A few months ago, I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of May B by Caroline Starr Rose. It was such a lovely book with a great main character and an engaging plot. Once I was finished, I was in awe of Caroline’s ability to pack so much setting and atmosphere into so [...]
[One last reminder about two upcoming events: I'll be at B&N in Burlington, Mass. tonight at 7pm, and I'll be at the Ames Free Library in Easton, Mass. tomorrow at 2pm. Come for the books; stay for the origami, mini-golf, and cookies!] A while back I blogged about Unearthly by Cynthia Hand and how it [...]
I’m currently reading Tess Hilmo’s upcoming book, With a Name Like Love, which comes out this September. (I feel very special to be able to read it before it’s actually out!) The thing that grabbed me right away about this book was the mood, so I wanted to take a closer look at it. Now [...]
Today’s insightful guest post comes from Kip Wilson Rechea: We all know the kind of novels prized for beautiful language as much as–or sometimes even more than–story. The kind of book that leaves striking images planted in your mind. The kind of images that make you fall in love with the novel. Frequently classified as “literary” or “lyrical,” beautifully-worded novels [...]
It was such an odd feeling to send my revised manuscript back to my editor on Monday. On the one hand, I was happy with the progress I’d made. On the other, I could have kept working on it forever. That’s why deadlines are good; they keep you from tinkering with a manuscript for the [...]
When Alisa Libby and I started First Page Panda a while back, our goal was to spread the word about new books. We didn’t anticipate it would have an effect on our writing, but it has: it’s made us a little paranoid about our own first pages! Both Alisa and I have found ourselves rewriting [...]
Last night, while I was trying to catch up on some non-writing things, a line of dialogue popped into my head. I jotted the line down, and it turned into a scene between two characters. As I wrote, I got a sense of their personalities and a little bit about their unusual setting. And that’s [...]
Here in New England, we’ve been averaging one major snowstorm a week. This week, we’ve been lucky enough to get two. One zinger rolled through yesterday, dumping a foot of snow, and now we’re in the midst of a second one. To add to the fun, I discovered a leak in our living room this [...]
I’m currently reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and just loving it. Part of it is the great voice, but what hooked me right away were the conflicts that were introduced from the start. From the first page, we’re left asking questions and wondering what will happen next. Conflict 1: The main [...]
A while back I mentioned a screenwriting book by Peter Dunne called Emotional Structure. Since I finished it, I’ve been singing its praises to everyone I know, so now it’s your turn. Let me tell you about this helpful little book. Like many screenwriting books, this one talks about three-act structure. Unlike other books, however, [...]
