Tag: middle grade

Contests, Feedback, Four on 400

Four on 400 December Contest Feedback

Thank you to all the brave souls who entered this month’s Four on 400 contest! Sharing your writing takes courage, and we appreciate your enthusiasm for our contest.Below, we’ve posted the first 400 words from this month’s winner, along with feedback from at least four of our members. We also encourage our readers to share their (constructive) suggestions and encouragement in the comments section below. THE BOY WHO … Continue reading Four on 400 December Contest Feedback

Julie ArtzLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade

Middle Grade Fantasy: A Roundup of Modern Classics

Part of the fun of writing fiction is that you never know exactly what’s going to happen when you sit down at your desk. Still, I have generally leaned toward writing realistic, contemporary stories, and that’s what I’ve read for the last several years (to the exclusion of nearly everything else). So when I started on my current work-in-progress, the last thing I expected was … Continue reading Middle Grade Fantasy: A Roundup of Modern Classics

Jessica VitalisLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Love Letters, Middle Grade

Dear The Phantom Tollbooth

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

Kate Hillyer2 Comments
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Young Adult

Holiday Gift Ideas: The Winged Pen’s Favorite Books

Halloween is over. Thanksgiving is in ten days. That means the gift-giving season is right around the corner! For most of us, it’s panic time. But the Pennies at The Winged Pen are going to make this holiday season easier for you. Below are some of our favorite books. They are great choices for the readers in your life (including yourself!) Gita  City of Saints … Continue reading Holiday Gift Ideas: The Winged Pen’s Favorite Books

Halli Gomez2 Comments
Contests, Four on 400

November Four on 400 Contest Window is Now Open!

Q: What is Four on 400?  A monthly contest that provides ONE LUCKY MG or YA WRITER with feedback on their opening 400 WORDS! As part of our ongoing mission to support writers, we’ll give a MG or YA writer feedback on their work from four of The Winged Pen’s contributors. Q: Sounds exciting! How do I enter? To enter, simply comment at the bottom of this post! At 4pm (EST) … Continue reading November Four on 400 Contest Window is Now Open!

Gita Trelease17 Comments
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Young Adult

Books That Scared the Bejeesus out of Us

Though I relish everything having to do with ghosts and monsters, I’m also the person who levitates off the sofa during every single jump scare in “Stranger Things,” much to the amusement of my son. Today is Halloween, a time when, it’s said, the veil between the living and the dead grows thin, and we’re allowed both to scare and be scared. It got me … Continue reading Books That Scared the Bejeesus out of Us

Gita Trelease2 Comments
Interviews, Middle Grade

Q&A with Middle Grade Author Julie Leung

Julie, congratulations on the release of your latest book, Mice of the Round Table (Voyage to Avalon) and welcome to The Winged Pen! Your cover is gorgeous––tell us about the story. Julie: Young mouse Calib Christopher has nearly completed his training to become a squire to the Knights of Camelot when news of a deadly plague reaches the castle. Soon all of Camelot is showing … Continue reading Q&A with Middle Grade Author Julie Leung

Jessica VitalisLeave a comment
Creativity and Craft, Master Your Craft

MYC: Make Your Story Fit Your Reader

Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss prewriting and drafting a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last week, we talked about Creating Interesting Dialogue and Description. This week, we’ll discuss making sure the content and sentence, paragraph, chapter, and word count work for your reader. As you are revising, one important step in the process is to make sure … Continue reading MYC: Make Your Story Fit Your Reader

Michelle Leonard1 Comment
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Young Adult

Native American Literature for Young Readers

Happy Indigenous People’s Day! As the wind turns from humid to crisp and the leaves begin to change colors, we can’t help but think about Thanksgiving and our mixed feelings about this celebration. My education about Native Americans as a child was woefully inadequate and wrong for the most part. Understanding that our childhood views of colonialism were misrepresented is important to our history, our … Continue reading Native American Literature for Young Readers

Michelle Leonard2 Comments
Book Recommendations, Middle Grade, Young Adult

Fall Releases on Our Radar!

Fall makes me long for crisply cool, slightly overcast days. Why? On days like this, I enjoy exerting myself in the yard, cleaning up my summer gardens and preparing the cool season garden, and then hopping in the hammock with a book. Here are a few new releases for fall that have caught my attention. Picture Books Miguel’s Brave Knight: Young Cervantes and His Dream … Continue reading Fall Releases on Our Radar!

Michelle Leonard6 Comments
Book Recommendations, Love Letters, Young Adult

Dear Anne of Green Gables

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

Kate Hillyer8 Comments