Tag: Writing Craft

Creativity and Craft, Master Your Craft

MYC: Chapter Endings, The End is Only the Beginning

Welcome to a bonus Master Your Craft post! We’ll still have our regular post Wednesday, and in the meantime… Chapter endings are like fish hooks. A hook alone can catch a fish, but it’s easier with a worm. So what lure can you use to entice readers to take the bait and keep turning pages? Two good options are “contagious” emotions and the sometimes-misunderstood cliffhanger. In Jonah … Continue reading MYC: Chapter Endings, The End is Only the Beginning

Rebecca Petruck3 Comments
image shows middle grade and young adult fiction books open with text face out
Creativity and Craft, Master Your Craft

MYC: Query Tips, Tricks and Tidbits

Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss writing a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Last week, we tried to answer the question Are you ready to query? So if you answered “YES!” this week, we aim to help you get your query drafted. Queries … Continue reading MYC: Query Tips, Tricks and Tidbits

Richelle MorganLeave a comment
Author, Conferences & writing retreats, Interviews, Writer's Life

Behinds the Scenes with Sera Rivers – Co-Director of the New England SCBWI Conference

Today I’m excited to talk with Sera Rivers. Sera is Co-Director of the 2018 New England SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference, along with Loretta Kapinos. The New England conference is the largest regional SCBWI conference with over 650 attendees annually. Sera’s also an editor and YA author, and winner of the 2016 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Children’s Book Discovery … Continue reading Behinds the Scenes with Sera Rivers – Co-Director of the New England SCBWI Conference

Rebecca J. AllenLeave a comment
Creativity and Craft, Master Your Craft

It’s BACK! Master Your Craft Returns

So you’ve finished your book, polished and pruned and read it through a few million times. What do you do now? The Winged Pen’s Master Your Craft (#WPMYC) Series is back to guide you through all the hard work that comes after you finally complete your novel. Next week, we’ll be tackling the very first question you should ask yourself when you’ve revised as much … Continue reading It’s BACK! Master Your Craft Returns

Richelle Morgan2 Comments
Creativity and Craft

The Magic of Friendship

I’m working on revising one novel and pre-writing another, and one thing keeps coming up with both projects: friendship. I have two teen daughters, and I can tell you that EVERYTHING revolves around friends. And I remember that from my own teenage years – friendships were all-consuming, intense, up and down, and central to my daily life. So as I’ve worked on these two projects, … Continue reading The Magic of Friendship

Richelle MorganLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Love Letters, Middle Grade

Dear Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy

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

Kate HillyerLeave a comment
Writer's Life

ICYMI: Winged Pen Highlights from 2017

The other day, several of us Pennies realized that it is now, in fact, 2018. Where did 2017 go?!? If you’re also wondering just what happened to 2017, welcome to our club! And to help you reorient yourself, we thought we’d revisit some of the Winged Pen 2017 highlights. If you missed a post last year, this one’s for you. (And feel free to sign … Continue reading ICYMI: Winged Pen Highlights from 2017

Richelle MorganLeave a comment
Contests, Four on 400

December Four on 400 Contest is Here!

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 December Four on 400 Contest is Here!

Gita Trelease31 Comments
image shows middle grade and young adult fiction books open with text face out
Creativity and Craft, Master Your Craft

MYC: Wrap-up

This week’s MYC post is going to be a bit different because instead of focusing on an aspect of writing a novel, this week, we’re focusing on YOU! So, THANK YOU for following along on our series, which addressed everything from finding a big idea for your story, to honing in on voice, to charging through that first draft, to tightening your manuscript and getting … Continue reading MYC: Wrap-up

Richelle Morgan4 Comments
Creativity and Craft, Master Your Craft

MYC: Do You Need Feedback? Yes!

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 Writing with Your 5 Senses  This week, we’re discussing feedback. Writing is a lonely business. We joke about our “co-workers” being animals and cups of coffee, and for the majority of the work, such as drafting and querying, that … Continue reading MYC: Do You Need Feedback? Yes!

Halli GomezLeave a comment
Book Recommendations, Craft Books, Creativity and Craft

Need Stronger Backstory for Your Characters? The Emotional Wound Thesaurus to the rescue!

At The Winged Pen, we’ve written about Angela Ackerman’s and Becca Puglisi’s wonderful writing books before. So we’re super excited to tell you about their newest one: The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Psychological Trauma. Yay!!!!! *shoots off rockets* A wound, in the writing world, is the hurt the main character carries around that keeps him or her holding onto a lie. A … Continue reading Need Stronger Backstory for Your Characters? The Emotional Wound Thesaurus to the rescue!

Laurel Decher2 Comments