Showcase: Writer Growth through Reading
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Verse Novels as a Distinct Genre
The surging popularity of verse novels for children and young adults is wonderful for so many reasons. One is that they can level the playing field in classrooms because the struggling reader and the most advanced reader in an entire grade can enjoy and discuss the same story. As someone...
Honing Your Craft by Writing Fanfiction
I was nine or ten years old when I became obsessed with Sailor Moon, a popular Japanese anime series about a girl who uses the powers of the moon to save the earth from forces of evil. After watching the first three seasons and reading the original graphic novels, I...
What’s Up, Danger? An Analysis of the Turning Point
Hopefully by now, you have seen (or at least heard about) the 2018 release Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. Everything in this film -- animation, writing, music -- is completely stunning. Today I want to talk about what is possibly the most famous scene: What’s Up, Danger? Take two and a...
Second Book Struggles
Second Book Syndrome (secundus liber syndromos): an overwhelming sense of inadequacy, creative depletion and doubt at one’s life choice to become an author, often marked by physical signs, such as staring at blank Word documents, talking to self, Netflix binging, obsessive baking, and other distracting behaviors. Symptoms may vary writer...
Writing Gender Empowerment
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Narration vs Dramatization
Storytelling comes in many forms, and on a craft level, two methods of storytelling can make a great impact on the reading experience: narration vs. dramatization. Narration is when you summarize an action and tell the reader what happened, whereas dramatization is where you show the reader a scene through...
Showcase: Diversity and Identity in Your Writing
To participate in the Q&A, post your questions below! This event originally aired on January 7, 2019.
Animals in Middle Grade
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How to Fracture a Fairy Tale in 5 Easy Steps
I was a fan of revisionist fairy tales long before the publication of my own Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom books, which feature, among others, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White, and no fewer than four Prince Charmings. What makes fractured fairy tales so much fun is the way...
