Yes, I have already posted on this topic–but it’s been two years. Honestly, sometimes it’s hard to believe I’ve been blogging long enough to decide to write on something only to find I already did. And in this case, when I looked back at my original post, I was actually pretty satisfied with what I…
point of view
3 Tips for Revising One Character At A Time
You’re probably thinking: Michelle, you already wrote this post. Well, halfway through the process I talked about how helpful it had been for me to focus on the boy POV in order to figure out his character arc. Now that I’ve finished both characters, I’ve pulled my thoughts together and have some specific tips on…
When You Have Two POVs, Who Is the MC?
For my non-writer friends who follow the blog or maybe even some newer writers: POV = point of view MC = main character Now that we have that out of the way …. I read a post on Jami Gold’s blog earlier this week titled “Should Our Protagonist Be in the First Scene?” It was…
Revising One Character At A Time–Plus A Giveaway!
Revision time!!! Yes, that does deserve multiple exclamation points because I love to revise. I let this manuscript sit the self-imposed month before even doing a read-through. What surprised me as I was reading was that the part of the manuscript I struggled with the most as I was drafting actually isn’t half-bad. However, there…
YA Review: PIVOT POINT by Kasie West
I know I said I wouldn’t have a review for a few weeks because I was catching up on all the adult books I received for Christmas, but then I went over to my parents’ house for New Year’s Day without one of said books and they decided to watch “Dumbo” with the kids. It’s…
YA Review, Interview & Giveaway: FALLS THE SHADOW by Stefanie Gaither
Two years ago, I read the QueryTracker success story for Stefanie Gaither’s FALLS THE SHADOW and thought, “Wow! I have got to read that!” Well, fast-forward two years and I’ve finally had the chance. And, bonus, Stefanie agreed to answer my questions about the five things I loved best and has offered to send a…
MG Series Recommendation: The Books of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West
I had another YA book ready to review today, but I bumped it because I finished reading the final book in Jacqueline West’s The Books of Elsewhere series last week and I just have to gush about it. THE SHADOWS, the first book in the series, was one of the first middle grade books I…
YA Review: IGNITE ME by Tahereh Mafi
Eventually I’ll get back to middle grade, but there have been a string of YA books in series I’m already reading that have come out in the last few weeks, and I have another one today. I originally picked up SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi because of Twitter buzz. Although I didn’t fall in love…
How I Tackle Revisions: Getting Inside Secondary Characters’ Heads
Last month I posted about the first two steps of my revision process and said my next step was to write a few scenes from non-main character viewpoints. I’d never done this before, and I don’t know why. I think it just never occurred to me. Well, now that I have, I will definitely be…
How I Tackle Revisions, Steps 1 & 2
It’s been over a month since my last writing post and for very good reason–I’ve been taking the first step toward revising my work-in-progress: letting it sit. I’ve learned to set a first draft aside for at least a month. Often that’s hard to do, but with the holiday season, it was much easier. I…
Missouri SCBWI 2013 Conference Recap
On Saturday, I attended the Missouri Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference. I would categorize this as more of an inspirational than a working conference. It consists of a series of keynote addresses with one breakout session. There was the option to attend an additional breakout session on Sunday morning, but as I…
Why The Supplementary Novella Trend Works
I am really loving this trend of authors writing novellas to supplement a series. With the exception of authors I’ve been reading for years, I typically don’t buy books unless I’ve already read them. Plus, let’s be honest, it would get very expensive to buy every book I want to read. So, I check them…
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