When I started writing, I understood the writing process. I knew the importance of learning as much as possible about the craft as well as the publishing industry. But it took me a while to learn the importance of feedback from other writers.
Comments from my critique partners (and group) have helped me become a much better writer. Each of the critiquers have strengths and contribute to my work in important ways.
I met my first critique partner at a writing workshop. Another I met in an online kidlit writing group. We began exchanging magazine articles, picture book manuscripts, and chapters of longer work. We even share cover letters and resumes.
My writing partners point out big picture weaknesses (and strengths) as well as minor word choice possibilities for improvement. I expected that. One thing that surprised me was how much I learned by studying their writing pieces. As I read their writing, much of their writing techniques resonated with me. So…I improved even more.
We become better writers as we share manuscripts with one another.
Accountability
Reading
Time
Critique partners provide much of that accountability that makes me a better writer—a successful writer. Thanks to them, books like The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide and the picture book Whooo Knew? The Truth about Owls are two of my new books.
Anna Karenina. Hamlet. Pride and Prejudice. These texts are part of a well-established cannon; not reading them (or liking them) feels akin to committing a literary misdemeanor. But I’ll admit it: Hamlet… doesn’t really do it for me. Ophelia doesn’t get enough time on stage and the plot thickens to tapioca-pudding levels in later acts. That’s why I love adaptations. When the original story feels inaccessible, a good modern adaptation brings the central themes and conflicts into twenty-first century life.
I’ve always been a voracious reader, but now that I’m about to have a debut novel published, I see books as an author’s creation rather than just a story I consume, and enjoy, and feel things about. I know more about the work and hardship that most likely happened for the book to be in my hands. For me to have even heard of it in the first place now feels like a small miracle because so many good books aren’t widely known, and thus aren’t read.
In the early 1970s my brother-in-law, Mark, published a pornographic novel. No one I knew had read it, except my sister. She said that Mark’s book contained graphic sex every few pages because an agent told him that sex sells. It didn’t for Mark. At a family gathering shortly after the publication, a small group of us surrounded the proud new author. My devoutly religious mother was curious about Mark’s creative process.
There’s a cat lady in my novella, Great Expectations. She conforms to many aspects of the stereotype: she’s a misanthrope who lives alone with several felines. But Amanda Carey is so much more than a cat-lady. She’s smart and more sensitive than she seems; she is aware of the ridiculousness of her cat-situation (and has been known to curse at her cats and even handle them un-gently); and, unfortunately, she’s still reeling from some acutely painful past experiences. She’s a survivor and a fighter. Part of her embrace of cats (and her estrangement from other humans) is a response to trauma.
Imagine this scenario: You’re walking down the street on a warm spring day, enjoying the shop windows full of artfully displayed wares. People smile and nod. Some wave. Some pause to admire you as you pass them by. One or two even whistle in appreciation.
If you want to be an aspiring writer, you need to learn about the advantages of extensive reading. Strong reading habits allow us to write exciting blog posts, interesting stories, and so on. Active readers know that the attributes such as syntax control, correct word choice, and creative writing strategies can be obtained through reading. While doing so, you will also incorporate the new skills into your writing ability.
For as long as I can remember, I have thought of myself as a collector. This became most true while working on Pages Penned in Pandemic: A Collective during the end of 2020 and into this new year. And while my best friend and co-editor, Justin Maher, couldn’t wait to begin assembling the work within this book, I must admit the task felt daunting.
The rise of self-publishing and the prevalence of the ebook means that readers can access more books whenever, wherever. And with all this choice at their fingertips, a trustworthy review that helps readers navigate the ever-growing maze of books is more valuable than ever!
Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who's on the run from her father's Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida. Until Manu's protective bubble is shattered.
Every avid reader dreams about having their own personal reading nook. So, if you’re one of them, you’re at the right place since we’ll now discuss some of the amazing ways how to design it and incorporate it into the rest of your home design. Feel free to take a look at our ideas and add your personal touch to them as well.
While you can always count on your laptop or any regular old notebook to get your ideas down when you really need to write, there's tons of gadgets out there to make your writing even easier!
Recently, my husband and I watched The Truman Show on Netflix. I had first watched this movie in middle school as a part of my language arts class. It had a huge impact on me and when I found out Daniel had never seen it before, I was excited to show it to him. The movie lived up to my memory and, in talking to Daniel about it, it also gave me a writing epiphany!
Pacing in fiction has always been one of my great struggles because I get excited about a scene idea and rush to get there. It’s finally sinking in though that I need to slow down in order to get the interiority I want for my narrator and protagonist. But how do you slow down the pace of a scene? The trick is knowing when to show versus tell.
Last week we got the chance to talk about some of the faux-pas writers have encountered with their friends in the past. It probably left you with some questions about what exactly could you do if you didn't want to offend your friends? Here's some ideas!
NaNoWriMo starts in exactly two days and every writer on twitter is either jumping with excitement or trying not to cry with despair. It's the most exhilarating and terrifying month of the year. If you're not in the know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and is hosted by the Non-Profit Group NaNoWriMo. It's a challenge to write 50,000 words in one month, which is roughly 1667 words per day. So let's get down to it, what exactly are you going to write?
As I'm getting ready to start this grand experiment into running my author's website and blog, after managing other business' pages for over three years, I'm reminded of an open mic night or any reading, actually. I'm standing at the podium (or in my undergraduate days, standing in the middle of the smoker's patio with a security light shining behind me on a semi-frigid night right before mid-terms) and all eyes are on me. I've been practicing my reading for a week straight, nipped and tucked to fit a scene into a five-minute time slot, and have decided this is as good as it's going to get.
From the outside, the process of organizing a collection of work should seem the same no matter the project. While it’s true that the steps remain similar, each time a book comes to life, the experience is different.