The story of the word count I imagine most resembles the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The aspiring writer steps into a publishing house,
Category: Writing
Commonly Confused Commas
Writers of all ages struggle with proper comma usage. As a writer myself, I agree that plot, characters, and word choice are infinitely more important
Me? A Mentor for Writing with the Stars?
By Paul Czajak Ever since my first SCBWI conference I have touted the importance of attending these functions to every writer who asks me how
ReFoReMo 2017 Presenters Revealed
Reading for Research 2017 Challege!
Want to Know Your Characters? Try a Character Sketch.
By Dana Nuenighoff One of the hardest aspects of writing a novel, a good novel, is creating characters that are relatable. Whether you’re writing a
The Making-Of the NESCBWI17 Logo
By Sarah Lynne Reul Last summer, I was honored to be selected as the illustrator for the NESCBWI17 logo. The logo is used as a
3 Ways to Keep Writing Resolutions
I’ve written resolutions on New Year’s Day faithfully since I was 8 year old. And somehow writing resolutions have almost always appeared. Some years I needed the writing resolutions more than others. Until I got married, I hardly needed them…I have 65 filled journals to prove my writing was free and unfettered!
The Plotter, Pantsed
By Dianna Sanchez Recently, I baked banana cookies. I was doing a series of posts on holiday recipes because my book, A Witch’s Kitchen,
Meet Heather Lang, Children’s Author of Lesser-Known Women
CAROL GORDON EKSTER: Heather, I love that you write children’s books about real women who overcame extraordinary obstacles and never gave up on their dreams. And
World of Books: Turkey and Germany
As we start this new year 2017 of writing and illustrating books, consider all the children of this earth. Universal themes underlie the best stories
Book Review: BIG MAGIC: Creative Living Beyond Fear
I didn’t expect to read about being creative over my holiday vacation week. I expected to BE creative, to do some writing during a family
Meet #kidlit debut middle grade author, Alyson Gerber
Carol Gordon Ekster: I had the pleasure of living in the same town as Alyson and watching her grow up into a beautiful, intelligent, and
So You Didn’t Win #NaNoWriMo
By Dana Nuenighoff With end of November last week, many people in the writing community struggled with finishing their 50K word goal for NaNoWriMo. If
Odyssey Online Writing Courses: Intense Focus, Great Results
Last winter my novel got wrung out, taken apart, and put back together. It was praised and constructively critiqued by classmates from nearby towns and
WRITERS' RUMPUS 