It’s day #4,302 – I think? Time no longer has any meaning! — of staying at home, and I may be starting to get a little stir-crazy. Most of us have had to nix planned trips and outings this year because of the global pandemic. And many of us writers watched as conferences and classes we were looking forward to postponed, canceled or went virtual. … Continue reading Road Trip!
We’re back with another round of Quarantine Reads – this time we’re focusing on some of our favorite middle grade books. Continue reading Ten Great MG Reads During Self-Quarantine
This past November, I did my first ever NaNoWriMo! I’ve always wanted to try and have followed others’ tweets and posts about it with envy, but November has historically been too busy a time of year for me to take on an all-consuming project like writing an entire novel in 30 days. In 2019, though, the stars aligned, and I decided to dive in. THE … Continue reading Reflections on My First NaNo
There is SO. MUCH. advice out there for writers. So much. And if you’re a good student, rule-follower like me, you want to follow every bit of advice you can get. But even the best advice in the world might not be the best advice for you. I spent a LONG time getting tripped up by one common piece of writing advice: Treat writing like a job. … Continue reading The Best Writing Advice
Writers need self-care, too! Check out our Winged Pen tips. Continue reading Self-Care for Writers
As a writer and parent, I’ve faced down a few challenges. Furiously typing words during nap time, relying on the Wild Kratts to keep kids occupied while I write, and running off to the coffee shop while someone else feeds them lunch have all been tools in my toolbox. But I’ve recently come up against a new parenting wall: teenagers! Even though I write and … Continue reading Help! There are Teens in My House!
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Now, we’re discussing what to do with that novel once it’s written! So far, we’ve talked about the mechanics of querying and how to face rejection. But did you know that there are an entire range of responses an agent can … Continue reading MYC: Responses and what they mean
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Now we’re talking about what to do when you’re ready to put that book out in the world. Last week we heard from Agent Hilary Harwell on querying from an agent’s perspective. This week, we’re going to talk about rejection. No. Nope. … Continue reading MYC: Surviving Rejection
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss writing a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Now we’re working on what to do once you’ve actually finished your book. Get caught up on last week’s post on researching agents before you check out … Continue reading MYC: Querying Strategy
It’s road trip time again! There has been a TON of great stuff flying through cyberspace in the last few weeks. Here are some of our favorite informative, motivating and moving finds: On Craft Whether you’re on Draft 1 or Draft 100, it seems like there’s always room to improve. From the nitty-gritty — like this article on how to avoid transition words — to … Continue reading March Road Trip!
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss writing a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Last week, we tried to answer the question Are you ready to query? So if you answered “YES!” this week, we aim to help you get your query drafted. Queries … Continue reading MYC: Query Tips, Tricks and Tidbits
So you’ve finished your book, polished and pruned and read it through a few million times. What do you do now? The Winged Pen’s Master Your Craft (#WPMYC) Series is back to guide you through all the hard work that comes after you finally complete your novel. Next week, we’ll be tackling the very first question you should ask yourself when you’ve revised as much … Continue reading It’s BACK! Master Your Craft Returns
