You may have heard that my most awesome fellow 2009 Deb, crit partner, and friend Saundra Mitchell has a new book out this week: The Vespertine. The Vespertine is a historical YA with a paranormal twist, with writing as lovely … Continue reading
Just as my notebooks are a key component to the brainstorming stage of my writing, my index cards are essential to the outlining stage. I usually use 3″x5″ cards, but sometimes 4″x6″s if I know I’ll be including a lot … Continue reading
I did a school visit today that felt a lot like stepping back in time. I went to talk with a bunch of grade twelve students at my former high school, Riverdale C.I., and it’s the first time I’ve been … Continue reading
The seventh song on Give Up the Ghost‘s unofficial soundtrack is another R.E.M. song, “Country Feedback”: Like last week’s song, this is one of the few where the lyrics don’t necessarily fit the book. I’m a very lyrics-focused music fan, … Continue reading
There has been rather a large kerfuffle happening online about whether a “YA mafia” exists and whether your behavior online may affect your writing career down the road. The best sum-up I’ve come across is this one, at YA Highway, … Continue reading
Every writer has their favorite writing tools. One of the most important of mine: my Hilroy notebook. I’ve used a lot of different notebooks over the years, but these days I stick with my 5-subject 8″x5″ Hilroys. They’re small enough … Continue reading
When I was a kid and a younger teen, my friends and I played a whole lot of games that were really about fortune telling. I think our first favorite was the paper fortune teller: We made it and played … Continue reading
Ways in which writing a sequel is easier than writing a standalone/first book: -I already know the characters (well, the ones that are returning; there are new ones too) and generally what they want and how they will act in … Continue reading
In your experience (and from the people you know), how much work goes into into a manuscript after you’ve signed with an agent and before the work is ready to submit to publishers? And what is that process like? This … Continue reading
The sixth song on the unofficial soundtrack for Give Up the Ghost is “Understand the Dream is Over” by The Juliana Theory. (Excuse the Kingdom Hearts footage. This is the only video I could find with the album version of … Continue reading
