Ashley Bartley
Diamond Rattle Loves to TattleJanuary 2, 2021
Hope: The Most Important Goal
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Between economic worries and health worries, this year has been tough for a lot of us. Some writers have simply found that the weight of the worry seriously hurt their ability to…
Becoming a Fearless Writer
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > All of us struggle with fear. It’s natural. Rejection is painful, so we want to avoid it. As a writer, avoiding that fear usually means reducing the number of submissions we make, or submitting only to “safe” markets.…
One Good Goal For All
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Much of the time, when we come up with our goals connected to writing, they involve writing a certain number of words, completing a project, or submitting material. But there is one…
Making Goals In Uncertain Times
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > With publishing still adjusting to the results of a pandemic, there has never been a more important time to recognize that goal setting is all about planning for things you have the…
Maybe What You Need Isn’t a Market
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Maybe It’s An Agent For writers with high concept books (works that can be summed up in a few, movie-poster type words) or who are writing primarily young adult novels, you may…
Finding Markets in Difficult Times
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As with virtually every industry, publishing has faced new challenges during the pandemic, even though book sales have stayed strong (especially in children’s books). The issues aren’t with lack of sales, but…
You Only Need One
The whole publishing process is a journey up a mountain after the path has been washed out. Remember, it only takes one editor to connect with your work.
Mystery Sidekicks
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The sidekick, a character who supports the main character, is almost as much a part of a good mystery as the detective. The sidekick gives the detective someone to discuss the case…
Patricia E. Poillucci
Skylites Adventures
October 16, 2020
Mystery Detectives
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Any fan of mysteries would be happy to tell you that mystery detectives come in all shapes and forms. Some are detectives because they want to be like Sherlock Holmes, Encyclopedia Brown,…
Follow That Clue!
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The Clue-Theory-Test Method of Plotting Mysteries For many writers trying mystery writing for the first time, one of the things that feel the hardest is leaving clues for the reader. So let’s…
Love Scenes: Spicy or Sweet?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the issues with writing romance in young adult novels lies in the question of how far to push the love scenes. Do you stop at the kiss and fade to…
Conflict Is So Romantic
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Like any strong story, romance needs conflict. Without conflict, romantic stories can be dully predictable. After all, the vast majority of romances end with the characters together. Readers are confident that will happen. So, it’s the journey to…
Characters Make the Romance
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > With romance such an important element of YA novels, it can be easy to focus all the attention on creating the main character, only to give the second romantic lead less attention (and much of it focused on…
Corinne Mordaunt
Keep the Light Burning
August 28, 2020
Walking Through a Developing Story Structure | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > It all begins in your head Those of us who tend to plan our stories extensively before we write don’t pull that plan from our heads in a complete, coherent form. Just…
Structure in Narrative Nonfiction Articles
Blending fiction structure with nonfiction facts makes narrative nonfiction a favorite of kids and educators. Discover how to successfully write this genre.
Traditional Plot Structure for Very Short Stories
Short stories for young children are often under 500 words. That’s why writing picture books and stories for kids looks easy but is actually quite a challenge.
Does Popularity Matter?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most common pieces of writing advice is “write the story that is in you” with the companion advice of “trends don’t matter.” So is that actually correct? If you…
