Editing with a Jewelers Loupe
I had the privilege and pleasure of interviewing middle grade and YA author Maryrose Wood last night for our Wednesday night Writers Speak series at Stony Brook Southampton. Maryrose is everything you might wish the author of a delightfully satirical and superbly written series called The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place to be… smart, witty, [...]
Connecting the Dots – A Celebration
I’ve never thought of myself as much of a matchmaker, but today I feel like Yenta! You see, it’s the pub-date of a very special book, one that I played a small part in helping to bring about… But let’s start at the beginning. Cast of Characters Susan Verde – Superb educator, mom and author. [...]
Last Day to Register for the 2013 12 X 12 Picture Book Challenge!
Just a quick reminder that today is the last day to register for the 2013 12X12 Picture Book Challenge – your next opportunity will be 2014! This is a great way to maintain motivation, get your queries critiqued, connect with and submit to agents and more… You can click here to register: 12 X 12 [...]
Pay No Attention to That Writer Behind the Curtain!
One of my favorite speakers at the 2013 SCBWI winter conference was Mo Willems. No surprise, he’s also one of my favorite writers, and illustrators. Among the many witty, wise and irreverent pieces of writing advice he shared was this: “Be Invisible.” Hard to believe, but apparently, Mo once received a review that spoke of [...]
The “Common Core” – Crisis or Opportunity for Children’s Book Writers?
There were several recurring themes that emerged at the wonderfully inspiring SCBWI 2013 Winter Conference this past weekend. One was brightening and enriching the lives of children – our readership. (Seems obvious, but sometimes one loses sight of the forest for the trees.) Another was the new frontier that publishing in the digital age represents [...]
Would You Like a Query Critique from Me?
I blogged last week about jump-starting your writing resolutions with Julie Hedlund’s wonderful 12X12 in 2013 program for picture book authors, but here’s some further news that includes yours truly… Next week, from January 23-25th, I’ll be offering FREE query critiques for members of the 12X12 in 2013 program. If you’re a children’s book author and you haven’t already [...]
Support Your New Year’s Writing Resolutions!
Here’s a fabulous way to jumpstart your writing goals for 2013! My friend and colleague Julie Hedlund launched the first 12×12 initiative in 2012. Members were challenged to write a picture book draft a month, so as to conclude the year with 12 completed manuscripts. The idea took off like wildfire, with hundreds of members [...]
Writerly Intentions for 2013
I’ve written here before that I prefer setting goals to making resolutions, because they feel more positive and attainable, less like resolving not to do something and more like committing to a new behavior or action. This year, I’m choosing a new word – ‘intention.’ I like this word even better than goal, because it feels more [...]
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Presenting Your Work
Does the idea of reading your work in front of an audience terrify you? We’ve been discussing the subject of presenting your work on the Children’s Book Hub this month, and if you answered yes to the above question, you’re not alone. Many writers are drawn to writing because it’s something we can do alone, [...]
The Series Series, Part 6: Tracking Plot Details
When it comes to maintaining continuity of plot details in a series, it can be helpful to create a scene chart or a storyboard for each story as well as for the overall series itself. Some novelists use index cards or Post-it notes to build a storyboard, because they allow for manipulation of the sequence [...]
