Alternate Version Blogfest Entry!
Today, in honor of April Fool’s Day, I’m participating in the Alternate Version Blogfest being run by my friend and critique partner, Livia. You can check out the rest of the entries over at Livia’s blog, here. This is a small section from the second chapter of my work in progress, Listen (you can see another excerpt from Listen here). The kitchen smells seven kinds of bad. Singed turkey bacon mingles with eggs, toast, old coffee, kitchen sink compost, and damp newsprint....
Read MoreReading: What Makes a Book Satisfying?
Last week, I posted about what makes a book unsatisfying (it’s all about a poor resolution–sorry, Eve). But pinning down what makes a book satisfying isn’t as simple as writing out a list of opposites. Sure, a book with a great wrap up might be a good read, but there’s more to a satisfying book than that. Reading–moreover, enjoying–a book is a very subjective thing. So far this month, I’ve read just one completely satisfying book – Megan Whalen Turner’s The...
Read MoreWriting YA: Reading Deeply to Write Deeply
We all do it, right? Glance at a group of letters, pull out a word. Reading is so ingrained in our minds that it’s almost impossible to not read signs, titles, anything with words on. But there’s reading, and then there’s reading. Today, reading mostly falls into two categories: reading for pleasure, and reading for information. Reading as an art–really reading, reading deeper, to get within a story, to pick it to pieces and learn how it works–is fast becoming forgotten. But...
Read MoreWriting YA: What Familiar Style is & Why You Should Use It
Young adult fiction is full of phonies. It’s not surprising–after all, the majority of YA is written by authors in their twenties, at the least. And teen vernacular is always changing. Words that were popular a few years ago (“wicked” comes to mind) are dated now, pushed aside as a new crop of words creeps in. But forced coolness and past-their-teen authors are just the tip of the phony iceberg. The true issue, lurking like only a giant, submerged slab of ice can, is style. In terms...
Read MorePG Love Scene Blogfest Post
I’ve never participated in a blogfest before (though I often read them) due to lack of time. But some of my current work actually fits the PG-love scene blogfest, so I’m going to cheat a little and use it instead of writing something fresh. Feedback and comments are, as always, welcome. P.S. I should have added that this blogfest is hosted by the fun (and prolific!) Simon C. Larter, over at Constant Revisions. Now, without further ado… Everything will be okay. Cool, fresh...
Read MoreHolidays: 5 Kids’ Books About Valentine’s Day
Missing Valentine’s Day already? Keep the love going with these few sweet picks from the kids’ staff at the Harvard Coop Bookstore. Get a PDF of the whole list here. Love, Splat (Splat the Cat), Rob Scotton From SLJ: In this follow-up to Splat the Cat (HarperCollins, 2008), the fuzzy black feline learns that bigger isn’t better when it comes to Valentine’s Day cards. Splat has a crush on Kitten, a fluffy white cat with pea-green eyes, but he isn’t the only one....
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