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 […]
My Top Three Tips: Read Like a Writer Read Post »
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
My Top Three Tips: Read for Enjoyment Read Post »
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
Overcoming Your Writer’s Block Read Post »
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
Self-Diagnosing Your Writer’s Block Read Post »
There are countless reasons why writing and revising can be challenging. But if you find yourself hesitating to dive in or second-guessing your decisions, the real culprit might be fear. One way fear intrudes is to tempt authors to save plot points for another story. This struggle often stems from a fear of running out
Fear and the Creative Process Read Post »
In addition to the areas I shared in the last two letters on character development, a third way to strengthen your protagonist is to consider the other characters in their story. First, let’s focus on the antagonist. Depending on your story, the antagonist might be a person, an explicit challenge or contest, or a more
Character Development: Antagonists & Secondary Characters Read Post »
Last week’s letter discussed passive protagonists. This week, I want to unpack two other ways to give protagonists agency within their stories: considering how they learn critical information and who makes the majority of the decisions in their story. Think about scenes in which your protagonist is looking for answers or direction. Do others tend to give
Character Development: Learning Information & Making Decisions Read Post »
This series on beginnings, middles, and endings was partially inspired by an article I wrote about endings for the Highlighter (the SCBWI Mid-Atlantic journal) a couple of years ago. Since I (fortunately!) still agree with what I wrote then, I decided to revisit my thoughts about some common ending pitfalls for this series as well. When the
Common Revision Areas: Satisfying Endings Read Post »
After you’ve made it past the opening and have your core story pieces in place, writing the middle of a book can sometimes feel like a slog. In response, you might subconsciously start rushing your characters toward the ending. Or, if you’re worried about how you’re going to fill the remaining pages, you might find
Common Revision Areas: Meandering Middles Read Post »
Story openings present a Goldilocks-like challenge: a story can open too late, too early, or at just the right place. A story that opens too late often thrusts readers straight into the action. While this can be appealing from a pacing perspective, readers may not have the necessary context or emotional investment to care about
Common Revision Areas: Tricky Beginnings Read Post »
