve got. A-plenty. I AM THE LUCKY WINNAH!

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Writing and Wranting

The sun is out and the piles of snow are bleach-bright. My brain hums like 10,000 bees banging around between a window and a screen, unable to find that dang little hole they crawled in. Time for a writerly tip. Do not over-rely on your thesaurus. You can’t type in a word and simply choose [...]

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master writer # 5-david almond, the savage

The Savage is a YA novel by David Almond, author of Skellig. It’s the fifth, and latest in my series of kidlit books in which the author demonstrates an incredible mastery of one aspect of the writer’s craft. Blue Baker’s father has died. To cope with his grief, he writes a story about a savage [...]

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master writer #4–jay asher, 13 reasons why

13 Reasons Why, the debut YA novel by Jay Asher is the fourth in our series of kidlit books in which the author demonstrates an incredible mastery of a specific aspect of the writer’s craft. Clay Jensen finds a strange package on his porch. Inside, there are cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his dead classmate. [...]

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master writer #3–nancy werlin, the rules of survival

Today we look at the YA novel,  The Rules of Survival, by Nancy Werlin, continuing my series about kidlit books in which the author has achieved amazing heights in some facet of their writing. [unofficial trailer] Brutally honest, The Rules of Survival depicts big-brother Matt’s day-to-day struggle to make sure he and his sisters make [...]

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master writer #2–laura manivong, escaping the tiger

Last Friday I started a blog-series in which I look at kidlit books whose authors have mastered some aspect of their writing in a particularly stupendous way. This week it’s Laura Manivong’s Escaping the Tiger: Straddling the Middle-Grade /Young Adult market, Escaping the Tiger tells the story of one family’s escape from communist Laos. 12-year-old [...]

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master writer #1–jennifer brown, hate list

I have a brilliant, new idea. No, no, come back! For the next weeks I’m going to profile different kidlit books whose authors have mastered some aspect of their writing in a particularly stupendous way.  These are the books I go to when I’m stuck in revisions and need a refresher course. First up: The [...]

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oh yeah. i swore a solemn oath…

…that I would blog every Tuesday and Friday. Dang my unrelenting Spring Resolutions. Okay, I’ll take a break to let you know what I’m doing today. I’m sure you are fully aware that I have FINISHED MY WIP AND I AM INTO REVISION TIME. No, this is nothing like Hammer Time. Because I definitely can [...]

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