Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Writer & Illustrator Resources
    • General
    • Picture Book Support
    • MG / YA Support
    • KidLit Graphic Novel Resources
    • Querying & Submitting
    • Online Motivators & Critique Groups
    • More Helpful Blogs & Books

WRITERS' RUMPUS

Authors & Illustrators Wild About Kidlit!

  • Writing
    • Critiquing & Community
    • Picture Books
      • Picture Book Support
    • Middle Grade & Young Adult
      • MG / YA Support
    • Tools, Tips & Resources
    • Workshops, Events & Courses
  • Illustrating
  • Book Reviews
    • Picture Books
    • Middle Grade
    • Young Adult
  • Interviews
    • Agents, Editors & Publishers
    • Authors & Illustrators
  • Publishing
    • Querying & Submitting
    • Marketing & Publicity
    • Social Media & Websites
  • Inspiration

Tag: plotting

Resisting the Kitchen Sink

August 22, 2022 Dianna Sanchez

By Dianna Sanchez A few years back, I attended a reading by Daniel Jose Older and Zoraida Cordova at which they both talked about their

Continue reading

On Car Repair and Rewrites

January 5, 2021 Alumni & Guests

Guest Post by Almitra Clay Especially for all you NaNoWri-mers with fresh drafts, here’s a reprise of a popular post. As I have rewritten the

Continue reading

Finding the Beats: Plotting for Pantsers

October 29, 2019 Dana Nuenighoff

Do you ever get a book idea in your head but don’t know where it’s going? Do you find that you have a saggy middle?

Continue reading

The 7 Layer Cake Writing Method

January 25, 2019 Laura Fineberg Cooper

Baking a 7 layer cake is like writing a story. You have so many tempting and tasty choices to make, and each new layer builds

Continue reading

The Plotter, Pantsed

January 13, 2017 Alumni & Guests

  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,

Continue reading

Plotting a Novel with Sticky Notes

May 20, 2016 Alison Potoma

This pantser has gone plotter, and for one particular reason: Speed. My first attempt at a novel took me two years. I wrote it by

Continue reading

Book Review: SAVE THE CAT! by Blake Snyder

January 6, 2015 Marianne Knowles

I found SAVE THE CAT! The Last Book on Screenwriting That You’ll Ever Need through a novelist’s blog. I was scouring the internet for help

Continue reading

What Shape Is That Story?

September 30, 2014 Joyce Audy Zarins

While reading John Green’s Looking for Alaska recently, I was surprised by the shape of the story. It reminded me of other authors who have

Continue reading

Search

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Translate

Rumpus Writers

  • Alumni & Guests's avatar Alumni & Guests
    • WRITING CHAPTER BOOKS WITH HUMOR
  • Alison Potoma's avatar Alison Potoma
    • Celebrating Pride Month – Books for Kids
  • Amy Amberg's avatar Amy Amberg
    • The Secret Sauce to Successful Author Visits for Libraries
  • Carol Gordon Ekster's avatar Carol Gordon Ekster
    • Interview with author/illustrator, Joy Nelkin Wieder
  • Dana Nuenighoff's avatar Dana Nuenighoff
    • What My Past Manuscripts Have Taught Me
  • DrZatHome's avatar DrZatHome
    • INTERVIEW WITH #KIDLIT #PICTUREBOOK AUTHORS AND #AGENTS HUSBAND-AND-WIFE TEAM JAMES AND LUCY CATCHPOLE, PLUS A CRITIQUE/AMA GIVEAWAY
  • Hilary Elizabeth Margitich's avatar Hilary Elizabeth Margitich
    • Writing Across Genres & Empowering Indie Authors: Author-Publisher Donna L. Martin
  • Joyce Audy Zarins's avatar Joyce Audy Zarins
    • Challenging a Dystopian World: An Enlightening Interview with Gregory Maguire
  • Dianna Sanchez's avatar Dianna Sanchez
    • The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Math for Kids: An Interview with Rebecca Rapoport and Allanna Chung
  • Keri Demers's avatar Keri Demers
    • New in Picture Books: Hello, Tobi! by Andrea Cáceres
  • Kim Chaffee's avatar Kim Chaffee
    • Dedications: How Do You Decide?
  • Kirsti Call's avatar Kirsti Call
    • ANT ics with Picture Book Layers plus Smarty Ants GIVEAWAY
  • Laura Fineberg Cooper's avatar Laura Fineberg Cooper
    • Interview with Kimberly Tso, Debut Author of TIC-TAC-TOE CHICKEN…and a GIVEAWAY!
  • Lexi Donahue's avatar Lexi Donahue
    • Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett
  • Marcia Strykowski's avatar Marcia Strykowski
    • Recent Reads Roundup
  • Marti Johnson's avatar Marti Johnson
    • SUNRISE ON THE REAPING by Suzanne Collins
  • Monica Acker's avatar Monica Acker
    • Interview and Inspiration with Tenacious #Kidlit Author Pam Vaughan
  • Marianne Knowles's avatar Marianne Knowles
    • Picture Book Review: CASSINI’S MISSION by Katie Venit
  • Paul Czajak's avatar Paul Czajak
    • Kids, and the Daunting World of Writing
  • René Bartos's avatar René Bartos
    • Bringing Up a Writing Family: A Kidlit Journey with Award-Winning Author Jane Yolen
  • Rebecca Moody's avatar Rebecca Moody
    • A Simple Holiday Gift Guide for Writers 

REWRITING THE RULES

By Dr. Danna Zeiger, Ph.D., Illustrated by Josée BisaillonSeptember 9, 2025
New Picture book about scientist Dr. Kathleen Friel, who could--and DID--achieve what others said was impossible. Available today from Millbrook Press.

Victoria Dare and the Blood of Kings

By Josh RobertsMay 1, 2026
4 months to go.

The Puffin Who Whispered

By Marcia Strykowski, Illustrated by Roch HerckaJuly 28, 2026
7 months to go.
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Writer & Illustrator Resources
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • WRITERS' RUMPUS
    • Join 4,901 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • WRITERS' RUMPUS
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar