Stop Me Before I Write Again
Checklist before starting next novel: POV Character? Check Sidekick? Check Villain? Check Quirky secondary characters? Check Plot outline? Check Story Beat Sheet? Check Voice? Check Premise? Check Stakes? Check Hmm. What else am I missing? Share
Read MorePick Laurie Halse Anderson’s TWISTED Brain
Please join us for an ALAN Online BookChat to discuss TWISTED with the author, Laurie Halse Anderson . Date: Wednesday, 7/25/07 Time: 9:00 PM Eastern URL: http://alan-ya.org/bookchat/flashchat.php Here’s more about TWISTED: High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he...
Read MoreUseless Piece of Personal Potter Trivia
The third Potter book was out before I read the first one, which I received in paperback as a give-away at the ALAN Breakfast. After reading it on the plane home, I bought the other two books. For Christmas, we bought a (at the time) complete sets for our families. For books 4,5, and 6, we bought two copies each, as did all of the people we gave Harry to as gifts. ...
Read MorePoor Yamabushi: Kicked to the Curb Again
Over a year ago, I came up with the idea of setting a screwball mystery in Japan, during the festival of setsubun (in which children run about in scary masks while pelting folks with soybeans). I entered a first chapter of Yamabushi and the Seven Gods of Happiness in the smart writers contest and managed an honorable mention from judge Cynthia Leitich Smith cynleitichsmith Since then,...
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