Contributed by Team Member Suzanne Lieurance You can be a best-selling author! Is that true? Maybe. Maybe not. But I’ll bet I got your attention with that statement. And that’s exactly what you want to do if you hope to write novels and short stories (even nonfiction articles) that sell – grab your reader’s attention…
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Writing Fiction – What is Foreshadowing?
Foreshadowing is a literary device used to make the reader wonder. It gives the story a sense of mystery or anticipation. It can also create tension. According to Literary Devices (1), using this device, “a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.” Foreshadowing is a great device to…
Borrowing from the Superheroes
Contributed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson One of the articles [in The Smithsonian] was inspired by the movie, Man of Steel. They take up how “superhero origin stories inspire us to cope with adversity.” The elements that make superheroes so popular can work with characters in any kind of fiction you may write (or read). Here are…
Writing Fantasy for Children
Before I get into this article, for those who don’t know the difference between science fiction and fantasy, here it is: Science fiction is based on scientific possibilities, even if loosely based on those possibilities or far-fetched. Fantasy stories are based on magic or supernatural occurrences. I’d say more than half of my clients want…
Writing Perfection – Is There Such a Thing?
As with life, some people think everything has to be perfect before they start their writing journey or continue on one. It may be they don’t think they’ve mastered the craft of writing to perfection. Or, maybe the writer has started her story, but can’t seem to achieve the perfection she’s looking for. She believes…
A Writer’s Number One Job
Writers have to do a lot to create a good story, but the number one thing is to create a connection. You must make the reader care. Although it’s the most important element of your job, lots of writers just don’t get it right. According to Mary Kole of KidLit, “Whether they name emotions outright,…
Submitting to Publishers and Agents – Is There a Best Time?
Lately, I’ve had a number of clients who are going the traditional publishing route. Some are querying directly to book publishers and a couple are querying literary agents. Having helped a number of those clients with their query letters, not one of them could wait to submit the query, even if their book had just…
4 Must-Know Tips to Writing Better Story Endings
Contributed by team member Suzanne Lieurance Many writers have trouble coming up with the perfect ending for a story. And the perfect ending is really important because it is often the ending of a story that people remember most. That’s because a good ending ties everything together and leaves the reader feeling satisfied. To write…
The Business Side of Publishing a Picture Book
In a children’s picture book workshop, the editor (from Scholastic) delved into why editors are so choosy when finding their next project. ‘Children’s books’ is a business. And like any other business, publishing houses think profit and loss. The editors are very aware of this and their reputation depends on them finding stories that will…
Picture Books – What Grabs an Editor
I attended a ‘live’ two-hour writing workshop through SCBWI: Hook, Line, and Sinker: What Catches the Editor’s Eye with Scholastic editor Natalia Remis. It was an amazing workshop, and not only was the information excellent, but the editor gave the first page of the attendees’ manuscripts a critique! I try to keep up with the…