Writing
I guess I am fortunate in that I always have story ideas floating around in my head. I can listen to a conversation, see a headline or hear a news brief, and my mind starts to wander with the big question – What if…? If you have been writing for awhile, you have no doubt [...]
Recently, while at a book signing event, I talked with a person who was interested in writing for children and had a manuscript written, but wasn’t sure what age group her content would be targeted for. I didn’t know how to respond; as this is something that should be researched even before the ideas reach [...]
Continue reading about How Do You Know If You’ve Written Age Appropriate Content?
I am editing a young adult novel for teens, and upon first writing, I never censored myself. I wrote what dialogue came to my characters, and I like the story. One of my characters is an eighteen-year-old person, who has lived and survived on the streets for several years. My second character is an abused [...]
Continue reading about To Swear Or Not To Swear – That Is The Question
While you may not do hundreds of revisions when you finish a piece of writing, it is important that you do several revisions and ‘edit the editing’ over again. While looking for the regular problems, there are other things a writer (and editor) may reflect on too. I just finished reading, Pray For Silence (Minotaur [...]
Continue reading about Editing – Unique Stereotypes Need A Second Look
Writers are a tough bunch. Not afraid of a challenge, the 3-Day Novel Contest is something they can proudly say they’ve accomplished after the 72 hour time limit comes to a close. What does it take to write a novel in three days? Much confidence and tenacity, a love of writing, some craziness, and a [...]
Continue reading about The 34th Annual International 3-Day Novel Contest
My company, Wood Lily Publishers, received a call the other day from a person interested in getting published. Their loaded question, “How do I get published?”, caught me off guard for a moment. My mind raced frantically trying to sum up in a short answer all the information I had learned over the last fifteen [...]
Continue reading about Loaded Question about Getting Published
Writing is a craft, and like so many crafts, the more a writer can learn technically, the better their writing will become. With so many people writing today, there are an unlimited number of resources to improve the craft of writing. I’ve always been a writer, mostly through journal writing, but when I decided to [...]
I’ve touched briefly on the topic of entering writing contests before in a previous post, and the benefits, but I’d like to re-iterate some information here. I belong to the LinkedIn Children’s Publishing Group, the Aspiring Writers Group and the Aspiring Writers Blogs Group. At first I was tentative to join these groups, and even [...]
Continue reading about Writing Contests & Communities Prove Great Rewards
Writing for middle grade fiction is not easy. Age groups and their interest levels spell a big difference in their reading likes and dislikes. Middle grade readers can be divided up into ages 8 to 12, 10 and up, and young adults (YA) aged 12 and up. Depending on school systems and ages that children [...]
Have you ever considered writing to a specific audience outside of the norm? An author can sit down and write for a specific genre (i.e. science fiction, fantasy, and general fiction), age group and topic. What about writing for those kids who are reluctant readers? Kids, who have trouble reading at their level, but want [...]
Continue reading about Writing Hi-Lo Books for Reluctant Readers
