I write contemporary tween books for girls and I’m often asked–what is the difference between contemporary middle grade and contemporary tween books? Tween, while originally more widely used by marketers, has also come to mean literature that is aimed at kids ages, 10-12ish–in other words, the upper end of middle grade. It is considered a […]
Why I Need Silence to Write
Noise chases me. And when someone chases me, I run. Why? Well, I prefer silence in order to write. I know that this is not how everyone operates. Friends and colleagues post their playlists as they write. Wow. How do they do this? When I hear music my mind is pulled away from my own […]
My Favorite Word, Onomatopoeia and Scott Westerfeld
I have to tell you that I love the word linger. I feel as if I linger over the word as I read it out loud or say it in my head. This is probably because of the hard g followed by the prefix –er, which comes from deep inside the throat. It forces me […]
Lies I Tell Myself and Placeholders in the First Draft
Word choice is so important but I don’t like to get too hung up about it the first time. Okay, I lie. I do obsess but I know I shouldn’t. Why? Well, chances are I’m going to cut my first few chapters anyway. My plots never really get going until chapter three. Why do I […]
How Many Hours Do You Need to Write Each Day?
How many hours ideally would you like to write each day? Two? Four? Ten? I used to have this idea that the goal was always more. And that if I had more time, I’d have more pages and better pages, which would result in more books and better books. But, recently, I’m revising this idea. […]
Action Verbs for Fighting Scenes
Last week, a student in my tutorial at Hollins University delivered a presentation on techniques to bolster fighting scenes. Now I have to confess that I’m the sort of person who covers her eyes during fighting sequences in film. I was the kid who would watch the television show LOST IN SPACE, a campy science […]