Monthly Archives: March 2013

A Literary Schlep–4…er…5 Tips on Finishing Your Novel

Posted on March 26, 2013 by

I flew from DC to Northern California today. I bring this up because I was contemplating how odd it is that at 6am this morning (3am PST), I was heading off in my rental car to Dulles Airport, and at … Continue reading →

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5 Proven Ways to Wake Up the Draggy Bits in Your Novel

Posted on March 19, 2013 by

We’ve all been there. You’re at point A in your story. You can clearly visualize your destination: point B, when that next Wow moment happens. Point B is one of those scenes you’ve been looking forward to writing since you … Continue reading →

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Get Out that Broom (or a Shop Vac) to Tidy Up Your Writing

Posted on March 13, 2013 by

This week on YA Highway, Road Trip Wednesday asks, What do you hope to “clean out” from your writing? What habits/tropes/words, etc do you want to eliminate? Before I even clean anything out of my writing, I’d like to clean … Continue reading →

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Give Your Story Its Head? Or Keep it on a Tight Rein?

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

I am a horse person. Maybe better to say I am horse-obsessed. If I’m fast-forwarding past the commercials in a DVRed TV show, I’ll hit pause if I see a horse (gotta love those Budweiser Clydesdales). When I’m out driving … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Cats Horses and Other Pets, The Writing Life, Writing Craft | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Avoid the “Empty Calories” of Extraneous Scenes

Posted on March 9, 2013 by

I am an absolute nut for Junior Mints. I admittedly eat far too many of them in the course of the day, and then have to compensate for the indulgence with daily exercise. My passion for the sweet, minty, chocolate-coated … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Old Memories, Strongly Held Beliefs, The Writing Life, Writing Craft | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
Posted on March 9, 2013 by

Originally posted on karensandler:
Next up in my #LA11SCBWI wrap-up is The Art of the Deal, a fascinating workshop about how a book is acquired, presented by Brenda Bowen (agent with Sanford J Greenburger Associates, on the right) and Alessandra…

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Gol! How I met my goals when I thought I hadn’t set any

Posted on March 6, 2013 by

This week, YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday asks, where are you on your reading and writing goals? I have blogged before about how I don’t like setting goals and making resolutions. They kind of stress me out and bring up … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Conference Wisdom, The Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments