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
Meet The Winged Pen’s Pitch Wars Mentors
Laurel joked on Twitter, “I kind of hate to tell other writers that our @WingedPen CP’s are #PitchWars mentors. I mean, they’re a trade secret!” I agree! But they are so generous to donate their time and wisdom to helping other writers get through a major manuscript revision. So, all of us at The Winged Pen want to make sure everyone knows how awesome they … Continue reading Meet The Winged Pen’s Pitch Wars Mentors
Summer Road Trip Read Alouds
It’s summer road trip season, and in our family, that means I’m on the lookout for great books for reading out loud. That’s our favorite way to while away the hours speeding down the highways and back roads. Not all books are great for reading aloud. To me, the key is that the plot has to be relatively straightforward (in case someone zones out for … Continue reading Summer Road Trip Read Alouds
The Confusing World of Genres
I’ve always been intrigued by a book’s title. I mean, how awesome is AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie. For most of my life, that’s how I chose books. Or so I thought. One day I stopped drooling over the shelves and shelves of books at my local bookstore and paid attention to my surroundings. I was smack dab in the middle of … Continue reading The Confusing World of Genres
The Seven Stages of Writerly Grief
You’ve heard of the seven stages of grief, but did you know that writers go through those seven stages of writerly grief when they receive feedback on their work? Well they do. Here’s how it happens (and how to survive it). We all know how important beta feedback is to the writing process. And we’ve all heard that getting “thicker skin” is part of writing as well. … Continue reading The Seven Stages of Writerly Grief
Fear, Fan-girling and Flambé: SCBWI Oregon Conference Recap
Recently, two of our Winged Pen members attended the SCBWI Oregon Conference. We sat down with them to talk about what they learned. What was the most inspirational moment of the conference for you? Richelle: Lately, I’ve been focusing on the joy of following my own quirky path – in writing and in life. So I was very inspired by Victoria Jamieson’s keynote, which was … Continue reading Fear, Fan-girling and Flambé: SCBWI Oregon Conference Recap
My Community – An Evolution
When I left my third grade teaching position of sixteen years, I knew I was leaving behind something important – my community. In a classroom, community presses in on you whether you want it or not. Students hover around you like bees. You’re injected into the personal lives of families participating in crippling family events and decisions. For an introvert this intensity leads to exhaustion. But the … Continue reading My Community – An Evolution
8 on Eight: July Contest Feedback
Thank you to all the brave souls who entered this month’s 8 on Eight contest! Sharing your writing takes courage, and we appreciate your enthusiasm for our contest. If your name wasn’t drawn from the Triwizard cup this time around, keep an eye out for when our next contest window opens at 8 PM on July 31st. Below, we’ve posted the first 8 lines from this month’s winner, along … Continue reading 8 on Eight: July Contest Feedback
Keeping the Words Flowing
Back when we were the age of the kids we write for, summer used to mean long, hot, lazy days filled with reading, outdoor fun, and friends. But for writers, summer can be a huge time of distraction. Schedule changes like vacations and having kids home from school for the summer months can really eat into my writing time. So I asked my fellow Winged … Continue reading Keeping the Words Flowing
The 8 on Eight Contest Window is Open!
Fellow writers! The 8 on Eight contest window is OPEN! Q: I must have missed the announcement. What is 8 on Eight? A monthly contest that provides one lucky kidlit writer with feedback on their opening eight lines! As part of our ongoing mission to support writers, we’ll give a PB, MG, or YA writer feedback on their work from at least 8 of The Winged Pen’s contributors. … Continue reading The 8 on Eight Contest Window is Open!
Secrets of a Great Author Photo: An Interview with Pam Vaughan
I met Pam Vaughan at my first NESCBWI (New England Society of Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators) Conference in 2014. At the time, I was overwhelmed by the awesome authors all around me and my mind buzzed with all I was learning from the great workshops on craft and the publishing industry. I kept catching glimpses of Pam running around everywhere with her camera. I … Continue reading Secrets of a Great Author Photo: An Interview with Pam Vaughan
Where Do You Write?
One of the great things about writing is that there’s no wrong way to do it…as long as words are getting logged somewhere. Anywhere. On a laptop, in a notebook, on thick, creamy paper, or in a recording on a cell phone to be transcribed later. But with all these options, we all have our own comfortable patterns we fall into. Two members of The … Continue reading Where Do You Write?