It’s easy to go to a writing conference and think that there is only one road to a published book: Agent–> Editor–> Publisher–> New York Times Bestselling Author. 🙂
Many children’s books are produced by a completely different path. With a Work-For-Hire project… Continue reading WHAT HAPPENED? Halli Gomez, Rebecca J. Allen and the Work-for-Hire Writing Process
I slid
down a sentence and bumped into a period. I paused, before entering a new sentence, which turned this way and that…
Who is ready for WriteOnCon? You know we are! For those who can’t wait until next week, I am going to give you a sneak peek into my presentation about neurodiversity. The entire presentation will be shown on Sunday, February 23, 2020, from 12:00 – 12:30 pm EST. Of course, if you get an extended ticket, you can view all events throughout March 22, 2020. … Continue reading Writing Neurodiverse Characters Responsibly
WriteOnCon 2020 is right around the corner, Friday, February 21st – Sunday the 23rd. This year, Halli and I will both be speaking at the conference, so we wanted to share info on the talks we’ll be giving as well as topics we’re excited about in the line-up… Continue reading WriteOnCon 2020 – An Online Kidlit Writers’ Conference
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
Holy moly! A new year. A new decade. Both come with excitement, motivation, and promise. But they also come with stress. If you’re like most people, you didn’t get a lot of writing done during the holidays. Either you were enjoying a house filled with friends and family, filling someone else’s house with holiday cheer, or hanging out at home stuck in a sugar rush-crash-rush-crash … Continue reading Jump Back into Writing With a Hop
Can posture improve your writing? This was a question I pondered when author Amber Smith visited me for a few days. In my efforts to be a good host, I kept trying to encourage her to write in “comfy” spots, like my soft couch or a beanbag chair outside. She confessed she had to sit upright at a desk or table to feel like she … Continue reading MYC: Sit Up Straight!
First pages of a manuscript are tough to get right. Advice generally encourages writers to jump into the action to hook readers, but readers need a certain amount of information first in order to care about the people or events. I’ve written about this before in my post “Let the Main Character Drive the Bus,” and now I’d like to come at it from a … Continue reading MYC: The Hook & the Backpedal
What is WriteOnCon? It’s an online kidlit writing conference. In recent years, Seabrooke Leckie and her team have expanded it to cover picture book critiques and also to include live workshops, vlog presentations, blogs on writing craft and pitching to agents… Continue reading We’re Speaking at WriteOnCon!
A sprint is a timed exercise for writers, usually used to get lots of words onto the page. Today, six of our Winged Pen members give their 7 best sprinting tips. Let it fly! Laurel Decher: Chris Fox’s 5,000 Words Per Hour reminded me that it isn’t always about getting more words or the right voice. I made myself a doodle: 1. I want to … Continue reading A Winged Pen Round-Up: 7 Best Tips for Writing Sprints
LEARNING ABOUT WRITING BY NOT WRITING. WHAT? I have a summer writing assignment for you but don’t worry, it won’t be graded and it’s something you can do with family and friends. It doesn’t even require pen, paper, or opening a Word document. But trust me, it will help your writing tremendously. Here’s what you need: A TV or computer, a comfortable chair, pillow and … Continue reading Writing Homework: Watch TV
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
