If you follow James Scott Bell on Twitter (and if you’re interested in writing tips, it’s a good idea), you might have seen this last week: Give characters secrets. One of the keys to Downton Abbey. #writing #writetip We all
Follow100 Hours
This post has a bonus link. These book covers are the best thing I found online this week. They’re brilliant. You need to see them. Okay, down to business. Last term, there was a documentary filmmaker in my writing course.
Thank You, Mrs. Granger
Mrs. Granger was my grade nine typing (we called it “keyboarding”) teacher. She had perfect grey curls, a voice that could rap like a ruler, and a spine as straight as a steel girder. She was never less than immaculately
Only the Good Parts, Please
My daughter likes to lick the icing off cupcakes. A few swipes of the tongue, food colouring on her cheeks. Then she’s finished with it. “I can’t eat any more,” she’ll say, handing it to me. It’s slick and shiny on
Tackling the Tough Stuff
Last night my writing group critiqued one member’s middle-grade novel-in-progress. J’s novel is about a thirteen-year-old boy dealing with a truckload of difficult things–bullying at school, friendship conflicts, and a mother who struggles with clinical depression. In the current draft,
Notes from Packaging Your Imagination 2011
This past Saturday, hordes of children’s writers and illustrators converged on Victoria College for CANSCAIP’s annual Packaging Your Imagination conference. I was part of the Durham contingent, a massive wagon train (okay, two cars’ worth) of creative types from the
This Side of Morning
Three weeks ago, I tried something new. So far, it has stuck. During the day, I’m editing a juvenile novel that I’ve been working on for some time. Okay, years. But I wanted to draft something new as well, so
Cliffhangered
I love the fact that my daughter is an avid reader. She devours books. I think she’s reading above grade level; I don’t really know, and I don’t really care. What matters to me is that she picks up books
What’s in a Name?
I recently read a book that featured two characters who had distractingly similar names. Harold and Howard, I think they were. They might as well have been Michael and Mitchell, or Jane and Jen. The point is, it’s confusing. And
Plotting and Pantsing
Today’s blog post is inspired by K.M. Weiland’s post on plotting. Worth a look, if you haven’t come across it already. I’m looking forward to her new book! I’m an outliner. A “plotter,” as writer-types tend to call it. (As