Voice has always struck me as one of the most challenging writing topics to talk about. In comparison to areas like character development, plot, and pacing, what makes a strong voice can be harder to pinpoint and even more subjective. Instead, a strong voice is often described as “I know it when I see it” […]

In my last two letters, I shared two of my top tips for writers: reading for enjoyment and reading like a writer. Today’s letter is about my third top tip: writing with intention. Essentially, this approach encourages authors to utilize the principles discussed in the previous two letters in their writing practice.  Just as reading for enjoyment serves

Last week, I talked about the importance of reading for enjoyment. However, reading for enjoyment doesn’t mean that authors shouldn’t also read analytically. My second top tip is to read like a writer—essentially, to study published books in order to understand the tools their authors used to create them. While these two approaches are on opposite

Last month I participated in a panel moderated by author and illustrator Pat Cummings. Toward the end of the event, Pat asked the panelists to share the top three pieces of advice we would give to anyone looking to create children’s books and enter the publishing world. I appreciated the chance to answer this question on

After you’ve identified potential causes of your writer’s block, you can try other ideas for working through it. Perfectionism If you’re spending most of your writing sessions revising partial drafts instead of writing new material, try setting a timer each time you sit down to write. Pick a relatively short amount of time—maybe 10 minutes—that you’ll use

No matter how hard you work, how talented you are, or how much success you experience, it’s virtually impossible to avoid struggling with writer’s block during the creative process. For me, the first step in moving forward is to try to remember just how universal writer’s block is, rather than subconsciously viewing it as some