I find myself, to my surprise, writing a novel in verse. Though I have written poetry in the past, novels in verse always seemed mysterious to me, almost as much so as the work of those sorcerer illustrators. How does one write a story, with narrative, out of a poem? How do you even begin a novel in verse? Eking out one poem feels like … Continue reading The Two Pieces of Advice that Made Writing A Verse Novel Seem Possible
Dear The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, I’ve been working on a series of posts on books that shaped me, and this month, I want to highlight Dana Alison Levy’s THE MISADVENTURES OF THE FAMILY FLETCHER. The Fletchers are a two-dad, four-son, two-to-four-pet household. The brothers are all adopted. Two are white, one is African-American, and one is Indian. The best part is that all … Continue reading Dear The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
We are coming to the end of another Poetry Month, and we would be remiss to let it go without highlighting a staggering new work by Nikki Grimes. ONE LAST WORD is an ode to the Harlem Renaissance, but also thoroughly modern. It utilizes the Golden Shovel form, in which a line from a previous poem, or the entire text of a short poem, is … Continue reading Windows & Mirrors: One Last Word
I’ve been writing love letters to books that shaped me, as a person and as a writer, and for this month, it’s Karen Foxlee’s Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy. I so enjoyed this book, a dreamy and beautiful retelling of the Snow Queen. What I want to talk about today, though, is how it influenced my writing. I write contemporary fantasies, and love to come … Continue reading Dear Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
Oh, this strange, wonderful, wise book. Every month, I’m writing a love letter to a book that has shaped me, and this month, it’s The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. For those poor souls who haven’t yet read this classic, it’s the story of Milo, who comes home from school one day to find a tollbooth addressed to him. He drives his toy car through … Continue reading Dear The Phantom Tollbooth
This is the second love letter in the series we’re doing about books that shaped us, as individuals and as writers. Last month, I wrote about a book that formed me as a person. This month, it’s the book that inspired me to write middle grade. I discovered Skellig, by David Almond, as an adult. I fell into it by accident, intrigued by its strange … Continue reading Dear Skellig
Welcome to a brand new series on The Winged Pen! Here, we write love letters to our favorite books—the ones that shaped us, as writers and as people. First up is the book that inspired me to start this series: Anne of Green Gables! In case you haven’t read it, L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables is the story of an orphan girl who, after … Continue reading Dear Anne of Green Gables
Adrienne Kress is so cool. She’s an actor, playwright, filmmaker, and director. She teaches drama to kids, and she has her own production company. Most importantly for our purposes here, she is an author, of fantastical middle grade adventure stories with daring girls and careful boys, absurd predicaments and narrow escapes. I first came to love Adrienne’s work when I read her book, ALEX AND … Continue reading Interview with Adrienne Kress
I recently found myself in a writing rut. A hectic home life, a stressful and stressed-out world, and somehow writing became both trivial and inaccessible. I could not connect with my creativity, and it felt self-indulgent even to try. Over dinner, a wise friend suggested a poetry challenge. Write a poem a day for thirty days, to clean out the spiders of doubt and despair, … Continue reading My Month of Poetry
This winter, I was able to serve as a judge for the Cybils, an award for children’s and young adult authors and illustrators. Established by bloggers, the Cybils recognize work that combines literary merit with popular appeal. I’d been following the Cybils for a few years, and knew that it was a well-respected award. I’m a book blogger, too, at Kid Book List, and when … Continue reading Behind the Scenes: My Experience as a Cybils Judge
Life has gotten really full. There are emails to answer, phone calls to make, and have you signed the kids up for summer camp yet? Enter the bullet journal. It’s basically a notebook into which you pour all of your appointments, tasks, plans, goals, lists, musings, and memories. And once you have it written down, you’ve captured it. That little thing that you’re afraid you’ll … Continue reading Bullet Journals for Writers
We are thrilled to have on the blog today Julie Leung, a debut author whose middle grade novel releases on October 4th. MICE OF THE ROUNDTABLE: A TAIL OF CAMELOT is an epic new middle grade series in the tradition of Redwall and Poppy, based on Arthurian legend and told from the perspective of Camelot’s most humble creatures: mice. Young mouse Calib Christopher dreams of becoming … Continue reading Author Interview–Julie Leung
