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Adding to Your Writer’s Arsenal: School Visits
I am a firm believer in a diverse portfolio. One way to thrive in the writing industry is to be more than just a writer. As my debut novel made its way onto bookshelves, I asked myself two important...
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Taking Advantage of Our Unpublished Work
Gather around the fire. Let’s tell a ghost story. I have a middle grade novel that releases next year. The series follows characters that train for their potential stories by attending Protagonist...
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Your Characters Should Want Things
A couple of months ago, I had the privilege of hearing Naomi Novik, author of UPROOTED and SPINNING SILVER, speak about fantasy and folklore at a local bookstore. She likened fairy tales to desire...
View ArticleBeating the Book Two Blues
I just got my second book into my publisher, which gives me a fresh perspective on that thing that people have written whole tomes on— the second book. The dreaded sophomore panic. Book two blues. It...
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A Few Gift Ideas for Your Readers
You forgot, didn’t you? In the adrenaline rush that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you actually forgot to get a very special person a present. Sure, you found your brother in-law that vacuum he...
View ArticleDeep Breath— There’s No Such Thing As A Waste
It’s that time of the year. We’re taking stock of what we’ve done, of what we’ve accomplished. There are lists and lists of the best books of the year, the best movies, the best of everything and then...
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The Querying Process Tool Kit
I’ve been watching a lot of Bob the Builder. My son loves anything with wheels. I’m a fan of British accents. The show works for both of us. One thing the show does very well is that it explains the...
View ArticlePlotters, Pantsers, and Bill Murray
It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are two types of writers— plotters and pantsers— and all writers love to talk about which ones they are. It’s a writing conversation starter. A...
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“Fun” With Spreadsheets: Tracking Your Writing Progress!
This is obviously a generalization, but I’ve noticed that quite a few of us writer-minded folk are not big fans of math and numbers. Building vast imaginary empires? Doable. Engineering a heist...
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A New Method for Antagonists
I’ve had the pleasure over the past few summers to teach at Duke Young Writers’ Camp. One of my favorite courses was a Dark Fiction class for middle grade students. It was an opportunity to walk young...
View ArticleWorking On Multiple Projects
I’ve never been the kind of writer who writes best with multiple projects cooking at once. Some of my friends are at their happiest and most productive when juggling at least two different stories...
View ArticleShutting Out the Cooks. Or, listening to yourself.
Hey y’all, It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I left my editor job, packed up my NYC apartment, then I went to Paris, and now I’m home home in Texas and this whole spiritual-existential crisis (aka...
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Beating Writer’s Block
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson When aspiring writers ask me for advice, the most common question I get is about overcoming writer’s block. I think perhaps the reason this question is asked so...
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What I’ve Learned by Writing a Trilogy
I’ve always been a sucker for a trilogy. It started with the countless Star Wars marathons my brothers and I watched together. From there, I’d pick up N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth series and Pierce...
View ArticleThere Is No Wrong Way To Write A Book
I was lucky enough to sit on a panel this weekend and I’ve been thinking about something that kept coming up— the process. The process is how you write a book. How you get from the start of a book all...
View ArticleLearning To Be A Better Writer Through Reading
Recently, I purchased THE ANATOMY OF STORY by John Truby, which has long been held up as a sort of Bible on craft for Hollywood screenwriters. I had seen a lot of praise for the book among fellow YA...
View ArticleWatch More Movies (For Real)
I’m a big believer in listening and paying attention to all of the stories around you. To the people who talk about their days in a compelling way. To the family histories. To books, yes. To...
View ArticleFinding the best agent for your career
Hey Readers, Hope you’re well! Happy June, Happy Pride Month. Gosh the time has flown—I swear it was just April, LOL. I often get asked for advice on querying and how to choose an agent. And usually...
View ArticleLaunching a Book is the Starting Line (Not the Finish Line)
Greetings people of the internet! I’m back on the other side of launching my second book! Woo hoo! I did it, right? I can chill out, relax. Maybe take a nice long bubble bath. [cue the laughter from...
View ArticleThe Edge of Discomfort
Hi everyone! I’m back from the other side of another deadline. I swear there’s some kind of gravitational pull between when I signed up on the posting schedule around here and when my books are due....
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