The Dreaded CPs Search & events!

In my quest for critique partners (CPs), I often felt so excited to connect with other fabulous writers, I never actually took the time to sift through my needs. Until recently. CP Connect is happening right now. Also, check on Twitter #CPConnect. Post Pitch-Wars Critique Partner Match Up! will receive your submissions from August 18 through 21. The event will take place August 25 on … Continue reading The Dreaded CPs Search & events!

Backstory as Character: COLD KISS

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey is a Gothic YA novel published in 2011. Glass Heart follows in the series. ♥♥♥ What I find particularly well done in Cold Kiss is the backstory. The story follows the tragic misadventures of Wren, a teenaged girl who brought back her dead boyfriend Danny from the grave. Using the backstory as an important element in a novel is always … Continue reading Backstory as Character: COLD KISS

5 YA Novels Exploring Graffiti Art

Graffiti or street art is often a misunderstood medium of self-expression and public dialogue. This is true maybe because traditional art is often portrayed as a mysterious world that few people have access to or can afford. With street art, the gallery is in the street and it is wildly accessible. It is a medley of cultures and a medley of rough, passionate expressions. Because … Continue reading 5 YA Novels Exploring Graffiti Art

Ideas to Hack Down Writers’ Blocks

Overwriting your writer’s blocks is much like making cord bracelets. What is blocking you is maybe the temporary inability to generate new ideas, or to come up with the proper design, or the fact that you struggle with too many ideas. So, twist and turn your neurons into unusual, unexpected shapes in order to produce and curl those ideas. Voice your goals for the day. … Continue reading Ideas to Hack Down Writers’ Blocks

Contrasting Parallel Plots: AN EMBER IN THE ASHES

An Ember in the Ashes is a young adult fantasy written by Sabaa Tahir and published in April, 2015. The novel is one of the best novels of 2015: NSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER AMAZON’S BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF 2015 PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD WINNER – FAVORITE FANTASY BUSTLE’S BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF 2015 This novel is a double narrative, but what really works … Continue reading Contrasting Parallel Plots: AN EMBER IN THE ASHES

Your First Page Delivers a Promise

The first page of your novel needs to deliver a promise. It must start with an emotion, with a connection with the protagonist, not with the weather, not with a dream, not with a philosophical bit. You must make your reader care. So your job is to make sure the reader can identify and sympathize with the protagonist. The first page does not start with … Continue reading Your First Page Delivers a Promise