Persistence and the artistic dream in SOMEDAY, SOMEDAY, MAYBE by Lauren Graham
Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham is a charming and funny story of a young woman pursuing an artistic dream. I usually write about middle grade, young adult books, or writing craft books on this blog, but this story of a young woman pursuing the acting dream has lots of parallels with the writing life. […]
Looking in from the outside: Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series
Thick as Thieves came out in 2017 (Yay! I read it twice in a row!) and I’ve been enjoying re-reading Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series. She’s making me think about the story from an outsider’s perspective. Megan Whalen Turner’s beloved Eugenides character is showcased in a way that reminds me of Dorothy Dunnett’s […]
6 ways THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET shows its warm and funny heroine
Get handout Click here to download Six Ways to Reveal Character handout as a pdf with links to Karl Iglesias’ website and to WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT. I’ve been studying Karl Iglesias’ insightful and practical WRITING FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT while reading Nancy J. Cavanaugh‘s funny, charming, and warm THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO RATCHET for Middle […]
Think, Act, Speak: What order makes character reactions feel real?
Download graphic Infographic for Motivation Reaction Units. The best order for character reactions is feeling/thought, action (involuntary or voluntary), speech. You don’t have to include all the reactions every time, but they should be in this order. The reader will be able to take in the story with the least amount of friction. Do you […]
A Novel Way for Young Readers to Relate to Faith?
Last week, my husband and I visited Marburg, the town where we first met. In 2017, Marburg joined many cities in Germany in a celebration of Martin Luther and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Belief, politics, power all mixed together to shape Europe’s history. Events were planned all over Germany. The Playmobil company even […]
Exploring the world of Angie Sage’s MAGYK and FLYTE
What is reading but wandering inside of other people’s magical spells? Join me in this exploration of middle grade books (ages 9 to 12): Magyk by Angie Sage, Flyte by Angie Sage, and Jinx by Sage Blackwood.