Writing picture books is hard. It doesn’t matter if you’ve written one or one hundred, just ask Jane Yolen or Mo Willems or John Klassen. But good news is if you keep writing and reading picture books, you will get better! Don’t think your way into your story–feel your way in. Instead of seeing your characters as separate, become your character. For example, if you’re writing … Continue reading 8 Tips for Writing Picture Books
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 reviewed our treasure trove of pre-writing posts. Today we’re on to starting — and keeping going on — your first draft. You’ve finally arrived. You’ve got your coffee (or tea), your snacks, your favorite writing socks. Your writing space is … Continue reading MYC: Conquering the Dreaded Blank Page (and other drafting tricks)
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 continued our series with Two Approaches to Fantasy World Building. Today we continue with world building by looking at two approaches to science fiction world building. After reading Julie and Gabby’s post last week, we actually considered not writing this post. … Continue reading MYC: Two Approaches to World Building for Science Fiction
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 continued our series with Setting as a Character. For the next few weeks, we will be talking about the humongous and intimidating topic of world building. Today we start by looking at the topic as a whole and how it … Continue reading MYC: Welcome to World Building
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 continued our series on research with Notes from a Time Traveler This week we are talking about setting, but not just as a background for your character. We’re going to look at setting as a character in itself.We move … Continue reading MYC: Setting as a Character
Do you like books with monsters and magic? Heroes and epic journeys? On June 6th, 2017 at a bookstore near you, one of the most imaginative books I’ve read in a long while will be released into the world. LORD of MONSTERS is the 2nd book in the OUT of ABATON series, and this Pinocchio retelling is sure to please. Goodreads | Amazon … Continue reading LORD of MONSTERS by John Bemis
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 continued our series with an introductory post on research. This week, we’ll share our thoughts on digging into historical research. For years I was haunted by a dream of a young woman walking through long grass. I couldn’t see her face, … Continue reading Writing Historical Fiction, or, Notes from a Time Traveler
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 continued our series with a post on voice. This week, we’ll share our thoughts on research. Research can mean different things depending on the type of book you’re writing. Rebecca writes science fiction based in contemporary settings. Gita writes historical fantasy. You … Continue reading MYC: Research – Make Your Story Believable
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 continued our series on character development with a warning to not let our friends write bad books!! This week we’ll tackle the ever-elusive craft of VOICE! Some of you may ask: Why is voice part of character development? Well, friend, I’m soooo … Continue reading MYC: Finding Your Voice
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 continued our series on character development with a Pantser’s Guide to Character Development. This week, we’ll share a method of using a long-form, messy synopsis to get early feedback from your critique partners. Because friends don’t let friends write … Continue reading MYC: Friends Don’t Let Friends Write Bad Books
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 covered Developing Main Characters. This week, I’ll discuss Developing Supporting Characters. The Supporting Characters’ Job The purpose of a supporting character is to add depth to the protagonist by helping the reader understand how the main character interacts with others and … Continue reading MYC: Developing Supporting Characters
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 covered the Big Idea and using Creativity to help you Create Loglines. This week, I’ll discuss Developing Main Characters. Character development is critical to your story’s success and one of your most important pre-writing activities. You can probably begin … Continue reading MYC: Build Your Main Character
