A Peek Inside the Author Debut Group
Debut groups. What writers with their first publishing contracts are a part of. Ah, the dream! For years I’ve seen the hashtags of debut groups. We’ve all heard of the most recent Novel19s and Roaring20s, right? As soon as I had serious interest in my young adult novel, List of Ten, I realized I was clueless about the next steps. If my book sold, what would … Continue reading A Peek Inside the Author Debut Group
Recommended: THE OCCUPATION THESAURUS by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi
What if you could fast-track the reader’s understanding of a character without chunky paragraphs of description that kill the story’s pace? And what if you could use a common element of daily life to explore story goals, relationships, themes, and even the character’s internal growth? You can. It’s time to activate the power of your character’s occupation… Continue reading Recommended: THE OCCUPATION THESAURUS by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi
Using Canva to Create Graphics: An Intro for Writers & Bloggers
I wrote a post last month on 8 Writing Tools We Love. It made me think about another writing tool I use frequently that both writers and bloggers could benefit from: Canva.
Canva is a great online graphic design tool and you don’t need to be a pro to use it. I discovered Canva when Richelle wrote a post about DIY Infographics and I wanted to give them a try. Graphics are great when you want to use images other than just photos in blog posts. . . Continue reading Using Canva to Create Graphics: An Intro for Writers & Bloggers
Socially Distant, but Still Connected
For all of us writers, one of the difficult things about the pandemic has been the cancellation of so many of the annual conferences that we depend on for continuing education, camaraderie, critiques and just general get-out-from-behind-our-desks opportunities. But even though our in-person connections may have been curtailed this year, there are still a ton of ways to experience the networking and learning of a … Continue reading Socially Distant, but Still Connected
Amplifying Black Voices
All of us at The Winged Pen stand in solidarity with the Black community and their pursuit of justice. Black Lives Matter. Recent events have taken a toll on all of us. While we will try to continue to post about kidlit, writing, and the writing life, we all felt very strongly that we needed to direct our audience toward those voices that need to … Continue reading Amplifying Black Voices
8 Writing Tools We Love
The most important thing when you’re writing is the words, but it helps you to have some tools to speed the writing process along. Here are 8 tools we love and use for writing fiction. They help with writing blog posts and freelance jobs too.
We hope you find a couple tools on this list that are helpful for you!
1. Grammarly
Continue reading 8 Writing Tools We Love
Road Trip!
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!
Recommended: MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM by Rajani LaRocca
This book has been on my TBR for a while and once I started it, I was mad at myself for waiting so long!
It’s the story of Mimi, the youngest of four kids and a budding baker. Mimi. . . Continue reading Recommended: MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM by Rajani LaRocca
Book Announcement: LIST OF TEN by Halli Gomez
We’re thrilled to announce that LIST OF TEN, an #ownvoices young adult contemporary novel by Halli Gomez, will be published spring, 2021 by Sterling Children’s Books!
Since Halli is one of our own, we wanted to get the inside scoop on her path to publication. Continue reading Book Announcement: LIST OF TEN by Halli Gomez
Rebel in the Library of Ever – Publishing During Self-Quarantine
The follow-up to Zeno Alexander’s acclaimed middle-grade fantasy THE LIBRARY OF EVER features a dangerous takeover of the magical Library as our heroine fights to make knowledge free for everyone. We are thrilled to have Zeno Alexander at The Winged Pen talking about the newest adventures of Lenora and the Library of Ever, as well as his thoughts on publishing in this alternate reality. Lenora returns to … Continue reading Rebel in the Library of Ever – Publishing During Self-Quarantine
Quarantine Creativity Boost
I don’t know about you, but I’m on my way to rocking the quarantine fifteen, and before this is over, I’ll have passed the quaranineteen. And as I plop myself down at my desk every morning, I’m realizing that it’s just as important to feed our minds as it is our bodies… Continue reading Quarantine Creativity Boost
The Book with Answers to All Your Publishing Questions – BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL
“For the dreamers who sat down to tell a story that no one asked them to write.” – Before and After the Book Deal I am a dreamer and because you are here, you must be too. That also means you have questions and lots of them. I do not have all of the answers, but I can direct you to a book that does. … Continue reading The Book with Answers to All Your Publishing Questions – BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL